What would it have been like to be in Noah's shoes? God issued a challenge to him to build a great big boat (ark) in order to survive the flood that was coming. He began to build the big boat, which was 150 yards long. You know that people began to question what he was doing. "Noah, why do you need that boat?" "Because a big flood is coming. It is going to rain forty days and forty nights." "What is rain?" It had never rained, and people did not know what he was talking about. I can imagine that he became the joke of the town. But he continued to build until the task was completed. I can just hear the people saying something like: "Noah has a big boat and nowhere to launch it. Ha Ha Ha!" When the rain started, however, and the water began to come up from the ground, I imagine that the taunting and the laughter stopped. Noah had tried to warn the people, but they just ignored what he said. (I know how he felt.) As the waters rose and rose until it covered everything and everybody, Noah had the last laugh - if that is the way to put it.
What is the moral of Noah's story? Simply this: God gave Noah a task to do and he did it, regardless of what other people thought and regardless of what they said. We need to pay heed to that kind of dedication. If there is anything that people today hate, it is to be singled out and ridiculed. If we obey the Lord, regardless, we might have to take ridicule from a society that knows little about obeying God. Jesus, Himself, had to face ridicule when He was on trial and when He was on the cross, but He went through with it. Paul faced persecution and ridicule many times because of his obedience to the Lord's commands. Just think of it this way, it would be tough being Noah while the ark was being built, but it would have been tough being those who ridiculed him as the waters rose above their heads. It is better to obey and please God than to cave in and please people. You have to agree! Bro, Joe
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“Now when (Jesus) had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your net for a draught (catch).”
The background for this text is the occasion when, because of the crowd of people pressing Him, Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat and began to teach the people, probably from the stern of the boat. When He had finished teaching the people, Jesus told Peter to go into deeper waters and let down his nets for a catch. Peter told Jesus that they had fished all night but had caught nothing, and then he added: “Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.” Peter did let down the nets, and they caught so many fish that the nets broke. As I read this, I thought: What if Peter had not let down the net? The answer, of course, is that Peter and his companions would not have caught as many fish as they did. That made me think of how we need to heed the voice of Jesus when He tells us to “let down our nets.” This means that He has a greater task for us and if we obey Him we will see great things happen. It occurs to me that some churches do not see great things happen because they do not “let down their nets” when Jesus tells them to do so. He tells them to go into deeper waters, where the “fish” are, and they decide to stay within the four walls of their church buildings and be satisfied with empty nets. The churches that do “launch out into the deep and let down their nets” see the rewards that come with it. It also occurs to me that individual Christians do not see great things happen because they do not “launch out into the deep and let down their nets.” When we refuse to obey Jesus to go deeper and “let down our nets” we miss out on a lot that Jesus has for us. Let’s think of some things that we might miss out on if we do not obey Jesus in this matter. Let’s think of the victories that we might not have because we have decided to stay right where we are spiritually. Of course, the metaphor lends itself to winning people to Jesus, but there are other results when we go deeper and cast our nets. “Going deeper” means that we are going deeper into our faith, and this comes about by much prayer and Bible reading. For example, it might be that you cannot have victory over some habit that you know is stunting your Christian growth, but you just cannot give it up. Believe me; I know how this can be. You will not have the victory that you can have if you will overcome the habit in the power of Jesus. That is just one example of what it could mean in your life if you would just cut loose, “launch out into the deep and let down your nets.” I’m sure that you can think of other areas of your life that need the powerful touch of Jesus. Like everything else, we overcome by faith in Jesus and by obedience to Him. Let’s think of the blessings that we might not experience because we have decided not to obey Jesus. When we “let down our nets” in the world by witnessing to people, we have the blessing of seeing them saved and their lives changed. We will not have such a blessing if we do not obey Jesus' command to “let down our nets.” We might also miss the blessing of deeper and more meaningful fellowship with Jesus and with our fellow Christians if we stay in the shallow waters. Think of the joy that Peter, Andrew, James and John had when their nets were full. They were blessed because they obeyed Jesus. If you want to experience the greater blessings that Jesus has for you, you need to get out of the shallow waters, go deeper with Him and “let down your nets.” There is no time like the present to do it. Bro. Joe Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had a huge statue built in honor of himself. He announced that if anyone refused to fall down and worship the statue he would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Three Jewish men, who were associated with Daniel, whose names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to bow down and worship the statue. They were reported on by "certain Chaldeans." Nebuchadnezzar confronted them and said to them, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands." (Daniel 3:15.) They answered in Daniel 3:16b-18: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. 17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, or worship the golden image which you have set up."
They knew that God was able to deliver them, but if He chose not to they would still not do as Nebuchadnezzar demanded. I love that spirit. There are people who think that if God does not do what they want Him to do that He has failed them. This means that they do not serve God, but they expect God to serve them. God has to do what they tell Him to do or He is not worth serving. They might not say that, but it is what they mean. I am glad to say that God does intervene in our lives to save us from bad situations, but sometimes He expects us to just tough it out. The three Hebrew men were saved from the fire, but in other places in the Bible people suffered and paid the price. Paul the apostle wrote about his sufferings. Stephen paid the price in Acts 7. Just because Paul suffered and Stephen died does not mean that God failed them. Remember what Jesus told Paul when he wanted his "thorn in the flesh" removed. Jesus told him, "My grace is sufficient for you." As we go through life we need to have the "but if not" attitude. God has His reasons for what He does. He doesn't owe us any explanations for what He does. He is, after all, God and we are not. Bro. Joe “Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
You probably already know what happened on the Mt. of Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James and John to Mount Tabor, which is the traditional site for Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus was transfigured before these three apostles, which means that they caught a glimpse of His heavenly light, and appearing with Jesus were Moses and Elijah. Wow! Can you imagine seeing Jesus and two of the greatest Old Testament prophets at one time? Like Peter we would have been in awe, and we might have wanted to say something profound and meaningful. However it came out as rather inane and insipid. Jesus just ignored it for the inane expression that it was. It reminds me of a story I heard one time about an airplane that was about to crash. Someone said, “Quick somebody do something religious.” A Baptist preacher was on board and he took up a collection. That collection probably did as much good as what Peter said. Peter was in awe and building tabernacles was about the most religious thing that he could think of. Peter needed to learn, and did in time, that following Jesus is not about religion or being religious. What is it about? Following Jesus is about a personal relationship with Him. Certain people make fun of us when we say that Jesus is our personal Savior, but that it is what being a Christian is. Jesus has promised to be with us when we are worshiping Him. Jesus is not like an idol that we come together to worship. He is our Savior who comes to the place of worship with us. The “woman at the well,” in John 4, mentioned that the Samaritans worshiped God there where they were standing, and that the Jews said that the place of worship was in Jerusalem. Jesus said that the Jews were right, but that the hour was coming when “true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” The woman wanted to argue about religion, Jesus wanted to discuss relationship with the seeking Father. Following Jesus is not about religious observance as much as it is about fellowship with fellow Christians. Of course, there are observances that are important. The writer of Hebrews reminded us not to “forsake the assembling of our selves together.” But why did he write this? He explained why: “But exhorting (encouraging) one another.” We meet together with each other under the power of the Spirit of Christ and we encourage each other in Christian worship and service. Our observances are constant reminders of our need for Jesus and our need for fellowship with each other. When we attend worship together, we are not “doing something religious;” rather, we are ministering to each other so that we can be encouraged to witness and minister to the world around us. Following Jesus is not about doing religious things that make us feel like we are serving God; rather, it is about actually serving Him on a daily basis wherever we are. Jesus has empowered us by the Holy Spirit to serve Him and that is what we are to do. I think sometimes that instead of serving Jesus, we try to build “tabernacles” to Him, and think that this is what satisfies Him. What satisfies Jesus is saving us, empowering us to serve Him, and enabling us to spend eternity with Him. Jesus doesn’t want our “tabernacles.” He wants us. Bro. Joe 'But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord..."
The Bible tells us that Noah, though he lived in a pagan society, “found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Why? The answer is found in Hebrews ll:7:“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, andbecame heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Genesis 6:22: “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” Here we have all of the elements of a godly life: grace, faith and obedience (works). (See Ephesians 2:8-10) The Biblical word “grace” is from the Greek word “Karis.” It means “God’s unmerited favor.” Grace is all-important in Christian salvation and in living the Christian life, but it finds full meaning in the heart of faith that follows with obedience. No one else in the world seemed to understand this at that time, for only Noah and his family were saved from the flood. The important thing for us to observe here is that, because of God's grace, Noah did everything that God told him to do. Building an ark in preparation for a rain that at the time was non-existent, would not be the easiest thing to obey. Noah probably took a lot of teasing from the people around him who would not believe what he was telling them. Noah kept on building the ark regardless of the comments of those around him. Sometimes, in spite of grace and faith in our lives, we find it difficult to obey God because of public opinion. When these times come in our lives, we need to draw from Noah’s experience, remembering the godly life always includes obedience to God’s commands. Bro. Joe “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also.”
There are a lot of important doctrines in the Christian faith, but one stands out above all of the others, and that is that Jesus is alive and at work in the world. Everything else hangs on that. If Jesus had remained in the tomb, there would be no Christians and there would be no Christian churches. If you are reading this, you probably agree with me that Jesus is alive and well, living in us and among us. Is Jesus alive in you? If He is, is He should be alive in all areas of your life? Jesus is the Lord of all of our lives. There is no part of our lives that Jesus is not alive in. The question is do we live our lives with this fact in mind? Is Jesus alive in your recreation? When you do things for fun, do you consider that Jesus is a part of it? We can’t compartmentalize Jesus and make Him a part of our religious life, but not a part of our daily life. I’m afraid that a lot of people do this, and we all will if we are not careful. Sometimes we look at it like this: There is a time for Jesus and a time for fun. It all depends on what you count as fun. If Jesus can’t be a part of it, should we be doing it? Think about it! It is not my intention to make you feel guilty about what you do for fun; it is my intention to make you think about whether Jesus is really alive in that area of your life. The question is not whether Jesus is alive; the question is whether or not Jesus' living reality is present in fun times. Is Jesus alive in your family life? I don’t mean do you ask the blessing before meals, or even have family devotions. What I mean is does the living Savior figure into your plans for you and your family? For example, are you seeking to do His will in your life? When your children are talking to you about what they want to do in life, do you try to see that they know that the living Savior has something to do with what they want in life? I think that too many families, even Christian families, send their offspring off to college without grounding them in the faith and the reality of Christ in their lives. This is why we lose so many young people when they go off to school. They are not ready for what they are going to meet in classrooms and dormitories. I was twenty-one years old when I started college, and I had to deal with things that I heard from professors that I held in high esteem. I just had to remember that no one should be held in higher esteem in my life than the living Savior. Is Jesus alive in your church life? You are probably thinking that this is a no-brainer. “Of course, Jesus is alive in my church life – it is, after all church.” If this is true, why are there so many fellowship problems in churches? I’ve worked with churches for a long time, and I know that a lot of things that happen at church do not show the world that Jesus is alive and well. Ask yourself this question: If everyone in your church was like you, what kind of church would it be? Would people be devoted to serving the Lord in whatever capacity He wanted them to serve? Would people use their spiritual gifts to carry out the work of the church? Would people be involved in getting people to the living Savior and getting them into the fellowship of the church? Would people be willing to cooperate with the church’s decisions whether they agree with them or not? These, and lot of other questions, need to be asked of ourselves when we consider that Jesus is alive in our lives. I think by now that you have an idea of what I’m trying to communicate. I’m not just preaching down to you about this, for I have to deal with these things in my life just as you do. Jesus is alive and well and at work in the world. Are we joining Him in what He wants to do in the world through how we live our lives? Bro. Joe “And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.”
The above text was a promise that was made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 with the exception of “because you have obeyed my voice.” Abraham’s obedience in this case is one of the hardest passages in the Bible to read. God had called upon Abraham to go to one of the mountains of Moriah and to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This was the son that Abraham and Sarah had waited for all of their lives, when Abraham was one-hundred years old and Sarah was ninety years old. When Abraham was about to offer Isaac, God stopped him and furnished a ram for the sacrifice. Then the promise was made to Abraham about his “seed.” Specifically, the promise was “That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18. And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed my voice.” This text says something about Abraham. It tells us of his total faith in God. He believed the promise of God that he would be a great nation. In Genesis 15:6, after the promise had been made to him, it was said of Abraham, “He believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him as righteousness.” We need to learn from Abraham and put our total faith in the Lord. Remember, Abraham was a flesh and blood human being just as we are. Like all of the other great men of the Bible, Abraham was a man of his time and was by no means perfect, but “he believed in the Lord as it was accounted to him as righteousness.” Being a human being is no excuse for a lack of faith in God. We can doubt our own abilities, and probably should, but we do not need to doubt God’s abilities to do what He has promised. The incident with Isaac proved that Abraham would implicitly obey the Lord. The Lord will not ask us to sacrifice our children, but He will place demands on our faith, and we should obey Him. We should determine that our faith will be radical. Our modern sensibilities flinch at this demand on the faith of Abraham, but that is our problem and not God’s. The text says something about God. In fact, it says a lot about God, but the main thing that we can draw from God’s promise to Abraham is that He keeps His promises. Do you realize that after Genesis 12, where God made His promise to Abraham, the rest of the Old Testament is about Abraham’s family? There are side stories about other people, but the main focus is on the family of Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham. God tested Abraham’s faith. Abraham passed the test and he realized the promise of God. God has promised you that if you will trust Him, He will bless your life as well. This does not mean that you will have no hardships, but it does mean that God will be with you through whatever hardships you encounter. The same God who kept His promise to Abraham will keep His promises to you. Do what the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” The text says something about Jesus, the Son of God. Do you realize that God did not hold back on sacrificing His own Son on Calvary? This is what God meant when He told Abraham that through “his seed all families of earth would be blessed.” I do not have the time nor the space to relate to you the whole story about Abraham and Christ’s coming into the world, but suffice it to say that Christ’s coming into the world was the main result of this encounter on Moriah. It was through Christ that “all the families of the earth would be blessed.” It was through Christ that Gentiles, which is all of us who are not Jews, could be saved. The Bible story is one of redemption, and this text is at the heart of the story. Believe it and practice radical faith. Bro. Joe “And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen. 17. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
I want you to think about the possibility of Jesus using you to be a part of carrying out His purposes in the coming year. It is possible that you feel that you didn’t do a very good job of that in 2019. I guess that’s about par for the course for a lot of us, because it is difficult to determine when we have adequately served the Lord. If you are like a lot of people, and I mean A LOT OF THEM, you question whether God can use you at all. This is where Peter and Andrew come in, as well as James and John who were called to be used by the Savior right after Peter and Andrew. These men prove to us that Jesus can and will use us. The four men that Jesus called that day were not out of the ordinary. In fact, they were very ordinary – they were fishermen. There was nothing wrong with that profession. It was just not one that qualified people in the eyes of people that day to do anything remarkable. That should be an encouragement to us, for most of us are ordinary. (I remember that Abraham Lincoln said: “God must really love common people, because He made so many of us.”) Take Billy Graham for example. He was just a raw bone North Carolina farm boy. Who would have thought when they saw him at school, church and at work, that God would use Billy Graham to be the evangelist to the world? (No one was more incredulous than Billy Graham himself.) I am not putting myself in the league with Billy Graham, but who would have thought that God would use me to touch people’s lives with the gospel? My cousin Johnny and I were nicknamed “worry warts” at the Smithville Baptist Church. God started calling me when I was about twelve years old to preach His word, but I had a lot foolishness to overcome before I finally surrendered at age 21. If Jesus could use Peter, Andrew, James, John, Billy Graham and me, He can use you as well for whatever purpose(s) He has for your life. Notice that Jesus called them to be “fishers of men.” What Jesus meant by that was that they were to tell others about Him. While He called them from their fishing boats to follow Him and evangelize the world, that is not what He demands of everyone. There have been millions of people who have become “fishers of men” and stayed at whatever location or task that they were doing before. It is important that we realize that Jesus is using people who work at ordinary jobs to reach other people for Him. First of all, Jesus wants us to live lives before people that will reflect Him. Second, He wants us to give a verbal witness to people that we encounter when He leads us to do so. He wants to use us right where we are, doing what we do every day to reach people for Him. As you start this New Year, resolve that you are going to make yourself available to the Lord to be used of Him in whatever way He wants to use you. He wants to use you at your church, but He also wants to use you in the community where you live. I don’t know what He wants to use you to do, but there are plenty of opportunities to be used of Him as you encounter people daily. He wants to use you in the mundane things of life. For example, when you encounter a cashier and he or she makes a mistake, He wants to use you to show them how Christians are supposed to act. He wants to use you at work around the people with whom you work every day. People should be able to tell by your actions that Jesus is making a difference in your life. Of course there are also things that He can use you for at your church, just be available to Him to use you as He sees fit. Just remember this – God can use you!!!!! Bro. Joe “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ 39. But I tell you, do not resist the evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
“And the things you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3. Thou therefore endure hardness (hardships), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him that has chosen him to be a soldier.”
Paul gave Timothy examples of the types of people who would be faithful in their service and who were able to teach others. He gave three examples: a soldier, an athlete and a farmer. I want to use the “good soldier” as an example of the type of life that we should live as Christians. What makes a good soldier will also make us more effective servants of Jesus. First, he mentioned the soldier’s endurance. To endure means to “keep on keeping on” in spite of whatever hardships that might be encountered. If one thinks that he, or she, can serve Christ without some hardship, he, or she, is in for a rude awakening. The fact that churches are comprised of human beings ensures that there will be hardships. Also, the temptations of Satan have to be dealt with. Once we commit to serve Christ, Satan picks up his activity. Just like a good soldier, we will encounter hardships that will limit our service if we are not committed to endure in spite of any obstacles that we might encounter. Do you endure hardships or do you give in to them. Second, he mentioned the soldier’s disentanglement from the affairs of the world. In His parable of the soils, Jesus mentioned the thorny ground, where the thorns entangled the person in things that made them unfruitful. This doesn’t mean that we can’t any interests outside of the church. It does mean that we do not let everything in the world keep us from serving Christ, whether in the church or in daily life. Satan is effective in entangling us in things that will hinder our service and witness in the kingdom of God. Think of some of the things that you are involved in, are they keeping you from serving Christ as effectively as possible. If you want to be a good soldier. Third, he mentioned the earnestness of the solider in pleasing Christ is in His, or her, service. This means that the good soldier is not only interested in being a soldier, but is willing to obey orders and to prepare for whatever his involvement might be. Soldiers do not just go about their work in any way they want. They always serve under orders, and with a plan. How earnest are you in your service. For example, how much time do you spend in Bible study and prayer. Do you take advantage of the education offered by your church or denomination that will enable you to be a more effective servant of Christ? Above are the three things that will make you a good solider of Jesus Christ. Well, based on these things are you a good soldier? Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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