"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”
We cannot underestimate the power of faith in our lives. Jesus taught about faith in His earthly ministry. Paul mentioned “the faith of God’s elect” in the text printed above. Faith is a gift of God, not just to save us but to sustain us in our daily lives. I want to share with you some thoughts that I had about faith this morning, that I think will describe the “faith of God’s elect.” First, we have faith. Faith is a spiritual possession that God has given us to help us live the abundant life promised by Jesus. Faith is mentioned as a gift of God in the great love chapter 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abides faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” The fact that faith is not a greater gift than love does not make it any less effective in our lives. Paul knew the importance of the gift of faith as he went through all of the troubles and perils of his ministry. Without faith, Paul could not, or would not, have done all of the things that he did. Without the gift of faith, Paul would not have withstood all of the persecution that he endured. If you are a Christian, you have the gift of faith. Take the time now to thank God for it. Second, we live our faith. Faith is not a vehicle that we use to be saved and then go about the usual business of life. Faith is a life-changing possession. Just look at the lives of people that Jesus chose to be His disciples. Each one of them had jobs that they had to give up in order to follow Jesus. It took faith for those men to allow their lives to be consumed by following Jesus and doing His will. If we live our faith, we will be able to do things that never seemed possible before. I’ve known men who had to overcome timidity, speech impediments, or any number of maladies in order to do what God called them to do. The question for you to ask yourself is are you living your faith, or do you, like a lot of people, claim it and not use it? Third, we practice our faith. This is closely related to the second point, but there is a subtle difference. To show you the subtlety, I will quote James’ take on faith and works: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 2:22) The point is that many people think that they are living their faith by attending church and hearing the preaching and teaching of the word. As you would certainly know, I am not against church attendance, but I am against it as fully living the faith. I think what James means is that if we claim to live the faith, we should practice it in our everyday lives. We practice our faith when we live our faith in the market place. We should not be afraid to talk about Jesus, the Bible, or the church to people that we encounter in daily life. As Jesus pointed out, we are not to hide our faith under a “bushel,” but we are to let our “lights so shine before men (and women) that they may see (our) good works and glorify (our) Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Faith in Christ is not something that we put on and take off as we choose. Jesus is with us in all of life, and we are to be aware of that as we encounter the world. I’m not suggesting that you question your salvation. I am suggesting that you take a look at how you are living and practicing your faith. Too many people claim Christ as Savior, but they live as practical atheists, that is, they live like everyone else. They do not put their faith to work. Faith is not an intellectual exercise, it is a life-changing force that makes new people of us. Examine your faith and see if it is making a difference in your life. We have the gift of faith to give us abundant life, which means that we will live above the ordinary, mundane problems of life. We will experience them, but we will live above them. At least think about it. Bro. Joe
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"Whenever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you, for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way there by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25. But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.”
Paul wrote Romans before he went to Rome. Paul told the church in Rome of his plans to go to Spain, and when he did he would stop by Rome. First, he had to go to Jerusalem “to minister to the saints.” In Acts, we discover that this was not how Paul got to Rome. When arrested in Jerusalem, Paul appealed to Caesar, so he was sent to Rome as a prisoner. He did go to Rome, but not as he had planned. Tradition tells us that Paul did go to Spain after he was released from his first Roman imprisonment. I think this is true, but I can’t tell you that on biblical authority, for Acts closes with Paul under house arrest in Rome. Anyway, the whole point of this text, and the history with it, is that things do not always go as we plan. This is usually by God’s design, because He has different plans for us. It was a good thing that Paul did not get to Rome as he had planned. When Paul was on trial in Caesarea, he was able to witness to the soldiers who transported him from Jerusalem to Caesarea. While standing trial in Caesarea, he was able to witness to those who guarded him there, and was able to witness to Festus and Felix. When Paul was put on a ship to sail to Rome, I’m sure that he witnessed to his fellow prisoners on the ship and to the ship’s crew. He served as an effective witness when the ship spent two weeks or more in a storm. When Paul and those with him landed at the island of Malta (Melita in the KJV) where he was able to witness to people there, including the governor, Publius. While under house arrest in Rome, Paul was able to witness to the people who visited him there and to the Roman soldiers who guarded him. These Roman soldiers took the gospel to places where they were transferred after guarding Paul. Think of all of the people who would have never heard the word without Paul’s forced change of plans. There are lessons here for us when our plans go awry. (If you are confused by the background given in this article, read Acts, chapters 23-28.) The Bible does not specifically say that God intervened in Paul’s life to cause him all of the problems in Jerusalem and Caesarea that He might use him elsewhere. But I do know that some good things came out of it that sure looked like the hand of God at work. I do know that God has changed my plans, and as I look back I see that I was better off for it. If God does not let us go in the direction that we have planned, it means that He has better plans for us than we planned. God knows a whole lot more about what we need to do than we do. We think that we know what we need to do, but God doesn’t always agree with us. There are a lot of things that I would change in my life if I could, but I would never change anything that God has led me to do that went counter to my plans. God sees into the future. He knows everything about what we will face in the future. When God changes our plans, He always does it for the better, and for our good. (Read Romans 8:28) Go ahead and make your plans. Just do it prayerfully and with the intent to do God’s will whatever His will might be for you. Suppose that your plans are thwarted and you have to go in a different direction. First, seek God’s leadership in order to ascertain whether or not He made the change. Second, when your plans are changed by God, or if you think that it was circumstances that changed your plans, serve Him where you are. (You just have to remember that God is the God of all of the circumstances in our lives.) If you are not where you think you should be, consider whether or not it is where God wants you to be. The Lord Jesus will use you in all of the circumstances of your life, whether you like where you are or not. The Bible tells us to make the best use of our time. I think that means to make the best use of our time even when things haven’t gone according to plan. God can use you as He used Paul wherever you are. At least give some thought to it. Bro. Joe “Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”
Because of a famine in Jerusalem, churches from various areas pledged to send love offerings to the church there. In our text, Paul is urging the Corinthians to make good on their promise to take part in sending this offering. At first, they had been all for it, but as time passed their zeal for giving had flagged somewhat. Paul is reminding them in 2 Corinthians 9:5 to give and to give generously because of the reciprocal nature of giving. He used an agricultural metaphor to illustrate his point. If one plants a lot of seed, he or she can expect an abundant crop. If one plants sparingly, his or her crop will not be abundant. This is a principle that applies not just to crops but to all areas of life. As to the matter of giving money, we have discovered that we do not miss what we give, in fact the more we give, the more we prosper. People really get aggravated when we talk about money at church, but that is their problem, not the churches. The Bible is full of admonitions to be generous with what God has given us. This principle applies, not just to giving to the church, but to being a giving person in all of life. The principle also applies to more than giving money. (But this is not an excuse not to give money, as some see it.) It applies to our attitudes. If we give out grumpiness, we will receive grumpiness in return. I am tempted at times to try this out and greet people in different ways and watch their reactions. I haven’t done it because I know the answer already. I remember that when our daughters were much younger, we visited Disney World. Now there was a real jolly world, except for one character. As we walked along the street, we encountered “Grumpy.” He really lived up to his name. (That’s when I decided that Grumpy is a Baptist. Come on, it’s a joke.) Give out grumpiness and you get grumpiness back in spades. What about love? Unloving people wonder sometimes why people don’t seem to love them. The truth is that people pick up on how we relate to them. If they feel love from us, they will return it; if they don’t, they return that too. After I had been in the ministry a few years, I took a class at seminary called “clinical training.” In that class we learned how to relate to people. I had often wondered why people didn’t seek me out with their burdens. After getting a “personality reaming” in clinical training, I discovered why. People did not perceive that I cared. People know when we care and they know when we do not care. At that point, I became a better pastor. Proverbs 18:24 comes to mind: “A man (or woman) that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” Simple isn’t it? If you want friends, be a friend to other people. If you want enemies, just act like an enemy to other people and you will have more enemies than you can count. This is just the reciprocal nature of life - We get back what we give out. I will be glad when we learn this in churches. Churches that grow and prosper have learned this. If people attend a church and hardly anyone speaks to them, they will go down the street to another church. They didn't mean to be ugly, but they were looking for fellowship and got grumpiness, or indifference. This has become a cliché, but it is true that “no one cares how much we know until they know how much we care.” Remember 2 Corinthians 9:5 when the collection plate comes around in church. Better yet, remember it when you go out into daily life and mingle with people. Bro. Joe “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way.”
It is human nature to think that our destiny is on our own hands. We believe that if we carefully plan our lives, they will be full and fruitful. But Jeremiah 10:23 reminds us: “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” The simple fact is that when we seek God’s direction, He will “direct our steps.” Why is it wise to seek God’s direction in life, and why will we delight in our way if we allow Him to do so? First, God should direct our steps because He sees all. It is an understatement to say that our vision and our perception are limited. James 4:14 warns us that: “You know not what shall come on the morrow.” We just cannot see far enough ahead to direct our own steps. Why not let the One who sees all direct them for us? 2 Chronicles 16:9 reminds us that: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” We only see what is right ahead of us, and very little of that. If we were going on a trek in the jungle, we would surely want the services of someone who knows all of the pitfalls and traps ahead. We would need someone to guide us. Life is like that. We need a guide who has perfect vision and knows what is ahead. Do not try to direct your own steps without consulting the Lord, because you will certainly fall in the devil’s trap along the way. Second, God should direct our steps because He knows all. In the past few years we have seen a great leap forward in knowledge, but that does not mean that we have seen a great leap forward in wisdom. All of our knowledge seems to be getting us into deeper and deeper moral and political trouble. It is true that even the smartest person is ignorant about more things than he or she is knowledgeable about. There is no way that the human brain can encompass all knowledge and wisdom. That is why we need God. He knows everything about everything. That is one reason why He is God and we are not. Since this is true, doesn’t it make sense that we should follow His leadership through life instead of trusting only our knowledge and insight? God not only knows what is ahead, He knows what is best. If we make decisions in this life based only on what we know, we are bound to fail. What we need to do is to put our hands into the hand of the all-knowing, all-seeing God and let Him guide us. We need to remember the encouraging words from Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.” Perhaps the disciples saw this when they made the decision to follow Jesus. To family and friends their decision might have seemed foolish, but it turned out to be the best thing for them. Third, God should direct our steps because He has all power. Whether we want to be or not, we are at war with a very powerful enemy – the devil. Peter warned that “the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” (1Peter 5:8) Paul warned the Ephesians that our war is not against flesh and blood, “but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) If the steps that we take in this life are to be wise steps, we must depend on the One whose power is far beyond our own. We cannot fight this battle in the flesh. Only Jesus is able to defeat the devil. When Peter tried to defend Jesus in the flesh, he only cowered in the face of adversity. Later, when Peter depended on the power of the Holy Spirit he was able to preach and to live for Jesus. Jesus does not need us to defend Him; we do need to depend on Him. If we want to “delight in our way,” we will let the Lord direct our steps. Bro. Joe “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear….”
Jesus made this statement after He had given His disciples the parable of the seed and the sower. There are times when I wonder if the congregation is really hearing what I am saying. I think that Jesus was telling them to really listen to the parable, grasp its meaning and let it make a difference in their lives. I also know that as I was growing up, I was told a lot of things by my parents, preachers, teachers, etc. and I heard words, but I really didn’t listen. You can imagine that there were many times over the years when I wished that I had listened. We need to really listen to what people try to tell us that will be good for us. My good friend, and former coach at Lee County High School, Sherman Hall, sat me down in the locker room one day and had a heart-to-heart talk with me. Looking back, it was good advice. He was telling me that I needed to start studying and to get my life together. I heard every word Coach Hall said that day, and still remember his words today – but I didn’t listen. At least I didn’t listen at the time, but in ensuing years, through the Navy, college, and seminary, the advice was remembered. There are people that we need to listen to even after we grow to adulthood. I know that advice is cheap, but sometimes not taking it can get very expensive. Listen, when people try to tell you things that will be good for you. We need to listen to what our Sunday School teachers and pastors tell us. I don’t mean to talk down to you, because if you are reading this you are probably an adult, but we never get too old to listen. During the couple of years that I was seriously ill, I had to hear more preaching than I have listened to in all of my years in the ministry. It was good for me. I really needed to stop and listen to somebody else for a change. I think that it would do all preachers good to have to hear others preach for awhile. We never get too old to listen and learn. In fact, the longer I live, the more I realize the need to listen and learn. We need to listen to the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit when we are in church, in prayer or reading the Bible. Jesus is always trying to communicate with us and He does this through the Holy Spirit. You might be asking, but how can I know that it is the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I honestly can’t tell you how you can know, but if you are a Christian you will know when it is the Holy Spirit speaking to you. Let me give you an example of how I know this. One day as I was driving from Camilla to Albany, I saw a big man walking away from his truck with the hood up. Now, like the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, I was in a hurry and didn’t stop. Just after I passed by the man, I saw my reflection in my rearview mirror and said to myself: “You are a real hypocrite. You preach about ministering to people and you get the opportunity and you drive on by because you are too busy doing “the Lord’s work" to really do the Lord’s work – if you get my drift. Needless to say, I knew that it was the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart, or “knocking me side of the head.” When I got to the next place that I could turn around and go back and help the man I did. I picked him up and he and I had a good conversation on the way to getting him to a service station. (This was during pre-cell phone days.) I didn’t witness to him because he was already a Christian, but the Holy Spirit wanted me to lend him a helping hand. I’m glad that I listened that day and acted on what I heard in my heart. Your life will be richer if you will just listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you. It might keep you out of trouble. It might keep you from gossiping. It might keep you from saying things to other people that you should not say. You get the point…. You have ears to hear – so listen! Bro. Joe “As you would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise…”
All of us are familiar with the “Golden Rule.” We have heard of it since we were children. Jesus did not call it “golden” but that is our name for it, and it is golden. The rule simply states that we are to treat other people the way we want to be treated. Some have turned it around and said: “Do unto others before they do unto you.” Sadly, this is probably how most people really feel, and they are not all outside of the church. You have probably discovered, as I have, that this rule is easier to memorize than it is to keep. There is a treasure of wisdom in the “Golden Rule.” It expresses some things that we need to remember if we are to live productive Christian lives. “As you would…..” Everyone desires just and fair treatment. We have almost made a fetish of fair treatment in our society. There are multiple lawsuits because people think that they have been treated unfairly. We desire fair play and honest dealings for ourselves. There is no fun in being fleeced, and there is no good humor in being humiliated. When we buy an automobile, we want to be sure that we are getting a fair deal. When cashiers count our change, we want to be sure that we get the right change back. When we are at a ball game, we pay close attention to whether or not our team is getting fair treatment by officials. What the Golden Rule tells us is that if we expect fair treatment for ourselves we should expect to treat others fairly too.. “As you would that men should do to you…..” It is not as easy for us to do right by others as it is for us to desire right treatment from others. As we deal with people on a daily basis, what do we actually do? Are we as careful to do right by them as we expect that they do right by us? Are we as concerned that we have treated people fairly as we are that they have treated us fairly? Christian people should take the initiative in doing good for others. Jesus certainly took this initiative. Many people came to Jesus, but He also went to others. We need to think about our deeds. Do we take the initiative to be good, gentle, generous and gracious to others, or do we run roughshod over people when we perceive that they have gotten in our way? Which treatment do you prefer? All of us should be busy doing for others what we desire that they do for us. “As you would that men should do to you do also to them likewise…..” I think that this text requires us to do the right thing for others. We should even do good for others before they do good for us. The presence of the Spirit of God in our lives demands that we treat other people fairly. Right treatment should be expected of us. The presence of God’s Spirit in our lives demands that we be selfless instead of selfish. Practicing the Golden Rule should be an imperative in our lives. Practicing the Golden Rule in our relationships with people is our duty. We should demand nothing less of ourselves. I know that living by the Golden Rule is not easy. There is a part of us, even with Jesus in our lives, that wants to live for ourselves, but we cannot always do that and be authentically Christian in our daily lives. Think about the Golden Rule as you walk among people today. Bro. Joe “Let your light so shine before me that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
“If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”( Author unknown) I saw this quotation on a church bulletin board a few years ago, and it has stuck with me. I don’t know wo wrote it, but it gets to the core of the problem of Christian witness and behavior. It reminds me of the advertisements of medicines on television. Truth in advertising laws demands that they tell the side effects of the medicine they are advertising. By the time they list all of the side effects, I usually end up asking myself why in the world would I take that medicine if it could do all of that to me? But it is best that we know the truth about it. We need truth in advertising in our lives as well. It is easy for one to say that he or she is a Christian. The words come so easily: “I am a Christian.” What do we mean by that? Do we realize that when we say that, people will certainly expect us to be different? I know that it is difficult to be different in today’s society. This has always been true. Peter wrote about this issue in 1 Peter 4:4: “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.” People don’t like it when we are different. Sometimes it is because they do not realize what the Christian life is all about. Sometimes it is because our being different makes them feel guilty. But the demand is that we be different. Now, don’t get the idea that I am saying that we should be different in self-righteous and “snooty” attitudes. That is not called being different, it is called being a poor witness of Jesus Christ. Jesus certainly never looked down his nose at people, whether rich or poor. In fact, he was hardest on the Pharisees who were famous for their self-righteousness. Of course, we need to live clean lives, watching what we say and do. When people see us doing otherwise they are turned off. Sometimes people say about us: “You would never know that he or she is a Christian by the way he or she acts.” We need to pay attention to kingdom righteousness. Kingdom righteousness has to do with how we live our lives in front of people. It also has to do with how we relate to other people, and how we treat other people. Some of the poorest advertising that we do is how we sometimes treat each other in churches. After all, Jesus told us that the world would know we are Christians by our love for each other. There are certainly times when we should rise up in righteous indignation when our faith is belittled and smeared. But we should remember at the same time to let people know what we are for as much as what we are against. We are against sin but we are for loving the sinner. We are against what the Bible calls “riotous living,” but we are for helping people come out of those lifestyles. We want to stay away from sin, but, like Jesus, we need to witness and minister to people who are lost in sin. I ask again: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Bro. Joe ‘Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which has loved us, and has given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. 17. Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.” “But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.”
The Greek word used in this text is “sterizo.” It means “to fix, make fast, to set.” (Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words) As the word is used here it means to be set, or settled, in our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. There are three things in the texts that give us an idea of what Paul meant by his use of the word for the Thessalonians and what it means for us. The word “establish” is used in context with encouragement in verses 16-17. It helps to establish us when we know that God “loves us, and has given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.” I’m afraid that this aspect of our relationship with Jesus is overlooked by many Christians, or they are just unaware of what we have in Jesus. I don’t see how this is possible, but it is a fact. It is important for us to know that God loves us. It is also important for us to keep in mind that He not only loves us, but that He gives us “consolation (comfort) and good hope through grace.” Wow! What a lineup of great New Testament words – comfort, hope and grace. These words are all positive and are aspects of our relationship with Jesus in good times and bad. The comfort that Jesus gives is comfort in our hearts. I think that these things need to be understood before we will be established, or firmly fixed, in the faith. Now we turn to what this establishment means. In verse 17 Paul referred to establishment “in every good word.” I see this “word” that Paul mentions in two ways. First, we need to be established in the word of God. If we do not read and study the word of God, we cannot possibly be established in the faith. The Bible is our primary source for Christian living. A lot of people are trying to live a Christian life without the Bible. It cannot be done! There is a lot of preaching today that attempts to make people comfortable in spite of what is in the Bible. That is false encouragement, and is referred to as “false prophecy.” Second, we need to be established in the encouraging words that the Bible gives us. It encourages us to live righteous lives. (not self-righteous lives) It encourages us to place our faith in Jesus and let Him give us encouragement through His Spirit. Plus, there are many words of encouragement in the Bible. I will quote one as an example of what I mean: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Also, in verse 17 Paul referred to establishment “in every good….work.” The “good work” that Paul refers to here is the work that we do using our spiritual gifts. Whatever the Lord has gifted us for should be followed diligently by us. This means that if that work is to teach, we need to study in order to know what we teach. We can’t teach what we do not know. We establish ourselves in Christian work by sharpening and honing our skills. One gift is the gift of hospitality. This gift could be used by ushers at church. There are ushers who just go through the motions and ushers who hone their skills through prayer and humility who make people feel welcome. This gift is given, not to just give out bulletins and say “good morning,” but it is given to provide a witness to new arrivals at church. These are just wo examples of what it means to be established in “every good work.” In 2 Thessalonians 3:3 we are given another meaning of being established: “But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.” I think that being established in every good word and work, is important here. It is only as we are established in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and in the work that He has gifted us for that we will be kept from evil. Be sure that you are established in word and work, and that you are being kept from evil. Bro. Joe |
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