“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7)
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3:12-13)
After finishing my 58th year on this planet I am profoundly convinced than ever of one great truth: I AM A GREAT SINNER AND CHRIST IS A GREAT SAVIOR! What does that mean in how I live my life if I really believe that about myself? I read a statement by John Newton this week that deeply and profoundly moved me to fall on my knees and ask hard questions of my soul as I live in relationship with flawed people like me.
"[The 'wretch' who has been saved by grace] believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of Spirit. Humble under a sense of much forgiveness to himself, he finds it easy to forgive others."
If what I believe about myself as a flawed sinner who has a great savior and who lives upon the grace and pardoning love of my Lord is true; than is there any more important thing in my relationships with flawed people than forgiving and forbearing? That is what Paul seems to think in Colossians 2:13, "...bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive"
Oh how much grace given, mercy shown, patience expressed flawed people like you and me should be living in such a way that in grace, mercy, and love we make allowances for the weaknesses and ignorance of others and takes the kindest perspective towards them whenever possible. Why? On what basis? Because God is that way to you. Oh how I desire to be a person who delights to make allowances for the weaknesses of others, knowing how constantly both God and man have made allowances for me!
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."
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 you! Every one of us needs and longs to be forgiven by others and for their patience towards our flaws. 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."
George Elliot once wrote,
"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!"
It is truly possible for every Christian to be forgiving, 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.” Paul is praying for that grace to operate within our souls so that we are "...forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Colossians 2:13) and loving each other "because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19)
Forgiveness and forbearance are evidences 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 forgiving and forbearing as a gift of grace from the blessed triune God: From God the Father, who is kind, merciful, gracious, forgiving, and forbearing towards sinners like us. From Jesus Christ the Son, who came as our gentle, forgiving, 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, which above all is love, produces forgiveness and forbearance towards others.
Jesus says in John 15:8. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (forgiveness and 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 forgiving and forbearing in our relationships!
I do not see how anybody could know who and what they are without Christ and not treat others with kindness, patience, and mercy. If you are a hard person, you do not properly know what has happened to you or you have forgotten. You are not duly feeling the wonder that you are saved, forgiven, accepted.
May you the next few days dwell on all the mercy and forbearance that you have been shown by God and others this past year. Reflect that you are doing far better than you deserve. Marvel on all that this implies about your relationship with Jesus both now and forever. It will soften you towards others and before God.
Pastor Bill
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME THIS NEW YEAR!
"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is"Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV
There are three things that always make me think about the preciousness of time: death, illness or injury, and the New Year. I lost three friends this year to death. All three loses have reminded me that someday I too would have my day of my death.
Life is short and so very fragile isn’t it? Death,loss, and illness remind us of that fact. Changing the calendar to a New Year also has a way of reminding me of how short life is. The clock of life never stops to give you a time out and stay 21 or 39 (as much as we’d like it to!); it just keeps ticking toward the final buzzer.
TIME IS VERY PRECIOUS! Time is a taker. Once past, it never returns. How it’s spent determines the satisfaction and significance of a life. Time is precious. We are fragile. Life is short. Eternity is long. Every morning God makes deposits into your bank of time-of 86,400 seconds which represent 1,440 minutes which, of course, equal 24 hours each day. How do you use the time that God deposits? In a lifetime (72 years) we spend on the average 21 years sleeping, 14 years working, 7 years in the bathroom (I’m not sure if this is averaging men, women, or both because I would double that if its gals!), 6 years eating, 6 years traveling, 5 years waiting in line, 4 years learning, 3 years in meetings, 2 years on the phone, 1 year searching for things lost, 8 months opening up junk mail, 6 months waiting on red lights, and couples talk 4 minutes per day.
Now listen to this, if a person went to church every Sunday, but also went to morning class before church and 1 midweek bible study per week, and devoted 5 minutes a day to prayer and bible reading, he would only have spent 1.9 years of his life for his soul! (Ouch!) When we think of time and how we use it in this way, it doesn’t amount to much. And seen in the light of eternity it is but a fleeting moment. Surely God means for our minutes on earth to count for something significant.
WHY IS TIME SO PRECIOUS?
Do you understand the preciousness of your time? The importance of time has been summarized poetically: Time is so precious. I have only just a minute. Just a tiny little minute only sixty seconds in it. Forced upon me. Can't refuse it. Didn't seek it, didn't choose it, I must suffer if I loose it, Give account if I abuse it. Just a tiny little minute, But eternity is in it. Time is precious because:
1. Time is very short
“What is your life? “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14). A little time, says James-just a little time. Your time is short. And keep in mind that you will disappear. You will be gone and life will go on without you. It is but as a moment to eternity. You and I will exist forever-either as friends of God on His terms, or enemies-on our own terms-which will be proven in this life. And life is short, it is a vapor. Two seconds and we will be gone. Time is so short, and the work which we have to do in it is so great, that we have none of it to spare.
2. We are uncertain of how much time remains for us.
We know that it is very short, but we know not how short. We do not know not how much of it remains, whether a year, or several years, or only a month, a week, or a day. We are every day uncertain whether that day will not be the last, or whether we are even to have the whole day. The only sure time we have is this moment. You don’t know whether you will be alive at this time tomorrow, let alone on next New Year’s Day.
3. When it is past, time cannot be recovered.
There are many things which men possess which if they part with, they can obtain them again. If a man have parted with something which he had, not knowing the worth of it, or the need he should have of it; he often can regain it. But it is not so with respect to time. When once that is gone, it is gone forever; impossible to recover.
4. Because God values time
There are two Greek words for “time” that are relevant to this passage. One is “chronos” from which we get our word chronology, chronicles, and chronic among others. We might define it as clock or calendar time, the continuous time that is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. That is mans view of time. But then there is God’s view of time. The Greek word used in our text is “kairos” which can be translated as “time” or “opportunity”, means an allocated, fixed, measured, and distributed time. It literally can be translated “the time”. It means that time is a gift from God. From God’s perspective your time isn’t “chronos”, it is “kairos”. It is not simply a commodity at our disposal but rather than a daily gift of grace dispensed from God.
The giver of time is God Himself and that places a far greater value on time. It means that we are not to let time rule us, nor see ourselves as rulers over our time; but instead, to see that we are the given time to be responsible stewards over. “My times are in Your hand" (Psalm 31:15). “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Cor. 4:2) Time is a talent given us by God. Our life is appointed for purpose; therefore he will, at the end, call us to an account. Oh, to be a faithful steward of the breath God has given me! “Only one life will soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last”. Surely God means for our minutes on earth to count for something significant.
5. Because the days are evil
Paul doesn’t call us to action because the days are short, but because the days are evil. I fear that the American church is blissfully drifting downstream with many evil currents in our day. As God chided Israel through the prophet Hosea, “Strangers devour his strength, yet he does not know it; gray hairs also are sprinkled on him, yet he does not know it” (Hosea 7:9). The times are evil times and there is the devil is at work robbing us of our time. He is called by Jesus in John 10:10 the thief, the liar, and the destroyer. The devil according to Jesus is a thief of time, a liar about time, and a destroyer of time. He has switched the price tags on the things of value and made them worthless and has made the things of little or no value valuable. He would have us invest our time in worthless things of no eternal value. He would have us to waste our lives. A wasted life is a life spent on the unimportant, short term fixes, the convenient, easy, shallow, and superficial, the tyranny of the urgent, trivial diversions, living for comfort, ease, health, wealth, prosperity, and security. A wasted life is spending time only in busy worldly pursuits, neglecting their souls.
The days are evil. Time is too precious for you to allow it to be robbed and killed. You can't allow your time to be killed without hurting yourselves because your time is your life. The way you spend your time is the way you spend your life. If time is so precious, how are we to look at time?
BE WISE, UNDERSTANDING, AND THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME
Paul speaks about time by first connecting us with his previous thoughts with the word “then” or some translations say “therefore”. Paul has made a tremendous statements in the preceding verses about our identity- as “ dearly loved children” (v.1-2), “light in the Lord” (v.8a) and “children of the light” (v.8b) and how we are to live in the light of that identity with purpose- “be imitators of Christ” (v.1), “walking as children of the light”, “trying to discern what is pleasing to the Lord”, and “taking no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them” (v.8b, 10-11). So since God has enlightened us and given us identity as His children and given us purpose as His lights in the world, in verse 15 he exhorts us to conduct ourselves with thoughtfulness, foresight, and care rather than living thoughtless, aimlessly, and carelessly- walking wisely instead of foolishly. Than in verse 17 he admonishes again to “not be foolish, but understanding the will of the Lord”. A fool is someone who is careless and pays no heed to his life. He is one without reason, stubborn, reckless and careless with his thinking. The way that we live in wisdom here is by having God’s view of time - “understanding the will of the Lord” and living our lives thoughtfully and wisely in light of that view- “making the best use of our time.”
HOW DO THE WISE USE THEIR TIME?-THEY MAKE THE MOST OF IT! "making the best use of the time"(verse 16)
The wise and discerning Christian life is meant to be an exciting adventure of expecting great things from God because God is daily opening up the circumstances and the opportunity before us to do great things for God. This is the time for it. The decisive time, the determinative time, the appropriate time. God gives us opportunity and time with a purpose. Do you recognize this? Do you realize that the Lord gives you time and opportunity with an aim, with a purpose? Our responsibility is to make the most of the opportunities that God gives us and attempt great things for God: to see these opportunities then to seize them. The phrase making the most of can also be translated as “buying back, buying out, or buying up.” It conveys the idea of, an almost greedy attitude toward making the best of time -perhaps in a figure of a collector who buys, say, every antique clock he can get his hands on.
"Buy up the time" for it is a most precious commodity, We are called to buy up and buy back what the thief would take. Just as Christ redeemed us from a futile existence and gave us a new life, so now we have been rescued from the meaninglessness and the futility of the clock and calendar and have the privilege of using our time for the Lord’s purposes. The world ticks to the rhythm of sin, but God wants us to reclaim time for Him and His glory. See the very hours of our earthly lives as a precious commodity, a resource that has eternal potential. Christians can buy back time that otherwise would be wasted in such selfish living and use it for eternity.
We all have enough time to do what God wants us to do. Nothing is worth more than this day. If you could go back and change the past, how would you change how you have used your time? The things you regret not giving more time to are precisely the things that you should begin giving more time to. Opportunities may have passed you by which will never be recovered. But do not let the opportunities of today pass you by. Do not wait for tomorrow. Begin today to seize the opportunities. Let us, spend our TIME about the things of God. Let us spend our TIME with those who are about the things of God. Let us gather together every TIME the saints gather. Let us spend less TIME doing unprofitable things and more TIME in things that edify. Let us not waste our TIME in pursuit of material nor temporal things, but use our TIME pursuing things eternal. Let us take more TIME to read, study, pray, worship, fellowship; Yes, LET US REDEEM THE TIME!
The apostle said in another place, "And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11). So, beloved brethren and sisters "LET US REDEEM THE TIME!" Time is important, not because time is money, but because time is life. Let us walk in the wisdom and spirit of David Brainerd, “Oh, that I might not loiter on my heavenly journey… O I longed to fill the remaining moments all for God! …I want to do something for God. ..Oh, how sweet it is to be spent and worn out for God!"
Sunday, December 18, 2011
THE INCALCULABLE RIPPLE AFFECT OF A GODLY LIFE
This past week I have reacquainted myself with the biographies of 19th century missionary to the cannibals in Vanuatu, John Paton; the great man of faith, George Mueller; and the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon. God has reminded me that I am not the first to face the things that I have faced in my life. I am so thankful for the healing of history and the ripple effect of the lives of others upon us.
So many times I have slipped into the abyss of the present. You cannot know yourself, nor your times, nor your God if you only know the present. I bless God for history and biographies. I have turned many times to others and oh how the ripple effect of their lives have helped me to live my present circumstance with perseverance, faithfulness, passion,obedience, wholeheartedness, and with all my might.
Just as others this week have had an incalculable effect upon me, I want you to think about the effect that you can have on others. As a kid, I lived close to a running stream in a forest. One of my favorite pastimes was skipping stones across the flat, slow moving surface of the stream. Each time the pebble would land inevitably, ripples would flow from the impact of the stone. Your thoughts and actions are like stones dropped into still waters, causing ripples to spread and expand as they move outward. The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine, and the choices you make can have far-reaching consequences. Every moment of your life is a divine appointment to influence the world. Every conversation is a chance to change a life. And every choice you make impacts another choice, which in turn impacts another, rippling through your life and the lives of those around you for the glory of God.
The ripple effect of your life can be incalculable. I thought about this often when I visited Englad three years ago. One day I ate my lunch in Bunhill Field’s Cemetery in London and there on my right was the tomb of John Bunyan and behind me was John Owen and to my right was Susanna Wesley, and just across the street was the tomb of her son John Wesley. All these precious saints have made incalculable impacts on others for hundreds of years by the ripple effect from the pebbles of their precious lives.
I think of David Brainerd. I love this man! His life was a short life: twenty-nine years, five months and nineteen days. Only eight of those years as a believer, and only four of those as a missionary, and less than a year to see any fruit in his attempts to reach the Indians. He died in obscurity in Jonathan Edwards home. Two years after Brainerd died, Jonathan Edwards took his diaries and published them as a Life of Brainerd in 1749. His diaries are still in print today.
Oh the ripple effect of this man’s life! John Wesley said, "Let every preacher read carefully over the 'Life of Brainerd". It was written of Henry Martyn that "perusing the life of David Brainerd, his soul was filled with a holy emulation of that extraordinary man; and after deep consideration and fervent prayer, he was at length fixed in a resolution to imitate his example". William Carey regarded Edwards' Life of Brainerd as a sacred text. Robert Morrison and Robert McCheyne of Scotland and John Mills of America and Frederick Schwartz of Germany and David Livingston of England and Andrew Murray of South Africa and Jim Elliot of modern America looked upon Brainerd with a kind of awe and draw power from him the way they and countless others did.
David Brainerd had a profound effect upon Jonathan Edwards. Edwards' bears his own testimony:
"I would conclude my observations on the merciful circumstances of Mr. Brainerd's death without acknowledging with thankfulness the gracious dispensation of Providence to me and my family in so ordering that he ... should be cast hither to my house, in his last sickness, and should die here: So that we had opportunity for much acquaintance and conversation with him, and to show him kindness in such circumstances, and to see his dying behavior, to hear his dying speeches, to receive his dying counsels, and to have the benefit of his dying prayers."
Gideon Hawley, another missionary protege of Jonathan Edwards spoke for hundreds when he wrote about his struggles as a missionary in 1753, "I need, greatly need something more than humane (human or natural) to support me. I read my Bible and Mr. Brainerd's Life, the only books I brought with me, and from them have a little support."
John Piper says of Brainerd’s Life;
“Through this Life the impact of Brainerd on the church has been incalculable, because beyond all the famous missionaries who tell us that they have been sustained and inspired by Brainerd's Life how many countless other unknown faithful servants must there be who found strength to press on from Brainerd's testimony!”
In the scriptures we see the ripple effect of the apostle Paul’s life:
“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of all brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14).
Do you hear what Paul is saying? Imprisoned, chained, unheard, uncertain, he looks back at all the trials of his life and says, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."
Think of it! All of the frustration, all of the delay, all of the physical suffering and Paul sees his circumstances not as curtailing his mission but for the advancement of his mission!. Paul means to say that his imprisonment—which seemed to be a setback—actually served to advance the gospel in Rome. Paul tells us how the ripple effect of his own imprisonment produced two wonderful and extraordinary outcomes. The gospel has advanced in two ways:
1. It advanced the preaching of the gospel.
Paul says that his imprisonment gave him an opportunity to witness to the whole Praetorian Guard. Paul realized that he was not only chained to soldiers, they were chained to him! Paul had a "captive audience". So Paul experienced a shuffle of soldiers chained to him 24 hours a day. Since they changed guards every six hours, this meant Paul had a new audience four times a day, 28 times a week, and over 2900 times in two years talking to these men about Jesus Christ and living by faith in Him before them. The very chain which Roman discipline riveted on the prisoners arm secured to his side a hearer to whom Paul would tell the story." These soldiers thought they were guarding a prisoner of Rome, but soon found that they had inadvertently enrolled in a course of systematic theology. And apparently, his witness was effective. Paul remarks that because of his imprisonment, the gospel of Jesus Christ was known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard. It is assumed (since he sends greetings from those in Caesar's household. (Philippians 4:22) that the gospel message had even worked its way into the Emperor's home.
2. It produced Bold Witness in other Christians
God used Paul's situation to "light a fire" under some of the other believers. Just as reading those three biographies that I mentioned lit a fire under me! The ripple effect of Paul’s witness gave the church confidence and boldness. The people of God were set on fire for the Lord, and all this did not happen through Paul's mighty preaching in Rome. He was in prison chained to an unbelieving soldier, but the effect of his life in jail impacted the whole congregation who were all out of jail. His chains led to their freedom!
Have you ever thought about the effect of your life on others in this way? Many people today have been disappointed because of being let down, abandoned, failed by other Christians who have not trusted or walked with God when times got tough. That is why I encourage you all to read Christian biographies!
What a breadth of fresh air to see someone committed, persevering and trusting in God like Paul; loving, serving, caring, sacrificing no matter what! When you’re courageous, others are inspired by your courage. When you are suffering under tremendous adversity and keep on praising God and having joy, the ripple effect is contagious in convicting others and inspiring them as well. When you choose to trust God in a trying circumstance, others see your faith and are encouraged by it. Faith can be caught. Your example can be more encouraging than anything you say. When the church saw how Paul was being in prison it challenged them to confront their difficulties and speak up for Christ whatever the cost. If the apostle could do so much from a prison cell how much more should they be accomplishing with their freedom. New courage and boldness was given to the church.
Let me share with you something that came home to me about the ripple effect when I went to Northwood cemetery outside of London and saw Charles Spurgeon’s grave. read on the side of the tomb his words “For since by faith I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply; redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die. Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing of thy power to save, when this poor stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.”
Then on the front of the tomb there was an open bible with the words of 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
That day I read those words of that dear pastor and servant of God I was moved to recommit my life to Christ and his Kingdom and to preach the gospel of Christ and grace and to serve the Lord till my dying day. The pebble of Spurgeon thrown in the pond of history 110 years ago has created a ripple effect that reached out to touch me on a cold, rainy, isolated evening and I will never be the same.
John Piper gives this illustration of the ripple effect one life can have:
"A book by Richard Sibbes, one of the choicest of the Puritan writers, was read by Richard Baxter, who was greatly blessed by it. Baxter then wrote his Call to the Unconverted which deeply influenced Philip Doddridge, who in turn wrote The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. This brought the young William Wilberforce, subsequent English statesman and foe of slavery, to serious thoughts of eternity. Wilberforce wrote his Practical Book of Christianity which fired the soul of Leigh Richmond. Richmond, in turn, wrote The Dairyman's Daughter, a book that brought thousands to the Lord, helping Thomas Chalmers the great preacher, among others."
The stone of David Brainerd or of the apostle Paul have made a huge vast ripple effects on countless souls. Oh brothers and sisters you don’t know the effects that flow outward from the pebble of you and your soul falling in the pond of those all around you. If Christ stirred Paul and Paul stirred pagan guards and the Christians in Philippi, if Christ stirred Brainerd and Brainerd stirred Edwards and countless missionaries, and if in reading this he has stirred you, than it is obvious the waves are in motion and the waves are going onward to you, in you, and flowing out through each one of you.
Make your life count. Don't waste your life. May the ripple effect of the pebbles of your drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on for centuries and into eternity.
Pastor Bill
So many times I have slipped into the abyss of the present. You cannot know yourself, nor your times, nor your God if you only know the present. I bless God for history and biographies. I have turned many times to others and oh how the ripple effect of their lives have helped me to live my present circumstance with perseverance, faithfulness, passion,obedience, wholeheartedness, and with all my might.
Just as others this week have had an incalculable effect upon me, I want you to think about the effect that you can have on others. As a kid, I lived close to a running stream in a forest. One of my favorite pastimes was skipping stones across the flat, slow moving surface of the stream. Each time the pebble would land inevitably, ripples would flow from the impact of the stone. Your thoughts and actions are like stones dropped into still waters, causing ripples to spread and expand as they move outward. The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine, and the choices you make can have far-reaching consequences. Every moment of your life is a divine appointment to influence the world. Every conversation is a chance to change a life. And every choice you make impacts another choice, which in turn impacts another, rippling through your life and the lives of those around you for the glory of God.
The ripple effect of your life can be incalculable. I thought about this often when I visited Englad three years ago. One day I ate my lunch in Bunhill Field’s Cemetery in London and there on my right was the tomb of John Bunyan and behind me was John Owen and to my right was Susanna Wesley, and just across the street was the tomb of her son John Wesley. All these precious saints have made incalculable impacts on others for hundreds of years by the ripple effect from the pebbles of their precious lives.
I think of David Brainerd. I love this man! His life was a short life: twenty-nine years, five months and nineteen days. Only eight of those years as a believer, and only four of those as a missionary, and less than a year to see any fruit in his attempts to reach the Indians. He died in obscurity in Jonathan Edwards home. Two years after Brainerd died, Jonathan Edwards took his diaries and published them as a Life of Brainerd in 1749. His diaries are still in print today.
Oh the ripple effect of this man’s life! John Wesley said, "Let every preacher read carefully over the 'Life of Brainerd". It was written of Henry Martyn that "perusing the life of David Brainerd, his soul was filled with a holy emulation of that extraordinary man; and after deep consideration and fervent prayer, he was at length fixed in a resolution to imitate his example". William Carey regarded Edwards' Life of Brainerd as a sacred text. Robert Morrison and Robert McCheyne of Scotland and John Mills of America and Frederick Schwartz of Germany and David Livingston of England and Andrew Murray of South Africa and Jim Elliot of modern America looked upon Brainerd with a kind of awe and draw power from him the way they and countless others did.
David Brainerd had a profound effect upon Jonathan Edwards. Edwards' bears his own testimony:
"I would conclude my observations on the merciful circumstances of Mr. Brainerd's death without acknowledging with thankfulness the gracious dispensation of Providence to me and my family in so ordering that he ... should be cast hither to my house, in his last sickness, and should die here: So that we had opportunity for much acquaintance and conversation with him, and to show him kindness in such circumstances, and to see his dying behavior, to hear his dying speeches, to receive his dying counsels, and to have the benefit of his dying prayers."
Gideon Hawley, another missionary protege of Jonathan Edwards spoke for hundreds when he wrote about his struggles as a missionary in 1753, "I need, greatly need something more than humane (human or natural) to support me. I read my Bible and Mr. Brainerd's Life, the only books I brought with me, and from them have a little support."
John Piper says of Brainerd’s Life;
“Through this Life the impact of Brainerd on the church has been incalculable, because beyond all the famous missionaries who tell us that they have been sustained and inspired by Brainerd's Life how many countless other unknown faithful servants must there be who found strength to press on from Brainerd's testimony!”
In the scriptures we see the ripple effect of the apostle Paul’s life:
“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of all brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14).
Do you hear what Paul is saying? Imprisoned, chained, unheard, uncertain, he looks back at all the trials of his life and says, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."
Think of it! All of the frustration, all of the delay, all of the physical suffering and Paul sees his circumstances not as curtailing his mission but for the advancement of his mission!. Paul means to say that his imprisonment—which seemed to be a setback—actually served to advance the gospel in Rome. Paul tells us how the ripple effect of his own imprisonment produced two wonderful and extraordinary outcomes. The gospel has advanced in two ways:
1. It advanced the preaching of the gospel.
Paul says that his imprisonment gave him an opportunity to witness to the whole Praetorian Guard. Paul realized that he was not only chained to soldiers, they were chained to him! Paul had a "captive audience". So Paul experienced a shuffle of soldiers chained to him 24 hours a day. Since they changed guards every six hours, this meant Paul had a new audience four times a day, 28 times a week, and over 2900 times in two years talking to these men about Jesus Christ and living by faith in Him before them. The very chain which Roman discipline riveted on the prisoners arm secured to his side a hearer to whom Paul would tell the story." These soldiers thought they were guarding a prisoner of Rome, but soon found that they had inadvertently enrolled in a course of systematic theology. And apparently, his witness was effective. Paul remarks that because of his imprisonment, the gospel of Jesus Christ was known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard. It is assumed (since he sends greetings from those in Caesar's household. (Philippians 4:22) that the gospel message had even worked its way into the Emperor's home.
2. It produced Bold Witness in other Christians
God used Paul's situation to "light a fire" under some of the other believers. Just as reading those three biographies that I mentioned lit a fire under me! The ripple effect of Paul’s witness gave the church confidence and boldness. The people of God were set on fire for the Lord, and all this did not happen through Paul's mighty preaching in Rome. He was in prison chained to an unbelieving soldier, but the effect of his life in jail impacted the whole congregation who were all out of jail. His chains led to their freedom!
Have you ever thought about the effect of your life on others in this way? Many people today have been disappointed because of being let down, abandoned, failed by other Christians who have not trusted or walked with God when times got tough. That is why I encourage you all to read Christian biographies!
What a breadth of fresh air to see someone committed, persevering and trusting in God like Paul; loving, serving, caring, sacrificing no matter what! When you’re courageous, others are inspired by your courage. When you are suffering under tremendous adversity and keep on praising God and having joy, the ripple effect is contagious in convicting others and inspiring them as well. When you choose to trust God in a trying circumstance, others see your faith and are encouraged by it. Faith can be caught. Your example can be more encouraging than anything you say. When the church saw how Paul was being in prison it challenged them to confront their difficulties and speak up for Christ whatever the cost. If the apostle could do so much from a prison cell how much more should they be accomplishing with their freedom. New courage and boldness was given to the church.
Let me share with you something that came home to me about the ripple effect when I went to Northwood cemetery outside of London and saw Charles Spurgeon’s grave. read on the side of the tomb his words “For since by faith I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply; redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die. Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing of thy power to save, when this poor stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.”
Then on the front of the tomb there was an open bible with the words of 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
That day I read those words of that dear pastor and servant of God I was moved to recommit my life to Christ and his Kingdom and to preach the gospel of Christ and grace and to serve the Lord till my dying day. The pebble of Spurgeon thrown in the pond of history 110 years ago has created a ripple effect that reached out to touch me on a cold, rainy, isolated evening and I will never be the same.
John Piper gives this illustration of the ripple effect one life can have:
"A book by Richard Sibbes, one of the choicest of the Puritan writers, was read by Richard Baxter, who was greatly blessed by it. Baxter then wrote his Call to the Unconverted which deeply influenced Philip Doddridge, who in turn wrote The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. This brought the young William Wilberforce, subsequent English statesman and foe of slavery, to serious thoughts of eternity. Wilberforce wrote his Practical Book of Christianity which fired the soul of Leigh Richmond. Richmond, in turn, wrote The Dairyman's Daughter, a book that brought thousands to the Lord, helping Thomas Chalmers the great preacher, among others."
The stone of David Brainerd or of the apostle Paul have made a huge vast ripple effects on countless souls. Oh brothers and sisters you don’t know the effects that flow outward from the pebble of you and your soul falling in the pond of those all around you. If Christ stirred Paul and Paul stirred pagan guards and the Christians in Philippi, if Christ stirred Brainerd and Brainerd stirred Edwards and countless missionaries, and if in reading this he has stirred you, than it is obvious the waves are in motion and the waves are going onward to you, in you, and flowing out through each one of you.
Make your life count. Don't waste your life. May the ripple effect of the pebbles of your drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on for centuries and into eternity.
Pastor Bill
Friday, December 9, 2011
LIVING ON HOPE
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV
It is something as important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is to a light bulb, as essential as air is to a jumbo jet. It’s one of the most powerful words in the English language. It’s a power that keeps us going in the toughest times of life. It’s a power that energizes us with confidence, excitement, and anticipation as we look to the future. It gives us a reason to live. It takes obstacles and transforms them into possibilities. What am I talking about? HOPE!
It’s been said that a person can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but you can’t live 4 seconds without hope. Tertullian said, "Hope is patience with the lamp lit." Hope is holding on when things around you begin to slip away. Hope is praying expectantly when there seemingly are no answers. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells of a man whose shop had been burned during the disastrous Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set the table amid the charred debris and above it placed this optimistic sign: "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."
Many men become bitter toward life because of the unfortunate circumstances in which they find themselves. Many quit. Others have taken their own lives. What makes the difference in the outcome? Talent? No! The only difference between those who threw in the towel and quit and those who used their energy to rebuild and kept going, is found in the word hope. What does hope do for mankind? Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest. Hope motivates when discouragement comes .Hope energizes when the body is tired. Hope sweetens while the bitterness bites. Hope sings when all melodies are gone. Hope believes when the evidence is eliminated. Hope listens for answers when no one is talking. Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping. Hope endures hardship when no one is caring. Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing. Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking. Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging. Hope dares to give when no one is sharing. Hope brings the victory when no one is winning.
There is nothing to do but bury a man when his hopes are gone. Losing hope usually precedes loss of life itself. You don't need a better environment; you just need more hope. It's the one thing in your life that you cannot do without! Hope is that basic to life. I have hope today. “Where there is no hope for the future, there is no power in the present.” It is an unshakable hope. It is a hope based on something eternal and all-powerful. It is a hope founded on good evidence.
If you are without hope today, or if you have a loved one who is without hope, there are links for hope you need to know about and take into your life..I am thankful to Sam Crabtree for his article that has influenced this blog.
Three Ways in Which We Use the Word "Hope"
We use the word "hope" in at least three different ways.
1. Hope is the desire for something good in the future.
The children might say, "I hope daddy gets home early tonight so we can play kickball after supper before his meeting." In other words they desire for him to get home early so that they can experience this good thing, namely, playing together after supper.
2. Hope is the good thing in the future that we are desiring.
We say, "Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely." In other words, Jim's safe arrival is the object of our hope.
3. Hope is the reason why our hope might indeed come to pass.
We say, "A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time." In other words, the tailwind is the reason we may in fact achieve the future good that we desire. It's our only hope.
So hope is used in three senses:
a.a desire for something good in the future,
b.the thing in the future that we desire, and
c.the basis reason for thinking that our desire may indeed be fulfilled
The Distinctive Biblical Meaning of Hope
All three of these uses are found in the Bible. But the most important feature of biblical hope is not present in any of these ordinary uses of the word hope. In fact the distinctive meaning of hope in Scripture is almost the opposite of our ordinary usage.
I don't mean that in Scripture hope is a desire for something bad (instead of something good). And I don't mean that in Scripture hope is rejection of good (instead of desire for it). It is not the opposite in those senses.
It is the opposite in this sense: ordinarily when we use the word hope, we express uncertainty rather than certainty.
"I hope daddy gets home early," means, "I don't have any certainty that daddy will get home on time, I only desire that he does." "Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely," means, "We don't know if he will or not, but that is our desire." "A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time," means, "A good tailwind would bring us our desired goal, but we can't be sure we will get one."
Ordinarily, when we express hope, we are expressing uncertainty. But this is NOT the distinctive biblical meaning of hope. And the main thing I want to do this morning is show you from Scripture that biblical hope is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, biblical hope is:
A confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will be done.
1. The Link Between Gratitude and Hope
Gratefulness looks back. Hope looks forward with desire and reasonable confidence and expectation. By looking back, gratitude fuels forward-looking hope. As with over-matched ball teams that are behind late in the game, hanging their heads without oomph, without hope for the future, there isn’t power for the present. Persons who tend not to be grateful tend not to be hopeful.
2. The Link Between Hopelessness and Misplaced Trust
Hopelessness is a curse; it’s the curse of trusting in man or in anything other than God and his perfect wisdom and timing. Marshall Faulk wrote, "There are no hopeless situations, there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them.” Despair looks at immediate realities; hope sees ultimate realities. Some see a hopeless end, but others see an Endless Hope. Psalm 33:17, The war horse is a false hope for salvation. . . How is hope sustained? Answer: trust the right thing, God. Hope believes that God is not done. Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not the feeling we will have. That is, hope is the (up) feeling we have that the (down) feeling we have is not permanent.
3. The Link Suffering to Hope
Romans 5:2–5, "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
The goal of everything, including suffering, is hope. Many lose hope during tribulation, but God intends for tribulation to produce hope… through faith. How does one grow in hope during tribulation? Answer: God’s love is poured into our hearts (through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us).
4. The Link Jesus to Your Hope
Jesus is our hope. In the baby Jesus, God was fulfilling the hopes of his people in a way that they did not recognize. We may not see it now, but God has already acted for us, and God is working even now behind the scenes to bring about his good will. The key is to remember Jesus, who knows your situation, and whose Spirit in us is a down payment of glory yet to come. God is not done.
5. The Link your hope to the God is the origin and object of hope.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13)
God is the One who gives hope. He is the source; He is the origin of hope. He is the object of our hope and He grants His people peace and joy as they believe. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” The God of hope is the one who fills you with joy and with peace.
6. The Link Your Hope to the God Who Is Not Done
"Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God." Psalm 42:5
The best sermon you preach yourself this week may be only three words long: HOPE IN GOD! John Piper
God was not done when Noah was in the boat, Sarah was barren, Joseph was in prison, Moses was on the run from Pharaoh, the children of Israel were pinned against the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho blocked possession of the promised land, Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, Samson was seduced by a woman and blinded, Ruth was widowed, David was mocked as a boy facing a giant, Job’s children were all killed, government officials persecuted Daniel, Jonah was in the belly of a fish, Paul couldn’t get rid of this thorn, and Jesus was put in the grave. God is not done! Hope is not undone, because he is not done!
In your life hope is like a reservoir of emotional strength. If put down, look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to return good for evil. Without hope you have no power to absorb the wrong and walk in love, and you sink into self-pity or self-justification. If you experience a setback in your planning—get sick, or things don't go the way you want—you look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to keep going and not give up. If you face a temptation to be dishonest, to steal, to lie, or to lust, Look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to hold fast to the way of righteousness, and deny yourself some brief, unsatisfying pleasure
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus'blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand….
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.”
Holding on to hope,
Pastor Bill
It is something as important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is to a light bulb, as essential as air is to a jumbo jet. It’s one of the most powerful words in the English language. It’s a power that keeps us going in the toughest times of life. It’s a power that energizes us with confidence, excitement, and anticipation as we look to the future. It gives us a reason to live. It takes obstacles and transforms them into possibilities. What am I talking about? HOPE!
It’s been said that a person can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but you can’t live 4 seconds without hope. Tertullian said, "Hope is patience with the lamp lit." Hope is holding on when things around you begin to slip away. Hope is praying expectantly when there seemingly are no answers. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan tells of a man whose shop had been burned during the disastrous Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table. He set the table amid the charred debris and above it placed this optimistic sign: "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."
Many men become bitter toward life because of the unfortunate circumstances in which they find themselves. Many quit. Others have taken their own lives. What makes the difference in the outcome? Talent? No! The only difference between those who threw in the towel and quit and those who used their energy to rebuild and kept going, is found in the word hope. What does hope do for mankind? Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest. Hope motivates when discouragement comes .Hope energizes when the body is tired. Hope sweetens while the bitterness bites. Hope sings when all melodies are gone. Hope believes when the evidence is eliminated. Hope listens for answers when no one is talking. Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping. Hope endures hardship when no one is caring. Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing. Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking. Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging. Hope dares to give when no one is sharing. Hope brings the victory when no one is winning.
There is nothing to do but bury a man when his hopes are gone. Losing hope usually precedes loss of life itself. You don't need a better environment; you just need more hope. It's the one thing in your life that you cannot do without! Hope is that basic to life. I have hope today. “Where there is no hope for the future, there is no power in the present.” It is an unshakable hope. It is a hope based on something eternal and all-powerful. It is a hope founded on good evidence.
If you are without hope today, or if you have a loved one who is without hope, there are links for hope you need to know about and take into your life..I am thankful to Sam Crabtree for his article that has influenced this blog.
Three Ways in Which We Use the Word "Hope"
We use the word "hope" in at least three different ways.
1. Hope is the desire for something good in the future.
The children might say, "I hope daddy gets home early tonight so we can play kickball after supper before his meeting." In other words they desire for him to get home early so that they can experience this good thing, namely, playing together after supper.
2. Hope is the good thing in the future that we are desiring.
We say, "Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely." In other words, Jim's safe arrival is the object of our hope.
3. Hope is the reason why our hope might indeed come to pass.
We say, "A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time." In other words, the tailwind is the reason we may in fact achieve the future good that we desire. It's our only hope.
So hope is used in three senses:
a.a desire for something good in the future,
b.the thing in the future that we desire, and
c.the basis reason for thinking that our desire may indeed be fulfilled
The Distinctive Biblical Meaning of Hope
All three of these uses are found in the Bible. But the most important feature of biblical hope is not present in any of these ordinary uses of the word hope. In fact the distinctive meaning of hope in Scripture is almost the opposite of our ordinary usage.
I don't mean that in Scripture hope is a desire for something bad (instead of something good). And I don't mean that in Scripture hope is rejection of good (instead of desire for it). It is not the opposite in those senses.
It is the opposite in this sense: ordinarily when we use the word hope, we express uncertainty rather than certainty.
"I hope daddy gets home early," means, "I don't have any certainty that daddy will get home on time, I only desire that he does." "Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely," means, "We don't know if he will or not, but that is our desire." "A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time," means, "A good tailwind would bring us our desired goal, but we can't be sure we will get one."
Ordinarily, when we express hope, we are expressing uncertainty. But this is NOT the distinctive biblical meaning of hope. And the main thing I want to do this morning is show you from Scripture that biblical hope is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, biblical hope is:
A confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future; it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen; it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will be done.
1. The Link Between Gratitude and Hope
Gratefulness looks back. Hope looks forward with desire and reasonable confidence and expectation. By looking back, gratitude fuels forward-looking hope. As with over-matched ball teams that are behind late in the game, hanging their heads without oomph, without hope for the future, there isn’t power for the present. Persons who tend not to be grateful tend not to be hopeful.
2. The Link Between Hopelessness and Misplaced Trust
Hopelessness is a curse; it’s the curse of trusting in man or in anything other than God and his perfect wisdom and timing. Marshall Faulk wrote, "There are no hopeless situations, there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them.” Despair looks at immediate realities; hope sees ultimate realities. Some see a hopeless end, but others see an Endless Hope. Psalm 33:17, The war horse is a false hope for salvation. . . How is hope sustained? Answer: trust the right thing, God. Hope believes that God is not done. Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not the feeling we will have. That is, hope is the (up) feeling we have that the (down) feeling we have is not permanent.
3. The Link Suffering to Hope
Romans 5:2–5, "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
The goal of everything, including suffering, is hope. Many lose hope during tribulation, but God intends for tribulation to produce hope… through faith. How does one grow in hope during tribulation? Answer: God’s love is poured into our hearts (through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us).
4. The Link Jesus to Your Hope
Jesus is our hope. In the baby Jesus, God was fulfilling the hopes of his people in a way that they did not recognize. We may not see it now, but God has already acted for us, and God is working even now behind the scenes to bring about his good will. The key is to remember Jesus, who knows your situation, and whose Spirit in us is a down payment of glory yet to come. God is not done.
5. The Link your hope to the God is the origin and object of hope.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13)
God is the One who gives hope. He is the source; He is the origin of hope. He is the object of our hope and He grants His people peace and joy as they believe. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” The God of hope is the one who fills you with joy and with peace.
6. The Link Your Hope to the God Who Is Not Done
"Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God." Psalm 42:5
The best sermon you preach yourself this week may be only three words long: HOPE IN GOD! John Piper
God was not done when Noah was in the boat, Sarah was barren, Joseph was in prison, Moses was on the run from Pharaoh, the children of Israel were pinned against the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho blocked possession of the promised land, Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, Samson was seduced by a woman and blinded, Ruth was widowed, David was mocked as a boy facing a giant, Job’s children were all killed, government officials persecuted Daniel, Jonah was in the belly of a fish, Paul couldn’t get rid of this thorn, and Jesus was put in the grave. God is not done! Hope is not undone, because he is not done!
In your life hope is like a reservoir of emotional strength. If put down, look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to return good for evil. Without hope you have no power to absorb the wrong and walk in love, and you sink into self-pity or self-justification. If you experience a setback in your planning—get sick, or things don't go the way you want—you look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to keep going and not give up. If you face a temptation to be dishonest, to steal, to lie, or to lust, Look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to hold fast to the way of righteousness, and deny yourself some brief, unsatisfying pleasure
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus'blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand….
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.”
Holding on to hope,
Pastor Bill
Saturday, December 3, 2011
LOOKING TO JESUS
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)
A teenager had decided to quit high school, saying he was just fed up with it all. His father kept trying to convince him to stay with it. “Son”, he said, “you just can’t quit. All the people who are remembered in history didn’t quit. Thomas Edison, he didn’t quit. Douglas MacArthur, he didn’t quit. Elmo McCringle…” “Who?” the son burst in. “Elmo McCringle”, replied his father. “Who the heck is Elmo McCringle?” asked the son. “See,” the father replied, you don’t remember him. He quit!”
One of the most significant utterances ever to come from the mouth of Jesus was spoken on the cross. In the midst of His grand passion, as He suffered the pangs of the agony of death, Jesus managed to gasp, "It is finished."(John 19:30) That is when Jesus quit life; when His task was finished. Not before. Not until. The work had to be finished.
The Apostle Paul stated it this way: "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God…Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith " (Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:7). So at the end of his life Paul said, "All my life has been like a fight and like a race. Keeping faith has been a struggle. I have fought the good fight and run the race of perseverance." And before he died Paul made clear that this view of his own life was his view of the Christian life everybody is called to live. In 1 Timothy 6:12 he says, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called." And to explain, he said in verse 11, "Flee [the love of money]—flee all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness." Note the two words: "flee" and "pursue"—flee the love of money and all the evils that grow out of it, and pursue faith and love and perseverance. These are the words of war: Flee! Pursue! Paul knows nothing of coasting or casual Christianity. Paul simply does not recognize a Christianity that is not running a race and fighting a fight. Nor does the author of the letter to the Hebrews
The writer of Hebrews describes the Christian life as a race. When you are in a race, it is extremely important where you look. Nothing will throw off your stride or slow you down like looking at your feet or looking at a runner coming up behind you, or looking at the crowd in the grandstands. The Christian race is the same. Some may look too much to themselves, what they are doing, or on others and what they are doing. Some people will focus upon the difficulties and the obstacles along the way. Some will keep looking back at the past, whether losses or better days. Some will keep their eyes upon the goal; the finish line. Where you are looking will determine whether or not you finish the race.
The writer of Hebrews wants to encourage us to look to Jesus. "Looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith."(Hebrews 12:2). He uses the Greek present participle that implies the idea of a constant attention during the race. He exhorts us to focus continually upon Him. Jesus will keep us running and winning. Fixing our eyes on seeing Jesus is what saves us and strengthens us.
Who is He? He is the author and the supreme example of our faith. Jesus has gone through everything we have to face, and by faith, He faced it successfully. Like a pioneer He started and finished the race in triumph! That is why He can help us to succeed! He has gone ahead; he knows what paths to take and what ones to avoid. He is also the perfecter of our faith. He worked to author faith and to perfect faith. He works to begin it and He works to complete it in our lives.
Not only that, but the very Jesus we look to is ever present with you and in you through the Holy Spirit. “I am with you always…” (Matthew28:20). “I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17). Did you know that the Holy Spirit’s work is to help us to turn our eyes away from self and our problems to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us look at our problems, others, and ourselves instead of Christ. All those gazes upon ourselves, our problems, and others will never bring us any strength, help us to find comfort, or give us any hope and assurance.
The Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self and turns them to Jesus. He tells us that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, do not look at your fragile hold of Jesus Christ, look at Jesus Christ! Do not look at your feelings about yourself and your life, look at Jesus Christ! Do not look at your little faith you have in Jesus Christ- look at Jesus Christ the author and finisher of your faith! Do not look at your weakness and failings as a Christian, look at Jesus Christ and His blood and His work! Do not look at your loose grip on Jesus Christ, look at Jesus Christ’s grip upon you! Do not look at your little hope in Jesus, look at Jesus, the source of your hope!
Charles Spurgeon says that “We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon your mind; when you wake in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Oh! Let not your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.”
I encourage you to keep running, persevering, and fighting. How? By looking to Jesus, who “is at work in us to will and to do his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). Look to Jesus who will “complete what He started in us.” (Philippians 1:6) Look to Jesus who while you run and fight can enable you to “be strong in Him and the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Psalm 123:2, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.”
2 Chronicles 20:12, “…we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
Isaiah 45:22, "Look to Me, and be saved,All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."
Hear again what the writer of Hebrews says, ‘Look to Jesus’! Don’t waste your look, looking at yourself, that look won’t help. Hebrews says, ‘Look to Jesus.’ “Look to Jesus! See Him hanging on the cross the cross bearing your sins and the wrath of God that you deserved upon myself. Look at Jesus who died and buried. Look at Jesus; He rose again. Look at Jesus; He ascended to heaven. Look at Jesus; He is sitting on the throne at the Father’s right hand. Look at Jesus, He is coming again. Are you tired, defeated, discouraged, weak, feel like giving up, can't take another day, hopeless, helpless, and lost? Do you hear dear reader? Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus!” Look! Look! Look! Maybe something is clicking inside of you. You know this is what you need to do. Look to and trust in Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus, take heart, trust him, and run.
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
Pastor Bill
A teenager had decided to quit high school, saying he was just fed up with it all. His father kept trying to convince him to stay with it. “Son”, he said, “you just can’t quit. All the people who are remembered in history didn’t quit. Thomas Edison, he didn’t quit. Douglas MacArthur, he didn’t quit. Elmo McCringle…” “Who?” the son burst in. “Elmo McCringle”, replied his father. “Who the heck is Elmo McCringle?” asked the son. “See,” the father replied, you don’t remember him. He quit!”
One of the most significant utterances ever to come from the mouth of Jesus was spoken on the cross. In the midst of His grand passion, as He suffered the pangs of the agony of death, Jesus managed to gasp, "It is finished."(John 19:30) That is when Jesus quit life; when His task was finished. Not before. Not until. The work had to be finished.
The Apostle Paul stated it this way: "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God…Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus…I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith " (Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:7). So at the end of his life Paul said, "All my life has been like a fight and like a race. Keeping faith has been a struggle. I have fought the good fight and run the race of perseverance." And before he died Paul made clear that this view of his own life was his view of the Christian life everybody is called to live. In 1 Timothy 6:12 he says, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called." And to explain, he said in verse 11, "Flee [the love of money]—flee all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness." Note the two words: "flee" and "pursue"—flee the love of money and all the evils that grow out of it, and pursue faith and love and perseverance. These are the words of war: Flee! Pursue! Paul knows nothing of coasting or casual Christianity. Paul simply does not recognize a Christianity that is not running a race and fighting a fight. Nor does the author of the letter to the Hebrews
The writer of Hebrews describes the Christian life as a race. When you are in a race, it is extremely important where you look. Nothing will throw off your stride or slow you down like looking at your feet or looking at a runner coming up behind you, or looking at the crowd in the grandstands. The Christian race is the same. Some may look too much to themselves, what they are doing, or on others and what they are doing. Some people will focus upon the difficulties and the obstacles along the way. Some will keep looking back at the past, whether losses or better days. Some will keep their eyes upon the goal; the finish line. Where you are looking will determine whether or not you finish the race.
The writer of Hebrews wants to encourage us to look to Jesus. "Looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith."(Hebrews 12:2). He uses the Greek present participle that implies the idea of a constant attention during the race. He exhorts us to focus continually upon Him. Jesus will keep us running and winning. Fixing our eyes on seeing Jesus is what saves us and strengthens us.
Who is He? He is the author and the supreme example of our faith. Jesus has gone through everything we have to face, and by faith, He faced it successfully. Like a pioneer He started and finished the race in triumph! That is why He can help us to succeed! He has gone ahead; he knows what paths to take and what ones to avoid. He is also the perfecter of our faith. He worked to author faith and to perfect faith. He works to begin it and He works to complete it in our lives.
Not only that, but the very Jesus we look to is ever present with you and in you through the Holy Spirit. “I am with you always…” (Matthew28:20). “I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17). Did you know that the Holy Spirit’s work is to help us to turn our eyes away from self and our problems to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us look at our problems, others, and ourselves instead of Christ. All those gazes upon ourselves, our problems, and others will never bring us any strength, help us to find comfort, or give us any hope and assurance.
The Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self and turns them to Jesus. He tells us that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, do not look at your fragile hold of Jesus Christ, look at Jesus Christ! Do not look at your feelings about yourself and your life, look at Jesus Christ! Do not look at your little faith you have in Jesus Christ- look at Jesus Christ the author and finisher of your faith! Do not look at your weakness and failings as a Christian, look at Jesus Christ and His blood and His work! Do not look at your loose grip on Jesus Christ, look at Jesus Christ’s grip upon you! Do not look at your little hope in Jesus, look at Jesus, the source of your hope!
Charles Spurgeon says that “We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon your mind; when you wake in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Oh! Let not your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.”
I encourage you to keep running, persevering, and fighting. How? By looking to Jesus, who “is at work in us to will and to do his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). Look to Jesus who will “complete what He started in us.” (Philippians 1:6) Look to Jesus who while you run and fight can enable you to “be strong in Him and the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
Psalm 123:2, “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.”
2 Chronicles 20:12, “…we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
Isaiah 45:22, "Look to Me, and be saved,All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."
Hear again what the writer of Hebrews says, ‘Look to Jesus’! Don’t waste your look, looking at yourself, that look won’t help. Hebrews says, ‘Look to Jesus.’ “Look to Jesus! See Him hanging on the cross the cross bearing your sins and the wrath of God that you deserved upon myself. Look at Jesus who died and buried. Look at Jesus; He rose again. Look at Jesus; He ascended to heaven. Look at Jesus; He is sitting on the throne at the Father’s right hand. Look at Jesus, He is coming again. Are you tired, defeated, discouraged, weak, feel like giving up, can't take another day, hopeless, helpless, and lost? Do you hear dear reader? Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus!” Look! Look! Look! Maybe something is clicking inside of you. You know this is what you need to do. Look to and trust in Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus, take heart, trust him, and run.
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
Pastor Bill
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