What is the Gospel? Part 2: How does God accomplish the Gospel?

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

We see the main thing here in this text, imputation (see also Isaiah 53) – both sin to Christ and righteousness to us. This is the ministry and message of reconciliation. Everybody has a sin problem (Romans 3:23) and we’re given the responsibility to proclaim the cure. That’s the main reason we are left on earth after we are born again, because fellowship with God, fellowship with each other, and triumph over sin will all be complete in heaven. There is one thing we do here that we cannot do in heaven and that is the ministry of reconciliation.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin – this means that God the Father punished Jesus as if He were the sinner, not that He was now actually a sinner. Jesus was our substitute. We see a type of this in Leviticus 16; Jesus became the “scapegoat”. The scapegoat wasn’t guilty, but the priest symbolically laid all the sins of the people on the scapegoat and sent him away. Jesus was without sin, but sin was credited to His account as if He had personally committed it, and then God punished Him, though the fact is He never committed any of it. Christ was made sin in the sense that our sins were accounted to Him. God treated Him as if He was guilty but He wasn’t. You were guilty, but God poured His wrath on the innocent Christ who was in our place as our substitute (Isaiah 53:10). The passage in Isaiah 53:6-7 is directly applied to Christ by Philip in Acts 8:32 (cf. John 1:29).

So that in him we might become the righteousness of God – this means God accredits the righteousness of Christ to our account. God rewards us as if we are the righteous, not that we are actually righteous. We see imputed righteousness also in Luke 22:37 (what was written about ME) where Jesus connects Isaiah 53 (see vs.11) with Himself (cf. Jeremiah 23:6).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Service of the Stars (Radio / Podcast)

And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not…
(Jeremiah 45:5 – ESV)

One of the ironic problems pastors in small or growing churches face happens when they call the people in the pews to service. Some, instead of coming to the leadership and asking what needs to be done, take it on themselves to decide what needs to be done. Then they ask the leadership to put their stamp of approval on it, and more, to participate and sometimes to actually do the thing. It gets out of control, and ironically people are getting geared up but you want them to slow down. We want people to do something, and we already have an idea in mind, yet they don’t or won’t come to us, they feel like they have this big thing they want or they feel like the church needs to tackle, and then they expect us to sign on, and it's out of order.

It would seem that when we surrender to the person of Jesus, then the idea is that we can now just do what we want as far as service is concerned. It is like those movie stars who get saved and then they justify in their minds that of course they should have a big ministry because they have a big platform, etc. We need to submit before we serve, we don’t just get to serve in whatever way we want. We submit and do what needs to be done and then we find what we are suited for. It is part of the process of being integrated into a community of faith. God will then allow us to be used “properly”, but first God wants us to be humble enough to admit that we aren’t right to have the mentality of, “if I decide to serve I get to do it my own way”. That isn’t service that is selfish.

Some know they aren’t movie stars but they want to be ministry stars. “If I could just find a church that would let me do my thing, then they would see.” No you need to see that you are completely out of order. It is hard to tell people these things however, because they will get offended and stop doing anything and give the old “I was just trying to help like you asked” but they are wrong. They may be sacrificing time or money or talent or whatever but they are not sacrificing their will, not really. What they are saying, in effect, is, “Okay I’ll serve but you still aren’t going to tell me what to do.”

The would be ministry star has these projects that they want to do, when what they need to do is all the ordinary boring stuff that they just won’t do. You will hear the retort in many different, subtle forms, “But I have been trying to do this for so long and someone else gets their thing before mine”. They won’t be faithful in a little thing and they expect to be promoted in their big thing. How many people do you know that have big talent and never move on? Why? This is why! You must be faithful with little things and in another person’s ministry before God will let you and let them promote your own.

Here’s my advice, just suck it up, and let it go. When you are satisfied in God, and content to NEVER be able to do that great big ministry you have in mind, then maybe, God will give it to you, but not before. God forbid that He does allow you to have it when you aren’t submitted, because if you get to do it before you are fashioned in submission then what is happening is that God is allowing that, your dream, to be the means of your downfall. I tell you the truth!

It’s not about some heavy handed “this is what you must do” thing it is simply a matter of perspective. Instead of coming and asking how can I help we state, “this is the way I want to help”, and “will you help me”. It is turned on its head; the church is asked to help the member with their mission instead of the member asking to help the church with its mission.

Service without submission can be well-intentioned, but will be ineffective, it is often professional, paternalistic, problem solving, and wanting to do good by “sharing” from a position of superiority. The Bible deliberately pushes us into the area of discomfort, forcing us to accept a posture of submission until our pride is exposed, and our desire to be controlling is revealed. Instead we have no control over our own lives and yet we want to and think we can fix others.

Like Baruch, we must learn that significance is not prominence. God is watching, and we need to be faithful to give Him glory in all we do, whatever that may be (Colossians 3:23). Be a shining star in the world He creates for you, not in the one you create for yourself.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Apostasy Avenue (Radio / Podcast)

The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.'
(Jeremiah 42:19 – ESV)

In Jeremiah 41, Jerusalem had fallen, and the governor that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had appointed over it was murdered by one of the remnant Jews. They feared for their lives (vs.18), and also believed that they were right in wanting to have a prince of the house of David, and Ishmael was of the royal family (vs. 1). How often do we think our position protects us from having to go through judgment, or trials, and how often are we deceived into believing we are actually fighting for a just and holy cause when we are really just blinded by our own esteem for ourselves?

In Jeremiah 42, the people wanted to hear God’s Word from God’s prophet, but not so as to actually obey, but rather, that God might sanction what they had already determined to do. Of course, something like that has never happened to us, we would never think of such a thing, would we? Jeremiah didn’t receive the Word for 10 days (vs. 7). The delay was designed to test the sincerity of their professed willingness to obey (vs. 5-6), and that they should have time to commit their wills to obedience. God told them through Jeremiah that He would protect, preserve, and eventually promote them through the trial (vs.10-12). God made it perfectly clear that they were not to go to Egypt (vs.14-19), but He knew that their hearts were hypocritical (vs.20-21) and declared their doomed destiny (vs.22).

In Jeremiah 43, the people were falling fast into apostasy. They turned on the Word of God through the prophet (vs. 2). They didn’t obey and went into Egypt (vs.7), and took Jeremiah with them. It reminds us of how they probably thought that having God’s prophet with them would be like having God’s blessing with them. This is using God’s tools like a magic weapon of sorts, like the Israelites did with the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4).

In Jeremiah 44, what happened to these people that went into Egypt is that they fell into total apostasy, they began blatant idolatry, and became deceived in so many ways that they were completely blinded to the truth of God’s Word (vs.17-19). The people were so blind and hardhearted that they actually believed that serving other gods was their ticket to prosperity, and that disobedience was the way to safety and security. Jeremiah let them know that God in His longsuffering had let them go until their iniquity was fully ripe, and that it was their disobedience that lead to their lack, not leaving off the service to other gods (vs.21-23).

This is what happens when we fail to go to the Cross. We fail to suffer the death of the flesh, and our worship becomes as it did for these that went to Egypt, it becomes vain and idolatrous, without our even realizing it. This is what happened to others whose pride eventually lead to their downfall, those who thought that they could worship God “any old way they felt like”. Results and relationships cloud their judgment and discernment.

Adam saw Eve eat the apple, but he still had a choice. He could have chosen not to eat of the apple himself. Instead, he chose his relationship with his wife over his relationship with God and His Word. This is why Jesus told us that if someone wouldn’t hate their family compared to Him, they couldn’t be His disciple (Luke 14:26).

Think about Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. They relied on their relationship to their father Aaron and as priests to protect them from having to worship in the way God intended for the “others”.

How about Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31 / 12:20, 25-33 / 13:34)? God gave him the 10 northern tribes, yet he thought that he could establish a different place and different methods of worship. They didn’t start out thinking those idols were other gods, they worshipped them as Jehovah, just as Aaron and the Israelites did while Moses was on Sinai.

King Uzziah was a great and godly king, but his results lifted up his heart, and he thought his relationship with the Lord meant that he could act as priest as well as king (2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 15-16). He paid dearly.

A lesson is this: we must stay in a repentant attitude, and if God says that we are to do something in a certain way, then we are unwise, unrepentant, and rebellious to do otherwise. It will lead to deception and idolatry, where we will think we are doing right but we are sincerely wrong. Sincerity is no substitute for truth, and without truth, we are headed straight down Apostasy Avenue.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Avenue of Oaks (Radio / Podcast)

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

(Jeremiah 17:7-8 – ESV)

We hear it said time and again, as if it were some new revelation, either saying that the children are our future, or that the children are our right now. I want to dispel those notions right here and now. Children are not our future and they are not our right now. The old folks are the right now, and they will be the right now in the future as well.

How and why, you say? Think about it. By the time children become our future they will be older. When will we wise up and discover that the future of the church is in its old people not its young people? Young people will be growing older just like the rest of us, and hopefully the emphasis is on the growing not the older but the wiser. Yes we need the young people for many things, but what we need is for them to start young and grow old with God. So yes lets get them in while they are young, but lets grow them up so they can be old and mature as well.

The way to get them young is to show them hope for when they are old. I want a church full of old saints, a community of spiritual sages, wise old oaks who burn on a low simmer but whose kindling embers are real fuel for the younger set giving them something to look forward to.

We think young people are more important because they have more life to live but actually they need old people, old people are more important because they have more life to give. They have a lifetime of living with Jesus and all those young folks are coming that way too, we all grow older, even if we die young, the day we die we will be a day older than the day before etc., and we had better be longing for continued growth. Spiritual life is not meant to be an early peak and then slow fade out; that is a flawed concept. It is not our physical or mental strength that gives the gospel its power but God and the relationship with Him is the demonstration of that power. Why would it ebb backward unless we are backsliding, and do you mean to tell me that all older people are on a downward slide spiritually just because they are physically? Think about what you’re thinking with that type of nonsense.

In a sense the old oaks matter more, at least as much as we all do but they matter more than they did, not less, because they have grown more with God over time. They may be able to do physically less, but their relationship ideally had ought to be more. Spiritually they can do more in prayer, etc. mentoring or just being a witness by being alive. The old oaks can take the heat, and they can bear a dry season, and they bear fruit when others don’t. If you grow old with God you can count on abundant fruit even as the seasons change.

When you don’t respect the hope of the elders you don’t respect the hope for yourself, because that is they way you and I and all of us are headed. Even if we die young, we will die older than we were before we did. It is no wonder so many want to delay the onset of aging they don’t have anything to look forward to. People see it all as if youth and vigor is all that matters, and as if only youthful vigor means useful vitality. Instead the truth is that spiritual vigor comes through maturity, and that should be increasing as we age.

We need to model the spiritual fact that we can be looking forward to growing old as opposed to merely getting old. Young person you need to find an oak. Adults get growing and become an oak. Old folks make sure you stay old oaks by keeping others lit. We are like trees that are planted by the water (Psalm 1:3 / Isaiah 61:3) and we need more oaks. We need to keep showing all our people the right path, that of growing older in God. In our church communities, let’s surround our young ones with hope. Let’s become an avenue of oaks.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Joyful Captivity (Radio / Podcast)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
(Jeremiah 29:11 – ESV)

Jeremiah 29:11 is certainly applicable as a great and precious promise from God to us. However, we need to see the fuller context, because the surrounding verses give us a clear picture of the often difficult process God uses to deliver this promise into our lives. Let’s briefly outline the passage, and consider some vitally important concepts that arise from the text.

Vs.4 – God is orchestrating these events

Vs.5-6 – Bloom where you are planted, wherever you are planted. Yes you are moving on, this is only temporary, but make your mark for Christ while you are there.

Vs.7 – Be a blessing even when you are bound and you will be blessed. Do everything right that you would normally do because God can and will use it. Think about the stranded man whose hut was set on fire by lightning but that acted as a smoke signal. We don’t always see beyond the surface.

Vs.8-10 – Don’t listen to those who say your faith will never be tested, your situation will never have sorrow, and you will never have to go through any pain. They lie. You will have seasons of pruning, purifying, but they are for producing a closer and more passionate walk with God. They will get you to plug into the power source.

Vs.11 – God says my plans include this prison. You have to go through it but I mean it to give you a future full of hope. You will be captives to them but captured by me.

Vs.12 – this will cause you to look to me.

Vs.13 – now you will seek me without reservation, with prayer and worship.

Vs.14 – I will be available to you and will reverse your plight.

Here is something vital to think about. In considering that scenario, we can see that many were born into captivity, many would have to die in captivity, and many would live most of their lives in captivity. Yet God says they had a hope and a future, and He tells them it includes coming back into their own land. Now, does that only mean as a whole and exclude individuals, since many would not be alive to witness that day? What about those others, how could they be promised a hope and a future while still living and dying in Babylon? What could it be?

This is where we need to expand our vision. God WAS their hope and future! We follow Christ and lead the way for others, with God Himself AS our hope and our future. God allows us in our lives to go through some things to show others the way out. Moses got to see the Promised Land, but never got to be in the Promised Land. God gave David the plans to build the Temple, but David never got his hands to build the Temple. The Apostle John saw the vision of the triumphant Second Coming of Christ but it was for the future. Some of us may or may not be here for that Triumphant Return, but we get to walk in the Triumphal Procession even now.

You may think you’re going nowhere but you need to see the Triumphal Procession for what it really is. Paul was in it, he was a joyful captive of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). That paradise parade may lead you into prison, into poverty, into persecution, into pain and into all sorts of problems, but Christ is also leading you all the way home. If you truly want to be filled with spiritual passion and power, you can’t just sit on the sidelines and cheer on Jesus like a spectator. You must be a spectacle (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:9, 13); the world must see Christ as having conquered you.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Apostasy Avenue (with audio)

USE THE PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST

The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.'
(Jeremiah 42:19 – ESV)

In Jeremiah 41, Jerusalem had fallen, and the governor that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had appointed over it was murdered by one of the remnant Jews. They feared for their lives (vs.18), and also believed that they were right in wanting to have a prince of the house of David, and Ishmael was of the royal family (vs. 1). How often do we think our position protects us from having to go through judgment, or trials, and how often are we deceived into believing we are actually fighting for a just and holy cause when we are really just blinded by our own esteem for ourselves?

In Jeremiah 42, the people wanted to hear God’s Word from God’s prophet, but not so as to actually obey, but rather, that God might sanction what they had already determined to do. Of course, something like that has never happened to us, we would never think of such a thing, would we? Jeremiah didn’t receive the Word for 10 days (vs. 7). The delay was designed to test the sincerity of their professed willingness to obey (vs. 5-6), and that they should have time to commit their wills to obedience. God told them through Jeremiah that He would protect, preserve, and eventually promote them through the trial (vs.10-12). God made it perfectly clear that they were not to go to Egypt (vs.14-19), but He knew that their hearts were hypocritical (vs.20-21) and declared their doomed destiny (vs.22).

In Jeremiah 43, the people were falling fast into apostasy. They turned on the Word of God through the prophet (vs. 2). They didn’t obey and went into Egypt (vs.7), and took Jeremiah with them. It reminds us of how they probably thought that having God’s prophet with them would be like having God’s blessing with them. This is using God’s tools like a magic weapon of sorts, like the Israelites did with the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4).

In Jeremiah 44, what happened to these people that went into Egypt is that they fell into total apostasy, they began blatant idolatry, and became deceived in so many ways that they were completely blinded to the truth of God’s Word (vs.17-19). The people were so blind and hardhearted that they actually believed that serving other gods was their ticket to prosperity, and that disobedience was the way to safety and security. Jeremiah let them know that God in His longsuffering had let them go until their iniquity was fully ripe, and that it was their disobedience that lead to their lack, not leaving off the service to other gods (vs.21-23).

This is what happens when we fail to go to the Cross. We fail to suffer the death of the flesh, and our worship becomes as it did for these that went to Egypt, it becomes vain and idolatrous, without our even realizing it. This is what happened to others whose pride eventually lead to their downfall, those who thought that they could worship God “any old way they felt like”. Results and relationships cloud their judgment and discernment.

Adam saw Eve eat the apple, but he still had a choice. He could have chosen not to eat of the apple himself. Instead, he chose his relationship with his wife over his relationship with God and His Word. This is why Jesus told us that if someone wouldn’t hate their family compared to Him, they couldn’t be His disciple (Luke 14:26).

Think about Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. They relied on their relationship to their father Aaron and as priests to protect them from having to worship in the way God intended for the “others”.

How about Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31 / 12:20, 25-33 / 13:34)? God gave him the 10 northern tribes, yet he thought that he could establish a different place and different methods of worship. They didn’t start out thinking those idols were other gods, they worshipped them as Jehovah, just as Aaron and the Israelites did while Moses was on Sinai.

King Uzziah was a great and godly king, but his results lifted up his heart, and he thought his relationship with the Lord meant that he could act as priest as well as king (2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 15-16). He paid dearly.

A lesson is this: we must stay in a repentant attitude, and if God says that we are to do something in a certain way, then we are unwise, unrepentant, and rebellious to do otherwise. It will lead to deception and idolatry, where we will think we are doing right but we are sincerely wrong. Sincerity is no substitute for truth, and without truth, we are headed straight down Apostasy Avenue.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Avenue of Oaks

USE THE PLAYER ABOVE TO LISTEN TO THIS POST

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

(Jeremiah 17:7-8 – ESV)

We hear it said time and again, as if it were some new revelation, either saying that the children are our future, or that the children are our right now. I want to dispel those notions right here and now. Children are not our future and they are not our right now. The old folks are the right now, and they will be the right now in the future as well.

How and why, you say? Think about it. By the time children become our future they will be older. When will we wise up and discover that the future of the church is in its old people not its young people? Young people will be growing older just like the rest of us, and hopefully the emphasis is on the growing not the older but the wiser. Yes we need the young people for many things, but what we need is for them to start young and grow old with God. So yes lets get them in while they are young, but lets grow them up so they can be old and mature as well.

The way to get them young is to show them hope for when they are old. I want a church full of old saints, a community of spiritual sages, wise old oaks who burn on a low simmer but whose kindling embers are real fuel for the younger set giving them something to look forward to.

We think young people are more important because they have more life to live but actually they need old people, old people are more important because they have more life to give. They have a lifetime of living with Jesus and all those young folks are coming that way too, we all grow older, even if we die young, the day we die we will be a day older than the day before etc., and we had better be longing for continued growth. Spiritual life is not meant to be an early peak and then slow fade out; that is a flawed concept. It is not our physical or mental strength that gives the gospel its power but God and the relationship with Him is the demonstration of that power. Why would it ebb backward unless we are backsliding, and do you mean to tell me that all older people are on a downward slide spiritually just because they are physically? Think about what you’re thinking with that type of nonsense.

In a sense the old oaks matter more, at least as much as we all do but they matter more than they did, not less, because they have grown more with God over time. They may be able to do physically less, but their relationship ideally had ought to be more. Spiritually they can do more in prayer, etc. mentoring or just being a witness by being alive. The old oaks can take the heat, and they can bear a dry season, and they bear fruit when others don’t. If you grow old with God you can count on abundant fruit even as the seasons change.

When you don’t respect the hope of the elders you don’t respect the hope for yourself, because that is they way you and I and all of us are headed. Even if we die young, we will die older than we were before we did. It is no wonder so many want to delay the onset of aging they don’t have anything to look forward to. People see it all as if youth and vigor is all that matters, and as if only youthful vigor means useful vitality. Instead the truth is that spiritual vigor comes through maturity, and that should be increasing as we age.

We need to model the spiritual fact that we can be looking forward to growing old as opposed to merely getting old. Young person you need to find an oak. Adults get growing and become an oak. Old folks make sure you stay old oaks by keeping others lit. We are like trees that are planted by the water (Psalm 1:3 / Isaiah 61:3) and we need more oaks. We need to keep showing all our people the right path, that of growing older in God. In our church communities, let’s surround our young ones with hope. Let’s become an avenue of oaks.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

God Knows Your Heart

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
(Psalm 139:23-24 – ESV)

How many times have you thought, said, or heard, “well, God knows my heart”? This happens often with people who want to justify themselves from the fact that they are blatantly ignoring the teachings of the Bible. We must be careful, for our motivations are not always as pure as we think them to be, and even if we are sincere, this doesn’t mean we are right. In fact, some might think that they want to do what is right but what they actually want is to get out of having to do what is biblically right. They say, well God knows my heart, and I say yes, He absolutely does, they are right about that (1 Samuel 16:7 / 1 Kings 8:39 / 1 Chronicles 28:9 / Proverbs 15:11 / Jeremiah 17:10 / Acts 1:24, 15:8 / Revelation 2:23).

Read through those scriptures and realize something important here. The problem is that while God knows your heart, YOU don’t know your heart, and let me further prove it to you.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

You say God knows your heart, and God says the Bible is how you know what He is thinking about your heart. God knows your heart and He shows you what He wants you to know about it in His Word. In His Word your heart is revealed. His Word reveals the condition of your heart, and so no matter what you think your heart looks like, God says that if you are directly disobeying some explicit command of His, then you are not as pure an innocent as you assume your sincerity makes you. Sincerity is no substitute for truth. The truth is that just because no one else is fulfilling their obligations, this doesn’t excuse you from fulfilling yours. Their disobedience doesn’t justify yours.

Yes God knows your heart, and He uses His Word to reveal to you the condition of it.

Proverbs 28:26 (KJV) – He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Proverbs 21:2 – Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.

Perhaps it is time to pray in accordance with Psalm 19:12-14 / Psalm 139:23-24, and ask God to show you from His Word about that “heart surgery” you need.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Service of the Stars

And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not…
(Jeremiah 45:5 – ESV)

One of the ironic problems pastors in small or growing churches face happens when they call the people in the pews to service. Some, instead of coming to the leadership and asking what needs to be done, take it on themselves to decide what needs to be done. Then they ask the leadership to put their stamp of approval on it, and more, to participate and sometimes to actually do the thing. It gets out of control, and ironically people are getting geared up but you want them to slow down. We want people to do something, and we already have an idea in mind, yet they don’t or won’t come to us, they feel like they have this big thing they want or they feel like the church needs to tackle, and then they expect us to sign on, and its out of order.

It would seem that when we surrender to the person of Jesus, then the idea is that we can now just do what we want as far as service is concerned. It is like those movie stars who get saved and then they justify in their minds that of course they should have a big ministry because they have a big platform, etc. We need to submit before we serve, we don’t just get to serve in whatever way we want. We submit and do what needs to be done and then we find what we are suited for. It is part of the process of being integrated into a community of faith. God will then allow us to be used “properly”, but first God wants us to be humble enough to admit that we aren’t right to have the mentality of, “if I decide to serve I get to do it my own way”. That isn’t service that is selfish.

Some know they aren’t movie stars but they want to be ministry stars. “If I could just find a church that would let me do my thing, then they would see.” No you need to see that you are completely out of order. It is hard to tell people these things however, because they will get offended and stop doing anything and give the old “I was just trying to help like you asked” but they are wrong. They may be sacrificing time or money or talent or whatever but they are not sacrificing their will, not really. What they are saying, in effect, is, “Okay I’ll serve but you still aren’t going to tell me what to do.”

The would be ministry star has these projects that they want to do, when what they need to do is all the ordinary boring stuff that they just won’t do. You will hear the retort in many different, subtle forms, “But I have been trying to do this for so long and someone else gets their thing before mine”. They won’t be faithful in a little thing and they expect to be promoted in their big thing. How many people do you know that have big talent and never move on? Why? This is why! You must be faithful with little things and in another person’s ministry before God will let you and let them promote your own.

Here’s my advice, just suck it up, and let it go. When you are satisfied in God, and content to NEVER be able to do that great big ministry you have in mind, then maybe, God will give it to you, but not before. God forbid that He does allow you to have it when you aren’t submitted, because if you get to do it before you are fashioned in submission then what is happening is that God is allowing that, your dream, to be the means of your downfall. I tell you the truth!

It’s not about some heavy handed “this is what you must do” thing it is simply a matter of perspective. Instead of coming and asking how can I help we state, “this is the way I want to help”, and “will you help me”. It is turned on its head; the church is asked to help the member with their mission instead of the member asking to help the church with its mission.

Service without submission can be well-intentioned, but will be ineffective, it is often professional, paternalistic, problem solving, and wanting to do good by “sharing” from a position of superiority. The Bible deliberately pushes us into the area of discomfort, forcing us to accept a posture of submission until our pride is exposed, and our desire to be controlling is revealed. Instead we have no control over our own lives and yet we want to and think we can fix others.

Like Baruch, we must learn that significance is not prominence. God is watching, and we need to be faithful to give Him glory in all we do, whatever that may be (Colossians 3:23). Be a shining star in the world He creates for you, not in the one you create for yourself.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Good Pastoring

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
(Jeremiah 3:15 – ESV)

Here is an example I read that I thought was a good look into some of the things a good pastor will have to do. I can testify to having to go through these types of things personally, although this is not my personal story.

The goal must always be to restore out of love, but sometimes love will inflict wounds, like a surgeon in order to bring the cure.

I once had a couple come in for pre marriage counseling. I found out that he was in the process of a divorce, and asked him why his first marriage failed, and found out that he had left his wife for the woman he was with. I said to him “In the Name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you for your adultery, and I call on you to repent and go back to your wife and beg her forgiveness” Then I looked at the woman and said “You are an adulterer, and you need to repent of that and leave this man alone, he is married to another and in the Name of Jesus I am telling you to leave him now” I told them both to repent and get right with God, and to not return to our fellowship until they do repent. They were outraged at me. I didn’t let them respond at all, I just cut off the conversations, and showed them the door.

8 years later I got a letter from him, thanking me. He said he was so mad at how abrupt and harsh I was that he kept arguing with me in his thoughts, and the longer he argued with me in his imagination the more he knew I was right and that he was really arguing with God not me, so after a few months he went back to his wife, she forgave him, and they had two more kids. He had lost our address and phone number, so it took him all those years to find me and tell me it worked. He said if I had not been so abrupt and harsh he never would have come to terms with the sin he was in.

So we must be gentle with some, and others we must be firm with. It takes the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know how to deal with each situation.

Doing the right thing is often hard. No one likes confrontation or to get involved in other people’s problems. It is always easier to do nothing, to leave it for someone else to be the one who cares... but who said obedience to Christ is supposed to be easy.

I once had a woman come in and ask for money, she was desperate with two little kids. It was clear enough to me that she was a junkie, and needed a fix really bad, and I knew if I gave her money it would go straight into her arm. So I took her to a hotel that our church had a deal with, that I could put anyone in anytime and they would bill the church later, I set her up in a room with a kitchen and bought enough food for her and her kids for a few days, and then I gave her enough cash to get high for a few days. I waited until I saw her return from scoring some drugs, and then let an hour pass so I would know she would be really wasted, and then I called the police and reported child abuse neglect. I just put her in a room and did all that stuff so I could be sure where she would be so I could get her kids taken away from her. It broke my heart. I didn’t sleep well for a few nights. I was outright crafty and misleading but I saved two little kids.

3 years later she showed up at our church, with both of her kids. She said she was really mad at me for a long time but can look back now, and she knows that I not only saved her children’s lives but that I saved her life. She had been clean for 2 years, and came to Christ and had got her kids back, and had a good job. With tears in her eyes she thanked me, and told me that she had been to three churches before coming to ours and they all just turned her away. While she knew I had set her up, she had come to see that I set her up out of love.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Deception Drive

But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

(Jeremiah 44:17)

Look at the image on the left: do you remember Jim Jones and his cult, with those 900 comitting suicide in Guyana in the late 70's? They started out hailing this man as a miracle worker, but they met their demise as they sank futher and further into apostasy.

We have been looking at the remnant Jews who tried to escape Babylonian captivity by going to Egypt, even after God had told them not to. Protecting yourself by running to “Egypt” won’t work. Running away from God is impossible (Jonah) (Psalm 139:7). It is like those who plan an “out” by waiting until people vanish at the rapture to get saved. They are under a strong delusion, on several fronts.

Deception can be very subtle. If you place a frog in a pan of boiling water, he will jump out immediately. However, if you place him in a pan with cool water, and then slowly turn up the heat, soon you will have frog legs for dinner.

Now let’s look closer and see just how deceived these people were, and how certain things can blindside us. In Jeremiah 44:17 we see the “T’s” of idolatry that the Jews used as justification to Jeremiah as to why they would not heed the word of the Lord. We will compare this with its pragmatic outworking of today, and the “scriptural justification” some might use to keep from being obedient. People feel as if they can begin to obey when they get things set the way they want, but God doesn’t work that way. Partial obedience is disobedience, and delayed obedience is also disobedience. See if you recognize any of these reasons for rebellion.

1) Testimony / “out of our own mouths” – who are you to tell us, we are just as much a Christian as you, we are righteous in this, you are the false teacher, the Lord orders our steps!

2) Togetherness / “we” – we need unity, division is bad, your doctrine causes strife, can’t we just get along, Jesus wants us together no matter what, what about John 17?

3) Tradition / “our fathers” – always done it this way – Jesus never changes

4) Teachers / “our kings and princes” – doing as we were taught, just submitting to authority

5) Totality / “city of Judah” – this is a universal doctrine or practice, everybody’s doing it, why would we be the ones to get punished for it, mouth of two or three, multitude of counselors, all the other prophets are saying peace, three fold cord not easily broken, etc.

6) Treachery / “streets of Jerusalem” – out in the open, we are not doing anything wrong or anything in secret, we aren’t hiding it, everybody knows it, no harm in this we are doing it for good reasons, we are doing it in faith, we see the fruit of the Spirit

7) Treasure / “plenty” – prosperity as the measure, it works, don’t trash what God is blessing

The truth is that we may see blessing, but in spite of, not because of what we are doing. Some churches these days are trying to justify all types of treachery, and promoting things such as yoga, labyrinths, burning incense, contemplative prayer, and the like. They do these things under the guise of finding more ways to be intimate with God. However, their idolatry shows itself in their self-indulgence and licentiousness, with their justification of tattoos, piercing, cussing, etc. They justify trying to be like the culture by saying that it allows them to be more able to identify with those whom they witness to, but we are supposed to be identifying with Jesus, not them. We shouldn’t try to show that Christianity is “cool”. Yes you can have a tattoo and go to heaven, but we don’t need to get a tattoo to show others the way to heaven. Do you see the difference, the subtle deception that can creep in? It is the same for all seven points here.

“Christian coolness” is not evangelical relevance, it may be cultural relevance, but it is worldliness, not Christian maturity. It is irresponsible. It is compromising the integrity of the Christian witness. More often than not, those who would emphasize Christian liberty are actually just exercising the old man. The converts these people make are just converts to their idea of religion, but it is not authentic Christianity, it is a counterfeit. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof to live a holy life and break away from the world. They are lovers of self and pleasures more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4-5).

All true knowledge of God is born out of obedience – John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. Character determines revelation – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Obedience doesn’t get you a reward for being good, what it does is keep you from getting the wrong perspective, you stay in the bread line and keep getting good food, wholesome and not leavened. You may “get away with” certain sins for a time, but they lead to a bigger problem, the idolatry of self, where you have a hard heart and cannot be broken, and are led into deception and perversion, apostasy and falling away. When you have gone as far as these Jews had, you’ve gone past the point of no return. You won’t stay alive on Deception Drive.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Wrong Turn

And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD.
(Jeremiah 43:7 – ESV)

Many try and avoid going to the Cross, believing they can avoid the pain and still be a disciple of Christ. They are like the remnant of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. The Jewish remnant thought they could escape the trials of Babylon, which was caused by their continued disobedience, by going back to Egypt, the former place of their bondage, and what would now the place of their death. People are deceived into believing there is a shortcut way around the death of the flesh, and it only leads to deception and more flesh, which is idolatry.

People sincerely believe that they can be openly disobedient, unrepentant, and still stay on track with God. They will try and justify themselves rather than just deny themselves. You will hear statements such as, “everyone has sin”, and “it’s no worse than what so and so is doing”, and the like. Of course, there is a complete difference between someone who knows he has sin, admits it is sin, and wants to be cleansed and free of it, and the person who stubbornly, and blindly will not even acknowledge that the thing they commit in front of God and man is even a problem.

Many think they are “getting away with it”, but even though they do not have to deal immediately with the problems posed by their lack of obedience (Jeremiah 42:14 / 44:17), it leads to an even greater problem, and greater suffering. Galatians 6:7-8 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

God breaks us down to purify us but we won’t comply, we struggle to try and find an “alternate route”. We understand that Jesus went to the Cross for us, and we feel that we have no need to follow Him, we don’t have to go through the pain, we can avoid it, there is another way, etc. We only want to submit to God halfway, and it leads to deception and idolatry.

Think about Exodus 20:3 – no other gods before me needs to be realized for what it means, because so many today think that it has no context, no relevance for today, being that no one is making idols out of wood, etc., at least in the West. However, an idol is anything that takes precedence over God, and most often it is self, and the self-ish, self-indulgent, fleshly desire of our nature to want to be able to hang on to our old life while claiming to be regenerated to new life.

“Before” in Hebrew is paniym (paw-neem), meaning in front of, in the presence of, in the face of. Remember the Israelites in the wilderness – they weren’t calling the golden calves Baal. God is omnipresent, and so everything is in His presence, or before Him, and so we may have no other gods, period, not that God is to be placed first, He is to be the ONLY God we serve, and that includes self.

You must follow Christ to the Cross by faith. There is no side road to salvation. If you don’t go down Repentance Road, and make sure you stop at Submission Street, believe me, you will have made a wrong turn.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Apostasy Avenue

The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.'
(Jeremiah 42:19 – ESV)

In Jeremiah 41, Jerusalem had fallen, and the governor that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had appointed over it was murdered by one of the remnant Jews. They feared for their lives (vs.18), and also believed that they were right in wanting to have a prince of the house of David, and Ishmael was of the royal family (vs. 1). How often do we think our position protects us from having to go through judgment, or trials, and how often are we deceived into believing we are actually fighting for a just and holy cause when we are really just blinded by our own esteem for ourselves?

In Jeremiah 42, the people wanted to hear God’s Word from God’s prophet, but not so as to actually obey, but rather, that God might sanction what they had already determined to do. Of course, something like that has never happened to us, we would never think of such a thing, would we? Jeremiah didn’t receive the Word for 10 days (vs. 7). The delay was designed to test the sincerity of their professed willingness to obey (vs. 5-6), and that they should have time to commit their wills to obedience. God told them through Jeremiah that He would protect, preserve, and eventually promote them through the trial (vs.10-12). God made it perfectly clear that they were not to go to Egypt (vs.14-19), but He knew that their hearts were hypocritical (vs.20-21) and declared their doomed destiny (vs.22).

In Jeremiah 43, the people were falling fast into apostasy. They turned on the Word of God through the prophet (vs. 2). They didn’t obey and went into Egypt (vs.7), and took Jeremiah with them. It reminds us of how they probably thought that having God’s prophet with them would be like having God’s blessing with them. This is using God’s tools like a magic weapon of sorts, like the Israelites did with the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4).

In Jeremiah 44, what happened to these people that went into Egypt is that they fell into total apostasy, they began blatant idolatry, and became deceived in so many ways that they were completely blinded to the truth of God’s Word (vs.17-19). The people were so blind and hardhearted that they actually believed that serving other gods was their ticket to prosperity, and that disobedience was the way to safety and security. Jeremiah let them know that God in His longsuffering had let them go until their iniquity was fully ripe, and that it was their disobedience that lead to their lack, not leaving off the service to other gods (vs.21-23).

This is what happens when we fail to go to the Cross. We fail to suffer the death of the flesh, and our worship becomes as it did for these that went to Egypt, it becomes vain and idolatrous, without our even realizing it. This is what happened to others whose pride eventually lead to their downfall, those who thought that they could worship God “any old way they felt like”. Results and relationships cloud their judgment and discernment.

Adam saw Eve eat the apple, but he still had a choice. He could have chosen not to eat of the apple himself. Instead, he chose his relationship with his wife over his relationship with God and His Word. This is why Jesus told us that if someone wouldn’t hate their family compared to Him, they couldn’t be His disciple (Luke 14:26).

Think about Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. They relied on their relationship to their father Aaron and as priests to protect them from having to worship in the way God intended for the “others”.

How about Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31 / 12:20, 25-33 / 13:34)? God gave him the 10 northern tribes, yet he thought that he could establish a different place and different methods of worship. They didn’t start out thinking those idols were other gods, they worshipped them as Jehovah, just as Aaron and the Israelites did while Moses was on Sinai.

King Uzziah was a great and godly king, but his results lifted up his heart, and he thought his relationship with the Lord meant that he could act as priest as well as king (2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 15-16). He paid dearly.

A lesson is this: we must stay in a repentant attitude, and if God says that we are to do something in a certain way, then we are unwise, unrepentant, and rebellious to do otherwise. It will lead to deception and idolatry, where we will think we are doing right but we are sincerely wrong. Sincerity is no substitute for truth, and without truth, we are headed straight down Apostasy Avenue.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©