Trust While You Can

“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.” (Joh 12:36 AV)

The context here is salvation.  The challenge from Jesus to the multitude is the light by which they may come to Him will not last forever.  They have a limited opportunity in which to accept by faith that He is their Messiah and has come to save them from their sins.  If they continue to back up on light, a heart of hardness and unbelief will become unreachable.  To further emphasize His point, the light of which He speaks is His earthly ministry.  While they have the presence of the Messiah, they must take advantage of Him and trust Him.  Otherwise, when He ascends, there may not remain another opportunity.  This principle of moving up on light is a common one.  One of the most vivid to me is when the children of Israel were asked to trust the LORD and they rejected Him by believing the ten bad spies instead of the two good ones.  This cost them a generation and forty years of wandering in the wilderness.  God gives opportunity to trust Him.  But this opportunity is not necessarily open-ended.  There may very well be time limitations on His offer of faith.

One of my sons was not all that adventurous when it came to amusement park rides.  In particular, the roller coaster.  His two brothers, however, loved the thrill.  Our little family would go from one park to another and it would always be the same.  When it came to the roller coasters, two would board while the other would get a cotton candy with his mother.  We would go to Sea Breeze while living in the Rochester, NY area.  Only a couple of roller coasters there.  Not a chance.  Then there was Fantasy Island near Niagara Falls.  Nope.  Ain’t gonna happen.  Then we moved to the Chicago area and there is a Six Flags there.  His birthday was coming up so we bribed him.  We told him that if he would ride the ride with his brothers, we would get him a Game Cube for his birthday.  His two brothers, knowing how much that game system would benefit them, were relentless.  We must have walked by that roller coaster several times.  The other two rode it a couple of times just to prove their brother would not die.  Ride after ride, just as many people who got on, got off.  It was time to place a little faith in parents and siblings and take the plunge.  As we were nearing the roller coaster one last time, we made it clear there were no more chances.  If he didn’t ride it this time, no Game Cube.  His brother dragged him to the line.  It was rather entertaining to watch his two brothers convince him everything was going to be alright while they stood in line for about twenty minutes.  That had to be the longest twenty minutes of his entire life.  I couldn’t believe his brothers could come up with twenty minutes of conversation and argument to get him on that coaster.  But they did.  On he went and he survived.  When there was an opportunity to trust, he decided to do just that.  I think that was the turning point in his life.  He learned to trust God with his fears and apprehensions.  Today, he is a foreign missionary in a place that is not easy to be in.

God gives us countless opportunities to trust Him.  Each time is something a little bit more.  The level of trust He offered at our spiritual birth is nothing compared to what we might face much later in life.  These opportunities, however difficult, might just be time-sensitive.  The Jewish nation only had three years to place their faith in the Messiah they saw.  After three years, there was faith by word only.  There was an opportunity that would not come again for thousands of years.  If we do not learn to trust the LORD when it is easy, it will be much harder to do so down the road.  They saw Him by faith.  When He ascended, now they could not trust Him by sight.  Faith became harder and not easier.  The first time Israel was given the opportunity to enter Canaan, it was from the south.  A direct route into the promised land with adversaries in a measured confrontation.  The second time, they had to enter by way of a parted Jordan River and circumcision.  The second time was a much bigger step of faith.  It would behoove us to take the easiest steps while we have them and trust the LORD each step of the way.  Maybe then our leap won’t be so great.

The Hurdle of Acceptance

“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:6 AV)

This is one of those verses that is probably preached often or written much about.  The simple truth is not hard to comprehend.  At least that which the writer is saying.  What we struggle with is how something so simple can be so true.  To say that the grace of God has made us accepted in the beloved is not an easy thing to accept.  Not when one comes to the end of him or herself.  When the sinner or saint realized just how despicable he or she is, it is a hard thing to feel accepted.  We know we have failed.  We know we have failed completely.  We know there is nothing redeemable in our existence.  We have offended a holy God in ways that are too embarrassing to mention.  We are lowly, pathetic, carnal, and downright wicked.  Why would God accept any of us?  Worst of all is me.  Why would God accept me?  The list is too long and too horrible to think anyone, let alone God, would accept me.  I am filth incarnate.  As I wrote above, the facts of the verse are not hard to understand.  It is God’s grace that makes us accepted.  It is the only way.  We have nothing to give, nor can do, that will make us accepted.  The offense is too great.  It is only by God’s grace we are accepted in the offering of Christ.

Our human relationships are often based on quid pro quo.  We give what we get and get what we give.  The idea of total acceptance regardless of the nature of the relationship is often foreign to us.  A child earns his parent's appreciation and love by being obedient.  He is affirmed when he reaches his potential.  A student is graded and the teacher’s intercourse with him or her changes based on those grades, behavior, and participation in class.  Even spouses can be this way.  There can be situations where affirmation might be lacking.  Failure to appreciate the presence of one’s spouse can lead to a cold shoulder in return.  Trials of life can also enter that strain the marriage relationship.  Affirmation is often based on performance.  A nod of acknowledgment is returned.  Rarely is it offered without some encouragement from the receiver.  When someone passes in a car or walks by the house, eye contact is what initiates a greeting.  Why is that?  Do we not offer a greeting regardless of initial affirmation?  This is how we are.  This is how people are wired.  We are not wired to exercise grace.  We are not wired to show compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.  We are not wired to take the initiative to affirm another person’s worth.  We wait until some type of evidence, no matter how small, is offered before we return affirmation.  In short, we do not feel completely affirmed because there is something we feel we must do to earn it.

In our passage, affirmation or acceptance is totally and completely based on the grace of God.  We are accepted because God accepts us.  And for no other reason.  In Christ, our sin debt has been paid and there is nothing to stand between us and our God.  When He sees us, He sees us with rose-tinted glasses.  Tinted by the blood of His dear Son.  This truth is not to understand.  It is hard to accept.  Our pride will not allow us to accept it.  We feel as though we are so horrible, that God cannot possibly show that much grace.  Surely we deserve some amount of His wrath.  If He would just allow us to suffer a few brief moments in the pit of hell, it might make us feel better towards His grace.  But if He did that, grace would not be grace.  Grace is a hard thing to accept.  Believing we are accepted is equally difficult.  To meditate on the truth of being accepted by God through the offering of Jesus Christ brings many emotions.  It stirs a feeling of embarrassment because there is nothing desirable within us.  Being accepted stirs humility because there is no way we could ever repay such grace.  Being accepted stirs a heart of gratitude where words fail to express such feelings.  And, acceptance brings joy, contentment, security, and a sense of self-worth.  For our own spiritual and emotional welfare, we must accept God’s acceptance.  We must accept the depth of God’s grace.

Restoration

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Ga 6:1-2 AV)

 

Restoration is a lost ministry in today’s churches.  The ministry of restoration is not limited to the pastoral staff alone.  The fault here might very well be those who were taken with the false doctrine of the Jews who wished to add circumcision to faith for salvation.  But restoration is not limited to false doctrine.  Note here that Paul includes all in his instruction.  In other words, we might be the spiritual ones doing the restoration.  Or, we might be the one overtaken in a fault.  Either way, restoration is a ministry of the local church that is sorely lacking in today’s churches.

There is a parable concerning a fig tree.  Three years were given by the husband of the vineyard, but the tree produced no fruit.  He commanded it be cut down.  This would be the normal practice.  By the third year, a fig tree that does not produce fruit more than likely would never do so.  So, it wasn’t cruel or a matter of rash judgment which called for the loss of this tree.  However, the servants asked the master if they might dig around it and dung it one more year.  If, after that year it produced fruit, then well.  But if not, then they agreed it never would.  This parable is directly aimed at Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.  They had three years of His ministry and refused to respond to it.  The servants of God asked for more grace that the nation might be restored to fruitfulness.  The point of this parable is never to give up on someone, or a nation, that may not be showing fruit in their spiritual growth.  Rather, dig around it and add more fertilizer, that it might respond.  The restoration of that tree is far more profitable than abandoning it.  What is interesting about that parable is the outcome is never known.  Which is a great principle for restoration.

The effort we put into others may never result in what we had hoped for.  The opposite is also true.  The effort we put into restoring someone may just result in fruit that was never expected.  People make bad choices.  We all do.  What we do not need is a church family who will condemn us for things we have done without first making an effort to help us overcome our faults.  We need people who will support us in our deepest hour of need.  Restoration, like digging and dunging the fig tree takes a plan.  Restoration does not mean we ignore the fault or refuse to address it.  Restoration here is more than restoration to fellowship.  This restoration is a restoration to godly living.  This requires a confrontation over the fault and a plan on how to get out from under the fault.  This restoration requires prayer and follow-up.  Restoration also requires the one who needs it to come to the end of himself and admit his need for restoration.  When done correctly and humbly, restoration strengthens the erring saint as well as the church that restores him.  It is a beautiful thing to behold when a brother or sister in Christ is pulled out from the mire in which he or she had sunk, cleaned up, and placed into full fellowship with the body of Christ who was abandoned.  We need more of this and not less of this.

Crucifixion is Evidence of Salvation

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Ga 5:24 AV)

I like what John Gill said about this verse.  He said that just because something is crucified does not mean it is dead.  The two thieves on the cross, one on each side of our Savior, had to have their legs broken in order to perish.  Crucifixion was not killing them fast enough.  The LORD chose to give up the ghost or His fate would have been the same.  To fulfill the scriptures, He died before the need arose to break legs.  Just because something hand in a torturous way, does not mean it is dead.  It is crucified that it might die.  But at the point of crucifixion, it is very much alive.  Paul says, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Ro 6:6 AV) We see the act of crucifixion is to realize a certain end.  The end and the act are not one and the same.  The old man is crucified for the purpose that it might be destroyed.  That old man may hang on just like the two thieves.  To further illustrate, Paul says, “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” (1Co 15:31 AV) This death of the old man has to happen sin by sin and affection by affection.  This consecration is a process, not an event.    If we are not careful with this doctrine, we may assume that if we struggle with the affections and lusts of the flesh, we are not saved.  If we see sanctification as an event, we will soon live a life of doubt and discouragement.  This is not what God intended.  He intended His children to live in victory.  One sin at a time.

Our bodies are called the temple of the Holy Ghost (1Cor 6:19).  The Old Testament tabernacle is a type of the heavenly.  Hebrews tells us that.  The tabernacle also teaches us of the doctrine of sanctification.  Sanctification means to set aside for sacred use.  But it also means the process by which it comes into a condition for that use.  When we read of the tabernacle, we learn the tabernacle was sanctified when the construction was complete.  However, every time they tore it down and set it up again, it had to be sanctified.  The temple had to be sanctified even after the initial construction.  It had to be sanctified for each sabbath use.  The priests were required to sanctify themselves prior to entering ministry.  The implements for worship were sanctified prior to each use.  In other words, sanctification was not a one-time event.  It was an ongoing process.

When we talk about crucifying the old man with the affections and lusts, we do so that the old man of sin (and in particular the affections and lusts) might be destroyed.  However, we are like someone who is trying to lose weight and instead of completely revamping their lifestyle, they try to enjoy the old diet that caused them problems while moderating it slightly.  There are still as many carbs in the house as there were before.  The ‘bad’ carbs have not been removed and replaced with healthier choices.  As long as the dieter continues to hand on the old habits while simply reducing the old habits, they will always be tempted to go back to what was harming them.  This is true of any vice.  Any stronghold that is not completely destroyed will come back at some time or another.  The above verse is not teaching us an evidence of salvation is the absolute absence of all affections and lusts.  Rather, an evidence of salvation is the crucifixion of the old man that these affections and lusts might be destroyed.  There will be failures.  That old man may hang on that cross for hours on end.  Someone might have to come by and break some legs.  The fact we want those affections and lusts destroyed is the evidence because that is what hangs to the old man on that cross.  So, hang him there.  Hang him there with the intent of destroying the affections and lusts that are part of who and what he is.

The Absolute Promise of Freedom

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Joh 8:32 AV)

 This promise is predicated on being in the word of God continually.  The previous verse defines who a disciple of Christ would be.  That is, those who continue in the word of God.  Those who read, study, and apply the word of God are the disciples of Christ.  If we accept Christ as our payment for sin, then do not continue in His Word, we may be saved, but we are not a disciple.  With this in mind, the Spirit made one word, which is used twice, to jump out at me this morning.  Note Jesus uses the word ‘shall’ twice.  If we continue in His word, then we shall know the truth.  And if we know the truth, then we shall be made free.  These are guarantees.  Whoever makes a life habit of reading, studying, and applying the word of God will most definitely know and understand truth.  Consequently, those who read, study, and apply the word of God will most definitely be freed from a myriad of troubles.  Sin will begin a march towards defeat.  Doubts will flee.  Our relationships will improve.  Circumstances will become opportunities rather than hindrances.  Most of all, the flesh will not get in the way of drawing closer to God.

Learning to ride a bike and the freedom that comes with that knowledge is what every child strives for.  With ten siblings, this process was rooted in common tradition.  We stared with a big wheel.  For those who do not know what that is, a Big Wheel was a trike with a huge front wheel and two smaller back wheels.  The pedals were attached directly to the large front wheel.  You sat very low to the ground with the large wheel in front rather than underneath.  With the Big Wheel, we learned our limits of travel and the necessary safety skills to navigate the neighborhood without incident.  We were not allowed to go very far and we were limited to the sidewalks only.  After the Big Wheel came a bicycle with training wheels.  This gave us a bit more freedom. However, we were still limited to the sidewalks and we always needed an older sibling to go with us if we left our block.  After a bit, the training wheels came off.  Still limited by lack of experience, we could not ride in the street.  If we were to leave our block, we had to get off our bikes and walk them across the street to the opposite sidewalk.  As we got older and our bikes got bigger, we were allowed more liberty.  From bicycles to motor vehicles, each step gained a bit more freedom.  The interesting thing is the more freedom, the more information required to safely navigate that freedom.  The skillset of traversing in a Big Wheel versus an automobile is minuscule.  There are traffic laws, vehicle maintenance, and proper etiquette necessary for driving a vehicle.  The more truth we learned about safely traversing the world, the more liberty, and freedom we gained to do just that.  The more truth we learned, the freer we became.

The same is true with the word of God.  Unfortunately, the carnal mind sees the word of God as nothing more than a book of rules which limits our freedom.  Not according to Jesus.  The more truth we learn, the freer we become.  These rules are boundaries meant to keep us safe within the freedom we have.  To ignore truth is to invite circumstances that would limit freedom.  If I ignored traffic laws while riding my bicycle, I could have had that bike impounded, or worse, got hit by a car.  I may have had more temporary liberty, but the consequences would have permanently limited freedom.  What I find very comforting in the verse above is the absolute promise of freedom.  I shall be free.  Freedom is not something that may or may not come.  It is a guarantee.  We all want to be free.  We want to be free from the old man, or the flesh.  We want to be free from what we once were.  We want to be free from anxiety caused by fear.  We want to be free from the influences of the world.  We want to be free.  The only way we will get there is by learning and applying truth.  The only way to do that is to continually be in the word of God.

You've Come So Far - Stay the Course

“Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.” (Ga 3:4 AV)

The church at Galatia was under attack from those who wished to add circumcision and other works of the law to faith that souls might be saved.  This, of course, is heresy.  Salvation is by grace through faith.  The Galatians, like most, paid a heavy cost to trust Christ.  Especially if they were of Jewish descent.  However, the heathen paid a heavy cost, too.  They had to leave the religion of their fathers.  In some cases, this meant estrangement from family and friends for their profession in Christ.  Persecution was common.  Once baptized into the fellowship of the believers, the Galatian saint had a hard life to look forward to.  While Paul was away at a conference in Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15, unsaved Jewish scholars tried to convince the Galatians they were not truly saved unless they incorporated portions of the Jewish law and customs.  This added confusion to a young church and threw it into turmoil.  One of Paul’s arguments against this false doctrine was the hardship that same as a result of their faith.  The question posed by Paul here is intended to be the proof of their salvation.  It is also intended to bring into question the sincerity of that faith by which they were justified.  In other words, if your faith needed works to be justified, then why would others be persecuting you?  Secondly, and the way in which we will consider the question above: you have paid a large cost in trusting Christ and now that a few trouble makers are confusing you, you are going to abandon what you have proved through your trials of faith and allow them to dissuade you from the truth?  In other words, why would we allow a temporary adverse event to undo all that God has done by us in the past?

A story is told of an expedition headed out west.  More than a century ago, this small band of explorers wanted to leave the homesteads in the midwest for adventure and fortune they believed awaited them on the nation’s western coast.  Off they went with high hopes.  The first mistake was they left in the late summer for a trip that would take them through the mountains in the height of winter.  The wat of travel had already been trailblazed by pioneers a few generations prior, and the map they had shown the best way to their destination.  Everything was fine until they were into the winter months.  That is when they reached the mountains.  The route indicated on the map they had was not the shortest through the mountains, but it was the easiest and safest.  They started out into the mountains following the map to the letter.  About a month in, they had met a small group of Indians traveling from where they came from.  This small band of pioneers had sold their farms and had gone through almost all their provisions.  Sickness also made its way through the group and a few perished under its attack.  When these Indians showed up, it was a welcomed reprieve from their troubles.  These Indians, stating they knew the territory far better than the trailblazers who had gone before, promised to guide them to their destination for a small and inconsequential repayment.  Placing their hope in the natives, they agreed.  However, as it was soon apparent, the Indians had an ulterior motive.  As the little group progressed further into the mountains, they became more and more committed to the guidance of the natives.  This was their doom.  The natives simply wanted to take all they had without directly killing them and simply waited for the weather to do what their bow and arrow refused to do.  This small band of travelers started out well and paid a price for it.  But a promise of an easier time was their undoing.

If you’ve paid most, why don’t you pay all?  This is Paul’s point to the Galatians.  They had come so far and paid a hefty price because of it, why would they now abandon all that to take up some opportunity that seemed a bit better.  Some of their persecution would end if they welcomed the heresy of those who were causing them trouble.  Why not compromise?  We can get tired of paying a price.  We can get discouraged that the gains do not equal the cost.  We can begin to doubt all we have paid was not worth it.  We can look at what others refuse to pay, see what looks like their wellbeing, and wonder why we ever paid the prices, to begin with.  Why have you begun and paid a hefty price and only now going back on it all?  You have come so far and when the finish line is in view, you cash it all in for an easier time.  Which, in reality, is not.  Adding circumcision or other laws didn’t make salvation easier.  It made it harder.  The only thing false doctrine did was to make their persecution easier to bear.  What I see is a group of people who had paid the majority of what needed to be paid for the faith they professed, but when a relief valve showed up, they took the relief.  They did not endure to the end.  The sad thing was, they were almost there.  When a saint backslides in the later years of life, this is exactly what they are doing.  They paid a great price but cannot finish the course.  Here here for those who plod along until the end!

Promises For The Giver

“Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” (Pr 3:9-10 AV)

I read this morning of the lad who had five loaves and two fishes.  Have you ever asked yourself how Andrew found out about it?  Who was the one who knew this lad had five loaves and two fish?  Normally, one’s victuals would be concealed.  This lad more than likely had his meal wrapped up in something or had it in a pouch or satchel.  We almost always carry food that way.  I began to think of that lad.  I wonder if he offered it to Andrew as a means to solve a large problem.  This lad may have thought Jesus could feed the five thousand with the few offerings he had.  Perhaps it was the faith and generosity of this one young lad that fed the multitude.  Rarely does Jesus offer miracles without the presence of faith somewhere.  Could it be the faith of one young man fed 5,000?  What is truly encouraging in the passage above are the promises attached to the command.  The word of God says to honor the LORD with the substance of our firstfruits.  So, giving is honoring the LORD.  If we do not, it is a dishonor.  However, note the promises.  If we honor God with the firstfruits of our increase, then He turns around and blesses us.  Our barns will be filled with more than we need and our presses will burst forth with pleasures more than we can handle.  This is the promise to those who are generous.

Giving is a hard thing to do.  For several reasons.  In our passage and the mention of the lad who gave his five loaves and two fish, it is and was a matter of faith.  In my sermon this past Sunday morning, I shared a hard lesson my wife and I learned early in our young married life.  When we got married, I had gotten a new job about six weeks prior.  Before that, I was out of work for about six months.  When we got married, we didn’t have a penny to our name and I had gotten behind on several debts.  Unfortunately, when that happens, tithing is usually the first thing that goes.  For the first eight months or so, we didn’t tithe.  During those eight months, we had car trouble more frequently than most.  I had to work off repairs by waxing and buffing a repair shop’s floors.  It was during this time we survived on WIC assistance and also had our utilities cut off a time or two.  We were really struggling. Then we decided if we were going to go down, we might as well trust the LORD and walk in obedience.  That is when the LORD began to turn things around for us.  We didn’t get wealthy.  The LORD did not send Publishers Clearinghouse to us.  But, we could breathe a bit easier.  We were still living hand to mouth.  But at least we were not going backward.  Over the years we have learned to trust the LORD a little bit more each year.  Paul refers to giving as a grace.  He challenges the Corinthian church to be ahead from the last year.  Giving by faith is a work in progress.

Many of God’s commands have promises attached.  One might say they all do.  When the LORD tells us to do something, there are almost always blessings that come with it.  Giving is no less the case.  We are not asked to give everything and trust the LORD to meet the bills.  This is neither rational nor biblical.  When the lad gave his five loaves and two fish, he knew he was going to get something in return.  He knew the Messiah was going to feed all.  This wasn’t a give-it-all meeting.  This was a calculated gift based on a need with an expectation the Savior was going to meet all needs.  Including the one, he created for himself.  Giving is a joy.  But it does take faith.  The promise above is upon which we hand our faith.  If we are generous with what the LORD has blessed us with, He will reciprocate that generosity with the means to meet our needs.  Giving is an investment in our survival and happiness.