"Purity: To Proclaim Liberty To The Captives" 4-1-08

Here let's dig deeper into Matthew 5:8 and talk about purity. Specifically, we're going to discuss the dangers of an impure life, and learn how to live purely in Christ.

But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. (Ezekiel 18:24-26 ESV)

And of course, this raises the age-old question: can we lose our salvation? And this is a very good question to ask (indeed, I would encourage you to seek God to find the answer to this); however, it is not the purpose of this message. Rather, the purpose of this message is to bring to light the impending doom of living an impure lifestyle, turning from our righteousness, doing injustice, and committing the same abominations of the wicked.

Remember that Christ is our righteousness - when we turn away from Him, as this verse makes clear, we shall surely die. Without Christ we are nothing! But I would like to pose the question: is not remaining in an impure lifestyle in itself turning from Christ? Is not seeking satisfaction from "broken cisterns" that cannot satisfy, rather than from the Lord who is the spring of living water, turning from Him? I am not talking about momentary turns or stumbles, either; I am talking about a steady pattern of sin, a kind of lifestyle. Habitual sin, you could say. This is a question to which I do not know the answer, for only God sees the heart of a person and is able to make that judgment (and He is the only one who should), but one thing we know for sure: sin, especially this "habitual sin", can separate us from Him and will leave us unsatisfied and longing for more.

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 3:2)

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." (Isaiah 55:1-2)

Truly, why spend money on what is not bread, and labor on what does not satisfy? The deceitfulness of sin is indeed very tempting - just look at the story of the adulteress in Proverbs 7. She offers promises of satisfaction and joy - and the foolish youth follows her, "like an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know it will cost him his life." Sin is deceitful, and it is tempting, which is why many times people fall into this pattern of sin - and often times, they hide it away deep within themselves, and even those closest to them may not have any idea of the struggle within - but God knows. Nothing is hidden from His sight. We may be able to fool our church, our friends, even our family, but we cannot fool God. Or maybe, we aren't even aware that we've adopted a kind of sin lifestyle, and we need the Lord to reveal this to us.

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14 ESV)

Are you currently drinking from broken cisterns that cannot satisfy? Are you turning from the living waters of Christ to the deceitfulness of sin? Is there a portion of your heart that is hidden in the darkness? Ask yourself this. Indeed, sin takes many forms - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 ESV) All of these can become idols in our lives, places that we turn to for momentary comfort which, of course, never lasts.

But in the Lord, there is hope. Are you currently struggling with sin in this manner, or is there some place other than Christ that you will turn to in times of trouble? If so, remember that there is hope in Him. Focus your eyes upon Him, and He will satisfy your soul. There is hope in none other. If you would like further study on this topic, I would recommend you to a ministry I know of called http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/, a Christ-centered web-ministry that offers Bible studies ranging from regular Christian living to freedom from living a lifestyle of sin. I can tell you from experience that they exalt Christ and His Word above all else.

"You have exalted above all things your name and your word." (Psalm 138:2)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:18-21 ESV)

Watch these chains fall from my hands Then you will understand, then you will understand. Watch me walk through these prison bars Then you will know my heart is free, Then you will know my heart is free.

~Watch, by Seven Places

Blessings,
Andrew

"A Lesson in Humility" 3-30-08

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

She lived out spiritual humility, yet she had much on a human level to be proud of. As an author of over 70 books and a translator of many others into Afrikaans, Annalou Marais had much cause to brag–but she was more concerned about honoring Christ than advancing herself. She worked behind the scenes of the Bible conference, doing a servants tasks with a smiling face and a joyful heart. It would have been natural for her to desire, and even deserve, the spotlight. Instead, she quietly served, joyfully weeping as God worked in people's hearts. It was an impressive humility because it was completely genuine.

I have heard it said, 'It is amazing what can be accomplished when we don't care who get's the credit.' This is certainly true of Christian service. Paul told the church at Corinth, 'I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then either he who plants is anything, or he who waters, but God who gives the increase' (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Paul had learned that great lesson of the servant's hear, as Annalou has learned–it's entirely about God. What we do is accomplished by His power and grace, and all the glory must go to Him.

It was a lesson in humility watching Annalou, and one that reminded me of the richness of serving God." (written by Bill Crowder)

'God often uses lowly things
His purpose to fulfill,
Because it takes a humble heart
To carry out His will.' (D. De Haan)

(Courtesy of Our Daily Bread, of RBC Ministries)

Pride and Grace cannot dwell in the same place.*

Praying for humility,
Whitney

Our Will vs. God's Will - 2/29/08

Today let's look at what happens when Our Will conflicts with God's Will. How many times have you thought you had everything in your life planned out, only to have something go wrong? This happens quite often. Know why?

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24

As we can see here, when we plan things, they hardly ever work out the way we plan them to. Look at it this way: God created us, but more than this, He knew us before we were even conceived in the womb! "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;" Jeremiah 1:5a. In other words, He had a plan for our lives before we are even born. (Eph. 2:10) We can see Jeremiah's situation for example. Jeremiah wasn't feeling so good about the position God had placed him in. This He said to Jeremiah; "Hey, I set you to be a prophet, so that's what I want you to do, so no sense in bothering to fight about it!"

"...I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:6-10

So the next time you think you ought to be doing something, pray beforehand to find out if that truly is a part of His plan for you. Never fight; if you feel like you are fighting something, let go, and allow the peace of God's will to take over your own. As a result, you will feel an inner peace and joy, knowing God has you by the hand, to guide you in His plan for your life. Don't guess; PRAY. Once you have done that, TRUST Him to lead you right. He knows what He is doing way more than we do. We really don't have a clue at all about anything.

We often times get in the habit of going our own way. More often we get in situations where we feel very much alone. This is where you need to know that you are never alone. God is always there, ready when you are ready to let go of your struggles.

So stop fighting. Let go of "My Will vs. God's Will," and change it to "My Will is God's Will."

Letting go,
Whitney

Love & Sacrifice - 2/26/08

Good day to you all,

Today the message I would like us to examine focuses specifically on love, being inspired by John 13:34-35.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35 ESV)

What we can gather from these verses is that we must learn to love one another just as Jesus Christ has loved us. So just how has Christ loved us? Let's think. For one, He died for us, and as we know, "greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) But let's be honest here people; how often does the opportunity - and the challenge - for us to physically lay down our lives for our friends come along? I haven't jumped in front of any bullets recently - have you? Perhaps so; perhaps not, but my point is this: that even though we may not all be given the opportunity to express selfless love in such a physical manner as this, we can lay our lives down in other ways.

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:23-24 ESV)

I want to come after Jesus, don't you? In order to do this, He calls us to "take up our crosses daily," and to even lose our own lives in service to Him. But what does this have to do with loving others? More than you might imagine, in fact. Loving Christ and loving others are so intricately interwoven that you simply cannot separate the two. Following Jesus involves us learning to love those around us - encouraging them, building them up in Christ, putting our own desires aside in favor of theirs; loving them (See 1 Corinthians 13 for this). Sometimes, this is hard. When the emotions are running low and the impatience is running high, when we simply don't want to, or when there's just something tugging us away from doing what's right, we must look past this and make the decision - the commitment - to love anyway.

Do you think Jesus enjoyed being beaten, flogged, tortured, nailed to a cross, and crucified while those He came to save stood around mocking Him? I think not. But He chose to anyway - now this, this is love.

Let us pray that we can have this kind of love first for God, and second for all those around us. It may not always be fun or enjoyable (though often times, it can be) - but this is the nature of sacrifice. The beauty in all of this is that as we learn to sacrifice of ourselves for the glory of God and the well being of others, we are blessed with a life that becomes so much more satisfying and fulfilling than ever before! What a wonderful paradox this is!

And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)

Blessings,
Andrew

A Still Small Voice - 2/24/08

Hello, all! Our topic for today is the "still small voice" of God, which can be seen in action when God speaks to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13 NKJV)

Imagine for a moment, if you would, being in Elijah's shoes. You seek to hear from God, and while you seek Him, you see a great wind tearing into the mountains, you witness rocks as they are smashed into pieces all around you, you feel the earth tremble, and you see an all-consuming fire rise up before your very eyes. Yet still, you hear no word from God. And then it comes: a whisper, as soft as the breeze whispering in your ear, and this whisper asks, "Why have you come?"

Just as God chose to speak with Elijah in this manner, in this way He sometimes chooses to speak with us. Why? Because He wants us to listen. We must sometimes be silent ourselves in order to hear from God. But we also have His promise that when we seek Him in this manner, He will surely meet us.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13 NKJV)

Seeking is great, and we all need to do it fervently, but seeking is only half of it; we must also be willing to submit to His Will when we do hear from Him, regardless of what He calls us to do (that is, as long as it's truly God who we're hearing from - but we'll touch on this issue more tomorrow). Abraham is a good example of this - when God called on him to sacrifice his only son, he obeyed - but thankfully, this was a test of faith, and at the last moment God called Abraham away from sacrificing his son and He Himself provided the ram that they were to use.

Jesus is another great example - a perfect example, in fact. We read of Him pleading with the Father the night of His crucifixion, but along with those pleading words, we see Him utter the famous words we all know and love: "Not my will but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42) Let us, then, follow this perfect example and seek to hear from this "still small voice" with all our hearts, and, when we do hear, to be willing to submit. Tomorrow we will examine this further, but for now, let us end with this short prayer:

I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees. (Psalm 119:145)

Blessings,
Andrew

2/12/08 - The Righteous And The Wicked

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3 ESV)

Let's list the characteristics of this man described here: he does not take counsel from the wicked, he does not wander onto the paths of sinners, and he does not scoff at the misfortune or mistakes of others. He delights in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on it day and night. He yields his fruit in season, never withers, and in all that he does, he prospers. Literally everything he undertakes is prosperous, but not because God is just some miracle machine giving him everything he ever desired (if this was the case, we'd all be winning the lottery every other day!), but because he conforms his will to that of the Lord, whose plans cannot be circumvented. I want to be this man! Don't you? Now let's look at the contrast between this man, and the wicked mentioned in verses 3-6.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalms 1:4-6 ESV)

Now let's list the characteristics of the wicked: they are like chaff (straw, or worthless matter), driven away by the wind. They will not stand in the judgment, nor will they stand among the righteous; they will ultimately perish. Boy, aren't you glad we don't have to be this way? I am so thankful that I have been given a new heart and that the blood of Christ has cleansed me from my evil ways, for this is exactly how we are before Jesus: sinful, unable to be in the presence of righteousness, and doomed to perish.

But now, through His sacrifice and gift of love, we no longer have to be like the wicked, but we have the opportunity to be like the righteous man described in verses 1-3. We deserve nothing more than to perish for our wickedness; but this is the amazing-ness of the grace of God! Have you experienced this grace in your own life? If you have not, you know where to look: Jesus Christ, who gave Himself that we all might be able to receive these awesome gifts of grace, mercy, and hearts made new.

Blessings,
Andrew