We cannot go it alone (Ephesians 4:11-16)

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Everyone in the Body of Christ is to have a role according the gifts and grace God has given to us. Paul clearly spells out that we are to learn and grow within the roles and according to the skills God has granted to our members. This order is provided to “perfect us” in order that the work of the ministry is performed properly and effectively ( giving due glory to God) and in such a manner as to benefit the entire Church along the way.
‘Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”

We are to continue Paul writes, until all of us are unified in our faith and in our understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for us and in us. Continuing in our apprenticeship according to this learning structure until such time as we emulate Christ in all our ways! (In other words until we see Him face to face).

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

Once the Holy Spirit convicts us to make a statement of faith and declare Christ the victor over sin and death and receive his free gift of salvation because we know that we are sinful and on a path to eternal separation in hell without His death and resurrection; once we have this understanding and accept our need for it, our journey of growing from childhood to maturity begins. Our faith demands that we grow. If we do not Paul writes we are subject to “the sleight of men,” (deception and trickery – “think magician”), false doctrine (so many to count) and those who “lie in wait to deceive.” How many have been deceived by false doctrine, accepting a twisting of scripture as the truth because it came from a favorite preacher without discernment and self-study (consider Act 17 and the Bereans who were diligent in their study so as not to be deceived). Believers must learn to learn using their own intellect, prayer, wise counsel and the Word of God to guide them from infancy to adulthood in the faith or face eternal separation from God because they were deceived by one they trusted but did not take the time to verify what he/she said. Our walk with Christ is personal and our responsibility. Remember, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME…” (Matthew 7: 21-23)

“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

The Church will grow and sustain itself as each member begins to pray for wisdom and understanding and diligently pursues a relationship with Jesus Christ using the members of the body so gifted and matured in their faith as support. Together we will grow in Christ and as we do our Body will flourish and attract others to Christ as they see our example.

Father, we have gone it alone for so long and we have not matured as imitators of Christ as you have provided for us to do. We are truly sorry for our sin and desire to change. Lead us in your ways Lord and help us to develop the discipline to pick up our crosses and follow you using the resources you have given us. In Jesus name I pray.

The death of a friend and the sovereignty of God

“…in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.” Ephesians 1: 10-12)

Last week I gave a testimony for a longtime close friend who died after a year-long battle with cancer. His death brought me face to face with the reality that God is sovereign and that his purposes on earth will be fulfilled no matter how much we pray against it and no matter how it often hurts. “Your ways are not My ways," says the Lord,” comes to mind. (Is. 55:8)

There is a popular worship song that reminds us, “Who am I that you are mindful of me?” The song declares a friendship between God and the believer exists that to me seems unfathomable. When I consider the creation account in Genesis 1 or the fear and awe that overcame Isaiah when he encountered God (Is 6: 1-6) and the words of this song burn in my soul. Job captured the experience of confronting the power and sovereignty of God saying, “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6)

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians that we are believers because God gave us the faith to believe. We live, move, and breathe at his command and according to His purposes and for His pleasure. Everything that happens to us, every illness, accident, birth, relationship works together for the good for those of us who love Him. God did not take my friend from me, he allowed him to come into my life for His purposes and to enrich my life in Christ and now he is home with the Lord.

Today is not a day to weep; rather it is a day to celebrate life in Christ and the Sovereign King who is both mindful of me and big enough to use all things together for the good of we who believe and to bring the whole world to its knees in worship. God allowed my friend to have cancer and gave him the faith to say he was thankful that God allowed him to have cancer! Why? Because he knew that God would use this terrible disease to bring another man closer by increasing his faith.

“Praise God from who all blessings flow!”

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." (Gen 1: 1-3)

This passage of scripture, probably one of the most widely quoted and referenced yet the depth of which so least understood. As I contemplate the work and suffering and beauty of Jesus on the cross, I am drawn to Him and the depth of love and intimacy he desires to have with us. God looked at an amorphous ball of gas, dark and empty (void) of any material that would distinguish it as a planet and His Spirit, His Essence, hovered over its surface and it somehow entered into its essence and gave it light and life.

At that very moment of creation, God breathed life into our earth and its form began to emerge from the emptiness of its previous existence. Just like when the Holy Spirit does a work in one who believes and he is born of water and the Spirit; new life had begun in the ball of gas now called Earth.

He also did something that would take even more time to realize, He "...separated the light from the darkness." The emptiness and void which had been the soul of the ball of gas and debris was now filled with God's Essence, God's Creative Force, His Holy Spirit and now (only now) would the darkness stand separately from the light. No longer would it keep the material dead and lifeless. Light had invaded the emptiness separating the darkness from it forever.
As we contemplate the death of Jesus this week, let us consider this creation event. God’s Spirit in the person of Jesus Christ hanging on a cross yet his healing Spirit hovering over our own dark souls, our emptiness, our formless lives. Consider the transformation we experienced as we put our trust in the gift of salvation in Christ; how our lives began to shed the darkness, the emptiness became full and our lives began to transform into the image of Jesus. The recreation of our lives being reborn in Christ Jesus is an image of how all things began and also an image of a beaten and bloodied body hanging on a cross that would rise from the grave in three days fully alive and available to transform you and me into His image.
Praise God for our Savior and the power of His creativity and his infinite mercy!
Happy Resurrection Day!

Holy unto God!

“He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.” Deut 26:19

Moses spoke to the people a little while before they would enter into the Promised Land 40 years after leaving Egypt set-free by the LORD yet wandering all those years because of their own disobedience. He reminded them of what the LORD first told them. He reiterated the details of the sacrifices and festivals and of God’s requirements for personal and moral conduct, reminding them what was good and pleasing to God and what He abhorred. Moses declared in their hearing to follow all that God had commanded through him, saying to them, “You have declared…that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him…”

All of this is familiar territory to most who read the Bible on a regular basis and to the wandering people of God, Moses words must have seemed a formality to them like another sermon on another day of worship. But the last thought in the chapter, caught my eye like it never did before as I drank slowly from the days first cup of coffee. God spoke with such awesome words this most precious of promises, “…he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” Take a moment dear reader and prayerfully digest what God declared, what the Creator of all things just promised to those who are obedient to Him – I will set you in praise, fame and honor above all nations….AND I will consider you holy to Myself! AMAZING!

If we are zealous in our obedience to God, he will hold us in higher esteem than any nation he has previously honored. To be considered Holy and set apart for God first demands our desire to completely give ourselves in obedience to the Father. The rewards are great and the sacrifice is only giving up selfish desires in favor of serving the One who has done so much to save us from eternal darkness and separation from Him. As we come to understand how much God wants us to be holy to Him, it will become clear that if we make an effort to move toward God in obedience, he will draw us to Him making it ever easier to be obedient and receive the Father’s reward. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

God's favor for those who listen

“… to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:19)

Jesus after, reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” The crowd amazed by the confidence and authority of Jesus’ words knowing fully that when Isaiah wrote these things it was a prophecy of a coming King who would lead the Jewish people out from under the captivity of the Babylonians and give them liberty lost through years of worshipping false gods and neglecting the word of God. But, “what now,” is this amazing man telling us when he claims, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (v21) They must have been confused in their amazement, knowing their history so well, how could Jesus tell us this Scripture is only now being fulfilled? Bestowed, however, with the gift of hindsight, we can look back on Isaiah 61:1-3 and see its double meaning as the Great Expositor reveals this second prophecy of God’s son, “the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus declared two very important things in verse 21. First, "THIS DAY” (Isaiah 61) “… is fulfilled." But equally important he elaborated with the three word phrase “in your hearing.” Jesus made a declaration that on that very day He was the Messiah! He was telling an awestruck audience who had heard this scroll read many times before the synagogue priests that today, the promised “Anointed One” was standing in their midst. Their reaction, however, solidified the caveat, “in your hearing.” The words still reverberating in their ears, several (likely most) immediately began to question Jesus. Despite what they had seen him do, the miracles he performed and the sinless life he had demonstrated, many doubted Him. “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.” (v 22) Jesus defended himself quoting scripture and explaining their spiritual blindness. The conversation ending as the crowd erupted in anger driving Jesus to the outskirts of town and the edge of a cliff and cast Him to his death. (v 28-29)

Clearly the message of God through Jesus Christ is as dependent today on hearing ears as it was then. Almost 2000 years later, "the acceptable year of the Lord," continues as good news goes out to the spiritually poor; healing for the brokenhearted; deliverance for those enslaved by sin; restoration of the spiritually blind; and liberation for those oppressed by darkness. But, where His presence is rejected, and the Jesus of man’s creation does not fulfill expectations, Jesus cannot show God’s favor. While the season of God’s favor remains there is time to hear but Jesus will not force Himself upon the spiritually deaf. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door (to your heart) and knock…” He is ready to release God’s favor in your life and set you free. Open your ears to His call, before Jesus completes Isaiah’s prophecy and proclaims, “the day of vengeance of our God.” (Is 61: 2) On that day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is LORD, (Phi 2:10) and no one will be hard of hearing!

Examine yourself

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Cor 13:5

Each new year most of us take a look in the mirror or the numbers on the scale and turn immediately toward the gym to shed those holiday pounds. However, most of us neglect what is most important our spiritual health. Let us consider the condition of our spiritual fitness and meditate together on the words of Paul, writing to the Corinthian church as we “examine (ourselves) to see (if we) are in the faith…”

When I read this and considered what it said I was troubled in my spirit as I understood the gravity of the apostle’s words. Is Paul really challenging our salvation here? Is he saying that salvation is more than saying a prayer and believing in Jesus? What does the evidence of our commitment to faith in Jesus look like? How do we know we are saved?

How can "we" examine ourselves?

I believe Paul is talking directly to believers who have grown comfortable in our decision to follow Christ. We may have been convicted of our sins perhaps during a sermon at church or by the words of an evangelist at a conference. We may have publically prayed the “Sinner’s prayer,” but since then perhaps our lives have not changed since making our decision to believe in Christ.

Today’s church is filled with men and women who consider themselves believers but who’s lives look like the secular world. The divorce rate among Christians is just as high as the rest of society, Men in the church still struggle with pornography and infidelity while the women continue to gossip under the popular excuse “we have to know so that we can pray for you.” Teen believers continue to struggle with sexual sin, drug and alcohol abuse, and class consciousness.

Sadly most American Christians, do not know the gospel, do not study the bible on a consistent basis and do not regularly pray. Often it seems our decision to follow Christ has not positively impacted our lives, leaving us ineffective “kings and priests” powerless to tell others the good news. Perhaps we should reflect upon Paul’s advice and examine our commitment to Christ first in the light of our personal conduct.
John’s first letter to his disciples and followers, provides some excellent “test questions” for believers who desire to examine their faith.

• “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth….” (1 John 1:6) Are you walking in darkness (sin) yet claim to follow Christ who is light? What sins that you know are wrong do you regularly (perhaps deliberately) commit? True faith in Christ actually changes your heart such that you “hate” sin. Therefore, a vital component of our receiving Christ is genuine repentance (turning away from your life’s direction) as we are convicted of sinfulness. A new believer begins an iterative transformation process as he draws closer to God through prayer, daily study of His word and repentance of sin as God reveals it.

• “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”(1 John 1:8) “There is no one righteous, not even one...” (Rom 3:10), we are all guilty of sin. If you think you are innocent you’re wrong. Repent and confess your faults one to another and be healed (James 5:16)

• “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.”(1 John 2: 3-4) John states it simply, if we are followers of Jesus, we must read, understand and obey what God commands. If we are deliberately disobeying God, we are walking in darkness.

• “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.”(1 John 2:9) Are you holding a grudge against a fellow brother or sister in Christ? Jesus said, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Jesus raised the bar from physical murder to hatred in the heart. If you are gossiping or holding something against a fellow believer, you are hurting him or her and you are murdering them in the eyes of the Lord. We must love one another as Christ loved us.

• “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”(1 John 2:15) Is your bank account, IRA, house, car, girlfriend, television, or favorite sports team more important to you than God? Do you spend more time waxing your car each week than you do studying the bible or having fellowship with other believers? Do you put watching television over going to church? If you answered yes to any of these, you may want to reconsider the health of your relationship with Christ. If we love Him, put Him first even above family relationships.

Soon the end will be upon us and like the “thief in the night,” Jesus’ return will be upon us and the rapture of the church will leave us behind. Brothers and sisters when the master returns be sure that you are honoring him with your life and not be found doing something in secret that you would be ashamed of being discovered.