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Before the World Existed

In the 1st century, those who had been with Jesus or witnessed the power of the resurrection of the dead had a difficult time believing that He had been a man.  In the postmodern skepticism of the 21st century, many can’t believe He was ever God.  Jesus was more than a good man and teacher, religious philosopher or advocate for the common man.  The alpha and the omega, He is eternal and through whom all things were made.  Therefore, He cannot be placed on the buffet with other leaders from world religions.  Through His great love for us, though we were sinners, Jesus died and then was raised from the dead for our justification and sanctification.  Jesus stands alone.

I.  John 1:1-18.  Jesus was God and was with God before creation and at creation.  It was through Him that all things were made.  After the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, John records that the Son’s followers saw Jesus’ glory, the glory of the only God, who was at the Father’s side, who had seen God and made God known to us.  From eternity to creation, then, Jesus was in His glory and was awaiting His role as Creator and through whom all was created (Genesis 1:1-27).  Before He took on the image of man, Jesus made man in the image of Himself.

II.  John 17:1-5.  Before Jesus went to the cross, we glimpse from His own lips what He longed for in prayer–the glory He had with His Father “before the world existed.”  This rare peek into His eternal nature also gives us a clue how He endured the pain and shame of the cross.  While fixing His eyes on the glory that He would return to in complete fellowship with His Father, Jesus gave us a way to run the race that is set before each and every one of us (Hebrews 12:1-2).  Told to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Him, three of Jesus’ followers were allowed to witness that glory while Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-8).

III.  John 17:20-24.  Jesus will only give His glory to those who are seeking the Savior’s glory (Romans 2:6-10).  In this life we hope for it as He who promises it is faithful (Romans 5:1-2).  The sufferings of this life can’t compare to the glory that is promised to us (Romans 8:18-21).  The promise comes in a spiritual body that is resurrected in power and glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

This is why we forsake the world and all its glory (John 12:42-43).  Just as Jesus longed to be clothed once again in the glory He had with His Father before the world existed, we too must live every moment here in a relentless pursuit of the glory that is promised to us in Him.

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Give Thanks

In President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863, he told us to set apart and observe “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”  Though secular culture has made the day about food, family, and football, the holiday still retains the name.  But, does anyone ever ask, “To whom are we giving thanks?”

I.  Luke 17:11-14.  On the border between Galilee and Samaria, Jesus encounters an ethnically mixed group of lepers who had enough faith to call out to Him for healing (Mark 11:22-24).  Jesus tells them all–even those not part of the covenant–to go show themselves to the priests (Leviticus 13), and as testament to their faith, they all head towards Jerusalem while they still have the disease that makes them unclean and unable to mix with people.

II.  Luke 17:15-19.  All ten were healed, but only one turned back to thank Jesus–and that one was a foreigner to the covenant and Law.  From this we can see that God wants us to give thanks.  He doesn’t need our thanks, but He wants us to acknowledge His blessings to us in gratitude.  The healing happened before the Samaritan returned to give thanks and so wasn’t dependent on his action, but God approves of our ‘attitude of gratitude.’  Also, Jesus remarks that it was one who didn’t have the Law, sacrifices, temple, or priesthood who gave thanks when those who had the advantage of those things just continued on their way.  Alike under sin (Romans 3:9), we are all able to come to Christ through faith (Ephesians 2:12-15).

III.  Colossians 3:16.  God’s Word dwells in us richly when we sing with thankfulness in our hearts.  That’s the simple message of the song, “Give Thanks.”  Alike in sin, we are given God’s Son on the cross and at the tomb to overcome sin and give us life (John 3:16; Romans 7:24).  The result in us should be thankfulness in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) as we recognize what God has done for us (Romans 8:31-32).  So, do you give thanks?

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One,

Give thanks because He’s given, Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong,”  Let the poor say, “I am rich

because of what the Lord has done for us.”

Give thanks,

give thanks,

give thanks!

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Ask What I Shall Give You

Is it better to “grow up in the church” or to escape the world to seek truth on your own?  The first may not know the sharp edge of the world’s heartache, but often a personal faith is taken for granted and underdeveloped.  The second can create an abiding faith but a lifetime of overcoming sinful habits and baggage.  Inheriting the kingdom from his father, Solomon began well as someone who grew up in the church often does.  But, did he seek God or let his heart be led astray?

I.  1 Kings 3:3-28.  In the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved God and walked in the way of his father, King David, yet as he still worshipped at the high places, there’s a hint that his heart wasn’t fully after God’s heart like David’s was (Acts 13:22).  He asks for wisdom or discernment to govern God’s people, which pleased God, and he was granted many other blessings.  What can an abundance of God’s grace do in a heart, vulnerable to temptation and sin, that is not fully chasing God?

II.  2 Samuel 12:7-9.  When David had yielded to sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that God had given him much and would have given him much more, but David had repaid God’s grace by despising God’s Word.  This principle is carried out in the New Testament by Jesus (Matthew 25:29).  We must prove faithful in what we have been entrusted, so that God can use us in even bigger ways.  Sadly, Solomon did not do this, allowing his blessings, projects, and power (2 Chronicles 1:14-17) and the comfort found in sin (1 Kings 11:1-4) lead his heart astray.  Clearly, the wisdom he had to warn against such falling (Proverbs 5:1-9) wasn’t enough to safeguard his heart.

III.  Philippians 4:4-7.  If we seek God and His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33) and ask for wisdom (James 1:5-8), we must still apply these things to our hearts to truly live for Christ and honor Him as holy (1 Peter 3:13-16).  How do we do this?  We must sell all that this world has to offer (Matthew 13:44) and press on to the goal despite obstacles (Philippians 3:12-16), holding on to what we have already obtained and adding to that in increasing measure (2 Peter 1:3-11).  Then God will guard our hearts.

What could Solomon have achieved if he hadn’t let his heart be led astray?  How could God use you if you used what you’ve already been entrusted with to seek Him and His Kingdom?

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Work Out Your Own Salvation

After the wedding is over, who does the work in the marriage relationship?  The answer is both … if the marriage is to be successful.  So it must be when we enter into a relationship with Christ.  The Bridegroom has conquered sin and death by the cross and the tomb, but believers meet Him at the altar by obeying the gospel.  In baptism the wedding is over, how now can the marriage work?

I.  Galatians 3:26-29.  When we enter that covenant, we become “heirs according to the promise.”  No longer separated by our sins from God, we become children of God, “provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17).  Some of that suffering comes from choosing to walk according to Scripture instead of in the way of the religious world around us.  It’s a very narrow path to navigate (Matthew 7:13-14).  Stray a little too much towards ritual and our faith becomes a Checklist Christianity; a little too much towards relationship and it becomes Cultural Christianity.  Rather, true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

II.  Philippians 2:12-16.  For our part, we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  And it is hard work indeed.  Maintaining any good relationship is.  We must not grumble or argue to not wreck our influence for the gospel of Christ.  There is a process of partaking in the divine nature and escaping the corruption of the world.  We must add various virtues one to another in increasing measure and practice them with diligence to not fall and find a rich welcome in the Kingdom of God (1 Peter 1:3-11). Only you can strengthen or destroy your own relationship in Christ.

III.  Hebrews 10:38-39.  For His part, God promises to work in you, to work and to will for His pleasure.  So, as you are working out your own salvation, He is molding and shaping you into His Son’s image.  So, faithful living requires many moment-to-moment decisions to walk as Christ did (1 John 2:6).  We can no longer live for ourselves but rather make it our aim to please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).  As two become one in marriage, we are, as members of Christ’s bride, united with our Bridegroom in death and so also life (Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:5).  Therefore, we do not shrink back but live by faith

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You Go, and Do Likewise

We often think that Jesus using a Samaritan, whom the Jews despised, to show kindness to a Jewish man was just to answer the question, “And who is my neighbor?” but the ‘And’ indicates that this parable goes much deeper.  There was a previous question posed by the lawyer: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

I. Luke 10:25-28.  Since we discover later that the lawyer was seeking to justify himself, his use of ‘Teacher’ was perhaps a bit smug.  He believed he knew it all, but Jesus, who knew all men’s hearts, answered both questions posed to Him in this passage as a great teacher would–with questions of His own.  The puffed-up lawyer answered correctly, but Jesus said he did not fully understand the implications of what it meant to love God with ALL of his heart, soul, mind, and strength nor his neighbor as himself (Matthew 5:43-48).  Love as Jesus loves, and he will live (John 15:12-13 and Romans 5:6-8).

II. Luke 10:29-35.  Speaking to Jews, Jesus first tells of two among them–a priest and a Levite–who ought to treat well a fellow Jew who has been beaten and robbed.  They don’t, however, as they pass by the poor man without taking any loving action to ease his distress.  It is a Samaritan, one who was not in the covenant with God and lived in the land that was once part of Israel, who had compassion instead.  More than just broadening their concept of who was their neighbor, Jesus challenged them on how love was defined.  An enemy of the Jews took sacrificial actions to care for and serve one of their nation (James 2:14-17).  Would they have done the same in return?

III. Luke 10:36-37.  Then turning the lawyer’s question back to him, the Teacher makes his student apply the head knowledge of the Law, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor …?”  Perhaps not able to say the name of his enemy’s race, the lawyer answers in honesty, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Jesus’ command, then, to what the lawyer must do to inherit eternal life is a command to us as well, “You go, and do likewise.”  Having found freedom in Christ, how should we use that freedom, then?  Not to indulge in sin but rather to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13-15).

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There’s a Great Day Coming

At this time of year, the world puts forth all the things that it considers scary, but they all have to do with the first death, the separation of our souls from our bodies.  No wonder that this experience and the unknown surrounding it are the ultimate in fear for those who have no hope.  But what is the first death to a Christian?  After all, every human being will experience this death.  As one humorist quipped about life: none of us will get out of it alive!  Paul said it best in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Gain?  How did he get to that point?  By knowing what to fear.

I.  Matthew 10:16-35.  As Jesus sends His disciples out into the world, He admits that He sends them out like sheep among wolves.  Not having the same power as God in the flesh, how was it that they were to combat the strength of the world?  By rejoicing, persevering, and trusting in God (Philippians 4:4-7).  Being anxious about circumstances of this temporary existence that could only lead to their first death would show that they feared the one who could only kill the body–and they are reassured that the Lord is at hand.

II.  Ecclesiastes 12:12-13.  Rather than fearing anything that might bring about the separation of our souls from our bodies, we should fear the one who can throw both body and soul into hell.  This verse in the middle of the Matthew 10 passage is often used by itself to mean we should fear Satan, but God alone is our Judge.  His judgment will part the saints and sinners right and left, the conquerors to eternal life and the cowardly to the second death, an eternal separation of their souls from God (Revelation 21:6-8).  It is no wonder, then, that rather than being scared or worried about the things of this life, our whole duty here is to fear God and keep His commandments.

III.  Matthew 25:1-13.  Consequently, our time here is all about preparing for eternity.  Judgment Day will come when all will have to give an account to God.  Rather than any suspenseful music you might hear coming from a horror movie or costume party, the scariest song is “There’s a Great Day Coming” because it speaks of the second death (Matthew 7:21-23) and challenges us in our preparation now, especially the third stanza:

There’s a sad day coming, a sad coming,

There’s a sad day coming by and by,

When the sinner shall hear his doom, “Depart, I know ye not.”

Are you ready for that day to come?

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Sons of God Through Faith

A man drowning at sea is suddenly thrown a life ring that splashes into the water next to him.  Taking hold of it, he is pulled into the boat by his rescuer and lives the rest of his life eternally grateful to the one who saved his life.  Like this man, we are each dying in sin.  Because of His work at the cross and the tomb, Jesus is the only one able to save us through the gospel that he casts out to us.  We must take hold of the gospel to be saved, but no one rescued would argue that we worked for our salvation because we believed, repented, or confessed ‘Jesus as Lord.’  No, we would adamantly claim that Jesus saved us through His gospel.

But what about the boat?

Why do so many in the denominational world ignore the boat?  Why is baptism not part of obeying that gospel as well?  After all, it is Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection that make the gospel possible, and it is in baptism that we die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are resurrected with Him to walk in new life (Romans 6).  Baptism is the platform from which the life ring can be thrown.  It is the vessel from which Jesus stands to cast the gospel out to sinners.  Why is being hauled into the boat by Jesus not considered essential by some to bring us from death to life?

I.  Galatians 3:23-29.  Often verse 26 is taken alone to prove by those against baptism that we are all sons of God through faith, and therefore, it by ‘faith alone’ that we are saved.  But the context of the passage shows that this is a contrast between the old system or covenant based on law versus the new system or covenant of faith.  What had been largely ritual in the Old Testament is superseded by the New Testament of relationship made possible Jesus’ work at the cross and tomb.  The passage then explains the process to come into this relationship with Christ, “As many of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  We needed to get into the boat.

II.  Titus 3:4-5.  In reaction to the “Church” at the time being very works-based, the Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s swung the pendulum to the opposite extreme and declared salvation to be on “faith alone.”  Baptism was seen as a work because it was something tangible, unlike belief, repentance, and confessing ‘Jesus as Lord,’ that we had to do.  Romans 10:9-13 is a passage often cited by the ‘faith alone’ crowd as it excludes baptism but tells us we are saved by belief, confession, and calling upon the name of the Lord.  But pressed, these same folks will insist that repentance, although not listed there, is also necessary.  Obviously, this passage was not intended then to be a complete list.  And, where we call upon the name of the Lord, Acts 22:16 tells us, is in baptism.  What drowning man would insist that he had worked for his salvation because he submitted to his rescuer pulling him into the boat?  Rather, Jesus has done the only work for salvation.

III.  2 Peter 1:3-7.  Rescuing sinners is not enough for Jesus; He also gives us the chance to partake in the divine nature.  After dying with Jesus, being buried with Him, and rising with Him to new life in baptism, we are “heirs according to the promise.”  We must continue to walk as Jesus did to truly abide in Him (1 John 2:6).  We must continue to add all of these listed qualities, one to another, in increasing measure to never fall and receive a rich welcome into the Kingdom of God.

Could Jesus save without baptism?  If He wanted to … He is God in the flesh after all.  But the method He chose that was to continue down through the ages from Pentecost was for us to believe, confess Him as Lord (cut to the heart), repent, and be baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:36-41) and then to continue living by faith (Romans 1:16-17) as sons of God through faith.

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Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals

The struggles of this year have certainly tested Christians!  Like tea bags diffusing into the water around them, are we influencing the world for the gospel?  Or are we like sponges instead, soaking up the culture we’re immersed in?

I.  Matthew 5:13-16.  In this world, Christians are called to be salt and light.  Both reach outward into the world around them to change the experience for the person eating or interacting in the world.  So we must flavor, preserve, and shine.  If we don’t, if we hide the truth with which we’ve been entrusted, we are good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled.  If Christians took this charge to influence the world around us for Christ seriously, then others would see and give God glory.

II.  Luke 16:1-13.  Christians must make friends for ourselves by the means of unrighteous wealth.  What?  This parable troubles many because the subject is a dishonest manager who doesn’t change or face judgment for his dishonesty.  Rather, he is commended.  But what is he commended for?  It is for being shrewd in using the things or ways of this world for his advantage.  The key comes in the last few verses when Jesus tells his followers that they can be wise about using their generation’s things for the Kingdom.  Do we do this?  Are we known as some weird folks sequestered within the walls of our church buildings?  Or are we a peculiar people using the technology and campuses–even our time and connectedness–to take to gospel to a lost world?

III.  1 Corinthians 15:17-34.  What separates the saved from the lost is the hope we have in the resurrection.  It is because of this hope that Christians make eternal choices unlike the world that makes temporal choices.  With the unceasing bombardment we get from the world, it is too easy for Christians to want to live like the lost around us Monday through Saturday and then attend church on Sunday–all the while believing that God accepts us in this compromised state.  We must wake up from our slumber, church, and look for the tea we’re diffusing.  Because if we can’t easily see Christ influencing the culture around us, then we are more likely sponges soaking up the world.

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For Ezra had Set His Heart

Is a person just blessed to be selected from the world by God for great things … or does God use a person for great things because he selects God over the world?
I.  The answer to this question is so important in the ‘hand-out’ culture that we live in. If God just randomly chooses a person for great things, then that gives us an excuse not to do great things for Him because “He hasn’t selected me.” This would mean that God’s sovereignty is really favoritism (Ephesians 6:9) at its worst and lets us shrink back into His spiritual welfare system waiting for our next scrap.
But God has always been about our individual responsibility. He did the work of salvation through His Son on the cross, yes, but we are to believe, obey, love, forgive, serve, and go–among other acts of obedience. These are actions that require us to stand up from our spiritual couches, brush the crumbs off our laps, and roll up our sleeves.
II.  God raised up Ezra to be a priest to lead His people returning from exile in the way of the Lord. Was Ezra just in the right place at the right time to get chosen haphazardly? Ezra 7:9-10 says, “… the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart TO STUDY the Law of the Lord, and TO DO it and TO TEACH his statues and rules in Israel.”  What have you set your heart to DO for Him?
III.  Sounds like Ezra was no spiritual slacker. What about us? Ephesians 2:10 tell us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Each and every day good works for each of us have been prepared in this day that the Lord has made.  Are you walking in them?  Are you diligent in your search to know what they are?
And so neither is God a spiritual slacker as He plans for us.  If God could raise up an Ezra who would make good choices at the right time to be used by God to do great things for His Kingdom, then what has He planned for you to DO today? Rather than dwell on opportunities missed, might you be rolling up your sleeves and be willing to DO all that He has planned for you to Do tomorrow?
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I Have Sinned

David is described as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22), but that doesn’t mean that he was perfect.  That’s good news for us!  Because, as we strive to also chase after God’s heart, we can become disheartened when we sin.  By exploring how David handled his return to God, we can better travel this narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14) ourselves.

I.  2 Samuel 12:1-15.  The man after God’s heart admits he has sinned.  David didn’t seem to see his sin with Bathsheba or her husband Uriah, and so God dispatched the the prophet Nathan with a parallel story.  The king saw the wrong and pronounced judgment on the wrongdoer.  That’s when Nathan was able to confront David with his sin.  Rather than ignore, justify, or pass blame for his sin as Adam and Eve did (Genesis 3:12-13), the man after God’s heart admitted to his sin.

II.  Psalm 51:1-17.  The man after God’s heart repents of his sin.  Though it may not be part of scripture, most scholars agree that the titles attached to the Psalms are very old.  The title attached to Psalm 51 indicates that this is David’s attitude after he had sinned.  It’s an attitude of repentance.  In this psalm, David takes ownership of his sin and acknowledges that only God can cleanse him from it.  More than that, he appeals for renewal of a right spirit within him, a restoration to the joy of his salvation, and to be upheld by God.  Only then can he teach sinners how to return to God.

III.  Ezekiel 18:21-23.  Admitting and repenting define a man after God’s heart.  Only if we live according to the Spirit and not the flesh can we avoid the eternal consequences of death and live (Romans 8:12-13)!  This means that like David we must admit and repent of our sins as we all must one day give an account to God (Hebrews 4:11-13).  There’s a process for repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).  His kindness is meant to lead us to it (Romans 2:4-5), and He desires it (2 Peter 3:9-10).  Those after God’s heart will do it, and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will pay the consequence for their sins if they are in Christ (Romans 3:21-26).

Those who don’t admit, repent, and remain outside of Christ will have to pay the consequences of their sins on Judgment Day.  Are you ready for that day to come?