How do you see other Christians? When you look at others, what are you looking for? What do you see? Do you have a default way that you generally tend to look at other people? Do you find yourself looking for the negative in others? Their flaws, sins, or weaknesses? Do you tend to be critical in your assesstments? I want to suggest a wonderful new way to look at people and relate to them in ways that will build them up and draw others to be around a person like you. It is a way of relating that makes the church a free, safe, and beautiful place. It is a way of relating that will winsomely attract others to you.
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. The practice of identifying evidences of grace in others is drawn particularly from 1 Corinthians 1:1-9,
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.”
I am deeply touched by Pauls view and attitude towards these people! What we see here of Paul’s attitude toward the Corinthian church and his sincere affection for the believers is a profound demonstration of the grace of God. I find his attitude towards them extraordinary because there were few churches that ever needed more criticism and adjustment then this motley crew of Corinth!
When he wrote this letter he addressed several serious problems with them: There was serious doctrinal error, divisions, immorality, lawsuits among them, a misunderstanding and abuse of their gatherings as a church body, misuse of the gifts, an active resistance to his apostolic authority. And yet in the opening lines of his letter Paul communicates a remarkable affection for these people. He says, “I give thanks to my God always for you.” Why? “Because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus” (verse 4). Paul recognized evidences of God’s grace working among the Corinthians who needed adjustment, and he therefore continually thanks God for them. Paul saw the Corinthians from a divine perspective, and he allowed this perspective to determine his attitude towards them. If Paul could find evidences of overflowing grace even in the Corinthian church, what could possibly excuse us from finding evidences of grace in our fellow believers?
From what divine perspective did Paul look at others? What went into shaping Paul’s divine perspective, so that his eyes were wide open to see and savor the evidences of grace in the lives of the Corinthians?
1. First, he saw the fact that God’s grace had been at work in them.
Notice first, Paul uses the word “called” three times in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 1(verses 1,2,9). The word “called” (Greek, kaleo) is one of the most frequent one-word descriptions of the Christian. In using it, Paul is especially acknowledging and affirming God’s sovereign grace and is reminding us of God’s prior activity: We were acted upon by God before we ever responded to Him. The “call” is God’s summons to which we respond. God had mercy on us in our sinful corruption and intervened in our lives. Our salvation is owed completely to the sovereign grace of God. God’s prior activity has brought us to where we are today.
Oh what a difference in our perspective when we remind ourselves that every believer we encounter has been previously acted upon by God. As a result, Paul could say, “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”. That is the divine perspective that we must begin with otherwise we will look at others deficiencies rather than the evidences of grace in their lives. Paul knew that the Corinthians had been called by God and he was more aware of this prior activity than he was in their present failings.
This fact for Paul sustained Paul by imparting faith for change in others and perseverance for the process of change in others. The call of God in the lives of others means that God has been at work in them, and the evidences of grace mean secondly, that...
2. Paul saw that God is at work in the present in the lives of others.
Oh how much we can bless, encourage, and motivate others when we perceive where and how God is at work in thier lives and letting them know.
Paul says in Philippians 2:13, “God is at work to will and perfect…” To many people think about the absence of God in others lives rather than the presence of God and too many know about others sins more than they know of God's amazing grace. Paul affirms to these flawed, weak, but also previous called by God and graced by God: “The testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift…” Paul says, “I see that God is working in you!” Oh how we motivate others when we see this, and oh what joy it is when we are a community of believers who affirm this to each other. Do you realize how the spirit works in each other? Every time a person loves their enemies or unconditionally, has joy in sorrow, is at peace during the storm, is patient and persevering not complaining nor quitting, gentle, humble, and full of faith; every time that one speaks the word of God, serves in the strength that God supplies, that God is supernaturally working His power in action! If God is God He is presently working in my brothers and sisters life. That is something we need to believe and speak to ourselves and each other.
3. Paul was confident for their future in the faithfulness of God’s future grace working in them.
Here was a church that was anything but strong or blameless, yet Paul both sees and assures them that the Lord “will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful…” (verse 8). Paul is full of confidence about this church’s future. Oh how often in my judgmental pride, I am not saying that about others! That is because I too often misplace my confidence in man instead of God. Paul’s confidence for the weak, immature, failing Corinthians was anchored in his confidence in the faithfulness of God. "The faithfulness of God triumphs over the flaws of men. "
Paul’s next words are these “I am sure that God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is the same confidence that Paul expressed in these words to the church of Philippi: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6). This can free us to be patient, merciful, gracious, and loving towards our fellow Christians. It is to focus upon his intent for our lives and His power over our lives, turning prostitutes into holy women of God. And in this is the true source of confidence towards others-the faithfulness of God triumphs over the flaws of men. God by His grace worked, is working, and will work in your brother’s life.
Oh how we need this perspective towards ourselves and towards others so that we can experience faith for change and perseverance for the process. Practically speaking, let me ask some questions: What about your family? What about your husband or wife? In interactions with you, what is your spouse more aware of-evidences of grace that you’ve noticed, or the disapproval that you need to change or grow? What about your children? When was the last time you informed your child of an evidence of grace thay you’ve observed in his or her life? What about in your local church? Would people tend to view you as a fault finder? Is your spiritual gift the ministry of criticism or discouragement? Or do people know that you are someone who will actively call attention to the evidences of God’s gracious work in their lives and in the church?
Paul looked at the Corinthian church as it is in Jesus before he looked at anything else that was true of the church. Yes, people and the church may have flaws, yes people and the church needed some correcting, but not without seeing first what God had done, is doing, and will do through Jesus Christ! Ask for God for the grace to give you eyes to see others through His past, present, and future grace. Ask God to help you follow Paul’s example and to become preoccupied with the divine perspective that 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.
How about this week you prayerfully, intentionally, and lovingly come up to someone to edify and encourage them by telling them the evidences of grace that you see in their lives. Watch what happens and feel the joy in your soul of giving a verbal blessing to someone else!
Looking to see others in a new way,
Pastor Bill
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
TRUE OBEDIENCE Part 2
Last week I spoke about what obedience means to God. I call it "Peculiar Obedience." Obedience begins in the heart where God graces the heart to give it a “want to” so that when the time for obedience comes to do what you “ought to” do you will “want to” do what you ought to do; and be empowered to do what you want to do; therefore, you will do what you ought to do.
A great illustration of this is in 2 Chronicles 30 when King Hezekiah recovered the Passover for Israel. Israel had forgotten God and Hezekiah broken, grieved, indignant and deeply repentant, sent couriers throughout the land calling the people to repentance and obedience. We read in verses 1-9,
"Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month-- for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem-- and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, "O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him."
What was the response of the people to Hezekiah’s call? In verses 10-11 we read,
“So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.”
Most of the people did not obey the call of Hezekiah. But there were others who humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem as Hezekiah had decreed. What was it that caused them to respond in obedience?
“The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.” (Verse 12)
This is peculiar obedience in action. God had commanded “return to me and I will return to you”. Some obeyed God. Why did they obey? Because,“the hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded.”
This is amazing! This is peculiar obedience. Throughout the scriptures God has promised that He would work in his people to bring about obedience. Here are some examples of those Old Testament promises:
Jeremiah 31:31-33, "Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. . . . I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it."
Deuteronomy 30:6, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart . . . to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
Ezekiel 11:19-20, "I will . . . put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them."
Ezekiel 36:26-27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes."
Jeremiah 32:40, "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me."
The New Covenant promise is that beneath the call to obey and every act of obedience is the enabling grace of God. Behind every “ought to” done in obedience, God graces our hearts with a “want to”. Augustine put it this way: "Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.”
God’s sovereign work in our heart is the key to peculiar obedience. Peculiar obedience is where God gives you a new desire so that you will want what you ought to want in order to do what you ought to do and a new power to be able to do what you want to do. That is to say, when temptation comes you will desire God and pleasing Him more than the temptation and its fleeting pleasures and you have the God given power to be able to do it!
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11)
"Now the God of peace . . . equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
We must pray for the desire in our heart to “want to” do what we “ought to” do and God will do give it to you. We can pray Psalm 119:36, “Incline my heart to your testimonies…” Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days". Hebrews 4;16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help(us to want what we ought to want so that we would do what we ought to do)in time of need.”
May God put in your heart a “want to” like He did in Augustine, who wrote,
“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure."
Pastor Bill
A great illustration of this is in 2 Chronicles 30 when King Hezekiah recovered the Passover for Israel. Israel had forgotten God and Hezekiah broken, grieved, indignant and deeply repentant, sent couriers throughout the land calling the people to repentance and obedience. We read in verses 1-9,
"Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month-- for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem-- and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, "O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him."
What was the response of the people to Hezekiah’s call? In verses 10-11 we read,
“So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.”
Most of the people did not obey the call of Hezekiah. But there were others who humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem as Hezekiah had decreed. What was it that caused them to respond in obedience?
“The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD.” (Verse 12)
This is peculiar obedience in action. God had commanded “return to me and I will return to you”. Some obeyed God. Why did they obey? Because,“the hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded.”
This is amazing! This is peculiar obedience. Throughout the scriptures God has promised that He would work in his people to bring about obedience. Here are some examples of those Old Testament promises:
Jeremiah 31:31-33, "Behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. . . . I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it."
Deuteronomy 30:6, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart . . . to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."
Ezekiel 11:19-20, "I will . . . put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them."
Ezekiel 36:26-27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes."
Jeremiah 32:40, "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me."
The New Covenant promise is that beneath the call to obey and every act of obedience is the enabling grace of God. Behind every “ought to” done in obedience, God graces our hearts with a “want to”. Augustine put it this way: "Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.”
God’s sovereign work in our heart is the key to peculiar obedience. Peculiar obedience is where God gives you a new desire so that you will want what you ought to want in order to do what you ought to do and a new power to be able to do what you want to do. That is to say, when temptation comes you will desire God and pleasing Him more than the temptation and its fleeting pleasures and you have the God given power to be able to do it!
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11)
"Now the God of peace . . . equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
We must pray for the desire in our heart to “want to” do what we “ought to” do and God will do give it to you. We can pray Psalm 119:36, “Incline my heart to your testimonies…” Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days". Hebrews 4;16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help(us to want what we ought to want so that we would do what we ought to do)in time of need.”
May God put in your heart a “want to” like He did in Augustine, who wrote,
“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure."
Pastor Bill
Saturday, June 16, 2012
TRUE OBEDIENCE Part 1
“By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name…”
Romans 1:5
“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7
“For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed…”
Romans 15:18
"Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22
Soren Kierkegaard once told a parable about a community of ducks who every Sunday would waddle off to duck church to hear the duck preacher. The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. With these wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go, there was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish. With those wings they could soar into the presence of God himself. Shouts of "Amen" were quacked throughout the duck congregation. At the conclusion of the service, the ducks left, commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard, and waddled back home.
Too often, we waddle away from church and bible reading just as we waddled in-unchanged. We read our Bibles and we hear our preachers calling us to obedience and telling us that we can do it. So we leave the word and church inspired and hopeful and ready to obey and then find ourselves failing miserably. I have been a Christian for 38 years this year and left to myself, I must admit that I am not a very good at being good and doing obedience. At times I am grieved that after all of these years I am still selfish, egotistical, insensitive, prideful, ambitious, cold, cynical, and impatient. The harder I have tried to live the Christian life, the worse it often times gets. For every good intention, there is often a bad action. For every good action, there is often a bad intention. For every right thing I do, there are two wrongs. I am very skilled at snatching defeat right out of the jaws of victory. Oh how many tears have I cried over my sinfulness.
The apostle Paul describes this experience of himself in Romans 7:14-25, "“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”!
The scriptures clearly teach us that God demands obedience from his people. We are responsible before God to obey His commandments. This involves not only obedient acts, but also obedient attitudes. For example, delight in the Lord is commanded (Psalm 37:6); love is commanded (Matthew 22:37); joy is commanded (Psalm 110:2; Philippians 4:4); gratitude is commanded (Colossians 3:15); hope is commanded (Psalm 42:5).
Secondly, the scriptures teach us that we are saved for obedience. For example,
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,(Which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name…” (Romans 1:1-5)
“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7)
Thirdly, obedience demonstrates our love for Christ. Our Lord said that, “if you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Then Apostle John adds, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:2-3).
Surprisingly, the apostle John adds something else about obedience that is both puzzling and wonderful. “...and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
Do you feel an utter disconnect when the Apostle John says that loving God by commandment keeping is not burdensome? Has that been your experience? So what does John mean when he makes such a statement? In John's perspective, somehow, there is a kind of commandment keeping and obedience that is not burdensome but joyful, easy, and light. What is it?What does it look like?
When you combine what Jesus and John say you discover that love is not just obeying but a kind of obeying that comes from a certain kind of heart that makes the obedience not burdensome, but easy. So often we are taught that obedience is a decision and an act of the will. We are to obey because God says so period. You must do it whether or not you feel like it. But what if I do something that I ought to do but my heart is not into what I am doing. In short, what if I do what I ought to do but I don’t want to do what I ought to do?
This leads to a serious problem. How do I sincerely and earnestly obey the commandments that seem to all be rooted more within than in behavior? For instance, to have joy (Philippians 4:4; Psalm 100:2); to delight or enjoy God (Psalm 37:4) ; to hope (Psalm 42:5); to be tenderhearted (Ephesians 4:32); to be zealous (Romans 12:11); thankful (Colossians 3:15); broken and contrite ( Psalm 51:17); to have affection for my brothers ( Romans 12:10); to crave or desire (1 Peter 2:2); and most of all to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)?
It is here that I discovered that to obey these commands there has to be something more than willpower, duty, and decisions. It has to be something more than my power to do it. The reality is that I find it impossible to keep these commands and therefore they are very burdensome to me. But John says that obedience is not burdensome. So there is a kind of obedience that is not burdensome.
What is this kind of obedience? First, we have to see that the reality of the Christian life is that left to ourselves we are totally depraved. (Romans 8:7; 1 Corinthians 2; 14; Romans 5:19; Jeremiah 17:9). The root of our disobedience is our utter depravity. Our heart does not desire what it ought to desire. It has sinful, distorted, misplaced, and foolish desires. The core problem when it comes to God’s commands and our obedience is the weakness of our desires. John Piper in reflecting upon Saint Augustine understanding wrote, “We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like.”
My freedom is my demise as I wrote last week. Last week I wrote that sinful mans freedom is an illusion of freedom. We are not free in our desires. If you don't have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. If you do it only out of duty, obligation, will power, or others expectations to do what you don't want to do, nobody calls that full freedom. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don't want and that is not freedom.
But there is a second problem with my freedom. What if you have the desire to do something, but you have no ability to do it, you are not free to do it. I would love to fly but I cannot. Therefore, I am not free to fly.My flesh always goes after what it likes, yet apart from Christ it always likes the wrong things. That is why the root of obedience has to be a change in my desires, inclinations, and affections. Otherwise our "want to’s" will never be what we ought to want. We won’t desire what we ought to desire and our hearts will go after fleshly desires. Therefore we will do what we ought not to do. Our behavior always follows are hearts!
The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
Left to ourselves, our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. We do not want what we ought to want. Yet God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we don't want to obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change?
To be continued next next week...
Romans 1:5
“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7
“For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed…”
Romans 15:18
"Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22
Soren Kierkegaard once told a parable about a community of ducks who every Sunday would waddle off to duck church to hear the duck preacher. The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. With these wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go, there was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish. With those wings they could soar into the presence of God himself. Shouts of "Amen" were quacked throughout the duck congregation. At the conclusion of the service, the ducks left, commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard, and waddled back home.
Too often, we waddle away from church and bible reading just as we waddled in-unchanged. We read our Bibles and we hear our preachers calling us to obedience and telling us that we can do it. So we leave the word and church inspired and hopeful and ready to obey and then find ourselves failing miserably. I have been a Christian for 38 years this year and left to myself, I must admit that I am not a very good at being good and doing obedience. At times I am grieved that after all of these years I am still selfish, egotistical, insensitive, prideful, ambitious, cold, cynical, and impatient. The harder I have tried to live the Christian life, the worse it often times gets. For every good intention, there is often a bad action. For every good action, there is often a bad intention. For every right thing I do, there are two wrongs. I am very skilled at snatching defeat right out of the jaws of victory. Oh how many tears have I cried over my sinfulness.
The apostle Paul describes this experience of himself in Romans 7:14-25, "“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”!
The scriptures clearly teach us that God demands obedience from his people. We are responsible before God to obey His commandments. This involves not only obedient acts, but also obedient attitudes. For example, delight in the Lord is commanded (Psalm 37:6); love is commanded (Matthew 22:37); joy is commanded (Psalm 110:2; Philippians 4:4); gratitude is commanded (Colossians 3:15); hope is commanded (Psalm 42:5).
Secondly, the scriptures teach us that we are saved for obedience. For example,
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,(Which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name…” (Romans 1:1-5)
“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7)
Thirdly, obedience demonstrates our love for Christ. Our Lord said that, “if you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Then Apostle John adds, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 John 5:2-3).
Surprisingly, the apostle John adds something else about obedience that is both puzzling and wonderful. “...and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
Do you feel an utter disconnect when the Apostle John says that loving God by commandment keeping is not burdensome? Has that been your experience? So what does John mean when he makes such a statement? In John's perspective, somehow, there is a kind of commandment keeping and obedience that is not burdensome but joyful, easy, and light. What is it?What does it look like?
When you combine what Jesus and John say you discover that love is not just obeying but a kind of obeying that comes from a certain kind of heart that makes the obedience not burdensome, but easy. So often we are taught that obedience is a decision and an act of the will. We are to obey because God says so period. You must do it whether or not you feel like it. But what if I do something that I ought to do but my heart is not into what I am doing. In short, what if I do what I ought to do but I don’t want to do what I ought to do?
This leads to a serious problem. How do I sincerely and earnestly obey the commandments that seem to all be rooted more within than in behavior? For instance, to have joy (Philippians 4:4; Psalm 100:2); to delight or enjoy God (Psalm 37:4) ; to hope (Psalm 42:5); to be tenderhearted (Ephesians 4:32); to be zealous (Romans 12:11); thankful (Colossians 3:15); broken and contrite ( Psalm 51:17); to have affection for my brothers ( Romans 12:10); to crave or desire (1 Peter 2:2); and most of all to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)?
It is here that I discovered that to obey these commands there has to be something more than willpower, duty, and decisions. It has to be something more than my power to do it. The reality is that I find it impossible to keep these commands and therefore they are very burdensome to me. But John says that obedience is not burdensome. So there is a kind of obedience that is not burdensome.
What is this kind of obedience? First, we have to see that the reality of the Christian life is that left to ourselves we are totally depraved. (Romans 8:7; 1 Corinthians 2; 14; Romans 5:19; Jeremiah 17:9). The root of our disobedience is our utter depravity. Our heart does not desire what it ought to desire. It has sinful, distorted, misplaced, and foolish desires. The core problem when it comes to God’s commands and our obedience is the weakness of our desires. John Piper in reflecting upon Saint Augustine understanding wrote, “We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like.”
My freedom is my demise as I wrote last week. Last week I wrote that sinful mans freedom is an illusion of freedom. We are not free in our desires. If you don't have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. If you do it only out of duty, obligation, will power, or others expectations to do what you don't want to do, nobody calls that full freedom. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don't want and that is not freedom.
But there is a second problem with my freedom. What if you have the desire to do something, but you have no ability to do it, you are not free to do it. I would love to fly but I cannot. Therefore, I am not free to fly.My flesh always goes after what it likes, yet apart from Christ it always likes the wrong things. That is why the root of obedience has to be a change in my desires, inclinations, and affections. Otherwise our "want to’s" will never be what we ought to want. We won’t desire what we ought to desire and our hearts will go after fleshly desires. Therefore we will do what we ought not to do. Our behavior always follows are hearts!
The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
Left to ourselves, our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. We do not want what we ought to want. Yet God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we don't want to obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change?
To be continued next next week...
Saturday, June 9, 2012
TRUE FREEDOM JESUS STYLE
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free...So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."John 8:32,36
Is there anyone among us who does not desire to be free. We all want to be free. The small child asks, “Do I have to go to bed now?” The adolescent can’t wait to get clear of his uncomprehending parents. Developing nations want to shake off the economic control of the colonizer. The popular notion of freedom is simply the complete absence of restraint. To many freedom is then being able to do whatever we want. When people speak of the popular notion of freedom they like to think of the birds. Birds are thought to be the freest of the creatures just because the birds can go anywhere (it seems), do anything, without restraint.But is that freedom? Jesus the sovereign, risen, living Lord of the universe, is the source and content of real freedom in your life. Only Jesus alone can set us free. He says in John 8:36"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
The problem Jesus sees is that people think they are free, when it fact they are slaves. He says in John 8:34-35, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever" He is saying that everyone sins. Therefore, Jesus is saying that everyone is a slave of sin. This means that sin is not just a bad act, but a power underneath in our hearts that makes us do bad acts. We sin because we are sinners. So our slavery is slavery to this power inside of us. Jesus completely obliterates the myth or delusion that we have free will. We are all taught from as far back as we can remember that we are all free and have free will. But Jesus says that just is not true. There may be kinds of freedom that we can make for ourselves, or that look and feel to us like freedom, but not this one. That's Jesus' point. We are not really free. We are like slaves on a galley. We may have minds that think; wills that make choices; and hearts that have feelings and affections; so we think we are free. This slavery is too deep and pervasive. And all of us have it. Jesus says that the spiritual freedom that He is talking about is as different as that of a slave and a son. The son is in the house and has aces to everything. He can go wherever he wants to go.He can stay as long as he wants to stay. But the slave has no rights. if you are a slave to sin, you do not have the freedom of a son. Only Jesus alone can set us free.
Sin enslaves in two ways and because of that freedom comes in two forms. First, sin enslaves us by producing compelling desires. Sin enslaves by making anything look more desirable than Jesus. That's what sin is: desiring something above Jesus and then acting on it. The second way sin enslaves is by eventually damning us. In the short term it feels free and brings pleasure, but unless something intervenes, it leads to hell. This is slavery because though what people do feels free, they would not say that if they saw clearly that the end of that road was destruction.
How does Jesus frees us from sin's domination and damnation? First,He frees us from the damnation of sin by becoming a damnation for us. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Second, He frees us from the domination of sin by changing our nature at the root through the new birth. And the essence of it is that he gives us eyes to see that our Savior is more to be desired than anything in the world and frees us to desire Jesus more than anything in the world. And empowers us to do what we desire. That is true freedom! We are free indeed.
What does the full freedom that Jesus offers really look like? So what other kinds of freedom are there? What freedom comes short of "free indeed"? There are at least four kinds of freedom, but left alone in each kind, you really end up not free because each one adds a crucial dimension of freedom to the last until we get to the full freedom—"free indeed."
First, is the freedom of desire. If you don't have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. If you do it only out of duty, obligation, will power, or others expectations to do what you don't want to do, nobody calls that full freedom. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don't want and that is not freedom.
Second, is freedom of ability. What if you have the desire to do something, but you have no ability to do it, you are not free to do it. I would love to fly but I cannot. Therefore, I am not free to fly.
Third, is freedom of opportunity. What if f you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, then you are not free to do it.
Finally, is the freedom of destiny. What if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free—not free indeed.
You are fully free—completely free, free indeed—when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make you happy in a thousand years. Or we could say, You are fully free when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will leave you no regrets forever. And only Jesus can make that possible. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.
Let me give you an illustration of this freedom to see if I can make it as clear as possible. Let's take skydiving, for example. What you want is to experience the fullest possible exhilaration of freedom in skydiving. Let's suppose then that you are on your way to the airport to go up for your first real jump, but your car hits a pothole on the way, you have a blowout, and run into a telephone pole. You are no longer free to jump, whether you have the ability or not, because the opportunity passes while you wait for the tow truck. You lack the freedom of opportunity.
Or suppose you do make it to the airport, but it turns out that you skipped all the classes and don't know the first thing about skydiving. You lack the most basic abilities—like how to operate the parachute. The opportunity is there, but you don't have the freedom of ability. They're not going to let you jump.
But suppose that you make it to the airport, you went to all the classes, and have all the abilities needed. You take off in the little plane, but as soon they open the door and you look down, all your desire vanishes and in its place comes a paralyzing fear. The opportunity is there, the ability is there, but you don't have the freedom of desire.
But there is one last requirement for full freedom. Suppose you get to the airport with no obstacle (you have the freedom of opportunity); you have all the know-how necessary (you have the freedom of ability); you look out the door at the tiny clusters of silos and barns and farmhouses a few miles down, and just can't wait to jump (you have the freedom of desire). So you jump. And as you free fall, enjoying every second of it, unknown to you, your parachute is defective and is not going to open no matter you do. Are you free—fully free, free indeed? No. What you are doing seemingly so happily and so freely is going to kill you. Even though you don't know it yet, you are in bondage to destruction. It feels like freedom. But very soon the whole thing—all the exhilaration—will prove to be an illusion. In thirty seconds you'll be dead.
In order to be fully free—free indeed—the Son of God must set you free. We have no man made parachute. We have a Savior. Because he died for us, there is no condemnation. The unchangeable, deadly, gravitational pull of our sins is broken. He has caught us in mid-fall and has become our supreme Treasure and source of our highest pleasure. Our destiny, our desires, our ability, and opportunities are new. He is their source, and he is their content. He gave us the new desire, and he is the new desire. "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Is it not then utterly foolish for a Christian to envy the so-called freedom of those who pitch themselves out the skyscraper window of sin and exult for a season in the exhilaration of free-fall greed, or free-fall drugs or free-fall fame, or free-fall sex, or free-fall power, or free-fall luxury oblivious of Jesus. All this freedom is like a vapor, but those who trust in Jesus, and treasure him above all, will mount up with wings like eagles, and be glad—a thousand years from now. They will be free indeed.
Looking to Jesus for my freedom,
Pastor Bill
Is there anyone among us who does not desire to be free. We all want to be free. The small child asks, “Do I have to go to bed now?” The adolescent can’t wait to get clear of his uncomprehending parents. Developing nations want to shake off the economic control of the colonizer. The popular notion of freedom is simply the complete absence of restraint. To many freedom is then being able to do whatever we want. When people speak of the popular notion of freedom they like to think of the birds. Birds are thought to be the freest of the creatures just because the birds can go anywhere (it seems), do anything, without restraint.But is that freedom? Jesus the sovereign, risen, living Lord of the universe, is the source and content of real freedom in your life. Only Jesus alone can set us free. He says in John 8:36"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
The problem Jesus sees is that people think they are free, when it fact they are slaves. He says in John 8:34-35, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever" He is saying that everyone sins. Therefore, Jesus is saying that everyone is a slave of sin. This means that sin is not just a bad act, but a power underneath in our hearts that makes us do bad acts. We sin because we are sinners. So our slavery is slavery to this power inside of us. Jesus completely obliterates the myth or delusion that we have free will. We are all taught from as far back as we can remember that we are all free and have free will. But Jesus says that just is not true. There may be kinds of freedom that we can make for ourselves, or that look and feel to us like freedom, but not this one. That's Jesus' point. We are not really free. We are like slaves on a galley. We may have minds that think; wills that make choices; and hearts that have feelings and affections; so we think we are free. This slavery is too deep and pervasive. And all of us have it. Jesus says that the spiritual freedom that He is talking about is as different as that of a slave and a son. The son is in the house and has aces to everything. He can go wherever he wants to go.He can stay as long as he wants to stay. But the slave has no rights. if you are a slave to sin, you do not have the freedom of a son. Only Jesus alone can set us free.
Sin enslaves in two ways and because of that freedom comes in two forms. First, sin enslaves us by producing compelling desires. Sin enslaves by making anything look more desirable than Jesus. That's what sin is: desiring something above Jesus and then acting on it. The second way sin enslaves is by eventually damning us. In the short term it feels free and brings pleasure, but unless something intervenes, it leads to hell. This is slavery because though what people do feels free, they would not say that if they saw clearly that the end of that road was destruction.
How does Jesus frees us from sin's domination and damnation? First,He frees us from the damnation of sin by becoming a damnation for us. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Second, He frees us from the domination of sin by changing our nature at the root through the new birth. And the essence of it is that he gives us eyes to see that our Savior is more to be desired than anything in the world and frees us to desire Jesus more than anything in the world. And empowers us to do what we desire. That is true freedom! We are free indeed.
What does the full freedom that Jesus offers really look like? So what other kinds of freedom are there? What freedom comes short of "free indeed"? There are at least four kinds of freedom, but left alone in each kind, you really end up not free because each one adds a crucial dimension of freedom to the last until we get to the full freedom—"free indeed."
First, is the freedom of desire. If you don't have the desire to do a thing, you are not fully free to do it. If you do it only out of duty, obligation, will power, or others expectations to do what you don't want to do, nobody calls that full freedom. There is a constraint and pressure on us that we don't want and that is not freedom.
Second, is freedom of ability. What if you have the desire to do something, but you have no ability to do it, you are not free to do it. I would love to fly but I cannot. Therefore, I am not free to fly.
Third, is freedom of opportunity. What if f you have the desire and the ability to do something, but no opportunity to do it, then you are not free to do it.
Finally, is the freedom of destiny. What if you have the desire to do something, and the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it, but it destroys you in the end, you are not fully free—not free indeed.
You are fully free—completely free, free indeed—when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will make you happy in a thousand years. Or we could say, You are fully free when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will leave you no regrets forever. And only Jesus can make that possible. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.
Let me give you an illustration of this freedom to see if I can make it as clear as possible. Let's take skydiving, for example. What you want is to experience the fullest possible exhilaration of freedom in skydiving. Let's suppose then that you are on your way to the airport to go up for your first real jump, but your car hits a pothole on the way, you have a blowout, and run into a telephone pole. You are no longer free to jump, whether you have the ability or not, because the opportunity passes while you wait for the tow truck. You lack the freedom of opportunity.
Or suppose you do make it to the airport, but it turns out that you skipped all the classes and don't know the first thing about skydiving. You lack the most basic abilities—like how to operate the parachute. The opportunity is there, but you don't have the freedom of ability. They're not going to let you jump.
But suppose that you make it to the airport, you went to all the classes, and have all the abilities needed. You take off in the little plane, but as soon they open the door and you look down, all your desire vanishes and in its place comes a paralyzing fear. The opportunity is there, the ability is there, but you don't have the freedom of desire.
But there is one last requirement for full freedom. Suppose you get to the airport with no obstacle (you have the freedom of opportunity); you have all the know-how necessary (you have the freedom of ability); you look out the door at the tiny clusters of silos and barns and farmhouses a few miles down, and just can't wait to jump (you have the freedom of desire). So you jump. And as you free fall, enjoying every second of it, unknown to you, your parachute is defective and is not going to open no matter you do. Are you free—fully free, free indeed? No. What you are doing seemingly so happily and so freely is going to kill you. Even though you don't know it yet, you are in bondage to destruction. It feels like freedom. But very soon the whole thing—all the exhilaration—will prove to be an illusion. In thirty seconds you'll be dead.
In order to be fully free—free indeed—the Son of God must set you free. We have no man made parachute. We have a Savior. Because he died for us, there is no condemnation. The unchangeable, deadly, gravitational pull of our sins is broken. He has caught us in mid-fall and has become our supreme Treasure and source of our highest pleasure. Our destiny, our desires, our ability, and opportunities are new. He is their source, and he is their content. He gave us the new desire, and he is the new desire. "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Is it not then utterly foolish for a Christian to envy the so-called freedom of those who pitch themselves out the skyscraper window of sin and exult for a season in the exhilaration of free-fall greed, or free-fall drugs or free-fall fame, or free-fall sex, or free-fall power, or free-fall luxury oblivious of Jesus. All this freedom is like a vapor, but those who trust in Jesus, and treasure him above all, will mount up with wings like eagles, and be glad—a thousand years from now. They will be free indeed.
Looking to Jesus for my freedom,
Pastor Bill
Sunday, June 3, 2012
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REALLY LIVE?
"It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again" (Philippians 1:20-25 ESV).
This morning as I was praying and meditating my mind was racing with so many thoughts, fears, anxieties, burdens, and concerns. Do you ever have mornings like that? I found it very hard to be centered and felt a deep restlessness within my soul about my life. Then all the sudden the Holy Spirit prompted in me the Apostle Paul's great passion statement: "For me to live is Christ..."(Philippians 1:21). Oh how that thought is burning within my soul! It has awakened me, convicted me, and empowered me. It was the battle cry of the apostle Paul and I long to make it mine as well.
When we hear Paul make a statement like that, perhaps we might feel a complete disconnect and feel as though maybe he was just hyper spiritual or just a bit naive. That is because Paul did not think to live is the way we often define what it means "to live". What would you say? For to me to live is ...being happy? ...work?...success?...being secure?...popularity?...the acquisition of wealth and material things?...sex?... leisure, vacations, and early retirement?... to be highly regarded by others?...to have be a success at what you do?...academic achievement?...What would your "to live" be? Don’t miss the point. No one leaves that sentence blank. Everyone finishes it with something. If you don’t fill the blank with Christ, what do you put there? But for Paul, at the deepest level of his soul, “Christ" was the reason for living.
Paul’s words “For me to live is Christ” mean more than most people think. They imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ. Jesus was his every breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life.Christ is the raison d'etre, the reason for my being, the reason for my existence. He doesn't mean Christ is the source of his life, though He is. He doesn't mean Christ lives in him, though He does. He doesn't mean Christ controls him, though He does. He doesn't mean that Christ wants him to submit to Him, though He does. He simply means living is Christ. Life is summed up as Christ. I'm filled with Christ. I am occupied with Christ. I trust Christ, love Christ, hope in Christ, obey Christ, preach Christ, follow Christ, fellowship with Christ, Christ is the center circumference of my life, it's all Christ. Christ and Christ alone is my inspiration, my direction, my meaning, my purpose...consumed, dominated by Christ.
Paul takes this even farther. He says, "...and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Paul didn’t dread death. He was looking forward to being glorified—he was looking forward to being with Christ. He understood that to die is gain. He understood that to die meant to be with His Savior, the one He loved and adored and what a wonderful time that would be! Do you believe that? Do you feel that? Death=Gain? Is the thought of your own death seen as "gain" or loss? Does thinking of your death produce a feeling of fear, anxiety, dread, or joy and anticipation? Is this life the best there is or is there more, exceedingly, infinitely, wonderfully more?
Jesus Christ was the highest good and happiness for Paul. He was a man satisfied with nothing less than God himself. As the Moravian Count Zinzendorf used to say, "I only have one passion and it is He!" Paul saw himself as a man journeying towards heaven and to be forever with Jesus. Is it no wonder that death would be so looked forward to as gain for Paul? Death was the door for all Paul had valued, treasured, savored, and lived for in this life: Jesus Christ!
This is why Jonathan Edwards resolved for his life on earth: "Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”
What caused Paul to have such a passionate sense of his life and his death? Paul's aim was Christ. Paul held loosely to the things of life on this earth because they did not bring him satisfaction and joy, only Jesus Christ did. So Christ was his happiness in life, and Christ would be his happiness in death.
In Philippians 3:8, Paul says, "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." "To live is Christ" means to count everything as loss now in this life in comparison to the value of gaining Christ. Do you see the word "gain" turning up here again in 3:8 just as it did in 1:21?
"To live is Christ" means experiencing Christ as gain now, not just in death. Real life, real life is knowing, loving, serving, glorifying, enjoying, communing, and fellowshipping with Jesus Christ—that is real life. In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying to you, to the Philippians, to me, he is saying: ‘My total life meaning and fulfillment is in knowing Christ, in loving Christ, in serving Christ, in glorifying Christ, in enjoying Christ, in fellowshipping with Christ, in communing with Christ. That is the whole thing!’
Jonathan Edwards put it this way:
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here."
In 1858 a young man named John G. Paton felt called of God to leave his ministry in Glasgow, Scotland, to go as a missionary to the New Hebrides islands in the South Pacific. In those days missionary ventures were greeted with disdain and opposition—in part because of the great danger attendant to preaching the gospel to people regarded as uncivilized. An elderly gentleman warned John Paton: “You will be eaten by cannibals.” “Mr. Dickson,” Paton replied, “You are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.”
May God open our eyes to see His worth so that we would join Paul and say: FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN.!
The love of Christ is now constraining me
That I would love and love Him utterly.
His mighty love has touched me deep within
To consecrate my life and all to Him.
This charming One so excelling;
To His touch I'm now responding;
To surrender, to surrender to Him.
This tide of love has flowed to me from Him;
Unchanging love that keeps on rushing in.
Now I'm for Him beyond my own control;
He is now my love and my only goal.
His dying love so compelling,
And this tide has made me willing
To love Him, I can't help but love Him.
The love of Christ
Is now constraining me to love Him utterly.
His mighty love
Has touched me deep within to consecrate to Him.
This charming One so excelling;
To His touch I'm now responding;
To surrender, to surrender to Him.
This tide of love
Has flowed to me from Him that keeps on rushing in.
Now I'm for Him
Beyond my own control;
He's now my final goal.
His dying love so compelling,
And this tide has made me willing
To love Him, I can't help but love Him.
Oh how I pray that you would be so captured by the glory and the comfort and the joy of that reality that "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Oh for us to go hard after Christ in this life so as to be able to say that death is nothing but pure and joyful gain!
Longing to believe, feel, and live this truth,
Pastor Bill
This morning as I was praying and meditating my mind was racing with so many thoughts, fears, anxieties, burdens, and concerns. Do you ever have mornings like that? I found it very hard to be centered and felt a deep restlessness within my soul about my life. Then all the sudden the Holy Spirit prompted in me the Apostle Paul's great passion statement: "For me to live is Christ..."(Philippians 1:21). Oh how that thought is burning within my soul! It has awakened me, convicted me, and empowered me. It was the battle cry of the apostle Paul and I long to make it mine as well.
When we hear Paul make a statement like that, perhaps we might feel a complete disconnect and feel as though maybe he was just hyper spiritual or just a bit naive. That is because Paul did not think to live is the way we often define what it means "to live". What would you say? For to me to live is ...being happy? ...work?...success?...being secure?...popularity?...the acquisition of wealth and material things?...sex?... leisure, vacations, and early retirement?... to be highly regarded by others?...to have be a success at what you do?...academic achievement?...What would your "to live" be? Don’t miss the point. No one leaves that sentence blank. Everyone finishes it with something. If you don’t fill the blank with Christ, what do you put there? But for Paul, at the deepest level of his soul, “Christ" was the reason for living.
Paul’s words “For me to live is Christ” mean more than most people think. They imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ. Jesus was his every breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life.Christ is the raison d'etre, the reason for my being, the reason for my existence. He doesn't mean Christ is the source of his life, though He is. He doesn't mean Christ lives in him, though He does. He doesn't mean Christ controls him, though He does. He doesn't mean that Christ wants him to submit to Him, though He does. He simply means living is Christ. Life is summed up as Christ. I'm filled with Christ. I am occupied with Christ. I trust Christ, love Christ, hope in Christ, obey Christ, preach Christ, follow Christ, fellowship with Christ, Christ is the center circumference of my life, it's all Christ. Christ and Christ alone is my inspiration, my direction, my meaning, my purpose...consumed, dominated by Christ.
Paul takes this even farther. He says, "...and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Paul didn’t dread death. He was looking forward to being glorified—he was looking forward to being with Christ. He understood that to die is gain. He understood that to die meant to be with His Savior, the one He loved and adored and what a wonderful time that would be! Do you believe that? Do you feel that? Death=Gain? Is the thought of your own death seen as "gain" or loss? Does thinking of your death produce a feeling of fear, anxiety, dread, or joy and anticipation? Is this life the best there is or is there more, exceedingly, infinitely, wonderfully more?
Jesus Christ was the highest good and happiness for Paul. He was a man satisfied with nothing less than God himself. As the Moravian Count Zinzendorf used to say, "I only have one passion and it is He!" Paul saw himself as a man journeying towards heaven and to be forever with Jesus. Is it no wonder that death would be so looked forward to as gain for Paul? Death was the door for all Paul had valued, treasured, savored, and lived for in this life: Jesus Christ!
This is why Jonathan Edwards resolved for his life on earth: "Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”
What caused Paul to have such a passionate sense of his life and his death? Paul's aim was Christ. Paul held loosely to the things of life on this earth because they did not bring him satisfaction and joy, only Jesus Christ did. So Christ was his happiness in life, and Christ would be his happiness in death.
In Philippians 3:8, Paul says, "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." "To live is Christ" means to count everything as loss now in this life in comparison to the value of gaining Christ. Do you see the word "gain" turning up here again in 3:8 just as it did in 1:21?
"To live is Christ" means experiencing Christ as gain now, not just in death. Real life, real life is knowing, loving, serving, glorifying, enjoying, communing, and fellowshipping with Jesus Christ—that is real life. In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying to you, to the Philippians, to me, he is saying: ‘My total life meaning and fulfillment is in knowing Christ, in loving Christ, in serving Christ, in glorifying Christ, in enjoying Christ, in fellowshipping with Christ, in communing with Christ. That is the whole thing!’
Jonathan Edwards put it this way:
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here."
In 1858 a young man named John G. Paton felt called of God to leave his ministry in Glasgow, Scotland, to go as a missionary to the New Hebrides islands in the South Pacific. In those days missionary ventures were greeted with disdain and opposition—in part because of the great danger attendant to preaching the gospel to people regarded as uncivilized. An elderly gentleman warned John Paton: “You will be eaten by cannibals.” “Mr. Dickson,” Paton replied, “You are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.”
May God open our eyes to see His worth so that we would join Paul and say: FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN.!
The love of Christ is now constraining me
That I would love and love Him utterly.
His mighty love has touched me deep within
To consecrate my life and all to Him.
This charming One so excelling;
To His touch I'm now responding;
To surrender, to surrender to Him.
This tide of love has flowed to me from Him;
Unchanging love that keeps on rushing in.
Now I'm for Him beyond my own control;
He is now my love and my only goal.
His dying love so compelling,
And this tide has made me willing
To love Him, I can't help but love Him.
The love of Christ
Is now constraining me to love Him utterly.
His mighty love
Has touched me deep within to consecrate to Him.
This charming One so excelling;
To His touch I'm now responding;
To surrender, to surrender to Him.
This tide of love
Has flowed to me from Him that keeps on rushing in.
Now I'm for Him
Beyond my own control;
He's now my final goal.
His dying love so compelling,
And this tide has made me willing
To love Him, I can't help but love Him.
Oh how I pray that you would be so captured by the glory and the comfort and the joy of that reality that "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Oh for us to go hard after Christ in this life so as to be able to say that death is nothing but pure and joyful gain!
Longing to believe, feel, and live this truth,
Pastor Bill
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