09/02/2013
Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit
Ephesians 4.1-6
Every spiritual blessing we have in Christ relates to our walk with the LORD. God has given us spiritual riches so that we can bring Him glory by reflecting Him and so that we may love each other with all the facets of His love.
Salvation happens in a moment.
Growth in grace is a life long work.
There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. -Oswald Chambers
That is why Jesus spoke about those who believe for a whie and then fall away because they have roots in the Parable of the sower/soils in Mark 4.
Mark 4:5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
Here are several areas Paul calls our hearts and minds to, areas we all need to grow in.
It is tragic when a believer stops growing.
It is not right.
It is sad.
These verses explain:
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God Who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.
We put forth effort as a result if God's work in us in saving us.
He gives the power and energy and is at work in us to bring about change within.
What are graces we ought to be growing in? What are things we need to be working out?
1. Being Humble- a correct opinion of yourself.
Be a servant. Seek the lowest place.
a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness
Look at Jesus Philippians 2.5-8
Setting ourselves beside the life of Christ Jesus
Facing our weaknesses, failures and shortcomings.
The Masters, The Barclays, PGA Phil Mickelson's approach shots incredible! I realized how far I had to go in my game.
Face yourself
Look to Christ
2. Being Gentle
mildness, meekness
Listen to Jesus
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus was no pushover.
What does this mean?
Christ is approachable. Children, the destitute, the learned, the rich and the everyman were drawn to Him.
He had compassion on people.
He listened carefully.
He was always angry and the right time and never at the wrong time.
This word gentle also is used to describe an animal that has been trained, whose every passion and instinct are under perfect control. A great example of that would be the seeing eye dogs. Bernard's words to me about their strict training.
Times when He was angry
*Clearing the Temple
*When the disciples tried to prevent the children from coming to Him.
*When Philip asked Him to show them the Father
*When they came down from the mountain after He was transfigured.
Matthew 17.14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
It is possible to be tough minded and tender hearted.
3. Being Patient
endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance
forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs
Allow the LORD room to work out His purposes
Exodus 23. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
Patience is cooperating with God's timing which is perfect and He makes all things beautiful in it. Bright and fair.
Patience is endurance.
It also describes the spirit of a man who has the power to take revenge but never does so, a refusal to retaliate. A puppy with a big dog.
4.Love's forbearance
to hold up, to hold one's self erect and firm, to sustain, to bear, to endure
We must bear with
*where each other is at on our own spiritual pilgrimage.
*the sins - offenses of others
*our backgrounds
*our cultural differences
*our oddities idiosyncrasies
Love:
Eros
Philia warm affection between friends
Storge family
Agape
Unstoppable seeking of the highest good in another person's life.
These we are to be!
Posted by Larry at 8:33 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 2013
Heirs Together With Israel
Ephesians 3.1-6
Think of how God preserved Israel in the attempts to annihilate the Jewish people.
Exodus 1.15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
v.22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
The Book of Esther
The Crusades: As we remember the crusades we see an image of Kings purging Muslims. However a lot of purging was done on Jewish turf. From various Jewish towns being pillaged for food or money(particularily in north Israel) or cultures in Antioch or Jerusalem it is shown through these genocidal actions how the Jews were viewed as a curse needed to be cleansed as it had an alien attitude in comparison to Christianity.
The Black Death: The plague was a disaster on biblical proportion. Over half of Europe was brutally cut down and in such times there needed to be a seemingly sound explanation. For a lot of central European countries the obvious place to turn would be the Jews poisoning the wells on behalf of their close mysterious society being seen as strange and beyond sound explanation. This resulted in purges of genocidal intention throughout 14 century to 17 century as the majority of the population wanted to punish them for doing such deed(of cause they didn't it was pesticides).
The Holocaust in the last century
6,000,000 Jews killed
67% of the Jews
2,000 years after Paul wrote to the Ephesians the connection with Israel still exists. The Babylonian Empire, the Medo Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, The Roman Empire, the British Empire, the USSR, the Soviet Empire, the Iron Curtain are no more.
The promises of these Pharaohs, Emperors, Leaders do not stand because these kingdoms have passed. The promises made to Israel before any of these Empires came about and those made while some of them were in existence still stand and are for us!!!
Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:7-9, 29 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.v.29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
These things were written to Gentiles, non Jewish people.
We are blessed along with Abraham:
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 15:1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram.I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
Genesis 22:14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
Joint heir one who obtains something assigned to himself with others, a joint participant.
* I will bless you.
* I will protect you and I am your Reward.
* All nations on the earth will be blessed through you.
* The LORD will provide.
The announcement made to the shepherds is for us as well.
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Isaiah speaks of the coming Messiah, how that He will sit upon the throne of David and order it and establish it in righteousness and in judgment from henceforth even forever, the zeal of the Lord of Host shall perform this. And yet, Isaiah said that God's righteous servant would be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from Him. But He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to our own way, and God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And how He would be numbered with the transgressors in His death. The LORD will provide Himself. He loved the church and gave Himself up for her. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body: This describes the mystery itself - that believing Jews and believing Gentiles are joined together into one Body of Christ, into one Church, and no longer separated before God by distinction, the walls in the temple and the promises made to Israel.
Jacob, who became Israel received the promises of his grandfather Abraham and his own.
The blessing of Isaac:
Genesis 27:28-29 May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.Be lord over your brothers,and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
Jacob's Dream at Bethel:
Genesis 28:13-15 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Partakers of His promise in Christ: The truth of this mystery means that Gentiles are now full partakers of His promise. This was a privilege no longer reserved only for the believing Jewish person.
Through the gospel: This could only happen through the gospel, where all men have an equal standing in Jesus. This is the same gospel Paul is a servant of, because of the gift of grace given to him by the working of God’s power.
He makes mention both of the mystery that was revealed and of the revelation of it. (1.) The mystery revealed is that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the gospel (v. 6); that is, that they should be joint-heirs with the believing Jews of the heavenly inheritance; and that they should be members of the same mystical body, be received into the church of Christ, and be interested in the gospel-promises, as well as the Jews, and particularly in that great promise of the Spirit.
1. This Mystery
hidden thing, secret, mystery
not obvious to the understanding
a hidden purpose, secret will
We didn't see it fully until after the Holy Spirit was outpoured.
The Book of Acts chronicles this truth:
Acts 10:34-35, 44-45 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
At the first Council of the Church, held in Jerusalem, around 50AD
Acts 15:12-18 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will returnand rebuild David’s fallen tent.Its ruins I will rebuild,and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,and all the Gentiles who bear my name,says the Lord, who does these things’ that have been known for ages.
Up to that time
Matthew 15.21-28
2. Heirs Together With Israel
one who has acquired or obtained the portion allotted to him
The Promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fit perfectly into the Great Commission.
3. Members of One Body
The Church
The Body of Christ
Christian Unity
4. Sharers Together in the Promise of Christ
The Messiah
Isaiah 1:26: "And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City." (Isaiah 1:26)
Once he is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
The whole world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:11-17)
He will be descended from King David (Isaiah 11:1) via Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:8-10, 2 Chronicles 7:18)
The "spirit of the Lord" will be upon him, and he will have a "fear of God" (Isaiah 11:2)
Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership (Isaiah 11:4)
Knowledge of God will fill the world (Isaiah 11:9)
He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations (Isaiah 11:10)
All Israelites will be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 11:12)
Death will be swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8)
There will be no more hunger or illness, and death will cease (Isaiah 25:8)
All of the dead will rise again (Isaiah 26:19)
The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11)
He will be a messenger of peace (Isaiah 52:7)
Nations will recognize the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13-53:5)
The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23)
The ruined cities of Israel will be restored (Ezekiel 16:55)
Weapons of war will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9)
The people of Israel will have direct access to the Torah through their minds and Torah study will become the study of the wisdom of the heart (Jeremiah 31:33)[10]
He will give you all the worthy desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4)
He will take the barren land and make it abundant and fruitful (Isaiah 51:3, Amos 9:13-15, Ezekiel 36:29-30, Isaiah 11:6-9)
The Good News of Christmas is Christ Has Come!
The Good News of Good Friday is Christ has died for our sins
The Good News of Easter is He Rose Again! He is alive forevermore!
The Good News of the Ascension is He is coming again!
For all the people, everyone. Our neighbors, friends, family, people we work with. They all need Christ.
Heirs together with Israel, sharing in the promises made to them by the LORD. Through followers of Jesus today all the nations on the earth will be blessed it is happening and we are part of it.
Posted by Larry at 8:31 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013
Seated With Christ Jesus in the Heavenly Realms
Ephesians 2.6
Sanctity of Human Life in US, North Korean Brothers and Sisters in Christ - death penalty or life in a labor camp for owning a Bible. Tomorrow Martin Luther King Day. Presidential Innauguration. Freedom is a precious thing. Life is sacred.
This morning we are talking about spiritual blessings in Christ.
Every Spiritual blessing in Christ
God gave us life to be seated with Christ.
We are children of God through faith in Him.
He is at the right hand of God. He is making intercession for us.
Seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
Heavenly
existing in heaven, things that take place in heaven, the heavenly regions,
heaven itself, the abode of God and angels, of heavenly origin or nature
Matthew 18.35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
John 3.12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
II Timothy 4.18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ...
We are in the kingdom of God, anticipating His glory, and are so blessed with salvation and in our fellowship with Christ Jesus.
We have been raised us up together--with Christ. The "raising up" is about Jesus coming out of the tomb, and of us in the grave of our sins.
God has made us sit together--with Christ in His ascension. Believers are bodily in heaven in point of right, and virtually so in spirit, and have each their own place assigned there, which in due time they shall take possession of ( Phl 3:20, 21). He does not say ”at the right hand of the Father. That place is for Jesus alone. We will share His throne.
Revelation 3:21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
As followers of Jesus Christ we are seated with Him in heavenly places:
1. Our Eyes Are Opened to Heavenly Realities
We walk by faith not by sight. However we do see things here on the earth from a completely different perspective because of our citizenship being in heaven.
Because of Christ being in our lives and hearts we see things those without Him do not see.
We view suffering differently.
We view sickness differently.
We view death differently.
We view money and material possessions differently.
We see success differently.
We look at people who offend us differently.
We see Jesus.
Hebrews 2:8-9 ”In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."
We see eternity.
We see two places of eternal destiny for each soul.
We see the value of a single soul.
2. Our Minds Are Moved By Heavenly Desires
We think differently.
Our desires are not to see people happy but to see them become holy.
We long to see people come to know Christ.
We think about how our actions and words will effect people.
Because we are seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places we realize that He is next to us here on this earth.
-Our behavior is effected by this.
-It is a source of great encouragement. II Timothy 4.16-18
-Knowing we are seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places is a great source of strength.
1 Thessalonians 3:13 May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
-Knowing that we are seated with Him in the heavenly realm is a great source of hope.
Psalm 33:18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.
3. Our Hearts Are Satisfied By Heavenly Joys
A good part of this is quiet times with Jesus. When He shows you things between Him and you. John 14.21, 23
Turn your eyes upon Jesus...
Sitting alone with Him is being seated with Him in the heavenly realm. We are elevated from earth.
Part of this comes when we worship together.
We serve with a joy. We are imitating Christ. John 13
In our daily work we can commune with Him.
Seated with Him in the Heavenly Realms
That is where we are now in spiritual privilege.
That is where we ought to be living in spiritual experience.
This where God has us in our spiritual position and He wants us conscious of it on our spiritual pilgrimage.
Posted by Larry at 8:43 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2013
When The Times Reach Their Fulfillment
Ephesians 1.3-10
We are on a clock, much larger than life! It is God's time clock. It is ticking away in heaven. Most people do not realize this.
We have been in the Last Days since Jesus ascended back into heaven!
It has been ticking since the Genesis. God created time from eternity. This is chronicled in Genesis 1. The whole first week is laid out for us there in detail, each day.
When Adam, the first man, sinned, the LORD promised a Redeemer. Genesis 3.15
1. The prophets searched for the time which the Spirit of Christ was pointing, the time of the coming of the Messiah.
I Peter 1.10-12
They received the Word of God but not the time of its fulfillment.
It was so wonderful that they longed to know "when".
Investigate, scrutinize and search diligently to find out the exact time.
The words are strong and emphatic, alluding to miners, who dig to the bottom, and break through not only the earth, but the rock, to come to the ore; so these holy prophets had an earnest desire to know.
2. In The Fulness of Time Jesus was born. Galatians 4.4 (chronos)
Chronos= time either long or short
Rome had unified the world so there were no "boundaries" set up to stop the Gospel. A century earlier this would not have been the case.
Roman Roads, 50,000 miles of them had been built. Many had street light lanterns. The Roman engineering was aimed at bringing Caesar's legions to every corner of his dominion but on those imperial lines of communications the missionaries marched with the message of the Gospel. Paul letters were carried on them! Evangelists traveled them to bring the Good News to the whole world.
The Romans had cleared the Mediterranean of pirates, making travel by ship much safer.
Greek had become the universal language. The Gospel could be spoken and God's Word written in a language that all could understand. This hastened the spread of the gospel. There was no language barrier to contend with.
“It was a time when the pax Romana extended over most of the civilized earth and when travel and commerce were therefore possible in a way that had formerly been impossible. Great roads linked the empire of the Caesars, and its diverse regions were linked far more significantly by the all-pervasive language of the Greeks. Add the fact that the world was sunk in a moral abyss so low that even the pagan cried out against it and that spiritual hunger was everywhere evident, and one has a perfect time for the coming of Christ and for the early expansion of the Christian gospel.” (Boice)
The time was also right because the 483 years prophesied by Daniel were drawing to a close (Daniel 9:24-26).
Providence, by various arrangements in the social and political, as well as the moral world, had fully prepared the way for the coming Redeemer. God often permits physical evil long before he teaches the remedy. The smallpox had for long committed its ravages before inoculation, and then vaccination, was discovered. It was essential to the honor of God's law to permit evil long before He revealed the full remedy.
Economically it was in the fulness of time. 2 out of three men were in some form of slavery. The burden of taxation and the growth of the population made life care ridden and full of anxiety. The word seemed tangled and gone wrong. It was a dark hour. The words of the two on the Road to Emmaus were indicative of the population at large, "We had hoped."
Morally the world was ready. The Greek mythological gods were losing their luster and the worship of nature was in the minds of many. Read the first chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. It is descriptive of the moral condition of the first century. There was great despair.
Religiously the world was ready.
gods from the east were coming into play
The gods of Olympus had become a joke.
Caesar Worship had begun to emerge.
None of these gods addressed broken hearts, forgiveness of sins or other deep human need. Yet in the air there was expectancy, particularly in Israel. John the Baptist was asked if he was the Messiah. People's hearts were opening to the LORD.
In summary:
The Jews, with their concept of monotheism and the Old Testament Scriptures (with scores of prophecies regarding the Messiah) had prepared the way.
The Greeks had provided a language that was the most precise instrument for the conveyance of human thought the world had ever known.
The Romans had given humanity a time of peace and marvelous transportation and communication systems. - Christian Courier
Probably no period in the history of the world was better suited to receive the infant church than the first century A.D….By the second century Christians…began to argue that it was a divine providence which had prepared the world for the advent of Christianity.
3. The full number of Gentiles/ The Times of the Gentiles
Romans 11.25-27
Luke 21.12
Implying (1) that one day Jerusalem shall cease to be "trodden down by the Gentiles" ( Rev 11:2), (2) that this shall be at the "completion" of "the times of the Gentiles," which from Rom 11:25 (taken from this) we conclude to mean till the Gentiles have had their full time of that place in the Church which the Jews in their time had before them--after which, the Jews being again "grafted into their own olive tree," one Church of Jew and Gentile together shall fill the earth ( Rom 11:1-36). What a vista this opens up!
4. Times reached their fulfillment. Ephesians 1.10
Time= kairos
a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for
An opportune or seasonable time
the right time
Everything under Him.
His return v.21
So today we wait for the times to reach their fulfillment, for the Fulfillment of the Ages to come. I Corinthians 10.11. We do not totally know how we fit into the plan of God for the ages. It is not for us to figure out. We are to obey, remain faithful to His dear cause, and trust in Him with all our hearts, share His love. One day we will know.
Most of the time people are not aware of how God is using them. Sometimes, many times it isn't until after a person is gone into heaven that the influence of their life's work is realized.
The times will reach their fulfillment soon. Jesus is coming again. He is coming soon.
What clock are you living by today? We have to live by both of them, but remember one day the clocks of this earth will cease and eternity will swallow up time. Then we will live by what we have done for Christ on earth. The time is coming when no man can work. Let's serve Him while it us still day.
Keep on trusting.
Keep on serving.
Keep on giving yourself fully to the LORD.
Your labor in the LORD is not in vain.
Posted by Larry at 8:48 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2013
Into 2013 We Go With God
Joshua 1
Moses, my servant, is dead, now...
An new era, a new time, the end of one portion of Israel's history.
Crossing the wilderness is over, the Promised Land is before them.
Under the leadership of Moses the nation had journeyed to the border of the Promised Land. Due to unbelief what should have taken a month took 40 years.
The nation is in transition. Traveling is over, progress now is going to be measured by conquest, not by distance. It is a time for settling into the land.
God's purposes and plan are unfolding. His will is being done.
They have arrived at the place where the LORD wanted them and what a place it was and is!
The country into which Israel entered was of a very choice kind. The Land of Israel is the world condensed. Within that narrow strip of territory, you get plains and hills, frosts and snow of winter and heats of summer, with products both of the semi-tropical and temperate zones. Israel, is the whole earth in miniature, and all the advantages of all lands are gathered into it. It was, in Joshua's days, as today, a place of extreme fertility: "A land flowing with milk and honey." That is not all; while it was fertile on the surface, it was rich underneath. It was a land "whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass." The useful metals were near at hand, and every other convenience. The minerals in the Dead sea are worth Trillions of Dollars. You see the Israeli young people in the malls here selling it! Besides being fertile and wealthy, it was prepared for immediate habitation. The tribes had not to build houses, they inhabited what others had built; they had not to plant vineyards, but to eat the fruit of former labors. All things were waiting for the true heirs of the land.
Now it is time to move in.
The word, "Now" in verse 2, is power packed. It is part of this transition of leadership but also giving instructions and promises for the immediate future and the distant future. You see how the LORD transcends time? This was a culmination of years of Israel's history-v.6 Promises made to Abraham, Issac and Jacob were about to be fulfilled.
With the death of Moses, Joshua took on the God ordained position of leading Israel. He learned by serving as Moses' aide. He stood at Moses' side the past 40 years. He observed the man of God firsthand and close.
Most people are too big for God to use.
Too full of their own schemes.
They have their own way of doing things.
He was a long time in training.
40 yrs. in Egyptian bo***ge.
One of the spies; Endured wilderness, led in defeat of Amalekites.
After eighty years of faithful behind the scenes service God said "Moses my servant is dead" vs.2.
Who can know what God is preparing you for?
God's will never comes through big things. If we will be faithful in the smallest tasks.
Now Moses had died. They had mourned for him. God is telling Joshua not because he did not know. He is telling him because it is now time for Joshua to step into the leading role. The era of Moses' leadership had ended. Joshua's time had begun.
There is a difference between God choosing a leader and God allowing the people to have what they want. Joshua was the man for this time. He was God's choice after Moses was forbidden to enter the Land.
The nation needed to accept God' choice and get ready to move out into the land.
How are we to face the New Year?
1. Understand the Times.
They are a changing! Big changes.
Don't fight it, learn, with God's help, to flow with it.
Family dinner... Xbox, iPhones doing what crayons used to do.
The LORD does not change! He transcends time but wants us to adjust to it.
Things were about to change for Israel. They were getting their own land!
Verse 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you
Strength
Courage
Don't give into terror, discouragement
Remember the Promise of His Presence
2. Keep an Open Heart
God is at work.
He is desiring to work wonders.
He is still looking for those who hearts are perfect towards Him.
II Chronicles 16.9
He was doing a new thing in Israel with Joshua.
Isaiah 43.19
We are not the same world or the same country we were several years ago, or even last year. Lunch with my friend Rudy, "Just when I thought I had heard everything!"
The human need of Christ as Savior has not changed. Everyone needs God.
In the year 2013 this is true. The greatest need in the human heart is for Christ Jesus.
3. Watch Him work.
Pray for open eyes.
Be on the holy prowl!
Be alert to human need. Jesus was.
4. Join in the work!
Pray Luke 10.2
Pray the LORD of the Harvest
Pray the LORD of the Harvest to send forth workers into His Harvest Fields
Matthew 5
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
5. Expect an Outpouring of His Spirit! Acts 1-2
Pray for it.
Greatest need
Solves so many problems.
Empowers us with His Spirit
Here we go into 2013 with God.
He will be with us.
He will lead us.
Posted by Larry at 8:51 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2012
Here Comes The Light!
Matthew 2.1-18
We have taken the account of Christ's Birth out of context. I am not talking about the liberty of putting the wise men in the nativity. We have removed the whole event from the historical background.
The Christmas Story is from the first century, Bethlehem. It is also about 21st century America. What was going on in the world at that time was very significant! It speaks of our time too.
The historical context tells us about the leaders, world conditions and political issues. Into this mess, Jesus was born. He was given the title, King of the Jews. Jesus came in a time of frustration and difficulty.
1. The Government was over stretching its authority. v.1
God established government to give order in a sinful wold, not to add to the sin or unrest. It looks like we are about to go over that fiscal cliff; the Treasury Department announced Wednesday that the nation would hit the debt limit on Dec. 31, and would then have to take “extraordinary measures” to avoid exhausting the government’s borrowing limit in the New Year. None of this s good news. We are borrowing to stay afloat. If we can't borrow, we can't keep going. There is great frustration today with our "leaders" in Washington.
Herod was a wicked man, also known as Herod the Great. He was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple) and the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritime. Once he was king, Herod launched this ambitious building program, both in Jerusalem and the spectacular port city of Caesarea, named after the emperor. He restored the magnificent Jerusalem temple, which was later destroyed by the Romans following a rebellion in A.D. 70.
Important details of his biography are gleaned from the works of the 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian Josephus.
Herod the Great was a schemer who took advantage of Roman political unrest to claw his way to the top. During a civil war in the empire, Herod won the favor of Octavian, who later became the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar, the one who issued the decree for the whole world to be taxed.
These were the men in leadership when Jesus was born.
Herod was a brutal man who killed his father-in-law, several of his ten wives, and two of his sons. He ignored the laws of God to suit himself and chose the favor of Rome over his own people. Herod's heavy taxes to pay for lavish projects forced an unfair burden on the Jewish citizens. He was similar to Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former ruler, who was executed 6 years ago today.
After he heard about Jesus being born by the wise men, Herod was troubled.
to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro)
to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity
to disquiet, make restless
to stir up
to strike one's spirit with fear and dread
to render anxious or distressed
to perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts
A leader, a governor, a ruler should bring tranquility to the people. He should be the voice of reason. He should be a stabilizing force. He cannot take the luxury of allowing personal preferences rule his emotions. If he does the people will become troubled too.
Herod did not care about his people. He was a narcissistic ego driven self centered man. He was diabolical. He was looking out for himself.
Pity the people whose leader is like that.
2. Herod ordered a violent death to newborn babies and young children.
When this thing happens in a society that society is collapsing. How a society treats its children (including those in the womb) and how it cares for its elderly tells how sacred life is and where the conscience of at nation is.
3. It was into this time Christ was born.
It was the worst of times
It was the best of times.
In America there is:
-- One birth every: 8 seconds
-- One death every: 12 seconds
-- One abortion every: 26 seconds
-- One international migrant (net) every: 40 seconds
Average credit card debt per U.S. household: $15,418
Today we face a barrage of new taxes if we go over that fiscal cliff.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem! Prophesies fulfilled, Hope of the Ages has come! It was Caesar's decree that got Mary and Joseph there. Initial reaction, "Oh no! This could not have happened at a worst time!"
But what we view as the worst many times is God's will being worked out!
Mary pondering, treasuring these things in her heart was in part I am sure of the fact they were in Bethlehem and how they got there!
Many times we are where the LORD wants us. Since it is difficult we assume we should pray to be delivered. That is not always the way God works.
Jesus was born in the time of King Herod.
This king did not care about his people, particularly good men and little children.
The early worshippers of Christ lived in a world of terror and uncertainty but they never said, "Look what the world has come to," rather they exclaimed, "Look What as come to the world!"
Joy to the World! The LORD is come'
Our Christmas season would hardly seem complete without the singing of Joy to the World, the most joyous of the carols. Yet Isaac Watts, its author, never intended it to be a Christmas carol at all. Rather, it was a part of his Psalms of David Imitated, published in 1719, which contained paraphrases of many of the Psalms in New Testament language.
The story of the hymn, Joy to the World, is the story of the author, Isaac Watts (1675-1748), who is universally acknowledged as "The Father of English Hymnody". He has earned the title, not because he was first to write English hymns, but because he gave impetus to hymnody and established its place in the worship of the English church.
For over one hundred years, congregational singing had been strictly limited to the Psalms of the Old Testament in poetic form. Many of these rhymed Psalms were so unnatural that Samuel Wesley, father of the famous brothers Charles and John, called them "scandalous doggerel," and his opinion was shared by many.
The birth of Isaac Watts to a dissenting deacon and the daughter of a Huguenot refugee was followed by fourteen years of persecution and hardships for the entire family. Perhaps this suffering was responsible for Isaac Watts’ ill health, for he grew only to a height of just over five feet and was weak and sickly all his life.
Though weak in body, the boy was strong in mind and spirit and early in life showed promise of poetic capability. After one Sunday morning service, Isaac, then fifteen years old, complained of the atrocious worship in song. One of the deacons challenged him: "Give us something better, young man." His answer was ready for the evening service and was sung that night in the Independents’ meeting, Southampton, where his father was pastor. Perhaps a hint of things to come was contained in this first verse of Isaac Watts:l
Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father’s throne;
Prepare new honors for His name,
And songs before unknown.
When Isaac began to preach several years later, his congregation sang the songs that seemed to flow from his pen like a river. In 1707, the accumulation of eighteen years was published under the title, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. The river continued to flow, and in 1719 his "Psalms of David Imitated" was published, not as a new paraphrase of David, but as an imitation of him in New Testament language. It was as though the Psalms burst forth in their fulfillment at last.
Joy to the World is the "imitation" of the last half of Psalm 98. The author transformed the old Jewish psalm of praise for some historic deliverance into a Christian song of rejoicing for the salvation of God that began to be manifested when the Babe of Bethlehem came "to make his blessing flow far as the curse is found." This is one of the most joyous hymns in all Christendom because it makes so real what Christ’s birth means to all mankind.
The tune to which the hymn is sung is attributed to George Frederick Handel and bears resemblance to phrases of his great oratorio, Messiah. Notably the first four tones match the beginning of the chorus, "Lift Up Your Heads."
As we rejoice in the coming to earth of our Savior, we may also be glad for the veritable river of hymns that flowed from the pen of Isaac Watts. His name stands at the head of our most majestic hymns, notably, "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross." In many hymnals more hymns of Isaac Watts are to be found than of any other single author.
4. The Wise Worship.
Professional men, brilliant.
Shepherds are wise. They obeyed the Word of God. They told the good news.
The wise bow at the manger, at the throne of God.
Here Comes the Light! Fiscal cliffs, uncertain times, a world that is changing faster than we can keep up with, in the midst of this followers of Jesus sing with faith and hope, Joy To The World! The LORD is come!
Let earth receive her KING!
Posted by Larry at 8:23 AM No comments: Links to this post
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2012
The Christmas Rush
Luke 1.39, (26-45)
2.15-16 (8-18)
We are coming to the end of the Christmas Rush. If you are brave enough to venture to the stores the next 24 hours you have my sympathies. About 15 years ago I took my teenaged daughter to the mall on Christmas Eve. There were cars parked on the grass, traffic barely moving and people rushing everywhere.
But the rush has been going on for weeks. Last year, out in front of Penney's, I found someone's cell phone. I waited for a call to in on it, answered it, and found out who its owner was. Her dad came to the parsonage to retrieve it with a Christmas bag of chocolates for me! 2 years ago I found a wallet in the middle of Higbie Lane in West Islip. A man had gotten gas in his car and left it on the roof. I looked up his name in the phone book. I called and his wife came over with great thanks. Both of these thing occurred because of the Christmas Rush.
News 12 Long Island featured a story last night. They went to the Roosevelt Field Mall and asked shoppers yesterday if they were done with their Christmas Shopping. One after another said no, some had just begun. At the end only one lady sad she was done. The Christmas Rush will go on looks like for today and tomorrow.
E-mails coming this morning from retailers, "There's Still Time To Pick the Perfect Gift."
Used to be by tomorrow night...
Song:
Greeting cards have all been sent, the Christmas Rush is through...
But as I heard people can and will shop on line all the way into Christmas Day.
Haste does make waste but sometimes we are moved by the LORD to hurry.
There was some hurrying going on that first Christmas, in the beginning of the first century.
Mary hurried
The Shepherds hurried
Hurry
Outline of Biblical Usage:
1) haste, with haste
2) earnestness, diligence
a) earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything
b) to give all diligence, interest one's self most earnestly
This hurrying was not haphazard but was coupled with purpose and attention.
1. What They Were Hurrying For
Excitement about the good news
Motivated by love for the LORD/ His Word to them
God was doing something wonderful.
His Story was being made.
Jesus was coming/ had come!
Mary had wonderful news, Elizabeth too. Mary wanted to share it with her. The haste indicates intense desire.
The shepherds went immediately, with no doubt, lost no time.
2. What We Are Hurrying For?
Money, security, fear
Position
To make an impression, martyr role
Not even sure
3. What Are You Passionate About?
What moves you deep within?
What is your deepest desire?
What in the news grabs your heart?
What grabs your heart when you are alone?
What grabs your heart when you are out?
4. What's Your Hurry?
We tend to rush over things that don't matter and drag our feet with things that do.
Martin Luther, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” That aways gets to me!
At the end of this year, it is a good time to look at these things... To make changes
II Peter 3.12
You may say, "We've lost the real meaning of the season." You are right. As a country we have.
"The early Christians did not say in despair, "Look what the world as come to." Rather in delight, "Look What has come to the world!!!" - E. Stanley Jones
We need to do the same.
