Gospel Word

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV)

Although Paul and Silas were only in Thessalonica for a short time, the gospel message was received by many people (Acts 17:1-12). The message was God's and not Paul's, although he had the responsibility of presenting God's Word (Gk Logos) which is much more than mere words. It is the essence of the gospel, God's love, Christ's sacrifice and the Holy Spirit's power, expressed in words the people could understand.

Paul thanked God that when the people heard the gospel they knew that God was speaking to them. They welcomed it as God's personal message to them. The Holy Spirit was at work applying what the apostle said in such a way that they were convicted of sin and were able to relate to Jesus (John 16:7-15). Human words delivered the message but the converts knew that God was communicating directly with them.

The Word of God is like seed: it has life in itself. When sown into the human heart, it will germinate and get to work in the person. Truth cannot be erased, it has a perpetual quality: truth about God, about ourselves and about what He wants us to do ... it will not go away once it has been planted. Through God's Word, unbelievers are born again (1 Peter 1:23). When people believe in Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit to teach them how God's Word applies to them. As they obey what God says, they develop a nature like Jesus’, and become productive workers in His 'family business' (Luke 8:15).

 The Bible is God's Word. The work of the apostles was not only to establish the first churches but also to instruct us. They were God's human agents in writing the New Testament, in the same way that Isaiah and Daniel contributed to the Old Testament (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Holy Spirit instructed them. What they wrote is equally God's Word. In the Bible we have all we need to become like Jesus,and to serve the Father in the power of the Spirit. Read it, meditate on it, study it, and then do what the Lord says to you through it. And it is not just for you. Share it! Through it your friends and family will find the way to be saved, backsliders will be rescued, wounded believers will find healing and serving believers will find strength to work for the Lord and endure hardship (2 Timothy 3:16).

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote that the Thessalonians accepted what they heard not as a 'human word' but as 'God's word'. What exactly is the distinction being drawn here? 

On the one hand, it can be argued that what the Thessalonians heard and received is precisely a human word: that is, a 'word' that is both proclaimed and interpreted by humans, much as we experience the 'word' in preaching today. This is borne out by the fact that when Paul uses the language of 'word' (i.e., logos) he is always referring to something that is spoken.

On the other hand, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy say that the Thessalonians did not hear these words as a 'human word' but as 'God's word'. I don't think that what they mean here is that the Thessalonians in some way took Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to be 'gods' (such as is reported in an incident in Acts...), nor that they believed the words spoken were not those of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, but the voice of God speaking through them (as an oracle).

I believe that what the Thessalonians recognized was that the words spoken by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy witnessed to the nature and activity of God, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To put it another way, they recognized the very presence of God in the act of proclamation. God is made known and becomes visible at the very point in time, the social circumstances, the physical space in which the speaker and the audience meet. In that moment, we become alert to God with us.

God's Word
The message that is proclaimed may be, in one sense, a human word, but it is a word that has its origin in the life-generating nature and activity of God. 1 Thessalonians, unlike Romans, offers no grand exposition of 'God's word'. Rather, the primary Christological theme in the letter is 'the coming of the Lord Jesus' . This single focus underscores the 'contextual' nature of proclamation: in this letter the focus is on a particular concern that has arisen within the community of faith.

This is also the way in which God becomes truly known -- not in the abstract, but on the ground, in the midst of people's lives. What Paul, Silvanus and Timothy affirm, in addition, is that the whole of our lives are lived in the presence of God (4:1-2), a cause for thanksgiving, whatever our circumstances (5:18), because the power of God is at work, in life-giving ways.

A Word at Work
How do we know if the 'word' is at work within us? Write Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, it will be manifested by works that are expressions of our faith: a labor of love. Just as God's power is manifested in life-giving ways so, too, the 'word' generates in us both the desire and willingness to engage in life-giving activity. This activity includes not only proclamation of the word, but pulling our weight so as not to be a burden (literally engaging in labor that produces sweat), the sharing of ourselves and working on behalf of and for the good of the community so that it, too, might incarnate the word of God with us, in power.

Today's Prayer
God, whose Word is truth. Thank You for causing the Bible to be written so that I can know how to receive Your love, grace, and power to obey You. Forgive me for paying more attention to other voices than Yours and for not sharing the wonderful truth You have put into my hands. Please help me to treat Your Word with a fresh preciousness, an eagerness to learn from You and a desire to let Your Word work within me so that I may be fruitful and productive as a disciple of Jesus Christ. In His Name. Amen.

Fruitful Growth in Faith

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. (2 Peter 1:5-10 KJV)

This passage builds on the implication of grace, that is, the gifts of God alluded to in the previous verses. Grace both enables or empowers us and makes demands on us by putting us under obligation. Titus tells us that the grace of God teaches us that "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly." 
(Titus 2:11-12) 

Receiving the grace of God puts us under obligation to respond. 

Peter is teaching that the grace of God demands diligence or effort. Verse 5 reads, "giving all diligence [effort]." In addition, it is helpful to understand that Peter is saying in the word translated as "add" that we are to bring this diligence, this effort, alongside or in cooperation with what God has already given. God freely extends His grace, but it obligates us to respond. We are then to do our part in cooperating with what He has given to us—and He inspired Peter to tell us to do it diligently and with a great deal of effort.

Peter sees faith as the starting point for all the other qualities or attributes. He does not mean to imply in any way that faith is elementary, but rather that it is fundamental or foundational—that the other things will not exist as aspects of godliness without faith undergirding them. In the Greek, it is written as though each one of these qualities flows from the previous ones. We could also say that faith is like the central or dominant theme in a symphony, and the other qualities amplify or embellish it.

How much and what we accomplish depend on where we begin. Peter is showing us that there is a divine order for growth, and it begins with FAITH.

Peter writes in his letter that we should make every effort to cultivate Christ-like character qualities. Most of us have goals that revolve around what we want to accomplish rather than who we are, but God wants us to develop character. When we focus on being the person God wants us to be, then we will accomplish what He wants us to accomplish.

We must be diligent in cultivating Christian virtue, self-control and knowledge. We are able to pursue these things because we are partakers in God’s divine nature (2Peter 1:4). He makes us a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:19). In other words, we have a new Master (1Cor 6:19-20). It all starts with faith (Galatians 2:16). He gives us the desire to live a life of gives...", not "I do..." or "I get..." or "I try...", etc; see (Phil 2:13-, Ezek 36:27). If we are seeking God and spending time with Him, we will see progress in godliness (Matthew 6:33).

When we spend time with people on a regular basis, we become like them (Peter 13:20, Psalm 119:63, Mal 3:16, 1Cor 15:33). When we spend time with our Savior, we become more and more like Him.

RE-CALCULATE YOUR LIFE!
Listen to God, and He will shape you into the person that reflects His image. 

Reflecting the image of Christ is what this first section of Peter is all about -- Peter is not trying to place you under a set of rules and regulations so that you try and try and try even harder to develop these Christ-like qualities. To the contrary, the necessary action on our part is to learn to relinquish control, to rest in Christ, to rely on His Spirit, to surrender our will to the will of the Father.Then, and only then, the Spirit will transform you step by step, from glory into glory into the image of God's Son (2Corinthians 3:18).

Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God's own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What difficulties will not the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness get over! Then be humble under his hand. Cast "all you care;" personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. 

These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man. Truly the godly too often forget this, and fret themselves to no purpose. Refer all to God's disposal. The golden mines of all spiritual comfort and good are wholly his, and the Spirit itself. Then, will he not furnish what is fit for us, if we humbly attend on him, and lay the care of providing for us, upon his wisdom and love?

The whole design of Satan is to devour and destroy souls. He always is contriving whom he may insnare to eternal ruin. Our duty plainly is, to be sober; to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance. To be vigilant; suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, watchful and diligent to prevent his designs. Be steadfast, or solid, by faith. 

Here is a course by which we may be assured that we shall never fall. Those who are thus working upon the plan of addition in obtaining the Christian graces have the assurance that God will work upon the plan of multiplication in granting them the gifts of His Spirit. Peter addresses those who obtained like precious faith: 'Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.  By divine grace, all who will may climb the shining steps from earth to heaven, and at last, 'with songs and everlasting joy' (Isaiah 35:10), enter through the gates into the city of God. 

Our Savior claims all there is of us; He asks our first and holiest thoughts, our purest and most intense affection. If we are indeed partakers of the divine nature, His praise will be continually in our hearts and upon our lips. Our only safety is to surrender our all to Him and to be constantly growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.

In conclusion, the apostle prays to God for them, as the God of all grace. Perfect implies their progress towards perfection. Establish imports the curing of our natural lightness and inconstancy. Strengthen has respect to the growth of graces, especially where weakest and lowest. Settle signifies to fix upon a sure foundation, and may refer to Him who is the Foundation and Strength of believers. These expressions show that perseverance and progress in grace are first to be sought after by every Christian. The power of these doctrines on the hearts, and the fruits in the lives, showed who are partakers of the grace of God. The cherishing and increase of Christian love, and of affection one to another, is no matter of empty compliment, but the stamp and badge of Jesus Christ on his followers. Others may have a false peace for a time, and wicked men may wish for it to themselves and to one another; but theirs is a vain hope, and will come to nought. All solid peace is founded on Christ, and flows from him.

Today's Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
in glorifying Christ and sending us your Spirit, you open the way to eternal life. May our sharing in this gift increase our love and make our faith grow stronger. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

The Life of Faith

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When we are crucified with Christ by faith in Him, we are to completely surrender every selfish desire and ambition to the perfect will of God. Self-promotion and self-pleasing desires are the greatest obstacle between man and salvation because it is the nature of man to want to please himself, and this self-recognition is a building block for sin. All sin erupts from the desire to please self, and this is what must be crucified with Christ in surrender to the will of God before salvation can bear fruit. This, as Paul attests, is an ongoing process because the spirit, which has been crucified with Christ, still resides within in the flesh, which is still very much alive. (Romans 7:18–25)

Man cannot overcome his inherited sinful nature on his own and needs the power and assistance of the Holy Spirit to make this happen, but the surrender of his own will to that of God’s will is essential for the elimination of his own desire’s powerful motivation and enslavement. This is part of repentance. True repentance is not just asking for forgiveness of sin but is also a willingness and desire for change that conforms to the will of God. It is surrender of one’s own control and will to the power and will of the Holy Spirit that is the beginning of being crucified with Christ.

This beginning brings a quickening of the Holy Spirit within man, which brings forth a new spiritual life in him as he is born again of the Spirit of God. Old, corruptible desires are replaced with a new and more powerful motivation to experience the holiness of God. Temptation for the former corruptible ways that enslaved him to sin are defeated, not by man’s own effort to battle his corruptible nature, but in surrender of his own will to God’s will. (1 Peter 1:23) 

This proves to be a great challenge for many people because we attempt to control our sinful nature on our own with the result being repeated falls into the same old, sinful ways they are attempting to escape. If it had been possible for man to overcome his sinful nature by his own power and will, there would have been no need for Jesus to die for our sins. Man could have simply overcome his sinful nature, obeyed the Mosaic Law, and stopped sinning on his own by the power of his own will. But because man is not capable of denying his sinful nature on his own, by the grace of God man has been given this victory through the gift of spiritual rebirth if he is willing to fully surrender in repentant contrition to God’s will. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

Many Christians want to be obedient but continue to stumble in sin because they try to hang on to parts of the old self they think they are able to control. This is a self-defeating rationale that relies on the idea that man saves himself by his own works. The Bible teaches us that nothing a man does can save his soul, and salvation is only by the grace of God. (Ephesians 2:8–9) Through this gift of grace, man can be born again and be given a new nature to replace the old, sinful self. He must be born again if he is ever to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), and if he is to be born again, his sinful nature must be crucified with Christ, and he must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

The apostle depicts a parallel between Christ's course and ours. Christ's sacrifice was substitutionary. Thus, when He was crucified, and we then accept His death for the forgiveness of our sins, it is as though we were crucified and our sins paid for in full.

However, the parallel does not end there. Sacrifice was a way of life with Jesus Christ, and it is to become our way of life. Every time we obey God's instruction as part of His purpose rather than unresistingly following the dictates of human nature, we are sacrificing ourselves to God and His purpose as a living sacrifice. Every time we sacrifice our time and energy to serve rather than merely pursue our own interests, we are following the patterns shown in the sacrifices of Leviticus and Jesus Christ's life. We are to strive to live just as He lived, and thus the daily sacrifice continues.

At times a deep sense of our unworthiness will send a thrill of terror through the soul, but this is no evidence that God has changed toward us, or we toward God. No effort should be made to rein the mind up to a certain intensity of emotion. We may not feel today the peace and joy which we felt yesterday; but we should by faith grasp the hand of Christ, and trust Him as fully in the darkness as in the light.

Satan may whisper, 'You are too great a sinner for Christ to save.' While you acknowledge that you are indeed sinful and unworthy, you may meet the tempter with the cry, 'By virtue of the atonement, I claim Christ as my Savior. I trust not to my own merits, but to the precious blood of Jesus, which cleanses me. This moment I hang my helpless soul on Christ.' The Christian life must be a life of constant, living faith. An unyielding trust, a firm reliance upon Christ, will bring peace and assurance to the soul.

Have You Performed a Spiritual Checkup?

I don't look forward to getting my physical. They do a lot of tests, and they always check my blood pressure. The last time I went, they told me, “You know, your blood pressure is a little high.” I told them it was high because I knew they were going to take it.

So I told my doctor, “You walk into the room, and my blood pressure goes up. It is your fault. You need to sneak up sometime when I am not looking and then take it. I bet it will be lower.” We kind of joke back and forth a little. But we know it is an exam. I fill out a questionnaire, and he asks a lot of questions: Are there any lumps? Are there any growths? Are there any things out of the ordinary? It is an exam to determine my physical state.

There is a spiritual exam as well. The Bible says, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith”. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

In other words, are you really a Christian? Or are you just pretending? You are really a Christian when you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone to save you, and you are trusting in Him and walking with Him. It will show itself in the way that you live.

Sometimes when people go through hardship, they say that event or tragedy has shaken their life; it has shaken their faith. In fact, they say they have lost their faith. But the faith that can’t be shaken is the faith that has been shaken. If it is genuine faith, then it will stand up to the test.

Today's Prayer:

God our Father, you conquer the darkness of ignorance by the light of your Word. Strengthen within our hearts the faith you have given us; let not temptation ever quench the fire that your love has kindled within us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

The Net

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50 KJV)

 The casting of the net is the preaching of the gospel. This gathers both good and evil into the church. When the mission of the gospel is completed, the judgment will accomplish the work of separation. Christ saw how the existence of false brethren in the church would cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. The world would revile the gospel because of the inconsistent lives of false professors. Even Christians would be caused to stumble as they saw that many who bore Christ's name were not controlled by His Spirit. Because these sinners were in the church, men would be in danger of thinking that God excused their sins. Therefore Christ lifts the veil from the future and bids all to behold that it is character, not position, which decides man's destiny.

Both the parable of the tares and that of the net plainly teach that there is no time when all the wicked will turn to God. The wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest. The good and the bad fish are together drawn ashore for a final separation. Again, these parables teach that there is to be no probation after the judgment. When the work of the gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and the evil, and the destiny of each class is forever fixed.

God does not desire the destruction of any. 'As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?' (Ezekiel 33:11). Throughout the period of probationary time His Spirit is entreating men to accept the gift of life. It is only those who reject His pleading that will be left to perish. God has declared that sin must be destroyed as an evil ruinous to the universe. Those who cling to sin will perish in its destruction.

The lost secret of the kingdom of heaven is the characteristic of the gospel which forces individuals out into the open where they manifest what they really are. There is an element of the gospel, this radical message of Christianity, which exposes people when they come into contact with it. It makes known what they are, just as a great dragnet sweeping through the seas gathering fish of every kind ultimately exposes whether they are good or bad, as our Lord makes clear. This has been happening throughout our age. The radical truth of the gospel is like a net seining through the tides of restless, surging humanity, and whoever is caught in it is forced to declare himself, forced out into the open to reveal whether he is bad or good.

Now do not misunderstand. Obviously, people are not simply born bad or good. We are all part of a fallen race. We are all born into lost humanity. We all have evil at work within us and that evil will create in our character a resistance to truth, if God does not intervene. We are all in that condition. Bad or good, in this parable, refers to how we respond to truth, to what happens when we come into contact with reality. That is the whole issue. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the basic truth, the ultimate reality, the fundamental secret of life, the way things really are. The good are those who deal honestly with this reality, who when they learn something real and genuine about it respond to it, act on it, do something about it. The bad are those who, at best, turn their backs to it and say, "No, I don't like that and I don't want to believe it; therefore I reject it," or else, at worst, play the hypocrite and say, "Yes, I'll accept that," but yet allow it to make no changes in their life and remain essentially evil within although outwardly they put on a pious garb of sanctimonious self-righteousness. That is what this parable is talking about.

Life presents many illusions. We do not always perceive the difference between truth and falsehood. All of us, even the youngest among us, have learned that you cannot trust everything you see. Many ideas are propounded today as being delightful and capable of bringing you happiness. But when you grasp them they are like cobwebs and they crumble to nothing, to dust in your hands, and you are left frustrated, disillusioned and disappointed, shattered and defeated. Life consists of trying to sort out the illusions from the truth, of attempting to distinguish between fantasy and the real thing.

The truth is that man was created to be indwelt by God. The only way we can fulfill our humanity is to be filled with God and to understand that we are to live, to operate, by faith in him. The gospel message, this good news about the lost secret of humanity, about the fact that Christ in you is able to restore to you all that God ever intended you to have, is like a great net sweeping through the tides of humanity. Whoever is caught in it is made to reveal what kind of people they are, to reveal whether they will deal honestly with the truth or whether they will reject it and turn from it. You can see this process in your own life, in your own experience. You can see it in the record of church history. You can see it working itself out in human events today. The gospel has this radical character about it.

You remember that when Paul spoke to the Athenians on Mars Hill, to the thinkers and philosophers in that great pagan city where the people were given over to superstition and to the worship of false gods, he said to them,

"The times of ignorance [the foolish worshiping of false ideas and following after false gods] God overlooked [he ignored it because he does not ever condemn people for ignorance], but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

What did he mean by that? Well, Paul's phrase "but now" does not refer to a moment in history before which men were allowed to live in ignorance but from which time on they all have to believe. He is referring to a point in the experience of each individual. We are all born into ignorance. We all grow up following false gods, committed to wrong ideals, and operating on false principles. Ah, but when you hear the truth of the gospel, when the reality of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, strikes you and you understand that, in the resurrection of Jesus, God has demonstrated before all the world that there is available a wholly different way of life, that there is a new provision for man, and that in Jesus Christ is found the lost secret of our humanity. When you learn that, then you have arrived at a crisis point, then you have to do something about it. You have to act on it or reject it, one or the other.

And then you will be different. It will drive you one way or the other. If you believe it, and act upon it, you will never be the same again. It will change everything about your life, gradually, little by little, as you see it applied to various areas. If you reject it, you will never be the same again. You will either be constantly playing the hypocrite, becoming more pious outwardly and more devilish inwardly, or you will turn your back on Christianity altogether and go your own way to become a blatant atheistic philosopher, spreading propaganda against God everywhere you go. That is what Jesus is saying. His dragnet exposes the attitude of your heart toward the truth.

You can see that in the passage from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, He says,

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16a)

Everywhere Paul went he made an impact and an impression, and people could never be the same, because when they understood the great, thrusting reality of the gospel they had to make a choice. What they determined to do exposed whether they were honest or not, whether they wanted to deal with life as it is, or to fool themselves and kid themselves and go on dreaming about something that would never be. Christians are the aroma of Christ to all men. Wherever we go men must face a fact which changes them. And they go on either from life to life, growing in grace and freedom and liberty, or from death to death, ending in the death of eternal loss. That is what the gospel is like, Jesus said. It is like a net which captures people and eventually exposes what they are.

Our Lord foresaw that this would occur throughout the age. But at the close of the age, he says, there will be a public manifestation before everyone of this division among men. In other words, throughout the age, now almost twenty centuries long, the division has been taking place in the lives of individuals. Anybody hearing this message has been revealed in the eyes of God to be either bad or good, unrealistic or honest. But as the age draws to a close the time is going to come when this division between men, this frank declaration of where people actually are, will come clearly manifest into the open. Our Lord says,

"So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous." (Matthew 13:49)

It is very important that we understand what Jesus means when he uses the term "the close of the age." He is talking about a time which the prophets had specified would come at the close of the age of the Gentiles. Daniel said it would be seven years long and that during that time strange events would occur in human affairs. Jesus himself describes it in the twenty-fourth chapter of the book of Matthew. 

He tells us that the close of the age will be recognizable because it will be a time of "great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be," (Matthew 24:21 KJV). You students of history know that there have been some terrible times in the past, but nothing like this. And it is during that last seven years of this present age, before our Lord returns in power and glory and with all his angels with him, as he himself describes, that this judgment takes place and the angels separate the good from the bad.

We are not products of our own immediate life. We are tied to the past. We are the results today of what our parents were before us, and their parents before them. And the trend toward the disclosure of honesty versus dishonesty, fantasy versus reality, comes down through all the preceding generations in all of history. But it will all find its focus and its ultimate manifestation in a great and clear-cut division which will take place.

Now, Jesus said that this distinction would be accomplished by the angels, not by men. It is not the politicians who are going to promote this. So it really does not make a great deal of difference whether you vote Republican or Democrat. Neither party is going to be able to accomplish what our Lord is setting forth here. It is going to be done by angels. On the basis of the Word of God, I believe in angels. I have never seen one, but I believe in them nevertheless. The Bible teaches that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation," (Hebrews 1:14 KJV). I believe in recording angels who keep a record of what we are doing. I do not know how they do it, but I believe they do. I believe in guardian angels who protect us from serious disaster. I know I keep mine busy most of the time.

 When our Lord was here on earth, and at other times in history, angels have been visibly present among men and manifest in their activity. When the disciples went to the tomb they found angels guarding it and explaining the events of the resurrection. When Jesus ascended into the heavens two angels, robed in white, stood by to explain to the disciples what had happened. As we approach the close of the age it may well be that this kind of angelic visitation will be evident once again. I don't know how it will be received by people. Since it will be apparent that angels are beings of another kind than we, it is apt to be explained as some kind of invasion from outer space. I merely drop that suggestion into your fertile minds for you to mull over for yourselves.

At any rate, Jesus says that at the close of the age the angels will be active. Angels have never ceased to be active, but their activity has been behind the scenes. Wherever angels are at work there is unseen, invisible, divine activity with visible and yet otherwise unexplainable results. Oftentimes something happens in human affairs which cannot be explained by the people who make it their business to study and analyze trends in human reactions and thoughts. They can only record it, but do not know why it is happening. That usually is a manifestation of some kind of angelic activity.

Jesus says that is what is going to happen at the close of the age. Increasingly, inexplicably, there will be divisions into groups, either evil or good. This links closely with the parable of the wheat and the tares. There too Jesus said that the angels would divide men, that clusters of evil men would gather together and the righteous would do the same. Here Jesus says that the angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and what people actually are will become plain to all.

In other words, as we draw near to the end of the age hypocrisy is going to be more and more difficult. It is going to be harder to pretend to be a Christian. People will be more and more driven into an open manifestation of the evil that is within and no longer able to cloak it with some form of outward righteousness. That will be the result of angelic activity, exposing the bad in order that it might be destroyed, and allowing the good to remain for the harvest of God, just as this parable makes very clear.

I am not at all certain how this is going to work out. Our Lord does not give us the details of how this will actually appear in history. But I am sure this trend will occur. In fact it may well be occurring right now, as the issues are becoming increasingly clear and it is not as easy as it used to be to hide behind a facade of counterfeit Christianity. The reality must be there. The whole trend in our day toward honesty, this cry of a whole generation for reality and genuineness, is probably the result of the activity of angels moving us toward this final manifestation.

Notice that our Lord closes with a very solemn word:

"The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." (Matthew 13:49b-50)

Weeping speaks of remorse and sorrow. Gnashing of teeth speaks of frustration and hostility and anger. It is all gathered up in the burning phrase "the furnace of fire." I do not know fully what that means. And I do not like judgment any more than you do. I have always been uneasy whenever I have had to deal with these passages which speak of hell and judgment, of death and of the wrath of God. I do not like them because I don't like to think that God will have to do this one of these days. But I have been helped greatly by recognizing that, in the New Testament, the one who speaks most often and most solemnly about judgment and wrath and flames, etc., is Jesus himself. The One with the outstretched arms, with the compassionate heart, who longs to heal sick and wounded humanity, is the One who speaks also about the ultimate end of those who turn their backs and refuse the healing grace of God.

So we must live with this passage the way it is. Our Lord is simply indicating that the issue sharpens as we draw to the close of the age and that at the end it will no longer be possible to hide. As he himself said in another connection, "That which is hidden shall be revealed. That which is spoken in closets shall be shouted from the housetops." That which has been hidden in obscurity and which we think we have gotten away with shall be exposed before the gaze of all. Nothing shall be hidden. Everything shall be uncovered. That is what this parable moves toward.

The final question which it leaves with us is this: Are you really changed by your contact with Jesus Christ and are you still changing? Everyone in this congregation in one way or another has had a contact, a touch, with Jesus, has heard his voice. What has it done to you? What has happened? Are you gradually moving more and more into wholesomeness, into health of spirit, into a departure from childish ideas and actions? Are you becoming genuine and loving and concerned for others? Or does your form of Christianity leave you unchanged within, outwardly pious and respectable, outwardly part of the Christian community, singing the hymns, attending the meetings, doing all the expected things, but inwardly just as bitter and resentful, just as self-centered and concerned for your own ends, seeking after prestige and favor and advancement just as much as you always have been, perhaps more difficult to live with at home? That is what this parable is driving at.

When we are dealing with God we are not dealing with someone who can be bought off. We are dealing with ultimate reality, striking deep into our lives and exposing whatever it finds. And the only way we can meet this reality with any possibility of survival and chance of acceptance is with honesty, simple honesty, just saying what we are. Because, when we say that, then the healing glory of Jesus Christ is able to take us and remove the evil from our hearts and restore the good, to change us into the kind of people that we want to be and which God wants us to be. As we come to the close of this searching parable we need to pray David's great prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalms 139:23-24)

 That is the only ground upon which ultimately we can stand before our Lord. The final, ultimate test is a searching one. Our Lord describes it again in Matthew 25 in his story of the separation of the sheep from the goats when he comes again. The test is, 

"Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me," (Matthew 25:40). 

Inasmuch as your inward motivation, your whole heart, has been awakened with compassion for those who are hungry and sick and in prison, etc., then you have been changed. But if your brand of Christianity is only that of mere outward form, of respectability, a certain moral standard, a degree of a "live and let live" attitude, and yet you have no compassion, no willingness to reach out and expend yourself to meet the need of someone else, then you have never been changed. God has yet to do a work of grace in your heart. This is where this parable leaves us.

As we bring this study to a close, we can see how our Lord has clearly and completely captured all the great trends of our day and our age. He brings us at last now to stand naked and open before him, and all that we are is made clear. Our only hope is to say, "Lord, here I am. I cannot change myself. I can only admit what I am and put myself in your hands. And you, Lord, can change me."

Today's Prayer:

We ask you now, Lord Jesus, to measure each heart and show each of us what our own heart is. May there be many who will pray, "Lord Jesus, change me. I am just what I am, and I cannot change myself. But I do not want to be what I am any longer. Lord, please change me." Many of us are Christians already, Lord, and we really have believed in you. But there are areas of our lives in which we are still resisting you, still trying to pretend that we are something we are not. So we ask you, Lord Jesus, to change those areas too, to redeem them. Help us to acknowledge them and claim your healing grace. We ask in your name, Amen.

The Worry-Free God

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:25 KJV)

Worry and anxiety constantly plague us. We worry about completing our to-do lists, what our bosses or co-workers think of us, or having enough money to make it through the month. It sometimes gets to the point where we don’t feel right if we’re not worried about something.

I know people who find part of their identity in being worriers and who actually define themselves by it. But when Christians do this, it seems like a major contradiction. Worry is another word for fear. And in God’s Word, the message is clear: do not worry (Matthew 6:25). Do not fear (Isaiah 41:10).

In 2 Timothy 2:7, Paul writes that God did not give us a “spirit of fear.” So if fear is not from God, then it can be defeated through the work of God’s Spirit in us and through the renewing of our minds in Christ. Changing our fearful minds is hard work, but the Apostle Paul challenges us to “work out our salvation” with the fear of God, not out of fear of the world around us (Philippians 2:12).

Our world is full of frightening things. We are all works in progress. But when someone becomes a believer in Christ, that person gains the power to overcome fear. We are children of the One who created the world and everything in it, and co-heirs with Christ who overcame the world (Romans 8:15-17; John 16:33).

Worry: The Enemy of Faith?
Do you know which sin is the subtle enemy of simple faith? Materialism and greed? Anger? Lust? Hypocrisy? No. All of these sins are certainly our enemies, but none of them qualify as subtle enemies.

The most notorious faith killer in all of life: worry. “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25).

I find the term worry fascinating. To begin with, the word used by Matthew (translated here as “anxious”) is the Greek term merimnao. It is a combination of two smaller words, merizo, meaning “to divide,” and nous, meaning “the mind.” In other words, a person who is anxious suffers from a divided mind, leaving him or her disquieted and distracted.

Of all the biblical stories illustrating worry, none is more practical or clear than the one recorded in the last five verses of Luke 10. Let’s briefly relive it.

Jesus dropped by His friends’ home in Bethany. Martha, one of those friends, turned the occasion into a mild frenzy. To make matters worse, Martha’s sister, Mary, was so pleased to have the Lord visit their home that she sat with Him and evidenced little concern over her sister's anxiety attack.

As Luke tells us, “Martha was distracted with all her preparations”  But Martha didn’t have help, and that was the final straw. Irritated, exasperated, and angry, she reached her boiling point, and her boiling point led to blame. “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40).

But Jesus was neither impressed by her busyness nor intimidated by her command. Graciously, yet firmly, He said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

Worry occurs when we assume responsibility for things that are outside our control. And I love the Lord’s solution: “only a few things are necessary, really only one.” What a classic example of simple faith!

All Mary wanted was time with Jesus . . . and He commended her for that. Mary’s simple faith, in contrast to her sister's panic, won the Savior’s affirmation.

Worry and faith just don't mix.

The Lies We Believe
“Do not worry about tomorrow.” (Matthew 6:34)

Most of us, from time to time or nearly all of the time, worry about something – our health, our finances, our loved ones, and so on. Yet the Scriptures say to take no thought for your lives and be anxious for nothing. Why is worry a sin? I know we consider it “only human,” but worry really implies a lack of trust in God. It is believing a lie. Identify the lie and you can quickly discover the Truth. What is the lie? That God is somehow less than sufficient, that perhaps He will not come through for us.


So you see, the enemy gets us to believe a lie, and then gets us to think that we are just being “human.” So then we accept something less than the normal Christian life – overcoming – and think that is just the way it is. Remember: satan has no power apart from our belief in his lie.

Let God Take Over
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

In every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Observe,

1. We must not only keep up stated times for prayer, but we must pray upon every particular emergency: In every thing by prayer. When any thing burdens our spirits, we must ease our minds by prayer; when our affairs are perplexed or distressed, we must seek direction and support.

2. We must join thanksgiving with our prayers and supplications. We must not only seek supplies of good, but own receipts of mercy. Grateful acknowledgments of what we have argue a right disposition of mind, and are prevailing motives for further blessings.

3. Prayer is the offering up of our desires to God, or making them known to him: Let your requests be made known to God. Not that God needs to be told either our wants or desires; for he knows them better than we can tell him: but he will know them from us, and have us show our regards and concern, express our value of the mercy and sense of our dependence on him.

4. The effect of this will be the peace of God keeping our hearts. The peace of God, that is, the comfortable sense of our reconciliation to God and interest in his favor, and the hope of the heavenly blessedness, and enjoyment of God hereafter, which passeth all understanding, is a great good than can be sufficiently valued or duly expressed. It has not entered into the heart of man.(1 Corinthians 2:9)

This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; it will keep us from sinning under our troubles, and from sinking under them; keep us calm and sedate, without discomposure of passion, and with inward satisfaction. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, (Isaiah 26:3). 

We all struggle with worry and anxiety at times. God promises that when we surrender our worry to Him, he will guard our hearts and minds and fill us with His peace. If you are struggling with worry right now, claim this promise. Recite this verse to yourself whenever you have anxious thoughts as a reminder that God will help you when you come to Him.

Sometimes people feel anxious all the time, even about little things that seem like they shouldn’t cause any worry at all. If this is how you or someone you know is feeling, prayerfully consider who you can talk to in order to help yourself or your loved one get the help they need.

Today's Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I recognize that worry is an attempt to control things over which I have no control. Fear rules in my mind when the things and people around me seem bigger and stronger than You. Forgive me and help me switch my thinking from fear to trust in You.  Lord, thank You for the ways You uphold us and care for us as we walk through times of difficulty. Thank You that You transform the pain in our lives into things of beauty, as we trust in You. Thank You that You love us in spite of our brokenness. Amen.

Understanding Spiritual Power

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)

New life in Christ brought new freedom to believers in Corinth. However, like children or immature adults, they did not know how to behave responsibly to each other or to God. They needed to be taught, which was why Paul wrote this letter. The Spirit of God had given special abilities to different people, but instead of treating God's gifts as tools (for serving the Lord and spreading the gospel) they used them as toys to feed their pride.

Corinthian citizens and slaves were used to the idea of supernatural power: the mythical gods of the city were supposed to be able to command cosmic and earthly events. Many of the new believers in Jesus had previously grown up to think that the temple idols had personalities and authority (which was why they were worshiped and sacrifices were made to them). They now had to understand that the Holy Spirit has genuine power, but radically different from their indoctrinated ideas or demonic lies about idols. 

So how could they recognize the difference between the pagan preachers, demonic miracle-workers, and Christians filled with the Holy Spirit? Paul's test was simple; what did they say about Jesus? If anyone cursed Jesus or failed to recognize Him as the Lord God of eternity, then the Holy Spirit was not speaking through them. But whoever announced that Jesus is the Lord to be worshiped and obeyed, demonstrated that the Holy Spirit lived in them. It was a dangerous claim to make about Jesus, and one for which the apostles faced severe persecution (Acts 4:13,17-18), so no one would fake the claim that 'Jesus is Lord' unless the Holy Spirit empowered them.

Being willing to announce the identity of Jesus is the critical evidence that the Holy Spirit is resident in a human heart. Jesus is more than just a good man, a wise teacher and a prophet. When people confess that 'Jesus is my Lord', you know they are saved and have the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:9-10). Their public identification with Him is also the beginning of their gospel witness. Others will be drawn to Jesus, even though believers may face difficulties from unbelievers. "What do you think of Jesus Christ?" is still a potent diagnostic evangelistic question in the community or workplace. Those who are ashamed of Jesus need to beware because He will be ashamed of them on the Final Day (Luke 9:26). So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord (2 Timothy 1:8).

The Power to Share Christ
But we all...beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image...even as from the Lord Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses (Acts 1:8 )

If the inward aspect of the Spirit is more important than the outward aspect of the Spirit, why do we need the outpouring of the Spirit? Those who live a life of holiness and who know the Spirit as a person will have the strength to share this holiness with others once they receive the outpouring of the Spirit.... A man may have received something from God and may have accumulated something within yet not have the power to share it with others. Although others may admire or look up to them, they cannot get any help from them. Once they receive the outpouring of the Spirit, they will be able to share with others what is inside them.

Those who have the Spirit within are like a power plant. The plant may be full of light, but the whole city may be in darkness. There must be power lines to join the power plant to the city in order for the power to be conveyed to the whole city. If there is no power in the plant, nothing will happen. However, if there is power but no power lines, nothing will happen either. The power-conveying lines are a picture of the function of the outpouring. Many people have power lines, yet they have to light candles at night. They do not have anything inside them, yet they try to convey something to others. This will not work. We must have both the outward and the inward aspects of the Spirit.

Prayer for Spiritual Power

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You that Jesus Christ is Lord, to be worshipped and obeyed. Forgive me when I have not been willing to identify myself with Him, or when I have allowed people who deny His Lordship to have spiritual authority over my life. Please help me to discern the true voices from among those who claim to be spiritual, by applying the test, 'What do you think of Jesus Christ?' And help me to be an unashamed ambassador for Jesus Christ the Lord. In His Name. Amen.