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Sunday, September 24, 2023

“The Fruitful Gift of Light”

 Scripture:   Ephesians 5:8-20;  1 Corinthians 14:13-19

As we all know, followers of this world’s ways have one objective, and that is to convert believers of Jesus Christ to their own destructive and perverse way of thinking.  In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus tells us that 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” 

 But we have to also understand that our ears are just as susceptible to the darkness as our eyes are.  Our human senses can open us up to either the light of Christ, or the darkness of Satan, and quite honestly, the darkness seems to have a much easier route into our hearts and minds than the light does!  And yet, as long as we keep our heart’s focus on the ways of Jesus, our human senses will also be devoted to receiving and accepting the truth of God.

 But never forget that Satan’s darkness will never give up in the war that is being waged against every one who is faithful to the Christ.  In Peter’s first epistle (1 Peter 4:3-5), we read For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

 Read Ephesians 5:8-14

 This passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus appears to be more of a commandment than it does as simple instruction.  When we come to Christ, and are bathed in His Light and Truth, it appears that we also are given a number of expectations in our faith expression! 

First, we are to learn what brings pleasure to our Lord, as opposed to those things that are detested by God.  This could be quite a list, as His pleasure will be based in our living His commandments, which will have many aspects associated with each and every command.

Second, we are not only to end our involvement with those “fruitless” deeds that are founded in the world’s “darkness”, but we are also to denounce those ways through the truth of God’s way.  In other words, stop sinning against the Lord and begin putting His ways first in your life. 

Third, not only are we to end our sinfulness, but we are to reveal them for the hatred and lies that they truly are.  This is not only a revealing within our own life, but a revealing for the lives of others!  This could become quite a daunting task, to say the least!

And fourth, verse 12 brings us to a rather significant crossroads in our life.  We are to expose sin for what it is – an opposition to faith in Jesus Christ, while at the same time being a call to denounce the sins of those who intentionally disobey the ways of God.

 And if the people of earth listen and shed their darkened lives of sin, they, too, will, in essence, wake up and rise from the ways of death that they have chosen for their lives.  This mission, this discernment in truth, is a responsibility that faith in Christ has placed upon the lives of all believers!  Developing a true understanding of all that the Lord is asking of us, and then committing to carry through on the desires that Almighty God has for each of us – this is the task set before all who give their lives to Jesus Christ.  And it will require a life long effort of study, prayer, personal confession, and a heart filled with love – not only for our Lord Jesus, but for His word that must now reside in our soul.

 It will require an acceptance of the revealing that comes from other Christians who may see levels of darkness within our own lives, as well as the emerging ability to lovingly do the same for others!  And the difficult part will be in avoiding becoming judgmental and confrontational when approaching and challenging the lives that other sinners are living – whether  family, or friends, or total strangers.

 Read Ephesians 5:15-20

 Interestingly, the previous section seemed to have a greater focus on what the world’s darkness brings into our lives, while these next few verses give some insight into what living in the Spirit does for us.  The Spirit, then, gives wisdom and light to reveal the truth of all that surrounds and works within us to give purpose to this life. 

 These verses also contrast the effect of living in the Spirit of God, versus living in the spirit of “drunkenness”, which is confusion and ignorance.  The Spirit opens us up to the truth of God’s ways, while the world will only deepen the darkness and work to press the Light of God into oblivion.  The Spirit leads us to share the true word and way of God with each other, and enables us to stand firm against the follies of earth. 

 George Bernard Shaw once reflected on a Native American saying with these words - “A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, the one I feed the most.

 I believe that this is the exact thought that Paul was trying to impress on the church at Ephesus.  Do we put the focus of this life upon the Spirit of God who brings wisdom, and hope, and joy, and the light of God into the life we live, or do we let the darkness, the evil, the pain, the hopelessness of this world take precedence over all that we know to be true in the Lord?  It isn’t that our involvement in church has anything to do with the answer that this question demands.  The answer to the question comes from the choices that we follow and reveal through the encouragement that comes from the desires of our heart and soul – will it be the Spirit of God’s goodness that fills us, or the spirit of the world’s evil?

 Read 1 Corinthians 14:13-19

 This passage from Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, acts as a supplement to chapters 12 & 13 from this same book.  In particular, he is explaining the purpose behind the speaking in tongues versus the interpretation of tongues that he says should always be included.  Without interpretation of those unfamiliar words, the prophecy that comes from God will be lost.  1 Corinthians 14:2-4 reveals Paul’s point - .” For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging 

and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.”   He is saying that tongues themselves are to capture the attention of nonbelievers and inquirers, while prophecy that comes through interpretation is for the enlightenment of believers. 

 So you may be wondering why I chose to include this passage today, along with these verses from Ephesians!  My reason is this – to show that even within the church, if we aren’t careful to be complete in our offering of what God would have us understand, we just might miss out on some important aspect of the words that come through our voice, giving someone a false impression of God’s desires for our life.  The apostle Paul would have us know that the thought that the Lord gives us may not be the fullness that He would have us share with others.  We may not even understand what the words of tongues are conveying, but neither will anyone else – only interpretation will do that.

 Light is the important part of the message, but if we neglect to include it all, darkness just may reign without our ever knowing it.  James 3:1-2 is the Lord’s call for perfection on all who teach and instruct.  We must never miss out on the fullness of God’s word for our lives.

 True learning will fill us with the light of God, and never with the darkness of earth!

Sunday, September 17, 2023

“God’s Example is Never a Suggestion”

 Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-7,   John13:12-17

One of the world’s favorite “truisms” - is “Be true to yourself”!  In other words, don’t be influenced by anyone or anything, except for the things that the speaker wants us to identify with!  Unfortunately, this motto is anything BUT a benefit for our life!   In it, faith becomes a contradiction, trust in “absolute truth” becomes an unknown quantity, and personal growth will never take us anywhere except into stagnation. 

 The point is that there is only one Truth, and that is the one and consistent truth that resides in the Lord our God.  And how do we discover and apply this truth to our lives?  It certainly isn’t through our own wisdom, that’s for sure!  It is always available to us through study of the scriptures, and in certainty of its truth, through affirmation by the Holy Spirit.

 The problem with the world’s version of “truth”, is that it varies through the determination of society and culture and national interests.  And if we try to discern truth by watching and learning solely from what other people teach, we will almost never arrive at a Godly way for our life.  If the word of God is never given first place in our search for truth, we will only find failure in our efforts.  The truth of God and the example of Jesus is our only hope.

 Read Ephesians 5:1-7

 In Ephesians 4:19-24, we read that when we give our lives over to the truth that comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ, the life that we lived formerly will no longer have any meaning for us.  In Christ, we become an entirely new person who has been remade in the "image" of Jesus. 

 The lists of evil ways that we read about in our passage for today must be removed from our life and replaced by the ways of righteousness, thanksgiving and obedience to the example of Jesus.  And why should this be so important for our lives?  When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we return to the intent that God expressed for our lives at creation.  In Genesis1:26-30, the Lord tells us that humanity was made in the “image” of God. 

 Why?  God’s image within us will be how God will see and treat us.  It will be as if He is looking into a mirror, and sees His own reflection.  We will be one in and with Him, even though we are not God ourselves.  The writer of Genesis would have us know that when we reflect the image of God, the Lord will trust us with authority over all of the rest of creation, and unless we are akin to Him and His ways, the wisdom that would guide us in our administration and guidance for everything else will be flawed.  And what is it that causes such a cruel and destructive imperfection in us?  It was and is Satan’s deceptive and arrogant attitude toward God!  Our own sin has broken the relationship that we could be enjoying with our creator, just as Adam once had, but forfeited.

 So what is there about the ruse that ruined the man and woman’s life with God?  When they were tricked into eating from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, they became like God, in that they had an awareness of both the goodness, as well as the evil that was surrounding them.  Previously, they only knew the goodness of God, and this was the only way that they knew.  There was no temptation to try a different way of living, and the only thing that was missing now was an understanding of what those divergent ways would bring upon human lives!  Satan had assured them that by eating the forbidden fruit, that they would obtain a likeness to God instead of simply reflecting His image.  It was obviously a lie, but they believed it just the same.

 And this has become the greatest obstacle to righteous living that humanity has ever encountered.  The worldly now believe that they have the right to live in any way that they desire, and that no one, including God, has the right to tell them otherwise!  The Lord’s command in Genesis 2:16-17 is this - “16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”  And now we also know the consequences of denying God’s word – that judgment will, without Christ’s blessing of forgiveness, be the eternal darkness of death, and eternal life and light will no longer be within us.  And no matter how certain we may be that our choices will never produce results so definitive in nature, God’s way, not ours, will always be the deciding factor.

 Hear the closing verses from our Ephesians passage once again – “6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.  7Therefore do not be partners with them.

 

And who should we be “partners” with?  It should be with the very best One of all – Jesus Christ!

 Read John 13:12-17

 In this passage, Jesus sets His nature of Lord and God aside, and offers us the example of Servant and Teacher.  The point that He is making for His followers is that His true Being is something that no one else can ever attain to, but the example that He presents here is the one thing that everyone who follows Him should always strive to gain in their own lives – and the order that we should claim is not one of being a Teacher first, and from there to become an example of servant!  It must always be the other way around! 

 If we don’t submit to a Christ-like servanthood first, how will we ever be able to teach others about the way of Jesus?  Without a heart that is focused on being a Christ-like servant, how can we ever become a Christ-centered teacher of His ways?  We’ve all heard the old saying “Practice what you preach!”  The truth is that we generally do it the other way around -  we tend to “Preach what we practice!”, for that’s what we are most familiar with, and the way that we live is what we would want others to see as our example for their lives! 

 Wouldn’t it seem as though we should learn and accept the ways of Jesus before we ever set out to teach others to live as Jesus did?  A few verses beyond this passage are the words in John13:34-35 – “34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  If our greatest desire is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, we had better be acting like the one whom we are following!  And living as Jesus has taught us is the best evidence that we can ever show to the world, as they will never believe what we offer to them unless they see it within our own life.

 When Jesus called us to go and wash each other’s feet, He was actually calling us to be the best servant that we can possibly be.  But maybe the question should be – why should our Lord Jesus ever have to be a servant for the likes of us?  After all, wasn’t that Peter’s objection to his Lord’s washing of his feet (John 13:5-11)?  He felt that his Lord should never stoop to serve him!  But would Peter have ever turned out to be the kind of evangelist that God needed him to be, if he had never seen what his life could become through the example of his divine Teacher?

 Jesus never made the conditions of being His disciple optional – it had to be His way, or not at all.  Are we prepared to follow in the way of Jesus, and tell Him “Lord, wash me as you will, and make me worthy to wash others in the same way.” 

 The way that He has shown us is the only way we will ever be able to live in Him.

Sunday, September 10, 2023

“Stay in the Godly Way, or Else”

 Scripture:   Nehemiah 13:1-14,  1 Corinthians 1:10-17

 When Jesus told us that He is the only way to the Father and to life in His eternity (John 14:6), He wasn’t suggesting, He wasn’t demanding, He wasn’t bragging – He was simply revealing the fact that there is one and only one way to heaven, and that is by faith in Him.  We all realize that not everyone will acknowledge and accept this gift from God, but that doesn’t make it any less true!

 Israel had been told that their beloved Jehovah God was their only hope to receive a new land of their own, but what did it take for them to finally believe it?  Trial upon trial, struggle upon struggle, test upon test, defeat after defeat after defeat, and even more, and even now they still struggle with just who Jehovah is for each of them.

 And how about the Church?  Our current denominational dilemma is over nothing less than this same issue – is God really the only source of Way, Truth, and Life?  What about all of the other ways that people have followed throughout the years?  This has always been the drawback of “free will”!  Our choices are anything but perfect – we are flawed beings, and our decision-making ability is just as flawed.  Our only hope is through faith in the fulfilled teaching of Jesus and all who have carried on through the years in His name and His truth.

 But how about Israel during the leadership of Nehemiah?  Were they listening and learning any better than the rest of us do?

 Read Nehemiah 13:1-3

 Israel was following the letter of the Law of Moses perfectly (Deuteronomy 23:3-6).  But the question that has to be asked is this – would this be God’s desire for His people?  In John 13:34-35, the Lord tells us “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  We also know that Jesus never invented any command on His own.  Everything that He passed on to us had come directly from the Father. (John 12:48-50)

 So how was Israel loved by the Father?  He freed them from captivity to the Egyptians, He led them faithfully, by day and by night, from Egypt into the Land of Promise, during the 40 years of wilderness living, providing for all of their needs along the way.  And all of this in spite of their continuous stream of complaints  And this was just the beginning of both Israel’s dalliances and God’s loving kindness – He never failed Israel and never will.

And how did they respond toward others?  By excluding from Israel all who were of foreign descent – not just the Moabites and Ammonites, but all.  But would God have us exclude everyone from our church who had not already made a commitment to Jesus?  In Romans 5:8-9, we read “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  Would we deny others the opportunity to be saved from God’s wrath?  Guide their involvement in the church, certainly, but never hold them back from hearing and learning the way of the Lord for their own lives!

Israel was totally dependent upon the Law of Moses, and not so much in the Grace of God.

 Read Nehemiah 13:4-5

 Instead of caring for the needs of the temple and its spiritual leaders, Eliashib was enhancing his own position with Tobiah, a man he may have even been related to, but most certainly, who was an associate within the Persian occupation of Judah.  While there is no reference to the breaking of any law, the priest had certainly put personal benefit ahead of caring for the nation’s relationship with their Lord God Jehovah!

 While we may not be given a definite reason as to why this agreement was made and given to a member of the occupation, we can be certain that this priest was working to put himself in a positive light with Israel’s enemy.

 And what was to be done about it?

 Read Nehemiah 13:6-8

 When Nehemiah returned from Susa after his meeting with king Artaxerxes, the return probably being in part for the man’s promise to the king before he was granted permission to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the wall.  He would receive an extension of the time he needed to spend in Jerusalem, and when he arrived, he learned of Eliashib’s relationship building with Tobiah.

 The Lord’s ways were being set aside in favor of worldly desires, and Nehemiah evicted Tobiah from the quarters that he, in no way, deserved to occupy, and would set about setting all of the wrongdoing right once again.

 Read Nehemiah 13:9-14

 The issue of purification was important to Israel.  Any violation of the sanctity of the temple required a cleansing and return to a focus on God and His ways. But the violations went far beyond desecration of the temple.  The priestly class, and all those from the House of Levi, were to be cared for by the nation, so that the priest and teachers could concentrate on their duties to God, and not have to work to provide for their own needs, as well as those of their families.  In a passage from Numbers 18:20-32, the Lord calls for the care and needs of the Levites through the tithes that the people give to the temple.  And out of these gifts, the Levites are also required to give a tithe as their gift to the Lord’s work.

 Their every day efforts were never intended to be in the fields, but to be focused solely on the work of the Lord.  And Nehemiah saw to it that the Levites once again received recognition and restoration in their efforts to serve God.  Once again, the ways of the Lord were returned to primary focus for both the people and the servants of Jehovah.

 Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

 Paul speaks against a division in faith that will always demean and detract from honest obedience to the ways of God.  When we belong to Christ, and assent to the ways He has taught us, nothing else can take precedence in our life – and that includes legalism.  Jesus told us that He never came to abolish the law or to denounce the words of the prophets, but to fulfill them all (Matthew 5:17-18).  His fulfillment of the law is for clarification as to what the Law and the prophets had intended for us to know about our relationship with God.

 In the most recent edition of “Good News” magazine, pg. 10-14, (September/October 2023), in an article titled “Finding Life Between Law & Grace”, Rev. Caroline Moore writes regarding the significance of the word “holiness”, that first of all, “Holiness is meant to release us into the joys of the Kingdom of God.” And later that “It is not meant to be an unbearable burden.  Instead, it is the ultimate form of freedom.”  This is exactly what Paul was trying to tell the church in Corinth – that true faith brings with it the joy and freedom that comes from living in a righteous and Godly way, not through a demand to submit to some set of rigid and restrictive rules.

 Later in that same article, Rev. Moore writes “Far from being restrictive and fun-sapping, holiness calls out the best in us and causes us to glorify God.  It is art, not engineering.  It is the good life.

 Quarreling, gossiping, divergent allegiances, worldly impressions and perceptions of what the word of God is asking of us - this is not what faith and “holy living” should be about.  Let the word of God thrive to live and guide each of us in service and caring on behalf of not only the faithful, but for those who have yet to come to a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

 We need to live and love in the way and word of Jesus Christ, and any other will never get us an ounce of truth, love, or life in the Lord God of all.

Sunday, September 3, 2023

“Bind Yourself to the Truth of God”

 Scripture:   Nehemiah 10:28-29,  John 14:15-24

The world would tell us to “Be true to yourself”.  The problem with that mantra is that very few of us actually know who we really are as well as what it takes to be true to what we are still trying to figure out about ourselves!

 But for those who have come to the realization that it is our good and faithful God who we should be true to, you have learned that the effort that is required has already become much more rational and obvious for us.  After all, we have an instruction “book” that is already prepared for us (the one known as the Bible), as well as the perfect example of how to live that kind of life (and that is our Lord Jesus!)!

 The problem with the world’s approach to the issue is that the truth that they introduce into our life is constantly changing, and usually not for the better!  But isn’t it true that truth should be a constant and not a variable?  As the theme for today’s message would imply, the advantage of God’ truth is that it never has changed –it is the same today as it was even before the moment of creation.  How can being true to the Truth get any easier to remember than that?

 So, for God’s message today, let’s see, first of all, how Nehemiah and the people of Israel approached this dilemma 2,500 years ago, and then what the Lord Jesus did to make it even clearer for the world’s people 500 years after that.

 Read Nehemiah 10:28-29

 It  would seem that no one was exempted from committing to strict adherence to the law – men, women, and even children who were able to understand what it was that they were pledging their lives to.  Unfortunately for the worldly masses of both that day and today, they don’t always see the law, whether secular or divine, as being an absolute necessity for their lives.  And making a commitment, a binding, a vow of faithfulness to any such concept is more than many are willing to do, or even understand.  The importance of their own law is the only way that they subscribe to, and will be for the remainder of their mortal lives.

 Obedience to the only Truth removes all other options from our decision-making process, and requires trust and faith in the One who is asking us to accept this new way without exception, but never without knowledge and understanding of what it is that we are committing to!  Admittedly, I would never suggest that the Lord’s way will ever come to us naturally, without study and consideration of the changes that will be necessary if we truly desire to adhere to the way of God.  But I will say that it will all be worth our while when we confess that a relationship with God will be far better than anything that the world can offer, or even imagine!

 But what does Jesus offer us if we do accept His ways instead of the world’s alternative?

 Read John 14:15-24

 The offer that the Lord makes on our behalf is not some unreasonable and uncertain benefit kind of demand, but rather, is a gift of relationship through all time!  And it is that relationship that sets the entire process in motion through Jesus’ promise of love – of course His love for us has already been proven at Calvary, and to make it complete only requires our love for Him in return.

 And do we have to figure it all out on our own?  Of course not!  We have His word for our lives, as well as the Holy Spirit to make it all clear and understandable.  And why should we believe this Spirit?  The Lord Jesus refers to Him as the “Spirit of Truth”.  The Lord is with us, His Spirit is with us, His truth is with us, all of which is promised through the bond that exists within our mutual love for each other.

 And the world doesn’t have a clue as to what this Truth is all about because a complete and divine relationship is the basis for our knowing and accepting God’s truth for our lives.  Love of Jesus is the key that unlocks the door to the Truth of God, and obedience to the way of Jesus is proof that the love that God has offered has been accepted and embraced in our lives. 

 We read that the other Judas asks the very question that many folks ask every single day – which is “why can’t everyone on the face of the Earth understand God and His way”?  The answer is both simple and as unchanging as it always has been – they still don’t love Jesus, and His teaching, as well as the ways that He lived, and died, and rose again into a life that also awaits the people who love Him!

 In the passage we read 2 weeks ago from Nehemiah, we read that when the people of Jerusalem heard the reading of God’s law and desires for their lives, they wept! (Nehemiah 8:9)  To be reminded of all that the Lord had set down as the way they were to show their love to Him, and the fact that they had fallen so short of deserving His love, was overwhelming for them.

 Are we beginning to see a central theme of faith here, as well as the path that leads us to the way of God?  Jesus already told us that He, and He alone is “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:1-7).  With these words, the Lord is inviting all to join Him in eternal life.  Don’t you think that binding ourselves to His word and way brings us a gift that far exceeds anything that the world will ever be able to offer? 

 Don’t hesitate to claim eternity through Jesus today!