He is Worth It

                                           

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view

of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus

my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of

all things, and count them but rubbish so that 

I may gain Christ.

Philippians 3:8

In thinking about my relationship with Christ, its value far surpasses anything else. He is worth the sacrifices I make for Him. In the process of thinking about this, I had a scene come into my mind. A scene that has come up occasionally when thinking on sacrificing for the Lord, and how He is worth the sacrifice. It is a scene from my own imagination, that came about as a result of reading an excerpt from a missionary biography a few years back about John Paton. I wish I could remember where I read it, but here is the gist of it.  

There was a family that felt led of the Lord to go and witness to the natives of the New Hebrides, and were dropped off on the island to begin their ministry. The inhabitants were cannibals, and were fierce warriors. Over the next couple of years his children and his wife died and were buried, and John slept on their graves every night for fear that the cannibals would dig up their graves. John would later remarry and return to the island to continue to share the gospel with these people. Of course, there is more to the story, but the scene that keeps coming to my mind is one where this man, having given up all his possessions, comforts, and security to come to this foreign and hostile land; and then losing his entire family, is alone in the darkness and stretched out over the graves of his wife and children. And in my mind the man is proclaiming to the Lord, "You are worth it!  You are worth it!"

My friends, I don't know what you are giving up to serve the Savior. I don't know what sacrifices you are making or have made; but I do know this, "He is worth it!  He is worth it!" He is worth the work of our faith and the labor of our love. He is worth the taking up of our cross. He is worth the suffering of shame for His name sake. He is the pearl of great price who is worth all of what we have. He is the One who paid it all, and so He is the one who is worth it all. Let us take our lives and offer them up, so that along with Paul, we too may gain Christ and may be found in Him on that day. 

One Time for All Time

 

 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering

of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering

time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;

but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time,

sat down at the right hand of God...

For by one offering He has perfected for all time

those who are sanctified.

Hebrews 10:10-12, 14

Italics mine

Once for all, one sacrifice for all time, and one offering for all time. This is the power and the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. The blood of innumerable bulls, goats, and lambs sacrificed over two millennia were not adequate for and were not effective in providing redemption. These sacrifices highlighted the need for a sacrifice that would completely take away sins.

In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son who was born without sin and lived without sinning to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. Therefore the offering of the body of Christ completely sanctifies all those whom have placed their faith in Him and His work of redemption. His offering is that by which God sets us apart from sin and unto Himself. The power of that offering is in the holiness of the one who was offered up. He was the sinless Lamb of God, and in His sinlessness was the perfection and power of the offering. This one offering, thereby, which God could accept on behalf of all those who, having no intrinsic merit, would accept this specific sacrifice as their own, and therefore be sanctified wholly and completely unto God; becoming His own possession through the redemption accomplished in Christ's sacrifice

His is a one time for all time sacrifice for sins, which permanently takes away the sin of all who place their faith in Him. No sin is too strong to or too resilient to stand up to the power of His blood. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In His blood is the power to cleanse the guilt of sin, and remove the guilt of sin from all who come to Him confessing their sin and need of His cleansing power; and in faith trusting in His sacrifice as the means of removal of the stain of sin upon them.

Not only has His sacrifice sanctified us and taken away the guilt of sins from us, but through that one offering we are made complete in Him for all time. Nothing else is needed, nothing else can be added, and for all time we live in the sphere of the fullness and completeness of His sacrifice. This is the Sabbath rest of God that we are to enter into. Resting in what He has brought to completion on our behalf in the once for all offering of His Son. We rest in the completeness, the effectiveness, the permanence of this one offering, by faith accepting this offering on our behalf. It is the rest of faith, resting in and resting upon this glorious truth that God in Christ has most thoroughly and completely and effectively done every thing needed to accomplish His great salvation. This is why the author of Hebrews tells us up front to not neglect it.

Let us rejoice and celebrate this great salvation in our own hearts and souls, singing and making melody in our hearts to God. And let's share this joy and melody with those with whom we gather each Lord's day. Let our joy and thanksgiving be contagious.

Only You Father could do such a thing, could accomplish such a great salvation on behalf of those on whom You have set Your great affection upon from before the foundation of the world. Who are we Lord, to be showered and lavished with such a great love? Who are we Lord? Who are we? But we are grateful, knowing our own unworthiness, but basking and glorying in what You have done on our behalf. Praise You!  Glorify Your name! May Your name be great in all the earth, may it be great in our heart, and great on our lips. To You and You alone be glory, power, majesty, and dominion this day and forever! Amen.

The Most Effective Greeter

Pastors, we must remember that the

most effective greeter in the church is us.

We set the tone and are the catalyst

for greeting. Additionally, it is not just

about greeting the guests, but greeting

the members as well. I have never seen a

church that was good at greeting who

had a pastor who wasn't. 

Keeping Our Focus on Christ

There is an old adage in sports, and it is "Keep your eye on the ball!" This is the first fundamental in all of sports, because the game revolves around the ball, and each player has responsibilities relative to their position to the ball. So if a player loses track of the ball, he cannot and will not function properly. This seems relatively simple; but because it is simple, it easy to get sidetracked into putting your attention on all the other activities or movements that are going on around the ball so that the ball no longer has your attention.

There is a similar fundamental in the life of the church in that the life of the church revolves around Jesus Christ, and the minute any church takes its eyes off of Christ, removes its focus from Christ, and Christ ceases to be its priority, then it ceases to function properly even though it might be generating a lot of activity. If you read through the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, what you will see as a common thread among the churches that were chastised is that, in some fashion, they had taken their focus off of Christ and put it somewhere else.

This is what Paul warned the Corinthian church about in II Corinthians 10:3 "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." This deception that takes a church's eyes off of Christ is a common, but effective tactic of the enemy; and he deceives us with many churchy, well meaning, feel good, even popular/missional du jour type of things; and it is so easy to be led astray by these things. Because of this, we must be vigilant and fight tenaciously to keep our eyes and our focus upon Jesus Christ and keep Him central to all that we are and do.

We must make sure that Christ is the center of our attention and the focus of our devotion. This is fundamental to all that we do as a church. So, just as good sports teams do, let us make sure that we are spending time focusing on the fundamentals, really The Fundamental, so that what we do as a church will be pleasing to the Lord; and our lampstand will not only remain in place, but its light will shine brightly.

Pressing On and Taking Hold

Not that I have already obtained it

or have already become perfect,

but I press on so that I may lay hold

of that for which also I was laid hold

of by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

"It is the Word of Christ, loved, lived in,

abiding in us, becoming through obedience

and action part of our being, that makes us

one with Christ, that fits us spiritually for

touching, for taking hold of God."

Andrew Murray

quoted in

Transforming Prayer

by Daniel Henderson

Page 110

It is also this same abiding in the Word of Christ that is the foundation behind the promise found in Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." A heart that delights itself in the Lord is a heart that delights itself in His Word. If you do not delight yourself in His written word, you will not delight yourself in His Living Word...the Word that became flesh, the embodiment of the Word.

It is only to the extent that we abide in His written word that we also abide in Him. Jeremiah 15:16a tells us this, "Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart..." The Lord tells us in John 15:10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." 

We press on and take hold by abiding in His word. If we are abiding in His word, then we automatically will be living in obedience to that word. This is the key to the abundant spiritual life, to a close fellowship with the Father and the Son, and is a marker of our love for Him; as we see in John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." It is those who love and obey to whom Jesus will disclose Himself; and it is when we press on in loving and obeying that we touch and take hold of God. 

Pressing On for the Progress and Joy of Our Faith

In his letter to his friends in the church at Philippi, Paul was not only thanking them for their gift and love, but also addressing areas such as church unity, opposition to the gospel, and the day of Christ. These topics are addressed throughout the letter. However, Paul's addressing these topics are an aid for His accomplishing His greater goal for them in the writing of this letter, and that is their progress and joy in the faith. We see this goal stated in Philippians 1:25, which is the key verse in this book.

Ever the teacher, ever the discipler (Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 4:11-13), ever the one concerned for the welfare of the church(s) (II Corinthians 11:28), Paul was not wasting this opportunity to build up and strengthen these brethren who were dear to him. Understanding this we can see how Paul goes about this through the instructions, admonitions, and examples he gives in this letter. What Paul does in this letter to move the Philippians forward in their faith is to lay out their responsibilities as believers alongside God's resources available to them.

As believers, God wants us to progress, advance, and go further in our faith; and as such we are responsible for our part, but at the same time the Lord knows that in and of ourselves we are not adequate for the task, so He must give us the resources to do what He has laid out for us to do (II Corinthians 3:5-6). So let's look at both our responsibilities and our resource for progressing in our faith as Paul gives them in Philippians.

Our Responsibility
We progress and have joy in our faith:
1:5    by our participation in the gospel.
1:7    by our defending and confirming the gospel.
1:9    by our abounding more and more in love,
         but by a love that is guided by knowledge and discernment.
1:27  by conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.
1:27  by being unified in the cause of the gospel.
1:27  by standing firm with others.
1:27  by our striving for the faith of the gospel.
1:29  by our suffering for His sake.
2:3-5 by not being selfish or self-promoting.
         by our looking out for the interests of others.
         by having the same attitude as Christ.
2:12  by working out our salvation,
          with the understanding of our accountability
2:14   by not having a complaining or argumentative spirit.
2:16   by holding fast to the word.
2:17   by serving and sacrificing in our faith.
2:18   by sharing our joy with others,
          especially those going through trials.
2:19   by living in a way that is an example and encourages others.
2:25   "
3:2     by being aware of those who would hinder us in our faith.
3:3     by putting no confidence in the flesh.
3:7     by not holding on to worldly possessions.
3:12   by pressing on.
3:13   We press on:
           by always forgetting what lies behind.
           by continually reaching forward to what lies ahead.
3:14   by having an eternal perspective.
          We develop an eternal perspective:
           by keeping the ultimate goal in mind.
           by keeping the ultimate/eternal reality in mind.
3:15    by keeping the right attitude.
3:16    by not regressing in our faith.
3:17    by following the right examples.
3:20    by being mindful of our citizenship.
4:1      by standing firm in all these things.

4:6      by having a robust prayer life.
4:6      by being thankful.
4:8      by training our mind to think properly.
4:9      by living out what we have learned to be true,
4:9      by living out what we have seen to be true.
4:15    by generously and sacrificially supporting the gospel.

Our Resources
We can progress in our faith because:
1:6     We have God Himself, as what God began, God will finish.
1:7     We have been made partakers of grace.
1:11   We are already filled with the fruit of the righteousness of Christ.
1:19   We have the provision of the Spirit of Christ.
2:1     We have the encouragement of Christ.
2:1     We have the consolation of love.
2:1     We have the fellowship of the Spirit.
2:1     We have the affection and compassion of Christ.
2:13   We have God working in us to accomplish His good pleasure.
2:16   We have the word of life.
2:19   We have the encouragement and example of others

2:25    "
3:1     We have the safeguarding of the word.
3:12   We have been laid hold of by Christ Himself.
3:20   We have the knowledge of His returning for us.
4:7     We have a heart and mind that are guarded by the peace of God.
4:9     We have the God of peace, Himself, with us.
4:13   We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
4:19   We have a God who will supply all our needs,
           based on His riches.

What Paul is laying out for us to see in this book, is the working of man and the working of God in the spiritual life. How they work together is a bit of a mystery, as God has not given us a formula to follow, but principles to be lived out. It is in our going and our doing that the grace and power of God meet us and work through us. It is in our obedience that we tap into the resources of God.  It is in our working out what the Lord has worked within that we appropriate all the means He has made available to us to accomplish His will in our life.

So my friends,  today let us progress, let us advance, let us press on in our faith, for He will meet us there in the midst of our going and doing.

 
 

Precision or Sincerity in Preaching

 

Be diligent to present yourself to God

as a workman who does not need to be ashamed,

accurately handling the word of truth. 

II Timothy 2:15

Notice that Paul did not say, "sincerely handling the word of truth." Sincerity is important, surely, but not at the expense of accuracy. The first goal of the preacher/expositor in his study of the Scripture should be accuracy. He should have the desire to be precise in his exegesis of the text, for precision in exegesis leads to clarity in understanding, clarity in understanding leads to accuracy in interpretation, accuracy in interpretation leads to proper application; and proper application leads to a life that bears rich fruit and is well pleasing to God because it properly aligns with His word. Preaching something different, something less, or something more than the Scripture actually says ultimately leads us away from the truth, regardless of the sincerity of our intentions. When we are led away from the truth because we have not been precise in handling the truth, then what we are preaching is not the word of truth, again, regardless of the sincerity of our intentions. To paraphrase an old adage, "One can be sincere, and sincerely wrong at the same time."  

Fellow pastors, and fellow Christians, let us endeavor to be sincere in our quest for accuracy and precision in our study of the word of God. Let us be sincerely right, so that we will never be ashamed of our handling of the word of truth.

The Most Applicable Verse in the Bible

Would you want a command from our Lord that would be universally applicable...in every situation, with every person, in every context, culture, and condition; a command that is easy to remember, easy to relate to, and easy to understand; a command that in keeping would lead you to keep other commands automatically; a command so simple that even a child understands the concept? Have I aroused your curiosity and piqued your interest? I hope so. 

This command is on par with the second greatest commandment, "To love your neighbor as yourself," and, in fact, is the practical outworking of that command. What is it? Glad you asked. Let's look at Matthew 7:12 "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for  this is the Law and the prophets." Here in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives this command, and it comes some time before He is asked the question that leads Him to give us the two greatest commandments; and He says the same thing about this command that He says about those two great commandments...that it sums up the Law and the prophets (See Matthew 22:34-40). Pretty astounding, wouldn't you say. Yes, this Golden Rule that many of our mothers taught us is that powerful and that profound. 

I tell people quite frequently that the Lord has not made being a Christian complex or hard, but in reality He has made it simple for us to live a life that pleases Him and blesses others; for that is what living out this command does. It is universally applicable, and is intertwined in so much of Scripture.  Let's look at some examples.

Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead.
Be patient and kind, not arrogant or boastful or jealous, not taking into account a wrong suffered, not being easily provoked, not acting unbecomingly, and not self-seeking.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.
Turn the other cheek.
Walk the extra mile.
Be generous and ready to share.
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Let your speech be seasoned with salt, giving grace to those who hear.
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
Be submissive...to masters, to parents, to husbands, to elders, to each other.
Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.
Stimulate one another to love and good deeds.
Forgive those who have sinned against you.
Don't judge your more mature brother or hold in contempt your weaker brother.
Give honor to whom honor is due.
Do not withhold good when it is in your power to do good.
Visit orphans and widows in their distress.
Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought to think.
When reviled, revile not.
Regard one another as more important than yourself.
Pray for those who persecute you.
Love one another fervently from the heart.
Be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, and kindhearted.

Of course we could go on, but what could you add to the list?

If we would but apply this verse with each person every day, think about the witness it would provide, and the blessing it would give. We could apply it to:

Our spouse.
Our children.
Our parents.
Our siblings.
Our friends.
Our neighbors.
Our co-workers.
Our enemies.
Our church family.
Our competition.
The person who gets under our skin.
The person who always seems to have it out for us.
The person who inadvertantly or intentionally cuts us off in traffic.
The person who never lets us get in a word edgewise.
The lazy clerk at the store.
The incompetent clerk at the store.
Our employee when we have to terminate them.
The server who can't get our order right.

Our spouse in a disagreement.
Our children when we have to discipline them.

Someone at church with whom we disagree.
Anyone with whom we get frustrated.

See how applicable it is. Pretty amazing, huh? But it does require something from us, and that is self-sacrifice, a genuine putting others ahead of our self. This is not always an easy task, but this should be a joyous task; one that we know pleases the Father, and one that we know blesses others. Let's start tomorrow by being intentional about putting this verse into practice in our lives, and let's see how the Lord uses it for His glory.

Collision of Wills

Jonah, what an enlightening, delightful, powerful, compelling, and convicting book. Immediately in Jonah 1:2-3 we see a collision of wills between God and Jonah and we see this highlighted in the call of God to Jonah, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it." and Jonah's response...He rose up................to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah was not being reluctant, he was being rebellious. His disagreement with God (Jonah 4:1-2) turned into disobedience to God, and he fled just as far in the opposite direction of Nineveh as he knew to go.

Jonah's fleeing from God was his way of avoiding God because he did not want to do what God had called him to do. God's call to Jonah exposed an area of Jonah's life that needed to be brought into submission to the Lord, and the limits of his obedience were exposed. This is an object lesson for us. Why?.....There are many times when we have a collision of wills with God, and every collision of our will and His will reveals the limits of our obedience. The limits of our obedience are always being exposed and tested, just like Jonah.

In times like these when our will has collided with God, and we are wrestling with God and ourselves, there are some things we need to remember, things that we observe in the book of Jonah:

1. That God's will is always perfect and pure....ours is neither.

2. When our will is not lined up with God's will, it will always be selfish and self-seeking.

3. The imagined cost of obedience is always overshadowed by the real cost of disobedience.

4. Disobedience is always more costly and the consequences are more severe.

5. While obedience may cause some distress, disobedience leads to disaster.

6. Your disobedience does not happen in a vacuum, but will always affect those around you, those whom you are connected to.

7. When you are being disobedient don't be beguiled by the "providential" escape provided by the circumstances.

8. Most often the means of escape our circumstances seem to supply is actually the means of God's discipline, God's chastening.

9. When we are being disobedient our paradise becomes purgatory and our pleasure becomes pain.

10. It is always better to trust the Word of God rather than to trust your own heart.

Loving God

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 

And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God 

with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

 This love that Christ is speaking about is a personal love, an intimate love, a relational love. This love grows out of our knowledge of Him and is basic to our relationship with Him. 

 

To love our God with all our heart, soul, and mind is an unfettered love, a love without restraint, a love without hesitation. It is a full-on frontal embrace without reservation and without self-consciousness. It is a love that fully engages the object of its love. It is a love that knows it is accepted and a love that knows it is safe. Therefore, it is a love that trusts and a love of confidence; and, as such, is a love of commitment and a commitment that entails and engages our total person. 

 

This is a love that brings the fullness of joy; the deep and abiding joy that in and of itself is a source of strength. This joy is not subject to circumstance, but seems to thrive in the worst of circumstances. It is a joy that cannot be shaken, because its foundation is a trusting and confident love involving the entire person, soul, heart, and mind; and the object of this love is Himself immovable, unshakeable, unspeakably good, eternal, immortal, unchanging, and our soul knows it very well. 

 

Let us journey on, let us press on, to know our God and our Lord better…more deeply and more completely. It is in knowing Him and growing in our knowing of Him that our love for Him grows ever stronger and deeper; and in this and through this our lives are enriched and we experience the blessing of abundant life.

Persecution, the Mark of a True Christian

Blessed are those who have been persecuted

for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the 

kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people

insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against

you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your

reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they

persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:10-12

In the Beatitudes Christ gives us the markers that describe a true disciple, one that is truly following Christ. The first seven markers are found in verses 3-9 and they are internal spiritual realities that manifest themselves in many ways in the life of a true believer. They are being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, being gentle or meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart, and being a peacemaker (notice it is being a peacemaker, not being peaceful or at peace). The final marker is one that comes from the outside, and that is persecution, which is seen in verses 10-12.  

Interestingly, there are three reasons given for the persecution. They are for right living (righteousness sake, vs 10), right belief (because of Me, vs 11), and right testimony (in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you, vs 12).

In the NT we see many instances of persecution for the reasons listed above, here are a few:

Right Living

I Peter 2:20-21, 3:17,  4:4, 4:15-16, 4:19, II Timothy 3:12,

II Corinthians 3:14-16, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 5:6-11

Right Belief

Acts 4:8-21, Acts 5:41, Acts 15:25-26, I Peter 4:14, II Timothy 1:8, 12

Right Testimony

Acts 4:8-21, 14:1-6,16:19-24, 17:2-7

Because you believe the right thing (the truth), you will speak rightly and live the right way. The result of this at some point and at some level will be persecution; and blessed are you when being persecuted for these reasons. Persecution for right belief, right living, and right testimony is a marker, an identifier, that this person is truly a child of God.

Sometimes God Calls You to a Hard Place

 

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from

your country, and from your relatives and from

your father's house, to the land which I shall show you...

So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him...

and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came 

to the land of Canaan...The Lord appeared to Abram 

and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." 

So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared

to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain 

on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel 

on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar

to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. Abram

journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Now there

was a famine in the land...

Genesis 12:1-10a

I love this story, a story of the calling of God on the life of a man. The story of a man who was faithful to follow the Lord, and faithful to give thanks and worship. And what did the Lord call Abram into? He called him straight into a famine, in the very land that He had promised him and his descendants. Abram was faithfully following and worshiping the Lord, and the Lord called him into a hard place.

This is an encouraging story, because sometimes He calls us into a hard place. Sometimes when we are faithfully following His call on our life and His leading in our life, we look up and we are surrounded by famine, or hardness, or barrenness, or leanness, and all the difficulties that are associated with them; and just as famine does not go away over night, neither does this time of hardness. Yes, and it is from the Lord, it is where He has led us, it is where our faithfulness has taken us. Just like in Abram's case.

So, lesson number one from this story is that we can be faithfully following and worshiping the Lord, and come right into a place of famine, a hard lean place that we didn't expect, a time that lasts longer that we expected. Also, there is a second lesson here for us as well. It is seen in Genesis 12:10b-13:1.  It is a lesson from the failure of Abram. Instead of staying where the Lord had led him, he took off on his own to Egypt, and it got him in a mess of trouble. Abram was faithful to follow the Lord until it became hard, then he sought his own way out, his own path of escape. How much like all of us is this. Instead of consulting with the Lord, instead of waiting on the Lord, instead of depending on the Lord, instead of trusting in the Lord, he panicked and took off...just as we are tempted to do.   

What we must also glean from this story, is the fact that the Lord knew exactly what He was calling Abram into, and called him there anyway. Yes, the promised land was a land of famine, at that moment, but it was still the land of promise, God's intended place for him, a place of blessing. The Lord knew when Abram would arrive, and what would be waiting. Abram was there, in the famine, because that is where the Lord wanted him. The Lord had raised the ante on the testing of Abram's faith, and the hole in his faith then became visible when put to the test.  

Friends, I write this an encouragement to those who are in that hard place, or who soon will be, and are there because they are faithfully following the Lord. Be like Abram, who faithfully followed the call of the Lord on his life, but don't be like Abram, who sought his own way of escape and fled when he arrived at the hard place. There are a few verses I would like to leave with you that show us how to handle these times, and handle them in a way that is faithful and spiritually profitable.

First is Proverbs 20:24 Man's steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way.

Second is Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

Third is Psalm 37:23 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Take heart, my friends, that you have a faithful God who is completely aware of where He has led you, even if you can't understand why. Understand that you may not understand the whats and whys of where God has led you. Trust in the Lord and His faithfulness, and lean on all that you know to be true about Him. Be patient in staying put where He has put you. Be godly in the midst your circumstances. Be faithful in your stay in the hard place, just as you were faithful in following Him there. 

May you be blessed in your faithfulness, and may you see the blessing the Lord has for you in this hard place.

The Eternal Significance of the Ordinary Day

                                                  

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, 

as for the Lord rather than for men

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all

  in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks

 through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever

 you do, do all to the glory of God.

I Corinthians 10:31

Remembering these verses helps keep the dailyness and the ordinariness of our lives in perspective, eternal perspective. God expects us to work, speak, eat, drink, and do all things (all the mundane and repetitive activities of daily living) in the name of His Son, for Him, and for His glory. This gives a vital importance to the "every day" of our lives. This says that there are no wasted days, no unimportant days, no wasted or unimportant words, no wasted or unimportant activities in the seemingly unnoticed ordinariness of our lives.

Oh, BUT, when you keep these commands, when you consider why these commands were given, and that they culminate in bringing glory to our great God, and His great Son...well then, life takes on a different meaning and we begin to view our life differently.  

When we follow these commands then we begin to understand that our life, no matter how insignificant it may seem cannot, let me repeat, CANNOT be meaningless. In fact, these verses cry out loudly that our life does have meaning, even down to the smallest and most insignificant thing we do. Additionally, this also shows us that each and every day of our life has value in the eternal plan and purpose of God. 

The "whatever you do" in these verses encompasses everything we find ourselves involved in. So our life becomes a theater for our honoring the Lord with our speech, our eating, drinking, and doing; and thus, He is glorified in our living out our ordinary lives.

Now, when we grasp the concept of God's sovereignty over all of life (Psalm 103:19), it enables us to see His Divine providence in ordaining our very steps (Proverbs 20:24), even to the extent that He delights in the very way He has decreed for us (Psalm 37:23). We then see that for those who have turned to the Lord to follow Him in all His ways, each day, with all its attendant activities, has value in God's eternal plan and purpose because it is used to display His worth and glory as we live it for Him; and if its has value, even though it seems so ordinary and mundane to us, in God's plan it is significant. 

So what does this mean? It means that if you are a Mom, be a Mom to the glory of God. If you are a secretary, be a secretary to the glory of God. If you are a salesman, be a salesman to the glory of God. If you are a coach, coach to the glory of God. If you are a pastor, pastor to the glory of God. If you are an executive, be an executive to the glory of God. If you are retired, be retired for the glory of God. If you fish or hunt, fish or hunt to the glory of God. When you play golf, play golf to the glory of God. 

You see, there really are no "ordinary" days as we would view ordinary, but each day brims with opportunity to bring glory to the Lord, as that is how He has ordained it. Friends, let us look at each day in our life, as a day ordained by the Lord, therefore significant in His eternal plan...and therefore so are we!

Working the Work of God

 In John 6, after Jesus had fed the multitudes, the next day the crowd came after Him on foot and in boats, all the way across the sea of Galilee. Jesus rebuked them for following after Him only to have their stomachs filled. Picking up in verse 27 and starting with Jesus, let's look at the interchange that took place at that point. "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent."

The question posed to Jesus was legitimate for the religious environment at that time. Israel was under the influence of the Pharisees who had reduced the Law to a system of works. They had their religious works honed finer than a gnat's eyelash, and were very zealous in the protection and promotion of their system of works righteousness. The whole system was based on works, many of which were mutations of the Law, which led them to a state of spiritual bankruptcy where they were like white washed tombs, clean and pristine on the outside, but full of death and decay on the inside. This is why Christ told the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount that their righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, as it is not the external accomplishment of a set of religious duties, but doing the will of God from the heart that constitutes the work of God. This is what Christ expressed when he told them that the work of God was to believe in the One whom God had sent, Christ Himself.  

What then does it mean to believe in the One whom God has sent? Saving faith has two components, and both are centered in Christ. First there is the belief in the person of Christ, that He is all that the Bible says that He is; and the Bible tells us that He is fully both God and man, the Savior, and the only way to God (in fact, these were things that Christ actually said about Himself).  

The other component or element of saving faith is to believe on the finished work of Christ. This entails believing (accepting and not rejecting) that Christ lived a perfect and sinless life in our stead before God by always doing the will of God, not in a perfunctory way, but from the heart. Read through the gospel of John and see how this is laid out for us to see, and is culminated in John 14:31. This pure sinless life qualified Christ to be the sacrifice for our sins in our stead, a sinless man suffering the eternal wrath of God for all the sins of those who would place their faith in Him as the Savior and believe in the completeness of His sacrifice for those sins. This means that we trust Christ's work and not our own.

You cannot work your way to God, no matter how sincere you are nor how hard you try. The only acceptable work before God is what Christ accomplished by living the life he lived and dying the death that He died. We must accept who He is and trust in what He has done. This is what is behind the exclusivity of the Christian faith. There is only One who lived the sinless life, there is only One who qualified to be the one time for all time sacrifice for sins, and that is the God-man Jesus Christ. Christ is the One whom God sent to be the Savior for all mankind, for all of those who would turn to Him and Him alone to be their Savior.

This is the work of God, my friends, to believe in the One whom God has sent, for on Him God has set His seal of approval for the works He accomplished on behalf of all that will come to Him in repentance and faith. Don't delay any longer, cease from believing that you are good enough to determine your own way into heaven and accept the work that Christ has done on your behalf.

Turth, the Great Need of Every Hour in Every Age

I write so that you will know how one ought

to conduct himself in the household of God,

which is the church of the living God,

the pillar and support of the truth.

I Timothy 3:15

What will people hear when they come to your church? What should people hear when they come to your church? What do people need to hear when they come to church, any church? The answer is simple, really, and it is....."The Truth." What people should hear, and need to hear is "The Truth," yes, with a capital "T". 

They don't need stories, they don't need therapy, they don't need moralism, they don't need movie clips or skits, they don't need placating, they don't need pandering, they don't need platitudes, they don't need entertainment, they don't need titillation, they don't need warm fuzzies, they don't need their self-esteem boosted or their ego stroked, they don't need to be manipulated, they don't need to be sold, they don't need vision, they don't need wit or comedy, they don't need a slickly produced event, they don't even need the pastor to be a great communicator. Plain and simply they need the pastor to be a truth-teller; and they need the pastor to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help him God.

They need to hear the truth throughout the service, in the praying and the praising and the preaching. The entire service should carpet bomb them with the truth. In our post-modern age, truth is the great need of the hour; but that is no different than it has ever been, as man has always had an aversion to the truth, which is why people will pile in heaps those who will tickle their ears with what they want to hear, and pile on those who don't. But just because men and women are averse to the truth, doesn't mean they don't need the truth. In reality it is their very aversion to the truth that causes them to be in such great need of the truth.

Fortunately we have the great repository of the truth, the Bible, which is the very truth of God who cannot lie; and we have the Living Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who is truth incarnate and personified, and the locus of the truth (Ephesian 4:21, John 14:6). So if we are to give the people the truth, we should preach and teach the infallible and inerrant word of God, and tell them of His Son who spoke truth and lived the truth (Ephesians 1:13a, John 8:40). 

In Acts 20:26 Paul testifies that he is innocent of the blood of all men. How could he make such a bold and powerful statement? Because he knew that He preached the truth, he knew that he declared the whole counsel of God. It wasn't platitudes that caused him to be stoned, but the truth. It wasn't a therapeutic sermon that caused him to be beaten with a rod, but the truth. It wasn't entertainment and titillation that caused him to be imprisoned, but the truth. It wasn't self-esteem, make them feel good about themselves, tell them God loves them just like they are sermons that caused him to be run out of several towns, but the truth. It was the truth he preached that contradicted the pagan cultures that made him unpopular and the object of wrath, but it was the same truth that was the seedbed for the churches he planted.

Man's great need is the thing he hates to hear the most, the truth. If we are called to preach, then we are called to declare the truth. Anything else, really anything less, is a betrayal of our calling. Let's remember James 4:17, and don't give lip-service to preaching the truth; but preach the truth to the best of our God-given ability, asking Him for His grace and empowerment, trusting in His truth to do what only it can do and trusting in Him for the effects. This is what makes us worthy watchmen (Ezekiel 33:1-9).

Rejoice in the Lord Always

 Rejoice in the Lord always,

again I say, rejoice!

Philippians 4:4 

In the Greek, this word rejoice is a present active imperative, which means it is an ongoing command, one which is to be carried out continually, and is one of a list of commands that Paul gives in the first nine verses of this chapter. And, for obvious good measure, Paul couples this command with the word always, so that we see for sure that there is to never be a time when we are not to be rejoicing. Along with this I do not believe that it is an accident that Paul gives this command on the heels of reminding the Philippians about the book of life in verse three. What comes to mind immediately is the command of our Lord to his disciples in Luke 10:20...but rejoice that your names are written in the book of life. Here He was telling the disciples that their rejoicing should be in their salvation, its surety and security.

As Christians, our greatest joy should be our salvation, and it should override and overcome any and all circumstances in life. Our joy in our salvation, in our eternal standing in the Lord should always be our greatest joy, and we should exult in our salvation above all else. As a result, we should be more thankful for our salvation than anything else, and the fact of our salvation should be both the foundation and the fountainhead of all of our praise. In Hebrews it is called a "so great salvation" and, indeed, it is just that. The Scripture tells us we are to make melody in our hearts to the Lord, and if you read through the Psalms you will see the greatest praise and thanksgiving, the greatest rejoicing, revolves around salvation.

The circumstances of the Philippians when Paul wrote this also gives us some insight into this command to rejoice. They were facing opposition from without that was causing suffering of the type that they had seen Paul go through when he was in Philippi (Philippians 1:27-30). They were faced with opposition from within as there were enemies of the cross (tares) among them (Philippians 3:17-19). They were also beset with internal bickering that was dividing the church (1:27, 2:2-4, 4:2-3). There was much going on that would be disheartening and discouraging to this body of believers. This is why Paul starts of this section with the command to stand firm in the Lord. In light of all of this, we see the command to rejoice in this verse is for them to have a thoughtful response to their circumstances, not a blitheful, ignorant, Pollyanna view, but a knowing reflection of the greatness of their eternal spiritual state in comparison to the temporal circumstances they found themselves in.

Additionally, they already have joy, joy within, through the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Joy is second on the list of the fruit of the Spirit. It is only those who have the joy of the Lord who can truly rejoice in the Lord…in His reality, His nearness, His promises, His truth. Again, you rejoice in Him because of all that He is and all that you have in Him. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, "The joy of the Lord is our strength." Joy steadies the fainting soul, it strengthens the weak soul, it anchors the wavering soul, it gives light to the distressed soul, it soothes the anxious soul, and it bolsters the vexed soul.

However, joy is what we have, rejoicing is what we do as the outward manifestation of the joy we have within; and rejoicing in the Lord is key in standing firm in Him. Paul also tells the Thessalonians in Chapter 5 to rejoice always. So rejoicing is to be a state that the Christian is to live in, and a daily practice. In his commentary on Philippians Walter Hansen shares this, “The fulfillment of all other goals in the Christian walk flows out of the practice of the rejoicing in the Lord." If you think about it, you see how true this is. I have never seen an effective Christian who was not a rejoicing Christian. 

This command to rejoice was given to the Philippians in the context of suffering, in the context of opposition, in the context of less than perfect circumstances, and so we see who they are rejoice in, it is the Lord, Himself. They are to rejoice in the Lord, not in their health, their wealth, their prosperity, their stuff, their job, their family, or their circumstances. Their object of joy is to be the Lord, who He is and all that they have in Him, which is all wrapped up in the package of salvation. 

So with this in mind let's look at why we are to rejoice in the Lord, by looking at our reasons for rejoicing. And these reasons never change, even though our circumstances do.

II Corinthians 1:20 You rejoice in Him because in Him all the promises of God are Yea and Amen.

Philippians 4:13, John 15:5 You rejoice in Him because in Him you can do all things, but apart from Him you can do nothing.

Ephesians 1:3 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Colossians 2:3 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I Corinthians 1:24 You rejoice in Him because He is wisdom of God and the power of God.

Colossians 2:10 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have been made complete.

I Corinthians 1:30 You rejoice in Him because in Him are righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Romans 8:1 You rejoice in Him for in Him there is no condemnation.

Ephesians 1:7 You rejoice in Him because in Him there is forgiveness of sins.

I Thessalonians 1:10 You rejoice in Him because in Him there is deliverance from the wrath to come.

Ephesians 1:10-11, I Peter 1:3-4 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have obtained an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, and which is reserved in heaven for you.

I Peter 1:5, 3:20-21 You rejoice in Him because in Him your salvation is protected by the power of God.

Ephesians 1:13 You rejoice in Him because in Him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 2:13, 3:12, Hebrews 4:16 You rejoice in Him for in Him you have been brought near to the throne of grace, and in Him you have bold and confident access to the Father.

II Corinthians 5:17 You rejoice in Him for in Him you have been made new.

II Corinthians 5:18 You rejoice in Him for in Him you have been reconciled to God, and are no longer God’s enemy.

Ephesians 2:22 You rejoice in Him because in Him you are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:16 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have been raised up and seated in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:7 You rejoice in Him because in Him are all the riches of grace.

Ephesians 4:21 You rejoice in Him for truth is found in Him.

John 1:4, 11:25 You rejoice in Him for in Him is life eternal.

Acts 4:12, II Timothy 2:10, Hebrews 5:9 You rejoice in Him because your salvation is in Him.

John 14:9, Hebrews 1:3 You rejoice in Him because in Him you see the Father.

Ephesians 2:5 You rejoice in Him because in Him you have been made alive.

Galatians 2:20 You rejoice in Him for because He now lives in you.

John 16:33 You rejoice in Him for in Him you have peace.

This rejoicing is to be a persistent rejoicing, an active rejoicing, an intentional rejoicing…not a passive, reluctant, forced rejoicing. When we rejoice like this, in any and all circumstances, the joy of the Lord is truly our strength.

Let's rejoice today in the Lord, in all that He is, in all that He has done, in all that we have in Him. Let us rejoice in the greatness of His salvation that He has so graciously and magnanimously bestowed upon us. For the circumstances of this life are temporal, but His salvation and all that we have in Him are eternal.

The Three Essential Elements of Powerful Persuasive Preaching

Preaching is both a human task and a Divine event, a combination of man and God delivering the message of God. As preachers we are both blessed and burdened in our preaching. We are blessed with the opportunity and the privilege and burdened with the responsibility and accountability, of speaking forth the oracles of God. Those truly called to preach have been gifted so as to be the mouthpiece of God, so that when we speak for God it should be as God Himself would speak. As such, preaching has been depicted as God speaking through the personality of men. 

In this vein we must realize that there are certain keys, certain requirements, certain foundational principles required on the preacher's part so that the Spirit of God can and will attend and give unction to his message. It is not erudition, articulation, or winsomeness, although those are certainly helpful. It is good to be learned, it is good to be a wordsmith, and certainly an attractive personality and engaging presentation will help; but all of these can be present and yet, the sermon can be devoid of power and spiritually impotent. 

What then are the keys to powerful, persuasive preaching? What is required of those who would stand in the pulpit and herald forth the word of God? What must we as preachers do in order for our sermons to be attended by the Holy Spirit and for us to preach in His power? I believe there are three keys, three foundational elements, that are required of the preacher for his preaching to be spiritually powerful and effective. In listening to and experiencing sermons I have seen these essential elements to be present in the preacher whose sermons have been marked by the attending power of the Holy Spirit; and all the great preachers in the church have possessed and exhibited these elements in their preaching. They are:

1. A thorough conviction of the truth.
This is ground zero for all who would be powerful in the pulpit and is the primary essential element and the guiding principle for all who would have their preaching attended by the Holy Spirit. The preacher who would be powerful in the pulpit will always believe that the word of God is true, absolutely true; not just true as regards the things of salvation, not just true in the matters of faith and practice, but true in every area to which it speaks, whether it is creation, revelation, miracles, history, or prophecy. He does not look for holes in the Scriptures, but has a steadfast hold on the veracity of the Scriptures and believes that they are truth without any mixture of error. He then preaches as presenting the truth, with the conviction that what he is saying is true, and therefore his preaching will be attended by the Spirit of truth. This gives the message authority.

2. A thorough knowledge of the truth.
Shallow knowledge begets shallow sermons, and shallow sermons are never powerful sermons. There is a saying that knowledge is power, and the powerful preacher will have a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, not just in a pet area, but in the full flow of the grand narrative of the Bible. He will understand where the passage he is preaching on falls in the scope of the Bible, he will understand its context, its historical surroundings, its audience. The preacher will have a knowledge of the subject he is preaching on, and what the Bible, as a whole, has to say about the subject. This lends weight to his sermon, this gives breadth and depth to his sermon, and thereby gives his preaching the appropriate gravitas. Alongside this the Holy Spirit of God also gives the preacher wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This makes the preacher believable.

3. A thorough explanation of the truth.
Just as thorough knowledge makes the preacher believable, thorough explanation makes the preacher understandable. What makes the sermon finally and ultimately powerful is the explanation and application of the truth. A correct and thorough explanation of the truth is a prerequisite to the Holy Spirit applying the truth to the hearts of the hearers. People cannot apply what they do not know or understand. The truth must be presented clearly and precisely. The meanings of words, their tenses and contexts, and what other verses say about the same subject give light to the mind in understanding the meaning of the passage. Once a passage is understood the Holy Spirit will apply it to each person's heart within the context of their own walk and experience. This makes the sermon personal, this makes it powerful, this makes it effective. 

As preachers we must preach to the heart through the mind in order to bend the will. In order for this to take place we must be convinced that what we are preaching is true, we must know our subject, and we must be able to explain so as to bring clarity and insight into the mind of the hearer. When this is done, the Holy Spirit will attend our sermon and give it all the spiritual power necessary to accomplish its aim. 

I hope these essential elements are present in your preaching. They are attainable for us all, from the least gifted of us to the most gifted, from the least eloquent to the most eloquent, from the least winsome to the most winsome. Possessing these foundational and essential elements in our preaching does not guarantee us large crowds or growing churches or notoriety or a place on the conference circuit, but they do guarantee us that our sermons will be spiritually powerful and effective in the sphere in which our Lord and Master has placed us. This will lead to His approbation, "Well done, My good and faithful slave, enter into the joy of your Master."

Living for His Glory?

  The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world…

Psalm 19:1-4b

So if the heavens are telling of the glory of  God, should not we? Man, as the apex of God’s creation, man as the one created in the image of God, should be the one aspect of His creation that brings Him the greatest glory, and praises Him in the greatest way.

  

I Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The whole world is a theater for the glory of God, and your life is one of its many stages.

A life that is not lived for the glory of God is a life that is lived for naught. It is a life that has accomplished nothing of eternal value. It is a life that has received its only reward here on earth. A life lived for God and His glory is a life lived for eternity, and a life that will reap eternal rewards. For in the final analysis, you will either live for God's glory or live for your own.

Whose Direction are You Following and Where Does it Lead?

The ancient Greek playwright, Euripides once said, "The wisest men follow their own direction." However the Bible says this in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Man's own direction for his life always follows the broad path that leads to destruction, for he always goes astray in his heart.

Our gracious and compassionate God has given man His word, His direction, His way, and His path in the Bible. Hear His word today! Choose God's path today! Heed His call today! Follow His direction today! Forsake your own way and call upon Him while He is near, asking for His direction for your life; and He will have mercy upon you and will direct you to and set you on the path that leads to eternal life.

The path to God is centered in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." We must follow Christ in order to find the path to eternal life; and to follow Christ we must turn from following our own direction for our life (repent), and believe that the direction to God lies solely in Him.

God's direction will always and ultimately lead to eternal life. Forsake setting your own direction, and follow His today!

A Soldier of the Cross

 Am I a Soldier of the Cross

Am I a soldier of the cross,

a follower of the Lamb, and

shall I fear to own his cause,

or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies

on flow'ry beds of ease, while

others fought to win the prize,

and sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes to for me to face?

Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vile world a friend of grace,

to help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;

increase my courage, Lord;  I'll

bear the toil, endure the pain,

supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints, in all this glorious war, 

shall conquer though they die;

they view the triumph from afar,

and seize it with their eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,

and all Thine armies shine in robes

of vict'ry through the skies,

the glory shall be Thine.

Isaac Watts

This hymn was written circa 1721-24 while Watts was preaching on I Corinthians 16:13, and was appended to Watts sermons published during this period , "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." is the admonition in this verse. In the time when the persecution of Christians is global and our society's intolerance toward us is increasing, the timelessness of this hymn is a vital reminder to us all of the challenge and cost and glory of taking up our cross and fighting the good fight of faith. 

Since Genesis 3 those who follow the Lord have been embroiled in a long war against the truth, and this war is also against those who love the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. So, in a very real sense all who name the name of Christ enter into the battle in some way. May this hymn encourage and strengthen us all to be strong and be soldiers of the cross, and may we sing more songs like this in our churches.  O Father, grant us your strength that we not shrink back, Hebrews 10:38-39, but be counted among those who stand firm in the faith.