A Biblical Foundation Part 1: Scripture is Sufficient

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Paul told Timothy about the difficult days that he will face (3:1-9). Timothy will not have Paul personally present to lead and guide him (4:6-9). So what would Timothy have to guide him? Timothy would have the teaching Paul gave him, and the life which underscored that teaching (3:10-13). Timothy would have the grounding in Scripture that his believing grandmother and mother had given him from infancy (3:14-15). And that, Paul insists, would be sufficient to make him wise. He needed to lead the church and find others who would follow his lead and teach others (2 Timothy 1:13; 2:2. 7, 15; 4:1-2).

Then, in vs.16-17 Paul speaks of all Scripture. Now some might say that in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul was referring only to the OT, but that isn’t true, because most of the scriptures were already complete. Peter brings the OT and NT together by saying that words of the Apostles were also authoritative (2 Peter 3:2), specifically referring to Paul’s writings as scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Paul uses the term he used earlier in 1 Timothy 5:18, where he quotes Luke 10:7 (Deuteronomy 25:4), so the gospels are included. Timothy would have had access to these writings (2 Timothy 4:13). Paul is saying that the Word of God, including the Old Testament retrospectively and the New Testament prospectively, including his own writing (1 Thessalonians 2:13) represents the very words of God, and thus tells us everything we need to understand in order to know and serve God (cf. 2 Peter 1:3-4).

All scripture is God breathed so even the narrative portion are for our use (cf. Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:1-5), although the way we are to use them depends on certain factors. For example, what about those seemingly endless genealogies in the OT books, what are they there for? To the Hebrews, their history and the names of their ancestors represented the salvation of God in their midst. The remembrance and rehearsal of their collective story was a constant reminder of God's promise to Abraham. To remember their past, in an important sense, was to realize that God was in their present, and was part of their future.

Coming out of the Babylonian exile, the reading of these names and the rehearsal of the national history marked the truth that God was still faithful to the covenant made with Abraham. This same emphasis is clear in the NT usages of genealogies. To continue to rehearse the history, and to show Christ as the culmination of it, was to argue that not only was God continuing to fulfill the divine promise made to Abraham, but moreover that God's promise was completed in the person and work of Christ.

So we can see that those lists are very important, but we don’t need to try and derive some deeper meaning from them. What the Bible doesn’t teach, and teaches against, is looking for esoteric things and clues like Bible codes. These are not mysteries to unlock they are mysteries that are now revealed. We do not need some other book as the “key” to provide a spiritualized meaning to an already clear text. God gave us scripture to reveal Himself, His works, and His plan and we are not supposed to go wandering off into myths and looking for secret knowledge (cf. 1 Timothy 1:3-4, 4:7, 6:3-5, 11, 20 / 2 Timothy 2:16,23, 3:5, 7-8 / Titus 1:14, 3:9).

Here is the point: in essence, spiritually speaking, if the apostles didn’t teach it you don’t need it, and you definitely don’t want it (1 Corinthians 4:6 / Galatians 1:8-9 / 1 John 4:5-6). Since Paul says that Scripture thoroughly equips we can unequivocally conclude that another revelation can only be inferior.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

No You’re Not (Radio / Podcast)

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
(2 Timothy 4:2 – ESV)

You are not preaching the Word if you are not preaching

· the whole counsel of God
· the Word being Christ, redemptive history
· gospel saturated more than morally motivated

You are not up to the biblical standard of preaching if you are not ready

. in season (comfortable atmosphere)
. out of season (confrontational atmosphere)

You are not preaching the Word if that word doesn’t ever

. reprove (expose)
. rebuke (correct)
. exhort (encourage)

You are not truly preaching as you ought if it is not done with

. complete patience (done by following the process of expose, correct, and encourage)
. teaching (instruction is more than just inspiration)

For the time will come, to all preachers, the test of fidelity

2 Corinthians 2:17 / 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 / 2 Peter 2:1-3

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Stress-Free Sinning? (Radio / Podcast)

But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

(2 Timothy 2:19 – ESV)

Not every true Christian will experience the same degree of personal, practical sanctification. The thief on the cross was saved but since he died that same day he didn’t have the time that the Apostle Paul had to show forth the fruits of righteousness. We instinctively and interpretively understand that some believers will progress further into the sanctification process, they will press on to the mark in a more pronounced fashion than some others. On the other end of the spectrum, some might seem to be acting like unbelievers, while they may truly be born again.

This brings an interesting question. Why are there so many genuine Christians who persist in the same patterns of sin, apparently without pangs of conscience, and without repentance, apparently hard-hearted against the communion of Christ, the conviction of the Spirit and the commands of the Word? Why do they sin without stress, without struggle, and seemingly without significance?

Well, first off, the inward sins of the heart that perhaps do not manifest as overt, “big time” sins that everyone condemns are sins nonetheless. We all have sin; it is just that Christians are supposed to be striving toward holiness, wanting to be blameless while realizing they will never be completely sinless in this lifetime. Still, what about those who don’t even try? How do you tell the Christians from the non-believers, in that some professing believers live “worse” moral lives than some non-believers? Why would God even allow this?

We know this for sure; it is all a part of God’s plan. Jesus said it would be so, and that we won’t know until the end who the real believers were, and also that many think they are true believers but they aren’t. The answer is in our personal valuing of practical sanctification, both temporal and eternal. God is giving us opportunity.

Peter says to make your calling and election sure by growing in fruitfulness (2 Peter 1:5-10). Now when he says this he is not saying that you are making your calling and election sure to God, but to yourself, because the Lord knows those who are His, and because the second inscription on the sure foundation of God says that those who are His, those who claim the name of Christ are to depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19). We also make our calling and election sure to others we know (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4), others we meet (1 Thessalonians 1:6-9), and perhaps even to Satan and the demonic realm (2 Timothy 2:26).

Those that are doing this are being made useful and ready for every good work by cleansing themselves from sin (2 Timothy 2:20-25). Here in 2 Timothy Paul speaks about a cleansing that isn’t just something God does for us as we sit passively. This is a self-cleansing for service that goes beyond a general cleansing for sin. 1 John 1:9 would be speaking of the general cleansing from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Paul and the Bible talks of another type of cleansing. We sanctify, or set apart ourselves because He has sanctified us (Leviticus 20:7-8 / 1 Corinthians 1:30).

It is not a salvation issue but an assurance of salvation issue. It is not a “make it to heaven” issue, but a “rewards in heaven” issue. It is about fruitfulness and usefulness in this life. It is about working out from our cleansing from sin, and cleansing ourselves in God’s power so that we are separated for service. It is about being prepared for production. It is about our cooperation with God’s Spirit so that we are set apart and made useful and closer to God.

However, what many do not realize is that this voluntary, temporal cleansing has eternal consequence as well as temporal aspects. They don’t go for it because they don’t see the worth; they haven’t realized it, made it real, cashed in on this truth. There are temporal aspects, such as an assurance of salvation and communion with Christ by the Holy Spirit, and eternal aspects, as with rewards in heaven. We have not stressed the practical presence of God and rewards in heaven enough.

In sanctification, God allows us to store up treasures in heaven, and allows us to win crowns that we may cast at the Master’s feet. To some, that may not seem to be all that big a deal, as long as they make it, but believe me, and believe the Bible, it will be a great big deal on that day, and you, me, and all of us will want to have more to give than we will then. We need to see this as it really is, and stress to believers the importance of the eternal state, not just as the resting place from wrath, but the place where we make an eternal statement about how we honored the glory of the Lord with our lives. For some this isn’t enough motivation, but we must endeavor to renew our minds to this truth.

To be a servant of the Lord, a vessel of honor for Him, we must be empty, clean, and available. If we refuse to empty ourselves, clean ourselves, and make ourselves available to the Lord, we will find ourselves captive to the devil in one sense or another. When you commit a sin, you let the devil win. If someone does not have the desire or the actions to depart from iniquity at all, it is fair to ask if they really belong to Jesus or if they have just deceived themselves. The sanctified, feeling God’s love, imitate it, and the more they imitate it, the more they feel it. It is worth striving for. At best, stress-free sinning is success-free sinning.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Gospel of Affliction (Radio / Podcast)

…but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God
(2 Timothy 1:8)

The bottom line about Spiritual power is the faith to endure. Not only the persecutions that come about because of being a witness for Christ by sharing the Good News vocally, but also by just being a member of the household of faith. We will suffer not only persecution, but also afflictions.

Paul suffers because of the grace of God, the affliction of the Gospel! He is not ashamed. Many preachers are only telling fleshly people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3), presenting a victorious life by applying so-called Christian principles rather than presenting Jesus Christ, life through death, and the way of repentance and faith, which Paul calls the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:20,27). Preachers who preach nothing but “all things are always going to be well”, saying peace, peace, where there is no peace, are giving false hopes to lost people, and leading saved people in the wrong direction. Yes, God desires to prosper us, to have us well and whole, but part of the process will involve pain, so that we may be conformed, before we are comforted, and so we may be able to comfort others who are also being conformed (2 Corinthians 1:3-9).

Notice that our text says afflictions, plural, not just persecution for witnessing, but also having to go through physical difficulty, mental anguish, crucifying the flesh, and other crises (Romans 8:14-18 / Philippians 1:29 / Colossians 1:24 / Galatians 5:24 / 1 Peter 4:1 / Acts 14:22 / 1 Thessalonians 3:3). Suffering aligns us with Christ, and keeps us humble (James 4:9-10). Partaking of suffering helps us learn God’s Word, Will, and Way; Martin Luther said that afflictions are the touchstone of biblical interpretation (Psalm 119:71).

We need to stir up the gift of God, and the gift is the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Because of the gift (the Holy Ghost) we can partake of the afflictions, by the power of God to us (Ephesians 1:19 / Zechariah 4:6), not an earthly power. The testimony of the Lord is tribulation (Revelation 6:9), the willingness to suffer as Paul had, and he was not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Remember Paul desired to know the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our big goings on, like mountain moving, but His own purpose. His purpose is to make us like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), not just to fulfill the Great Commission. The great grace of God may seem more manifest when a mountain is moved by faith, but truly, it is the mundane, the everyday, the dear old saint who faithfully comes to church, and who prays for lost ones everyday without fail, and who suffers through ill health, yet still keeps a loving heart toward people, and an unyielding devotion to Christ that showcases the power of God most clearly for His glory. The calling is not just to “do stuff” it is to suffer, to take up our cross and follow Him. We are to do this, not with a stoic “grit your teeth and bear it” mentality, but with joy that we are partaking in the fellowship of Christ (James 1:2, 5:10-11). We are to show our world the power, the grace that brings steadfast faith, the power to endure no matter what life throws at us, to defeat the works of the Devil, this is the victory, even our (immovable) faith (1 John 5:4)!

We can only keep this steadfastness, this boldness, and this witness by the power of the Holy Ghost within us (Romans 8:9 / Colossians 1:27 / Galatians 2:20). Think about the book of Acts, whenever we see them receive power it is immediately met and tested with persecution; we must have faith no matter what (Job 13:15). The victory we have in Christ is not being able to avoid all affliction, it is having the power to persevere, the peace to be able to endure, to truly be Christlike (John 16:33). Yes, the Lord does bring us out of things, praise God (2 Timothy 3:11 / 4:17), but we must realize that to lose faith because of our afflictions is to deny God.

Just remember, when you see the whip in His hand, it was on His back first. This is the gospel of affliction, that He who allows us to feel the stripes of sanctification bore them all for our salvation.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Charge to the Congregation (Radio / Podcast)

My authority to speak to you and give a charge, even though I am a pastor of a different congregation it is the same authority any man of God has in addressing any person or group of people. It is the Bible, the Word of God; if I give you that, then what I say is worth receiving.

1 Corinthians 16:15-16
· In subjection to servant leaders (support their service)

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
· Know them (Respect them)
· Esteem them

Hebrews 13:7, 17
· Watch their walk and imitate their godliness
· We should be in submission to our spiritual leaders because they have to give an account
· We should attempt to be a blessing not a burden

To the deacons in front of congregation so as to let them know ahead of time:

1 Timothy 5:19 – No accusation is to be listened to against an elder unless there is evidence from 2 or 3 witnesses, they are always in public eye and accusation can be common. People will be coming to you from time to time with criticism for the ministers. I'd like to tell you how to handle that. Tell the person to come with you right then and you'll go see the minister in question and deal with it. If they go with you, fine. However, if they refuse to go with you, tell them you'll go but you will be using their name. If they agree, fine. But if they refuse to let you use their name, that's the end of it. Tell them you will not take anonymous criticism to the ministers.

Romans chapter 12

· Vs.1-2 – daily commitment to God
· Vs. 3-8 – doing your job well, answering the call to service with diligence, don’t fret over theirs, focus on yours
· Vs.9-21 – devotion to one another. Several times in this passage, believers are told to humble themselves, restrain their egos, and to act in love to one another.

This gives us a blueprint for a healthy church. Let a congregation do these three things – daily commit yourself to God, do your job well, and love one another – and most of a church's problems will disappear. If you do these things, the deacons will do well. This church will become a leading light in this community. You will know it, the people of this community will know it, and I will know it, and most importantly God will know it. This is the charge that God gives to you as a congregation from His holy Word.

Romans 15:14 – you can do it

2 Timothy 2:2 – four generations (reproduction)

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Stress-Free Sinning? (with audio)

USE THE PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST

But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

(2 Timothy 2:19 – ESV)

Not every true Christian will experience the same degree of personal, practical sanctification. The thief on the cross was saved but since he died that same day he didn’t have the time that the Apostle Paul had to show forth the fruits of righteousness. We instinctively and interpretively understand that some believers will progress further into the sanctification process, they will press on to the mark in a more pronounced fashion than some others. On the other end of the spectrum, some might seem to be acting like unbelievers, while they may truly be born again.

This brings an interesting question. Why are there so many genuine Christians who persist in the same patterns of sin, apparently without pangs of conscience, and without repentance, apparently hard-hearted against the communion of Christ, the conviction of the Spirit and the commands of the Word? Why do they sin without stress, without struggle, and seemingly without significance?

Well, first off, the inward sins of the heart that perhaps do not manifest as overt, “big time” sins that everyone condemns are sins nonetheless. We all have sin; it is just that Christians are supposed to be striving toward holiness, wanting to be blameless while realizing they will never be completely sinless in this lifetime. Still, what about those who don’t even try? How do you tell the Christians from the non-believers, in that some professing believers live “worse” moral lives than some non-believers? Why would God even allow this?

We know this for sure; it is all a part of God’s plan. Jesus said it would be so, and that we won’t know until the end who the real believers were, and also that many think they are true believers but they aren’t. The answer is in our personal valuing of practical sanctification, both temporal and eternal. God is giving us opportunity.

Peter says to make your calling and election sure by growing in fruitfulness (2 Peter 1:5-10). Now when he says this he is not saying that you are making your calling and election sure to God, but to yourself, because the Lord knows those who are His, and because the second inscription on the sure foundation of God says that those who are His, those who claim the name of Christ are to depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19). We also make our calling and election sure to others we know (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4), others we meet (1 Thessalonians 1:6-9), and perhaps even to Satan and the demonic realm (2 Timothy 2:26).

Those that are doing this are being made useful and ready for every good work by cleansing themselves from sin (2 Timothy 2:20-25). Here in 2 Timothy Paul speaks about a cleansing that isn’t just something God does for us as we sit passively. This is a self-cleansing for service that goes beyond a general cleansing for sin. 1 John 1:9 would be speaking of the general cleansing from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Paul and the Bible talks of another type of cleansing. We sanctify, or set apart ourselves because He has sanctified us (Leviticus 20:7-8 / 1 Corinthians 1:30).

It is not a salvation issue but an assurance of salvation issue. It is not a “make it to heaven” issue, but a “rewards in heaven” issue. It is about fruitfulness and usefulness in this life. It is about working out from our cleansing from sin, and cleansing ourselves in God’s power so that we are separated for service. It is about being prepared for production. It is about our cooperation with God’s Spirit so that we are set apart and made useful and closer to God.

However, what many do not realize is that this voluntary, temporal cleansing has eternal consequence as well as temporal aspects. They don’t go for it because they don’t see the worth; they haven’t realized it, made it real, cashed in on this truth. There are temporal aspects, such as an assurance of salvation and communion with Christ by the Holy Spirit, and eternal aspects, as with rewards in heaven. We have not stressed the practical presence of God and rewards in heaven enough.

In sanctification, God allows us to store up treasures in heaven, and allows us to win crowns that we may cast at the Master’s feet. To some, that may not seem to be all that big a deal, as long as they make it, but believe me, and believe the Bible, it will be a great big deal on that day, and you, me, and all of us will want to have more to give than we will then. We need to see this as it really is, and stress to believers the importance of the eternal state, not just as the resting place from wrath, but the place where we make an eternal statement about how we honored the glory of the Lord with our lives. For some this isn’t enough motivation, but we must endeavor to renew our minds to this truth.

To be a servant of the Lord, a vessel of honor for Him, we must be empty, clean, and available. If we refuse to empty ourselves, clean ourselves, and make ourselves available to the Lord, we will find ourselves captive to the devil in one sense or another. When you commit a sin, you let the devil win. If someone does not have the desire or the actions to depart from iniquity at all, it is fair to ask if they really belong to Jesus or if they have just deceived themselves. The sanctified, feeling God’s love, imitate it, and the more they imitate it, the more they feel it. It is worth striving for. At best, stress-free sinning is success-free sinning.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Gospel of Affliction (with audio)

USE THE PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST

…but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God
(2 Timothy 1:8)

The bottom line about Spiritual power is the faith to endure. Not only the persecutions that come about because of being a witness for Christ by sharing the Good News vocally, but also by just being a member of the household of faith. We will suffer not only persecution, but also afflictions.

Paul suffers because of the grace of God, the affliction of the Gospel! He is not ashamed. Many preachers are only telling fleshly people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3), presenting a victorious life by applying so-called Christian principles rather than presenting Jesus Christ, life through death, and the way of repentance and faith, which Paul calls the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:20,27). Preachers who preach nothing but “all things are always going to be well”, saying peace, peace, where there is no peace, are giving false hopes to lost people, and leading saved people in the wrong direction. Yes, God desires to prosper us, to have us well and whole, but part of the process will involve pain, so that we may be conformed, before we are comforted, and so we may be able to comfort others who are also being conformed (2 Corinthians 1:3-9).

Notice that our text says afflictions, plural, not just persecution for witnessing, but also having to go through physical difficulty, mental anguish, crucifying the flesh, and other crises (Romans 8:14-18 / Philippians 1:29 / Colossians 1:24 / Galatians 5:24 / 1 Peter 4:1 / Acts 14:22 / 1 Thessalonians 3:3). Suffering aligns us with Christ, and keeps us humble (James 4:9-10). Partaking of suffering helps us learn God’s Word, Will, and Way; Martin Luther said that afflictions are the touchstone of biblical interpretation (Psalm 119:71).

We need to stir up the gift of God, and the gift is the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Because of the gift (the Holy Ghost) we can partake of the afflictions, by the power of God to us (Ephesians 1:19 / Zechariah 4:6), not an earthly power. The testimony of the Lord is tribulation (Revelation 6:9), the willingness to suffer as Paul had, and he was not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Remember Paul desired to know the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our big goings on, like mountain moving, but His own purpose. His purpose is to make us like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), not just to fulfill the Great Commission. The great grace of God may seem more manifest when a mountain is moved by faith, but truly, it is the mundane, the everyday, the dear old saint who faithfully comes to church, and who prays for lost ones everyday without fail, and who suffers through ill health, yet still keeps a loving heart toward people, and an unyielding devotion to Christ that showcases the power of God most clearly for His glory. The calling is not just to “do stuff” it is to suffer, to take up our cross and follow Him. We are to do this, not with a stoic “grit your teeth and bear it” mentality, but with joy that we are partaking in the fellowship of Christ (James 1:2, 5:10-11). We are to show our world the power, the grace that brings steadfast faith, the power to endure no matter what life throws at us, to defeat the works of the Devil, this is the victory, even our (immovable) faith (1 John 5:4)!

We can only keep this steadfastness, this boldness, and this witness by the power of the Holy Ghost within us (Romans 8:9 / Colossians 1:27 / Galatians 2:20). Think about the book of Acts, whenever we see them receive power it is immediately met and tested with persecution; we must have faith no matter what (Job 13:15). The victory we have in Christ is not being able to avoid all affliction, it is having the power to persevere, the peace to be able to endure, to truly be Christlike (John 16:33). Yes, the Lord does bring us out of things, praise God (2 Timothy 3:11 / 4:17), but we must realize that to lose faith because of our afflictions is to deny God.

Just remember, when you see the whip in His hand, it was on His back first. This is the gospel of affliction, that He who allows us to feel the stripes of sanctification bore them all for our salvation.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Devil's Bread

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
(2 Timothy 1:13 – ESV)

Something more than the Bible will give you something less than Jesus Christ. Don’t go there, don’t chase some “anointing” (Matthew 24:23-26). I don’t need to find a special anointed place when I’ve already got the Special Person who is preparing a place for me in heaven (John 14). Even so, right now, what place could be more special, more anointed, than the throne room of God (Hebrews 4:16)? You don’t need me or anyone else to get you there.

I stake my claim that the Spirit is moving based on the Word of God, not the word of some “anointed” fraud. I don’t need to go get some anointing I’ve already got all I need right here. The Bible is sufficient to meet all our spiritual needs. If it’s not in the book, you don’t need to look. People say “but look at the fruit”; friends that ain’t fruit that’s just nuts. Fruit is about more than the moment that you are in the church looking at people raising their hands and excited. The reason its called fruit is that it takes time to grow. The Bible tells us to look for fruit that remains, fruit that lasts. So called revivals often have no real results. It is not simply about excitement but lasting commitment. Let’s finish up like Paul, let’s stick with the scriptures.

People want to say that we are just worshipping the Bible, they say we had better heed John 5:39. It is true that we need to worship Jesus as He is found in the Bible not worship the Bible itself. The answer as to how to study the scriptures without making them the idol is to remember Christ. We are looking for Jesus, the one presented within the pages of scripture, not some false anointing calling itself Jesus that we don’t find in the scripture. That is the key.

Now this isn’t done by just knowing facts about the Bible or facts from the Bible, but knowing the God of the Bible, knowing His will, His way, His wisdom. This isn’t simply about memorizing more verses, although that is good. This is about learning to value Christ above all else, and to be able to taste His goodness so that you pass the tests of faith when they come. You will know what Christ is like and when something isn’t up to standard, to avoid it. Its value is seen for what is really is, pleasure for the moment but poison for your soul. You learn to discern.

If you have ignored getting more from His Word, if you haven’t been using the normal means like prayer, Bible study, witnessing and such, and yet you want some spiritual power encounter, you may get it, but it probably isn’t from God. He has already provided, He has already given you more, but you want something else, not something more.

So you go to some place other than where the Word of God is faithfully preached, to somewhere they are talking about exciting things but they aren’t found in the Word of God, and you receive something that to your mind was from God. But we may be asking for something God isn’t giving, like some made up anointing or mantle or whatever. We ask because of our desire to be an instrument in an area God doesn’t want us to deal in, and then we get some counterfeit.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he told Jesus to ask for the stones to be turned into bread. Jesus knew that though this would be granted, sometimes we are not supposed to ask, because we know that we have got what we need already. Jesus said man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. God has spoken (Hebrews 1:1-2, 2:1). We have His Word now, we have enough, and we don’t need some charlatan tempting us to eat the devil’s bread.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

I Don’t Want What You Got

But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all…
(2 Timothy 3:9 – ESV)

I don’t need to worry about all the “I receive this” and “I rebuke that” teaching as if we had that sort of power, as if we were sovereign over the details. That is what those false teachers will tell you, and then they will blame it all on you when it goes wrong. I don’t worry about all that because I trust a sovereign God who works out everything for my good, even when He leads me to cry out Abba Father in my trials, I know He has predestined me as a child of God and nothing can separate me from the love He has for me in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:14-39).

I just follow Christ as best I can by following the scriptures, learning what they teach, fellowshipping with other believers of like precious faith and praying to God, asking Him to make me fruitful in every good work (Colossians 1:10), and trusting Him no matter what happens because I know He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). I try and change what I can, I strive for excellence in all I do, and I praise His name in every little detail, because I know He knows what to do better than me and I pray that He gives me the perspective to see His goodness even when bad things happen to me or my loved ones. I receive God’s plan for my life no matter what.

2 Peter 1:16-19 – Jesus told Peter to come down off the Mount of Transfiguration, and God calls us who are converted, those who have been born again to come down off the mount of our great experiences and dive in to the scriptures. We could have the most incredible experience, like Peter had at the Mount of Transfiguration, and the Word is still surer than that.

We hear a lot these days of “impartation” and spiritual powers that are “transferable”. Of course this transfer always seems to impart some wild manifestation or falling down. We have had so many people fall down and yet modern Christianity never seems to look up. It doesn’t do you any good to fall down today if you fall away tomorrow.

Now let me tell you, the scriptures are the impartation and they are transferable, and we are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind not an out of your mind experience. I don’t need you to impart some spirit to me I already have the Holy Spirit. I don’t want you to impart some anointing on me I already have Jesus, the Anointed One living in me. The Spirit won’t make me act like you it will make me act like Jesus who sent the Spirit to me.

They say, “Come get some” but I don’t need some of what they got when I’ve got somebody who is God the Son. I don’t need some new Apostle to tell me what to do when the old ones already told me what to do. I don’t need a word from a prophet when I’ve got the more sure prophetic Word. I’ve got an inheritance waiting for me in heaven, and I’ve got what I need right now. I don’t need something more.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

A Talk with Timothy

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
(2 Timothy 3:10 – ESV)

If we could somehow have five minutes alone with Timothy and if he was exhorting us to fulfill our calling in the Lord, we can be sure as scripture that he would give us his take on Paul’s admonition to him. All we need to do is see the essence of what Paul’s two letters teach about discerning to realize that the same things Paul taught Timothy the Holy Spirit is teaching us, that is why these letters are canonized. The lesson plan for pastors is the same as it ever was.

Timothy would tell us to keep being nourished by the sound teaching you have been following after (1 Timothy 4:6-7). Let them see your progress and some will be saved from wanting to do it some other way (1 Timothy 4:13-16). Follow the Word not your whim, and always be on guard against error (2 Timothy 1:13-14). Teach other men what you have been taught, commit this to faithful men who will stick to it and not stray, make sure you teach right doctrine and not some novelty (2 Timothy 2:2,15).

It is going to get more and more difficult to teach because people will think they love God but they won’t really, they will just love themselves and play at their religion. Among such people come bad teachers, but don’t you be like them, you preach the Word, because they will be turning away to myths. Good teachers will be persecuted and the bad teachers will go from worse to worse and they will be popular not persecuted. You have followed my teaching and my pattern of life and I am telling you it is the right thing to do but it will bring persecution. Yes this makes it difficult, but you have seen me do it, now you follow suit (2 Timothy 3:1-13).

Timothy would tell us that he also went to prison for the faith (Hebrews 13:23). He would say that, in a sense, the measure is not whether you are popular but whether you are persecuted.

He would tell us to continue in the truth as Paul taught it to him, and now to you. Paul was not concerned with the new but the true, he never said you’ll be in trouble if you don’t follow what is new, but if you don’t follow what is true (2 Timothy 3:14).

You have been taught, and with the scriptures you have all you need to teach others and to live a godly life as an example (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

He would conclude – Preach the word, preach what you have learned, not that there are more words but preach the Word you already have (Jude 3). Preach no matter what else is going on, in the high times and in the dry times. People will think they are following the wind of the Spirit, but they are actually being carried away with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). People may not hear the truth anymore, but you endure it and fulfill your calling to be faithful to God (2 Timothy 4:1-5). That is what Paul taught me, and I am teaching you. It’s the same lesson plan.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Enough is Enough

that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:17 – NET)

Timothy could have said, “Okay I have had hands laid on me, I have been commissioned as an Apostle and I have been taught and commended (Philippians 2:19-22) by the great Apostle Paul, it is time to move on to more of God”. But Paul says, in essence, “No way, buster, continue in what you have already been taught, and teach other men to be faithful to it, and warn others not to stray away into novelty and myth and false doctrine, wanting to be some great teacher when all they are doing is showing their ignorance and leading people into perdition”. Timothy could have told Paul, “Oh Paul you are holding me back”. If Timothy was not allowed to move on what makes you think you are? Your pride, that’s what.

Some say, “Pastor, you are holding us back”. I say, “From what?” You want your pastor to “let you loose”, but to do what? You need your self important, unbiblical, un-submissive thing you call spirituality to be reigned in, that’s what, and that’s why you rebel and you want more, because you aren’t submitted to the Word of God as enough, when it declares that it is (2 Timothy 3:16-17). You might think I don’t let the Spirit move, but I am sure that the Spirit moves when the Word of God is preached, and you ought to be plenty excited about that!

Paul tells Timothy that the scripture is all he needs, and he tells Timothy that the way he had taught it is good enough for him, and not to try and be innovative about it and add new stuff. It is enough for us and enough till Christ comes back for us!

Well, people will try and explain away the idea. They will say that even though Paul said that the scriptures are enough, that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is only referring to the OT, but that isn’t true. Even if it were, the OT has plenty for us today, and it proves you don’t need to go to some other place in some other city to get something more, when most of those types can’t even quote the 10 commandments anyway!

Now again, as far as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 being only about the OT, it isn’t true, because most of the scriptures were already complete. Peter brings the Old and New Testaments together by saying that words of the Apostles were also authoritative (2 Peter 3:2), specifically referring to Paul’s writings as scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). Also 1 Timothy 5:18 quotes Luke 10:7, so the gospels are included. Everything needed for faith and practice, life and liberty in Christ, we have all we need in the scriptures (2 Peter 1:3-4). As a companion and disciple of the Apostle Paul, Timothy would have had access to these writings (2 Timothy 4:13).

“I just need a little excitement”, no what you need is a little more boredom, to settle down, and to settle in, into the Word of God, rooted and established. You need establishment, not excitement, so then you can learn what you can be truly excited about. You aren’t established, and that is why you get excited about the wrong things. You don’t discern spiritual frauds and fads, you are like some child whom every movie he or she sees is the greatest one ever, they were moved, but it is easy to move them. They only know the moment and movement but not meditation. They are not a deep thinker, which is why something shallow can deeply move them. That is fine for a child, but we are supposed to be growing up in Christ.

When people don’t get rooted and grounded in scripture, when they do not have their foundation for faith and practice established, they will use the Bible like a magic book, or an encyclopedia. They will become hard of hearing and ignorant of the truth, all the while thinking that they believe the Bible, but they will incorporate compromise into their understanding by seeing the scriptures through the lens of their life, instead of seeing their life through the lens of scripture. They twist the scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16-18). It is time to get rooted, grounded, established, it is time to grow up; enough is enough.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

From Bad to Worse

while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
(2 Timothy 3:13 – ESV)

The situation in the church today was the same back in the New Testament era. It was obviously a problem where Timothy was ministering in Ephesus and also a concern Paul had to tell Titus because people constantly wanted to stray from the scriptures and into a foreign spirituality not taught by Paul, not taught by the scriptures, not in line with the Word of God.

Realize what is being taught in the Pastoral Epistles. Look at 1 Timothy 1:3-4, 4:7, 6:3-5, 11, 20 / 2 Timothy 2:16,23, 3:5, 7-8 / Titus 1:14, 3:9 – Don’t concern yourself with myths and matters that are only intellectual speculation, others are wandering off but rebuke them don’t join in their idleness, it isn’t getting them anywhere but into trouble. Guard the Word and avoid empty chatter and speculation, this is what Paul tells us. Here is the big point: spiritually speaking, if the apostles didn’t teach it you don’t need it, and you definitely don’t want it (1 Corinthians 4:6 / Galatians 1:8-9 / 1 John 4:5-6).

Sometimes when we try and look like we are deep we only prove that we are shallow. Most of the time when we are wanting to go deeper it is just deception, it gets us away from the main things and the plain things and we sail off into the vain things and then relationships become strained things. These types are always learning some new thing but never actually getting around to obeying the truth, it is always about the new thing they have heard or learned and trying to teach others. They are depraved of mind, and deprived of truth.

People are starving for something more because they have turned from the truth. They aren’t renewed in their minds because they haven’t submitted their minds, they haven’t submitted to the truth and they won’t submit to those who bring it to them. Oh they may know a little Bible, but only so as to find what they want to hear, to do, to see, to have. They use the Bible like a magic book or an encyclopedia, and they aren’t actually submitted to it, not as the rule for faith and practice, that is why they run to practice these unbiblical things, even using the Bible to do so. They are being deceived and are deceiving others, going from bad to worse.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

A Move of God?

and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
(2 Timothy 4:4 – ESV)

People get so hungry for a “move of God” when they aren’t satisfied with what they have got, and I am not talking about quantity, but quality. It isn’t that God hasn’t moved enough in their lives; it is that they have not submitted enough to His revealed will. They want new secrets but they won’t even obey the overt instructions. Spiritually speaking, they have wandered into wonderland and are on the vanguard of vanity, the cutting edge of charismania.

The Spirit is already moving. He is moving you to repent of sin, to worship Christ despite your circumstances, to feel His power even when your emotions are at a low flow. He is moving you to witness to that person when they are resisting even looking at you. He is moving when you are preaching about His righteousness and the saving work of Christ, no matter what ever else is going on, the light is coming into the darkness and that means He is moving, period. You want to see Him perform in the miraculous, well He wants to see you perform in the mundane.

What we need to hunger for is to hunger for righteousness, not revival. Now I do mean to say we need revival but not a renewal of excitement, but of commitment. If God does decide to show up and grant people repentance and we start witnessing again and sticking with the Word of God and prayer and holy living, then good, and until then we need to keep at it, not look for something more than that. I could look for something more and think it is God moving in my life, I could be looking for a bigger city, for a bigger church, for a bigger paycheck, for a bigger ministry or whatever, but what I want is a bigger heart for more of Jesus to be seen in my life, to me, through me, and in everything I do, to glorify Him. That is something more.

People say they just want to see God move, but what they mean is that they want to see God move in the way that they would like. They want Him to move to get them healed, or get them excited or to justify them before their unbelieving friends so that they can be seen as normal.

You want to see God move, well then you start moving, moving into a more sanctified life, moving on to more witnessing, moving into more church attendance, more fellowship, more giving, more bible reading, more bible study, more prayer, don’t worry He will be there moving in you to do all that, the question is, do you have faith that this is true? Is the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life? That is definitely the sign of the Spirit on the move. If He is moving in your life then you won’t have to move where you think He is, you’ll already be there.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Feel Good Faith

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
(2 Timothy 3:14 – ESV)

When it comes to spirituality, something more than the Bible will give you something less than Jesus Christ. Don’t settle, and don’t look for something more.

Now I am not talking about acquiring life skills, learning, and the discovery of our natural world. It is right and good to gain knowledge, skills, and to develop our understanding of things. It is right to make progress in politics, in human rights, it is right to try and stop poverty, and war, and to fly to the moon and beyond. It is good for technology to help in our studies and for our societal issues. However, when seeking God and spiritual growth, accept nothing less than the Holy Spirit revealing Jesus Christ as found in the Word. If something claiming to be spiritually good for Christians doesn’t line up with what the scriptures teach, it is in the line heading for hell. If something about spirituality isn’t found in accord with the Bible, it isn’t what you need. If you don’t see it in the Bible, don’t look for it now. Don’t fall for counterfeit Christianity and superstition just because you yearn to see the supernatural. If you learn to discern what the Bible teaches, you’ll put yourself further from deception’s reaches.

People often are deceived because they can become so desperate that they begin looking for someone to confirm what they want to hear. Most often what they want to hear is that there is some solution, some fix, something they can do to receive relief, blessing, or fulfillment of some felt or real need, right now, or soon enough. They don’t want to wait, but they have to because they are on the wrong track. When it doesn’t work they are told that they are the problem, and the cycle starts all over again. The wind up never getting what it is they want, but they spend all their energy trying to get it, and running to and fro to meetings, seeking to be at the place where “the Spirit is moving”, or looking for “prophetic” teachers, and “apostles” or elites who are selling something or promising something, or who are all hyped up and talking of the “anointing”, the “glory” or whatever the lingo is this time. Their desperation leads to deception.

Somebody tells them if they just try and reinvigorate or fulfill this Old Testament type it will bring blessing, and they think it is deep stuff. If they just let loose and let themselves shake, rattle, and roll they will dance into dominion over their defeat. If they will just sow seed into this or that “good soil” they will reap their heavenly harvest a little early. They get flattered with words like warriors, intercessors; it is always something new, something novel, something more.

It would seem that most people would wake up and smell the coffee of confusion they have been brewing and stewing in, that they would see the treadmill of frustration they are on, and begin to call out these charlatans for what they are, snake oil salesmen, as in serpent in the garden of Eden type. Alas, many people always want something more than hope in heaven, more than the Word, more than Christ. They lose all sense of discernment, and are willing to accept anything and everything that has any semblance of spirituality in it, as long as it promises a hope of relief. They aren’t looking to know God; they are looking to feel good.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Cookie Cutter Christianity

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
(2 Timothy 2:21 – ESV)

Too often people only want an answer, a solution, a key, a method, a formula, steps for success, or whatever, because they just want to be done with a situation, not to actually learn from it. They would just be done and never let God mold their heart.

The truth is that many have placed God in a compartment of their lives, within their comfort zone. Oh, they will be stretched once in a while but always on their own terms. They seem willing to conform themselves to a standard, but it is really all about doing only what is necessary to achieve some sort of blessing they are after or to avoid some punishment they think they’ll get if they don’t fly right.

However, the answer to this isn’t to just fill up the other boxes we have made, putting God in all our compartments. He could be in every part of your life and still not have your heart. That is why we see people whose lives are nothing but ministry still fall all the way down, because they thought that the only way to avoid themselves or to avoid actually submitting to Jesus was to fill all their time doing things for God. Friend it isn’t about doing things for God. Doing things for God is great, but that isn’t what gets you further on the highway to holiness.

Complete Christianity starts with the bedrock of trusting God despite any requirement of sacrifice or any outcome. If you look at what the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3, you will notice his recipe for resurrection power, if you will. Now this is the big picture, the aerial view of the highway to holiness. It is the big picture of the process but it is not the details because what God uses in your life is your own experience. It is the same Jesus, but a different journey, the same principles, but with different people, the same narrow path, but with different perspectives.

This isn’t cookie cutter Christianity; just because we are all in the same process doesn’t mean we all go through the same experiences. It isn’t just “do this and this” and then “poof” like magic you get it all and you’re done with it. It is a continual process with, hopefully, continual progress. God always knows how to find our weak spots, and He always seems to hit us where it hurts. That is why what “works” for someone else may not work exactly the same way for you. It is also why it always seems like we have to “go through more” than the other guy. Stop worrying about that, he is probably thinking the same thing about you anyway.

Our problem is that we just don’t want to be vulnerable; we cover it all up. All this does is delay the divine directive. Instead, the more we submit to it the more we will see it work. Stop trying to fit yourself into the mold you think Jesus will be pleased with, and start letting it happen for real.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Teacher

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also
(2 Timothy 2:2 – ESV)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers…(James 3:1). Just because you have the ability to teach (impart and communicate information in an understandable way) does not mean you automatically have correct doctrine. You may know how to teach, but WHAT are you teaching? Just because you can teach in some certain areas doesn’t qualify you to teach the Bible. It certainly helps to be able to teach, but WHAT is taught is the primary necessity. A great communicator of heresy is still deadly, and even more so than someone who teaches falsity but isn’t captivating, memorable, or engaging.

This is why one of the primary skills a good biblical teacher needs is the ability to discern. If that is a problem, then you have a problem. Perhaps you ought to teach, once you have gone back and learned the curriculum. You shouldn’t be looking to teach new things, and some of the old things you know so well and have taught so long are not truth. You may know how to guide studies but you might lead down the wrong path.

It is not simply that you can teach, and how well you teach, it is about what you teach. For the most part, you only teach what you know. You impart knowledge and help discipline to develop skill and wisdom, but if you are going in the wrong direction you do more harm than good. If you want to teach, you had better learn.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

You Need the Negativity

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Timothy 3:12 – ESV)

Recent polls tell us what we already know: many people that want to draw near to God also want to stay away from church. The reason often given is that there is so much negativity they have found there. Of course, they haven’t been to every church, but this cry is heard so often that it truly might seem as if there are no churches where there isn’t any negativity.

Actually the truth is that they are right, there aren’t any non-negative churches.

There aren’t supposed to be.

You see we all need some negativity, and yes, especially from people inside the church.

Jesus told us that in the world we would have tribulation, but that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). He presented the truth that He would be with the disciples by the Holy Spirit, to allow the negative circumstance to be an opportunity for increased faith. Even though they were to be scattered and killed, they would have faith (1 John 5:4). We can certainly apply these verses to us today.

Yet many take these truths and then, instead of being a call for faith, as Jesus intended, they see it as an instrument of fear. They either isolate from the world in the church, or practice the relatively new phenomena of isolating from the church in the world. Neither is effective at insulating us from trouble, rather, they actually decrease our ability to adapt and overcome in faith when the promised trouble comes. We cannot simply practice isolation in order to avoid it. We deny Christ and the Great Commission in doing so.

You have probably heard it said, or thought or even said it yourself: “I have never had a negative experience studying the Bible or in prayer, but have had many negative experiences in church or from people that I thought (at the time) were Christians.” My answer to that is: if you have never had a negative experience with God, what Bible have you been reading? Did it not convict you? Was there no tension? Did you read the pages and still miss all the adversity found there, even among those who were on the same side?

The idea of “Vox Populi Vox Deus”, or “The voice of the people is the voice of God”, is the problem with conducting polls. Just because some majority of professing (real or not) Christians feels a certain way about a subject does not mean it is the same thing God thinks. The answer to this is: What do the scriptures teach!

Yes, non- “church building” worship is fully biblical, and we do not need a survey to tell us that it is aligned with the Bible. People all over the world want Christ in their heart but there are circumstances where they cannot get together inside a building and worship together. However, that doesn’t excuse those who can congregate but won’t. Some are isolated from being in church because of persecution against the church. God will insulate them in their hearts. Others are just isolating themselves from church because they insulate their own hearts from God by playing isolation games from God’s people.

If you cannot handle adversity with those of like precious faith, and those closest to you, how do you expect to handle it out in the world? Or do you just not have to because you avoid it? Is that what you do with members of your own flesh and blood family, just avoid them or play nice, and avoid the negativity? God’s people should not be that way. Adversity should not breed avoidance it should breed faith. It is not that we should love adversity but that we should learn from it...

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Stress-Free Sinning?

The following post is a reply to questions asked in
this

post by Dan Phillips of Pyromaniacs




But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

(2 Timothy 2:19 – ESV)

Not every true Christian will experience the same degree of personal, practical sanctification. The thief on the cross was saved but since he died that same day he didn’t have the time that the Apostle Paul had to show forth the fruits of righteousness. We instinctively and interpretively understand that some believers will progress further into the sanctification process, they will press on to the mark in a more pronounced fashion than some others. On the other end of the spectrum, some might seem to be acting like unbelievers, while they may truly be born again.

This brings an interesting question. Why are there so many genuine Christians who persist in the same patterns of sin, apparently without pangs of conscience, and without repentance, apparently hard-hearted against the communion of Christ, the conviction of the Spirit and the commands of the Word? Why do they sin without stress, without struggle, and seemingly without significance?

Well, first off, the inward sins of the heart that perhaps do not manifest as overt, “big time” sins that everyone condemns are sins nonetheless. We all have sin; it is just that Christians are supposed to be striving toward holiness, wanting to be blameless while realizing they will never be completely sinless in this lifetime. Still, what about those who don’t even try? How do you tell the Christians from the non-believers, in that some professing believers live “worse” moral lives than some non-believers? Why would God even allow this?

We know this for sure; it is all a part of God’s plan. Jesus said it would be so, and that we won’t know until the end who the real believers were, and also that many think they are true believers but they aren’t. The answer is in our personal valuing of practical sanctification, both temporal and eternal. God is giving us opportunity.

Peter says to make your calling and election sure by growing in fruitfulness (2 Peter 1:5-10). Now when he says this he is not saying that you are making your calling and election sure to God, but to yourself, because the Lord knows those who are His, and because the second inscription on the sure foundation of God says that those who are His, those who claim the name of Christ are to depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19). We also make our calling and election sure to others we know (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4), others we meet (1 Thessalonians 1:6-9), and perhaps even to Satan and the demonic realm (2 Timothy 2:26).

Those that are doing this are being made useful and ready for every good work by cleansing themselves from sin (2 Timothy 2:20-25). Here in 2 Timothy Paul speaks about a cleansing that isn’t just something God does for us as we sit passively. This is a self-cleansing for service that goes beyond a general cleansing for sin. 1 John 1:9 would be speaking of the general cleansing from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Paul and the Bible talks of another type of cleansing. We sanctify, or set apart ourselves because He has sanctified us (Leviticus 20:7-8 / 1 Corinthians 1:30).

It is not a salvation issue but an assurance of salvation issue. It is not a “make it to heaven” issue, but a “rewards in heaven” issue. It is about fruitfulness and usefulness in this life. It is about working out from our cleansing from sin, and cleansing ourselves in God’s power so that we are separated for service. It is about being prepared for production. It is about our cooperation with God’s Spirit so that we are set apart and made useful and closer to God.

However, what many do not realize is that this voluntary, temporal cleansing has eternal consequence as well as temporal aspects. They don’t go for it because they don’t see the worth; they haven’t realized it, made it real, cashed in on this truth. There are temporal aspects, such as an assurance of salvation and communion with Christ by the Holy Spirit, and eternal aspects, as with rewards in heaven. We have not stressed the practical presence of God and rewards in heaven enough.

In sanctification, God allows us to store up treasures in heaven, and allows us to win crowns that we may cast at the Master’s feet. To some, that may not seem to be all that big a deal, as long as they make it, but believe me, and believe the Bible, it will be a great big deal on that day, and you, me, and all of us will want to have more to give than we will then. We need to see this as it really is, and stress to believers the importance of the eternal state, not just as the resting place from wrath, but the place where we make an eternal statement about how we honored the glory of the Lord with our lives. For some this isn’t enough motivation, but we must endeavor to renew our minds to this truth.

To be a servant of the Lord, a vessel of honor for Him, we must be empty, clean, and available. If we refuse to empty ourselves, clean ourselves, and make ourselves available to the Lord, we will find ourselves captive to the devil in one sense or another. When you commit a sin, you let the devil win. If someone does not have the desire or the actions to depart from iniquity at all, it is fair to ask if they really belong to Jesus or if they have just deceived themselves. The sanctified, feeling God’s love, imitate it, and the more they imitate it, the more they feel it. It is worth striving for. At best, stress-free sinning is success-free sinning.

The Gospel Of Affliction

…but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God
(2 Timothy 1:8)

The bottom line about Spiritual power is the faith to endure. Not only the persecutions that come about because of being a witness for Christ by sharing the Good News vocally, but also by just being a member of the household of faith. We will suffer not only persecution, but also afflictions.

Paul suffers because of the grace of God, the affliction of the Gospel! He is not ashamed. Many preachers are only telling fleshly people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3), presenting a victorious life by applying so-called Christian principles rather than presenting Jesus Christ, life through death, and the way of repentance and faith, which Paul calls the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:20,27). Preachers who preach nothing but “all things are always going to be well”, saying peace, peace, where there is no peace, are giving false hopes to lost people, and leading saved people in the wrong direction. Yes, God desires to prosper us, to have us well and whole, but part of the process will involve pain, so that we may be conformed, before we are comforted, and so we may be able to comfort others who are also being conformed (2 Corinthians 1:3-9).

Notice that our text says afflictions, plural, not just persecution for witnessing, but also having to go through physical difficulty, mental anguish, crucifying the flesh, and other crises (Romans 8:14-18 / Philippians 1:29 / Colossians 1:24 / Galatians 5:24 / 1 Peter 4:1 / Acts 14:22 / 1 Thessalonians 3:3). Suffering aligns us with Christ, and keeps us humble (James 4:9-10). Partaking of suffering helps us learn God’s Word, Will, and Way; Martin Luther said that afflictions are the touchstone of biblical interpretation (Psalm 119:71).

We need to stir up the gift of God, and the gift is the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Because of the gift (the Holy Ghost) we can partake of the afflictions, by the power of God to us (Ephesians 1:19 / Zechariah 4:6), not an earthly power. The testimony of the Lord is tribulation (Revelation 6:9), the willingness to suffer as Paul had, and he was not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16). Remember Paul desired to know the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10).

He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our big goings on, like mountain moving, but His own purpose. His purpose is to make us like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), not just to fulfill the Great Commission. The great grace of God may seem more manifest when a mountain is moved by faith, but truly, it is the mundane, the everyday, the dear old saint who faithfully comes to church, and who prays for lost ones everyday without fail, and who suffers through ill health, yet still keeps a loving heart toward people, and an unyielding devotion to Christ that showcases the power of God most clearly for His glory. The calling is not just to “do stuff” it is to suffer, to take up our cross and follow Him. We are to do this, not with a stoic “grit your teeth and bear it” mentality, but with joy that we are partaking in the fellowship of Christ (James 1:2, 5:10-11). We are to show our world the power, the grace that brings steadfast faith, the power to endure no matter what life throws at us, to defeat the works of the Devil, this is the victory, even our (immovable) faith (1 John 5:4)!

We can only keep this steadfastness, this boldness, and this witness by the power of the Holy Ghost within us (Romans 8:9 / Colossians 1:27 / Galatians 2:20). Think about the book of Acts, whenever we see them receive power it is immediately met and tested with persecution; we must have faith no matter what (Job 13:15). The victory we have in Christ is not being able to avoid all affliction, it is having the power to persevere, the peace to be able to endure, to truly be Christlike (John 16:33). Yes, the Lord does bring us out of things, praise God (2 Timothy 3:11 / 4:17), but we must realize that to lose faith because of our afflictions is to deny God.

Just remember, when you see the whip in His hand, it was on His back first. This is the gospel of affliction, that He who allows us to feel the stripes of sanctification bore them all for our salvation.

Note: This is a repost from 12/1/06, but after hearing Pastor Steve Weaver talk of the gift of suffering Tuesday night, I though it good for us to consider again...

You Got It

…that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work
(2 Timothy 3:17 – ESV)

The Gospel, the spread of it, and your inclusion into it are all about Christ. Jesus is the one who called Paul to salvation and apostleship and Jesus equipped him for the mission. He is the one who called you and He will empower you for service in His kingdom. If you have answered the call to salvation, it is high time to answer the call to service. We also have the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of miracles, and so forth. Not exactly the same as Paul had, his mission was unique, but your mission is also unique, and you need special equipment to do the task. With Bible in hand and heart (Colossians 3:16) you have all you will ever need.

You are called, and you have everything you need to perform every good work right at your fingertips. At other times we have discussed the futility of trying to serve in your own power. The Bible, through its great and precious promises, is how you are made a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:2-4). Whatever grace, guidance, or gifts you may receive they are to be found in God’s Word. Jesus, the Living Word, will give to you from His written Word.

We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). What you need is Christ, not some self help book; do it His way (Colossians 2:6-10). The Spirit changes us as we behold Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). When you have the Word then you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and you have the Spirit, for the Spirit and the Word are one (1 John 5:7). He has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:2-4 – “knowledge” here is epignosis – a fuller knowledge, a growing recognition).

We see how everything we need is wrapped up in Jesus, and we acquire these things from Him by the promises in the Word of God. It is through the Bible that we receive the power of the divine nature. Indeed the Word of God is ALIVE (Hebrews 4:12)! This is where we get our needs for sanctification met (2 Corinthians 7:1): through the Word we are thoroughly equipped (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Discernment point: Regarding your needs for life and godliness, remember this:

IF YOU ARE GETTING IT OUTSIDE THE WORD OF GOD

THEN YOU ARE GETTING IT OUTSIDE THE WILL OF GOD.