STEPS TO PRACTICING FORBEARANCE TOWARDS OTHERS?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, forbearing one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" Ephesians 4:2-3

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”Colossians 3:12-13

“Let your forbearing spirit be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand”. Philippians 4:5

One of Paul’s main concerns in Philippians is our witness. People around us should see the effect of our relationship with Jesus Christ, the way the Lord has impacted us and transformed our whole attitude to other people. What is the evidence that God has touched your life? Let your forbearing spirit be evident to all. Go out of your way to show others that you are gracious, forgiving, patient, not easily offended, that you’re quick to yield your rights and give preference to the other person. To whom? To all men, to all people. Everyone in your life should see this moderate, forbearing, gentle, great-hearted spirit. Everyone. Your wife, your husband, your kids, your boss and co-workers, fellow believers, your neighbors, your in-laws, all men.

HOW CAN WE PRACTICE FORBEARANCE TOWARDS OTHERS?


1. Instead of looking for something wrong in others, start looking for evidences of God’s grace working in others.

This means actively looking for ways that God is at work in the lives of others. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-- even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you--so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Paul recognized evidences of God’s grace working among the Corinthians who needed adjustment, and he therefore continually thanks God for them. Paul in his humility saw the Corinthians from a divine perspective, and he allowed this perspective to determine his attitude towards them.

First, Paul saw them as “called by God”. In using it, Paul is especially acknowledging and affirming God's sovereign grace and reminding us of His prior activity: We were acted upon by God before we ever responded to Him. We were called. God's prior activity has brought us to where we are today. The same is true of every believer we encounter. We must remind ourselves; this individual has been previously acted upon by God. He first loved us!

Second, God is presently at work in our brother. Paul says in Philippians 2:13 that God is actively working in us to both will and work for His good pleasure.

Third, Paul was confident for their future in the faithfulness of God’s future grace working in them: “Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful”. Paul’s confidence for the weak, immature, failing Corinthians was anchored in the faithfulness of God. “I am sure that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6). Oh how we need to catch sight of the work of God who by His grace worked, is working, and will work in your brother’s life. The divine perspective makes possible the deepest affection for others, as well as effective service and ministry of extending God’s grace in your attitudes, words, and ministry activities to them.

I love the story of the great 18th century English pastor Charles Simeon. He had many trials in his life. The most fundamental trial that Simeon had –and that we all have – was himself. He had a somewhat harsh and self-assertive air about him. One day, early in Simeon's ministry, he was visiting Henry Venn, who was pastor 12 miles from Cambridge at Yelling. When he left to go home Venn's daughters complained to their father about his manner. Venn took the girls to the back yard and said, "Pick me one of those peaches." But it was early summer, and "the time of peaches was not yet." They asked why he would want the green, unripe fruit. Venn replied, "Well, my dears, it is green now, and we must wait; but a little more sun, and a few more showers, and the peach will be ripe and sweet. So it is with Mr. Simeon."

2. Practice the Judgment of Charity.
This is the evaluation of others tempered with love. It is simply a judgment of love. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). It’s where in grace, mercy, and love we begin to make allowances for the weaknesses and ignorance of others and takes the kindest perspective towards them whenever possible because God is that way to you. The Christian loves to make allowances for the weaknesses of others, knowing how great need he stands in constantly having made allowance made for himself by both God and man.

Charles Simeon once said, “let us sit on the seat of love instead of judgment.” It is the golden rule with skin on it. The judgment of charity gives the benefit of doubt while fleeing the temptation toward heartless and cruel denunciation. I love the phrase "habitual tenderness" made by John Newton to describe the way a believer should live. In writing to a friend he describes the believer's life:

"He believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him a habitual tenderness and gentleness of spirit. The effect of this amazement is tenderness toward others…Humble under a sense of much forgiveness to himself; he finds it easy to forgive others."

Another time Newton wrote,

“Whoever has tasted of the love Christ, and has known, by his own experience, the need and the worth of redemption, is enabled, yes, he is constrained, to love his fellow creatures. He loves them at first sight.”

Oh Christian your relationships with others and your patience, faithfulness, obedience, and effectiveness is directly tied to the cross. We are saved by the grace of the cross of Christ, we live by the grace from the cross of Christ, and we therefore, must give to others the grace that comes from the cross of Christ. This means, God has forgiven me, so I can forgive others. God has been patient with me, so I can be patient with others. God’s grace is changing me, so I can trust that He will change others. God has been lovingly patient with me, so I can be more patient with my brothers and sister. We're all struggling with life's problems. And isn't that what we all want from others?

This is the rule our Lord Jesus gave us: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). I would take it even deeper in light of the cross: Do unto others as Christ has done to us! Every one of us needs and longs for the patience of others. Probably all of us should have a big sign hanging around our neck that reads, “Be patient with me; God’s not finished with me yet.” C.H. Spurgeon said, "If you are tempted to lose patience with your fellowmen, stop and think how patient God has been with you."

"Oh, that my tongue might so possess The accent of His tenderness That every word I breathe should bless For those who mourn, a word of cheer; A word of hope for those who fear; And love to all men, far and near. Oh, that is might be said of me, "Surely their speech betrayeth thee as friend of Christ of Galilee!" George Elliot

This is truly possible for every Christian to be forbearing and patient towards others. It has nothing to do with personality and temperament and everything to do with the grace of the triune Godhead working mightily in us. Colossians 1:11, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.”

Forbearance is an evidence of an inner strength that is not supported by outward things like people or circumstances. Paul is praying for something that only God can give. Paul is praying for God to do something for us. Today you can be forbearing as a gift of grace from the blessed triune God: From God the Father, who is kind, merciful, gracious, and forbearing towards sinners like us. From Jesus Christ the Son, who came as our gentle and forbearing Savior, putting up with offenses on every side and enduring such a contradiction of sinners. From the Holy Spirit who brings us the fruit of the Spirit, and one of them is forbearance.

Jesus says in John 15:8. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (forbearance) and so prove to be my disciples”. Oh how essential is the work of the Spirit in our lives for us to be seen as forbearing in our relationships! Luke 11:13, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" May we join together and ask for a greater and fuller measure of the spirit’s work in our lives in making us a forbearing people.

Pastor Bill

A SERIOUS CALL TO THE RELOCATION OF OUR JOY: REJOICE IN THE LORD!

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 ESV

The apostle Paul is calling us to the delightful duty of finding our true joy in the Lord. He is calling us to the single most important goal of the Christian life: the pursuit of our happiness in God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism in its very first line spells it out: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy (by enjoying) Him forever.” God is most greatly glorified when we find our eternal happiness in Him! The reason that I say this is because there is no greater way to glorify God than to root in Him the happiness that my soul so desperately craves.

This joy is so important to Paul and so important to what it means to be a Christian that in our text Paul repeats himself, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.” That’s two commands: rejoice, rejoice. Do you know of any other place in Scripture where a command is repeated back to back like this? I don’t. Spurgeon said, “We are to joy, and then we are to re-joy. Joy is a delightful thing. You cannot be too happy, brother! ”

When Paul tells us to rejoice he is not giving us a suggestion or recommendation. He says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." This command is similar to 1 Thessalonians 5:16: “Be joyful always.” This is a command sent down from the throne of God Almighty to us. Do you see how radical this is? It is a present, keep on rejoicing. It is all encompassing, always. This little word “always” takes this command to a whole new level: at all times, in all circumstances, even when we are suffering or afflicted. It is active, you are to do this; it is imperative, this isn’t an option for God’s people; it is in the 2nd person, you, not someone else; and plural, all of us! We don’t have to pray about this. Lord, should I rejoice today?

How can we rejoice at all times and in everything? First we need to see that…

Commands to Rejoice Are All Over the Bible-
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”
Matthew 5:12, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven."
1 Thessalonians 5:16, "Rejoice always!"
1 Peter 4;13, "Rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings."
Romans 12:12,15, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer…Rejoice with those who rejoice”

C.S. Lewis understood these commands to be happy in God and said, "It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can."

How can we possibly do this?

The command to rejoice has reasons behind it.

1. First, because we ought to have it.
God is infinitely worthy of our delight. God made us to be joyful, to find our joy in Him. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The root of joy is the presence of God. It is the supreme pleasure for which you were created.

Jonathan Edwards wrote: ‘How good is God, that he has created man for this very end, to make him happy in the enjoyment of himself, the Almighty

2.Secondly, because the only thing standing between the command of God to rejoice and our experience of that joy is a sinful heart, a bored heart, a heart that delights more in the things of the world than in God Himself.

This demand that we rejoice is not marginal or superfluous. It is a shocking wake up call to all who find their happiness in the wrong places. Paul’s solution to low level, superficial joy is that we be mastered by joy in a new reality: the Lord! Paul says the root of joy is in the Lord. My joy isn’t in me, it isn’t in things, people, or this world, nor is it in my efforts to be joyful, my joy is in Him! Paul is not preaching a health, wealth, and prosperity. It is joy in the Lord—who He is, His love, His power, His wisdom, His grace, mercy, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. So immerse yourself in His blessings. Bathe yourself in His presence. Posture yourself to hear His voice and see His face and hear His word and taste His goodness and feel His presence. Relocate your joy in Jesus Christ and satiate yourself in all God has for you in Him! Rejoice in the Lord!

The only way to overcome our enjoyment of sin is with our enjoyment of God. We minimize our delight in the pleasures of the flesh by maximizing our delight in the pleasures of our creator! Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! The joyful life that Paul demands is for us to be glued to the Lord.

3. Thirdly, because we can obey this command. Joy is a duty and a privilege, but joy is also a gift! As we saw earlier, it is supernatural not natural. It is doable. It our duty to be happy in Him and we can be happy in Him! If joy is supernatural not natural, if joy is a demand of God and our duty is to rejoice in Him, then the Lord will give us grace of joy to rejoice in Him! “You have put gladness in my heart.” (Psalm 4:7) “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Here is how it works: We are commanded to rejoice in the Lord, and we cannot obey it because of our sin rooted willful, foolish, misplaced, and corrupted joy. So we have a serious problem. We must delight in the Lord. We must rejoice in the Lord always. And we can’t. This is a heart that loves and delights in God! This is where a huge disconnect happens with many Christians. We need a new heart that only Jesus Christ can give. We are thrown back utterly to Jesus. Jesus said that he wanted to have his joy fulfilled in his disciples "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11; read also 17:13).

Jesus told us that he wanted our joy to be full. In other words, he has not come to take away our joy, but rather to give us joy. Holy joy is the joy of heaven, and that, you can be sure, is the very finest of joy. Joy in Jesus Christ! It is His grace, because the best thing he has to give us is His joy. Christ not only offers himself as the divine object of my joy, but pours His capacity for joy into me, so that I can enjoy Him with the very joy of God.

May His joy abide in us, that our joy may be full. If that happens than we will experience what Habakkuk experienced in Habakkuk 3:17-18,

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult (jump for joy) in the LORD, I will rejoice (gheel – spin around, be joyful) in the God of my salvation.”

PRAYER
Oh Jesus, how our hearts soar with inexpressible joy and full of glory. Thank You that You offer a happiness that can come in the midst of our tears, our failures, our inadequacies, and our brokenness. Oh God let us know and experience in a deeper sense the promises of happiness that You can offer. Please make the feast of happiness flourish in our lives. Cause us to stop seeking happiness from this world and the things of this world. Waken us from the lies, the deceptions, and the illusions, that we can find heaven on earth. Instead, let Your precious Kingdom come down from heaven into our hearts and minds and let Your Word be fulfilled “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” Let those who have not tasted Your happiness see Your light of joy in us and may that joy drive them to You the Happy God, full of inexpressible joy and glory. May You dwell in our hearts so that we may experience from glory to glory the promises You offer us on earth and may we savor the future hope that someday we will see You and enjoy them in their fullness forever and ever. Amen

A DESIRE TO PLEASE SUCH A WONDERFUL FATHER IN HEAVEN

"So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him..."For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:9,14-15 ESV

What is the most God-honoring reason not to sin? Is it fear of consequences? Is it fear of punishment? John Calvin says, "the truly pious mind restrains itself from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but, because it-loves and reveres God as Father, it worships and adores him as Lord. Even if there were no hell, it would still shudder at offending him alone"

I am so very moved by this statement! Listen carefully again: "Even if there were no hell, it would still shudder at offending him alone." This thought compels me to ask: What accounts for my obedience to God? Why do I fear sinning? Is it merely because I know that discipline awaits me if I don't obey but rather persist in sin? Is there nothing in God besides his wrath that awakens me to holiness? Am I more concerned about negative consequences and bad feelings than pleasing Him? Am I motivated to seek righteousness for purely personal gain? Is self-interest at the core of my decision to heed his commands?

On one level there is nothing wrong with seeking to avoid judgment and the pains of hell. But should that by itself account for how we live? I think that the root of holiness is being in love with Jesus! Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

For Paul the love of Christ evokes self-restraint and service and reverence and worship and adoration. Calvin asks, "Were there no hell, he says, should we still not find him worthy of our devotion?" Is there not something beyond the prospect of judgment alone that energizes our hearts to adore him and our wills to obey him and our affections to delight in him?
Yes, says Calvin! The truly pious soul "loves and reveres God as Father" and "worships and adores him as Lord" irrespective of all other factors." God's intrinsic and inherent beauty, his glory as Father, and his power as Lord ought to be sufficient to stir our hearts to love and admire and worship him as it did for Paul."

N.P. Williams said, "The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong: but the saint, endowed with a superior refinement of moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong" That is what happens when we love God.

I think an excellent illustration of this is recorded in the autobiography of the great missionary to Vanuatu in the South Pacific, John Paton. He records of the day of his parting from his beloved father to go off on the mission field.

My dear father walked with me the first six miles of the way. His counsel and tears on that part­ing journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been yesterday. Tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then. For the last half mile we walked in almost un­broken silence, my father, as was often his custom, carrying his hat in hand, his long, flowing yellow hair streaming down his shoulders. His lips kept moving in silent prayers for me, and his tears fell fast when our eyes met. We halted upon reaching the appointed parting place. He grasped my hand firmly for .a minute in silence, and then solemnly and affectionately said, "God bless you, my son! Your father's God prosper you, and keep you from all evil!"

Unable to say more, his lips kept moving in si­lent prayer. In tears we embraced, and parted. I ran off as fast as I could. When about to turn a corner in the road where he would lose sight of me, I looked back and saw him still standing with head uncov­ered where I had left him. Waving my hat goodbye, I was 'round the corner and out of sight in an in­stant. But my heart was too full and sore to-carry me farther, so I darted to the side of the road and wept for a time. Rising up cautiously, I climbed the dyke to see if he yet stood where I had left him. Just at that moment I caught a glimpse of him climbing the dyke and looking out for me! He did not see me, and after he had gazed eagerly in my direction for a while, he got down, turned his face toward home, and began to return. I watched through blinding tears till his form faded from my gaze.

Now listen to and feel the emotion of John Paton as he reflected on this precious and most moving moment. It graphically and poignantly illustrates what I am trying to say:

Hastening on my way, I vowed deeply and often to live and act so as never to grieve or dishonor such a father and mother as God had given me.

What a father John Paton had! The feelings Paton had for his father were a deep reflection of his fathers greatness as a father. I never had the privilege of having a loving father like this. But oh does this story evoke in me feelings and thoughts that I have a precious and most wonderful Father in heaven! Ought this response that Paton felt be not all the more to be true of our relationship with God? Is he not infinitely deserving of glory and praise and honor and obedience for who he is, in himself, even before we consider what he will do should we fail to respond as we ought? Do you "shudder at offending him"? Oh that we would vow deeply and often to live and act so as never to grieve or dishonor such a father like our Father in heaven!

Seeking to bring God nothing but glory and to live a life pleasing to Him,
Pastor Bill

LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT IN ORDER TO SEE AND HEAR WHAT IS REALLY THERE

"Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." Genesis 28:16

So often in my life I have found myself blind to stupendous realities. Blind because I didn't know how to see. Blind because I was too busy and hurried. Blind because my mind was caught up in myself. Blind because of living in the world I call "someday". Have you ever lived in the world of "someday"? To live in "someday" is to be so busy trying to get to where you want to be that you forget where you are and what is being offered by the kind grace of God at this present moment. Living for someday has often caused me to miss a lot of "today's".

How much have I missed because I have been so blind? Have much have I missed because I was just too busy to look? In my case it has been both. That is why in my spiritual journey, I have needed so much help. I am eternally indebted to C.S Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, Ken Gire, and John Piper who have opened my eyes to see more of life than I ever knew could be seen.

I have felt often like Jacob after awaking from his dream in Genesis 28:16-17, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Have you ever felt like this before?

B.B. Warfield in thinking about what the scriptures teach on predestination wrote,
"A glass window is before us. We raise our eyes and see the glass; we note its quality, and observe its defects; we speculate it's composition. Or we look straight through it on the great prospect of land and sea and beyond."

Ken Gire writes that the most rigorous of disciplines is the discipline of awareness. We must always be looking beyond what we see if we are going to truly see and listening beyond what we hear in order to truly hear. The sinfulness of man blinds him to the most wondrous and stupendous of realities! Our Lord spoke often of spiritual blindness and deafness. That is why the scriptures say that salvation is the gift of sight from God by the Holy Spirit that enables us to be able for the first time to see Jesus for who He is and to savor Him for all that He is worth.

"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

We now have been graced with the capacity to see but are we looking and listening? Jesus always has something to say to us and always shows us something we need to see and always offers something we need to receive. But even with this gift of sight, we have to cultivate awareness. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled face, (as we continue to be in the word of God) beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (My translation)

We have to cultivate awareness in our life. The poet Elizabeth Barret Browning wrote,
"Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries."

Have you ever passed a bush plucking raspberries and thinking raspberries were all that was there? How many times have we failed to see the heavenly blaze in earthly bushes we brush by on our way to somewhere else?

John Piper spoke of being around Clyde Kilby who he described in this way: “When he spoke of a tree he saw on the way to class in the morning, you wondered why you had been so blind all of your life…I sat there and for the first time I saw things. I felt. I was drawn into the bright day of wakefulness out of my self-preoccupied, adolescent slumbers”.

Oh to see things! oh to be awake and alive to God, to people, to nature, to culture, to the present moment! Brother Lawrence called it "Practicing the Presence of God" and in that light Mike Mason added a second practice that he called "Practicing the Presence of People".

There is no time, no place, no moment, no event, that God is not there and is not speaking something for me to hear and showing me something for me to see. Our lives are full of stupendous realities aren't they? But these moments will go unnoticed if we do not take the time to stop, look, and listen. C.S. Lewis wrote,

"To see what is in thee moments we first have to stop, and then we must look and go on looking until we see exactly what is there."

It means we must learn to "be still and know that I AM God" (Psalm 46:10). Anne Morrow Lindbergh called it striving to be the still axis within the revolving wheel of relationships, obligations and activities. the still axis. It is to be able to maintain its center no matter how fast our lives are turning. Ask God to give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive this day beyond what you see, hear, and receive. Ask Him to help you to stop plucking blackberries and to take off your shoes for this moment is holy ground!

Longing for eyes to see more of life than I ever knew could be seen!
Pastor Bill