Paul wrote about this in Romans 9:30-32 when he basically said, the Gentiles obtained righteousness by faith, but Israel pursued the Law, not by faith but by works. It’s not until we see our utter helplessness as broken people will we seek God. For we are all spiritually bankrupt beggars that have nothing to “save” ourselves, no matter how hard we try to “work” our way to heaven…and it’s not until we admit this wanton poverty, repent over our sins, and seek righteousness can we then see God’s hand working in our lives.
When Jesus said this to the disciples their heads were spinning…the hour darkened by the shadow of Judas’s betrayal and Peter’s failure. Jesus was telling them to trust when it seemed like their whole world was falling down around their ears. We all know, trusting God isn’t easy. And it’s not passive on our part. Rather, trusting God is a very rigorous act of the soul, where we deliberately choose to hold on to the promises of God despite the adversity we may be going through. So how can we trust God? By trusting in His Word and speaking it into our lives…such as, God’s infinite power and wisdom is without limit…His plan and purpose for my life was established before the beginning of time…Nothing will ever happen to me without my Heavenly Father’s knowledge…and, God cares for me! And His care is constant, total, sovereign, and infinitely wise and good. Trusting God is never easy, but as we learn to trust Him, our trust grows and with it comes peace, comfort, and hope.
This confidence we have to come into God’s Presence is not grounded in any merits we possess, but only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And only because of this, as Believers, we are now qualified to enter into God’s Holy Presence. But when it comes to intercession for another person, we quickly forget all this and start demanding that God do what we “think” needs to be done in that person’s life. Our “understanding” of the situation for that person is far from God’s understanding, and most times our intercession just becomes a glorification of our own natural sympathies. This is when we must focus on vicarious intercession…of deliberately substituting God’s limitless understanding for our feelings based understanding and come into correct alinement with His Will not ours.
The Great Commission of Jesus was not for a selected few…it was marching orders for all Believers. When Jesus said to “Go, and make disciples…” He was speaking into the future, to you and me and His plan and purpose for our lives. If you have a moment, read Psalm 145 which is not only a Psalm of Praise but a blueprint of how we should engage this world with intentional relationships. Verse 11 says, “They will tell of the glory of Your Kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom.” We all have the call of God on us to share the Good News with others, for we all have unique circles of influence that we can be doers of the Word…that all men may know Him.
When you ask a Christian about their ministry, you’ll usually get a blank stare, a shrug of the shoulders, or a look of fear and a reply like, Oh, I help at Church once in a while, but I let the “professionals” do all the big ministry work.” But Paul wasn’t putting any stipulations on his words when he wrote, “Serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13) One of my favorite quotes from Paul David Tripp about ministry shows that God doesn’t put conditions, or qualifications on who can minister or serve when he said, “Life is ministry and ministry is life.” So Ok, allow that to sink in for moment before you start making excuses for yourself. We live in this broken world, amidst broken people who need Jesus…and everyday you will come in contact with hurting souls that just need encouragement and hope. And unless you’re dragging your Pastor around with you, it’s your responsibility to reflect God’s light into the darkness…wherever you are, whenever God places someone in your path, whatever time it may be. To serve wholeheartedly has nothing to do about formality and structure, but about participating with good will, being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and being used of God…which is your calling and His Will for your life.
For a few moments we’re going to look at grace…the absolute free expression of God’s lovingkindness to us…totally undeserved, unearned, and unmerited on our part. To start off I think Paul said it best, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Think about it, without the grace of God where would you be today? Without His lovingkindness directing you, would you have taken a totally different path and ended up somewhere that you never intended to go? For it’s only by His grace that sin is no longer our master, for we are no longer under the Law, but under grace. (Romans 5:20-21) Our standing before God now resting in the righteousness of Jesus not in our meager attempts to keep the Law. But why does God do this? It says in Ephesians 2:7 that so “God might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Jesus Christ.” What encouragement! So “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Confident that by His grace we can find support to sustain us and mercy for forgiveness. This grace can be summed up in II Thessalonians 2:16-17 when Paul wrote, ” May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
I have to make a conscious decision to love one another, for it’s far too easy to be antisocial in this day and age. With my nose buried in my cell phone I can effortlessly avoid people and conversations. And as I become more and more detached and remote, I then sadly reduce people around me to those who either help or hinder my selfish desires, comfort, and contentment. Yes, it’s me that has to determine to love…and not just those who love me back, but those who are unlovable, have hurt me, and even hate me. Jesus said we must love our enemies and do good to them, and it’s only by His love that saved me from my myopic, self-seeking love that I can find it within me to love others and become more like Him…merciful, full of grace, and with a self-sacrificial love like His.
It’s a duty of the Christian life to assemble with other Believers in the public worship of God on the Lord’s Day. But with the global Pandemic, mandated isolation, and Churches being forced to move to a Online Service format the last 2 years, it’s been difficult to now draw people back to Church. And with this all has risen the attitude of privatism… the mental position of being noncommittal to or uninvolved with anything other than one’s own immediate interests and lifestyle. Now if you ask a Believer about this attitude of privatism you might get the old adage, “Well, it’s just Jesus and me.” But our personal relationship with the Lord has everything to do about living in Community with our fellow Believers and not forsaking the Body… for “We are all members of one Body.” (Ephesians 4:25) The other thing that’s happened is, if you’ve been attending any Church for 6 months and are not plugged in somewhere serving or volunteering…what are you waiting for? Every Church I know needs more people to step up and help with the day to day running of the Church, special events, out reach, Children’s programs, Ladies Ministry, etc. etc. etc.
We live within and observe this broken world on a daily basis, and it’s very easy to become apathetic, insensitive, and just plain indifferent. It’s far to easy to look at a problem and quip, “I can’t do anything about that!” or “This is way too big for me to make a difference.” or my favorite, “Not my monkeys…not my circus!” But the Lord wants us to become involved. Moses used every excuse in the book of why he shouldn’t lead Israel out of Egypt…but God prevailed, showing Him how He had not only prepared the way, but would go before him. When faced with feeding the huge crowds, the disciples failed, but Jesus then showed them that they could make a difference if they trusted in Him. And when we callously don’t want to become involved, we’re reminded in Micah 6:8 that what the Lord requires of us is to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly. Which brings us to this Scripture in Philippians that squashes all our excuses. We can rely on Christ’s power in any and all circumstances He brings our way…for we’re going forth in His strength not ours. And in His strength we can endure, sustain and effectively handle anything.
Our anger is never neutral…it’s either sinful or righteous. In fact in Ephesians 4:26 it warns us, “In your anger do not sin.” Thus we need to look to God’s righteous anger as an example to follow. Godly anger is one of grace… not violent, unbridled fury, full of verbal abuse and disruptive behaviors. God’s anger is always working to right wrongs…it’s full of justice and mercy. Righteous anger can motivate us to right wrongs, to speak out against injustice, oppression, or when God’s Name is blasphemed. While sinful anger is destructive, judgmental, always makes things worse, and is ruled by the selfish desires of our heart. When you become angry, ask yourself this question? “Would this make God angry? If the answer is no, your anger is distracting you from God’s work. If yes, then respond in the right manner…fighting evil in a way that would glorify God.
Safetypinlove 