"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15
I am convinced that how I view God and how I view life really matters. It really matters whether a true view of life and of God informs and shapes the way I think and how I speak about my plans. Our mindset matters. How you talk about your plans and how you think about God matters. Why? Why does that matter? Because God created us not just to do things and go places with our bodies, but to have certain attitudes and convictions and speech that reflect the truth; a true view of life and God. God means for the truth about Himself and about life to be known and felt and spoken and lived out as part of our reason for being. You weren't just created to go somewhere and do business; you were made to go somewhere with thoughts and attitudes and words that reflect a right view of life and God.
HAVING A HUMBLE VIEW OF LIFE
1. A HUMBLE view of life sees that the future is uncertain
James tells us says in verse 14, that in all of your planning keep in your mind and give expression with your lips to this truth: “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring." That is, in humility, keep in mind that you have no firm substance on this earth. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We don’t know what we think we know because our knowledge, like our life, is limited. O how I have learned how limited is my knowledge during theses past 19 months! 19 months ago I was planning for a future that included my wife and my church. Little did I know that I would be divorced, I would not be pastoring my old church and be attempting to start a new church, that my income would decrease by 80%, and that I would be starting my life completely over at 58 years old. So much for my plans!
I have learned that I am not God; therefore I cannot see what is coming next! This has profoundly humbled me and kept me in a very humble posture before God in living the rest of my life! But I have come to believe that ignorance concerning the future is a God-given blessing and not a liability. Oh, I know we would all like to join with the fictional characters in Back to the Future movies and be able to bet on sporting events and invest in the stock market with a knowledge of all that is going to take place. But I think that God in his wisdom has very wisely hidden the future from us. Think about it. If God were to let you look ahead and see your future prosperity, you might become extremely careless. If you saw ahead to the adversity and personal losses you are going to be facing, you might despair or you might try to take control to make sure it doesn’t happen. God has hidden the future from you for a very good reason. It is so that you might be compelled to trust in him wholeheartedly and completely every moment of every day of your life. The Bible teaches us that the people of God shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). And without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
2. A HUMBLE view of life sees that life is fragile
James also says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (Verse 14). Not only is the future uncertain, you are as fragile as mist and vapor. This is an eloquent simile. You see the mist at one moment and a few minutes later it’s gone. You see the steam coming out of your coffee cup and in just a second, it disappears into the air. Life is like that. James’ point is that you have no assurance of a long life! You have no promise that you will live for ten more years, one more year, one more week, one more day or even one more hour. You don’t even know if you’ll make it till tomorrow morning!
In Psalm 103:15-16, the Psalmist writes, “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” Every day of your life, every breath you take is totally dependent upon God. You are always just one heartbeat away from eternity. Did you know that your days, from a heavenly perspective, are numbered! You will never live one day, or one hour, or even one second longer than God has planned for you to live. In Psalm 139:16 the Psalmist writes, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
That’s why Moses prays in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” On October 13, I turned 58 and a half. I have about 4562 days until I’m at my allotted seventy, if I even make that. That only adds up to about 652 weeks or 152 months! Yikes! Only God can give me the wisdom I need to spend those days profitably in light of eternity. Keep in mind that you have no durability on this earth, for you appear "for a little while" - just a little while. Your time is short. And keep in mind that you will disappear. You will be gone, and life will go on without you. It matters, he says, that you keep this view of life in mind in all of your decisions and planning.
HAVING A HUMBLE VIEW OF GOD
James tells us the true view of God that we should have in our minds and in our mouths as we plot our future - as we make our plans. It not only matters that you have a humble view of life when you make your plans,- you are like a vapor, but it also matters that you have a humble view of God as you make your plans. And that you give expression of this humble view of God: "You ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that'" (Verse 15). Now it is important to see that James is not just giving us a teaching to make sure that we preface all of our actions with “if it is the Lord’s will”.
We all know that people use “God’s will” to get their way; “lord willing” becomes a cliche used to rationalize selfishness. James is not talking about spiritualizing decision making. Anyone can say the words if the Lord wills and intend nothing more than to be RC- religiously correct. James is not looking for a change of words, but a change of heart. James offers a correction to a deeply ingrained philosophy of life. The big issue is between those who live, really live, as if God exists and those who do not. In your planning for tomorrow or next week or next month or next year or for ten years from now, God wants you’re planning to be done with Him and His will in mind.
There ought to be small parentheses written in all the sentences of your planning even as Jesus taught us by both His example in Gethsemane, “Father, not my but thy will be done” and in his teaching to us on prayer: . “Father in heaven…Let Your will be done”. It is the submissive attitude toward God that says, “Lord, you may interrupt at any time. In fact God, I welcome you to do so. Change this whole plan in accordance with your will and I’ll accept it from your hand.” “Give me the desire to want what I want to ought, so that I will do what I ought to do”.
So what is the right view of God that he teaches us to have in verse 15? He tells us two very important things about God. One is contained in the words: "If the Lord wills, we will live." And the other is contained in the words, "If the Lord wills, we will . . . do this or that."
1. First, when he says, "If the Lord wills, we will live," he teaches us that the duration of our lives is in the hands of God. Or: God governs how long we will live. Or: God is ultimately in control of life and death. We may not know how long our vapor-like life will linger in the air, but God knows, because God decides how long we will live: "If the Lord wills we will live." And James is saying: If this is a true view of life and God, then it should shape our mindset and shape our way of talking. In Acts 18:21, Paul left Ephesus and said, "I will return to you again if God wills." In 1 Corinthians 4:19 he writes, "I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills." For most of his life he did not know if the next town might be his burial place. That was in the hands of God. And so are our lives. Psalm 31:15-16, "But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God. My times are in your hand.” God will decide how long we live and when we die. And James' point is: God means for that truth, that reality, to shape our mindset and our attitude and our words. He means for that truth to be known and spoken about. He means for it to be a part of the substance of our conversation. God means for a true view of himself to be known and believed and embraced and cherished and kept in mind and spoken of.
2. Now, there is another truth about God in verse 15: When he says, "If God wills we will . . . do this or that," he teaches us that the activities and accomplishments of our lives are in God's hands. God governs what we accomplish. Not only are our lives in his hands, our success is in his hands. Proverbs 16:9 we are told: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
1. Let us remember how wonderfully secure we are in the confidence that it is God who finally governs our lives
God and not chance, God and not our enemies, God and not disease, God and not the devil. I, for one, am very glad that my life is in the hands of an all-loving, all-wise, all-powerful Father. I pray that in the Gethsemane evening of my life I will be able to say with Jesus, "Not my will but yours be done," and then, "Into your hands I commit my spirit." Rejoice in this. You are immortal until God's work for you is done.
2. Since your life and your accomplishments are ultimately in the hands of God, then he is able, in ways you never dreamed, to help you fulfill His plans for your life and provide every need besides.
Philippians 4:19, "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 2 Corinthians 9:8, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."
3. Trust God with your future plans.
Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Things don’t always go the way we plan them. I can absolutely testify to this! At best, our plans are tentative, because we can’t see ahead. We make plans but many times God has a much better plan. That’s why he sometimes changes our plans so that they will fit perfectly with his plan. So we must learn to be humble, flexible and tentative as we look to the future, knowing that God may have a totally different plan than what we are now thinking. In his sovereignty he may very well change those plans according to his perfect will. Oh may we live our lives in humble, loving, trust, and submission in God who governs our lives and our achievements for our good and his glory!
Trusting in Him who holds the future,
Pastor Bill
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Trusting Christ With Gutsy Guilt.
Have you sinned lately? This morning? this afternoon? A minute ago? The reality of the Christian life is that while it is God's will that we do not sin, as long as we are here in this body of ours we all still sin. The apostle John clearly spells this out for us.
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. .. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2).
Does not this describe your life? We sin. We confess our sins. We know that we should not sin. But we do and when we do we have our advocate and propitiation, Jesus Christ. So how does God look at us when we sin? "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) Do you believe that? The devil hates this truth and he hates the finished work of Christ. So his mission is to keep you in the place of guilt, shame, and darkness through lies, deceptions, accusation, and condemnation.
Frequently when I do sin, in spite of 1 John and Romans, even after I have confessed my sin and repented, I still feel guilt, shame, condemnation, and insecure in my perspective of God and how He views me and my sin. I find it hard to accept His mercy and feel that He does not want anything to do with me. I now know that is exactly the enemies tactic of keeping me distant in my communion with God because of my own guilt and shame.
Micah 7:8-9 is a picture of what you say to your enemy when he scoffs at your defeat. This is a description of what we do when there is "no condemnation" and yet we have sinned. How do we think and act?
Here is what you say. My summary of these words is to call them like John Piper calls them, gutsy guilt. I call it that because when I sin I must admit that I have done wrong and that God is dealing with me. But even in a condition of darkness and discipline, I will not surrender my hold on the truth that God loves me and is on my side (Romans 8:31-38).
Listen to these amazing words. Mark them. Memorize them. Preach them to yourself. Use them whenever Satan tempts you to defeat, discouragement, guilt, shame, condemnation, and despair.
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication." (Micah 7:8-9)
This is what victory looks like after defeat. reflect on this deeply, frequently, and faithfully. Learn to take this truth and speak like this to the devil, yourself, or anyone else who tells you that Christ is not capable of using you mightily for His kingdom purposes.
Here is what you say to the devil after you have confessed your sins and he accuses you:
“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy.” You celebrate and rejoice over my failure? You had better think again Satan!!
“When I fall, I shall rise.” Do you know why? Yes, it is true that I have fallen and I hate and despise what I have done. I grieve at the dishonor I have brought on my Lord Jesus and my God. But hear this, my enemy, I will rise. I will rise. (Proverbs 24:16, "...for the righteous falls seven times and rises again")
“When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” When I sin, I feel as if I am sitting in darkness. I feel miserable. I feel guilty because I am guilty. But that is not all that is true about me and my God. The same God who makes my darkness is a sustaining light to me in this very darkness. He will not forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
“I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me.” It is true that when the devil tells you that you have sinned, he is right. Until I confess my sin I am bearing the indignation of the Lord. But that is where the devil's using the truth against me stops and my theology begins: God, the very one who is indignant with me, will also plead my cause. The devil lies and says that God is against me and that I have no future with him because of my sin. That is a lie from the pit of hell and Satan is a liar!(John 8:44) My God, whose Son’s life is my righteousness and whose Son’s death is my punishment, will execute judgment for me. For me! FOR me! And not against me.
“He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.” This I know for sure, as sure as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my punishment and my righteousness, God will bring me out to the light, and I will look upon his righteousness, my Lord and my God.
Now that is a picture of how to think and act when you sin against God whose whole disposition toward you is almighty mercy, free grace, and omnipotent love. He will not always handle you gently. But he will always love you. And always be for you and not against you (Romans 8:31).
So we must take our sins seriously. We hate them because God does. We must see them as a contradiction of who we are in Christ and a contradiction of our Father's love. We must confess our sins (1 John 1:9). We look to the cross where all our pardon and righteousness was fully secured. We accept the Father's displeasure and discipline, and may dwell in darkness for a season. But if our enemy rejoices and says to us in our sorrow, "See, God is against you. He is angry. You are guilty and under his condemnation," then we will say, with the authority of Romans 8:1 and on the basis of Jesus Christ's death and righteousness, and in the words of Micah 7, "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness."
That is what I mean by gutsy guilt. I do not know any other way to persevere in the Christian life in view of my constant failings. I do not know any other way to stay on course for the cause of Christ. I do not know any other way to live with God, others, and myself in peace, assurance, and rest in my soul. I do not know any other way to maintain hope, faithfulness, and fruitfulness in ministry, than this gutsy guilt: When I fall I will rise . . . though I have sinned, the very one against whom I have sinned will plead my case and execute justice for me - not against me, but FOR me!
Oh, love this truth, dear reader! Love and live this truth with all your might and all your faith. Do not let the devil have the final word over your sin.
Resting in the finished work of Christ,
Pastor Bill
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. .. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2).
Does not this describe your life? We sin. We confess our sins. We know that we should not sin. But we do and when we do we have our advocate and propitiation, Jesus Christ. So how does God look at us when we sin? "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) Do you believe that? The devil hates this truth and he hates the finished work of Christ. So his mission is to keep you in the place of guilt, shame, and darkness through lies, deceptions, accusation, and condemnation.
Frequently when I do sin, in spite of 1 John and Romans, even after I have confessed my sin and repented, I still feel guilt, shame, condemnation, and insecure in my perspective of God and how He views me and my sin. I find it hard to accept His mercy and feel that He does not want anything to do with me. I now know that is exactly the enemies tactic of keeping me distant in my communion with God because of my own guilt and shame.
Micah 7:8-9 is a picture of what you say to your enemy when he scoffs at your defeat. This is a description of what we do when there is "no condemnation" and yet we have sinned. How do we think and act?
Here is what you say. My summary of these words is to call them like John Piper calls them, gutsy guilt. I call it that because when I sin I must admit that I have done wrong and that God is dealing with me. But even in a condition of darkness and discipline, I will not surrender my hold on the truth that God loves me and is on my side (Romans 8:31-38).
Listen to these amazing words. Mark them. Memorize them. Preach them to yourself. Use them whenever Satan tempts you to defeat, discouragement, guilt, shame, condemnation, and despair.
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication." (Micah 7:8-9)
This is what victory looks like after defeat. reflect on this deeply, frequently, and faithfully. Learn to take this truth and speak like this to the devil, yourself, or anyone else who tells you that Christ is not capable of using you mightily for His kingdom purposes.
Here is what you say to the devil after you have confessed your sins and he accuses you:
“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy.” You celebrate and rejoice over my failure? You had better think again Satan!!
“When I fall, I shall rise.” Do you know why? Yes, it is true that I have fallen and I hate and despise what I have done. I grieve at the dishonor I have brought on my Lord Jesus and my God. But hear this, my enemy, I will rise. I will rise. (Proverbs 24:16, "...for the righteous falls seven times and rises again")
“When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” When I sin, I feel as if I am sitting in darkness. I feel miserable. I feel guilty because I am guilty. But that is not all that is true about me and my God. The same God who makes my darkness is a sustaining light to me in this very darkness. He will not forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
“I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me.” It is true that when the devil tells you that you have sinned, he is right. Until I confess my sin I am bearing the indignation of the Lord. But that is where the devil's using the truth against me stops and my theology begins: God, the very one who is indignant with me, will also plead my cause. The devil lies and says that God is against me and that I have no future with him because of my sin. That is a lie from the pit of hell and Satan is a liar!(John 8:44) My God, whose Son’s life is my righteousness and whose Son’s death is my punishment, will execute judgment for me. For me! FOR me! And not against me.
“He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.” This I know for sure, as sure as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my punishment and my righteousness, God will bring me out to the light, and I will look upon his righteousness, my Lord and my God.
Now that is a picture of how to think and act when you sin against God whose whole disposition toward you is almighty mercy, free grace, and omnipotent love. He will not always handle you gently. But he will always love you. And always be for you and not against you (Romans 8:31).
So we must take our sins seriously. We hate them because God does. We must see them as a contradiction of who we are in Christ and a contradiction of our Father's love. We must confess our sins (1 John 1:9). We look to the cross where all our pardon and righteousness was fully secured. We accept the Father's displeasure and discipline, and may dwell in darkness for a season. But if our enemy rejoices and says to us in our sorrow, "See, God is against you. He is angry. You are guilty and under his condemnation," then we will say, with the authority of Romans 8:1 and on the basis of Jesus Christ's death and righteousness, and in the words of Micah 7, "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness."
That is what I mean by gutsy guilt. I do not know any other way to persevere in the Christian life in view of my constant failings. I do not know any other way to stay on course for the cause of Christ. I do not know any other way to live with God, others, and myself in peace, assurance, and rest in my soul. I do not know any other way to maintain hope, faithfulness, and fruitfulness in ministry, than this gutsy guilt: When I fall I will rise . . . though I have sinned, the very one against whom I have sinned will plead my case and execute justice for me - not against me, but FOR me!
Oh, love this truth, dear reader! Love and live this truth with all your might and all your faith. Do not let the devil have the final word over your sin.
Resting in the finished work of Christ,
Pastor Bill
Monday, November 14, 2011
LIVING ON GRACE
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" 2 Corinthians 9:8
"For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed." Romans 15:18
"With great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33
There is a saying that I have used over the years that personally means more to me than ever. It simply states: Christian living is either supernatural or it is nothing. I have been a Christian for 37 years. I believe that the call to deny ourselves, to love God and others,to do the works of Jesus like healing the sick, to return good for evil, to forgive seventy times seven, to endure one another, to obey His commands, and to keep doing this with joy for fifty, sixty, or seventy years is just not possible to the natural human. It is only possible to do this supernaturally.
I am thankful that the scriptures affirm this.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Colossians 1:10-11 that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy;
It truly takes supernatural power to live and endure for Christ until we die. So we must seek the supernatural power of God’s sovereign grace daily in order to be the church and to be a Christian. Paul confirmed with his own words the absolute necessity of God’s grace for his ministry. He said, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not 1, but the grace of God with me" (I Corinthians 15:10).
Paul realized that the first part of this verse might be misunderstood. Someone might say, "See, he is telling us that God gave him grace in the past and now Paul is simply responding to that grace, out of gratitude or a sense of duty, by working for God as hard as he can." {This is exactly how some look at the Christian life!} That would be a partial, but very distorted, truth. It is not the picture of Christian living Paul wants to leave in our minds. So he goes on to say, "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me."
Paul says that, at every moment, the grace of God enabled his work. Does it really say that? Doesn't it just say that the grace of God [worked] with Paul? No, it says more. We have to come to terms with the words, "Yet not I." Paul wants to exalt the moment-by-moment grace of God in such a way that it is clear that he himself is not the decisive doer of this work. "Yet not I. "
Now the paradox is that nevertheless, Paul is a doer of this work. "I worked harder than any of them." He worked. But he said, it was the grace of God "with me." If we let all the parts of this verse stand, the end result is this: grace was the decisive doer in Paul's work.
This means that, as Paul faced each day’s ministry burden, he had a firm conviction and lived out that conviction with a humble, dependent posture and attitude that unless God’s grace was given for that day’s work, he would not be able to do it. He recalled the words of Jesus, "Apart from Me you, can do nothing’ (John 15:5). So he prayed for fresh supernatural grace for the day, and he trusted in the promise that it would come with power. "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Then he acted with all his might. And when he came to the end of the day, he called his might the might of grace and gave God the glory. "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me." Or, with different words, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13); ""I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"(Galatians 2:20). So, God’s grace did not replace Paul's effort; it enabled and carried it. No wonder Paul could say His grace toward me did not prove vain! Grace made Paul what he was. Grace gave him the courage to be who he was. Grace energized him to accomplish what he did. Grace was the silent partner and his constant traveling companion.
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Heb.13: 20-21
God himself, graciously arriving each moment, brings grace into the present moment. So when Paul describes the effect of the grace of God that was with him he says, "I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed" (Romans 15:18). The power we need for today’s ministry is the today grace of the omnipotent Christ, who will always, be there for us..
So how do we tap into this grace that we need to live supernaturally? Prayer connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for today's living for Christ.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us, "Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” The Greek original behind the phrase "grace to help in time of need" can be translated literally, "grace for a well-timed help."' The point is that prayer is the way to find God’s grace for a well-timed help. This grace always arrives from the "throne of grace" on time. The phrase, "throne of grace" means that grace comes from the king of the Universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:8). His timing is perfect, but it is rarely ours: "For a thousand years in [his] sight are like yesterday when it passes by" (Psalm 90:4). At the global level, he sets the times for nations to rise and fall (Acts 17:26). And at the personal level, "My times are in [his] hands" (Psalm 31:15). When we wonder about the timing of grace, we must think on the 'throne of grace." Nothing can hinder God's plan to send grace when it will be best for us. God’s grace is always well timed.
The need for grace is the constant plea of the praying psalmists. They pray for it again and again to meet every need. They leave every minister a model of daily dependence on grace for every emergency. They cry out for grace when they need help: "Hear, 0 Lord, and be gracious to me; 0 Lord, be Thou my helper" (Psalm 30:10). They cry out for grace when they are weak: "Turn to me, and be gracious to me; 0 grant Thy strength to Thy servant" (Psalm 86:16). They cry out for grace when they need healing: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, 0 Lord" (Psalm 6:2). They cry out for grace when they are afflicted by enemies: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord; behold my affliction from those who hate me" (Psalm 9:13). They cry out for grace when they are lonely: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted" (Psalm 25:16). They cry out for grace when they are grieving: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief" (Psalm 31:9). They cry out for grace when they have sinned: "O Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee" (Psalm 41:4).
Once we are persuaded that the normal Christian life is supernatural, if we desire to “be” Christians, we will be on our knees. His grace is available to each of you.
1 Corinthians. 2:1-5, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Habakkuk. 3:17-19, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
John Newton
Learning to live on grace,
Pastor Bill
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" 2 Corinthians 9:8
"For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed." Romans 15:18
"With great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33
There is a saying that I have used over the years that personally means more to me than ever. It simply states: Christian living is either supernatural or it is nothing. I have been a Christian for 37 years. I believe that the call to deny ourselves, to love God and others,to do the works of Jesus like healing the sick, to return good for evil, to forgive seventy times seven, to endure one another, to obey His commands, and to keep doing this with joy for fifty, sixty, or seventy years is just not possible to the natural human. It is only possible to do this supernaturally.
I am thankful that the scriptures affirm this.
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Colossians 1:10-11 that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy;
It truly takes supernatural power to live and endure for Christ until we die. So we must seek the supernatural power of God’s sovereign grace daily in order to be the church and to be a Christian. Paul confirmed with his own words the absolute necessity of God’s grace for his ministry. He said, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not 1, but the grace of God with me" (I Corinthians 15:10).
Paul realized that the first part of this verse might be misunderstood. Someone might say, "See, he is telling us that God gave him grace in the past and now Paul is simply responding to that grace, out of gratitude or a sense of duty, by working for God as hard as he can." {This is exactly how some look at the Christian life!} That would be a partial, but very distorted, truth. It is not the picture of Christian living Paul wants to leave in our minds. So he goes on to say, "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me."
Paul says that, at every moment, the grace of God enabled his work. Does it really say that? Doesn't it just say that the grace of God [worked] with Paul? No, it says more. We have to come to terms with the words, "Yet not I." Paul wants to exalt the moment-by-moment grace of God in such a way that it is clear that he himself is not the decisive doer of this work. "Yet not I. "
Now the paradox is that nevertheless, Paul is a doer of this work. "I worked harder than any of them." He worked. But he said, it was the grace of God "with me." If we let all the parts of this verse stand, the end result is this: grace was the decisive doer in Paul's work.
This means that, as Paul faced each day’s ministry burden, he had a firm conviction and lived out that conviction with a humble, dependent posture and attitude that unless God’s grace was given for that day’s work, he would not be able to do it. He recalled the words of Jesus, "Apart from Me you, can do nothing’ (John 15:5). So he prayed for fresh supernatural grace for the day, and he trusted in the promise that it would come with power. "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Then he acted with all his might. And when he came to the end of the day, he called his might the might of grace and gave God the glory. "Yet not I, but the grace of God with me." Or, with different words, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13); ""I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"(Galatians 2:20). So, God’s grace did not replace Paul's effort; it enabled and carried it. No wonder Paul could say His grace toward me did not prove vain! Grace made Paul what he was. Grace gave him the courage to be who he was. Grace energized him to accomplish what he did. Grace was the silent partner and his constant traveling companion.
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Heb.13: 20-21
God himself, graciously arriving each moment, brings grace into the present moment. So when Paul describes the effect of the grace of God that was with him he says, "I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed" (Romans 15:18). The power we need for today’s ministry is the today grace of the omnipotent Christ, who will always, be there for us..
So how do we tap into this grace that we need to live supernaturally? Prayer connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for today's living for Christ.
Hebrews 4:16 tells us, "Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” The Greek original behind the phrase "grace to help in time of need" can be translated literally, "grace for a well-timed help."' The point is that prayer is the way to find God’s grace for a well-timed help. This grace always arrives from the "throne of grace" on time. The phrase, "throne of grace" means that grace comes from the king of the Universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:8). His timing is perfect, but it is rarely ours: "For a thousand years in [his] sight are like yesterday when it passes by" (Psalm 90:4). At the global level, he sets the times for nations to rise and fall (Acts 17:26). And at the personal level, "My times are in [his] hands" (Psalm 31:15). When we wonder about the timing of grace, we must think on the 'throne of grace." Nothing can hinder God's plan to send grace when it will be best for us. God’s grace is always well timed.
The need for grace is the constant plea of the praying psalmists. They pray for it again and again to meet every need. They leave every minister a model of daily dependence on grace for every emergency. They cry out for grace when they need help: "Hear, 0 Lord, and be gracious to me; 0 Lord, be Thou my helper" (Psalm 30:10). They cry out for grace when they are weak: "Turn to me, and be gracious to me; 0 grant Thy strength to Thy servant" (Psalm 86:16). They cry out for grace when they need healing: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am pining away; heal me, 0 Lord" (Psalm 6:2). They cry out for grace when they are afflicted by enemies: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord; behold my affliction from those who hate me" (Psalm 9:13). They cry out for grace when they are lonely: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted" (Psalm 25:16). They cry out for grace when they are grieving: "Be gracious to me, 0 Lord, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief" (Psalm 31:9). They cry out for grace when they have sinned: "O Lord, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee" (Psalm 41:4).
Once we are persuaded that the normal Christian life is supernatural, if we desire to “be” Christians, we will be on our knees. His grace is available to each of you.
1 Corinthians. 2:1-5, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Habakkuk. 3:17-19, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
John Newton
Learning to live on grace,
Pastor Bill
Monday, November 7, 2011
HOW GOD MAKES LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE DESIRABLE AND DOABLE
One of the most encouraging passages in my life is the statement that the apostle Paul makes in Philippians 2:12-13, "“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” In verse 12, God tells us what He wants for our life. Many Christians hear just that part of the verse and get very very discouraged because it seems as if God is saying something that we must do on our own, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Now let us first understand what Paul is not saying. The verse does not say, "Work for your salvation." There’s only one person who has worked for your salvation and that’s Jesus Christ. He alone worked for your salvation. Nor does Paul command the church here to work on their salvation. Our salvation cannot be improved upon. The rescue is complete. The salvation equation is very simple: Christ = salvation. There’s no plus sign in this equation. You dishonor Christ if you try to add a plus sign, if you try to work on your salvation, because a plus sign suggests that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross wasn’t enough for you.
So what then does Paul mean when he says “work out your salvation”? Christians sometimes struggle with growing in grace because they don’t understand how it works. Either they think that God does something like this…He says, ‘OK, I’ve saved you by Jesus Christ, I’ve forgiven you, and now you’re on your own. Get crackin’! Get to it.’ And other times, they think, ‘Well, God saved me, and He’s at work in me changing me, so I don’t have to do anything.’ And the Apostle Paul with this exhortation is both encouraging us and correcting us at the same time.
The ideal behind the words "your own salvation" is that God has a plan for each of our lives. He has a design for you and He has a duty for you. Paul says in Romans 8:29 that we were predestined to be conformed the very image of Christ. We are to fulfill that plan so that our lives will bring forth fruit to the glory of God. So one thing Paul is saying here is that as Christians we must strive to get the greatest potential benefit from our salvation. God puts tremendous capacity for good in our lives-like the mother lode in silver mine or a field full of ripe crops-and He wants us to realize that capacity to its fullest. It is as if Paul is saying, don’t stop halfway; don't be satisfied with partial benefits when it comes to your relationship with God. Get the full benefit of the gospel.
The Christian life is not just a one time commitment. It is an ongoing walk, a race to be run, a fight to be fought. As Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-7, “As you received Jesus Christ as Lord (past tense), so (now, presently) walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him.” God wants to continue His saving work in us everyday-refining, strengthening, making us more into His likeness. Discipleship is a lifelong process. So Paul urges us here to get on with that process-to continually strive to work out our salvation-to mine all the benefits we can from it-to constantly seek to grow and mature and be more and more like Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Colossians 1:29, “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” 2 Peter 1:1, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” Believing does not make the Christian passive. It makes them hopeful, energetic, and courageous. Each day there is work to be done and we are commanded to work.
BUT...
How many of you have lived in verse 12 and felt completely discouraged, defeated, debilitated, and downcast because you cannot do what verse 12 seems to demand of you? You battle your desires to work out your salvation, your will to work out your salvation, and your ability to work out your salvation. Perhaps you feel defeated before you even get out the door.
Thank God for verse 13!It is here that we find the key to the door of living verse 12. In verse 13, He tells us how this is brought to pass. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” Do not get stuck in verse 12 dear reader!
"It is God who works in you.” Is this good news my friend? Paul is telling us that the Christian life is not our attempt at the imitation of Christ but the incarnation of Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). The Christian life is not a series of “ups and downs” it is rather a process of “ins and outs.” God works in and we work out. Paul is saying that God is the decisive worker in your life! We work, but we work by and through and because of His working in us.
There are two great needs in every Christian life. First, there is the desire to do God's will and the second is the ability to do His will. If I only have the desire chances are on the basis of what I have seen in my life I will not do God's will. I will want to, but because of my flesh, I won't do what I want to do. I need the power and the ability to do what I want to do. That is why Philippians 2:13 is such stupendously good news to you and me.
God does more than merely strengthen our willing and doing. He does not add just a little help so that I can partner with Him. Paul's explanation goes deeper. "God himself is working in us both to will and to act: He works in us at the level of our wills and at the level of our doing God works in us, not merely with us. It is not the thought that my work plus God's work gets it done.
Augustine wrote, "Our deeds are our own, because of the free will producing them, and they are also God's, because of his grace causing our free will to produce them." And he says elsewhere, "God makes us do what he pleases by making us desire what we might not desire."' And finally he says, "Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them."
Notice the enthusiastic heart of God in his working in you. "...it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” The word "pleasure" means "a happy joyful desire or purpose." God is working in us that His desire and purpose for our life to be fulfilled and that brings him great joy.
Second Thessalonians 1:11-12, "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.”
Hebrews 13:20-21, `Now may the God of peace. equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Corinthians 15:10, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Romans 15:18, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”
This is encourages me so much, and there are two things that encourage me. He says we can do verse 12 because God Himself is at work in you already, so that you will want to do it, and you will be able to do it, so that you will do it for His good pleasure in you. God is the workman; we stand in need of his services. He is the doctor, we are the sick patient. We are the weak, He is the strong. We have the broken down jalopy, He is the mechanic. That’s incredible.
In short, God makes living the Christian life so desirable and so doable!!!
Do you know what else is encouraging to me about this? It’s that he says this in the present tense. God is working now at this very moment! NOW! Dear reader, say that to yourself! ____________ God is working now at this very moment in me.
Even when we are most actively working out for God, we are still the recipients of His working in us. The power to work out daily our salvation is the power of the living God always there to work for us and in us every moment that we enter. Not only that, He doesn’t stop and wait for you to get working rather He is now and always working The God who in the past worked and changed you is the same God who is at work in you now to change you. And let me tell you, my friends, that truth keeps me from despair, because one of the great realities that I live with every waking moment is that I know that I am not what I ought to be. And the Apostle Paul is simply saying to you here, ‘Child of God, He’s not finished with you yet. He is at work with you, in you, for you, for His pleasure and glory.’
I cannot imagine a more comforting and encouraging thing to know in the pursuit of godliness in the Christian life than that my God is not done yet. It keeps me from going over the edge. It keeps me from the brink of despair. It is the promise (God will work in you!) that sustains and gives hope to the willpower (work out your salvation). Take heart. God will not leave you to yourself. John Newton once wrote: I am not what I want to be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I should be, but by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Can anything be more radical than this? It means every good desire; every Christ-like thought, attitude, decision, and aspiration which I have is something which has been produced in me by God. God controls my willing, it is God who is energizing my very desires and hopes and aspirations and thoughts. He stimulates it all!” It means God understands our weakness and is committed to helping us. It means we are not left to simply work to muster more of our strength but we are invited to tap into His. It means we don't have to worry about falling away in the end because God is working on our desires and appetites so that we won't want to drift away. It means that the victories and accomplishments we have in the spiritual realm should be acknowledged as coming from the Lord and we should give Him the glory. It means that we can live the Christian life.
Oh reader, we need not fear the will of God or flee the will of God on the basis of feeling inadequate or insufficient. God will enable us to do anything He asks of us. God wants to lure you into obedience with his irresistibly beautiful and ineffable promises of enablement! Where God guides, He will provide.
Take the following texts as encouragements from God that He will help you fulfill His purposes for your life:
Jeremiah 31:31 33, `Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.... I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.
Deuteronomy 30.6, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart...so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. "
Ezekiel 11:19–20, A new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them."
Ezekiel 36:26-27, `I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.”
Hebrews 13:20-21, `Now may the God of peace. equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Corinthians 15:10, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Romans 15:18, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”
1 Peter 4:11, "Whoever serves" is to do so `as one who serves by the strength which God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 3:12. "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another "
Utterly thrilled that God makes living the Christian life so desirable and so doable!
Pastor Bill
Now let us first understand what Paul is not saying. The verse does not say, "Work for your salvation." There’s only one person who has worked for your salvation and that’s Jesus Christ. He alone worked for your salvation. Nor does Paul command the church here to work on their salvation. Our salvation cannot be improved upon. The rescue is complete. The salvation equation is very simple: Christ = salvation. There’s no plus sign in this equation. You dishonor Christ if you try to add a plus sign, if you try to work on your salvation, because a plus sign suggests that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross wasn’t enough for you.
So what then does Paul mean when he says “work out your salvation”? Christians sometimes struggle with growing in grace because they don’t understand how it works. Either they think that God does something like this…He says, ‘OK, I’ve saved you by Jesus Christ, I’ve forgiven you, and now you’re on your own. Get crackin’! Get to it.’ And other times, they think, ‘Well, God saved me, and He’s at work in me changing me, so I don’t have to do anything.’ And the Apostle Paul with this exhortation is both encouraging us and correcting us at the same time.
The ideal behind the words "your own salvation" is that God has a plan for each of our lives. He has a design for you and He has a duty for you. Paul says in Romans 8:29 that we were predestined to be conformed the very image of Christ. We are to fulfill that plan so that our lives will bring forth fruit to the glory of God. So one thing Paul is saying here is that as Christians we must strive to get the greatest potential benefit from our salvation. God puts tremendous capacity for good in our lives-like the mother lode in silver mine or a field full of ripe crops-and He wants us to realize that capacity to its fullest. It is as if Paul is saying, don’t stop halfway; don't be satisfied with partial benefits when it comes to your relationship with God. Get the full benefit of the gospel.
The Christian life is not just a one time commitment. It is an ongoing walk, a race to be run, a fight to be fought. As Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-7, “As you received Jesus Christ as Lord (past tense), so (now, presently) walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him.” God wants to continue His saving work in us everyday-refining, strengthening, making us more into His likeness. Discipleship is a lifelong process. So Paul urges us here to get on with that process-to continually strive to work out our salvation-to mine all the benefits we can from it-to constantly seek to grow and mature and be more and more like Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Colossians 1:29, “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” 2 Peter 1:1, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.” Believing does not make the Christian passive. It makes them hopeful, energetic, and courageous. Each day there is work to be done and we are commanded to work.
BUT...
How many of you have lived in verse 12 and felt completely discouraged, defeated, debilitated, and downcast because you cannot do what verse 12 seems to demand of you? You battle your desires to work out your salvation, your will to work out your salvation, and your ability to work out your salvation. Perhaps you feel defeated before you even get out the door.
Thank God for verse 13!It is here that we find the key to the door of living verse 12. In verse 13, He tells us how this is brought to pass. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” Do not get stuck in verse 12 dear reader!
"It is God who works in you.” Is this good news my friend? Paul is telling us that the Christian life is not our attempt at the imitation of Christ but the incarnation of Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). The Christian life is not a series of “ups and downs” it is rather a process of “ins and outs.” God works in and we work out. Paul is saying that God is the decisive worker in your life! We work, but we work by and through and because of His working in us.
There are two great needs in every Christian life. First, there is the desire to do God's will and the second is the ability to do His will. If I only have the desire chances are on the basis of what I have seen in my life I will not do God's will. I will want to, but because of my flesh, I won't do what I want to do. I need the power and the ability to do what I want to do. That is why Philippians 2:13 is such stupendously good news to you and me.
God does more than merely strengthen our willing and doing. He does not add just a little help so that I can partner with Him. Paul's explanation goes deeper. "God himself is working in us both to will and to act: He works in us at the level of our wills and at the level of our doing God works in us, not merely with us. It is not the thought that my work plus God's work gets it done.
Augustine wrote, "Our deeds are our own, because of the free will producing them, and they are also God's, because of his grace causing our free will to produce them." And he says elsewhere, "God makes us do what he pleases by making us desire what we might not desire."' And finally he says, "Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them."
Notice the enthusiastic heart of God in his working in you. "...it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” The word "pleasure" means "a happy joyful desire or purpose." God is working in us that His desire and purpose for our life to be fulfilled and that brings him great joy.
Second Thessalonians 1:11-12, "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.”
Hebrews 13:20-21, `Now may the God of peace. equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Corinthians 15:10, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Romans 15:18, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”
This is encourages me so much, and there are two things that encourage me. He says we can do verse 12 because God Himself is at work in you already, so that you will want to do it, and you will be able to do it, so that you will do it for His good pleasure in you. God is the workman; we stand in need of his services. He is the doctor, we are the sick patient. We are the weak, He is the strong. We have the broken down jalopy, He is the mechanic. That’s incredible.
In short, God makes living the Christian life so desirable and so doable!!!
Do you know what else is encouraging to me about this? It’s that he says this in the present tense. God is working now at this very moment! NOW! Dear reader, say that to yourself! ____________ God is working now at this very moment in me.
Even when we are most actively working out for God, we are still the recipients of His working in us. The power to work out daily our salvation is the power of the living God always there to work for us and in us every moment that we enter. Not only that, He doesn’t stop and wait for you to get working rather He is now and always working The God who in the past worked and changed you is the same God who is at work in you now to change you. And let me tell you, my friends, that truth keeps me from despair, because one of the great realities that I live with every waking moment is that I know that I am not what I ought to be. And the Apostle Paul is simply saying to you here, ‘Child of God, He’s not finished with you yet. He is at work with you, in you, for you, for His pleasure and glory.’
I cannot imagine a more comforting and encouraging thing to know in the pursuit of godliness in the Christian life than that my God is not done yet. It keeps me from going over the edge. It keeps me from the brink of despair. It is the promise (God will work in you!) that sustains and gives hope to the willpower (work out your salvation). Take heart. God will not leave you to yourself. John Newton once wrote: I am not what I want to be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I should be, but by the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Can anything be more radical than this? It means every good desire; every Christ-like thought, attitude, decision, and aspiration which I have is something which has been produced in me by God. God controls my willing, it is God who is energizing my very desires and hopes and aspirations and thoughts. He stimulates it all!” It means God understands our weakness and is committed to helping us. It means we are not left to simply work to muster more of our strength but we are invited to tap into His. It means we don't have to worry about falling away in the end because God is working on our desires and appetites so that we won't want to drift away. It means that the victories and accomplishments we have in the spiritual realm should be acknowledged as coming from the Lord and we should give Him the glory. It means that we can live the Christian life.
Oh reader, we need not fear the will of God or flee the will of God on the basis of feeling inadequate or insufficient. God will enable us to do anything He asks of us. God wants to lure you into obedience with his irresistibly beautiful and ineffable promises of enablement! Where God guides, He will provide.
Take the following texts as encouragements from God that He will help you fulfill His purposes for your life:
Jeremiah 31:31 33, `Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.... I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.
Deuteronomy 30.6, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart...so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. "
Ezekiel 11:19–20, A new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them."
Ezekiel 36:26-27, `I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.”
Hebrews 13:20-21, `Now may the God of peace. equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Corinthians 15:10, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
Romans 15:18, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”
1 Peter 4:11, "Whoever serves" is to do so `as one who serves by the strength which God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 3:12. "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another "
Utterly thrilled that God makes living the Christian life so desirable and so doable!
Pastor Bill
Monday, October 24, 2011
HOW I BATTLE MY SIN OF FEAR
I confess that the greatest battle in my life is the battle of fear. There are times that I have been so fearful that I have lay in bed shaking in my dread. I have suffered many sleepless nights, troubled days, wasted hours imagining outcomes, and I have devoted countless hours at times to allowing fear to darken my mind and cloud my soul. I have also seen some of my biggest fears come to pass. That most certain weighs deeply in my struggle with fear. My biggest fears center around people and the future.
Many times in my life I fear people. People often times seem very big to me and God seems small. Here are some of my fears Perhaps some of you can relate:
Abandonment
Rejection
Betrayal
Hurting me
Giving up on me in my imperfections
Not accepting me once they know me
Trying to control me
Disapproval
Here are some of my fears of the future:
Ministry failure
Being left to myself and my own decision making ability
Old age
Unhappiness
My worst fears all happening
Utter poverty
Loneliness
Uselessness
Wasting my life
God forsaking me.
I am glad that I am not alone in my fears. Even in the Bible, we can see where men were stalked by their fears:
-Abraham lied about Sarah out of fear - Genesis 12:11-13
-Jacob displayed fear of Esau - Genesis 32:6-8
-Moses feared Pharaoh - Exodus 2:14
-Moses feared Rejection - Exodus 4:1
-The Disciples feared the storm - Matthew 8:24-26
What makes fear even more difficult for me in my struggle with fear is that over and over in scriptures we hear God demanding us to “be not afraid”(ex. John 6;20;14;27; Acts 18:9; 27:24; 1 Peter 3;14; Revelation 1:17). Often times when I am afraid I will hear this demand and all I can feel is more discouragement because God demands of me something that is the opposite of what I am feeling and how can I stop feeling fear when I feel fear? God says, “Be not afraid’ but I feel that “I am afraid.” What’s the way to overcome fear and to obey His command to not fear? Is there a solution?
Please reread what I wrote on October 10 titled LEARNING TO TALK TO YOURSELF INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO YOURSELF. You deal with fear by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by confessing your fears to God, meditating on God's Word, speaking it to yourself, and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit. Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We must read the promises of God and speak them to yourself; and then we we pray for the help of his Spirit. So I want to receive the promises of God, and promises from God are the key that leads from the dungeon of fear. So consider these and do not be afraid.
1. We will not die apart from God's gracious decree for His children.
If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. (James 4:15)
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29–31)
See now that 1, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39) (See also Job 1:21; 1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7.)
2. The plans of man including your enemies do not succeed apart from our gracious God.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. (Psalm 33:10)
Take counsel together [you peoples], but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. (Isaiah 8:10) (See also 2 Samuel 7:14; Nehemiah 4:15.)
3. Man cannot harm us beyond God's gracious will for us.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:11)
4. God promises to protect His own from all that is not finally good for them.
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. (Psalm 91:14)
5 God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor Him forever.
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"...Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31–33)
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
6. God is never taken off guard.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)
7. God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble.
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
"For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, `Fear not, I am the one who helps you."' (Isaiah 41:13)
8. Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish.
Then [Jesus] said to them, ". . . there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.... and some of you they will put to death.... But not a hair of your head will perish." (Luke 21:10-11, 18)
9. I am immortal till it is God's appointed hour.
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 7:30) (See also John 8:20; 10:18.)
10. When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what He decrees.
So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
11. God's faithfulness is based on the firm value of His name,not the fickle measure of our obedience.
And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil.... For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake." (1 Samuel 12:20—22)
12. The Lord, our protector, is great and awesome.
Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. (Nehemiah 4:14)
13.The battle is the Lord's
“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).
14. God loves to comfort us in scary times.
I, I am he that comforts you; so are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass?” (Isaiah 51:12)
Warring over my fear for my peace and his glory,
Pastor Bill
Many times in my life I fear people. People often times seem very big to me and God seems small. Here are some of my fears Perhaps some of you can relate:
Abandonment
Rejection
Betrayal
Hurting me
Giving up on me in my imperfections
Not accepting me once they know me
Trying to control me
Disapproval
Here are some of my fears of the future:
Ministry failure
Being left to myself and my own decision making ability
Old age
Unhappiness
My worst fears all happening
Utter poverty
Loneliness
Uselessness
Wasting my life
God forsaking me.
I am glad that I am not alone in my fears. Even in the Bible, we can see where men were stalked by their fears:
-Abraham lied about Sarah out of fear - Genesis 12:11-13
-Jacob displayed fear of Esau - Genesis 32:6-8
-Moses feared Pharaoh - Exodus 2:14
-Moses feared Rejection - Exodus 4:1
-The Disciples feared the storm - Matthew 8:24-26
What makes fear even more difficult for me in my struggle with fear is that over and over in scriptures we hear God demanding us to “be not afraid”(ex. John 6;20;14;27; Acts 18:9; 27:24; 1 Peter 3;14; Revelation 1:17). Often times when I am afraid I will hear this demand and all I can feel is more discouragement because God demands of me something that is the opposite of what I am feeling and how can I stop feeling fear when I feel fear? God says, “Be not afraid’ but I feel that “I am afraid.” What’s the way to overcome fear and to obey His command to not fear? Is there a solution?
Please reread what I wrote on October 10 titled LEARNING TO TALK TO YOURSELF INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO YOURSELF. You deal with fear by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by confessing your fears to God, meditating on God's Word, speaking it to yourself, and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit. Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We must read the promises of God and speak them to yourself; and then we we pray for the help of his Spirit. So I want to receive the promises of God, and promises from God are the key that leads from the dungeon of fear. So consider these and do not be afraid.
1. We will not die apart from God's gracious decree for His children.
If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. (James 4:15)
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29–31)
See now that 1, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39) (See also Job 1:21; 1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7.)
2. The plans of man including your enemies do not succeed apart from our gracious God.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. (Psalm 33:10)
Take counsel together [you peoples], but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us. (Isaiah 8:10) (See also 2 Samuel 7:14; Nehemiah 4:15.)
3. Man cannot harm us beyond God's gracious will for us.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:11)
4. God promises to protect His own from all that is not finally good for them.
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. (Psalm 91:14)
5 God promises to give us all we need to obey, enjoy, and honor Him forever.
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"...Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31–33)
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
6. God is never taken off guard.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)
7. God will be with us, help us, and uphold us in trouble.
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
"For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, `Fear not, I am the one who helps you."' (Isaiah 41:13)
8. Terrors will come, some of us will die, but not a hair of our heads will perish.
Then [Jesus] said to them, ". . . there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.... and some of you they will put to death.... But not a hair of your head will perish." (Luke 21:10-11, 18)
9. I am immortal till it is God's appointed hour.
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 7:30) (See also John 8:20; 10:18.)
10. When God Almighty is your helper, none can harm you beyond what He decrees.
So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
11. God's faithfulness is based on the firm value of His name,not the fickle measure of our obedience.
And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil.... For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake." (1 Samuel 12:20—22)
12. The Lord, our protector, is great and awesome.
Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome. (Nehemiah 4:14)
13.The battle is the Lord's
“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).
14. God loves to comfort us in scary times.
I, I am he that comforts you; so are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass?” (Isaiah 51:12)
Warring over my fear for my peace and his glory,
Pastor Bill
Saturday, October 15, 2011
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU CAN PRAY
I am always desiring to pray more effectively. On reason is that so many of my prayers as I listen to them come out of my mouth are all about me. So this week, I have gone back to the word of God to help hear the Father’s heart and what He would have me to pray for. Thankfully, He does not leave me to try to figure it all out. There are things that He considers very important. People ask me all the time about what is the most important thing that they should pray for? The best way to find out what is the most important thing to pray for is to learn to pray the heart of God that is revealed through the scriptures. It actually simplifies things when you stop trying to figure it out and begin simply praying the heart of God as revealed to us.
It seems that the apostle Paul was very concerned about love in his teachings and in his prayers (Read 1 Corinthians 13). He fervently prayed that God would make love grow in the hearts of Christians. "I pray that your may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Philippians 1:9). "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for
one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12). "[I pray] that you [would be] rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17)." May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
It was an urgent plea when Paul prayed this way. Why? Because what is at stake in "increasing and abounding in love to one another and to all men" is immense. What is at stake is a compelling, supernatural demonstration of God's reality in world and the reality of God's nature is that He loves. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:7-8). Jesus described the impact of the unity of love like this: "[I pray, Father] they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they may be in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory You have given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have I Me" (John 17:21-23). We may not fully understand this. But it is clear something tremendous is at stake in the practical unity of love in the body Christ.
Or consider John 13:34-35, where Jesus says, "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one another." This is the one indispensable public mark of the Christian: visible, tangible, authentic. real love for other Christians. Jesus assumes that the world is watching this and that judgments are being made. He means it to be this way. He gives the world the seeming right to make these judgments about us.
Or consider Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." The glory of our heavenly Father is at stake in the pattern of good deeds that out from our lives. When the light of God is seen in deeds wrought in His power and love, men and women will treasure God and give Him glory.
On the basis of all these texts, it seems that growing in love is of paramount importance in these difficult days. Paul prays in Ephesians 3:17-19, "...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." To grow in love is to grow in evangelism and missions and caring for others and marriage and relationships and how to get along people you disagree with; and virtually everything else Is it no wonder that Paul calls love "the greatest of these" (1 Corinthians 13:13)?
So, the most important thing that you can pray is to make a name for Jesus Christ by the radical difference of your love for Him, your neighbor, your brothers and sisters, your enemy, and your friends.
To that end I pray in the words of Paul, "May the Lord cause you [and me] to increase and abound in love for one another. ant for all people" (1 Thessalonians 3:12). This is the great work of God. The great and first fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). "Now faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
May the Lord encourage you by His Word and His Spirit what to pray for and to begin praying big sweeping things about his love. May you know that you can boldly and confidently ask for from the Father and know that He will answer!.
Praying for us to love more than ever,
Pastor Bill
It seems that the apostle Paul was very concerned about love in his teachings and in his prayers (Read 1 Corinthians 13). He fervently prayed that God would make love grow in the hearts of Christians. "I pray that your may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Philippians 1:9). "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for
one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12). "[I pray] that you [would be] rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17)." May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
It was an urgent plea when Paul prayed this way. Why? Because what is at stake in "increasing and abounding in love to one another and to all men" is immense. What is at stake is a compelling, supernatural demonstration of God's reality in world and the reality of God's nature is that He loves. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:7-8). Jesus described the impact of the unity of love like this: "[I pray, Father] they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they may be in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory You have given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have I Me" (John 17:21-23). We may not fully understand this. But it is clear something tremendous is at stake in the practical unity of love in the body Christ.
Or consider John 13:34-35, where Jesus says, "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one another." This is the one indispensable public mark of the Christian: visible, tangible, authentic. real love for other Christians. Jesus assumes that the world is watching this and that judgments are being made. He means it to be this way. He gives the world the seeming right to make these judgments about us.
Or consider Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." The glory of our heavenly Father is at stake in the pattern of good deeds that out from our lives. When the light of God is seen in deeds wrought in His power and love, men and women will treasure God and give Him glory.
On the basis of all these texts, it seems that growing in love is of paramount importance in these difficult days. Paul prays in Ephesians 3:17-19, "...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." To grow in love is to grow in evangelism and missions and caring for others and marriage and relationships and how to get along people you disagree with; and virtually everything else Is it no wonder that Paul calls love "the greatest of these" (1 Corinthians 13:13)?
So, the most important thing that you can pray is to make a name for Jesus Christ by the radical difference of your love for Him, your neighbor, your brothers and sisters, your enemy, and your friends.
To that end I pray in the words of Paul, "May the Lord cause you [and me] to increase and abound in love for one another. ant for all people" (1 Thessalonians 3:12). This is the great work of God. The great and first fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). "Now faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
May the Lord encourage you by His Word and His Spirit what to pray for and to begin praying big sweeping things about his love. May you know that you can boldly and confidently ask for from the Father and know that He will answer!.
Praying for us to love more than ever,
Pastor Bill
Monday, October 10, 2011
LEARNING TO TALK TO YOURSELF INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO YOURSELF
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls;all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. 8By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9I say to God, my rock: "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 10As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?" 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Psalm 42:5-11 ESV
What do you think about during the day? Do you finding your mind saying things to you that strengthen you or weaken you? What emotions do your thoughts produce? Are your thoughts producing faith and trust and comfort and hope and peace and security and assurance? Or do they produce sorrow, grief, fear, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, fear, insecurity, anxiousness, and doubt? I have thought much about these matters because I have warred so much these past seventeen months. There have been days of great inner peace, tremendous resolve, confident hope, deep heartfelt gratitude, expectant faith, and inexpressible joy. But there have been other times of complete despair, utter darkness, feeling completely abandoned and alone, tremendous fear and anxiety, and totally lost. It always has to do with what is going on in my mind.
There is a major battle going on in your mind every day. Paul speaks of it this way: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12). He calls it the "fight the good fight of faith”. Fighting the fight of faith is the struggle to keep the faith. Every day is a battle in your mind to treasure Christ above all else, to keep on believing God, to keep on trusting his promises, to stay faithful, and to lay hold of eternal life over the promises of sin.
Paul Tripp writes,
The battle is in your mind where you are constantly involved in an internal conversation that greatly influences the things you decide, say, and do...What do you regularly tell yourself about yourself, God, and your circumstances? Do your words to you encourage faith, hope, and courage? Or do they stimulate doubt, discouragement, and fear? Do you remind yourself that God is near, or do you reason within yourself, given your circumstances, that he must be distant? Do you encourage yourself to run to God even when you don't understand what he's doing? Or do you give yourself permission to back away from him when you are confused by the seeming distance between what he's promised and what you're experiencing?....When others talk to you, is your internal conversation so loud that it's hard to concentrate on what they're saying?
So how do we fight these thoughts that lead to despair, anxiety, fear, and unbelief? We fight by preaching to ourselves the Word of God instead of listening to our unbelieving selves speak. I learned this from Martin Lloyd Jones in his book Spiritual Depression based upon Psalm 42. Listen to what he says. It has helped me greatly.
Listen to what he says. It has helped me greatly.
Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’… The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.”
That is exactly what we must do. I have discovered that most of my unhappiness in life is due to the fact that I listen to myself instead of talking to myself! What we have each day is an internal conversation that never ends. It is ceaseless. It continues always within us. And so each day, throughout the day, we have two simple choices: We can either spend the day listening to ourselves, listening to ourselves in our constantly changing feelings and circumstantial interpretations, or we can spend each day talking to ourselves. We can talk truth to ourselves. We can preach the gospel to ourselves.
My mind cannot be trusted and my circumstances often lie to me. They informing me that God isn't sovereign, God isn't wise, God isn't kind, God isn't active, God isn't present, God doesn't love me, God won't help me, God isn't for me, in fact, he has forgotten me. Do you ever think that way?
THIS IS A BATTLE THAT I FACE EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE! Therefore, my only hope for victory is to preach to myself. I must talk to myself instead of allowing myself to talk to me! It is what I do when I am afraid, stressed, defeated, grief stricken, battling health, discouraged, depressed, tempted, losing hope, feeling useless, abandoned, lost, and overcome. I pull out my sword of God’s word, God’s promises and weld it against my mind.
Charles Spurgeon wrote the following about welding God's promises,
God's promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used.... Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bring them up to Him, and say, "Lord, do as you have said." We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you dream that He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any the less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins...be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, "This is a precious promise, I wonder if it be true?" but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, "Lord, here is the promise, do as You have said." Our Lord replies, "Be it unto you even as you will." When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonors Him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, "Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, You have said it;" then his desire shall be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Think not that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favors. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask....It is God's nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne with, "Do as you have said."
The battle in my mind is a battle to believe the promises of God. And that belief in God comes by hearing the Word. And so preaching to ourselves is at the heart of the battle. You must take yourself, talk to yourself, question yourself, and preach God’s word to yourself. The victory comes not by looking at our grief, nor back to our past, nor round at our problems, nor projecting upon our future; but away and up to the living God. He is our help and our God, and if we trust Him now, we shall soon have cause to praise Him again. Thus, as one writer sums up, "faith rebukes despondency and hope triumphs over despair". Why restless, why cast down, my soul? Hope still, and you shall sing the praise of him who is your God, Your health's eternal spring. (Tate and Brady, 1696)
So stop listening to yourself; turn on him, speak to him; condemn him; rebuke him; turn on him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of the truth; and don’t let him drag you down and depress you. Turn your outlook into an up look.
Let me give you some of my favorite weapons I use to preach to myself against my unbelieving thoughts:
• Psalm 16:8 have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
• Psalm 23:1-6, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
• Psalm 27:13 – 14, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! “
• Psalm 31:14-16, “But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies' sake."
• Psalm 46:1-2, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear.”
• Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
• Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
• Psalm 57:2, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”
• Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
• Psalm 112:6-8, “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid.”
• Psalm 121:1 – 8, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
• Psalm 123:1-3, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us.”
• Matthew 28:20, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
• Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
• Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
• John 6:35 “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
• John 14:1-3 , “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
• Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “We do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
• Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
• Hebrews 13:5-6, "I will never leave you nor forsake you” So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
• 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
These are but a few of my weapons that I use to preach to myself and fight the good fight of faith.
Pastor Bill
What do you think about during the day? Do you finding your mind saying things to you that strengthen you or weaken you? What emotions do your thoughts produce? Are your thoughts producing faith and trust and comfort and hope and peace and security and assurance? Or do they produce sorrow, grief, fear, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, fear, insecurity, anxiousness, and doubt? I have thought much about these matters because I have warred so much these past seventeen months. There have been days of great inner peace, tremendous resolve, confident hope, deep heartfelt gratitude, expectant faith, and inexpressible joy. But there have been other times of complete despair, utter darkness, feeling completely abandoned and alone, tremendous fear and anxiety, and totally lost. It always has to do with what is going on in my mind.
There is a major battle going on in your mind every day. Paul speaks of it this way: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12). He calls it the "fight the good fight of faith”. Fighting the fight of faith is the struggle to keep the faith. Every day is a battle in your mind to treasure Christ above all else, to keep on believing God, to keep on trusting his promises, to stay faithful, and to lay hold of eternal life over the promises of sin.
Paul Tripp writes,
The battle is in your mind where you are constantly involved in an internal conversation that greatly influences the things you decide, say, and do...What do you regularly tell yourself about yourself, God, and your circumstances? Do your words to you encourage faith, hope, and courage? Or do they stimulate doubt, discouragement, and fear? Do you remind yourself that God is near, or do you reason within yourself, given your circumstances, that he must be distant? Do you encourage yourself to run to God even when you don't understand what he's doing? Or do you give yourself permission to back away from him when you are confused by the seeming distance between what he's promised and what you're experiencing?....When others talk to you, is your internal conversation so loud that it's hard to concentrate on what they're saying?
So how do we fight these thoughts that lead to despair, anxiety, fear, and unbelief? We fight by preaching to ourselves the Word of God instead of listening to our unbelieving selves speak. I learned this from Martin Lloyd Jones in his book Spiritual Depression based upon Psalm 42. Listen to what he says. It has helped me greatly.
Listen to what he says. It has helped me greatly.
Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’… The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.”
That is exactly what we must do. I have discovered that most of my unhappiness in life is due to the fact that I listen to myself instead of talking to myself! What we have each day is an internal conversation that never ends. It is ceaseless. It continues always within us. And so each day, throughout the day, we have two simple choices: We can either spend the day listening to ourselves, listening to ourselves in our constantly changing feelings and circumstantial interpretations, or we can spend each day talking to ourselves. We can talk truth to ourselves. We can preach the gospel to ourselves.
My mind cannot be trusted and my circumstances often lie to me. They informing me that God isn't sovereign, God isn't wise, God isn't kind, God isn't active, God isn't present, God doesn't love me, God won't help me, God isn't for me, in fact, he has forgotten me. Do you ever think that way?
THIS IS A BATTLE THAT I FACE EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE! Therefore, my only hope for victory is to preach to myself. I must talk to myself instead of allowing myself to talk to me! It is what I do when I am afraid, stressed, defeated, grief stricken, battling health, discouraged, depressed, tempted, losing hope, feeling useless, abandoned, lost, and overcome. I pull out my sword of God’s word, God’s promises and weld it against my mind.
Charles Spurgeon wrote the following about welding God's promises,
God's promises were never meant to be thrown aside as waste paper; He intended that they should be used.... Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see His promises put in circulation; He loves to see His children bring them up to Him, and say, "Lord, do as you have said." We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think that God will be any the poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you dream that He will be any the less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any the less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins...be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, "This is a precious promise, I wonder if it be true?" but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, "Lord, here is the promise, do as You have said." Our Lord replies, "Be it unto you even as you will." When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonors Him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, "Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, You have said it;" then his desire shall be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash His own notes. Never let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Think not that God will be troubled by your importunately reminding Him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favors. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask....It is God's nature to keep His promises; therefore go at once to the throne with, "Do as you have said."
The battle in my mind is a battle to believe the promises of God. And that belief in God comes by hearing the Word. And so preaching to ourselves is at the heart of the battle. You must take yourself, talk to yourself, question yourself, and preach God’s word to yourself. The victory comes not by looking at our grief, nor back to our past, nor round at our problems, nor projecting upon our future; but away and up to the living God. He is our help and our God, and if we trust Him now, we shall soon have cause to praise Him again. Thus, as one writer sums up, "faith rebukes despondency and hope triumphs over despair". Why restless, why cast down, my soul? Hope still, and you shall sing the praise of him who is your God, Your health's eternal spring. (Tate and Brady, 1696)
So stop listening to yourself; turn on him, speak to him; condemn him; rebuke him; turn on him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of the truth; and don’t let him drag you down and depress you. Turn your outlook into an up look.
Let me give you some of my favorite weapons I use to preach to myself against my unbelieving thoughts:
• Psalm 16:8 have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
• Psalm 23:1-6, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.
• Psalm 27:13 – 14, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! “
• Psalm 31:14-16, “But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies' sake."
• Psalm 46:1-2, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear.”
• Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
• Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
• Psalm 57:2, “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”
• Psalm 73:25-26, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
• Psalm 112:6-8, “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid.”
• Psalm 121:1 – 8, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
• Psalm 123:1-3, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us.”
• Matthew 28:20, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
• Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
• Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
• John 6:35 “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
• John 14:1-3 , “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
• Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “We do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
• Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
• Hebrews 13:5-6, "I will never leave you nor forsake you” So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
• 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
These are but a few of my weapons that I use to preach to myself and fight the good fight of faith.
Pastor Bill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)