Trust is a very important part of life. Often relationships become strained and even broken when trust is broken. The reason why trust is so critical to relationships is because we are looking for truth to be the anchor of the relationship. When we discover that someone we trusted is being dishonest, trust is broken and it takes a long time to rebuild confidence again.
Balaam learned a very important lesson when he tried to curse the people of God and said; “God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19). If we are seeking to represent God to others, our degree of truthfulness will also be the degree to which others will see the character of God in us. Perhaps this principle is tested the most in close relationshipssuch as marriage, parents with children and among leaders. Paul understood this principle when he said, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25). Earlier in Ephesians 4, Paul exhorted us to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3). You can be assured the Spirit will never join Himself to dishonesty or lying. Are we really interested in representing God clearly to others, or do we try to protect a false image of ourselves? There is divine power in letting the Spirit purify our hearts so our words are true.
0 Comments
How do we see God’s hand working in all of our circumstances? To start with, we must realize that it is impossible for us finite creatures. But what we can do is accept the fact that God is sovereign in what He allows and what He does. The place to start in understanding this is Romans 11:36.
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” This is emphasized again in 1 Corinthians 8:6; “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” The whole of creation exists to bring God glory! That can only be understood by persons redeemed by grace and given the Holy Spirit so we can see everything through the eyes of Scripture. That is why Paul writes to the Christians at Ephesus and says, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). Whether we understand “things” that come into our lives or not, we must believe that God is working something for His glory, even if we can’t see it that way at the moment. This is an admission in our hearts that God is sovereign. As king Nebuchadnezzar said, God “does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth” (Daniel 4:35). Through accepting this principle, we will have peace of mind and heart. It seems that I hear reports almost daily of those around me who are facing “bad news.” It could be a sudden diagnosis from a doctor on a health issue, a disappointment regarding a job or a relationship, the increase of persecution toward Christians somewhere in the world, or many other situations over which we have no control.
When these reports come to my attention, I turn more and more to the Scriptures to find my own comfort, and from that comfort, I am able to comfort others. Paul knew this principle; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Some who face very difficult circumstances immediately feel God is condemning them for things that were done in the past that were not the will of God. If you are a child of God, He is not condemning you (Romans 8:1). He may be putting us through intense discipline, but that is “for our good that we may share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). If you are going through one of those times, please take seriously the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10; “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” His abundant grace is toward you! Be sure to receive it so this season becomes one of strengthening your faith and making you more determined than ever to live each day closer with the Lord. What we see and allow our minds to be influenced by, has a huge effect on the way we live. It also determines to a large degree what we spend our time on, use our resources to purchase, and the kind of friends we associate with.
The man in John 9 who was born blind had no history up to that point on seeing the world around him, and probably had few friends. Everything he knew came through verbal communication from others. Even the disciples focused on the wrong issue with this man;“who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (9:2). Jesus takes the conversation in a totally different direction; Himself as “the light of the world” (9:5). Without light, none of us would be able to see the physical world. While Jesus gave this blind man eyesight, He also gave light in the man’s soul so he could see Jesus in a way that even the learned Pharisees could not see. The answer to sin is always light in Christ. In the previous chapter, “Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”” (8:12). Let’s turn this sentence around and say that if we are not following Jesus, we are walking in darkness. In addition, the light of Jesus also provides life that is eternal. The blind man in Chapter 9 received both natural light so he could see the world around him, but he also received the light of Jesus in his soul which gave him spiritual life that even the Pharisees did not have. Is your life filled with light? Whether natural or spiritual, without light from God through His Son Jesus Christ, your life is dark and wandering without aim and purpose. When I was seventeen, a little church in New Zealand asked me to preach. I was scared! This was not what I wanted to do! After much persuasion, I agreed. My father was preaching in another church in the same town and encouraged me to go forward by trusting the Lord to give me a Scripture and theme for my message. I remember going to our guestroom where we were staying, getting on our knees and asking God to speak through both of us.
With trembling knees, I was taken to the place where I would speak. Though I can’t remember the message or the Scripture, I will never forget the fire that began to burn in my heart to serve the Lord and speak His Word to others. I have had much to learn since then, and still learning. Many speak about rewards in heaven for their service here on earth, and there will be rewards. Paul tells us about his reward; “there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that Day, and not only to me but to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). There is another reward that I am looking forward to. “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3–4). I cannot imagine a more wonderful reward; to worship Him, see His face and have His name! "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever." (John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad).
Perhaps the Church needs to take a serious look at our ultimate purpose and goal. We address this point in our training material, God’s Plan for His Church, Chapter 2 and particularly page 29. The ultimate goal of His Church is not evangelizing, establishing, equipping or expanding, but it is to make known His wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places and for the earth to be filled with the knowledge of His glory (Ephesians 3:10, 21). Evangelizing, establishing, equipping or expanding are only God’s “means or way” to display His wisdom and glory! In another way, what we are saying is that “to display His wisdom and glory” is to worship God through the Church. Would it make a difference if every church asked themselves; ‘is everything we are doing bringing glory to God?’ I am confident that much of what we do would quickly change if we honestly answered that question, because it exalts man, not God. Following the blog from yesterday, there is a glorious truth about the death of Jesus that we must remind ourselves of. The nation that descended from Abraham (Israel) was given a worship based on the shedding of blood as a continual reminder that the sins committed had to be “atoned” for. That word “atone” just means that God’s holiness and righteousness must be satisfied in some way. The only way that could be done was with “a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19), which means it had to be a sinless sacrifice.
The priests in the Old Testament offered thousands upon thousands of animal (blood) sacrifices, but none of them were sinless. Listen to the words of Hebrews 4:15; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” In other words, Jesus was the only man who understood our condition, and at the same time totally sinless. Was He ever tempted by Satan? O yes! In the wilderness before He began His ministry (power, food and trust), Satan did his best, hoping to make Him fail (Luke 4:1-13). That is why He can “sympathize” with us. There was no way you or I could offer a sacrifice for ourselves because we are tainted by sin. We needed someone that would appease God. GOD PROVIDED! Jesus, who is “without sin” offered Himself! “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13–14). The purpose of His sacrifice is to justify us before God and make us suitable for His service. God gave us hints of what He was going to do as far back as Adam and Eve and right down to the very day Jesus was crucified. The first hint was in Genesis 3:15 which He gave to the serpent (Satan); “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” Satan assumed that he would triumph by seducing Eve and then Adam, and consequently the whole human race. He totally miscalculated!! In the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Satan’s power and authority over mankind was forever broken! So real is this victory that Jesus said on the cross just before He died to the thief hanging next to Him, “today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).
Let’s go into this point a little deeper. How could Jesus “bruise” the head of Satan? “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14)! Please take careful note of that – through dying, Jesus “destroy the one who has the power of death”! How could Jesus do this? He explained it clearly in John 10:17-18: Jesus confirms in His own words that He has authority over death. “For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17–18). Another way of saying this is that Jesus had ABSOLUTE authority over death and Satan. He was going to crush all the authority that Satan thought he had in deceiving Eve. THE QUESTION: have you allowed Jesus to exercise that authority in your life? “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10).
This verse is often quoted to people who are going through difficult times, but let’s look at the context of this verse and see what we can learn. This Psalm was written by the Sons of Korah. Their forefathers had rebelled against Moses in the wilderness. The Lord immediately “spoke to Moses saying… “Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense [strange fire]” (Numbers 16:24, 35). Out of tragedy, the sons of Korah were not consumed and wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God may bring severe and sudden judgment on those who dishonor Him, but at the same time, He is protection to those who fear Him. This made them invite others like you and me to “Come, behold the works of the Lord” (46:8). Whatever God does or allows to happen, He intends to “be exalted among the nations.” If we take that perspective, we will see Him open doors for the gospel where they seem closed. This is His purpose and He wants us to be available instruments for His use. |
Archives
December 2023
Link To Our Old Blog:
|