Pastor Bob's Sermons

IDENTIFYING WITH CHRIST

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Romans 6: 3

There are many words in the Bible that almost defy description in English because of the differences in culture and languages. But two of the most difficult words to understand are in and into. Our text today says that we were “...baptized into Christ.” Before we understand what it means to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, we need to understand what the word baptism means. Most of us understand baptism in the sense of a public confession of our faith which we make when we are immersed in water. Others understand it to be a sprinkling done with holy water as part of a Christian pilgrimage, while others understand it to be included in the New Testament covenant and something done to infants during the christening ceremony. A few actually believe it to be synonymous with salvation itself.

A number of years ago I attended a Ligoner Conference in Orlando, Florida. I walked into the conference just as Alistair Begg and R.C. Sproul were in the midst of a formal debate on the importance of infant baptism. R.C. Spoul believed that in the same way that circumcision was part of the Old Testament covenant God made with the Jewish people, infant baptism was the thing that sealed the New Testament covenant with Christ. He said, “Scripturally, it is an argument from silence but a very pregnant silence.” His only Scriptural reference was

I Corinthians 1:16, where Paul mentions as an afterthought that he had baptized the family of Stephanas, which must have included some babies. I’ll let you do with that what you want.

I’d have to say that the real meaning of baptism has been greatly obscured by all the different practices which have come into existence since the time of Christ. Paul is not referring in our text to water baptism. Years ago, I heard an old Quaker preacher say, “There’s not a drop of water in this chapter!” Paul told the Ephesians that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism” (Ephesians 4: 5).

But words often have many different meanings. For example, we know the word iron to mean the most common of metals. But you may also refer to someone having an iron constitution. There’s a passage in Psalms which refers to “iron entering the soul”, which simply refers to a person going through a time of tribulation. Iron can also refer to a strength of character or strength of physique or to a stubborn will. In the same way, baptism can refer to something that has nothing in the world to do with water. Baptism in much of the New Testament refers to “a change of identity or to identify”. Here is how it came to have that meaning. In the Old Testament times, especially when the Jewish people were in captivity, many of them intermarried. If a Jewish girl married a young man from outside her “faith”, he had to go through a formal process of indoctrination. He had to be circumcised, all of his old religious relics and idols were publicly burned, and finally, he was baptized by being dipped seven times in the water. After each dip, he had to recite Scripture. It was not until then that he took on a new identity. The baptism “sealed” his transformation. So literally, Jesus sent his disciples to “...teach all nations, identifying them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” And again, “There is one Lord, one faith, and one identification.”

The most important thing to understand about our new identification is that it is not just a renaming of an old thing. Rather, when we are baptized with God’s Spirit, the old thing is made new. Paul told the Corinthians that “...if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and everything has been made new” (II Corinthians 5:17). It is not just re-labeling an old package. You have been given a quality of life which is eternal. Man is made up of three parts…body, mind and spirit. But until Christ baptizes us with His Holy Spirit, the spiritual part of us is dead. We cannot comprehend the things of God because they are spiritually discerned. They sound foolish to the man whose spiritual component is not alive.

Our new identity came about when God called us out of the darkness and into the light. The Bible refers to God “quickening” our spirits… “He that raised up Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). One of the great mysteries of the Christian faith is the calling of God on our lives. It should fill us with delight and wonder that God sought us and that we responded and that we have been made alive with Christ!

I want to look this morning at some of the ways we are “identified”, or baptized into Christ. When Jesus left eternity and stepped down into time, He entered our world through the normal birth as a baby. He was given birth by Mary, who was like us in every way. After the angel visited Mary and explained to her what was happening, Mary exclaimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” Mary needed a Savior as much as the rest of us do. Her body is part of the dust of the earth awaiting the resurrection, like ours will be one day. Some religions have tried to make Mary to be without sin, but to do so is to obscure a great truth related to the birth of Christ: that is, just as God the Father placed the life of the Lord Jesus Christ within the mortal flesh of Mary, so when we become a Christian, God places His divine nature within our old sinful bodies and brings forth life out of death.

When the angel announced to Mary that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, her first response was, “How can this be?” And the angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). To each of us the Word of God says, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore that holy Thing born in you will be the Divine Nature making you the son or daughter of God.” When you are baptized into Jesus Christ, you are identified with the Lord Jesus Christ in His virgin birth. You now have the mind of Christ

(I Corinthians 2:16). Paul said, “In Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ” (Colossians 2:9, 10).

One of the few references to Christ during His growing up years simply says, “He increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). When we are baptized by God’s Holy Spirit, we, like Christ, are increased as He was. Solomon said that “...the righteous man walks along in the ever-brightening light of God’s favor, and each dawn gives way to the morning splendor” (Proverbs 4:18). Paul said, “He that has begun a good work in you will keep right on working in you until the day that He returns” (Philippians 1:6). One of the exciting things about a relationship with God is that “...as you get to know Him better and better, He will give you everything you need for living a truly good life; He even shares His own glory and goodness with us! And by that same mighty power He has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings He promised; for example, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us and to give us His own character” (II Peter 1:3-5). You will begin to think like God thinks because you have been given the mind of God. Wow! How exciting! James says that “...the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. It is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is straightforward and sincere. It will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:17, 18). When we realize that Christ has been made wisdom for us, we can begin to “...bring every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” (II Corinthians

10: 5). This is because we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the increase of the wisdom of Christ.

But we are also baptized into His stature. Isaiah prophesied that “...in God’s eyes, He was like a tender shoot growing from a root in dry and sterile ground”

(Isaiah 53:2). His stature may have been hidden from some men, but it was not hidden from the Father. Nor is your stature hidden from the Father. Every day, He surrounds you with His presence and dotes over you like any Father does over his children. God has provided for our spiritual maturity by giving us His Holy Spirit to live in us and to guide us into all truth. Paul told the Corinthians that “...the spiritual person has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world…but we actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ” (II Corinthians 5:15, 16). To the Ephesians, Paul said, “God equips us and builds us up to a position of strength and maturity until we become full grown in the Lord, even to the point of being filled full with Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-14).

God has provided everything we need to grow up spiritually to become like Him. He has committed Himself to making that happen. I am reminding you again that Paul said, “We can become mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of God, and as His Spirit works within us, we become more and more in every way like Him” (II Corinthians 3:18). Paul said also that as we mature spiritually, we will “...lovingly follow the truth and so become more and more in every way like Christ, Who is the Head of His Body, the Church” (Ephesians 4:15, 16).

Finally, Jesus increased in favor with God, and when we are baptized by His Holy Spirit, we are baptized into God’s favor. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the voice of God cried from Heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with Him” (Matthew 3:17). Then again, shortly before Christ went to the cross to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, He went up to the top of a mountain with Peter, James and John. There He was changed for a moment into a heavenly being, and again God spoke and said, “This is My beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with Him. Obey Him” (Matthew 17:5).

God loves His Son more than anything in all the world. Jesus is His only begotten, dearly loved Son. But when we are baptized into Christ and are in Him, we become God’s beloved as well. Paul told the Romans that “...we should not be like cringing, fearful slaves, but we should behave like God’s very own children, adopted into the bosom of His family, and calling him, ‘Daddy, Daddy.’ For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children. And since we are His children, we will share His treasures—for all God gives to His Son Jesus is now ours as well” (Romans 8:15-17).

Wow! Are you excited about what it means to be baptized into Christ? But Jesus also increased in favor with man. Jesus had the ability to come alongside people and see them as they really were. This meant that He could see what was in their hearts. He could see that the hated Samaritan woman He met at the well was really wanting to have a relationship with God. And He offered her “living” water.

As we are “in” Christ, the Christ “in” us reaches out and offers hope to a lost and dying world. We become real, and people can sense that we are filled with a special kind of love. They like being around us because we are dying to self and are genuinely interested in them. We are good listeners and are not trying to impress them with our own wisdom. They feel good after they have been with us, and it is only a matter of time before we will have the opportunity to introduce them to the reason for our joy. “Don’t you know that you were baptized into Jesus...” and that you are His ambassador here on the earth? God wants to use you this week to be His representative to those He is calling out of the darkness and into the light. Are you ready?

GOD’S PURPOSES IN MARRIAGE

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Matthew 5: 31-32

Our American society has changed dramatically. A person would have to have his head in the sand not to notice the marked change in the American family. Perhaps if you are young, the change is not so apparent because your frame of reference is still limited. But if you are sixty years old or older, you cannot miss the extreme shift in values. In the year 1900, less than 1% of all marriages ended in divorce. Then came the world wars and with them an inordinate increase in the rate of divorce. Several factors were responsible for the increase. One was the separation of couples for extended periods of time and another, equally as important, was the entering of women into the work force. Thus, the family structure was dramatically altered.

But the most startling changes are to be found in the “Christian” family. Although accurate records were never kept to track the Christian family, trends can be seen and analyzed. For many years the Christian church had as its motto, “The family that prays together, stays together.” The evidence indicates that through most of the early-to-mid 1900’s, the divorce rate among Christian families never rose above 5 %. Many Christian denominations claimed that the divorce rate among their constituencies was less than 1%. In fact, Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Council on the Family, said that “…born-again Christian couples who marry…in the church after having received premarital counseling…and attend church regularly and pray daily together…experience only one divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages, or 0.00256 percent.” But with the advent of television and the two car family and both mom and dad working and Viet Nam and “free love”, etc., the Church became infected by society rather than the Church affecting society. Most church leaders suspected something was radically askew, but no one wanted to ask questions for fear of finding the answers.

However, in 2008, George Barna, a renown Christian prognosticator and pollster, did a survey of 3,854 adults from the 48 contiguous states. The margin of error was 2 percentage points. What he found came as a shock to the evangelical church in North America. Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups and much higher than professed atheists and agnostics experience. One of the summaries provided by Barna states that “...there no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce in the Church today; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage...” The researcher indicated, “Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life”(The Barna Group, Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released).

I don’t think I have to tell you that I am deeply disturbed. Since I have been in the ministry, I have seen this escalating divorce rate among Christians. But even more devastating is the laissez-faire attitude by Christians toward the whole issue of divorce. If you are a student of history, you know that the dissolution of the great empires paralleled the disintegration of family life. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. With the disintegration of the family come higher crime rates, higher taxes, a dumbing-down of the judicial system and a host of other related bench marks that otherwise would help to hold society in check.

We cannot get around God’s design for life without consequences! When “every man does what is right in his own eyes,” there is always a price to pay. The problem is that the price is often paid in succeeding generations, so the consequences are not as noticeably recognizable as they are with some other sin. In order to see the effect that the disintegration of the family has had on society, we have to see the collective outcome over the last 100 years. If my grandmother were to come back to life, she would be shocked at things that we have come to accept as normal.

We are a generation that is caught up in the present. We keep ourselves so busy that we have lost our ability to be contemplative and to see where we are headed. When I was young, a group of us kids went tobogganing down a steep hill in the fresh snow. We were having so much fun, and the snow was blowing in our faces so strongly, that we were oblivious to the fact that at the bottom of the hill was a creek with freezing cold water. You can imagine the rest of the story. Society seems to be on a toboggan ride without any idea of what is at the bottom of the hill. And the sad thing is that the Christians should be the ones calling out a warning; but the reality is that we have lost our integrity to be the ones pointing others in the right direction. So unless God moves in a supernatural way, or unless the Church recovers and once again becomes a deterrent to the downward slide of society, we, as a nation, are on a collision course with destruction.

I can almost hear what some of you are thinking in your heads… “But Bob, Christ Himself gave us permission to divorce in some cases.” Let’s look together this morning at exactly what the Bible does say about divorce. If you remember the context of Matthew 19, the Pharisees were trying to trap Christ. They asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” And Christ answered by saying, “Surely you must have read that in the very beginning, God made us male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two in His sight, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.”

To understand what was going on we need a quick background study. Perhaps at no other time in history has the marriage bond been more in jeopardy than it was at the time Christ was on the earth. This was true in both the Jewish and the Roman worlds. The woman had absolutely no rights and, in fact, was on the same level in the eyes of men as were slaves. She could not divorce her husband for any reason. Deuteronomy 24:1 says that “...when a man takes a wife and marries her, if he finds something about her that is shameful, he can write her a letter of divorce and send her away.” The Jewish Rabbis were split on the interpretation of this verse. The school of Shammai was very strict and interpreted the “uncleanness” to mean that she was not a virgin. However, the school of Hillel was very liberal and interpreted it to mean that a man could divorce his wife if she spoiled his dinner by putting too much salt on his potatoes or went into public with her head uncovered or if she talked to men in the street or if she spoke disrespectfully to her inlaws or if she was troublesome or quarrelsome. One rabbi even held that a man could divorce his wife if he found another woman to be more attractive.

In our text today, Jesus said, “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate saying they are divorced.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and anyone who marries a woman so divorced commits adultery.” The context of adultery begins back in Verse 27, where Christ tells them that even the thought of adultery is sin. The word He uses for adultery is moicheusais. This refers to sexual relationships by married people outside of their marriage commitment. But in our text today in Verse 32, Jesus uses the word porneia, which refers specifically to sexual relationships prior to marriage. So, in the Greek text it reads, “But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for porneia, causes her to commit moicheusais, and anyone who marries a woman so divorced commits moichatai.” The word porneia stands out like a sore thumb. Christ was obviously making a point by using a different word, which had meaning to his audience. I think that most of your Bibles have footnotes that refer back to Deuteronomy 24:1. In its historical context, if a Jewish man spent 5-10 years preparing a home for a bride and saving up money for his dowry rights, he was guaranteed a virgin for his wife. That came with the deal. But if after marrying, he discovered she was not a virgin or “found some uncleanness in her” or “something in her that was shameful”, he could give her back to her father, and the dowry money was returned. In exchange, he would give her a letter of divorcement.

It would seem from our text today that Christ is saying, “Anyone who divorces his wife, except for cases where it has been discovered that she has already had sexual relations prior to the marriage (or porneia)…” If He did not mean that, Christ would undoubtedly have used moicheusais in keeping with the pattern of the context. This would be in keeping with what Christ said in Chapter 19, that “...a man shall be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh in the sight of God. They are no longer two people but one, and what God has joined together, man has no right to separate” (Matthew 19:5, 6).

Whatever Christ’s teaching was, it was radically different from what they had been hearing from their Jewish Rabbis. When Christ was finished, his disciples huddled and came up with the conclusion that if it was really that stringent, it was probably better not to get married at all (19:10). Christ understood what they were thinking and followed up by saying, “Not everyone will be able to accept this teaching….” (19:11).

The exclamation point to this teaching is Malachi 2:13 ff., where God says,

Another thing you do: you flood the Lord’s altar with tears and weeping and groaning because He pays no attention to your offerings, and He doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why has the Lord abandoned us?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made to each other on your wedding day when you were young. But you have been disloyal to her, though she remained your faithful companion and the wife of your marriage vows. Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are His. And what does He want? Godly children from your union. So guard yourself: remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “It is as cruel as putting on a victim’s bloodstained coat,” says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself; always remain loyal to your wife.

Obviously this is a hard message to share in a time when the divorce and remarriage rate among Christians is at an all time high. For some, the message is cause for anger. For others, there are feelings of guilt. Yet others are certain I have misinterpreted Scripture. Christ understood this and said, “Not everyone will accept this teaching!” It is hard. I wish I had hours to talk to you about what Christ teaches. But I want to encourage you today. At any point in our lives, regardless of our past, regardless of mistakes we have made…if we present ourselves to Christ as living sacrifices, God will take what we offer and use it for His kingdom. Perhaps you are here today and struggling in your marriage relationship. I want to encourage you to do two things. First, get some help. We offer marriage classes on a fairly regular basis. Get counseling. Marriage is all about dying to self. God is doing something much bigger in your marriage than trying to make you happy and satisfied. He wants godly offspring from your marriage. He is looking generations down the line, whereas we tend to live for the moment. Secondly, slam the back door to your marriage. That means that divorce is never mentioned. It means that you seek a deep personal relationship with God and that you close your mind to all of the outside stimuli that Satan bombards you with that is an enemy to that which is “...true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and praiseworthy.” Paul told the Corinthians to “...accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you”

(I Corinthians 7:17). God has placed us here to affect society, not to be infected by society. God wants to use you to be part of a renewal in America!

HOLINESS—THE SIGN OF LIFE WITHIN US

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Romans 6: 1-2

One of the 64,000 thousand dollar questions in Scripture is, what is meant by

II Corinthians 6:14 ff.: “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, ‘I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’”

On the surface this may seem like a pretty simple teaching--until we begin to ask some questions. What does it mean to “...come out from among them and be separate...”? Who are “they”, and what do “they” do that we shouldn’t do? Does that mean we don’t drive cars because they do? Should we not live in houses or wear clothes like they do? Should we not get jobs and provide for our families? They do. Where do we draw the line? Should we not play in any sports because it is a waste of our time? What about television and movies? They are about as worldly-minded as you can get. Should we dance or not dance, and should we dress ourselves differently so that we stand out in the crowd? Should we not smoke or drink or take other types of drugs because it is hard on our bodies, which are the temple of the living God here on the earth? What think ye?

Paul concludes his questions to the Corinthians by saying, “Because we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves of everything that can defile our body or our spirit. And let us work toward complete purity, because we fear God” (II Corinthians 7:1). God wants our lives to be a reflection of the Christ Who lives in us. He wants people to be able to look at us and see an example of Who Christ is. The only Christ many people will ever get to see is the Christ they see in us.

We have just finished a chapter in which Paul has laid out the basis for God’s abounding grace. His grace is never ending. It’s like the waves that wash in on the shore hour after hour, day after day, without ever ceasing. His grace is infinite. But there were those in the church who said, “That’s too easy! That’s cheap grace! It doesn’t mean anything unless we have to work for it.” Paul would agree that we cannot presume on God’s grace and make a mockery of what Christ did for us on the cross. Anyone who would do that has not really presented himself to Christ as a living sacrifice, which is the least Christ asks of us. But on the other side of the coin, if we were able to present ourselves holy before God by our own works, it would take away the need for God to work in our lives. It is the joy of the Father to present us to His Son as a spotless bride because of His work in our lives. “He begins a good work in us and keeps right on performing it until His work within us is finished on the day Jesus Christ returns for us” (Philippians 1:6). It is a terrible thing to do anything that would take away from the work Christ did on our behalf when He suffered on the cross to take away our sins. God moved to save us because He wanted us to be holy men and women, revealing His own Spirit within us to overcome sin and death.

The work that God does in our lives is often referred to as sanctification because Jesus said we would be sanctified through our understanding of the truth (John 17:17). Paul prayed that the Thessalonian Christians would be “sanctified through and through” (I Thessalonians 5:23). Webster says that sanctification is simply “...the process by which something is made holy or without sin.”

It is amazing how man can take something so wonderful as God’s work in our lives and distort it to make it something guilt-producing and enslaving. Sanctification was talked about every Sunday during my growing up years. But at the risk of being redundant, I need to remind you again that it was taught as a “second” work of grace that happened instantaneously and was completed action. The precise wording in Wiley’s Theology 101 states that “...sanctification is a second work of grace in which the old sinful nature is totally eradicated and a person lives in a state of sinless perfection where they never sin again in thought, word, or deed.” As I have said many times before, the only way a person could live up to that definition is to redefine sin. And yet, that is why Christ begins a process in our lives of helping us come to the place where we are a reflection to the world of the Christ Who lives in us. God does desire that we live a life free of sin. Christ came to earth to free man from the vicious circle of sin and death.

As God works in us, there should be a continual change in our thoughts and our actions. We ought to be “more and more like Christ” (II Corinthians 3:18). But if we are continuing to sin so that grace can abound, we have missed the whole point of our salvation. God wants to show to the world that His power is greater than the power of sin and Satan, and He wants to present a spotless bride to His Son. To continue to sin so that grace could abound would be to make a mockery of both of the above statements.

Let’s look at a couple of words from our “churchology” vocabulary. Justification refers to the work Christ did on the cross for us when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He paid the penalty for our sin. Our justification is meant to lead us to sanctification, but justification is not sanctification. The process of sanctification begins the moment Christ comes into our lives, and it will continue until the day we die. It is the process whereby Christ molds and shapes us into His own image. The Christ Who lives in us takes more and more control of our lives until we are an accurate reflection to the world of Who He is. It means we love like He loves, and we lay down our lives for others the way He laid down His life for us.

The problem was that there were those in the early church who did not really wrap their minds around the concept of God’s sanctification of their lives. They understood justification, but they were not excited about Christ “...testing their faith like fire tests gold.” Their thought was that if they were saved by God’s grace and not because of anything they did, to try to then live a godly life and to live a life free of sin was to somehow detract or minimize the work of grace already accomplished by Christ. In other words, if we worry about sin in our lives, then we are trying to make ourselves acceptable to God by our good deeds. So why not enjoy sin and pleasure and just let God take care of our sins with their consequences? Why not sin so grace can abound?

The reality is that justification and sanctification are inseparable. They function like our minds and our bodies…one is completed in the other. God does not give “gratuitous righteousness” apart from a changed life. The writer to the Hebrews plainly says that “...without holiness, no person shall see God” (12:14). The process of being made holy begins immediately upon our justification, and if we do not begin to grow in our faith and begin to take on Christ’s characteristics, then we have a right to suspect that justification never really occurred. When Paul wrote to the churches, he almost always included an admonition for them to live a life worthy of the calling to which they had been called, which was a calling to live a holy life. To the Colossians he said, “I pray that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light” (Colossians 1:10-12). And to the Philippians he wrote, “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). To the Corinthians Paul said, “You have been bought with a price, so seek to honor Christ with your bodies and your spirits, which belong to Him” (I Corinthians 6:20).

We need to understand that our sanctification is not an option. It’s not a program God uses for exceptional students. If you have presented yourself to Christ as a living sacrifice, God has already begun a good work in you. It is the work of shaping you into His own likeness. It is the work of making you into a spotless bride (Ephesians 5:27) and a joint heir with Christ of the riches of Heaven. Paul told the Corinthians that when we receive a new life, we no longer live to please ourselves, but we live to please Christ, Who gave His life for us (II Corinthians 5:1). The very idea of thinking you can continue to sin because God will turn His head and look the other way is an anathema to God. He gave the life of His Son so that you could receive a new life. “Old things and the old way of life are gone, and everything is new (II Corinthians 5:17). If you are wanting to continue sinning, you have not committed your entire self to Christ as a living sacrifice.

That does not mean that you live in a state of sinless perfection. It means that the desire of your heart is to be everything that God wants you to be. When you fail in your Christian walk, you go to God and let Him know how broken your heart is that you did not correctly reflect to the world the Christ Who lives in you, and you cry out for the power of the Holy Spirit to help you live and act in such a way that others will notice the difference in your life; your love for God is so great that you would never presume on God’s grace; you would never say, “Oh, God doesn’t care if I sin. That’s just an opportunity for Him to pour out His grace.”

But like Paul you say, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. I am not yet all that I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to Heaven”

(Philippians 3:12-14).

The old guidance systems in airplanes used to have a little humming sound when the plane veered to the right or left of dead center on their approach to the landing field. “Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit will give me a beep if I ever veer to the right or the left of Your will. Keep me in the center of Your will, Lord. Help me to be a true reflection of the Christ who lives within. Amen.”

-QUESTIONS-

1. What do you think Paul means when he says that “...we should come out from among them and be separate...”? Should we imitate the Amish? How “separate” should we be? What is the purpose of being separate?

2. Carefully study II Timothy 2:20, 21. Study the context in which it is given. Notice the results of separating. What are the gold and silver today, and what are the wood and clay? What does this say to you?

3. What is meant by “cheap grace”? How does God look at cheap grace?

4. What exactly do you picture in your mind when you read, “May the God of peace sanctify you through and through...”?

5. What do you think John meant in his first epistle when he said, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin…” (I John 5:18)? Is this possible?

6. Discuss the following statement: “God does not give ‘gratuitous righteousness’ apart from a changed life.”

7. When God “begins a good work in us,” what do you think He has as His ultimate goal? Why is our sanctification so important to Him?

8. If my sins, past, present and future, were already paid for by Christ on the cross, why do I need to worry about my sin? Is it important that I acknowledge them or ask forgiveness? And in so doing, am I not saying that what Christ did on the cross was not enough?

9. Reread Philippians 3:12-14 and make application to your own life.

STRANGE AMBASSADORS OF GOOD NEWS

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Luke 1:8-20; I Corinthians 1:18-23

Last Sunday, we talked about the simplicity surrounding the birth of Christ. It didn’t take place in Jerusalem, the logical place. His birth announcement didn’t hit the newsstands the next morning. Heads of state did not visit. The Magi, or wise men found in a little village in plain surroundings, and they worshiped Him simply and with lack of adornment. Here is an important principle…the simpler and less cluttered our approach to God the more likely we are to be enthralled with His power and majesty rather than distracted by man’s inventiveness. But man’s tendency is to move from the simple to the complex, not from the complex to the simple. Man only moves from the complex to the simple by intention, forethought and discipline.

The great mystics of the Middle Ages spent hours contemplating the power and majesty of God be revisiting Biblical scenes and reliving them as if they were participants. But this kind of worship was also coupled with intentionally uncomplicated, simple lifestyles. We, however, tend to worship on the run. We try to carve worship time out of our cluttered lifestyles. We are the megabyte, sound clip generation of worshipers. If it doesn’t happen within an hour, it won’t happen. We have drive-in churches and virtual on-line churches that worship through networking and churches that meet in theaters via the big screen, etc. Pastors and their staffs are working to cut services down to 40 minutes with a more compact, direct approach. We’re always in a hurry, and finding time for God takes creativity in our world.

The Magi had definite expectations about what they would find when they arrived in Jerusalem and about who Christ would be and how His coming would be packaged or presented. I think they arrived with incredible anticipation thinking they would undoubtedly find something that far surpassed the greatness of and splendor of Solomon. Hadn’t God altered the stars to announce His birth? It was so spectacular that it moved them from their comfort zone of ease and position to take a long, hard, and extremely dangerous journey. And they headed straight for the palace in Jerusalem. Where else would a King be born? The three-mile ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem must have been gut-wrenching. Had they made a gigantic mistake? Were they fools instead of wisemen? Had they given up their lives for nothing? What kind of a king would be born in a shepherd’s town and be housed on the wrong side of the tracks? Their entourage and gifts were a little out of place in Bethlehem. They were as out of place as Queen Elizabeth dining in the projects of East Philly or the Watts area of L.A. It isn’t going to happen.

Bethlehem was known as the village of shepherds because it was in the heart of the sheep-raising area of the country. Historians agree that Bethlehem shepherds were a special class of people. They were uneducated, simple people who spent most of their time with sheep which are not too bright, even in the animal realm.

At this time, Bethlehem was an unwalled city, which meant that they had no common sheepfold inside the city like walled cities afforded. The shepherds were out for long periods of time without seeing anyone but themselves and their sheep. The town sits almost 4,000 feet directly above the Dead Sea near the top of a hilly, rocky mountain ridge. The shepherds were a tough bunch who formed their own protection from wild animals and bands of armed marauders, who existed by plundering and overcoming those who could not stand against them. It was not uncommon to have a whole flock of sheep driven off by bands of marauding Bedouins.

In every way, the shepherds were at the bottom of the socio-economic rung of the ladder. They were often men without families who were unskilled, uneducated and often crude. They were men of no pretense who called it like they saw it. They were not known to be particularly religious or people who entertained discussions of theological significance.

As the shepherds tended their flocks one night, an angel appeared to them and announced the birth of Jesus. They were terrified! Then a great company of heavenly beings filled the sky around them. What a display from heaven! The paraphrase describes it as a “vast host—the armies of heaven.” This was perhaps the greatest singular visitation of angelic beings the earth has ever witnessed.

But why was it “wasted” on a few illiterate shepherds? Why didn’t they appear in Jerusalem square in front of Herod’s palace or at the University of Jerusalem to the professors of biblical prophecy or at the mansion of Abraham Ariens, the mayor of Jerusalem? Why waste such a spectacular display on a place and people so insignificant> What was in God’s mind? “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised and things that are empty to nullify the things man has established so that no one may boast” (I Corinthians 1:27-30).

The shepherds left at once to find the baby lying in a manger or a barn or shelter. Immediately they began to tell everyone what had happened, and everyone was amazed.

God’s choice in announcing the birth of Jesus boggles our sensibilities. WHY? Why did He choose some “pagan” Magi from far off Persia who had no connection to the process and then some shepherds at the bottom rung of the social ladder who were likely illiterate and irreverent? Why die He not announce it to the high priest and to the religious community? What is there in this that makes sense to our human minds?

It’s important to once again remember that “God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts like our thoughts.” God chooses the simple of the world to confound the wise. He had to find someone who would see it and tell it like it was and who had faith to believe that a baby born in a manger, surrounding by animals, could become the Savior of the world. He had to find someone whose expectations would not stand in the way of trusting God to do things His way.

So it was a little boy with some loaves and fish who could visualize the possibilities of feeding a crowd of 5,000 because he recognized a great God and could see beyond the limitations of man. And it was a Roman centurion, not a Jewish priest, to whom Jesus said, “I have not found such faith, even in Israel.” It was a Canaanite woman, outside the Jewish faith, to whom Jesus said, “Your faith is great and your request has been granted.” It was a hated Samaritan woman of ill repute to whom God entrusted His sacred message of living water and who became the first real missionary of the new faith. And the list goes on and on. It was Rahab the Harlot in the Old Testament and Mary Magdalene in the New Testament who had faith to see what others missed. That’s why the angels appeared to shepherds. They knew what to do with the message. They could look at the baby Jesus and see the possibility of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They did not have to struggle with intellectual biases. They did not have to rationalize His low estate. They did not have to put Him in a different setting to accept Him. He could be their Savior!

Are you believing He is your Savior today in the midst of your crazy world? “The Jews look for a sign and the Greeks must understand , but we look for Christ crucified” (I Corinthians 1:22, 23). Is that what you look for in your circumstances? This Christmas can you worship Jesus in your circumstances? Can you see Him using them to make you more like Him? Can you see Him taking the weak and fooish things of the world to show Himself strong in your life? If He were to come today, would He appear to you because of the simplicity of your faith in the midst of your circumstances? Would He say, “I

WHICH KINGDOM?

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Romans 5:21

While we are “...dead in our trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1), we are also blind to the things of God. Paul explains this clearly to the Corinthians in the second chapter of his first letter: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they sound like foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” When Christ comes into our lives, being able to see what God sees begins. It is a slow process and directly related to the time we spend in God’s Word, in prayer conversation with Him and in fellowship with other believers. Little by little we will be amazed at how our thoughts and attitudes are changing. That’s why what we take into our minds is so important. God wants to make available to us the wisdom of Who He is and how He works, and He wants to share more than just the little inset with us. But our minds are not made to retain more than a certain amount of material. If our minds are filled with garbage, we will not be sensitive to the things of God. We become what our minds dwells upon.

Let’s do a quick review, because Chapter 6 begins a whole new section of teaching dealing with the life of the believer. God chose us and called us out of a world of darkness into His glorious light. There was nothing we did to provide for our salvation. It was a gift from God. What we do with the gift, however, is incredibly important. We can hold the gift in our laps and look at it and admire it, or we can open it up and enjoy the contents, which is the potential to become like Christ.

We are saved by grace. God’s grace is a direct result of God’s love. God is looking for a family and a bride for His Son. He is not looking for just anyone but for those who will make an eternal commitment of their lives to Him. He does not force His love on us but woos us with His love. In the same way that a husband and wife become one person in God’s sight, He asks us to become one person with Him. He brings us into His family as joint heirs with Christ, meaning that everything that belongs to Christ is equally ours as well. But to receive this from Him, He asks us to present our entire selves to Him as a living sacrifice and not conform to the ways of the world but to allow Him to transform us into His own likeness. “We can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of God, and as His Spirit works within us, we become more and more in every way like Him” (II Corinthians 3:18).

Now, in our text today Paul paints a picture of a great fortress that is torn down and of a new citadel that is built on the ruins of the old fort. Each of the great fortresses has a king who reigns from the fortress. The old citadel is ruled over by the king of sin, who is Satan. Satan is a despot. He does not ask his subjects to bow down before him; rather, he takes them by force. He demands allegiance by enticing people to partake of his wares, and then when they become addicted to the lifestyle he provides, the trap snaps shut on them, and they are caught in his iron vise. His is a death grip. Sin has a companion word, which is death. Sin and death are joined together like horse is joined to carriage. The result of enjoying the smorgasbord Satan provides is that we forfeit life. We hasten death with no hope of any reward in the life to come.

The person who lives in the citadel of sin is blinded to the truth. He thinks that when he stands before God someday, he will be able to talk his way into Heaven. People often say to me, “Put in a good word to the Man upstairs for me, will you?” It’s as if a good reference from someone on the earth will make a difference as to whether or not someone gets into Heaven. That is the blindness caused by living under the domination of Satan. But the truth is that there is no middle ground for half-good people. It’s all or nothing. We are either utterly condemned, or we are perfectly saved and safe in the grace provided by Christ. It is either salvation through the provision made for our sins by Christ, or it is the Lake of Fire without Him. God does not accept a halfway commitment. Nowhere in Scripture does God ask for a partial commitment. You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Anything less is a disgrace to the Christ who gave His life as a sacrifice for your sins. The very act of calling Him Lord means that you give Him your full allegiance.

What does God view as sin? Remember the story Christ told of the prodigal son? The son came to his father and said, “I want my share of the inheritance now instead of waiting until you die” (Luke 15:12). That is a great picture of sin. Sin is acting independently of God. It is selfishness. It is charting your own course and deciding to do what is “best” for yourself. What you choose may be good and noble, but the question is, “Are you acting in obedience to God your Creator, or are you doing what you think will promote your own welfare.

John said, “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things, you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, like the things craved by our bodies and the desire to have the best of everything or the need to be known and to work our way up the ladder of success…these things are not from God” (I John 2:15, 16). God looks at these things as sin. They are the things that Satan uses to keep us in his trap. They are addictive. Once you start down that road, you are helpless in yourself to turn away.

There is an old legend about a blood sucking vampire with wings that perched on top of a sleeping man. As he beat his wings, he lulled the man into unconsciousness, all the while sucking the lifeblood out of him. It’s an ugly picture but an accurate picture all the same of what Satan his been doing to man since the beginning of time. He comes as an angel of light and blinds man from seeing the consequences of his actions. As I was writing this, someone came into my office and told me about a wonderful young couple who have gotten lulled back into the world of drugs. The lure is that of escape and money and highs and the thought that “...we will only do it a couple of times and then quit. It’s just a temporary fix until we get out of debt.” The reality is that it will eventually put them back in prison, their children will be taken from them and lose trust and respect for them; it will mean deteriorating health and another arduous road back to recovery after they have paid their debt to society. But they were blinded to the consequences by the momentary thought of escape and pleasure.

Satan reigns from the citadel of sin. We are at his mercy unless we give our allegiance to a more powerful King. But let me remind you again that kings do not accept partial allegiance. They ask for a complete commitment of our lives. Our text says, “As sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I want you to notice that it doesn’t say, “As sin has reigned unto death, even so might righteousness reign unto life.” If it had said that, we would be under the illusion that if we could clean up our act, we would triumph over sin and death. But try as we might, we do not have the power to stand up against Satan and the legions of devils he has at his disposal. Only the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can “...break the power of canceled sin and set the prisoner free.” It is only when He is in control of our lives that we can rest in His protection over us. It is when He is able to invade every nook and cranny of our lives that we finally are able to enjoy the freedom of a victorious life in Christ.

There is a wonderful word picture painted by Paul in the second chapter of Ephesians. Let me share it with you from the paraphrase:

Once you were under God’s curse, doomed forever for your sins. You went

along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying

Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work in the hearts

of those who are against the Lord. All of us used to be just as they are, our

lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions

or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with

evil natures, and were under God’s anger like everyone else. But God is so

rich in mercy; He loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead

and doomed by our sins, He gave us back our lives again when He raised Christ from the dead—only by His undeserved favor have we ever been saved—and lifted us up from grace into glory along with Christ, where we sit with Him in

the heavenly realms—all because of what Christ Jesus did for us. And now He

can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich His kindness is, as shown in all He has done for us through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-7).

Before we close today, I want you to notice the gifts these two kings give to their subjects… “sin ruled over men and brought them death”… “but grace reigns through righteousness and brings eternal life.” In other words, sin reigns from a cemetery, and all her subjects are dead. But grace rules from the heavenlies, where we are seated with Christ and are given eternal life.

The gift of life is given through Christ. Paul talks to the Colossians about our lives being “hidden in Christ” (Colossians 3:3). Everything that goes with the new life comes to us from Christ. All of the benefits will be in direct proportion to our relationship with Him. Paul told the Romans that “...everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory” (Romans 11:36). And to the Corinthians he said, “There is only one God and Father Who created all things and made us to be His own, and there is only one Jesus Christ Who made everything and gives us life” (I Corinthians 8:6).

If you have given your life to Christ, you will get out of your relationship exactly what you put into it. God wants to give to you out of the riches of Heaven. He wants to give you gifts that are eternal in nature…gifts that cannot be tarnished by earthly decay or deterioration. He wants to reproduce Himself in you. He wants to give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. But those are gifts that come from going deep down into the relationship He wants to have with you. Are you drinking deeply? Or are you holding the gift lightly? Are you getting the most from your relationship to the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords? Are you reigning with Him?

-QUESTIONS-

1. What are some of the things that people in the world of sin cannot see? Why are they blind to these things? Read again I Corinthians 2:9-16. What is the very last sentence?

2. Have you seen a change in how you view life and the purpose of life since you became a Christian? How have your thoughts and attitudes changed?

3. Put some meaning on the picture of someone holding lightly the gift of life from God. Why don’t they unwrap it and use it? What is meant by the statement, “You get out of your Christian life exactly what you put into it...”? Doesn’t God pour out everything to us regardless of what we do? How does the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14 ff. apply to this question?

4. In what ways are people captives of Satan? Can’t they get free if they want? What are the things John talks about in I John 2:15, 16? What do they relate to in modern times?

5. Do you agree with the statement, “It is all or nothing. We are either utterly condemned, or we’re perfectly saved and safe in the grace provided by Christ. It is either salvation through the provision made for our sins by Christ, or it is the Lake of Fire without Him. God does not accept a partial commitment...”?

6. What is sin?

7. What can I do to get the most out of what God has to offer through my salvation? Is this something I have to beg God to receive? What does relationship have to do with receiving anything from God?

THE AMAZING DISCOVERY OF THE WISEMEN

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Matthew 2:1-11; I Corinthians 1:27, 28

The Thanksgiving celebration was over. It had been a hectic time. Susan had invited the whole clan over for Thanksgiving dinner. It was nice to have everyone in their home, but it came with a price. The house had to be gone over from top to bottom. Susan had a list of things that had to be done before the company could arrive: cleaning the carpet, new wall paper in the bathroom, new bedding for the beds of those staying overnight, a new cover for the table by the window, a centerpiece for the dining room table, a cornucopia for the sideboard, cleaning the office, redecorating the children’s rooms, painting the living room walls, and finishing the floral piece she had started for the fireplace mantel. And that was just the beginning!

By the time the guests arrived, Susan was exhausted. And now Christmas…

how can she possibly face another holiday? Jim will help, but this is a hectic time for him at the office as well. There is the office party, a Sunday School class party, the choir presentation three times, the children’s program at church, the Christmas banquet at church, a Christmas program at school, redecorating the house with a Christmas motif, trimming the tree and moving furniture, buying presents for family and relatives and getting presents to UPS, getting ready for the Christmas dinner, packing the car for the trip to grandma’s and grandpa’s house, fighting the crowds and the attitudes…Susan doesn’t know if she can do it again. Is it worth it? But it’s expected. This is Christmas, and this is what makes it meaningful…right?

One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is “We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain; gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.” As you sing it, you can almost feel the swaying of the camels and they get into their long swinging gaits. But have you ever wondered what the wise men expected to find? Who were these Magi who popped out of nowhere and entered the Christmas story? What would prompt them to leave the comfort of their plush surroundings to take one of the most hazardous routes in the world… to worship…what?

Besides the Biblical account, history is rich with stories about who the wise men were. They are even given names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We know from the Bible that they came from the East, and the East is usually thought of as Persia in Bible history. A large remnant of the Jews still lived there from the time of the Jewish captivity and several of them had made a significant imprint on Persian life and thinking. Daniel, Queen Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah are just several mentioned, but history records that the Persians had adopted a priestly system similar to that of the Jews and they worshiped a supreme deity. In Esther 8:17 it says, “And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews seized them. And in 10:3, it is stated that Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes. But there were others also who had strong influences on Persian culture and beliefs.

The Persians called their priests Magi. They were wise men and astrologers who also oversaw the giving of sacrifices and offerings. But again the question arises:

what moved them to take this unusual trip, and what did they expect to find?

William Barclay, the historian, says that the world at this time was expecting a great leader to be born. Roman culture was anticipating the arrival of the “golden age” with a mighty leader who was part God and part man. The Eastern religions all had in their teachings a Messiah who would rule the world. And for the Jews, this was the pivotal point of their theology. They were waiting with bated breath for the Messiah to come.

It seems that the moving factor in the odyssey of the Magi was the appearance of a star that was significant enough to cause them to leave everything, risk their lives, and follow it to its destination. The route from Persia to Jerusalem was one of the most dangerous, least protected routes in the world at that time. And they were rich and traveling with precious commodities, which made them prime targets for highwaymen. When Nehemiah had traveled this route in earlier years, the king sent the army with him for protection. Ezra makes reference to the enemies and bandits along the way. It was a long journey of months. There were two possible routes which could be taken: one across the Arabian Desert, which was hot, dry and terribly mountainous with almost no protection, or around the Euphrates River Valley which was almost twice the distance but provided water and rest stops but which was lined with highwaymen and marauders. Something of great magnitude caused these men to risk their lives to visit a baby. What do you think they expected to find?

It is not unreasonable to think that the wise men were expecting to find the largest celebration of the century with visiting dignitaries from around the world. And they were undoubtedly a pretty imposing entourage themselves. They were significant enough to be able to get an audience with King Herod. History records that at this point in his life, Herod was a crotchety, old man who had little patience for the Jewish traditions and especially for their belief in a Messiah which was constantly being stirred up by would-be imposters. Yet, he took careful note when the Magi paid him a visit. They certainly did not ride into town on donkeys, and they had a presence about them that made King Herod sit up and take notice and spring into action. He promptly put out a decree that all babies two years old and younger be killed. I think he took them seriously, don’t you?

Why did the wise men go to King Herod? I think from the inception of their vision and through the many miles of traveling, they had imagined that there would be a great celebration taking place that was attended by esteemed people from all over the world and that Jerusalem would be the focal point of the celebration. Jerusalem would be the obvious place for a mighty leader to be born. They had been following a dazzling star and had studied prophecies that said a king would be born of David’s seed. The seed of David with which they were acquainted was Solomon. He was legendary. His wealth and wisdom and power and wives and gold mines and temples and horses and ships were well known world-wide. If this baby was born of his seed and would be the Savior of the world, wouldn’t he have to be greater than David and Solomon?

If we could only read between the lines!! What did the wise men think when they got to Jerusalem and found everyone going about life as usual? What were they thinking when they rode the three or four miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem? Those were undoubtedly the longest miles they had ever traveled. Were they fools instead of wise men? Had they made the greatest blunder of the century and risked their lives for nothing? Why would He be in Bethlehem, a little country farming community, the village of shepherds? And if it were true, what kind of a King must He be? Why wouldn’t King Herod know about Him? Those few miles must have been a life-changing experience, culminating in finding Jesus in a house in Bethlehem in the simplest of surroundings. These Magi, with their caravan, pulled up in front of a house on the wrong side of town.

And then they made a startling discovery that is beyond wisdom or words to explain. It can only be felt or experienced. They entered the house and walked into the presence of God and into peace and fulfillment. It was a holy moment. It was unbelievably still. They found a sleeping Christ Child. They found parents who seemed to know and understand. They walked into God’s blessing, and they were overwhelmed and overcome by it. It was inescapable. It was overpowering. They fell to their knees and worshiped because it was the only appropriate thing to do. No one prompted them; no one led in singing or read Scripture. It was a response that came from deep within their hearts. Yet it was not enough. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh seemed inappropriate, yet something caused them to want to unburden themselves of earthly possessions in order to possess that which is eternal. The thing that was in this room was something that money could not buy. They had found the “Pearl of great price”.

On their knees before this Baby, these wise men discovered God’s truth which stood out in stark contrast to conventional wisdom. God purposely chose what seemed like foolishness to men to confound the wise and to shame them. He chose the lowliest and most despised of the world to shame the strong so that no one could boast (I Corinthians 1:27, 28). King Herod would never find Jesus because he would never look for Him in a house on the wrong side of the tracks in a lowly shepherd’s village.

The wise men hated to leave because they found what their hearts had been searching for. There was no doubt. The truth they discovered was almost as important as the Child they found. They found that God is exalted in simplicity. God is lifted up in unadorned worship. The sacred is that which we submit to Him. Our circumstances are not important, but our submission of those circumstances to God make them holy. The God in us is working all things together for good because we love Him and are called according to His purposes. Both God and Satan vie for control of our circumstances. We decide whether Satan will use them evilly against God or whether God will use them for good to defeat Satan.

In a humble home in Bethlehem lay a Baby—helpless, dependent, and unadorned. There were questions surrounding the legitimacy of His birth…unanswered questions in the minds of some men. But God made Him the Savior of the world. God chooses to use your circumstances to show His strength if you will let Him. How are you worshiping the Christ Child this Christmas? Is He exalted in your life in simplicity and unadorned worship? Is He lifted up for the world to see through the circumstances of your life? Are you giving up the temporal in order to discover the eternal? Are you discovering the holy in place of the profane?

O come, let us adore Him;

We’ll give Him all the glory;

For He alone is worthy;

Christ the Lord.

MARY

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Luke 1:26-38

One of the strangest phenomena of our age is our insecurity and lack of fulfillment. Have you thought about that? This ought to be the golden age of mankind. Every possibility for self-fulfillment is at our fingertips. We can hop on a plane and in a few hours visit the other side of the world. As I am writing this, Maurice is in Kolkata, Terry is in Cairo, Jessica is in leaving for Swaziland, Austen is in Turkey and Annie is leaving for Thailand. It’s amazing. Missionaries used to go to the mission field for a minimum of six years to a lifetime because travel was so difficult. We have self-help seminars and videos and we can go on-line to get the answers to almost any problem we might face in life. We have all kinds of entertainment and recreation to fill our leisure time. We can participate in virtual football and have a vote on who wins in “Dancing with the Stars”. We are no longer just part of our own little community but we are connected to the world. Last night we got a phone call from a lady in India who was just “checking in.” When we dial up support for one of many electronic gadgets, it is likely we will talk to someone on the other side of the world. Many children are even tutored on-line by someone on the other side of the world. It’s an amazing world we live in today. We are educated, enlightened, well-fed, dressed in the latest and finest, living in pleasant surroundings and in affluence with an amazing latitude of freedoms. If 2+2=4, this ought to be the recipe for happiness, security, good marriages, well-adjusted children and a deep sense of peace and fulfillment. Right? Is this what our lifestyles have produced?

I’m sorry to say that they have produced exactly the opposite. We are a deeply hurting society that is groping in darkness, desperately searching for that elusive peace of mind and purpose in living. We are a society that has gone past dead center and is swinging wildly out of control, desperately grasping at anything that will stop our fall and keep us from self-destructing.

In the process of seeking happiness, we have indoctrinated the minds of our children with the philosophy of self-fulfillment and the drive to be number one. This has become the hallmark of American society. It used to be “all for one and one for all”. But somewhere our moral compass went awry and we have dropped the second half of the adage. We are high-centered on the “all for one”. We have been programmed to believe that happiness can be found within ourselves and that we simply have to discover why we are here and what our purpose is. The “good life” is out there somewhere just waiting for us to discover. Just keep searching!

In reality, this is a lie concocted by the great deceiver of the ages who would like to undo and destroy the precious gift which God has for each of us who believe. Following the above recipe for success leaves us lonely, disillusioned, hurting and still searching. We are nursing a society that has lost sight of true north and has labeled any absolutes or solid moral base as passé. We are left with a people who have turned inward, licking their wounds, trying to decide whether life is even worth living. We are faced with a new generation of young people who are afraid to enter the rat race because they might get swallowed up by it. They are afraid they can’t compete in this “dog-eat-dog” world. They are desperately searching for significance apart from the old patterns established by their forefathers.

About two thousand years ago, there was a young lady named Mary. She was Jewish and grew up in a normal home of simple means and was probably one of several children. She grew up with traditions. Traditions formed a foundation upon which life was built. There was the Bar Mitzvah for the boys at age 13 and the years of preparation and schooling in the ancient Torah to ready themselves for passing the bar exam. Then, after 13, there was the apprenticeship to teach a trade and prepare a home for a wife and family. Those early years were busy. Along with learning a trade, a young man had to lay aside enough money or goods to pay a dowry for a bride. This was no small matter, especially if you wanted a “ten cow wife!”

At the same time, the girls were learning to manage a home. Although they didn’t go to school or have to pass the bar exam, they were learning their own trade…that of a housewife and mother. They tended children. They babysat for other families. They learned to cook and sew. They learned to carry water from the city well. They learned to churn butter and bake bread and dry food and spin wool and an endless number of other things that took special skills and would qualify a young lady for marriage. Girls did not learn the finer points of the law like the boys did, but that didn’t matter. They understood the important events of their history. They understood their lineage. They knew who Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were and who David was and how God used Deborah and Rahab to save their people. They knew that Messiah would come, and they greeted each other by saying, “May the Messiah come quickly.” They knew this was the next event to unfold in their history.

The crowning point of a girl’s life was her marriage. It encompassed everything that had meaning. And next to that in importance was the ability to bear children. Women who could bear children easily went to the top of the social order and were revered as receiving a special blessing from God.

So, every ounce of attention for a young girl went toward preparation of her marriage. Girls who matured at a young age had a special advantage and were again seen as receiving an added confirmation of blessing from God. As soon as a girl could conceive a child, a husband was sought, often through the bargaining of a matchmaker. The man had to have a trade and be able to provide a home and a dowry that was satisfactory to the girl’s family. It was a great honor to be able to get one’s daughter married off soon. To have a daughter that was not sought early was a curse. So, most girls were bethrothed or engaged when they were about age 12 or 13. A man’s apprenticeship took 5-6 years, so he was usually 18-20 years old when he sought a wife. The engagement period lasted for 6 months to a year. During this time, the couple was to have no physical or social contact. The man made final preparations on his home. The girl set aside her trousseau and came into her marriage with everything needed to outfit her home. This was no small task. It meant hours of sewing and putting aside food and provisions and all the rest that goes with setting up housekeeping.

This was the tradition…the foundation upon which things were built. This was the most important event of life. This was their sense of fulfillment. And if it were not done this way, there was not much to look forward to in life. Anyone bypassing this tradition was not accepted within their society. It was unthinkable to do it any other way. Society had no place for those who circumvented tradition.

Because of the gift Mary and Joseph offered when Jesus was dedicated, it appears that they were of simple means. And they were from a simple setting. Keye’s Story of the Bible World says, “Nazareth was a little village that lay in a quiet backwater away from the regular routes of business and trade. Nazareth was almost completely Jewish and given to the most orthodox customs and beliefs. So strict a place was it, in fact, that Nathaniel quoted the derisive question often asked by neighbors, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’”

For a poor, young girl like Mary growing up in this setting, marriage was her only hope. And she was fortunate to find a man who wanted her…Joseph. She would not be passed over, as some were, and left with no life…the ridicule of her community.

Life was going as planned. It was happening the way tradition dictated. Mary was excited and making preparations for marriage. Then it happened…an angel appeared to her. Angels are not supposed to appear to young girls in little out-of-the-way villages. Luke says she was “confused and disturbed”. Can you identify with her and understand what she was feeling?

And then the message from the angel…she would become pregnant by means of the Holy Spirit while she was still engaged to Joseph. This is all an exciting part of the Christmas story to us today. We call it the “virgin” birth, and it has become a major part of our theology. But to Mary, it was the sounding of the death knell for her life. If a man married a maiden and found that she was not a virgin, he was to divorce her and have nothing to do with her (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). She was doomed! The word would get around quickly—there were no secret in Nazareth! A single mother had no recourse, and her child would be an outcast. And it happened just the way she had pictured it in her mind. She told Joseph; his response was to put her away (divorce her) and not tell anyone…but it would be obvious soon enough.

Mary left immediately to go visit her aunt Elizabeth, who had previously had no children of her own and was like a second mother to her. She prayed for three months and, with the help of Elizabeth, was able to put her life back together again. There were two things she had to do to find God’s peace in the midst of this nightmare.

1. Die to expectations and rights

2. Present her body to God as a living sacrifice

All of her dreams were shattered. Joseph would not marry her. She would go from a “Prima Donna” to an outcast. Her son would have no father. She would have no means of support. She would be a disgrace to her family and the she would be the focus of lots of whispers and gossip from the women at the well. She would have no excuse for what had happened. She might have to end up having to sell her body in order to provide for herself and her child.

And how could she ever be used by God now? What would she have to offer Him? How could she provide a home for herself and her child? Who would believe her when she told them about the angel and explained who this child was? Would the girls in town believe her? What should she do next? She “pondered these things in her heart.” I guess so!

What would you have done? Luke 1:38 says, “Mary said, ‘I am willing to do whatever He wants.’” Is that your response to your circumstances? Can God use you? Can He use you when the whole world rejects you and your life falls apart? Can He use you when all of your dreams and expectations are smashed and you have nowhere to turn?

Are you kneeling at the manger in Bethlehem this year in simple, unadorned worship? What is it you are presenting to Him as you worship? Are you:

1. Dying to expectations and rights?

2. Presenting your body to Him as a living sacrifice?

THANKSGIVING

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

I Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 100&160;

A mother was reading a Bible story book to her three-year-old daughter. They came to the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, and it had a picture of the lions surrounding Daniel in a ferocious manner, as if they were about to eat him for lunch. The picture happened to have a smaller lion off to the side which did not seem to be a part of the pride that was attacking Daniel. The little girl began to cry. The mother tried to console her daughter, “It’s okay, Honey. Are you afraid the lions are going to eat Daniel?” The little girl shook her head, “No.” She pointed to the little lion off by himself and said, “Mommy, that poor little lion has no one to eat!”

I share this story with you because I don’t want any of us to be like the little girl and miss the point as we talk about Thanksgiving this morning. There is a sense of mystery and wonder as we think about the first Thanksgiving. Several groups of “pilgrims” had come to America before the ones that came on the Mayflower and had simply disappeared, never to be heard from again. They either died of diseases or were massacred by the Indians or were shipwrecked before they ever reached the shores of the New World. But God’s hand was supernaturally watching over the Mayflower Pilgrims as they came seeking a land where they could worship God in freedom.

The Pilgrims were people who had separated themselves from the Church of England because they felt that the church had not completed the work done by the Reformation. Most of them were poorly educated farmers who had fled from England to Holland in the early 1600’s. But they discovered that the pervasive Dutch influence on their children was more than they could tolerate. They were losing their precious children to the loose-living Dutch lifestyle. There seemed to be no choice but to take the risk of immigrating to the New World. Explorers had told stories of the new land, but there were no permanent settlements there yet.

After a 65-day voyage, the Pilgrims sighted land. But God had already been preparing for their arrival. Other ships had arrived before the Mayflower. But rather than coming for religious freedom, they had come looking for gold and riches. A young Indian named Squanto had been captured and taken aboard one of these ships. The ship returned to England where Squanto and some other Indians were taught English. After three years, they were put on board ship again to sail to the New World. They were to be used as interpreters for those who still sought gold and riches. When they reached the New World, Squanto was allowed to return to his people. But his freedom was short-lived. Another ship arrived before many days, and Squanto proudly led a band of young braves to greet the sailors. Armed sailors quickly seized Squanto and nineteen other braves. They were taken captive and forced to sail back to Spain, where each of the braves was put on the auction block. “Luckily” Squanto, along with several other braves, was bought by a monk from a nearby monastery. They were treated kindly by the monks and were taught about Christ. Squanto came to love their Jesus and to embrace Christianity.

But Squanto longed for home. Eventually he used his ability to speak the English language to make his way onto a ship bound for England. He soon became a guide on a ship bound for the New World. Finally, he saw the shoreline of home and was granted permission to leave the ship. But no one greeted Squanto at the beach. He ran to his village only to discover that it was empty. No dogs were even left to bark. His friend Samoset from a neighboring tribe broke the news that the entire village had been wiped out by the white man’s diseases. Within a week everyone had died. Squanto wandered the forest for weeks nursing his pain. Finally he went to live with Samoset.

Then one cold December morning six months after he had returned to his homeland, Squanto saw the white sails of another ship on the stormy horizon. This time he hid as the men came ashore. But these people’s clothes looked different from those of sailors. There were women aboard the ship and children playing on deck. Day after day, Squanto watched intently without being seen. He watched as the settlers began to build houses on the very place where his own village had been. As green leaves came to clothe barren trees in the Spring, Samoset urged Squanto to make himself known to the settlers. So, Squanto walked into their camp while the men grabbed their muskets to defend their village. They were astounded when this “savage” spoke to them in perfect English.

Many of the Pilgrims had already died from sicknesses and from the bitter cold. Squanto told his friend Samoset to go home. He said, “I’m staying. This is my home, my village. These will be my new people.” He taught them how to fish with traps. He taught them where to stalk game in the forest. The children learned what berries they could pick for their families. Twenty acres of corn grew tall after Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant fish with the native corn seeds.

In the Fall, the Pilgrims planned a feast to celebrate God’s merciful help. Squanto was sent to invite the friendly Chief Massasoit and his families to join them. They gathered around tables spread with venison, roast duck and goose, turkeys, shellfish, bread and vegetables with woodland fruits and berries for dessert. Before they ate, the Pilgrim men removed their hats and the Indians stood reverently as Governor Bradford led them in a solemn prayer: “Thank you, great God, for the bounty You have supplied to us. Thank You for protecting us…” Two years later, Squanto was struck with disease. With a raging fever, he asked Governor Bradford to pray “...that I might go to the Englishman’s God in Heaven.” And with that he died…gone from the New World but home at last!

It does not take a genius to realize that God’s hand of protection had been supernaturally guiding this group of Pilgrims on their journey. 102 passengers and crewmen left the port at Plymouth in England. Two people died in transit, and two babies were born. Over half of the group died during the first year of their sojourn in the New World. Of the eighteen married women, only three remained. By the time of the first Thanksgiving, their numbers were dwindling to just a few of the most hardy souls. But God’s presence with them was abundantly manifested.

Before long, they discovered that they were indeed in a land of milk and honey--abundant natural resources surrounded them. Within a few short years, they discovered lucrative businesses in the fur trade and in offshore fishing. Within several decades, many of the Pilgrims who had been poor farmers in England found themselves prospering beyond their wildest imaginations. They became land barons as well as prospering merchants. Abraham Lincoln said it well: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown…”

But let’s talk for a moment about the curse of prosperity. Another group of pilgrims were making their way across a desert on their way to a land flowing with milk and honey. It was time to go in and possess the land God had prepared for them. But Moses spoke to them and said, “Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land God has promised you. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character and to find out whether or not you would really obey His commands. Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna. He did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their lives; real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord… So you should realize that just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you to help you.

“So, obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water with springs that gush forth in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. When you have eaten your fill, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. But…that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God…For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, that is the time to be careful! Do not become proud and forget the Lord your God….God will humble you and test you for your own good. Remember, it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich. God does not want you to think that it was your own strength and energy that made you what you are. If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, you will certainly be destroyed in the same way God has destroyed other nations. You will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8).

What a sad indictment against our nation that as we sit down for big Thanksgiving dinners this year, more people than not will suppress the feeling that God deserves their gratitude; and when they ought to bow their heads and thank God, they will do their best to forget Him and what real thanksgiving is all about. Why are we so ungrateful to God for all His blessings? The fundamental reason is that we are too prosperous. We tend to look around at all that we have and say, “By our own hands and labor we have achieved this and built this good life for ourselves.” We imagine in our minds that we have created the bountiful supply of everything we have. We have come to think that we deserve it because we are Americans. But it is an interesting fact that we tend to be more thankful when we are suffering in poverty than when we are enjoying plenty. In The Little House in the Big Woods, the author describes how new pioneers living on the virtual edge of subsistence celebrated Christmas. Each of the older children received exactly two presents (a pair of knitted mittens and a piece of candy), and the younger child received a home-made rag doll. Were the children unhappy and ungrateful because their gifts were so meager? On the contrary, they cried out, “This is the best Christmas ever!”

The Pilgrims dug seven times more graves than they built huts. Yet they celebrated the bountiful blessings of God. From their grateful attitude comes our own Thanksgiving celebration. Are you counting huts or tombstones this Thanksgiving? Are you living in an attitude of Thanksgiving and praise in spite of your circumstances? You are living in one of the greatest countries the world has ever known. You live in affluence that is above and beyond most of the world’s ability to even comprehend. Have you come to take it all for granted? Phillip Yancey tells about standing in the lodge at Yellowstone Park with a group of tourists and counting down the time to the eruption of Old Faithful. When the geyser exploded, there were “oohs” and “aahs” from all the tourists, but Yancey noted that all of the people working in the lodge didn’t even turn their heads to look. Old Faithful had lost its power to impress them.

Have we come to the place where we have taken God’s faithfulness for granted? I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Always be joyful. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Are you living it today?

THE REASON BEHIND THE REASON

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Romans 5:20

One of the most difficult things for us to wrap our minds around is the justice of God. It is easy for us to understand that “...God so loved the world…,” but God is not one dimensional. One of the principles for living in a free world is that when we sin, there is punishment that ensues. Without that in place, lawlessness takes over, and freedom is replaced with fear. In our inner cities where gangs have taken over and control the turf, old people live as virtual prisoners in their own homes. What a sad indictment against our “system” that we cannot control our own people!

The justice of God and how God judges men is something we cannot understand because we cannot see the big picture that God sees. God judges the secrets of men’s hearts, whereas man judges by the outward appearances (I Samuel 16:7). Not only does God judge our hearts as individuals, but He also judges nations of the world, as we see in the judgments shown in the prophetic books of the Bible.

There is a downward spiral which takes place when nations of the world turn their backs on God. Paul describes it to the Ephesians by saying, “Live no longer as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their own thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:17-19).

There were times in history when things looked so black and when evil had so totally engulfed humanity that it seemed that everything God had done had been totally defeated. It was that way prior to the coming of Christ. Because of continual disobedience, God’s own chosen people were carted off into captivity, where they desecrated themselves by merging pagan religious practices with their own. They took the sacred and profaned it and used it for their own gain. God’s choices seemed to either be to wipe humanity from the face of the earth and start over again, or…to manifest to all the universe the one great act of grace from which all other blessings in the future would flow. God’s singular, eternal purpose was to bless mankind through grace and to open the throne of the universe to a company of believers, brought up from the depths of humanity, made lower than the angels, and to raise them far above the highest angel, even to the position of joint-heirs—heirs on an equality—with His own dear Son. This is the breath-taking purpose of God. This is the raison d’etre of creation, the reason behind the reason.

God has no other purpose for man’s existence on the earth. All that He is doing in human history is sifting out those who will believe the doctrine of grace from among those who choose to be “captain of their own ships” and “master of their own fate.” All that the angelic hosts are doing is related to God’s one great purpose of calling out His own through grace. God had no other purpose in creating the angelic hosts or in creating man or in ordering the events of history. All of the actions and reactions and interaction of events and personalities were determined by God to bring believers to acknowledge their complete ruin in sin and their complete redemption by the superabounding grace provided through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. All of the rays of divine light that have ever shone upon this dark world are focused on the cross and on the offer of salvation that came as a result of Christ’s death and sacrifice for our sins.

Someday the truth will be brought out in the open for every man to see. We are not passing from a formless past to a vague future! Man will not triumph over evil and bring the world together in a harmonious peace. He will not unite all monetary units and all governments and all religions and all ideologies with a common center and a common leadership, no matter how hard he tries. The cross of Jesus Christ is the sieve which separates the believer from the unbeliever. God has made the mesh fine enough so that only those who believe in sovereign grace apart from works can pass through. He has even declared that a man who believes intellectually in the person of Christ but adulterates grace with the slightest measure of human effort cannot benefit by the grace of Christ. “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, for you have fallen away from His grace” (Galatians 5:4). You cannot move toward one spot without moving away from another.

When time has run its course and the judgments of God are executed, when all the smoke and mirrors and camouflage are stripped away and every soul stands naked before God and the universe, it will be seen that God had no other purpose than to take out of the mass of humanity those who consciously turn away from the ways of the world and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). He opened the fountain of superabounding grace so that lost human beings could be lifted to the heights of Heaven, to sit in the heavenlies with His own dear Son.

In all that God has done, we see one definite, eternal purpose that stands out above all others. The members of the Godhead planned and decreed all things in order that the grace of God might abound and be seen by the world. In Colossians we read that “...all things were created by Him and for Him, and it is He that holds all things together” (Colossians 1:16, 17). But not only did he create all things, He also created the plan for man’s salvation. He was the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the earth (Revelation 13:8). So, coexistent with creation was the plan for man’s salvation. Paul said that we were “...chosen in Him before the foundation of the world...” (Ephesians 1:4-6) and that it was “...done for the praise and glory of His grace.” The universe is no longer a riddle. The purpose of all things is to show the heart of God. Christ is the center of history. All things as we know them flow from Him and are for Him. The purpose of our life on the earth is to reflect God’s love and His grace. God in turn lifts us up so that together with Christ the world will see the attributes and character of God.

But as we look at history apart from God’s purposes, it is a pretty dismal picture. Kings ascend their thrones in pompous ceremony only to descend to their graves. Dynasties rise and fall, teaching us that there is no hope in man. Men fought and died to get to the top only to find that what they were searching for was beyond their reach. The burden of sin pressed heavily upon mankind, bringing with it disillusionment and despair. Solomon summed up man’s condition when he said, “Vanity of vanity. All is vanity. It’s like trying to catch the wind.”

Human knowledge is insufficient to solve the problems of the world: God confounds the wisdom of the wise and the knowledge of the scholar so that men may see that the foolishness of God in saving us by the blood of the cross is wiser than the wisdom of men who go their own way. The wars of our time are fought to make the world safe for democracy, but each sows the seeds of a greater war, and mightier weapons of death are created to destroy man’s illusions of peace. There will be neither peace nor righteousness in our day or any other apart from the cross of Christ. Yet in the midst of the world’s colossal failure, God is constantly demonstrating His ability to pour forth His grace and to feed hungry hearts and to give heavy-laden sinners rest from their burdens.

Now, looking to the future, the cross of Christ is still the center of God’s plans. All of the glories that Christ will possess in eternity flow out of the fact that He went to the cross to die: “...that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10, 11). What a picture of the eternal purpose of God! It can all be summed up by saying that God has centered all eternity in the infinite act of superabounding grace that flowed forth through the Lord Jesus Christ on the day He died on the cross. Nothing has ever happened, is happening or will ever happen apart from the cross.

Christ has been “...appointed heir of all things...” by God the Father (Hebrews 1:2), and He is “the brightness of God’s glory” and the One Who “...holds all things together by the power of His Word.” What an answer to the atomic physicists who seek the power that holds together the flying satellites of the atom’s nucleus in spite of tremendous centrifugal force! What an answer for quantum physics! The next verse in Hebrews says, “When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). So the cross, the symbol of the outflowing superabounding grace of God, takes earth to heaven, time to eternity, and sinners to the very throne of God.

Since Christ has been appointed heir of all things, we who are the redeemed children of God are now heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). A joint heir means that we don’t get just a piece of the pie but that we share the whole thing with Christ. We inherit all that God has and all that He is because we are joined with Christ through His act of grace when He redeemed us by His death at Calvary. In the eternity to come, the glory of Christ will fill the universe and will shine through each and every believer. The beauty of the Lord will be revealed through the myriad of personalities lifted from the dust of the earth and made in His likeness, made to reign with Him forever, sharing His throne, objects of His love, exhibits of His grace, and ornaments of His glory. What a sight for men, angels, and demons to behold! Before the final judgment of Satan and the lost, these will behold us and acknowledge that God is the God of superabounding grace. The angels of God who remained faithful to Him with holy joy will serve the company of the redeemed of the earth, the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

We ourselves will rejoice in our likeness to the Savior and will continually praise and glorify Him Who saved us by His grace. Christ Himself will rejoice with us, since “...for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, that He might see the travail of His soul and be satisfied” (Hebrews 12:2, Isaiah 53:11). And the heart of God will be thrilled by the sight of the company of the redeemed Whom He was able to admit to the throne of the universe as associates, made in the likeness of His own beloved Son.

Jude concludes with these words: “Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” His grace will shine forth in all its beauty. The purpose of eternity past and the work of the present will be the accomplished wonder of eternity future. Praise His matchless name!

-QUESTIONS-

1. List as many of the attributes of God as possible. Explain the “justice” of God. What all does it entail? On what basis will we be judged? What if I did not know about God?

2. What is meant by the statement, “God will judge the nations of the world?” What do you think that judgment will look like? Can you give examples? Study the downward spiral in Ephesians 4:17-19. Can you give some examples of each stage?

3. If you talked to the average man on the street, what would he say man’s purpose is on the earth? Why do most people not end their lives, and what drives them to continue living?

4. When someone says Heaven, what picture pops into your mind? Using your concordance, look up some references to Heaven. Did you know that many of Christ’s parables were actually about Heaven? Can you give some examples?

5. During their captivity, how did the Jews take the sacred and profane it and use it for their own gain? (Google “Jewish captivity”.) How were they different coming out of their captivity?

6. What is the difference between an heir and a joint-heir?

7. God’s grace is something misunderstood by most. Read I Peter 1:10-12. Notice especially the last sentence of Verse 12. Also, talk about the meaning of Ephesians 2:7 and 3:10.

8. Finish the sentence, “When all the smoke and mirrors and camouflage are stripped away and every soul stands naked before God and the universe, it will be seen that God had no other purpose than…..”

9. If you want to stretch your mind, Google “quantum physics” and then study Colossians 1:16, 17 and 26. What does science say is the “mystery” of what holds things together, and what does the Bible say the mystery is?

10. How can we humans, made from the dust of the earth, ever be used to glorify God?

BATHING IN HIS GRACE

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Romans 5:20

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” We miss something in the English translation. In the Greek, Paul uses two different words for abounded and abound. For much more abound, Paul adds the prefix huper, which is equivalent to our word super. You know what super does to a word. We can say something is colossal, but when we say something is supercolossal, it makes it stupendous. It’s bigger than life! It’s more than you can imagine. It’s beyond human comprehension. So, Paul uses two totally different roots and then adds the huper in an attempt to help us understand the incredible grace of God. Sin abounded…but we can count the number of sins a person commits. It may take a week or a year to count them all, but it can be done. But God’s grace cannot be counted. It is beyond measure. Our sins are finite, but God’s grace is infinite.

It is really difficult for our earthly minds to wrap around the concept of God’s grace. We tend to think of it in terms of quantity instead of quality. Paul was a great sinner. He persecuted Christians and probably was the impetus behind the death of many of them. So, it must have taken a lot of God’s grace to save Paul, right? That’s our human thinking. But God’s grace is not bestowed in proportion to our deeds. It is God’s grace that gives us a second start in life, even new life, and God does that without regard to our old life. God does not say of a monstrous sinner, “That man is so bad that I will have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with enough grace to give him new life.” Or, He doesn’t look at a very moral, upstanding citizen and say, “A little dab will do.” The grace that goes out to all sinners, whether first-class, second-class, or third-class sinners, is the limitless, immeasurable, infinite grace of God.

God’s grace is not a bonus we get when we get our act cleaned up. If I go to a restaurant and am waited on by a young lady, I might come to the end of my meal and say to her, “You have been exceptionally patient and helpful in serving me my meal. Here is a twenty dollar bill to show my appreciation.” Those around who are watching might exclaim, “Wow, that man is really gracious.” By human standards that might be true. But that does not in any way describe God’s grace. God’s grace would walk up to the young lady in the restaurant and say, “I don’t want any food, and there is nothing you can do for me. I am giving you this twenty dollars because it pleases me to do so.” God’s greatest satisfaction comes when we comprehend that where sin abounded, His grace flowed without measure.

Why would God do this? What motivates Him to lavish His grace on us when we totally do not deserve it? His first, and greatest, motivation is His love. We are really limited in our understanding of the greatness of that love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” God created us in His own image and breathed into us His own breath of life. We are His creation, and until we get to Heaven and can look back on our earthly time, we will probably not realize the relationship between God and ourselves and the uniqueness of who we are as humans. God loves us! He created us for fellowship with Himself.

Secondly, God created us in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand for us to walk in them, or do them (Ephesians 2:10). When we were created, God envisioned what He could do through us. Psalm 139:16 says that each day of our lives was scheduled before we even began to breathe. God wanted to share His ministry and purpose with us and to live His life through us. Paul told the Corinthians that “...we are His ambassadors, as though He is making His appeal to the world through us”

(II Corinthians 5:20). So, God lavished His grace upon us so that we could have a meaning and reason in living…to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. There are things we were designed to do that no one else can do. Ephesians 2:1-3 reminds us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, walking around with no more purpose than a dead person would have.

A third reason God lavishes His grace on us is a little bit harder for us to comprehend. In Ephesians 1:23 it says, “God gave Christ to be Head of the Church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him that fills everything.” It seems presumptuous to think that it takes us to give Christ His fullness. But let me give you an illustration that might explain. King George V became King of England in 1911 with Queen Mary (May) at his side. But who was Mary? Was she of queenly birth? King George was the son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; but Mary? ...She had been Princess Mary of Teck, just one of a hundred princesses of equal rank among the noble families of Germany. George’s older brother, Prince Albert Victor, had first chosen Mary for his bride, but he died suddenly of pneumonia before the marriage could be consummated. So, Prince George asked Mary to marry him. She agreed and became the Queen of England. Without His love she would have been unknown, but because of his love she became a queen. There she sat in regal splendor, her every action casting praise and glory upon her husband-king. This gives us a faint glimpse of what it will be for us who have been chosen to be the Bride of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills everything. Jesus finds His purpose and completeness as He fulfills Himself through us.

Finally, and perhaps most important, God lavishes His grace upon us so that His grace can be seen throughout eternity. In Ephesians 2:6, 7 we find these words: “He raised us up with Him (Jesus) and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Peter expressed the same truth in

I Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, so that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

God’s supreme motive is nothing less than His desire to demonstrate before all intelligences, principalities and powers, celestial beings, and terrestrial beings the exceeding riches of His grace. They know of the depths of man’s sin and of their own sin and the hopelessness of man’s condition without God. But they will also see man redeemed and saved from his lostness and appearing in the highest glory—like Christ. The only explanation for such a change can be the grace of God that passes understanding.

When the old green Living Bibles came out, I devoured the Book of Ephesians. It came alive to me. And in Chapter 2 I read these words, “But God is so rich in mercy; He loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, He gave us back our lives again when He raised Christ from the dead—only by His undeserved favor have we ever been saved—and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with Him in the heavenly realms—all because of what Christ Jesus did. And now…God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich His kindness is, as shown in all He has done for us through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-7).

That really piqued my interest. What did Paul mean when he said that “...now God can point to us as examples?” Who is questioning what God has done? Are people watching me? I found the answer to my question in the next chapter. In Chapter 3, Paul says, “Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the most useless Christian there is, yet I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles the glad news of the endless treasures available to them in Christ; and to explain to everyone that God is the Savior of the Gentiles, too, just as He Who made all things had secretly planned from the very beginning. And His reason? To show to all the rulers in Heaven how perfectly wise He is when all of His family—Jews and Gentiles alike—are seen to be joined together in His Church, in just the way He had always planned it, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ephesians 3:8-11).

The term rulers in Heaven is the same phrase used in Chapter 6 when Paul talks about our spiritual battle not being against people made of flesh and blood but against persons without bodies—“...the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world and against a huge number of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”

God’s grace began to make sense. But then I also realized that Peter said this: “Salvation was something the prophets did not fully understand. Though they wrote about it, they had many questions as to what it could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about, for He told them to write down the events which, since then, have happened to Christ: His suffering and His great glory afterwards. And they wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were finally told that these things would not occur during their lifetime, but long years later during yours. And now at last this Good News has been plainly announced to all of us. It was preached to us in the power of the same Heaven-sent Holy Spirit, Who spoke to them; and it is all so strange and wonderful that even the angels in Heaven would give a great deal to know more about it” (I Peter 1:10-13). More people are curious about God’s grace and are watching us.

But it wasn’t over yet. I was reading in Hebrews 11 and discovered that many of the martyrs did not receive their reward on the earth but that God wanted them to wait and share the even better rewards that were prepared for us. Chapter 12 begins by saying, “Since we have such a huge crowd of witnesses watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down and holds us back…and let us run with patience the particular race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, 2).

God’s grace is on display for the entire universe to see. His grace abounds in your life. It is infinite. You didn’t earn it or deserve it. You received it because God loves you and because He wants to fulfill His love through you. He wants you to be an extension of Himself here on the earth. And He lavishes His grace upon you because He wants you to be part of His family. You are betrothed to His own dear Son. And finally, He lavishes His grace upon you so that the whole universe will see and understand Who He is. “God can always point to you as an example of how very, very rich His kindness is as shown in all He has done for us through Jesus Christ.” Bathe yourself in His grace.

-QUESTIONS-

1. What does the Greek word huper mean, and how does it change the comparison of man’s sin and God’s grace?

2. Doesn’t it require more of God’s grace to save Joseph Duncan than to save a wonderful, upstanding citizen? If God’s grace is not bestowed in proportion to our needs, what does He use as a criteria to lavish His grace on us?

3. How can God love a sinner like Paul, who was killing Christians? What is behind His love?

4. Is it presumptuous to say that God is fulfilled when He lavishes His grace on us? How does God fulfill Himself through us?

5. If we don’t do the works which God prepared beforehand for us to do (Ephesians 3:10), will God cover our bases for us and clean up after us?

6. Why would God want us as a bride for His Son? Couldn’t He do better somewhere else?

7. When Paul said that God’s intent was that “...through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms...” (Ephesians 3:10), who was he talking about? List three or four different groups that are watching as God points to us as objects of His grace.

8. If God lavishes His grace on me, does that mean I am free of responsibility and can skate home free? Study Philippians 2:12, 13; Ephesians 6:10-18; Colossians 1:10; James 2:17, 18; I Peter 2:12; Hebrews 10:24.