Sure-footed Faith

“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” (Ro 4:20-21 AV)

 

Staggering is the first step in falling.  One can keep one’s footing sufficient to get to where one is going all the while staggering.  It will take longer and the line of walking will not be straight, but the traveler will arrive.  That is unless he falls.  Above, Paul references the faith of Abraham who trusted God without any doubt that He would provide a seed from which a nation would grow.  In particular, Paul is referencing the promise of God that Sarah would be found with a child even though she had passed the age of bearing as proof of Abraham’s unshakable faith.  There was zero doubt in the heart of Abraham that God would bless the fruit of Sarah’s dead womb and they would have a son.  This really is the point of exercising faith.  It is meant to be exercised with no staggering.  Faith is meant to be fully persuaded.  Faith is not meant to waffle.  Faith is not meant to take the best possible option and hope for the best.  But I fear that is where most of us are.  We are not fully persuaded.  We stagger at the truth of God’s word.

This past weekend, during our door-to-door soul-winning ministry, we came upon a roofing crew.  My memory went back to the resent re-roofing we had done at church.  The roof at our church is considerably steeper than a normal roof.  I cannot tell you the exact pitch, but I can tell you it is more vertical than horizontal.  From my simple calculations, I would have to say the roof is a sixty-degree pitch.  To add to the difficulty, if one were to fall off the roof, it is twenty-something feet to the ground.  This job was not for the timid!  Our house, which is the parsonage, is the same pitch.  We hired a company to do both roofs.  I watched them for a bit.  They were very safe.  They wore harnesses and had themselves secured if they happen to lose footing.  Watching them, and even while I am writing this with the picture of it in my mind, my hands are getting sweaty.  Something I noticed while watching these men.  They were not timid.  They were sure-footed.  They did not hesitate to traverse that roof.  They did not stagger.  As they stripped and then reroofed, they worked methodically and logically.  Being tied off and having every confidence in the safety measures put in place, they were able to go from one end of the roof to the other as though they were walking on level ground.  No doubt, if they staggered, they might have fallen.  If they staggered, the new shingles would have been laid in a haphazard way.  The roof would have not been installed perfectly.  There could be no staggering.  They had to have full assurance.  Otherwise, the job could not have been done or someone might have gotten hurt.

Abraham did not stagger at the promises of God.  He did not come up with exceptions why the promises of God may not come to pass.  When we look at the father of faith, we see a man who lived his life in the reality of a future promise.  He didn’t need the promise to come to pass before he had faith.  He lived as though whatever God said was a foregone conclusion.  He did not look for an escape clause wherein he could bail on the promises of God.  One of the reasons we do not have as smooth of a spiritual or emotional life is we lack concrete faith in the word of God.  We stagger.  Like a drunk who tries to walk a straight line, we see the absolute before us.  The line is straight.  The line is not up for interpretation.  The line was there before we ever got there.  But we begin to doubt where that line will take us.  We overthink the line of absolutes and we question our own judgment.  We cannot walk a straight line of faith because we lack the faith to yield to it.  Abraham did not stagger.  He walked across that sixty-degree pitched roof in a straight line as though he was walking down the sidewalk.  Eyes forward.  Confidence in the character of God and the dependability of His word.  He had full assurance no matter what his observations may have said otherwise.  God can and should be trusted.

As Simple As That

“Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:” (Ro 2:9-10 AV)

God’s economy operates in a very predictable way.  The understanding of these verses comes in the context of Jewish/Gentile friction.  Paul is arguing the Jews are no different than the Gentiles.  He is arguing the Jews are just the same regardless of being God’s chosen people.  Their nature to sin is the same as the Gentile.  In fact, he will make the argument the only difference as it applies to the inherent nature to sin is the Jew had the written word of God and the Gentile had the moral law written on their hearts.  But when it came to the nature of the individual, there is no difference.  All are sinners.  All are wicked.  All need Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sin which only He can provide.  The above passage is a simple passage.  It is a statement of how God’s moral economy works.  If we do evil, then the consequences are tribulation and anguish.  If we do right, then glory, honor, and peace are the result.  Before we expound on this, please note these consequences are internal ones.  That is, if we do right, we may still suffer persecution for doing so.  We may suffer physical tribulation for doing so.  The promises are internal blessings.  Not always external ones.

If there is something every human soul desires it is peace of soul.  We can deal with quite a lot if we can simply bring quiet to the heart and mind.  One of my early ministries was to the Rochester, NY hospital for the emotionally and mentally disturbed.  Hospital visitation was a ministry I enjoyed rather well.  Praise the LORD there were only two times I went to the mental hospital.  Those two times I will never forget.  I was very young.  Just starting out in ministry.  One common theme throughout all the patients I observed was their general lack of peace of mind.  For whatever reason, they could not plug into tranquility and reality.  Years later, the LORD gave me more opportunity to minister to people in equally restless conditions.  In my church, I had two such attendees who were disturbed.  Both reacted differently to their situation.  One was a habitual recluse.  He never left his bed or bedroom.  The other was riddled with anxiety.  The LORD gave me wisdom and was able to help one of them who today, lives a normal life.  The other, as far as I know, is still in the same state of suffering.  We are not saying they suffered because they did evil.  Many times, these conditions can be caused by physical conditions.  A poorly functioning thyroid, whacked-out blood sugar levels, vitamin deficiency, or a host of brain issues can result in emotional or mental disturbance.  I mention these three cases because they all had one thing in common.  They wanted peace.  No matter the treatment, they simply wanted their emotional or mental equilibrium restored to normal and peaceful conditions.

We are all like this.  We want the tranquility that comes with knowing everything will be all right.  Even if things are not that way now, we know they eventually will be.  In the passage above, Paul states the obvious.  If we live right, generally speaking, we will have that peace of mind and heart.  If we do not, then anguish of heart is what we suffer.  Not all mental or emotional turmoil is caused by sin.  But a good deal of it is.  Not all mental or emotional anguish is caused by our refusal to trust God, but a good deal of it is.  Tribulation and anguish of soul come from (more times than not) sin or lack of faith.  Directly or indirectly, there are causes to our lack of peace which can be cured if we simply trust the LORD and walk in the commandments and statutes of His word.  Now, I know if we are suffering, we should seek out a health professional and be sure our suffering isn’t caused by physical issues.  I personally have a thyroid issue and another issue that can cause anxiety.  Once medicated and treated, the more obvious cause would be my own sin or lack of faith.  Anguish of spirit is no fun!  I can attest to that!  The only peace of mind I can have is to trust the Creator and obey Him as best I can.  Then I can claim the promise of glory, honor, and peace.

For Now, Hardships Are Better

“Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” (2Co 12:5 AV)

 

To glory here means to boast.  In a good or bad way.  To relay an account of an event as very important or the most important.  Of what Paul is speaking is his near-death experience at Lystra.  While he preached at Lystra, an angry mob took him to the outer city limits and stoned him to death.  Or, that was the account of the disciples at the time.  They took him up supposing him to be dead.  It is this experience which Paul relays in the first four chapters of this book.  He was caught up to the third heaven.  Of note, he never claims to have died.  In fact, he goes out of his way to say that he cannot know for sure if he did or did not.  What he does know is that he was caught up to the third heaven; that is, where God’s throne is; and hears things that were unlawful for him to share.  If I were Paul, I would broadcast all over the known world what I had seen.  What is interesting is this is the only account of Paul relating what he experienced while in the presence of God.  If he were to boast of anything, it would be the honor he had of suffering for the name of Christ.  That is what he desires his life to be about.  Not the eventual home in heaven which he will enjoy.  Rather, if he would glory it would be in his infirmities.  That is, that he can experience hardships for the call of God on his life.

Every few years, there comes an author who publishes a book regaling his or her near-death experience.  Or, a holiness saint will spew on about a vision he or she had of heaven.  Speaking engagements are scheduled.  Book tours are organized.  They even might make it one some day-time talk show.  The popularity of the book sweeps through evangelicalism.  The saints that should know better are even taken up with it.  They reckon if it is popular and all their friends are talking about it, then there must be something to it.  In the not too distant past, one author was actually honest about his experience and said it was all a fake to earn him fame and fortune.  The saint that knows his bible knows that if Paul could not speak of what he saw or heard and only the Apostle John was allowed, then these modern authors who claim visions or near-death experiences are all a farce.  Besides, Paul shows us that if we are to be blessed, let us be blessed by what we will do for Christ in this life and not what we will experience in the next.  We cannot control the day of our departure.  It will be a glorious day.  No doubt.  We can read of heaven in the book of Revelation.  We can dream of the golden streets and the river of life.  We can imagine what eternity will be like.  But if we are to glory, let us glory not in what we will experience, but in that which we can do now!

In reading this verse, it reminded me how much Paul tried to keep the present and eternity in balance.  He states, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Php 1:23-24 AV)  Every one of us desires our permanent home in heaven.  We study and imagine what our mansion might look like.  Recently, I have been meditating on my reaction upon seeing Jesus for the first time face to face.  I imagine I will be so overcome and intimidated that I will fall prone and never want to get up!  But to dwell on heaven to the exclusion of our duties on earth is not what Paul had in mind.  He could have joined the speaking circuit and preached nothing but what he had seen in heaven.  It would have packed out the crowds.  In doing so, his preaching would have been about him and his experience.  What he would rather do is preach Christ and suffer loss because of it.  He would rather boast about what he has sacrificed and lost than what he would eventually gain.  What a balance!

Created Flawed - Destined to be Fixed

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” (2Co 5:1-5 AV)

 

Sorry for the lengthy passage, but it was important to consider the underlined portion of the text in the overall context of the passage.  The selfsame thing for which God has wrought us is mentioned in verses one through four.  The earthly house is our physical bodies.  The house that is eternal in the heavens is the glorified body we will inhabit for all of eternity.  A body free from the limitations of this earthly body.  A body not subject to temporal creation.  A body that cannot suffer mortality or any of the effects thereof.  Then, Paul describes the physical experience of being human.  Our earthly bodies cause pain and suffering.  This suffering is manifested by groaning.  Trust me, the older one gets, the more groaning is part of the routine.  Just before Paul makes the statement which we have underlined, he tells us that for which we groan.  We groan that this mortal life may be swallowed up in eternal life.  Now here is the immeasurable blessing of the underlined portion of our text.  It is for this reason God made us in the first place.  He made us so that He might glorify us.  He created us that we might have an eternal body much like the body of Christ.  He made us that we might dwell in His heaven with an existence free of groaning.  The purpose came before salvation.  Think about this.  He saved us that we might be glorified.  He created us that we might be saved.  Therefore, God’s act of creation has a perfect ending.  That perfect ending was not an afterthought because Adam and Eve sinned.  It was determined before He created.  WOW!

Many years ago, I wanted to invent a sighting system for a recurve bow so that I didn’t have to measure yardage.  I set to work thinking about this task.  I noticed there was a constant that never changes.  Elevation didn’t matter.  Windage didn’t matter.  This one constant was always the same no matter the conditions.  That constant was the perceived size of one’s target.  If the vitals of my target was the size of a nine-inch plate, I noticed the perceived size of that plate reduced by a constant value the further I moved away.  So, I took a nine-inch plate and held a ruler at arm’s length.  Starting at ten yards, I measured the perceived size of that nine-inch plate.  Every ten yards, the reduction of the perceived size of the plate was the same.  Exact intervals or values no matter what.  The drop of the arrow would vary depending on the ballistic characteristics of the projectile.  Speed of flight would also determine drop.  So, I knew this sight had to be adjustable.  I set to work building this sight.  It went through several prototypes.  Finally, after several attempts, I had a working prototype.  I mounted it on my bow and off to the target range I went.  I was amazed.  I randomly shot at different distances at a nine-inch plate.  As long as the plate fits inside the edges of my etched pattern, the arrow hit dead center.  I even shot an arrow into an arrow.  The point is, I worked at it until it was perfect.  The intent of making the sight was not to make the best possible sight.  It was to perfect it!

The psalmist declares, “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” (Ps 138:8 AV)  God did not create and then scramble to fix what we had ruined.  He created, knowing what He created would get ruined.  He created a flawed being to perfect him or her.  We often think in terms of maintenance.  We buy a car and after a while, we have it worked on.  Or, we buy a house to restore it.  What we do not do is create something with inherent flaws to fix it up.  But this is what the LORD has done.  He created you and me with inherent flaws.  We were created with a fallen nature inherited from Adam.  This monumental flaw is what sends the soul to a devil’s hell.  That is unless we repent and trust only Jesus Christ as our Savior.  God allowed us to come into this world with problems.  I could not create a perfected sight from the start.  It had to go through trials.  It had to be tested.  Improvements had to be made.  Being human, I cannot create perfection.  God can!  He did in Adam and Eve.  Since then, the LORD created imperfection.  But this imperfection was created that it might become perfection.  It is the very reason for His creation of you and I.  He created us imperfect so that He might perfect us!

Seeing The Invisible

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Co 4:17-18 AV)

 

We have a vision problem.  It is natural to regard that which we can easily observe.  We must do this.  We cannot avoid a car accident if we are not looking at what our eyes can naturally see.  We know we need food in the house when our cupboards are bare.  We notice our shoe has come untied and fix the problem before we trip and fall.  A co-worker smiles and this effortless act brightens our day; if even for a bit.  Conversely, we notice a scowl and wisely avoid lengthy conversations with someone who might be in a bad mood.  We begin to assemble a sandwich but notice mold on the bread.  After buttoning our shirt, we chuckle because we didn’t line up the buttons right.  Now we have to unbutton the shirt and start all over.  We live in a temporal world.  We would not be able to function if we didn’t notice temporal things.  Accidents would happen.  Misjudgments would occur.  If we did not concern ourselves with temporal things, we would go hungry, not have a place to lay our head, or even care to go off to work.  A concern of the temporal in natural and necessary.  Yet, Paul is telling us we needlessly suffer because the temporal has become more important than the eternal.  That upon which our attention is fixated; temporal or eternal; will determine how heavy a weight we carry.

Visiting patients in the hospital is a regular task of the ministry.  I have been in all sorts of hospitals.  Serving in the Rochester, NY area, there were five different hospitals to which I was sent.  Moving to the Chicago area, there were even more.  Serving in western, KY, there were four in the immediate area, but if one of my members went to Nashville, there were several more to which I might be sent.  Now, serving in the Milwaukee area, there are many more to which I will visit.  In a handful of those hospitals, I would not prefer to avail myself of services offered there.  Especially if there was an overnight stay involved.  It was not because of the level of care.  It would not have been due to the nursing staff.  The food would not have been my biggest concern.  The cost would be down on the list.  It may seem a bit unusual, but the number one consideration for me would be the view I would have out my room’s window.  I can recall a few folks I went to visit and the only view they had was a brick wall.  Others had an outside view, but the bed was out of sight of the window.  Then there were those blessed patients who had a clear view out the window and could see the sunshine, the horizon with billowing hills in the far distance, or fresh snow that had fallen overnight.  Once hospital I visited had a view of Lake Michigan.  I have noticed those patients with better views also had a better disposition.  Their field of observation was not limited to their small little room.  They could see afar off.

As our world goes ever more towards rejecting the LORD, the child of God needs to keep his eyes in the right direction.  Paul stated the same truth in a slightly different way.  “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col 3:1-2 AV)  The motivation is slightly different.  In our text, we are to look on eternal things so as to lighten the weight of temporal things.  In Colossians, we are to look on heavenly things because we are a new creature with new interests and affections.  The point is simple.  If we are to lighten the affliction of this temporal life, we cannot allow it to be our primary focus.  There is the golden streets, the communion of the saints, and the river of life.  There are perfect righteousness and the end of all tribulations.  Most of all, there is the unobscured presence of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.  We put our eyes on Him and the load we are carrying will become immensely lighter!

Greater Grace

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1Co 15:9-10 AV)

 

When I consider the men of God that impress me the most, it has to be David and Paul.  Although others reflect the trait of which we will consider this morning, no two reflect it more.  David, in his attempt to serve the LORD, made serious errors of judgment.  Yet, he never let his limitations and failures to become so overwhelming that he quit on God.  Above, Paul speaks of what he was prior to salvation.  He was the worst of the worst.  He was a persecutor of the early church.  He did great harm in his zeal and arrogance.  That is until the LORD put him flat on his back on the road to Damascus.  Had not Paul humbled himself and accepted Christ, I believe the LORD would have killed him right there and then.  Paul reflects all that of which he is guilty.  But he then counters that with God’s grace.  He assures the reader that God’s grace is far more sufficient to cover all that he had done to the profit of the LORD himself.  The grace God showed to Paul far outweighed all the wickedness which Paul had done.  On the face of it, we would agree.  God’s grace is greater than all our sin.  But to live in that reality is something else.  Of this, we wish to consider this morning.

I was never really any good at sports.  I took my failures way too personal and serious.  My younger brother and I played for a couple of years, but it was nerve-wracking, to say the least.  We had a wonderful coach.  I cannot remember his name, but he was awesome.  He would never let us stew over our mistakes.  We were rightly corrected for them.  If we failed to field a ground ball, we would be out in the grass fielding balls for an hour when the next practice rolled around.  If we failed to catch a fly ball, guess what we were doing the next time we met for practice.  An hour of nothing but fly balls.  One thing I’ll always remember was his disdain for sidearm throwing.  Always overhand.  Never sidearm!  If we were caught throwing sidearm, we had work ahead of us.  This may have sounded harsh, but there was a method to his madness.  He would never allow our failures at the plate to keep us from attempting it again.  Our coach was not out for the win.  He was out to make sure these young men grew in their confidence and ability to learn the game.  One such error came when I was on the sidelines and a ball was hit fair but went out of the field of play.  I picked it up and threw it back, not realizing the ball was still fair.  Did I ever get an ear full.  One would think Coach would be so upset that he would bench me for the rest of the game.  Not so.  The next inning, he put me in on the mound.  This is what God’s grace does.  He forgives and empowers.  Now, we need to get our backsides out on that mound and stop stewing over our failures.  There is still a game to be played.  There are still batters coming to the box.  There are still runs to score.  Get in the game and get over yourself.

It is hard to get over that which we have done.  Sometimes, our failures can imprison us into a life of ineffectiveness which God’s grace is intended to overcome.  When I read of Paul’s testimony above, what I see is a man who refused to live in the reality of his sin, but rather, lives in the reality of God’s grace.  I see a man who would not allow his pride to affect the work of grace bestowed upon him.  It was pride that caused him to do all those things.  It would not be pride that kept him from humbly living in the light of God’s grace.  If we are not careful, we can become the devil’s best advocate.  He loves to accuse the brethren.  He does so to appeal to our sense of pride.  We do not like to hear all that we have done wrong.  We sit, frozen in inactivity because we think there is something we need to do to fix it.  Or, because we failed to fix it, we are not worthy to do anything.  It is true.  We are unworthy.  This is why we need God’s grace.  It is the grace of God that enables.  It is the grace of God that forgives and empowers.  This is Paul’s reality.  He will not allow the adversary to accuse him to the point that God’s grace becomes ineffective.  In short, we need to live and serve in the light of God’s wondrous grace.  Grace overcomes everything!  Grace forgives it all!  Grace is what makes us usable to God.  It is nothing we bring, but everything He does!  Live, therefore, in the reality of God’s grace and you will accomplish more for His glory than humanly possible!

Love Hopes for the Best

“Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (1Co 13:7 AV)

 

The context here is charity.  Especially towards another individual.  Modern corrupted versions of the Bible translate charity as love.  This is unfortunate.  In the first place, it is an unwarranted corruption.  It is a manipulation of the text.  It is dishonest and one which the Author will judge.  But even more so, by changing charity to love, the text loses some meaning.  Love is a general term.  There can be selfish and sacrificial love.  But there can also be self-gratifying love.  Amnon comes to mind.  By using the word charity, the Spirit is speaking of the highest form of love.  That is unconditional love without any expectations whatsoever.  Charity is purely sacrificial and self-abasing.  Charity does not expect the same in return.  Charity sees no return on its investment.  And above all, charity is paid to those in desperate need thereof.  With that in mind, the Spirit wishes us to consider one characteristic of charity.  That is, it has hope.  Not for itself or any return it may or may not receive.  Rather, charity hopes in all things concerning to one upon whom charity is exercised.

There are so many ways in which we can look at this, but let me give you an example of how this might look.  At a particular church in which I served, we had a number of kids coming from broken homes.  Either they were raised by a single parent whose main function was to work to meet the needs of the family.  This often left that child vacant of any adult supervision or affirmation.  Because of the situation, this single parent felt burned out and the method of ruling the house was the easiest one that came to mind.  A lot of yelling and beating with little to no affirmation.  These children were unruly, undisciplined, and lacked the motivation to succeed in any way.  Their whole life was about survival and entertainment.  So, when the church got them for a few hours a week, it was a struggle to overcome this and teach them Bible.  In one particular incident, I was teaching teens and asked them what word was the noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.  Then I asked what tense the verb was.  I got no answer.  A worker told me later they didn’t really spend time on things like this because these kids come from broken homes and what we had was all we could expect.  This is not charity!  Charity hopes these kids can learn and they can excel.  What is true for the child from is disadvantaged home is also true of the drunk, the drug user, or the fornicator.  What is true of the child who struggles because of lousy home life is also true of the perpetually backslidden Christian.  Charity hopes for the best in all things and works to that end.  This is a passion of mine.  Never give up on someone just because we have an opinion our efforts may not get anywhere.  Hope in all things!

The Bible correctly teaches us that the nature of the individual is basically wicked.  We are failures by nature.  The prophet says, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jer 13:23 AV) The question is a true statement of our human nature.  But that does not mean we should treat others that way.  The thing is, Jesus has overcome the world, the devil, and the flesh.  It might be our nature, but God can overcome our limitations.  Upon that reality lies this hope.  There should never come a time when we write of someone as irredeemable.  No matter how frustrated we might get in our efforts to minister, we should never go to the point we cease to have hope that this person might turn around.  Charity sees the potential no matter how probably it may or may not be.  This is so key.  Especially when dealing with children.  Never cut off a child thinking they cannot reach a potential that you can not realistically imagine.  Hope in all things!  This is true unconditional love!