“But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” 20. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (NIV)
Paul was being criticized by Corinthian Christians because he had promised that he would visit them at a certain time, but that visit did not happen because God had other plans. In our text, Paul is defending his honesty by informing them that he did not make promises lightly, and that his message was never “Yes” and “No.” From this explanation Paul saw an opportunity to share a great truth about Christ. His message was that in Christ all of God’s promises are “Yes.” Christ is God’s “Yes” to all that God has in store for us. This reality has not changed, for Christ is still God’s “Yes” to us and to all generations. The following points will explain what it has meant, and still means, that Christ is God’s “Yes.” Christ is God’s “Yes” to the salvation that we can have through Him. When we use the word “saved” it sometimes confuses people who do not understand what God has done for them, but it is a sweet word to us, for we know that in Christ God said “Yes, you can be saved, delivered and cleansed from sin.” Sin is our great enemy and without God’s “Yes” in Christ it will totally defeat us. Being saved means that we have been delivered from the penalty of sin. We have God’s promise that if we will put our faith in Jesus, we will be saved, that is, we will become God’s children through adoption into His family. This promise is true for everyone who lives on this earth. The Bible says that “whosoever will may come.” It should be our prayer that people all over the world will respond in a positive manner to God’s “Yes.” Christ is God’s “Yes” to us that we can spend eternity with Him when we have faith in Him and turn our lives over to Him. In John 14 Jesus promised that He would prepare a place for us. Specifically here is what He promised: “I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am…” I have not written anything new in this article, but I hope that a reminder of what we have in Jesus will give you a blessed day, and make you have a greater appreciation for what God’s “Yes” in Christ means to you. Bro. Joe
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“Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Don’t you love the fancy title of this article? This was a thought that I had today and wanted to share it with you. These are some things that we need to do more of and that will make our light shine and glorify our Heavenly Father. We need to love people. I remember a song that Burt Bacharach wrote in the 70’s that reminded us of this: “What the world needs not is love, sweet love...” This is still true in the 2000’s. We need to love people whether they are lovable or not. If those of us who belong to Jesus cannot love people, who can? We need to remember that Jesus loves sinners…of which we all are. We cannot let the rampant hatred that is loose in the world keep us from shining for the glory of God. We Christians need to do a better job of loving each other as an example to the world. We need to hate sin. The sins that we need to hate the most are those that keep us from shining our lights to a dark, dark world. Loving people does not mean that we hate sin less. It is sin that has been destroying the world since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. We are not true friends to the world if we just accept sin that is ruining their lives. We do not need to be self-righteous, but there is certainly nothing wrong with us if we live righteously. Jesus did not save us to accept sin as the norm – even in our own lives. We need to be careful what we say to each other. One of the most hurtful things that can happen to us is for someone to use unkind words to us. We also need to remember that our own unkind words can really hurt people. I have received two kinds of criticism in my fifty-seven year ministry: One is criticism that has been given in love, because I needed correction. Second is criticism that has been given in a nasty, hurtful way. I’ve got to tell you that I really, really do not like the second criticism. I try to remember this if I have to be critical for some reason or other. In this matter, I always think of Job’s friends who sat with Job for seven days and kept their mouths shut, and then when they started to talk they made all kinds of false accusations. Think of them before you speak an unkind word. Of course, there are more than three things that we need to do more of, but these are uppermost in my mind today. I think that you will agree that we need to do more of these things. Bro. Joe “And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in Him.”
I thought of three things that we really need to know to give us the blessings that God has for us. The first thing you need to know is that God loves you. I know that this sounds and looks shallow and overly familiar, but is it really? Frankly, I look in the mirror sometime and I wonder why in the world God loves me. This knowledge of God needs to be implanted deep within our hearts. God’s love is not something that is easily understood by us, because we know our own waywardness, but God, in His infinite wisdom knows all of this about us, but He loves us anyway. I want you to pause right now, go look in your mirror, and look yourself straight in the eye and say, “God loves me…” Relax, He knows all about your foibles and errors, but He loves you anyway. Just accept it! The second thing you need to know is that Jesus died for you. There is song that reminds us that “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.” Jesus told Peter that if He wanted he could call on twelve legions of angels to help Him. Jesus willingly died for us that we might live. This is a settled fact of the Old Testament prophecies, and of New Testament teaching. What we need to do, however, is to take it personally. It is not enough to say that Jesus died for all mankind; we must reach the point of faith where we say “Jesus died for me.” Accept this biblical proposition as a personal message to you. You don’t deserve this, and neither do I, but Jesus gave His life by grace that in spite of our pitfalls and failures, He would save us from our sins. The third thing you need to know is that Jesus sent His Holy Spirit live in you and to guide you in decisions that you make for your life. I look back over the years and I can literally see the hand of God at work in my life. My daddy told me years ago that he knew that God must have had some purpose for my life after all of the foolishness and mischief that I got into my life. I do not understand this proposition but I accept it by faith. The guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life is as sure as the fact that God loves you and that Jesus died for you. Just accept it for your life. If you have not already accepted that God loves you, that Jesus died for you, and that He sent His Holy Spirit to guide you, do it now! If you have accepted these three things as reality in your life, pause right now and praise God! Bro. Joe “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”
This statement of Jesus followed the first prediction of His death and resurrection. Peter declared that this would not happen, meaning that he would protect Jesus. Peter had not yet learned that as a disciple, he was to proclaim Jesus, not protect Him. Jesus told Peter that his mind was not on the things of God, but on the things of men. Jesus’ death and resurrection were God’s will, and Peter could not stop God’s will. Jesus’ message to Peter, and to us, was that true discipleship will not diminish the spirit of sacrifice inherent in the Christian faith, but will join in that spirit. Verse 24 explains what real discipleship is. Jesus said, “If any man (anyone) would come after me…” Real discipleship is not open only to an elite corps of religious people. The Bible clearly teaches that “Whosoever will may come.” The people who come to Jesus in real faith will become His real disciples. No one is excluded from discipleship who, by faith in Jesus wants to be included. You are called to Christian discipleship. Jesus has called you to be His disciple. Your past sins cannot exclude you, for in Jesus you are a new creation. A real disciple is one who has been saved whose life has been changed, and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said of the one who would follow Him: “Let him deny himself and take up his cross.” Real discipleship makes demands on the lives of believers. It demands self-denial, which is not a major theme of American lifestyles. The act of being saved calls for denying self, for it demands a surrender of self to Jesus. According to Paul, we are no longer our own but have been bought with a price – the price of the blood of Jesus. This being true, it is no longer merely what we want for ourselves but what Jesus wants of our lives as well. Jesus said that “If anyone would follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Real discipleship means to follow Jesus. Real discipleship will be found where the real presence of Jesus is, where the real work of Jesus is taking place. Real disciples do not chase after every fad, nor will the real disciple be “tossed about by every wind of doctrine.” Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) Real disciples will follow Jesus regardless of circumstances. Based on Matthew 16:24 are you a real disciple? As you think and pray through this, you will find it to be a humbling experience. I know it has been for me. In our affluent society it is not easy to think about sacrifice. We have so many comforts that the New Testament disciples did not have, but the demands of discipleship are still there and sometimes we just have to step out of our comfort zones and do what Jesus leads us to do. This is what real disciples do. Bro. Joe “And whosoever of you would be chiefest shall be servant of all. 45. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus’ disciples had been arguing about which of them would be the greatest in the coming kingdom. Jesus gave them a message that also applies to us. Jesus used Himself as an example of servant hood: “For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” Paul gave an example of Jesus’ service in Philippians 2 when he described the mind of Christ: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…..(He) made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (Verses 5 and 7) If the Son of God could refer to Himself as a servant, we should also consider that we have also been called to serve. The “mind of Christ” will not seek to rule but to serve. Think about this for your life. If we want to be effective servants of God, we must humble ourselves as Jesus did. 1 Peter 5:6 reminds us of this: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty of hand of God, that He might exalt you in due time.” When we surrender ourselves to His power and might, we are then ready to effectively serve Him. We do this when we surrender to, and depend upon, the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to humbly seek His guidance and power in whatever form our service takes. The Lord not only called us to serve, He has given us gifts of the Holy Spirit to give direction and purpose to our service. You need to prayerfully seek the guidance on the Holy Spirit as to what your gifts for service are and go about doing them. Your gifts of service are not just for “church work” but for living daily for Christ. If you will just surrender your life to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, He will show you what your gifts are. For example, I knew that I was called to preach and teach God’s word, but as I looked back on my service, I realized that my chief gift was the gift of encouragement. My life experience with the Holy Spirit taught me what my chief gift of service was. It can be the same with you. Seek His leadership through prayer and Bible study on a daily basis. If you are a Christian, you are a servant of God. He wants to use you to witness for Him and to be a blessing to the people around you. If you really want to be a good leader, first be a good servant and obey the call of God to humbly serve Him. Bro. Joe “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10. The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Jesus did not name Satan in this text, but he is surely the “thief” who would “steal, kill and destroy.” We see him stealing, killing and destroying throughout the Bible. In fact, we see this “thief” at work in the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. Let’s see how this applies. First, when Satan approached Eve in the guise of a serpent to tempt her to eat the forbidden fruit, he knew that he was giving her a death sentence. He assured her “you will not surely die.” Evidently, Adam and Eve evidently believed this, for they ate the forbidden fruit and brought death on themselves and on all mankind. Sin is our death sentence, for “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) And according to Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” But thank God, Jesus has come to give us abundant life. The conclusion of Romans 6:23 gives us a great promise: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Second, he stole all of the good that God wanted for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God gave them a garden that was flourishing with all sorts of good fruits. Adam’s work was to tend the garden that God had given them. We cannot have any idea of what life was like in the Garden of Eden, but we can know that life was good. There was no sickness or death. We can also have no idea what life would have been like if they had not sinned, but we do know that life on earth would have been really, really good. The thief, Satan, stole this good life in paradise. He came to “kill, steal and to destroy.” But we need to keep in mind that the “good shepherd,” Jesus, came to give us eternal life. We can never have “paradise” here, but we can have it in Jesus in heaven. Jesus will give back what Satan stole in the Garden of Eden. Third, Satan destroyed the peace and tranquility that Adam and Eve had in the garden. After they sinned and were cast out of the garden, we might say that “all hell literally broke loose.” Their sin even affected the lives of their two sons, Cain and Abel. I’m sure that you remember that Cain killed Abel because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice instead of his. After sin entered the world, mayhem broke out all over the world. The Bible is a story of redemption, but it also reminds us of the effects of sin in the world. The good news is that Jesus came to give peace to those who would believe in Him. Jesus gave a great promise in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you that in Me you might have peace.” I hope that I have illustrated that what Satan “stole, killed and destroyed” Jesus can give back. Believe it!!! Bro. Joe "And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God. 23. For verily, I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says.”
I’ve never seen anyone move a mountain by praying. That doesn’t mean that it has never happened, it just means that I have never seen it. I’m sure that if there was a good reason to remove a mountain into the sea, it would be done. But there are “mountains” in our lives that we will have to remove by prayers of faith. There is the “mountain” of doubt. I can’t speak for anyone else, but this has been a mountain for me. I can’t think of anything any more troubling than doubting the things that you have been taught from childhood, and that you hold dear. Satan loves to bring doubts into our minds that will cause us to doubt our faith. I have discovered that real faith cannot be destroyed, but it can surely be tested. I have to take these doubts to the Lord and ask Him to help me overcome them. Needless to say, He always does. Doubt can be a mountain in our lives, and we can cast it out by praying in faith in Christ, and under the leadership of the Spirit. Whatever doubts you have about your faith in the Lord, take them to the Lord in prayer. There is the “mountain” of resentment. Resentments can rise up so easily in my mind before I know what has happened. Here again, Satan is busy doing this in my mind and yours. There are so many ways that resentments can rise up in our lives. People say things to us that can cause resentment in our lives. People can do things that can cause resentment to rise up in our hearts and minds. Frankly, there are people who can “push our buttons” more effectively than others. But we cannot let resentment find abode in our hearts without hurting our spiritual growth. Whatever resentments you are dealing with now, let them go. Take them to the Lord in prayer by faith. This “mountain" can be cast out. There is the “mountain” of impure thoughts. I have really, really “gone to meddling” here. There are many, many different ways for impure thoughts to enter our minds and hearts today. Billy Graham once said about impure thoughts, “You can’t keep a bird from landing on your head, but you can keep him from building a nest in your hair.” (I think that’s right. I did it from memory.) Here again, we need to take these thoughts to the Lord in prayer and He can remove these impure thoughts from our minds and hearts. You can be in the “mountain moving business” by taking your “mountains” to God in prayer and by faith in Him. He will do more than we can imagine if we will trust Him. Do it! Bro. Joe “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 24. Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
My mind went to a good place this morning when I thought of Jesus. I want to share these thoughts with you. These are things that I think of when I think of Jesus. Jesus is the life. In John 14:6 Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life…” What did Jesus mean by referring to Himself as “the life”? What comes to mind is that He is the source of eternal life. In the latter half of verse 6 above, Jesus said “No one come to the Father by me.” We gain eternal life by coming in faith to Jesus. Here is what He said about this life in John 10:27-28: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Jesus is also the source of abundant life: “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b) Jesus offers us a better life than we can have outside of our relationship with Him. Jesus is the light. 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.” Actually, this is part of the “abundant life” that Jesus promised in John 10. It is through Jesus that we are delivered from the darkness of sin. It is through Jesus that we can become lights in the world. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said: “You are the light of the world.” The light that we show to the world is the reflected light of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to His light in order for us to become lights in the world. In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light so shine among men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Let’s live so that our lives might reflect the light of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the revelation of God’s love for the world. We need look no further than John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.” How can we know that God loves us? We can look to Jesus and know that God loves us. God loves you! You can spurn God’s love by unbelief, but you can’t make Him stop loving you. Jesus looked at the pitiful world that was killing Him and said: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even from the cross, Jesus reflected the love of God for the world. When you think of Jesus today think of Him as the source of eternal, abundant life. Think of Him as the light of the world, and be grateful that by faith in Him you can walk in that light. Think of Jesus as the one who loved you enough to die on the cross for you. Think of Him as the One who defeated death by His resurrection. Bro. Joe “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
The title asks a question that needs answering and we find the answer in the text. Why should we pray? We should pray because God wants us to pray, indeed he invites to pray. Our text is an invitation to come to the “throne of grace.” In 1Thessalonians 5:17, Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” Since God wants us to pray and through scripture calls us to pray in the name of Jesus, there is nothing that can keep us from praying. If you can think, you can pray. Just do it. God wants to hear from you. We should pray because we need to pray. During His earthly ministry, Jesus would often go off by Himself and pray. If Jesus needed to pray, we certainly need to pray. There are two promises in our text about what we can find in prayer. When we pray we “obtain (God’s) mercy.” My thought on this is that it is in prayer that we seek God’s forgiveness of our sins, and when we honestly confess and repent He gives us His mercy. It is also in prayer that we find the grace of God “to help in time of need.” I know that my “time of need” is every day of my life. Early in the morning I seek the Lord, and I call on Him all during the day. You can find His mercy and grace in your life. Just open up your heart and pray. If you can think you can pray. If you can speak you can pray. Just pray because you need God’s mercy and grace. Just do it! How should we pray? The text says “come boldly to the throne of grace.” This should not be translated as come “brazenly to the throne of grace.” This means that we can approach the throne of grace in confidence because we know that God is ready to listen to us. We need to talk to Him about whatever we feel the need to say. We can talk honestly to Him, because He already knows all about us. We also need to listen to Him. He speaks to us through our hearts and minds. He has never spoken audibly to me, but He has surely talked to me through my mind and heart. Over my lifetime if I had listened to Him I would have stayed out of a lot of trouble. We should accept the answer that He gives and submit to His will for our lives. The “throne of grace” is available – go to it. Bro. Joe “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man (or woman) be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. 20. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
I took this verse out of context because it goes with a larger theme on righteous living and being doers of the word. But the content stands alone, and as our title suggests, it is some good advice for us to follow. James told us that we should be “swift to hear.” I know that most, if not all of you, have heard this maxim, but I’ll use it anyway: “The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth, so it must mean that He wanted us to listen twice as much as we talk.” If you will think about it, you will agree that we learn more when we listen than when we talk. In fact, when we are talking we are not learning. I might also add that we need to be swift to hear the things that are most needful in our lives. We tend to agree with what we want to hear. I have a good idea: let’s learn to listen and learn. After all, the Bible tells us to do just that. That next thing that James told us to do is to be “slow to speak.” I dealt with this a little in the first point, but we really need to deal with it a little more. How many times have you spoken before you thought? One incident in the Bible that I fall back on to illustrate this is from Simon Peter, who was not slow to speak. He was on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus. Thinking that he had to say something, he said: “Let’s build three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” His statement was ignored, because it made no sense. Jesus didn’t come to build tabernacles. It would be well if all of us, including yours truly, would learn to keep our mouths shut until we really have something to say. Finally, James told us to be “slow to wrath.” Another way of saying this is to be slow to get angry. You know the old remedy don’t you? We should count to ten before we react in anger. It is old advice but it is good advice. In verse 20, James even gave a good reason for being slow to get angry: “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Think about it. How many mistakes have you made because you lost your temper and said and did things that you should not have said or done. Come on, admit it, anger itself is not a sin. The Bible says “be angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:26-27) It is one thing to get angry, it is another thing to direct that anger so that it does not bring hurt to yourself, others or to your witness for Jesus. It is also another thing to let anger simmer in your heart and soul until it becomes malice. Malice is not good for our souls, it is not good for our relationships, and it is not good for our witness. James gave us good advice in this text. We would do well to follow it. Don’t you agree? Bro. Joe |
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