Spiritual Hunger Comes in the Wilderness

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness.” Isaiah 55:2

When reading through the Old Testament we realize that many of the characters, places, things and events have dual meaning.  Some of them are not only a historical record of the people and events, but are also a type of something spiritual, or have spiritual meaning.  This is supported by the New Testament writers.  For example, Paul notes that the veil that Moses had over his face typifies the “veil” that covers the minds of the Israelites, blocking them from seeing the truth.

“But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.”  2 Cor. 3:14

Another example is Melchizedek as a type of Jesus as High Priest of a new Covenant, confirming His eternal priesthood outside of the Levitical priesthood, as explained in the book of Hebrews (chapters 5 thru 7).

These physical things from the Old Testament help us to understand spiritual things.  The Lord in His wisdom knows how to teach us and communicate truth using this method.  Similarly, Jesus taught in parables, using physical examples where the underlying principles represented spiritual truths.

I would like to look at an Old Testament event and the surrounding people and things and relate them to spiritual truths.  I want to look at the exodus of the people of Israel out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses.

It is clear that the physical bondage of the Israelites under Egyptian slavery is a “type” of the people who are in spiritual bondage under the world system and Satan.  Egypt is a type of the world and Pharaoh is a type of the devil.  God delivered the Israelites from this bondage, passing them through the Red Sea, and destroying the Egyptian army and Pharaoh while in pursuit; this event typifies our deliverance from the world and the passage from the world system of death to the heavenly system of life as new spiritual creatures.

Our journey in this world on the way to heaven is typified by the Israelites journey through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.  It is this journey through the wilderness that I want to look at more closely.

When the Israelites reached the wilderness they became hungry:

“And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’” Exodus 16:2-3.

When the Lord led the people into the wilderness under the direction of Moses, He knew that they would be hungry and He made provisions for this.  The people, though, immediately looked back to Egypt when they grew hungry.  I believe that many Christians today make this same error, looking back to the world system to satisfy their hunger, rather than looking to the Lord’s provision.

But what does this mean to be hungry, in a spiritual sense?  Hunger is equated to dissatisfaction; our spiritual “bread” satisfies us.  Doesn’t this happen to us in our journey though the “wilderness” of this life on our way as Christians?  Yes, there are times that we become dissatisfied, empty,  and are looking for real meaning and purpose even as Christians.  Actually, I think that it is okay to have this hunger; God expects it to happen, but He has made a provision for it. Many of us as Christians have come to realize that this hunger is satisfied by the truths of God’s Word and our exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The problem arises when we look to the world for “food” to satisfy this hunger. Even after being satisfied by God’s spiritual provision, we are still tempted to look back to Egypt.

So ask yourself, what makes you feel dissatisfied, and how do you feed this dissatisfaction?  The answer to this may vary for each individual, but I think if we are honest, at the root of our dissatisfaction is something that has to do with our future hope, and where we are headed in this life.  Here are some statements that I have heard over the years that I think reflect dissatisfaction in a person’s life tied to their future hope:

“I have been married for 25 years and still have this old furniture”, or “My spouse will never change and I expected so much when we got married”, or “I’m stuck in this dead end job with no hope of getting a new career at this point in my life”, or “I thought retirement would be better than this; I think I’ll to back to work”, and I’m sure you have heard similar statements like this.

I’ll cut to the chase.  I see the root of our dissatisfaction coming from having a misplaced hope.  When our hope is focused on something that is offered in this world, in this lifetime, it will always bring disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Thus the Lord asked the question to His people through the prophet Isaiah thousands of years ago (as quoted at the start of this message):

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and you labor for that which does not satisfy? “ Isaiah 55:2a

I believe that the Lord is using an analogy here also.  It’s not about physical money and bread, but it’s about what we put our efforts towards and spend our time or direct our emotions towards to find satisfaction.

Having our hope focused totally and purely on the promise of heaven is what establishes us as someone who is on the journey in the wilderness, as a pilgrim, alien, or sojourner just passing through this land on the way to another promised place.

“Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13

Now, here’s another way of looking at this.  If you are not hungry for the food from God, that is, His word and the truths that He has revealed regarding His Messiah, Jesus Christ and the promises that have been offered to us through His life and death, than it is likely that you have gone back to Egypt in your heart and began to feed off of the fleshpots and bread of Egypt (the world), in the same way that you had in the past, before God delivered you.  Remember that there is slavery associated with the Egyptian food, and you can be sure that there are “strings attached” with any earth centered hope, no matter how noble or righteous it would appear to be.  Don’t “spend your money” for this “bread” that will not satisfy!

The answer to our dissatisfaction and hunger is to not allow our hearts to be set on these earthly things, but rather to go back to being a pilgrim in the wilderness.  Put those other worldly hopes to death.  You’ll find that you will become hungry, but it will be a good hunger.  It will be a hunger for the things of God in His word that encourage you in your walk as a pilgrim.  It will be for the truths that increase your faith in God’s faithfulness and give you a desire for His quick return.  It will be for the things that help you to remain strong in your well doing and pleasing the Lord, knowing that your reward is waiting at the end of your journey.

God’s provision for the Israelites in the wilderness was the manna He sent from heaven.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.’” Exodus 16:4

This manna is a type of Jesus, who is the bread of life for us.

“Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.’” John 6:32-35.

We see that Jesus is the focus of our future hope.  We need to learn how to find this life giving source of satisfaction in Him.  All of the promises of God, especially the hope of eternal life in heaven, are “yes and amen” in Jesus.

“For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Cor. 1:20

When this deep need for our future hope to be satisfied is not met, we then turn back to the world and look for another earthly hope, and when this doesn’t satisfy either, we turn to immediate, short term gratification of our flesh that leads to sin and death.

I’ll say this again, only those who are in the wilderness are spiritually hungry for God’s word.  If you find that you are not hungry, you need to put your heart back in the wilderness.  Go back to being a sojourner, a temporary resident on earth, and pilgrim just passing through this world.  Set you affections on things above and not on the things of this earth.  Oh, and there are no strings attached to the sojourner in the wilderness; no slavery.  The manna is all that is needed.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3: 2-3.

Make it a habit to often meditate on the reality of heaven and our future hope. Find joy and happiness in this reality.  Treasure the things of heaven and store up your riches there.  Have this blessed hope as an anchor to your soul and it will carry you through the most difficult times.

This from Hebrews regarding our journey and those who traveled it in faith before us:

“These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-22

Let us be more like these.

Remember: Faith, Hope, Love – these Three

Remember: Faith, Hope, Love – these Three

“But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” 1 Thes. 5:8

The history behind the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church of the Thessalonians is as follows: Paul had preached the Gospel in Thessalonica a few years prior to this letter and spent some time there to establish a group of believers.  He had become concerned about the well being of this congregation since he was not able to revisit them after his initial visit, so he sent Timothy to check on them.  Upon the return of Timothy, Paul wrote this letter to commend them on their steadfastness and progress, as well as to encourage and exhort them in their Christian walk.

We can learn from this letter if we look at Paul’s approach to encouraging the Thessalonians and his view of their spiritual strengths.

At the beginning of the letter, after his salutation, Paul immediately commends them on three core items: faith, hope and love:

“We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 1:3

It is interesting that Paul gives a similar commendation at the start of his letter to the Colossians:

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” Col. 1:3-5

…and also at the start of the 2^nd letter to the Thessalonians:

“We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing in abundance, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring.” 2 Thess. 1:3-4

…followed by this:

“And to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,” 2 Thess. 1:7 (relating their steadfastness in affliction to their hope)

Obviously, when Paul examined a group of Christians for spiritual maturity he did so in the perspective of these three Christian attributes: faith, hope and love.  Therefore, it is also important for us to examine ourselves in a similar matter, understanding the true meaning of faith, hope and love, and how they should be manifested in our lives.

Notice that in 1 Thessalonians Paul uses the phrase “work of faith and labor of love” when he commended them.  The Greek word in the original passage that is translated as “work” is “ergon”  and is defined in Strong’s concordance as follows: from a primary (but obsolete) érgō (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an act:—deed, doing, labour, work.  The original Greek word for “labor” is “kopos” and is defined thus in Strong’s: toil (as reducing the strength), literally or figuratively; by implication, pains:—labor, + trouble, weariness.  There also is an implication of “intense labor with trouble and toil.”

Paul’s interest was in the fruit that they showed in their lives, and Timothy must have reported that they were producing “good works” that confirmed their spiritual maturity.  Timothy must have seen sacrifices being made to help the poor and needy, orphans and widows being cared for, and general activity that supported the fact that they loved one another.

The Holy Spirit has taught us though the Scriptures that faith without works is dead, but that our works confirm our faith:

“So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” James 2:17

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’; and he was called the friend of God.” James 2: 21-23

True Christian faith will result in good works and will produce true love in the believer.  Remember that love fulfills the law and does no harm to a neighbor.  Our spiritual maturity should show forth these spiritual fruits of good works and love for others.

Like Abraham, we all will face situations in our lives that will require us to exercise our faith to “complete” it.  Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead, and was willing to obey God’s command to put him to death.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your posterity be named.’  He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” Heb. 11:17-19

Let’s encourage one another to respond with the same faith that Abraham had when we are faced with similar situations and challenges in our lives, knowing that God is able to do whatever is required.

Paul reminded the Thessalonians that when he was with them, he had encouraged each one of them to exercise their faith with their actions.  I like how his encouragement was not just words but he had told them to imitate his actions, and he reminded them of his behavior among them:

“For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.  You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our behavior to you believers; for you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” 1 Thess. 2:9-12

Paul also commended them for enduring afflictions and persecution from their own countrymen, similar to what Paul had suffered from the Jews.  We too should be prepared in our hearts, should persecution arise, to endure patiently whatever afflictions come our way.

It is very clear that Paul’s expectation for believers was to walk in love and holiness, and to endure in this way until the Lord returns. Paul first sent Timothy to make sure that they were living appropriately, producing the fruit of spiritual maturity. He then reminded them of how he had trained them in this appropriate behavior and also exemplified this behavior in his life.  He then encouraged them to continue in and even increase the quality of their behavior.  I point this out to emphasize the fact that our behavior and spiritual maturity is extremely important.  Our faith and hope should be producing love as reflected in our good works and holy living.

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men, as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your consecration: that you abstain from immorality;” 1 Thess. 3:12- 4:3

The original Greek word that is translated as “consecration” in the above verse is hagiasmos, and is defined in Strong’s concordance as: properly, purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebraism) a purifier:—holiness, sanctification.  Again, Paul makes it very clear that it is God’s will for us to walk in holiness.

Paul also knows that the key to our spiritual maturity and our ability to walk in holiness and love is to have our faith focused on the hope we have in Christ Jesus and our future with Him in His Kingdom that He will establish upon His return.  Therefore, after exhorting and encouraging them to walk in holiness, Paul reminds them of the soon coming of the Lord, and our part as believers in this event:

“But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep (dead), that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:13-18

Paul knew that this hope that we have will comfort us in our afflictions and help us to endure, continuing in holy living.  This is our source of strength that will get us through difficult times and empower us to walk in love and holiness, as we make this assured hope a reality in our lives.

A living faith in our blessed hope we have in what God has promised to us in Christ Jesus, namely a place in heaven for eternity with Him, will produce in us the ability to walk in holiness and love, with the strength to endure until the end.  It is critical that we continue in this way so that we too can be found blameless in holiness when Jesus returns.

I hope that this message has encouraged you in your walk as a believer.  Recognize that all of the things in this life are trivial compared with the glory that awaits us.  Let’s keep our perspective clear and focused on what is really important: eternal life and our future hope.

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls is faithful, and He will do it.” 1 Thess. 5: 23-24

What We Really Need Is Internal, Not External

What We Really Need Is Internal, Not External.

“And He (Jesus) said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”  Mark 7: 20-22

It has been said that the moral integrity of a society is directly proportional to its freedoms and overall prosperity.   In other words, the higher the moral integrity in a society, the more freedoms and prosperity it will experience, and conversely, the lower the morals, the less freedom and prosperity it will experience.  I don’t see how anyone can dispute this truth.  Consider how free market capitalism would function in a society where everyone was dishonest.  Obviously, it could not.  It is also obvious that societies that have a high percentage of evils such as theft or murder would be forced to implement laws and regulations to protect their citizens that would have a negative impact on the freedoms of all, and would cost its citizens to implement and enforce.

Dishonesty and theft come in many forms, some hidden to us.  A poor work ethic results in employees stealing from employers by not giving a full day of work for a day’s wage.  Or members of society who are abusing government “entitlements” to steal from the rest of the tax payers.

The United States is facing this dilemma right now.  As the moral fiber of our society is declining we are seeing a push for more laws and regulations.  It seems that a government will take advantage of any opportunity to increase its control over its people, and while it may resolve some problems, it usually creates a whole new set of problems, including the loss of freedoms and prosperity for the masses.

Some would say that these governmental laws and regulations don’t accomplish what they are intended to do.  The law or regulation does not change the evil that resides in the perpetrators, and they simply find a way around them.  Others would say that without the laws and regulations in place there can be no justice.  Perpetrators cannot be punished by the governmental authorities if they have not broken some established law.  Of course, we also know that when the governmental authorities become morally corrupted, then laws are not enforced, bribes are taken, the innocent are falsely accused, and power is abused; when this occurs there is a risk that the society will collapse.

It would appear that immoral societies have a choice of either suffering from the abuses of the evil perpetrators, or to suffer from the abuses of an imperfect government authority that can over regulate, misapply laws, and has the potential for corruption that results in a systemic collapse.  Either way, freedom and prosperity suffer.

It is not my purpose here to get caught up in this debate of how a secular society should be managed.  As a Christian, I understand that this world is cursed and under the strong influence of satanic forces, and therefore the only true freedom and prosperity that our world will experience will occur when the Lord Jesus returns and establishes His kingdom.

My purpose in mentioning the above situation regarding immoral societies is to emphasize the fact that the source of the problem is an internal one that external laws and regulations cannot correct, but can only partially restrain (if at all).  What is true for societies is also true for individuals.  Christians need to be careful not to look for external remedies to this internal problem.

The Scriptures clearly explain that the old covenant that was based on laws and regulations was not able to bring about the needed internal change in individual believers. When comparing the usage of the old covenant laws and commandments to the faith and hope of the new covenant in the book of Hebrews, it says this:

“For on the one hand, there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect (or complete); on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Heb. 7:18-19

The law was not capable of bringing about the internal changes that were needed.  J. B. Phillips translation of verse 18 supports this also:

“Quite plainly, then, there is a definite cancellation of the previous commandment because of its ineffectiveness and uselessness – the Law was incapable of bringing anyone to real maturity”

The point being made here was that the old covenant, with its laws and regulations, was insufficient. But the new covenant is able to  bring about the needed internal change to “perfect” or “complete” the believer.

This is what is important to understand:  the new covenant does not remove the need for its participants to be holy and righteous (i.e. to have high moral integrity), but rather, it recognizes the need for an internal change to bring about this high moral integrity, and it offers this means through faith and a “better hope” that produces spiritual maturity.  The list of laws and regulations from the old covenant were beneficial in exposing the moral deficiencies of the people, but were not able to correct them.

The new covenant addresses two critical areas of the believer’s life that allows them to mature spiritually:

First, all questions and doubts are removed regarding a believer’s acceptance into the family of God due to past sins or actions that their conscience knows have offended God. Since guilt and doubt can hinder a person’s relationship with God, making it impossible to trust Him and walk in the Spirit, this hindrance is removed by means of the blood of Jesus that paid the penalty on our behalf:

“how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

We can now confidently enter into a relationship with God and “draw near” to Him, knowing that we are truly His child and that He loves us.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,..”  (Romans 8:16-17)

The second is related to the first in that we now realize as God’s children that we have the assurance of an eternal inheritance that was established by the death and resurrection of Jesus. This assurance allows us to shift the focus of our hope from the things of this world to this promised hope, and this shift of hope frees us from the bondage of this world system.

“And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 10:15

The writer of Hebrews wraps up the discussion about the new covenant by confirming the importance of these 2 items and the ultimate goal of an internal change that leads to love and good works:

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest (presence of God the Father) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God (Jesus), let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Hebrews 10:19-24

The Scriptures also explain more specifically the results of this internal change that will occur in the believer, stating that the Lord will “put His laws in their mind and write them on their hearts” meaning that believers will do by nature what the law requires, not needing the external written commandments and requirements because they will be present internally.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Heb. 8:10

Paul the apostle also spoke of Gentile Christian believers who were not raised with the commandments and regulations of the law like the Jews had been, but were able to naturally do what was required.

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.” Romans 2: 14-15

We must realize also that doing by nature what the law requires is the equivalent to walking in love, for love fulfills the law, as Paul makes clear later in Romans:

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:8-10

Walking in love is a fruit of the spirit, and we must therefore be spiritual to walk in love and to fulfill the law.  Here are some key Scriptures from Galatians chapter 5 that explains this:

“But you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by on another! I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Gal. 5:13-18

“For we know that the law is spiritual,….” Romans 7:14

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:22-25

The new covenant emphasizes a direct relationship with God through faith that causes us to be transformed from being carnally minded, or focused on this physical world, to being spiritually minded, or focused on the spiritual world, i.e. heaven or the kingdom of God.  This transformation is the internal change that is required for us to walk in love and fulfill the law.

There are two critical areas that are affected by this transformation from being carnally minded to spiritually minded.  First, we realize that we are a child of the living God who is in control of our lives.  We learn to trust Him in every situation, understanding that He is involved intimately with our lives and knows exactly what we need.  This understanding eliminates our anxiety and stress as we cast our cares upon Him and completely trust Him to meet our needs. We learn to see His purpose in all of our circumstances, even the trials and sufferings.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard you hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

The second important area is the focus of our future hope.  We realize that as children of the living God, we have an inheritance in heaven, and also, have inherited eternal life with an immortal new resurrected body.  This is the “better hope” that was mentioned in Hebrews 7, that is based on “better promises.”  Jesus conquered death and removed us from the curse of this world, making a way for us to be accepted by God as His child, with an eternal inheritance.  Walking in the spirit requires that we shift our hope from the things in this world to the promised hope in Christ.  We must set our minds and hearts on this heavenly hope rather than the false hopes that this world has to offer, and we must store up our riches in heaven rather than on earth.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8: 5-6

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3: 1-4

The result of these changes is the recognition that this world holds little value for us.  All of the things that we placed our confidence upon or built our reputation upon are reduced to worthlessness compared to the new eternal, spiritual things that have immortal value. These changes also free us from the bondage of our strong desires that were focused on earthly things.  This bondage kept us from being able to freely love others and to please God.  When we functioned in this world’s system with our minds set on the things of this world we couldn’t please God because we were focused on pleasing other men and ourselves.  We were focused on and feeding on (finding happiness in) the earthly things that we had set our minds on and hoped for.

The Scriptures tell us that when we have our minds focused on the things of this world and our flesh (carnally minded) that it leads to “death,” meaning that we are trapped in a cycle of sin.  When we set our minds on carnal things (when we treasure them) we feed our strong worldly desires which results in producing the works of the flesh.

Here’s an example to illustrate this.  Let’s say that I allow my heart to be set on having a beautiful home in a good neighborhood.  I treasure this thought and work hard to make it happen.  I have set my mind and heart on this and my emotional attachment to fulfilling this dream is very strong. When I think about obtaining this goal it brings me happiness and pleasure that I feed upon; it motivates me when I wake up and go through my day.  Anything that hinders the fulfillment of this “earthly hope” will cause my flesh to react.  The fruit of this fleshly reaction will be some form of sin.

The book of James explains it this way:

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full grown, brings forth death.” James 1:13-15

With regards to the verse from James you may be thinking that it applies more to sexual desires, murder, stealing, or envy, and although it does apply to them, I believe that it applies to any desire that is focused on an earthly thing that we allow to “conceive” or take root in our heart.

You may also be thinking, “Can’t I have a desire for a nice home for my family?”  Let me make this very clear: it is not wrong to have desires for things on this earth, within the known guidelines of not coveting other people’s things or desiring things that we know are evil.  The problem is when we begin to “set our minds and hearts” on these “good” things and allow them to become a focal point and main hope in our lives.  It’s a problem when we treasure them and begin to feed off of them, or when we base our happiness on them, looking forward with pleasure for when we will obtain them.  It is this type of strong longing for earthly things that causes the bondage.

When we have a desire for an earthly thing, we can pray and ask God to give us this thing, but then we must leave the fulfillment totally in God’s hands.  Some things that we think are good for us, the Lord knows are not good for us.  Or possibly, the Lord will test us by withholding some desire.  We are instructed by the Lord to be content in our circumstances; this means that we must not covet or “set our mind and hearts on” or “treasure” any earthly things beyond what we have been given.  Even the things that we have been given are not to be the focus of our affections because we could lose them all (consider Job’s life).

The point is that we need to guard our hearts and not allow any earthly thing to take the focus of our lives by becoming the hope that drives us, feeds us and brings happiness. When we die with Christ on the cross, all of these hopes and dreams must die also, and we must continue to keep them dead. Don’t be fooled into thinking since an earthly thing is “good” that you can set your mind/heart/hope upon it.

“Keep (or guard) your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Here is my main point (finally): The church, like secular governments and organizations, has a tendency to think that external remedies will work to bring about the needed changes in people, but what is needed is an internal change that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the cross) and the Holy Spirit can accomplish. The church needs to focus on the things that contribute to the spiritual maturity of Christians, encouraging one another to walk in the spirit, walk in love and fulfill the law.  Learning to place our trust completely in the Lord, and learning to shift our hope totally towards the promise of our eternal inheritance are the key to this spiritual maturity.

External remedies are easier because they don’t require faith.  This is how dead religious rituals have developed over the years – they are external attempts to solve an internal problem – that can’t work.  Today we have the same tendencies, from Christians attempting to change the political system in our country, to thinking that getting people to show up every Sunday and be involved in a church organization will make them spiritually mature.

We need to focus on the internal change that can truly cause us to walk in the Spirit and walk in love.  It starts with ourselves, and then we should encourage others to do the same.  Draw close to Jesus and He will draw close to you.  Set your mind and heart fully on the hope that is in Christ Jesus, and do so until He returns or takes you home. Put to death any earthly desire that challenges your hope in heaven.

My desire is the same as Pauls:

“…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints (to us). To them God willed to make known what are the riches of glory of this mystery among Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:26-28

 

Authentic Christian Conversion

Authentic Christian Conversion

“For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical.  He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.” Romans 2:28-29

In my last blog post we looked at the importance of hope in the Christian’s life and how our hope is directly related to the focus of our hearts and minds.  We saw how having our hearts and minds set on spiritual things rather than fleshly or worldly things will give us the power to produce spiritual fruit in our lives, rather than having our fruit “choked out” by the cares or worries of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.

In this blog post I want to look closer at this inner change that constitutes a Christian conversion.  This change involves our faith, hope and love, qualities that are critical for our Christian maturity.  I would like to look deeper at what is involved with this inner transformation.  My desire is that we all are correctly aligned with these truths and participating properly so that we can reach full spiritual maturity and produce much spiritual fruit (100 fold).

In the above quoted scripture from the letter of Paul to the Romans, note that when Paul says “a real Jew” he is talking about a real child of God.  The context of the discussion in letter to the Romans was that Paul was dealing with the problem of Jews who were considering themselves true members of God’s family based on them being a biological descendant of Abraham and their physical circumcision.  In other letters from Paul, we see that he had to deal with Jews who were telling the Gentile (or non Jewish) Christians that they needed to be physically circumcised in order to be a true child of God, an idea that Paul vehemently opposed. In other words, Paul’s statement about what makes a “real Jew” in this quote from Romans is directed to all believers who wished to be a part of God’s kingdom and family, not just to the Jews of the time. The term “Christian” most likely had not become a commonly used word at the time of Paul’s writing of Romans, and Paul didn’t use the term much in any of his writings, so we should attempt to understand the meaning of the phrase “real Jew” from Paul’s viewpoint.  A “real Christian” is in fact a “real Jew” in that both are descendants of Abraham, but a Christian is a spiritual descendant rather than physical one, who has the inner circumcision of their heart rather than the external physical circumcision.  My point is that this scripture also applies to Christians. It could also be stated as “he is a real Christian who is one inwardly…..”

Therefore we should not be looking to outward qualities for determining the validity of Christians, but rather to inward qualities.  Yet we seem to look outwardly when we ask, “What church do you go to?” and then maybe say, “Oh, that’s a good church, they must be a good Christian.”  Or we hear them speak thus, “Praise the Lord, Brother….” and conclude that they are Christian.  It seems as if anyone, especially a celebrity or politician, who claims to be born again or a Christian is immediately embraced by the Christian community without looking for the proof of inward conversion.

Today’s Christian’s also seem to focus on the time of the recital of the “sinner’s prayer” as the point of conversion, similar to the act of physical circumcision that the Jews were looking to as the entry point into the family of God. We seem to need something tangible to support our conversion, but in reality it is the inward, intangible change that is the true representation of our conversion.  If anything, we should be looking to the act of baptism as a tangible representation of our internal change.  I’ll explain more about baptism later.

My goal here is to look closer at the inward change that is mentioned in Romans 2:29.  Let’s review what we have learned so far from this verse.  A person is a real Christian as the result of a change that occurred inwardly, not outwardly, and so it is this internal change that we must look deeper at to understand an authentic Christian conversion.  What is this inward change?  We see from this verse that the change is represented by real circumcision, which is also internal.  The verse says that it is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal (or physical).  Therefore, we need to look closer at circumcision to understand this internal change.

The Lord introduced circumcision to Abraham.  Paul explains the significance of Abraham’s circumcision in Roman’s chapter 4:

“He (Abraham) received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.” Romans 4: 11-12

In the above verse, Paul establishes that the underlying real inner change that circumcision represents is the faith of Abraham by which he was reckoned (or accounted) as righteous.  It is critical that we understand the faith of Abraham, for this is the internal change that is the core representation of our conversion as Christians.

Paul confirms in subsequent verses, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, that those who share this same faith as Abraham will be guaranteed the promises of God.

“The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13

“That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants – not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’ – in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.“ Romans 4: 16-17

In the next few verses we see more of the characteristics of Abraham’s faith (emphasis added by me):

“In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.  That is why his faith was ‘reckoned to him as righteousness.’ “ Romans 4:18-22

In my words, here’s a simplified version of what happened:

• God made a promise to Abraham.
• Abraham believed the promise, even though it looked impossible to his natural mind; he believed it based on the character of God and power of God.
• Abraham did not waiver but remained steady and got even stronger, convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. He steadfastly and patiently endured in his faith.
• God accepted Abraham as righteous based on this faith.

The last few verses in Romans 4 make it clear that we are expected to have this same faith:

“But the words, ‘it was reckoned to him,’ were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also.  It will be reckoned to us who believe in Him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4: 23-25

And here is the simple version for us:

• God has made a much greater promise to us than He made to Abraham, that is, eternal life based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He guaranteed us a resurrected, immortal body, and a place in His Kingdom as His children with an inheritance
• We must believe and accept this promise by faith in God’s power and divine character.
• We must remain steadfast in our conviction that God will fulfill His promise to us, patiently enduring until He comes for us
• We will be accepted by God as righteous based on this faith.

Abraham’s faith is further defined in the book of Hebrews chapter 11.  I would like to look at a few verses that I feel are important to this discussion:

“By faith he (Abraham) sojourned (or lived as a temporary resident) in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11: 9-10

We see from these verses that the focus of Abraham’s faith was on God’s promise of eternal life in heaven.  The Lord had made it clear to Abraham that the ultimate, eternal “promised land” was heaven and therefore Abraham lived like a temporary resident on earth.  This he accomplished by his faith.

Placing our faith in God’s promise of heaven requires that we shift our hope from the promises of this world to the promise of heaven.  Abraham no longer had his hopes set on the things of this world.  He had left his relatives in the land of Ur, relinquishing any inheritance or benefit that he had from there.  He also lived as a temporary resident in the new land that he journeyed to, awaiting heaven as his final destination.

The writer of Hebrews mentions Abraham’s hope earlier in chapter 6:

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you.’ And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.” Heb. 6:11-15

And a few verses later we hear more of this same hope in the promises of God:

“….we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain….” Heb. 6:18-19

The circumcision of our heart suggests that we cut away the “fleshy” or worldly part of our hearts, just like the physical cutting away of flesh.

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts….” Jeremiah 4:4

We can see from the example of Abraham’s faith that this involves shifting our hearts away from the promises and hopes that this world offers to focusing on the promises of God, specifically, His promise of eternal life in Christ.  This results, again like Abraham, in our becoming pilgrim or temporary residents here on earth with our hearts set on the promise of eternal life in heaven.

Consider this verse from the book of Colossians concerning circumcision:

“In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Col. 2:11-12

The Amplified Bible makes a strong connection in this verse between circumcision and baptism based on the tense of the verb used (see the footnote for verse 12).  It translates verse 12 as follows:

“[Thus you were circumcised when] you were buried with Him in [your] baptism, in which you were also raised with Him [to new life] through [your] faith in the working of God [as displayed] when He raised Him up from the dead.” Col. 2: 12 Amplified Bible

In other words, in the same way that the physical removal of the foreskin represents the internal change that occurs within the true child of God as a result of exercising faith in the promise of God, as Abraham did, baptism too is an external representation of the internal change that results from a Christian exercising their faith in the promise of God as presented in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  More specifically, the immersion of baptism represents burial with Christ where we share in His death to this world and consider ourselves having died to this world.  The coming up out of the water represents our new position of being raised with Christ, citizens of heaven, and waiting for His return with our hope set on heaven, and our hearts treasuring the same. This internal mindset of considering ourselves raised with Christ and awaiting His return when we will be literally transformed into immortal beings is what the scriptures refer to as being “in Christ”.

True Christians have died with Christ internally, meaning that we no longer live for the things that this world has to offer them, but we consider ourselves dead to this world. We no longer treasure the things of this world, but instead treasure the spiritual things of heaven.  We recognize that this world is cursed and that mankind apart from God is under God’s judgment and awaiting His punishment at the end of the age.  We as Christians have embraced and accepted God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ that includes His promise of eternal life with a resurrected body, accompanying Him in heaven as a citizen of His kingdom.  We have placed our hope totally in God’s promises.  This is what is required according to the scriptures for a deep, authentic Christian conversion.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His Death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” Romans 6:3-5

I want to draw your attention to some examples of new conversions that were recorded in the book of Acts.  I find it interesting that baptism is included in these examples, which I believe supports my tenets presented above regarding the importance of new converts understanding the need for the inward transformation that is outwardly represented by baptism.

The first is a record of Philip the evangelist when he traveled to Samaria preaching Christ to the multitudes there:

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.  Then Simon (a local sorcerer) himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”Acts 8: 12-13

Then there was Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch:

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture (a verse in Isaiah that the eunuch was reading but didn’t understand), preached Jesus to him.  Now as they went down the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water.  What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he commanded the chariot to stand still.  And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him.” Acts 8:35-38

Another example is Paul and Silas with the Philippian jailer:

“And he (the jailer) brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes.  And immediately he and all his family were baptized.” Acts 16:30-33

We can logically conclude that the preaching of the Gospel to these new converts included the information that would lead to them being baptized.  We know that the physical act of baptism is not a ritualistic practice and the outward act of Baptism has no real spiritual value.  On the contrary, Philip, Paul and Silas knew that the spiritual value was from the internal change in thinking and focus that the external action of baptism represented.

Baptism does have value in that it is a public declaration by the believer of the internal step of faith that has occurred. It is a physical, tangible, point in time that the believer can look back to as a statement of being dead to this world and living now in Christ.  All new converts should be encouraged to be baptized, but the act should not be taken lightly.  A full explanation of its meaning should be made clear to the person being baptized.

New Christians need to have this inner change/conversion.  It is the start of their walk of faith, and their walk in the spirit.  Modern, western Christian churches need to place new converts on this path in order for them to reach full spiritual maturity.  I am praying that more and more Christians become aware of this need so that more and more new believers can experience this deep inner conversion.

Remember Not to Forget!

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” James 1:23-24

There’s an old country song that plays on the remember/forget idea like only a country song can.  It goes like this: “I forgot to remember to forget you….” The song was recorded by various artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis and was a hit back in the 1950’s.    The song spoke to the idea of wanting to forget something, but not being able to, and also wanting to remember something, but not being able to do that either, and tying the two together in an interesting way.

My dad had a joke about his memory that he’s repeat quite often saying, “I’m taking pills for my memory but I keep forgetting to take them.”  I also worked with an older gentleman who used to joke and say, “My memory works really well, it’s even photographic, but it doesn’t last too long.”

Our ability to retain the memory of people, places and things, as well as our ability to remember logic and experiences from the past is a core part of our human existence.  Our very consciousness is tied to our ability to remember.  Losing this ability to remember by devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease is a horror.  Intelligence is directly related to the ability to retain knowledge.

The Bible has some very practical advice about remembering and forgetting that I want to take a look at.  Let’s look again at this verse in James in the fuller context:

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:21-25

Regarding our memory, you will notice that these verses are not talking about our ability to retain knowledge or to remember important information for extended periods of time.  The message here is more about the alignment of what we know with our actions.  The “forgetting” that is being referred to here is more about being consistent with the information that we have previously accepted as truth.

It’s interesting that God has made it that we need no special abilities or talents to be His children and to walk successfully in faith.  We don’t need superior intellect or photographic memories.  We don’t need any extraordinary characteristics; to the contrary, we must become like children to walk with God.

What we do need may be closer to what we call honesty.  Notice that verse 22 of James 1 uses the phrase “deceiving yourselves.”  Think about it, what does it really mean to deceive ourselves?  How can we lie to ourselves?  …..yet it seems that we do.  Maybe we conveniently forget what we want to forget to make things easier, or to feed our flesh?  It would seem that we already know a truth that relates to our situation, but we don’t want to “connect the dots” to put things together and reach a needed conclusion to result in the proper behavior, so we somehow block out this truth, and continue in the wrong behavior.

George Orwell, in his famous book “1984” coined a term “Doublethink”.  Here’s the quote from the book:

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” Orwell – 1984

James is writing to correct this issue of doublethink, but he uses the term “forgets” to describe it.  We are exhorted by James to remove the inconsistencies and contradictions between our beliefs and our actions.  We need to apply the same beliefs and values to all situations consistently.

James uses an analogy to describe this inconsistency: a man looking in a mirror and then forgetting what he saw.  When I read this in the past, I would always think that he is referring to a man seeing the wrong that he has done when reading the word of God, and then forgetting about this wrong later when he is faced with a temptation or situation to commit the same wrong actions.  I don’t think this is what he’s really saying.  The verse in James says he “immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”  I think he’s saying that there are times when we forget that we are a child of God!  We forget that we are pilgrims on a journey just passing through!  We forget that we are ambassadors for God!  We forget that we are ministers of God, given the ministry of reconciliation!

Here’s the practical advice:  We must often remind ourselves who we are!  The implanted word of God and the law of liberty has established the truth of who we are in Christ Jesus and of what we are promised.  We need to “remember not to forget” this truth.

The law of Moses was focused on a list of do’s and don’ts that needed to be obeyed.  The law (or principle) of liberty says that we have been transformed by faith into a new creation in Christ Jesus, and that we need to walk according to this new life, and view everything based on this new spiritual reality.

“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 1 Corinthians 5:16-17

We must walk daily in the light of this truth, reminding ourselves of the spiritual reality that has been revealed and implanted in us from the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Consider also the fact that we represent Christ as ministers and ambassadors:

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself though Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5: 18-20

This is very practical.  While you are sitting with your co-workers or friends who don’t know God, remind yourself of who you are.  Remind yourself that you represent Jesus Christ.  You may not be saying the words, but your presence is a reminder to them of God’s mercy.  Your life is an example to them.  You must be aware of this truth and not forget it.  It will influence your actions in a positive way.  You will become a doer of the word as you have this mindset.

The battle that we fight is in our minds, how we think, how we perceive our surroundings and situations, how we perceive ourselves, and how we perceive the influence of God in our lives, in the light of the truth of His Word.

It is very easy to forget that this world is temporary.  The world around us functions as if it will last forever and there is no end.  In the world’s mindset, to consider the limits of our existence and the vanity of our accomplishments is foolishness. We as Christians must live in the reality of this world’s futility and it’s temporary state that will end soon.  Peter the apostle reminds us also not to forget this truth:

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’  For this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:3-10

We do well to keep these truths at the front of our minds and memories, even more as the day draws nearer.  May the Lord keep these truths in the forefront of your mind and bless you in preparing you for that day.  Amen

We Don’t Belong Here

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”  Romans 8: 19-23

Question: Do you groan inwardly as you wait for your adoption as a son of God (assuming the reader is a Christian)?  Or maybe the broader question: Is there room in our modern, western Christianity for this inward groaning?

Sadly, it would seem that there is little room for this attitude in our modern, western, Christian Gospel and lifestyle.  On the contrary, Christianity is presented mostly as a self-help tool to allow Christians to live their lives here on earth to the fullest, reaping the benefits of God’s blessings, healings, prosperity, and answered prayers.  Of course God will bless and heal and prosper His children, but His intention is not to make us feel at home here on earth, but rather, to keep us safe and strong for our journey.

The abundant life that Jesus has promised us is spiritual and not physical.  There is an internal transformation that yields the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  These fruits coexist with the longing and groaning for our future adoption.

The emphasis today by many Christians on physical and emotional healings, material blessings and prosperity, social and political victories, and other similar miracles, leaves no room for a longing and groaning for heaven, or a realization that we are sojourners and temporary residents just passing through.

The Bible has clearly and explicitly revealed that this world has been cursed as a result of the sin of our first parents and is now under the strong influence of the devil, and will remain as such until the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once we turn and follow Jesus, entering into the new covenant based on the redemptive act of Jesus on the cross, and His resurrection that followed, we die to this world and are no longer a part of it, but rather become citizens of the new heaven and earth.  Like our father Abraham, we now shift our hope to this promise of eternal life in a new heaven and earth, and patiently endure our time here on earth as he did, remaining faithful as to obtain the promise.

“By faith he [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  Hebrews 11:9-10

It is interesting to note that Abraham was established by God to be the father of all who have faith, not because he saw how great a sinner he was, but because he believed God’s promise, placing his hope entirely in what God had assured him of, and patiently waited for its fulfillment.  Yet in today’s Gospel there is a major emphasis on the need to recognize ourselves as sinners with a great need for forgiveness, focusing our faith on this believe that we are forgiven.  Yes it is true that we are all sinners and in need of forgiveness, but Jesus also came to save us from this cursed world, not just from ourselves.  There needs to be at least equal emphasis, if not more emphasis, on the fact that God did not originally intend for us to be a part of this cursed world that is now in bondage to decay and death, and that our faith needs to be focused on the hope of the promise of eternal life and deliverance from this world and our dying bodies that are a part of this creation.

“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.   For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  Hear indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that putting it on we may not be found naked.  For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  He who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”  2 Corin. 4:17 – 5:5

As I consider the many problems, sins, and major issues in modern, western Christianity such as a high percentage of male Christians addicted to pornography, a high rate of adultery and divorce, a high rate of Christians on anti-depressants, the mega-church movement, the hyper-faith movement, the material prosperity focus movement, the problems in the Christian music industry, the mix of new age thinking with Christianity, the rampant church divisions, worldly programs and thinking in the church, etc. , I have concluded that most of these problems are rooted in a shallow conversion experience, not understanding the need to die to this world totally and to lose their life on this earth.  As a result, modern western Christians are still carnal and materialistic, having no power to overcome the powerful influence of our evil society that is constantly bombarding them via the media of television, movies, videos, music, the internet, as well as their teachers, coworkers, family, and friends.

I urge you therefore to allow the spirit inside of you to groan and long for the adoption of the sons of God and the final return of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ to establish a new heaven and earth as our permanent home.  Please do not allow anything or anyone to shift your focus from this promised hope to the lies and deception of this world and what it offers us.  All the things of this world are temporary or transient and therefore are futile, but the things of God are eternal.

Consider again the faith of Abraham as described in the book of Romans, chapter 4, and how it pertains to our faith in what God has promised to us through Jesus:

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.  That is why his faith was ‘reckoned (or accounted) to him as righteousness.’  But the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.  It will be reckoned to us who believe in Him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4: 20-25

Many years ago I accompanied some friends, a married couple, to a small church.  They were teaching a Sunday school class to very young children and I decided to join them in the class since I was visiting and didn’t know anyone.  They taught the children with this simple story using some picture illustrations that had left an impression on me.  It went something like this:  On a farm, a young chick was caught in a storm outside of the chicken coop and got disoriented, ending up alone down at the farm’s pond and was adopted by a family of ducks with small ducklings.  The chick felt very much out of place, not being able to swim, or eat their food, or communicate.  The ducklings were mean to the chick, teasing, ridiculing, and even attaching it.  The chick was very distressed and knew that something was wrong but couldn’t do much about it.  Finally, the farmer noticed the chick and took it back to the chicken coop where it belonged and the chicken lived there happily with its family.  The teachers then related to the kids that we as Christians don’t belong in this world and are like a chick at the duck pond.  Someday, like the farmer coming to take the chick home where it belonged, Jesus will come for us and take us to our real permanent home.  I’m not sure I got the story exactly right, but the simple truth is clear: we don’t belong here in this world and we await a day when we will be delivered from this cursed world, when Jesus takes us home.

We wait with eager expectation for that day.

“Therefore, gird up your minds, be sober, set your minds fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13

 

 

Do You Love Your Life?

Do You Love Your Life?

“The man who loves his own life will lose it, and the man who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”  John 12: 25 (J.B. Phillips translation)

I remember first reading this and similar verses as a baby Christian and it confused me because it didn’t fit with the gospel that was preached to me.  I thought that the people who hated their lives were the ones who were down and out and ready to jump off a bridge.  I was told that as a Christian I would find happiness and purpose in life.  I was told that God would bless me, answer my prayers, take care of me, and meet my needs. The message was that we humans were riding through life with ourselves in the driver seat, and we ended up making a complete mess of it, so now, if we put God in the driver seat, it would correct all the damage that was done, and our lives would be blessed.  Wouldn’t this result in us no longer hating our lives, but now loving our lives?

Could the above verse mean that we should hate the old life we had when we were in the driver seat, but love the new life with God in the driver seat?  No, this is not what the verse is saying.  We are told that we should hate our lives in this world.  Loving our lives in this world, even now with God in the driver seat, is not the same.  So what does this mean, and how does it fit with the Gospel?

Let me first say that there is some truth to what I was told as a new convert to Christianity.  We must make Jesus our Lord, essentially placing Him in His rightful position as the lord of our life, or “in the driver seat”  of our life, so to speak. And yes, we can find happiness and purpose in our life.  Yes, God will care for us and bless our lives.   The problem is that this is not the focus of the Gospel, but rather, it is secondary.  In fact, it could be that our lives on this earth could worsen from a physical standpoint.  Many Christians face severe persecution.  Some lose their possessions and are separated from family, friends, and loved ones as a result of their conversion.

The real issue, though, is the focus of the Gospel message.  This is what has been corrupted in our western Christian culture.  Christianity is not a self-help tool intended to help improve people’s lives.  Christianity is a revelation of truth that must be accepted and acted upon by the exercise of a deep, sincere faith.  This act of faith will shift a person’s hopes from this world and this life to a hope in the next life in heaven.  This deep act of faith constitutes a complete change of mindset in the Christian from a focus on the things of this earth and the associated pleasures and happiness, to a focus on the things of heaven and the future glory that they will bring.

The true Gospel message starts with the understanding that this world has been cursed and is under the power of the devil.  We do not belong in this cursed world, but are here only temporarily.  In addition, this cursed world is under the judgment of a holy Creator who has been dishonored and rejected by its people.  This judgment is coming in the future.  God has, in His mercy, made a way to be redeemed from this judgment by sending a Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.  This redemption removes the penalty of a Christian’s sins, and also carries with it an acceptance into the family of God, adopted as His children, with an inheritance of eternal life.

The “good news” of the Gospel is that we can now place our hope in this promise of heaven and eternal life.  Before hearing this Gospel message, people are deceived into thinking that we should consider our existence here on this earth as the full extent of our lives, beyond that being unknown, so we should make the best of it here on earth.  Upon hearing the Gospel message, we are faced with a choice of remaining in the mindset of making the best of this life, that is, “loving this life”,  or choosing to shift our love and hopes into the promises offered by God through Jesus, thereby taking on a mindset of “hating our life in this world.”  A true Christian believer now lives for heaven, seeing this life as a temporary passage and life on earth as a pilgrimage, being a temporary resident awaiting entry into a true permanent home prepared by God.

Living for heaven is also a recognition of becoming a citizen of heaven by entering into the New Covenant with God, and thereby recognizing Jesus as the Lord and King of this new kingdom of heaven that we have become a part of and are waiting for His return to establish His Kingdom.  We obey Jesus now as the Lord of our heavenly kingdom that we have now become citizens of.

Please understand that this act of “hating our life in this world” is not a once and done act, but rather a continuing mindset that the Christian lives and acts according to.  It is a mindset based on faith and focused in the spiritual reality presented to us by Jesus.  We call this “walking by faith” or “walking in the spirit.”

Of course, by living our lives in this manner we will experience the fruit of the spirit, which is true joy, true peace, true happiness, etc.  As I have said previously, this is a secondary result of acceptance of the Gospel, and not its main focus.  Also, this fruit is internal and exists regardless of the external conditions, so that the physical, material situation, as well as possibly the surface emotional state of the Christian (i.e., sorrow or heartache), could end up being worse after conversion, at least temporarily, but the deep joy from the assurance of the promised hope of eternal life in Jesus, and the understanding of God’s love for us in this act of mercy on His behalf, cannot be taken away, and is a source of strength as we endure in this world awaiting the full realization of His promises at the end of this age.

With this understanding of the core Gospel message, we can now see the alignment of the teachings of Jesus in the Scriptures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Matt. 6:19-21

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Matt. 6:25

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matt. 6:33-34

“And Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt. 16: 24-26

Consider also Jesus’ sermon on the mountain, or the beatitudes, in the light of this Gospel mindset:

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matt. 5: 1-12

There are many different “flavors” of Christianity, and many different Christian teachers and teachings.  Unfortunately, especially in western Christianity, many of these flavors and teachings take away from the core Gospel message and allow us to drift back to the worldly mindset of “loving this life”.  I encourage you to continue in a mindset of “hating” your life in this world, and “loving” your future life in heaven.

The Apostle Paul’s exhortation to consider yourself dead to this world, and to set you affections on the things in heaven, not on the things of this earth, is a reference to this same truth of having a heaven focused mindset.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6: 3-5

“If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances?” Colossians 2:20

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3: 1-4

Also the Apostle John gives us this similar warning about loving this world:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.”  1 John 2; 15-17

Every day of our lives we are faced with pressures to pursue a path of loving this life.  Don’t be fooled, and don’t give in to the temptation.  Patiently endure in your well doing and the permanent, immortal blessings of eternal life with God, as our Creator had initially intended, will become a reality.  We look forward to that day.  Come quickly Lord!

True Faith Requires Death

True Faith Requires Death

“Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see, and the conviction of their reality [faith receiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” Hebrews 11:1 (amplified Bible)

“These (previously mentioned people of faith) all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11: 13-16

In a previous blog post I wrote about the need for Christians to have a childlike faith, as Jesus commanded, and what that involves.  I would recommend taking the time to revisit that post and refreshing yourself on that principle. Find the post here:

https://flaniganjames.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/childlike-faith/

As was mentioned in that post, becoming “like a child” requires death to the old way of thinking.  It involves a death to the acting “like an adult” in our approach to life, according to the way of this world and this world centered system.

In this post, I want to look at a different aspect of faith that is connected to our future hope, and also requires a “death” to our old ways of thinking.

Please don’t allow the word “death” to turn you off.  Realize that it is only by death to our old ways that we can produce the fruit of new spiritual life.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain (fruit).  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  John 12:24-25

True Biblical faith also involves a shifting of our hope from the promises that have been offered to us by the world, to the promises that have been offered to us by God through His Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

From the day we were born, as we continued through our lives, we established in our hearts a purpose for living.  We established a goal and a hope for our lives, or a dream and vision for our future.  This future was offered and supported by this world system.  It possibly involved success, prestige, fame, travel, retirement to a dream home or location, surrounded by family and friends, or  a combination of these or many other similar ideas.  For some of us our goal in life may have been less specific, or less of a concrete plan.  We may have just wanted to experience some future happiness, or to continue in our current life of pleasure, whatever that entailed, possibly partying with friends involving some source of pleasure such as alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.  For some of us this future hope may have changed during our lives as we realized that our initial goals were not attainable, or as our lives handed us circumstances that dashed our hopes and dreams.

For myself, I had a dream as a young teen of becoming successful in sports.  My dreams were ended abruptly after breaking my leg on three separate occasions within the span of a few years, and the last break from an auto accident requiring surgery with a plate attached to my bone and one leg about an inch shorter than the other.  The sports that I played required the use of the legs in a way that I knew I could never again perform.  My dreams were ended, and I then had to search for a new meaning in life.  Fortunately, it was shortly after this that God reached into my life and presented me with the hope and promise of eternal life.

At the time I saw these injuries and the loss of my dreams as a tremendous curse on my life, but it turns out that it was a great blessing because it caused me to be open to receive God’s promise.  For many people who have realized a part of their dreams in this life, such as fame or success, it becomes very difficult for them to fully embrace the promise of eternal life through Jesus.  This is why Jesus taught that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, because a man’s riches will most likely be the focus of his hopes and dreams, and will prevent him from setting his hope on heaven.

“Jesus said to him (the rich young man who asked Jesus what good thing he should do that he may have eternal life), ‘if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 19:20-23

God requires that we focus our hopes on heaven.  He requires that our present efforts be focused on accumulating riches in heaven and not on accumulating riches on earth (and you can’t do both).  Our investments in this life need to be for the eternal, heavenly treasures, not for the earthly treasures.

Jesus said:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

Shifting the focus of our hope from the things of this world to the things of heaven requires faith.  Or it could be said that true faith requires this shifting of our hope from this world to heaven.  The Scriptures give us examples of this kind of faith, most notably, the example of Abraham, who is known as the father of all who have this faith.  Abraham was chosen by God because of his faith, and is explicitly presented as the example of the type of faith that is accounted to us as righteousness, resulting in our acceptance by God and becoming the recipient of His grace leading to our salvation.

God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision to represent this faith that was accounted to him as righteousness:

“And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had…..that he might be the father of all those who believe…..that righteousness might be imputed (attributed or credited) to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are (physically) circumcised, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had…”  Romans 4:11-12

Circumcision is a physical action that represents an internal event occurring in the heart and mind.  The physical cutting away of the flesh represents an internal cutting away of the focus on the things of this world.  Abraham fully embraced God’s promise to him; he placed his hopes fully on what God had presented to him as a future hope:

“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was able to perform.  And therefore it was accounted to Him for righteousness.  Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us.  It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead…” Romans 4:20-24

It is interesting that God not only promised to Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age who would then produce a large family and eventually a great nation, but God had also revealed to Abraham the promise of heaven and eternal life.  Consider this verse in Hebrews chapter 11:

“By faith he (Abraham) sojourned (lived as a temporary resident) in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  Hebrews 11: 9-10

Obviously, Abraham had set his hopes fully on this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, not allowing himself to become too much at home here in this world.  And shortly after this verse in Hebrews, making also a reference to Abraham, is the verse I quoted at the start:

“These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.”vs. 13 & 14

When we shift our hope from this world to heaven we become like “strangers and exiles on the earth” or like pilgrims passing through on our journey to our true homeland, i.e. heaven.  True faith requires this approach to life.

“If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.”vs. 15

True faith also requires a severance from our previous hopes and dreams, so that we are not tempted to return to them.

“But as it is, they desire a better country that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city.”vs. 16

We, like Abraham, have been given this same promise of eternal life in heaven.  We too must circumcise our hearts from this world, shifting our focus to the hope we have in heaven. In the New Testament, this internal circumcision is represented by a similar external action, the sign of baptism, where we immerse ourselves in water, representing our being buried with Christ or considering ourselves dead to this world, and then raising up out of the water, representing our identification with the risen Christ, who was given an immortal eternal resurrected body, the same as what is promised to us.

“In Him (Jesus) also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:11&12

“Therefore, having died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations…” Colossians 2:20

We Christians, like Abraham, are directed to consider ourselves as dead to this world, or as strangers and exiles on this earth, temporary residents, passing through on our way to our true homes.  This view of our situation demands that we shift our hopes as Abraham did, fully embracing the promise of eternal life in Jesus.  We need to put to death any hopes or dreams that we had established in the past, nailing them to the cross.  This is true faith.

The 3^rd chapter of Colossians is the most explicit Scriptural explanation of this principle of shifting our hopes to heavenly things and not focusing our affections on earthly things:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-5

Praise God!  Let’s exercise our faith in this manner, waiting patiently for His return.  Amen.

Enter His Rest

Enter His Rest

The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament of the Bible was written to Jewish converts to Christianity approximately 30 years after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The authorship of the letter is in dispute among biblical scholars, although it is clear that it was written by a Christian leader who also was a Jewish convert.  Although the author makes a reference to his imprisonment as well as a mention of Timothy, which could indicate that the letter was written by the apostle Paul, the fact that the writing style is notably different than Paul’s other letters, plus the fact that Paul explicitly states his authorship in all of the other letters, leads scholars to believe that some other Jewish leader had written this letter.  The important thing for us to observe is that this letter was written by a Jewish Christian leader of that time to other Jewish Christians.  Therefore we must consider the content of the letter in the light of the author’s viewpoint and his intended audience, knowing that we can’t fully comprehend their position regarding the Jewish understanding of salvation by the Mosaic Law and the traditions surrounding these beliefs that were replaced by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

J.B. Phillips, in his introduction to his translation of this letter, under the explanation of the letter’s theme, says this:

“The general idea of the letter is to demonstrate that Jesus amply fulfils all the highest conceptions of the Jewish religion, and is infinitely superior to any predecessors.  Christian Jews must realize that Christ has fulfilled and surpassed all their old ideas, and they must not therefore relapse into the old Jewish religion.  Because the new agreement was established by God’s visiting the earth in person, it is infinitely more important than the old agreement of the Law.  There is, therefore, for those who belong to Christ far greater privilege in knowing God, but far greater responsibility in serving him loyally.”

Although this letter is directed to the ancient Jews, the underlying principles can be applied to us (modern Jews or Gentiles) today, and this is what I am attempting to glean out of the letter.

Hebrews begins with this statement: that God has revealed a message of truth to us through Jesus and this message was intended to save mankind.  We are then warned that we must take this message very seriously:

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward (i.e. retribution or penalty), how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2: 1-4)

The writer of Hebrews goes on to expound on this warning and to encourage the readers to continue in their adherence to this message of salvation in Christ Jesus.

To be clear, the warning stated in the quote above is this: We must give more earnest heed to the message or else we are at risk of drifting away.  This warning is repeated in Hebrews chapter 3:

“(we are a member of Christ’s household) if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)

And again, we see this same warning at the end of chapter 3:

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort (encourage) one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Hebrews 3: 12-14)

In other words, we have been given the assurance of the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  We have placed our confidence in this promise and it has become the focus of our hope, in which we rejoice.  We must encourage one another every day to remain steadfast in this confident hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Notice that we are to encourage each other to be steadfast and confident in our hope on a daily basis, not once a month or once a year, but every day. Also, this encouragement is a protection against the hardening that comes from the deceitfulness of sin.  Focusing on the steadfastness of our confidence in the promises of eternal life in Jesus is our protection against sin’s influence on our lives.

To illustrate this truth, the writer of Hebrews uses an analogy that the Jews of that time would clearly understand.  He compares the confidence we have in the promise of eternal life to the confidence of the Israelites that were fleeing Egypt with Moses and traveling to the Promised Land.  While traveling though the desert, the Israelites began to complain about not having water.  This complaining then escalated to outright rebellion against Moses and ultimately against God.  They threatened to stone Moses, saying that he had led them out into the desert purposely to have them die of thirst.  The scriptures say that they were contentious, arguing against Moses and God, and that they “tempted” the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)  Because of this display of unbelief, or lack of steadfast confidence in the Lord’s promise to them, the Lord became angry with them and did not allow them to enter into His rest.

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years.  Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always to astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” (Hebrews 3:8-11 or Ps. 95:7-11)

It’s not difficult to be confident in God’s promise when times are easy, but when we are faced with challenging circumstances, like the thirst that the Israelites faced in the desert, this is when we lose our confidence.  The daily encouragement is meant to prepare us for the difficult times.  As we endure various trials in our life, we become stronger and our endurance and patience increase.  This is the Christian’s purpose, to be steadfast in our journey through this life, with our focus on the destination of our journey, that is, eternal life with Jesus in heaven.

The word rest here in the original Greek is katapausis, meaning “reposing down, i.e abode, – rest” from the root word “katapauo” meaning “to settle down, i.e to colonize, or to cause to desist: -cease, rest”.  I take this to indicate that the meaning of rest is to end the journey and settle down or find a place to make a home.  I believe this is both a literal home, like the Promised Land for the Israelites or heaven for the Christian, or figuratively, an end to our search for a home, the end to our search for meaning or purpose in this life, or the resting from this search, by placing our confidence in our future hope.

We enter into God’s rest now by trusting and believing in God’s promise, by ending our stress and anxiety from trying to work out our own future and trying to control our circumstances.  We enter in now by ending our journey though life’s wilderness, searching for a purpose and answer to our existence, lost in the confusion and turmoil.  Instead, we rest in God’s ability for care for us as His children; we rest in His faithfulness and love for us, waiting for that day when He fulfills His promise and takes us home.

Much like our salvation, in which we are both “saved” now and will be “saved” when we enter heaven for eternity, we can enter into God’s rest now, and we will ultimately enter into His final rest in Heaven. Likewise, the Israelites could have entered His rest while traveling through the wilderness by confidently trusting in His promise to lead them to their destination, and ultimately, their children entered into His rest when they reached the Promised Land, with some of them crossing the Jordan to enter into it.

The writer of Hebrews confirms, though, that there is still a “rest” that remains for us to enter, and that the Psalm of David that he quoted also referenced this future rest.

“Since therefore it remains that some must enter it (God’s rest), and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today’ after such a long time, as it has been said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”

To summarize, we earnestly heed the message of salvation, that was communicated to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, by remaining steadfast in our confidence in His promise of eternal life in heaven, and by rejoicing in this hope.  By doing this, we also protect ourselves from the hardening of our hearts caused by the deceitfulness of sin.  For the Israelites in the wilderness, the hardening of their hearts was the result of their response to their situation in the desert where they were without water, causing them to rebel against God.  As a result of this hardened heart, unbelief, and rebellion by the Israelites, they died in the desert and didn’t enter into God’s promised rest.  We need to learn from this example and work towards entering God’s rest by focusing on strengthening our confidence and steadfastness in God’s promise.  We also need to encourage one another daily to do the same.

And so I encourage you today, to confidently and steadfastly enter into this rest and remain there until Christ brings us home.

What are You Hoping For?

What are You Hoping For?

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for….”  Hebrews 11:1

There were two separate incidents that occurred in the past few years that spoke volumes to me.  The first involved listening to a message from a Christian evangelist to a congregation at a Sunday morning service.  I was there in the congregation.  I don’t recall the content of the entire message, but I know that he was referencing the 5^th chapter of Romans, and specifically spoke about verse 2 of that chapter.  Here’s the verse:

“Through Him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”  Romans 5:2

As the speaker expounded on this verse, he painted a picture of a time when many people would be brought into the kingdom of God and would join together to worship God in one voice.  He suggested that this great revival of new converts was the hope that was spoken of in this verse.  He suggested that this great crowd of believers giving glory to God was the thing we could rejoice in.  As I listened to this explanation, I couldn’t agree with it.  I thought that there was a different hope being referred to.

At the end of the previous chapter (Romans 4), the following is mentioned about Abraham:

“In hope he believed against hope……He did not weaken in faith……fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness…….It will be reckoned to us who believe in Him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.”

In other words, our faith in God’s promise (our hope of having a glorified, resurrected body and sharing the glory of God) is equated to Abraham’s faith, and is what is reckoned, or accounted, to us as righteousness.  This leads me to conclude that it is this same hope in God’s promise of eternal life that Paul is referring to in chapter 5.  The speaker, though, had not once mentioned heaven as a possibility for the hope we should be rejoicing in.

After his message was completed, I had a conversation with the speaker and asked if he ever considered that this verse could be talking about our future resurrection and the hope we have in heaven and the glory of heaven that we will be sharing.  His response was something like this: “My 85 year old mother thinks about heaven, but I’m more concerned about what is happening here.”  I don’t remember his exact words, but that’s the gist of it.  His answer shocked me somewhat and revealed his attitude towards heaven.  I’ll discuss this more later, but for now, let’s move to the next incident.

The second incident occurred early in the morning at a restaurant where a few of us were having breakfast.  One of the guys with us, who is a professing Christian, noticed a group of older, retired men who had gathered there for breakfast and to socialize.  He made a comment something like: “that’s where I’ll be when I’m an old man, sitting with my friends, talking about old times; that would be heaven to me.”  One of the other guys, also a Christian, made a comment something like: “But what about the real heaven and eternal life, do you ever think about that?”  The first guy’s response was: “No, I have that covered.”  Again, I don’t remember the exact words that were exchanged, but it was clear from the situation that what he was really saying was “I believe that Jesus died for me.  I said the sinner’s prayer. I committed my life to Jesus.  I’m a Christian now, a child of God, so it’s settled where I will spend eternity after I die.”

In both of these situations, it was clear to me that these Christians were not focused on their hope of eternal life in heaven.  Their hope had been placed on a mental “shelf”, so to speak, somewhere in the back of their minds.  They had accepted, believed, and acknowledged at some point in their Christian lives that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that they too would be resurrected to eternal life, but this truth was not a part of their daily lives and thinking.  It wasn’t something that influenced their daily view of situations in their lives.  It wasn’t a source of strength or joy to them.

It is a fatal flaw for Christians not to focus on our hope in the resurrection.  When we were in the world, most of us focused on the hopes and dreams we had in this life.  These dreams were something that drove us every day.  Most of us worked towards something and that something was often on our mind, giving us a reason to live, and a hope for our future.  We could find strength and joy in this hope.  When we come to Jesus, we are commanded to “take up our cross and follow him” and to “die to this world”.  This death includes dying to the hopes that we had in this life.  You might say that our original reason for living is removed, since that reason was a part of this world and we have died to this world.

Having removed our world centered, fleshly reason for living, we must then replace it with a spiritual reason for living.  We must shift our hope from this life to the next life.  Our hope is now fully centered on the promise from God through Jesus for eternal life.

If we keep our hope in this life, then we haven’t fully died to this world, and we will be carnal in our thinking and acting.  The enemy will use these worldly hopes and desires to ensnare us. We will be trapped in a condition where we may want to do the right thing, but we won’t have the power to do so because our “mind is set on the flesh”.

If we remove the hope in this life, but don’t replace it with the hope in the promise from God, then we will be in a void, with no hope and no reason to live.  This will also leave us powerless.  I think that many Christians find themselves in this spot where they have died to this world, but they haven’t shifted their hope to heaven and haven’t focused their energy on this hope.  They aren’t rejoicing in this hope.  They aren’t waiting expectantly for Jesus to come and take them home.  They are not storing up their riches in heaven. As a result, their life is unfulfilled and empty.  They don’t have anything to life for.  Eventually, I think they go back to finding an earthly hope, something in this life to live for.  They usually convince themselves that it is a good thing, therefore it’s not a problem.  But it becomes a problem.  The focus of our hope on anything in this world will cause us to be carnal and restrict our spiritual maturity.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  Romans 8: 5-6

Paul in Romans 6, when talking about dying with Christ, is sure to emphasize that we will also live with Christ, reinforcing the need to place our hope in this promise of eternal life in heaven:

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:5

“But if we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him.” Romans 6:8

We cannot truly and fully die to this world without something to live for.  We cannot live with no hope, so if we don’t shift our hope to heaven, then our hope will be set back onto something in this world.  I believe this is clearly what Paul was emphasizing to the Colossians in chapter 3 of his letter to them:

“If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you will appear with him in glory.” Col. 3: 1-4

Peter also admonishes his brethren in his first letter to have this full focus of hope:

“Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 1:13

The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, in chapter 15, gives a concise definition of the gospel:

“Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast – unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of the first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve.  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”  1 Cor. 15:1-6

After establishing this as the gospel that he had preached to them and that they had believed, he then rebuked some of them for saying that there is no resurrection of the dead.  He goes on to explain that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then we have no hope of eternal life, and that’s not good.

“If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.” 1 Cor. 15:19

For the rest of this long chapter, Paul explains what our resurrected bodies will be like, contrasting the carnal, fleshly body with the new spiritual body.  He also reminds them that death had been defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ, who also gives us the victory over death.  He ends the chapter with these words:

“Therefore, by beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  1 Cor. 15:58

Note that Paul suggests here that we could be thinking that our labor is in vain, or that the life we are living is in vain, if we have no hope.  Our eternal hope of life with Jesus in heaven with immortal, spiritual bodies is a crucial source of strength for us and is at the core of the gospel message that we believed. Let us not make the mistake that many Christians have made and put this hope in the back of our minds, waiting until we are old and approaching death until we consider it, or just thinking that eternal life is something that we have dealt with in the past and no longer need to contemplate.

I will leave you with this amazing revelation of a mystery from 1 Corinthians 15 about what we have to look forward to and savor:

“Lo! I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. “ 1 Cor. 15: 51-53