The Journey Part 3 - "God's Word"

      Chic Shaver writes, “If you were to discover that God’s plans for the world and for you had been written down in a book, what would that book we worth to you? If you got your hands on that book, how much would you spend reading it? Rather, how much time do you spend reading it? That book exists. It’s called the Bible, and it is full of things God wants you to know.” With this in mind, we will focus on the importance and application of God’s word.

     Towards this end, I want to ask two basic questions. First, why is the Bible important?

Answering this question requires a look into what Jesus teaches about God’s word. As part of His High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus states that God’s word is truth and that by it we are sanctified. This leads to the idea found in John 8:31where we learn that by obeying the word of God we show that we are His disciples. Living as a disciple of Jesus leads to freedom by knowing the truth (John 8:32). Therefore, may we all make room for God’s word so that we can properly respond to Jesus’ leading in our lives.

      The second question is similar to the first. What will God’s word do for you? God’s word is able to make you clean and wise towards salvation (2 Timothy 3:15, John 15:3). From this place of being saved and spiritually clean, the word of God continues to work in our lives by building us up giving us a common heritage in Christ (Acts 20:32). Part of this common heritage is the work God has planned for us. Paul tells the young pastor Timothy that the word of God equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

     As we live out the work that God has for us, we experience the opposition of evil. Evil requires both an offensive and defensive approach. In Ephesians chapter 6 we read discover the what we are to use in this fight. In this passage the word of God gives as a tool to defeat the evil. Evil does not only come from the outside, but from our own sinful nature. The biblical prescription for this problem is multi-faceted but one very helpful truth is that hiding God’s word in our heart guides us away from sin (Psalm, 119:11).

     I want to conclude these thoughts with a personal challenge that sets this whole message in the right order. If the Bible is to be of any use to us we must first belong to God. In John 8:47 Jesus states “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” Please take a moment to consider if you and every aspect of your life truly belong to God. If you need to make that choice today, please do so and go tell one that has already made that choice.

The Journey Part 2 – “Walking with God”

            Chic Shaver writes, “Once a child is born, he or she begins to grow. An important step in this process is learning to walk. The same is true for spiritually. The child of God must learn to walk with God. To describe the Christian life as ‘walking with God’ indicates that Christianity is a relationship that is going somewhere every day, if only one step at a time. Micah, the Old Testament prophet, said you should, ‘walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8)”

            This brings us to the second part of our study entitled “The Journey”. To break this down a bit further, we begin with the thought that our walk with God is a walk of single steps. Here we can understand three of the very first steps taken as Christians. The first is a Step to see. John 1:35-39 “35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say          this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.” May you see in Jesus prompt you to follow.

            A second step is to step forward. In John 5:14, following His healing of the man at the pool of Bethsaida, Jesus states, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” As we walk with Jesus we are intended to move in a direction that does not cause us to return the pain and dysfunction of sin. It was enough that the man struggled physically but sin causes the worse situation of spiritual death.

            Walking with God also includes a step into understanding. In John 8:12 Jesus states, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” There is much in our lives that makes little to no sense. Through the gospel and the illumination of the Holy Spirit the clouds begin to lift. When life makes little sense, we can live in the hope that God is a revealer of truth in due time.

            As we walk with God step by step, we make several turns that in all honesty we would not make on our own. Many of these turns are in the direction of danger. Walking with God is a walk through temptation. Notice the words of Matthew in the fourth chapter of His gospel. Here he writes, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil”. This may seem unimaginable that the Holy Spirit would led into temptation but that is exactly what happened. This is not our venturing off into temptation on our own, but as we follow God we will encounter temptation. It is here that we must follow Jesus’ example of relying on the word of God to fight and reject the temptation that comes from the devil.  As we do, may we understand that sin and temptation are not the same thing. Find comfort in Hebrews 4:15-16 where we discover, “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

            Our faith amid temptation is also strengthened by the fact that the devil can be resisted. James 4:7 help us understand this by saying “7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Notice who is doing the fleeing! This being the case, temptation is not only the devils fault. We must not blame it all the devil, because in James 1:13-15 we become aware that sin if often our own fault. He writes, “13 When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God, cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

            Dealing with temptation is important for many reasons. One of those is the idea that our walk with God is a walk of obedience. Sin rightly defined is James 4:17 which reads. “17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them”. Also worth noting in this discussion is the idea that choosing to sin is a choice rejecting God’s way out of temptation. Notice the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:13 as he teaches, 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

            Please remember that if you make such a choice, obedience can be restored. John who writes much on the love of God in Christ reminds us that, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)”. Furthering our hope is the idea that our walk with God is a hand held walk. We learn this as Jesus speaks in John 10:27-29 saying, “27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. Not only is it a hand in hand walk, but it is also a face to face dialogue. Exodus 33:11 provides this teaching as we read, “11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses     would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent”. May you walk hand in hand and speak face to face.

The Journey: Part 1 "Your New Life"

            Currently at Yucaipa Church of the Nazarene we are doing a series entitled “The Journey” The material covered in this series is not my original work but is based on the study of the same name by Chic Shaver. For decades, new Christians have used this material to introduce themselves to the basics of Christianity. In fact, I went through this material as a new Christian in 1985. Shaver’s series is an eight-week personal or small group bible study for people new to Christianity. Each sermon will summarize a lesson allowing each listener to then can lead another through series.

            To introduce this series, Shaver writes, “If you have invited Christ into your life, then you have begun a relationship with Him. The Scriptures in this study will help you to better understand what it means to begin your new life with Christ living inside you. And like in any new relationship, there will be highs and lows in your walk Christ as you learn to navigate your journey together”

            Week one of the study is entitled, “Your New Life in Christ”.  Here there are five basic descriptions of how our live becomes new as we begin our relationship with Jesus. First, your life becomes new as a child. In his gospel John writes, “12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12). This is great news for those who come to Christ with a sense of being alone, or having been raised in a poor environment.

            This new life was not by our doing, but by invitation. Your new life is begun as Jesus sought you out for the purposes of a personal relationship. Notice the words of Revelation 3:20

“20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me”.  Jesus knocks at our door and any one may answer His voice. His goal is to share life together. This happens when we open our hearts through earnestness and repentance.

            Continuing with how our life becomes new, we discover that our new life rightly deals with the problem of sin. Though many fail to realize the true nature of our problems, Jesus deals with it as primary. Notice the very reason Jesus reveals about the very reason for His coming. Luke 19:10 states, “10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Along the same lines, Romans 3:23 states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Bringing this thought full circle are Paul’s words on the subject in Romans 6:22-23. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. We realize the solution provided by Christ when we confess our sin. When we confess our sin, God is faithful and just in His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

            Being that Christ calls us to repentance, we come to see that our new life is received. It is received as a gift per Ephesians 2:8-9 “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” This opens the possibility for all the good God has planned for us as described in Ephesians 2:10. Here Paul writes, “10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

            Finally, our new life is a journey of believing and knowing. We know God through Jesus. John 14:6,9, “6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the            

Father except through me.” This believing produces confidence that we have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 reveals “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” With this confidence, I challenge each and every one of us to take one step at a time every day. This small challenge will propel us into wonderful journey with our Creator.

A Call to Consider

I am prone to over think various aspects of my life and get a bit tangled up in my own misunderstanding of various life situations. This often causes me to draw inaccurate conclusions. I am thankful for this dose of self-awareness and the work God has done in me that helps me grow away from this issue. One thing that God has done, is to help me use transitions as a cause to consider.  

For various reasons, we all need moments of consideration. As we close out 2017 and move into a new year, we have opportunity to stop and consider where we are in life as individuals, families, and a church community. This is such an important issue, that the word translated “consider” is found in every book of the Old Testament and is used over 1300 times. This word means to inspect, give attention to, and find out. Because the Bible places such a high priority on this issue may we focus on the idea that transitions are calls to consider.

Before we address what, we are called to consider, let’s look at what some in the Old Testament asked God to consider. Moses, asked God to consider that we are His people in Exodus 33:13 “Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." David asked God to consider several things in the Psalms. Here are three that may relate to us. First, David asked God to consider that we have pain in Psalm 5:1 “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning”. Secondly David asked God to consider that some seek to do us harm in Psalm 25:19 “Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me”. Lastly he asked God to consider how we love His law in Psalm 119:159 “Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to your steadfast love”. Perhaps you may wish to take some time and asked God to consider the things on your heart as we turn the calendar over to 2018.

Asking God to consider our lives opens the door for a dialogue with our Heavenly Father. The Scripture is full of moments when God asked His people to stop and consider various aspects of how they are living in relation to Him and others. Here is a very small sample of these moments. For the sake of time, I will not elaborate on these. My hope is that this list will allow you to focus on one or two of them at the beginning of this new year.  

1. His discipline. Deuteronomy 11:2

2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm,

2. Older people Deuteronomy 32:7

7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

3. Great things God has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24

24 Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

4. Our words prior to speaking. Job 18:2

2 "How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak.

5. The love of God. Psalm 107:43

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

6. God’s law. Psalm 119:28

128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.

7. Wisdom, madness, and folly. Ecclesiastes 2:12

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done.

8. Adversity. Ecclesiastes 7:14

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

             

With this list in mind, notice the advice given following one of the most disturbing accounts in the Old Testament. In Judges chapter 19 a story of rape and murder is graphically explained. This advice given is to consider, take counsel, and speak. May this advice be a pattern on consideration for you in 2018.  Judges 19:30 “And all who saw it said, ‘Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.’”

Advent Week Four: “He is Here”

Many of my life expectations have been superseded. The superseding of expectations often follows seasons of disappointment. I cannot ignore the fact that at times I have felt like Jesus has not lived up to my expectations of Him. Though challenging, He is patient and in the end, I have reason to worship. With all the ups and downs of expectations, I have come to the place where the most important thing is His presence. Often, the situation is difficult and challenging and what makes the difference in presence.

I would think that you as well have expectations of Jesus. Perhaps your expectations have been in line with His promises and you live in peace. Or your expectations of Jesus have been reshaped by challenges. My hope for us is that we will come to expect what He has promised. The most important being His presence. At Christmas, we celebrate the reality that in the person of Jesus, God came among us in a unique way. Today, His presence remains and Jesus is here through His Spirit in us. With this in mind, I want to discuss the following observations.

His arrival was announced to the often doubted (Luke 2:8-20). Shepherds were often hired hands and not very trustworthy. They spent many of their days unsupervised and often stole from the chief shepherd and those nearby. People were commonly advised not to buy anything from shepherds because it was probably stolen.

His arrival was also announced to foreigners who were trusted in their own land (Matthew 2:1-2). First Century Jews trusted only themselves, perhaps reasonably so considering the hostility often present in their time. The eastern (Babylonian) wise men expected Jesus because they had believed the Jewish scriptures based upon exposure several hundred years earlier. An example of what may have shaped their expectations is Numbers 24:1. Based upon this text a saying was formed, “Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in the east;'' (John Gills Exposition of the Bible).

A third observation is, His arrival was announced by an often outspoken, out of date preacher that we know as John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-9). He dressed like a prophet from long ago. He spoke of repentance as often did the prophets of previous generations. Finally, he spoke of repentance due to the arrival of the Kingdom of God in the person of Jesus. These to whom His arrival was announced would then become the announcers. They were not going to be very convincing. Their testimony would be rejected and Jesus would be crucified. If those that received the original announcement of the arrival of Jesus as Lord failed to be convincing, how did anyone ever become convinced that He was here?

What becomes most powerful here is how Jesus announced His own identity and presence. We know He is here because He has made Himself known as the resurrected Lord (John 21:1-14). He arrives as we doubt Him as seen by the fact that the disciples had gone back to fishing. He arrives in natural ways as He made them breakfast. He arrives in miracles of provision as He helped them find the fish. We know that He is here because the Holy Spirit has led us into all truth (John 16:13). The promise was to explain that He was about to be crucified, resurrected and ascended. The disciples were filled with grief and would not know how to go on. The Holy Spirit from the Day of Pentecost forward would be God with us. 

With all this in mind, the challenge becomes to live in His presence by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Wendy Farley writes in Theology Today, “When piety is limited to belief, to verbal formulations, to ideas about God, most of the human person is left out.” Her point is grounded in John’s portrayal of Jesus’ words in John 7:37-38 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified”. Therefore, the prayer becomes for God to fill you with His Spirit. Pray that prayer now, and begin the journey of live overflowing.