“Therefore, my brothers dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”
“Therefore” means that something important preceded this verse. Paul is referring to Philippians 3:20-21: “For our conversation (conduct, citizenship) is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21. Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” If we are to “stand fast,” or as the NIV translates it, “stand firm,” what we stand for should be worth it. I think that Philippians 3:20-21 gives us ample reason to take our stand in Christ. The notes on this verse in The Life Application Bible gave us the answer on what it means to “stand fast in the Lord.” “The way to stand fast/firm is to keep our eyes on Christ, to remember that this world is not our home, and to focus on the fact that Christ will bring everything under His control. Standing firm means steadfastly resisting the negative influences of temptation, false teaching, or persecution. It requires perseverance when we are challenged or opposed.” (page 2001) I am indebted to this note for the following points. We are reminded to “stand fast in the Lord.” The footnote above told us to “keep our eyes on Christ.” When we take our eyes off of Christ, we put them one something, or someone, else. Whatever or whoever it is that has stolen our focus, it will definitely not help us in our Christian living. When I think of this, I think of Simon Peter walking on the water. (Matthew 14:22-33) Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on the water, and as long as Peter looked at Jesus he did fine. When he put his eyes on the wind and waves he began to sink. In other words, Peter did not stand fast because he took his eyes off of Jesus. When we let anything else take over our vision, our minds and our hearts, we waver and fall short of the Christian service that we can offer. We need to be careful about letting the problems of this life call our attention to them instead of Jesus. Satan surely wants us to do this. We are reminded that “this world is not our home.” It is a fact that we are in the world but not of the world. We can’t help but live in the society to which we were born, but we should not let that society keep us from standing fast. When we get too enamored with the things of the world, we get side-tracked from our commitment to Jesus Christ. We have to be involved in the workaday world, but we cannot stand fast if we forget that this world is not our home. We are reminded that “Christ will bring everything under His control.” We will stand fast if we remember that this world is passing away. It doesn’t seem like it is, but it is. We need to remember what John wrote in his first epistle verse 17: “And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.”Everything that is of this world is temporary. It seems today that Satan is in control, and he is in control of the world system, but he is not in control of Christ and we belong to Christ. We need to remember that when we are tempted to move away from our commitment to Christ. We are reminded that: “Standing firm means steadfastly resisting the negative influences of temptation, false teaching, or persecution.” We have to remember that the world system hated Christ, and He said that they would hate us as well. We should stand fast even when it is unpopular to do so, and it is getting increasingly so today. Take Paul’s advice here and “stand fast in the Lord.” Bro. Joe
7 Comments
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members of one another. 26.Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath. 27. Neither give place to the devil.”
We all have to deal with anger. There is probably more misunderstanding about this emotion than about any other. In our text, Paul assumed that we would be angry about one thing or another. After all, the first emotion that we express is anger. Think about it, when babies are born the first thing that they do is cry. I think that this is because they were taken from a nice comfortable, nourishing womb, where they had a constant supply of sustenance. It is no wonder that they are angry. What Paul wanted to warn against was that anger not take over their lives. There are some people who are angry all of the time. These are not happy people. What can we, or should we, do with anger? The first thing we need to do is to admit that something, or someone, has made us angry. We are so afraid of our anger that we do not want to even admit that it is present. What happens in these cases is that we suppress anger, and it joins all of the other anger in our psyche, and it becomes part of who we are. If we are angry about something, we just need to admit it. We don’t have to act on it, but we do need to admit its presence. The second thing we need to do is to get over it. Paul wrote: “Let not the sun go down on your wrath.” What this means is that if we are angry with someone, we should pray about it, give it to the Lord, then go talk to the person that we are angry with. We need to learn to express our anger like Christians. If we hold in that anger that we have toward a person, it will grow and grow until it becomes hatred. We need to remember Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:15: “speak the truth in love.” This is why I wrote that we need to pray about the anger and give it to the Lord, then go and talk to the person about it. If we go in a spirit of hostility, we will just start a fight and nothing will be accomplished. The third thing is that we need to realize that when we do not deal immediately with our anger, it just festers and grows and takes over our lives. Think about some of the things that you have been angry about. At first, the anger might have been realistic and justified, but when it was held inside it grew until it was beyond justification. When anger is held in it becomes hatred, and as it piles up, it becomes malice. Malicious people are simply filled with hatred. We see it tragically portrayed in mass murders. People who go on a rampage and kill people are simply eaten up with anger that was not dealt with. I’m not hinting that you might go on a shooting spree, but I am hinting that your anger can make you do and say things that you will regret later. You have probably already experienced what I just wrote. The fourth thing is that we need to realize that the devil is aware of our anger, and it is he who makes it multiply in our lives. Paul wrote: “neither give place to the devil.” This means that if we “let the sun go down on our wrath,” we will make ourselves susceptible to the devil. When we are so angry that we want to do harm to people, say ugly things about and to them, or maliciously spread gossip about them, we have been used of the devil. When we give place to anger, we give place to the devil. He is lurking about in our lives, taking all of the events of our lives and trying to turn them into sin. Remember, anger is not a sin, but when we “give place to the devil,” it becomes sin. Think of all the harm that such anger has done to families, churches, businesses, schools, etc. We do not want to be a part of that. Take Paul’s advice: “Be angry and sin not.” Admit anger, deal with it and, by all means, get over it. Bro. Joe “And (Jesus) said, verily I say unto you, Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus’ disciples must have been surprised at what he told them about becoming “as little children.” They probably noticed that children loved Jesus and that Jesus loved them. From what I can see in the New Testament, children flocked around Jesus and He took up time with them. Jesus saw qualities in little children that we do not need to lose as we get older. I am reminded, however, that there are two sides to this story. In many ways it is good to be like a little child, and in other ways it is not so good. Jesus encourages us to be childlike, but He never encourages us to be childish. What I want to do in this article is to differentiate between them. What does it mean to be childish? First it means to be totally selfish. For example, if one little child sees another child with a toy, they will want that toy. They might be surrounded by a mountain of toys, but they want that particular toy because someone else has it. In that child’s mind, all of the toys in the world are his or hers. We can laugh about it when it is about children, but it is not so funny when such selfishness is shown in an adult. Second it means to think that you are the only person in the world. Little children have not learned/accepted that there are other people in the world who are just as important as they are. For little children, it is always about them. That is why they need to be trained early to relate to other people. This sort of behavior might be understandable in children, but it is not understandable in adults, but there are many adults who act like everything is all about them. This is true in every aspect of life, and, sadly, it is true in churches as well. Third, it means to throw temper tantrums in order to get their way. Some children will get in a rage when things do not suit them. Parents try to quell this in their children. Children have to be taught that this is anti-social behavior. Sadly, there are adults who never learn not to throw temper tantrums. This is real sad when this behavior is displayed in churches. There are other traits of childishness that we could write about, but these are enough to remind us that we should not be childish. What does it mean to be childlike? First, it means to be trusting. Little children approached Jesus as a friend, as someone that they knew loved them. In the process of growing up, children have to be taught not to be so trusting that they can be taken advantage of, but it is a trait that does not need to be eradicated. When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, we need to trust Him just as the little children who surrounded Him did. They just sensed that Jesus had their best interests at heart, and that they could take Him at His word. This is a childlike trait that all of us need to cultivate. Second, it means to be teachable. The old saying that “one is never to too old to learn” should apply to us throughout life. This is particularly true of our relationship with Jesus. It is also true in our knowledge of the Bible. I have learned over the past fifty years that the Bible always has something to teach me. I know that I need to approach Bible study with an open mind and an open heart. Third, it means to be humble. Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” We should never get to a point in life that we do not humble ourselves before God. I haven’t even scratched the surface of what it means to be childlike or childish. I hope that I have written enough to help you differentiate between the two in your own life. Bro. Joe “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels in heaven, but my Father only.”
When is Jesus coming again? This is a question that has been asked since Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. As early as New Testament days, Christians were looking for the coming of Jesus. Be sure of this, there is no New Testament doctrine more sure than the fact that Jesus is coming again. His coming back is stated by Jesus and by all writers throughout the New Testament, but we are not given a date. I know that I do not know, but I don't feel ignorant because I am in good company. In Matthew 25:36 Jesus said: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." All of the events of the end-time are in the mind and heart of God and will unfold as He deems necessary. Jesus added in Matthew 25:44: "Therefore be ye ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." The point is that we are to be ready for His coming. As I've often said: "I'm not on the time and place committee, but I am on the preparation committee." However, I am among those who say that Jesus could come at any time. We just need to be prepared and ready. There is another aspect to this matter of preparation that I picked up on in Acts 1, where Jesus was about to ascend to the Father. His disciples asked Him a question: "Lord, wilt thou restore again the kingdom to Israel.?" Here is Jesus' answer, and it introduces the other aspect of preparing for His coming that I mentioned above. Jesus said: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8) Jesus told them not to spend their time speculating but serving, because the Father is perfectly capable of taking care of His end of the bargain. As the angel said to Jesus' disciples in Acts 1:11: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." It's almost as if the angel is saying, "Didn't you hear what He said? Stop gazing and go witness as He told you." In this matter we are not speculators or spectators; we are servants who are to "occupy 'til He comes." Instead of spending our time speculating, we are to spend our time being His witnesses to the world. I am not proposing that you should not study prophecy, or that you should not wonder about when Jesus is coming again. There are a lot of good studies on prophecy, but none of them ever try to tell us when Jesus is coming. David Jeremiah has done a lot of preaching and teaching on end-time prophecies, but he has not tried to declare a date. In 1988 a man, whose name I do not remember, wrote a book entitled: “88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Come In 1988.” I did not read it, but a lot of people did, and probably believed it until 1988 ended and Jesus had not yet come. He gave up –right? Wrong! He wrote a book in 1989 entitled: “89 Reasons Why Jesus will Come In 1989.” Well, we are still here – he missed again. Those who try to set a date always miss it and leave a lot of disillusioned people in their wake. Jesus told His disciples, and us, in Acts 1:8 what we are to do until He comes: “But you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” It is not our business to tell people when Jesus is returning, because we don’t know, but it is our business to help make sure that the good news about Jesus Christ is heard about around the world – and we need to start in our own “Jerusalem.” Jesus is coming again. That is a sure biblical promise. Until then let us be about the Lord’s business of witnessing to the world. Bro. Joe “Behold you have made my days as a handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. 6. Surely every man (or woman) walks in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heaps up riches, and knows not who shall gather them. 7. and now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.”
It is true that “time and tide wait for no man.” Sometimes it seems like yesterday that I was young man, starting out in life with all kinds of hopes and dreams. I was called to my first pastorate in 1960 at the ripe old age of twenty-one. Life was out there before me. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not complaining about being old(er); I’m just pointing out that fifty-three years have just flown by. I've gone from being a "preacher boy" to being an "elder statesman." (I know that you are thinking, "He's a legend in his own mind.") I am now a retired minister – aged 74. It all seems like yesterday. Evidently, David agreed, because in our text he told us plainly that time goes by real fast. This is true, so what can we do about it? We can see each day as a gift from God and dedicate each day to Him. Instead of getting up each morning and saying, “Good Lord it’s morning,” we can wake up and say “Good morning Lord.” The great thing is that He is with us as we start each day, as we end each day, and as we retire for the day. As David contemplated the passage of time, he concluded: “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.” Though our time on earth speeds by, we don’t have to dread the passage of time, because our hope is in one greater than we are. Our hope is not in the days that we live but in the life that we put into the days that we live. I will confess that I get discouraged sometimes, because everything seems to be happening so fast, and it seems sometimes that life is passing me by. Of course that is nonsense. Life is not passing me by. It is going by and I am living each day of it. Each day is a gift of God and my hope is in Him. I have lot in my life that makes it worthwhile, such as, family, friends, church, etc. But I realize that my life is ultimately worthwhile because the Lord Jesus Christ, who saved me, is with me each day. My hope is not in what I have but in whose I am. We can remember that in Christ our lives are anchored in eternity. Some favorite verses from the Gospel of John come to me as I think about this. There is 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 from my hand.” The words that bring eternity into our lives are, “and I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus knows us; He knows everything about us, yet He loves us anyway. Then there are the dynamic words from John 11:25-26, which remind us that our lives are anchored in eternity instead of the quick passage of days: “Jesus said unto her" (Lazarus’ sister Martha, just before Jesus raised him from the dead) "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. 26. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die…” It is this reality that makes life worthwhile and keeps us from bemoaning the passage of time. We can remember that the Lord brings us to each day to use wisely and to glorify Him. Paul gave us this advice in Ephesians 5:15-16: “Be very careful then how you live – not as unwise, but as wise, 16. Making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” (NIV) The King James translation of verse i6 is: “Redeeming the time because the days are evil.” Each day is a new challenge to live the Christian life and to bring glory to God. We need to be sure that the decisions that we make on a given day will not take us down a wrong path, or get us lost in the maze of our own selfish desires. We can’t stop the passage of time, but we can make good use of it if we will trust Jesus each day.Oh, and I need to add one more verse from Psalm 118:24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Bro. Joe “After this manner therefore pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen”
One morning I decided to pray through the Lord's Prayer. As I did, I picked up on some challenges from that prayer that I had never noticed before. In fact, I saw three challenges that could bring significant changes in our lives. The first challenge is in verse 10: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Think about how difficult this would be, since God's will is always done in heaven. It is a good goal for us, and would certainly change our lives for the better. We know that doing God's will is important and that we should certainly strive to live in it. I don't believe that most people think about it a lot, even good church members. Next time you "repeat" the Lord's Prayer, think about this challenge. The second challenge is in verse 12: "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." The little word "as" is important in this challenge. We are praying that God will forgive us for our sins and shortcomings in the same way that we have forgiven those who have sinned against, or offended, us. This is difficult to do, to say the least. Okay, I'll confess: There are times that this challenge is difficult for me. (It's your turn to confess now.) Our egos, or at least our ego needs, are so great that we think that it would take something away from us if we forgave those who offended us. I know that it's difficult because so many church members refuse to forgive each other, not to mention people who are not in church. We need to remember as we repeat the Lord's Prayer that we are praying to have a forgiving heart, and that Jesus takes it very seriously. The problem is that we do not really take this challenge seriously. It is just too easy for us to give in to our feelings and continue to have unforgiving hearts. In fact, we have to deal with some form of this temptation almost every day. Satan really works on us in this area, but we need to really take it seriously and forgive our “debtors.” It would be great if we would forgive ourselves. It would also be great if we remembered that we have done things that would cause others to have to forgive us. The third challenge is found in verse 13: "But deliver us from evil." Why is this a challenge? It is a challenge because when we ask to be delivered from evil, we must be willing to be delivered. The difficulty here is that we do not consider our little pet sins to really be evil, so we see no need for deliverance. This is a challenge for us to recognize our sins as sin and to repent in order to be delivered from evil. One problem is that we see “evil” as only things such as adultery, lying, cheating and stealing. Satan really works on us with what I will call “little sins” to keep us from growing in Christ. Another problem in this area is that we tend to justify ourselves in the evil that we do. We actually convince ourselves that we have done a service for God’s kingdom. Satan loves this. This is why we need to pray this prayer, “but deliver us from evil,” with great conviction and really mean it. It is the God to whom we pray who is able to deliver us from evil. Take the challenges!!!!! Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|