Fill up the Measure

Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 7:17 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “The Lord’s Anointed” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 23 (quoting Vv. 1-12, 33-39 NIV 1984):

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted… (For entire passage): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023&version=NIV1984

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

My Understanding: Jesus was addressing the crowds and his disciples at this point. His subject was the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. He spoke this as a warning. He told the people that since the Pharisees and teachers of the law had the authority of Moses over the people (the Jewish people), the people must obey them, but within Biblical limits and boundaries. In other words, they were not to do what the Pharisees did, i.e. they were not to practice their faith in the same manner as the Pharisees. The reason? – The Pharisees did not practice what they preached, i.e. they were hypocrites of the worst kind. They were legalists who forced mankind to follow a strict set of man-made rules and regulations that had nothing to do with the heart, and they were not willing to lift any of these restrictions to lighten the heavy burdens this placed on men and women of faith. In contrast, Jesus said his yoke was easy and his burden is light, because he is the one who carried (and carries) the weight for us as we fall underneath his authority.

In continuing this rebuke of the Pharisees and his warning to the crowds of people, and to his disciples, Jesus said that these religious leaders did their “acts of righteousness” to be seen of men, i.e. for men’s recognition and approval. They loved the place of honor at social gatherings, and they wanted to be viewed as especially important, and to have people greet them by their titles of honor out in public. They desired the honor and praise of men to go to themselves instead of leading their followers by humility toward giving all their praise and honor to God. Thus Jesus warned the crowds and his disciples against seeking men’s approval and honor, and in particularly against going after specific titles such as “Rabbi,” which means master, “father,” and/or “teacher,” for the express purpose of fostering pride and for self-exaltation. We know from reading the remainder of the New Testament, though, that this was not intended literally as a complete indictment against all those titles, because children were allowed to call their earthly fathers “father,” and God gave to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers “to prepare God’s people for works of service…” (See Eph. 4:11-16). The main point, I believe, is not to ascribe to man what is rightfully God’s, i.e. the honor, praise, characteristics, authority, and place in our hearts.

Jesus said: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Then Jesus gave seven “woes” (judgments; condemnations; rebukes) to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They can be summarized as such: Woe to you hypocrites because:

• ·         You claim to be teachers of God’s word and way, yet you refuse to recognize Jesus Christ as your Messiah and Savior; you thus refuse to come into the kingdom of heaven by faith in Christ, and you do all you can to dissuade others from believing. You thus fail to see who Jesus Christ really is.

• ·         You go all over the world to win a single convert to your Pharisaical approach to Judaism, and when you gain that follower of your ways, you make him “twice as much the son of hell as you are.” You suppress your followers so much with your strict adherence to man’s rules that it leaves no room for Christ and his kingdom.

• ·         You are blind guides to the people because you twist and distort the things of God to your own advantage, you mishandle the Scriptures, and you encourage falsehood instead of telling the truth; hypocrisy over genuineness.

• ·         You give your tithe (your 10%), but you neglect more important matters of the heart and of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You focus so much time and attention on the minutest details of the externals of the law that you neglect to see that love is the fulfillment of the law, and that the spirit of the law should always rule over the letter of the law, thus you distort God’s revealed will in Scripture.

• ·         You are so worried about how things look outwardly, such as the cleanliness of one’s hands, that you fail to notice or deal appropriately with the uncleanness of your own hearts. First cleanse your hearts of all impurities such as pride, self-exaltation, greed, etc. and then you will also be clean on the outside.

• ·         You are like “whitewashed tombs,” which look clean on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones. The purpose of your “whitewash” is to give the outward appearance of righteousness, but inside you are full of wickedness and hypocrisy.

• ·         You pride yourselves that if you had lived during the time of your forefathers that you would not be guilty of shedding innocent blood, yet you follow the ways of your fathers while you self-righteously claim to be different from them. “Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”

There are two main indictments here against the Pharisees and teachers of the law: 1) They failed to recognize Jesus Christ for who he was (is) – God the Son, the promised Messiah, and their Savior, and 2) They were filled with pride, self-righteousness, self-exaltation, and all kinds of wickedness, and were bound by strict adherence to every little detail of man’s laws, yet they failed to follow the law of love and to cleanse their own hearts of all evil. Jesus Christ told them (in other speeches) that they honored God with their lips but their hearts were far from him; their teaching was but rules of men. As well, he told them that they dishonored God and his law of love by not caring for their family members for the sake of their tradition. They were so bound by rules taught by men that they could not pull themselves free to focus on what really matters to God – truth, love, righteousness, purity, and correctly handling the word of truth, etc. They were so concerned with how things appeared on the outside, and with their own reputations, that they failed to clean up their own hearts. And, they twisted and distorted scripture to their own advantage in order to lead others astray, to keep them from following Christ, and to secure them for themselves.

We all must guard our hearts against such Pharisaical leanings such as these. We must be more concerned with what it is in our hearts than with how we appear to others on the outside. We must be more concerned with pleasing God than with pleasing man; with obeying Christ Jesus and his word, than with gaining the approval of man (or woman). We must be more concerned with following the truths of God’s holy word than we are with following the traditions and teachings of man (not exclusive to legalists, either). We must be more concerned about offending God through disobedience than with whether or not we offend humans, though certainly we should take no pleasure in offending humans, any more than God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) takes in bringing judgment upon the disobedient. We should be more concerned about being humble and having servant hearts than with making a name or a reputation for ourselves. We must be more concerned with following the spirit of the law (love), rather than the letter of the law. In all these things, we must honor, love, respect, revere and obey God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – above all else!

Jesus told the hypocritical religious leaders, and their followers, too, I believe, that because of their stubbornness and rebelliousness of heart and their refusal to listen to Jesus’s words of truth, he was going to send them prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them they would kill, others they would flog in their synagogues and pursue from town to town. Then they would “fill up the measure” of their sin. God will only allow so much sin before he brings judgment. When God determines the measure of man’s sin is full, judgment will fall.

Jesus Christ is calling us to obey him and to follow him instead of us following man. Sometimes we don’t even realize we are followers of men because we are just doing what we have always been taught to do. Men may distort the word of God for their own advantage, but we need to be discerning and make sure we are following the word of God. This lesson about the Pharisees is not exclusive to what we term “legalists.” Following man and man-made religion, practices, traditions, and rules (society’s norms) is passed down from generation to generation. Careful study of scripture and a willingness to believe God and his word over men and man-made religion will help us break free of following man over God; be free from following the traditions and distortions of scripture passed down by man over the truths of scripture. Jesus is just as displeased with leaders in today’s church who act like the Pharisees in demanding unquestioning submission to their traditions, “rules” and man-made religion. And, there are just as many hypocrites in today’s modern churches as there were in the Jewish faith of Jesus’ day. It is something we must all guard against.

O Church, Church, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

The Lord’s Anointed / An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to

Wear, as the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior,

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness,

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations.

http://youtu.be/PSH4DBpc__U

Fall, or Fallen?

Monday, May 28, 2012, 8:13 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Broken and Contrite” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 21:33-46 (NIV 1984):

“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected

    has become the capstone;

the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

My Understanding: When Jesus spoke these words initially (since he is still speaking), he was making reference to the nation of Israel, God’s vineyard. Now we, who are followers of Christ, are that vineyard. God the Father is the gardener and Jesus Christ is the true vine. And, we are the branches that stem from that vine (see John 15). The vineyard is now the true church, i.e. the body of Christ. And, God takes care of us. He puts a wall of protection around us, which is his Holy Spirit. He keeps watch over us, and he assigns his servants to keep watch over us, and to serve as his shepherds and watchmen (and women) to care for, encourage and lead us, and to warn us of danger – the danger of wolves in sheep’s clothing, of continuing in sin and/or of coming judgment if we do not repent of sin.

The harvest time will truly come at the end when Jesus Christ returns for his bride. Yet, as it was approaching, God sent out his servants, the prophets, to “collect” from the tenants (the religious leaders) his fruit. The fruit is “the product or consequence of something done” (Encarta). To bear fruit is to be successful in the end of your labor. Fruit can also be the reward, product, outcome, result, yield, outgrowth, or byproduct of your labor. The product of a vineyard should be grapes and then wine, perhaps. The fruit of lives committed to God should be repentance, obedience, love, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, service, devotion, a hunger and desire for righteousness, and a commitment to truth and to God’s word, etc.

Fruit Collectors

The prophets went to “collect” this fruit. To “collect” means to gather, assemble, or reap. I am not certain exactly how this collection was to have taken place by the prophets, so I will share what I know of what it means to gather and/or what I know of the ministry of the prophets. The prophets were sent by God as his spokesmen to give his messages to the people, sometimes to the people of Israel, and sometimes to other nations. Their primary message was “repent” of your sins, turn to God (or return) so that God can bring spiritual healing, restoration and salvation to your lives. So, the fruit the prophets would be collecting would be those of repentant hearts and lives, committed to God to love and obey him in all ways. They would be hearts and lives respondent to God’s messengers and his messages, obeying whatever God said to the people through the prophets.

Yet, these prophets of God often met with resistance, even from God’s chosen people and from their spiritual leaders. These prophets of God also were often sent to warn of coming judgment if the people did not repent. So, they were often hated and rejected. These prophets of God were seized by the religious leaders and their followers, were beaten, stoned and killed. Then God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and the people of God treated him the same way. Jesus came to gather fruit, as well, i.e. he came to speak God’s words (messages) to the people and to receive hearts that would be responsive to him and to his messages. Yet, he was much greater than any prophet, for he is God. And, they killed him by crucifying him on a cross. Yet, it was in God’s will that this should happen, because Jesus became our perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins, once for all.

Today’s Messengers

God is still sending out his messengers. All of us who are in Christ Jesus are his witnesses and servants, and we are all commissioned to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ. So, we are fruit gatherers, too. And, we will be hated, as well, and for the same reasons as the prophets, Jesus, the disciples and the apostles were hated, too. It is because we share the truth of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and call for people to come to repentance and to follow Christ Jesus in obedience to his commands.

The Stone

Jesus asked his listeners a question. He asked them what they thought the owner of the vineyard would do to the tenants. They responded by saying that he would bring those wretches to a wretched end, and he would rent the vineyard to other tenants who would produce a crop. Jesus’ response to them was basically to agree with their assessment but then to let them know, essentially, that he was the Son in the parable who was rejected, and he was the promised Messiah prophesied about in the Psalms (118:22-23) concerning this rejection, and that they were the tenants from whom God’s vineyard would be removed and would be given to a people who would produce its fruit. By this Jesus was referring to the nation of Israel and their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. He would now give his gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, and Jews, too, who would receive Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and who would produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Then Jesus said: “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” There are many and varied interpretations of Jesus’ words here. I found that most commentators I read seemed to say pretty much the same thing. They saw both the falling on the rock and the rock falling on people as the same thing, i.e. that they were both judgments of God. Yet, the Lord has given me a different picture of this, and there are commentators who agree with this interpretation. I believe, in the context here of the dual people types, i.e. those from whom the kingdom of God will be taken away, and those whom the kingdom will be given who will produce its fruit, the “but” in Jesus’ statement must be seen as depicting contrasting thoughts, not complimentary thoughts.

In other words, I believe Jesus was saying that to fall upon the stone means to willingly come to Christ in humility and repentance with broken and contrite heart. The brokenness is a result of falling upon the stone, i.e. putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from sin) and via choosing to turn to Christ in faithful obedience and surrender of our wills to his will for our lives. This is the kind of fruit God was hoping his vineyard would produce and the kind the prophets were to “collect.”

In contrast to that, those who choose to not fall upon the stone, i.e. who refuse Christ either by refusing to believe in him or by refusing, by our lifestyles, to walk with him, obey him, and honor him as holy, will be crushed (will face the judgment of God). First of all I see here that there are those who have fully rejected Christ and they will face the final judgment of eternity in hell. Yet, the Lord says that he disciplines, rebukes, chastises and punishes those he loves in order to make us holy, so sometimes we can be crushed in spirit because of sin in our lives that the Lord wants to purify out of our lives. And, his discipline in our lives is his way of humbling us so that we do fall upon the stone in humility and repentance.

Yet, I saw one other aspect of this “crushing” that is unrelated to either rejection of Christ or to specific sin in our own hearts and lives. The Bible says that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, so that by his stripes we may be healed (see Isaiah 53). It was the hand of God that brought this upon Christ as well as it was at the hand of the people of God that Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins. He was crushed because he took our penalty for our sin so that we can go free. And, although we will never take upon us the sins of the world, we may face the punishment of others’ sins and feel crushed in our spirits due to unjust suffering at the hands of evil (sinful) human beings who hate us for many of the same reasons they hated Jesus, the disciples, the apostles and the prophets.

Be Humble or Be Humbled

So, we humble ourselves by falling upon the rock, i.e. by coming to Christ willingly in brokenness of spirit and with contrite heart, in repentance (turning from sin) and in surrendering our wills to the will of God over our lives, truly making him our Lord and master. Or, we refuse Christ and/or we refuse his requirements for salvation (the appropriate wedding attire – see Matt. 22), and we do not humble ourselves or become obedient to the cross of Christ in dying to our old lives of sin so that Jesus Christ and his righteousness can live in and out through us, bearing much fruit in keeping with repentance. The choice is ours. Humble ourselves, fall upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and experience the brokenness of a heart given over to Christ Jesus. Refuse the Rock, and the Rock will fall on you, i.e. God will judge your heart for your refusal of his Son. Which will you choose?

Broken and Contrite / An Original Work / May 13, 2012

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me;

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

http://youtu.be/3pskAZtELrk

The Invited

Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 5:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song “How can I fear?” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 22:1-14 (NIV 1984):

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

My Understanding: The kingdom of heaven began with Jesus’ earthly ministry and will culminate in his return to earth to judge and to receive his saints to him (the wedding and/or wedding banquet), at which time he will set up his kingdom reign on the earth for a thousand years. The kingdom includes everything Jesus was and is, did and does, and all that he will yet do. It includes his righteousness, peace, love, joy, forgiveness of sins, and plan of salvation for the lost sinner, etc. Jesus was the embodiment of the kingdom which is why he could say that the kingdom was present with/in him when he was here on the earth. We enter into this kingdom of heaven when we invite Jesus Christ, by faith, into our lives to be our Savior and Lord (master) via repentance and a choice to walk in obedience to him.

In this parable, the king represents God the Father. His Son is Jesus Christ. He sent his servants (the prophets, his apostles, his disciples) to those who had been invited (the nation of Israel), but they refused to come. He sent more servants, but the invited guests paid no attention to them and went off to do whatever it is that they did in those days. Some of those invited guests seized his servants (the prophets, his apostles, his disciples) and mistreated and killed them. So the king (God the Father) told his servants (the apostles; disciples) to go to the street corners and invite anyone they find (the Gentiles). The servants invited the “good and bad.” We are all sinners, so I imagine the “good and bad” had to do with those considered good or bad in man’s eyes. We must all come to the cross of Christ, no matter how good we may appear or how bad we may seem to man.

Who are the invited today?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~ John 3:16

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18b-20

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Pet. 3:9

Who are the servants today?

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ~ John 18:36

“Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” ~ Acts 1:8

"We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” ~ 2 Co. 6:3-10

The Servants and Invited Today

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are both the servants and the invited (and chosen). We have been called of God to invite all who will come to faith in Jesus Christ. We have been commissioned by God, as his servants, to go and make disciples (followers of Christ) of all nations, to baptize them in God’s name(s), to teach them to obey Christ’s commands, and to be His witnesses to the whole world, sharing with them the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of those we invite to faith in Christ will refuse the invitation. Others will ignore us, and will just continue on with their daily lives and routines. Still others will reject, mock, oppose strongly, accuse falsely, mistreat, persecute and even kill some of us because of our testimony for Jesus Christ, and because we are preaching the truth of the Good News. And, the sad reality is that many of these who refuse, ignore and/or mistreat us for our testimony for Christ and our witness for the gospel are in the church, and some are even church leaders who have bought into a gospel of men and so refuse the truth of Christ.

What are our wedding clothes?

The wedding hall was filled with guests. Yet, a man there was not wearing wedding clothes, so he was bound, hand and foot, and thrown out into the darkness. Jesus concluded that many are invited but few are chosen. So, what are our wedding clothes?

“I delight greatly in the Lord;

    my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

    and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” ~ Isaiah 61:10

“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” ~ Rom. 13:14

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” ~ Gal. 3:26-27

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” ~ Col. 3:12

“Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.” ~ Rev. 3:4

Our wedding garment is Christ, his salvation, his righteousness, the fruit of his Spirit, faith, repentance, obedience, death to sin and choosing to walk in faith and obedience to Christ and to his commands.

In the parable of the sower, there were four types of soil (heart response to the gospel). The first type of soil was like the invitees who refused or ignored the invitation. There was no positive heart response at all. The second and third types of soil, I believe, are like the man not wearing the wedding garment. These are those who initially receive the invitation with joy, but other things in this life eventually choke out or crowd out the gospel and faith in Christ from their lives because the Word never really took root and/or the “faith” never produced the fruit in keeping with repentance.

And, within our churches there are many who fit into one of the first three types of soil and/or who fit the invitees who refused, ignored and/or strongly opposed the true gospel and Christ’s messengers. Many of these invitees have the appearance of faith in Christ, but deny the power of Christ in their lives. They honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. Their teaching is made up of rules by men. This kind of teaching is not exclusive to the legalists, either. Man’s teachings are all through today’s modern churches, and are often accepted as truth over and above the word of God, even by many pastors and elders.

The sad reality, thus, is that many in our churches who think they are prepared to meet Christ, like the man who showed up but was not properly dressed, will be thrown out into the darkness and will spend eternity in hell instead of in heaven. Too many of today’s churches are preaching a gospel-lite that excludes repentance and obedience to Christ. Many are going to come before God and hear the words “I never knew you” because they are not properly clothed. These teachings of Christ are also taught in the rest of the New Testament and serve as warnings to us to not take our salvation for granted, thinking we have our ticket into heaven when we don’t. Jesus Christ is quite clear: We must repent of our sins and we must follow him in obedience. We must die to our old way of living so that we can live new lives in Christ. The old and the new don’t mix! We have to throw the old (our lives of sin) away in order to put on the new (our lives in Christ Jesus).

So, if today you find yourself among those who are ignoring, refusing, and/or who are strongly opposing the truth of the gospel (the appropriate wedding attire), I pray that you will turn your hearts and lives over to Jesus Christ today, unreservedly, totally abandoned to Christ and to his service, so that one day you will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome home!” Then, we will have nothing to fear.

How Can I Fear? / Ron Hamilton - Patch the Pirate

How can I fear? Jesus is near.

He ever watches over me.

Worries all cease. He gives me peace.

I will not fear with Him.

http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/How+Can+I+Fear/4u26vM?src=5

http://jasonhunsicker.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-can-i-fear.html

The User-friendly Church

Sunday, May 27, 2012, 7:14 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with the song “Not by Might” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 21:1-22 (quoting 12-13, 18-22 NIV 1984):

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”

…Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

My Understanding: People coming to the temple, especially travelers, had to purchase what was required for sacrifice, such as sacrificial animals and the like. The money changers were those who exchanged Greek or Roman currency into the currency needed to purchase these sacrificial objects, and merchants sold them what they needed. The problem did not lie in the fact that they were selling or exchanging currency but in where they chose to do this. They were doing it inside the temple, God’s holy dwelling place intended for solemn worship and prayer, and for the teaching of God’s truths. Allowing marketing, selling and exchanging of currency (human business practices) to go on within the temple turned God’s holy place into a market place instead of a holy place of prayer.

Today’s Temple

And, this is happening in today’s church here in America. For one, the church has joined with the United States government in a contractual or covenantal relationship (501c3) which binds it to the government in the sense of the government being able to stipulate what it can or cannot do, and what the preachers can and cannot say from the pulpit. This puts the government in the place of God over the church in some areas, and Christ takes a second seat to the government where the government sets down their rules and regulations.

By joining with the government in this covenantal relationship, thus becoming a legal corporation underneath the U.S. government, the church has turned itself into a business of men that is marketed just like any other human business. It is advertised just like any other business and uses the same kinds of marketing techniques, including lies, deception, manipulation, propaganda, and often selling short the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to appeal to the flesh of man. Many of today’s churches focus most of their time, resources and attention on the “worship service” which often is nothing more than just entertainment or a big production (show). The goal is often to make the unsaved comfortable, i.e. to make church “user friendly” to the world, to be non-threatening and non-judgmental, and to make church a “fun” place to go so the world will like it.

Yet, that is not the Biblical model for church. For one, the true church of Jesus Christ is not a physical building. God does not dwell within the walls of today’s churches, nor is the “sanctuary” within those physical structures the sanctuary of God. We do not enter into the presence of God when we enter a physical building. It is just a building and nothing more. The true church is the people. God now dwells within human hearts, i.e. the hearts of those who have come to him in faith in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from sin) and a decision to follow Jesus Christ in obedience.

So, when Christians are gathered together in the name (character, purpose, and will) of Jesus Christ, no matter where they are, that is the church. And, the purpose for their meetings is to pray, fellowship in the Spirit of God, share in communion with one another and to receive the teaching of the word. As well, the meetings are to be participatory not spectator-oriented or even preprogrammed participation. We are all parts of the body of Christ and we have all been given gifts to be used within the body of Christ for the edification (strengthening, encouragement, instruction, teaching, inspiration, urging, and advancing) of one another in the Lord Jesus. And, it is the Holy Spirit who directs these times together, leading us in word and deed according to the gifts within us and our faith in Christ. To me, true church takes place in small group settings where people care and pray for one another, where there is fellowship in the Spirit of God, where we each have the opportunity to share a word from God (according to scriptural teachings) or a song, or what God is teaching us, and where the Bible is actually being taught and not man’s teachings.

When Jesus quoted the Old Testament in his phrase “Den of Robbers,” he quoted from Jeremiah 7:11. In context, Jeremiah was given a word from God to give to the people of God (the Lord’s house), which today is the church (the people of God; the body of Christ). The people were coming to the temple to worship God. Yet, God’s word to them was that they needed to reform their ways and their actions. They were trusting in deceptive words of false teachers. The people were ascribing to the physical building (temple) some kind of supernatural power. The buildings (physical structures) had become the object of the people’s faith instead of the God of the buildings. Jeremiah told the people, basically, that the temple without godliness in the people was worthless.

God said: “Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” ~ Jeremiah 7:9-11 (NIV 1984)

And, God has not stopped watching. He is very much aware of what goes on in his name and in his temple (in the hearts of individual believers in Christ and in the corporate body of Christ). And, he is not pleased with how his church (the body of Christ) has been turned into a market place to market “the church” to the world by making the gospel palatable and by making the church appealing to the flesh of man. The church is the body of Christ. It is for true followers of Christ to gather together for mutual edification and encouragement. It is where we learn that coming to Christ means death to the flesh of man, and it means choosing to leave our worldly lives behind us in order to follow Jesus Christ in complete surrender to him and to his will for our lives. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us that church is supposed to be “fun” according to man’s will and desires. It is to be filled with joy, love, peace, kindness, gentleness, encouragement, teaching in the word, etc. but church is not here for the purpose of entertaining us or the world. We are supposed to be lights to the world and we are to go out into the world and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ and his commandments. The church is not to be built on man’s marketing techniques but on the salvation of souls as we spread the true gospel of Christ.

False Fruit (taken in part from “Into the Sea,” 10/06/2010)

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it gave the appearance of having fruit, but it did not bear fruit. The disciples asked how this tree withered so fast, and Jesus then told them that not only could they do what was done to the fig tree, but that they could tell “this mountain” to throw itself into the sea, and it would be done if they had the faith and did not doubt.

I wondered what that meant, so I prayerfully began to search out the scriptures to see what this meant, in the context of the previous verses. I reexamined the previous verses and their meaning. The fig tree is a fair representation of much of today’s church in America. This church being represented here, thus, is symbolic of a tree that advertises, by its leaves, that it is bearing fruit, but the advertisement is false. It is a fruitless, dead tree upon which God has cast his proclamation of judgment and a demonstration of his power to carry out what He said he would do. Then, Jesus told his disciples that if they believed and did not doubt, they could not only do the same as was done to the fig tree, but they could also say to “this mountain,” “Go throw yourself into the sea,” and it would be done.

So, if what Jesus did was representative of a proclamation of judgment against His people, then to do what he did would thus be to also proclaim judgment on God’s people (as is written about in scripture) who have the appearance of righteousness but are really dead. The whole gospel includes the fact that God will judge. The Bible says that “judgment begins with the house of the Lord.” I believe God will judge his people first for their fruitlessness, their sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery, and their refusal to repent and to turn back to God in faith and obedience. He will again cleanse his temple of “robbers.”

So, if to do what Jesus did to the fig tree means that we, as well, proclaim judgment of God on a fruitless people who claim to be God’s people, then what would it mean to tell “this mountain” to throw itself into the sea? That was my question to God, so I looked up “this mountain” in the scriptures, which then led me to Mount Zion, which then led me to Zion, which eventually led me to an understanding that Zion was another word for Israel and that the church is now Zion and the mountain is the heavenly Jerusalem. So, if we tell “this mountain,” i.e. Zion (the church) to throw itself into the sea, what does that mean in this context? That was my question to God, so I looked up the phrase “throw into the sea.”

I learned that the idea of being thrown into the sea had to do with judgment. So, to throw oneself into the sea would thus be to judge oneself. Also, being thrown into the sea meant death, potentially, so to throw oneself into the sea would be to bring about death in oneself. This brought this passage of scripture to mind:

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

“You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24 NIV 1984).

I believe what the Lord is showing me here is that he is telling his disciples, not only that they can do great miracles in the physical realm, but of greater importance is that they could see great miracles of God in people’s lives in the spiritual realm if they just believed God and did not doubt. They could, in faith, proclaim the whole gospel of Jesus Christ which tells people that we are sinners in need of a Savior, that we have to acknowledge that fact to God, that we have to repent of (turn from) our sin, that we must die to our old lives (throw ourselves into the sea), that a day of judgment (the withering of the fig tree) is coming, that Jesus provided the way for us to be free of our sin - the penalty of sin (eternal separation from God in hell) and the bondage to and control of sin over our daily lives - and that true faith and belief in what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross for our sins means that we also must die. The “mountain” that must be thrown into the sea thus represents all obstacles to our faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, including the mountain of having the appearance of righteousness but denying its power in our lives (not bearing fruit).

Not By Might / An Original Work / March 29, 2012

Based off Zechariah 4

“Not by might, and not by power,

But by My Spirit,” says our Lord, God.

“Mighty mountain, O what are you?

Before Christ you will become level ground.”

The hands of our Lord, Savior God,

Formed the foundation of His church.

He alone will complete the work

He began in His servants’ hearts and minds.

Who despises small beginnings?

Much can be done in Christ’s strength within.

Be of courage, and trust your Lord.

All sufficient He is for all your needs.

Opposition and apathy:

Holy Spirit will set us free!

We can be overcomers in our faith

In our Lord, and our Savior, King.

Don’t be troubled by God’s timing.

He has ev’rything in His command.

Hasten to obey His commands fully,

Trusting Him to work all for good.

Not by might nor by human strength,

But by God’s power; strength within;

My dependency now on His working

His will in me in righteousness.

http://youtu.be/bX2houWB_HE

Humbling Ourselves

Saturday, May 26, 2012, 6:30 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Your Servant Witness” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 20 (quoting Vv. 16-28 NIV 1984):

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

My Understanding: In this first scenario (Vv. 1-15 not quoted) Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them each a denarius for a day’s work and then he sent them to work. The landowner also went out the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours of the day, and did the same. At the end of the day the owner paid the workers their wages, beginning with those he hired last. When those who had been hired first saw that he paid those hired last a denarius each, they assumed they would get more since they had worked longer.

So, when he paid them also a denarius each, they grumbled and complained against the landowner. They thought he was being unfair. Yet the landowner brought the matter into perspective. He was not being unfair at all, as he was being accused, for the workers he had hired first agreed to work for a denarius, so a denarius is what they received. It was none of their business what the landowner chose to pay the other workers, for it was his right to pay whatever he chose. He then asked them if they were envious because he was generous. Thus the moral of the story is (v. 16) “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

First and Last

This is not just a nice story for us to read. This is an illustrative story to show us something about the kingdom of heaven. It does not matter if we have been believers in Jesus Christ for fifty years or for five minutes. We all receive the same reward – eternity with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The point is not how long we have worked or even how hard we have labored, but the point is that we agreed to work. The point is also that the end reward depends not on us earning the final reward but on the giver of the reward. In other words, we don’t earn our salvation. Those who work longer and harder are no better off in the end than those who work only a short time. It is not by our works that we are saved, but by God’s grace. Yet, we must still receive the invitation to work, and we must go and work in God’s vineyard (his harvest field). If we refuse to work, then we receive no reward.

So, basically there are four matters at work here. The first is that we must receive the invitation to work in God’s vineyard, i.e. God must first call us. Secondly, we must accept the invitation, for truly that is what it means when we invite Jesus Christ to be our Lord (master; owner) and Savior. We now work for God. Thirdly, we must work, i.e. we must be about doing what God has called us to do, as we are instructed in his word, for that is what we are called to do. And lastly we must humble ourselves, not compare ourselves to others, and not get puffed up thinking we are superior because of what we do for the Lord, but we must realize that we are all working for God, and it is he who determines the work and the pay.

The “first” I believe refers to those who view themselves as superior or more privileged because of length of time of service or the type of work done for the Lord. God will humble them. The “last” refers to those who have no such visions of grandeur but are thankful that God rescued them out of the pit of hell and that he called them into his vineyard.

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” ~ Matt. 23:12 (NIV ’84).

Our Example

Jesus told his disciples that he was going to be betrayed to the religious leaders of his day. They would condemn him to death and they would turn him over to the Gentiles (non-Jews and/or to the Romans) so they would mock him, flog him and crucify him. Yet, on the third day he would rise again.

Think with me for a moment what this means. Jesus Christ was (is) God the Son. He was in the beginning with God and he was (is) God. All things were made by him and he holds everything together. He was and is supreme over all creation. Yet, he willingly left his throne in heaven, humbled himself and took on the nature of a servant, was made in human likeness, i.e. he took on human flesh, and he willingly and obediently went to the cross to die for our sins so we could go free. Not only that, but while he was in human flesh, yet still fully God, too, he suffered just like we suffer, and was tempted to sin just as we are tempted, and in all the ways we are tempted, too. Yet he did not sin, in order that he might become our perfect sacrifice for our sins, and so that he could be our faithful, compassionate and merciful high priest who sympathizes with us in our weaknesses. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place (see Philippians 2).

So, when we think about what all God did for us and how he humbled himself, though he was God, how can we, mere mortals, exalt ourselves over other people thinking ourselves to be superior? Jesus said that unless we humble ourselves and become like little children, i.e. like them in their openness, transparency, trust (holding nothing back), honesty and teachability, we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. We must be so thankful to receive anything from the Lord, thankful that he chose us, thankful that he chose to rescue us from the pit of hell, and willing to obey him in all ways.

Drink the Cup

The mother of two of Jesus’ disciples made a request that her sons receive special treatment in God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus told them they did not realize what they were asking. Then, he asked them if they could drink the cup he was going to drink. They said, “We can,” but they truly had no idea what they were saying, because they still did not understand nor accept what was going to happen to Jesus. How could they really?

The “cup” Jesus was going to drink was both his physical suffering and his physical death on the cross for our sins, but greater than that was the suffering of taking upon himself all the sins of the entire world. We share in that suffering when, by faith, we come to Jesus Christ in humility, repentance (turning from sin), and we choose to follow (obey) him completely. We die to our old way of living in sin, and we choose to walk in God’s way of righteousness and holiness in the power, strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit now at work within us. We choose to lay down our lives, i.e. to give up our own selfish desires so that we can walk humbly before God, doing what Christ now desires and requires for our lives. When we truly choose this life, and we step out in obedience to Christ, we become his witnesses, we make disciples of all nations, we teach others to obey Christ’s commands, and we leave our lives of sin behind us, etc., we will be hated, ostracized, rejected, persecuted, abandoned, betrayed, mistreated and perhaps even ultimately killed for our faith in Christ Jesus. So, Jesus was correct when he told them that they would indeed drink from his cup.

This situation with these disciples wanting to have privileged positions stirred resentment in the other disciples, so Jesus called them together to set things straight. Jesus told them that if they want to be great, they must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the other’s slave. This does not mean we become the servants and slaves of men to please man over and above our servitude to our Lord, i.e. we don’t follow the ways of men and become slaves of depravity just because man may want us to be that way. God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit must always be in first place in our lives, and our service to him must, as well, always be first, but we must understand, too, what all that service entails.

We don’t “work” for God out of our own accord, i.e. this does not entail hours on end in church work, thinking that will make us more righteous or that God will be pleased. The work we do for God is what he requires of us, what he has called us to do, and what his word teaches us that we must all do. Sometimes this will require us to have godly wisdom and discernment in knowing the correct balance of work, as we may be called to more than one thing. For instance, I am a wife, a mother and a grandmother. The Lord has also called me to write for him what he gives me to write each day, i.e. what he teaches me through my times alone with him. As well, I am a sister in Christ to fellow believers, and I have other family members, too. I need to allow for some interruptions, and I need to be sensitive to divine appointments and opportunities. Yet, if I allow myself to be way distracted from God’s work, then I am failing to do what God has called me to do. Serving God means serving and loving others, yet we each have a calling as to how God would want us to serve, and we must do what God has called us to do. And, this may mean to literally give of our lives in death, or it may mean much self-sacrifice in order to serve others in the way Christ would have us serve. The main thing is to obey God in all we do.

Your Servant Witness / An Original Work / March 13, 2012

Humbly I bow, Lord, before You,

Bringing my requests to You.

May I listen; hear You speaking.

May I follow You in truth.

Gently lead me in Your service.

Guide my steps and strengthen me.

Fill me with Your love and mercy.

May I live for Thee!

Let me be Your servant witness,

Telling others of Your grace.

May I always share the gospel

With those I meet face to face.

May I show the love of Jesus,

Caring for the needs of men;

Be Your servant witness always

For my Lord, Amen!

My desire to be like Jesus,

Living for Him ev’ry day.

May I obey all His teachings

Given me, so I’ll not stray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master.

You are the King of my heart;

Follow You where’er You lead me;

Not from You depart!

http://youtu.be/RYb4VXestQc

Teach Them

I was praying for various people I love who are still blinded by sin’s deceitfulness. My heart was heavy with care and concern for their lives. I began praying this first verse to the Lord, which is actually Jesus’ commission to Paul as recorded in Acts 26:16-18, before it actually became the first verse to this song. Then, the Lord directed me to put these words to the music he had given me. He then led me to Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 and several other passages of scripture, and he used them to put words to this song, “Teach Them,” which is about us sharing the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ, so that others can come to know Christ, and then teaching them by word and by example what it means to live for Christ.

Teach Them / An Original Work / May 24, 2012

Based off various scriptures

Open up the blinded eyes of

Those who walk in sin’s darkness.

Turn them to the light of Christ

And to His righteousness.

Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.

Turn them to the peace of Christ,

So they may receive forgiveness

And eternal life.

Teach them to put off their old selves

And their former way of life,

And to put on their new self,

Reborn to be like Christ;

To not copy worldly customs;

Be transformed in life and mind;

Obey freely His word in them,

Pleasing unto God.

Teach them how to love their neighbors

Truly as they love themselves;

Be a witness; share the gospel;

Satan’s lies dispel;

Comfort all who mourn in sadness;

Share Christ’s love and joy today.

Do this through your life and witness

For your Lord always.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Song lyrics and sheet music (free):

https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/teach-them

Song on video:

http://youtu.be/RrzCtKaoAes

One Who Sins

Thursday, May 24, 2012, 6:30 a.m. – The Lord put the song “Oh, to be Like Thee” in my mind this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 18:12-35 (NIV 1984):

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

My Understanding: In this discourse, Jesus presented us with three different scenarios, two of which have similarities to them, and all three are interrelated. They all have to do with our fellow believers in Christ either wandering off, and falling into sin again, or with them specifically sinning against us, and with what our response should be to their sin.

The Wandering Sinner

In the first scenario, we have a picture of one out of one hundred sheep wandering off, and the owner of the sheep going after the sheep to find him, and to bring him back. We are also given a picture of the joy the owner of the sheep felt at the return of this one sheep. This is a picture of how God the Father views us, and how he feels about us when we wander off into sin. He doesn’t ignore us or our sin. He doesn’t entertain us and joke with us, and act casual with us about our sin, knowing full well that we are living in sinful rebellion against him. He does not placate our sin. He comes after us, he seeks us out, he lovingly and tenderly confronts us in our sin, and he seeks to draw us back into a right relationship with him. God is not willing that any of us should wander back into sin.

We, as Christ’s followers, are his representatives on this earth. We have been given the commission to continue the work he began on the earth. He has given us the responsibility for the spiritual encouragement, edification and spiritual growth of our fellow believers in Christ, too. We are one body, though we are various parts, and we are to have equal concern for each other. It is not just the preacher’s responsibility to care for the sheep, but we are to care about each other (see Ephesians 4; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12). We are to love one another enough to speak the truth in love, and to confront willful and unrepentant sin within the body of Christ, too. And, we are to do this with all humility, making sure we are in a right relationship with the Lord first (Gal. 6:1-2; Matt. 7:4-5). We can’t talk to others about their sin if we are knowingly and willfully doing the same things, or if we are involved in some kind of sin ourselves and have not repented. That would be hypocritical.

“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). Amen!

Against Us

In the second scenario, a brother or sister in Christ has sinned specifically against us in some way. We are not to go first and tell it to other people, i.e. we should not go to others and say, “Can you believe what he (or she) did this time?” We are to go privately to the individual and show him or her how we believe he or she has sinned against us. We should not go in with our guns fully loaded, with the safety off the guns, and shooting bullets, but we should approach the individual as directed in Gal. 6:1, i.e. with humility, making sure our hearts are clear before God, making sure a sin actually occurred, and always with the goal of restoration. We must use discretion here, though, when it comes to people of the opposite sex, especially if the sin is sex-related in any way. Personally I have learned that I should never confront a man privately about a sin that is at all related to anything of a sexual nature. I will include my husband, since my husband and I are one. I also make it a practice to include my husband in any correspondence with men for the purpose of accountability, as well as for my own protection. I believe this is exercising wisdom.

So, we first of all go to the individual privately with the goal of getting things right between us and our fellow believer. If he listens to us, we have won our brother over. If that does not work, and clearly a sin has been committed, then we include others, and we confront the believer in front of others who serve as witnesses to the confrontation. This, of course, assumes that we have those within the church willing to follow this Biblical mandate on how to address such issues, yet I do not see this being followed much in today’s church.

The statement, “If he refuses to listen to them,” also presumes the witnesses, if we can get anyone to actually go with us, will actually act upon the sin and will care enough to try to help the sinner out of his sin. I am not sure this is happening much in today’s church, either. I have seen churches harshly rebuke people based upon man’s rules and regulations (legalism), not on God’s laws. I have seen judgmentalism and rejection of people just because they are different from us. Yet, I have also seen much liberalism and a strong reluctance to ever confront anyone about sin.

So, we follow this formula as much as is within our power to do, seeking the counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit in how best to approach the person who sins, and how best to handle this type of situation, and we leave the results to God, trusting him to work. We have to go into this confrontation also prepared to be rejected, fought fiercely against, face cruel, hateful and unkind rebukes in return, and to be counter-accused (even falsely). Not everyone is going to receive our loving confrontation with willing hearts and open arms.

Forgiving Offenses

This third scenario gives us a clear picture of how Jesus views us when we refuse to forgive others after he has forgiven us so much. Jesus is the King. We are the servants. We owe the debt of our own sins. The price is death. We are not able to pay that debt, because it requires blood sacrifice from a perfect lamb. Jesus became that perfect sacrifice for our sins when he died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. When he rose from the dead, he left our sins behind, and he conquered them so that we who truly believe in Jesus don’t have to face eternity in hell, and so that sin no longer has to have mastery over us. When we come humbly before him, repentant (turning from our sin), and willing to obey him in all things, he forgives that debt and he sets us free.

So, when we who are sinners, who have been saved by God’s grace and mercy, refuse to forgive others, especially when they come to us humbly and repentant, asking for forgiveness, and especially when their few or even one sin against us pales by comparison to all our sins that Jesus pardoned in us, we are showing that we are hypocrites, for one, ungrateful for all Jesus did for us, that we think we are superior to Christ Jesus and/or that we belittle his sacrifice for our own sins. How can we not forgive others when they sin against us when Jesus, who was sinless, and who died for our sin, forgave us so much?

So, if we are to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us, then we need to understand what it means to forgive. First of all, Jesus forgave us that debt so we don’t have to pay. So when we forgive others, we don’t make them pay. We don’t punish them or try to get even. He also forgave us to set us free of the control of and bondage to sin on a daily basis. So, when we forgive, especially in cases where this has been a repeated offense, we don’t just look the other way and perhaps help facilitate the other person right back into sin. We forgive, not just to remove punishment, but to help the person be free (restored). So, as much as is within our power and ability to do so, our goal should always be to help restore the person back to a right relationship with God and to help him be free of the control of sin over his life. This may require “tough love,” but this is true forgiveness, because it cares about where the person goes from here and is willing to help him get back on the right path.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer / Thomas O. Chisholm / W. J. Kirkpatrick

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.