In our latest sermon from the Gospel of Mark, I talked a little bit about the priesthood of every believer. For the devotional this week, I wanted to expand on this fun and interesting subject because it is transformative to the way we think about our identity as believers in Christ. It is also important in that it is one of the 7 major figures of Christ and the Church. This figure is that Christ is our High Priest and believers are a “kingdom of priests” (Heb. 5-8). Israel had a priesthood (Ex. 28:1) but the Church “is” a priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). At first, this can be a strange way to think of Christ and the Church because when we think of priests, many of our minds imagine a select few men in the more traditional churches today who walk around in fancy robes with tall hats and carry golden staffs in their hands. Or, we think of the Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament that offered animal sacrifices to God or maybe even the chief priests that Jesus seemed to always be arguing with. But when it comes to the New Testament Church, it teaches that each one of us ought to think of ourselves as spiritual priests who offer spiritual sacrifices. In the Old Testament, the tribe of Levi (Levites) were responsible for the temple service and mediating on behalf of OT believers before God. But in the New Testament, because Jesus Christ is our High Priest who grants us direct access to God, we don’t need any more mediators as believers. Jesus is our only Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). Believers don’t need any priests but the One High Priest. However, in a sense, we should think of ourselves as “priests” who offer spiritual sacrifices and mediate between God and the unbelieving world. Levites became priests through physical birth but believers through spiritual birth. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer points out that in the Old Testament, a priest would be ceremonially cleansed through a once-for-all whole bathing (Exodus 29:4) and after that, he was required to be cleansed repeatedly by a partial bathing at the brazen laver to be prepared for daily priestly service. In a similar way, when believers experience the new birth in Christ, they are also cleansed by the washing of the Holy Spirit and once-for-all forgiven (Titus 3:4-7). There is never again a need for “full baths” because we never lose salvation and never lose the Holy Spirt. However, like the priests, there is still need in our relationship with God to stay current with Him by confessing our sins and receiving cleansing (1 John 1:9). Jesus said "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” and “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean” (John 13:5-11). Now let’s start looking at some of those spiritual sacrifices. 1 Peter 2:9 is a key text for this subject: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession; so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” So Peter, speaking to all believers here, says we are a “royal priesthood” called to proclaim the excellencies of God. This is the first sacrifice. Sacrifice #1 – The sacrifice of proclaiming good news about God. God called each one of us out of darkness and into His marvelous light through the gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth that He died for our sins and all who believe are saved. This gospel that was proclaimed to us and saved us is what we as priests are to proclaim to others! Like 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 tells us, since we’ve been reconciled to God, He has now entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation (vv. 18-19). As His "priests" we represent Him to the world (and we don’t have to wear fancy robes to do that). A couple more sacrifices are found together in Hebrews 13:15-16: “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” So, like we saw in Mark this Sunday, some of the first-fruits of the vineyard that we offer as vine-growers and some of the sacrifices that we offer as priests is the fruit and sacrifice of worship! Sacrifice #2 – The sacrifice and fruitful offering of praise & thanksgiving. We could sum that up by saying we offer the service of worship! In a world where Christians are sometimes treated harshly as Peter is known for emphasizing, praise tells this world that we are not living for it. We have a hope and a new country (New Earth) and new city (the New Jerusalem) that we are living for and in this world we are strangers and exiles to it (Heb. 11:13-16; 13:14; Rev. 21:1-2). We should be known for being thankful for all of God’s physical and spiritual provisions and for praising Him with the fruit of our lips. Giving thanks and praise pleases God and is an act that distinguishes us from the rest who don’t believe (Rom. 1:21). Sacrifice #3 – The sacrifice of doing good and sharing. Every “priest” should have the focus of serving God by serving others in love. These are the greatest commandments for every priest to live by. This comes by doing good through speaking the truth in love to bring spiritual restoration and sharing with those who truly need it, especially within the household of God (Gal. 6:10). For a more complete look at how much this pleases God, it’s imperative to read Philippians 4:15-20 where Paul praises the church of Philippi for their support of his ministry. Paul was a man who worked hard to share the gospel with folks and faced hardship and imprisonment for it. Although he was content in any conditions, the church supported him anyway. Look how he describes their generous support: “But I have received everything in full and have abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” How great is that? Their love offering is a well-pleasing sacrifice! A fragrant aroma that God would honor by continuing to provide for them. Sacrifice #4 – The sacrifice of intercession. In the tabernacle there was an altar of incense with four horns just like the sacrificial altar outside for animals but this one is for the sacrifice of prayer. Every priest was to be a man of prayer who interceded for the people and kept this incense burning. When you turn to the book of Revelation, one of the neat things we see is the heavenly version of that. The elders are seen holding golden bowls full of incense which are “the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8; 8:3). David prayed, “May my prayer be set before you like incense” (Psalm 141:2). As Zechariah the priest was offering incense in the temple in Luke 1:10, “all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.” Because of our access to God through Christ, every believer-priest is to carry out the vital service of prayer on behalf of others (Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:1). Prayer is powerful and critical to the spiritual vitality and effectiveness of any church. All of these sacrifices that we have looked at are only possible at a consistent level when we make the decision to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Sacrifice #5 – The sacrifice of yielding our bodies as a living sacrifice. The infamous verses of Romans 12:1-2 say, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to the image of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Like our Savior who gave Himself as a sacrifice for us, we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God for our spiritual worship. This is good and acceptable sacrifice before God – a perfect one – because we were created to be like our Perfect Savior who gave us His example of the Perfect Man-Type. In light of His mercy, we are to give our lives completely to God to be used of Him. Have you surrendered your life to God? And daily, since living sacrifice tend to crawl off the altar? Lastly, we should look at how each sacrifice should be qualified because the priests were warned not to offer strange incense and fire to God. Acceptable Sacrifices – Sacrifices offered according to God’s Word. Exodus 30:9 says, “You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offerings or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.” Just as the priests were required to do things according to God’s Word so that they didn’t offer strange fire, so it is important that we get to know His Word too so that we don’t do the same thing. When you know God’s Word, you get to know what sacrifices He is pleased with and those which He is not. Knowing God’s Word keeps the sacrifices of worship genuine and holy and pleasing. If you cross reference this with Leviticus 10:1, you find out as Nadab and Abihu did that God was serious about not offering strange incense before Him. They offered the wrong incense at the wrong time and paid for it. Another example is how God accepted Abel’s offering but not Cain’s (Gen. 4:3-7). When we think of strange fire today, maybe we can think of singing praises while dwelling on unholy things at the same time, repetitious prayers of those who think they’ll be heard for their many words (Mt. 6:7-13), emotional services that end with the same disobedient lives continuing (Isaiah 1:13-18; Amos 5:21-24), going through the motions of worship without a heart of worship (Matthew 15:18), false testimonies where faith is really in religious works and self-righteousness and not Christ alone (Luke 18:9-14), speaking in the strange and unedifying tongues of charismatic churches today, sacrificing monetarily for our own blessings, praying with wrong motives and for worldly desires (James 4:3-4), or maybe serving in church for self-adulation (Romans 12:3). Beware of the strange offerings by studying what a genuine offering is in the Word of God. Learn what is pleasing to God (Eph. 5:8-10). If you’re a believer, consider thinking of yourself as a “priest” and yield your life to God who is your portion. OT priests had no share in the inheritance of fellow Israelites because the Lord was their inheritance, and He is our inheritance as well (Deut. 10:9; Lamentations 3:24). Live for Him as a wholly devoted "priest" today! Pastor Justin Cited: Nelson Miles, Theology 3: Ecclesiology, Frontier School of the Bible.
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If you’re not a fan of snowboarding or skiing or ice fishing, chances are you are pretty much done with winter by now! The beauty of the first snow is gone, the charming lights of Christmas are past, and cabin fever with its “winter blues” is setting in! Winter is really here and it’s starting to feel like it – blustery, cold, and harsh. But even when it isn’t technically winter, all of us will end up going through “wintry seasons” in life. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great benefits to it! James 1:2-4 put it this way: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." When James talks about trials of various kinds, I think we can consider those wintry seasons – seasons that are cold, harsh, and on the surface appear to be fruitless. But ironically, there is a lot we can learn from winter and its effect on fruit trees. Just as the wintry trials of life produce a perfection and completeness in us, so winter is necessary for many varieties of fruit trees. Every fall, a fruit tree loses its leaves and enters dormancy. What is interesting is that this is not just to protect them from the winter temperatures but is also necessary for some fruit tree varieties to bear fruit again. Many fruit trees actually won’t bear fruit until it has met the minimum “chilling requirement” followed by a certain amount of heat. This means that without the seasons of summer and winter, many varieties wouldn’t bear fruit more than once! If you planted some trees in a very comfortable climate year-round, they wouldn’t bear fruit because they wouldn’t meet the chilling requirement to start producing new buds and bear fruit again. They need cycles of every season! One tree nursery website wrote about this: “If a fruit tree is grown where winter cold is insufficient to satisfy the variety’s chilling requirement, blooming and foliation will be delayed and erratic; fruit set and fruit quality will be poor.... A fruit variety’s chilling requirement is a key determinant of where it will consistently produce satisfactory crops of fruit." I think you get the point by now – like the trees, seasons of winter are necessary for us to bear fruit. As a church with a vision of “deep roots. bearing fruit.” this is crucial to remember. There are no wasted seasons with God. The long, cold blasts of trials and the seemingly barren seasons are exactly what can lead us into seasons of fruitfulness if we respond appropriately. I bet you can personally attest that without the hardest, maybe even the most depressing times of life, you would not be who you are today and would not have the testimony of God’s grace that you do. Even though my teeth want to clinch a bit when I say this, I will personally go on record saying that the hardest seasons I have went through have become the greatest, most fruit-bearing graces in my life today. Strangely, they are the seasons we come to appreciate the most because they shaped us into who we today – men and women of character and persevering faith that glorify God in a world where many are tempted to quit on Him in the winter. I happened upon this quote this week from Charles Spurgeon, who had a knack for saying things best. When like Job, we ask God, “Why do I face trials?” Spurgeon answered with this: “Perhaps, weary soul, the Lord is doing this to develop your graces. There are some graces that would never be discovered if it were not for your trials. Do you not know that your faith never looks as good in summer as it does in winter?... For how can you know you have faith until your faith is exercised? Depend on it—God often sends us trials so that our graces may be discovered and that we may be convinced of their existence. Besides, it is not merely discovery; real growth in grace is the result of sanctified trials.” When God sends or allows seasons of trial and difficulty to enter into our lives, remember that He has not forsaken or abandoned you but put His hand on you, to grow you and to see to it that you might bear much fruit. In this, you can rejoice – count it all joy – as James said. God can hardly use a man until that man has been through every season. No winters can mean no fruit.
So, God bless you, even in the winter, Pastor Justin When someone is nearing the end of their life on earth they usually have a few, but simple and wise words to share with their loved ones. There’s something about being close to death or having a near death experience that those in that condition are able to boil down in just a few short lines, some of the greatest advice and fundamental ideas that will help their loved ones really live well. Maybe you can recall some of those wise words yourself. This is where we’re at when we come to Deuteronomy 30:15-20. After leading Israel for 40 years in the wilderness and just before the next generation of Israelites were about to cross over the Jordan River into the promised land, Moses summoned all to come and renew the covenant that God gave them on Mt. Sinai. That’s why Deuteronomy is called Deuteronomy – it’s Greek for “second law giving”. Moses is at the end of his life and will not be crossing over with them so it’s time to pass on new leadership and renewed principle. At the end of the reading of the Law, he boils it all down with some wise last words. He gives them a choice between two destinies: blessing and life or cursing and death. “See I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other god and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jorden to enter and possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and length of days… How simple! How profound! It’s refreshing, isn’t it? If you love God and follow His ways, you’ll be blessed and you’ll really live(!) both now and in heaven. But if you don’t love God and follow His ways, you’ll find adversity and cursing in this life, and in the end, an ugly death that results in separation from God. Then he says, “Choose.” Specifically, “Choose life in order that you may live!” We must make the same decision today in our lives. We are either going to obey and find blessing or disobey and experience consequences. Of course, this is not teaching some sort of shallow prosperity theology or works-based legalistic salvation where if you just put a couple dollars in the offering plate God will give you everything you want or allow you to earn heaven by your own righteousness. God is not a genie and our obedience to God is not cold ritualism. The obedience called for here comes from an authentic love relationship with God. Notice how Moses points that out twice that you should “love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways” and “by loving your God, by obeying His voice.” Love is always the primary motive for obedience that He desires and when that’s the motive, duty becomes desire. This is what John meant when He said, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” But here’s the thing: we cannot love and follow God on our own any more than Israel could. Today, we need hearts renewed by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ. I think Moses was anticipating the New Covenant even at the renewing of the Old Covenant when he told Israel that they too needed new hearts. Moses told them in chapter 29 that even though they had witnessed God do great things for them since leaving Egypt and provide for them miraculously, they still didn’t have, “a heart to know, eyes to see, nor ears to hear” (29:4). They were still spiritually dull. It’s interesting that even though Moses gives them two options and tells them to make a choice, he prophetically foretells them what they will choose: disobedience. He says they won’t keep the Law he just read. What a way to end a sermon! In reality, it is a good reminder for us. After every challenge from the Word of God to live for Him, we’d better know we cannot do it on our own but only through Christ and the Spirit of God. And when we mess up like the Israelites, we should remember what Christ has done for us in the New Covenant. In those moments, we too, need to repent and “renew” our own covenant with God as His covenant people. In verses 1-5 of chapter 30 he tells them that curses are going to come upon them for their disobedience and they’ll be dispersed throughout the world, becoming outcasts at the ends of the earth. But then says that’s exactly what they’ll need because only when experiencing the consequences of God are they going to turn back to Him with a genuine repentance, receiving a new heart (v. 6). And just like them, that’s exactly what some of us need. Sometimes it’s only when we’ve royally blown it by doing our own thing that we realize His way is better and His blessings are not because we deserve them! Then, we will blessed and He’ll enjoy the fruit of our obedience now being compelled by love (2 Cor. 5:14-15). Notice that even though God blesses them, their descendants will be blessed as well – “choose life that you may live, you and your descendants.” Elsewhere, it says the nation will be blessed as a head and not a tail in the world (28:1-2, 13). That’s one of the things about doing things God’s way: those who are around you and follow after you are blessed. Just as Noah obeyed God and blessed all of us (Gen. 9:9, 12) and Abram obeyed God and was a blessing to all nations (Gen. 12:1-3), so we bless others by our obedience. I think it was E. V. Hill who said, “When God blesses you, He rarely has you in mind.” God loves to bless us, but it’s not only about us. God wants to bless us in such a way that when He pours out His blessings on our head, they splash onto others shoulders standing near us. When we live, others start to live. But we have to make a choice: Life or death? Blessing or cursing? Moses’ suggestion: Be a blessing for life! “Choose life in order that you may live!” In conclusion, I just want to share with you some of my favorite lyrics from a song called The Blessing by John Waller. I listen to this song on occasion to remind myself that my obedience to God is not just about me (and it’s okay to need that reminder daily). This is about God’s glory and others who follow after us: our kids, our relatives, our nation, our onlookers – those who are looking to see if this Jesus thing is really real… Please take the time to read these lyrics. Better yet, look the song up and listen to them! The Blessing by John Waller Praying that you choose to be a blessing for life! Pastor Justin Everyone knows that in order to get the job done right, you need the right tools. Having the right tools will make the job go faster, smoother, and produce the best finish results. The same could be said for the way we live our lives. We need to be equipped with the right tools for handling all the situations life throws at us. Do you have any need for some divine tools in your life? Any loose fittings that need snugged up? Any relationships that need fixing? In 2 Timothy 3, Paul gives his disciple Timothy the tool belt we need for every situation in life. As a young minister in a church, Timothy is going to need that tool belt because as he points out in the 1st half of the chapter, this world is full of folks with problems that need fixing! Paul begins describing the perilous times in verse 1: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” Reading through this at our Men’s Fellowship Group this last Friday morning, one of the men said, “This could’ve been written yesterday!” We all agreed. And sadly, none of it describes a full and satisfying life. Notice what word brackets both ends of that ugly list: the word love. People have misguided love of self which means that all of our relationships are going to be disastrous -- from our relationship with God, to parents, to spouse, to children, to money, and well, you name it. So what is the answer? Where’s the handy tool belt to fix this? Well, it’s revealed in the 2nd half of the chapter. The contrast to a misguided world begins in verse 10: “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Paul is in essence saying to Timothy, “Timothy, if you are going to be effective and carry out your ministry in this world, you’ve got to stay committed to the Word of God. The Word of God will give you the tools you need for ministry and for life!”
Paul makes a BIG deal out of the Word of God. He calls the Bible the sacred writings. That means they are special. They are different. They are holy, meaning they're set apart from any other writings. They are anything but ordinary because God has communicated to us in them. The NIV translates “inspired by God” as “God-breathed” (theopneustos) – breathed out by God! I like that. It reminds me of 2 Peter 1:20, 21 where Peter says, “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” in writing the Scriptures. Like a ship’s sails filled with the breath of God, men were carried along by the Holy Spirit in writing them, without destroying their personalities or literary style. The technical term for this in Bibliology is inspiration. Read 1 Thessalonians 2:13 for why Paul could praise God for the Thessalonians’ reception of the doctrine of inspiration! If the Bible really is God’s Word, how could we ignore it?! He created this world and through His Word has given us the wisdom we need to know Him and His purposes and desires for it. Paul reminds Timothy of the two-fold power of the Scriptures. They have the powerful wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And they are powerful enough to adequately, or fully, equip us for every good work! The fact that this Book equips us for every good work means that, like one men in our men's study said, it’s not just for the minister in the pulpit on Sunday morning. It is for everyone at all times! The reason why so many are struggling today with marriage, raising children, handling finances, and all of life’s trials, is because they’ve disregarded the Bible as an ancient, ordinary book that just isn’t relevant for them! But I would challenge everyone reading this to pick up the Bible and read it completely through this year. Read the book of Proverbs and see if it doesn’t apply to your life! I think you’ll be surprised! The God who created you longs for you to know Him and to live a full and satisfying life, free from addictions, broken relationships, and other unnecessary hurts (John 10:10; Matthew 11:28-30). But you’ve got to use the tools that He has given you in His Word. There is no man of God without the Word of God. Charles Stanley writes in his Life Principles Bible about this passage: “The Bible is...profitable and nourishing. It provides us with an advantage in every department of life – family, business, and personal relationships. It is profitable because it reflects the wisdom of God; and when we abide by its teaching, we learn to live in His peace. As we meditate and consider its truth, our spirits and souls find nourishment. We become established and enriched in every experience of life by living according to God’s perspective.” Get in God’s Word today and share God’s Word with others. Make sure they know that this is not just any ordinary book but that it is inspired by God and gives them the answers they need for every walk of life! Pastor Justin This week I wrote up an annual report for our church that reflected on the year 2020. In the beginning of the report, I half-jokingly and half-seriously said that I’m sure that most of us would rather not reflect on 2020! To say the least, we weren’t impressed! All of the events that took place reminded us of something out of the book of Revelation. It has left many Christians weary, tired, and struggling just to make it through each day. Like we studied last week, we need to remember that Christ is busy building His Church where Satan’s throne is (Rev. 2:12-17)! This week, I want us to be encouraged by another throne! A throne that is established in heaven and is above all thrones! What makes this throne so special is the One who is sitting on it – God the Father, with the Son at His right hand. In Revelation chapter 4, Jesus allows John to enter the heavenly throne room! “…and behold, a throne was standing in heaven and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and sardius in appearance and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder." If you’ve wanted to get a glimpse of what heaven is like, this is for you! How incredible it is for John to speak of these unspeakable things! John describes how in heaven, God the Father is sitting on His throne (Rev. 6:16-17) and tries to describe for us what His appearance is like at this moment. Now, because God is a Spirit, it’s difficult for us to imagine, but there is a lot we can learn. He says His appearance is like pure jasper. According to Revelation 21:11 that’s like a crystal clear diamond! He’s a stunning diamond refracting unapproachable light! On top of that, He is described as a fiery-red sardius color. These colors signify to us God’s holiness and purity, but as well as His fiery wrath that is about to be poured out on the Christ-rejecting world during the tribulation period in chapter 6-19. The tribulation period as you know, if you’ve read Revelation, is an awful time. It’s not pretty. It’s so dark and so ugly during this time period on the earth that it makes you grovel just thinking about it. During this time, the despotic world ruler known as the Anti-Christ starts to consolidate power to himself. War breaks out, famines, pestilence, wild beasts lose their tameness, great earthquakes take place, cosmic disturbances are occurring, the earth is scorched, the sea is turned to blood – it’s a time of utter devastation. Now I believe that as the Church, we are not destined for this time of God’s wrath known as “the day of the Lord” (1 Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11). Christ took the wrath we deserve, and we have the hope that Christ can come at any time before this 7-year period of God’s wrath (Rev. 6:16-17). The word church is used 20 times in Revelation 1-3 but “after these things” it is not mentioned again until after the tribulation period is over (See Rev. 1:19 for the 3-part outline of Revelation). The tribulation is a time where we could say God’s program resumes with Israel (See Romans 11). It is a very Jewish time period (See the Olivet Discourse of Mt. 24-25) known as Jacob’s Trouble where great world events center around Jerusalem and this terrible time causes the hearts of Israel to accept Christ as their Savior (Mt. 23:39). But even though I believe we have the blessed hope of not undergoing God’s wrath, we will still face much of man’s wrath and Satan’s wrath in this world until we get to heaven. We will suffer like our Savior as we see in Mark. But I want you to notice a wonderful detail about God’s throne that those who go through the tribulation period will be greatly comforted by: the 360 degree emerald rainbow around it. When I was in Santiago, Chile I personally took this title picture between the skyscrapers of a solar halo rainbow around the sun. It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen because it took me right back to the throne of God in Revelation 4! There is a rainbow around the throne and not just any rainbow – a light-green rainbow that symbolized God’s mercy and coming peace and prosperity when Christ returns. The idea of a rainbow itself reminds us of the temporal nature of God’s judgment and His promise that He would never flood the world again (Genesis 9). It’s a promise that every storm, with its “flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder” eventually come to an end. Storms never last forever! So there you have it folks – even at the beginning of God’s wrath He wants everyone to know that it will be tempered by His coming mercy. Always remember that even when it seems like this world is falling apart and crumbling to pieces, the mighty and merciful One sitting on the throne! God is in the control room behind it all. John’s original readers under the gun of persecution needed to hear that. Those who come to faith during the tribulation period will need to know that. And we must remember it as well! Don’t let the evils of this world make you cynical and fearful! Trust that God is still on the throne and those who overcome through trusting Him will sit with Him on His throne (Rev. 3:21)! Pastor Justin With credit to Dave Wyrtzen, Truth Encounter Podcast, A Glimpse of the Throne. Now more than ever for our generation, Christians are sensing that evil is alive and well, maybe even that we are living in enemy territory where Satan is ruling. But this should be no surprise to us, for he is considered the “god” of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and his entire goal is to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10). And what I’ve been sensing from the Christian culture is that Christians lately are tempted to sink down in a corner and sulk, licking their wounds and playing defense. We’re tempted to isolate ourselves from the world and build walls around our homes and churches to keep all of the sinning out, like monks in monasteries. But is this really what God, who sent His own Son into this world, would have us to do? I don’t think so. Let’s take some notes from a portion of Jesus’ critique to the church of Pergamum, a church body that He built right where Satan’s throne is. Revelation 2:12-13 says, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The church at Pergamum was built right in the heart of where Satan’s authority was. Satan is not omnipresent like God is so he has to take up residence somewhere and it appears that Pergamum may have been that place during this time period. It was the perfect place for him to set up shop. This city was basically the capitol of Turkey at the time. It was a powerful city, a city that boasted the second largest library in its day, second only to Alexandria, and was a hotbed for pagan religious cults and emperor worship. On the highest acropolis, there was a temple to Zeus. Just below, a temple to Asclepius, the god of healing, where people might lay on the floor of the temple and hope that a snake would touch them, and they’d be healed. His symbol was the entwined serpent on a staff, and still a medical symbol to this day. The title picture above displays some of the artwork still found on the ruined pillars in the temple area. Then you had the temple of Dionysius, the god of wine and frivolity which yearly brought a giant Mardi-Gras-like party to the lustful city. And to cap it off, there were 3 temples to the imperial cult that worshiped the Roman emperor. It was the imperial cult that one could lose their life over if they refused to pledge allegiance to Caesar by offering incense and worshiping him as god, saying, “Caesar is Lord.” Story has it that Antipas was a local dentist or physician who was secretly propagating Christianity and was therefore, accused of disloyalty to Caesar. Then he was condemned to death by being shut up in a copper bull and it was heated until red-hot. Whatever happened, this man died for his faith in Christ in the sight of many onlookers and just like with Stephen from the book of Acts, Jesus was one of them! One of the most encouraging things about his letter is that Jesus personally takes note of the faithful witness of local churches and individuals. Even though they lived in one of Satan’s strongholds, we should be emboldened by how they lived as faithful witnesses for Jesus Christ! As believers, we weren’t called to isolate ourselves in nice, little, quiet monasteries out in middle of nowhere or to sulk and moan and groan about the state of our culture! We are called to have the attitude that we are soldiers of Christ who invade the territory of the enemy, going behind enemy lines. As God sent His Son into the world, so we are to go into all the world and be in it, but not like it! Being in the world but not like it, by the way, is extremely important to point out because Jesus did have to rebuke those who were in Pergamum and who were getting involved in the immoral and idolatrous temples for business reasons or simply to satisfy their lustful cravings (Rev. 2:14-16). Please be careful to note that Jesus’ sword can be used to judge His people who are living in the world and like the world. Verse 16 urges us to repent of the worldliness, saying, “Therefore repent; or else I am coming quickly, If you need to repent, do so now. Take Jesus' warning seriously as if this letter was written directly to you and your church (because it is). You can't be an agent of change in the world if you are just like the world. But ladies and gentlemen, be encouraged by the conditions that the church of Pergamum faced. Be emboldened. Just like God built that church in the heart of Satan’s authority, so God has placed you in a strategic place at a strategic time to pray and reach out and share the gospel with those who have been taken captive by the enemy. You are here for such a time as this. He has not given us a spirit of fear or cowardice, but one of power and love and self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7). Does that mean it won’t at time be extremely difficult? Of course not. But when it gets difficult, we refuse to quit. We get on our knees and pray. But we also get up and go serve like the Savior. With the church at Pergamum, be encouraged by the sword that Jesus has in His mouth because although all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12), one day Christ will come and execute vengeance on His enemies with that double-edged sword from His mouth (2 Thess. 1:4-10; 2:8). It is more important, Wiersbe said, to fear Christ’s sword more than the emperor’s! So stay bold. Stay faithful. There will be rewards for being a faithful witness as a church and as an individual (v. 17). Verse 17 speaks of the rewards, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. For refusing to offer incense one may have not been able to do business and therefore lacked bread in Pergamum. But Jesus offers us “some of the hidden manna” of Himself – the Bread of Life to all the faithful. Also, to get into a temple party you might receive a white stone with a pagan god’s name on it. But Jesus offers us a white stone with a new name on it that allows us to enter the marriage supper party of the Lamb.
Praying you be encouraged by where Christ builds His Church, Pastor Justin Special credit to Dave Wyrtzen and his Truth Encounter ministry on Apple Podcasts. Truth Encounter, Built On Satan's Throne (Rev. 2:12-17), 28 Sep 2020. Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ words to the seven churches from Revelation 2-3. They are so precious to us because of their commending praise and honest correction! In these couple of chapters, Jesus critiques seven churches which were actual churches in apostle John’s day (the author of Revelation). What is interesting about these churches and the critiques they received, is that they represent so well the various churches and conditions that are seen in all generations. But what has stood out to me from these letters to the churches recently is not what the churches may represent for our age or even the specific content. What stood out is the method in which Christ addressed the issues each church was facing. For example, to the church of Ephesus, He writes, “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love....” Here, I think we can learn a highly valuable lesson from Jesus in the order and structure of His approach to Ephesus and a few other churches by how He gives a commendation, when He can, before He gives the rebuking correction. Every good leader and teacher and parent should take note of this.
One of the best ways to build someone up and help set them on the path to flourishing is to start out with positive reinforcement (not to be confused with the self-esteem movement that ignores sinful behavior). Positive attitudes and work ethic build off such praise and commendation and makes the correction easier to accept to the individual receiving it. To constantly ignore what is good and praiseworthy, while addressing only what needs improved, can lead to exasperation with its negativism, discouragement, and frustration – especially in our kids. That creates a home nobody wants to be come home too! As a personal assignment this week, seek to give more praise and encouragement and see what happens! Try commending before correcting! In Christ with you, Pastor Justin Without reading ahead, I want to describe something to you and see if you can figure out what “thing” I am describing. Are you ready?
So did you figure it out? It's time! Just the thought of it reminds us of the brevity of our life on this earth. The Bible describes our lives as a mere breath (Ps. 144:4), a passing shadow (Job 8:9), as a flower that comes forth and withers (Job 14:2), and as a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). That being said, we must learn to use our time wisely. That’s what the Apostle Paul would have us consider in Ephesians 5:15-16. Paul writes, “Therefore, be careful how you walk, Paul, at this point in the letter to the Ephesians has already spent the first three chapters teaching them about who they are in Christ. Now, in the second half of the letter, he is teaching them about how to live in Christ, and part of that means is we start managing our time wisely. The idea of walking in this verse is not literal walking. It’s talking about the habitual pattern of your spiritual lifestyle from day to day. How are we to walk? Paul says carefully, or as some translations say, circumspectly. It means to walk with exactness. It means you are alert, looking from side to side to see what’s going on. You are careful where you step because you have an exact and narrow road to follow that leads to an exact destination. Recently, I was graphically reminded of the need to walk circumspectly when my dog had to wear a cone around her neck to keep her from chewing and licking a wound. With no peripheral vision, she was running into all sorts of things! On her way to her kennel, the rowdy, high-energy Labrador clumsily ran into the doorway, the wall, the coffee table, and even stepped in her water bowl before I could help guide her! She wasn’t able to walk circumspectly! The cone threw off her exactness. As believers, we are to be careful how we walk, not as unwise but as wise. But what differentiates the wise from the unwise? Paul says the wise make the most of their time by doing the good will of the Lord in a day when evil is working hard. You are either wise, being careful to live for the Lord, or unwise, being careless of God’s will for your life. This is quite shocking, but to the unbelievers wasting their lives by living for themselves and with no sure destination, Paul invites them to accept Christ in verse 14 with what is likely a portion of an early Christian hymn, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” An unbelieving “sleep-walker” can become wise by turning to the Lord and doing His will. But for the believer, Paul is saying, if you are in Christ, then live like it! You have been called to walk a wise, living walk. You have a destination. You don’t wander around aimlessly like a “sleep-walker” but as one who is alive! Use your time to serve Him! Live on mission, for you don’t even know if tomorrow will come (James 4:13-14)! Some translations have translated “make the most of your time” as “redeem the time”" or “buy up your opportunities”. Time can be “purchased” in the sense that we exchange it in the market of life for activities and opportunities that are eternally valuable. Similarly, time is something that, like finances, must be managed. Without an organized budget, finances can easily drift into the red zone of debt. And without an organized “budgeting” of our time, the produce from our lives may end in a big negative red zone as well. But let it not be so of believers who have been called by God unto salvation. We want to be walk worthy of that calling (4:1) and be wise stewards of our time who make a positive return on the time the Lord has entrusted to us. (See Luke 12:41-48) The problem with discussing time is that many don’t think they have enough time to take on more responsibilities and opportunities to serve the Lord – and for some, this is definitely true! Many of us do too much! But before you come to the conclusion that you’re doing too much already, ask this question: “Is this just an excuse for time that is already being poorly managed? The reality for many of us is that if we were better time managers, we would have more time! Just stop and think: Even if in each week we allot ourselves 8 hours of sleep, 3 hours for meals and conversation, 10 hours for work and travel, and 10 hours for recreation, we still have 31 hours each week to fill! If this is true, J. Oswald Sanders says, “Our problem is not too little time but making better use of the time we have.” What we do with those surplus hours, after provision has been for work, meals, and sleep, he says, “will determine if we develop into mediocre or powerful people.” These hours can determine whether we’re a flash in the pan or grow spiritually rich! How we spend time now determines who we are in the future. Pastor Gordon MacDonald in his book Ordering Your Private World wrote about how when we do not manage our time well, there are strong but subtle effects we need to consider: 1) our days become filled with broken commitments and excuses, 2) we invest in small, secondary matters (tyranny of the urgent) rather than essential obligations we are called to do, 3) we feel poorly about our work, knowing we have done our second-best, making it hard to even receive compliments, 4) we rarely enjoy intimacy with God, 5) our personal relationships are hindered, and 6) we just don’t like ourselves, our jobs, or much else about our world! After considering Sanders’ and MacDonald’s words, we’re left with no excuses and no reason to keep on living like sleep-walkers. Now is the time to be a person who is awake and alive with Christ, living on mission like Christ! Jesus is the perfect example of someone who managed His time well and “bought up” the time. Even though His life was short and His ministry was extremely busy, He was not mastered by time. He was the Master of it! He spent His time doing the things that mattered, which were all under one basic heading: the will of God. Doing the will of God was more important than eating for Jesus – “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” For Jesus, 24 hour days were sufficient for Him to accomplish all the will of God for His life. He understood that opportunity is to time as time is to eternity. "opportunity is to time as time is to eternity" So what are some ways that you can invest the time that God has given you today? This semester? This year? Every day there is something to redeem: It may be a Bible to be read, a prayer to pray, a person to share Jesus with, a hand to lend to a neighbor, a spouse to love, a child to nurture and train up in the Lord, a spiritual gift to exercise, and more! Consider some more wise words from Mr. Sanders: “Minutes and hours wisely used translate into an abundant life…. The best use of one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. Life’s value is not its duration but its donation – not how long you live but how fully and how well you live it.” When are you going to redeem the time? He is worthy of your time well spent.
In Christ’s love, Pastor Justin Resources used: J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, chapter 12. Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World, chapters 6 & 7. Ever since my family moved out by the state park, I’ve been driving by a neat rock formation with a hole in it and that I’ve been wanting to get a closer look at. Recently, we made that happen. I strapped the baby to my back and we hiked to it. We had a great time outdoors enjoying unique scenery, the wildlife, and the amazing views from up there. It was certainly a moment to remember!
This last Sunday, we studied the omnipotence of God and like Romans 1:20 says, it’s through creation that we come to know much about this attribute of His. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” What this verse explains is that we are so surrounded by evidence for God through the complexity of creation that it’s obvious there is an eternal Creator. We see God’s power at work in creation to give life and to maintain life. His faithfulness is seen in every sunrise. We are reminded of His infinitude as we contemplate the endless universe and innumerable stars! Creation is such a powerful witness that no one will be able to stand before Him and say, “I didn’t know there was a God!” It’s too obvious, and creation too magnificent! Which makes me question, “When was the last time you got out and enjoyed God’s magnificent creation? When was the last time it left you in wonder of who God is?” I heard recently that by the time we are 40 years old, we lose 98% of the wonder and creativity we had when we were 5. We lose our desire for adventure and mystery and discovery. I don’t know when that statistic was taken or how they came to that conclusion, but we don’t have any reason to doubt it! In fact, in today’s technological age when the average person spends 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen, adding up to 115 days out of the year, age 40 seems like a stretch! Younger and younger, kids are finding themselves glued to their electronic devices and less to creative wonder. This December, and especially during Christmas (when we are longing for sweet moments together more than ever!), turn off the devices and make memories that last. You probably won’t remember an afternoon in front of the tv, but you might remember throwing rocks down the steepest hill with your kids just to see how far they tumble! Or driving out to the middle of nowhere to watch for shooting stars! Praying you enjoy Merry Christmas, Pastor Justin At the recent church fellowship shoot out (which sounds like anything but a good time of fellowship!), we had a lot of fun shooting clay pigeons with shotgun shells. For the sake of illustration though, let’s think in bullets. Bullets can be used for good and for fun because they are powerful. However, they can be used powerfully in a destructive sense as well.
The words we speak are also a lot like bullets. Once they’re fired out by pulling the trigger of our tongues, there is no stopping them, no getting them back, and they can do a lot of damage if not used properly. That old riddle about how “sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” is painful in light of the fact that many have taken their own lives because of the harmful words said to them or about them. The book of James says the tongue can be like a small spark that starts forest fires, a small rudder but that steer the whole ship, or a little bridle that controls the whole horse! Even though words are so powerful, this world doesn’t do well with words. That was made very clear by the 1st presidential debate or can be evidenced by simply scrolling through any social media thread. But as believers in Jesus Christ who have been born again by the Spirit of God and made new creations, we are now called to speak in a way that is totally different from the general way of the world. Our speech is to line up with who we are already in Christ as a way to honor Him and glorify Him. Part of being born again is just learning how to talk again! The health of our relationships depends on it. In Ephesians 4:21-32, Paul talks about the use of words and how important they are in our relationships. In the context, Paul is talking about how now that we know the Lord, we are to walk differently. He says lay aside the your old self, your old manner of life, which was corrupt, and instead, starting in verse 23, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” The point is that in Christ, you possess perfect righteousness and holiness in the sight of God. You are a new creation before God positionally. But our practice, our day to day living, should be changing and catching up with our position in Christ! And part of putting on the new self is changing the way we speak. Verse 25 continues, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth to each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Let's glean from this 3 simple principles for the words we speak: replace, restore, reflect. 1. REPLACE: Godly communication is to replace unwholesome speech. One of my friends told me that one of the weirdest experiences in coming to Christ was learning to develop a new vocabulary. He has to replace his old vocabulary with a new one! Instead of lying, Paul says speak truth. God is not a liar and since we are to reflect Him, we aren’t to lie. Put aside falsehood, bitterness, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Putting something aside is like saying throw it in the trash! Clean out of your ammo box ammunition that you don’t need anymore. The new ammo we need is ammo of kindness and forgiveness – words that are only good for edification according to the need of each moment. Colossians 4:6 says to use words that are seasoned with salt, giving a preservative and purifying grace to those who hear. When you start speaking like that, it’s like preventative maintenance on your car. You’ll have less relational issues to begin with. I think that’s why Paul squeezes that sentence in there on stealing. It’s like he’s saying look, just as someone who replaces stealing with working won’t have to worry about stealing anymore, so if you replace bad communication with godly communication, you won’t have all these relational problems to begin with. 2. RESTORE: Godly communication restores broken relationships. What happens when we get angry? Everything Paul just said comes out: slander, gossip, abusive speech., etc. Anger is not a sin. It’s an emotion. But if we don’t respond to it rightly it can lead to sin, causing bad bullets to be fired out. Learn to be angry without shooting off bad bullets. He also says "Don't let the sun go down on your anger." We should keep short accounts or stay current by graciously coming back to each other with gracious words and forgiving one another for harsh words. He warns us that if we don’t, the serious consequence is that we might give the devil a foothold in our lives. What does he mean by that? Well, just think of how many times have you got in a foolish argument about something and went to bed with a bitter spirit over it and when you woke up the next day you were fine… until you remembered you were mad at someone! That’s not fun. It steals your joy and the anger starts to consume you. If prolonged, Satan can do some serious damage in our hearts and minds and lives because unresolved anger leads to bitterness, then revenge, then hatred, then a totally ungrateful spirit and eventually depression, maybe even death. I think a lot of our problems today are actually the result of unresolved anger. We haven’t learned to work through things with wise words and so some foolish argument became a giant wedge between us and each other, and us and God (Mt. 18:35). Bitterness is like a root and the longer we let bitterness sit in our hearts the harder is it to uproot. 3. REFLECT – Godly communication reflects Christlikeness. "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Godly communication is tender and kind like what we see in Christ's sacrifice for us. He didn't come with wrath, but kindness, and that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Christ, who forgave us of all our sins, even when we didn't deserve it, is the model for us to reflect. We extend the forgiveness Christ has forgiven us with (Col. 3:13). As one man said, "If we are totally forgiven by God, how can we not then forgive others?" This year, with the holiday season upon us, my prayer is that you might be able to restore some of those fractured relationships you’ve had with family members or friends and really reflect the patient, forgiving, kindness of Christ to them. P.S. Don't forget that just as there were rewards at the shoot out for those who did well, so there are future rewards for those who do well with words in this life. Yours in Christ, Pastor Justin |
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