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Sunday, July 31, 2016

“By Faith – Esther”


Scripture: Esther 4:1-17

Last week, we considered the faith of Job – a man who was, by God’s description, a righteous man. He had been greatly blessed in life, but through the Lord’s agreement with Satan, had lost nearly all that he had. Even in this struggle, though, his faith in God never wavered. Today, we examine the faith of another person, but one whose life had its own ups and downs.

Esther had been born in captivity, and there is a high probability that her parents may have been born there, too. She was of the tribe of Benjamin (Esther 2:5-7), but in life, she was, for all practical purposes, a Persian. The Persian-Medo Empire had conquered Babylon before Esther was even born, and the present king, Xerxes, commanded a huge empire, extending from the Mediterranean through today’s Iran, and from Turkey to the Indian Ocean.

Xerxes found himself in need of a new queen, when he banished Queen Vasti from his presence for disobedience. So he ordered that a search be made for the most beautiful young virgin in the entire empire. Esther, among many other young girls, were chosen to be interviewed by the King, and after many months of preparation, she was finally chosen to become Queen of the empire.

Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, had raised her when her parents died years earlier, and he continued to be a faithful, if not unofficial advisor. He would covered a plot to assassinate the king, and through Esther, was able to warn of the treason and save the monarch’s life. But an advisor to the king – Haman – discovered that Mordecai was a Jew, and, because of a great degree of hatred and jealousy against him, and with a great deal of intrigue involved, plotted to have all the Jews, throughout the empire, executed. And this is where we begin in our text for today.

Read Esther 4:1-5

Mordecai goes into mourning, and whether it is out of a sense of hopelessness or a sense of guilt over his bringing the impending calamity upon his people, puts on sackcloth and ashes and heads through the city to sit at the king’s (and Esther’s!) gate.
As queen, Esther has an extensive entourage of servants. They must have known that Mordecai was her cousin, and therefore, that she, too, was a Jewess. But out of loyalty to the queen, they would never reveal this fact. And when they discover Mordecai’s lament at the gate, they report this to Esther.

Esther, and the Jewish community in captivity, remained faithful, at least in spirit, to their Almighty God. They would have studied together, but could never worship because that could only be accomplished at the rebuilt temple (See the book of Ezra) in Jerusalem, which they couldn’t get to. It is also interesting to note that the name of Jehovah God is never even mentioned in this book, and yet God’s presence and activity is so apparent.

Somehow Esther had been able to keep her heritage secret. It is unclear as to what the consequences might have been for her, but at the very least, she obviously felt that it would not do her any good to reveal the fact of her blood line, and her servants honored her desire.
So she was confident in trusting her servant Hathach to contact Mordecai to discover the reason for his predicament.

Read Esther 4:6-11

Mordecai reveals the plot and all the details to Hathach. It is unclear how the cousin learned of such intimate details, but he shares them all with Esther’s trusted servant, who, in turn, relates them to the queen. Mordecai expects that Esther will do as he asks – after all, he had raised her since she was a child and she had always trusted him in the past. But now, Esther’s faith seems to be a bit shaky, for her greatest concern is for her own safety, and not of saving her fellow Jews from annihilation.
Had she lived as a Persian for too many years? Had she begun to think in a more secular way? Had she forgotten who she actually was? Was she enjoying the royal life so much that she had no desire to return to the old way?
Esther’s story is a lot like ours, isn’t it. Issues surrounding our personal security and secular success always seems to raise their ugly heads at the worst possible times. A job promotion requires work on Sundays and socializing with your customers most evenings. Faith and family begin to take a back seat to the demands of the world. We find our self with people who aren’t Christians, and when the conversation turns heatedly against Christian principles, we find that silence is the easiest way out. When our children’s sports teams schedule practice and games on Sunday mornings, we decide that skipping worship for a few months is easier than taking a stand in favor of worship.

Esther knew that approaching the king without an invitation could bring about dire consequences, and her safety issues would quickly take precedence over doing the one thing that she was uniquely positioned for. But it had been a month since she had been called to appear before the king, and it’s certainly possible that her royal favor had begun to wane. But the need for her to approach the king was still vitally important. What should she do?

Esther wasn’t the first person in scripture to hesitate in her faith-call, and she wouldn’t be the last. Moses had offered up a number of objections to God when he was instructed to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land (Exodus 4:10-17). When Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, he replied that he was unsuited for such an exalted position because he was only a child (Jeremiah 1:4-8). Thomas refused to believe that Jesus was risen from the dead until he could put his finger in the nail holes and his hand into the wound made by the spear (John 20:24-29). Esther wasn’t alone – not then, and not now. When have we hesitated to trust the Lord?

Read Esther 4:12-17

Even though Esther had been thinking only of herself, Mordecai continues to have the entire community in his heart, and he points out the consequences of her reluctance – that just because she is the queen, that doesn’t mean that she will be spared. Either she takes the initiative, or God (even though he isn’t specifically mentioned) will use another means to save the people, and she and her entire family will suffer the wrath of God. Being a child of Israel brings with it obligations and consequences, whether they remember, or admit that or not.

Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ also brings with it obligations and consequences, but for each of us, the responsibilities and commitments may be different. Remember the parable of the Talents? (Matthew 25:14-30) One servant was given 5 talents to care for, another 2, and a third was given 1, “each according to his ability”. The first two doubled the money entrusted to them, and were rewarded beyond imagination. The third buried the money that was entrusted to him, and at the accounting, he not only lost all that he had, but he was thrown out of the Master’s presence. Christ’s call on each of our lives is unique, but by our confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, we also accept the responsibility that Jesus assigns to us. We can be faithful to His call and know the Lord’s blessings beyond measure, or we can deny the call and lose all that God has promised us.

Esther would finally accept the call, even though she wasn’t all that confident in the outcome! She was fully aware that death was the sentence for violating the edict of the king, but she had also come to know the necessity of the responsibility that God had placed on her. But just as Esther did, we don’t have to work for the Lord alone – she asked for prayer and fasting from all of the Jews in Susa, and she, along with all of her servants, would pray and fast, too. And as we all know, prayer is powerful! (James 5:16)

Esther would take the risk, the plot would be exposed, the duplicity of Haman would be revealed, and not only would the threat to the Jews be overturned, but Haman and his sons would all be executed. And since the king’s edict to destroy the Jews could not be withdrawn, he issued an additional order that they were allowed to defend themselves, which they did, and which was highly effective.

By faith, Esther would open the way to save all of God’s people throughout the Persian Empire, and that day of salvation would be remembered even to this day through the celebration of Purim. Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter as two days closely associated with our salvation, but how often do we celebrate our own personal day of salvation – the day we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?

Maybe we should start! Maybe we all should be more like Esther!


Sunday, July 24, 2016

“By Faith – Job”


Scripture: Job 2:1-10; 42:1-6

Today, we begin a 6 week series on how others have lived their life in faith, and what faith can be in our own lives. Our examination will consider the lives of seven people in scripture whose faith and faith expression has served to inspire believers for 2,000 years. And during this next month and a half, the one question that I want each of us to keep alive in our hearts is this – “Does my life in faith inspire others?

We begin our series with Job - a man who had everything that he could possibly desire, and then lost it all. And this tragedy seems to have begun when God was recounting Job’s faithfulness to the satan, and when satan complained that of course Job was faithful, because God was protecting and blessing everything he did! But the Lord knew the depth of Job’s faith and trust, so he agreed to let satan torment the man. All of his 1,000 oxen and 500 donkeys are stolen by the Sabeans, fire from the sky destroyed all of his 7,000 sheep, his 3,000 camels were stolen by the Chaldeans, and when a freak storm struck the house his children were in, it collapsed and all 10 of them were killed. And as each of these calamities occurred, his servants were also killed. (Job 1:6-19)

And even as his losses mounted, Job never lost faith in his God.

Read Job 2:1-6

The satan is still out making mischief, and isn’t very pleased that his initial onslaught against Job wasn’t successful. The conversation that God and the satan have is very similar to their initial exchange regarding Job, except that God places the entire blame for Job’s situation on the Devil, and tells him that there was no reason whatsoever for the pain that the man is going through.

I expect that each of us has gone through our own “Job Trial” at some time in our life. It may have been the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job and financial security, or possibly a life-threatening illness. And the thought that runs through our minds is “Why is God letting this happen to me?”, or maybe even “Why is God doing this to me?” The first lesson of Job is this – that it isn’t God who wreaks havoc on our lives – it is Satan! And the Lord knows that there is no Godly reason that it should happen.
Could the Lord intervene and stop the agony? Of course – but that is seldom what happens. Instead, just as in Job’s case, God places a limit on how far Satan can go in causing us pain and suffering. But during those times when the trial is very great, we read in Matthew 11:28-30, that when the burdens of this life become overwhelming, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will be there, not just comforting and encouraging us, but actually helping us through the trial. The Lord uses the image of a yoke, in which the stronger one will carry the greater part of the load, helping the weaker one to survive. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

In Job’s case though, Satan isn’t done yet – he wants to begin to attack the man physically, and God sets the parameters – that his life must be preserved. In his own words, Satan is quite certain that Job will blame God for the calamities, if his own body is assaulted. Of course, he also thought that before the first round of tribulation, and it didn’t work then, and he should have known that it wouldn’t work this time either. But now it is now apparent that the only reason for Job’s predicament is to turn him away from the Lord. Satan could care less about the man – his only purpose is to diminish Almighty God!
And when we go thought similar circumstances in our lives, we need to remember that the only reason for it is to tear us away from our Precious Savior. We mean nothing to the Devil – his hatred is always directed toward the One who has already overcome that hateful plan of death.

Read Job 2:7-10

Sores that covered his entire body, from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head! How painful must that have been! And not only would there be physical pain, but there would have been spiritual pain, too. In Deuteronomy 28:15-48, we read of the any curses that will come upon all who disobey God’s will. One of them in verse 35 is this - “The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.” Satan was playing with Job’s mind and heart, as well as with his spiritual being.

But there isn’t a single word - no laments, no accusations, no cries out to God for relief – it is almost as though Job is resigned to his condition, and may even have received a peace about it. He knows that he has lived a life that honors and reflects his God, and that there must be another explanation for his predicament.

And then Job’s wife comes onto the scene. This is the first we have seen her, and will never see her again, and she has two words of advice for her husband – first, stop being so dedicated and righteous, your integrity is gaining you nothing (!) – and second, curse God and let him finish you! There has always been a lot of disagreement over the reason for her bitter words. Were they implying that integrity and honor for God is a false hope? Was she simply expressing her overwhelming pain and loss – remember that the children who were lost were hers, too, and the wealth that had been taken from them brought comfort and respect to her life as well as to Job’s. Or was it that she had become an unwitting accomplice to Satan’s deeds?
We aren’t given any “rhyme nor reason” for her outburst, but it could have simply been the anguish over her husband’s condition that drew the words out of her, and that her only intent was to end the man’s suffering. We’ll never know, but we do get Job’s reply, in which he takes the high moral road. He fully acknowledges that the Lord had given them all of the goodness they had enjoyed in years past, and he knows that it had all been God’s to give. And for some reason, he might have needed to take it all back. No one knows the ways of the Almighty, but Job saw fit to rejoice in his Lord during his great time of trial just same.

In plenty and in health, give thanks. In nothing and in misery, still give thanks.

For the next 35 chapters, Job has to deal with one more trial – the help of 4 “friends”. There would be Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zopher the Naamathite, and finally, Elihu the Buzite. Each one, in turn, takes a shot at Job’s integrity. They strive to convince him that he isn’t as righteous as he thinks he is. They want him to confess his sins and to throw himself on the mercy of God.

But Job will have none of it. From time to time, he expresses the possibility that he may have unknowingly sinned against God, but I think he never actually believed that. He prays that his agony will end, whether by death, or by mercy, but it seems to continue unabated. But through it all, Job never blames his Lord for the problems he is facing.
Elihu is the last to speak, and makes one last attempt to convince Job that it is his sinful ways that have brought all this pain and loss into his life. He challenges Job to explain the ways of God if he still thinks that he is so righteous, and to teach them what to say if he is so holy, because they, his friends, admit that they are sinful and don’t have the Lord’s ways in their hearts. Just tell us why Job, if you can!

But God never allows Job to respond this time, for Almighty God Himself will take on the arrogance of the four. For the next four chapters (Job 38-41), we read those marvelous words of “Where were you”, and “When did you”, and “Have you ever”, and so on. These four who have been challenging Job to admit that he has sinned, who, in essence, were taking the place of God, would have to hear of the true might and glory of the Lord. But just as in our lives, God always has the last word (Job 41:33-34) – “Nothing on earth is his equal – a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.”

The four friends would not have missed the message that was directed at each of them, that God is God, and that they are not, so why ae they conspiring to condemn Job? God has ways that they will never understand. Justice and mercy do not describe God, but that he defines them. And the men are silent.

Job is allowed one last opportunity to respond, but his words are to the Lord, and not to his friends.

Read Job 42:1-6


At the beginning of this book, the satan was absolutely certain that if Job lost everything - his family and possessions and prestige and respect and health, he would also surrender his faith. But the Lord knew the depth and certainty of Job’s “integrity” and conviction – God knew Job, and Satan did not.
Those four verses weren’t only for Eliphaz and Bildad and Zopher and Elihu – while they were words of chastising for these friends, they would be words of encouragement and blessing for Job. And in Job’s reply, he quotes two of the commands that God brings.

First, he remembers God’s words in which he asked “Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?” (v.3) Job, to his credit, doesn’t assume that this was only for his friends – he confesses that he, too, may have overreached in some of the things he said. Job’s integrity is intact.
Second, he reflects on the words “… I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” In hearing of the grandeur that is God, those words that were spoken directly from the Divine heart, Job now understands. Faith is no longer an assumption for him – it is certainty. The divine goodness that had blessed him for so many years was no longer a memory of days gone by – goodness was a reality and eternally his, no matter what may come against him. And in his hearing and new found understanding, it would be the same as actually seeing his God. He was in that Presence, and he knew that even with this incredible experience, he was still unworthy of the blessings that were his.

We talk about the patience of Job, but personally, I think the word that describes this man of faith best is “absolute trust”. Job never doubted God, regardless of what came against him. There were times that he would doubt himself, but never would he doubt his God.

How great is our trust of the Lord? Do we ever feel that Satan is attacking us? Then look to the Lord for strength to endure. Do we ever feel that God has abandoned us because of some sin we have committed? Confess it and seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Are we confused, and believe that we are suffering needlessly and for no good reason, and wonder why God is doing this? Remember that we live in a fallen world, and that all people – good and bad alike - will suffer, but that those who live by faith of Jesus Christ have received the promise that suffering is only a temporary condition, and that life in him is eternal.

This is the lesson of Job – that the Lord has no obligation to make our lives easy and cushy. But the love, the compassion, the mercy that defines our God is always present in those who remain faithful to him. And in faithfulness, we will know him in a way that others can only hope for.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-7) Rejoicing is never the same as happiness! Rejoicing is a celebration of the goodness that surrounds us, even when life seems to be falling apart. And the faith-filled joy that sustained Job throughout his trial is the same joy that fills all of God’s faithful, from now to eternity. Praise the Lord.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

“Freed from Condemnation”


Scripture: Romans 8:31-39

The question that Paul answers over and over in his writings, and especially in his letter to the Romans, is this: Just how great is God’s love for us, and how do we show him our love in return? We sometimes try to put it into words so that others can understand, but no matter how grand our terms, no matter how glorious our phrases, no matter how deep our passion for this issue, no matter how great our imagination may be, we can never even come close to putting the love of God into an understandable perspective.

The love of God, just as God Himself is, is indescribable. In Ephesians 3:17-19, Paul offers a prayer for the church in Ephesus, with these words: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
In essence, he is reminding the church that God’s love is so vast and so readily available to us, that not only can’t we describe it, but we can’t even imagine how great it truly is!

The nine verses of our text for today also make an attempt at putting this incredible love into perspective, and Paul still falls way short of how truly great it is. But how close does he come? Let’s see.

Read Romans 8:31-36

Paul frames his discussion as a number of questions, which he then answers.

Question #1 – “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The apostle quickly suggests that since Jesus has already been given up for our benefit, for our life, could there possibly be anything that the Lord wouldn’t do for us? Of course, we all know that there are many who oppose Christians, and anyone who would deny that hasn’t heard a single word of news during their entire lifetime! But Paul’s point of the question isn’t that we will never know conflict in our faith, but rather that no one will ever be able to overturn what God has already done. And further, that as much as has already been given, God will never hesitate to give us even more. No one else can even come close to this, and even better, no one can ever take the Lord’s gift of love away.

Question #2 – “Who will bring any charge against those who God has chosen?” In Zechariah 3, we read of the High Priest Joshua standing before the Throne of Judgment. Jesus is there and Satan is there – Jesus to judge, and Satan to accuse – but Satan is never allowed to speak a single word against the Priest. And the judgment that Jesus hands down is that the filth and insufficient clothing that covers Joshua is to be completely removed, and he is to be dressed in the finest royal garments.
No one – not human, and not satanic - can ever bring charges against those who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God alone judges, and no one else has a single word to say about it.

Question #3 – “Who is he that condemns?” – The answer is that no one can condemn those who are in Christ Jesus, including Jesus himself! The Lord died that we might be saved; he rose again in life that we might also know his eternal life. And if that wasn’t enough, he is constantly intervening on our behalf with both Father God and the Holy Spirit. It isn’t that we deserve his goodness, it is just that he has created the way for us to live in eternity with him, and nothing can ever damage or demean that gift.

Question #4 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul even throws out a few possibilities of what might break our relationship with Christ – trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness (financial catastrophe), danger, or war. Could any of these cause God to stop loving us, or even to love us less? Is there anything that could interrupt the flow of Godly love into our lives? The answer is, obviously, that there is NOTHING that could do that! In Romans 5:5, Paul wrote that “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us.” His love wasn’t just given, it wasn’t a sample, it wasn’t some measured amount – it was poured into us! It is within us, and God will never take it back.

Do you see the Love of God at work now? What is it doing for you today?

Read Romans 8:37-39

By the love of God, we have gained a victory unlike anything that the world has ever known. Is there anything that can minimize that Love? Is there anything that can tarnish that victory? Is there anything that can destroy the relationship that Christ has created and granted to us when we claim faith in him?
NOTHING! There is nothing that can come between us and our Lord. In the hymn “Nothing Between” by Charles Albert Tinley, he offers another comparable list of possible threats to the love we feel in Christ. In the second verse, we read “Nothing between, like worldly pleasure, Habits of life though harmless they seem, Must not my heart from Him e’er sever, He is my all; there’s nothing between.” Nothing in all of creation, including heaven and hell, can come between us and our Lord, except our lack of faith. “Nothing between my soul and the Saviour, [this is the chorus] so that His blessed face may be seen; nothing preventing the least of His favor. Keep the way clear! Let nothing between.”

As we begin our time of prayer for healing, keep the message of this great old hymn foremost in your heart and mind – that nothing can keep the Lord from showing his incredible love to you.
(At this point in worship, we held a healing service, with prayers and anointing for all who came forward.)

Sunday, July 10, 2016

“Freed for the Spirit”


Scripture: Romans 8:1-17

Some years ago, I heard that a number of noted theologians were asked the following question: “If they knew that they were going to be stranded on a desert island for the rest of their life, and could only take 1 book of the Bible with them, what book would they take? And if they could only take one chapter of the Bible with them, which chapter would they take?
Their answers were nearly unanimous – the book would be Romans, and the chapter would be Romans 8.

The chapter is about the life giving offer that God holds out to the unworthy sinners of earth, and when we accept that offer, it brings about the conquest of death and condemnation that is rightly ours. This reversal of destinies comes, not by some measure of goodness that we might develop within ourselves, but simply by faith in Jesus Christ and the great sacrifice that he made on our behalf. This incredible gift of God is the very thing that the Law attempted to achieve in us, but never could. By faith in Christ, the Life-giving Spirit has replaced our sin with God’s indwelling power. Chapter 8 of Romans is the message of hope for the hopeless of earth, and those who have been stranded on a deserted island are about as hopeless as anyone could be – nearly as hopeless as every person on earth without Jesus Christ in their lives.

Read Romans 8:1-4

The previous chapter focuses on the struggle that humanity has with sin. Paul tells us that if the law had never been given, there would never be sin – without the law, there would never be anything to judge our actions against, and therefore there could never be any “wrong”, but neither could there ever be any “right”. Without the Law, whatever we do in this life would just be.

But the law was given, and humanity expanded and enlarged it until it was choking us to death. But then Jesus came, and Hope was restored. And Hope would no longer be based on how well we lived our lives – it would depend solely on our allegiance to the life and teaching of Jesus. Following the Law of Moses will never bring joy or glory to the Lord – that can only occur through obedience in Christ.

Paul tells us that by faith, we are no longer under the sentence and condemnation that sin brings to us. The Judgment that will come about in the Day of the Lord has now come to our day, this day – and the Judge’s decision, for all who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, is “Come home – you are free”! Remember, though, this doesn’t mean that we are guiltless! It means that the penalty for our sins has already been paid in full by Christ at Calvary, and by faith, we accept and claim his redemptive gift.
And yet, the freedom that we now enjoy will continue to be under attack by Satan. We will continue to be barraged with calls to doubt our salvation, to believe that we are worthless, that God doesn’t really love us, that we have nothing to offer our Divine Savior, so why not just give up! They are all lies of course, but if we let the Darkness get a foothold in our lives, we will never get to see the Radiance of God at work within us! Satan can only have power over us if we allow it.
Recently, we have had some partially overcast days. If we keep our focus on the dark clouds that are above us, all we will ever see are the storms. But if we look to the western sky – to the blue that is beyond the dark - we will know that bright sunshine is still part of our lives, and that glory is on the way. Remember Peter when Jesus called him, and he began to walk on the water? (Matthew 14:22-33) When doubt snuck in, it was then that he began to sink.

Jesus has destroyed the darkness in our lives and has sent our sin to hell, while at the same time, has brought life and glory in to replace it. But we must stay focused on him if we are to remain above the storm waters of doubt.

Read Romans 8:5-11

Paul begins to compare a life in sin to a life in the Spirit. It’s interesting that he believes that this difference is dependent on our minds and thoughts. We usually see faith as a matter of the heart, but here we see that it is actually dependent on the decisions that we make, and not just faith. There are three issues that Paul raises.
First, our nature is one of sin. Our natural tendency is to sin, but we can disown that nature by deciding to follow the Spirit’s leading instead of our own personal disposition.
Second, the mind – the thinking – the decisiveness of our normal nature will always lead us to death and condemnation. But if we give up control of our lives to the Spirit, we will immediately discover that God’s glory comes to rest upon our lives, and that his peace and presence will fill us.
Third, Paul says that our normal nature, our sinful decisions, are “hostile” to God. This doesn’t just mean that God is just opposed to them – it means that they are antagonistic against the Lord, they are anti-God, that they never will and never can be compatible with the God Nature.

If you ever hear someone state that their lifestyle is simply who they are - that it is how they were made - we can wholeheartedly agree with them. But we can also let them know that they also have the power to decide to live differently - if they completely surrender their personal control and decision-making processes to the Lord Jesus. We don’t have to make the effort to do everything correctly – we just have to make a decision for Christ, and then allow the Spirit to lead us and convict us in his way instead of ours. Not always an easy thing to do, and we may very well have to recommit and re-decide every single day, but the Spirit will continue to bless and lead us, as long as we allow him to do so. Will we continue to satisfy the flesh, or will we free the Spirit to lead us to the fullness of a life in Christ?

This decision is what frees us to live in Him. We will, without question, continue to sin from time to time, although it may not be as prevalent as it once was, and Paul says that our body will be dead because of it. Our physical being will die, as we all know so well, but our spirit will never be condemned because a life in and with Christ is eternal. If Jesus lives eternally, so will all who love him! (John 3:16-18)

Read Romans 8:12-17

Remember the promise from Romans 5:3-5? We have Eternal Hope, because “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us.” This gift of the Spirit is what overcomes our “flesh-loving” nature. And it brings such incredible riches to our lives.
It brings God’s promise – his covenant – made to Abraham (Genesis 17:1-8) into our lives. Abraham was to become the father of many nations, and not just the nation of Israel, and in Christ, we become one of those “nations”. (John 10:11-16)
It brings us to the realization that God, indeed, loves us far beyond anything we can possibly imagine. (John 3:16)
It brings a sense of peace, and hope, and joy to our otherwise burdened lives. This doesn’t mean that life suddenly becomes “cushy” and easy, but we now have the Spirit of God helping us through those trying and tempting times, and we no longer have to go through it alone. (Matthew 11:25-30)
It means that our “free will” can now be put to use for the good of others, and not just for our own benefit! (Matthew 25:34-40)
It means that we can lean on the full wisdom and power of Almighty God, and not have to depend on our own limited abilities to gain success in life. (Matthew 6:25-34)

And by faith in Christ, we become the children of God – in fullness and perfection, not just in name only. We can now call out to God, not as some unknown Being, but as “Father”, and “Abba”. We have a full inheritance of glory with Christ – not as second class or distant relatives, but equal in our inheritance with him.

But Paul says that we have an obligation for all that we receive – unfortunately, he says little about what that obligation may be! So think of it this way – that our obligation to faith in Christ, our obligation in becoming a child of God, is to live faithfully within the teaching of Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. The last verse of our text for today tells us this – as children of God and co-heirs of glory with Jesus, we are called to first, acknowledge and expect the same trials and temptations that Jesus experienced, and second, to be faithful to his teachings, even to the point of suffering as he once suffered.

Last week, we began with the thought that “our present sufferings aren’t even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) The promise of Glory and Eternity is before us. A life in Christ will never be easy, but that which awaits us, regardless of what we may experience through the antagonism of earth, will so far exceed the struggle, that we will be overwhelmingly amazed and blessed by the splendor of God’s presence.

That is the Lord’s promise, and it all comes in the freeing decision that we make for him. Have you made that decision?

Sunday, July 3, 2016

“The Gift of Freedom”


Scripture: Romans 8:18-30

In our recent consideration of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, they were being reminded of what their faith should have meant to them, and what they had sacrificed by turning back to the demands of the law. In essence, they had forfeited the freedom that faith in Jesus Christ had gained them, in favor of voluntarily accepting the control and bondage that the law imposes on them.

Freedom is a precious commodity, whether it is related to our human lives, or to our spiritual ones, and regardless of its form, it is costly. Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist and author, wrote:
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom yet [denounce] agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder or lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.

--Frederick Douglass, address on West India Emancipation, August 4, 1857.

As our country celebrates our Independence Day on July 4th, there will be a lot of parties and fireworks, but, quite honestly, there will be little reflection on what freedom had demanded of countless millions of our citizens. Struggle, conflict, war, sacrifice, and blood are inherit in the fight to gain, preserve and restore liberty. Many in our nation are put off by this fact, so they simply ignore it.
As Christians, the freedom that faith in Jesus Christ has won for us also requires sacrifice – primarily on the part of God Himself, but interesting enough, many people have also given their all in the name of faith in Christ. It is estimated that over the centuries, 70 million people have lost their lives because of their Christian faith, and over 45 million of them in just the last century! (Susan Brinkmann, "The greatest story never told: Modern Christian martyrdom," Catholic Online Website, catholic.org. December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2013.)

Freedom is never free.

Read Romans 8:18-21

The glory that we will know one day makes all of the persecution and oppression and suffering that Christians are forced to endure by the world dim in comparison. And Paul should know - he suffered plenty! In 2 Corinthians 11:20-29, Paul lists the many afflictions and hardships that he has had to undergo, and it is quite a list – imprisonment, floggings and beatings, shipwrecks, sleeplessness, hunger, and the like, and he rejoices in those things because they create weakness within him. He knows what awaits him, and faithfulness during the trials of earth, those attacks that force weakness upon him, earn him a place in glory.

And this isn’t just a vision or expectation of God’s glory, it is a certainty. And it isn’t just Christians who have this great anticipation and promise, it is all of creation that is eager to see the day when the faithful of God will be revealed! Paul writes that the animate as well as the inanimate are trembling for that great day when The Lord will make all truth fully known. It may seem a bit odd that all created things, such as the sun and the oceans and the mountains and the flowers and the animals and birds and fish, as well as unbelievers are waiting for that day. But perhaps Paul’s point is that all of creation will, one day, know of God’s glory, even though some will never get to enjoy it. Newness and change will come, regardless of the depth, or even existence, of personal faith. And that change will be eternal in nature.

Creation is, at present, being held back from that freedom – we are all being subjected to captivity in sin and decay and death, until the day when the created order will no longer deteriorate in weakness and failure. And in Paul’s words – all will be freed from its captivity!

Read Romans 8:22-27

He compares this time of waiting to the labor pain that childbirth requires. My wife told me that, in her former life as a registered nurse, she had known labor to continue for as long as 1-2 days before the baby is delivered. I can’t even imagine what the mother goes through during that time – the pain and the exhaustion must be overwhelming! In John 16:20-21, Jesus describes this time of waiting for his return as our labor pains, but he tells us that when the child is born, the pain is forgotten because of the joy of holding this new life.
So will it be on that Freedom Day! But until that day, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to encourage and comfort us. Does that imply that the Spirit will lessen or even eliminate the pain of this wait? Hardly! But the Spirit will continue to remind us of the impending glory that is just around the corner, waiting for us, praying for us, preparing for our arrival. Jesus’ gift of salvation was the first part of that day, and the Spirit’s work in our lives is the second part of our journey to glory.

And that is the hope that we have by faith in Jesus. All too often, though, we see hope only as a desire, and not a certainty. The truth is that Hope is far more than simply “wishing upon a star” – it is our anticipation and eagerness for this coming event. In Romans 5:5, Paul wrote that “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us.” The Holy Spirit is not only our Advocate and Truth (John 14:15-17), but he is God’s Promise, and our Hope, of Life!

And if that isn’t enough, the Spirit is our Intercessor. When the pains and burdens of this life become so great that we can’t even find the words to pray, the Spirit will do it for us. When the struggle becomes so oppressive that words can never describe it, the Spirit will groan that pain to God on our behalf. The Lord understands the difficulty of this life, and has put everything in place to make our journey promising, if not pleasant.

Read Romans 28-30

God hasn’t freed us from the pressures and temptations of earth, nor has he taken the pain away, but he has put everything in order that we might be assured of his promise as heirs to his glory. His freedom is not from oppression, trial and temptation, but from fear and loss and doubt and death. It all centers on our love of God.

For Israel, this call to love God was paramount. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we read the Shema “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus told the inquiring Pharisee that this was the greatest commandment , and Paul now tells us that this commandment is the basis for a life in glory. God knows those who love him, and he doesn’t know those who do not (Matthew 7:21-23). And those who he knows will be “conformed”, or shaped to the image of Christ, which means that we will not only experience death as Christ did, but we will know the resurrected life that he gained. And for those who have been elevated as co-heirs with Christ, he has called them to service in his name. And those who have accepted this call are judged as worthy to be in the presence of Almighty God. And when we come to his presence, we will know for certain the full extent of his glory.

Talk about freedom! And it all begins when we profess our love of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And that is one incredible beginning!