The God We Trust, part 3

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11).

The Reward of Great Trust (10)

“…after you have suffered a little while…”

Rewards come after you have suffered, not before. This verse also indicates that suffering is normative, and to some extent, need not surprise us when it happens. Expect it. But know suffering is for a little while; it will not last long.

2 Cor. 4:17 (ESV) says: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…”

The God we trust, the God of all grace – is He that “overwhelms” (swallows us up/devours us with goodness) with His irresistible grace those who humble themselves (v. 6) and remain firm in the faith (v. 9).

Notice the word “all” in verses 6 and 10:

v. 6: “…Casting all your anxieties on Him”

v. 10: “…the God of all grace.”

This God we cast all our cares on (the great and the small cares) has an infinite amount of grace to meet anything to “throw” at Him.

Imagine being in the very center of the ocean, where all you can see miles around you is blue water. No land, just water. Now imagine you are holding a tiny pebble that represents your problems and you cast it into the sea. What effect will this have on the ocean? Virtually no effect. And this doesn’t even come close to the estimation of God’s limitless grace!

v. 10b: “…who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ…”

Here is a good principle: The more you remain humble before God now, in this life/body, the more He will exalt you in the next [life].

The eternal glory in Christ is a well-placed reminder that the exaltation occurs then, and not now (the first will be last and the last first).

Granted, it might have some limited application to life now, but the overall principle is for eternal time, not temporal time.

Verse 10 goes on to say: “[God] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

These are the steps God takes those through who cast their cares on Him (see verse 6).

It all comes back to God, doesn’t it? He is the one who takes those who are His through all four sequential steps in life and into eternity.

Conclusion (v. 11)

“To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Nobody overcomes God. He is absolute. He is King. He is Power.

Yet in His divine wisdom, He reveals Himself to little humble babies, to those who earnestly seek Him and trust Him.

The God We Trust, part 2

“Be sober-minded;  be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that  the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Yesterday, I left off with this question: What happens when we don’t humble ourselves and trust Him as we ought? There is a danger to not trusting or casting your cares upon the Lord, which is why Peter says to be…. v. 8 sober-minded and watchful (vigilant)…

 The Danger of Little Trust (vs. 8-9)

If you hold onto your anxieties, you become a prime target for the enemy. Satan actively seeks to devour those who are not trusting in the Lord, those who by their pride hold onto their troubles, thinking they can “handle it.”

He looks to devour or swallow up those who are not humble under God’s mighty (sovereign) hand, because they have little or no grace to resist him. Their soul/sole defense (grace) against the enemy is not present because of little trust.

You may have done some things in the past that you aren’t exactly proud of, things which you have kept hidden for some time. You may have given-in to that temptation that still plagues you to this day; you may have failed with your child or your spouse. You have kept these things quiet, thinking you alone can handle it. You say: “I got myself into this, now I have to get myself out.” Don’t misunderstand me: Yes, we have to be responsible for our actions. But when we do so without reference to God, we make a grave error.

So how does God oppose?

God opposes by sending “Satan” or “messengers of Satan” to move people back toward humility or to help them remain humble.

Let me give you three examples of this from the N.T.

*1) 2 Cor. 12:7 NIV: “To keep me from becoming conceited [to keep me humble] because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

*2) 2 Cor. 5:7-8, 11 (ESV): “…so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed [devoured] by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him…. so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

One of Satan’s “designs” is to look for those who are in a position to be devoured. When a brother or sister is drowning in pity or sorrow, beware: it is a possible indication that they are (some more understandable reasons than others) either under attack or about to be.

*3) 1 Tim. 1:19-20 (ESV) “…holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”

Notice these two were handed over for a reason: To teach them not to blaspheme, which is a very prideful thing to do! (Have you ever heard of a humble blasphemer?)

So how to we avoid the enemy’s involvement in our lives? How do we avoid giving Him a foothold? (Ephesians 4:27)

v. 9 – Resist him, firm in your faith… You resist the devil by being firm in your faith (belief), believing in God that He will take care of you in your troubles and sufferings and persecutions.

*Another tactic Satan employs is the lie that you are alone. You may have fallen into the belief that nobody else seems to be having these problems. Or you may have asked “Why do I constantly have to deal with these things? And you are (or have been) under the delusion that you are alone in your situation.

Don’t believe it for a second! We all face hardships. We all deal with setbacks!

Verse nine continues: “…knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

The way to protect yourself against this roaring lion is to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5, ESV).

The great news (in contrast to our enemy) is that God is eager to exercise grace to those who are humble and trust in Him:

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV): “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

In light of these truths, lean on God’s understanding, which He has revealed to us in the Bible. Be relentless in your pursuit of God, knowing who you are in Christ (the truth) and you will be assured a great reward for your humble trust in Him.

Visit again tomorrow for The Reward of Great Trust.

(These series of posts are adapted my sermon on April 29, 2012)

The God We Trust, part 1

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV)

Unhindered Trust (vs. 6-7)

Notice, first of all, the command: Humble yourselves… There is a responsibility given to us to humble ourselves, not passively wait on God to do the work of humility. In other words, considering the reality of our sin-nature, especially in relation to a holy God, and responding appropriately is humility.

The God we trust demands and deserves our whole-hearted allegiance (our unhindered trust). As a result, God exalts those who do at His appointed time.

Note the connection between “humble yourselves” in verse six “casting all your anxieties on Him in verse seven.” The demonstration of true humility is trusting God by “casting” on burdens on Him.

Humility says: “I am not going to [pridefully] hold onto these cares because I can handle them just fine on my own. I relinquish these things that burden me and give them over to the One who not only can handle them, but longs to do so.

The word “cast” is the same word Luke used (19:35) when he said “And they brought it [the colt] to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.”

Just as the colt carries what was thrown on him, the Lord carries our burdens that we cast on Him. It’s a great picture.

Why do He carry our concerns?

The text says “because He cares,” but why does He? What is it about God that He has such desire to carry our burdens?

The literal phrasing in the Greek is “because with Him there is care about you.” It is His very nature to do so. God doesn’t care because He sees us and responds with affection because of our weaknesses; He cares because He has chosen to, irregardless of our weaknesses. That is the beauty of His grace!

There is also a connection between God exalting you and His caring for you.

Romans 8:30 (ESV) draws this out: “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Those that He glorifies and exalts are those He cares for, or has a special relationship with because of their trust and faith in Christ. They are the ones who cast their cares on the Lord.

And when you do, you get His grace, because you reveal humility (see James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5, c/o Prov. 3:34).

Matthew 23:12 (ESV): “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Four truths which motivate and/or encourage us to trust the Lord:

1) Notice to whom we are told to humble ourselves: God. Peter certainly placed the phrase “the mighty hand of God” there for a reason. The reason isn’t fear, but knowing that the one to whom we are to humble ourselves has the power and authority to take our humility and exalt us. We can trust God with full devotion because He is mighty.

2) Notice that the word kairo is used which means a specific time that God has in mind. He already has a plan and knows the precise time of your exaltation – both temporally and eternally; these things are already “fixed” by Him. We can trust God with full devotion because He already has this all worked out in His time.

3) Because of His holy nature to love and care, we can trust God with full devotion, knowing that even our failures cannot keep Him away.

4) We can trust God with full devotion by casting our cares on Him, knowing that He will pour out His grace on us when we do.

But what happens when we don’t humble ourselves and trust Him as we ought? We will look into this tomorrow…

 (These series of posts are adapted my sermon on April 29, 2012)

Essentials of a Healthy Church. #5 Worship

*Worship

Acts 2:46-47 (ESV): And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

As we respond daily to God’s presence, His holiness, and His revelation as infinitely worthy, we are daily transformed into the likeness of Christ. Our daily recognizing that He is our greatest treasure is worship.

The word worship comes from the Saxon word weorthscype, which evolved into the word worthship and later into the modern worship.

“To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy.” (Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, page 87).

There are two points I’d like you to see about worship:

(1) It is first a personal experience, then a family and congregational experience.

(2) It is a “day-by-day” reality. Notice in verses 46 and 47 the phrase “day by day.” (Luke lists it twice for a connective reason). Their worship was not a one-or-two-day-a-week program they attended, it permeated all areas of their life, “day by day.” And the Lord responded to their worship by adding “to their number day by day.”

Application: People are hindered to come to the Lord because we simply do not worship God “day by day.” People want to be a part of something real, simple, and big. But when we don’t attribute great worth to God “day-by-day,” spiritually hungry people miss out on seeing the food that can be theirs’.

In other words, if we verbally acknowledge to those we come in contact with, what God is doing in our lives, how we treasure Him and be excited about it, I believe others will want to be a part of that.

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” (Piper, Let the Nations be Glad, page 11)

If we showed others how worthy God is by our actions and words of the gospel, people would break down the church door to partake of that feast.

Our very lives should be a pleasing gift to God that reveals to others what they are missing. That is why Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 (ESV), “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Conclusion for the last five days:

Evangelism (a process; to be spoken; for all peoples; only way of disciple-making)

Discipleship (repented; surrendered; models for others)

Fellowship (prayer and communion…unity…community)

Ministry (inside and outside/edification and evangelization; extends to all peoples)

Worship (a personal experience; “day-by-day”)

Essentials of a Healthy Church. #4 Ministry

Ministry

Acts 2:44-45 (ESV): And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And  they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

(1) Ministry has two sides: service inside the church and outside of the church. Outside, it is meeting the needs of people in the name of Christ, as if He were the one serving (which He does through His Spirit). We refer to it inside the church as edification or “building-up” believers; outside, we refer to it as missions.

Ephesians 4:11-15 (ESV): And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,…

(2) Both ministry inside and outside grow out of a transformed, disciplined life.

(3) Ministry extends beyond all cultures and races. It is an outflow of compassion the Lord has built into the very fabric of  a Christian’s life. We minister with God’s power and His strength, which is the only way to truly meet the deep needs of people.

 Christians need to be equipped to discover what their spiritiual gift(s) are, develop them throughout their lifetime, and use them in ways that honor Christ and build God’s kingdom. Once we do this, ministry becomes the supernatural outflow of the Holy Spirit inside us, which prompts us to minister.

 Acknowledging God as our source of strength in all these things and the reason we do everything, falls on our last essential…. worship (essential #5). To this we turn tomorrow.

Essentials of a Healthy Church. #3 Fellowship

Fellowship

Acts 2:42, 46-47 (ESV): “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers……And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and  having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

The word “devoted” in verse 42 means they had a single-mindedness; they were intent on one purpose.

How would I define fellowship?

It is first, a relationship with God and second, with other believers. When we meet together, we do so in Christ, expressing our “oneness” in Him.

(1) The word (fellowship) means “to share in” or “to come into communion,” suggesting both unity and community. It includes the idea of sharing in common experiences of joy and sorrow, and in sharing of material possessions.

It doesn’t happen by accident. It takes work and ultimately is the result of God working in believers and the church body. When me fellowship, we share our salvation experiences, our struggles, and our victories.

(2) (v. 42) The “breaking of bread” refers to communion, not necessarily the formal type we think of, but in this context, simply sharing a meal together. “The prayers” hints that this was a regular part of their gathering. Both of these are aspects of fellowship.

(3) (v. 46) The words “generous hearts” is sometimes translated as “sincerity of heart.” The thought from the original language is that of flexibility or getting along well with others by putting their interests first. It literally means “smooth” or free from “rock-hard,” contentious acts or thoughts. They overflowed with joy and delighted in each other’s presence.

A church with no fellowship will not grow. Fellowship is vital. People want to see a unified faith-family where peace and joy and love reigns.

(4) There is a wonder and beauty to fellowship. It extends to believers the world over. “The church is a great family of believers across the world.” (TTM, page 95)

We have an immediate bond because we are all under the grace and mercy of Christ Himself. This “oneness” can only be attributed to the unifying and bonding power of the Holy Spirit.

The cross of Christ is the basis for this oneness. And His example for us is our basis of ministry, which leads us to essential #4, Ministry. We will look into this tomorrow.

Essentials of a Healthy Church. #2 Discipleship

Discipleship

Acts 2:42-43 (ESV) says, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and  many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.”

Discipleship is following the person and teaching of Christ throughout one’s life. A disciple is characterized by obedience to Christ to the extent that their behavior and values results in serving the church and others.

What does the word disciple mean? Let’s see…

(1) It is a person who has repented of their sins, trusted in Christ’s work of redemption, received His forgiveness and continues to grow in Christ-likeness throughout their lives.

(2) A disciple is a person that is surrendered to Christ at all times! It affects every aspect of their life. There are not separate life-categories for a Christian. God reigns over all areas of their lives. A disciple of Christ is subject to Him; He is their king!

(3) A mature disciple should model by words and deeds for new Christians (or those “younger in faith”) how to follow Christ in this world. We see evidence of this third point in the following two Scriptures.

Hebrews 13:7 (ESV): Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

1 Cor. 4:16-17 (ESV): I urge you, then, be imitators of me. ¹⁷ That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

If we are truly kingdom citizens, then we must learn to live in this kingdom. A disciple not only learns this by themself, but instructs and encourages others to do the same.

Notice above the lifelong progression of the disciple of Christ: It begins with acknowledging one’s need for salvation, and that through Christ alone, moves to total surrender to Him, and finally models it for other believers.

Tomorrow, we will look into essential #3, Fellowship.

Essentials of a Healthy Church. #1 Evangelism

The next five posts form a series entitled Essentials of a Healthy Church. They are Evangelism, Discipleship, Fellowship, Ministry, and Worship. All of them are taken from the passage in Acts 2:38-47, a passage I preached from on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Evangelism (Acts 2:38-41)

When Peter says “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins,” what does he mean? Well, he doesn’t mean that baptism is something that saves you. Rather, (and I get this from the original language and the overall Biblical context) it means to “be baptized because you have been forgiven.”

So what is evangelism? If “repent, be baptized, and be saved” summarize it, how do we expand it?

(1) It is simply telling others about Christ and leading them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

(2) It is to be spoken — and lived out. If we have the incredible blessings the Bible describes and we really believe this, how can we remain silent?

Have you ever heard of this quote?:“Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.” It is attributed to Francis of Assisi. There is a problem, however — he did not say these words. He was a very vocal preacher and had quite a following. And it wasn’t because people watched his behavior.

Romans 10:17 says: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

If people only observe my behavior, what is to stop them from saying, “Hey, he goes to church and is a good person. Maybe I ought to go to church and be good too.” Is that salvation? Is that bringing someone to the essential good-news of Christ? Absolutely not!

Don’t misunderstand. Our lives should reflect what our mouths speak. But if all we do is walk the walk with no verbal expression, we have missed a very important essential – telling the good news!

Ask yourselves if Jesus only lived out the gospel and never used words, would we have believed? He was very vocal. His sayings are revealed to us and have led us to believe in Him. People are saved by hearing the good news of Christ.

So share the blessing with those who do not have it.

(3) Evangelism is for all peoples, all nationalities, regardless of race or culture.

Acts 2:39 (ESV) says “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Ephesians 2:11-12 (ESV): Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Acts 2:40 sheds more light on what having no hope means. It says “And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying,  “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

The word “crooked” (some translations, perverse) is the word skolios. We get our word scoliosis from it, which means “an abnormal curvature of the spine.” It can mean “twisted” or “slanted.” (see Friedrich (ed), Theological Dictionary of the NT)

It carries the idea of a generation that has veered off of the straight path, onto a winding or twisted one. God calls people to come back to the straight path, by believing in and following Christ, who was the only one who has ever stayed on the path of life, never turning to the right or left.

(4) Evangelism is the only way to make disciples. You can’t follow until you first believe.

Come back tomorrow for essential #2 — Discipleship.

Happiness and Self-love

In the last post, I discussed the design of happiness in the life of a believer. God wills for all His creatures to be happy. But only those who choose to know Him through Christ can ever know this transforming power of happiness that permeates all of life. In this post, I wish to add some further comments on happiness, primarily examining how happiness works with the Biblical idea of self-love.

There is a right and a wrong application of self-love. The wrong way involves loving yourself to the exclusion of others. Such love is self-seeking. But the Bible says that love is not self-seeking (1 Cor. 13:5). So how do these two thoughts reconcile? The Bible in this context is best understood to seek pleasure or happiness for yourself, which has no relation to others. It is private. And no person benefits from this expression of self-love. Neither do they see the glory of God in such a state. In contrast, the right way to love yourself is always in the context of community. Christianity is a communal faith, not a private one. The second of the two greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:39). Such a command preempts loving oneself improperly. Seeking happiness because you love yourself is a desire of the will put there by the Creator. The person who truly desires the good of his fellows and their happiness is the one who understands and finds joy in the experience. This expression of self-love reveals God’s glory to others.

So seek all the happiness you can for yourself. But know that such happiness can only flow from one source–God. If you look for happiness in ways that do not reflect God’s glory to others and ultimately back to Him, then what you seek will, in the end, prove to bring you only misery.

I leave you with a quote from Jonathan Edwards: “The saints and angels in heaven love their own happiness. Otherwise their happiness, which God has given them would be no happiness to them; for that which anyone does not love he can enjoy no happiness in” (from The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 8, Charity and Its Fruits, p. 254).

Happiness or Holiness?

Does the Bible teach holiness without happiness, or at least holiness over happiness? The church makes the two seem at odds with each other. But is this right?

Fifteen years ago, I began reading the works of John Piper. Since, I have journeyed down some great theological avenues. The truth I discovered and the love for Christ I developed has been nothing short of amazing. And still I find myself growing in the grace and the knowledge of the true God. My joy and affection and happiness in the Lord is ever-increasing, gaining greater heights every day. Jonathan Edward’s writings have shaped John Piper’s thoughts in much the same way. So the discovery of many of these truths come from Edwards. But ultimately, all of these come from the Bible. All truth is God’s truth. One such discovery is the place for happiness in the life of the believer.

Edwards developed seventy resolutions for his life that still prove timeless. One such resolution goes as follows:

“Resolved, To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that could be thought of.”**

Unfortunately, such a thought seems foreign to modern minds, particularly of believers. True, God demands holiness. But He also seeks our highest happiness. The problem is not pursuing happiness too much; one cannot be to excessive in this pursuit. Pursuing happiness in a misguided way, desiring and searching for it in any other place than God himself is the problem. The Bible commands us to “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Ps. 37:4) and “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). Many gloss over these verses because of familiarity. But scrutiny reveals an oft-neglected truth: Our delight or happiness or joy  is in the Lord. He commands us the duty to delight in Him, to rejoice in Him–to be happy in Him. The more we truly delight in and treasure and love Him, the more set-apart (holy) we are for His great glory. C.S. Lewis said, “It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can.”~~

So our happiness is in no way antithetical to our holiness; they complement each other. Even moreso, they cannot be separated. They must exist together.

**Resolution #22 in Edward’s Memoirs (in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1, p. xxi)

~~ A Severe Mercy (Vanauken, 1977, p.189)