“Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Being still is not an American trait. We are an active people who are in a hurry, even if we don’t have anywhere to go. All one has to do is to get on an interstate highway to know what a hurry we are in. If you want to drive the speed limit, you had better get on a two lane highway because the traffic on interstates will not let you. This is an illustration of life in America. We desperately need the message of Psalm 46:10a: “Be still and know that I am God…” We could say this about the entire world. Everyone needs to know to be still in order to know that God is God. What does it mean to be still? We have to stop, be still, and let God speak to our hearts. We are so busy talking and doing that we do not take time to meditate and reflect on God’s will. To be still means to be silent, as well as to cease activity at some time and consider what the will of God is. If we are going to be centered in the will of God, we will have to stop and listen to Him. I think of the time Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt. He wasn’t busy doing religious things, or talking. He was being still and he saw a bush burning but not being consumed. This was God’s way of getting Moses’ attention in order to reveal His will. We have to be still in order to exalt God to the people around us. This doesn’t mean that we go off to ourselves at work. What it does mean is that we will not be able to exalt God to others, or witness to them effectively, if we do not spend some time alone with God. When Jesus’ disciples were arrested in Acts, the Jewish leaders “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” These men sat at the feet of Jesus for three years, saw His miracles, heard His parables, soaked up His love and the world saw it. Could it be that the world today does not take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus because we do not spend enough time at His feet? Basically, what it means to “Be still and know that God is God,” is to seek Him above all else. This is what Moses did. This is what David did. This is what Peter did. This is what Paul did. This is what all of the great Christians across the ages have done, or they would not have been great Christians. We do not know many of the greatest Christians today because they are not famous preachers, but they are quietly influencing the world around them because they are taking the time to spend time with God in His word, in prayer and in corporate worship. You can be one of these Christians if you will take God’s advice: “Be still and know that I am God…” Bro. Joe
0 Comments
“Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Before we make a decision to do something we should ask if we are doing it for the glory of God. I do not know what “it” means for you. “It” can be to sing in the choir, teach a Sunday School class, do a good deed for a neighbor, or whatever. The point is that whatever “it” is it should be for the glory of God. There are at least three ways that we can determine whether or not something is done for God’s glory. First, if you do this thing will you be able to thank God for it. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us of the importance of this: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” You will know in your heart whether you are serving for the glory of God, and when it is done, you will be thankful for the opportunity of doing it. Psalm 100:2 tells us to “serve the Lord with gladness.” This means that God lets us serve Him, and when we do a service for Him, whatever it might be, we should gladly do it and we should thank Him for letting us serve Him. If you serve only to receive the praise of people, you are not doing it for the glory of God. This was a prevailing sin of the Pharisees in the New Testament. Jesus said that they prayed gave alms and tithes, etc. for the glory of people, not for the glory of God. Second, if you do this thing can you do it in Jesus’ name, or will you do it in Jesus’ name? Colossians 3:17 reminds us: “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” Notice that this verse also tells us to be thankful that we are allowed to serve God in some way. We need to ask ourselves, if we do this thing, will it be worthy of the name of Jesus. I don’t know if we would take this to the extent that if we water the flowers, we will do it in the name of Jesus and for His glory, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. We need to ask if a service that we are going to render is worthy of the name of Jesus. Third, if you do this thing will it ultimately bring glory to God? 1 Corinthians 10:31, our text written above, tells us to be mindful of this. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” If you do “good works” in order for people to say what a great person you are, you are not doing them for the glory of God. Again, this does not mean that we should not get a sense of satisfaction out of what we do. God would certainly not demand that of ys. But we should be careful that the focus is on God and not just on us. I will confess after preaching hundreds of sermons over the years that this motivation is not always easy, because we want to know that what we do is appreciated, but we should be careful anyway that God gets the glory. Are you doing "it" for the glory of God? Bro. Joe “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Paul did not write: “But my God shall supply all your wants…” The Bible nowhere promises that God will give us all that we want. In Psalm 23:1, David wrote: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I think this means that God simplifies our wants. I know that He has simplified mine. We think that our greatest needs are physical, but they are not. I am not intimating that God does not meet physical needs, but that these are not all of the greatest needs that He meets. Let’s look at some of the needs that we have that come from God’s great “riches in glory.” One need that only Jesus can meet in our lives out of “God’s riches in glory” is spiritual. This need for spiritual fulfillment is so great in human beings that they will attempt to fill that vacuum with all kinds of things that will not fill it. Drugs cannot fill that vacuum. Romanic love cannot fill that vacuum. I am certainly not against romantic love, but it can’t meet our innermost spiritual needs. A good job with good pay cannot meet that need.This is why Jesus told the rich young man who asked how he could have eternal life to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. He knew that the young man was trying to fill his God-shaped vacuum with his possessions. He couldn’t do it. Jesus knew that his greatest need was spiritual and that all of his physical possessions could not fill that need. Another need that only Jesus can meet in our lives out of “God’s riches in glory” is emotional. Our lives are filled with all sorts of emotional needs. Our emotional needs usually reflect our need for acceptance and love. One of the worst things that can happen to us in life is to feel that others have rejected us, or that we are not acceptable to other people. Jesus can fill that vacuum for us. It is Jesus who makes us aware that we are acceptable to God. My main concern is that there are many people who do not believe that God would forgive them and accept them into His kingdom. Let me tell you that if you have no other friend, God wants to be your friend, and all He asks of you is to allow Him into your life. You might be an unbeliever. I am simply asking you to throw all caution to the wind, confess your sins and ask Jesus into your life and let Him go to work in your life supplying your needs. You might be a troubled believer. There are many troubled believers out there and you need to reclaim that God has made to “supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” It’s all there for you – go for it. Bro. Joe “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our Lord stands forever…”
There are some verses in the Bible that speak volumes about the human situation. Isaiah 40:8 is one of those verses. It has always been true, and will remain so, that “the grass withers, the flowers fade.” You can substitute any number of things for “grass” and “flowers,” and the verse will remain true. But the verse gives a promise that is just as sure and true: “but the word of our Lord stands forever.” This can be widely interpreted. We can say that it is true of the Bible, for it certainly is, but beyond that it also means that we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises will stand. In other words, we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises are true. Let’s take a look at few of these promises. We have God’s promise that we can receive the salvation that He has provided through His Son. This promise is succinctly stated in John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me shall come to me: and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” We have God’s promise that those who come to Him for salvation will not be turned away if they come in repentance and faith. We have God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. This promise is found in Hebrews 13:5-6: “Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He promised His disciples that He would be with them through the “comforter,” the Holy Spirit who He would send to them after He ascended to the Father. One of Jesus’ final promises to His disciples, and to us, just before He ascended was: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages….” (Matthew 28:20) We can be content and secure in this life knowing that we will never be alone, that God will never forsake us. There are times when it might seem that He has forsaken us, but we can take His word for it that He has not forsaken us. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, we see the reality of this great promise. We can experience this promise in our lives if we will just be aware of it. We have His promise that: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The promise is not that “all things will work for good” for God’s people. The promise is that all things will “work together for good…” “Together” is a big word here and defines what the promise entails. It means that God is at work in our lives and as we face everything in this life, good or bad, God will work them all together for our good. I have found this to be true in my life, and I imagine that many of you reading this have found it to be true in your lives. I have not even scratched the surface of this great promise that “the word of our Lord stands forever,” but what I have shared should be sufficient to show that it is true. Don’t just take my word for it; take God’s word for it. Bro. Joe “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”
No one can claim to have a perfect knowledge of the ways of God. This verse was the conclusion of Paul’s treatment of the sovereignty of God. “His ways (are) past finding out.” I want to use the example of two Bible characters to help us understand How God’s ways are beyond human knowledge. The first person that I want to share is Moses. Think about the call of Moses. When God came to Him on Mount Horeb when, he was watching his father-in-law’s sheep, he had been out of Egypt for forty years and was eighty years old. (Good lands, he was older than me….) When God called him to lead His people, Israel, out of Egypt, Moses tried to talk God out of the call. He was not a good speaker, and he did not have a clear idea about what he could tell the people. Also, he did not have a clear concept of God. (All of this is in Exodus 3:1and verses following.) But God called him, a shepherd, tending another man’s sheep, to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh of, the most powerful man in the world, to let God’s people go. Plus he had to convince those people, about two or three million of them, that God would deliver them. But Moses did it because he believed God. There is a lot more to the story than I have given, but I think you get the point that God’s choosing Moses at that time in his life for such a massive service was “past finding out.” The second person that I want to share with you is Saul of Tarsus. I am assuming that you know something about this man. From the beginning of the Christian’s ministry in Jerusalem, Saul of Tarsus had been the lead persecutor of the church. In fact when he was converted, he was on His way to Damascus, Syria, to further his persecution. When he encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road, he accepted Him and was called to carry the Christian message primarily to the Gentiles. What? Didn’t God have a good Gentile that He could call? Instead, Jesus called the meanest Jew that that He could find converted him and sent him to minister to the Gentiles. I repeat: God’ s "ways are past finding out.” I’ll tell you someone else that God’s call seems “past finding out” is His call to me. There were a couple of Sunday School and Church Training teachers who did not seem too surprised, but they were in the minority. I wasn’t surprised, for Jesus had dealt with me since I was twelve-years-old, but my life was certainly not what it should be. Even today, when I stand to preach, or teach, I am surprised that God uses me, and I’ve been doing this almost fifty seven years. Why God would use me as one of His preachers is way, way, “past finding out.” You could probably say the same about His using you in His service. Just know that He can and will use you. God’s ways are often “past finding out,” but aren’t we glad that we are in His “way.” Say Amen! Bro. Joe “A man has joy in the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it.”
I guess all of us have had our day made or ruined by words. This is why the Bible warns us about the usage of our words. We need to remember that what we say may be taken lightly by us, but not by those who hear what we say. “A word spoken in due season,” refers to a word that is spoken wisely at just the right time. I want us to look at the different ways that we can use words "in due season." A word of warning can be helpful. I begin with the word of warning because these words have helped me in my life. I can look back and wish that I had always heeded the words of warning that were given to me at home, school, church and etc.. I could have avoided a lot of complications if I had listened to a word of warning given at the right time. One of the best favors that you might do for a friend is to give him or her a timely word of warning. A word of encouragement can be helpful. We like to think that the things we do in life, whatever our jobs may be, are appreciated by other people. Words of discouragement can sting or hurt, especially if they are given in a negative and mean spirited way. Words of encouragement can make a huge difference in whether we succeed or fail. It is important for parents to give their children words of encouragement as they grow up. Sometimes words of encouragement can also be words of warning. An encouraging word does not always have to be positive, especially if it is given in love and concern. But I do not want to diminish the importance of positive words of encouragement. We know that we like to hear positive words of encouragement; therefore, we should be careful to give them. We need to be reminded that once words are spoken they cannot be called back. If you are like me, there are times that you have said to yourself, “Why did I say that?” We know when our words are helping or hurting. We need to decide that we want our words to help rather than hurt. Words of love can certainly be helpful. We all know that the three most coveted words in the English language are “I love you.” This is true in romantic relationships, but this is also important in all of our relationships. We all like to know that we are loved. That is why it is important for us to hear God telling us that He loves us. If the love of our fellow human beings is important, it is certainly important to us that the God of the universe loves us. All of the above being true, we need to be careful about the words that we use. We need to stop and think whether or not our words are helping or hindering. Give this some thought and remember, “A word spoken in due season, how good is it.” Bro. Joe “…Who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the things formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
The Christian faith is not built on “why,” a word that usually asks a question. It is also built on “that," which states a fact. The Bible does not often tell us why certain things are true, but it does tell us that certain things are true. God does not feel the need to explain Himself to us, for He wants us to live by faith instead of by sight. I want to look at a few examples of “why” and “that." We are not told why God created us as He did but that He created us as He did - in His image. This does not mean that we look like God but that He created us in His spiritual image. We are more than skin, bones, tissue and organs. We are more than warm bodies. We do not know why we are created in God’s image, but we know that we are created in His image. God created us to have fellowship with Him. Augustine wrote: “You have created us for yourself and we are restless until we find our rest in you.” The fact is that God created us to need Him. God created us to want to know Him and long for His presence. God created us to need to converse with Him, i.e., to pray. We are not told why God loves us but that He loves us. The premier statement of this is found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." No explanation is given for this love, and if one was given we would probably not understand it. The fact is that God loves us and that it is our responsibility to believe it. We are to believe that God loved us enough to give His Son in order for us to have eternal life. We are told of this love again in Romans 5:8: “But God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” We are not told why God wants to use us in His service, but that he does use us. It seems odd that an omnipotent, sovereign God would need us. We know that God put Adam in the Garden to “dress and keep it.” He sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God could have done either of these, but He chose to use both Adam and Moses to do them. It is not clear why God uses us, but it is certainly true that He does. God doesn’t need us, but we need Him and we need to be used of Him. We don’t know why He does, but we know that He does. It is not our lot to know “why”, but it is our responsibility to know “that.” Stop questioning and obey. Bro. Joe "The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid.”
Psalm 27 is one of David’s most eloquent statements of his faith in and dependence on the Lord. The first verse gives an apt description of this motif. In this verse, David gives us a glimpse of his relationship with the Lord. “The Lord is my light.” Among other things, this is a reference to the guidance of God. In John 8:12, Jesus said: “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” This is the same spirit in which David wrote in our text. If we want to live in God’s will, we will certainly walk in His light. This will mean that we will have to spend time in prayer and in a study of God’s word. David wrote “the Lord is my light.” We follow God’s light in a personal faith relationship with Him. “The Lord is…my salvation.” As a shepherd in his younger years, David learned to depend on the Lord’s salvation. Before his engaging Goliath, David shared with Saul that as a shepherd, “The Lord has delivered me out of the paw of both the lion and the bear, He will deliver out of the hand of this Philistine…” David did all that he did with the understanding that the Lord was with him, and that He would deliver him. We see this borne out in David’s life on many occasions. We can certainly depend on God to be our salvation in our lives. “The Lord is the strength of my life.” As I pointed out above, David always depended on the strength of the Lord. He didn’t just say that the Lord gave him strength, he said, “the Lord is the strength of my life.” Because the Lord was his salvation and strength, David declared twice in this verse that he would not be afraid. He wrote…”Whom shall if fear.” Because the Lord was His strength, David was not afraid of people. David had a lot of powerful enemies, and because of the Lord’s strength he was not encumbered by fear of them. The Lord has given us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to meet life's challenges without fear. If you haven’t already, make the Lord your light, your salvation and your strength. If you have, praise Him and live victoriously. Bro. Joe “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. 26. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. 27. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.”
I want to share another encouraging text from the unlikely book of :Lamentations. The word from Lamentations this time is about waiting on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord can be difficult, for He does not work within our time frame, but He works within His own time frame. Jeremiah tells us that “the Lord is good to those who wait for Him.” What he means is, along with God being good to us, God is doing good things in our lives while we wait for Him. God’s Spirit is always active in our lives, and He ministers to us through all of the events of our lives and through all of the things that happen in our lives - the good and the bad. The important thing is that we will not realize God’s goodness for us while we wait, if in the process we do not seek Him, and seek His will and way for us. This is the time to seek the Lord, to draw from His wisdom while you wait for the next thing that He is going to do. I have discovered that seeking the Lord while I wait is not a painful process. In fact it is a wonderful process, for while we wait, we learn a lot about our Lord if we will just open our minds and hearts to Him. So, while you are waiting, trust in God, listen to Him, trust Him and know that He only wants the best for you, and that He wants you to see what is best for you as He does. Verse 27 offers the best advice for us while we are waiting: “It is good for a man (or woman) to bear the yoke while he is still young.” I don’t think that I will change the word of God if I shorten this a bit to say: “It is good for a man (or woman) to bear the yoke” whatever stage of life he or she is in. Bearing the yoke is a biblical way of saying that we are to serve God. Oxen are put in the yoke to work. While we are waiting on the Lord, we do not sit idly by and just meditate on what His master plan for us might be. He wants us to be active while we wait. He wants us to serve Him while we wait. Waiting on the Lord does not make us selfish. It does not just lead us to navel-gazing and wondering what’s next for us. While we are waiting, there are expectations that God wants us to fulfill. For example, there are people who need a word from God from us, whether it is a vocal witness or an encouraging word, or act. God wants us to reflect on His part in our lives and on His will in lives, but He does not just call us to quiet reflection. He calls us to reach out to a world in dire need of Him, and share with the world what we know of Him. Take the advice of Jesus: “Look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35b) There is so much more that could be shared from this verse, but I trust what I have shared will encourage and strengthen you as you meet the challenges of your life. Amen! Bro. Joe “Do all things without murmuring and disputing. 15. That you might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in a dark world. 16. Holding forth the word of life…"
An idea captured my imagination as I read this text: Paul was issuing advice to the Philippian Church. It is also good advice for us. In verse 14, he told them to stop complaining and arguing. I have decided that complaining and arguing do not usually accomplish anything. We are to show the joy of Jesus to the world, and when we complain and argue we do not show His joy. Do you enjoy being around people who are always complaining, or finding something to argue about? We need to occasionally ask ourselves if we are acting like people that we do not like to be around. I have reached a point in my life that when I feel the need to argue; I ask myself what good it would do? In other words, I have stopped arguing unless doing so would accomplish anything for the kingdom. In verse 15, he told them to let their lights shine. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Jesus saved us, and put us here as lights in a dark world. People should see a difference in the way we live. We need to consider whether or not we are shining as lights in a dark world if we are always complaining and arguing. We need to ask ourselves if our lights are shining when we have negative attitudes. I know that there are things to be complained about and things to argue about, but we need to be sure that we need to ask ourselves if we are being led by the Holy Spirit when we do. In that case, He will give us what we need to say. (I’m preaching to myself here…) In verse 16, he told them to “hold forth the word of life.” I interpret this to mean that we should share the word of God with the world. We can do this when we read and study the word and know what it says. We can do this when we internalize the word, and actually live it before the world. “What would Jesus do?” is a good question for us to ask as we seek to “hold forth the word of life.” We need to see this as advice to us as well as the Philippians. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|