“I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13).
As fathers, heads of our family and elders in the community, there is no other principle more important than knowing God personally and intimately. When we gain a spiritual maturity through a close walk with God, then when difficult times come, we fall back on our relationship with God as the sure anchor to the soul and it dictates our actions. This in turn becomes the anchor for the wife, family and ever widening circle of friends. Earlier in chapter one, John speaks of what “was from the beginning” as in the person of Jesus whom they had “seen with our eyes…touched…the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us” so that we “may have fellowship…with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1:1-4a). This close relationship is bound together in the Father and the Son through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). Oh that we understood more how great this fellowship is! For fathers, this is what gives strength and vitality to your life and family. It will extend out to the church and work place. It will color the world you move in. Your life will become a fragrant aroma of praise wherever you are, “because you know Him who is from the beginning”! If you do not know God the Father in this way, ask the Holy Spirit to move you closer and closer to Him.
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Yesterday we were challenged by John’s exhortation to young men that the Word of God must continue to abide in them. Paul makes similar statements to his spiritual son Timothy. As a “good servant of Christ Jesus” he was to be “trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine” that he had followed (1 Timothy 4:6). The context of these words is important. Paul was leaving Timothy at Ephesus and he wanted to remind him that part of being a good servant/pastor/elder was letting the Word of God and good doctrine of the apostles continue to train him as he was doing ministry so he would be fully prepared (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
It is a dangerous attitude to think that Bible School/College or Seminary is the sum of our learning experience. They may not be as valuable as being discipled “in the ministry” by a Paul-like person who is not so concerned about the intellectual development as the personal character and a close relationship with the Lord. Paul told the Colossians to “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). Education cannot give you these things! They are only gained through time with the Lord in His Word. Paul follows verse six with a warning to Timothy; “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths” (1 Timothy 4:7). These do not contain truth, neither do they build up the man of God. Make sure that you let “the words of the faith and of the good doctrine” train you by the Spirit and you will be able to recognize what is false very quickly. Error is never discerned by making a study of false doctrine. Light reveals what is unholy and dispels darkness. YOUNG MEN, be “strong, and [let] word of God abides in you”! “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14).
In a world that puts great emphasis on physical strength and competition, it is important for the young believer to realize the kind of strength that is more valuable than anything else. Paul reminded Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7–8). Notice that being a man of God and spiritually strong requires that we train ourselves. This is what we call self-discipline. How is this done? John says to young men who are spiritually strong, “the Word of God abides in you”. That means that God’s Word ‘continues to actively remain or reside’ in the mind and heart. It can be drawn on at any moment for protection or building up. Through this “abiding”, the life is controlled by the authority of the Scriptures and then gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to “overcome the evil one”. The Word of God is what wins the battle in the mind and heart when we allow the Holy Spirit to apply its truth to us personally. David learned this truth; “I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). To “store up” God’s Word in our hearts is to place on it a value that is greater than all the world might offer. What are you “storing” in your mind and heart that is a treasure of unparalleled value? This morning I was having coffee with a young man who is a true Timothy in the Lord. We were discussing what is needed to know we are in the right place doing the Lord’s work HIS WAY! He mentioned Numbers 14. Israel had grumbled against the Lord over and over, including those who Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land. The consequences were very severe; none of that generation would go in and possess the land, except Joshua and Caleb who brought back a good report of the land.
When they insisted on going “up to the place that the Lord has promised…Moses said… “Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you”” (Numbers 14:42). It is very dangerous to forge ahead in doing a good thing, but without the presence of the Lord. As we have often pointed out in this blog, the Early Church was a power movement of God because the Lord was with them through the power of the Holy Spirit. They would not go places or plan ahead without knowing that God was directing them. His presence in the Spirit with them was indispensable! How certain are you of going with the presence of God in your life or ministry? After the Lord Jesus was taken into heaven, the apostles “went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them” (Mark 16:20). You can only be certain that the Lord is working with you if you are working with Him. The consequences of working without being with the Lord is fruitless labor and wasted time and resources. In the last blog, we saw how churches in Judea and Samaria had peace and were built up through the bold preaching of Saul. But this was not all that resulted from such a powerful movement of God through an unexpected convert. When there is a movement of God, the fruit of the Spirit’s work in persons permeates throughout the church. “And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” (Acts 9:31).
The word “walking” in the Greek gives us the meaning of ‘living as a continual action, to behave, to go about doing’. In other words, the “fear of the Lord” – the ‘profound respect and awe’ for the Lord was continually lived out by the believers who would soon be called “Christians” by the world (Acts 11:26). It was a transformed way of life. How interesting that through this way of life the believers enjoyed “the comfort of the Holy Spirit”. This is the only reference to this phrase in the entire New Testament, but is a proof of what Jesus pointed to in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7 and 1 John 2:1 would be ours in the Spirit, the Helper, Counselor, Comforter and Advocate. We will never experience this kind of comfort, personally or as a church, unless we allow God to move among us through His Word and we live in the “fear of the Lord”. When these characteristics come together in the church, there will be multiplication of God’s work, even through times of trial and persecution! Do you want God to work where you are or are you content with the status quo? A careful reading of the Book of Acts should make us realize that the Early Church expanded and became strong in a way we do not see today. Though the Early Church went through many very hard times, every event had a positive effect on the church in some way. With the conversion of Saul in 37 A.D., there were changes God brought that would surprise most. (Stay with us to see what these were).Before we get to those changes, consider the effect of Saul’s ‘bold preaching’. “So, the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up” (Acts 9:31).
First, we notice the expansion of the church from Jerusalem went to “all Judea and Galilee and Samaria”. This was a combination of God allowing persecution and the willing hearts of believers led and controlled by the Holy Spirit. They were fulfilling what Jesus had promised would happen just before He ascended to glory and the coming of the Spirit (1:8). Though they had gone through much difficulty, they “had peace and were being built up”. This is the evidence of the Spirit’s work in the church. This became the hallmark of Paul’s ministry (see 2 Corinthians 13:10). Is there clear evidence in your life, ministry and church of these marks of the Spirit’s work? Often in churches, peace is bought at the price of compromise. Where God is truly at work, peace comes by way of exalting Christ and His truth. This is what Paul modeled and it will build up the church wherever God is allowed to work freely. The dramatic change in Saul brought a lot of questions, not just with the religious leaders, but with the apostles in Jerusalem. They had seen thousands come to faith in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, but not one convert was as vehemently opposed to the gospel and the church as Saul. Saul needed someone who was directly familiar with his conversion and had witnessed the power of God working in this life to confirm to others what God had done.
God placed a man, who by nature was an encourager (Acts 4:36-37), into Saul’s life at this critical transition. When Saul tried to join the disciples in Jerusalem, “they were all afraid of him…[and] did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus” (9:26-27). Barnabas was well known in the Jerusalem church for his character, so they leaned on him for details that proved what had taken place with Saul. The personal knowledge Barnabas had meant that Saul could go “in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord” (9:28). Barnabas was a man connected with what God was doing. This is so necessary for the work of God and the gospel to move forward! Every church should have a Barnabas! Every believer should have a Barnabas---a person who is walking with God and knows what He is doing in others. That requires sacrificing self so the work of God can be promoted in others. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). Are you a Barnabas? No one had to tell Paul that he should tell others about his salvation and witness about the Lord Jesus. The new relationship through the encounter with Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit produced an automatic desire to share with others what he now knew. So, “immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God”” (Acts 9:20). Paul was well known in religious circles of his day. “And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”” (9:21).
This should not surprise us. All through the Book of Acts, the Spirit of God was producing powerful believers through the preaching of the gospel. But particularly with Saul, the contrast between his old life and what he was now, became so dramatic that people could not help take notice. This man’s ministry soon divided between those who wanted to obey the faith through the Spirit, and those who were entrenched in religious tradition and unbelief. For them, Saul was hated. “When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him” (9:23). We too will be hated. We do not need to be Saul or Paul to have his kind of passion. Though I have not had the personal experiences Paul did, I firmly believe that I can have the same Spirit-filled energy to proclaim Jesus wherever God sends me. How about you? One item we should make very clear at the beginning of this blog is that the sufferings Paul was going to endure were not because he persecuted the church. There is something inherent in “carrying” the name of Jesus “before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15) that in one way or another, will require suffering. Such public witness to the Name before those who hated that name would evoke a reaction – persecution and suffering.
As we will see later in Luke’s account, being identified with Jesus was a commitment Paul made that over-shadowed everything else in his life and in the world. It should not be at all surprising that Paul makes this stunning comment to the Ephesian elders; “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself”. Why did Paul have such a strong, selfless view of his life? You can be sure of one thing, his personal encounter with the “I AM” transformed his mind and heart in a very dramatic way. He was now living for a different purpose; “if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). That is all wrapped up in the Name! This is a good place for you to pause and ask yourself some soul-searching questions. · Am I living my life more for myself than for the Lord? · What values drive my decisions and energize my life? · Have I had a personal encounter with the Lord such that it changed my view of everything? If not, what is hindering me from such an encounter? · Am I willing for God to change my values, my goals and my purpose by the Holy Spirit? This moment may be the most defining moment you have ever experienced if you are serious about letting God give you His purpose for living. Often God’s working defies human explanation. It is not only the way He works, but the persons God chooses to work through. Like Ananias, we may question God’s selection of a person because from our limited knowledge and experience with that person, we may think they are unfit for God’s assignment. When the Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision that he should go and “look for a man of Tarsus named Saul” (Acts 9:11), Ananias resisted based on what he had “heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem” (9:13). Notice, Ananias was basing his response on what he had heard, not on all the facts.
The Lord never chastised Ananias for his doubt or questions regarding this man, but simply said, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Though Ananias did not know at this point the details of what happened between Jesus and Saul on the road to Damascus, it was enough to know that Saul would now be a “a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name”! The importance of this event was so great that confirmation of Saul’s conversion was not left to someone else to tell Ananias, it was the Lord Himself that made it clear and calmed his fears. What is my point? The most important events on God’s calendar are communicated to those who are walking close to the Lord. Particularly when we face very important and difficult decisions, a close walk with the Lord will, in His way and time, make things very clear. ACTUALLY, every decision we make should be the result of a close walk and communication with the Lord. What a contrast this Ananias is from the one in Acts 5, who lied to the Holy Spirit and died on the spot. Tomorrow we will examine why the Lord told Ananias that Saul would suffer much “for the sake of my name”. |
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