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I Want to Be a Worker

From the shade with a cold drink in one hand and a fan in the other, many who were once workers for the Lord now watch the dwindling few still sweating in the harvest field.  We come up with a variety of excuses as to why we’re on our extended break: we’re too … old, tired, busy, or sore!  Or, the work is too difficult or dangerous … people just aren’t receptive enough anymore to the gospel … or the world doesn’t allow us to reach out like we did years ago.

I. Luke 10:1.  To be  a worker for the Lord, you must want to love and trust His holy Word, just as the song says:

I want to be a worker for the Lord; I want to love and trust His holy word; I want to sing and pray, and be busy ev’ry day, In the vineyard of the Lord.

Just before Jesus sends out 72 disciples ahead of Him, He tells several that following Him requires diligent and often difficult hard work (Luke 9:57-62).  The well-known servant to the poor, Mother Teresa, died at 87 still working with her last strength.  can we argue that love and trust for Jesus’ Word isn’t connected to faithful action (James 1:22) when His Word tells us that if we love Him, we will obey His commands (John 14:15)?  Are we not told to serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13)?  And to love and forgive one another as Jesus did (John 15:13; Colossians 3:13)?

II. Luke 10:2-3a.  To be a worker for the Lord, you must want to lead the erring in the way, again as the song says:

I want to be a worker every day; I want to lead the erring in the way That leads to heav’n above, where all is peace and love, In the kingdom of the Lord.

Because we’ve used Luke 10:2 to promote the need for evangelism but disconnected it from our personal responsibility, we pray often that God will send workers to His harvest field.  If He hasn’t and the attendance in our assemblies shrinks, we shrug because God is in charge of the increase after all (1 Corinthians 3:6).  Peering into the brightness at the shady edge of the harvest field, we lament how few are laboring in the hot sun to fill the Master’s barn with sheaves.  Yet, just as the 72 were sent, so are we (Matthew 28:18-20) and also to our erring, fellow workers (Galatians 6:1-2; Matthew 18:15-17).

III. Luke 10:3.  To be a worker for the Lord, you must want to trust in Jesus’ power to save, as the song tells us:

I want to be a worker strong and brave; I want to trust in Jesus’ pow’r to save; All who will truly come shall find a happy home, In the kingdom of the Lord.

He sent them out like lambs among wolves!  Why would Jesus do that? It’s because we partaking in our own adventure is that important to Him.  God is wild at heart and wants those made in His image to step out of our comfort zones to do the work He’s prepared for us.  Out of fear we make excuses and justify why we can’t do that work, placing our limitations on the God for whom nothing is impossible.  But, obedience is required from faith (Romans 1:4-5; James 2:14-17), and God, who promises to be with us, lets us wield His divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Wanting to be a worker for the Lord begins with obedience to the gospel.  You’ve got to don our work clothes (Galatians 3:26-27) and then head out into the field.  If the song has changed for you, a longtime resident of the shade, to “I want to sit in pews for the Lord …” then perhaps it’s time to step out onto the soil and become a worker once more.  Do you want to be a worker for the Lord?

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Behold, The New Has Come

For me to get to acceptance in the grieving process after my wife of almost three decades passed last year, I had to keep a forward focus or risk getting mired in memories.  Any move from an old life to a new one is like that.  If we are focused too much on what we have lost, we will miss what we have gained.  Becoming a new creation in baptism is like that as well. If we do not die to sin and work through the transformation process, then we can never embrace the new and abundant (John 10:10) that God has called us to live.

I.  2 Corinthians 5:17-18.  If in Christ, you are a new creation, but how do you life differently if all you know is your old life with its old habits and sinful way of living? Sadly, many people obey the gospel but then only live differently in degree, not in character, than those in the world. Paul spoke of this spiritual war that raged within him (Romans 7:21-23) that was still a transformative process that began at his baptism when he rose out of the water to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-5). But, he was working hard to become like Jesus in His death, so He might attain to Jesus’ resurrection in His new life (Philippians 3:10-12).

II.  Romans 12:1-2.  As a new creation, the old has passed away … but has it?  We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, not being conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Then when the old has truly been put to death, then we can test what is a good way of living this new life in Christ.  We must die to sin first (Romans 6:6-8). The problem with being a living sacrifice is that the offering keeps crawling off the altar. To do this we must forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. By keeping this forward focus, Paul says, is how he presses on to the goal of heaven (Philippians 3:13-16).

III.  2 Corinthians 5:19-20.  Without Jesus’ reconciling work at the cross and at the grave, we could not have new life, and with this new life comes new work that we also aren’t familiar with.  We are to be “ministers of reconciliation” or “ambassadors for Christ” who speak on behalf of God about this new life–even though we have just taken hold of it ourselves. Just as Jesus died to sin and rose to life, we must press on to take hold of this new life that has now come to us (Romans 6:9-11). Instead of looking back at our old life and regressing into those old habits and behaviors, we must hold true to what we have already attained.

Rather than focusing on what I have lost when my old life died with my wife, I am riveted on taking hold of what God has given me as a widower for His Kingdom in this new life. We must all do the same thing with the new life He has given us in Jesus.

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The Battle Belongs to the Lord

If we are not engaging our whole selves while we sing, then the impact of a song’s words can often escape us.  In “The Battle Belongs to the Lord,” we sing that God will fight for us in our battle, but how much we believe those words and truly trust Him to do so may not be known until we are in the midst of a difficult struggle and choose to rely on Him or on our own limited resources for help.

I.  Psalm 18:1-5.  After witnessing God’s power in the 10 plagues that allowed them to leave Egypt, the Israelites left freed from slavery “equipped for battle” (Exodus 13:18), idealistically ready to walk straight up to the Promised Land.  As they got to the Red Sea, however, they saw Pharaoh’s army marching after them, and “they feared greatly” and “cried to the Lord” Exodus 14:10.  How like them we can be as Christians until we face adversity.  The first verse of the song says it like this:

In heavenly armor we’ll enter the land, The battle belongs to the Lord.  No weapon that’s fashioned against us will stand, The battle belongs to the Lord.

Though we call the Lord our strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn of my salvation, and stronghold, it is easier to say the words than to apply them.  The psalmist does have to apply them as he was encompassed, assailed, entangled, and confronted by struggles to the point of death.  Would he choose to have faith or to rely on himself?

II. Psalm 18:6-19.  After God had rescued them with such a mighty hand already, how could the Israelites not trust in God’s power to save?  But they complain and believe that they will die (Exodus 14:11-13), the very opposite of trust.  God would fight their battle, Moses told them, but their responsibility was different than the Lord’s; they had to “fear not,” “stand firm,” and “see” God’s salvation.  In other words faith is a lot of work, harder work than fighting an impossible battle for ourselves and the choice not often made.  Why? Probably because God can’t be made to do anything.  We must submit to His will, not He to ours.  The second verse says:

When the power of darkness comes in like a flood, The battle belongs to the Lord.  He’s raised up a standard, the pow’r of His blood, The battle belongs to the Lord.

We have the cross and often don’t believe in Jesus’ power to save us.  So, does God act on our behalf out of obligation or love?  In the Psalm, the Lord literally overturns heaven and earth because He was angry at the people or circumstances distressing His child.  Then we read that it is because He delights in him. Could He have the same love for us?

III.  Psalm 18:20-30.  How the Israelites took Moses’ words to “fear not,” “stand firm,” “see” God’s salvation, and to “be silent” is not clear (Exodus 14:13-14), but how do we wait in faith for the Lord to act in our lives when we are in distress?  Repeating that God is our refuge and that we should not fear, Psalm 46:10 tells us to “be still and know that I am God.”  While our backs are against the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army bears down on us in life, choosing faith and letting God fight our battle is the harder but better decision.  As the third stanza says:

When your enemy presses in hard, do not fear, The battle belongs to the Lord.  Take courage, my friend, your redemption is near, The battle belongs to the Lord.

According to the psalm, it is those who choose to have faith and trust in Him, being still in obedience that the Lord rescues.  The one who is “haughty” by trying to fix it himself by his own resources finds God “tortuous.”  It’s about the relationship the child has with his or her heavenly Father.

If God is truly your refuge, then you can truly sing the chorus when we are rescued:

And we sing glory, honor, Power and strength to the Lord.  We sing glory, honor, Power and strength to the Lord.

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Called to Freedom

Floating along with the current of culture, the church fell asleep in its complacency and compromise as the stream changed direction.  Christians began to accept the world’s restrictions on our freedoms to worship and proclaim the gospel, and instead of awakening, we withdrew into the walls of our buildings.

I.  1 Corinthians 10:23-33.  God, of course, puts limits on our freedoms.  We must not sin.  Rather, in obedience to His commands, we must choose to be helpful, build others up, seek the good of others and not ourselves, and glorify God in all that we say or do.  Our humanistic culture we live in, though, seeks to externally regulate us and persecutes us if we do not submit to its dictates.  Now, as Christians, we know we should submit to our governing authorities (Romans 13:1), but Jesus said we should not give to the culture what is God’s (Matthew 22:21).  Our primary allegiance is not, then, to the current that has changed directions, but to where we are citizens (Philippians 3:20).

II.  Romans 12:1-2.  Sadly, many live lives conformed to the world rather than transformed by the gospel.  Asleep while the current of culture sweeps them to their destruction (Matthew 7:13-14), they have accepted the walls the world has erected for us: the gospel is too outdated or can’t compete or is hate speech.  Or perhaps the restrictions are personal: I’m too old or out-of-touch or have circumstances to overcome.  When we use our freedoms for ourselves, we retreat within those walls by dwelling on the past, complaining, or just playing church.  We know that all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27) and declare that if the church is not doing more, then it must be God’s will.  But, God wants us using our freedoms for Him (John 14:12-14), and then He will do more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).

III.  Galatians 5:13-15.  When we, through love, choose to use our freedom in Christ to serve others instead, we turn our focus outward rather than inward where we will destroy one another.  The very nature of the church is to step outside of the walls where we have been driven by the culture to serve instead in deed and truth (1 John 3:16-18).  Using Jesus as our example, we choose to serve in whatever station in life that God has placed us (Titus 2:1-8) and reaching outside the walls of the world and waging war against it with very different weapons (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

You may be using your freedom in Christ to fight, but what or whom are you fighting?  Where is your focus?  Inward for self or outward to serve?

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Longing for your presence

Dear God who cares for your creation,
Look down upon us with compassion.
See our need and save our spirits.
Open our eyes to what’s important.

Our hearts are longing for your presence.
Help us change what dims our view
Of your good will and certain promise.
Today be with our souls. Amen.

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God Be With You

Movies do this often.  The final words of a character are often very important.  Having spent three years in Ephesus, it was understandable that when Paul needed to go to certain imprisonment and persecution in Jerusalem, he wanted to speak to the church there.  But, not wanting to be held up long with people he loved, he had the elders trek about 40 miles to the coast to speak to him at Miletus (Acts 20:17-38).  What he said is important for all of us as part of a local body of Christ to minister to one another after a leader has left.

I.  1 Corinthians 12:18-26.  To minister to the flock, you must pay careful attention to the other parts of the body.  None of us is alone as a Christian but have a responsibility to serve, feed, and care for one another.  The first stanza of the hymn, “God Be With You,” explains this:

God be with you till we meet again; By His counsels guide, uphold you, With His sheep securely fold you; God be with you till we meet again.

God has a relationship with each of us, yes, but it is collectively as His bride that He sanctifies us (Ephesians 5:25-32).  We can study His Word and determine to live for him alone, yes, but it is together that are secure and have fellowship with believers who help us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25).

II.  Matthew 7:15-20.  To minister to the flock, you must watch for wolves from without and within.  Both might be hard to spot as they may appear as friends who tell you exactly what your itching ears delight to hear, so it is by the ‘fruit’ of their lives that you will know them.  The song continues:

God be with you till we meet again; ‘Neath His wings protecting hide you, Daily manna still provide you; God be with you till we meet again.

Satan is the biggest wolf without (1 Peter 5:8), but even he can masquerade as an angel of light.  When warned of the wolf within, Cain still killed his brother (Genesis 4:5-9).  We must protect and provide for each sheep just as Jesus would (Luke 15:4-5).

III.  John 10:2-5.  To minister to the flock, you must first be alert yourself.  Paul considered it his responsibility to minister to his brothers and sisters (2 Corinthians 11:28-29).  So, it is ours, who strive to follow Christ, to help others listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice.  The third verse says it this way:

God be with you till we meet again; Keep love’s banner floating o’er you, Smite death’s threatening wave before you; God be with you till we meet again.

We each have the responsibility of working out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), yes, but we can lighten the loads that others carry by our instruction, encouragement, and concern for them (Galatians 6:1-5).  This is how the body works together.

Goodbye (from “God be w’ ye” or the name of the hymn) is so final, and indeed the elders wept knowing they would never see Paul’s face again … in this life.  You see, for Christians who are parting, even physical death is a temporary separation.  We will all see each other again in heaven for eternity.  Rather, it is ‘So long’ or ‘See you later.’  The song captures this sentiment in the refrain:

Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus’ feet; Till we meet, Till we meet again, God be with you till we meet again. 

 

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Save Those Who are Eagerly Waiting

Why was it so essential that Jesus be seated at the right hand of the Father and that we know that He is coming back?  What is the work of the King of Kings that He does on our behalf as He entered His kingdom?

I.  Colossians 1:9-20.  Jesus is on a rescue mission.  He had to enter His kingdom to deliver us from the dominion of darkness and transfer us to His kingdom.  He accomplishes this through the church (Matthew 16:18), which is His body, which He bought with His blood (Acts 20:28), over which He is head (Ephesians 1:7-23).  We are rescued when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:36-41).

II.  Hebrews 7:23-25.  We need Jesus to intercede for us.  Jesus’ constant work on behalf of those who have obeyed the gospel until the Day of Judgment is to sit at the right hand of the Father as our permanent High Priest and offer intercession for us (Hebrews 9:11-15).  And, it is good that He does as the accuser of our brethren is constantly about his deceitful work (Revelation 12:1-17).

III.  Hebrews 9:23-28.  Because we know that Jesus will return for us (Acts 1:9-11), we must be eagerly waiting for Him.  The time for His redemptive work is done, His sacrifice for sins on the cross and overcoming of death at the tomb accomplished.  He has gone away to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-4), so we must live faithfully, watching and preparing (Matthew 25:1-13).

Jesus has gone away to do His important work of saving us.  Are we about our important work of eagerly waiting for His return?

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He Presented Himself Alive

In the 50 days from Passover to Pentecost, Jesus was busy!  The first 40 was spent the work of the gospel (Titus 3:5) and in convincing proofs that He indeed had overcome death (Acts 1:3).  In the last 10, He came into His Kingdom while His followers waited for His promise of power and mission to be given (Acts 1:4-8), a promise and mission that would include all those whom He would call to Himself (Acts 36-39).

I.  Acts 1:3.  After His suffering, which would include the events of Passover, Jesus “presented himself alive … by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”  His purpose was two-fold and can be seen in these two examples: Luke 24:13-27 and John 20:19-28.  Jesus’ work during this period is included in the 1 Corinthians 15:1-7 description of the gospel.

II.  Acts 1:9-11.  Jesus ascending alive into heaven (Luke 24:50-51) answers two questions: where did He go and why did He go?  The first is important for believers to know and explain to others where the One who has conquered death is today and to know that He will return (Hebrews 9:28).  The second shows His work as Priest, Savior, and Intercessor (Hebrews 7:23-25) and His role as He comes into His Kingdom with authority over all, even the church (Ephesians 1:19-23).

III.  Acts 1:4-8.  While Jesus came into His Kingdom, His followers waited in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of His promise to them of power and mission (Luke 24:52-53).  It was fulfilled by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon them (Acts 2:1-4) and the first gospel message that instructed so many from all over the known world that Jesus was indeed alive and had conquered death for all those who obey the gospel (Acts 2:36-41), which includes us if we indeed die with Christ to live with Him (Romans 6:8-11).

Given the gift of the Holy Spirit when we believe, confess ‘Jesus as Lord’ (cut to the heart), repent, and are baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we too accept the mission to spread the message that Jesus is alive to the ends of the earth.  How are you doing with it?

 

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How Long Will You Go Limping …?

Elijah describes those who should have been God’s people in his day as “limping between two opinions.”  That is a good way to describe those in the church that have grown complacent and compromised in their faith and the lost but searching that we’d like to reach with the gospel.  In the contest he forces between the impotent false gods the people were worshiping and God Himself, Elijah shows God to be GOD! with tremendous power.

I.  1 Kings 18:11-39.  Just how difficult those in power had made it for God’s people who were truly seeking to worship God in spirit and in truth is evident when Elijah tries to send Obadiah, one of the Lord’s prophets, to force the contest with Ahab and Jezebel.  Obadiah relates how the faithful are being persecuted and how prevalent enforced idolatry is in the culture.  In the contest on Mount Carmel, true power is displayed from God, the people see this, and their decision to choose God cancels out the power those in power believed they had over the people as the false prophets are put to death.

II.  Acts 2:22-39.  In Jesus’ time on earth, those in power feared the opinion of the people as well (John 11:45-48), and when it began to turn towards hailing Jesus, they sought to put Him to death (Luke 22:1-2).  With a “hard saying” Jesus, like Elijah, sought to make the spiritually limping among those who should have been God’s people choose between opinions (John 6:25-69).  Most left Him then but not “the twelve” at that time, Peter wisely answering, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the gospel confronts us with the same choice.

III.  Romans 10:9-15.  The only way that the lost will be reached with that choice (call on His Name) is if those who have already obeyed the gospel (Romans 6:3-5) go (are sent) … so the power of the gospel is presented as a choice (is preached and they hear it) … because they believe it.  First, we must truly believe it ourselves (John 8:24).  Far too often, Christians fear the opinion of the people controlled by those in power and our love grows cold (Matthew 24:9-13).  Instead, we must love through obedience (John 14:15) and sacrificial living (Romans 12:1-2) to love the limping as Jesus did (John 13:34-35).

Are you limping between two opinions?  See the power of God in dying on the cross for your sins and being raised from death for your eternal life.

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Have You Counted the Cost?

In the story of Dr. Faustus, a man exchanges his soul to the devil for all that the world has to offer, but eventually payment comes due!  How many believe themselves walking on the narrow path that leads to eternal life but because they have compromised with the world, find their feet on the broad road that leads to destruction?

I.  Matthew 7:13-14.  The first verse of the hymn, “Have You Counted the Cost?” challenges us to examine our walk with Christ:

There’s a line that is drawn by rejecting our Lord, Where the call of His Spirit is lost,

And you hurry along with the pleasure mad throng, Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

Our whole duty is to fear and obey God (Ecclesiastes 12:12-13).  Why?  Judgment is coming.  We will be judged by every word of the Word (John 12:48).  His Word is a living standard by which we must give an account (Hebrews 4:11-13).  Even if we’ve obeyed the gospel and on that narrow road, we must make every effort to obey (Mark 8:34) and not be compromised with the world (1 John 2:3-6).  Do you cross His line?

II. Matthew 6:19-21.  The second verse challenges us to examine where we are storing our treasure:

You may barter your hope of eternity’s morn, For a moment of joy at the most,

For the glitter of sin and the things it will win, Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

We are either storing up treasure for this temporary life or for eternal life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  Some justify disobedience because the trials of life are difficult, but we must persevere instead (1 Peter 1:3-7).  Sin does attract us (Mark 8:35), and Satan knows exactly which lure to use for each of us.  Obedience or disobedience in this temporary life has eternal consequences (Revelation 21:22-27).  Do you barter your hope?

III.  Matthew 4:5-7.  The third verse asks us if we test God when we’re put to the test:

While the door of His mercy is open to you, E’er the depth of His love you exhaust,

Won’t you come and be healed, won’t you whisper, I yield, Have you counted, have you counted the cost?

Time is the gift that God gives us to repent (2 Peter 3:9).  Unlike Jesus who recognized that His time of testing was not an excuse to test God, we often give in when struggles are hard.  God’s patience, kindness, and mercy are intended to return us to Him (Romans 2:3-8).  Our giving in is denying Him (Mark 8:38).  Rather we should submit our lives to Jesus (James 4:7-10) and live through the gospel.  Is the door open to you?

The chilling chorus compels us each to answer to questions:

Have you counted the cost, if your soul should be lost, Tho’ you gain the whole world for your own?

Even now it may be that the line you have crossed, Have you counted, have you counted the cost?