Matthew 9:37-38, "Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Matthew 6:9-10, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
How would you like to have utter confidence that what you pray is going to happen? One of the secrets of prayer is learning to pray the big sweeping prayers of the bible; especially what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us to pray. One of the great discoveries about prayer I have learned is that God ordains that we pray for things that He absolutely wants to do and is going to do. What amazes me is that the means whereby He does what He absolutely wants to do is through prayer.
For example:
Jesus gives the great commission in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" Here Jesus is telling His followers their mission here on earth, yet we read the words of Matthew 24:14, "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." So Jesus calls His disciples to participate in a mission that will not fail.
How? Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." It never ceases to amaze me that we, the laborers, should be instructed to ask the owner of the farm, who knows the harvest better than we do, to add on more farm hands. Yet nothing is more certain than that the kingdom of God will triumph (Matthew 16:18; 24:14).
What this means is that God has appointed prayer as a means of finishing the mission that He promised will be finished! Our prayers are God's means to accomplish His own end! What a great privilege it is to pray. What absolute certainty there is to pray the promise of God. We pray because the outcome of our prayers are as certain as the promises God makes. God says the Great Commission will be completed and our prayers are the means by which He will accomplished it.
Another example is the Lord's prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray like this in Matthew 6:9-13, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Notice that this is a petition or a request. It is not a declaration. We are not saying, "Lord, your name is hallowed!" We are saying, "Lord, cause your name to be hallowed!" It is a request to God that he would see to it that His own name be hallowed. It is like just like the other text in Matthew 9:38 where Jesus tells us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send out laborers into His own harvest. This is the same thing we have here in the Lord's Prayer—Jesus telling us to ask God, who is infinitely jealous for the honor of his own name, to see to it that his name be hallowed. Well it may amaze us, but there it is.
Prayer does not move God to do things he is disinclined to do, but rather prayer moves God to do things that He is inclined to do. He has every intention to cause His name to be hallowed. Nothing is higher on God's priority list. That God would display the greatness of God. There is no uncertainty about the triumph of God. Nevertheless, in God’s providence, it depends upon human prayer. Amazing! The prayers of God’s followers and the purposes of God will not fail.
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11). the great promise is that God will not let His word return void but will accomplish what God appoints it for. Yet Paul prays in 2 Thessalonians 3:1, "Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you." So God makes a promise and He uses our prayers to usher it in. So let us pray that the powerful word of God will triumph and triumph it will!
Isn't this wonderful? God wills to make great things the consequence of our prayers when our prayers are the consequence of His great purposes. Let us begin to pray big sweeping biblical prayers. Let us attempt great things in prayer to God and expect great things from God in prayer because God is going to going to answer and do the things that He plans to do. These prayers cannot and will not fail.
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
Praying for the great things of God,
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
WHY GOOD FRIDAY IS SO GOOD
Do you ever wonder why Good Friday is called Good Friday? It would seem more appropriate to call it Bad Friday. After all, Jesus suffered a horrible and tragic death that day. So why call it Good Friday?One day 2000 years ago or so Jesus of Nazareth was condemned to death. The Son of God, the creator of man, the Just and righteous one, the most loving person who ever lived, perfect in goodness, was condemned to death! On a human level, the condemnation of Jesus was the ultimate travesty of justice. No one was more innocent of wrongdoing than Jesus. But consider Jesus' condemnation from God's point of view.
Was Jesus' death justified? Listen to these words of Scripture: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” (Isaiah 53:10). “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.” (Hebrews 9: 26-28) These Scriptures tell us that from God's point of view, Jesus' death was justified. Indeed, Jesus' death was necessary -- for without His death, God would have to punish you and me for our sins.
The Bible teaches us that God -- our perfectly holy and righteous God -- cannot tolerate sin. From his very nature, he cannot tolerate sin. Furthermore, God is just, meaning that he will right every wrong; he will apply just punishment to every wrongdoer. We like to hear this when we have been wronged, when we have been the victim – but the problem is that each of us has wronged others, we are victimizers as well, so each of us deserves punishment. So Jesus had to die because of my sin. Sin! We don't like this word. We don't mind talking about our foibles, or our weaknesses, or our failures -- but sin! No, we don't like to admit that we are sinners.
What is sin? One definition: Sin is both disobedience to the law of God and sin is missing the mark of God’s law. This definition shows that God is the one who defines sin. God, our Creator, has the absolute authority to dictate to us the terms and conditions of our being able to enter His presence. Sin is nothing more or less than cosmic treason and human ineptitude: the refusal to recognize and submit to God’s authority in any and every area of our lives and the complete inability to conform to God’s standards on our own.
In these days there is much confusion concerning this word, "sin." Many people try to dumb down this idea of sin, to take away its meaning by redefining it, rationalizing it, minimizing it, or justifying it. In short, sin today really is not so bad. But the fact is from God’s view; sin is deadly serious. So serious in fact that: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…The wages of sin is death” (Romans 1:18; 6:23).
Remember how Jesus summarized the Law of God? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Do we live up to those? No. I don't, you don't. That is why the bible tells us that the consequence of sin is that we are debtors to God; enemies of God; and guilty criminals, lawbreakers, before a righteous and Holy God. Paul in Romans 3 makes it absolutely clear that without Christ's death, all of us are under the just condemnation of God. Listen to these words: “We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:9-12,23). Paul tells us that every single person, every person here this evening, is a sinner; every person deserves an eternity of separation from our holy and perfect God.
So are we without hope? Keep reading! Paul goes on to explain the basis of our hope in verses 20-26: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:20-26).
Do you understand? We are sinners! We have violated God’s righteousness and the He demands satisfaction. We deserve God's condemnation! Our debt to God must be paid, we need to be reconciled from our estrangement to Him, and a payment or penalty must be paid for our crimes of violating God’s law. And we can do nothing on our own to satisfy God or change our condemnation. But God sent His son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that He might right every wrong and still invite us to become the perfect bride who will rejoice with Him for all eternity. Jesus is the Payment of our debt (Hebrews 7: 22); Jesus is our Mediator who reconciles us to God (2 Corinthians 5:19); and Jesus is our Substitute who stands in the place of true criminals, you and me. Jesus Christ is the one who has made satisfaction by His work of the cross. Jesus also is our Redeemer who frees us from sin’s captivity, setting us free by offering Himself as a ransom (Mark 10:44-45). He takes our sins upon Himself and God’s transfers His righteous to us, to our account. As a result, we are clean from all sin and adorned with the glorious righteousness of Christ. God brings us pardon and perfection through Jesus. But most of all He brings us the ultimate end to which we were made: To be able to see God and be with God and to know God and to enjoy God forever and ever! “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
That is why Good Friday is called Good Friday! Not Bad Friday. Not Sad Friday. Not a day to mourn over the dying Jesus, though his death should sober us. Not a day to feel sorry for Jesus being spat upon, though we need to acknowledge the fact that all this happened because of what we have done. But a day, as John Newton said, for "pleasing grief and mournful joy." Joy because this one sacrifice saves us completely, because in this great act of love Christ Jesus laid down his life for you, for me; joy because this act that we celebrate -- yes, celebrate -- allows each and every person to join God's beloved family for all eternity -- if you will only believe. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is our only hope. But oh what a hope! I plea with you to open your heart to this amazing love! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- and eternal life begins for you today.
Pastor Bill
Was Jesus' death justified? Listen to these words of Scripture: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” (Isaiah 53:10). “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.” (Hebrews 9: 26-28) These Scriptures tell us that from God's point of view, Jesus' death was justified. Indeed, Jesus' death was necessary -- for without His death, God would have to punish you and me for our sins.
The Bible teaches us that God -- our perfectly holy and righteous God -- cannot tolerate sin. From his very nature, he cannot tolerate sin. Furthermore, God is just, meaning that he will right every wrong; he will apply just punishment to every wrongdoer. We like to hear this when we have been wronged, when we have been the victim – but the problem is that each of us has wronged others, we are victimizers as well, so each of us deserves punishment. So Jesus had to die because of my sin. Sin! We don't like this word. We don't mind talking about our foibles, or our weaknesses, or our failures -- but sin! No, we don't like to admit that we are sinners.
What is sin? One definition: Sin is both disobedience to the law of God and sin is missing the mark of God’s law. This definition shows that God is the one who defines sin. God, our Creator, has the absolute authority to dictate to us the terms and conditions of our being able to enter His presence. Sin is nothing more or less than cosmic treason and human ineptitude: the refusal to recognize and submit to God’s authority in any and every area of our lives and the complete inability to conform to God’s standards on our own.
In these days there is much confusion concerning this word, "sin." Many people try to dumb down this idea of sin, to take away its meaning by redefining it, rationalizing it, minimizing it, or justifying it. In short, sin today really is not so bad. But the fact is from God’s view; sin is deadly serious. So serious in fact that: “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…The wages of sin is death” (Romans 1:18; 6:23).
Remember how Jesus summarized the Law of God? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . . . Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). Do we live up to those? No. I don't, you don't. That is why the bible tells us that the consequence of sin is that we are debtors to God; enemies of God; and guilty criminals, lawbreakers, before a righteous and Holy God. Paul in Romans 3 makes it absolutely clear that without Christ's death, all of us are under the just condemnation of God. Listen to these words: “We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:9-12,23). Paul tells us that every single person, every person here this evening, is a sinner; every person deserves an eternity of separation from our holy and perfect God.
So are we without hope? Keep reading! Paul goes on to explain the basis of our hope in verses 20-26: "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:20-26).
Do you understand? We are sinners! We have violated God’s righteousness and the He demands satisfaction. We deserve God's condemnation! Our debt to God must be paid, we need to be reconciled from our estrangement to Him, and a payment or penalty must be paid for our crimes of violating God’s law. And we can do nothing on our own to satisfy God or change our condemnation. But God sent His son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that He might right every wrong and still invite us to become the perfect bride who will rejoice with Him for all eternity. Jesus is the Payment of our debt (Hebrews 7: 22); Jesus is our Mediator who reconciles us to God (2 Corinthians 5:19); and Jesus is our Substitute who stands in the place of true criminals, you and me. Jesus Christ is the one who has made satisfaction by His work of the cross. Jesus also is our Redeemer who frees us from sin’s captivity, setting us free by offering Himself as a ransom (Mark 10:44-45). He takes our sins upon Himself and God’s transfers His righteous to us, to our account. As a result, we are clean from all sin and adorned with the glorious righteousness of Christ. God brings us pardon and perfection through Jesus. But most of all He brings us the ultimate end to which we were made: To be able to see God and be with God and to know God and to enjoy God forever and ever! “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
That is why Good Friday is called Good Friday! Not Bad Friday. Not Sad Friday. Not a day to mourn over the dying Jesus, though his death should sober us. Not a day to feel sorry for Jesus being spat upon, though we need to acknowledge the fact that all this happened because of what we have done. But a day, as John Newton said, for "pleasing grief and mournful joy." Joy because this one sacrifice saves us completely, because in this great act of love Christ Jesus laid down his life for you, for me; joy because this act that we celebrate -- yes, celebrate -- allows each and every person to join God's beloved family for all eternity -- if you will only believe. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is our only hope. But oh what a hope! I plea with you to open your heart to this amazing love! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- and eternal life begins for you today.
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
WHY TEACHING AND UNDERSTANDING JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IS SO IMPORTANT
"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:20-26 ESV
Martin Luther considered justification by faith to be "the chief article of Christian doctrine. To him who understands how great its usefulness and majesty are, everything else will seem slight and turn to nothing. For what is Peter? What is Paul? What is an angel from heaven? What are all creatures in comparison with the article of justification? For if we know this article, we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness. Therefore if you see this article impugned or imperiled, do not hesitate to resist Peter or an angel from heaven; for it cannot be sufficiently extolled."
Justification is a declaration of God to a repentant sinner that not only are all his sins are forgiven, but also that He is acquitted, the wrath of the judge is removed, and he stands righteous before God. God announces that something has been taken away (our sin) and something has been added (the righteousness of Christ).
John Piper in his book Counted Righteous in Christ discusses why it is so critical in understanding the imputed righteousness of Christ in our daily lives.
Teaching and Understanding Justification by Faith is important:
1.For the sake of Marriage
I have a family to care for. The marriage must survive and thrive for the good of the children and the glory of Christ. God designed marriage to display the holy mercy of Christ and the happy sub-mission of his church (Ephesians 5:21-25). My own experience has been that the doctrine of justification by faith, and the imputed righteousness of Christ, is a great marriage saver and sweetener.
What makes marriage almost impossible at times is that both partners feel so self-justified in their expectations that are not being fulfilled. There is a horrible emotional dead-end street in the words, "But it's just plain wrong for you to act that way," followed by, "That's your perfectionist perspective," or "Do you think you do everything right?," or hopeless, resigned silence. The cycle of self-justified self-pity and anger seems unbreakable.
But what if one or both of the partners becomes overwhelmed with the truth of justification by faith alone, and with the particular truth that in Christ Jesus God credits me, for Christ's sake, as fulfilling all his expectations? What would happen if this doctrine so mastered our souls that we began to bend it from the vertical to the horizontal? What if we applied it to our marriages?
In our own imperfect efforts in this regard, there have been breakthroughs that seemed at times impossible. It is possible, for Christ's sake, to simply say, "I will no longer think merely in terms of whether my expectations are met in practice. I will, for Christ's sake, regard my wife (or husband) the way God regards me—complete and accepted in Christ—and to be helped and blessed and nurtured and cherished, even if in practice there are shortcomings." I know my wife treats me this way. And surely this is part of what Paul was calling for when he said that we should forgive "one another . . . as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, ESV). I believe there is more healing for marriage in the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness than many of us have even begun to discover.
2. For the sake of WAYWARD CHILDREN
I do not believe that even perfect parenting could prevent all wilderness wanderings of our children. Mainly because of what God said in Isaiah 1:2: "Heat; 0 heavens, and give ear, 0 earth; for the LORD has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me" (ESV). But how do you survive and press on when a child has left the fold of God? What truth keeps you on your face in hope-full prayers and on your way to minister to others with needs as great as your own? No truth other than "the justification of the ungodly" gives as much hope for parents of a prodigal. Not only because our son or daughter may yet awaken to the hope that Christ is willing to be his or her righteousness—no matter what he or she has done—but also because the viperous guilt of failed parenting is defanged by the justification of the ungodly. Dad and Mom find a way to press on because their perfection in Christ.
3. For the sake of BIBLICAL COUNSELING
There is so much brokenness. So much sin that seems intransigently woven together with forms of failing family life and distorted personal perspectives. And it doesn't yield to quick remedies. After several decades of watching the mental health care system at work from the inside and outside, I am less hopeful about the effectiveness of (even Christian) psychotherapy than I used to be. I don't see any one strategy of helping people possessing a corner on all wisdom. But more than ever I believe the essential foundation of all healing and all Christ-exalting wholeness is a soul-penetrating grasp of the glorious truth of justification by faith, distinct from and grounding the battle for healthy, loving relationships. Good counseling patiently builds the "whole counsel" of God" (Acts 20:27) into the head and heart of sinful and wounded people. And at the center of it is Christ our righteousness.
4. For the sake of WORLD EVANGELIZATION
Over the past twenty years of leading a missions-mobilizing church I have seen with increasing clarity that teacher-based church planting and not just friendship-based church planting is crucial among peoples with no Christian history. In other words, doctrinal instruction becomes utterly crucial in planting the church.
This is not surprising, since embedded in the Great Commission is the command, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), and since Paul planted the church in Ephesus by reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years, "so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10). In other words, it is more clear to me now that doing missions without deep doctrinal transfer through patient teaching will not only wreck on the vast reefs of ignorance but will, at best, produce weak and ever-dependent churches. Therefore, pastors who care about building, sending, and going churches must give themselves to building sending bases that breed doctrinally-deep people who are not given to emotional dependency on fads but know how to feed themselves on Christ-centered truth.
The second thing I would say about the doctrine of justification and missions is that Paul develops this doctrine in the book of Romans in a way that shows it is absolutely universal in its relevance. It crosses every culture. It is not a tribal concept. He does this by building part of the doctrine out of the connection between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-21. For example, take only verse 19: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were appointed sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be appointed righteous." This, along with the whole context, shows that what Christ came to do in his obedience was universal in its scope and significance. It is not just for the posterity of Abraham, but for the posterity of Adam—namely, everyone.
The problem Jesus came to solve was a problem unleashed by the first man, leading to condemnation and corruption for all people everywhere in all cultures and all times. This is a stunning discovery for many people. The diagnosis of what needs to be remedied is the same in all cultures because it stems from Adam, the father of all cultures. Therefore the work of Christ to provide a "free gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17, ESV) to all who will "receive" it is absolutely sufficient and necessary for every person in every culture everywhere in the world. And thus the doctrine of justification becomes a warrant for the universal claim of Christian missions.
5. For the sake of WORSHIP
The imputed righteousness of Christ has been a great cause joyful worship over the centuries and has informed many hymns and worship songs. The theme has cut across Calvinist‑ Arminian, Lutheran-Reformed, and Baptist-Presbyterian divides...The doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness has not been experienced as marginal or minor in the worship of Christ. It has been explosive with revival power, personal comfort," and deep, biblically-rooted joy in worship.
Basking in the historical truth of the imputation of Christ's righteousness,
Pastor Bill
Martin Luther considered justification by faith to be "the chief article of Christian doctrine. To him who understands how great its usefulness and majesty are, everything else will seem slight and turn to nothing. For what is Peter? What is Paul? What is an angel from heaven? What are all creatures in comparison with the article of justification? For if we know this article, we are in the clearest light; if we do not know it, we dwell in the densest darkness. Therefore if you see this article impugned or imperiled, do not hesitate to resist Peter or an angel from heaven; for it cannot be sufficiently extolled."
Justification is a declaration of God to a repentant sinner that not only are all his sins are forgiven, but also that He is acquitted, the wrath of the judge is removed, and he stands righteous before God. God announces that something has been taken away (our sin) and something has been added (the righteousness of Christ).
John Piper in his book Counted Righteous in Christ discusses why it is so critical in understanding the imputed righteousness of Christ in our daily lives.
Teaching and Understanding Justification by Faith is important:
1.For the sake of Marriage
I have a family to care for. The marriage must survive and thrive for the good of the children and the glory of Christ. God designed marriage to display the holy mercy of Christ and the happy sub-mission of his church (Ephesians 5:21-25). My own experience has been that the doctrine of justification by faith, and the imputed righteousness of Christ, is a great marriage saver and sweetener.
What makes marriage almost impossible at times is that both partners feel so self-justified in their expectations that are not being fulfilled. There is a horrible emotional dead-end street in the words, "But it's just plain wrong for you to act that way," followed by, "That's your perfectionist perspective," or "Do you think you do everything right?," or hopeless, resigned silence. The cycle of self-justified self-pity and anger seems unbreakable.
But what if one or both of the partners becomes overwhelmed with the truth of justification by faith alone, and with the particular truth that in Christ Jesus God credits me, for Christ's sake, as fulfilling all his expectations? What would happen if this doctrine so mastered our souls that we began to bend it from the vertical to the horizontal? What if we applied it to our marriages?
In our own imperfect efforts in this regard, there have been breakthroughs that seemed at times impossible. It is possible, for Christ's sake, to simply say, "I will no longer think merely in terms of whether my expectations are met in practice. I will, for Christ's sake, regard my wife (or husband) the way God regards me—complete and accepted in Christ—and to be helped and blessed and nurtured and cherished, even if in practice there are shortcomings." I know my wife treats me this way. And surely this is part of what Paul was calling for when he said that we should forgive "one another . . . as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, ESV). I believe there is more healing for marriage in the doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness than many of us have even begun to discover.
2. For the sake of WAYWARD CHILDREN
I do not believe that even perfect parenting could prevent all wilderness wanderings of our children. Mainly because of what God said in Isaiah 1:2: "Heat; 0 heavens, and give ear, 0 earth; for the LORD has spoken: 'Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me" (ESV). But how do you survive and press on when a child has left the fold of God? What truth keeps you on your face in hope-full prayers and on your way to minister to others with needs as great as your own? No truth other than "the justification of the ungodly" gives as much hope for parents of a prodigal. Not only because our son or daughter may yet awaken to the hope that Christ is willing to be his or her righteousness—no matter what he or she has done—but also because the viperous guilt of failed parenting is defanged by the justification of the ungodly. Dad and Mom find a way to press on because their perfection in Christ.
3. For the sake of BIBLICAL COUNSELING
There is so much brokenness. So much sin that seems intransigently woven together with forms of failing family life and distorted personal perspectives. And it doesn't yield to quick remedies. After several decades of watching the mental health care system at work from the inside and outside, I am less hopeful about the effectiveness of (even Christian) psychotherapy than I used to be. I don't see any one strategy of helping people possessing a corner on all wisdom. But more than ever I believe the essential foundation of all healing and all Christ-exalting wholeness is a soul-penetrating grasp of the glorious truth of justification by faith, distinct from and grounding the battle for healthy, loving relationships. Good counseling patiently builds the "whole counsel" of God" (Acts 20:27) into the head and heart of sinful and wounded people. And at the center of it is Christ our righteousness.
4. For the sake of WORLD EVANGELIZATION
Over the past twenty years of leading a missions-mobilizing church I have seen with increasing clarity that teacher-based church planting and not just friendship-based church planting is crucial among peoples with no Christian history. In other words, doctrinal instruction becomes utterly crucial in planting the church.
This is not surprising, since embedded in the Great Commission is the command, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), and since Paul planted the church in Ephesus by reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years, "so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (Acts 19:10). In other words, it is more clear to me now that doing missions without deep doctrinal transfer through patient teaching will not only wreck on the vast reefs of ignorance but will, at best, produce weak and ever-dependent churches. Therefore, pastors who care about building, sending, and going churches must give themselves to building sending bases that breed doctrinally-deep people who are not given to emotional dependency on fads but know how to feed themselves on Christ-centered truth.
The second thing I would say about the doctrine of justification and missions is that Paul develops this doctrine in the book of Romans in a way that shows it is absolutely universal in its relevance. It crosses every culture. It is not a tribal concept. He does this by building part of the doctrine out of the connection between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-21. For example, take only verse 19: "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were appointed sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be appointed righteous." This, along with the whole context, shows that what Christ came to do in his obedience was universal in its scope and significance. It is not just for the posterity of Abraham, but for the posterity of Adam—namely, everyone.
The problem Jesus came to solve was a problem unleashed by the first man, leading to condemnation and corruption for all people everywhere in all cultures and all times. This is a stunning discovery for many people. The diagnosis of what needs to be remedied is the same in all cultures because it stems from Adam, the father of all cultures. Therefore the work of Christ to provide a "free gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17, ESV) to all who will "receive" it is absolutely sufficient and necessary for every person in every culture everywhere in the world. And thus the doctrine of justification becomes a warrant for the universal claim of Christian missions.
5. For the sake of WORSHIP
The imputed righteousness of Christ has been a great cause joyful worship over the centuries and has informed many hymns and worship songs. The theme has cut across Calvinist‑ Arminian, Lutheran-Reformed, and Baptist-Presbyterian divides...The doctrine of the imputation of Christ's righteousness has not been experienced as marginal or minor in the worship of Christ. It has been explosive with revival power, personal comfort," and deep, biblically-rooted joy in worship.
Basking in the historical truth of the imputation of Christ's righteousness,
Pastor Bill
Friday, March 7, 2008
GOD IS THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE GOSPEL
Last blog I wrote about John Piper's description of the six aspects of the gospel. What is especially encouraging to me is that God is the beginning and the ending of the Gospel.
First, God is the beginning of the gospel because it was His plan from all eternity:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' (John 15:25)
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' (John 13:18)
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:55-56)
So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." (John 19:24)
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. . . . 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken." (John 19:34-36)
For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27)
When was this plan made?
All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8)
Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Timothy 1:9)
Therefore: part of the gospel is that it was a plan from eternity. This is good news because:
1. God was not taken off guard by the horrific deeds against his Son;
2. Sin and death and hell and Satan are not frustrations of God’s eternal design but fit into it;
3. God’s love for us and his willingness to die for us is not an afterthought but eternally deep in the heart of God;
4. It is all the more clear that the events of the gospel were God’s doing, not historical turns of fate.
5. This all strengthens and deepens our certainty of God’s commitment to us in the gospel
Second, the end of the gospel is God Himself and with that end the gospel promises a supremely happy future.
1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."
Not ultimately, regeneration, or forgiveness of sins, or justification, or adoption, or sanctification. All of those are means to an end. The end of our reason for existence to “Glorify God and enjoy him for ever.”
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
Piper says, Christ died to give you God, ultimately. Not ultimately prosperity, health, wealth, self-esteem, family, successful church, reunion with deceased loved ones, lawful behavior, forgiveness of sins, removal of wrath, removal of guilt, escape from hell or anything else. He died so that you might see and be everlastingly and increasingly satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ.
We must never forget that the beginning and the end of gospel is God Himself. He is the beginning, the means, and the end and the reason Christ died and rose again.
Pastor Bill
First, God is the beginning of the gospel because it was His plan from all eternity:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)
But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' (John 15:25)
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' (John 13:18)
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." (Matthew 26:55-56)
So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." (John 19:24)
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. . . . 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken." (John 19:34-36)
For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27)
When was this plan made?
All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8)
Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. (2 Timothy 1:9)
Therefore: part of the gospel is that it was a plan from eternity. This is good news because:
1. God was not taken off guard by the horrific deeds against his Son;
2. Sin and death and hell and Satan are not frustrations of God’s eternal design but fit into it;
3. God’s love for us and his willingness to die for us is not an afterthought but eternally deep in the heart of God;
4. It is all the more clear that the events of the gospel were God’s doing, not historical turns of fate.
5. This all strengthens and deepens our certainty of God’s commitment to us in the gospel
Second, the end of the gospel is God Himself and with that end the gospel promises a supremely happy future.
1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."
Not ultimately, regeneration, or forgiveness of sins, or justification, or adoption, or sanctification. All of those are means to an end. The end of our reason for existence to “Glorify God and enjoy him for ever.”
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24)
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
Piper says, Christ died to give you God, ultimately. Not ultimately prosperity, health, wealth, self-esteem, family, successful church, reunion with deceased loved ones, lawful behavior, forgiveness of sins, removal of wrath, removal of guilt, escape from hell or anything else. He died so that you might see and be everlastingly and increasingly satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ.
We must never forget that the beginning and the end of gospel is God Himself. He is the beginning, the means, and the end and the reason Christ died and rose again.
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
SIX WAYS THAT MAKE THE GOSPEL SUCH GOOD NEWS
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve."
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Since we are entering into Easter season, it is a good time for us to be thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of it called the gospel. John Piper recently preached at the Resurgence Conference a message on Distinguishing Between True and False Gospels. We are living in a time where there is a tremendous lack of understanding in the Gospel. Much of contemporary understanding is inadequate, unbiblical, or incomplete. It is important in focusing on the death and resurrection of Christ that we understand all the implications of the glorious work done at Calvary.
John Piper describes six aspects of the gospel—the good news about Jesus based upon 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. It is well worth reflecting on. It is thorough and solid. What I really like is how Piper begins the gospel with God and ends with God. God Himself plans the Gospel and the end or goal of the Gospel is God Himself. 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel
1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)
2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).
3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)
4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.”)
5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).
6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)
To make it easy to remember Piper simplifies it like this:
Plan
Event
Accomplishment
Offer
Application
A supremely happy future
I would encourage you to go listen to his message: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/2637_How_I_Distinguish_Between_the_Gospel_and_False_Gospels/
If you have the time, read Piper's books God is the Gospel or The Passion of Jesus Christ. My three all time favorites are John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied and Leon Morris's The Atonement and The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross.
Savoring the depth of the Gospel,
Pastor Bill
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Since we are entering into Easter season, it is a good time for us to be thinking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of it called the gospel. John Piper recently preached at the Resurgence Conference a message on Distinguishing Between True and False Gospels. We are living in a time where there is a tremendous lack of understanding in the Gospel. Much of contemporary understanding is inadequate, unbiblical, or incomplete. It is important in focusing on the death and resurrection of Christ that we understand all the implications of the glorious work done at Calvary.
John Piper describes six aspects of the gospel—the good news about Jesus based upon 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. It is well worth reflecting on. It is thorough and solid. What I really like is how Piper begins the gospel with God and ends with God. God Himself plans the Gospel and the end or goal of the Gospel is God Himself. 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
6 Aspects of the Gospel Without Which There Is No Gospel
1. The gospel was planned by God beforehand (verses 3, 4: “according to the scriptures”)
2. The gospel is an objective physical event in history (verses 3-5: “Christ died . . . he was buried . . . he was raised . . . he appeared”).
3. The gospel is an objective accomplishment—the purchase or obtaining of redemption for all who would believe (verse 3: “Christ died for our sins”—the debt was paid)
4. The gospel is an offer to be made to all that what Christ accomplished is free and my be had only by faith in him (verse 2: “by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.”)
5. The gospel is an application through faith to specific people of what Christ accomplished (verse 2: “and by which you are being saved”).
6. The gospel is an eternal and infinitely happy future destiny (verse 1-3: implied in the word “gospel” and “saved” and “sins born by another”)
To make it easy to remember Piper simplifies it like this:
Plan
Event
Accomplishment
Offer
Application
A supremely happy future
I would encourage you to go listen to his message: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/2637_How_I_Distinguish_Between_the_Gospel_and_False_Gospels/
If you have the time, read Piper's books God is the Gospel or The Passion of Jesus Christ. My three all time favorites are John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied and Leon Morris's The Atonement and The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross.
Savoring the depth of the Gospel,
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
ON BEING ENCOURAGING TO OTHERS
The writer of Proverbs says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (Proverbs 18:23). Think about this for a moment: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Do you have any idea what this means? It means that you and I go through life with an awesome power-like fire or electricity or nuclear energy-right under our noses, one that can produce death or life, depending upon how it is used. With this power we have the capacity for great evil, for great benefit or great harm. We can use it to create death and destruction, or we can use it to create life and building up. Let me get real personal and ask you, does your tongue bring life to those around you or death? When people leave after having a conversation with you have they been given life through your words or death? Has your speech been a positive influence upon others or a negative influence? Are people attracted to you because of your speech or repelled? Is God honored by your speech or does your speech bring reproach upon Him? Do our words draw others closer to God or away from God? Do they build others up or tear others down? Do they heal or do they destroy? Do they cause others to love more or hate more? Do they cause people to see the person you are speaking of in a favorable light or not?
Fred Smith says that there are two kinds of people in church:polluters and purifiers. Polluters are like smokestacks, belching out dirty smoke all the time. When people around them breath their toxins, they feel sicker and sicker. Purifiers, on the other hand, make everything around them better. They are like filters who take in the toxic words of polluters and filter the words before passing them on. What comes in may be gloomy, negative, and unedifying, but when it comes back out, it is fresh and clear.
So let me ask you again; when you spend time with others, do they walk away feeling better or worse? Are they built up or torn down? Have you added value to their life or diminished their life? Do you clear the air, giving fresh perspective or positive encouragement? Or do they go away feeling gloomy? Watch how people respond to you and you will know what kind of person that you are.
I have resolved in my life that i am going to be an encourager, a purifier toward other people with the words that i speak. The apostle Paul provides a wealth of understanding about our words and their God ordained goal-both what it is, and what it clearly is not: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
Notice how comprehensive this command applies to our speech: “Let no…but only…” There is a certain kind of speech that is never to come from our mouths, and another kind that should be in everything we say. That’s how extensive the reach of this command really is. Paul employs a contrast to teach us a “not that/but this” statement, clearly showing us the kinds of words that God forbids as well as the kinds of words that He requires.
What does Paul forbid? The word for unwholesome {sapros} describes what is rotten, putrid, or corrupt. It was used for rotten trees or fruit. Applied to our speech it points to words that spoil relationships, poison our influence, or corrupts another’s character. Words that spoil and bring rottenness; death giving words instead of life giving words. Among believers in the church of Jesus Christ and at the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship there is to be no decay spreading communication of any kind, in any form, at any time, by anyone.
What does Paul command? “…such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” Paul proposes a whole new way of thinking about language. Our words are to edify-they should be “good for building up”. And that goes for all of our speech. We are specifically commanded to communicate “only’ that which edifies.
What are edifying words? Truly edifying words are words that reveal the character and the promises and the activity of God. They are cross centered words. They are God glorifying words. They are words rooted in and derived form scripture, words that identify the presence of God, the heart of God, the Spirit of God, the love of God, and the character of God.
Paul gives us an example in Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].” We are commanded to communicate only words like those that are good (agathos-excellent) for building up one another. What a sweet command! What a privilege! What a responsibility! And so when we obey this command we leave behind a soul that has been built up and edified.
Notice also that Paul speaks of encouragement being the effect of appropriate words-“as fits the occasion”-appropriate to the person I’m seeking to serve. It means that to effectively encourage someone, I must know something about that person, it means I must have a good attitude about someone, which comes from caring, loving, and studying that person, asking questions, and carefully listening. you cannot encourage another person if you have a bad attitude toward that person. What does that person need from me now? Counsel? Encouragement? Warning? Comfort? Forgiveness? All the above? In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul urges us, “brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”
Mike Mason wrote a book with a play on the title of Brother Lawrence’s book, Practicing the presence of God. He called it Practicing the Presence of People. Are you aware of others? Do you care for others? Are you looking for others? Do you see others needs? Are you discerning? We must be careful and discerning here: Are people idle? Admonish them! Are they fainthearted? Encourage them! Are they weak? Help them! Wherever situation people are in life, there is something we can say to them to bring them encouragement.
Finally, Ephesians 4:29 Paul commands that our communication always be purposeful, and the right purpose is “that it may give grace to those who hear”. The biblical purpose for every conversation you have, in every personal interaction, is that the person who hears you will receive grace.
The grace that God lavishes us is the grace that is meant to pour out of our lives to grace others. Peter says in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “As each has received a gift (grace), use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God... ”
What do others need to hear from you? Let me illustrate. It’s like God has a restaurant and what is on the menu is grace. People have different needs for words of grace. It comes in a lot of different forms but its all grace on the menu. So when we say a word to someone, the key expression is the grace that comes through you to others in words. God is like the chef, cooking up loads of grace and we are privileged to be humble waiters in his restaurant presenting others with orders of words grace. We get to serve this grace to one another and have this incredible privilege of presenting each other with servings of words of grace. In his sovereignty wisdom and love He is cooking up grace and it is so good.
God is saying in our relationships: I’ve got that grace for this sister, this brother to set before them and then go give it to them through your words of grace. When you have walked in this and experienced it you know how exciting, fun and wonderful it is to serve it up in your words for others. Folks that’s God’s design. Notice it is all God working, God speaking, God doing.
In James 4:10, we read that God gives grace to the humble. We receive grace from God, we give it to others. We are all in need of much grace. There is no one you know who doesn’t need more of it. God has ordained that our church, our marriages, our families be environments where we are both giving out and receiving grace through the exchange of edifying and appropriate words. Every conversation has potential. Would you start asking God to give you discernment on what kind of grace this person needs.
To the legalist or those who feel condemned-we want to bring justifying grace into their souls. To those struggling with sin, we want to bring sanctifying grace. To those who are afflicted and suffering, we want to bring comforting grace. To those who are sick, we want to bring healing grace. To those who are thinking, feeling, or living in an unbiblical matter, we want to bring correcting grace. To those who are tired and discouraged, we want to bring sustaining grace. To those who are hopeless, we want to bring hope bringing grace. To those who are discouraged, we want to bring encouraging grace? To those who are dying, we want to bring life giving grace.
The list goes on and on. Through each and every interaction may we impart grace through our words, for that is God’s purpose in granting to us the gift of speech. And in effect we have God’s promise in this passage that when our words are edifying and appropriate, they will give grace.
So we have to ask ourselves at this moment: Is this the effect of my speech about others? Upon others? Is this people’s common experience in my conversations? Do they experience grace in and through my words? Is my mouth a means of grace? Am I meeting a need with the words that are coming out of my mouth? Am I speaking well of others? Am I building up faith into the people who hear? Before this day is done, there will be an occasion in your life that Paul calls “the need of the moment”. Someone will be positioned to benefit by your words. This is the ministry that you will be called to do at that moment-“edification according to the need of the moment”. If you are living in grace, if you are dependent upon grace, you will become a channel of grace-you will give grace to those who hear”. When you that moment comes and grace pours out through you-the satisfaction is so deep, you will know why you were created and why you were called and the air all around you will be purified instead of polluted by your words of encouragement to others.
Longing to be a purifying agent in my words,
Pastor Bill
Fred Smith says that there are two kinds of people in church:polluters and purifiers. Polluters are like smokestacks, belching out dirty smoke all the time. When people around them breath their toxins, they feel sicker and sicker. Purifiers, on the other hand, make everything around them better. They are like filters who take in the toxic words of polluters and filter the words before passing them on. What comes in may be gloomy, negative, and unedifying, but when it comes back out, it is fresh and clear.
So let me ask you again; when you spend time with others, do they walk away feeling better or worse? Are they built up or torn down? Have you added value to their life or diminished their life? Do you clear the air, giving fresh perspective or positive encouragement? Or do they go away feeling gloomy? Watch how people respond to you and you will know what kind of person that you are.
I have resolved in my life that i am going to be an encourager, a purifier toward other people with the words that i speak. The apostle Paul provides a wealth of understanding about our words and their God ordained goal-both what it is, and what it clearly is not: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
Notice how comprehensive this command applies to our speech: “Let no…but only…” There is a certain kind of speech that is never to come from our mouths, and another kind that should be in everything we say. That’s how extensive the reach of this command really is. Paul employs a contrast to teach us a “not that/but this” statement, clearly showing us the kinds of words that God forbids as well as the kinds of words that He requires.
What does Paul forbid? The word for unwholesome {sapros} describes what is rotten, putrid, or corrupt. It was used for rotten trees or fruit. Applied to our speech it points to words that spoil relationships, poison our influence, or corrupts another’s character. Words that spoil and bring rottenness; death giving words instead of life giving words. Among believers in the church of Jesus Christ and at the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship there is to be no decay spreading communication of any kind, in any form, at any time, by anyone.
What does Paul command? “…such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” Paul proposes a whole new way of thinking about language. Our words are to edify-they should be “good for building up”. And that goes for all of our speech. We are specifically commanded to communicate “only’ that which edifies.
What are edifying words? Truly edifying words are words that reveal the character and the promises and the activity of God. They are cross centered words. They are God glorifying words. They are words rooted in and derived form scripture, words that identify the presence of God, the heart of God, the Spirit of God, the love of God, and the character of God.
Paul gives us an example in Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].” We are commanded to communicate only words like those that are good (agathos-excellent) for building up one another. What a sweet command! What a privilege! What a responsibility! And so when we obey this command we leave behind a soul that has been built up and edified.
Notice also that Paul speaks of encouragement being the effect of appropriate words-“as fits the occasion”-appropriate to the person I’m seeking to serve. It means that to effectively encourage someone, I must know something about that person, it means I must have a good attitude about someone, which comes from caring, loving, and studying that person, asking questions, and carefully listening. you cannot encourage another person if you have a bad attitude toward that person. What does that person need from me now? Counsel? Encouragement? Warning? Comfort? Forgiveness? All the above? In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul urges us, “brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”
Mike Mason wrote a book with a play on the title of Brother Lawrence’s book, Practicing the presence of God. He called it Practicing the Presence of People. Are you aware of others? Do you care for others? Are you looking for others? Do you see others needs? Are you discerning? We must be careful and discerning here: Are people idle? Admonish them! Are they fainthearted? Encourage them! Are they weak? Help them! Wherever situation people are in life, there is something we can say to them to bring them encouragement.
Finally, Ephesians 4:29 Paul commands that our communication always be purposeful, and the right purpose is “that it may give grace to those who hear”. The biblical purpose for every conversation you have, in every personal interaction, is that the person who hears you will receive grace.
The grace that God lavishes us is the grace that is meant to pour out of our lives to grace others. Peter says in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “As each has received a gift (grace), use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God... ”
What do others need to hear from you? Let me illustrate. It’s like God has a restaurant and what is on the menu is grace. People have different needs for words of grace. It comes in a lot of different forms but its all grace on the menu. So when we say a word to someone, the key expression is the grace that comes through you to others in words. God is like the chef, cooking up loads of grace and we are privileged to be humble waiters in his restaurant presenting others with orders of words grace. We get to serve this grace to one another and have this incredible privilege of presenting each other with servings of words of grace. In his sovereignty wisdom and love He is cooking up grace and it is so good.
God is saying in our relationships: I’ve got that grace for this sister, this brother to set before them and then go give it to them through your words of grace. When you have walked in this and experienced it you know how exciting, fun and wonderful it is to serve it up in your words for others. Folks that’s God’s design. Notice it is all God working, God speaking, God doing.
In James 4:10, we read that God gives grace to the humble. We receive grace from God, we give it to others. We are all in need of much grace. There is no one you know who doesn’t need more of it. God has ordained that our church, our marriages, our families be environments where we are both giving out and receiving grace through the exchange of edifying and appropriate words. Every conversation has potential. Would you start asking God to give you discernment on what kind of grace this person needs.
To the legalist or those who feel condemned-we want to bring justifying grace into their souls. To those struggling with sin, we want to bring sanctifying grace. To those who are afflicted and suffering, we want to bring comforting grace. To those who are sick, we want to bring healing grace. To those who are thinking, feeling, or living in an unbiblical matter, we want to bring correcting grace. To those who are tired and discouraged, we want to bring sustaining grace. To those who are hopeless, we want to bring hope bringing grace. To those who are discouraged, we want to bring encouraging grace? To those who are dying, we want to bring life giving grace.
The list goes on and on. Through each and every interaction may we impart grace through our words, for that is God’s purpose in granting to us the gift of speech. And in effect we have God’s promise in this passage that when our words are edifying and appropriate, they will give grace.
So we have to ask ourselves at this moment: Is this the effect of my speech about others? Upon others? Is this people’s common experience in my conversations? Do they experience grace in and through my words? Is my mouth a means of grace? Am I meeting a need with the words that are coming out of my mouth? Am I speaking well of others? Am I building up faith into the people who hear? Before this day is done, there will be an occasion in your life that Paul calls “the need of the moment”. Someone will be positioned to benefit by your words. This is the ministry that you will be called to do at that moment-“edification according to the need of the moment”. If you are living in grace, if you are dependent upon grace, you will become a channel of grace-you will give grace to those who hear”. When you that moment comes and grace pours out through you-the satisfaction is so deep, you will know why you were created and why you were called and the air all around you will be purified instead of polluted by your words of encouragement to others.
Longing to be a purifying agent in my words,
Pastor Bill
Thursday, February 21, 2008
THE IMPORTANCE, THE POWER, AND THE BLESSINGS OF BEING A COMMITED PERSON
"But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. " Daniel 1:8
What were born to do? Why did Christ redeem us? Do you feel a sense of purpose and destiny for your life? The prophet Isaiah says that we were created for God's glry. (Isaiah 43:7). The word of God says that you were predestined in order to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Jesus said that we were chosenin order to be bear fruit that lasts for the Father's glory (John 15:5,8,16). The apostle Paul said that whatevver we do we are to do it for the glory of God( 1 Corinthians 10:31). Do you beleive what God's word says about you and your future? To become that person, God wants you to be committed!
Commitment can chage your life! William Murray wrote some lines that I go back to often times in my life. "Until one is committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment one definitely commits oneself, then God moves, too, and a whole stream of events erupts. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way, begins to flow toward him."
Michelangelo was possibly the greatest artist in Western civilization. When 30 years old he was commissioned to paint a simple depiction of the twelve apostles on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. By the time he was finished four years later the project had expanded to include four hundred figures and nine scenes from Genesis. For four grueling years he lay on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a work that permanently damaged his eyesight and wore him down. One day while working diligently on a dark corner of the Sistine Chapel that no one would ever see, he was asked why? Michelangelo's simple reply was, "God will see."
What words would describe commitment to you? If I could sum it up in one word I would say “alone”. Its human to stand with the crowd, its divine to stand alone; It’s human to follow the people and drift with the tide, it’s godlike to follow the truth and to stem the tide; it’s natural to compromise conscience and to follow social and religious fashion for the sake of gain and pleasure, it’s divine to sacrifice both on the alter. In 2 Timothy 4:16 the apostle Paul wrote, "At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them." These were the words of a battle-scarred apostle Paul in describing his first appearance before Nero to answer for his life. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
I really think the word “alone” describes commitment because few people are committed to anything to anything beyond themselves. They just follow their fancy, whatever tide is flowing. When you see someone who is committed they are always doing something different than the crowd. Not because they are trying to be different but because commitment has the tendency to make us stand out. Oh for you to see the power and the reward of commitment to Christ, His work, his people, and his cause! Our society is in desperate need for Christians who are committed. “There is no limit to what God can do through a man or woman who is fully committed to him ” says John Maxwell.
Daniel was a man who knew the meaning of commitment. His life becomes an inspiration, a model, and a conviction as to what commitment means in the way we live out our lives. Daniel was being enticed with daily rations of the finest and richest of royal food and drink. By doing this, the Babylonians were figuring Daniel would feel a sense of obligation and disassociate themselves from their old Hebrew ways. It didn’t work. We read in Daniel 1:8, "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank." I really like the NKJV translation, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank."
Why do you think Daniel did what he did? What’s the big deal? Some answer that it must have been because of some ritual taboo. Jewish law did, of course, lay down certain dietary regulations. Did Daniel refuse to eat because the food was not kosher? That seems doubtful, for we read that he objected to the wine as much as to the meat, and there was no ceremonial prohibition on alcohol in the Law of Moses. Yet clearly Daniel's reluctance to eat the emperor's food was religious in origin, because the writer uses the word defile (1:8). This word strongly implies that he saw the issue as one of moral or spiritual pollution. It was not just that he was vegetarian or that he had trouble adjusting to a foreign diet. This was an issue of religious conscience for him. To eat of the king's food would have been, for Daniel, to compromise his personal holiness in some way.
The only conclusion we can safely draw is that Daniel judged this sharing in the king's table to be one step further than he was prepared to go in accommodating himself as a view to his new situation in a pagan world.
As a believer, surrounded by this pagan pantheon of religions that Babylonia offered, he felt he had to draw a line somewhere, and this was where he decided to draw it. Perhaps he reasoned that eating with someone, especially in the ancient world, was a sign of friendship. In a diplomatic context, eating together often implied a political alliance. The fact was that he was a hostage, a POW. But Daniel was a member of a nation that was bound by exclusive covenant to Yahweh, the only God. No other loyalty could ever be permitted to usurp the priority of that relationship in Daniel's life. He was determined on that. He seems to have felt that eating food from the king's table, even if the king was not personally present, threatened that loyalty to an unacceptable degree. It created, perhaps, a feeling of intimacy between him and his pagan master that was too close for comfort.
Notice the way the writer puts it: "Daniel resolved not to defile himself.' This was a personal decision. Literally, "he purposed in his heart." The Hebrew phrase suggests an inner wrestling with conscience that resulted in personal determination to make a stand of principle on the matter. If Daniel was to remain true to God in the face of this assault on his spirituality, it would require immense self-discipline. He simply could not allow himself to be softened up by the king's food.
What do we learn about commitment?
Commitment Is The Result Of Choice Not Conditions Or Environment
Daniel made up his own mind. He didn’t ask anyone else what he or she thought. I am not, I will not period. He did it immediately. That was a great moment. “People don’t make commitments because the conditions are right; they make commitments to do right in spite of the conditions.”
In general, people approach daily commitment in one of two ways. They focus on the external or the internal. Those who focus on the external expect conditions to determine whether or not they keep their commitments. Because their conditions change so often, their commitment level changes like the wind. not Daniel, he based his action on the decision that he had made within. Commitment must be settled before the moment arises Daniel didn’t get caught up in the emotion of the moment. He made the decision before the food was ever brought to him. “The battle is won before the battle is begun.” “The most important decision you ever make is the decision you make before you ever have to make a decision.” Daniel knew what to do and did it!
Jonathan Edwards wrote at 19 seventy resolutions. These were the principles that guided his life. Do you have principles that guide yours? We often times think we have to learn or experience things before developing convictions. Get settled! If you don’t get settled you get tossed. Get convictions, get values. Either be a Babylonian or be a Christ follower. I look at people who are still trying to settle issues they should have settled years ago. Commitment starts in the heart Daniels commitment preceded his achievement.
Your Commitment Will Be Tested Every Day
Its one thing to talk about it, its another thing to do it. Arthur Gordon, “Nothing is easier than saying words, nothing is more difficult then living them day by day. What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you”
Your commitments will be tested! Many people see commiment as an event or something done in a moment. they say "I do" at their wedding and a few years later say "I don't". Commitment does not end with a decision, it's just getting started. And you better beleive that any time you make a commitment it will be tested! Daniel made a decision to not eat the kings food. Then he was tested with the kings food. When facing the test, Daniel did not eat the kings food. He kept his commitment going. Commitment begins with little things in our lives Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."
I have learned that little commitments are the foundations for bigger ones.” No one ever makes big commitments without first making little ones. Later on in Daniel, he will face an even bigger test in whether or not he will bow down to the kings idol (Daniel 3). Before Daniel said no to the kings idol, he said no to the king’s food. When Daniel saw God helping on the food issue, it gave him courage for the idol issue. It works the opposite as well. Compromise once, it’s easier to do it the next time. Take stand once, its easier as well. We need to take stands at the front end of our lives not in the middle.
Commitment Leaves The Results To God
Daniel 1:11-20, "So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. "Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants." So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. "
Daniel seems to communicate, “If I do right, God will take care of me.” Psalm 37:5, " Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." We get this mindset that if I do the right thing, I’ll be alone, unhappy, a missionary in Barstow, I’ll be poor, unfulfilled, I’ll lose out. Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Something wonderful happens when we put God first. Even as Daniel was deciding and living out his commitment, God was working out His plans and purposes. All through our story God is working. Three times in the chapter we read that God gave something to someone. In 1:2, he gave Jehoiakim and Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. In 1:9, God gave the chief official sympathy toward Daniel and his friends. Now in verse 17 we read that God gave the four Judeans "knowledge and understanding." Of course, Nebuchadnezzar and those involved in their education would take credit for their brilliance, but Daniel and the others would know to whom the credit was due. After all, they had grown physically robust not because of their Babylonian diet but because of the grace of God, that is, in spite of their diet of vegetables.
The effect of the theme of "God's giving" throughout the chapter is to press home who is really in control of the events of Daniel's and our life. God provided, God protected, and God promoted. Proverbs. 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; he turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs. 16:7, "When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
William Murray whom I quoted at the beginning wrote, "The moment one definitely commits oneself, then divine Providience moves too. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise would have occured. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, rising in one's favor all manner of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistancew which no man could have dreamed would come his way."
An old hymn says, “Dare to be a Daniel; dare to stand alone; dare to have a purpose; and dare to make it known.” John Maxwell says, "The greatest days of your life are the days you sense your commitment to its highest degree. Your greatest days are not your days of leisure. Your greatest days are not even the times when you have your closest friends around you. When something has seized you and has caused you to have a high level of commitment to it, those are your greatest days. They may be your days of struggle, they may be your days of suffering, and they may be your days of your greatest battles in life, but they will be your greatest days.”
Looking ahead for your greatest days as God moves your heart to commit yourself to Him and His cause,
Pastor Bill
What were born to do? Why did Christ redeem us? Do you feel a sense of purpose and destiny for your life? The prophet Isaiah says that we were created for God's glry. (Isaiah 43:7). The word of God says that you were predestined in order to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Jesus said that we were chosenin order to be bear fruit that lasts for the Father's glory (John 15:5,8,16). The apostle Paul said that whatevver we do we are to do it for the glory of God( 1 Corinthians 10:31). Do you beleive what God's word says about you and your future? To become that person, God wants you to be committed!
Commitment can chage your life! William Murray wrote some lines that I go back to often times in my life. "Until one is committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment one definitely commits oneself, then God moves, too, and a whole stream of events erupts. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way, begins to flow toward him."
Michelangelo was possibly the greatest artist in Western civilization. When 30 years old he was commissioned to paint a simple depiction of the twelve apostles on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. By the time he was finished four years later the project had expanded to include four hundred figures and nine scenes from Genesis. For four grueling years he lay on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, a work that permanently damaged his eyesight and wore him down. One day while working diligently on a dark corner of the Sistine Chapel that no one would ever see, he was asked why? Michelangelo's simple reply was, "God will see."
What words would describe commitment to you? If I could sum it up in one word I would say “alone”. Its human to stand with the crowd, its divine to stand alone; It’s human to follow the people and drift with the tide, it’s godlike to follow the truth and to stem the tide; it’s natural to compromise conscience and to follow social and religious fashion for the sake of gain and pleasure, it’s divine to sacrifice both on the alter. In 2 Timothy 4:16 the apostle Paul wrote, "At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them." These were the words of a battle-scarred apostle Paul in describing his first appearance before Nero to answer for his life. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
I really think the word “alone” describes commitment because few people are committed to anything to anything beyond themselves. They just follow their fancy, whatever tide is flowing. When you see someone who is committed they are always doing something different than the crowd. Not because they are trying to be different but because commitment has the tendency to make us stand out. Oh for you to see the power and the reward of commitment to Christ, His work, his people, and his cause! Our society is in desperate need for Christians who are committed. “There is no limit to what God can do through a man or woman who is fully committed to him ” says John Maxwell.
Daniel was a man who knew the meaning of commitment. His life becomes an inspiration, a model, and a conviction as to what commitment means in the way we live out our lives. Daniel was being enticed with daily rations of the finest and richest of royal food and drink. By doing this, the Babylonians were figuring Daniel would feel a sense of obligation and disassociate themselves from their old Hebrew ways. It didn’t work. We read in Daniel 1:8, "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank." I really like the NKJV translation, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank."
Why do you think Daniel did what he did? What’s the big deal? Some answer that it must have been because of some ritual taboo. Jewish law did, of course, lay down certain dietary regulations. Did Daniel refuse to eat because the food was not kosher? That seems doubtful, for we read that he objected to the wine as much as to the meat, and there was no ceremonial prohibition on alcohol in the Law of Moses. Yet clearly Daniel's reluctance to eat the emperor's food was religious in origin, because the writer uses the word defile (1:8). This word strongly implies that he saw the issue as one of moral or spiritual pollution. It was not just that he was vegetarian or that he had trouble adjusting to a foreign diet. This was an issue of religious conscience for him. To eat of the king's food would have been, for Daniel, to compromise his personal holiness in some way.
The only conclusion we can safely draw is that Daniel judged this sharing in the king's table to be one step further than he was prepared to go in accommodating himself as a view to his new situation in a pagan world.
As a believer, surrounded by this pagan pantheon of religions that Babylonia offered, he felt he had to draw a line somewhere, and this was where he decided to draw it. Perhaps he reasoned that eating with someone, especially in the ancient world, was a sign of friendship. In a diplomatic context, eating together often implied a political alliance. The fact was that he was a hostage, a POW. But Daniel was a member of a nation that was bound by exclusive covenant to Yahweh, the only God. No other loyalty could ever be permitted to usurp the priority of that relationship in Daniel's life. He was determined on that. He seems to have felt that eating food from the king's table, even if the king was not personally present, threatened that loyalty to an unacceptable degree. It created, perhaps, a feeling of intimacy between him and his pagan master that was too close for comfort.
Notice the way the writer puts it: "Daniel resolved not to defile himself.' This was a personal decision. Literally, "he purposed in his heart." The Hebrew phrase suggests an inner wrestling with conscience that resulted in personal determination to make a stand of principle on the matter. If Daniel was to remain true to God in the face of this assault on his spirituality, it would require immense self-discipline. He simply could not allow himself to be softened up by the king's food.
What do we learn about commitment?
Commitment Is The Result Of Choice Not Conditions Or Environment
Daniel made up his own mind. He didn’t ask anyone else what he or she thought. I am not, I will not period. He did it immediately. That was a great moment. “People don’t make commitments because the conditions are right; they make commitments to do right in spite of the conditions.”
In general, people approach daily commitment in one of two ways. They focus on the external or the internal. Those who focus on the external expect conditions to determine whether or not they keep their commitments. Because their conditions change so often, their commitment level changes like the wind. not Daniel, he based his action on the decision that he had made within. Commitment must be settled before the moment arises Daniel didn’t get caught up in the emotion of the moment. He made the decision before the food was ever brought to him. “The battle is won before the battle is begun.” “The most important decision you ever make is the decision you make before you ever have to make a decision.” Daniel knew what to do and did it!
Jonathan Edwards wrote at 19 seventy resolutions. These were the principles that guided his life. Do you have principles that guide yours? We often times think we have to learn or experience things before developing convictions. Get settled! If you don’t get settled you get tossed. Get convictions, get values. Either be a Babylonian or be a Christ follower. I look at people who are still trying to settle issues they should have settled years ago. Commitment starts in the heart Daniels commitment preceded his achievement.
Your Commitment Will Be Tested Every Day
Its one thing to talk about it, its another thing to do it. Arthur Gordon, “Nothing is easier than saying words, nothing is more difficult then living them day by day. What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you”
Your commitments will be tested! Many people see commiment as an event or something done in a moment. they say "I do" at their wedding and a few years later say "I don't". Commitment does not end with a decision, it's just getting started. And you better beleive that any time you make a commitment it will be tested! Daniel made a decision to not eat the kings food. Then he was tested with the kings food. When facing the test, Daniel did not eat the kings food. He kept his commitment going. Commitment begins with little things in our lives Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."
I have learned that little commitments are the foundations for bigger ones.” No one ever makes big commitments without first making little ones. Later on in Daniel, he will face an even bigger test in whether or not he will bow down to the kings idol (Daniel 3). Before Daniel said no to the kings idol, he said no to the king’s food. When Daniel saw God helping on the food issue, it gave him courage for the idol issue. It works the opposite as well. Compromise once, it’s easier to do it the next time. Take stand once, its easier as well. We need to take stands at the front end of our lives not in the middle.
Commitment Leaves The Results To God
Daniel 1:11-20, "So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. "Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants." So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. "
Daniel seems to communicate, “If I do right, God will take care of me.” Psalm 37:5, " Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." We get this mindset that if I do the right thing, I’ll be alone, unhappy, a missionary in Barstow, I’ll be poor, unfulfilled, I’ll lose out. Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Something wonderful happens when we put God first. Even as Daniel was deciding and living out his commitment, God was working out His plans and purposes. All through our story God is working. Three times in the chapter we read that God gave something to someone. In 1:2, he gave Jehoiakim and Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. In 1:9, God gave the chief official sympathy toward Daniel and his friends. Now in verse 17 we read that God gave the four Judeans "knowledge and understanding." Of course, Nebuchadnezzar and those involved in their education would take credit for their brilliance, but Daniel and the others would know to whom the credit was due. After all, they had grown physically robust not because of their Babylonian diet but because of the grace of God, that is, in spite of their diet of vegetables.
The effect of the theme of "God's giving" throughout the chapter is to press home who is really in control of the events of Daniel's and our life. God provided, God protected, and God promoted. Proverbs. 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; he turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs. 16:7, "When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
William Murray whom I quoted at the beginning wrote, "The moment one definitely commits oneself, then divine Providience moves too. All sorts of things occur that would never otherwise would have occured. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, rising in one's favor all manner of unforseen incidents and meetings and material assistancew which no man could have dreamed would come his way."
An old hymn says, “Dare to be a Daniel; dare to stand alone; dare to have a purpose; and dare to make it known.” John Maxwell says, "The greatest days of your life are the days you sense your commitment to its highest degree. Your greatest days are not your days of leisure. Your greatest days are not even the times when you have your closest friends around you. When something has seized you and has caused you to have a high level of commitment to it, those are your greatest days. They may be your days of struggle, they may be your days of suffering, and they may be your days of your greatest battles in life, but they will be your greatest days.”
Looking ahead for your greatest days as God moves your heart to commit yourself to Him and His cause,
Pastor Bill
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