“A faithful man (or woman) shall abound with blessings: but he that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”
We often hear about something being “the best that money can buy.” In America we really believe in things that money can buy. Malls and Wal-Mart’s stay busy all of the time selling things. This is not bad within itself; after all, commerce has made us the great nation that we are. But there are some things that are priceless and they all come from God. You can’t go to a store and buy the real blessings of God. If God put a price tag on them, even Donald Trump or Warren Buffet could not afford them. The fact is that there is no amount of money that can buy the real blessings of God. Let’s look at a few, none of which will probably surprise you, but we need to be reminded of them. Salvation is one of those great blessings that we cannot buy. In fact, we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that God purchased it for us: “For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God’s.” We were bought with the price of the precious blood of God’s Son. We could not buy ourselves out of sin; God had to act in His great love to bring us out of sin. We are saved by the free grace of God’s Son. Salvation is free, but it is not cheap. Jesus paid a great price on the cross to save us from sin. This should cause us to “glorify God in (our) body and (our) spirit." If you are saved, stop reading and glorify God. If you aren’t saved, run to Jesus right now, confess your sins and invite Jesus into your heart and life. Heaven is one of those great blessings that we cannot buy. Imagine that we die and get to the gate of heaven, and we look for the price of admission. The price should be great because of the price that Jesus had to pay to get us there. I can’t believe the price that people pay today to get into baseball and football games. It takes several hundred dollars to get a seat at a major sports event. If we had to pay to get into heaven, no one would be able to afford the ticket. The price of admission into heaven could be posted on the gate: “Price of admission is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” It was by faith in Christ that we were able to gain admission into the gates of heaven. That brings me to another of God’s blessings that money cannot buy – faith. We are saved by faith, but that is not where it stops, for we are sustained by faith. It is faith in Jesus that takes us over the hard places of life. When we are gravely ill, or facing some other hardship, we cannot buy ourselves out of it, but our faith can certainly get us through it. We can pay for medical treatments, but we cannot pay for the blessing of the presence of Christ in our lives. His presence is made real and vital by our faith in Him. If you want to really understand the glory of God, live by faith in Him, take steps of faith that will show you what only God can do, and you will be truly blessed. Having faith in God is much better than having the money in the bank to buy whatever we want. Another of the great blessings of God that we cannot buy is Christian fellowship. I remember hearing a country song about thirty or forty years ago that claimed: “Me and Jesus got our own thing going.” We were saved as individuals, for each of us has to come to Jesus by faith, but once we are saved we become a part of the great fellowship of God’s people. I like to think that when I read the Bible I am fellowshipping with the saints of old as well as the saints who are alive now. Some of my great blessings in life have come from the Christians that I have known over the years. There is nothing sweeter than real Christian fellowship, and we cannot buy ourselves into it. Learn to enjoy the fellowship of God’s people. I told you that none of these would be new to you, and probably did not surprise you, but I want to ask you to pause now and rejoice in these things that money cannot buy. Bro. Joe
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"Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light to all that are in the house. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
When I get up in the morning and look in the mirror for the first time, my first thought is not that I am the light of the world. You probably have the same thought. It is difficult to realize that we are the light of the world, except that this is what Jesus called us. Before we get too proud of ourselves, however, we need to read John 8:12: "Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Putting these two texts together, we can see that we are the light of the world because Jesus is the light of the world. It is not our light that people see, rather, it is the light of Jesus shining through us. Our light is like moonlight. The moon has no luminary qualities, for it's light is reflected sunlight. In the same way, our light is the reflected light of the Son. We are not to boast, "I am the light of the world." We are to remember that because we have Jesus in our lives, we are supposed to be reflecting His light to the world. How can we do that? First, we can live the Christian life. I do not mean that we become religious and speak in stilted "stained glass tones." I mean that we live moral lives that reflect the values of Jesus. We will never do it perfectly as He did, but we can do the best that we can with His help. A lot of Bible study and public and private worship can help to make this possible. Second, we can love people like Jesus did. Jesus said: "This is my commandment, that ye love another, as I have loved you." Jesus also said: "By this shall all (people) know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We begin by loving each other, then we love all people as Jesus did. Does the world see Christ's love through what goes on in your life and at your church? We really need to think about this, and act on it, if we want to be genuine lights for Christ in this world. Do people see Christ's love through how we act in our daily lives? Third, we can minister to people in the name of Jesus. Ministry is helping people anyway that we can, from a smile to actual acts of service. We encounter all kinds of people in our daily lives. God loves everyone of them. We might find them lonely, suffering from sickness, steeped in the ways of the world, dirty, down and out, up and out, or just plain mean, but they all need the love of Jesus. Jesus died for everyone of them! We can minister the light of Christ to them by loving and helping them as Jesus did. They might not really want your help, but if Christ's light is shining through you, you can get through to them. Finally, in this text Jesus said: "Let your light so shine before (people), that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." They will probably appreciate your efforts, but, ultimately, if what they see is the light of Christ, they will glorify God. If you belong to Jesus, you are the light of the world. Go out there and shine!!!! Bro. Joe When King Uzziah died, Isaiah went into the temple and God gave Him a life-changing vision. He saw the seraphims, who declared the holiness of God. Then "the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke (God's glory)." Isaiah's moment of truth began at this point. It was a moment of realization and confession: "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Because of this vision of the holiness of God, Isaiah realized that he was not what he should be, and that others were in the same boat. He then confessed his sin of "unclean lips." People will never come to that moment of realization of their imperfections, or to confession, until they have an encounter with God. That encounter will probably not be as profound as Isaiah's, but it needs to happen. This is what we hope for in our church services. We pray that people will have an encounter with God as we pray, sing, give and preach. It is wonderful when that happens. We also pray for this when we visit people in their homes and witness to them, or wherever we encounter them.
The encounter next moved to forgiveness and cleansing. One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal in his hand and laid it on his lips and said, "Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged." This is what such an encounter is all about. It needs to take place in people who are not believers and it also needs to take place with people who are believers. We always stand in need of forgiveness and cleansing. The encounter next moved to Isaiah's positive response: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." The encounter turned into a challenge to serve God, as it always will. Maybe more people will go out and witness and minister when more people have a dynamic encounter with God. Let's pray for that to happen in our lives and in the lives of others. Bro. Joe “And I say unto thee, that thou art Simon Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
A lot of people have given up on church. There are many reasons why this is so, and some of them might be valid if the church was just a human institution. We need to take another look at “church” and see why it is important. In the text above Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter that the heavenly Father gave him the answer. Then he made this great declaration concerning His church: “Upon this rock I will build my church.” This verse gives us the answer to “what is the church?” It is Christ’s church! He said “I will build my church.” Christ’s church is not a building, it is not a club, it is not merely an organization. Christ’s church is a living body – an organism made up of the people of God. We are in the habit of referring to the church we attend as “our church.” That is understandable in a way, but if it is indeed ours, it is not what Christ intended it to be. The church does not belong to us, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus gave His life for His church: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood.” In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His church. He has promised to never leave or forsake His church. It is the only institution, if that is the right word, that Jesus is using to fulfill His kingdom’s work. There are a lot of good organizations doing good work in this world, but they cannot take the place of Christ’s church. Remember Jesus said, “I will build MY church.” Christ’s church is comprised of imperfect human beings. Jesus said, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus was referring to Peter’s profession of faith. Christ’s church is built upon the faith of imperfect people like Peter and like you and me. When I was a young pastor, I wanted to find the perfect church, where I would be a perfect fit. But the Lord convinced me that if I found the perfect church I could not join it, because if I joined it, it would not be perfect anymore. As imperfect as we are, we are His church. As already written, Christ’s church is built upon our faith. It is also built upon our service, our dedication, our prayers, our willingness to witness and to be the arms, legs and mouths of Jesus. The churches to which we belong will be as effective as we allow the Holy Spirit to use us to make them The church is not ours, but it is comprised of us. Thank God, it is not us alone. Jesus is present with us and His Spirit urges us on, but He calls us to His work and if we don’t get it done, it will either not get done, or He will use someone else to get it done. Jesus said: “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (His church).” Make no mistake, local churches die, because they become clubs where people meet with their friends, not organisms, where the people of God are in fellowship (partnership) with each other. But the church as the “body of Christ” cannot be destroyed. If Christ’s church could be killed, the devil would have killed it a long time ago. The church cannot be destroyed because it belongs to Jesus Christ, who defeated death, hell and the grave to establish it. Whatever church you are in is Christ’s church. Keep this in mind as you conduct His church’s business. Bro. Joe "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
Yesterday, we looked at the importance of Jesus Christ in the life of the Christian. Today, we will consider the importance of scripture. We cannot "take the Bible or leave it." What scripture teaches is important in our lives. First, the Bible is given by inspiration of God. There is a theological argument about what this means, but one thing is unmistakable: The Bible is a God-breathed document that stands alone in its authority in our lives. There are a lot of good Christian books, but not a one of them is inspired as the Bible was inspired. The apostle Peter made this clear in 2 Peter 1:20-21: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. 21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Second, the Bible is the only seed-bed of doctrine. I know that there are many doctrines that genuine Christians disagree on, but there is one Bible doctrine that has to stand undisputed in all Christian circles, and that is the doctrine of Christ. We can disagree about a lot of things, but we can’t disagree about Jesus. It is Bible doctrine that God’s Son came to earth from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died as a perfect sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all mankind, arose on the third day and after forty days ascended to the right hand of the Father. When any group gets away from the centrality of Christ to the teachings of some man or woman, they have gotten away from the Bible. Third, the Bible has authority in the lives of Christians. It is from the Bible that reproof for our sins comes. People cannot define sin to their own liking, and when they err from the teachings of the Bible on sin, they are reproved by it. For example, there is no question in the Bible that adultery is a sin. It is never seen in a good light in the Bible. Adultery has already been assigned as sin by the Bible and we can’t change that to suit our own ideas of morality. (That goes for all of the other sins condemned in the Bible.) It is the Bible that corrects us about our behavior as to whether it is sin or not. It is not a popular stance today, but if the Bible condemns our behavior, we should stand corrected and cease that behavior. I must add that we all are subject to this correction for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We should be as concerned about correcting our own sinful behavior as we are the sinful behavior of others. It is also written here that it is the Bible that instructs us in righteousness. The righteousness that is portrayed in the Bible is not just concerned with what we don’t do, but about what we do. There are sins of commission (what we do) and sins of omission (what we do not do). Therefore, the Bible tells us when we do good and when we do not do good. More could be written on this subject, but the three things considered here are important for us to know. Bro. Joe “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.”
Jesus is involved in every part of the Christian’s life. Without Him there would be no Christian life. Colossians 3:17 reveals His all-inclusiveness in our lives. Whatever we do is to be done In the name of Jesus. Not in the name of our church, denomination or ourselves but in the name of Jesus. All of our work in the church and in all other facets of life should be “Jesus work.” “Whatever” means all. I want to share some observations on Colossians 1:17. Everything that we do should be worthy of the name of Jesus. Someone might say, “But I could never have fun.” Whoever says this has been terribly misinformed and has no idea what the life of a Christian is like. Jesus was present at festive occasions, which reveals that Jesus was not against “having fun.” Why do we equate fun with sin? The point of our lives is to bring glory to Jesus. In John 17:10, Jesus said: “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and glory has come to Me through them." If we do not serve in Jesus’ name, we will not bring glory to His name. I have discovered that there is a great deal of joy in that kind of service and, I might add, a lot of good, clean fun. There are some specific ways to do “all in the name of Jesus.” Let me give you some examples. First, we can accomplish this by what we say: “in word.” Words used to profane God’s holy name will not do it. Words used to belittle people will not do it. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said: “But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment." Second, we accomplish this by what we do: “in deed.” We will also be held accountable for what we do. What we do reflects who and what we are and to whom we belong. We are God’s people – Christians. Our works should reflect that. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.” Third, we accomplish this by being thankful: “Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." Nothing can enhance the name of Jesus like thankfulness. Look at what thankfulness can accomplish: (1) Thankfulness erases bitterness. (2) Thankfulness causes rejoicing. (3) Thankfulness results in kindness. (4) Thankfulness enhances compassion. (5) Thankfulness calls out the best in us. (6) Thankfulness reveals “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Notice that we thank God by and through Jesus. It is Jesus, in whose name we do all things, who makes us thankful. If you will stop and think about all that Jesus has done for you, you will be thankful. If you can’t recall that He has done anything for you, you need a spiritual checkup. It is safe to assume that if we apply Colossians 3:17, we will live in the name of Jesus. We are going to live in the name of something, why not Jesus? That is definitely not too much to ask in the light of all that He has done for us. He died as a sacrifice for our sins. He arose from the grave, and promised to be with us throughout the ages. When we came to Jesus by faith, He saved us. Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and fill us. He has promised to come again to receive us unto Himself. Why shouldn’t we do all in the name of Jesus? Will we do this perfectly? Probably not, but it sure won’t hurt to give it a try. “He is not here, but He is risen…”
A Christian missionary to a Muslim country was talking to a Muslim. The Muslim said: “We have a tomb that contains the body of Mohammed; you Christians do not have that.” The missionary replied: “That’s the point. Mohammed is dead, but Jesus rose from the dead and His tomb is empty.” The resurrection of Jesus authenticates at least three aspects of the Christian faith. The resurrection authenticates Jesus’ claims for Himself. Jesus did not go about Palestine loudly proclaiming, “I am the Messiah,” but He did make that claim. One example of this claim is found in a statement that Jesus made to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well in John 4. In John 4:25 the woman mentioned the Messiah and in verse 26 Jesus replied, “I that speak to thee am He.” There are other places in the gospels where Jesus made this claim, but this incident is sufficient to prove this point. When Jesus arose from the grave, His messiahship was authenticated. Keep in mind that Jesus never attempted to prove who and what He was, but the events spoke for themselves. The resurrection authenticates our claims about Jesus. First, we need to establish that the resurrection is a well-documented fact. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:5-6: “And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once…” There were at least five hundred and twelve witnesses to the fact that Jesus arose from the grave. Besides that, His body, obviously, was never found. If a body had been found, I would not be writing this article. Second, everything that we teach and preach depends on the fact that Jesus is still alive. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 Paul wrote: “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.” In verse 20 Paul wrote: “But now is Christ risen from the dead…” Third, 2,000 years later we still have a Messiah to proclaim. Jesus is alive, and because He is alive, people can have eternal life through faith in Him. The resurrection makes our message valid, and will continue to do so until Christ returns. The resurrection authenticates the importance of Christ’s Church. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He did not leave a group of individuals with no idea of what to do. He left His church to carry on in His stead. In all four gospels, Jesus challenged believers to witness to the world. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that they would be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Jesus left His church together and He left His church with a missionary purpose. He told His church, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As Christ’s church, we do not serve a martyred Jesus; rather, we serve the risen Lord. Why is church important today? The church is important today because she is the church of the Living Lord, and has the responsibility of witnessing to people about Jesus and winning them in Him. The fact is that the tomb is still empty. The claims of the Bible about Jesus are authentic. Our claims about Jesus are authentic, and the message of the church is still authentic. These facts should enable us to have a happy Easter. Bro. Joe “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
"Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and right way. 24. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He has done for you."
I came across this text this morning in my Bible reading. It is from a conversation between Samuel and Saul, as Saul was about to become the king of Israel. In verse 24 Samuel gives Saul the basic qualifications for the king of Israel. I saw it in some good advice for us as we seek to live for, and serve, Christ in our day. The first qualification was that Saul "fear the Lord." We cannot really live the Christian life if we do not have a basic respect and fear for the Lord. This does not necessarily mean that we should be afraid of God as if He is a spook, but that we should not take the Lord and His commandments lightly. He is called "Lord" for good reason. What He wants of us is of ultimate importance - period. Whatever God calls us to do is of importance to Him, and should be of importance to us. We should want to please the Lord no matter what He calls us to do. Do you fear the Lord? The second qualification was that Saul was to "serve (God) in truth and with all your heart." There should be no such thing as half-hearted service in the Lord's work. All of God's work is important no matter what the world may think. If God wants you to teach twelve year olds in Sunday School, you should be prepared to serve them "in truth with all your heart." I think that one of the problems in a lot of church work is that too many people are half-hearted in their service. If God calls you to a service for Him, it is worth your wholehearted effort. Are you serving God with all of your heart? The third qualification was that Saul would consider "how great things the Lord has done for you." I think that I became a better servant of Christ was when it dawned on me how good the Lord had been to me in allowing me to preach His word, and to serve His people. I had really done nothing in my life that allowed me to deserve these privileges. Neither have you! God allows us to serve Him because of His grace and love. God has been good to me and my relationship with Him through Christ has been good for me. I look back sometime and think "Why me Lord...." If God, in His grace and love, wants you to serve Him in whatever capacity, He is allowing you the privilege of serving Him! Do you consider how Good God has been to you? Be grateful that the God of the universe is allowing you to serve Him. "Fear the Lord, and serve Him with all your heart: for consider how great things He has done for you." Bro. Joe “But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great door and effective is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”
Though there were “many adversaries,” Paul saw a great opportunity to witness and minister in Ephesus. We should also recognize the great opportunities that we have to serve the Lord regardless of the circumstances. In fact, we should see each new day as an opportunity for some kind of service for the Lord. We need to see life as an opportunity to serve the Lord. We should seize every opportunity for service. We need to look back over our lives and think of the opportunities for service that we overlooked and ignored. There was the person to whom we should have witnessed – but didn’t. There was the lonely person that we should have visited and given a few minutes of our time – but didn’t. There was the depressed neighbor that we could have cheered up with a visit, and maybe a pie or cake, - but didn’t . Starting today, all of these opportunities are open to us. All of the things that I wrote about are simply opportunities for what I call witness and ministry. There will always be people who will need something from us, and we need to see them as opportunities of service for our master. We need to be careful not to close our lives off from other people. Christ saved us to serve Him. Service for Christ is not complicated. We don’t really need training to do it. All we need to do is to keep our eyes and hearts open for opportunities. We should see each new day as an opportunity for service. Today is the day of opportunity. Each new day affords opportunities to serve Jesus. As Shakespeare had Brutus say: “We must take the current when it serves, or lose our venture.” Another way to look at it is “to strike while the iron is hot.” Opportunities for service come and go, and if we are not careful we will miss them. As we wake up each new day, we can see it as an opportunity to be of service to the Lord and for our fellowman. In order to do this, we must develop what I call “a habit of service.” Habit is probably not the best word, but it does tell us that we need to ingrain Christian service into our hearts and minds. How can we develop such a habit? Determine that when we see an opportunity for Christian service, whether witness or ministry, we will do it then, or make plans to get it done. Staying with Paul’s commitment, we also need to know that there will always be many adversaries. “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Paul was eager to take advantage of this door of opportunity in Ephesus even though he had opposition. Not everyone will “rise up and call us blessed” if we try to minister to them. Not everyone wants to be witnessed to or ministered to in the name of Jesus. If people do not oppose us, we can always depend on Satan to do his part. He will oppose any attempt that we make to serve the Lord. But we don’t go through these doors of opportunity just to please people. We go through them because this is God’s will for our lives. He didn’t call anyone to salvation to just crawl through life and do only what suits our fancy. When you see the door open – enter it! Bro. Joe |
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