End of Sin

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;” (1Pe 4:1 AV)

The suffering of which Peter speaks is suffering for the sake of others.  This is not suffering in general.  Sometimes, suffering can have the opposite effect.  Our suffering may lead to sin and not away from it.  When my shoulder was at its worst, I was in such pain it changed my personality.  I was impatient, frustrated, and angry.  All the time.  I had never felt pain like this before.  It drew me to sin and not away from it.  Note the suffering Christ suffered above.  He suffered for us in the flesh.  No doubt, Jesus suffered in other ways too.  He suffered being human when He was also divine.  He suffered hunger and thirst as any normal human being would.  He suffered at the loss of His good friend John the Baptist.  Jesus was tempted in all points as we are.  The suffering which we bring liberty from sin is suffering for the sake of others.

Suffering for others is not something we naturally do.  Suffering for others is something we will do if there is an emergency or if it is a duty.  Like a mother who goes without sleep for the sake of her small child, we will sacrifice because we must.  But to sacrifice because we desire to is something completely different.  This takes suffering to a whole different level.  When Jesus Christ suffered for all of us, He did so as a matter of free choice.  His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane suggests the human side of Jesus and the divine person of the Son were having a battle.  The Father asked the Son to suffer and die for all of mankind prior to creating anything.  It was that willingness to be the propitiation of our sin that was the cause for creation to begin with.  If the Son of God was not willing to die for mankind, mankind would never have been created.  There would have been no cause for it.  All of mankind would have been thrown into a devil’s hell for all of eternity.  When it was decided Jesus would suffer and die, it was decided because He chose to willingly do so when He was not obligated to do so.  Outside of the Father asking the Son to die for mankind, there was no pressing need for it.  God could simply have chosen to not create.

The suffering of Jesus was a free choice of His own will.  He chose to do the will of the Father.  It is this level of suffering that keeps us from sin.  Why?  Because at that moment of suffering, we are thinking of others and not of ourselves.  Our desires are obliterated because someone else needs what we have or can do far worse than we want what we do not need.  When we put others first, we become last.  Opportunity must present itself.  It is hard to seek out these times and if we did, we would only be doing so for selfish reasons.  We would not suffer for the sake of others with a pure heart.  We would use this suffering as a way to free self.  It would become a self-righteous way to be righteous.  Rather, we need to ask the LORD to open our eyes and present opportunities to be selfless for the sake of others.  We need to ask the LORD to send our way people who are in far more desperate need than we are.  We need to ask the LORD to bring to us that which He brought to Jesus.  An opportunity to suffer deeply for the sake of another.  Then we can be free from sin with a pure heart.

If He Can Do It, So Can We

“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” (Jas 5:17 AV)

James is encouraging his audience to pray, especially for the faults of one another.  The implication is the sickness of a few verses earlier is a sickness caused by sin.  The instruction is to pray over the one who is sick, seeking a confession of sin, so the ill one can recover.  One might think they are not worthy to offer prayers on behalf of the ailing because of wicked struggles within their own hearts.  Yet James dispels that feeling by mentioning Elijah.  Elijah prayed that it would not rain during the reign of Ahab.  There was no rain for three years.  He prayed again and rain came by the buckets full.  One would be naïve the think Elijah was perfect and that God heard him because he had never sinned.  Not so.  This same Elijah would quit on God.  The point is, if God would hear the prayers of someone who would eventually quit on Him, surely He would hear our prayers. 

Why is it that we think others are far more spiritual than we are?  The proper way to lock at it is no one is a spiritual giant among men. We are all subject to the same passions.  Both Peter and Paul testify to the same reality.  Paul said, “And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:” (Ac 14:15 KJV)  It is not out of the ordinary to think others do not struggle as we do.  What is fascinating is the previous verses to this one encourage confession of faults one to another.  If we truly did this, we would find out we are not all that different from most others.  We would find out that we struggle with the flesh just as much as our brothers in Christ.  They nay not be the same sins.  But they are sins nonetheless.  Since we think we struggle more than others, we also assume our prayers are hindered more than others.  Again, that is foolish thinking.  The Bible teaches as along as we confess and forsake, then the LORD hears us.  The example is Elijah.

The issue at hand is not the character of our past.  It is the faith of the present.  When we stop to think what made the men of the old testament different from others it was not necessarily their overall character.  It was there faith.  In particular, their faith in the mercy and power of God.  David is my example.  He made serious mistakes.  Both personal and profession mistakes.  Some of these mistakes cost others their lives.  There was also Jeremiah who quit on God.  There was Jonah who fled the will of God.  There was Solomon who went after strange gods.  There was Ezra who allowed the people to intermarry with the heathen.  Time after time, the men of God messed up.  The compromised their character.  But again, what set them apart was not a perfect testimony.  What set them apart was their deep faith in a loving and merciful God to whom they owed everything.  It is this faith that overcomes personal failure and brings power with God in prayer.  If Elijah could keep rain from falling for three years despite his weakened demeanor, then surely we can have power with God, too.

Patience Needed For The Race

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Heb 12:1 AV)

The cloud of witnesses are those who lived by faith in rather dramatic ways as listed in the previous chapter.  Their lives were meant to be a motivation for the New Testament saint.  As we read of their deep faith in God, we are encouraged to do the same.  It must be remembered they were not perfect.  They had their moments.  They also had times of doubt and disobedience.  That, by the way, is the weight and the sin.  The weight is doubt and the sin is the besetting sin that we tend to allow to get the better of us.  Patience is not discouraged because it fails to see immediate results.  Patience overcomes without becoming discouraged.  As stated before, the men and women listed in the previous chapter had their moments.  Abraham doubted God and fathered a child with Hagar.  Daniel was missing in the fiery furnace.  Moses had an anger issue.   David committed adultery.  As we study the previously listed saints of the previous chapter, we will find chinks in their armor.  They were not perfect.  But what they did have was character enough not to live in defeat and trust God with forgiveness, guidance, character, and provision.  Their faith was modeled by patience.  Not perfection.

Although we could choose any one of the saints mentioned in the last chapter, Gideon comes to mind.  Here was a man who one would not think of as a stalwart of faith.  He was the one who proved God with a fleece.  Twice.  He was the one who would not confront his father’s idolatry in the daylight.  He went in the middle of the night so as not to get caught.  Gideon fled from his father when his father discovered what he had done.  Yet, when push came to shove, Gideon was the one who went up against tens of thousands of the enemy with only six hundred men.  When we think of a warrior who is the greatest example of faith, we think of Samson.  He slew hundreds with the jawbone of an ass.  Samson killed thousands by pulling down the center pillars of a banquet house.  The problem was, that Samson had a problem with the ladies.  Those of ill-repute to be exact.  Yet he is listed among those who had great faith.  In each example of the previous chapter, it is hard to find anyone who is perfect in character.  There simply isn’t one.  You would be sore-pressed to find anyone who didn’t falter even a little bit in their faith.  This is not discouraging.  It is encouraging.

When I read the commandment appearing above, I often crucify myself beyond usefulness.  I think of all that I have done or failed to do and believe the race is already lost.  But I, like most, have to remember patience is the key.  Laying aside doubt and disobedience, we still have to run with patience.  Why?  Because from time to time, the weight and sin will cling once again.  Then, like we did before, we must lay it aside.  Patience!  Getting up when we have fallen, the book of Proverbs tells us, is the mark of a righteous person.  A righteous person is not practically perfect.  That is not likely to be us until we are glorified.  But if we get up after we have tripped up, then we are considered righteous.  So, plow on!  Continue the race no matter how much you have failed.  Believe God to empower you to the finish line!  Lay aside doubt and disobedience.  Get up on your feet and pick up the pace.  Keep your eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith.  Not giving up is the key.  Patience.  Run.  Lay aside.  Run again.

All Gone

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Heb 9:28 AV)

What a statement!  The sin of which He is without is my sin.  The last time lost Israel saw Jesus was on the cross and He took upon Him the sin of the whole world.  They saw Jesus marred in the sin of humanity.  Not exactly a pretty picture.  Isaiah was right.  There was nothing about Him they desired.  It was a horrifying picture of the absolute destruction of their Messiah by the sin of the world.  However, when He returns, they will see Him in His glorified state.  No longer will He bear the sins of the world because the justice of God has been satisfied.  He will appear for the second time without spot or blemish.  He will appear the second time with no association with our sin because our sin has been absolved.  I cannot help but think of how wonderful that is.  My sin, past, present, and future was satisfied on Calvary’s cross.  When the writer states Jesus will appear the second time without sin, what he means is He will appear the second time without my sin.

Years ago, I helped a young man who saw the LORD move the world for him.  I have never seen anything like it before.  I will not go into all the details, but relay one event in particular.  He worked for a furniture company that sold and delivered furniture on a cash-only basis.  So, he would load up a truck and head out.  He would come back to the warehouse and turn over all the proceeds from that day.  They were usually in the thousands.  If he returned after hours, he would turn the proceeds in the next morning.  This young man had a substance abuse problem and a gambling problem.  He had already spent time in jail and was on probation.  Any mess up and he would go back to prison.  His gambling addiction got the better of him and he took the proceeds and went to a casino.  Because he lost it all, he could not return to his business the next day.   He told me he was laid off. That is, until a week went by and he was extremely nervous.  He eventually confided in me and I convinced him to go back to his employer and offer to work it off.  When he arrived, there were a couple of squad cars waiting for him.  He was arrested on felony charges.  He was released on his own recognisence with an appearance ticket.  On that day, I took him down to the Cook County courthouse to await his desk appearance.  We looked at the docket list.  His name did not appear.  We asked a court officer and he checked.  There was no record of his appearance ticket and was not scheduled for a trial.  Cook County lockup is not a place you want to be.  It is one of the worst county lockups in the nation. He was facing serious jail time and he was more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of occupied rocking chairs.  But there was no record of his ticket.  It was as if it never happened.

This is the picture the writer is trying to convey.  We shouldn’t be bogged down with sin that has already been forgiven.  Furthermore, if Jesus Christ has paid for it all, then why do we still go after it?  What earthly difference would it make?  The world cannot understand this.  They assume eternal security and complete absolution gives the saint the license to sin.  They think there are no eternal consequences for those who believe in complete and final absolution.  What they do not understand is the heart of the child of God.  If he truly is saved, then as enticing as sin might be, there is a part of him that is repulsed by it.  He or she wants to be free from it.  If Jesus paid it all, there is no reason to pursue it.  You and I can rest in the truth our account has been eternally settled in Jesus.  No more memory of it.  It is gone forever!

Divine Immutability is an Anchor

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Heb 6:19-20 AV)

The immutability of God is a great study.  The two previous verses to the ones above speak of God’s inability to change.  In fact, it is an impossibility.  God cannot change.  He is, was, and always will be the same.  The specific context is the security we have in Jesus Christ as opposed to a human priesthood.  A human priesthood is notoriously unreliable.  Think of Eli.  Eli was a judge and a priest.  He faithfully judged Israel, yet he could not govern his own family.  His two sons were immoral, perverse, and greedy.  Eli himself died an untimely and cruel death because of his own failures.  A human priesthood is fraught with error because it is made up of sinful people.  They can change and often do so.  God cannot.  God is perfect.  What He was before He created anything is exactly what He is and always will be.   This is the anchor to the soul that Paul speaks of here.  It is the immutability of God and His counsel.

Change is difficult to adapt to.  Especially in people and relationships.  As a child, I had a father who was a bit on the angry side.  It might have had a little to do with raising eleven children.  Talk about the patience of Job!  Add to the mere challenge of twelve people whom you have to govern the financial obligation that entails and the fact he had to hold down several jobs to do it, one can see how frustration could boil over to anger.  I served under a pastor who was a powder keg ready to go off.  Damage control was one of my official duties.  Still, another couldn’t get a grip on exactly where he stood and where he was going.  In short, I have lived and served under people were were not always consistent.  This can be unnerving.  You simply don’t know which person is going to show up.  Is it Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?  In parenting class, they teach you that consistency is so important in raising a child.  Inconsistency is a good way of raising a nervous or volatile child.  With consistency comes security.  Predictability means a lot.  Knowing how a parent will react or knowing ahead of time unchanging expectations brings security to the heart, mind, and soul.  This is to what Paul is speaking. 

We serve and worship a God who does not change.  There are no surprises.  If God reacted one way in the past, He will do so in the present and the future.  We do not have to worry about a God who cannot control His spirit.  We do not have a God who makes it up on the fly.  His expectations never change.  God is more predictable than the sunrise.  He is and will be what He has always been.  The key is learning all we can about Him.  If we are insecure or full of anxiety, it is not because God cannot be found out.  Ignorance is our foe, here.  If we feel insecure it is because we lack truth, or the faith to trust the truth which we do know, that results in how we feel.  Paul says the immutability of God should be an anchor to the soul.  If our soul is adrift, it is not because God has moved or changed.  We have allowed our anchor to be pulled back into a boat that we control.  The waves of life are tossing us about and the ground beneath the waves is the only unchanging thing.  If we want to boat of our souls to ride out the storms of life with little fear, then the anchor must be cast into the solid rock that does not change.

Hold Fast

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb 4:14 AV)

To me, Hebrews is a very special book.  The theme of the book is the superiority of Jesus Christ.  The author compares Jesus Christ and what He does for the sinner with all other sources of faith upon which the Jewish worshipper might errantly rely.  The writer challenges his audience to remember the ever-living, eternal, and all-powerful high priest who has died for their sin and now sits at the right hand of God’s power to be the anchor for their faith.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith because He has risen from death, gained victory for the believing, and now makes intercession for us.  Knowing I have a High Priest who has lived as I live, has felt what I feel, and has not succumbed to sin; who now sits victoriously at the side of God our Father is an assurance and object of faith that cannot be matched.  There is simply no excuse for losing our profession of faith.  If we do, we have our eyes on the wrong thing.

As often stated recently, I used to run track.  My Junior High school years were my athletic years.  They didn’t last much longer than that.  I was a sprinter and not a marathoner.  This meant that I ran dashes.  But I also ran relay races.  Usually, the race consisted of a four-person team, each running an equal section of the overall length of the race.  There was a small piece of wood handed off from the one completing his leg to the next runner.  The peg was called a baton.  With a few yards left in the leg, the next runner would come alongside the one finishing, matching stride for stride, and then receive the baton, heading off for his leg of the race.  When completed, the coach required we stay at the finish line for the last runner.  Other teams returned to their bench when their leg was over.  Not our team.  We stood at the finish line and spurred on our teammate.  He could see us at the end of the race yelling, jumping up and down, and frantically waving him in.  His eyes were on the tap and on his classmates who had finished their race well.  This sight gave wind to his sails.  He sped up ever so slightly.  We didn’t win every race.  But we won our fair share.  If it wasn’t for those who had finished before we did cheering us on, we probably would not have won as many as we did.

The whole argument for remaining steadfast in our profession is that we have someone at the finish line who loves us more than we can ever comprehend who has suffered more than we can imagine that we might enjoy more than we could explain.  Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith has gone before, sitting at the right hand of God, intervening for us that we might finish well.  What a picture.  What a truth.  What a consolation.  What a promise.  So, run your leg well.  Carry that baton and do not drop it.  Keep your eyes on the person of Jesus Christ and do not let the Devil, the world, or the flesh keep you from running well!

Singin' In The Rain

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” (Titus 3:5-6 AV)

That which was shed on us abundantly is the mercy of God by the washing and renewing of the Holy Ghost.  One cannot separate the former from the latter.  The mercy of God is innate unless it is applied.  The mercy of God is not a benign emotion, but rather, an exercise of His will.  God does not feel merciful toward us without manifesting that mercy in some way.  In the above verse, Paul reveals one way in which His mercy is manifested.  There is the washing of regeneration.  We often associate the phrase ‘born again’ with regeneration.  Regeneration is the new birth.  Regeneration is passing from death to life in a very dramatic way.  Compared to the birth of a baby, being born again is as much a process as an event.  And the event comes with a lot of commotion.  The renewing follows regeneration.  Renewing is what we might consider growth.  Growing in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.  This renewing is the process by which we are transformed into Christlikeness.  When Paul speaks of the mercy of God which was shed abundantly, he is not speaking of a passive amount of mercy.  He speaks of a watershed of God’s blessing.

I grew up in a very unique part of the country.  I grew up about twenty miles from Niagara Falls, NY.  There were some very memorable events associated with living so close to one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  I knew the Falls like the back of my hand. Anything there was to see that didn’t cost anything, I knew of.  I had been to Goat’s Island more than any other attraction in western NY by one hundredfold.  Seeing the Falls in all four seasons was rather special.  My favorite of all places is the Top Of The Falls restaurant.  One of the most memorable things about living so close to the Falls was our weather.  Living almost due east of the Falls, our weather was heavily impacted by it.  We had cotton ball clouds all the time.  Our snow was measured in feet and not inches.  One of my special memories was summer downpours.  Because of the mist of the Falls, we had these brief and heavy downpours.  They didn’t last long at all. Perhaps five to ten minutes at the most.  My Mom, being the great mother she was, would send us out in the rain to play.  It would be extremely hot and this was back in the day when no one could afford air conditioning.  The only way to cool off was to get drenching wet.  I can’t explain it.  I have never seen anything like it since I moved away four decades ago.  The downpours were so heavy, it was like standing under a tap or hose.  It took less than a couple of minutes to get completely soaked.  It was so hot out, it felt great and to run around soaking wet was not uncomfortable at all.  It was awesome!

This is the picture of the mercy of God Paul is trying to convey.  The thought that jumped into my mind was twofold.  The older we got, the more we didn’t want to play in the rain.  We thought it too childish or inconvenient.  The second thought was that of mud.  Rather than relish in the cleansing nature of the downpour, we found puddles of mud to play in.  The rain had washed all the grim and salt from our faces and bodies and we went to the dirtiest places we could find and played in it.  If the LORD is going to go through the effort to shower us with mercy by regenerating a dead soul and transforming us into Christlikeness, we should do as Gene Kelly did.  We should sing in the rain.  If the LORD is going to shower His mercy on us abundantly, we should enjoy the experience rather than try to escape it or mare it.  What a wonderful feeling to know God has forgiven us.  What a blessing beyond all measure the transformation of the sin-sock soul into Christlikeness is.  Praise be to God for His abundant mercy!

Don't Forget What You Know

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” (2Ti 3:14 AV)

It’s amazing how a new set of circumstances can change what we thought we knew and believed all along.  Paul is encouraging Timothy to preach the word among the lost is spite of the persecution that will follow.  Timothy is a young man.  He hasn’t faced nearly as much opposition as he was fixing to.  Once he took the pastorate, the wolves would enter.  As the pastor, he is supposed to lead the way in evangelism and defense of the faith.  This suggests he would face others who were older and more suave in the art of debate.  HE would face doctors of philosophy, religion, and the law.  Timothy would debate others twice his age.  He would face obstacles that would seem impossible to overcome.  It is in these times, that the things we have learned can begin to waver.  Note especially the underlined phrase.  The things he has learned were also affirmed.  That means the things Timothy learned from his mother, grandmother, and Paul were affirmed in life experience and further study.  The challenge is simple. Do not let the circumstances of life rob you of what God has revealed to you.  Don’t lose what you have because life gets difficult.

Life brings very difficult circumstances.  Regardless if they are ministry-related, or life-related, there are times we begin to doubt what we thought we knew all along.  Many years ago, something happened to me that I couldn’t believe.  Our church was hosting an evangelist who was in his advanced years.  The LORD had used him for decades to revive churches and win souls.  He was a prolific soul winner.  He came up to me and admitted he still, once in a great while, questions his salvation.  Now that I am getting older, I can understand this.  Our memories are not what they used to be.  I am forgetting the details of the day I got saved.  I can remember the facts, but I cannot remember the experience.  Another time, an aged preacher came to me and asked my advice on how to handle a church problem as it affected him personally.  I was a third his age.  His emotions were clouding his judgment and he was making a grave error. One that he wouldn’t have done as a younger man.  Still, another man of God, who was well grounded in his faith, came to me and because of family issues, began to doubt sound doctrine he has espoused his whole life.  If experienced men of God can have times of doubt, surely we can.

Life can be stressful, fearful, and unpredictable.  Serving God is not easy.  The devil, as he did in the garden, will cast doubt on what we thought we knew.  It is in these times we must remember what we have been taught and of what we have been assured.  We must also remember the events of life that brought about this assurance.  If God took care of you in the past, He will take care of you in the present and future.  If eternally security was true years ago, it is still true today.  If God used you in the past, He will use you in the future.  If God was with you while you were single, He will be with you if you are single again.  If God provided for your needs in the past, He will do so in the present and in the future.  God is the same God.  Truth is eternal.  Our experience doesn’t change that.

Get A Grip

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1Ti 6:12 AV)

I like what one commentator describes as laying hold on.  He says it means to get a grip.  This phrase is repeated in verse nineteen of the same chapter.  There is an idea floating around that adds strife to a generation gap.  Those of us who are approaching our twilight years, or who are in our twilight years, have our eyes fixed on eternity.  We see prophecy coming to pass before our eyes.  We know the LORD’s coming is near.  Every day we get up and our bodies ache, we have to go to the doctors for cancer treatments, or our life insurance representative wants us to update our coverage, we are reminded there is a better place than this.  The older we get, the more frequently we say goodbye to friends and family.  Paul tells us to set our affection on things above and not on this earth.  We are never instructed to live as if eternity was not a hope, dream, or concern.  However, to our detriment, we can become so obsessive about eternity that we are of no earthly good.  Rather, eternal life should be a motive and not a hindrance to fighting the good fight of faith.  As we stretch forward to get a grip on eternal life, we should strive harder, not less.

The Stanley Cup is unique in all of professional sports.  The Stanley Cup is awarded to the winning hockey team of the Stanley Cup series.  The Stanley Cup series determines the championship team of professional North American Hockey.  The cup is named after Lord Stanley, the Canadian governor who brought hockey to a professional level and hosted the first professional championship.  On the cup are the names of the players on each team of the year of the championship.  The original cup is at the NHL Hall of Fame.  Being as odd and thin as it is, it was deemed too fragile to continue serving as the only cup.  There was a presentation cup forged which serves as the cup that is presented to the winning team at the conclusion of the series.  The winning team is allotted 100 days following the conclusion of the series and each team allows their players the privilege of possession of the cup for a duration during those one hundred days.  When the one hundred days are up, the presentation cup is returned to the hall of fame, repaired, cleaned, and stored for the conclusion of the next series.  Wherever that cup goes, there must be two Hall of Fame reps accompanying it.  So, if a player takes it home, two people from the Hall of Fame become house guests.  Of all professional sports, no trophy like it holds such tradition and respect.  Because it does, the sight of the cup spurs the two competing teams to fight their hardest to attain it.  The record books will tell how many series were extended beyond five games because the cup was present in the building.  Something about that cup changes the combatants.  Laying hold on it is the motive for full commitment.

This is the idea Paul is trying to convey.  It is poor advice to ignore eternity as a motivating factor for service to the LORD.  Ignoring our existence of no pain, no sorrow, no sad goodbyes, no trouble, no persecution, or no temptation is not what God intended.  Otherwise, He would have never told us what heaven is like.  Eternity is where suffering ceases and sin has no place.  An absolute place of perfection where the saints will experience the fullness of God’s glory.  Like running track with the finish line before me, I could see the ribbons displayed on the table.  That didn’t slow me down.  That sped me up.  We need more preaching on heaven.  Not less.  We need more sermons on prophecy.  Not less.  We need to get a grip on eternal life or we will never fight the good fight of faith.  Eternity is the patience of the saints.  Not the cold water of the runner.

Prayer of Encouragement

“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Th 1:11-12 AV)

There is so much packed in these two verses, that it challenges me as to what the LORD would bring out.  The context truly gives this passage power.  Paul is speaking of the second coming of Christ. The verses immediately preceding the two above deal with the LORD’s vengeance on those who trouble the saints.  The prayer Paul offers is in the context of a discouraged church who are browbeaten by the God-haters.  The promise of Christ’s return and eternal justice is the hope of the saints.  Until that time, though, we are to walk worthy of the calling of being a believer. That calling is to fulfill all the good pleasure of His will and walk by faith with power.  It is verse twelve that pops out at me.  Paul’s desire is for the name of the LORD Jesus Christ to be glorified in the church of Thessalonica and that they might be glorified in Christ.  The goal here is not to see how big of a work they can build or how many are saved each week.  Although that is important and should not be minimized.  Otherwise, they will cease to win anyone.  Rather, Paul desires a mutual relationship that overcomes discouragement so that Christ might be exalted in that church.

Discouragement is a real problem. So much so in the hearts of the baby boomers.  We cut our teeth on a church that was vibrant and outgoing.  We were focused on bringing others to Christ.  And the results showed it.  We saw conversions regularly.  There was a time when the baptismal waters stirred almost every Sunday.  Church grew like wildfire.  Colleges sprang up.  Camp meetings went on for weeks and not days.  Our missions conferences lasted at least a week.  Sometimes more.  Record amounts of pledges came in.  Building projects, outreaches, and bus ministries were common.  They were not an exception to the rule.  By comparison, today’s churches are dead.  It started when electronic entertainment was held in the hand and taken everywhere.  Prior, you had to set aside time and effort to be entertained.  TV was in its infancy.  There wasn’t too much on the screen to stop what you were doing and watch. A movie meant a walk or car ride to a theatre, a couple of hours to watch the movie, and a trek back home.  A new movie came out once every six weeks.  Now, they come out every week and can be viewed in the convenience of your recliner.  There were no such things as apps, social media, or texting.  We are so busy being idle that we don’t have time for the Holy Spirit.

Add to all this, the increased apathy of the world towards God, the constant badgering of the world on the saints, and the need to work harder than ever before, and the saints simply had little to no desire to sell out for God.  There is nothing left to give.  The times they are a changin’.  All this works to discourage the fading generation.  Sort of like those returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and wall.  They compared what they had to what they used to have and wept.  Rather than rejoice that God was doing something, they found remorse over what they lost.  Paul prays for this beleaguered church that they might tap into an eternal and infinite God.  He prays they might find the power to finish well.  God is not done yet.  Yes, the times are difficult.  They always have been.  What was true of the first-century church has been true of the church throughout the ages.  The great awakenings we have experienced are the exception.  They are not the rule.  So, we need to stop our fussing and lean into the load.  Rather than pull the shoulder away, we need to bear that shoulder into the stiff headwind.  We need power!  We need faith!  All this comes through prayer.  Prayer for ourselves and prayer for one another.

Uncleanness Is Not Our Calling

“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1Th 4:7 AV)

No explanation is needed here.  However, the context is the motive for the statement.  Paul is speaking of the rapture of the church.  There is a sense of preparedness to it.  In the light of the eminent rapture of the church, we should live holy because we will soon meet Jesus face to face. But this morning, the Spirit is leading us to consider another motive here.  Note the small word ‘called’.  It is an interesting word.  The word implies purpose.  That is, a purpose for our existence.  This purpose of holiness is not limited to the saints.  God has called all men everywhere to live in holiness.  Regardless of their choice to accept Christ or not, the LORD expects all mankind to live in obedience to His word.  No exceptions.  Those who do not will suffer the wrath of God mentioned in this same book.  For the Christian, there is another level of calling here.  A calling as opposed to those who are called, but do not accept that calling.  This calling of holiness is one of distinction.  Otherwise, the word ‘uncleanness’ would not be in the verse.  This calling is a calling to be like Christ as opposed to those who are not willing to be like Jesus.  This calling, again, is a life purpose for all those who have trusted in Christ.

I grew up in a mid-size city in western N.Y.  It was a city along the Erie Barge Canal.  This city was an Irish Catholic city and was very Catholic.  Most children went to the Catholic school system.  This meant most people knew one another because their kids attended the same school.  My father taught in the High School so we kids could go to school rather cheaply.  My father was known as a man of integrity and honesty.  He had a higher moral standard than most.  He didn’t drink.  He didn’t carouse around with pals.  The wildest thing he did was meet with another couple to play Pinnacle.  He took his family to church every week.  We served in the church in music ministry.  All the boys served as altar boys.  My father demanded of his children obedience and an impeccable life in the public eye. Everyone in town knew who we were. We could not go anywhere without someone asking if we were Paul’s son or daughter.  With that recognition came a certain expectation of behavior.  The public would tolerate misbehavior from most other children, but not Paul’s.  When we acted out, the public was shocked.  “You are a Gerwitz”, they would say.  “We wouldn’t expect that from you.”  The same was true of my three boys.  They were pastor’s kids.  Surely, they would be expected to live above the fray.  We were supposed to live differently.  We were supposed to be good children who behaved and served the public.

In the same way, every saint is called to holiness.  Note also there are only two directions here.  There is either holiness or uncleanness.  There is no neutral ground here.  It is either right or wrong.  It is either God-honoring or God-defaming.  There is no ‘other’ choice.  We are called to be like Christ.  That is our calling.  We are not called to be anything else.  This calling is in force from the day we were conceived to the last day of eternity.  There is no other option.  Paul is reminding us of an inescapable truth.  There is no escape clause.  There is no opt-out.  We are called to be like Jesus Christ and nothing will change that.  If we are not like Jesus Christ, we are failing in what God designed us to be.  Paul reminds us here.  He doesn’t challenge us.  He tells us we have no choice and we need to buck up and accept it regardless of what it might mean.  We are not called to uncleanness. We are called to holiness.

Commitment to Informed Prayer

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;” (Col 1:9 AV)

A lot should be, and could be, said about prayer.  Prayer is one of the most underutilized exercise of Christian faith and duty.  To have a conversation with God regarding others is something sinfully neglected in today’s Christian churches.  Prayer is seen as a boring topic.  Paul is as effective as he is because his prayer for this church and others is consistent and fervent.  If we are wondering why the church seems to be without power in today’s world, perhaps it starts with prayer.  Prayer is not exercised to inform God.  God already knows every detail of our situation and every possible action He will take.  We know prayer changes things.  We have not because we ask not.  This means if we ask, then we will have.  Prayer does change what God will or will not do.  But prayer accomplishes far more than simply asking and receiving.  As I said, God knows all things.  We do not need to explain to Him the situation as we see it. He already knows.  Prayer, more than anything else, is for the saint.  The saint is changed in the process of prayer.  His will becomes God’s will.  He must exercise dependence and humility.  The saint must come to a holy God and confess sin.  God is not changed in character or substance.  But the saint is.  Perhaps this is why we do not pray as we should.

In our text, Paul states he does not cease to pray for the church at Colossae.  One has to wonder how many times have said the same thing and didn’t really mean it.  We sit and listen to someone’s troubles.  We are very familiar with them.  We know every detail.  We love them more than they could ever know.  Yet, we say, “I am praying for you.” In reality, unless they are front and center in our minds, we do not.  The Colossian church was a faithful church.  They faced many adversities and overcame them with the blood of Christ.  In large part, because Paul and others were praying for them.  Part of our devotional life is prayer.  In fact, it is just as important as reading and journaling.  If all we do is read and journal, our relationship is one-sided.  We listen to the Holy Spirit and take comfort in the voice of God.  Because He speaks to us, our worth is affirmed.  We feel accepted in the beloved.  But many are like that little child who will soak up attention from Mom or Dad but won’t sit down long enough to have a conversation.  They are too busy or find sitting with a parent as a chore.  Mom and Dad ache for a moment with their child.  They are starving for the love that only a small and fragile soul can give them.

Note that Paul prefaces his statement regarding unceasing prayer with the church at Colossae as having a cause.  He is not praying merely because their name is on a prayer list.  He is not lifting them up in prayer because every Tuesday he prays for the churches he started.  He prayed because there was a cause.  He prayed because they needed his prayers and not because he was supposed to.  Perhaps there were specifics to his prayers.  Perhaps the church had needs unique to them.  This means Paul was informed.  The church was not just another church like any other.  This church was a church Paul knew intimately and knew exactly what needed prayer.  There was a cause.  If we are to see God’s power through prayer, our prayer needs to be informed, targeted, urgent, and consistent.  The LORD can use us again to change the world and prayer is the missing ingredient.

Pressing Regardless of Circumstances

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:14 AV)

What makes this verse all the more remarkable is the immediate context of Paul’s life at the moment of its inspiration.  Philippians is probably the most well-known of his prison epistles.  That is, most know Paul wrote this letter while under house arrest in Rome.  Paul had a hard road from the moment he received Christ until he died a martyr’s death.  When Paul wrote the above verse, his liberty was greatly reduced.  He didn’t have a church to go to.  He couldn’t go into the synagogues or marketplaces and dispute with the lost for the salvation of their souls.  He could not go house to house and teach the word of God as he did in other towns and cities of the Roman Empire.  Paul could not preach on the street corner as he did in Ephesus, preach on Mars Hill as he did in Athens, or start a church in the home of a tentmaker as he did in Corinth.  When Paul wrote the above verse, his race was very narrow.  He had less opportunity and more to overcome than at any time in his life.  Yet, he did not use his declining liberty and restricted opportunity to slow his resolve.  No matter the circumstances of life, he vowed to press on and finish well.  There are two types of people.  Some surrender to their circumstances and allow those circumstances to defeat them, or some seek a way to overcome them.  It seems the latter is the exception and not the rule. 

While I attended Junior High, I used to run track.  I was a sprinter.  Long-distance racing was not my thing.  However, our coach required we all learn to run long-distance races.  Our practices consisted of a mile to a five-mile run almost every time we practiced.  We would learn relays, hurdles, or dashes.  As a sprinter, there was one skill I could not seem to master.  The coach told us to speed up and run hard the last few lengths of our race.  As a sprinter this was impossible.  I ran a few yards and was done.  I ran as fast as I could for one hundred yards and that was that.  But when he had me run the 500, 700, or 1500 meters, I had to learn to pace my run and then accelerate the last few lengths.  I never could master that technique.  Once I was in a rhythm, I could neither accelerate nor slow down.  Since my lungs couldn’t take long-distance running, I often was unable to finish the race.  The adversity of running any length of time or distance was too much to handle.  I couldn’t press toward the mark because I let the circumstances of the race defeat me.

It takes a lot of faith and character to continue a race that seems to be in decline.  I imagine Paul was tempted to have a mid-life crisis.  I imagine Paul had the temptation to look at all that he had done, realizing he would never come close to accomplishing anything more like it, and pass the baton off to someone with more liberty and energy.  I imagine he looked at Timothy and saw an opportunity to retire.  But he did not.  He did not allow the life changes to diminish his commitment to finish his course until he broke the tape.  No doubt he poured on the afterburners, put us chest forward, and regardless of how much he had left in the tank, he pressed forward.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the elderly.  They have every right to kick back and rest for the remainder of their years.  They have earned the right to be waited on hand and foot.  They can do little in comparison to what they once did.   But they do not.  Many seasoned citizens will outwork the younger generation.  The question is, are we pressing toward the mark?  Or are we sitting in the cinders, burned out and unable to continue?

Strong in Another

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Eph 6:10 AV)

The last two words is our thought this morning.  There are times when the LORD tells us to bear under our own strength.  The LORD will not do all things for us and through us solely His own power.  He gives us the strength to accomplish many tasks in life, endure many troubles in life, and help others along this life.  This strength is the breath of life given to all who live.  We can get up, go to work, earn a paycheck, feed our families, and do it all over again the next day.  We can read the word of God, write some words, pray, and serve God to some extent.  There are many things in life wherein the breath of life and provision for the flesh is sufficient.  Yet, there are more times when we cannot do what must be done and we must remember to be strong in the LORD and the power of HIS MIGHT!

My lineage is German/Jewish.  At least that is what they tell me.  Part of being German is a propensity for efficiency.  We have this innate drive that makes us do things the quickest, easiest, and most effective way possible.  If there isn’t a machine that does what we need to do, we will invent one.  If one does exist, we will improve it.  If we are sweating, then we are not doing it right.  We can get more done with less effort than most.  Where most would muscle through it, us Germans will think of a way to disperse the load through invention and safely get the job done much quicker and will less wasted time and effort.  Several years back, my soul-winning partner and I came across a family trying to remove a metal awning from the front of a house.  The daughter who owned the house had her father and mother out there trying to get this thing off and to the curb.  It was no small awning.  This awning was about twenty feet in length.  It had to weigh more than one hundred pounds.  Dad was in his sixties.  I saw shape edges and weight coming down on the head of this poor guy if someone didn’t do something.  So, my partner and I offered to help.  Knowing the potential fatal injury that could have happened by removing this solely with a  saw and drill, we had to come up with a better way.  So, I asked the daughter if she had any lumber that might help.  She came back with two twelve-foot planks!  Awesome. Then I asked if she had any tent stakes.  She did.  We jammed those planks up underneath the awning against the house and drove the stakes in to stabilize the planks. All they needed to do was stay below the planks and when the awning broke free, it would fall on the planks and ride down to the ground.  Then need to place their limited strength on something much stronger than they.

We are like that family.  We try to do things the hard way much too often.  We try to go through our trials by charging through them in our own power.  We have very little compared to what we are facing.  Learning there is divine power greater than ourselves is key to navigating through these impossible times.  The LORD really spoke to me this morning.  I am like everyone else.  I am a weak and powerless human being compared to the battles that lie before me.  If I try to do it on my own, I will fail.  If I learn to trust Him and yield to His strength, I will be just fine.  God does not want us to go through life alone.  He wants us to trust Him and rely on Him.  The power of His might is always there.  All we must do is yield to it.

Growing In Divine Love

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;” (Eph 3:17-18 AV)

 Using the words rooted and grounded is fascinating.  And presents a challenge as well.  The word ‘rooted’ means to root.  Or, to grow roots in the ground.  The word ‘grounded’ means to make stable.  Thinking of a plant, because it lives, it grows roots.  It seeks to penetrate the life-giving soil in which it finds itself.  The deeper it goes, the more plentiful the nourishment.  The plant does by nature what we must do by choice.  We must choose to penetrate the love of God and find our hope, affirmation, and purpose therein.  The concept of grounding suggests a balanced and planned direction of that growth.  Growing only on the leeward side will cause the tree to fall under its own weight.  Growing straight down will cause the tree to dry up and die.  The tree must ground itself by spreading out its roots and tapping as much moisture and nutrients as it can.  All living things have an inherent pattern of growth.  Even when a living thing is dying, it is still growing.  The great Apostle, Paul, shares with the church at Ephesus the key to being the saint we are capable of being is to be rooted and grounded in the love of God.  Only then can we begin to comprehend just how gracious and caring our God truly is.

Being rooted and grounded in the love of God is a difficult thing in that we do not have a perfect example of it in life.  Our parents, teachers, pastors, spouses, and children love us deeply.  But their love can wane from time to time.  It can become fickle depending on our love for them.  Human love, although very fulfilling, is nothing compared to divine love.  This love is not something we can immerse ourselves in and never have to increase from day to day.  We cannot comprehend divine unconditional love.  It is something in which we need to meditate and experience.  How can we understand something which we cannot compare to that which we do understand?  Well, we can look for and pray for manifestations of this love.

When God chooses not to chasten us when He has every right to, that is divine unconditional love.  When He puts up with our human failures and compassionately gives us countless opportunities to learn the same lessons over and again, that is divine unconditional love.  I think of Israel in the wilderness wander and how much God put up with them.  He does the same, and more, with us.  If we stop and think of the countless times He has spoken to us, encouraged us, and challenged us by the reading and preaching of His word, we will see divine unconditional love.  The one that impacts me the most is God’s forgiveness and tenderness.  I have gone to Him innumerable times seeking His forgiveness and understanding when I sin against Him and heaven.  Every time, He forgives.  That is divine unconditional love.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit as our comforter and guide is the most obvious manifestation of divine unconditional love.  And, the hope of eternal life despite who and what we are is the ultimate manifestation of His unconditional love.  Jesus Christ died for our sin.  He endured the cross that the wrath of almighty God might rest on Him.  Because His wrath rested upon Jesus, His boundless love rests upon us.

Are we discouraged?  Think about His love.  Let the mind go deep.  Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind all those times when divine love was most obvious.  Meditate on how His love continues, unabated, and from one moment to the next.  The love of God is that which the soul anchors and can withstand the trouble of life and the temptations of the soul.  It is the love of God to which we must be rooted and grounded.  Then the devil, the world, and the flesh will have no effect.  Let the roots grow.  Stretch the mind deep.  Get the fresh water of God’s love to refresh your weary soul.  Grow!  Don’t die.  Grow in the knowledge that God loves you more than you will ever understand and allow yourself to be loved.