Last night my sons and I watched a program that showed the experiences of men from Tanna who visited the United States. These indigenous people went from a tropical environment and loincloths in a remote village to living with people in a cabin in Montana! As these men cooked for the first time, toured a cattle ranch, went to a rodeo, and experienced snow, they more resembled children than men in their excitement. I was fascinated by their observations and insights which were both simple and profound.
As they stood under the big Montana sky, they spoke to each other about how big America was. One of them remarked to the best of my recollection: "All these people have to do is learn to live forever. How sad it is to have all this land and fat wallets and die like everyone else." I was staggered by this simple wisdom. Here is a man who had never likely enrolled in what western civilization would call an "accredited school" but showed wisdom which exceeds many post graduates. He recognized the same thing that King Solomon spoke of in Ecclesiastes: the good and bad die alike. Heaping up riches on this earth is vanity and futile, for all your hard work will benefit someone else in the end.
This man perhaps had never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who promises eternal life to all who repent and trust in Him. The secret to living forever is not found in a fountain, balm, or hidden remote area: it is found only in Jesus. While those in the world focus on heaping up perishable riches which make wings and fly away with the rate of exchange, Jesus tells us to lay up treasure in heaven. Matthew 6:19-20 reads, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." We cannot take our earthly treasure where we are going, and only those who treasure Jesus Christ will receive of His heavenly reward.
Sometimes a fresh perspective in minutes can give us insights which for many years have remained hidden from our eyes. This island native in the documentary described in his own dialect the futility of materialism. His words are a rebuke to all people who live for today with no thought of the future. Are we laying up treasures in heaven? 1 John 2:17 states, "And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." That is good news indeed: Christ died for sinners, and all who rely upon Jesus will be saved! Repent and trust in Christ today!
08 May 2011
05 May 2011
Not Them But Us
When I was a youth, there was a woman at our church who raised foster children. Let's say they didn't quite fit in with the "churched" kids: they had tattoos, smoked, and hung out behind the church in the dark. There were parents who felt very uncomfortable about their lifestyle, that those teens would have an adverse impact upon their children whom they sought to protect from "worldly" influences. It seemed like many would have been glad for them not to be at church. I may have been relatively sheltered growing up, but I never understood this view. Didn't these tattooed smokers need Jesus too?
I knew these kids smoked, but that didn't mean I was forced to put a cigarette to my lips. Listening to the complaints of some parents it would seem their kids would have no choice but conform under such peer-pressure. I wonder: was the God they served able to save them from the mouths of lions? Could their God open the eyes of the blind, part the Red Sea, or raise the dead to life? Was their God able to release them from bondage to sin and Satan? My God can. My God can keep me from sin and protect me too. We shouldn't drive away the people who need Christ because they do not conform to our convictions. Those who are founded upon Christ need not feel threatened by dissent or even direct opposition.
It is good for God's people to extend grace and love and acceptance to all! He desires that all would come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. People should not be accepted because they act like us or even agree with our opinions, but because God loves them. Just because there may be non-Christians hanging out in our churches does not give us license to be un-Christian! I thank God that He loves me just the way I am. God is faithful to conform us into His image once we are born again! Guess what? Some Christians - real Christians, mind you - have tattoos and smoke. What is that to me? Does Christ love them any less? If a man will confess his sin, repent, and trust in Christ, he will be saved - smoker or not.
Instead of seeing non-Christians as "them," may we labour for them to be "us" as true followers of Jesus Christ. This does not happen through outer conformity, but an inner transformation by the power of God! That is why God has seen fit to keep us here: to share the truth of the Gospel through the love of Christ! Let us die to self again that we might be raised in Christ's power!
I knew these kids smoked, but that didn't mean I was forced to put a cigarette to my lips. Listening to the complaints of some parents it would seem their kids would have no choice but conform under such peer-pressure. I wonder: was the God they served able to save them from the mouths of lions? Could their God open the eyes of the blind, part the Red Sea, or raise the dead to life? Was their God able to release them from bondage to sin and Satan? My God can. My God can keep me from sin and protect me too. We shouldn't drive away the people who need Christ because they do not conform to our convictions. Those who are founded upon Christ need not feel threatened by dissent or even direct opposition.
It is good for God's people to extend grace and love and acceptance to all! He desires that all would come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. People should not be accepted because they act like us or even agree with our opinions, but because God loves them. Just because there may be non-Christians hanging out in our churches does not give us license to be un-Christian! I thank God that He loves me just the way I am. God is faithful to conform us into His image once we are born again! Guess what? Some Christians - real Christians, mind you - have tattoos and smoke. What is that to me? Does Christ love them any less? If a man will confess his sin, repent, and trust in Christ, he will be saved - smoker or not.
Instead of seeing non-Christians as "them," may we labour for them to be "us" as true followers of Jesus Christ. This does not happen through outer conformity, but an inner transformation by the power of God! That is why God has seen fit to keep us here: to share the truth of the Gospel through the love of Christ! Let us die to self again that we might be raised in Christ's power!
02 May 2011
Reserved NOW for You
I am convinced most Christians do not lay hold of blessings freely offered by God. I number myself among them. There are several reasons which contribute to this: lack of faith, ignorance, lies of Satan long believed, trusting in self, wrongly dividing the Word of truth, and immaturity. When we repent and are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Ephesians 1:3 teaches us a wonderful fact: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." These blessings are not reserved in the heavens for us to someday experience, but we can fully experience them now in faith. There will come a day when our souls will leave these bodies and be girded with immortality in a new, perfect body. But spiritually we are already alive and seated in the heavenlies with Christ. Unless God said this in His Word, I couldn't have believed it!
Consider Ephesians 2:4-7: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." The scripture does not say we "will be seated" with Christ once our flesh dies, but that God has "made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." For those who have died to sin and been made alive through Christ (born again), the same are positionally in the presence of God as truly as the Holy Spirit lives within us.
Allow me to demonstrate what I mean. For much of my life I have heard from others (and preached myself!) on the Parable of the Talents. To the servant who was faithful Matthew 25:21 tells us, "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" Immediately following this Jesus speaks of the last judgment when He will divide the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Those who are counted righteous through Christ's atoning blood will enter into eternal glory, while those who die in their sins will enter into eternal torment. The immediate context dictates this correct application: we will be held accountable for our lives on earth, and all are responsible to live a life pleasing to God. Though our righteousness is imputed through Christ, we ought to live righteously. Those who verbally claim to be servants of God but are not in truth will be weeded out unto their own destruction.
If this was all we learned from this passage, we might very well think that we cannot enter the joy of the LORD until our bodies have perished from the earth or until the day of judgment. But this is hardly the case! I have found that when I am faithful in service to God I find great joy. When we obey God today He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the LORD." As I am faithful in doing good, through Christ I enter into the joy of the LORD. What peace and satisfaction come from honoring God's leading! Serving God and doing all as unto Christ is literally a path to blessing and joy unspeakable. We all long that God will say at the end of our days "Well done!" and by His grace be ushered into glorious eternity. But it gives Him pleasure to say the same to us today if we will be be faithful and do good for His worthy name's sake. He will grant us entrance into heavenly joy.
For the Christian, eternity in the heavens has already begun. Why don't we simply take God at His Word and walk with Him, receiving the riches of the kingdom according to His great and precious promises? We are already raised with Christ: may the joy of the LORD be our strength today and always!
Consider Ephesians 2:4-7: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." The scripture does not say we "will be seated" with Christ once our flesh dies, but that God has "made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." For those who have died to sin and been made alive through Christ (born again), the same are positionally in the presence of God as truly as the Holy Spirit lives within us.
Allow me to demonstrate what I mean. For much of my life I have heard from others (and preached myself!) on the Parable of the Talents. To the servant who was faithful Matthew 25:21 tells us, "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'" Immediately following this Jesus speaks of the last judgment when He will divide the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Those who are counted righteous through Christ's atoning blood will enter into eternal glory, while those who die in their sins will enter into eternal torment. The immediate context dictates this correct application: we will be held accountable for our lives on earth, and all are responsible to live a life pleasing to God. Though our righteousness is imputed through Christ, we ought to live righteously. Those who verbally claim to be servants of God but are not in truth will be weeded out unto their own destruction.
If this was all we learned from this passage, we might very well think that we cannot enter the joy of the LORD until our bodies have perished from the earth or until the day of judgment. But this is hardly the case! I have found that when I am faithful in service to God I find great joy. When we obey God today He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the LORD." As I am faithful in doing good, through Christ I enter into the joy of the LORD. What peace and satisfaction come from honoring God's leading! Serving God and doing all as unto Christ is literally a path to blessing and joy unspeakable. We all long that God will say at the end of our days "Well done!" and by His grace be ushered into glorious eternity. But it gives Him pleasure to say the same to us today if we will be be faithful and do good for His worthy name's sake. He will grant us entrance into heavenly joy.
For the Christian, eternity in the heavens has already begun. Why don't we simply take God at His Word and walk with Him, receiving the riches of the kingdom according to His great and precious promises? We are already raised with Christ: may the joy of the LORD be our strength today and always!
01 May 2011
Confessions of an ex-Pharisee
No one is born a Christian, but all are born with a degree of Pharisee in them. Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders who upheld the traditional interpretations of the Law of Moses in the time of Christ. They believed strict adherence to their traditions was necessary to be acceptable in God's sight. In the sermon I delivered Sunday (5/1/11) at Calvary Chapel Sydney, one of the themes touched upon was the danger of legalism. Legalism can be defined as when people impose their own convictions upon another in addition to faith in Christ.. Luke 18:9 explains the purpose of a parable Christ told: "...He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." When a man trusts in his own righteousness to commend him before God, the end result is he despises others. The problem is, there are none who are righteous (Ps. 14:2-3) except Jesus Christ. We might see ourselves as relatively righteous, but that is like a crack-cocaine dealer saying he's not quite as bad as a heroin dealer because smoking drugs isn't as bad as shooting them. All have sinned and fallen short of God's perfection.
Allow me to quote what I could describe as an "anti-Pharisaical rant" by Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:23-29: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Let me freely confess that for too many of my younger days (to my shame!) I was a Pharisee. Raised in church, filled with knowledge, relatively righteous in conduct and speech, being right was paramount. My life appeared very clean but my heart harboured disrespect and disgust for those who disagreed with the "right" way: my way, of course! I would strain a single word out of place from a sermon and stand in judgment, yet miss the whole point of what was being said. I was a blind guide, a whitewashed tomb filled with the stench of death. Funny thing is, at the time I had no idea! As I fumbled through high school, I didn't drink, cuss, or sleep around. I didn't stash dirty magazines and respected the curfew set by my parents. I received high marks at school and was responsible. But my life was dictated often by what I didn't do, not by what I did for God. I read the Bible but was more concerned about finishing chapters than putting into practice a single verse I read. As I look back I can't believe how blind I was. And with that blindness how much more miraculous that God brought me out of that pit I dug for myself!
I was asked a very thought provoking question following the sermon: how did I escape from the scourge of legalism? Only by the grace of God: there can be no other answer. It was not through any labour on my part, but the goodness, faithfulness, love, and persistence of God to convict my heart of sin. Pharisees love to remain under the Law and have the steps laid out perfectly. But the Holy Spirit isn't a dictator: He leads us. The path of deliverance for one person will vary greatly, yet with one common denominator: the love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and power of Jesus Christ. No one can be delivered from being a Pharisee without Jesus! Think about how many ways a person can be broken out of prison! Paul and Silas were in a prison and an earthquake flung open the doors and the chains fell off. Peter was lying between Roman guards when an angel kicked him and told Peter to stand up and follow him. Joseph started a day as a prisoner and ended the day a free man, second in command of the nation of Egypt after interpreting Pharaoh's dream!
The path of brokenness for sin was the way of my deliverance. Years of struggle with a particular sin led to me to the end of myself. For a long time I had trusted in myself and despised others: at the moment when I fell to my knees at the cross, I despised myself and trusted God. I was not only filled with a love for God but for others. It was like the scales fell from my eyes and I saw myself in my wretched, helpless condition. No one needs to be taught to esteem themselves, for Ephesians 5:29 states, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." Our pride can disguise our love of self and sin in countless ways. The battle between my sinful flesh and the Holy Spirit was over when I yielded to God's truth and cried with many tears, "You were right all along, God - I have been wrong! Please forgive me!"
The night which enveloped me for a long season gave way immediately to the brightest of days, a season of light which continues until now. The whitewashed Pharisee was dead: the tomb stirred with new life! Instead of the stench of rotten flesh rose the aroma of Christ, sweeter than precious perfume. Like when Lazarus rose from the dead in obedience to the call of Christ, God raised me up by His grace. Done were the days of comparing myself to others, judging, and feeling pressure to conform for acceptance. By the grace of God I am who I am. Sin has no lasting grip on me anymore, for death has been swallowed up in the victory purchased with the blood of Jesus. Am I perfect? No. But my Savior is, and has filled me with the Holy Spirit. Instead of being ruled by the letter of the Law, I am led by the Spirit who inspired it.
He is a wise man who sees himself as God does. My identity no longer comes from what I do or don't do, but from my Saviour who loves me, saved me, and transformed me. I am a great sinner, but Jesus is a greater Saviour!
Allow me to quote what I could describe as an "anti-Pharisaical rant" by Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:23-29: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
Let me freely confess that for too many of my younger days (to my shame!) I was a Pharisee. Raised in church, filled with knowledge, relatively righteous in conduct and speech, being right was paramount. My life appeared very clean but my heart harboured disrespect and disgust for those who disagreed with the "right" way: my way, of course! I would strain a single word out of place from a sermon and stand in judgment, yet miss the whole point of what was being said. I was a blind guide, a whitewashed tomb filled with the stench of death. Funny thing is, at the time I had no idea! As I fumbled through high school, I didn't drink, cuss, or sleep around. I didn't stash dirty magazines and respected the curfew set by my parents. I received high marks at school and was responsible. But my life was dictated often by what I didn't do, not by what I did for God. I read the Bible but was more concerned about finishing chapters than putting into practice a single verse I read. As I look back I can't believe how blind I was. And with that blindness how much more miraculous that God brought me out of that pit I dug for myself!
I was asked a very thought provoking question following the sermon: how did I escape from the scourge of legalism? Only by the grace of God: there can be no other answer. It was not through any labour on my part, but the goodness, faithfulness, love, and persistence of God to convict my heart of sin. Pharisees love to remain under the Law and have the steps laid out perfectly. But the Holy Spirit isn't a dictator: He leads us. The path of deliverance for one person will vary greatly, yet with one common denominator: the love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and power of Jesus Christ. No one can be delivered from being a Pharisee without Jesus! Think about how many ways a person can be broken out of prison! Paul and Silas were in a prison and an earthquake flung open the doors and the chains fell off. Peter was lying between Roman guards when an angel kicked him and told Peter to stand up and follow him. Joseph started a day as a prisoner and ended the day a free man, second in command of the nation of Egypt after interpreting Pharaoh's dream!
The path of brokenness for sin was the way of my deliverance. Years of struggle with a particular sin led to me to the end of myself. For a long time I had trusted in myself and despised others: at the moment when I fell to my knees at the cross, I despised myself and trusted God. I was not only filled with a love for God but for others. It was like the scales fell from my eyes and I saw myself in my wretched, helpless condition. No one needs to be taught to esteem themselves, for Ephesians 5:29 states, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." Our pride can disguise our love of self and sin in countless ways. The battle between my sinful flesh and the Holy Spirit was over when I yielded to God's truth and cried with many tears, "You were right all along, God - I have been wrong! Please forgive me!"
The night which enveloped me for a long season gave way immediately to the brightest of days, a season of light which continues until now. The whitewashed Pharisee was dead: the tomb stirred with new life! Instead of the stench of rotten flesh rose the aroma of Christ, sweeter than precious perfume. Like when Lazarus rose from the dead in obedience to the call of Christ, God raised me up by His grace. Done were the days of comparing myself to others, judging, and feeling pressure to conform for acceptance. By the grace of God I am who I am. Sin has no lasting grip on me anymore, for death has been swallowed up in the victory purchased with the blood of Jesus. Am I perfect? No. But my Savior is, and has filled me with the Holy Spirit. Instead of being ruled by the letter of the Law, I am led by the Spirit who inspired it.
He is a wise man who sees himself as God does. My identity no longer comes from what I do or don't do, but from my Saviour who loves me, saved me, and transformed me. I am a great sinner, but Jesus is a greater Saviour!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)