All posts by Benny Page

Colossians

Colossians 2B

Colossians 2B: My Chains Are Gone!

Beware- says the KJV in verse 8- a warning to be on guard. “See to it—NIV says,” that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human traditions and the basic principles of the world, rather than on Christ.” Did you notice how this philosophy was described? Deceptive- Hollow- Empty. Deceit is on the enemy’s most powerful weapons in leading us astray.

The false teachers known as Gnostics believed the angels and the heavenly bodies influenced our lives. Today we have those who chart their lives according to their horoscopes, the alignment of the planets. They dabble with the occult with Ouija boards and other practices.

Any Christian who engages in these practices is asking for trouble.

But the irony is why follow empty, hollow philosophies when we have the fullness of Christ. Why drink foul water from broken cisterns when you have fresh spring water flowing like a river within your own nature for we have been given the fullness of Christ.   Jesus said He and the Father were one. Paul tells us the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

What does Paul mean by bodily form? When Jesus was resurrected and when He ascended to heaven He was in a body. He was and is to this day, the God-Man. His body is a glorified body, but it is a visible body with a digestive system for he ate with the disciples.

And we through the indwelling Spirit have been given the fullness in Christ. When we got saved, we were born into the family of God. Just like you were born the first time physically, you grew into what you had been given. A baby cannot walk, talk, feed themselves, etc. They have within them all of those abilities which they will grow into. The blueprint of DNA which has been present from the time of conception has been developing everything in accordance with the blueprint’s specifications. It does it step by step in the womb of the mother, unseen until the miracle of ultrasounds enabled us to watch the seed grow over a nine month period being fed through the umbilical cord. Blood develops, the heart, the lungs, the brain, then nerves, trillions of cells, fingernails, toe nails, hair, ears, tongue, taste buds— it is a miracle taking place, which we have come to take for granted.  So is it when we are born again of the Spirit we are babes in Christ. But we have everything within us to grow up. But both physical growth and spiritual growth require nutrition and time. Nothing needed to be added to Christ because He already is the very fullness of God. We just need to grow up.

BECOMING THE WHOLE PERSON GOD INTENDED US TO BE

Paul tells us we have been buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

We not only have been conformed by the world and its value system; we have to some degree been conformed by the traditions our denominations’ practices which have nothing to do with salvation. For example the word baptism has two meanings: 1. To dip, to immerse. (This could describe not only being immersed in water; it could be cloth being immersed into dye.) 2. To be identified with- is its second meaning. (For example, the Jewish nation was ‘baptized unto Moses” when it went through the Red Sea. You realize there was not water involved, for the nation of Israel walked over on dry land.) This means the nation of Israel was identified with Moses. Being immersed in water, sprinkled with water, cannot in and of itself bury you with Christ or make you alive with Him. Water baptism or sprinkling is a picture of the spiritual experience of salvation. When a person is saved, they are immediately baptized (identified with) into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. (I Cor. 12:12-13) We are also immersed into His life and His life into ours.

God makes it quite clear in His Word the only answer He has to every human need- is found in His Son Jesus, in whom the fullness of God rests. He is our Redeemer and He is our resource for everything we will ever need.

Let’s start at the beginning- B.C. – before Christ came into our lives. We had a dual problem- sins and sin. Notice the text in verse 13: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature.” I had sins I had committed, as did you. I had too many to count. I sinned because I had a sin nature. My sins had to be dealt with; but also my sin nature had to be dealt with also. The sin nature was like the factory that was manufacturing and turning out sins day after day. We needed two things: 1. forgiveness of our sins (past, present and future). 2. The sin nature which was the nature which was manufacturing the sins had to be shut down. This factory manufactured the chains of sin.

God’s dual remedy was the: BLOOD AND THE CROSS.   The blood covers the sins, what we have done. The cross deals with the sinful nature- who we are. The cross was where my old nature, the sin factory was shut down as it was crucified with Christ. Remember- the second meaning of baptism is to identify with. I was baptized into Him. Paul says is succinctly in Galatians 2:20. “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Our old life was cut off at the cross. The life of Christ was engrafted into me at same time.

One other thing we must notice- the blood cleanses us of our sins. The blood does not cleanse our hearts. If God is to indwell our hearts, then He must give us a new heart. “A new heart also will give you, and new Spirit I will put within you. “ (Ezk. 36:26) Remember, flesh and blood will not inherit heaven.

The ‘yet not I, but Christ,’ is the part we have trouble dealing with. It is not based on a feeling, but a fact. Our faith in this fact. God’s Word says this happened. We believe the Word of God. So therefore we can conclude based on these facts- whatever happened to Jesus at the Cross- happened to us when we believed. When He was buried, we were buried with Him. When He arose, we arose with Him; leaving behind our grave clothes and our old nature.

The power of God changed us- not the baptismal waters or the Lord’s Supper.

What we have in Colossians 2: 13-15 is the Good News of what has taken place in your life if you have been born again.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”

There are two great and wonderful things God has done for us: (1.) the removal of death within us; (2.) the removal of the written code (ordinances) which was against us.

This was done for each of us individually. He removed our inward spiritual death. We were spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses. It was not physical death. We lived and moved and exercised our wills and did as we pleased. We were not mentally dead- although some of us were killing our brain cells daily with alcohol and drugs and I believe pornography can destroy one mentally. Our consciences can become seared. The Holy Spirit was sent to convict us of sin and righteousness.

In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus told him: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3) We were all dead to spiritual truths which cannot be understood by the natural man. Only the spiritual man knows what spiritual things are, for they are spiritually discerned. Natural man has the spirit of the world, but we have been given the Spirit of God that we might understand what God has freely given us. (I Cor.2)

Notice the verdict: Light has come into the world. Each person receives light. They have the light of creation, Paul speaks of in Romans 1. “…since that which may be known about God is plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so man is without excuse.” The problem is not enough knowledge, proof or evidence- the problem is the suppression of truth by their wickedness. Creation declares the glory of God, night after night, day after day its speech goes forth, and they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where the voice is not heard. (Psalm 19) ‘Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. (Romans 10) God has spoken through his creation.

The second witness mankind has is his conscience. “Indeed when Gentiles who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they have a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law since they show the requirements of the law are written on their hearts their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” (Romans 2) When one responds to the light, they will be given more light.

Now a man who is physically dead cannot will himself to be alive again. Neither does the spiritually dead man come to Christ, till the Spirit of God gives him the will. It can be accepted or rejected. Jesus said to the Jews- ‘you will not come to me for life.’ He said upon entering Jerusalem for the last time – how he had longed to gather them like a mother hen does her chicks- but you would not.   Notice he said would not- not could not. Man is responsible for how he responds.

Before we were born again, our wills were in chains to our sinful nature. The chains were the sins which were produced by our sinful nature. We were powerless over our sins. We could not understand spiritual truths. We could come to the house of God and listen to preaching and it was boring to us in our unregenerate nature. We could read the Bible but it was nothing more than an ancient book with stilted language which could not hold our interest. We were dead in our sins.

What happened? What did God do? “God made you alive with Christ.” How, you may ask, did God do this? First of all- nothing is impossible for God. He is the creator of all life. Paul explained in the first chapter of this letter to the church at Colossae” “For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…’   As Watchman Nee writes: “ If a man can graft a branch of one tree into another,(and it lives and produces fruit) cannot God take of the life of His Son and so to speak, engraft it into us?” (The Normal Christian Life, Watchman Nee, pg. 97) If a skilled heart surgeon can remove the diseased heart of one person and transplant a new heart from a person who is dying and bring life through this new transplanted heart, cannot God, Creator of all things, put a new heart in us and a new spirit in us so we may obey Him out of love for what He has done? Of course He can.

God made us alive. We were born again of the Spirit. I do not fully understand why some would reject this gift. (Even though I rejected it until I was 31 years old) Jesus said it was because they loved their sins more. I do know we are responsible for our actions. I do know God is not willing that any should perish but all would come to repentance. The plan of salvation is exclusive- in that Jesus said no man comes to the Father except by me. But the plan of salvation is also all inclusive. For God so loved the world, He gave us His only Son. And He is an atonement not just for my sins, but for the sins of the world. He paid the sin debt in full.   He convicts us. He offers the gift of faith. He has revealed Himself to all mankind through creation and the law written on their conscience. But we must accept His gracious offer of grace.

Now the text also tells us what else occurred at Calvary at the cross. “He cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (NIV) The KJV tells us he blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that were against us. The Ten Commandments could be called to testify against us and each one of them could say- He/she has broken me. Our consciences bear witness to us- ‘you have sinned.’ Sometimes, like David, our sins were before us night and day.

Notice first Jesus blotted out all the sins I had ever committed or would commit. He blotted them out with His blood. He paid all of my sin debts. All punishment required by the law were fulfilled. He not only cancelled the debt and paid for it in full; He took the document away. He took it as far as the east is from the west. He buried it in the deepest part of the sea where he placed a sign- “No Fishing Allowed!” He nailed it to the cross along with my old sinful nature.

God placed my old sin nature in Christ at the cross. I was crucified with Him. Buried with Him. And raised me from death with Him. He is my life.

Paul tells us what happened as a result of this miracle of God’s grace: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life has set me free from the law of sin and death.”

“My chains are gone, I have been set free, My God and Savior has ransomed me!”

Our accuser, that ancient serpent, called the devil or Satan (which means adversary) will continue to accuse us day and night. But we will overcome him with blood of the Lamb and our testimony. (Revelation 12)

Thus we read- ‘having disarmed the powers and authorities, he (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them (the devil and his demons) triumphing over them by the cross.’

Like a conquering Roman general leading his captives through the streets to show all the citizen his complete victory in a triumphant procession, Jesus did the same. When he ascended to heaven, the enemy and his army who had been the prince of the air and authority in high places were forced to see their conqueror, for the demons shudder in fear at his presence.

They were stripped of their powers, disarmed, subdued. Death had been conquered. Sins were paid in full. Sinful natures were crucified and what natural man had not been able to do- which was overcome the power of the law of sin and death had been abolished. The Law of the Spirit of Life had set us free. And if the Son sets you free- you are free indeed.

 

IT’S STILL THE CROSS.

“It’s still the cross, it’s still the blood of Calvary; That cleanses sins and sets the captives free. It’s still the name, the name of Jesus that has the power to save the lost; it’s still the cross. We can alter our convictions to adapt to social whims; But we cannot change the Gospel or the truth contained within.   Though some say its man’s religion or ancient history; the cross of Jesus still remains the price for sin that sets us free.” (It’s Still the Cross, the Imperials)

The blood washed away my sins. The blood cannot wash away my old nature. My old nature needs to Cross to crucify it. Blood deals with the sins. The Cross deals with the sinner.

Paul describes what has transpired. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code with its regulation that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

 

I HAVE CHOSEN AN UNUSUAL ATTRIBUTE OF GOD FOR THIS LESSON: GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF ALL LIFE.

Genesis tells us this and Paul simply repeats it for emphasis in Colossians 1.

He is also referred to as the ‘author and perfector of our faith.’ So the meaning of life comes from the author of life. The Bible is the script of God’s story. From the very beginning of life as soon as God had completed his creative work and given Adam- Eve with plans on how to multiply and fill the earth. Satan entered the story and wanted to alter the tale. He question who was the ‘author’? Has God really spoken? This is the main target of his deceitful philosophy.

The Bible tells the story. And in understanding and believing the story, we understand our lives have a role and a part in the larger plot.

When one comes to understand the story of God’s plan and purpose born out of his Holy and Pure Character; out of His infinite wisdom and power- we realize without God – there is not story and life makes no sense.   Then man determines what is right and what is wrong because they doubt God has spoken. The centerpiece of God’s story is love.

Because the world will not believe God has spoken through the Holy Bible and His Son Jesus- they refuse the one commandment, the one law which has plunged us into all of the trouble. Look at all the laws we have and keep adding and keep changing in order to please natural man.

God, by contrast, reduced it to one law with two parts: Love the Lord Thy God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”

By questioning that God has spoken- we have thrown out the one law which if obeyed would have brought lasting peace to the world. Instead, man continues to write laws which replace other laws as we alter our convictions to adapt to social whims.

 

 

 

Colossians

Colossians 2

Colossians 2: Rooted, Built Up, Taught and Overflowing

Much of what Paul’s ministry consisted of was: witnessing wherever he found himself; preaching the Gospel, making disciples. He also was busy corresponding with those whom God had brought him in contact with through his letters.

But perhaps what was the key to Paul’s ministry and that which he spent much time doing was PRAYER.   Paul speaks of struggling, laboring, running like a runner in the Olympics. God is at work in the life of each believer. We know we have this power of God, the same power which resurrected Jesus from the grave at work within us. It is the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Our struggle is to work out what the Spirit has worked in us. Our old nature continually pulls us in one direction driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The old nature battles against our new nature. To make matters worse we live in a society, a world culture becoming increasingly anti-God; against the Word of God, considering it a source of problems rather than the solution to all our problems. We must fight all our battles in prayer. But we also have a responsibility ‘to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (I Peter 3)

True prayer is directed to the Father through His Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. We know when we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit groans within us. How does this work? How does the Spirit of God assist us in prayer? Remember it is the Spirit of God which teaches us the Word of God.   Listen to how Jesus explains this phenomena: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear now. But when the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you in all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.” (John 16:12-15)

Now follow these truths and connect the dots. Prayer is not trying to change the mind of God but to discover what is in the mind of God and ask accordingly. This is what I John 5; 14-15 tells us.   Who knows the mind of God? “The Spirit searches all things even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of men except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. “I Cor. 2

“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8: 26, 27) * The relationship between the Holy Spirit and God the Father is so close that the Holy Spirit’s prayers need not be audible. God knows his every thought. (NIV footnote)

There are times when we do not feel like praying and this is when we need to pray the most. The Spirit will give us the strength, the power which is divine energy in spite of how we feel. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more that we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen. “(Ephesians 3: 20)

You may not teach a Bible class; sing in the choir or any other number of things one can associate with ministry. But we can each PRAY! And by praying even if we are only ministering to just a few believers then in doing so we minister to the body.

Paul realizes with prayer he can be absent in the body, but present with the church at Colossae in the spirit through prayer. Prayer is so powerful for we see all through Scriptures how God works through the prayers of His people. The Lord does not want us to be deceived by the clever and fine-sounding arguments of false teachers. The key to not being deceived is found in these two verses: “If you continue in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8: 31, 32)

WHAT AND HOW DO WE LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

How do we live out the Christian life once we have begun it having been truly born again? We know how we were saved: “for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast.’(Ephesians 2: 8, 9)   We began by grace through faith and this is how we are to live. It is grace that has brought us this far and it is grace which will take us home to heaven. The sanctification process is a ‘by-grace-through-faith’ operation from the moment of salvation until we see Jesus.

We need to continue in our journey of spiritual maturity. The Christian who is not making spiritual progress is an open target for the enemy to attack. Remember he is the father of all lies and deception is one of his most powerful weapons and strategies. His lies not only led us down the wrong path before we were saved, he can deceive the believer in the wrong paths if we do not exercise spiritual discernment and continue to grow in our knowledge of spiritual truth.

Here is our answer as to how to live out the new life:  “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2: 6, 7)

We began a journey with the first step of salvation. We were justified eternally in the instant we truly believed. We begin the journey by grace through faith and Paul says this is the way we must continue. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. (Romans 1)  Paul had to deal with believers who got off the path of ‘by grace through faith’ often. We see this in his letters, i.e., the Galatians: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3: 3) We are to live the Christian life and walk the worthy walk the same way we began it- by grace through faith. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. Here is the truth as simple as can be: YOU STARTED WITH FAITH AND MUST CONTINUE WITH FAITH. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL MAKE SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. This is why the enemy tries to shake your faith and create fear with the various weapons he uses: sin, pain, troubles of all kinds, sickness, attacks on loved ones, all to create doubt in God’s goodness, His sovereignty, His power, and His motives. Fear is the enemy of faith and creates doubt- double-mindedness. But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1) God is not the author of confusion; He is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12)

Paul then uses some metaphors to paint a clear picture of the process. ROOTED. Paul uses a word from agriculture. The way we keep from being blown about by every wind of doctrine is to make sure we are rooted. Roots which go deep and can resist the winds. Want to know what you must do for your roots to grow deep in Christ? Read Psalms 1: 1-6. These verses tell you what NOT to do: Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked (ungodly) or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of scorners. Have you ever noticed the intellectuals like to mock our Christian faith, our simple belief that God created the world and everything in it? The godly man or woman ask advice from godly believers. They seek companionship with fellow believers. They join with believers to defend the truth of God’s Word. The Psalmist then tells us when our delight is in the law of the Lord and we meditate on it day and night, we will be like trees planted by the streams. We are told we will produce fruit in season, our leaf does not wither and we will prosper. Our roots are anchored by faith in Jesus Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches. The root draws up the nourishment which is furnished from the soil and gives us strength and stability. Go to your concordance and look at all the references to the word root. Remember what Jesus said of the seed which fell on the ground which had the rock beneath the soil. “The one who received the seed (the Word of God) that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has NO ROOT, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly fell away.”(Matthew 13, Parable of the sower) Adversity deepens our roots!

Peter told us: ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.’ (2Peter 1)   This means God has rooted us in soil where he has provided everything we will ever need. But notice we must have knowledge of Him and of his great and precious promises. These are our resources, our treasures and we must search the scripture for these. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that precedes from the mouth of God. From His mouth to my ear! God has provided us with the soil and the seed. We must do our jobs of cultivating through study and obedience to God’s Word.   The process includes: hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditation and above all OBEYING IT. Adversity is like drought to a tree. Drought causes the roots to seek and spread even deeper in search of moisture. And so do we seek deeper and further into the Word of God during these times of trials and adversity. Adversity is to our faith what exercise is to our muscles. *Our greatest fears in adversity come from the uncertainty and utter lack of control over a perilous situation. The disciples experienced this on more than one occasion from a storm on the Sea of Galilee to the crucifixion of the Lord.

Next words Paul uses to describe the process is ‘built up.’ An architectural term used in the present, ongoing tense. When we got saved, we were put on a foundation. The foundation was Jesus Christ. From then on we are being built up as we grow in grace. Paul combines these illustrations in 1 Cor. 3: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field; God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each of you should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know you yourselves are Gods’ temple and that His Spirit dwells within you?”

*Some questions for you: Are you laying a foundation as an expert builder on which others can build on? What are the quality of the works you are currently doing for the Lord? Are you using the best materials- giving all of the best for Him, or are they inferior, poor quality, leftovers?

Again in Matthew 7 we read of the importance of what foundation one builds their life upon. “Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who build his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like the man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell down with a great crash.”

Storms come to both believers and non-believers. This is our song as believers: On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!

Now notice the next word Paul uses is taught. Where is one taught? In school. In a classroom with a teacher. What did Paul tell Timothy: ‘study to show yourself approved, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.’

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have made known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for: teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3: 14-17)

Epaphras was taught and discipled by Paul at the church in Ephesus. Epaphras had faithfully taught the believers the truth in the church at Colossae. Now false teachers were undermining that doctrine, just as they do today. The Christian who is continuing in study of Scriptures and applying its principles, obeying its commands will become established in his/her faith. The enemy will have a difficult time deceiving the Bible taught, Bible believing, Bible knowledgeable Christian. This is how our faith is strengthened. And our faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God.

Paul then uses a fourth term to describe the process: overflowing. Also connected with this is thankfulness. Overflowing or abounding speaks of a river which keeps growing not dwindling. It never stops like an artesian well. My wife, Gina, is facing a difficult test in her life now with an illness. She said of this time in her life, “I do not want to be a drain, I want to be a fountain.”

Jesus in Matthew 4 has an encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus asked the woman for a drink. His disciples had gone into town for food. The Samaritan woman was shocked Jesus would even speak to her because he was a Jew and she was a Samaritan. (We are told in this story- Jews did not associate with Samaritans.) Now listen to this conversation: “Jesus answered her and said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” He went on to describe this gift of living water as, ‘water that becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ An eternal artesian well of water, a fountain that keeps on flowing.

The gift of God is salvation- but the gift that keeps on giving is the Holy Spirit who comes to indwell the believer. This gift keeps on giving and grows deeper and deeper. How sad that many believers have turned to drink from the broken cisterns of false man-made teaching. They are making no progress in the Christian life, and like the unbeliever are: ’ever learning but never coming to the truth’.

We see spiritually mature and growing Christians are overflowing with ‘thankfulness.’   There is a sense of peace in the midst of storms. A joy in the midst of trials that comes from knowing Whom we have believed and are persuaded and confident of this truth- ‘ that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ A thankful spirit is a mark of Christian maturity.

A growing Christian whose spiritual roots are deep in Christ will not want any other soil. He/she are on a sure foundation and have no need to move. The grass does not look greener on the other side. For we trust our Good Shepherd to provide us with what is best for us. Our hearts overflow when we are experiencing the fullness of Jesus Christ.   We will not be moved.

 

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

For this lesson I have selected the attribute of God’s goodness. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)

“No one is good-except God alone.” (Jesus speaking, Mark 10:17)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

“If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask?” (Matthew 7)

God wants us to surrender all our life to Him. He has assured us in His Word – He wants to bless us and give us good gifts. Now intellectually, I know God is good and in control, all wise, powerful and sovereign. However it seems we all have some areas we want to continue to control. How do we recognize those areas? They are the areas which we are worried about. Areas we are trying to control in our own strength and wisdom. Managing our lives or the lives of others we love (the number one issue parents have) – we soon realize, control is an illusion. We plan and do all we can- but then a storm comes and we find ourselves driving on a highway where all at once we strike a patch of black ice and our life spins out of control. God simply says to us in these situations: Are you ready for me to take control of this area of your life?

We know God is good. His reputation has been attacked by the enemy who from the very beginning insinuated God withheld good things from Adam and Eve. Our view of God is sometimes accurate in certain areas, but contingent in others. By contingent, I mean we see His goodness based on how favorable the circumstances in our lives are. Thus when we are being blessed, we praise God for His goodness, but when fiery trials come and life spins out of control- we seem to forget God is good.

Why would God withhold something you view as ‘good’ from your life? Well remember, God knows all things. He may have something better- good can be the enemy and substitute for best. You may not be ready to receive it. God may have other things He has to work together first, so it comes in His perfect timing. Here is how God operates and His Word and story after story in the Bible confirm this truth: God always provides what will produce the best possible results for the most possible people by the best possible means for the longest possible period of time.

Psalm 145 tells us ‘God is good to all; He has compassion on all that He has made.’

God has blessed us through natural blessings. Nature, seasons, good weather, food, physical life, and so many daily blessings we take for granted.

God has already delivered you from and through many crisis in your life. Look back and count your blessing- look around and count your blessings- name them one by one. Then you will see what God has done. He has done everything!

God’s goodness requires a response. Someone wants to do you a favor- you must respond and either allow them to do you a favor or refuse it. Some we refuse because we know the person offering the favor is manipulating you to get you to do something for them. God is not manipulative- he does not hold grudges nor does give in order to get. God gives because He is good!

 

How should we respond?

1 Repent of your unbelief and ingratitude. The Prodigal Son found himself in a pig pen and he remembered the goodness of his father. In the false belief the ‘good life’ could be found outside his father’s will, he rebelled. He now repented of his unbelief and at the same time realized what a thankless ingrate he had been for the sacrifices and provisions his father so graciously had given him. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness (His goodness) leads you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4)

  1. Rest in His peace. Wonder why adversity and trials come into your life creating burdens that are wearing you out and down? Are you down and out? These come so we might – Look up to Jesus and hear his invitation: “Come unto me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30) “This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6: 16)
  2. Risk stepping out in faith for the cause of Christ, the defense of His Word like never before. When we trust Gods’ goodness, we can begin to take steps of faith. Like Peter we can ask Him to let us do things we cannot do ourselves, such as walk on water. What a step of faith! If you want to walk on water- you have to step out of the boat.

God, our Heavenly Father, is an eternal being with an eternal plan. We can trust Him, because God is good.

Colossians

Colossians 1B

Colossians 1 B: What We Believe

Paul is dealing with false teaching in the early church in Colossae. This heresy involved: worship of angels, food taboos, and observance of feasts, new moons, circumcision and special knowledge. The movement which plagued the early church and still does today was influenced by a group known as Gnostics. This comes from the Greek word- gnosis, meaning knowledge.

The Gnostics separated matter from thought. They considered matter as evil and thought or knowledge as the ultimate for salvation. This is why they did not want to attribute humanity to Jesus Christ, since humanity being material, to them was evil. They believed the actual body of Christ only appeared material, but in reality was not.

To them, all the secrets of God were in the mind. The result developed two divergent directions: one group stressed self- discipline and complete denial of sexual and other bodily appetites; others believe since the body and spirit were separate they could indulge in unrestrained indulgence. We will see how Paul refutes these sects and false teaching. He will stress that spirituality is not achieved by self-efforts, but by putting on Christ.

Now let’s go back to the end of Paul’s prayer and pick up in verse 12: “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued (delivered, KJV) us from the dominion (power-KJV) of darkness and brought (translated-KJV) us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our sins.

Our greatest problem is sin. The wages of sin is death and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Sinners need a savior for we cannot save ourselves. In these verses Paul reveals four saving actions of Christ on our behalf.

Christ our Savior and Redeemer

  1. He delivered us (.KJV) He has rescued us. (NIV) The word ‘ rescue’ used in the NIV paints a picture of a drowning man being rescued; or a fireman rescuing one from a burning fire. We could not deliver or rescue ourselves from our sins. AA taught me I was powerless over alcohol and needed a higher power to deliver me from that which I could not deliver myself. You and I were in danger of spending eternity apart from God. God’s judgment was hanging over our heads like a sword. But we also were delivered from something else: the authority of Satan and the power of darkness.
  2. He brought us into the kingdom of His Son. The KJV uses the word ‘translated’ for brought. This word translated was used to describe the deportation of a population from one country to another. In ancient times the victor would take the captives, the defeated people back to their kingdom and use them as slaves. (Think Daniel in Babylon). God brings us out of darkness in order to bring us into His kingdom of light. God delivered the nation of Israel out of Egypt in order to bring them into the Promised Land. God takes us out of darkness to take us into light. Out of Egypt into the promised land- to be taken out and not go in is not God’s plan. Wandering in the wilderness of carnality if missing out on the promises of God.
  3. He has forgiven us. Redemption and forgiveness go together. Our sin debt has been cancelled. All our sins- past, present and future are under the blood. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. ( Romans 8) He breaks the power of cancelled sin and the enemy has nothing to accuse you of or indict you. Grace. We did not deserve to be forgiven, nor can we earn forgiveness. We now can enjoy fellowship with God. We can enjoy His grace, mercy and love. We can seek to do our Father’s will. Forgiveness of all our sins is not an excuse to sin; rather it is an encouragement to obey the Lord, whom we love. We also are to forgive others because we have been forgiven. To not forgive someone else will in effect – imprison us.
  4. Paul is making it clear only Jesus Christ can redeem us; forgive us of all our sins, and transfer us from the kingdom of the devil’s darkness into His kingdom of light. It is an act of His Amazing Grace through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. When we have posted the blood of the Lord Jesus over the doorposts of our hearts, the angel of death will pass over us and we will be transferred out the darkness into the light as surely as the Israelites were delivered from the captivity and slavery of Egypt into the Promised Land. This was not a ransom paid to the devil, this was payment demanded by a Holy God. The blood which paid and covered our sins was for God.

Christ is the Creator.

  1. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and the ‘first born’ over all creation. God is Spirit and therefore invisible. Jesus Christ is the image of God, he is the likeness of God. This why he told Phillip, ‘if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.’ The term ‘first born’ or ‘first begotten’ does NOT MEAN JESUS WAS CREATED. God the Son always existed, as part of the Triune Godhead, first mentioned in Genesis when the Creator said: “Let us make man in our image.”  The term first born refers to a position of the first born being the heir and lord over all things of his father. It is a rank or title signifying one of first importance. God is three persons in one, with each person (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) being equal but having different responsibilities.
  2. He created all things. Genesis 1 is the account of creation. It is God the Son who creates all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Thrones, powers, rulers and authorities- He is over all things. John tells us the same thing in John 1 when he states: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. ( John 1:1) He also tells us He, God the Son created all things and without Him nothing was made. Then John connects the Creator to Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ( John 1: 14) No wonder the wind and waves obey Him; fish come at his command, and trees wither at his cursing of them. Disease flees, death reverses itself, for He is Master of all. He is over all things.
  3. All things were not only created by Him, but for Him also. The Lord Jesus, the God-Man planned creation. He produced it. He uses it for his own purpose and pleasure. This teaching refutes the Gnostic teaching that all of the material world is evil. God uses even those who hate Him and do not recognize Him for His glory and to accomplish His purpose. His sovereignty and overruling providence accomplish His will in spite of what appears to be adverse circumstances from Joseph’s imprisonment to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
  4. He holds all things together. ( By Him, all things consist,KJV) What keeps us upright living on this globe or round ball twirling about in space? Science could talk about centrifugal force and gravity. But who created these? No answer. I have an answer: God created all things. This is my Father’s World!

Christ is the Head of the Church.

The church is referred to in the Bible as the bride of Christ and this is one image to help us understand the church. But the description of the church as the body and Christ as the head is one of the most important truths we need to understand. By the church we are referring to all true believers, regardless of denominations. When one gets saved, we are baptized into the body. This is not the water baptism we celebrate in the Baptist church, this is a once and forever happening that occurs at the instant a person believes in Jesus Christ. “ For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free- and we were all given one Spirit to drink.” We were spiritually baptized regenerated by the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, we have dwelling within us the Holy Spirit so that our lives may overflow with the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the founder of the church which is His body.

Again Paul uses the term ‘first born.’ “He is the beginning and the first born from among the dead that in everything he might have supremacy.” Now Jesus Christ was not the first person to be resurrected from the dead. But he was the first to be resurrected to never die again and receive a glorified body. Again the term means the resurrected Lord has the position of being creator- He is the beginning of creation. Creation begins with Him, because of his position as the First Born, does not refer to God the Son being created or born; he was and is pre-existent. He always existed. First Born is a title or position which refers His authority over all- He is Lord over all. He is the beginning and the end. He is the author of our faith. He is the beginning of all things and all things are created by Him and for Him as the rightful heir, the first born. The church was created from the side of the Lord Jesus just as Adam’s bride, Eve, came from his side.

Does this make sense to you? Do not think of this term meaning Jesus was born- He is preexistent- He is uncreated, He is eternal God. What the term meant in Biblical times was the ‘first born’ had a role of supremacy and was lord over what the father owned. He not only is Lord over all- He created all and everything had its beginning in Him. He is all in all and overall. He is the cause of all creation including the church.

All fullness dwells in Him, the Lord Jesus.

We are accepted in the beloved according to Ephesians 1: 6. God the Father spoke from heaven at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3)   Now we read here: “ For God the Father was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him( Jesus) and through him to reconcile to himself all things , whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’

Fullness refers to the sum total all divine power and attributes now dwelling in the Lord Jesus. Jesus was always fully God and fully man- but had limited his powers of God in order to achieve the mission for which he was sent from heaven to accomplish. The word dwell means to abide, or reside. This particular form of the verb means to be at home permanently. This is important truth. Because Jesus Christ is God, He is able to do what no man could ever do; reconcile lost sinners to a Holy God.

The words, reconcile and peace speak of war. The natural man and his natural mind are at war with God. (Romans 8:7) The natural man does not understand spiritual truths. (I Cor. 2) The natural man may be sincere, religious, and even moral; but he/she is still at war with God. How can a Holy God ever be reconciled with sinful man? Can God lower his standards? No. God must be true and consistent to Himself and His Holy Law.

Natural man can do nothing to reconcile himself to God, for he is dead in sin and trespasses. It is in Christ we are reconciled to God.

God took the initiative. God sent his only son into the world, born of a virgin without sinful blood. He became flesh. But his incarnation did not save us. Nor did the example of his life, perfect as it was, nor was it his teachings and healings. It was through his death that peace was made available between God and man. For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. He made peace through the blood of the cross.

This reconciliation is complete. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Our sins were cancelled on the cross.

Jesus Christ has taken care of ALL THINGS. All things were created by Him and for Him. He existed before all things and today He holds all things together. He has reconciled all things through the cross.

Therefore all we need is Jesus Christ. In Him, we have all the fullness of God. No need to add anything to that. To add anything to that would take away from His glory.

We cannot serve two masters- for we will love one and despise the other. Where our treasure is- our hearts will be also. A carnal Christian has a divided heart, a divided mind. This is why God commanded we love Him with all our heart- all our mind, our soul and strength. We are to have no other Gods before- no other gods- period! False teachers and the fallen world we live in offers many enticements which would challenge the Lordship of Jesus Christ and want to share or even dethrone Him from the heart of a believer with lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes or pride of life. For the natural man- their god is their appetites. Satisfying their lust and selfish pride.

Jesus Christ is Savior, Creator and Head of the Church. He is the Beloved of the Father and His exact image. He is eternal God.

He deserves the position of preeminence in your life. Let no other person or thing challenge His Lordship. Since He is Lord over all things He can be trusted not only to save us, but protect us, and provide for us. When you get to know a person really well, your description becomes fuller and richer than those of people who are only acquaintances.

God has initiated a relationship with us. He wants, longs for you to know Him as He really is.

I have come to believe the most important thing in this world and in my life is thinking clearly and rightly about God, the Father, God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is why His word is so important to me. Tozer was right when he said: ‘What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”

Here are five steps from the book “God as He Longs for You to Know Him” in knowing God as He longs for you to know Him:

  1. The first step of seeking God is to accept, learn, treasure and store up His Word.
  2. Step two involves submission and a teachable spirit, a burning desire to be taught by God. (The soul was placed in us by God to have His word deposited there. Engrafted with meekness (James 1) – meekness means a teachable spirit.
  3. Then you must develop a passionate prayer life. Earnestly pleading with Him for understanding. Spending extended time with just Him. Fasting as you seek His face.
  4. Make your quest for God a priority each day. Determine to meet with Him before breakfast, work and your daily duties. Seek after Him like buried treasure.
  5. Step five provides us with the motivation for a lifetime. If we seek Him with all our heart, we will experience God and see Him as He longs for us to see Him.

I am going to take some time to talk about seven attributes of God because God created us for closeness, for love and friendship. His word tells me about Him. In His Word, God tells me about His love for me and in prayer I tell Him about my love and thoughts for Him. Are you experiencing this? Do you long to experience this?

Let us explore the following attributes:

*The Goodness of God. * The Sovereignty of God. *The Holiness of God. *The Wisdom of God. * The Justice of God. *The Love of God*The Faithfulness of God.

I will select one or more each week in our study of Colossians.

For this week’s lesson I have selected God’s faithfulness. My text for this attribute comes from Lamentations, as Jeremiah starts out in Lamentations 3 with these verses from a version of the Bible called The Message: “I am the man who has seen trouble; trouble coming from the lash of God’s anger. He took me by my hand and walked me into pitch-black darkness. Yes, He has given me the back of His hand over and over again.” He goes on with all his troubles for nineteen verses- and in verse 20 he states: “I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, and the poison I have swallowed. I remember it all- oh, how well I remember the feeling of hitting the bottom.”

Then watch what happens next: “But there is one thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope. God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They are created new every morning, how great is your Faithfulness!”

We all depend on something or someone to help us and hold us up inside. When that someone or something comes through, we experience peace, gratitude, satisfaction and optimism about the future. But when that something or someone does not come through we sense anxiety, confusion, defeat and despair. Hope is like oxygen to our souls – we need it to keep going.

We need someone we can trust absolutely to look over us and look out for us. God’s faithfulness offers hopes for everyone no matter how bad things get or look. In fact the secret to living a life of contentment and peace is finding someone who will come through for us 100% of the time! God is faithful to his promises, to His word, to his people and to his character. You can depend on Him 100% of the time. Read Psalm 145:13-19. This is why we sing: Remember your promises, God, remember your people! Oh God!!

God’s Word accomplishes what is was sent forth to accomplish ‘like the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth, and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so does my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return empty but accomplish that for which I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it forth.”(Isaiah 55) When we take God’s Word in and absorb it like the soil absorbs the rain, let it soak our souls- we can count on God’s faithfulness it will bring forth good results.

He is faithful always, even when we are not. Bring our pains, problems, fear and failures to Jesus each day. Jesus invites us to come to him all who are weary and burdened. Take his yoke upon us and learn from Him and He will give us rest.

It is a promise. And he is a promise keeper, because great is his faithfulness. Put your hope and future in the One who will never, never let you down.

“Yet this will I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS! I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lam.3:21-24

Colossians

Colossians 1

Colossians 1: Living the Life.

Colossae was a town in what is now modern day Turkey. It was located about 100 miles from Ephesus. Along with Laodicea and Herapolis it was part of an important trade route. Colossae slipped into a second rate position and did not grow as the others did. Its population diminished, and it did not experience the economical growth the other cities along the trade route did. However, there was a church there, started by Epaphras. Epaphras was converted under Paul’s preaching at the church in Ephesus, where Paul spent three years. Epaphras started the church in Colossae. He had come to Paul in the Roman prison to enlist his help in refuting the false teaching which was growing in the church. The purpose of this letter is to refute the heresy which is growing in the early church. To do this Paul will exalt Christ as the very image of God, the Creator of all things, and the fullness of deity in bodily form. In other words, the complete adequacy we have in Christ Jesus. He will encourage us to keep asking God to fill us with the knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is an ongoing process.

Listen to these verses in chapter 2 of Colossians and they will give us an insight into what Paul and Epaphras were dealing with:

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends upon human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Verse 8) This is how the world wants to conform us. Deception is the devil’s primary strategy.

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Verse 16) Astrology, Earth Day, Green Peace which worship nature.

“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.” (Verse 18) Interested in spiritual things, fascinated with angels and demons.

These were some of the false teachings which were creeping into the early church.

Now lest we think this is something that was a problem in Paul’s day and not ours consider the following:

  • Jews believe in the Old Testament but not the New. Looking for the Messiah to come.
  • Muslims, Islam believes in the Quran, and also believe the Old Testament and New Testament are divinely inspired, but have been altered and corrupted by Jews and Christians. They believe Jesus was a prophet and a great teacher who was born of a virgin and did many miracles. Ascended to heaven bodily but was not crucified and will return one day. They believe to call Jesus- God is blasphemy and the belief in the Trinity is blasphemy. They believe only Muslims will go to Paradise and all others to hell. They also believe Jesus will return at the time of the 12th Imam to rid the earth of infidels. They have an empty tomb for Jesus to be buried with honor. They are also looking for the return of Jesus.
  • Mormons believe in the OT and NT, but also believe they have received additional divine, inspired scripture through Joseph Smith who received this from an angel on inscribed golden plates. These plates have been lost. Also Mormons do not believe in hell- what a convenient and attractive philosophy.
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses have their own bible, which is in many places very similar to our Bibles but does not accept the divinity of Jesus Christ. They believe only 144,000 will be exalted to heaven.
  • Buddhism is the 4th largest religion almost 400 million followers. The Dalai Lama is their head, a Tibetan monk. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959. He is welcomed in the highest offices around the world. He is like a rock star with many Hollywood actors and actresses following his every word. Buddhism believes in reincarnation. They believe in enlightenment, realizing the state of ‘nirvana.’ Nirvana is the freedom of one’s spiritual self from the attachment and affections of worldly things. They believe in kindness, tolerance and compassion. They believe Jesus was not the Son of God but was an enlightened master having lived several previous lives. Although he has some positive messages- the Dalai Lama is a false prophet of a false religion.

Each of these religions makes some true statements- but only the Holy Bible is truth. Jesus Christ is truth. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14)

We are moving toward a harmonizing of the schools of thought; a mixture and blend of different faiths and teachings. We must remember this: what we believe determines how we behave. We are told America is no longer just a Christian nation. We are told to respect these other belief systems. We are told we must live in tolerance of them. Religious tolerance has been redefined and interpreted to mean one religion is as good as another.

We are seeing this movement today in mainstream denominations who are not following the Word of God especially in areas of gay marriage. Our government has passed laws recognizing this union. We are being told and it is being taught in our public schools that marriage between those of the same sex is as honorable as marriage between a man and a woman. To not recognize this lifestyle and speak against it is recognized as hate speech. Yet we are instructed to speak the truth in love.

The Crisis

Epaphras showed up at the Roman prison to enlist Paul’s help. These new doctrines were being taught in the Colossian church and were creating problems. Thus the reason for Paul’s letter to the Colossians was to refute these false teachings and establish the truth of the gospel.

It is interesting when we look at the root of these false teachings and realize they are nothing new, but as old as the Garden of Eden. For it was there, the word of God was challenged as accurate and truthful. The serpent also indicated there was knowledge which would make one more like God.

The reason I mentioned those religions earlier, Judaism, Islam, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses was because they all contained elements of truth contained within the Word of God, but with additional special knowledge which had been revealed to their prophets which added to the Holy Bible and they all believed the Bible we had was not complete or contained errors due to men’s altering the content.

This false teaching in the Colossian church was a combination of Eastern philosophy and Jewish legalism with elements of what Biblical scholars call Gnosticism. (This comes from the Greek word- gnosis which means ‘to know.’ For example, an agnostic is a person who says we cannot know God. So a gnostic was a person in the know, having special knowledge. Do you see how the serpent used this false teaching and insinuation in the Garden to deceive Eve? He told her she would be like God and have special knowledge when she ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

What we see in this early church’s false teaching we can observe today. It is a clever and deceptive combination of many things: legalism, Eastern philosophy, astrology, angel worship, mysticism, with a dash of Christianity. Something for everybody. They do not deny the Christian faith, just claim they are lifting it to a higher level with additional truths.

Jesus said: “If you continue in my Word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8) ** We must know the truth in order not to be deceived by the enemy. **

So Paul is going to tell us, as well as the Colossians where true wisdom and knowledge can be found. His main theme is the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In other words, in the Lord Jesus Christ we have everything we need to be complete. We are complete in Him. We need nothing else added.

What Happened at Colossae? A Miracle!

Paul takes them back to what happened at Colossae. For it was the miracle we see over and over in the world today, the miracle of God’s Grace which can save us to the uttermost. Paul reminds them how their faith, love and hope came to be. Paul says you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel which came to them.   The Gospel is good news. Now we have seen in our lifetime the rise and fall of the evangelist in the Southern Baptist Convention. Those men who devoted their lives to travel from church to church spreading the Good News, the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We grew up in an era where we used to have revivals for a week; visiting preachers and evangelist who would come to our churches with their anointed preaching and using their spiritual gifts to spread the Gospel. Most larger churches today consider those types of services a thing of the past- we are too sophisticated and too cultured to have those types of services. For this reason, traveling evangelists are a dying breed.

The Gospel came to them because Epaphras had been saved under Paul’s preaching and teaching in Ephesus. He came back home to take the Gospel to his city and his loved ones. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, who was God in flesh, has solved the problem of sin through His death, burial and resurrection.

In reminding them of this, Paul is bringing them back to what should be the center of their attention: Jesus Christ. It was Christ who died for us, in our place, and rose again. These false teachers were not centering their teaching on Jesus Christ redeeming work. In its place they were offering man-made philosophy and works of the flesh which would make one superior in their spirituality. *Our faith must be in the Word of God which stands forever. Men have been trying to destroy Gods’ Truth ever since we have had it- but they have failed time and time again. “The grass withers and flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40)*

Paul reiterates what took place which resulted in their being saved. They responded in faith to the word of God to the gospel and believed the truth. Saving faith involves the mind, the emotions and the will. It means we lean our whole being, our whole self, mind, will and emotions upon this truth. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 4, 5) I believe these well know verses are a description of saving faith. It is whole hearted. And the false teaching wants to undermine- this whole hearted belief and have you lean on your own understanding as someone wants to enlighten you with special knowledge which takes away from the complete adequacy of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. In Him we are complete.  Paul said this gospel was bearing fruit all over the world. This comes as a result of understanding God’s grace in all its truth. Paul commended Epaphras for his faithful ministry of Christ.

Did you also notice earlier, Paul wrote he had heard about their faith in Jesus Christ and of the love they had for one another and this faith and love sprang from the hope that is stored in heaven for each of them.

Faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) Our Christian lives, our life in Christ, starts with saving faith. This saving faith is only the beginning, we then walk by faith and work by faith. This faith gives power to our prayers and is also a shield which protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy.

Love is another evidence of true salvation. The unsaved person is mainly focused on loving self. And if we are not careful as believers, our old nature will rear its ugly head in this area in our lives. The bond which unites all Christians is love.

Hope is also a characteristic of a believer. If you are in this world without God, you are without hope for He is the God of all Hope. And the unsaved person looks to other sources for hope which will only disappoint. Faith in Christ alone is our hope. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Here is there relationship between these three: The more we love someone, the more we will trust them. Love and faith encourage one another. Hope then grows out of love and faith. Did you notice how Paul phrased this: ‘the faith and love spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven.’ This hope is the anchor for our souls which will always hold. (Hebrews 6:19)

Pauls’ Prayer.

The essence of Paul’s prayer is simple: You do not need a new spiritual experience. You only need to grow in the experience you already have.

When an egg is first fertilized by the sperm, a new creature is formed. It has everything it needs to become a living, human being. The DNA contains a complete blueprint for this to happen over the next nine months.

When we are born again, we have been given everything we need for spiritual growth and maturity. We are complete in Him. It will take time to mature. This prayer is only three verses long:

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1: 9-12)

Let’s break this down by looking at some key words: fill, knowledge, Gods’ will, spiritual wisdom, and understanding.

Fill, filled, full. To fill is to be fully equipped. When I get ready to travel, I have to check and make sure I have everything I need for my trip. I want to make sure I have my ticket for the airplane, my hotel reservations, car rental, all the materials needed for presentation, all of my personal needs, clothing, toiletries, meds, hearing devices. If I am driving I want to have my route planned through a print out of map quest; a full tank of gas. Oil checked, tires okay, etc. As a believer I have everything I need for the journey of life. However, to not know what I have is as foolish as for me to not know what I have for a trip I am taking tomorrow.

Paul says pray for God to fill you with the knowledge of His will. Do you ask God, your Heavenly Father to fill you with His will for you each day as you start out? Or do you start out and not have checked to see if you have everything for your trip? What is it we are to be filled with? To be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.

Scripture also tells us to be filled also has the meaning of being controlled. – ‘be not drunk with wine, where in is excess but be filled with the Spirit. ‘(Ephesians 5:18) When you are drunk, you are under the influence, controlled by alcohol. So the commandment is to be controlled by the Spirit.

So putting this together Paul is praying for believers to be controlled by the full knowledge of God. How can we have full knowledge of God’s will? We understand the will of God through the Word of God with the Holy Spirit as our teacher. This is why the study and obedience to God’s Word and the application of it to our lives is what will equip us to live the life God has for us.

This is a process and spiritual growth takes times just like physical growth and maturity take time. Knowing God’s general will and principles will lead one to spiritual wisdom and understanding. His general will is found in His word- for example the 10 Commandments tells us what his will is, sometimes expressed in the negative, i.e., thou shall not commit adultery.

His overall general will is best described in this way: “The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments all the rest of scripture rests.’ (Matthew 22: 37-40)

What these verses tell us is the key to spiritual wisdom or spiritual intelligence is by growing in the knowledge of God’s will by knowing the Word of God. Don’t look for a short cut- look for yourself. Study and meditation on the Word of God is compared to the process of rumination, the chewing of the cud as in sheep or cows. But you must do your own intake and your own chewing. Outside sources of materials, commentaries, trusted teachers are acceptable. But the intake for yourself with the Holy Spirit as your teacher and the Bible as your primary source.

When you read in the Bible something that God tells you to do – do it. You will gain understanding this way by experiencing the results of obeying God. You cannot learn how to swim by watching a video on swimming and practicing on the living room floor. You must get in the water. Dive in to the Word of God. You may only be able to ‘dog paddle’ but you will get better and better as you live out what you learn.

The result will be wisdom. Spiritual wisdom includes skill in living a life controlled by the Spirit. This means following God’s instructions, His design for living, thus avoiding those pitfalls and traps which cause us to stumble and ensnare us and keep us from running the race and living the life God has for us.

Listen to this advice:

“My son, if you accept my words, and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call our for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His own mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair- and every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”(Proverbs 2)

Did you notice the ‘if’s and then’s’? If we search in God’s Word for wisdom and understanding- if we cry out for it and search for it like hidden treasure- then we will find it. This does not describe half-hearted efforts but whole hearted, intentional time spent in the study, meditation and applying of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher.

The promise is when we search with this type of diligence, we will be rewarded with knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

And these in turn will lead us on the right course. Wisdom will enter our hearts and this provides us with knowledge that is pleasant.

Discretion, good judgment will protect us and understanding will guard us.

Paul says “we pray this in order that we might live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Living the life God has planned for you. What could be more deserving of your efforts and time spent in studying and learning the will of God!

 

Philippians

Philippians 4B

Philippians 4B: Putting It All Together

“ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Him( Christ) who gives me strength.” ( Phil. 4:11-13)

And a few verses later Paul encourages the Philippians and all of us with this well-known verse: “ My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. “ ( Phil. 4:19)

Paul tells us he can accept all things. He can do all things and he has a source which will meet all his needs. What is interesting is Paul said he had “ learned to be content.” Contentment in the Christian life is learned. Learned means Paul’s spiritual contentment was learned by experience. Paul as we have mentioned often in this study had been through numerous, difficult circumstances.

Where did Paul learn to be content? In Matthew 11:29, Jesus instructs us: “ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..” Peter tells us: “ Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power and glory forever. 1 Peter 5.

I do not know about you, but I would hate to suffer what we must suffer and go through in this life and not gain from those experience what God wanted me to gain. I would not want to waste this suffering. It is too painful and often too costly to not have benefitted me in God’s conforming process. I want to become better, not bitter.

Let’s look at the spiritual resources which can provide us with contentment regardless of the circumstances and situation. All of these resources are available and your resource book is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will reveal them to you , when you search for them with all your heart. Here are some essential beliefs you must have to learn the lesson of contentment and joy:

  1. The Overruling Providence of God. Notice I described this providence as overruling. The word providence comes from two Latin words. Pro- which means before. And ‘video’ which means to see. God’s providence involves not only seeing and knowing what will happen before it does; it also means God is ruling over this and arranging the circumstances in order to fulfill his purpose which cannot be thwarted. Let’s take two very well known verses and understand what is God’s purpose. Romans 8:28,29 tell us: “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to the who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  What I want us to see is life is not a series of accidents, it is a series of appointments. Adversity comes from the following sources: a fallen world which creates an environment of adversity. This means storms can strike anyone at anytime, just like a tornado. Adversity comes from sin. When we disobey God as Christians we can expect consequences. Also when others sin, their consequences can create adversity in our lives, like a drunk driver who crashes into you causing personal injury. God allows adversity in our lives to build something in our lives that cannot be built any other way except through adversity. Even then we know God will never place more on us than we can bear. We sometimes cannot see the purpose involved in the adversity we are suffering. Joseph and his brothers are an excellent illustration of God’s overruling providence. I believe this is one of the reasons God spends almost 1/3 of Genesis, the first book in the Bible to make sure we understand the purpose of adversity. Sold into slavery by his own brothers at age 17, Joseph would spend years in slavery and as a prisoner, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. But God was in control, overruling the hatred of his brothers, the time in prison and in God’s perfect timing elevated Joseph to the 2nd most powerful position in Egypt. Joseph then was able to save his brother and many others because of the famine/ God foresaw all of this and used the adversity and overruled the hatred of his brothers and the lies of Potiphar’s wife to save many, including the family Jacob. Joseph sums it up: “ God sent me before you to preserve life. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to the saving of many lives. “ ( Genesis 50) God’s overruling providence means He always does what will accomplish the most good, for the most people for the longest period of time. He also always chooses the best method for doing this.
  2. God is absolutely Sovereign. There is never one fraction of a second in all of time from eternity past to eternity future when God has not been in control. Not a single sparrow can fall without His knowledge. Read Psalm 91 with me. This is a testimony to God’s sovereignty. What security we have when we trust in God. God is my Protector. He is the One who preserves my life from hour to hour, day to day, year to year. He is in charge of keeping me alive. Getting me through storms to the other side. Through fires which try me. I will be here on this earth alive until the split second He desires me to be in eternity with Him. Everything I have experienced, or will experience whether they be good, bad or seemingly insignificant God can turn it into eternal good if you trust in Him as your Sovereign Lord. This is why Paul tells us to give thanks in all things. And Peter adds: “ And the God of all Grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power and glory forever. ( I Peter 5) Did you notice it is Christ Himself who will restore you? And also notice what the purpose of the adversity and what it will accomplish when you trust Him: makes you strong, firm and steadfast. Hebrews 12 tells us even God’s discipline for our sins yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. God wastes nothing.
  3. God is your Provider. This is another essential belief and truth we must embed in our hearts and minds. Again, the examples, illustrations in the Bible are too numerous to mention here. Abraham and Isaac, when the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness to the nation of Israel for 40 years. The water from the rock. The ravens who brought food to Elijah in I Kings 17. The little boy’s sack lunch of bread and fish which fed thousand. The multiplied oil supply for the widow in 2 Kings 4. And on and on go the stories. Do you trust God to control your finances? Are you doing what He has commanded you to do regarding the tithe? You do realize it is God who gives you everything? He gave you the ability, the ideas, and the energy to make a living, to obtain possessions. He has provided opportunities for you. Everything we have is a gift from Him. He will provide for you as you trust Him, obey Him, and seek to do His will. “ My God shall supply all your needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.”
  4. God made you the way you are for a reason and a purpose. God gave you certain talents and aptitudes that enabled you to develop certain skills. When you got saved God gave you spiritual gifts to use in a ministry to others. These will work with the natural abilities and talents He has given you. You must develop them through study, practice and efforts. God expects us to change whatever it takes to be our best at whatever we do. He wants us to look our best, dress our best, speak our best, act our best and give our best. This term best relates to your talent and your potential, not comparing yourself to others. When you compare yourself to others who are more talented in an area than you are, it will create envy and dissatisfaction that God did not make you that talented. When you compare to those less talented in an area, it can make you prideful. So avoid comparisons with others. You are running your race in your own lane. You are not competing except with yourself. You always want to do your best. Whatever your hand finds to do – do it with all your might to the glory of God. One of the secrets of contentment is to learn not to compare to others. God has supplied you with all need for your contentment. (Story of child with Down Syndrome)
  5. God has you in the place where you truly belong. This is why small groups are so necessary. We get to know each other. Love each other,pray for each other and encourage each other. Cannot do this just sitting in an auditorium with hundreds of other people. God chose the time and place where you and I would be born. No man is an island.
  6. God has a plan for your fulfillment. Jeremiah 29 tells us God has plans for us-‘ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord and will bring you back from captivity.”

Now we have looked at some essentials we need to believe. When we are talking about faith we need to understand what is the enemy of faith. The enemy of faith- fear.

 

 

Fear

The true opposite of faith is fear. There are two types of fear. Fear is an emotion God created in us. He instilled natural fear in us to protect us from physical harm. Fear of a snarling dog, a hissing snake are natural and this fear enables us to react quickly as God provides us with adrenaline rush to our nervous system which allows us to run or react quickly from danger to our physical well being.

There is also spiritual fear from God. This fear is a reverential fear, an awe of the Great Almighty, All Powerful God. Proverbs tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a fear which protects our souls. The fear of the consequences of disobeying God.

So we have instinctive fear which God gave us and spiritual fear- which God gave us to protect us from harm both physically and spiritually. When sin entered the world, Adam and Eve experienced fear and guilt and with that shame. Their emotions had been perverted. Ever since then we have been experiencing proper fear, as God intended it to be and improper fear which was perverted by sin. * We need to develop proper fear and we need to recognize improper fear and remove it or conquer it. *

This is why Jesus’ most often repeated command is : “Fear not.’

When I went to my 10 year high school reunion I was ashamed of how my life had turned out. It was not just pride, although that was part of it. It was something else- I knew I was not what I was supposed to be. I now understand, God was looking for me just like He came looking for Adam and Eve and He was asking me- where are you, Tim? He knew where I was and was asking this question to get me to look at myself and my life.

Realizing I was lost and drowning in a sea of alcohol from which I could not save myself was exactly what God wanted me to see. I awoke each morning with fear. Fear my wife would leave me. Fear I would never get sober. Fear I would be fired. Fear of failure. It was demoralizing, it was crippling.it was depressing.

Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame and guilt and fear. The immediately sensed something was wrong as soon as they sinned. They had feelings they had never experienced before- they experienced guilt and shame. They were devastated. They were afraid for the first time ever. They realized they were naked for their eyes had been opened to evil. They begin to look for a solution. Put up some type of exterior cover which would make things right. They sewed themselves some fig leaves to alter their exterior appearance, but it did nothing about their inner reality. We all attempt to mask our fears, guilt and shame at times, don’t we?

Then they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden and they hid themselves from God. Guilty people always want to hide. Hide their wrongdoings, just like I wanted to hide my drinking from my wife, parents, and boss.

God called out- where are you? He knew where they were, God wanted them to look at what their decision to disobey Him had caused. Hiding, afraid, guilt and shame- all of this as a result of their sin. Adam told God – we heard the sound of you in the Garden, and I was afraid because I was naked , so I hid myself.

Second question that day: who told you – you were naked.

Third question: Did you eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?

God was taking them through their actions so they could see the consequences- He was connecting the dots for them. We hide our sins with lies, cover-ups, excuses, blame just like Adam and Eve did. If we do, we will live in fear and shame and guilt.   This may fool others for a while, but the problem is God does not look on the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart.

What has God given us for this wrong type of fear we must conquer ? He has given us three things: “ God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy) Power, the power in us is the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead. Paul says he can do all things because Christ is his strength. And we know Christ’s strength is made perfect in weakness. We have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit of God. He gives me a sound mind when the Holy Spirit transform my mind with His truth and His Word is truth.

Putting it all together: Minding your mind

Paul has taken us through a progression which he had been through. Paul had learned through experience. Pain and adversity are great teachers. I believe these four types of mind or attitude Paul had developed were progressive and sequential. In the opening of this letter, Paul reveals the single mindedness he had come to have. Perhaps there is no other apostle who endured such constant adversity as Paul did.

Paul had come to believe whatever circumstance he found himself in, whether good or horrible, these were the circumstance an Almighty Sovereign Lord had allowed. He knew God was up to something , was at work and Paul with single mind looked for the purpose for which these circumstances were being allowed. This single mind is the first type which must be developed. It is foundational for the others.

Paul lived a purpose driven life. His life revolved around these five activities: worship, evangelism, discipline, fellowship and ministry. He disciplined himself like an athlete, and this discipline was a part of what he taught when making disciples.

In preparing himself for each day, Paul knew he must have a submissive mind. A submissive mind and outlook puts others before ourselves. Easy to do with those we love, but impossible to do in our own strength when encountering those we do not like.

Then Paul said we must develop a spiritual mind, putting our mind on things above, not on things here on earth. In running our race, there will be a lot of distractions to keep us from focusing on our race. Ever start praying, and your mind begin to wander about something and realize you are not praying any more? Or when trouble strikes do you run around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to solve the problem? Or do you realize this problem can only be solved by prayer? Charles Stanley says prayer is the greatest time saver. And we fight all our battles on our knees.

A single mind leads to a submissive mind and a submissive mind leads to a spiritual mind which gives us a secure mind. A mind at peace because King God rules from the throne our hearts and minds.

 

 

 

Living a life of joy.

The whole purpose of study is not just learning, but in living out what you have learned. Here are some activities you can build into your life to help these truths become a part of your life. In doing so, you will find you will learn to maintain your joy.

  1. Surrender your body, mind and will to God at the beginning of each day. Listen to Paul’s admonition, his urging: “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed by this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” ( Romans 12: 1,2) P+T= R.   Give your body, mind and will by faith to God each morning.
  2. Let the Holy Spirit renew your mind each morning and through the day through the Word of God. Nothing has made as much difference in my life as the study and application of God’s Word . I remember when reading Psalm 1, I realized God was making me a promise based on meditating in His Word day and night.
  3. Your Bible study and prayer time should be combined. Pray and ask God to give you throughout the day a “ single mind, a submissive mind, a spiritual mind and a secure mind. In doing this you are setting the alarm to catch the thief who wants to steal your joy.
  4. Mind your mind during the day. If you have sinned, perhaps spoken sharply to someone, snapped at them out of frustration or impatience- confess it to God and apologize to the person.
  5. Guard the gates of your mind. Philippian 4: 8 Paul describes the things we should think about . Watch what you let come through the gates of your senses, especially the ‘ eye- gate.’
  6. Remember to keep it simple. JOY. Jesus first, others second, and yourself third.

 

No guilt in life. No fear in Death. That is the power of Christ in me! PRESS ON!

Philippians

Philippians 4

Philippians 4: The Guarded, Secure Mind

We have so far in our study seen the types of mind, attitude or outlook we must develop in order to work out our salvation. Paul said we need a single mind. Singleness of purpose is the first key. (Philippians 1) Paul writes we need a submissive mind and compares to Jesus and says ‘let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.’(Philippians 2) We need a spiritual mind, set our thoughts on things above. (Philippians 3) And now we read we need a secure mind- one guarded by the peace of God. (Philippians 4) These are the steps to experience the peace of God, having a secure, guarded mind by the peace of God.

Here is the text for today’s lesson: “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition (supplication, KJV), with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which transcends understanding, will guard (keep, KJV) your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally my brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble (honest, KJV), whatever is right (just), whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable (of good report) if anything is excellent (virtuous) or praiseworthy, think on these things. Those things which you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4: 4-9)

What Paul is sharing with us the antidote for worry. Antidote for a poison all of us have experienced. It not only poisons our minds, it has the power to make us physically sick. It steals what God wants us to have – joy.

TO CATCH A THIEF

The word anxious means to be pulled in different directions. When problems arise, when trouble and disappointment strike one- we are pulled in two different directions. Our hopes pull us in one direction; and our fears pull us in the opposite direction. We are being pulled apart. This anxiety or worry takes place in our minds. Our thoughts conjure up the wrong type of thinking and the heart where emotions lie are distraught. A dual problem is created we have the wrong thinking in our minds. (This was what AA called- “stinking thinking.”) And we have the wrong feelings which this wrong thinking creates. This feeling is the emotion of worry. And emotion comes from our hearts.

Remember John 10: 10, where Jesus said ‘the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.’ Worry and anxiety is perhaps the greatest thief of joy in our lives. You can tell yourself don’t worry- but you cannot catch this thief. First of all this theft is an inside job. Often the police will look at those employees who work in the place which has been robbed to see if this was an ‘inside job.’

Some choose to disregard the theft and act as if nothing is wrong. Putting one’s head in the sand, closing our eyes to obvious concerns, or ‘sweeping it under the rug’ will not work. What is the antidote for this poisonous emotion of worry and anxiety so we can successfully deal with and negate worry? Paul tells us it is the ‘peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard (keep) your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” This is the only way you and I can have a secure mind. If the God of peace is providing a 24 -7 protection- why worry? Do you not trust Him to do what He says He will do? How do we obtain this ‘peace of God’?

Now Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us how to catch this thief of worry and experience the peace of God which secures our minds and hearts.

Do you have an alarm system protecting your home against thieves who break in? If you do, you know you must activate your alarm system in order for it to provide security. Paul tells us how to activate the system which will give us peace of mind and heart. There are three steps to activate this system and keep it activated 24-7.

  1. Right praying
  2. Right thinking
  3. Right living.

Failure to activate any of these three and the thief will find the way to break into your life and steal your joy. Let’s read the instructions so we can activate this alarm system.

Right Praying

Paul has mentioned three components of prayer: prayer; petition (supplication) and thanksgiving. (Read Benjamin Franklin’s request for prayer at the Constitutional Convention on July 28, 1787)* You can find this on internet. It is a real life example of right praying.

Prayer is a general word we use for making request, but we know prayer is a form of worship. Listen to these instructions from a well known Psalm- Psalm 100: “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts (His presence) with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Jesus gave us the pattern prayer where He taught us: “Our Father, Hallowed be thy name…” Since prayer is a major component of worship – let’s make sure we understand worship as best we can.

Worship is defined or translated: “to fall down before; or bow down before.” Worship is an attitude of the spirit and as such is internal. Since it is internal, it does not depend on the external. In other words worship can be anywhere anytime for the individual believer. It should be all the time. Paul says “rejoice in the Lord always.

The nature of worship is from the inside out and has two equally important parts. We must worship in ‘spirit and in truth.’ (John 4) To worship in spirit means we must be born again. We can know nothing about God without the Spirit within us. “No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. We have not been given the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Cor. 2) The Holy Spirit within us is the one who leads us and energizes us to glorify God and praise. All worship glorifies God.

Worshipping in spirit requires a mind centered on God and renewed by truth. Paul tells us to ‘present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will. “(Romans 12) {P+T=R) Must have a pure heart- confession and repentance. (Forgive us our trespasses – Jesus taught us.) Must worship in truth. Jesus told us ‘thy word is truth.’ Whenever we find ourselves worrying and worried- our first action must be to get alone with God and worship Him. Not just rush into the throne room and blurt out our requests our lists of problems.  Spend some time in sincere praise which includes adoration, devotion and worship. Tell Him how much you love Him and tell Him how in awe you are of His Majesty, His Greatness, and His Power. God is not egotistical and needs us to flatter Him. He knows what happens when we praise Him for His attributes we remind ourselves of the One we are privileged to have a personal relationship with. In doing so, you are also reminding yourself there is no problem He cannot solve. Nothing is impossible with God or for God. It calms us down.

Enter the throne room of heaven with praise and adoration followed by your specific requests, your petition. And last but not least- express your gratitude and appreciation to your Heavenly Father with thanksgiving.  Paul tells us this will result in the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. This does not mean the problem or trouble which is worrying you will go away immediately. It does not mean your circumstances which caused you to worry will vanish with this praying, although they might. It means in spite of the circumstances, you will have peace. Your circumstances may not change, but you will. “You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast on You, who trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock Eternal.” (Isaiah 26: 3, 4)

I believe the way Paul has presented this sequence we must possess a: single mind, a submissive mind and a spiritual mind in that order to possess the secure mind.   A single mind is able to adore God in spite of circumstances believing He is in control and aware of our situation and has a purpose for the situation, however frustrating it might be. Worry creates a double-minded person who finds it impossible to praise. God. The submissive mind builds on the single mind, and recognizes apart from God we can do nothing. Which is why we are to pray about everything. A proud person does not need God – they can do it themselves in their own power and intelligence. And a spiritual mind looks to his/her Father from whom all good gifts come and in whom there is no shadow of turning and thank Him in sincere appreciation and gratitude.

Jesus not only taught on prayer, he lived a life of prayer. He arose early each morning to spend time in prayer. Hebrews 5:7 tells us: “ During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission”

James told us – ‘the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’ And remember, we have been given the righteousness of Christ.

Right Thinking.

Wrong thinking leads to wrong feeling. The pull between your hopes and fears creates the anxiety which keeps you awake in the night. You imagine the worst possible scenarios. I know people who will not fly, for fear of crashing. Yet get in their cars where the odds of a crash and injury and fatality are much greater. Thoughts are powerful. Victor Hugo said, ‘there is one thing greater than all the armies of the world, an idea whose time has come.’

The battle is for the mind. For in any battle, the leaders know whoever controls the high ground controls the battle. The enemy fires his fiery darts at our minds. He creates fear and doubt. He causes us to imagine the worst things possible. What must we do? “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience to Christ.” (2 Cor.10)   Thought replacement. Recognizing wrong thoughts and replacing them with the truth of God’s Word. His promises and principles for when we continue, abide, in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Remember, every action first begins as a thought.

Satan is a liar. And he wants to corrupt our minds with lies. He has done this since the Garden of Eden. When Eve told him they could not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would surely die. The enemy said you will not surely die. They believed the lie and sin and death entered the world. The enemy always reduces the risk to increase your interest. He whispers this is enjoyable. This is fun- it provides pleasure. Everyone is doing this – it will not harm you.

Our minds are to be controlled by the truth of God’s Word. No wonder the devil does not want the Word of God in the schools, in our government and in our society. Whenever we believe a lie- the devil takes a foothold.   We must first know what is the truth, according to God’s Word.

We must know what is noble; the KJV uses the word ‘honest’ which I prefer. Do you have the discernment to know when someone is honest or when a statement presented as a fact is dishonest? Again the counterfeit money can only be detected by comparing it to the real thing.

What is right- (honest and just- noble and right)? Knowing right from wrong used to be simpler in our nation when we were one nation under God. If the Bible said it was wrong- that settled it. It still does, but our society is made up of those who say we will not live our lives according to your religious beliefs when they are contrary to the way we live. So there is no King in America and everyone does what is right in their own eyes.

Think about what is pure and lovely and admirable, (of good report KJV). Pure is just that –pure, unmixed, untainted. Pure is associated with morality. And sexual immorality is impure. But we have redefined the truth as defined by Gods’ Word to accommodate those who will not recognize God’s Word as truth. Lovely means attractive and beautiful.

Anything which is excellent and praise worthy, Paul says think about these things. And of course it is the Word of God which transforms our thinking. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible tells us of all the benefits of storing the Word on God in our hearts. It gives us a built in detection system to recognize wrong thoughts. “Great peace have those who love your law.”(Psalm 119:165)

Right thinking comes from daily intake of Scripture through meditation and prayerful study.

 

Right Living.

Right living is a necessary condition for experiencing the peace of God that passes understanding.

Paul lists four activities we must be in place to activate right living.

  1. Learned.
  2. Received.
  3. Heard
  4. Seen.

These four activities lead to doing the right things. Putting into practice daily the instruction of God’s Word and then the God of peace will be with you.

  1. Learned. We must learn the truths- the facts. But facts alone, knowledge in our minds alone is not enough. Notice the problem with worry affects both our mind and our hearts. Our thought and emotions.
  2. The truth must be received in our hearts for as a man thinketh in his heart- so is he.
  3. Heard. Some learn by listening and/or reading.
  4. Seen. Others need example before them to follow and see so they can imitate it.

How does what we have learned through hearing and seeing get into our hearts? By doing it. By practicing it.

James said it best: “Therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the Word implanted in you, which can save your soul.” The KJV says ‘receive with meekness the engrafted Word of God.’ Meekness describes a teachable spirit. Then James and Paul are in 100% agreement- be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

God has told us in His Word time after time- the ‘if’s and then’s. If we do this- then this will happen. When does what is right- right things will happen. When we do what is wrong- wrong things will happen. Blessings and curses.

God told Cain sacrifice was not acceptable. Cain was angry with God for accepting Abel’s sacrifice and not his, which he had worked so hard to prepare. God told Cain – if you do what is right, you will be accepted. In Jeremiah 6- we are told to walk in the ancient paths and we would find rest for our souls. But time after time we would not walk in it.

We reap what we sow.

“Sow a thought, reap an action.

Sow an action, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny. It is another example of the domino effect.

 

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of scripture we might have hope.”

“ May the God of Hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.! “ (Romans 15: 4, 13)

 

Amen!

A word from your teacher: We cannot manufacture or produce joy in our human efforts. We can be happy, elated over wonderful circumstances.

Joy is: an obligation for Christians, like love one another. Joy is a mindset, an attitude let this mind be in you -the Mind of Christ. Joy is based on the Lord. So to enjoy the joy of the Lord – stay close to Him. The lukewarm heart or cold heart is one which has gotten away from the source which made it hot- the Source is the Lord. THE LORD IS NEAR.

Philippians

Philippians 3B

Philippians 3B: This One Thing

Have you decided what is the one most important thing in your life? Paul shares with us what is the one most important thing in his life. The one thing that is first and foremost.

Last week we saw having less of the world, having less of our old nature and its desires – enables one to have more of Christ. We have all of the Holy Spirit- the question is how much of us does the Holy Spirit have? All of me? Or Parts of me? Take all of me, Holy Spirit, should be our prayer. We agreed- less is more. We all want less distractions when we are trying to do one thing, don’t we? We even talk about: “having too much on our plate.”

For years we have strived to be: more productive to have more income; more time with family; more satisfaction in our lives; more peace, less turmoil. But sometimes the ‘mores’ we wanted increased the less we did not want, didn’t they? More income- meant less time with family. As we became busier, we experienced less peace and somehow, we did not seem to find the satisfaction we were looking for and wanted.

We have received several illustrations to help us understand the Christian life. Paul has shown us in these passages we must be like an accountant, examining our lives and evaluating ourselves in areas we are lacking, – an auditing of our spiritual bank account. Paul also told us in other passages we were like farmers- reaping what we have sown. And also Paul told us we were like builders- who needed to make sure we were building on the right foundation with the right materials. In other places Paul compares us to soldiers who must put on the whole armor and fight the good fight. And in the passage we have before us- Paul compares us to athletes who are running in a race. It is our ‘own race’; because each of us must ‘work out our own salvation.’

Now at some point in your ‘working out your own salvation’ you begin to look for the secret, the key that unlocks the way. We search out books with the titles that have the words: How to and the Secrets to, or the Keys or Steps to, as in: The Secrets of the Vine; the 5 Secrets of Living; The Pursuit of Holiness; The Key to Spiritual Growth; How to Handle Adversity; and on and on goes the titles of just a few books I am looking at among many in my personal library. But one book contains this title: “They Found the Secret: 20 Transformed Lives That Reveal a Touch of Eternity” by V. Raymond Edman. Edman was a missionary to Ecuador where he almost died of tropical diseases; later a professor at Wheaton, and then President of Wheaton, where he served until he died. He authored several books but, They Found the Secret”, became one of his most widely read. It began as a series for Christian Life magazine, where he told the stories of 20 such well known, men and women of God as: J. Hudson Taylor, John Bunyan, Amy Carmichael, Oswald Chambers, D. L Moody, Andrew Murray , and Ian Thomas, to name a few.

Here was the pattern he saw in these lives: “The deep dealing of God with His children varies in detail but the general pattern seems much alike for individual cases. Into each life there arises an awareness of failure, a falling short of all that one should be in the Lord; then there is a definite meeting with the Risen Savior in utter surrender of heart which is indeed death to self. There follows an appropriation by faith of His resurrection life through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. As a result there is an overflow of life likened by the Lord Jesus to “rivers of water”. (John 7: 37-39)

I have read many of the writings of these people mentioned in Edman’s collection of those who found the secret. Major Ian Thomas, the author of “The Saving Life of Christ” writes of his efforts and zeal to win people to Christ. “The more I did, the less happened. It was not a question of insincerity. I really loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart; I wanted to be made a blessing to my fellow men. Thus by the age 19, I had been reduced to a state of complete exhaustion spiritually, until I felt that there was no point in going on.” Then Major Thomas read- ‘when Christ who is our life” and he knew he had found the secret. For me to live is Christ. Jesus told us – “I am the way, the truth and the life.” While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us and we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. All of us who are genuinely saved, born again, have been saved by His life. Christ is our life.

Christ wants to live His life through us. We can have all of His Life for His program, not our program. His will not my will. Many of us are like the foolish Galatians Paul wrote to and said- ‘you were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?’ Paul pointed out their problem, which has been a problem for all of us in our attempt to live the Christian life. “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3)   This is what Major Ian Thomas came to realize in his failure to win others to Christ in the futility of self-efforts. ‘Not by power or might, but by the Spirit.’

Now let’s look at what Paul writes and see Paul had also found the secret. Dr. Edman said the common denominator he discovered in each of these lives he wrote about was ‘an awareness of failure; a falling short of all that one should be in the Lord. This created a definite meeting with the risen Savior and a death to self and appropriation by faith of the resurrected life of Christ.’

Now observe what Paul says he has discovered in his relationship with the risen Savior. Death to self, to the point he counted all things he had gained in the flesh, rubbish, dung! The most important thing in his life was to know Christ and be found in Him. He wanted to know Christ, experience the power of His resurrected life; experience the suffering and become like Him in death. The death of self.

Paul realizes his short comings of being all that he should in Christ Jesus. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I follow after (KJV) press on (NIV) to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. “ Paul as Saul of Tarsus said when he compared himself to others looking at his accomplishments in the flesh, he could have had confidence in his accomplishments. But when he compared himself to Christ, he could not say he had arrived at the point of spiritual maturity. The word perfect refers to spiritual maturity.

Now a word of caution about self evaluation: we must not think more highly of ourselves than one should; nor should you think the worst about yourself.

Paul is not satisfied with where he is in his Christian walk. He is aware of his falling short- but here is a key. He does not let this falling short and being dissatisfied cause him to give up and quit. Instead Paul allows the Holy Spirit to inspire him. This is divine dissatisfaction that leads to spiritual progress, spiritual maturity. In fact one of the signs of spiritual maturity is to recognize areas which need improving. Areas where you have not depended wholly on the Lord, trusting Him with all your heart. This is the process of sanctification. “As the deer pants for water, so pants my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God.” (Psalm 42) It was dissatisfaction with my life that brought me to the edge of physical death, but led me to life everlasting when I met the risen Savior and He justified me and began a work in me which He will complete. Divine dissatisfaction leads one to thirsts even more for more of the Lord, realizing where we fall short.

Paul says he wants to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. What and why did Christ Jesus take hold of you and me and Paul? He took hold of us – which assures me of my safety. He has hold of me and will never let go or depart from me. He took hold of me so we could live this life together. He took hold of me and you so we could be one with Him. The Lord can then live his life through us.

Again, let me turn to Edmans’ book and this excerpt from Hudson Taylor’s story: Taylor had served earnestly and effectively in the mission field of China for 15 years. He wrote to his mother: “My own position becomes continually more and more responsible, and my need greater of special grace to fill it; but I have continually to mourn that I follow at such a distance and learn so slowly to imitate my precious Master.” Taylor was wearing himself out- was dissatisfied with his accomplishments and overwhelmed with all he had to do. The enemy was creating unholy dissatisfaction in a man who longed to serve his Savior. A letter from a fellow missionary revealed the secret to Hudson Taylor.

John McCarthy wrote: “ Abiding, not striving nor struggling but looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power; trusting Him to subdue all inward corruption; resting in the love of an almighty Savior from all sin.” The abiding life was the answer- Christ who is my life. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live- yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

Paul writes he does not count himself as one who has taken hold of it. “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead; I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

The One Thing.

Do you realize there is only one thing that can be the most important thing in your life? The question you must ask yourself is what is the most important thing in my life?

Now let me assure you of this truth. If Christ is the most important thing in your life- it will create a domino effect. How do I mean this? Simply this- when the most important thing in your life is the right thing, then when it is set in motion everything else will fall into place. Like a row of dominoes set up when you focus on getting the first one in place it will topple all the other things and everything will fall into place. In one’s life, we see several areas as we try to live on this earth with heavenly goals. We need things in this life which are necessary for life- we call them the necessities of life. We also need love. We need to love someone and have someone love us. We need enjoyment, peace, satisfaction, rest and meaningful work.

We have it all in Christ. Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in heavenly places. We are joint heirs with Jesus. We are saved, sealed and made righteous. We have the peace of God and the faith of the Son of God. We have His Life living in us. He took hold of us that we should be one with Him.

The “One Thing” is an important phrase to the Christian life. Listen to Jesus speaking to the rich young ruler, “One thing you lack, go sell all your possessions give them to the poor and come follow me.” (Mark 10) He told Martha, who was upset that she had to do all the cooking while Mary got to sit at the Lord’s feet and absorb his teaching. Jesus said, “One thing is needful and Mary has done it.” (Luke 10) “One thing I know, I was blind and now I can see and it was Jesus who did it. (John 9, the blind man who was healed.)   “One thing I have desired of the Lord, this is what I will seek- that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. “ (Psalm 27)

Are you involved in too many things? Over and over again in all areas of life we see success comes with singleness of purpose. Over and over we see success comes sequentially over time. The actual path to more- is less. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life.

Concentration is the secret of power. Multi-tasking is the opposite of one thing. It creates double-mindedness and make one unstable. Focusing on one thing is the key, if you focus on the right thing!!

Paul also says we must forget what is past. How do you forget? Is this really possible. Some things we forget with time. Other things- things that are really wonderful and meaningful we remember, but we also remember failures and hurts. I was a long snapper for punts in high school. In 21 games I had only one low snap. I remember it in detail. I also remember my first snap. First game of my junior year against Dyersburg. We were inside our own five yard line and I was scared to death. I made it. Two distinct memories for two different reasons. How can I forget sins, and forget costly mistakes of my past? I cannot forget them. But I can put them in perspective. They are under the blood. My past has no power over me. He breaks the power of cancelled sin.

My past will not dictate or influence my present and thereby alter my future. My future will dictate my present rather than my past. A runner knows not to look back or he will not be focused on finishing the race and crossing the finish line. Joseph understood all he had gone through because his brother meant it for evil, God had meant for good. He did not let his brother’s action from the past ruin the future God had for them. You cannot run the race God has for you if you are shackled by the past.   Do not let past failures or successes cause you to look back, keep pressing toward the future God has planned for you.

Paul uses the word ‘press’ which denotes straining, all out effort, focusing on one thing.

What are the passions in your life? Let me tell you that your passions will show up in what you spend a disproportionate amount of time practicing or doing. Soon it will become evident what is your greatest passion because you spend the most time practicing it.

So here is the cycle we can observe:

Your passion for something leads you to spend more time practicing it or working at it. Passion leads to spending more time. Spending more time practicing it develops greater skills. Greater skills leads to better results. Better results leads to more enjoyment. More enjoyment leads to more passion.

Passion creates determination which leads to discovering everything you can know and do about your passion so that you might excel at this passion. It becomes your life. Basketball was Pistol Pete Maravich’s life and he spent hour after hour after hour practicing his skill. When age took away his skills- he no longer could enjoy his passion. He practiced to win. Winning was the thrill. Defeat was agony. Not being able to participate and enjoy the passion of his life left a void he could not fill, until he found Jesus. Michael Jordan said he loved winning, but he hated losing more than he loved winning. “A man is no fool to give up that which he cannot keep for that which he can never lose.” (Jim Elliott.)

All athletes know they must play by the rules or be disqualified or penalized, or even ejected from the game. They also know they must practice or their skills will erode.

Musicians are the same way. One adult music student asked his teacher what was the one thing he needed to master in order to become more proficient? He was told master the scales- for everything comes from those. Get the basics in place. Know what you need to know.

The Bible is complete with stories of those who began the race with great success but failed to end because they disregarded God’s rules. They did not lose their salvation, and neither will you. But you will lose your rewards. It happened to Samson. It happened to Saul. I happened in New Testament church to a couple named, Ananias and Sapphira.

Each day we are running in the race. “Therefore let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race set out before us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12) He set his face like flint and did not turn back

When you observe a marathon about to begin, there is a huge crowd of contestants. Some will not finish. The challenge we each face in our race is to quit looking around at others and look forward to the finish line. We also are told to get rid of all the junk in our lives that keeps us from running the race. It takes concentration. Focus on the Lord.

“Were it not for grace I can tell you where I would be- wandering down some pointless road to nowhere with my salvation up to me. I know how that would go, the battles I would face. Forever running but losing the race, were it not for grace.”

“This the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3: 19, Jesus speaking.)

Their main thing was their sin- their God was their appetites.

 

BUT ONE THING I DO. Paul is telling us multi-tasking is a lie. Juggling is an illusion- a juggler is really only doing one thing at a time, but he does it very quickly. It takes complete concentration and a lot of practice.

FORGETTING WHAT IS PAST.   Do not let your past control your present. You are a new creature. You are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has ordained for you to walk in. Let the future plans of God put your past in perspective so you can concentrate on the future He has for you by doing the One Thing in the present.. He breaks the power of cancelled sins.

I PRESS ON TAKE HOLD OF THAT WHICH CHRIST TOOK HOLD OF ME. Christ took hold of me so we could live our lives together. He wants to share his life with me. My new life is Christ in me, the hope of glory. I want to be one with HIM. I want Him to do through me what only He can do.

Success is sequential. It begins with doing the right thing. The one thing that sets everything else in motion. And when the one thing you do is the right thing, everything else falls into place, it is the Scriptural Domino Effect. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to our own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.”

In fact, if you take a domino which is about 2 inches high- and place the next one behind it that is twice its height it can topple it over easily. And if you use this progression and the next domino is twice the height – 4 inches- you can continue this progression and in just few dominos you are toppling a 10 foot domino. In fact if you take this sequence and mathematical process out within in 20+ dominos of progressive size you are topping a domino taller than the Empire State Building. And by the same progression in the 35+dominos you will topple a domino taller that Mount Everest, (29,029 feet) The power of the domino effect!

Stay on the path He has marked out for you. This is your race- working out your own salvation.. Do be distracted by the things of the world. The Main Thing is to keep the main thing- the main thing. This One Thing I do is: “I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things you need will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Everything will fall into place and problems and troubles will be toppled like the dominos lined up in sequence.

Philippians

Philippians 3

Philippians 3: Out of Loss Comes Gain

Jesus said in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the more abundantly.” And in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” If Jesus is the life- if He is our life, then the abundant life is to have more of Jesus and less of what the world has to offer. So Paul is telling us how to live the abundant life by showing us how the thief robs us of our joy and how we can prevent this theft.

Thus far, Paul has described two types of mind we must develop in order to experience the joy, the fullness of the abundant Christian life, Jesus said He came to give us. Paul told us we need to develop the: single mind and the submissive mind. Quite often, we believe the abundant Christian life is a life without trouble or sorrow, but Jesus told us we would have trouble in this world. In this section of his letter, Paul describes the third type of mind we must have in order to rejoice always in spite of circumstances, things going on in our life that cause us to suffer. We must develop the ‘spiritual mind.’

So far we have learned circumstances and people (especially people we love) can rob us of joy, but so can ‘things’. As Christians we are new creatures who are being transformed and with this transformation comes a new value system. And as the praise song tells us: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus and look full into his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

The things of this earth can rob us of our joy. What are those things? Those things are both tangible and intangible. Tangible things are food, clothing, shelter, reliable transportation, and things we enjoy: reading a good book, entertainment, hobbies, vacations, fun things. They are not in themselves sinful, unless they become your main source of joy. God knows we need certain things and Jesus told us in Matthew 6, your Father knows you need certain things in order to live and also to enjoy. Jesus enjoyed getting away with just the disciples. He loved to laugh, he loved children. He enjoyed his family and friends. He enjoyed eating with his friends. Listen to this verse: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (I Timothy 6: 17) God loves to provide us with everything we need for enjoyment. But balance this is the key. Jesus said in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12: “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possession.” If we count on the abundance of things for enjoyment we will find this world system cannot produce the inward type of joy Jesus provides. Haven’t you heard – ‘less is more’?

Many people who have an abundance of things that money can buy have lost the things that money cannot buy.

What are the intangible things people seek after? Reputation, fame, success and achievement. It is these things which can rob one of their joy. We can become slaves of these things and as a result a Christian can lose their joy. And an unbeliever can be deceived into believing these are the things that make life worth living. Only to discover with the attainment of each thing- they soon grew tired of that thing and were always searching for the next new thing that would fill the void in their life. No wonder we live in such a materialistic world, a restless world, – where love is over before it even begins. The ‘joy’ void can only be filled by the Lord Jesus.

Paul writes: “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” Paul is saying I do not mind repeating the same things to you for it good for you to hear the same truths over and over. Repetition is a tool of teaching- it is how we memorize and meditate on truths. Many are always in search and curious to hear some new thing. Solomon told us: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Eccl. 1)

Now Paul will take us through this new value system where Paul realizes the worthlessness of those things he sought after- those things he once believed were so important. (When I say new value system, it was new to Paul, but it is as old as the Garden of Eden.) We all know people who are moral, principled people who are well disciplined. The problem is their morality can keep them out of trouble, but their good works and self- righteousness will sadly keep them out of heaven.

In Paul’s case it was not the bad things that kept Paul from Jesus it was the good things. Paul had to lose his religion in order to gain salvation and experience real joy. I believe Saul of Tarsus, (Paul’s given name) was a man driven to build a resume that included good works, keeping the law, and his heritage. Saul would have been the type of student at school all the teachers thought was intelligent, hard working, disciplined, always did everything right, and would be voted by his fellow school mates as ‘ most likely to succeed.’ Of course he would probably be valedictorian also. Saul of Tarsus was driven- because he had to achieve this perfection in order to feel good about himself.

In verses 7 & 8, the NIV uses the word ‘consider’ whereas the KJV uses the word ‘count’. I will defer to the word ‘ count’ as what Paul is doing here is an evaluation, an assessment as he will come to a place in his life where he must re-evaluate everything he has counted as important. He will, like an accountant, open the books, the books of his life to evaluate his spiritual wealth. You see what happened to Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus was what happened to me in that hotel room in Nashville. For although we are separated by 2000 years, and completely different backgrounds, both Saul and I had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God. And we were both changed. Saul of Tarsus, the zealous rabbi, the young man who was on the road to achievement, recognition, reputation and accomplishment would have to re- evaluate his life and what was important and what was not. Both Saul and I would come to the same conclusion- everything we had done up to that time was nothing- it was rubbish. It was the same thing Solomon discovered- it was meaningless.

For both Paul and I had experienced what is the beginning of the most important thing- the only thing that really counts- the saving grace of Almighty God. I went down on my knees in a hotel room a sot, and arose a saint, changed for the rest of my life on this earth and for all eternity. (Might I add- countless times since then I have gone down on my knees one way- and arose a different way having encountered the love and grace and assurance of my Savior)

When Saul of Tarsus opened his books and begin to examine his spiritual wealth- he discovered that apart from Jesus Christ everything he had lived, worked so hard to achieve, was nothing- it was rubbish.

Paul was never one to mince words, and he warns these new believers to ‘watch out for those dogs’ those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. Jews called Gentiles – ‘dogs’; and now Paul calls these orthodox Jews- dogs. These Judaizers taught the sinner was saved by faith plus good works, especially the works of the law. This included, diet, observation of certain holidays, keeping the law and of course circumcision for men. Paul calls them evil workers because they taught works performed by the flesh and not the Spirit were good works. And no man is saved by good works.   Theses Jewish teachers taught that circumcision was essential for salvation.

Religious works cannot save a person. Only faith in Jesus Christ can save a person.

Paul then tells us what his evaluation of his life up until the time of salvation revealed about his accomplishments. Certainly he was a boy his mother and father could be proud of- a top student, obedient, hard working, disciplined, a Hebrew of Hebrews.

I believe Paul is reaching out to those Jewish brothers he wants to see come to know Christ. This is Paul’s autobiography he is sharing as he examines his own life and recalls the futility of trying to attain salvation by means of good works.

He was a student of Gamaliel, the great rabbi of his day. His career as a Jewish religious leader was on the fast track to become one of the most prominent leaders. He hated the Christian sect and persecuted them with zeal. And now in his evaluation he looks back and says- ‘if any of you think you have reasons to put confidence in your flesh- I have more- and then Paul describes his life up to the meeting of Jesus on the Road to Damascus.

His Heritage.

Interestingly, Paul leads with his own circumcision. Circumcised on the 8th day;

Of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin. King Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, and Saul of Tarsus, Paul, was named after him.

He called himself a Hebrew of Hebrews. He parentage was pure Hebrew, could trace their ancestry back to Benjamin.

He was a Pharisee. The Pharisee was the epitome of religious righteousness, who kept the orthodox laws in the most minute details.

As far as his devotion and zeal- Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church like no other in his time. He was like a zealous bounty hunter seeking all Christians he could in find.

 

As far as keeping the law Paul said he was blameless.

Do you know what was the problem with Saul of Tarsus? He measured his life and accomplishments by the standards set by men, not by God. He compared himself to other men and believed he was successful by their standards. In fact he believed he was more successful than most. When Saul of Tarsus looked at his accomplishments and compared to others- he considered himself righteous.

This all changed on the day he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the Road to Damascus. It was there by faith he received his sight, although it was first necessary that he be blinded physically. The miracle which took place on the road to Damascus is the same miracle of grace which takes place every time a sinner confesses their sinfulness and turn to the Savior by faith.

Now when Paul examines his life up to this point- he can see how it had profited him. He was well respected among the Pharisees, the High Priest and leaders. His reputation was one of a scholar, a man admired for his intelligence, zeal, ambition and hard work. He would have had many friends. All of these were profited him, personally. They brought glory to one Saul of Tarsus- but not to God. They added up to an impressive resume of accomplishments that could take him far in the religious circles and system. He was climbing the ladder of success. Each step carefully noted as another accomplishment lifting him every higher in his own eyes and the eyes of the religious world he thrived in. These accomplishments were gain to him only- and as such- were selfish.

When Paul considered, counted up all his accomplishments to the point of his salvation- he counted them loss for Christ.   In essence Paul said, I count my religious activities and the reputation I have built as nothing.

Paul says I count all things but loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (NIV) KJV says ‘for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.’ Notice in both versions is the knowing of Christ, the knowledge of Christ. This refers to a personal relationship not just knowing about Christ, but personally knowing Christ. Salvation is knowing Christ in a personal way.

Now here is why I wanted us to defer to the use of the word ‘count’ rather than consider. Paul was looking as his own record as Saul of Tarsus and discovered because all his righteousness was self righteousness- he was in fact by all accounting terms, when he counted it up- spiritually bankrupt.

Listen to the accounting words Paul uses in Romans 4: “For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”   And later in the same chapter: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Impute is an accounting term – as in- the interest was imputed (credited) to the account.

When Saul of Tarsus and Tim Fortner trusted Christ, God put Christ’s righteousness into our accounts. But also we must remember when this transactions occurred, God put my sins on Christ’s account on the cross.

God has promised me and Paul and every believer ever saved- that He would never write our sins in our account ever again. All my sins were paid for- the account of my debts- my sins was cleared and marked paid in full. And in my new account- I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. AMEN!!

Now Paul writes how he wants to know Christ:

  1. In the power of His resurrection.
  2. In the fellowship of His suffering.
  3. Becoming, being conformed like Him in His death.
  4. By any means attaining the resurrection of the dead.

Paul said if Christ be not risen, our faith is in vain. But He is risen indeed and was seen by over 500 witnesses.

Paul would pray the eyes our heart would be enlightened so we could understand the power that resurrected Jesus from the dead was the same power at work in us.

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2: 20)

As we begin the second phase of salvation, sanctification, which follows justification, we will encounter the attacks of the enemies as we grow in our knowledge and experience of Christ. Our enemy does not play fair, he fights dirty. He will attack you, your loved ones plus your old nature will defy you that he/she is crucified. The enemy intends this for evil, to harm us- but God will allow this in order to teach us how to walk by faith and not by sight. It is the working out of what God has worked in us that produces the practical experience of knowing Christ personally. Remember if we are crucified with Him, we die to sin, and when we are crucified with Christ- the world is crucified to us.

Paul who had persecuted many, now finds himself persecuted. Suffering is a part of the experience of fellowship. When we love someone- do we not also suffer with them when they suffer? Of course we do. Jesus said to Saul of Tarsus that day- why do you persecute me? When Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church, the Body of Christ, he persecuted Christ.

Suffering, trials, troubles, adversity are what conforms us to the image of Christ. And again Paul who writes these well known verses: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate toe be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Romans 8:28, 29)

If you are living for the ‘things of this world’ you soon realize these treasures must be constantly protected less they lose their value. These are treasures that can be stolen, or else can lose value. But our treasures in Christ can never be stolen or lose their value.

Have you looked in your Spiritual Account book lately?

What things are causing you to lose your joy? What keeps you awake at night?

Paul writes he had learned to be content. What did he learn that allowed him to be content? He realized God has supplied all he needed for his present happiness.

It was this discovery of this new value system that completely turns Paul’s life and thus his goals completely around.

A goal is simply what we do to accomplish an objective in a period of time. We have all been told we should have goals and strategies for accomplishing them.

Purpose is why we do what we do. Goals are what we do.

Purpose is long term- goals are shorter terms. Goals are to achieve our purpose.

What is our purpose? The chief end of man (the purpose) is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Here are some hard questions you must ask yourself as you evaluate your spiritual account.

What are you looking for? Where are you looking?

What have you found so far? How is what you found affecting your life?

What is holding you back?

When are you going to do something about what is holding you back?

Something to think about:

If Jesus is the way, the truth and the life- then the abundant life is having more of Jesus and less of those things which we seek to fill our lives with.   Today we have larger houses but smaller families. We have more conveniences, but less time. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. Taller buildings and shorter tempers. More experts and expertise-but more problems rather than less. Wider highways but more narrow views. More knowledge, ever learning but never coming to the truth.

Philippians

Philippians 2B

Philippians 2 B: The In’s and Out’s 0f the Christian Life

Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi is known as a letter of ‘joy’. It is a missionary ‘thank-you- letter’ for a gift from the church. As a missionary, Paul then reports on the progress of his work while under house arrest in Rome awaiting trial.

But more than just a missionary report and a thank-you note- Paul’s letter contains instructions in how to live the Christian life with joy in spite of unfavorable circumstances and people who will not treat you favorably. People who irritate you; criticize you; and in general make your life difficult.

Paul has introduced two types of ‘mind’ or attitude we must develop in order to count it all a joy when we fall into various trials. In unfavorable circumstances- Paul exhibits the ‘single mind’ which enables him to learn how to be content, in any given situation. He believes God has a reason and purpose for the situation and circumstances so Paul is looking for what God is up to- where He is working and what the Lord wants Paul to do. The second type of mind or attitude we need is a ‘submissive mind’. So in the first chapter, it is Jesus first. In the second chapter it is others second and yourself third. The acronym J.O.Y. is a good way to remember this: Jesus first, Others second and Yourself third. Easy to remember- very difficult to do.

In the second type of mind- the submissive mind, Paul has presented Jesus Christ as our supreme example. I agree with Paul and know this is true. However, how in the world do we do this? How do we go about living our lives this way? Thinking more highly of others than ourselves sounds like a great principle- the problem is I have a trouble doing this in everyday life. Jesus Christ is our example- but I cannot copy His example, try as I might. He is our pattern- for sure. But how do I go about living the life Paul writes about here? This is the question.

Paul knows when he was present with the church at Philippi- obedience was easier because of his presence. When the teacher is in the classroom, obedience is enforced easier by the very presence of the teacher; however, when the teacher leaves the classroom- what happens? Perhaps, my mother, who was a teacher, understood this behavior and taught me to pray (as she did) to have a conscious awareness of God at all times. If we really believed Jesus is with us at all times, shouldn’t this alter our behavior in terms of obedience?

The next two verses require us to study what this means and how we are to go about living these truths out in our lives. It is called by many: the ‘in’s and out’s ‘of the Christian life.

Paul writes: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but how much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2: 12, 13)

Wait a minute, you are thinking, is not salvation a gift? “For by grace are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9) James on the other hand tells us another truth: “Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works. ( James 2:18) Does this seem contradictory and is Paul now adding to the confusion?

Salvation is a gift of God. It cannot be earned by works. It is all of God. On the other hand, salvation is both a gift and a task. God’s grace is received by faith. And God gives us the faith as a gift. Once saved- always saved. But the Christian life is lived in the same way it was received. Paul writes this in Colossians: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2: 6, 7) We are to live by Gods’ grace through faith from beginning to end. Sanctification is a part of the salvation process. You could say we are saved in three stages: I have been saved. This is justification which takes place immediately upon being saved. I am being saved- the sanctification process at work. I will be saved which is the glorification and final stage when we get to heaven and see Jesus and then we will be like Him.

James is saying if you are saved, the evidence will be in the works. Genuine saving faith results in works. James uses Abraham’s offering of his son Isaac on the altar. Of this work James says: “You see his faith and actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2: 22) * Abraham was not saved by faith plus works. He was saved by a faith that works. Paul would agree as he writes in Ephesians 2:10” We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has ordained for us to walk in.”

Grace flows into us like the sap from the vine into the branch. If Jesus is providing a spring of water welling up to eternal life, as He told the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), then we can look at this as grace flowing to us like water from the water faucet through the hose. Grace is gushing from its source, God, but it comes through the hose of faith. If I am not experiencing God’s grace there must be a kink in my hose, blocking the grace. What can block God’s grace? Sin. Wrong attitude. Complaining about circumstances that are not favorable. Selfishness. Neglect of spiritual disciplines. Disobedience. The Christian is life is based on a relationship. Relationships take work, maintenance, or we drift apart. Relationships mean two parties have something to do- God has His part and we have ours.   This is not about salvation- it is about sanctification. It is about a relationship which takes time and effort on your part to maintain- just like any relationship does. The number one reason a person will quit doing business with another is – they perceive the business and their employees were indifferent to their needs. Marriages fall apart for the same reason- two people begin living separate lives and grow apart. It takes work to maintain relationships in business and in life. The Christian life is a relationship between a person and God.

So in the case of the submissive mind, Jesus is our pattern. However what is needed is not a pattern only, not just inspiration. We can be inspired by a person who we admire. But unless that person can enter into our lives and share his or her skills we cannot accomplish what they have accomplished. We need more than an example on the outside, we need the power on the inside.

Here is the first part of the two part solution: It is “God who works in you, both to will and to act according to His good pleasure.” It is not by imitation- but by incarnation. This is the truth Paul wants us to understand. Paul writes in Galatians 2: 20- “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet, not I, but Christ liveth in me…”   The source of power has come to reside in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. This is Christ in us. The Christian life is not intended to be a series of ‘ups and downs’ – it is a process of ins and outs.

God works in us. We work out. We develop, cultivate the submissive mind by responding to the divine provisions and power God has made available to us.

What is God’s purpose in all of this? God wants us to achieve Christlikeness. Knowing an exterior pattern to follow would put us in the impossible situation of trying in our own self efforts to accomplish what Jesus had accomplished God supplied us with the power. And how did Jesus accomplish what He did on earth? He said He did nothing by himself. Jesus never operated independently of the Father. This what Satan tempted Jesus to do in the wilderness during his 40 days at the beginning of his ministry. (Matthew 4) Jesus on earth always depended on the Father.

I believe we understand we have the Holy Spirit within us. And Paul is clearly telling us this truth: God must work in us before He can work through us. Ephesians 2:10 tells us God has a plan for each of us. You realize God has given us story after story of how he works in individuals until He gets us to the place where He can use us. He worked in Moses for 40 years on the backside of nowhere as a shepherd tending his father-in-law’s herds. Moses had tried to serve God in his own self efforts and the results were a disaster. He killed an Egyptians soldier to protect a Hebrew slave and became wanted man on the run, living in obscurity for 40 years. We see God use time and circumstances over and over in the Bible to work in us what He needs to work in us to prepare us for the work He has ordained for us.

In fact- this is where the relationship is developed. God is more interested in you than the work He has prepared for you.

Now we come to recognize the energy and power God is working in us has competition that does not want to give up- our old nature, the flesh, and the devil are also at work. Paul prayed in Ephesians 1: 18-20 that the ‘eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He called you; the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparable great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in heavenly places.

Really? Do we really have this power? Yes. We have this power – how do we use it? What tools does God use, by His Spirit, to work in our lives? God uses time, circumstances and people to get our attention. These three seem to form the arena in which we work out our salvation with the following tools:

  1. The Word of God. The Word of God is alive and powerful! It is life giving, life changing, and life sustaining. God’s energy is released in our lives through His Inspired Word. The same word that spoke the universe into existence can release divine power into our lives. We must receive the Word. To receive the Word of God we are told to receive it with meekness (a teachable spirit) the engrafted Word of God which is able to save our souls. We welcome it. It is light upon our path. It guides us, it encourages us, it convicts us, and it changes us. We must not be hearers only- we must be doers. ( James 1) When we trust God’s Word and act upon it in obedience- God’s power is released in our lives. His Word goes forth with power to accomplish that for which it was sent forth. The Holy Spirit wrote down the promises of God for us in His Word. He then gives us the faith to lay hold of these promises. My father-in-law, Houston Sipes, used to tell his salesman when he came in and reported a band director had promised him their business always said: “Get it in writing.” We have it in writing. We have his sure Word.
  2. Prayer. Prayer is another tool God uses to work in our lives and it goes with His Word. The Word of God and prayer go together. Archimedes understood the power of leverage and said if he had a place to stand outside the world and a lever long enough he could move the world. In Acts 17 listen to what the enemies of Christ and Christianity had to say: “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” How did these few turn the world upside down- it was the power of the Word of God combined with prayers of faith based on the Word of God. They had the Word of God as a fulcrum and the lever of prayer reached all the way into heaven where our Lord Jesus, Our True High Priest intercedes for us while the Holy Spirit groans within us when we do not know how to pray. We must make time each day for daily Bible reading and prayer. These are two tools God will always use.
  3. Suffering. The third tool is one we wished we could escape. The Spirit of God works in a special way in the lives of those who are suffering for the glory of God. The fiery trials Peter said we should not consider strange burn away the dross of everything insignificant. There is nothing like suffering that drives us to the Word of God and prayer, so that all three tools work together to provide the spiritual power one needs to live a life with a single mind and submissive mind.

 

What is my part in working it out with fear and trembling?   Working it out has the connotation of an ongoing, continual work to bring something to completion. We do this by actively pursuing obedience in the process of sanctification. Paul will describe himself as one who has not already obtained it, but is pressing on toward this goal of Christlikeness.

Here is an excellent illustration of how this relationship between believer and God works. It comes from Jerry Bridges’ “Pursuit of Holiness.”

“A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates- all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season in a sense, he is in a partnership with God, and will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.

Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what only God can do and God will not do what the famer should do. “

This the essence of our relationship with the Lord as born-again believers. He wants us to grow up to be like Christ. Christlikeness is our goal- the pursuit of holiness. Sanctification is a joint venture. A partnership. And like all relationships it takes effort on our part. Work it out with fear and trembling Paul says. Salvation is all of God. Sanctification is a joint venture.

Fear? A healthy fear of offending God with disobedience combined with an attitude of respect and awe of His power and majesty are necessary. Think about the fact we have a personal relationship with Almighty God; the God who spoke everything into existence is your Heavenly Father. He knows your name, He loves you unconditionally. He loves to spend time with you. Trembling reminds me of my weakness. Ever try to lift that weight one more time- and your muscles are so weak and fatigued- you are physically shaking and you strain to lift it one more time. It is what Paul is talking about when he describes himself as ‘straining.’

Notice one more thing about this scripture- it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good pleasure. Did you notice will comes before act?

It is the will ultimately that decides whether we will pursue Christlikeness and Holiness or sin and disobedience. We know in the Bible the heart is denoted as the mind, the will and the emotions. In the original creation of man, all of these worked in perfect harmony. Reason led the way in understanding God’s will, and consented to God’s will and Adam and Eve delighted in doing so. Then sin entered into man’s mind and soul and these three faculties began to work at cross purpose. Our understanding was darkened. Our desires became entangled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

When we are born again- our reason is once again enlightened, our affections and desires are redirected to God and our wills thus subdued to His will. This is all true. But it is not all true at once. It is a growing, maturing process. Our minds must be renewed. (Romans 12) Our affections must be set on things above. (Colossians 3) And we must submit our wills to God. (James 4)

Solomon told us that wisdom, understanding and discretion will guard us from evil ways. Proverbs 2. All three of these are qualities of our minds. How do we acquire them? “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6) Who does God give those qualities to? To those who receive His sayings, who inwardly treasure His commandments, who delight in His Word and meditate in it day and night; who pray for wisdom and understanding and who search for it in His Word like it were hidden treasure.

Does this describe our daily activity?

It is obvious from the very beginning God has said listen to me and obey me and you will be blessed. Don’t listen, don’t obey and you will have troubles and peace will allude you.

The protective influence of the Bible comes as a result of diligent, prayerful and purposeful intake of Scripture. The Word of God will guard your mind, your heart, and will transform your mind, where this mind which is in Jesus will be in you.

In the final analysis, it is God who works in us to will and act according to His good pleasure. But we are expressly told by Paul to work it out ourselves. Our responsibility is like that of the farmer’s – we must do our part. We must guard our minds and our wills and our emotions. Guard what enters into your mind and what influences your emotions. “Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the springs of life. (Prov. 4)

It takes time. So we need patience.

It takes the Word of God stored in our hearts so we might not sin against God. We need daily intake of scripture. We read for the purpose of obedience.

It takes prayer- for prayer releases the power of God .When prayer is based on the promises of God we have tremendous leverage that can move mountains.

It takes suffering- for suffering burns away the dross of insignificant things in our lives, the world and our flesh said we needed in order to be happy. Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit.

As we do our part, we will discover the Spirit of God does his part in making us more like Jesus.

How long does this take Lord? How long? Long enough to get you where God wants you to be- to do what God wants to do through your life. It took God – 40 years with Moses.

It is an ongoing process until we see Jesus.

Martin Luther King’s greatest speech on August 28, 1963 was the I Have a Dream speech. There are 200000 people gathered at the Washington Monument. Celebrities include: Tony Bennett, Charleston Heston, Bob Dylan, and Mahalia Jackson.   King is nervous, the crowd is boisterous. King has a prepared speech about the Constitution, the Bible and the Declaration of Independence. His talk is not going well. Mahalia who is standing close by tells him: “Martin, tell them about the dream.” King would later say in that moment it all came to him.

I have a dream- do you? I have faith in this dream because God has given it to me. One day I will see Him and will be like Him. God has worked in me and you to will and to act according to his good pleasure.   If you or your loved one is in a fiery trial right now- you have to have a dream that God has given you. You have to keep that dream alive- do not throw away your confidence. God will provide what you need when you need it.

Philippians

Philippians 2

Philippians 2: The Battle for the Mind

Now Paul has revealed the secret of joy in unfavorable circumstances in chapter 1: it is the SINGLE MIND. He was always looking for God in whatever situation and circumstances he found himself. When unfavorable circumstances come into our lives, we must develop the same single mind Paul had developed. Whatever situation Paul found himself in- he had learned to be content. Paul had developed the single mind which always looked for God in whatever unfavorable circumstances he found himself. In jail, in an earthquake, shipwrecked, beaten, stoned and lashed- Paul was always looking for where God was working and what God wanted him to do.

Listen to what Jesus said and the unfavorable, life-threatening circumstances that prompted these truths found in John 5. “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath (healing a paralytic man), the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them: “My Father is always working to this very day, and I, too, am working.”  Now listen to the action this provoked on the part of the Jews: “For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. “

“ Jesus then gave them this answer: “ I tell you the truth, the son of God can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son does also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (John 5: 16-20) The single mind- the mind focused on things above is the secret to joy in unfavorable circumstances. *Therefore, we press on believing we are being trained to be overcomers unfettered by circumstances.*

Now Paul reveals the secret of joy in spite of people who would steal your joy and ‘rain on your parade.’ The secret is a submissive mind. In the first chapter, it was Jesus Christ first. In this chapter Paul is telling us it is others who come second. We are called to be soul winners and we are also called to be servants.

In verse 3&4 Paul tells us things not to do and things to do. Things not to do: do nothing through selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others.

Then Paul proceeds to give us our ultimate example of humility in our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Paul instructs us thus: “Let this mind (attitude, NIV) be in you who was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself no reputation, being in the form of a bondservant, and coming in the form of man.”

*SIDE NOTE: Gina was recently asked this question concerning the Trinity- God in three persons. The person asked her is Jesus was God, why did he not know when He would return? Good question. The question comes from the comment Jesus made in Matthew 24:36. When asked of Jesus’s Second coming, Jesus replied: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”   Understand when Jesus spoke these words to the disciples, he did not possess the knowledge of the date and time of His Return. Although Jesus was fully God, as John writes in John 1: 1, 14, when He became a man, Jesus voluntarily restricted the use of certain divine attributes. (Phil 2:6-8) He did not manifest his divine attributes unless directed by his Father. (Miracles, raising the dead, healing, forgiving sins) He demonstrated his omniscience on occasions- he knew what was in the hearts of men (John 2:25); he told Peter he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed.

He restricted his omniscience in the days of his humanity to only those things God wanted Him to know. The date of his 2nd coming was evidently one of those things God did not reveal to Him while he was here on earth. However, we know Jesus prayed to His Father hours before the crucifixion- “And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17: 5) After Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven Jesus resumed his full divine knowledge.*

Paul continues his description and our example of humility with verse 8: “And being found in appearance as man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death- even on a cross!”

Jesus though of others before Himself. He came to save us and serve us not to rule over us. In his 2nd coming He will come to rule over us.

The NIV uses the word ‘attitude’ in place of mind. Attitude can be described as your outlook on life, self and others in general. Know this fact: Outlook determines outcome. If your outlook is selfish, the actions you take can be divisive and destructive. James said the same things in James 4:1-10 and said this selfish outlook causes the quarrels and fights among you.

  1. THE SUBMISSIVE MIND: Thinks of others, not self.

The KJV tells us these facts about Jesus the God-man, which take us back to eternity past. “Who being in the very form (nature, NIV) of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.” In fact Jesus said He and the Father were one. Form means the outward expression of the inward nature. In eternity past, Jesus was God- or as Paul says- ‘equal with God’. John writes ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.’ In eternity past, Jesus, God the Son did not need anything, He had everything. He created and ruled over the universe.   But this is the amazing truth- Jesus did not think of Himself, but thought of others. He had compassion, mercy, unconditional love, an unbelievable unselfish concern for other. Have not read- what concerns you – concerns your Lord?

Jesus is saying I will not use my privileges as God, but will lay them aside and pay the price necessary to redeem mankind. The test for us in a submissive mind and attitude is not how we handle our responsibilities as Gods’ children but how we use our privileges for the sake of others.

Let’s contrast how Jesus responded to His privileges and how Lucifer dealt with his. The contrast will provide the clarity of how to handle privileges God’s way.

Satan/Lucifer was created as a beautiful angel. He is described as the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Every precious stone was his covering. The workmanship of his timbrels and pipes were prepared for you the day you were created. Lucifer was the cherub who covered. He was close to the throne of God. He led the choirs of heaven in worship. But Isaiah 14- tells us he lusted to make himself like God, the Most High. Lucifer led a rebellion to overthrow God and lost. He and his co-conspirators, the fallen angels we refer to as demons were cast out of heaven. Satan, the name which means adversary, set up a counterfeit kingdom in order that he might rule as ‘god of this world. ‘Lucifer was given great privileges and they fueled his pride and led to his downfall. Lucifer said “I will” – five times in Isaiah 14: 13& 14   Jesus Christ in the Garden said, not my will, but THY WILL.

  1. THE SUBMISSIVE MIND: Serves. Jesus came to save and serve not be served.

Paul describes Jesus as taking the very nature of a bond servant. Let us be clear about the meaning of a bond servant. During the time of Jesus in first century church, as much as 1/3rd of the Roman population were slaves, and another third had been previous slaves. It was common for free born men to work alongside slaves. A bondservant often was in this position due to financial hardship. Unable to care for his family, he would offer his labor for no pay in return for the master to provide the needs of his family, food, clothing, shelter, etc.

The rules and laws governing this process for the nation of Israel, who had been under slavery in Egypt were clearly laid out in the laws given in Exodus 21: 1-6: “ If you buy a Hebrew servant , he will serve you six years, and the seventh he shall go free and pay nothing. If he comes in by himself, he shall leave with nothing, if he comes in married. Then his wife shall go out with him. If his master has given him a wife, and she has born him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he will go out by himself. But if the servant says plainly, “I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out free.” The his master will bring the judges to hear his declaration. “He shall then pierce his ear with an awl and he will serve him forever.”

Jesus came to save and serve and explained the attitude of the submissive mind in the following way: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 43-45)

Paul, James, Peter and the disciples all referred to themselves as ‘bondservants of Christ.’ Meaning they served him out of their love and they became his servant of their own free will. In fact instead of becoming slaves, they found in serving Christ they experienced real freedom. All they had to do was serve their master and He would supply all their needs. And He is so very, very generous.

  1. THE SUBMISSIVE MIND: Sacrifices. Many are willing to sacrifice to serve others if it pays well and costs them nothing. But if there is a price to pay, they suddenly lose interest. Jesus became obedient even to death on the cross. His death was not the death of a martyr, it was the death of a Savior-Servant. It has been said, ‘ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.’ Salvation is free. But it costs God everything. It is one of those paradoxes of Christian living which goes against the conventional wisdom of this world but the bottom line is the more we give, the more we receive. The more we sacrifice, the more God blesses. And this is the mystery and wonder of it all- the submissive mind leads to joy and makes us more like Christ. Here is the hard question for us today: is it costing you anything to be a Christian?
  2. THE SUBMISSIVE MIND: Glorifies God. This is the chief end of man- to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Paul warned us in verse 3 of this chapter about selfish ambition and vainglory. If it is vain- it is empty. King Solomon wrote about vanity of all vanities. Vanity, Solomon discovered was the emptiness of trying to find happiness apart from God. Jesus emptied Himself for others even to death on a cross for our sake and the sake of the world. When Jesus humbled himself for others, it brought glory to God and God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave Him a name above all names. Jesus in those last hours said: “Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee.” (John 17:1)

Our salvation has at its ultimate purpose to glorify God. The person with a submissive mind, as he lives for others must expect sacrifice and service, but in the need is going to lead to glory. Peter learn about humility on the night of Jesus arrest. He denied him three times. Later Peter would write: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” (I Peter 5:6) Receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. (James 1:21b) Meekness implies humility, a teachable spirit. We must be ready to obey God’s Word; and willing to listen. These are prerequisites for a submissive mind/spirit.

Jesus said let your light so shine before men, so they might see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

As bondservants we live to serve our Master, we seek first His kingdom and righteousness and He will supply all our needs. What freedom there is when we become his bondservants.

God longs for you to see Him as He really is. A Loving Father, a master committed to you well being.

Therefore we are told: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path. “ Proverbs 3: 5, 6)

“What must we do to work the works of God, they asked Jesus. This is the work of God to believe in the One he has sent.” (John 6:29)

Believe. Faith. Trust. Confidence. Being sure. Being certain.   These are the words used to describe this saving faith by which we are saved by grace.

Trust is the verb of faith.

Confidence is the noun.

Sure and certain are its adjectives.

“So do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in Him. “(Hebrews 10: 35-38)

Obedience always brings blessings!

The enemy wants to prevent you from receiving your reward. He uses lies and deception and has since the beginning in the Garden.

Here are his lies:

  1. God cannot satisfy you as much as this sin you are contemplating. Sin satisfies for a season- but always has consequences that can be long lasting. Wine sparkles in the cup, but stings like a serpent in the end.
  2. I have always been this way and God does not seem to have the power to change me. God is all powerful and has justified you at salvation. You are a new creature. You are no longer defined but how you used to live in your old nature. There is nothing impossible for God.
  3. There is something fundamentally wrong with me. Again- you are a new creature and you now must realize you cannot try through self effort to change from who you were into what you have now become. Paul said having begun in the Spirit are you now trying to live the Christian life in the self efforts. Here is the correct view, I am now maturing into who I already am!
  4. I don’t believe God is fully good to me. He is withholding from me what is good. But God said I will withhold no good thing from a righteous man. You do realize you received the righteousness of Christ at salvation in exchange for your sins which he paid for you with his life.

Here are some of the wonderful things God has revealed He has given us:

  1. Eternal life- beginning now.
  2. Forgiveness of all our sins.
  3. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, power and a sound mind.
  4. He loves with an everlasting, unconditional love. I cannot make Him love me more or less. He loves me as He loves His only Son.
  5. I have a new nature. A nature fused, engrafted with Jesus. He is in me, I am in Him, and we are in the Father.
  6. He keeps no list of my wrongdoings.

In other words, God said I am crazy about you on your worst day!

If you believe you are all of these things and possess all of this things- then you can be about maturing into what is already true of you.

Things are not what they seem. Consider the caterpillar you find crawling on the ground in your yard or garden. Bring him to a scientist, a biologist and say can you identify this creature by its DNA? Of course we do tests with scientific accuracy.  After the tests, the scientist will tell you- he may look like a caterpillar, but I can tell you with 100% accuracy this is fully and completely a butterfly. As it continues the maturing process it will come forth from cocoon, as a beautiful butterfly with wings of gossamer. In its current state, it does not appear that way. But things are not always what they seem.

This caterpillar possesses all the beauty, behavior, and attributes of a butterfly.

This is who we are a new creature, created in Christ workmanship unto good works God has prepared for us to walk in.

As Jesus said to Mary and Martha- do you believe this?

Once you believe it in your mind and heart- then you can begin to risk trying it out. Try your wings out and see if you do not fly.

Test me says the Lord.

Once your try it and find the experience more enjoyable than any sin ever was – you will begin to tell others about it and they will join you.

And you are on your way- the journey of life the Lord has prepared for you. The narrow way is the way of freedom and it is for freedom that Christ set you free.

Float like a butterfly!

Experience true J.O.Y. (Jesus first, others second, yourself third) the submissive mind.

 

Philippians

Philippians 1B

Philippians 1 B: Looking for God

Have you ever been disappointed? Of course you probably have. Not sure what disappointed you- or how disappointed you were, but let us consider Paul’s situation. Rome was the center and hub of the great Roman Empire.   Here was Paul’s desire and goal: “After all this happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia.” After I have been there, he said, I must visit Rome also.” (Acts 19: 21)

And again in his letter to the church at Rome, Paul writes: “So as much as is in me, I am ready, eager, to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also.” (Romans 1: 15) Paul wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel. To be in the center of the empire and possibly preach in the great open arenas. He wanted to go as a preacher- but instead goes as a prisoner.

Acts 21-28 provides a record of what happened to Paul. It all began with an arrest in the temple in Jerusalem. He would spend two years in prison in Caesarea. As a Roman citizen, Paul finally won an appeal to Caesar and was on his way to Rome when the ship he was aboard sank in a storm. After three months on the Island of Malta, Paul finally was on his way to Rome and the trial he had requested.

Now it was Dr. Luke, his traveling companion who wrote the accurate details we have in the book of Acts. Here is how Paul dismisses these events which led to his situation of being in chains as he writes in Philippians 1: 12: “ Now I want you to know , brother, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” (NIV) The KJV states for ‘the furtherance of the gospel.” Does this sound like a man who is disappointed with the turn of events? Does he look at his situation and think of the wasted time in his legal problems? Would you view this man as a success today, if this was his background and circumstances? Probably not. Yet Paul wanted to go to Rome to have the opportunity for the furtherance, the advance of the Gospel. Therefore Paul trusted that God knew the best way for it to be done. I do not believe Paul could have imagined what the impact of his ‘prison epistles’ would have over the centuries. He would reach millions and millions down through the centuries with God’s plan which would have looked like a disaster to most of us.

God always has a purpose in the use of adversity in a believer’s life. First of all, it drives us to our Heavenly Father, doesn’t it? Our first thought should be- I need you Lord! I need your guidance. I need your perspective. I need to know I am where you want me to be. * Are you looking for God or are you looking for a way out?

In the Bible we can tell how important something is to God by the number of verses and chapters He uses to tell us. For example: to describe the creation of the endless infinite number of stars and galaxies God spread throughout the universe- God uses exactly 5 words.” He made the stars also.” On the other hand, there are more than 50 chapters about the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Why this much time spent on this temporary sanctuary? Because the Tabernacle and its furnishings are a picture of redemption, the purpose of the Word of God.

Consider the story of Joseph- it gets 12 chapters out of the 50 chapters in Genesis. Must be important to get almost 25% of the first book of the Bible devoted to the story of this young man, the favored son of Jacob. Joseph was a natural leader at age 17- but he lacked maturity. Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph would spend the next 13 years as God developed Joseph into a world class leader, but also this story is a clear picture of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus. Joseph was first placed in a grave-like cistern. Next he was sold into slavery. Worked as a household servant in the house of Potiphar. Was falsely accused of attempted rape and spent perhaps 10 years in an Egyptian prison before he was ready to step into the position God had for him. What a long hard journey to bring him to the place where he could do the most good for the most people. Joseph understood when he looked back. (Sometimes the only way we can understand life is to look back at the events that have brought us to where we are. We live life forward, but understand it sometimes means looking backwards.) Joseph said to his brothers; “you meant it for evil, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done- the saving of many lives.”

*God the Father determines the agenda of our lives- He orders our steps.

*God the Son communicates the Fathers’ agenda to us through His Word and His life. He is the way, the truth and the life.

*God the Holy Spirit’s task is implementation. He works in us the desire and the power to do God’s will.

Joseph and Paul looked back and looked at their circumstances – even the dark days and nights, the painful events and realized God had been in charge the whole time.

Here is the lesson we are to learn- to believe this truth- the Lord is in control regardless of the circumstances. In fact God has allowed or engineered the circumstances.

Watch what Paul writes: “For I want you to know, brother, that what has happened to me, has really served to advance the gospel.”   Paul did not find his joy in ideal circumstances. Ideally, Paul had wanted to come to Rome as a preacher to advance the gospel. God’s plan was to have Paul come as a prisoner. Paul finds his joy in winning others to Christ.   Paul saw his confinement to house arrest chained to a palace guard for four hour shifts to be a unique opportunity to bring the gospel into the very palace of Caesar.

God sometimes uses strange methods to help us advance the gospel. Let us look at the three unusual methods God used to help take the gospel even to the elite Praetorian Palace Guard.

  1. Paul’s chains.
  2. Paul’s critics.
  3. Paul’s crisis.

Not three methods we would use- in fact in human wisdom we would want to avoid these three methods. Let’s look at each one and see how they might apply to our lives.

  1. Chains. Throughout the stories in the Bible we see God use unusual methods, from Moses’ rod to David’s sling to Gideon’s pitchers and trumpets that brought down walls. The chains, the fetters the Romans used to bind Paul would actually release Paul. Paul consecrated these chains to God and ask God to use them for the furtherance of the Gospel. This is what Joni Erickson-Tada has done with her wheel chair and her paralysis. She has dedicated it to God’s glory and it has been her platform from which to proclaim the Gospel. We are impressed by the millionaire athlete who praises the Lord and points his finger toward the heavens when he makes the game winning touchdown. Never have seen one- when he missed the pass that lost the game- point his finger skyward to praise God. Paul had four Roman soldiers per day in six hour shifts. So Paul witnessed to four men each day. Some of these elite palace guards got saved. Paul also had contact with the officials who would eventually try his case. His case was a high profile case and Christianity was growing and was an important issue to be resolved. Being in chains, can apply to our lives when God allows what appears to be unfavorable circumstances to confine us. In this confinement, we begin to become single-minded about our situation. If you or a loved one are facing a difficult situation, you become single-minded about this situation. It drives you to God because you need to understand why am I here, Lord? Is not the Lord amazing that He is able to extract so great a good out of what would be considered a great evil and injustice to imprison Paul. And yet God used it to advance the gospel among the most elite Roman Soldiers, the esteemed Praetorian Guard. One cold winter night, probably 30 + years ago, when we lived on Beaver Cove, I had to go down to Highland Park Grocery Store to get diapers or formula- something we needed or I would not have gone. Parked next to the grocery store was an elderly man with his car hood up. It was cold and the service station was closed. I went over and ask him did he need some help. He told me he was a retired Baptist preacher and he asked me- “are you a Christian?” I said yes, sir I am. He said good, I have someone coming to tow my car- I just am not sure why God had my car quit. This was a man who was single-minded. He looked at what most would consider unfavorable circumstances and a nuisance as a God –given opportunity to share the gospel. Do you rejoice at what God is doing or do you complain? Paul’s chains gave him contact with the lost. Paul’s chains and his reaction to them also gave encouragement and boldness to others to speak about the Lord. Isn’t it interesting the more the enemies of Christ and Christianity punished Christians, the stronger and bolder the believers grew. Persecution seemed to work as a billows to increase the flames of evangelism rather than smothering out the fire. Rather than silence the message, the chains served as megaphone to increase the volume.
  2. Critics. Ever been criticized by someone else? Criticism is the expression of disapproval or perceived faults of another’s actions. Criticism and the critics who criticize are often envious of the person who is the object of their criticism. Paul’s success and reputation were the object of envy among other teachers and preachers. They wanted to take advantage of Paul’s situation to further their own selfish purposes. Envy and strife go together like love and unity do. In the local church body there will always be those who criticize another brother or sister in the Lord. Paul’s aim and goal was to glorify Christ and how does one do that? By bearing fruit. His critics’ aim and goal was to glorify themselves and promote their own agenda. In the end, here was what Paul realized God was doing: “What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true- Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” I once worked with a man who told me his father had been an alcoholic and he was embarrassed to bring any friends home for fear his father would be drunk. His father was a good man when sober, but a foolish and often violent man when drinking. Then he and the family noticed his father had quit drinking. After a period of time, the family was confident enough of the change they asked him what happened to cause him to quit drinking. He told them it was because of that man on television. Who- they asked. And he told them of watching a TV evangelist, which many would have considered a man out to build his reputation and bank account, but when this man listened he heard the gospel and responded. He got saved. They ended up in church and his father stayed sober to the day he died.
  3. Crisis. Paul’s chains were making Christ known among the Roman palace guards. His critics were preaching out of envy or selfish reasons (like the aforementioned TV evangelist) but the end result was Christ was being preached. Paul faced a real crisis of life and death. He could be found guilty of being a traitor by the Roman government and then executed. Rome had not decided yet if this new sect of religion called Christianity was anti-Rome. Paul writes: “ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted ( magnified, KJV) in my body, whether by life or death. For to me, to live Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul realized his body was not his own. He had been bought with a price. And his only desire was to magnify Christ in his body, his actions and attitude. What single-mindedness Paul possessed. Paul says he was torn between the two – he desired to depart this earth to be with Christ, but knew it was more necessary for the believers for him to remain in his body. NOTE: Paul says in verse 25- he was convinced he was to remain in his body.

Magnify means to make something appear larger and closer. We use telescopes for this purpose. Telescopes or binoculars can bring things we are viewing closer and enlarge them. Our lives when lived for the glory of Christ can make Jesus appear closer and larger to the unbeliever when they view our courage and determination and attitude in suffering. The crisis is the telescope which allows this to occur. To an unbeliever, Jesus Christ is not big or important at all. He was a mysterious historical figure who lived 2000 years ago. What could He possibly have to do with their lives in the 21st century?  Paul prays and hopes he will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage.

When a believer is going through a time of adversity, God is using this adversity to call you into a more intimate relationship to deepen your faith; to bear more fruit; to witness to unbelievers with your actions- and in fact may be accomplishing all of these things. (Now as we previously mentioned, a believer can be going through God’s discipline or chastening for wrongdoing, but even then the purpose is to produce peace and a harvest of righteousness in the life of the wayward believer.)

Always these painful times call upon us to wait on the Lord. “Wait on the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:1

There is that word again- wait! And we see it combined with courage; for courage is needed

You know what happens when you are going through adversity- the enemy attacks with intensity. He wants you to throw away your confidence in the Lord. His favorite fiery dart to fire at you is ‘NEVER’.   You are never going to gain victory over this. You are never going to get better. You are never going to find a job. You are never going to get married….and on and on and on. If the enemy can get you to throw away your confidence- he is accomplishing his goal of getting you to drop the shield of faith. Charles Stanley in his new book, “Waiting on God” says God has a very specific schedule – one that is vastly different from what you’d expect. One that may have you wait far beyond what makes you comfortable. One that will most likely make you feel all earthly hope is gone and then you will rely solely upon Him. Listen to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1: 9: “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Have you learned the principle of the all sufficiency of God’s grace? Have you learned His strength is made perfect in weakness? Our weakness is precisely the opportunity for His power to be displayed. Exhausted by self effort and worry which have yielded no results? Good. Now let go and let God do what only can do. Your job is to believe in Him whom God has sent.

Dr. Stanley says the only never you need to focus on is that God will never let you down. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never place more on you than you can bear.

We all have an agenda, a plan, our to-do list and we want to check off those items. Learning to be directed by God’s timing and wisdom, not our own agenda is one of the most important lessons we will ever learn. In fact, I find it is something I am constantly having to be reminded of in my life. Adversity and waiting are necessary for you and me to learn this lesson.

Understand this truth- time is one of God’s most effective tools for teaching us to rely upon Him.

The problem is we do not like delays. We do not like waiting, especially when it seems our needs for God’s answer and intervention is so urgently needed!!

Again going back to the truth of how we measure what is important to God by how often God gives us stories, situations, verse after verse of men and women God used in a powerful way that first had to wait on Him. There are literally hundreds of verses about waiting on the Lord and numerous stories of those who had to wait on the Lord and endure with expectation of God’s intervention and accomplishing of His Will in their lives.

Dr. Stanley says what we can draw from this is that waiting on the Lord signifies an expectant endurance that is demonstrated by the following attitude of prayer:

  1. Directed- rather than concentrating on what we are waiting for- we persevere with expectant endurance when we focus on the Father whom we know has the best plan for us. ( Hebrews 11: 6) Also I know whom I have believed and am confident He will finish what He has started
  2. Purposeful- as we practice expectant endurance, we find meaning in the delay because we look with anticipation for God’s perfect direction, preparation and provision. Paul looked at his chains and his circumstances with anticipation this was God’s doing and he wanted to be in on what God was doing. The preacher on that cold night, knew the car quitting on him was God’s doing and he wanted to get in on what God was doing. Either situation could have had them look at the situation as a setback, a hindrance, an inconvenience or even a life threatening situation.
  3. Active- as we wait on the Lord we are told to do good. We believe God is at work, even though we cannot see how. We believe this because Jesus told us His Father is always working. In the meantime (and the enemy can make it a mean time) we obey the Father and keep pressing on.
  4. Courageous- Paul prayed for the courage to magnify Christ in his body. Paul thought how good it would be to come to Rome as a preacher and meet with the believers and hold services and preach to crowds. This certainly appears to be a good thing- but God always has the best and we sometimes cannot see the best- but we trust God who knows what is best. Paul’s imprisonment served many purposes: he reached into the palace of Caesar through the conversion of the ones who guarded him; he was able to present the gospel to those who would judge him; and his example gave courage and boldness to speak out for Christ to others. But the greatest and unseen and unimagined benefit was the prison letters themselves that continue to impact millions and millions of lives to this day 2000 years later. God is always able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. He always has the best for us. Our Father truly knows what is best! I takes courage to wait and I believe Our Lord will provide us with this courage when it is needed.
Philippians

Philippians 1

Philippians 1:

As we begin our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, let’s review the history of Philippi. It was named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. Philip captured the city in 358 BC from the Thracians. Later around 42 BC Marc Antony and Octavius would defeat Brutus and Cassius and transform the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Later Augustus Caesar would make Philippi a Roman Colony. It was a principal stop on the great trade route. Traders going East or West would come through there. It was a perfect strategic place for the spread of the Gospel. Acts 16 records how Paul came to first go there. In some ways we might consider Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi a ‘thank you note. He has received a gift from the church sent by Epaphroditus, who ‘was sent to take care of my needs.’ Epaphroditus would become sick nigh unto death before returning.

Thankfulness and thanksgiving is a subtheme of Paul’s letter. Have you ever realized thankfulness and thoughtfulness are related?

The main theme of this letter is joy found in the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote these letters to maintain fellowship with these churches he had established. Fellowship is mentioned in verse 5 in the KJV, the NIV refers to it as partnership. Fellowship comes from follow-ship. Following the Lord Jesus is what we have in common. Fellowship simply means to have something in common. Have you ever noticed you can have fellowship with some of your friends from years ago? You may not have seen them in years- but immediately you pick up where you left off. Others you realize you have nothing in common any more. I have discovered through reunions of my classmates or running into people from my hometown, if he/she was a fellow believer, we soon discovered what we had in common- the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Word of God and the power of the Gospel- kindred spirits.

Unless a person has trusted Christ as His Savior, he/she knows nothing of the fellowship of the gospel. This is what Paul is rejoicing in- (if we can peek ahead for just a moment) Philippians 2_ “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”   One of the sources of Christian joy is this fellowship with Jesus Christ that we have in common with fellow believers- kindred spirits.

Paul writes in his letter: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership (fellowship, KJV) in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   You do realize, God abandons nothing He has undertaken. There are no unfinished projects-only projects and works in progress. Paul is confident of the sanctification process in each believer, because his confidence is in God’s ability, not the individual’s. Salvation includes a threefold work:

  1. Salvation- the work God does for us ( Ephesians 2:8,9)
  2. Sanctification- the work God does in us (The transforming process described in 2Cor. 3:17,18)
  3. Service- the work God does through us. ( Ephesians 2: 10)

God will continue to these works in us and through us until we see Jesus.

The KJV uses the word ‘fellowship’, whereas the NIV uses partnership. I prefer fellowship. Fellowship is a source of joy when the fellowship comes from what we have in common- our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a source of comfort and consolation when we grieve. It is a source of encouragement to know others are praying for us. And when our fellowship is also a partnership in the spread of the Gospel it strengthens our fellowship even more.

Paul uses three thoughts here to describe true Christian fellowship: I have you in my mind; I have you in my heart; and I have you in my prayers. Let us look at each of these three examples of fellowship

  1. I have you in my thoughts. Where is Paul? He is under arrest and in chains. Is he complaining about his situation? No. Is he even thinking about himself? No. He was thinking of others, not himself. In his single mindedness, Paul is thinking about: “whatever is true; whatever is noble; whatever is right; whatever is pure; whatever is lovely and admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” Got personal problems, family problems? Do they consume your waking moments? Are they what you find yourself constantly thinking about and worrying over? I know the feeling- I am familiar with problems that seem to never go away. How did Paul deal with the fact that he was under arrest, in chains awaiting trial? Let’s be practical- I have a problem, it is a serious problem. Do I worry? Yes. Does worry help? No. What am I to do instead of worry? Pray. What am I to do about my thoughts that constantly turn to this problem? Turn your thought to those things you know are true. What do I know is true? I know God will never place more on me than I can bear. I know when I pass through the waters, He will be with me; and when I pass through the rivers they will not sweep over me. I know when I walk through the fire, I will not be burned, and the flames will not set me ablaze. ( Isaiah 43) In other words trust God. This was and is the message of God from the Garden of Eden to this day- trust me.  Where do I learn to trust God? In those circumstances which are unfavorable; in adversity and in the midst of storms, raging rivers, fiery trials.
  2. I have you in my heart. The royal law of the Bible is love. Love is what makes the world go round. When we look at nature, we find God has given us examples of this law of love all around us. We breathe out carbon dioxide which plants need in the process of photosynthesis to give off oxygen which we breathe in. The sun draws up the waters of the oceans through evaporation, storing them in clouds which then pass over land and let down the rain for the soil which needs it for the growth of plants. And of course the greatest example of love and giving- For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. Guess what God even provides us with this love- ‘God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. ‘It is with this love- I love others. *The intellectual acceptance of the truth’s in God’s Word result in what we often call intellectual faith- in our mind. To get it into our hearts, God places us in a situation, a test, where we must trust God to do what He says He will do. This is when we experience God and it moves from our head to our hearts.
  3. I have you in my prayers. When we think of those God has brought into our lives and thus our thoughts and when we love them with the love God has shed abroad in our hearts- the natural result is to pray for them. And do you know what happens? You begin to care even more for those God has you praying for. What does our Lord Jesus do for us now in heaven? He intercedes for us in prayer. The Lord Jesus is praying for you and me! What about our Heavenly Father? His thoughts toward us outnumber the grains of sand. Whatever concerns me- concerns Him.   The Psalmist said: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” ( Psalm 139) Is this not amazing? To know and believe Almighty God thinks about you- is concerned about you, loves you with an everlasting love! To know the Lord Jesus our High Priest is praying for us personally. My name is engraved upon his hand.

Now let us turn our attention to this prayer Paul is praying in Philippians 1: 9-11. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth and insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God.”

This is a prayer for maturity and it begins with love. It is both an abounding love and a discerning love. The ability to distinguish is a sign of maturity. Maturity is also reflected in the development of our character which is described as – pure (sincere) and blameless. How does one refine gold or silver- with the fire. It is the winnowing of our desires to remove the chaff from the wheat. This is how our character becomes more pure- through the refining process.

How do we exercise spiritual discernment? Ask yourself these two questions: will it make others stumble? Will it make me ashamed when Jesus returns?

Paul prays we will be fruitful. A mature Christian bears fruit. Fruit that brings glory to Jesus, not self. Fruit that comes from abiding in the vine.

So let us pull over to the side – let us park for a minute and think about what we have read and heard. What does God want to do with us- with the new believer? And the mature believer in their faith? What does God want in the seasoned believer? Same thing he wants in the new believer to continue to mature in their faith, to produce fruit. To be conformed to the image of Christ.

How do we do that? Churches want to attract unbelievers, unchurched people so they feel connected. Then having connected what do we do to keep them continually growing. We cannot make them feel connected and comfortable by lowering our standards- they are invited to come –just as they are- but to allow the Spirit of God to use the Word of God to change them into what God knows will bring them joy unspeakable.

Do we have classes that help teach new believers about who and what they have become? Of course we should have those. But classes can produce those who are theologically smart, but not necessarily spiritually mature.

Let’s go back to the beginning and see what God’s plan was from the beginning. “God blessed them (Adam and Eve) and said to them: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God gave them everything they needed with only one rule. They could eat from every tree in the Garden, but the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; for when you eat of it, you will surely die.

From the very beginning God said: Trust me. Take me at my word.

Understand this principle: TRUST IS AT THE CENTER AND HEART OF RELATIONSHIPS. A BREAK IN TRUST- WILL RESULT IN A BREAK IN THE RELATIONSHIP.SIN BROKE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADAM AND EVE AND GOD. AND EVER SINCE THEN ALL HAVE BEEN BORN WITH SINFUL NATURES IN A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

Man’s relationship with God was destroyed by lack of faith, confidence, trust in the nature of God, in His promises and principles and person.

Jesus, God the Son, took on flesh and came to earth to fulfill a plan drawn up before the foundation of earth. The plan of salvation would allow Holy God to restore His relationship with sinful man. It would be an intimate relationship build on trust, faith, and confidence in God. Jesus said – believe in Him.

Walking by faith is nothing more than believing, trusting, and having confidence in God. Believing He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do. Based on this faith in Him and His Word we can act upon what we believe.

Throughout the Scripture we see stories of faith or its absence. Little faith and great faith.

Our question and quest is what fuels faith? What ingredients result in the growth and development of faith? Is this not what Paul was praying for these believers in Philippi? Of course it is- he wants them to grow up in knowledge and insight and discernment.

WHAT DO WE NEED?

  1. Practical teaching
  2. Private devotionals and spiritual disciplines
  3. Personal ministry
  4. Providential relationships
  5. Pivotal commitments.

Andy Stanley offers these 5 ingredients as a method that has proven to work in his book: “Deep & Wide.” In the quest for spiritual maturity- these are used to grow our faith.   These will be shaped differently for different levels of maturity and also for the different seasons in life.

Practical teaching is what Jesus modeled for us. His Sermon on the Mount was not to a group of intellectually, educated theologians it was to the common people. Their response: they were amazed. Notice Jesus taught for response. When he finished his teaching Jesus gave the illustration that those who put his teaching into action were wise like the man who built his house on the rock. When the storms came- the house did not fall. The man who heard this teaching and did not put them into action was like the man who built his house on the sand- the storms came and it fell with a great crash. As your teacher I want the teaching to be practical, applicable, and understandable. It should result in action taken as a result of what you hear. It is truth plus here are the next steps.

Private devotionals and spiritual disciplines. Daily Bible intake is a MUST. There are also other disciplines you must develop in your life in the pursuit of godliness. Prayer; worship; evangelism; service; stewardship; fasting and learning. (Get a copy of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney.) Also I recommend: Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges.

Personal ministry. Getting into teaching became my personal ministry 26 years ago. There is nothing like a personal ministry to stretch and grow your faith. The upcoming “in as much “program can be a way to start exploring where God would have you work.

Providential circumstances and relationships. Individuals and events which God brings into your life for the purpose of using these people and circumstances to grow your faith.

Pivotal decisions. Defining moments in your life. Not just salvation- but times when you made a decision to put your hand to the plow and not turn back.   A decision to teach, to serve in a certain area, to be involved in a short term mission trip. To mentor a new believer.

Paul uses words that express this continuous process and viewed himself as a work-in-progress. He said he did not consider himself to have arrived. He chooses to describe his process as straining, pressing on, laboring.

And so it will be with us as we pass through each season of life. The pursuit of mature faith will mean there will always be something to learn. New experiences await us in each phase and season of life.

But Our Faithful Lord has promised to always be with us.

But of one thing we can be sure- we can be confident that He who began a good work will complete it.

He will get us through the storms. His grace is always sufficient. His love is everlasting. He will supply all our needs. He will never leave us.

Each season of life will bring its own round of pivotal circumstances and decisions. Where will I live my last days? What and who should I invest my time and what I have learned with?

What are my priorities? What are my worries? What am I doing for the kingdom of God?

The valley of shadow of death looks different at 70 than it did at 30.

Faith is not just developed from a series of classes or studies. It comes from having experienced God’s faithfulness in the past.   It is birthed from personal devotional time when you know God has personally spoken to you.

So what do we do? We press on!

Philippians

Press On

Press On: A Study in Philippians

Crisis is not a word we are particularly fond of- especially when it is our crisis. Yet Jesus never promised us a proverbial rose garden, did He? Jesus told us in plain language, almost to the point of bluntness: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16) Peter told us we should not consider it strange when we fall into fiery trials. Yet despite the warnings, we find ourselves in various kinds of problems.

Our grandchildren have trouble saying the work ‘like’ – it comes out ‘yike’. So here is what I can honestly say about crisis in my life and the lives of my loved ones: “I don’t yike it.” But I realize it is going to happen. Life is difficult and once we accept this truth, we can begin to develop the tools and decision making process in order to deal with life’s difficulties. Instead of worrying and making rash emotional decisions. Life is not always fair- but God is.

In the original movie. The Karate Kid, Daniel Russo is beaten up by a bully and his friends. Daniel is alone and defenseless but is saved by the mysterious, janitor, Mr. Miyagi. After this Daniel is on a quest to overcome this bully in his life by beating him in a karate tournament. Unfortunately, the bully is bigger, stronger and more experienced in karate than Daniel. (Sound familiar? We have a bully who is stronger and more experienced in fighting than we are. But greater is the one in us than the one in the world) Daniel needs a helper- someone to come alongside him and train him to be an overcomer unfettered by circumstances. So do we. Mr. Miyagi becomes his trainer. Just as Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit.

Mr. Miyagi’s unconventional training (wax on- wax off, painting the fence..) seem to have nothing to do with training Daniel in karate. Yet he is building the basics of defense before moving to offense. Daniel is learning to practice patience and perseverance as Mr. Miyagi is training him to be an overcomer. I learned believing a promise in the Word of God could keep me from yielding to temptation to drink.

God is allowing the circumstances in your life to train you to be an overcomer unfettered by your circumstances. You keep asking God to change your circumstances and God is saying I am using the circumstances to change you into the image of my son. (fetters is an old word to describe a specific type of chain or shackle. It was attached to the feet to inhibit movement.)

Paul said “…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Why did Jesus take hold of me and you? For the same reason He took hold of Paul, and the disciples. He took hold of me to make me one with Him. This where the abundant life is. This is what life is about. The Westminster Catechism says it this way: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”   Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10: 10) The thief wants to put you in the fetters of unfavorable circumstances. God wants to use the circumstances for good.

Do you know who you are and why you are here? The secret is discovered in understanding who you are in Christ and why you are here. If you are a believer you are a branch in the True Vine, the Lord Jesus. Our Father is the vineyard owner and the vinedresser. He is a constant gardener. We have but one purpose- to bear fruit. The sap which flows from the vine to the branch is the Holy Spirit. The clusters of grape produced are called the ‘fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5: 22 list them: “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance against such is there no law.” (KJV) This is abundant life. “By this is the Father glorified that you bear much fruit.”(John 15)* Here is where the joy is- in glorifying the Father.

In John 15, the Lord’s teaching on the abiding life contains what I consider one of the most amazing promises. Listen to every word of this from the lips of our Lord Jesus to us who are believers: “If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will (wish NIV) and it will be given to you.” John 15:7 KJV     Notice- two conditions which must be in our lives in order for this to happen. You must abide in Him and His words must abide in you. I can tell you this – you will never abide in Him if His words do not abide in you. Jesus said if you abide, live, remain, continue in Him and in His word, you will come to the place in your prayer life where you can ask what you will and it will be given you. Realize who a disciple is: “If you continue (abide, remain) in my Word you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 31, 32) And remember Jesus is the Word. Read Psalm 1 and you will see the one who delights in the Word of God and meditates in it day and night will be like a tree planted by the river, and shall bring forth his fruit in due season.

If you have not figured this out- the abundant life is the life that bears fruit. This not only glorifies God- it enables us to enjoy life forever.

So here is the way it works:

  1. The secret of living is fruit bearing.
  2. The secret of fruit bearing is abiding.
  3. The secret of abiding is obeying
  4. The secret of obeying is loving
  5. The secret of loving is knowing.

The Vine withholds nothing from the branch. It gives everything it has in order to produce the fruit the branch will bear. The life giving, life transforming flow is from the Spirit we share with the Lord Jesus. Jesus wants to share his life with us and He has given us everything we need. The branch, in fact, can do nothing without the vine.

The Father is the Vinedresser. The vinedresser’s task is simple – he wants to coax from His plants the most pounds of grapes possible. He will prune a branch bearing fruit to enable it to produce even more. He wants to make sure we are getting the most sunlight possible. He will tie a branch to a trellis to lift it up to get the most light and also the easiest access for the vinedresser to tend the plant. (See the cluster they brought back from the Promised Land? Took two men to carry it,)  As we walk in the light as He is in the light- we have fellowship one with the Father and the Son. Need this light for growth, like the branch needs sunlight.

Now do you understand why Paul wanted to know Jesus in all the fullness he could? The more we know Him, the more we will love Him. And the more we love Him, the more we obey Him. And the more we obey Him the more we abide in Him. And the more we abide in Him, the more fruit we will bear. And in this is the Father, the Vineyard owner, the Vinedresser, the Constant Gardener glorified. And we will experience the joy for which were created. “This is eternal life, to know the true and living God and the One whom He has sent.” (John 17:3) Knowing you Jesus, there is no greater joy!

Now here is what I want us to do: I want us to climb out on a limb and do what we must do to work the works of God. Do you know what we must do? Jesus told us we must do to work the works of God? “This is the work of God to believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6)

The vine does all the work in coordination with the Spirit. The Spirit takes the Word and makes it a light upon our path. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God to make us like the Son of God.

You see we were saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves it was a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. This is how we got saved. It was a gift. The faith was a gift.   “Faithful is he who called you, who will also do it.”(I Thess 5:24)   And now we are to live our lives the same way we started- by grace through faith.

So what happens? Paul describes it in Galatians 3: “after beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” We start walking on our own. The bully catches us walking alone- just like he did with the Karate Kid and begins to beat us up. We started out by grace through faith, but somewhere along the way, we started doing things in our own strength and wisdom.

Then comes a crisis in the form of troubling circumstances: a health problem, a relationship problem, a financial problem, a loved one in trouble, a marriage in trouble, a world in trouble and it just hit you as you turned the corner. Will these ‘fetters of circumstances’ inhibit your movement. Or will you press on? Who has allowed these circumstances? Now sometimes the circumstances in our lives are discipline for our wrongdoing. However, even discipline for our wrongdoing by the Lord is for our good and ‘later on, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it. ‘

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1)  Faith will be our path of victory.

Faith is the deep down conviction that something is true and actually so in spite of evidence that screams to the contrary.

This where we learn to press on, believing God is training us to be overcomers unfettered by the circumstances. It may seem God is not working , but Jesus assures us His Father is always working, ( John 5) Wax on, wax off did not make sense until Mr. Miyagi showed him what he had learned. Daniel would go on to win the championship.  Let us see how we can live the faith life. How we can press on in our training to become champions for God.

What does it mean: ‘the just shall live by faith.’ Why does Hebrews 11:6 tells us it is impossible to please God without faith?

What I want in this study is take us on a journey with the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul and the Word of God to discover what real faith is. I want a real faith that opens doors. I want to know the difference between real faith and counterfeit faith. You see the key to the abundant life is the abiding life. The key that opens the door to the abundant, abiding life is the key of faith, real faith. This is why Jesus said this is the work of God- to BELIEVE IN THE ONE WHOM I HAVE SENT. The branch cannot produce fruit, it can only bear it. My only job as a branch is to abide in Him and His words abide in me. The two go together. The branch can do nothing apart from the vine. The vine will supply everything we need to bear fruit. He will withhold no good thing from a righteous man. “The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures!”

Let’s look at this another way. Salvation is like a house built beside a broad and busy highway. It was love that drew up the plan for this house, it was grace the brought it down to man. The sign above the door is one made for the weary traveler down the busy highway. (Rest Stop Ahead- Kentucky interstate/winter storm)  “Whosoever will, may enter and find rest.” Great- rest is what I need. I am worn out traveling down this highway. I arrive at the door- but it does not open. I ask, I seek, I knock. And the builder hands me the key-it is the Master Key- it is key of FAITH. He gives me a key- it is mine to keep. For by grace are you saved through FAITH.   This is the key that opens the way. Inside the foyer you find are many rooms. I find one door that says- all your Needs Supplied. Here is another that says- Daily Victory over Temptation. Another says the Abundant Life. Here is one I really want to open- Answered Prayer.

What happens to us that we can mess up something so simple. First of all it is simple, but that does not mean it is easy. How many keys to do you have on your key chain? Several I am sure- plus back up keys in case you lose any or get locked out. How many keys do you have on your Christian Living key chain? If you are like me- you have accumulated a few in your Christian journey. If you have a lot of keys, sometimes we tag them don’t we? Look at the tags I have on my Christian life key chain and I bet you have some of the same ones. Here is one that is well worn with use, its tag reads: Doing the Best I Can key.   Here is another one: Religious Activities Key. Here is one that will surely work: The Tithing Key; the Rededication Key- now we are really trying hard aren’t we? “And I try and I try and I try- but I can’t get no satisfaction!”

What we need is the key that opened the way in the beginning, the key of Faith. How did we receive Christ, the True Vine? By grace through faith. What does Colossians 2: 6 tell us: “So, then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted (he is the vine) and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. (Do you see clear references to the vine, the branch and the work of the vinedresser?) Grace makes it available and faith accepts it. Faith is the key. Unbelief is what got Adam and Eve in trouble and is the root of all kinds of problems and in fact all problems in the life of the believer.

Now to understand how to live as a branch in the vine- how to live by faith. I have selected two of Paul’s letters to be studied back-to-back: Philippians and Colossians.

I want us to look specifically for instructions on how to live this life. I want us to look for how to pray and what to pray for. I want us to climb out on a limb, called faith. And let our entire weight – our entire life depend on it. It will probably get scary. But I know this- in order to do this we must ‘fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

Do you know why I have selected to begin with Philippians? It is a book about joy. Joy is the theme. Joy, even when circumstances go wrong, you can have joy. Paul writes this letter to the church in Philippi. He writes and speaks of joy, while he is in prison in fetters, chains. Paul says ‘it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of my brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.’ (Phil. 1: 13, 14)

I want to learn what Paul learned- to be content regardless of the circumstances. Paul was jailed often, beaten up more times than he could count. Flogged five times by the Jews with 39 lashes; beaten by Roman rods, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked three times and in the open sea once for a day and a night. In danger constantly. Yet Paul maintained a continual state of joy.

Now one thing we know is Paul’s source of joy was not from the easy life he lived. His source of joy was in the Lord.  Remember the vine is everything to the branch. It provides all our needs. Paul had confidence in the Lord’s sovereignty. We hear his confidence when he states- ‘this is the confidence we have….

Let us begin this study to see how we may have our joy made complete. Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly, to the full. However, the enemy comes to steal, and kill and destroy. He wants to steal our joy.   We will see that Paul had his mind transformed by the Word of God. Paul uses the word ‘mind’ ten times and the word think- five times and the word remember is used also. The joy in the Christian life is found in the way the believer thinks. “As a man thinketh in his heart- so is he.” (Proverbs 23; 7)   This is not positive thinking, although it is. And it is not unfounded optimism. God’s Word explains the kind of mind the believer must develop if he is going to experience joy in a world filled with trouble. ( Let this mind be in you, that was in Christ Jesus.)

So let us first look at how the enemy wants to steal our joy.

  1. Circumstances. When circumstances are favorable, everything is going good we can be joyful. But we cannot control circumstances in our life. And if we depend on circumstances always being favorable- we will be very disappointed when they are not. The enemy will use unfavorable circumstances to disrupt your life and steal your joy. He wants to put your feet in shackles so you cannot run the race. All the while God wants to use the circumstances to train us to become overcomers.
  2. People. There are certain people who seem to really get under our skin. They can rain on our parade- and steal our joy with their hurtful words and negative attitude.
  3. Things. An abundance of possessions we sought and bought to bring us joy have turned into a bunch of stuff we no longer need or desire like we once did. Jesus said: “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.” Lasting joy does not come from things.
  4. Worry. This is one thief who may be the worst of all. Worry robs us of sleep, peace and even our health. Worry comes in like a flood. It wants to erode our faith. But we must learn the anchor holds. Paul will tell us how to deal with worry.

How do we keep these thieves from stealing our joy? WE must cultivate the right kind of mind. A mind transformed by the Word of God. Remember Jesus said we must abide in Him and His word must abide in us. What kind of mind do we need? What kind of attitude must we develop?

Here are the four types of attitude or mind Warren Wiersbe says we must develop and it is also our outline for this study:

  1. The Single Mind. “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” * James 1:8 Focus. This one thing I do. Put Christ first in our life.
  2. The Submissive Mind. Christ comes first in our life, then others come second. The reason people bother us is because we want our way. J.O.Y.
  3. The Spiritual Mind. A mind that looks at the things of this world from heaven’s point of view. This is the wisdom that comes from God.
  4. The Secure Mind. WE need our hearts and minds guarded so we can experience the peace of God which passes understanding.

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”

 

My chains are gone- I‘ve been set free!

James

James 5

James 5: Warnings and Exhortations

 

In the last section of his letter, James warns the rich; exhorts believers to be patient in suffering and speaks of the mystery of the prayer of faith.

THE RICH

The Bible does not condemn riches or material possessions. One cannot help but notice the language of James in this section is very similar to the language of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 6 where Jesus speaks of storing up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. Jesus tells us in the same section, the principle of treasures. Where your treasure is – there will your heart be also. Also in Matthew 6, Jesus tells us ‘not to worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body what you will wear.” He tells us: “For the pagans run after these things and your Father knows you have need of them.” Our Heavenly Father understands we have need of these things, but He warns about these ‘things’ becoming our idols, our treasures.

Paul writes to Timothy and tells us: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (I Timothy 6:9-10)

Later on in this same chapter, Paul writes: “ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (I Timothy 6:17) Did you notice what Paul just said about riches? He said they are –uncertain.

Now is this section addressed to rich non-believers or to rich believers? I believe there is instruction for both. First of all realize wealth in the time of the New Testament was measured in three areas: grain; gold/silver; and the clothes one possessed. So James refers to what can happen to these three areas of wealth when they are hoarded selfishly rather than used for good. Grain stored and not used can rot. Clothing not worn is the target of moths which eat them. And gold and silver were often buried in the ground and corroded. Do you understand James is talking about unused wealth? This applies to both believers and unbelievers- use it or lose it. God never wastes anything.

James does not condemn riches or possession, he condemns the ungodly way people obtained them, or the selfish way in which they used them.   James is addressing Hoarders and Oppressors. Those who oppress take advantage of the workers and keep back their wages, under pay them so as to enrich themselves. He says you have lived in luxury and fattened yourselves, but you have fattened yourself for the slaughter, the judgment of God. Any person who builds his life upon the physical things of this world will come to know this type of despair. Consider the rich man in Luke 16.

As believers we are to take the position of stewards. It all belongs to God; we are only stewards of His possessions. We are to use them and share them in the way He would have us use them. The understanding of the principle of stewardship is one of the most difficult for many of us. Yet the understanding of how to handle what God has given us- is one of the ways God builds character into our lives. George Muller, who received millions of dollars to fund orphanages, never asked another person for money. He only asked God. His faithfulness was rewarded because George Muller understood the principle of stewardship, believe God owned it all. And since God owned it all, God would provide what was needed.

We are to worship God, love people and use things. Yet when we look around today we see how this has been perverted. We worship things, love self and use people. God is left out completely!

What happens when we do not use what God has given to us? Here is a principle that can apply to our physical talents, our gifts, our abilities and possessions, our time, and everything that we are. When we do not use or allow God to use what He has given us- it will stand as evidence against us. God never intended anything He has given us to be wasted, misused or hoarded. Everything He gave us, He gave us to be used. Jesus said, “For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again.” (Matthew 16:25) Here is a mysterious truth- we only really have what we give away and share with other people, and give to the kingdom of God. This we receive back. This we store for ourselves in heaven. This is true wealth.

 

PATIENCE IN SUFFERING

In the NIV the word patient or patience is used four times in as many verses in James 5: 7-11. We also notice the word perseverance is used twice and the reference to Job who has become the ‘poster boy’ for patience while suffering. We have become increasingly impatient in the world of technology that has given us the micro-wave, the lap top, smartphone and instant everything. We all live for the most part with more possessions than we grew up with. And most of us through investments such as 401K, and Social Security have more wealth than our parents did. We also are a debtor nation as the concept of credit, buying on time has made possessions more affordable with the concept of easy monthly payments. So we do not have to save, and wait and delay gratification- we can have it now. As a result many are under the harsh yoke of debt.

I remember when I came home and told my wife, I had seen what I wanted to do in this industry. I wanted to be a speaker. I wanted to do that and I wanted to do it right then. It would take me another 8 years before that was a reality. I would be 45 years old. I was in training during that time, I just did not realize it. In 1989, I started teaching a weekly Sunday School class. This was the final part of my training. Now I can look back and see- you cannot rush training. More importantly, you cannot rush God. We all want to get into the Promised Land, God has for us. God says, wait a minute; you need to possess the spiritual muscle to defend the Promised Land. Adversity is to our faith what exercise is to our muscles. God knows when you start serving the Lord and having an impact, however small it may seem, the enemy will ramp up the attack. To the Karate Kid, it seemed like his teacher was not teaching him what he needed to become a skilled fighter, but his teacher knew exactly what he was doing. So does God who is preparing each of us and equipping each of us to do what He has called us to do.

His reference to Job makes me nervous. We are always afraid God is going to test us or allow us to be tested to the length and depth Job was tested and tried. God is the one who called Satan’s attention to the outstanding character and attributes of Job. God called Job, blameless, upright, a man who shunned evil and feared God. In other words, Job was a righteous, wealthy man. What follows is a real story of a real man that God bragged on. What follows can best be described as a wager- a bet that Job will not curse God even when his faith is tested like none of us can imagine. If we will be honest- it seems unfair to Job and his family. You know what Paul would say to us who think that? “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it: why did you make me like this? Does not the Potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble cause and some for common use?

What you are forgetting is Our Heavenly Father is Almighty, Sovereign God. He has all knowledge. Knows the end from the beginning. He would not allow Job to be tested about that which he could bear. Do you like it when someone boasts of your abilities? Does it make you want to do that even better, try harder and prove their boasts was not wrong. Endurance, perseverance is the proof.

Here is the truth: we will all endure cycles of suffering and restoration, and sometimes we do not know why this is happening. Being a child of God means we accept the fact God can do whatever God wants to do. And He always does what is right. Our job is to ‘stand firm.’ What do we stand on? – The promises, principles and character of God, Our Savior.

Remember this one truth: God knew what Job could endure. God would prove to be true and the devil a liar. A hosts of angels and demons observed this battle. And millions since then have read the story. God knows how everything will turn out. And for any of us who are His children, it will always turn out well. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

James says be patient, like the farmer awaiting for the land to yield its valuable crop. The Lord is coming and He is coming with His reward for those who are His. Do not grow weary or throw away your confidence for He is coming. “The Judge is standing at the door.” The trees are beginning to bud as we look at the signs that reveal we are growing nearer each day to the coming of the Lord.

 

 

THE PRAYER OF FAITH

Of the many mysteries in the Bible, I admit, is the one I want most to understand is the prayer of faith.   I know God would not encourage us to call on Him and promise us He would show us great and mighty things if it were a false, empty promise. God is not cruel and it would be the height of cruelty to encourage us to enter into prayer if it was a hoax; had no power to change us or our circumstances. * I find we usually want God to change our circumstances, while it seems God is more interested in changing us!*

Now I know personally and from experience what it is like to pray for years, for God to intercede on behalf of a loved one and seems as if nothing is happening. It can at times cause me to be discouraged. But rather than give up- we need to ask God to reveal our loved one’s true need so you can intercede in faith for them. We must also be willing to be the one God will use to meet their needs.

This brings to mind what Jesus told us in Matthew 6: 8: “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Then why, Father, do you not go ahead and give us what we need? Maybe He is and you do not recognize it for it is not what you ask for but it is what we need. Remember my God shall supply all your NEEDS. Is the purpose of prayer to get what we ask from God? Or is the purpose of prayer to get to know God? I think it is both, if we what pray for is God’s will in a situation. Is prayer to get Gods’ will to align with mine or vice versa? We know the answer to that- don’t we?

Paul shares his goal with us in Philippians 3, when he writes: “Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me.”   Paul is referring to what he has just previously written which stated the goal he wants to obtain: ‘to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like Him in death; and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.’\

What Paul is praying is he wants to take hold of the reason Christ Jesus has taken hold of him. Why did the Lord Jesus take hold of me and of you? For one simple reason – the Lord lay hold of me and you to make us one with Him. The Lord wants to share His life with us and have us share our life with Him. It is one of mutual love. He wants to give Himself to us and in turn wants us to give ourselves to Him. God created me and I exist and you exist because God wants to give Himself to us. The Lord wants us to know Him. “This is eternal life to know the true and living God and the One Whom He has sent.” (John 17)

When Jesus Christ was on the earth in his physical body, He asked disciples to follow Him. As he neared His time of crucifixion and resurrection – He spoke of abiding in Him. Could it be we are following Him, but missing out on the ‘abiding life’? In John 15, we see the illustration of the abiding life. We will also find the key to effective praying, the prayer of faith, and here in these verses. I do not count myself to have mastered this- yet even this week studying this scripture has encouraged me.

“Abide in me.” This is a command. WE know this truth- if God gives us a command. He will also give us the desire and the will to do His commands, His good pleasure. There is nothing more important to understanding effective praying than understanding the Abiding Life. This is a step by step process and we shall see how this promise and this command is meant for us and how surely his grace is provided to enable us to obey this command. This is the root of the Christian life. Understanding this will take time. Understanding this will take a daily feeding on the Word of God through reading, studying, meditating and prayer to live the abundant life Jesus came to provide for us.

I cannot possibly cover it in a short time. So we will work our way through these all important truths contained in John 15. I do believe this is true for it comes from the lips of our Lord Jesus.

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” DOES THIS NOT SOUND UNBELIEVABLY WONDERFUL TO YOU? DO YOU NOT WANT THIS IN YOUR LIFE AND TO BE ABLE TO TEACH THIS TO YOUR LOVED ONES AND THOSE JESUS SENDS YOUR WAY WHO ARE ATTRACTED TO YOU BECAUSE OF JESUS IN YOU?

I want this. I want you to want this. But more than that- Jesus wants you to want this more than anything.

I do not have any idea how long we will spend here in this section. I do believe this is something that we must all work on our entire lives. We are prone to wander. We were born as restless wanderers. Looking for something that would please us- Jesus stands at the narrow way, the strait gate and beckons- ‘come unto me.’ But you understand He wants you to come unto Him and stay with Him.

We live divided lives. *OUR OLD NATURE SEEMS TO CONTINUALLY BATTLE AGAINST OUR NEW. Realize this truth- self is not dead. You are dead to self because you are alive in Christ. One is only dead to self when abiding in Christ. If your old nature is constantly causing you problems- then realize you are not abiding in Christ.* The abundant life is a whole life. Let us pray the Lord will use this study of the Abiding life to reveal to us what He so wants us to have. In doing so- I believe we will have a greater understanding of prayer and the prayer of faith.

Let me just lay out the basics as you read the passage known as the Abiding Life in John 15: 1-17. We see the parable of the vine and the branches. Jesus explains the parable by identifying each part of the illustration: Jesus is the True Vine; the Father is the vinedresser or gardener; and we (believers) are the branch. It is understanding our position as the branch we will discover the prayer of faith. “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish (will, KJV) and it will be given to you.”

It takes time grow into Jesus the Vine and bear fruit. We came at his invitation to ‘come unto to Him, and He would give us rest.’ But his invitation includes staying with him under his yoke. We will discover this is the abiding life where we learn to yield completely. The rest he gives at salvation with forgiveness of sins provides instant rest. However, sooner or later, we are prone to wander, and having trusted Him for our eternal salvation, we then begin to live life- doing the best we can in our own strength. Our prayers are based on our desires, our needs, and grace to help in time of need. We no longer have the ‘rest’ we first experienced. And we grow weary and heavy laden again and again. Here is a truth we will discover in this study- we find rest only in abiding in Him.

The story of Israel in the wilderness after God had delivered them from the slavery of Egypt is a lesson for all of us, because all of us spend times of our Christian lives wandering in the wilderness. For 40 years-(which would be the major part of a lifetime for us), the nation of Israel wandered in the desert. Always on the move, on the way, never very far from the Promised Land and yet always coming short of the promised rest. Does this describe your life at times? Maybe even now?

You realize the vine holds nothing back from the branch. Everything the vine has drawn up from the soil, the rain, and all the nutrients needed for an abundant production of fruit, the vine provides. The vine gives all it has to the branch. The sap is the picture of the Holy Spirit providing the life changing flow into our lives that produces fruit. This parable teaches us the completeness of the union. So close is the union between the vine and the branch- without the vine, the branch can do nothing.

As a born again believer you are not under the law with its demanding DO; we are under grace with its blessed BELIEVE.   When asked what they must do to work the works of God, Jesus replied this is the work of God to believe in the One He has sent. (John 6: 29)

The Lord’s work is to keep you and me abiding in Him. My work is to abide in Him. I do this work by believing in Him.

Treasure Principles

 

  1. You can’t take it with you- but you can send it ahead.
  2. God owns everything. I am His money manager.
  3. My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
  4. Heaven, not earth is my home.
  5. I should live for the eternity, not the here and now.
  6. Giving is the only antidote for materialism.
  7. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living- but my standard of giving.

 

Scrooge actually became giddy with giving in the Christmas Carol.

James

James 4B

James 4B: Temptations and Tomorrow

We ended our lesson in James 4 after studying the three wars that we wage in our lives: with one another, within ourselves and also a war with God. How do we find this peace, this satisfaction and how do we resist the temptations? Here are the steps as James outlines them, and it begins with a very important source for solving all our problems. James says: “ But He gives us more grace.”

  1. Identify the problem. James told us in the first chapter two truths about temptations. One truth is every person is tempted. Secondly James told us: : when we are tempted we are drawn away of our own lusts, and enticed. Temptations are warning signals we have desires against God’s will.
  2. Get more grace. It is God who gives us the desire and the will to do His good pleasure. ( Phil 2:12) You cannot resist the devil in your own power and people who depend upon their own will power end up prideful. God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble.
  3. Submit to God. Remember the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11. Jesus is inviting you to submit to his yoke,trade in the yoke you are under- the yoke of sin. And take his yoke and you will find rest. Get under God’s authority, obey His word.
  4. Resist the devil and he will flee. How do we resist? WE have weapons that are mighty ( of divine origin) to the pulling down of strongholds and taking every imagination and pretension that is against the knowledge of God – taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Know your weapons- prayer and the Word of God.(2 Cor. 10) Put on the full armor that God has provided. Take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And remember the Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than a two edged sword dividing asunder the thought and intentions of the heart. Now ask God to rebuke the devil in the name and through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus resisted the devil in wilderness in Matthew 4 as a man who was equipped with the Word of God. Quote scripture that relates to your temptation. Study Ephesians 6; Matthew 4 and 2 Corinthians 10.
  5. Draw near to God. God allows Satan to tempt us, the book of Job reveals this fact. When we recognize the temptation, God says flee- run to Him. Strive to have a conscious awareness of God at all times. Daily Bible intake, especially in the morning and a time of prayer is the way to start.
  6. Wash,cleanse your hands. If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness. ( I John 1:9) Godly sorrow which leads to repentance is part of true confession. Without godly sorrow and repentance we risk being double minded. ( That is carnal) Satan uses past sins to bring us new temptations. Cleanse your conscience with confession and repentance.
  7. Purify your hearts. Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any wickedness in it. There is a sin that easily besets you and causes you to stumble. It comes from the secret desires in your heart.
  8. Grieve, mourn and wail. ( KJV- Be Afflicted) This is the result of godly sorrow and brings true repentance. See as Paul did in Romans 7 your wretched condition. Remember how committing that sin made you feel.
  9. Humble yourself in God’s sight. This is where we get more grace. Humble yourself or God will humble you. See Luke 14:11

Realize we have an enemy of our soul, the devil. Recognize his methods. We have an old nature and world system which entice us. Recognize the following ways the enemy attacks: * impure thoughts; *doubting God and His Word;* discouragement and disappointment; *fear and worry. Use Scripture to resist the devil and take captive those thoughts which come from below and not above. Become skillful in conquering temptation by the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit. Put on the full armor of God. Pray- using the name of Jesus Christ and the blood of Christ – reminding the enemy he is already defeated. “ And they overcame the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..” ( Revelation 12)

As we transition from dealing with temptation to boasting about tomorrow, James gives us two verses regarding judging one another. One verse in particular gives us something to consider before we judge others. “ There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you- who are you to judge your neighbor?” ( James 4:12, NIV)

We are to be representatives of God, for we were created in His Image. We also have been born again and bear the family name so our actions reflect on the name we proudly bear. But James is clear there is only one Lawgiver and one Judge- and it is not us. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, give us another warning about judgment: “ Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Let me ask you: do you want God’s judgment for your sins or His mercy? I am pretty sure- your answer is mercy. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am a sinner. A sinner by birth and a sinner by choice. This does not prohibit a church body from exercising scriptural authority over those in the fellowship in flagrant disobedience as reported in the church at Corinth in I Cor. 5&6.

James has been teaching us about spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is not perfection. For we will not be perfect until we see Him, the Lord Jesus. Then we are told we will be like Him. Until that time we are in the process of sanctification, being conformed to His Image. We should continue to strive for perfection even though the goal of sinless perfection will not be achieved in these earthly bodies- but we should sin less. We should be making progress. WE cannot live in sinless perfection on this earth- but we should be living a life true to our identity as the children of God Almighty. Know how you are going to live a life with less sin? Love the Lord with all your heart. Trying to keep the law without first observing what James called the ‘ royal law of love’ will become drudgery one cannot possibly do. Jesus said if you love me, you will keep my commandments. A mother does not treat her child with kindness and provide their needs out of fear of violating the laws designed to prohibit child abuse. She keeps the law out of love for her child.

In this last part of chapter 4, James ask a rhetorical question which has a chilling answer which will surely give you food for thought. James asks: “ What is your life?” He then answers: “ You are a mist that appears a little while and then vanishes.” James says your life ( in light of eternity) is a wisp.

We keep track of our lives in terms of years, don’t we? How old are you? We say I am 70 years old. We do not say, I am 25, 567 days old. Yet the Bible tells us to ‘ number our days.’ Is God trying to tell us something ? Today is all we have. You can waste it; spend it or invest it. Moses prayed- “ Lord teach us to number our days, that we might gain a heart of wisdom.” ( Psalm 90) David prayed: “ Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” ( Psalm 39)   We reach a point in our lives where we realize how fleeting time is. When we were younger- we wanted to be older.   And then at some point we wanted to be younger. We are told – ‘ all the days ordained for each of us were written in God’s book before one of them came to be.’ ( Psalm 139)

James addresses what appears to be businessmen who have their day planners out and are marking their calendars with activities and mapping out where they are going when and how long they will stay there and what they will do. There is nothing wrong with planning, but planning without God included is acting as if God is of no consequence. Often as Christians, we get caught up in business, especially men. It is in our nature to be competitive achievers. We are told ‘ plan your work and work your plan.’ When we spend so many of our days and nights in blocks of 8,10, 12 hours per day 5 and 6 days per week working at our jobs, building our careers, our resumes, and businesses, we sometimes seem to put our lives in compartments, don’t we? There is our career, our relationships with spouse, family, friends, church life, social life,business life, etc. We go around life as if it were a board game, like monopoly.

What is the board on which our life is played? It is a calendar that marks our days, months and years. Then one day- we finish the game. All the pieces, all the stuff we accumulated goes back in the box. Others will play it – picking up where we left off. Competing, comparing, climbing and keeping score.   You realize at some time you have spent your life accumulating things which will not last. And you also realize life does not consist of the abundance of possessions. ( Luke 12) Jesus said- in the parable of the rich fool who planned on living a long life with all he had saved and stored and then suddenly that night his soul was required. He died. Others took possession of all he had worked to save in order to eat, drink and be merry. Jesus said ‘ this is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.’

Life cannot be properly understood or lived in the most fulfilling way without considering the spiritual realm.*Do not leave God out of the equation- or you will never get the answer right.*

James says we live because God wills we live. I exist because God willed for me to exist. I was born at the appointed time and place which God determined. Acts 17 tells us this fact. Paul explains: “ God did this so we might seek God and perhaps reach out and find Him though He is not far from each of him. For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘ for we are also His offspring.” ( Acts 17, Paul at Mars Hill.)

God is Sovereign. “ The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations. He thwarts the plans of peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh- the people He has chosen to be His own possession.” ( Psalm 33)

James concludes these thoughts about planning with this advice- with a word to the wise . “ Instead you ought to say, “ If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

WHAT IF?

You may be thinking- at my age, my career is winding down or over. I am getting older and not as spry as I used to be. What if this verse is for you: “ They will bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘ The Lord is upright; He is my Rock and there is no wickedness in Him.” ( Psalm 92:14,15)

What if – we really believed God has a plan for us? “ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. “

Do you believe this? If this is true, then the only plan that really ends up prospering us is God’s plan. It is the only plan we should be seeking.* In fact God tells us : “ Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.” ( Jeremiah 29) Notice it is whole hearted efforts- half-hearted efforts will not work. By now you have probably learned – whole hearted efforts are the only ones that get results.

God declared twice what his plans were. Told us what to do following these two declarations of his plan. It is one of those promises if we do our part- He will do His. Seek Him with all your heart, call upon Him and pray and you will be found by the Lord – He will set you free from that which has held you captive.

What if we believe if – we seek His kingdom and His righteousness first- God has promised to provide all we need- all we seek of true value will be given to us. Do you believe this?

What if – we really can bear fruit and remain green and fresh in our old age.

What if- we believed what Jesus said when He said : “ If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. For what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world , yet forfeits his soul? “ ( Matthew 16)

What if- we believed the promise, yes, even the challenge the Lord gives us in Malachi: “ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” ( Malachi 3)

What if– we believed that “ He who did not spare His only Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also along with Him grant us all things? ( Romans 8)

What if – we believed what Peter wrote when he told us: “ By his divine power He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him.” ( 2Peter 1)

What if – we believed God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do. Nothing is impossible for Him!

What if- we believed we are who He says we are and we can do what He says we can do.

What if- His Word was active and alive in our lives through obedience?

What if – God Almighty is not only great but is also good, kind, loving and merciful. For He is.

There are no-‘ if’s and, or buts.’ My Heavenly Father is loving- it is His very character: God is Love.    Then James says- if we know this- we ought to do what is good for to know what we ought to do and not do it is sin.

God answered all our what if’s when He raised Jesus from the dead. Seen by over 500 people.

God answered all our what if’s when in one day, just as He said it would be, Israel became a nation again in 1948 in one day after centuries of not existing.

And God answered my what if’s the day I prayed- “ Lord Jesus if you are real – come into this room and into my life and save me!” And He did.

So what will you do with today? For today is all we have. Remember this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Also we are reminded how a day can be used: wasted, spent or invested.

“ I tell you , now(today) is the time of God’s favor, now( today) is the day of salvation.”

 

So today make it your goal to please the Lord!

James

James 4

James 4: The Wars We Wage

James asks the question: Who is wise and understanding among you? Notice he links these two attributes together- wisdom and understanding. The he discusses two types of wisdom here in chapter 3, which really are connected to the disorder we see in chapter 4. The type of wisdom that causes disorder is described in James 3: 15 as – ‘earthly, unspiritual and inspired by the devil.’ This is false wisdom that comes from below. It is based on man’s wisdom according to the world’s standards. It is unspiritual which means it is opposed to God. It is the outgrowth of natural man’s wisdom. This produces envy, jealousy, bitterness and selfish ambition. It produces disorder which causes the fights, wars and quarrels among believers. Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. It is sincere and impartial. Wisdom from above knows what to do, what is right and what is wrong. Understanding knows why it is wrong and why and when it is right. Wisdom provides the what- understanding knows the why. (I believe we always should start with why- which will then direct our what and how)

Quite often in an argument or quarrel we seek to justify our position. But instead of seeking self-justification, it would be better to direct ourselves to self-examination. What is this fight really about? James will shed light on this very question in chapter 4.

 

  1. “What causes fights (wars, KJV) and quarrels among you? “ This evidently is a war we wage against each other.
  2. “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” We are at war with ourselves.

3.”Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” We are at war with God.

This seems to be the three major battle fronts upon which we wage our wars. When we view this Scripture as a strategy for peace in our lives, (and remember James is writing to Christians) we will see the steps to peace. And as indicated earlier by James- wisdom is ours for the asking and it comes from above. All good gifts come from above from our Heavenly Father. We are all seeking in the most general sense- to be satisfied. To have a sense of well-being and peace within our souls. After all we do love ourselves. We have a desire to be satisfied and only God can satisfy what our soul hungers and thirsts for.

First James sets up the three battle fields upon which we wage war. Let us look at each of these and find the cause of these outbreaks.

WORLD WAR I- The War We Wage Against One Another

The enemy loves to cause fights and quarrels among Christians. As a result, a godless, pagan world looks in the church and sees nothing different than what they see in the world. The first war is among ourselves. I imagine Adam and Eve had quarrels after the fall, don’t you? After all, Adam blamed Eve for all their trouble. And we see the first murder was among family as Cain slew Abel. A quarrel rose among Lot’s herdsmen and Abraham’s herdsmen that ended in Lot moving to Sodom and Gomorrah. Absalom created a war with his own father David. And even the disciples of Jesus argued over their positions of importance in the coming kingdom. James has already pointed out several areas of disagreement: rich and poor; employment wars, we will read in James 5 of the owner and his workmen who are underpaid; slander against one another ( verse 11). Every battle starts within, James tells us. This is a continuous battle we all fight as believers against our old nature which seeks pleasure. We each have a natural craving for pleasure. We want what pleases us. Paul writes about this battle in his own life: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7.)

Pleasure-seeking destroys one’s love for spiritual things. We may keep on doing the spiritual things, but we do them out of duty and not love. Jesus said: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) When we love Jesus with all our heart, the easiest and most enjoyable thing in the world is to serve Him and obey Him. But when our goal is to obtain our selfish pleasures- obedience to the Lord is a disagreeable duty. WE cannot serve two masters for we will love one and hate the other, devoted to one and despise the other. If I may paraphrase- we cannot serve God and selfish pleasure both.

WORLD WAR II. The War Within Ourselves.

The very essence of sin is selfishness. Every conflict and battle we wage usually starts within our own hearts. James states the reasons is James 4:2: “Don’t they (the quarrels) come from your desires that battle within you?” It was a selfish desire. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife to the king to save his own skin. David took Bathsheba for his own pleasure. Achan took the forbidden loot and caused Israel’s defeat. “We have turned everyone to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6)

These situations shed light on the verse which states: you have not because you do not ask God. Abraham decided he would solve his problem his way- do it yourself- no prayer. The prodigal son in Luke 15 thought he knew what life would satisfy him best and took off to engage in a do-it-yourself life of pleasure. How many times have you made a decision without asking God, seeking to solve the problem or get what you wanted by simply depending on your own wisdom? You lacked understanding didn’t you?

What happens to selfish desires, temptations that are not dealt with swiftly and scripturally? They lead to action. James says you – kill and covet- you quarrel and fight. Selfish living leads to selfish actions. Selfish living leads also to selfish praying. Selfish praying will not get you what you want. “You ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4: 3) Selfish living and selfish praying always lead to war. War on the inside of you will spill to war on the outside.

The question may arise- if I am praying for a lost loved one; for a job when unemployed, for health when I am sick, for success in a project- am I praying selfishly? Jesus encouraged perseverance in prayer. (The widow before the judge; the neighbor who wanted bread)Paul said we should pray always and about everything. Praying for the lost is always in God’s will because scripture tells us He is not willing that any should perish but all would come to repentance. Praying for honest work is certainly within God’s will, what one has to be careful about is if our pride keeps us from taking work we think is beneath our qualifications. Health when sick is certainly Scriptural and James even discusses praying for the sick and anointing with oil. Evangelists Ron Dunn said he had enough faith to be healed, he was just not sure he had enough faith to stay sick. Sometimes the Lord decides to leave the thorn in your flesh for greater good. Success can give one a platform to glorify God and we are told to let our good works shine before men to glorify your Father in heaven- just make sure you are not trying to get in the spotlight with Him.

What is the purpose of prayer? When you pray Jesus said pray that your Heavenly Father’s will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Prayer is not to get you will done but God’s will done. John wrote: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us, whatever we ask – we know that we have what we have asked of Him.” (I John 5: 14, 15)

People who are at war with themselves because of selfish desires they cannot have or enjoy are always unhappy. Instead of being thankful for what they do have, they complain about the blessings they do not have. It does not seem to matter how much we have, we always desire something we do not have. Unhappy people in your midst are like the one bad apple that spoils the whole barrel. (Wonder if that saying comes from the apple Eve and Adam ate? It sure did spoil everything.) It also underscores what we have just been talking about. They had everything and could eat from every tree in the garden, but one. The one thing they did not have is the one thing they desired.  Also the enemy who uses this to tempt us by telling us if we have this or that- we will be happy and by now I hope you know- he has never delivered what he promised.

What we want is to be satisfied. Bring your desire to God for satisfaction. It is in a relationship with our Heavenly Father we will find satisfaction. As we walk with Him in obedience, we will discover that for which we have searched. If we do not bring our desire for satisfaction to God, then we will by default bring it to the devil and this fallen world. We have not- because we do not ask God to supply us with what will satisfy- but believe the world has what we want.

Here is the truth: “Jesus said, ‘For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again.” (Matthew 16:25)   Live to please yourself or live to please God. If you live to please yourself, you will be on a never ending search for that external happiness that quenches your thirst. But your thirst will never be quenched. The things of the world cannot satisfy you – they are temporary, not eternal. Look in your attic, your garage , your closet at all the thing we have worked for, bought and enjoyed for a season, only to have the grow old, worn, and no longer satisfy.

WORLD WAR III. The War with God.

Are you beginning to see a pattern? Every war we have from the wars with each other to the war within ourselves has a root cause. The root cause of these wars is rebellion against God. Sin is rebellion against God. When one lets the world, the pagan society, conform one to its pattern, we will desire those things our old nature desires and the pagans run after.

How did we come to declare war against Almighty God? What were we thinking? It comes gradually and over time as we become friendly with the world. We have three enemies and we must not fraternize with the enemy. Of course you know these three enemies well: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The ‘world ‘we speak of here is the society and culture in which we live that is anti-Christ, anti-God. It has become more so in our lifetime that America has moved from a pre-dominantly Christian nation to an agnostic one. Our president told us the truth when he said, “America is no longer just a Christian nation.” James said this of Abraham- ‘Abraham was called a friend of God.” (James 2:23b)   Abraham was a friend of God. Lot was friend of the world. Lot ended up in a war; Uncle Abraham had to rescue him.

James can be painfully, but truthfully blunt sometimes as he tells us: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James compares friendship with the world to adultery. The world wants to conform us to its pattern. It wants us to be ruled and satisfied by obtaining those things which appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. John tells us ‘the whole world is under the control of the evil one.’ (I John 5:19)   James is saying to be on good terms with the world is to be on good terms with God’s enemy. James said this is what we are doing when we ‘choose to be a friend of the world.’

God gave us the desire for satisfaction. God also supplied everything we need to have our desires satisfied. James told us every good and perfect gift comes for our Heavenly Father. All I have needed His hand has provided. These three enemies conspire to deceive us into believing what Eve believed which was God had not supplied everything they needed and in fact was withholding what was good for them. It was a lie.

Friends with God. My best friend is Jesus, Jesus, we sing. Is He your best friend? Friendship speaks of closeness.   One of the wonders of technology is the smart phone that offers face time. Isn’t it a wonder to behold the face of a loved one, though separated by distance on your smart phone and hear and behold their faces at the same time.   As believers we can have face time with the Lord Jesus. “ But we all with open face ( unveiled) beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed, into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” What eye could not see and ear could not hear nor enter into the mind of man- is true of the natural man who has not received the Spirit of God. But we have received the Spirit of God that enables us to see Him with the eyes of our heart. To hear His Words and understand He is speaking to us.

Friendship with God will humble one. What a privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer. The very thought that Almighty God, Creator of everything- is not only willing to listen to me and talk to me- He looks forward to it. Loves me unconditionally and wants the best for me and mine.

The ‘flesh’ in Scripture refers to our old nature. It is the nature we inherited from Adam and is prone to sin. The Spirit of God can use our bodies to glorify God or the flesh may use the body to serve sin. Thus the war within – the flesh lusts against the Spirit. And the world conspires with the flesh and the devil to tempt us day and night. A Christian who is involved in ongoing sin is carnal. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8.6)

Last but not least is the devil. The world is in conflict against God. The flesh is against the Holy Spirit. And the Devil opposes the Son of God.

How do we overcome these enemies? James gives us instructions to follow if we would enjoy peace instead of war. Remember all sin comes from selfishness. Pride is the enemy of God.

Here is the first step in winning these wars. The KJV says: “But He gives more grace. Wherefore he says- God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (Verse 6) As I am preparing this lesson Monday morning, we are under a winter storm watch. Snow, freezing rain are all occurring as I prepare. I have concerns about my schedule this week. As always we have our ongoing concerns for our family- each with their own special needs and problems. The news that comes at us 24-7 from around the world is enough to make you want to go back to bed and put the covers over your head—-but He gives more grace. God is enough. Do you believe that in your heart of hearts when trouble seems to come at you from every direction? When your woes are great- His grace is greater. My needs can never exceed His supply.

The question is how do we overcome temptation in our lives. Next lesson we will see James’ step-by-step process for dealing with temptation and resisting the devil.

James

James 3

James 3: Taming the Tongue

The first verse of James 3 certainly gets my attention as a teacher. The Word of God tells me I will be judged more strictly as a teacher. This judgment is the judgment at the bema of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is the judgment of our works which is spoken of in I Cor. 3:11-15. It is to test the quality of our works for our rewards. However, because I am a teacher- it makes me think-‘why do I teach?’ And the only answer I can come up with- I cannot help but teach. There would be such a void in my life without the time I spend in the Word of God to prepare. I have learned so much and it has had such an impact on my life. The teacher always learns more than the student. And as a teacher, the Holy Spirit has formed the daily habit of Bible study in my life. I cannot tell you how many times- I have experienced the joy of understanding something in the Word of God; of seeing it in a new, fresh way and how it applies to my life. I have also made friend with theologians of old as I have studied their commentaries, thoughts, insights and sermons.

Having said that- it also makes me aware of the responsibility I have to practice what I teach. I must never teach more than I know. I must also make sure I do not use my position as a teacher as a platform for my agendas or opinions.

Here is something I have learned which applies to all of us. This is a spiritual principle: *One may never understand some things in Scripture, until they start living up to the light we have; until we start practicing what we understand.*

Proverbs has a lot to say about the tongue, its power to build up or destroy. Listen to this Proverb found in Proverbs 6:19:” There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among his brothers.” Did you notice three of those seven involved the tongue?

James then tells us in verse 2: “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone never is at fault in what he says, he is a perfect (mature) man, able to keep his whole body in check. “James is saying if we can control our tongue- we can control our whole body. Here is another way we can judge our spiritual maturity.  The tongue is an indication of our spiritual maturity. When you go to the doctor with an illness- the doctor may ask you to ‘stick out your tongue and say ah’. A tongues’ condition, its coating may give the doctor information as to your health. The temperature is checked by placing a thermometer under the tongue (or used to be). Our tongues reveal the condition of our hearts.

James just told us – we all stumble, we all offend in many ways. The teacher must be more careful for his words direct and influence others, thus he/she is held more accountable.

James will now give us six illustrations of the tongue: the bit in the horse’s mouth; the rudder of a ship; fire, a poisonous animal; a fountain, and a fig tree. These six illustrations can be grouped in three distinct categories which reveal the power of the tongue.

The first two illustrations- the bit in horse’s mouth and the rudder of the ship illustrate the power to direct and influence. Just as the small bit can guide and direct the power of a horse and small rudder can direct a massive ship at sea- so can the tongue exert great influence in the directing others and ourselves. Words lead to deeds. Words reflect what is in the heart.

The bit controlled by the reins enables the rider to direct the horse. So a 110 lb. jockey sitting on a powerful race horse can direct him and guide the horse. A rider who lets the horse have his own head and go where he wants can find himself thrown off the horse or on a dangerous run-away. The bit in the horse’s mouth is controlled by the reins in the rider’s hands which allow the rider to direct the powerful body of the horse in the direction he/she wants the horse to take. We cannot control our tongues on our own. We must depend upon Jesus to control our tongues. When we saturate ourselves in the Word of God, and it has taken root in our hearts- we give the reins to our Lord. The popular bracelet several years ago WWJD- stood for ‘what would Jesus do?’ What we really need to do is apply the same philosophy to what we say- by asking ‘WWJS- what would Jesus say?

The rudder of the ship gives us another illustration. This small rudder can direct a massive ship in the direction the pilot wants the ship to go. In a storm at sea, the pilot and his ability to guide the ship with the use of the rudder requires great skill. What we say in the midst of life’s storms determines the direction our lives will take just like the rudder does. We can have victory or we can be defeated by our storms, life’s problems by what we say. The disciples, many of whom were fisherman, knew something about storms at sea and how to deal with them. However, on a storm at sea when they feared for their lives, even with Jesus on board, they despaired. Listen to their negative words: “Don’t you care that we are perishing?!” If we doubt God and His promises during the storms of life- our tongues will reveal our despair. Don’t you care, Lord, we are hurting? We are never going to get out of this- we are never going to be able to overcome this ______________ (whatever storm you are enduring, financial, health, and a loved one in trouble). It is easy to praise God when the sun is shining and claim His promises of the abundant life. However, when you are sinking in a dark, desperate storm it is not so easy, is it?

Certainly there is no one who had more reason to complain about the storms in his life than Job. He certainly could have been bitter and we would have not faulted him. In the course of one day- Job suffered a lifetime of tragedy. He lost his wealth, his livestock was stolen or struck dead by lightning and his servants and all of his children were killed in a storm. His response: “He fell on the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mothers’ womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1)

Next Job was covered from head to toe with painful sores. His wife advises Job to curse God and die. Job replies: “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble? If all this Job did not sin in what he said.” (Job 2)   Job was steadfast and refused to curse God, complain or become bitter. What was the end result? Job discovered an intimacy with God he would not have otherwise experienced. “I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you.” (Job 42:5) And we are told- “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.”

I remember when my mother was diagnosed with cancer about six months after we had buried my father. I was with her when the doctor told her and she said: “That’s not fair!” She apologized almost immediately, but I knew how she felt, for I had the same response inside me. Guess what? Life is not always fair, but God is always fair. And of this we may be sure- God is in control for He is sovereign. He is almighty and all knowing and He is too wise to be mistaken and too good to be unkind. I have to trust Him with all my heart. For if I do not trust Him with all my heart, He cannot control my tongue. And if I allow my old nature to take the rudder in the storms of life- I will find myself complaining and bitter about life and it only make matters worse. You might say- I do not feel like praising God and thanking Him for this storm. Then you realize you are allowing your emotions and feelings to take control rather than the Lord. You will soon be in the same despair the disciples were on that stormy night – when they questioned the Lord’s goodness and wisdom and said: ‘don’t you care we are perishing?’

What comes out of your mouth during the storms of life reveal what was in your heart. As Vance Havner used to say: ‘what’s down in the well comes up in the bucket. ‘Proverbs 4:23, 24 says: “above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Sin on the inside and pressures on the outside are seeking to get control of the tongue. This means the bit and the rudder must be under the control of a strong man. The reins of the horse must be under an expert horseman, the rudder under a skilled experienced pilot. Let Jesus control your tongue and you will not say the wrong things. Never underestimate the power of words. They have the power of life and death.

God has promised never to place more on us than we can bear. But in the midst of a dark and desperate storm we can despair just as the disciples did on that stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. It comes down to who do you believe? The Lord? Or your old nature and the enemy of your soul, who is a liar? What time I am afraid- I will trust in the Lord. Your tongue cannot only direct and influence others, it can do the same for you when the storms of life crash in or your old nature rears its head like a headstrong stallion and wants to go its own way. A promise of the Lord repeated out loud to yourself can create calm and peace in the midst of the storm. The power of the God’s Word is it is able to create new life. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the fact of the waters and God said: Let there be light and there was light.” (Genesis 1) This is the Power of the Spoken Word of God. It goes forth and accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent.

“I would have lost hope (fainted); unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say on the Lord.” (Psalm 27) Speak to yourself. David said to his soul: “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? For your hope is in God, for I will yet praise Him, My Savior and my God. (Psalm 42)   The power of the tongue to influence and direct certainly applies to ourselves. Speak to your soul, and remind yourself who your hope is in- it is in God. Speak, means to me, to say it out loud.

The next illustration James gives us is the power to destroy in fire and wild animals. Think of the false teachers of false religions which will destroy millions of people who are brought under the influence of the false teaching. Look at what one man, Adolf Hitler was able to do in Germany with the spoken word which resulted in the death of millions. Fire can be good. Remember the couple on the road to Emmaus who the resurrected Lord Jesus shared the Scripture with? After he opened the scripture to them, they remarked: “Did not our hearts burn within us?” A fire can be for good- or it can be one of the most destructive forces on earth. A fire and its billowing smoke can create chaos and confusion. Our words can fuel a destructive fire or under the control of the Lord Jesus can create a fire of zeal for good. Words can cause division among believers, among family and friends or they can unite and bring peace.

To be burned by fire is one of the most painful injuries. A minor burn can create a blister. A severe burn can leave horrible scars, require skin grafts and take a long time to heal. My father caught on fire when he was a small boy trying to make a chocolate cake. He had horrible scars on his side from where his shirt caught on fire. Not only did it leave a scar, take a long time to heal, my father from that day until the day he died was allergic to chocolate, it made him sick. Our words can blister, scar and make people allergic to the gospel of peace because of the flames our tongues have caused such severe burns. James says a tongue that creates this type of destructive fire is ‘itself set on fire by hell.’

James then likens the tongue to a dangerous animal or reptile. We see the enemy appear as a snake; we hear John the Baptists call the Pharisees- vipers; and the enemy is pictured as a roaring lion going about seeking those whom he may destroy. Some animals and reptiles have a poisonous bite, their tongues spread poison which spreads throughout the body. Our tongues can be unruly and viscous like a wild animal or poisonous like a snake or spider’s bite. Animals can be tamed, fire can be controlled.   Likewise the tongue needs to be controlled by the Holy Spirit within. If one’s heart is filled with the love of God, God will light the fire and use it for good. As the Lord did when He opened His mouth and shared the scripture with the disciples on the Road to Emmaus and lit a fire a burning desire in their hearts for the Word of God. But if our hearts are filled with hatred, then the devil will light the fire that will destroy.

Third illustration James uses is the power to delight- the fountain and the tree. “With tongue we can praise our Lord and Father, and we can curse men who have been made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth, come praise and cursing. My brothers this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt flow from the same spring? My brothers can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can salt spring produce fresh water? “A fountain can provide cool water that quenches our thirst. And man must have water to survive. Water is necessary for so many things: drinking, cooking, cleansing, farming, and many other things. Proverbs has a lot of verses regarding the tongue: “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life.” (Proverbs 10:11) Death and life are in the power of the tongue we are told in Proverbs 18.

The water in the laver in the Old Testament tabernacle was used by the priests to cleanse themselves before entering the Holy Place. Jesus said in John 15- the water of his word cleanses us. Our words can help to cleanse others. Our words can lift up or bring down. James also says the tongue is like a tree that provides fruit to be enjoyed. A tree can provide shade and comfort on a hot day. Do your word provide food for a hungry soul? Do you provide comfort to a hot, tired traveler in this world? Trees help prevent erosion. The root system of the tree is the most important part of the tree. If roots do not grow down deep, the tree will not be healthy. Psalm 1 tells us about the man who is blessed, is the one who meditates on the Word of God day and night. His roots go down deep and produce fruit in due season

If we are to have tongues that delight- we must have roots that go down deep. Paul prayed about ‘being rooted and established in love.’ To do this we must meet with the Lord daily and learn from Him. We must let our spiritual roots go deep into His Word. Prayer, meditation and obedience- being a doer of the Word is the only way.

Salt water compared to fresh water is bitter. James may well have been thinking of the account of Moses and people in the wilderness and the waters of Marah. In Exodus 15, Moses had brought the people out of Egypt into the Wilderness of Shur and they had no water for 3 days. Then they came to Marah and the water was bitter. “And the people complained against Moses, saying what shall we drink? So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.”

What did the Lord do when Moses cried out? He showed him the tree. The verb showed comes from a root word meaning ‘to teach’. God was teaching Moses something- not just supplying him and the people with water, but instructing.

Have you been delivered from your old sinful life? Certainly the picture of Moses leading the Israelites from the captivity of Egypt is a picture of our redemption. We were freed from the slavery of sin. However, we can be freed from our Egypt and yet find times in our life, especially during trials, that we are filled with bitterness. What is God showing you is the way to deal with bitterness? You need the re-submerge yourself in the finished work of Calvary. Peter told us Christ bore our sins in His body on the tree. (2 Peter 2:24) Reminding oneself- we have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, we live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the One who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20) Our lives have been sweetened by the work of our Lord on the Tree of Calvary.

Sometimes we come to a place in our lives where an event, a person, or some hurt, some disappointment and all of a sudden life turns bitter. It ruins your day. It ruins your vacation, your plans, and your carefully orchestrated plan for life to be just the way you want it to be. In fact James tells us in the next verses it is envy and selfish ambitions that create bitter hearts within us.   Bitterness is contagious- it spreads and ruins the day for all around the bitter, complaining person. (Tuesday night in Boca Raton)

Maybe what you need is to let God show you the ‘tree’ once again. Drink in through meditation the wonders of God’s love that was revealed on Calvary. He can turn your bitterness into sweetness. He can heal you from your heart. Sit under the shade of Word – and watch the wonder of His Word applied to your thirsty soul.

Ask yourself these simple questions: “Why are you so downcast my soul? Why are you so disturbed? Is not your hope in God? If He is for you- who or what can be against you?

James

James 2

James 2: Genuine Faith

James continues to explain the results of genuine faith. Thus far, James has told us genuine faith endures trials, understands temptation, and is a doer not a hearer only of God’s Word. Hearing God’s Word, reading God’s Word and talking about God’s Word is not a substitute for doing God’s Word.

We will study the three types of faith in this chapter, but first James gives us a virtual test to see if we are prejudiced. James sets up a scenario we can all understand. Here are two people who come into your meeting: one wearing fine clothes and jewelry- looks good, smells good, talks good. The other is a poor man, in shabby clothes, does not look good, and is not clean, does not smell good or talk good. Which do you want sitting by you? Which do you want to get to know better? Truth be known- we usually entertain the rich one and endure the poor one. Feeling sorry for the poor person is not the same as treating them equally.

James then goes on to give us some more to think about: God chose the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom. We tend to view the world in terms of the ‘haves and the have nots’. Of course racial prejudice is the most obvious form of prejudice despite the fact that Paul says- we are one in Christ and there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female, slave or free.

What about the rich Christian? We always like to point out those and in fact they are highly valued. Why is that? Well, we think, since they have more they can do more for the church. Yet Jesus was more impressed with the widow who gave her mite than the rich Pharisee who gave a large offering. The way we behave toward people says a lot about what we believe about God. We are prone to view people based on their past and present circumstances rather than their future potential.

How did Jesus see people? He looked at Peter and saw a rock. He was not one at the time and it would take time, but God looks on the inside at the heart not the exterior. He looked at Levi, a hated tax collector, and saw Matthew a faithful disciple who would write the Gospel of Matthew. He looked at Zacchaeus a rich despised tax collector and saw a little man with a big heart.   If you had looked at me during a season in my life, you would have seen a drunken fool. But Jesus looked at me and my future and my potential. When we see a fellow believer we must realize Jesus Christ lives within him/ her. When we see a lost sinner, we must realize Jesus died for them. I wonder if the church today is looking for people to help us, the church; rather than looking for people the church can help.

Want to know how the rich and powerful saw Jesus? Listen to this statement made by the Herodians: “Teacher, they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.” (Matthew 22:16) They realized Jesus was a friend of sinners, tax collectors, and what they would consider the poor and unimportant people.

Why did Jesus say to his disciples it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven? Simple math tells us the reason. Those who have more- trust and need God less. Those who have less- trust and need God more. Now do you see why Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I find it interesting and sad the suicide rate among the rich is higher than suicide among the poor. Remember the church of Laodicea? They thought they were rich and in need of nothing- Jesus said: ‘you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked…’

James wants to get our attention so he says- ‘listen- aren’t the rich exploiting you? Are they not the ones dragging you into court? Are they not slandering the noble name of Him (Jesus) to whom you belong? ‘It is something I have seen time and time again in business- people will give free goods to the rich who can most afford it, in order to find favor in their eyes. Yet will not give anything free to the poor who need it the most. (Think of Scrooge: ‘are there no work houses? Are the prisons not in operation?’ Christmas? Bah- Humbug!))

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.” When you did it to the least of these – you did it unto Me.

James then refers to the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself as the royal law. Who is one’s neighbor? This is what the lawyer asked Jesus in Luke 10. They had both agreed the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, strength and soul. (May I remind you what Jesus came as – He gave ups his riches for our sakes and became poor. I often wonder if I had lived at that time and been a Pharisee, would I have paid any attention to this poor carpenter turned evangelistic rabbi?)

Now in reply to the lawyers’ question ‘who is my neighbor?’ Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. The answer is found there as to who our neighbor is- it is anyone who needs help that God places in our path.

Verse 10 tells us: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Does this mean a liar is as condemned as a murderer? Look at the 10 Commandments as a chain made up of ten links. In order to get into heaven, one must be without sin- perfect, Jesus said as my Father in heaven is perfect. This means I am hanging onto heaven by this ten link chain. If I break one of the links I have lost my hold on heaven. I have violated the will of God and have not kept the whole law.   Try as I can- I cannot keep the law and the chain to which I cling will break and I will fall. We all fall short of the glory of God.

Now James comes to a very familiar section of his letter which describes three types of faith. Here is the question which will lead you to examine your faith: “What good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him?” James then gives us an easy-to-understand illustration: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’; but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” Martin Luther said we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Ephesians 2: 8 &9 explain we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. The next verse 10 tells genuine saving faith is accompanied by good works that God has ordained we walk in.

Faith is a key doctrine in the Christian life. The sinner is saved by faith, as we just quoted from Paul’s familiar verses in Ephesians 2. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) We are told in Romans 14:23- whatever we do apart from faith is sin.

Hebrews 11: 1 tells us “Now faith is the being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV) In that same chapter, Hebrews 11, we read of men and women who acted on God’s Word and obeyed Him, no matter the consequences. So we might say faith is not just believing in spite of evidence or lack of evidence; but faith, is obeying in spite of the consequences. In Hebrews 11, the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’, their faith resulted in action.

Here is the first type of faith: Dead faith. One of the most terrifying and tragic verses in the Bible comes from the Lord Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Remember what Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer- thy kingdom come, thy will be done.) “Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. (Matthew 7) If one does NOT DO THE WILL OF GOD; THEY WILL DO EVIL.

People with dead faith substitute words for works. They know scripture, so does the devil. Their walk does not match their talk. Jesus wants to feed the poor, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit the prisoner through us- His Body, the Church. The priest and Levite who passed by the wounded man on the roadside in the Good Samaritan parable in Luke 10, had knowledge of God’s Word, but did not put it into practice. There was not a visible demonstration of their faith. WE ARE NOT WHAT WE SAY- BUT WHAT WE DO.

Many have intellectual faith. But faith without works is dead. And can this faith save anyone? The scriptural answer from Jesus Himself is no- depart from me you evildoers.

When one is saved- genuine faith will result in works that accompany this faith. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God (Romans 10:17) Faith in Christ brings new life where there is life, there is growth and fruit. Faith without works is dead faith. ‘He who has the Son has life; and he who does not have the son does not have life.” (I John 5:12)

James challenges this person to show him their faith without deeds and he will show you his faith by what he does, his deeds.

Here is the second type of faith: Demonic faith. This faith is a shocker. James is saying you “believe in one God- intellectual faith. Good- even the demons believe that and they shudder.” When you realize the demons and the devil believe in the existence of God and the deity of the resurrected Christ and heaven and hell and notice what they do- they shudder, they tremble. This faith is both intellectual and emotional. The fears they show by trembling reveal their emotions.   A person can be enlightened in their mind, realizing there is a Creator. They can be stirred and touched in their emotions, but not changed. Remember if we are truly saved, have saving faith we become a new creature. Paul said – ‘we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has ordained before we should walk in.” (Ephesians 2:10) We have heard James clearly describe two types of faith. The first involved the intellect, the mind. Mental assent to the truth of God’s existence. The next type of faith, James said is possessed even by the demons is intellectual faith that stirs the emotions. But this faith cannot save.

The third type of faith is: Genuine Saving Faith which involves the whole person- mind (intellect) emotions and will. The mind, the will and the emotions are the ‘heart’ of man. Salvation comes when we receive the Word of God with faith. (See Hebrews 3: 15-4; 2) James said it is able to save our souls when engrafted with meekness. This faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2: 8&9) It can received or rejected. John 3:18 tells us why mankind rejects this gift. The demons believe there is one God, know it for a fact; they also tremble, fear the one who can send them into the abyss. But they do not do the will of God.

James uses two examples that are extremes: Abraham, the revered father of faith for Jewish people; and Rahab the Canaanite prostitute, also the mother of Boaz. Both revealed their saving faith with the works they did. Abraham in offering his son Isaac on the altar. Rahab by risking her life in hiding the spies and sending the enemy in a different direction. Do you see the works? Do you see the acts and behavior that were an act of the will? Both of them heard and receive the message of God, Rahab had heard about what the God of Israel had done to Egypt and Abraham had heard God’s promise to bless him with many descendants through his son Isaac. Therefore Abraham believes even if he sacrificed his son on the altar, God would raise him up from the dead.

James makes his case: “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith made complete by what he did.” James says he was credited righteousness. (KJV uses the term- counted for credited.) Both mean the same- a financial term meaning to put into one’s account.

We are like Abraham and Rahab were- we had empty spiritual bankbooks before we were saved. We were poor in spirit, we were bankrupt. When you and I by faith believe God’s Word and receive it- we are saved. The term used by James is we are counted or credited with righteousness. It is gift, not of works. We are declared righteous by faith. We are justified. Justification is an important and necessary action. Justification is an act of God, whereby God declares us righteous on the basis of Christ’s finished work at Calvary. It is a once and forever act. It took place for me on September 16, 1977. It was a private transaction just between me and the Lord Jesus. So if this is a private transaction – how can we be sure it is genuine? Let Paul tells us the steps which we will also confirm by as statement from the Lord Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 10: 9&10: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart one believes and is justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” And our Lord Jesus tells us: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. “(Matthew 10) Genuine saving faith results in public confession that says I am a Christian. I want to tell the world about my Savior.

The justified person has a changed life because he/she has a new life within them. This person will obey God’s will. Do they sometimes not obey God’s will? Of course and Abraham’s story shows the journey of spiritual maturity when he sometimes leaned to his own understanding and did not obey God. There were consequences- but Abraham was learning as we do it is always best to trust the Lord and leave the circumstances to Him.

Here is the epitome of saving faith: “you see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:22)   Abraham was not saved by faith plus works. He was saved by a faith that works. This is genuine faith.

We are justified and thus counted righteous before God by faith. Our works demonstrate our faith. The mind understands the truth. The heart, the seat of our emotions, desires the truth in its innermost parts, and the will acts upon the truth resulting in good works which God has ordained we should walk in.

Genuine saving faith leads to action. James tells us in very clear words the answer to the rhetorical question he asked us: Can this faith save you? (That is a faith without works)

His answer: ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without works dead.”

And a dead faith cannot save you.

Are you a little bit or a lot worried about your faith now after studying these types of faith?

Let me ask you some questions you must answer in your heart of hearts:

  1. Was there a time in our life when you honestly realized you were as sinner and admitted it to yourself and God?
  2. Do you realize you cannot save yourself?
  3. Do you truly understand the Gospel that Christ died for our sins, and rose on the third day and now resides in heaven at the right hand of God?
  4. Have you trusted the Lord Jesus for your salvation?
  5. Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?
  6. Have you believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confessed with your mouth before others?
  7. Has there been a change in your life?
  8. Do you long to please the Lord?
  9. Do you share Christ with others?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139)

I like what Peter wrote and to me it describes how I feel about the Lord Jesus: “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of our souls.” (I Peter 1:8, 9)

The Bible tells us we love Him, because He first loved us. When we fall in love with our spouse, and they with us- it makes us feel wonderful. When you fall in love with Jesus who loves you and gave Himself for you – it makes you feel wonderful. I love Him because of the way He makes me feel. Consider these emotions a believer experiences:

Experience:

  • Loved- I am loved unconditionally and eternally by the Lord.
  • Feeling clean and free- form I am completely forgiven, my chains are gone, I’ve been set free.
  • Feeling valued: fully pleasing to Him; I am His treasure and He takes pleasure in me.
  • Feeling safe & secure: I am totally accepted in Him
  • Feeling whole: I am complete in Him; I am a new creature.

 

For further study/verses concerning fruit bearing and works see the following:

Matthew 3: 7.8

Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 7: 21-27

Matthew 25: 34-40

John 15: 2, 5, 6

2 Peter: 5-8

 

James

James 1C

James 1 C

As we come to this next section of James, the KJV connects the preceding verses with ‘wherefore’; the NKJV reads: ‘So then’ and the NIV has an interesting phrase: “Dear Brothers: Take note of this: …” James is getting ready to tell us how to count trials a joy; deal with temptation and remember from whom the only good and perfect gifts come from. James will then give us a true picture of what ‘pure religion’ looks like.

The truth James tells us in James 1: 18 is the key to spiritual growth: “He (God) chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.” James introduces the Word of God by which we are born and which we must learn to implement if we are to live out our faith.

Be sure of this the Word of God is not just a key to spiritual growth- but the master key-which opens everything!

James has told us to count it all joy when we face trials and tests. The test or trial cannot be counted a joy- but the outcome from proper response to the test can be counted a joy. The Lord Jesus gives us our supreme example: “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame.”(Hebrews 12)   We concluded tests come from the outside in various forms of adversity. They are allowed by God to do a work inside us. The test of adversity will purify our faith, strengthen it, and enlarge it. Paul tells us these tests will provide experience and experience – hope that does not disappoint. Temptation can come alongside the test as whenever we want to do good- evil is always present. Temptation is an enticement to do evil. God does not tempt us. It comes from within and it impacts our behavior. In other words it comes from within us and results in our behavior on the outside. James makes it clear: every person is tempted. (*Temptation is not a sin. It begins with a thought which must be displaced by the Word of God. We must learn to think on things that are true.) James says we are tempted when we are lured away by our own evil desires. James says we should ask God for wisdom in these situations. If his Word is hidden in our hearts we can displace the temptation with God’s truth and overcome the temptation. He warns us we must ask in faith and doubt not. James tells us not to be deceived- every good and perfect gift comes from our Heavenly Father.

Now James is going to tell us how we are to deal with tests and temptations, and not be deceived. So in the NIV versions James is saying – you might want to write this down, ‘take note’. For this is how you are going to deal with the challenges you face as a believer.

James admonishes us: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” James explains in the next verse why this is important. “For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” The worst thing we can bring to a religious controversy is anger. But we must also guard against anger at God when His Word demands our obedience in an area where we are disobedient. There is righteous anger, there is the anger of God- but we are warned- ‘be angry and sin not.’

Clearly James is speaking to believers, as he addressed this section ‘my dear brothers’. He had just finished telling us where the new birth comes from- God, who chose to give us new birth through the Word of Truth. We are born again by the incorruptible seed, the Word of God. It is life giving, life changing and life sustaining.   Certainly being a good listener is important in our relationships with others and we should be good listeners. We also know anger causes our voices to raise and will soon turn into a shouting match, like we witness every night on television talk shows. But here the obvious ‘listening’- James is talking about is be swift, quick to listen to the Word of God and slow to speak. The two go together- you cannot be quick to listen if you are speaking. If we want to hear what God has to say- we need to listen. When we pray- is your prayer primarily a monologue with no time to be still and listen to God? Be slow to speak and quick to hear from God. The Bible has much to say about listening, hearing the Word of God. Jesus would often say: “He who has ears, let him hear.’   Proverbs says ‘turn your ear to wisdom and apply understanding to your heart.’ (Proverbs 2) And of course Romans 10: 17 says’ faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God.’ When we read the Scriptures- God is speaking to us. The question we must ask ourselves, are we listening? Listening with the intention of obedience?

When James says ‘be slow to anger’- James is speaking of an anger that is a resistance to the revealed purpose of God. The ‘therefore (wherefore in KJV) makes a clear segue to connect all the verses together as James will give us specific instructions on how to deal with these problems. “Therefore, get rid of all the moral filth and the evil that is prevalent and humbly accept the Word planted (engrafted) in you which can save you.” KJV reads- “… receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your soul.”

What can prevent one from hearing the Word of God? James is saying all that is wrong in your life is clogging up your hearing like wax build up in your ear canal would hinder you from hearing. I used to say to people, I can hear – but I cannot understand the words your are saying. Word recognition was difficult with my hearing loss and with background noise- hearing was next to impossible. James is saying we need to make sure our lives are cleansed and rid of all moral filth- for they are hindering us from hearing God’s instructions. Our unconfessed sins are like wax build up that hinder us from hearing and understanding the Word of God. Unconfessed sin also creates the background noise. The world system is a noisy one. Peace and quiet are foreign to most of us who have become accustomed to the background noise of our society. For the carnal believer trying to listen to God amidst all this static of unconfessed sin makes it difficult to hear God clearly. The world system wants to conform us to its standards. It wants to drown out the Word of God.

The word ‘humbly’ in the NIV and ‘meekness’ in the KJV speaks of one who has their strengths and mind controlled by the Spirit of God. Notice where the Word is engrafted: in our souls. When God created us- He placed within us a soul whose main purpose was the ability to have the Word of God engrafted within it. The seed which is the Word of God is planted in our heart the soul of man. It is to be nurtured and cherished and obeyed. The result will be the fruit of the Spirit. (The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Gal 5:22)

Next James warns us of a common, but deadly problem- self deception. “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says to do is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”   KJV says: “But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

The final test of salvation is fruit. Religious works may be manufactured, done in the flesh. The test of real fruit is: does it contain seed within it to reproduce? Real spiritual fruit always has seed within in it for more fruit. This is how the harvest continues to grow and produce more fruit. We share the fruit of the Spirit with others; we cast the seed and it reproduces fruit in others and the process goes on from one person to another- from one generation to the next generation. Real fruit contains the seed of truth that keeps on reproducing after its own kind. And remember the law of sowing and reaping: we reap what we sow. “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6)

If the Word of God is to bear fruit, we must obey these instructions James is giving us here. Let us look at these instructions and conditions that must be met which are clearly laid out for us here:

  • Be swift to hear. The believer is listening to His Master for instructions and directions. Listening carefully with one purpose to do what their Master says to do. The Master has the key that opens all the doors. The Master Key is the Word of God.
  • Be slow to speak. Simple reason here- you cannot hear if you are speaking. Ever watch people with opposing views on the talk shows. They never listen to one another- talk over each other and increase the volume until they cannot be heard nor can anyone else hear them. Read God’s Word, listen to it; study it; memorize it, meditate upon it, and make sure you engraft it when you obey it. Just do it! Be a doer- not a hearer only. Study without implementation is a major problem, which is also made more dangerous by the fact it is deceptive.
  • Be slow to anger. (Swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.) We have to admit we live in a society that is quick to anger, quick to speak and slow to hear. This is certainly a problem. But the greater problem is when we get angry with God and God’s Word because it convicts of unrighteousness. It would be like getting angry at the mirror, because you did not like the way you looked.
  • The fourth thing we need is a prepared heart. Jesus gave us an excellent parable about the sower and the seed and the four types of soil. He interpreted the parable so there would be no misunderstanding. This is what James is talking about when he instructs us to get rid of all moral filth and evil in your life. You do not want to plant a seed in soil that is not prepared. And you do not try to receive God’s Word in an unprepared heart. The hard heart must be broken up; the stone must be removed; the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches which choke out the seed of the Word must be cleared away. Sin must be confessed and repented of in the believers’ life. Only then can the prepared heart receive with meekness the engrafted Word of God.

Now the examination of our faith takes place in the mirror of God’s Word. A mirror’s main purpose is to be able to see yourself. It is how we address our appearance.   One who merely glancing at himself or herself in the mirror as they pass by can overlook something that is amiss. Are you only glancing at the Word? Reading a chapter or a devotional for the day cannot profit you personally. It is the deep look into our hearts that is needed. What if you had your favorite photograph of yourself- one taken by a professional, all blemishes removed, smile perfect, maybe even taken a few years before and you looked your best. What if each morning instead of looking in the mirror at how you actually appear- instead you looked at a wonderful photograph of yourself and thought- I look great. Never looked better. That is what glancing at the word, a short devotional reading without obedience is like. This is what a hearer only does. If you do not listen to God for instructions to obey you are deceiving yourself. I am not saying you are an unbeliever. But James is talking about a problem that keeps us from growing up spiritually. WE substitute reading for doing-do not confuse reading with doing. We see only the things we want to see- the best image of ourselves, instead of letting the mirror of God inspect us and reveal our real self. A search of our life by the Holy Spirit using the Word of God can be painful. We had rather He not look in certain areas of our life, until we have had a chance to clean them up. But we miss the point- He wants to help us clean them up.

Here is what is needed: “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- will be blessed in what he does.” (NIV) KJV: “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

Each day we have a choice. We have been given a free will. This is liberty, a gift we possess. Our forefather talked about- ‘ life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’   We can make choices with our own free will in the pursuit of life and happiness. We can enter the broad way and wide gate or the narrow way and the narrow gate. But we must understand liberty is the power to choose either right or wrong- freedom is the result or consequence of making the right decision. You can choose to drink or smoke or pursue the pleasures of our society which break no law of the land. However, you realize after a while they enslaved you rather than provided you with freedom. It is for freedom that Christ set us free. The narrow way is the way of discipline. You are free to charge on a credit card and obtain things you desire. However, paying off the debt is not as easy. We can quickly become enslaved to debt. The discipline of budgeting is what provides one with financial freedom. Jesus said: “If you continue (abide) in my Word, you are my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:31, 32)   Abide means to live in His Word to depend on it for directing your life. It is life giving, life changing and life sustaining.

The truth of God’s Word is not something to just put in your minds; it is a life to be lived. If what we hear on Sunday, does not equip us to live and make right decisions on Monday- we have missed the point of worship and fallen into a very dangerous, deception- hearing without doing.

You may be blessed by the singing, the preaching, the teaching and the hearing of the Word. You might be stirred in your emotions, but never do anything. People drive for miles to hear a famous preacher, or singer for they want to be blessed. God wants people who want to be a blessing not just blessed. In fact the blessing comes in doing, not hearing only. Hearers only are those who heard but were like the shallow soil with the rock underneath. They heard the word with joy, but because it was not combined with obedience (which comes from faith that works) – they last only a short time. When tests come because of the word- they quickly fall away. The person who is a hearer is a person who describes themselves as ‘spiritual.’ In fact the latest surveys of religious beliefs- show the fastest growing segment of those surveyed to fall in the category of ‘spiritual – but not religious.’ Religion has a bad name in the 21st century.

Hebrews 4 describes this condition: “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” (Hebrews 4: 2)  

Now we understand the verse in Romans 10:17 better: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.”   Hearing combined with faith results in doing- obeying. It makes one not just a hearer only- but a doer.

So we see examination is the first step and ministry of the Word of God which acts as a mirror to show us where there are wrong things in our life. But there is more the Word of God does.

The Word of God can also restore us. Do you remember what Moses asks for when he was building the tabernacle? Moses asks the women in the camp to bring their bronze mirrors or looking glasses and according to Gods’ instructions made a bronze basin or laver. The laver stood between the brazen altar of the sacrifice and the holy place. This basin was filled with water for the cleansing of the priests’ hands and feet before they entered the holy place.

Water for washing is a picture of the Word of God and its power to cleanse us. Jesus told his disciples and us- we are cleansed through His Word which He has spoken to us. (John 15) When we get saved- all our sins are forgiven. The shed blood of Christ at Calvary washes away all our sins. This is the only solution and why we sing- ‘what can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!’ His blood paid the ransom. It paid my sin debt and your sin debt in full. In fact Jesus is the atoning sacrifice not only for our sins, but for the sins of the world.

All of my sins were forgiven at Calvary- past, present and future. However when I sin in the present and the future, I have become defiled- another way of saying dirty. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples the night of his arrest, Peter at first refused for the Lord to perform such a lowly task on him. The Lord told Peter unless I wash you, I can have no fellowship with you. To which Peter replied- then wash me all over – not just my feet. Jesus replied: “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’(This meant Judas) So when we got saved, His blood washed away all our sins. But when we walk through this dirty world, our feet get dirty. We sin and become defiled. Our fellowship with the Lord is broken. Yet it is His Word that promises us- if we confess our sin and turn from it- He is just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

So the Word is a mirror that examines us and reveals our sins. Then the Word is the water that cleanses us from our defilement when we sin in the present.

But this is not all there is to the Word of God. (In fact I feel like one of those advertisers on late night television who is telling you all the things you get when you buy their product. The will say repeatedly- ‘but wait that is not all, call today and you will receive a free set of ….’ )

There is more- much more. The Word of God is not only a mirror that reveals our sins, but also the water that cleanses us from our defilement.

And here is another benefit you do not want to miss. The Word of God transforms us. James is clear in his instructions the Word cannot transform the person who looks in the Word of God then goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. He tells us the person who looks intently into the Word of God- will be a doer of the Word not a hearer only and he/she will be blessed. Are you looking intently?

2 Corinthians 3 tells us how this works.   After we have been born again- given new life by the Word of God, God wants us to grow up. We see not only does it serve as a mirror to examine our innermost being it also serves the purpose of restoring us when we confess our sins and repent from them. But God wants to changes us on the inside. He wants to transform us as we grow in grace and not commit those sins again. Spiritual maturity is the goal God has for each of us as His children. These are the plans He has for us- to give us a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29) This is the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10:10; and the vine life he teaches us in John 15.

2 Corinthians 3 provides us with a contrast between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. “For the law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

The Law given to Moses in Exodus was written on stone tablets. In fact if you recall the laws were broken immediately and literally as soon as Moses had come down from the mountain with them. The Laws given to Moses were written on stone tablets- we call them the old covenant. The new covenant was written on the heart. The old covenant condemned and killed; the new covenant brings forgiveness and life. As John wrote it brought grace and truth. Jesus told us he did not come to do away with the Law, but fulfill it. He kept the law, never sinned. The only one to ever accomplish this feat. This is why Jesus, the Son of God, is the One and Only who can pay for our sins. His blood was perfect, without flaw, priceless and paid for sins in full. Hebrews 10 tells us: He takes away the first covenant (by fulfilling it completely) that He might establish the second covenant.

So by its nature, the old covenant was temporary. The new covenant of grace is eternal. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul gives us an illustration of this truth. When Moses came down from the mount where he met with God, his face was shining. (Exodus 34) However the glow was in the process of fading, so he placed a veil upon his face to hide this fact. Remember what happened in the temple when Jesus died? The veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. The veil that separated man from God was removed.

Paul then speaking of Israel says until this day when they look into the law their minds are blinded for the veil has not been taken away. The veil is taken away when we believe in Jesus Christ. Therefore we have unveiled faces- our minds are not blinded by unbelief. As believers we can ‘behold as in a glass (a mirror) the glory of the Lord, and are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit. (2Cor. 3:18, KJV)   The NIV version says: “ And as we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord , who is the Spirit.” The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to transform into the image of Christ.

This is the epitome of spiritual growth. This is how our faith will be enlarged, strengthened and purified. Transformed- as we meditate and obey the Word of God thus renewing our minds. It starts with the Word – the incorruptible seed that is able to save our souls. We do not become spiritual overnight. I have been studying the Word of God day and night for the last 26 years. I was a Christian for almost 12 years before I began to teach the Word.

Notice we enter this personal relationship with no veil to hide anything. (Can’t hide from the Lord anyway.)

Last but not least, James says we begin to tame our tongue. Our speech changes, not just removal of words that are offensive, but words that are critical, hurting and unkind. James will later show us faith without works, deeds, is dead. Here are the practical outworking of real faith- we look after orphans and widows. This includes spiritual orphans who do not have a Heavenly Father.

If we desire to grow, the Word of God gives growth. If we desire to live life to the fullest, the Word of God makes us fully alive. If we desire to be changed, the Word of God can do it as we focus on His Word and look into intently with the goal to obey what He tells us to do.

  • Believe the Word.
  • Study the Word
  • Honor the Word.
  • Love the Word.
  • And most of all- obey the Word.

This is the Master’s Key that unlocks the divine vault that contains the blessing of heaven where every good and perfect gift awaits us.

 

 

James

James 1B

James 1 B:  Tests and Temptations

Now last week we started the study in James and I read from both the KJV and the NIV.  We notice there are different words used in these two versions for the word –‘temptation.’  The NIV refers to the word ‘temptations’ used in verse 2 in the KJV as ‘trials’.  There is a difference in the connotation of what those two words mean.  In the original Greek the root word from which we derive ‘temptations’ is also the root word behind: ‘trials’ or tests. So it can be translated trials as well as the word tempt, which means to entice. So the same word is used –but with two subtle differences.

In this first section James is referring to tests of difficult circumstances which God has allowed or sent into one’s life to test their faith with the purpose of exposing weak areas and teaching us to trust Him. How we react to these tests reveals much about our faith. God’s purpose in these trials of adversity is to purify one’s faith, enlarge it, strengthen it and prepare us.  Tests come from outside and impact us on the inside; temptations come from the inside, within us and can affect our behavior or actions on the outside.

In each test or trial the Lord allows in our lives as believers, there is always hidden within the temptation to respond in the wrong way.  One can complain and become bitter. We can question God’s love and care for us. We can resist His will.   Our response to the tests and trials of life reveal where our faith is and whether we have no faith, little faith, or great faith. The enemy of our soul uses these tests and our response as an opportunity to tempt us by providing an opportunity to escape the tests or trial.  In fact he accuses God of not having your best interest and of course your old nature quickly agrees with the accusations.  You will be tempted to find a solution to get out of your problem instead of waiting on the Lord. Remember one of the signs of the immature believer is impatience. Getting ahead of God can create even more problems, just look at Abraham.  He trusted the Lord to take him to Canaan, leaving the Ur of Chaldees to a land which the Lord would show him.  When he got to Canaan, what happened?  The Lord sent a famine to Canaan.  Abraham had flocks, his wife, his nephew Lot and servants to take care of and he was new in this journey of faith.  It was a trial sent by God, an opportunity to trust God to provide. (Trust is a learned response.)  But Abraham had not yet learned the name of Jehovah Jireh and went to Egypt and God had to deal with Abraham and the mess he got in.  In your spiritual journey, you will at times, fail the test. Hopefully you will learn from your experiences.  You will learn as Abraham that God will provide all your needs. We must learn to trust His Goodness, for the enemy will tempt you to question God’s goodness in these times of testing. There can be long term consequences of failed tests- Abraham’s life is a testimony to this truth.

Now in verses 9-11, James mentions two other tests: the test of poverty and the test of richness.  In each case there is a temptation within the tests. If you are poor – your greatest temptation is covetousness.  You envy and covet the rich and can be tempted by the things you do not have. (If you recall the story of Genesis, Adam and Eve could eat from every tree in the Garden, but one, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.)  Yet it was the one thing they did not have that was used to tempt them. You might be prone to think- well I can identify with that temptation, but if I were rich – I would not want for anything.  Yet we are told in Mark 4:19, KJV:  “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it becomes unfruitful.”  Riches are deceitful. The rich person trusts himself, his wisdom and his resources to solve

His problems. However when we give our lives over to acquire physical wealth and possessions and love the things of this world- we soon find those things only satisfy temporarily. We soon grow tired of them and search for the next new and exciting thing. This is the deceitfulness- that the possession of these things will satisfy the deepest longing of our heart. But life does not consist of the abundance of our possessions.  After all once you have died- what becomes of all you have worked so hard to obtain?  Leaving this great wealth to your family might also cause them to stumble and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches will then choke out the Word of God in their lives and the generations to come. Do you see the enemy’s strategy to choke out the Word of God is always his primary goal. Why?  For the enemy knows we are born again by the incorruptible seed- the Word of God. It is also as Peter wrote by these great and precious promises in His Word we are partakers of the divine nature and escape the lust of this world.

Jim Elliott said ‘a man is no fool to give up what he cannot keep for that which he can never lose.’ The riches the poor man has in Christ are even more valuable to him given his poverty. He is a rich, poor man.  What is important in this world is to ‘fear God and keep His commandments.’  A very rich and wise man said that- Solomon. Solomon discovered the vanity of looking for meaning to life in wealth, position, power, entertainment and sensual delight. He has searched for meaning in life in all the wrong places. He describes the emptiness and meaningless of it all in his story told in Ecclesiastes. Solomon was a poor, rich man.  Did you know statistically more rich people commit suicide than poor people?

Now verse 12 of James 1 is a perfect example why the NIV chooses to differentiate between the word – temptation and trial or test.   KJV reads:  “Blessed is the man endureth temptation; for when he is tried shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him.”  The NIV reads this way:  “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trials, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

If the word in the KJV means ‘enticement to do evil”; one does not endure the enticement to do evil, we resist it or overcome it.  In the case of youthful lusts, we are told to ‘flee youthful lusts.’  We are never told to endure the enticement to do evil. So here James is not talking about enduring the enticement- he is talking about enduring, preserving the trial or test- knowing it is working together for our good.   When we endure the testing of our faith we are blessed- happy, joyful.   Do not miss the condition of this promise: it is for those who love the Lord.

This brings us to James clarifying and expanding on the truth of where temptations, the enticement to do evil come from.  And James is emphatic in this truth that NO TEMPTATION TO DO EVIL COMES FROM GOD. God is perfect and holy.  There is nothing within God that can be enticed by evil, sin. For the same reasons it is impossible for God to tempt anyone to do evil, to sin.  (However God does not shelter us from temptation, but gives us the tools and the power to resist temptation.)

THE ANATOMY OF MURDER –DEATH BY SIN

James was emphatic and leaves no room for doubt- ‘God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He tempt anyone.’

Here are our first two truths:

  1. Every man is tempted. Everyone is tempted. Temptation is the common experience of every human being- Christian or Non-Christian.  We all face the battle of temptation and how we face

The battle is the mark of genuine faith and spiritual maturity. Learning how to overcome the battle of temptation and use the divine weapons we have been given by God is vital!

  1. The temptation comes from within- by our own evil desires.  We are told our old nature is dead, having been crucified with Christ. Yet we know- crucifixion was by design a slow means of dying, a form of torture designed by the Roman Military to serve as a warning to all who broke the law. I am a new creature- old things have passed away and are passing away and being replaced by the new God has provided for me.  Paul tells us in Romans 6, we are to reckon (count) ourselves dead to sin.  We must rely on this fact, because our old nature does not ‘feel’ dead. Our faith is in the facts not the feelings.  Emotions can be deceiving, as we will see in this passage.

Now James tells us temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. .  These are words used in fishing- meaning ‘bait that lures one’.  In fact we use lures in fishing- those are designed to look like food, or use bait such as worms. A fish can be swimming along when it is attracted by the bait. The fish turns away from where it is going and takes the bait, only to discover too late there is a hook in it.  What pulls us to the bait is what is within each of us that cause us to be tempted- lust. Our old nature has evil desires and we are drawn away by our lusts. Left unchecked, unguarded our old nature will move toward the baited hooks, the lures that draw us away. It begins with a thought which is not taken into captivity.  Lust is a driving passion. You old nature is always seeking the opportunity to be tempted. John tells us in I John 5- “We know that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” Thus the trio who conspire against us to entice us- the world, the flesh and the devil. The stage is set- the battlefield is our mind. It is the old nature versus the new nature; the outward man against the inward man; the flesh against the Spirit; the new creation against the old creation are the ways the Bible describes this ongoing battle.

James is not saying ‘the devil made me do it.’ James is saying in very practical terms- ‘don’t blame the devil. Sin is your fault.  Man has since the fall in the Garden wanted to blame someone else for his sin. James says when we sin- there is only one reason- we chose to do it. Almost all sin is a perversion of a desire, an appetite that was God given. Lusts can be for many different things. It can be for power, pleasure, possessions, a relationship or a host of other things- from sex, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food, clothes, etc. Lust is a strong, passionate desire. Desire can be for good things or bad things.

We will look at the process in what is really the anatomy of murder and look at the four steps.

  1. Desire.
  2. Deception
  3. Disobedience
  4. Death.

James moves from one illustration of hunting and fishing to childbirth to describe the process. The child that comes forth is sin. He is going to describe the four steps of wrong desire that bring forth the sin and of course the wages of sin is death.  This is always the result of sin- death.

It starts with desire. Psalm 37 tells us:  “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Desire is an emotion. It begins with a feeling of wanting to be satisfied. Our minds begin to

Dwell upon this desire. Our imaginations begin to picture us having this desire satisfied. We realize the things of this world are luring us. Things we set our eyes upon. The things we allow our minds to dwell upon, the places our feet take us, the things our hands do, the fellowships we nurture that become relationships.  We use the outward members of our body to encourage and fulfill our lust.

What is the next word – deception.  Desire is an emotion. Deception takes place in the mind. You start with a desire in your emotion and then it becomes a deception in your mind. Your mind begins to rationalize that you have a right for that which you desire. You deserve it. Now do you see the process? The lure, the bait entices you, draws you away. The hook is baited and the intellect is deceived by the emotions. You believe you deserve it. And so goes the pattern:  it starts with a desire, which left unchecked, moves to deception which will then come up with a plan, a design to make this a reality in your life. To satisfy this longing because you have convinced yourself it is right for you – you deserve a break today.

The next step is disobedience.  The emotion, the uncontrolled thoughts, leads to the deception of the intellect to the next step which is the action that takes place.  The result is behavior. Behavior is the actual act resulting from emotions which lead the mind to rationalize which leads to a plan which ends in disobedience. Every outward action began as a thought.  ‘As a man thinketh in his heart- so is he.” Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it come the issues of lie.

The result of sin- death. Death is separation.  Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death is separation of your soul from God.  Eternal death is eternal separation from God.

Almost everything in our society works on our emotions. I can get upset watching my favorite team get beat. I can have my emotions, desires moved by a drama in a movie, a book or on television. Advertising is constantly coming at us to do one thing- stir our emotions. For it is in our emotions where our attention is first attracted.  The enemy uses the things of this world to arouse our old sensuous nature.

Here is what is so maddening about this process- the enemy is tempting us to keep us from obeying God. God always has what is best for us. In the next verses, James will tell every good and perfect gift is from the Father of Heavenly Lights.  Every- Good and Perfect Gift. Satan from the very beginning questioned God’s goodness.  He is a liar and a deceiver- God is good and in Him there is no shadow of turning.

When you know the Word of God- know God’s view point, you will learn to recognize the bait, the lure, and the deception. The immature Christian lets their feelings make their decisions.

The more you exercise your will in saying no to temptation, the more God will control your life.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. (Philippians 2)

So based on this anatomy of sin- at what point do you deal with sin? At the level of behavior, disobedience? No. You deal with sin in its initial attack, the desire. And desire starts in the emotions.

Remember the verse in 2 Peter?  Peter writes: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in this world caused by evil desires. (lust)”

Here is the number one problem and mistake we make, 2 Corinthians 10:  “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we do not wage war after the flesh.” KJV “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.” NIV    The world tries to change the flesh- the outward man. The world says change our behavior. The world is always working on the outside of man.  Advertising manipulates us by saying if we dress a certain way- we will feel better about ourselves. If we drive a certain type of car, we will have a better image of our self.  Yet the Bible tells us- where the trouble starts- it starts within.

Now Peter tells us God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10 this includes the weapons we fight temptation with. : “The weapons we fight with are not weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God; we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. “(2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5) Do you see where the battle is? The mind.  Paul writes in Romans 12- do not be conformed by the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Paul also dealt with the members of our body – our outward man in this section by telling us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.

We have numerous other scriptures regarding our thought life, our minds.    We are told ‘to have this mind in us, which is in Christ Jesus.’ We are to set our minds on things above, not the things here below on earth. ‘

Ever wondered why the devil does not want the world and us included to not believe the Word of God? He knows we can use the Word of God against him as Christ did in Matthew 4.

‘The Word of God is alive and powerful. Sharper than a two-edged sword; it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ‘(Hebrews 4:12)

We will study more in detail in James 4, the steps we take to resist the devil.  We will study how to recognize thoughts that are wrong and take them captive by replacing them with truth.

We close today’s’ lesson by considering what James tells us about our Heavenly Father. He is the giver of all good gifts. They are good and perfect- because He is good and perfect. The NIV says – ‘He does change like shifting shadows. He is immutable.

James 1: 18:  “ God chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.”

How are we born again?  Peter tells us we are born again of the incorruptible seed – the Word of God. Paul writes:  “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of Glory.” (Ephesians 1:14)

The Word of God is the instrument of salvation. Man is saved when the Word of God comes alive in him. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10; 17)

But the Word of God is so much more than just the instrument of salvation.

It not only gives us new life, it transforms and sustains our life. It comforts us and guides us and gives us the ability to resist the devil and temptations.

This Word must be preached and taught in our churches.  God has given us new birth so that we might become channels through which the word is shared with others in the hope they can experience new birth. The bottom line- sin shall no longer have dominion over you. Then you can experience the abundant life- yes there will be testing.  But you will realize this will enlarge and strengthen your faith so that you might produce even more fruit and your joy be complete. James is telling us something – He is saying- there is nothing worth having outside of what God has to give us.  And God delights to give good and perfect gifts to us- His children. God’s gifts have nothing in them to cause us grief.  They are perfect.

They satisfy our deepest desires and longings.

WE will learn the steps to take toward spiritual maturity.

We will learn the following in this study:

  1. How to identify the problem
  2. How to get more grace
  3. How to submit to God
  4. How to resist the devil
  5. How to draw near to God
  6. How to cleanse your hands
  7. How to purify your hearts
  8. Understand what is means to be afflicted
  9. Understand the principle of humbling yourself in God’s sight.

James is going to share with us how we ought to live out our lives. He is addressing the need for spiritual maturity. How to match what we say we believe with how we live. I believe I belong to Christ and Christ belongs to me. Now how do we live a life in that says the same thing. How to move from being a hearer of the Word to a doer of the Word?

James says it is by grace through faith.  A ‘faith that works!’

James

James 1

James:  Genuine Faith

James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus is the author of this book. It is believed to have been written around 50 AD, and perhaps is the first book written in the New Testament.  We are told the following information regarding Jesus’ earthly family:  “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? (Joseph). Isn’t his mother’s name Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters still with us? “ ( Matthew 13)  So taking the ‘sisters’ as a minimum of two- Jesus had four brothers, and at least two sisters a minimum family of 7 children.   We believe James was the next to the oldest after Jesus.

There is also a mention of Jesus’ brothers in John 7.  “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.”  Another verse tells us this:  “When his family heard about all of this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21)  His brothers could not yet understand who he was. This was their elder brother. They had known him all their lives.  He did not leave home and begin his ministry until he was 30 years old.  Many theologians believe Joseph had died earlier and Jesus as the oldest had stayed to make sure the family was provided for until all could take care of themselves.  I believe their concern was for Jesus’ well being and came from their genuine love for him. After all the disciples were with him only a little over 3 years- but they did not want him to be arrested or put himself in harm’s way.  None of them had the Holy Spirit yet, so they could not understand who Jesus was. * It should be noted- Dr. Luke records for us in Acts 1: 14 among those praying in the upper room were: Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers.

There are other mentions of James specifically which will also provide us with additional information.  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul writes of Jesus’ post resurrection appearance: “After that He was seen by James, then by the apostles.”  James is also mentioned by name in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem council. He is considered a leader at this time as everyone listens to him. Paul went to visit him after his conversion and after his three years in Arabia. (Galatians 1: 19)  In Galatians 2, Paul refers to James as the ‘pillar of the church.

Some of the most well known verses in James deal with genuine faith. James says: “…faith without deeds (works) is dead.”  We will see James is not talking about a salvation that comes as a result of works, but works that come from salvation. These works are evidence of our faith- genuine faith. This is what this letter of James challenges us from the very beginning to examine ourselves to see if we possess genuine faith in the following areas:

  • Faith that endures trials
  • Faith that harbors no prejudice.
  • Faith that has power to control the tongue
  • Faith that acts wisely.
  • Faith that waits patiently.

Paul writes to us to ‘examine ourselves to see whether you are in the faith.’ (2 Corinthians 13)   To see if money is counterfeit, bankers are trained to study the real thing. This is what we will do in this study- examine the real thing- genuine faith.

We can start with the definition of faith:  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11: 1 NIV)   “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” KJV.

  • Genuine faith is simple faith; child like faith that is not complicated.
  • Genuine faith trusts God not self.
  • Genuine faith works.

Examine yourselves continuously. Test it. Grade it according to the ‘key’. The key has the right answers which are found in Scripture.

Prove yourselves (KJV) says Paul.  Prove yourselves means proof, evidence of your faith. James will tell us the proof is your works; this is the fruit you bear.

Know yourselves. Do you know that you know that you know you are saved?  Do you doubt your salvation sometimes?

This is a book that will challenge your faith, Make you question yourself- which is good, but often painful.  It was a book written primarily to Jewish Christians.  These were scattered among the Roman Empire’s nations. They were persecuted by the Romans, rejected by Gentiles and by their own people, the Jews, who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah.

James is writing to them because they have problems in their personal lives, the same problems we face. Many who professed to be Christians did not live what they professed. We can see how applicable that is to today’s church. They had problems within their own fellowships due to the inability to control their tongue, thus creating divisions. James was dealing with backsliders as well as those who were Christian in name only.  We see the same problems today. People who talk one way and walk another way contrary to what they say they are. Being conformed by the world- worldliness was a problem then as it is now. There were persecutions and hardships, also.

But perhaps the common cause, the root of the problems was – spiritual immaturity. These Christians were simply not growing up. In James 1: 4 we read: “But let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.” (KJV)  “Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)  Perfect means mature and complete. James did not mean sinless, but a mature Christian, balanced, grown up.

Is it not time we grow up?

Spiritual maturity is one of the greatest needs of the church today. “The church should be a workshop for adults, not a play pen for children and babies” (Warren Wiersbe)

This is what we will do in this study, study the real thing- genuine faith and the maturity it brings about.

The Marks of Maturity:

  1. Patient in testing and trials
  2. Practices the truth.
  3. Controls his/her tongue.
  4. Peacemaker, not troublemaker
  5. Prayer warrior who prays in times of trouble.

Now when I selected James as our next study, I was considering the attribute of the faithfulness of God.  I figured out James must have known and experienced the faithfulness of God as the younger brother of the Lord Jesus.  Growing up with Jesus as his older brother- James had learned he could trust his brother Jesus to do what he said he would do.  Understand this principle- trust is a learned response.  Paul learned to be content- because he learned through experience the Lord could be trusted to supply all his needs.

I want to be able to make sense of James’ first statement contained in verses 2-8 which in KJV reads: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diver’s temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let no man thing that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (KJV)   How did James come count it all joy?

God tests our faith to create confidence and give us experience. Satan tests our flesh to cause us to sin.

How do we turn the trials and temptations of life into victory that produces a more mature faith?  The answer is found in these four commands we are to obey.

  1. Count (consider in NIV) it all joy when you fall into divers (various) temptations (trials of many kinds). This our first hurdle isn’t it?  One that trips us up more than anything else. How can we count trouble, trials and temptations a joy?  First of all the immature believer has the unrealistic expectation that life will be without problems or trouble.  The Lord Jesus told us in this world to expect trouble, tribulations. Peter said you should not even consider it strange when you encounter fiery trials. But joy? Does this mean I take joy in painful trials? No. The joy is not in the trial but in the outcome of the trial. The word ‘count’ in financial terms means to evaluate. We must evaluate what this means in light of what God is doing in and through us. Remember when Paul wrote God

Was working all things together for good for them who love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.  What was the purpose?  The next verse tells us God’s purpose is for us to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. (Romans 8:28&29) James valued being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus more important than comfort. James valued having his character conformed more than he valued comfort. *Here is an important truth- what we value determines how we evaluate life. If we value success, material wealth and physical comfort, then we will not be able to ‘count it all a joy’ when we fall into various trials. I wonder do we try to straddle both- having a life of physical comfort, with all the trappings of success and yet find we cannot serve two masters- for we will love one and hate the other. For where our treasure is there will our heart be also. If the treasure of James’ heart was to be more like his older brother Jesus, then he would count it all a joy anything that helped him accomplish that goal and grow more like Jesus.  Warren Wiersbe says: “If we live only for the present and forget about the future, the trials make us bitter, not better.”  If ever anyone had a right to be bitter, it was Job, yet he possessed an amazing outlook:  “But He knoweth the way that I take; when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) Are you familiar with the word- ‘assay’? It is a word used to describe the test or analysis of an ore such as gold to determine the quality of its properties. To end a trial with joy means we must start the trial with joy. How do we do this? The second command tells us how to count it all joy.

  1. Knowing this. Knowing means having an understanding. First of all know this- your faith will always be tested. Testing increases our faith- this is the purpose of tests sent by God. God tests us to bring out the best- to remove the impurities. Satan tempts us to bring out the worst. As a result of knowing this we realize testing works for us not against us. Peter said – ‘the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes. (I Peter 1:7)  Paul was speaking of this when he said “we know all things work together for good”; and again in 2 Corinthians 4 Paul writes of the being troubled on every side- but has the long term future vision to know- ‘for our light affliction, which is but for the moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.: (2 Cor 4:17)   Trials help us mature our faith. Paul says trials produce patience (if we respond the right way) patience in trials produces experience and experience produces hope that does not disappoint. Patience is courageous endurance in the face of suffering and difficulty. And remember- God knows how much we can bear and will not allow us to be tempted or tested above that which we can bear. Immature people are always impatient. Mature people are patient and persistent. Impatience and unbelief go together just as faith and patience do. “Who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:23) “For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36) God wants to make us patient because that is the key to every other blessing!  We must learn as James did, as Abraham did, as Joseph did and everyone else we read about in the Scriptures did- we must not run ahead of the Lord in impatience. The only way the Lord can develop

Patience is through testing. Knowing this is the result- we can face trials with joy- not in the trials but in the result the outcome of the trials.  This is why knowing is so important. There is no substitute for the understanding mind. This is why Paul prayed for the eyes of our hearts to be opened to know the hope to which He called you. To have wisdom, depth of insight and understanding.

  1. The third word, or command I would call your attention to in the KJV is the word let. (James 1: 4)   Let is a word of permission; it is a word of cooperation and submission. I must submit to God so He can finish that which He has begun. God wants a finished work, a whole work, not part way finished. If we are to grow up and be mature and continue to grow in our faith we must submit to God. His goal for our lives is to be mature, lacking nothing.  How does this work?  First there is the work of redemption. God did a work for us at the cross. If we accept this work and trust Him, He will save us. This is all of God-“for we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not works, lest any many should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8.9) Next God does a work in us- we are His Workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.  After salvation comes the work of sanctification. This is the work of conforming us to the image of His Son. Maturing us. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. The third work is the work God does through us- our service. For these are the works God ordained before that we were to walk in.  Philippians 2 tells us it is God who works in us the desire and will to do His good pleasure.  A mature person does not argue with God about his will.  Remember Jesus taught us to pray and he said ‘thy will (God’s will) be done on earth as it is in heaven.’  How do you think angels obey God’s will? Immediately without question and with great joy they can serve their Master. Don’t want to do what God is telling you to do?  Then consider the story of Jonah.  Now when we are born again we are like babes in Christ and God wants us to grow up.  This requires ‘weaning’.  Weaning is not something the child likes, but it is a step in the process to maturity. There is also the process of being more fruitful which is part of the maturing process to produce more fruit that involves ‘pruning’ which can be painful.  So far we see in these first few verses what it takes:  count it all a joy- a joyful attitude; this attitude comes from Knowing- that is understanding heart; and then comes the third command- let- which signifies a surrendered will. Now the fourth element.
  2. A believing heart.  James senses there would be many of us having read this command to count all our trials and troubles a joy, knowing it was producing patience which is necessary to mature our faith- were having trouble getting to where he was. So he knows what we need is wisdom. Wisdom is seeing things from God’s point of view. This is a prayer God will answer and He will provide you with wisdom liberally which means generously. The root of this prayer really is a desire to know God better. Charles Stanley says- “prayer is life’s greatest time saver. Instead of remaining confused and wondering what to do and running about trying this and that- come to God first and ask for wisdom. Knowledge is the ability to take things apart, wisdom is the ability to put them together. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. James is saying the wisdom we need is

Not to waste all of the tests and trials we face in life. The key to this gift of wisdom and how to fully use it is to ask in faith. The greatest enemy to unanswered prayer is unbelief. Doubt short circuits faith. This is how the enemy attacks us by creating doubt in the faithfulness of God who is Faithful and True.  James says the man who asks and doubts is ‘double-minded.’   Paul says we are not to be like children (immature) tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine.  We need believing hearts to count it all a joy when we fall into divers tribulations, knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience and let patience perfect her work, that you may be perfect ( mature) and entire wanting nothing. Needing wisdom to do this – we can ask and know God will provide it- but we must ask with believing hearts not doubting heart.

Our reward for this endurance- maturity, growth in our Christian character. Also we bring glory to God and we will receive a crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

What did most of us ask when we were children on a long trip with our parents?  Are we there yet?  This study will make you ask yourself – ‘am I there yet?’  This is the examination Paul referred to as we examine our faith. Do not be discouraged. The Lord is not a discourager- this is the enemy who wants to keep you from believing the Word of God. It has been his strategy since the Garden of Eden.

The fact that you are asking your Father are we there yet- will probably bring an encouraging reply from Him- ‘no- but we are getting closer.  Such is the journey of life.

Topics

God’s Faithfulness

God’s Faithfulness:

Failsafe- ‘a system or plan that comes into operation in the event of something going wrong.’

Murphy’s Law- ‘anything that can go wrong will go wrong.’

Because of number 2- we need number 1- a plan for when things go wrong, because we know by now things can go wrong and they always do it at the most inconvenient times.

What is your ‘failsafe’ plan?  What or who are you depending on? What is your back up- your Plan B if Plan A does not work?

“By His divine power, He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1) Three important words in this verse:

  1. Everything- He has not overlooked anything.
  2. Need- not desires, wish or want, but need.
  3. Knowledge- what do you know about your God?

“What comes to our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer Huh?

“I pray that you will have a conscious awareness of God at all times.” ( Johnye Elizabeth Fortner, my mother)  Thanks, Momma.

Peter is telling us we have been given everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him, God.  Knowing God is the key. What do you know about God?  Paul said ‘my God shall supply all your needs…  what about your God, can you say the same?  Is it not the same God Paul has?

Tozer is telling us what we think about God is the most important thing about us- because it shapes our life and view of life.

My mother was telling me- factor God into everything by praying a prayer in God’s will that you have a conscious awareness of Him at all times.

Do you really know God? How do you view Him? What has He told you about Himself in His Word? What has He revealed through His Son, the Lord Jesus?  Can God really be our failsafe plan? Our ‘go-to Person’ when all else and everyone else fails?

God, the Father told us- to have no other gods before Him. This does not mean other gods must be in 2nd and 3rd place- He is telling us- He will not tolerate any other gods before His presence. He is all we need. He is Who we should depend upon. We are to trust Him with all our hearts and lean not to our own understanding.  What or who are you leaning on?

God, the Father tells us to not make idols for ourselves.  Idols come in many forms- but they all have the same characteristics: they are gods in our lives for which we sacrifice for and pursue. Then you start to serve them and live for them. Worry, anxiety, disappointments are indicators where idols are in our life.  You realize you have placed your hope in these in order to have peace, comfort, control and a life that has been defined by the world around us as the good life. Whoever or whatever you have placed your hope in- you have also placed your faith in. “Now faith is being sure of what you hope for—-“There is Only one person you can place your faith in and thereby have your hope in – who will never fail because He cannot fail. Any other object of your faith and thus your hope will fail, disappoint or be unable to sustain you through life’s storms.

Now I have just mentioned a word – hope, which is very important to us.  Hope is the oxygen of our soul. Unlike food or water- which we can go for days or even weeks without- oxygen is something we miss within seconds- and can be fatal when we are deprived of it for even minutes.

This is why it is important to understand one of the most wonderful attributes of God, Who cannot change and is the same today as yesterday and forever, is His Faithfulness.

God and only God is our failsafe plan; because Mr. Murphy was right- anything that can go wrong- has gone wrong! He is our HOPE.

Now as most of you know I have been in the optical industry for over four decades. My father was an optometrist, my brother is and also our daughter is. In fact all three graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis.  My career in the optical industry began when I was in college in the 1960’s working in a laboratory that fabricated Rx lenses for doctor in the mid-south.  I recently had my annual eye exam by my brother as I am developing cataracts. During the course of the exam, my brother would have me look at the acuity chart through a variety of different lenses and ask me which one looked better.

So today as we starting a new year, let us begin with a vision exam of our spiritual eyes. If you recall, Paul prayed the eyes of our heart would be enlightened so we could see certain spiritual truths. I want us to look through several lenses of biblical revelation.  Each of these lenses represents an area of knowledge about God, truths about Him and His character and attributes. How clearly you see God as He reveals Himself in His Word tells us how accurate your spiritual vision is.

This is about knowing God, about seeing Him as He longs for you to see Him.

Why is this important to us? Because until you know God as He is; until you believe He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do- we can never become all He created us to be.

Have you ever ‘longed’ for something or someone?  Jesus used this word, when He remarked of Jerusalem and her inhabitants:  ‘ how He had longed to gather your children together, ass a hen  gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not….’ Luke 13.  This word ‘longed’ is word that described a deep desire or yearning- God longs for us to know Him and see Him as He really is.  This is perhaps the deepest desire of His Great Heart.  He longs for us to see Him as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word.

If you are a Christian you should see God as:

  • Creator.
  • Self existent.
  • All sufficient.
  • Our Provider.
  • Our healer.
  • Our Banner.
  • Our Rock.
  • Our refuge.
  • Our Peace.
  • Our Shepherd.
  • Our righteousness.
  • Our Healer.
  • Our Savior.Do you see your God as?
  • He is our Everything!
  • Sovereign
  • All Wise.
  • All Knowing.
  • Ever Present.
  • Holy.
  • Loving.
  • Kind.
  • Merciful.
  • Just.
  • Majestic.
  • Immutable.
  • Faithful and True.

Then why are you worried, anxious and downcast. These are indications you have a spiritual vision problem. Perhaps your vision is blurred by circumstances, by pain, by the grief of lost loved ones. Perhaps your vision is blurred by tears of sorrow and disappointment.

Maybe you are nearsighted. You can only see the things close to you. Perhaps you are farsighted, always looking in the distant, to the future you hope will be better. Or maybe you are looking in the past when you should have done this or that- or maybe looking in the past, because you thought it was such a simpler time and problems were not as big.

One song tells us to ‘turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in His wonderful face.’  And often we are instructed to look above and to keep our eyes on the Lord.

And the characteristic or attribute of His character and person I know God wants us to see is: His Faithfulness. He is faithful!

Consider this statement by Chip Ingram:  “The secret to a life of unending joy and peace involves finding something or someone who will come through for you 100% of the time in any and every situation forever. (“God as He Longs For You to See Him, page 210)

Faithfulness is defined as steadfast in affection or allegiance. Synonyms are: loyal, dependable, and firm. Adhering to promises or observing duty.

Lamentations 3 records Jeremiah’s anguish as he watches his city of Jerusalem and the temple destroyed before his very eyes. What Naomi experienced- Jeremiah is going through also. What people who had loved ones in the Twin Towers experienced on 9/11 as they watched the utter destruction of the twin towers compares to what Jeremiah is describing in this chapter. No wonder Jeremiah is called ‘the weeping prophet’.  However Jeremiah never lost sight of God’s faithfulness. His only grip on hope was God’s faithfulness. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your Faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3: 22-23)  Did you notice the bold statement:  NEVER FAIL.

Maybe you have had a year like Naomi did- maybe you are experiencing things you think will never come to an end. Without realizing it you had placed your hope in that person or job or economy or even in your own abilities.

Here are three observations we can make:

  1. WE all depend on something or someone to hold us up inside.
  2. When that something or someone comes through for us, solves our problem, rescues us- we experience peace, satisfaction and optimism about the future.
  3. When that something or someone fails to come through for us we experience anxiety, dissatisfaction and despair.

God’s faithfulness tells us He is the only someone and something we can turn to for hope that does not disappoint. Whatever your situation is God’s loving compassion will never, never end or fail. It is fresh every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

God is faithful. You need to know that in the deepest part of your heart. It does not depend on our faithfulness to Him, but His faithfulness to us, which cannot fail. You can depend on God 100% of the time.

This does mean we do not have responsibilities. We must do what His Word tells us to do.  We are to trust and obey. Ruth got up early and went out to the fields didn’t she?  At some point in our lives we must determine we will do what God has told us to do. It is an act of our will.

How does God reveal His faithfulness?

  1. His creation. The consistency in nature. The rising of the sun and the setting of the same. The tides of the oceans. The law of gravity, the speed of light, the tilt of the earths’ axis, its rotation and revolution about the sun and the exactness of it- 365.25 days. Evaporation, photosynthesis, the human body, blood and the heart that pumps it. Fromm the invisible to the unbelievably huge we marvel at his handiwork. The seas, stars, earth, birds, animals, insects, grass, and flowers- the list goes on and on.  All of His creation reflects His character and His faithfulness.  Read Psalm 145: 13-16; Psalm 119:90; Psalm 19 tells us ‘the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where the voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”  Yet- ‘the fool has said in his heart- there is no God. (Psalm 14) The fool has no failsafe plan- for he does not believe in the God who created everything and keeps it going.
  2. His Word/ His Promises. Because God is faithful and immutable- that is does not change- the statements He makes are always true. His promises are true- and therefore He keeps them. Some promises are conditional and some promises are unconditional.  (You need to know the difference)  Charles Stanley gives this illustration:  ‘A church sends me a letter inviting me to speak at their homecoming next year. They tell me they are claiming by faith my coming.  However they have no promise from me- I will come. Once I commit to coming, they can place their faith in my commitment – my promise to come. But prior to that – they have no promise to claim or put their faith in. Know the promises and also know if there are conditions to be met on your part for the promises to be fulfilled. God is clear He blesses obedience while disciplining or chastening disobedience. You cannot regard iniquity in your heart and expect for God to bless you. You cannot willfully live in sin and rebellion and expect your Heavenly Father to bless you. The old Puritan Samuel Clark writes:  “A fixed constant attention to the promises of God and a firm belief of them would prevent anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change and support and keep our sinking spirits under the several troubles of life. Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises. For there is no extremity so great, but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in it.” What has happened to us in the 21st century is our refusal as a culture to accept God’s Word as truth. This has robbed us of a great gift- the promises of God. The thief has stolen them from our society. He has as he has since the Garden of Eden, questioned the truthfulness of Gods’ Word- ‘has God said? Hebrews 10:23 states this fact: “He who promised is faithful!”  Ps. 36:5 says: “Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” And Lamentations 3:23 says: “…..great is thy faithfulness.”

The Word of God was given to us so that we might know the Lord. For  the more you know Him, the more you will love Him, and the more you love Him, the more you will obey Him and the more you obey the Lord, the more fruit you will bear and more fruit you bear, the more joy you will experience.

Listen then this clear statement of the faithfulness of His Word:

“As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and make it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes forth from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55: 10-11)

When God’s Word falls, crops grow. When we take in God’s Word like the soil absorbs rain, God tells us we can count on good results. When Jesus prayed for you and me in John 17, He made it a point to emphasize the importance of God’s Word in our lives. “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

And in John 8- Jesus tells us:  “If you continue in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and truth shall set you free.” (John 8: 31, 32.)

“The Word of God is alive and powerful…” (Hebrews 4)

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.” (I Peter 1)

The Word of God is life giving, life changing and life transforming.

There is no other like it.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and we beheld His Glory.  (John 1)

Do you have a favorite author? Someone who you have read every book they have written and look forward to every new book they write. You like their style. You like their characters and they seem to come alive to you when you read them. My mother was an avid reader. She told me when Gone With The Wind came out- she sat on her front porch and read it in one day almost without stopping. When the movie came out- she was amazed the characters looked just as she had pictured them. The words on the page had been brought to life. Margaret Mitchell would never write another book. Harper Lee who gave us those memorable characters and story of character in To Kill a Mocking Bird– would never write another story. It was if- this was their story to tell and there would be no need to tell another.

God has written His story. He does not need to write another. So what do we do?

Back to our spiritual eye exam:  “ Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12)

So God reveals Himself as He longs for us to see Him through:

His Word with all its promises.

His Creation with all of its glory.

His Spirit who corrects our vision. For ‘eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him- but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. ‘The Spirit enables us to see what God has freely given us.

His shaping of our lives.  My wife often told people as she witnessed firsthand the change in my life- that I was a new creation. She said I have a new husband. Old things passed away and were passing away- for I had seen the Lord because I had the eyes of my heart enlightened. My changed life and your changed life, by the way, is also how other people see the Lord and how He works.

His Son, the Lord Jesus. He is the main character in God’s story. It is all about Him. When He comes again at the end of time- notice the names by which He chooses to describe Himself to the world: “ I saw heaven standing open and  there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.”(Revelation 19)   This is how the Lord Jesus chooses to describe Himself at the most anticipated and celebrated moment in history for believers: He chooses us to remember He is faithful and true.

God demonstrates His faithfulness to us when we are weak. Read 2 Corinthians 12 and discover not only is His grace always sufficient- His strength is made perfect in weakness.  The power of powerlessness is what saved me from alcoholism.

God demonstrates His faithfulness when we are tempted. I will never forget reading His promise to me in I Corinthians 10: 13. A promise that guaranteed me He would not allow me to be tempted above that which I was able to bear, but with the temptation made a way to escape so I could stand up under any temptation that came my way. When I prayed His Promise from His Word back to Him, I was able to resist a temptation I had never been able to resist.  It was a turning point in my life. You realize I had returned His word to Him as the rain returns to heaven. It went up to Him, having accomplished the purpose for which He sent it. For the very reason He had me read that promise in 1977. I can still remember the very moment I read it and knew He was speaking to me. He was revealing Himself to me through His word.

God shows he is faithful to forgive us our sins. (I John 1:9)

How do you respond to this wonderful attribute of God- His faithfulness?

  1. Put your past behind you. God has.
  2. Bring your present problems, sins, pains and fears to Him today. He is waiting for you each morning with a fresh supply of compassions that never fail. He is waiting for you and me- for great is His faithfulness.
  3. Place your future in His hands.
  4. Tell someone each day about the Lord’s faithfulness.

“This I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lords’ great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lamentations 3)

01.04.2015

Ruth

Ruth 4

Ruth 4:

Before we conclude our study of Ruth, let’s review what the role of the kinsman redeemer was and its purpose. The kinsman redeemer was part of the Law of Moses given to Israel by God. The law was given to make provision for the poor and widows. There are actually two laws at work here- the law of kinsman redeemer and the Levirate Law. Levir in Hebrew referred to the husband’s brother or next closest kin.

The law of kinsman redeemer provided for the redemption of a relative who due to their financial situation were forced to sell their property and/or sold themselves into slavery as an indentured servant to work off their debt. His nearest kinsman could buy back the land and return it to their kinsman and also pay their debt and free their kinsman from slavery. The word redeem means to set one free by paying a price.

In the case of the Levirate law, if a male family member died without an heir , the brother or nearest kin was to marry the widow and give his name to the first born son to pass on the name of the deceased. Four things were need in order to enact these laws:

  1. Must be near of kin.
  2. Must be able to redeem.
  3. Must be willing to redeem.
  4. Redemption is completed when the price is paid in full.

These laws were given to preserve the name and protect the property of families in Israel. One can read about them in Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 25. When obeyed, these laws made sure the dead man’s family name did not die with him and that his property was not sold outside his family.

Jehovah was Israel’s Redeemer. Exodus 6 tells us: “ I am the LORD- I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.”

In the process of salvation, Jesus becomes our elder brother. “ Both the one who makes men holy, and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers”. (Hebrews 2:11)

The Lord Jesus is our nearest kinsman, our elder brother. He has the power to redeem you and me. Jesus is willing to redeem you and me. Jesus paid the redemption price in full. We have been set free if we accept His payment. In many ways we can view God the Father as our Redeemer as He paid the price for our redemption also. How does He do this? “ For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him , should not perish but have everlasting life.” ( John 3: 16) The Purchase Price God gave- His Only Begotten Son.  For you see, we were in need of spiritual redemption. We were in bondage to sin, and Satan was our slave master. We were unable to set ourselves free. There are a lot of counselors and 12 Step Programs out there to help people who are in bondage to everything from alcohol, drugs, food, sex, gambling, and all types of addictions. But those that are successful know the key is realizing you are powerless over your addiction and need a higher power to set you free. You need a kinsman redeemer, who meets the qualifications. Here is what we know: “ If the Son sets you free- you are free indeed!” From our point of view, salvation is free to ‘whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.” ( Acts 2:21) But from God’s point of view , redemption is very costly. It required the life of His Only Begotten Son. Like the song says- ‘ He paid much too high a price for me!”

 

Now let us return to the last chapter of Ruth and as always with God the best is yet to come. You may have come to the end of this year and it has been a year of heartache, trials and tribulation. But in the story of our lives when you are a Christian, a born-again believer, God writes the last chapter. This story began with about as much sadness as one can imagine- Naomi’s husband and her two sons have died; she is left with two Moabite daughters-in-law in a foreign country, Moab. So our story begins with three funerals and here in the last chapter we will see how it ends.

Not everyone could perform the duties of a kinsman redeemer. He had to be a near kinsman redeemer. Boaz had to overcome this obstacle, as there was one was closer kin than Boaz. The meeting takes place at the town gate, for this is where such legal transactions took place, it was their ‘city hall.’

The key theme of this last chapter is redemption. In fact this is the key theme of the Bible. Boaz knew there was another of closer kin who could fulfill the role of kinsman redeemer. But remember the kinsman redeemer must not only be nearest kin, he had to also be able to redeem and willing to redeem.

The other kinsman was willing to buy the land until he learned it included marriage to Ruth. He was not willing to marry Ruth, stating marrying Ruth could possibly endanger his estate. Boaz was now the closest kin, able to redeem and willing to pay the full price of redemption.  What Boaz did for Ruth, Jesus did for you and me. Ruth has gone from being lonely to being deeply loved. She has gone from toiling in the fields gleaning the leftovers to be married to the owner of the field. She has gone from poverty to wealth. She has gone from worry to assurance, from despair to hope. This is a picture of what happened to us when we were redeemed. Redeemed, Redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Don’t you love stories with happy endings? Of course we do. As I often say- ‘ a setback is a set up for a come back.’ I love to tell the story of my redemption, don’t you?

This story started with three funerals in Moab. A bitter, empty widow and her one daughter-in-law, Ruth who will not abandon her. It ends with a wedding, a baby for Ruth and Boaz, a grandson for Naomi and a godly wife for Boaz. What a come back!

Listen to what the women of Bethlehem say to Naomi when her grandson, Obed is born. “ Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman redeemer. May he become famous through out Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter –in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.!”   Naomi who lost her two sons, is now a grandmother, a ‘ foster mother’ to Obed. The women claim Ruth is better than seven sons.

Our kinsman redeemer is the Lord Jesus. What appeared to be a setback of unimaginable horror, His death on the cross, was a set up for a comeback of unimaginable magnificence. And He is coming back- may He come soon!

Listen to our Kinsman Redeemer’s promise to us , especially when times are difficult and our hearts are heavy. “ Let not your hearts be troubled.”( Listen next to the antidote , the Rx for a troubled heart.) “ You believe in God , believe also in Me.” (Trust is the Rx for a troubled heart.) “ In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (   I like that our kinsman redeemer looked at the faces of this broken hearted disciples and looked also at you and me in those dark nights of despair- and assures us-‘ if it were not so – I would have told you. Don’t you love the assurance of that statement?!) “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. “ ( These statements of truth tell us the following: heaven is a prepared place for prepared souls- are you prepared? Also- here is the assurance He is coming back to get us, so where He is we will be also. It is just like I said- a setback is a set up for come back- and He is coming back!) In the meanwhile- we can rest assured even when the way He is going to get us out of the circumstances in our life that cause us worry and grief are not always the ways we would have it- He will find a way. In fact, He can make a way, when there is no way. For He is ‘ the way, the truth and the life.’

Naomi’s life is renewed in the birth of her grandson. Obed, whose name means’ servant, is such a joy to her at this time in her life. She could not have imagined when she left Moab and returned to Bethlehem, she would ever experience such joy again. She is young again in some ways, I can see here laughing, and down on her knees playing games with her grandson. Holding his little hand in hers as she walks about Bethlehem, with a spring in her step and her heart full of life. What a blessing this grandchild was to her, as well as a son dearly loved by Ruth and Boaz.

We should also note there is no better way to get a new lease on life, than to start investing yourself in the younger generation. Many of us would admit- we got old too soon and smart too late. But it is better late than never. And it is always never too late to do the right thing.

Obed’s son would be Jesse the father of David, the most famous king of Israel and the one through whom the Messiah would be born.

When this story began, Naomi had suffered the death of her husband and her only two sons. She was bitter and understandably so; she was empty of the things in her life she cherished- her husband and two sons. She had a grudge against God. She had no hope. She was in despair.

How can a person get a grip on hope- when everything is so dark and hopeless? As I said before- hope is oxygen to the soul. We cannot last long without it- hope deferred makes one heartsick.

Our disappointments reveal what our hope is in. Where is your hope? Is it in your spouse, family, job, business, possessions, finances, health? What is the object of your hope? Because your hope is only as secure as the object of your hope.

What or who do you depend upon to keep you going when times are tough and nights are dark and seem to last forever? Have you ever said to another person- I don’t know what I would do without you. But you realize no one lives forever. Jobs and careers end. Health will diminish with age. Finances are fragile and can go away quickly.

All of us humans depend on something or someone to make us feel significant and secure. Some depend on themselves. Believing in their abilities.

What do you do when what or whoever you have depended on cannot come through and fails you? What then?

All of a sudden the instability of everything around us makes us anxious.

Who or what do you turn to then?

“ Because of the Lords’ great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your FAITHFULNESS. ( Lamentations 3:22,23)

God is faithful to all His promises. He is loving toward all He has made. He upholds those who fall and lifts us up.

God comes through 100% of the time. You can depend on Him. He will never let you down. He may not do it the way you wanted Him to do it or at the time you wanted Him to do it. But I am persuaded He will complete that which He has begun.

This amazing attribute of God’s character and personality is one of the most precious. It is His Faithfulness. His faithfulness is what can give us hope.

So beginning with the first Sunday in 2015, we will study this attribute and keep in mind, God said, “I do not change!”

Judges

Judges 13 – 16

Judges 13-16: The Story of Samson

Today we will look at the life of Samson as recorded in these four chapters. He is the last judge of Israel during this period. We will quickly realize Samson is also the most flawed judge of those God had given to the nation of Israel.

The phrase, ‘ again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord’ is recorded for the last time here in this story. God gives them over to the Philistines. We will also discover the judge God has given them, Samson is : sexually immoral; impulsive, emotionally immature, selfish, prideful, and with a terrible violent temper. He is also unteachable and unreliable. He is in fact a poster boy for what Israel had become- he reflects the attitude of Israel- a nation that did what was right in their own eyes. The lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh ruled them and now God has given them a ruler just like them.

Samson, again is one of those unlikely people who ends up in Hebrew 11- Faith Hall of Fame. More about that later- but I want you to observe what happens when a believer is carnal. When we are carnal we live by sight and not by faith. Our senses control us and react to what we feel and what we see. Samson is unpredictable and unreliable. Do you know why? He is double minded- which is what a carnal, sensual believer is. And a doubled minded man is unstable in all his ways. You know what else Samson was? He was a loner. We do not read of him gathering a group around him.

There is something else which is not mentioned in this account which by its absence is very significant. There is not a single mention in this account of anyone crying out to the Lord to save them from their enemy, the Philistines, who now has control over them. The people of Israel did not cry out to be rescued because they did not want to be rescued. They had completely adopted the values of the Philistine culture. We have met the enemy and he is us!

Let’s start at the beginning- a beginning with great promise. Samson was a child of promise. We see the angel of the Lord approach Samson’s mother, who was barren. From the very beginning- God has come to couples and with the promise of a child. Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and many others in the Old Testament. Then in the New Testament John the Baptists and finally Jesus, God the Son who became flesh.  Remember how concerned King Herod was when the wise men arrived searching for the One born King of the Jews? He had all male children under two years of age in Bethlehem killed because he feared the threat to his kingdom.

God delights to use the weak to confound the strong and there is none weaker than a baby. What a tragedy we have come to live in a society that does not realize the promise of each new baby- a new life, a gift from God. Children are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from Him.( Psalm 127) They are a reward to our society and culture, not just their families.

We are a society in which many view an unborn baby as an invasion and inconvenience rather than a reward, a gift, a miracle of life. The unborn child is considered a threat to one’s kingdom. In doing so we have done much greater destruction than Herod did in Bethlehem, we have taken the lives of 55,000,000 unborn children of promise. America once known as a Christian nation has for the most part adopted the values of the unbelieving culture around us. ‘ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way( the way of pagans) because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.’ ( Deut. 12) You realize most aborted fetuses end up in incinerators.

Samson was a child of unbelievable promise. He was named Samson. The name Samson means “ little sun” or ‘ sunny’. I have watched adults in all types of public places make faces and play peek-a-boo with little children who are perfect strangers and smile and laugh at the smiles and laughter of the those little ones. Their sunny dispositions have that effect on us. Jesus loved little children and beckoned them to come to him. And they did. You can imagine- the funny faces Jesus made at them and how he laughed as they laughed.

The plan of salvation was wrapped up in swaddling clothes, a baby lying in a manager in a stable in Bethlehem. God is saying- over and over – children are a heritage, a reward, a gift. Samson was a gift- a child of promise.  I also know we have those who mistreat these little ones and the Lord was harsh in his judgment of those who harm these little ones.

The story moves quickly from Samson’s birth to chapter 14 where our first encounter is with Samson as a young man. I do not know about you, but I immediately did not like this spoiled, demanding young man.  Yet I realized this was the one God has selected to lead Israel. He is a leader who reflects Israel’s spiritual state. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Prideful, demanding to have whatever they wanted and don’t tell me what is right or wrong in God’s eyes- because I don’t care. Controlled by the lust of the flesh- Samson is dismissive of his parents’ counsel and authority.

His parents said to Samson- ‘ isn’t their an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife? Samson’s reply. “ Get her for me. She is the right one for me.” In other words- I will do what is right in my eyes, not God’s eyes.

Now in the midst of this brash, rude, disrespectful young man’s demands comes a surprising verse. “ His parents did not know that this was from the Lord seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines for at that time they were ruling over Israel.: ( Judges 14.4) Sleeping with the enemy- intermarrying with a worshipper of Dagon, the pagan god of the Philistines hardly seems the right strategy for confronting the enemy .   But- God’s ways are higher than our ways, aren’t they?

Samson’s parents were right to oppose the marriage to a heathen woman from the people who constantly oppressed them. God is about to use the very weakness of Samson, his sexual lust and violent temper to bring about confrontation between these two nations. I am reminded of what Joseph’s brothers did to him, selling him into slavery. Years later, Joseph, looking back understood what the Lord God had done. Upon revealing himself to his brothers, Joseph told them- “ God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then it was not you who sent me here but God.” And later after their father, Jacob died, Joseph reassured them with this statement: “ Am I not in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” ( Genesis 50) All through the Bible we see this truth of God’s ability to work all things together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. The greatest of which was the Lord Jesus’s crucifixion which Peter explained in his famous Day of Pentecost sermon: “ This man( Jesus) was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. “ ( Acts 2)

God fulfills His promises and His sovereign will not only in spite of sin, but even through sin. God uses the free, wicked choices of human beings to accomplish what He has promised.

Now the people of Israel were at peace with the Philistines. They were at peace with the world around them. James tells us: “ You adulterous people, don’t you know friendship with the world is hatred toward God?” Have we become in America – friends with the world? Do we go along to get along? Do we accept their idols? Their culture? Their philosophy?

Do you realize we are living among the ‘ Philistines’? And like it was in the days of Samson, there is no king and everyone does what is right in their own eyes? Israel had embraced the Philistine culture and all that it offered. We read this story and it is obvious how wrong they were, yet we cannot see where we have done the same.

Have you noticed how slowly but surely the world is turning against the church? Have you noticed how obvious it is God is forcing us, His people, to realize we are not a part of this world? We have a different Lord and Savior and it is becoming clear we must speak out against the sinfulness of our culture and cry out to the Lord to rescue us. God will not allow the world to love us.   Listen to what Jesus said on the very night of his arrest: “ if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” ( John 15)

Now a word about Nazirite vow. A Nazirite was not to cut his hair during the period of the vow; was not to drink any produce from vines, alcoholic or non-alcoholic; and was not to touch or have contact with any dead body. Samson is the only judge chosen before he is born. Chosen in the womb like John the Baptist. Keeping of this vow was like training intensely for a mission that God had for you.

Samson evidently has little regard for the vow and breaks it. Yet as we see, God uses Samson’s sin, his weakness to cause the division God desires between the pagan world and His people. Watch when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson: on the way down to talk to this woman and arrange their marriage, a lion came roaring toward Samson.   The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power and he tore the lion apart. A few days later coming back the same route, Samson sees the lion’s carcass where a swarm of bees had left honey. Samson ate some of the honey and gave of it also to his parents. In touching the dead carcass- Samson violated his vow. Interesting John the Baptist, an Old Testament prophet who showed up in the New Testament to herald the coming of the Messiah kept his Nazirite vow and lived off locusts and wild honey. His message was also one of repentance.

As they prepare for the wedding feasts, Samson makes a riddle and in effect gambles with his Philistine companions. He bets they cannot solve the riddle and the wager is 30 sets of clothing. If they cannot solve it in 7 days- they pay him. If they can solve it- he will have to pay them.   The riddle was about this lion and the honey: ‘ Out of the eater, something to eat, out of the strong, something sweet.’ Samson was a clever man- clever with words.

As the days go by without solving the riddle, the Philistines say to Samson’s wife- get us the answer or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. What ruthless people. She finally gets the answer from Samson.   When they solve the riddle, Samson knows they have obtained the answer from his wife.

This is the next time we see the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power and he went and struck down, killed 30 men and took their garments to pay his off his debt.

Samson was so angry- he did not return to his wife, but went up to his father’s house. In the meanwhile, Samson’s wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding.

Now we begin to see God’s plan unfolding. God is causing a division between His people and the pagan culture of the Philistines by divorcing them from their marriage to their idols. God uses Samson, as flawed as Samson is to get His work done. God does not use just godly people, in His grace He uses flawed people also. God will not be put in a box that says you will limit your work through deserving people only- that would be the antithesis of grace. And salvation is all of grace. This story of Samson underscores the story of grace and undeserved mercy and how God works to bring about His will. In fact, our failures are often the foundation for His success. Just ask Peter what was the turning point in his life and he would answer the night I denied the Lord three times. For me it was a slow decline into alcoholism that brought me to the brink of suicide which led to my desperate prayer for salvation. God allowed those choices I made to lead me to Him.  “ Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out? Who has known the mind of God? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, To Him be the glory forever, Amen.” ( Romans 11)

A series of events take place quickly following the killing of the lion with his bare hands and the killing of 30 Philistines to take their garments.

Next he sets the fields of the Philistines afire using captured foxes or jackals.

This brought about revenge by the Philistines as they burn Samson’s wife and father-in-law.

Samson then attacked them and we are told he ‘ slaughtered many of them.” ( Judges 15:8) Samson then went down and stayed in a cave.

The men of Judah, 3000 of them, confront Samson in the cave and said to Samson: “ Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?” Samson replies he has only done what they have done to him. The men of Judah have come to take Samson captive and turn him over to the Philistines.

His own people betray him. He is causing them trouble- they have had peace with the Philistines. They were friends with the world. Samson was ruining everything, causing the world they had befriended to turn against them. Lot thought the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were his friends, respected him. When the men of Sodom and Gomorrah demanded to have their way with the angels who had arrived at Lot’s house listen to the exchange that took place: “ Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him as said: “ No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughter who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof. Get out of the way they replied. And they said, ‘ this fellow came here as alien and now wants to play judge. We’ll treat you worse than them.”

This is the way the world will treat us when we say to them: ‘no more’. Notice Lot addressed them as friends. But God would not allow Lot to stay friends with the world. When Lot stood up to the world and the pagan culture and called their sin- wicked, they turned on him quickly.

God has called us to be separate. He has called us to a mission. He has called us to a covenant without compromise. He is now calling us to come out- and to be what we are supposed to be- salt and light.

Samson will kill a 1000 of the enemy that day in the power of the Spirit with the jawbone of a donkey. He leads Israel for 20 years in the days of the Philistines we read in Judges 15:20.

But Samson’s weakness leads him ultimately to his ruin. While visiting a prostitute in Gaza, his presence is detected. He escapes during the night, tearing down the gates of Gaza. And then we meet the woman who is forever connected to the story of Samson. Delilah. Samson falls for her – his sexual lust makes a fool of him, as it has many a man, including men of God. She is approached by the Philistines to find out the secret of Samson’s strength. Samson had told Delilah he loved her. Perhaps this is so- or perhaps Samson thought he loved her. She was promised 1100 shekels of silver by each of the Philistines. So three times Samson tells her a lie about his strength. But finally , we are told she prodded him day after day- ‘ until he was tired to death.’

He told her the truth. No razor has ever been used on my head. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as any man.

The real source of Samsons’ strength was not his uncut hair or his Nazirite vow- it was the One and Only True God to whom he had made the vow.

She cuts his hair and the soldiers come. His strength had left him. When he awoke- ‘ he did not know that the Lord had left him. ‘

I wonder if there are churches today who are going about doing what they usually do, compromising and making friends with the world in the name of tolerance and good works and do not know the Lord has left them?

They blind the shorn Samson, bind him with bronze shackles and set him grinding in the prison. We see the consequences of sin. Our sins blind us, they bind us and they grind us down to a life that seems completely meaningless, a treadmill on which we climb everyday. Get up , go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch boring television and go to bed to wake up and do the same things over until we die. “ Teach us to number our days aright, so we might gain a heart of wisdom.” ( Psalm 90)   Do you ever feel like I do- you got old too soon and smart too late? The poet said: Tell me not in empty numbers life is but an empty dream. And the soul is dead that slumbers and things are not what they seem. life is real and life is earnest and the grave is not the goal, dust thou art to dust returneth was not spoken of the soul.

“ But his hair began to grow again after it have been shaved.” ( Judges 16: 22)

We can finish strong. It is never too late to do the right thing. Samson’s story is a story that makes that point. The most important moment in Samson’s life is his death. The most triumphant moment in his life is his death.

“ Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to make a great sacrifice to Dagon, their god and to celebrate, saying our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.” They brought Samson out to entertain them, to make fun of him and perform for them. ( not unlike Herod did to Jesus at his arrest- show us a miracle and mocked him)

Samson’s prayer and actions that follow are the ones that put him in Hebrews 11 Faith Hall of Fame. “ Samson said to the servant who brought him out- put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so I may lean against them. Now the temple was crowded with men and women and all the rulers of the Philistines. ( About 3000 of them)

Samson prayed: “ O Soveriegn Lord, remember me,O God, and please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

You know the rest of the story- he brought down the temple that day and killed 3000 of the enemy. The power he had lost by sin he regained by repentance and prayer.

The enemy was destroyed- their god, Dagon, was defeated utterly by the God of Israel. Samson prayed for vengeance but the Lord Jesus prayed for our forgiveness. Both defeated the enemy.

Samson’s death accomplished what God wanted it to accomplish- to begin the deliverance of Israel from the enemy. Jesus’ death accomplished the deliverance. It is for freedom that Christ set us free. And if the Son sets you free – you are free indeed.

Look what we have seen so far: Othniel and Ehud had rallied Israel to fight against their oppressors. Deborah and Barak took only two tribes to defeat the enemy. Gideon only needed 300 to defeat the thousands. But Samson did it by himself. One man. We see Samson, blinded, tortured, chained and all alone. He was a strong man who became weak, but in the end a weak man who becomes stronger than ever before. His victory was in his death.

I did not like the young Samson, he was not likeable. I like the Samson I saw that last day. I like that humbled Samson. I like to believe each day as he went round and round pushing the millstone, he prayed to the Lord. He repented of his sins. He wanted only to finish what God had wanted him to do- the child of promise would become the champion of men and in death would bring victory. His weakness was turned to strength.

God shows He can defeat the enemy with one man. That one man would be the God-Man, the Lord Jesus.

Jesus became weak to become strong. His death however was not the end- it was the beginning. He arose on the third day and after a 40 day ministry ascended to heaven where today He sits at the right hand of God.

Do you believe you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you?

Has the enemy convinced you that you are too flawed to be used by the Lord?

Do you think it is too late in life to be used by God? Then the story of Samson should tell you it is never too late to do the right thing.

It also tells us our prayer life perhaps even more than our activities are the indication of our spiritual health. Fight your battles on your knees in prayer.

When I am weak – I am strong.

Judges

Judges 11

Judges 11:

We are going to meet the next leader that God raises up for His nation, Israel. Desperation leads people to seek help, doesn’t it? Ever notice how many desperate people showed up in the presence of Jesus: the blind, the lepers, the woman with an issue of blood, Jarius, whose daughter was dying, the nobleman with the sick son, the Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter, the man with the son who had seizures in Mark 9, and the list goes on and on of desperate people .   And of course the Apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn in his flesh. Pleading- denotes desperation. Paul who had been through more than his share of suffering had a situation which he pleaded with the Lord for relief. We do not know what this ‘ thorn’ was but it caused him great weakness which Paul believed was a hindrance to his effectiveness for doing the Lord’s work. The Lord , however, had other plans for this ‘thorn’ He had allowed in Paul’s life.

The Lord’s answer to Paul’s desperate prayer was twofold: my grace is sufficient and in weakness my strength is made perfect. Paul realized when he was weak – he was strong. Our strength comes from the Lord. The strength to endure and keep on keeping on in times of adversity. This is when we wholly cling to Jesus, completely trusting him and not leaning on our own understanding and our own strength and intelligence. In Paul’s situation and the case of the man whose son had seizures we see God’s methods. Jesus said to the man in Mark 9: “ Everything is possible to him who believes.”   The scripture tells us of this desperate father’s reply: “ Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “ I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” An interesting prayer which I wonder have you ever prayed? This man who was desperate prayed for the Lord to enable Him to believe more and to rely completely on Jesus. Help my unbelief admits our faith is weak. Our faith often stops at the point where human reasoning says there is no basis for believing.

In his own hometown of Nazareth, we read: “ And he did not many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Yet in other places Jesus says – go, your faith has made you whole. Unbelief is a hindrance to the work of the Lord. Are we not seeing the work of the Lord in our nation, our city hindered just as they did not see many miracles in Jesus’ hometown because of unbelief? Have we as Christians not seen our churches dwindling in the last few years? We have seen mainline denominations move away from the absolute truth of Scripture. And where does faith come from? ‘ Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.’ ( Romans 10:17) Now do you understand why the enemy attacks the Word of God? He knows its power- it is the incorruptible seed that brings new life. He wants to choke it out with the things of the world. He hardens the hearts and deceives the mind so the Seed cannot take root.

Satan’s lie is you cannot trust God. The enemy suggests that God does not have your best interest in mind. The enemy keeps the world away from God’s Word where Peter tells us: ‘…through His Divine Promises we have been given everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him.’ ( 2 Peter 1) Jesus said he came to give us life and life more abundant and exposed the devil as one who comes to steal and kill and destroy. ( John 10)

“ For by grace are you saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.” ( Ephesians 2) Saving faith is a gift of God isn’t it? Without this faith it is impossible to please God and those who come to Him, must believe that He is and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” ( Hebrews 11: 6)

The Christian life is a by grace through faith operation from beginning to end. Listen to what Paul writes in Colossians 2: “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than Christ.” The world wants to conform us. It does so through deceptive philosophy which depends on human traditions and man’s intelligence- it manipulates us by appealing to our flesh. The Word of God transforms us by inspiring us.   Paul says we are to continue to live in Him, just as we received Him. And we received Him by grace through faith. Notice we are also involved in the process of sanctification which comes from being rooted in Him, and thereby being built up and strengthened by Him. Adversity plays a major role in the sanctification process. Adversity is to our faith what exercise is to our muscles.

How important is this faith and that this faith keep growing? “ This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he/she who believes Jesus is the Son of God.” ( I John 5)   Did you come here this morning in defeat or victory? Did you come believing with all your heart that God has saved you – that you are indwelt by the very Spirit of God and yet have areas of unbelief? Then pray with me as the man in Mark 9 did- “ LORD I BELIEVE – HELP MY UNBELIEF!”   Pray God will enable you to believe Him more- rely on Him completely – wholly cling to Jesus. For apart from Him we can do nothing. We all are plagued with doubt during stormy times of sickness, of lost loved ones, of uncertain times which all lead us to cry out – Jesus Help Me! I was desperate the day I got saved- I was a man who was desperate to live- so desperate I called on the name of the One whom I had rejected. Oh Thank God He is merciful, kind and forgiving and is not willing that any should perish but all would come to repentance.

Now looking at today’s lesson I see a man of faith. An imperfect man, a flawed man, a man who makes a horrible mistake as one who is a believer in Almighty God. But guess what- this man, Jephthah’s name is found in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 right along with Samson, Gideon, and Barak.

Now the Word of God is giving us a comparison and contrast between two men of similar background and circumstances: Abimelech and Jephthah.   Contrast provides clarity. Think about how the Lord contrasts the two houses built on the two foundations; the two gates, the two ways, the old nature vs the new nature, etc. Here are two men who are the illegitimate sons of two leaders. They are both rejected by their family, their brothers. They are disinherited by their own family. They gather about them a group of men who are nothing more than outlaws. One, Abimelech will be an oppressor of Israel, the other, Jephthah will be the savior of Israel.

In fact, strange as it may seem, there are similarities between Jephthah and Jesus. “Jesus came to his own, but they received Him not.” ( John 1) He was not even believed to be the Messiah by his own brothers. Just as Joseph was rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery where God prepared him to be the savior of his brethren.

First Jephthah is rejected by his brothers and cast out after his father dies. What does the Bible tells us about Jesus- he was the cornerstone, the head stone who was rejected by the builders.

So what happens to those who rejected Jephthah? They are desperate for a mighty warrior- who can deliver them from their enemy the Ammonites. Jephthah had become a mighty warrior in the meanwhile who had gathered about him-“ a group of adventurers who followed him.” He was leader of a band of men and had become known as a ‘ mighty warrior.’ My view of them is they are like Robin Hood and his band of men. Thieves, adventurers, who went out another versions says- ‘ raiding’.

Now those who rejected him are desperate for his ability as a mighty warrior to save them from the Ammonites. Guess what Jepthah does?   He reminds them how they rejected him and despised him. Do you know what he is doing? He is exposing their sins. He says I will not help you if I cannot be your head. I will not redeem you if you will not be ruled by me.

Jesus cannot be Savior, if He is not also Lord and Master. And when He comes again as a mighty warrior and assumes His Rightful Throne and His kingdom has come and His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven- there will be those who will say to Him- “Lord, Lord” but will not enter His kingdom. ( Matthew 7 and Matthew 25 describes the two groups.) Only those who do the will of my Father in Heaven will enter into His Kingdom. And unfortunately- we are told few enter!

Jephthah surprises us as I am sure he surprised those leaders who came to him to save them from the Ammonites. He surprised them with his diplomacy, his knowledge of Scripture and history. He surprised them that he first sought a peaceful solutions for as a mighty warrior he knew about war and its horror. Politicians who never have to go to war- are eager to start wars that others fight- but warriors are reluctant to go to war. Jephthah presents the facts of history of the region. His second argument was theological and scriptural stating the Lord God had given Israel the land. And his third argument was Israel had occupied this land for centuries.

Jephthah sought a peaceful solution. God had rather shed his grace and mercy and love on us than His judgment.   We realize as we study Gods’ Word one of the ways He judges our sinful idolatry is to give us more idols. To give us up to our sinful lusts that we might grow sick of them as they eventually let us down. We also realize God uses hardships and adversity to prepare us for the role He has for us. Joseph was prepared in testing time as a slave and a prisoner in Egypt.

Jesus was recognized even by men as learned as Nicodemus as a teacher unlike any of the other teachers. He taught with authority. The learned men of Israel, from the High Priests to the scribes and lawyers could not get the best of Jesus- could not trip him up. Even at the age of 12, they were amazed at his grasp of scripture. His band of 12 that followed him were certainly not a group of intellectuals, theologians or men of noble families. They were a group of fishermen, tax collectors, and commoners who were considered to be of a class of people who were of no power or might. Yet these men turned the world upside down in a generation.

We read in this story of this unlikely leader, Jephthah, of an event we have seen before in those leaders God raised up. We read: “ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” But we also read of something rather strange- a horrible vow Jephthah makes. He vows he will make a burnt sacrifice of whatever comes out of the door of his house when he returns- if God gives him the victory.

I do not know what to make of this vow. Certainly God is against human sacrifice. Deuteronomy 12 confirms this to be against God’s will. “ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way( the way of the ungodly nations) , because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds detestable things God hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away.” ( Deut. 12: 31,32)

Jephthah- why in the world did you vow that vow? What were you thinking?

I cannot answer those questions. It is a mystery to me. It is a horrible story.

I do know God did not want him to sacrifice his daughter. I know Jephthah did not have a complete picture of God’s grace and goodness.

I know only this: the only kind of sacrifice God wants from us is self sacrifice.   “ Therefore, I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” ( Romans 12) Adrian Rogers says this is a formula for knowing God’s perfect will: P + T = R ( Presentation plus transformation equals revelation.

Notice it is a living sacrifice. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Jephthah had been conformed by the pagan society the world he lived in that believed in offering burnt sacrifices.

Jephthah had a flawed view of God’s character.

Do you have a flawed view of God’s character? Do you view Him as judgmental and harsh or loving and merciful? Do you try to appease God with works in order to get Him to do something for you?

What would happen in your life if you really believed God was completely committed to you to love you and bless you and work out in your life what is best for you?

Could you worry less and rest in Him more?

“ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out-“ Have mercy on us Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he( Jesus ) asked them : “ Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“ Yes Lord” , they replied.

Then He touched their eyes and said, “ According to your faith it will be done to you”; and their sight was restored.” ( Matthew 9)

Do you believe He is who He says He is?

Do you believe He can do what He says He can do?

Do you believe you are who He says you are?

Do you believe you can do what He says you can do?

Is His Word active and alive in your life through obedience?

Now let me say as your teacher, I face the same problems with faith you do and the man in Mark 9 did. I am so glad we have that story for it teaches us to pray this prayer: ‘ I believe you Lord, Help my unbelief. I believe you are able to do this!’