“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
Have you been crucified with Christ? Of course you know that I did not mean to ask if you have been literally crucified, for that was already done by Jesus and no one else will ever have to do it. Jesus died for us “once for all” and for all the ages. What did Paul mean when he wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ”? I think that he meant that when he accepted Christ on the Damascus Road, the old mean-spirited Paul died and a new Paul emerged. Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 in different words: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold all things have become new.” One of the first things that we learn when Jesus comes into our lives is that He changes us from within, and the old things that we loved so much have been replaced by better things. This is amply illustrated in the life of Paul. Before Paul’s encounter with Christ, he was mean-spirited, narrow minded and filled with hatred. But after his encounter with Christ, Paul was a loving person. He became so loving that he wrote the definitive text on love in 1 Corinthians 13. He was, indeed, crucified with Christ. Everyone does not have the instant radical change that Paul had when they are converted, but there are definitely changes in their lives. Think about the changes that Christ has made in your life and you will see what I mean. Please do not understand me to be telling you should have become a super-righteous person when you were saved, but that there are changes and that you are growing in grace. In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul wrote about how his life had changed when he accepted Christ: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Paul was not referring to growing up in age, but to growing in Christ. When Christ entered Paul’s life he put away the childish desire to destroy people with whom he disagreed, and to actually love people. I don’t think that we are really grown up in age or in Christ until we learn to love people instead of envying or hating them. Crucifixion in Christ will bring a new and lasting maturity into our lives. We need to pray that Christ will help us mature in Christian love. We probably all have some maturing to do in this matter, but we do need to think seriously about it. I hope that you can truly say: “I have been crucified with Christ,” and that you have become a new person in Him, putting off and putting on those things that will make you a better Christian, a better witness and a better human being. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
“Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Being still is not an American trait. We are an active people who are in a hurry, even if we don’t have anywhere to go. All one has to do is to get on an interstate highway to know what a hurry we are in. If you want to drive the speed limit, you had better get on a two lane highway because the traffic on interstates will not let you. This is an illustration of life in America. We desperately need the message of Psalm 46:10a: “Be still and know that I am God…” We could say this about the entire world. Everyone needs to know to be still in order to know that God is God. What does it mean to be still? We have to stop, be still, and let God speak to our hearts. We are so busy talking and doing that we do not take time to meditate and reflect on God’s will. To be still means to be silent, as well as to cease activity at some time and consider what the will of God is. If we are going to be centered in the will of God, we will have to stop and listen to Him. I think of the time Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt. He wasn’t busy doing religious things, or talking. He was being still and he saw a bush burning but not being consumed. This was God’s way of getting Moses’ attention in order to reveal His will. We have to be still in order to exalt God to the people around us. This doesn’t mean that we go off to ourselves at work. What it does mean is that we will not be able to exalt God to others, or witness to them effectively, if we do not spend some time alone with God. When Jesus’ disciples were arrested in Acts, the Jewish leaders “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” These men sat at the feet of Jesus for three years, saw His miracles, heard His parables, soaked up His love and the world saw it. Could it be that the world today does not take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus because we do not spend enough time at His feet? Basically, what it means to “Be still and know that God is God,” is to seek Him above all else. This is what Moses did. This is what David did. This is what Peter did. This is what Paul did. This is what all of the great Christians across the ages have done, or they would not have been great Christians. We do not know many of the greatest Christians today because they are not famous preachers, but they are quietly influencing the world around them because they are taking the time to spend time with God in His word, in prayer and in corporate worship. You can be one of these Christians if you will take God’s advice: “Be still and know that I am God…” Bro. Joe “Do all things without murmuring and disputing. 15. That you might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in a dark world. 16. Holding forth the word of life…"
An idea captured my imagination as I read this text: Paul was issuing advice to the Philippian Church. It is also good advice for us. In verse 14, he told them to stop complaining and arguing. I have decided that complaining and arguing do not usually accomplish anything. We are to show the joy of Jesus to the world, and when we complain and argue we do not show His joy. Do you enjoy being around people who are always complaining, or finding something to argue about? We need to occasionally ask ourselves if we are acting like people that we do not like to be around. I have reached a point in my life that when I feel the need to argue; I ask myself what good it would do? In other words, I have stopped arguing unless doing so would accomplish anything for the kingdom. In verse 15, he told them to let their lights shine. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Jesus saved us, and put us here as lights in a dark world. People should see a difference in the way we live. We need to consider whether or not we are shining as lights in a dark world if we are always complaining and arguing. We need to ask ourselves if our lights are shining when we have negative attitudes. I know that there are things to be complained about and things to argue about, but we need to be sure that we need to ask ourselves if we are being led by the Holy Spirit when we do. In that case, He will give us what we need to say. (I’m preaching to myself here…) In verse 16, he told them to “hold forth the word of life.” I interpret this to mean that we should share the word of God with the world. We can do this when we read and study the word and know what it says. We can do this when we internalize the word, and actually live it before the world. “What would Jesus do?” is a good question for us to ask as we seek to “hold forth the word of life.” We need to see this as advice to us as well as the Philippians. Bro. Joe “But when (Jesus) saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion toward them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37. Then saith He unto His disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; 38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.”
According to verse 35, Jesus was going from village to village in Galilee healing people. A great crowd of people followed Him, and this is where our text takes place. Let’s see what Jesus saw when He looked on that multitude. Jesus saw the multitude. What I want us to see here is that Jesus is aware of people. Jesus did not just see a big crowd of people; rather the individuals who comprised the crowd. To Jesus, we are not a part of a crowd, but He sees us and sees our needs, etc. Jesus saw the multitude and felt compassion for them. Jesus didn’t look at the crowd of people following and thought, “Well, I’m becoming a big hit.” In fact, He did not think about Himself at all; rather He thought about the hurting people following Him. He saw that they were weary (fainted), jaded and worn. He saw that they were “scattered abroad as sheep without a shepherd.” He did not just see them; He saw their need. This is the same way that Jesus looks at the world today. People today are in need of a shepherd - a Savior. Jesus saw beyond their physical needs and saw the needs of their spirits – their souls. He looks over the world today and sees the same thing. What was His solution? Read on: Jesus turned to His disciples and saw them as part of the solution for these dear people. He said: “The harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.” Jesus was obviously giving His disciples their marching orders. They were to be His emissaries to that needy multitude. Jesus sees us as part of the solution for the world’s need for a Savior today. He wants us to see ourselves as part of the solution. He sees me as part of the solution, and He sees you as part of the solution. Ask the Lord to help you to be a laborer in His harvest. You might be thinking, “Bro. Joe, you done gone to preaching.” That would be correct. I’m preaching to me too. You are reading this because I see the need to minister to the world. It is the call for every Christian. Jesus wants us to see what He sees, i.e., a weary world in need of a Savior. Do you see it? 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. Verse 24 explains what real discipleship is. The question: "Are you a real disciple?" should humble you as it does me. 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. 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 come after 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. 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 their 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 “Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel: for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God.”
While I was reading in Hosea this morning, I thought that if one were looking for "feel good” theology, he/she was in the wrong book. In this verse, Hosea tells the Israelites that God has a “controversy with the inhabitants of the land.” It is not good news when a people are told that they have a controversy with God. Hosea listed three qualities that the “inhabitants” did not have that they needed: truth, mercy and knowledge of God. It occurred to me that these are three qualities that we need to have to be in good fellowship with God. The first thing that Hosea mentioned was “truth.” We already know what truth is without defining it, but the Hebrew word for truth has several shades of meaning. The best of these to me is “trustworthiness.” You have to agree that this is a quality that every Christian should have in order to be in good standing with God and people. Just as Hosea watched the lives of the Israelites and saw that they were not trustworthy, people are looking for that quality in our lives. Another word that comes to mind is “dependable.” Can people depend on us to keep our word or to be truthful in all of our dealings with them? The second quality that Hosea mentioned was “mercy.” There were also various meanings for the Hebrew word used here, but the main shade that I want to deal with is “kindness.” Mercy and kindness just seem to fit together. We will not be merciful in our dealings with people if we are not kind. Hosea saw that the quality of mercy was missing in the lives of the Israelites. It would seem to me that a church that carries the name “Christian” would be filled with merciful and kind people. This does not mean that we would have to compromise with sin in order to be merciful and kind. We should certainly be merciful and kind with each other. Would you say that you have this quality, and does the church of which you are a member have this quality? The third quality that Hosea mentioned was that there was no “knowledge of God in the land.” This means that the Israelite people did not acknowledge God in their daily lives. The problem was that their perception of God was of statues of wood, or perhaps statues of metal. How are you doing in your knowledge of God? I’m not asking whether or not you go to church. People can go to church every Sunday and still not acknowledge God, or have a deep understanding of Him. This takes some time in prayer, worship, and, yes, Bible reading. The Israelite people did not know that they were breaking God’s heart by their untrustworthiness or their unkindness. They didn’t remember that God loved them, and all that He had done in their history to deliver them. Take a few minutes today and consider the qualities of truth, mercy and knowledge of God in your life. Bro. Joe Genesis 6:8-9: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
Hebrews 11:7: “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 (family); by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” The verses preceding our Genesis text tell of the wickedness of the world. There was only one man who “found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord.” (I am assuming his wife, his sons and their wives were fine too, but we are told only of Noah. He will be the focus of what I will write about.) Noah is described as just, or righteous, perfect, or blameless. And we are told that he “walked with God.” My imagination went to work, and I wondered how we could describe the life of a person who walked with God? We could say that Noah walked confidently. I picture Noah as a man who was serenely confident in God. We are told in Hebrews 11:7 that he was a man of faith. This is where the focus of our confidence should be, not in our own abilities. There is nothing wrong with being self-confident, but if we are to find favor in the eyes of the Lord ours should be confidence borne of faith in Him. I know that in my life I have taken steps that were not based on faith, and I made a big mess. When I have trusted God, I have seen what He could do. Noah had faith in God, even in an age of extreme wickedness. We need to put our faith in Christ, and place our confidence in the leadership of the Holy Spirit. In this walk of faith, we will find favor with God . We could say that Noah walked carefully. When a man fears God, he will watch his step. Psalm 37:23 is reminiscent of Noah: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delights in his way.” Noah did not march to the beat of the drums of the world; rather, he walked to God’s drum beat. Noah walked close to God. We cannot serve the Lord as we should if we hold Him off at a distance. We could say that Noah walked in lockstep with God. He did this in spite of the wickedness of the people around him. We should watch our steps, for there are many footfalls in our way. We need to be prayerful and careful, heeding the word of God. Think of this for your own life. We could say that Noah walked compliantly. Noah did not try to please people. He pleased God. We are told that he built an ark, looking for a flood. It had never rained, but he built the ark anyway, knowing what God could and would do. Noah was compliant with the word of God that he had. How compliant are we with all of the resources that we have from the written word that we have from Him? I wrote above that Noah walked in lockstep with God. We could learn a lesson from Noah and get in step with God and be obedient with what he wants from us. Based on the three points that I have made above, could it be said that you walk with God? It’s worth thinking about!!! Think about it. Bro. Joe (Pardon the "C" words. it's called alliteration. lol) “For from the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen , O God, beside you, what He has prepared for him that waits on you.”
In our text, Isaiah is concerned about the fact that people, namely Israel, have not waited on the Lord. The Lord always has something for us, but we do not wait for what He wants but we do wait on what we want. The text describes the situation for Israel, (ultimately for the whole world and for us) that they do not comprehend the love and generosity of the Lord. He wants to bless us, but we tend to run away from His blessings to fulfill our own wants and needs. Here is what I saw in this text: “For from the beginning of the world men have not heard.” We have not listened to what the Lord is saying. According to the Bible, He speaks to us through creation, through people like Isaiah, and from the scriptures. “From the beginning” means that this started with Adam and Eve, to Noah, and to even to prominent people like Abraham, Moses and David, who sometimes went their own way and did not wait on the Lord: Abraham in Egypt, Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it, and David with the untimely census of the tribes. These men were just not listening to what God did in those moments, and we can add ourselves to that list. God has prepared great things for us, but we hold back what He wants to do for us out of spiritual deafness. Each of the above mentioned men ultimately claimed the promise of God by faith, but they delayed their blessings because of not listening. Listen in your heart and mind to what God wants for you. Are you listening? “For from the beginning of the world men (have not) perceived by the ear.” We have not comprehended what He wants to do on our behalf. We might hear words, and see works, but we do not comprehend what they all mean. This can happen even to those of us who attend church every week, read our Bibles and pray every day. I will get personal: This has happened to me. I have tried to run ahead of God instead comprehending what He was really saying to me about what He had prepared for me. I, like you, wanted what Joe wanted instead of what God wanted. We need to listen closely to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as He moves us toward what God has prepared for us. Don’t misunderstand me, God will bless us and I know that He has blessed me by His grace. But our lives will be so much richer and fuller when we comprehend what He wants of us and what He has prepared for us. Are you comprehending His plans for you? “For from the beginning of the world…..”neither has the eye seen.” This means that people are spiritually blind to what God has prepared for them. In our lives, we need to set a goal in front of us and move forward in fulfillment of that goal. But our eyes need to be fixed on the Lord, and fit our goals into His plans for us. Life will be so much better if we will put our eyes on the goals that God has for us instead of what we can get for ourselves. God revealed His plan for me years ago as to what His plans for me were. I have followed that path, but I must admit that there have been times that I have been blinded by self, and by the world, and have had to repent and start over. In His grace and mercy, God will forgive us and lead us on in spite of our missteps. He will do this for you. Are your eyes open to what God has prepared for you? God has plans for you. Listen, heed and see what those plans are and base your life on His plans for you. It is never too late!!!!! Bro. Joe “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12. Having your (conduct) honest among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
At the close of all four gospel accounts, Jesus gave a command that we witness to the world. You have probably read what we call “The Great Commission” from Matthew 28, which tells us to go into all of the world and make disciples. In John 20, Jesus breathed on His disciples and told them, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” These are two examples of what I wrote above. It is clear that Jesus wants us to be witnesses to the world. That means to be witnesses where we are and to support others who go to other parts of the world. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples: “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.” Over the last two thousand years we have devised all sorts of methods of missions and evangelism. Each denomination has its program of missions and evangelism. Some of these methods are better than others, but not a one of them is the best method. Peter gave us the best method. He did not write this to be a method of missions and evangelism, but it is nevertheless the best method that will be revealed as we take a closer look at what Peter wrote. The first thing that Peter wrote was that those to whom he wrote were “strangers and pilgrims.” Notice that he wrote: “As strangers and pilgrims.” He did not suggest that they act like strangers and pilgrims, but that they were strangers and pilgrims. I think that it is understood that as Christians we are to be in the world but not of the world. This does not mean that we are not to be, for example, good citizens. It means that our lives are not to reflect the world’s negative values but the values of Christ. We cannot become totally immersed in the world and be good witnesses of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Romans 12:2a : “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” If we want to be good witnesses for Jesus, we will be in the world but not of the world. We can do this by “abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” The second thing that Peter wrote was that our conduct be “honest among the Gentiles.” The reference to “Gentiles” here is a reference to the pagans that surrounded early churches. Of course we should be honest in the sense that we do not cheat and steal, but we should also be honest in the sense that we live the gospel that we say we believe. We have all heard the accusation: “What you do speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” As the old saying goes, “We need to walk the walk if we are going to talk the talk.” None of us will “walk the walk” perfectly, but we do need to walk it by how we live. One good example is that we need to be careful how we treat the people who serve us. Waiters and waitresses say that the most difficult people to wait on, and the poorest tippers, are the people who come to eat after church on Sunday. Space does not allow me to go on with a lot of other illustrations that I could give of how we need to improve our witness, but suffice it to say that we need to be careful how we live before the world. Living the Christian life genuinely is the best method of missions and evangelism. This doesn’t mean that we are excused from verbal witness. What it means is that people will not listen to our verbal witness if it is not backed up with a sincere and genuine Christian life. Don’t we agree? Bro. Joe “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did that which was right in their own eyes.”
Somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I think I have written on this text before. (So much for my “memory.”) Nevertheless, I read it again this morning as I finished reading the book of Judges and had some thoughts on it that I want to share with you. This is nothing new in scripture, and it is not new in our world today. People are good, or bad, at doing “what is right in their own eyes.” Isn’t this what Adam and Eve did? Remember, they were in the perfect Garden of Eden, and were told not to eat the fruit of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But they did what seemed right in their own eyes and ate the fruit anyway. Of course they had the help of the same personage who helped the people in Judges to do what was “right in their own eyes.” According to Jesus, Satan is a liar and “the father of lies,” so it is no surprise that he was at the bottom of this dilemma in the Garden and in Judges. We like to think that when we follow our natural sinful inclinations, we are doing “what is right in our own eyes.” Actually, they were doing what was right in Satan’s eyes. We human beings like to think that doing what we want to do is a sign of our independence. This is one of Satan’s lies. We are not doing our own thing; rather, we are doing Satan’s thing. That is what Adam and Eve did and that is what the people in Judges were doing. We do “what is right in our own eyes” when we ignore God’s commandments. The Ten Commandments were no secret to the people who lived during the time of the Judges. By that time, the laws that God gave Moses were fairly well-known. They could not claim ignorance of what was right and wrong. The same is true of us today. Bibles are abundantly available today. People are ignorant of the commands of God because they want to be. I have never known anyone who would say that he or she did not know right from wrong. Even when I was doing prison ministry, I never had a prisoner say that he did not know right from wrong. Let’s just admit that we do wrong because we want to in spite of God’s commandments. We do “what is right in our own eyes” because that is the easiest thing to do. There was a song that was popular when I was a youngster called “Doing What Comes Naturally.” The theme of the song was that the people the singer grew up with lived simply because they did what comes naturally. Actually, this is not a good thing. Doing what comes naturally is not a virtue. This is what the people in Judges did, what people have done throughout history, and what we still do. It doesn’t take a great amount of will power whatever to do what is pleasurable. I know that everything that brings pleasure is not sinful, but we do not really take the time to figure out the difference. Like the people in Judges, we just plunge headlong into pleasure whether it is right or wrong. You might ask, “Preacher, how do you know so much about this?” I live in the same world that you do and I face temptation every day just like you. I’m not claiming self-righteousness in this article. I am claiming that all of us need to be careful that we not take the easy way out. I know that when I have, I have lived to regret it. How can we refrain from just doing “that which is right in our own eyes”? We need to spend time in God’s word and in prayer. You could have guessed that I would have recommended this. Another thing that we need to do is to pay close attention to what we allow into our minds and hearts. Proverbs 23:7a warns us: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” We learn from Proverb 4:23: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” We need to be careful what we allow into our minds and hearts, and we need to be careful whose urging we follow when we are tempted to do what is wrong. We just need to be careful to follow what we know is right based on God’s word and on our own common sense. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|