BEST DECISION EVER: BEING WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE

May 25, 2015 at 9:20 AM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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INTRODUCTION

In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

By way of introduction, the daily news are replete with reports of people who, quite tragically, were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Some of these unfortunate people end up being horrifically hurt or scarred for life. Many end up dead.

I don’t ever want to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter where I am, I want to be where I’m supposed to be. Where God wants me to be.  I want to be at the right place at the right time.

But am I? Are you? Self is so deceitful and we can brusquely dismiss the question with a positive Yes, I am where I’m supposed to be! But, really and truthfully, are we where we’re supposed to be? How can we tell if we are or aren’t? Just so you know, I don’t have all the answers. But the Lord was good enough to give me one telltale way to know if we’re where we’re supposed to be.

BEING WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE

The time was rapidly drawing nigh when Jesus would be killed. Months prior to this, Jesus began preparing His disciples for the fate that awaited Him in Jerusalem. He would be killed. The chief priests would arrest Him, try Him, then condemn Him to death. He was gonna be crucified. As He approached Jerusalem, Jesus broke the sad and awful news: one of His very own disciples would betray Him and hand Him over to the chief priests. One of the twelve was gonna help Him get killed! It was, for sure, very sad and disturbing news.

But, good news! He was gonna come back to life on the third day. He wasn’t gonna stay dead forever. He’s was gonna come out of the grave and live again! Live forever! Hallelujah! That’s really great and fantastic news!

The problem is, even though Jesus is going to live again, He isn’t going to live on earth. He’s going back to Heaven where He came from (John 14:1-3, 16:5-7).

The thing I really like about Jesus is, He doesn’t just dump the bad news on us: He follows up with good news. WITH GOD, THERE’S ALWAYS GOOD NEWS WITH THE BAD. In the context of His departure, the good news is, when Jesus leaves this ole world He’s gonna send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to live and be with us (John 14:16, 16:7).

The Comforter is gonna do a lot of really neat things for us. He’s gonna help us, teach us, and remind us of everything Jesus taught us in His Word (John 14:26, 16:13).

The best part is coming. We’re here on earth to do a mission for God (Matthew 28:16-20). We’re supposed to be telling other people about Jesus and getting them to follow Him. We can do that on our own with very limited effects or results. But when the Spirit of God comes upon us and lives inside us, wow!, we’re gonna be filled with so much Spirit and heavenly power that we’ll take the Gospel worldwide and people in every corner of this ole world will become believers and followers of Christ (Acts 1:8). The truth is, we need the Spirit to help us make Christ known and make Christ-believers!

Jesus knew His disciples needed the Holy Spirit in order for them to be successful in their evangelistic mission. That’s why He told them in Acts 1:4, Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do.

True to the Lord’s command, the disciples stayed put in Jerusalem. They waited. And prayed (Acts 1:13-14).

The day of Pentecost came, much like any other day. The sun came up, people woke up, and everyone began their daily routine. For the twelve apostles in particular, they continued doing what Jesus told them to do. They all met together in someone’s house and prayed. All twelve of them (Acts 2:1, 14).

Suddenly, at about 9 o’clock in the morning, the Father kept His promise. The Spirit came down from Heaven in such a mighty outpouring of power that Peter and the rest of the apostles went right to work, witnessing for Jesus. By the time Peter was done preaching, about three thousand Jews became believers and followers of Christ! Hallelujah! It just goes to show what great works we can do for Christ when we’ve got the Spirit working in and through us!

So what’s the point? All twelve apostles were baptized and filled with the Spirit because all twelve of them were obedient to the Lord and waited. They stayed together. They met together. They prayed together. They were where God wanted them to be. They were where they were supposed to be—all together. All waiting. All praying. Just like what Jesus wanted them to do.

Now here’s a probing question. I asked you earlier how we can tell if we’re where we’re supposed to be. We may not always see the answer for ourselves. But we can readily see it in others. Here’s the question. What if one of the apostles was a No-Show on that Pentecostal morning? What if he decided that it was more important for him to be somewhere else, doing something else? Would he have received the Pentecostal experience? Would he have been in the street that morning, with the rest of the apostles, witnessing for Jesus, and seeing thousands of his fellow Jews get saved? No, I don’t think so. The Scriptures explicitly state that the Spirit of God filled the entire house where the apostles were and they were all filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Nothing is said about the Spirit filling and baptizing anyone outside the house.

The point is, Jesus gave His disciples a promise: the Spirit is coming! He told them what to do: wait for the Spirit to come upon you. They obeyed Him. And, as a result, God kept His Word and the Spirit came upon them just as Jesus said would happen. They were obedient to the Lord’s command. They put themselves in a position to receive the promised Holy Spirit. They were at the right place at the right time.

Like the promise of the Holy Spirit, God’s made us all sorts of promises. Gobs of them. We want them all. And, like the Pentecostal baptism, God’s going to keep His promises. Every last one of them.

But, in a manner of speaking, are we all together in the same place, in one accord, praying and waiting? Are we doing what God’s told us to do in the mean time? Are we at the right place at the right time? Are we where we’re supposed to be?

Sometimes, maybe a lot of times, it looks to us as if God’s a No-Show with some of the promises that we’ve prayed to Him about. It looks like God’s not going to keep His promise. But, instead of God being the problem, could it be we’ve not received the promise because we’re a No-Show? Because we’re not where we’re supposed to be at? Because we aren’t at the right place at the right time? Could it be we haven’t received what we’ve asked God for because we haven’t been doing what God’s told us to do?

Let me say it once again. God gave these apostles a promise. He told them what to do. They did it. And, as a consequence, they received the promised Holy Spirit. They received the Spirit because they were obedient. They were at the right place at the right time.

So where’s the right place at the right time? Where are you supposed to be? How do you get to where you’re supposed to be? Friends, you obey the Lord. You do what God’s told you to do.

In a manner of speaking, if you’re not with the rest of the disciples praying in the house, you’re not gonna receive the promise God made you. If you’re not doing what God’s told you to do, then you’re not where you’re supposed to be. You’re not at the right place at the right time. WHEN YOU’RE DISOBEDIENT TO GOD YOU’RE AT THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.

You may think you know a better way. You have a different, howbeit, a better, idea of where you need to be and what you need to do.

Aghast! Are you for real? Have you lost your mind? When did you become smarter than God? What could possibly be better than obeying the Lord? What on earth could be more important than doing what God’s told you to do?  What could possibly be more right than obeying God?

Despite whatever temptations the apostles had to do other things beside meet and pray, they kept Jesus’ command foremost in their thoughts, priorities, and actions. They obeyed Him. And waited. And prayed. All of them together in one place.

And, as a consequence, they all received the Spirit’s indwelling. They were never again the same. Pentecost changed them into mighty missionaries. They stayed loyal and obedient to Christ that not even the threat of death, or death itself, could turn them away from Him. THEY CHANGED THE WORLD BECAUSE PENTECOST CHANGED THEM. THEIR OBEDIENCE CHANGED THEM.

Let’s be clear about one thing. The disciples were just like you and me. They weren’t omniscient. They didn’t know that Pentecost would change them. They didn’t know that the promised Holy Spirit would come on Pentecost morning. Jesus didn’t tell them exactly when the Spirit would come. They just kept on obeying the Lord. The met together and prayed. Day after day. Until God kept His promise to them and gave them the Holy Spirit. Continuing to meet and pray together was their best decision ever and it changed them for the rest of their lives.

Friends, it’s Pentecost morning. The promise is a coming. I know you’ve got a thousand and one things to do today. There’s a bunch of really important stuff you need to get done today. You’ve gone to church a lot lately. You even went to the last prayer meeting. You’re tempted to skip your time with the Lord and the rest of the believers because something you think is more important has come up.

Brethren, don’t be a No-Show. Be where you’re supposed to be. Where God wants you to be. Where God Himself is gonna be. Be at the right place at the right time. How do you do that? JUST DO, AND KEEP DOING, WHAT GOD’S TOLD YOU TO DO. IT’S HOW YOU GET ANSWERS TO PRAYER. GOD SHOWS UP WITH THE PROMISE WHEN YOU’RE WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE, DOING WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.  So be there! Like the twelve, newly Spirit-baptized apostles, it’ll be your best decision ever! God bless you. And thanks for dropping by.

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DOING THE DIFFICULT: KEEP FOCUSED ON GOD

January 4, 2015 at 4:11 PM (Christian Living, Doing The Difficult)
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INTRODUCTION

Some people love challenges. They’ll look at something new. Something hard. And they’ll take up the challenge of doing it just to get the satisfaction or thrill of knowing they can do something they’ve never done before. Something hard. Challenging. Exhilarating.

Just so you know, I am not that way at all. I am 1,000,000,000,000% a comfort-zone type of guy. I like doing the doable. That means it’s easy and doesn’t demand a whole lot of  my time, effort, or thinking. When it comes to what’s new, difficult, or challenging, you can generally count me out, folks. I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole!

I won’t do the difficult—not unless I’m forced to—because life already has too many difficulties and challenges. I don’t need to  add to them. I don’t need any more trials or challenges!  I’m heading into my golden years and I love to relax, take it easy, and do what I love doing most. Can you guess what that is? It’s studying  the Bible and writing. I just love spending time with the Lord because He talks to me a lot of times—not audibly, but in my spirit—and He tells me lots of really neat stuff. Stuff that I’ve just got to share with you. This blog is a perfect example of the stuff God gives me when I spend time with Him. I love Him. I love what I’m doing. But I dread doing the difficult.

Here’s a question for you. When the Lord asks you to do something difficult…no, strike that. When the Lord tells you to do something difficult, something you really don’t want to do, something you think is impossible to do, something that’s a Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that! type of thing; what do you do?

Just so you know, you’re not the only one who’s had to do something really really hard. You’re not alone. We’ve all been there and done that. The biblical characters weren’t any different from us. In fact, they were exactly like us: human. I’d like to draw on their life’s experiences and, from beyond the grave, as it were, let them share with us what we’ve got to do when the Lord gives us our Mission I M possible. By God’s grace, we can do what God’s counting on us to do! Here’s how.

 KEEP FOCUSED ON GOD

Yay! You’ve read my last post in this series and you’ve decided, like David, it’s high time to obey the Lord. You can’t put it off any longer. It’s been killing you. So you’ve said a prayer, taken a deep breath, and taken the first step towards obeying God. Good for you! God’s so proud of you, I’m sure! I know I am!

Now what? Well, if you haven’t already found out, WHENEVER YOU SET YOUR MIND AND HANDS TO OBEY THE LORD THE DEVIL WILL BE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU TO TRY AND STOP  YOU. HE’LL SCARE YOU. DISCOURAGE YOU. GIVE YOU ALL SORTS OF REASONS TO QUIT.

I wish it weren’t that way, but that’s just how nasty the devil is. You think God’s gonna be with you (and He is) and things are gonna go smooth (not necessary). Everything’s gonna turn out alright (eventually, but not always at first sight). But the devil is gonna do everything he can to stop that from happening. He’s fought you this hard and this long, preventing and prolonging your obedience to God. Do you think he’s gonna stop messing with you now that you’re actually obeying God? Not on your life! The devil’s gonna work harder to make things even harder for you. To make it look like it’s not gonna work. It ain’t gonna happen. You can’t do it.  It can’t be done. You may as well stop now before you make a bigger mess and fool of yourself, the devil says.

What are you gonna do? Who are you gonna believe and follow? Think the Lord led you wrong and gave you something truly impossible for you to do? Not on your life, mister! The devil’s a lying to you and you’d best not listen to him. Make the difficult choice and continue obeying God. You know what you’ve got to do. Keep focused on the mission. Get it done. And don’t let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you know you’ve got to do. Don’t get sidetracked or distracted. Shut the devil up. Don’t let him get into your mind and convince you you can’t get ‘er done. Keep leaning on God for grace, courage, and strength. Take it one step at a time. Keep doing what God’s telling you to do, even if you’re doing just a little bit at a time. As long as you do that you’ll eventually get ‘er done.

This reminds me of one of our Lord’s disciples named Peter. It’d been a really long day with the Lord ministering to gobs and gobs of people (Matthew 14:13-23). Evening was setting in. Jesus fed the five-thousand. Dusk was on it’s way—a beckoning reminder to all that it was time to wrap things up and call it a day. So Jesus sent His  twelve disciples in a boat across the Sea. He would stay on shore for a while, send the multitudes of folks on their way, then He would stay a while and pray by Himself. Eventually, He’ll meet up with the disciples on the other side.

It wasn’t long before things took a terrifying and disheartening turn for the worse (Matthew 14:24-33). A storm came up while the disciples were at sea. If you’ve ever been at sea or on the shoreline while it was storming you can very well imagine what was happening to the disciples as the waves and winds beat mercilessly against the boat, threatening to sink it. The disciples, I’m sure, to a man, were panic-stricken as they frantically bailed water out of the boat, rowed against the winds, and hung on for dear life. Wow! What an awful time to be alone, on your own, and not have Jesus around to bail you out! Talk about baaaad timing! I can see tempers flaring and mouths running loose. Why did Jesus send us across the sea at such a lousy time as this? This was one bad call!

Jesus, I’m sure, was very well aware of what was happening to His disciples out on the sea. But He continued praying until He was done praying. Finally, sometime between 3 AM and 6 AM, Jesus came to His disciples walking on the water! Remember it’s storming really bad. It’s dark. The disciples have been rowing for a good 7 to 9 hours. They tired and tuckered out. They weren’t in the best of moods.

Suddenly, in the faint moon light, they saw someone walking towards them on the water! It’s a ghost!, they all cried. But Jesus assured them it was He Himself for real (Matthew 14:25-27). I’m sure the disciples’ moods were instantly changed by the sight of their Lord. With Jesus came hope and the miracle of certain survival!

Well, Jesus was still a ways off from the boat. Even though the voice was familiar, the form wasn’t entirely clear to the disciples. Peter, for one, wasn’t totally sure that it really was Jesus. People can’t walk on water! That’s impossible! But ghosts can! This guy’s got to be a ghost!  Peter’s unconvinced it’s really Jesus. So he decided that if it was really Jesus walking out there on the water, then, Jesus had better prove it by telling Peter to come to Him walking on the water (Matthew 14:28). Peter must’ve figured if Jesus could walk on water, then he could too! Like I said in my intro, some guys thrive on challenges. So Jesus gives the order. Come!

Amazingly, for a guy who must’ve battled fear many times while out on the sea  during a storm, Peter mustered the courage and faith, got out of the boat, and started walking towards Jesus! Peter was actually walking on water! He was doing something that was ordinarily, humanly impossible! Like Jesus told us, WE CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE AS LONG AS WE BELIEVE (Matthew 17:20, Mark 9:23).

Now everything to this point has been unimaginably, excruciating difficult. But walking on water will be Peter’s worst nightmare. Now he’s got no boat protecting him from sinking. The other disciples aren’t close enough to him to hold on to him. He’s gonna survive this storm and walk on water strictly on his own faith. Nothing else is holding him up. He’ll sink if he gets skeptical. He’ll drown if he doubts.

Peter does fine as long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus. As long as he stays focused on Christ he’ll succeed.

But, like many of us, Peter succumbs to the temptation of looking around at the awful circumstances that he’s faced with. He takes his eyes off of  Jesus, looks at the winds and waves, and, you guessed it, he begins to sink.

Matthew 14:29-31 tells the story this way: So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.  (30)  But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.  (31)  Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt Me?”

BRETHREN, WHEN YOU GET YOUR EYES OFF OF JESUS YOU’LL GET SCARED EVERYTIME. LOOKING AT BAD CIRCUMSTANCES IS BAD FOR YOUR FAITH. FOCUSING ON WHAT’S HARD WILL MAKE THE TASK EVEN HARDER. THINKING ABOUT THE FEARFUL WILL MAKE YOU FEARFUL. AND FEAR WILL KEEP YOU FROM DOING WHAT YOU’VE SET OUT TO DO. IT’LL STOP YOU AND SINK YOU.

Do you wanna know how to do the difficult? Just do it and keep your eyes focused on Jesus. Concentrate on getting the job done.

I know that’s easier said than done. But I’m no armchair theologian. I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to be really, really scared. But I tell you this. Like the disciples rowing frantically and fearfully in the sea, Jesus will come to you in the midst of your fears and help you! You’re never alone! You belong to Him and He will not leave you on your own. He’ll always come to the rescue. Let these truths sink into your heart and mind and let them anchor your ship in the troubled storms of life.

The alternative isn’t pretty. If you take your eyes off of the Lord and look at all the obstacles, difficulties, and fears that the devil’s putting in your way, you’re gonna get scared. Naturally. And when you’re scared you’ll begin to lose your faith. You’ll start doubting God. Friends, YOU CAN’T DO THE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU’RE FEARFUL AND DOUBTFUL. THE DIFFICULT CAN BE DONE ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE AND KEEP ON BELIEVING. YOU’LL LOSE FAITH WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING AT CIRCUMSTANCES INSTEAD OF CHRIST.

Keep your eyes, mind, and entire being focused on Jesus and the mission and you’ll accomplish the mission. As long as you do that, like Peter walking on the water, all the bad stuff that’s happening around you, trying to stop you, will not be able to stop you from accomplishing your mission. You will succeed when your mind and entire being are set on obeying the Lord.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you were encouraged and emboldened in the Lord. I pray God help you stay focused and give you the grace to look at nothing else but Him. He’ll get you through as long as you’re depending and focused on Him. God bless you dearly.

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MY ANSWER’S YES

December 25, 2013 at 10:36 AM (From The Bible, Musings)
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You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  (6)  Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  (7)  Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form,  (8)  He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross, Philippians 2:5-8.

Most of you who know me well know that I don’t believe Jesus was born on Christmas. That doesn’t make me a heretic or a radical. And, just so you know that I’m so totally fair and honest with the facts, let me hasten to say that no one, but no one, ‘cept God Himself, knows exactly when Jesus was born. Having said that, however, the preponderance of Biblical testimony points to Jesus’ birth in the fall, sometime in late September thru October. But definitely not anywhere near December 25. It isn’t a big deal to me and it’s not worth fighting over. But I just happen to believe that if we Christians are gonna stand for the truth and insist that our beliefs, actions, and lifestyle be in accordance with the truth; then we’d be a lot closer to the truth if we celebrated Christ’s birth in the fall.

Having said that, today is Christmas 2013 and I started thinking about what ran through Jesus’ mind when the Father came to Him one day in Heaven’s glory and said, Son, I’ve got a plan to save mankind. But in order to do that you’re gonna have to go down to Earth, become a human being, and eventually die a very painful and humiliating death on a Roman cross. It’s a lot to ask, I know. But think about it and get back with me, okay?

Jesus was God. And, being God, He knew the end from the beginning. He knew what His life on Earth would be like before He even took His first breath as a human being. Think of the incomparable grandeur of Heaven’s palace. Now think of a stable with smelly animals; the poo and filth that’s typical of a stable. Think about rags for a robe. Then think about having to obey a very imperfect mom and dad. The Father’s the only Person He’s ever obeyed and had to obey. Think about being made fun of, being ridiculed, rejected, and called a deceiver. People even called Him the devil! Think of being pushed around, slapped, whipped, tortured, and made a public spectacle as He was nailed to the cross. I can imagine the pain and humiliation He must have felt. But the thing that I can’t imagine is Him bearing our sins, taking the punishment for them, and suffering the abandonment of His Father while He hung on the cross. The Father had never done that before. I know what it’s like having God feel so distant, so silent, so absent, from my life. I’m sure you too know the feeling. And you know it’s just plain dreadful not having God anywhere near. I would dread that so much that, if God ever abandoned me, I’d rather die right there on the spot than live a second more without His presence and love.

Anyhow, I think about all this and I know that Jesus knew full well what He’d be getting into if He consented to the Father’s plan. But, wonders of all wonders, He agreed to it and became one of us. Why? Because that’s how much He loved us and wanted to save us. But, love aside, Jesus was so totally submitted and obedient to the Father that even if it meant being humiliated and killed at the hands of sinful men, He was gonna obey the Father no matter what. He was gonna obey even if it killed Him.

Each one of us is at a level or a point of obedience. There are some things that we would obey God in. And truthfully, there are some things that we just won’t do for God. There’s no way we would obey God. Some would rather die than obey God in a certain matter or area of life.

I look at Christ. He was so totally willing to obey.  Psalms 40:6-8 puts it this way: You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that You have made me listen, I finally understand—You don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.  (7)  Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures:  (8)  I take joy in doing Your will, my God, for Your instructions are written on my heart.”

Back in the youthful days of my generation Andrae Crouch was the biggest name in Gospel music. One of the songs he sang was entitled Yes, Lord, yes. The lyrics go like this: I’ll say Yes, Lord, yes; To your will and to your way; I’ll say yes, Lord, yes; I will trust you and obey; When your Spirit speaks to me; With my whole heart I’ll agree; And my answer will be yes, Lord, yes.

How about you, dear friend? How far along are you in your obedience to God? Are you willing to obey God even if it kills you? Are you ready to live for God? Ready to live in obedience to God in everything He asks and requires of you? If your answer, like mine, is Yes, Lord, yes, can you prove it? Like Christ, when you make obeying and pleasing God your life’s desire and ambition, you’ll find that obedience really isn’t as hard as we’ve made it out to be. God gives grace to enable obedience. I pray that for the rest of this year and the coming year God will shower you with His grace and that you’ll experience His love, His presence, and His favor.

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DOING THE DIFFICULT: DON’T LET PRIDE STOP YOU

September 8, 2013 at 9:23 AM (Christian Living, Doing The Difficult)
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INTRODUCTION

Some people love challenges. They’ll look at something new. Something hard. And they’ll take up the challenge of doing it just to get the satisfaction or thrill of knowing they can do something they’ve never done before. Something hard. Challenging. Exhilirating.

Just so you know, I am not that way at all. I am 1,000,000,000,000% a comfort-zone type of guy. I like doing the doable. That means it’s easy and doesn’t demand a whole lot of  my time, effort, or thinking. When it comes to what’s new, difficult, or challenging, you can generally count me out, folks. I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole! 

I won’t do the difficult—not unless I’m forced to—because life already has too many difficulties and challenges. I don’t need to  add to them. I don’t need any more trials or challenges!  I’m heading into my golden years and I love to relax, take it easy, and do what I love doing most. Can you guess what that is? It’s studying  the Bible and writing. I just love spending time with the Lord because He talks to me a lot of times—not audibly, but in my spirit—and He tells me lots of really neat stuff. Stuff that I’ve just got to share with you. This blog is a perfect example of the stuff God gives me when I spend time with Him. I love Him. I love what I’m doing. But I dread doing the difficult.

Here’s a question for you. When the Lord asks you to do something difficult…no, strike that. When the Lord tells you to do something difficult, something you really don’t want to do, something you think is impossible, something that’s a Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that! type of thing; what do you do?

Just so you know, you’re not the only one who’s had to do something really really hard. You’re not alone. We’ve all been there and done that. The biblical characters weren’t any different from us. In fact, they were exactly like us. Human. I’d like to draw on their life’s experiences and, from beyond the grave, as it were, let them share with us what we’ve got to do when the Lord gives us our Mission I M possible. By God’s grace, we can do what God’s counting on us to do! Here’s how.

DON’T LET PRIDE STOP YOU

Pride can be a real motivator for achievement or success. If you’ve ever shown off or bragged about something you did (who of us hasn’t) then you know the power of pride to spur you—not only to get things done, but to get them done in truly braggable fashion.

Do you know that  PRIDE CAN ALSO KEEP YOU FROM GETTING THINGS DONE? IT CAN STOP YOU FROM OBEYING GOD, ESPECIALLY WHEN GOD’S PRESSING YOU TO DO SOMETHING REALLY HARD. SOMETHING REALLY HUMBLING OR HUMILIATING. Here’s a case in point.

Nathan was an Old Testament prophet. He isn’t ranked with the big-name prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. But he served and prophesied during the reigns of Israel’s two greatest kings, King David and King Solomon.

Now King David was one of Israel’s most outstanding and victorious military heroes. He conquered and expropriated so much of the enemy’s territories that Israel was the biggest that it ever was, territorially speaking, when David was on the throne.

Anyways, with all his conquests, plunders, and consequent wealth, David built for himself the nicest palace that any king or ruler of Israel had up to that point in time. It was so nice, so luxurious, that he started feeling bad that God didn’t have as nice a house as he did. The Tabernacle was a tent. A portable tent. And David really wanted to build God something more permanent. A House made of stone and of the finest and costliest of  goods that was truly befitting and deserving of the great God that he served. So David approached Nathan with the idea: Hey, Nathan. Get a load of this. Here I am living in a beautiful cedar palace. And the Ark of God’s out there in a tent (2 Samuel 7:2).

Nathan thought about it for a moment and said (2 Samuel 7:3), Wow! You’re right! That’s a great idea, David. Go for it! I know the Lord’s with you. The Lord truly was with David. But saying it the way Nathan said it was a Hebraic way of saying, God’s with you, He’s given you this desire to build Him a House, so go ahead and do it. Just as God helped you conquer the nations and gave you rest from all your wars, so God will be with you and help you get this House built. Logically, circumstantially, and historically, everything that Nathan said made perfect sense. Besides that, David’s desire was noble. It was for God’s glory. David’s plan had God’s Name written all over it!

The only problem was, that wasn’t what God told Nathan to say. As a prophet, Nathan was supposed to wait on God, or go to God, for His take on things. A prophet said what God told him to say. And God didn’t tell Nathan to tell David to go ahead and build Him a House. Nathan spoke in the flesh: he was saying what Nathan wanted to say, not what God him told to say. It’s a perfect illustration of how something that sounds so good and right and godly, or of the Lord, can be anything but. What sounds good to us may not be good to God. What looks right to us may not be right to God.

Sometimes, a “good” idea to us may not necessarily be bad because it’s really bad. Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. David wanted to build God a permanent House of Worship: a House made of stone, not of perishable skins or tents. Truth was, God wanted such a House built too, but it wasn’t for David to build it (1 Chronicles 22:8). That task would go to David’s son, Solomon (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Now wasn’t the right time for God’s House to be built. So the bad idea really was a matter of bad timing. A good idea can be good, but now is not the right time to implement it.

Getting back to Nathan, he went back home and that night the Lord gave him a talking-to: Go and tell King David that I’m not gonna let him build Me My House (2 Samuel 7:4-17).

This is the really, really difficult part. Nathan’s a prophet of the Lord. He’s known as the guy that God speaks to. So when he’s speaking by Divine utterance people automatically trust that what he’s saying is from God. Nathan is going to suffer a real setback to his credibility and believability. This misstep in the flesh is gonna cost him the loss of the people’s confidence and respect.

Then consider who Nathan has to go to and apologize. If it was a friend, a peon, a nobody, an admission of wrong and an apology isn’t that big a deal. It’s humbling. But it’s doable. But Nathan is dealing with the King. He’s the King’s spiritual confidante and advisor. The King trusts and respects him. David holds him in honor and esteem. Nathan’s got the King all pumped up about his plans to build the Temple. The King may already be working on it. The King’s probly told His Palace staff and the High Priest about the forthcoming Temple. How do you go to the King and tell him you were wrong? That you spoke out of turn. That it wasn’t God who spoke to you. How do you tell the King who’s set on building God a grand and glorious House to put his plans on hold? How do you tell him not to do what he’s got his heart and mind set on doing? How would the King respond? What will the King do to you? What will he think of you?

Are you getting the drift here? Nathan’s got a very, very difficult task ahead of him. It’s gonna be humiliating and humbling. He’s gonna have to swallow his pride, humble himself, go to the King personally, and tell him face-to-face that he was wrong. No easy thing to do. In fact, it can’t be done if we insist on being proud. IN A MISSION I M POSSIBLE LIKE THIS, OBEYING GOD CAN ONLY BE DONE IF WE SET OUR PRIDE ASIDE, SWALLOW IT, CRUCIFY IT, EAT HUMBLE PIE, AND SUFFER WHATEVER HUMILIATION MAY COME OUR WAY.   

Friends, don’t let pride stand in the way of your obedience to God. Pride will get you into more trouble with God. Humbling yourself isn’t gonna kill you. It’s gonna kill your pride, which is exactly what needs to happen. Humble yourself, ask God to give you favor, He’ll give you all the grace you need (James 4:6), and you’ll come out just fine. In fact, a little higher than before (James 4:10).

Doing God’s will is incredibly hard, in fact, it really is a Mission Impossible, if you’re proud. So how do you do the difficult? With God’s grace. And that comes by being humble.

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DOING THE DIFFICULT: FACE YOUR FEARS

June 23, 2013 at 9:57 AM (Christian Living, Doing The Difficult)
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Some people love challenges. They’ll look at something new. Something hard. And they’ll take up the challenge of doing it just to get the satisfaction or thrill of knowing they can do something they’ve never done before. Something hard. Challenging. Exhilirating.

Just so you know, I am not that way at all. I am 1,000,000,000,000% a comfort-zone type of guy. I like doing the doable. That means it’s easy and doesn’t demand a whole lot of  my time, effort, or thinking. When it comes to what’s new, difficult, or challenging, you can generally count me out, folks. I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole! 

I won’t do the difficult—not unless I’m forced to—because life already has too many difficulties and challenges. I don’t need to  add to them. I don’t need any more trials or challenges!  I’m heading into my golden years and I love to relax, take it easy, and do what I love doing most. Can you guess what that is? It’s studying  the Bible and writing. I just love spending time with the Lord because He talks to me a lot of times—not audibly, but in my spirit—and He tells me lots of really neat stuff. Stuff that I’ve just got to share with you. This blog is a perfect example of the stuff God gives me when I spend time with Him. I love Him. I love what I’m doing. But I dread doing the difficult.

Here’s a question for you. When the Lord asks you to do something difficult…no, strike that. When the Lord tells you to do something difficult, something you really don’t want to do, something you think is impossible, something that’s a Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that! type of thing; what do you do?

Just so you know, you’re not the only one who’s had to do something really really hard. You’re not alone. We’ve all been there and done that. The biblical characters weren’t any different from us. In fact, they were exactly like us. Human. I’d like to draw on their life’s experiences and, from beyond the grave, as it were, let them share with us what we’ve got to do when the Lord gives us our Mission I M possible. By God’s grace, we can do what God’s counting on us to do! Here’s how.

FACE YOUR FEARS AND CONQUER THEM

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob was a supplanter (Genesis 27:36). He was crafty and cunning. A cheat. And definitely deceptive. He got Esau to sell him his birthright for a bowl of pottage (Genesis 25:29-34). Then he tricked his dad into giving him the blessing of the firstborn that was meant for Esau (Genesis 27). The guy definitely had a knack for ripping his brother off! Esau was so incensed by his brother’s trickery that he determined to kill him. That’s when Jacob fled to Haran where his mother was from.

Fast forward about forty years. Jacob has amassed a humongous family with humongous flocks of sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, and oxen, with gobs of maids and servants to boot.  Jacob, you could say, had it all. Except home. He was missing home.  

One day, the Lord spoke to Jacob. It’s time to head back home (Genesis 31:3). Jacob couldn’t have been more relieved! He’d been wanting to leave Haran for years. Now, with God’s permission and blessings, Jacob could finally leave.

Of course, the down side of going home was Jacob would eventually have to face the wrath of his brother.  Had Esau cooled off by now? Or was he still intent on killing Jacob? Sure, Jacob was going home. But the joy of going home carried with it the very real likelihood that he was going home for his own funeral. Jacob was plump scared—not only for his own life, but for the lives of his wives and children. He was one very, very scared fellow!

So what do you do when you’re faced with a difficult, impossible task and you’re plump scared to do it? I mean, your life’s at stake. You could die doing it. Is it worth doing something that’s gonna end up killing you? Is God really the One who’s talking to you? Or is the devil leading you into a death trap? A thousand doubts and questions race through your mind. And your fear looms ever larger, ever stronger, beckoning you to back off.

God spoke to Jacob. There was no way Jacob could doubt that. He had to obey God! So, first things first, he packed up his stuff, got his flocks and family together, and headed out of Haran. The lesson? WHEN GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING THAT YOU’RE PLUMP SCARED TO DO, START DOING IT ONE STEP AT A TIME.  God will help you. You’ll still have your fears. Jacob left Haran a scaredy-cat. He didn’t wait for fear to go before he obeyed God. He headed home still wracked with fear. But he still headed home! Friends, when God tells you to do something that you’re scared to do, start doing it!

Next, don’t ignore your fears. Face them. Deal with them. Get God to help you overcome them.

Let me backtrack momentarily and tell you something that I forgot to tell you earlier. When God told Jacob to head home He also assured Jacob that He would go with him (Genesis 31:3). God would make the journey with Jacob. And, when it came time for Jacob to meet up with Esau, God would be with him. But notice that even with God’s word and assurance, Jacob was still scared! It’s like God’s Word doesn’t do anything to allay or rid us of our fears. So what do we do when we’re scared? Like Jacob, we keep walking home.

Jacob comes to a place where he sees an encampment of angels (Genesis 32:1-2). He’s not imagining anything. He sees the angels with his own eyes! That’s God’s way of assuring him that everything’s gonna be alright. The angels are watching out for him! Is Jacob scared now? Amazingly, like so many of us, he’s still scared! But he doesn’t turn back! He keeps heading home.

Brethren, when you’re wracked with fear, keep on obeying God. Sometimes, His words and His angels—the signs He gives us—aren’t doing the trick. If you’re still scared, don’t count yourself down and out. Jacob had every reason not to fear. But he was still afraid! He was, in every way, just like you and me!

Getting closer to home, Jacob decides to do a smart thing and send a delegation ahead of him to let Esau know that he was coming (Genesis 32:4-6). The tip-off doesn’t go over too good. Esau heads out with four-hundred of his men to meet up with Jacob. It looks like the makings of war. Now Jacob was really, really, really scared!

He decides to try and pacify his brother’s wrath. He sends Esau three separate droves of flocks—over 550 animals—that he hopes will soften  Esau’s heart and avert bloodshed (Genesis 32:13-20).

He spends the night alone and ends up wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32:24-30). Now you would think that an angel would’ve had Jacob pinned down within two seconds of the first round. But Jacob’s filled with fear and adrenaline: he’s so afraid of Esau that he’s intent on getting a blessing from God. What’s really amazing beyond belief is Jacob wins the match! He fought, as it were, with God. And won!

Now if you fought with an angel and won, you would think that any fear you had would just evaporate into thin air. You’d be so pumped that, in vanquishing an angel you would’ve vanquished your fear. But even after beating God, Jacob is still scared! Like Jacob, there are times when it seems like some fears just can’t be conquered no matter what!

Do you know what Jacob does? Even though he’s scared out of his wits, he continues walking towards his fear! Friends, you can’t shirk or run from your fears! You’ve got to face them. And when it comes time to stand face to face with your fear, trust your life and well-being into God’s hands. GOD GAVE YOU A PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE AND PROTECTION. AND HE’LL MAKE GOOD ON THAT PROMISE NO MATTER HOW AFRAID YOU ARE AND NO MATTER HOW BAD IT LOOKS FOR YOU. YOU’VE JUST GOT TO TRUST GOD, FACE YOUR FARS, AND NOT RUN!

You know how the story ends. Jacob didn’t know how it would end exactly. But to his  welcome relief, Esau came running up to him, hugged him, and kissed him. There they stood, for the longest time, in each other’s arms, crying. The hurts of the past were healed and forgiven.

Jacob did the hardest thing he’d ever done. He faced his fear. And even though his fear never left him—it stayed with him right up the very end; God was with Jacob, He did a work of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation in Esau’s heart; and this manifest work and miracle of God put an end to Jacob’s fear.

So what do you do when God tells you to do something that’s very very hard for you to do? DON’T LET FEAR STOP YOU FROM OBEYING GOD. Face your fear. Obey God. And  when you’re tempted to run or turn back, listen to Jacob: YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU’RE AFRAID TO DO! GOD WILL NEVER TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU CAN’T DO! God will help you! But He’ll help you only while you’re obeying Him. Believe it or not, you’ll eventually quit being afraid. The fear will leave you. But only when you successfully complete your Mission I M possible.

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DOING THE DIFFICULT: BELIEVE AND OBEY

May 25, 2013 at 10:46 AM (Christian Living, Doing The Difficult)
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Some people love challenges. They’ll look at something new. Something hard. And they’ll take up the challenge of doing it just to get the satisfaction or thrill of knowing they can do something they’ve never done before. Something hard. Challenging. Exhilirating.

Just so you know, I am not that way at all. I am 1,000,000,000,000% a comfort-zone type of guy. I like doing the doable. That means it’s easy and doesn’t demand a whole lot of  my time, effort, or thinking. When it comes to what’s new, difficult, or challenging, you can generally count me out, folks. I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole! 

I won’t do the difficult—not unless I’m forced to—because life already has too many difficulties and challenges. I don’t need to  add to them. I don’t need any more trials or challenges!  I’m heading into my golden years and I love to relax, take it easy, and do what I love doing most. Can you guess what that is? It’s studying  the Bible and writing. I just love spending time with the Lord because He talks to me a lot of times—not audibly, but in my spirit—and He tells me lots of really neat stuff. Stuff that I’ve just got to share with you. This blog is a perfect example of the stuff God gives me when I spend time with Him. I love Him. I love what I’m doing. But I dread doing the difficult.

Here’s a question for you. When the Lord asks you to do something difficult…no, strike that. When the Lord tells you to do something difficult, something you really don’t want to do, something you think is impossible, something that’s a Are you out of your mind? I can’t do that! type of thing; what do you do?

Just so you know, you’re not the only one who’s had to do some something really really hard. We’ve all been there and done that. The biblical characters weren’t any different from us. In fact, they were exactly like us: human. I’d like to draw on their life’s experiences and, from beyond the grave, as it were, let them share with us what we’ve got to do when the Lord gives us our Mission I M possible. By God’s grace, we can do what God’s counting on us to do! Here’s how.

BELIEVE AND OBEY 

Abraham, as you know, believed and waited on God for a long, long time to have a child by his beloved wife Sarah, who happened to be barren. After a span of twenty-five years, God finally came through and Isaac was born. (So you think you’re having to wait a long time for God to answer your prayer?)

Fast forward in time. Isaac is now a young man. No one knows for sure exactly how old he was at the time, but it’s likely that he was a teenager, even likelier that he was in his twenties or early thirties.

Anyhow, the Lord spoke to Abraham one evening and told him to go to the land of Moriah and offer his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there (Genesis 22:1-2). It was a test, of course. But Abraham didn’t know that. As far as he was concerned, God told him to go to Moriah, kill his son, and burn him up as an offering to the Lord.

When God tells us to do something He doesn’t always tell us why. He doesn’t give us explanations. In Abraham’s case, He said just enough to worry me. I mean, if it was God talking to me, I would’ve preferred God said, Go to Moriah and take Isaac with you. I’ll let you know what I want you to do once you get there. Sure, that would puzzle me and get my curiosity going. But I wouldn’t  have had to wrestle with the agony of knowing that I’d be going there to kill my beloved son. What an awful trip that must have been for Abraham!

If I was God, I wouldn’t have told Abraham about the offering part. It would make believing and obeying me a very difficult thing to do. And I definitely want Abraham to believe and obey me. So I’m not gonna make it hard for him to do that. Hence, all I’m gonna tell him is, Go to Moriah and take Isaac with you. Just goes to show I don’t understand God sometimes. Maybe a lot of times. But, thank God, He’s God, I’m not, and He knows exactly what He’s doing!

Notice how Abraham responds to his Mission I M possible: he gets up the next morning, loads the firewood on a donkey, and, heavy-heartedly I’m sure, heads to Moriah with Isaac and a couple of his slaves in tow (Genesis 22:3). What’s so amazing, outstanding, and commendable to me is the guy obeyed the Lord!

If it was anyone of us, we would’ve had lots of reason not to obey. That couldn’t have been the Lord who told me to kill my son. It was a bad dream. It was the devil. God would never tell me to do anything like that. Murder is forbidden. It’s completely out of character for God to tell me to do something that’s sinful or unlawful. No way. It wasn’t God. I’m not doing it! 

Factor in the fact that you have only one son that you prayed and begged and waited for twenty-five years to have him, (okay, Abraham had another son by another woman, but as far as his beloved Sarah is concerned, Isaac is their only son), you love him more than life itself, and it’s a pretty done deal: you’re not gonna obey whoever it was who told you to kill your son.

Abraham obeyed the Lord because he knew the Lord’s voice and he believed the Lord. Abraham heard enough times from the Lord to know His voice.

When you’re walking close with the Lord, when you’re following close after the Shepherd, you’ll know His voice (John 10:4). YOU CAN’T KNOW GOD’S VOICE IF YOU’RE NOT FOLLOWING HIM CLOSELY. IF HE’S A STRANGER TO YOU.

Lots of people don’t obey God because they don’t know His voice; they can’t tell if it’s really God who’s talking to them.

If God told you to do something, would you know that it was God talking to you? Do you recognize God’s voice? Abraham did.

Now when you hear from God you have a couple of choices to make: you either believe Him or not. And you either obey Him or not. Abraham obeyed because he believed it was God who spoke to him.

Notice that what God told Abraham to do really didn’t make sense to Abraham. God would never tell us to murder or kill our child. But the fact of the matter is, this is exactly what God told Abraham to do! Abraham knew the voice of God. He could not doubt that he’d heard from God.

And so, even though he didn’t understand why God told him to sacrifice his beloved son, even though he didn’t like the idea of doing it, even though he didn’t agree with the idea of killing his son; Abraham nevertheless obeyed God because God said it. God required it. And Abraham believed God. FOR A CHILD OF GOD, OBEDIENCE IS NEVER AN OPTION.

Notice the timing or immediacy of Abraham’s obedience: he obeyed God right away. When he woke up the next morning (Genesis 22:3).

Brethren, IF YOU WAIT TOO LONG TO OBEY GOD IT GETS A LOT HARDER TO OBEY HIM. THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE LESS INCLINED YOU’LL BE TO OBEY GOD. When you procrastinate and postpone or delay your obedience you’re giving yourself and the devil time to talk you out of obedience. Obedience is hard enough without helping the devil make it even harder yet! PROCRASTINATION BREEDS DOUBT AND DISOBEDIENCE. So learn this much from Abraham: WHEN GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING DO IT RIGHT AWAY! PROCRASTINATION TURNS A MISSION I M POSSIBLE INTO A MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

Can you imagine how intolerably difficult it would be to kill your only beloved son? Talk about a crisis of faith and confidence! That would probably have killed my faith in God. No way would I ever kill my son! Would you? If you were Abraham, would you have obeyed God?

The redeeming thing here that, I believe, made it just a tad bit easier for Abraham to obey the Lord is what Abraham believed: he believed that even if he killed his beloved Isaac, God would raise him back to life and together they both would return back home to Beersheba (Hebrews 11:19 with Genesis 22:5).

Now keep in mind that, to this point in time, no one’s been raised back to life. No one’s come back from the grave or the dead. It’s never happened before. Yet, Abraham believed that something that’s never happened before would happen: God would raise Isaac back to life! It was this faith, I believe, that enabled Abraham to obey the Lord.

Of course, you know how the story ended. Abraham didn’t have to kill Isaac after all. Just seconds away from killing his son, God provided a ram and Abraham got to offer a ram instead of his son as a burnt offering to the Lord (Genesis 22:11-13).

So what’s the lesson here? If you’re God’s child, God at some point in time is gonna have you do something that’s intolerably, incomprehensibly difficult. When that time comes remember Abraham. None of what God told you to do may make sense. You may not like it. You may not agree with it. And you definitely don’t want to do it!

But if you know you’ve heard from God, then believe Him and obey Him. Right away! Understanding is nice, but you don’t have to understand everything before you believe. Knowing how it’ll all end would be a big help to get you to obey, but knowing how it’ll end isn’t a requirement for obedience. WE OBEY GOD BECAUSE HE’S GOD. WE BELIEVE HIM. THAT’S HOW THE MISSION I M POSSIBLE IS DONE.

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GETTING ANSWERS TO PRAYER PART 2

April 5, 2013 at 11:04 AM (Answered Prayer, Faith)
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Like I said in my previous post, I’m not much for formulas or secrets when it comes to anything having to do with God. I started out with a lot of formulas a long, long time ago and I slowly, painfully, learned that God isn’t going to allow Himself to be put in a box and made to do things for us whenever we push the right buttons. So when it comes to answered prayers I don’t have any formulas or secrets to give you.

Here’s what I’d like to do for you. I read through the Bible a number of times and I noticed that God said a lot of things—I mean a whole lot of things—about prayer. So I collected what God said about getting answers to prayer. Since I’m a pretty organized, structured fellow, this is how I organized my findings. If we want to get answers to prayer (1) there are things God wants us to do BEFORE we pray; (2) there are things God wants us to do WHEN we pray; and (3) there are things God wants us to do AFTER we pray.  

IF YOU WANT ANSWERS, BE RIGHT

IF YOU WANT GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS YOU’VE GOT TO BE RIGHT. There are five aspects of being right. (1) Be right with God; (2) Be right with men; (3) Be righteous; (4) You’ve got to ask for the right thing; and (5) You’ve got to ask for the right reason. Let’s look at each of these individually.

1. YOU’VE GOT TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD. Jesus tells us in John 15:7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

I’d like to you to focus on the latter part of this verse because Jesus very clearly promises to answer our prayers: Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Notice however that before Jesus gives us the promise He tells us what His condition is: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you. There’s a two-fold condition for answered prayer here: (1) We have to abide in Christ; and (2) Christ’s words have to abide in us. Let’s look at each of these conditions individually.

First, we have to abide in Christ. What does that mean? To abide means exactly what it means: to live, dwell, remain, stay, or continue, in a certain place. In the vernacular, if we want God to answer our prayers we’ve got to hang out with Him. We’ve got to go and find out where He is, then when we find Him we stay with Him. We walk with Him. We develop a close, intimate friendship and relationship with Him.

If you’re an occasional visitor to the throne room; if you’re a Sunday Christian or a Holiday Christian; if you don’t talk a whole lot to God; don’t think a whole lot about Him; don’t spend a whole lot of time with Him; if God doesn’t live in your house; if He isn’t your constant companion throughout the day or week; if God’s a stranger to you; then the promise of answered prayer doesn’t apply to you.

Read it again in John 15:7. The prayers that Jesus promises to answer are the prayers of those who are always at Jesus’ side. Answered prayer isn’t a formula or a secret: it’s a close, intimate relationship with God. This is where answered prayer begins.

The second condition for answered prayer that we find in John 15:7 is Jesus’ words have to abide in us. What does that mean? The word abide means the same thing as before: God’s Word has to live with us, stay with us, always be in us. It’s like a soldier who carries his backpack full of MRE’s (Meals Ready To Eat). When he’s hungry, when it’s time to eat, he pulls an MRE out, tears it open, and eats it. The food goes out of the package and goes into his stomach.

That’s the way it must be with God’s Word. If the Bible is a closed book, if we’re not reading it, learning it, memorizing it; then it’s like an MRE that stays in the backpack but never makes it to our stomach.

The Word doesn’t benefit us until we open it, read it, understand it, believe it, memorize it, and obey it.  It’s like the parable of the sower in Matthew 13.  The only seed that produces fruit is the seed that goes into the fertile soil of the heart. When we open our Bible, read it, and open our heart to it so that we understand it, then God’s words abide in us. When this happens—when we’re with Jesus and His words are with us—then Jesus promises to answer our prayer.

Another way of looking at it is this. If you’re not living close to God, THE FARTHER YOU ARE FROM GOD, THE LESS INCLINED GOD IS TO HEAR YOU.

Isaiah 59:1-2 says it best, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  (2)  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

If you’re in sin and are disobeying the Lord, then the only prayer God will hear from you is your prayer of repentance; your prayer for forgiveness and/or salvation.

The principle of answered prayer is this. IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO GOD, GOD’S NOT OBLIGED TO LISTEN TO YOU.  Proverbs 28:9, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. (Read Proverbs 1:24-32.)

THE MORE LUKEWARM YOU ARE; THE MORE WORLDLY, SELFISH, UNHOLY, AND DISOBEDIENT YOU ARE; THE LESS CHANCE YOU HAVE OF BEING HEARD.

If you want God to hear and help you, you’ve got to turn around and head in His direction. 2 Chronicles 7:14 comforts us with this promise,  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

I John 3:22 sums it up, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Brethren, IF YOU WANT ANSWERS TO PRAYER YOU’VE GOT TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD. BE OBEDIENT TO HIM.

Coming Up On My Next Blog In This Series. Being right with people. Think that answered prayer is strictly something between you and God? Not so. People are involved and they’ll have some say or pull on whether or not your prayers get answered. Stay tuned.

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HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN GOD’S FAMILY

February 18, 2013 at 1:02 PM (Doctrine, Knowing You're Saved)
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INTRODUCTION

We all like to be sure about things. We want to know for a fact. We want to be confident. And not just confident, but absolutely confident. Beyond all shadow of a doubt. We hate uncertainty. We don’t like not being sure about things. We do everything in our power to make sure of whatever it is we’re unsure about.

Of course, once some of us get the facts and know the truth, we don’t like the reality that we’re faced with. So we go about deceiving and fooling ourselves into rejecting the truth. We make for ourselves a different truth. A different reality. And we engage in the lifelong, arduous process of convincing ourselves, and others, that we’re right. So we’re back to where we started. We all like to be sure about things. And when we’re not sure we do everything in our power to make sure.

For a lot of us, we take our salvation for granted. We just know, we assume, we’re sure, we’re saved. Period. End of discussion. The question—no, strike that, the matter—isn’t up for argumentation or debate. We’re saved and that settles that.

For others among us, the matter of salvation is a longstanding, if not a life-long, question–a torment, really– about whether or not we’re really, truly saved. How can we know for a fact? How can we be so sure? Our human frailties and sins, coupled with the devil’s constant torments and accusations, have many of God’s dear people tied up in a knot, worrying about whether they’re really saved or not.

I have a 7-part post about how you can know you’re saved. I also blogged about how you can know where you’re going when you die. And how you can know if you really, truly belong to Christ. If you find yourself tormented about your salvation status, please click on the link, study the Scriptures, search your soul, and be very very sure about where you stand with the Lord right now. Your soul is too precious, and eternity is too long, to miss out on Heaven.

In addition to these posts, here’s another way of looking at our salvation from a different perspective—from the perspective of being a part of God’s family.

HOW TO BE IN GOD’S FAMILY

In Matthew 12:46ff Jesus was teaching and was surrounded by gobs of folks. There were so many that Jesus’ mother and brothers couldn’t get to Him. So they sent a message to Him, asking if He would meet with them. You would think that Jesus would rush out of there and see what was up with the fam. Instead, He stretches His hand towards His disciples and says, Look, here are my mother and my brothers (Matthew 12:49).

Then He goes on to say in verse 50 how we can know, how we can tell, if we’re a part of God’s family: Whoever does the will of My Father who’s in Heaven, is my brother and sister and mother. In other words, short and simple, FAMILY IS WHOEVER DOES GOD’S WILL. If you’re doing God’s will, you’re in. If you’re not, and you don’t ever get around to doing God’s will, then you’re out. IT’S WHAT YOU’RE DOING—WHOSE WILL YOU’RE DOING, YOURS OR GOD’S—THAT DETERMINES WHETHER YOU’RE IN GOD’S FAMILY OR NOT.

I’ll elaborate on this in just a moment. The thing that I find so striking here is that Jesus doesn’t say that His family is everyone who believes in Him. Everyone who gets saved. Everyone who has a conversion experience. Everyone who professes to be a Christian. These are all important and they are the starting point: it’s your entry point to God’s family. You’re at the entrance and you made it into the building called God’s family.

Now what do you do once you’re in the building? Do you stay in? Or do you go back out?

Of course, in this world we’re constantly going into and out of buildings. We don’t spend our entire lives cooped up in one building. We go in and out.

In the building that we call God’s family, getting saved is you getting past the entry doors. You’ve gone through the doors and you’ve entered the building of God’s family. You’re in the family.

Now do you stay in the building or do you go back out into the world and the life that’s outside the building? You see, just because you made it into the building doesn’t mean you’re staying in the building. Many Christians leave the building to go back to the sin that they love; to go back to the world that they still love; to go back to the heathen friends and lifestyles that they just can’t seem to get enough of. Like the one lost sheep who’s left the flock (Luke 15), many Christians are outside the building, sinning, yet they consider themselves inside the building.

Jesus wants you to stay in the building. Getting into the building is great. Jesus isn’t knocking or discouraging that. He’s happy you made it into the building. But Jesus is telling us all that it’s just the start. For the rest of your life He wants you to stay in the building. How do you do that? How do you stay in the building? You do God’s will.

That’s a tough one. We all want our way and will. You can correct me if I’m wrong, but it just seems like that’s how a lot of us live: we live doing what we want. That’s no criticism or put down, believe me, because I’m every bit human like you and, golly, you don’t know how bad I want to have my way! I’m still human and I make mistakes, get in the flesh, and rush out to do my thing without taking the time to ask God for His take because I already have a good hunch what His take is. Not today, God. Not now. This is what I want to do and I’m gonna do it no matter what You say. In the flesh we’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to sin. We’re going to want to have things our own way.

But I’ve got enough sense as a mature Christian and a pastor to know that I’ve got to set my will aside, seek God’s face, learn His will, and do that. Believe me, I do that. I try to do that. To be entirely honest with you, I value one thing more than my will and that’s God’s will. I’m old enough, I’ve gone through the cycle of Christian experience long enough, to know that God’s blessings are found in doing His will. That’s where the happiness and contentment that we cherish and look for are found.

I have a few regrets from past sins and failures that weigh terribly heavy on me. They are a scar  that, upon remembrance, bring a fresh torrent of pain and hurt. I hate this. But seeing that I can’t undo the past, and I can’t entirely, completely forget it either, then such is life for me. I just find a way to set the pain aside and press on. I look for solace and happiness because  they’re all around me just waiting to be discovered, seen, and enjoyed. But without exception, and I mean without exception, all of life’s regrets and pain have come when I was in the flesh. When I did things my way.

And so I’ve learn the painful, bitter lesson: HAVING MY WAY DOESN’T MAKE ME HAPPY. DOING MY WILL HURTS AND GRIEVES ME. HAPPINESS, CONTENTMENT, SATISFACTION, PEACE: ALL THESE ARE FOUND IN DOING GOD’S WILL. IN OBEYING HIM.

So do you want to know if you’re a part of God’s family? Jesus is telling you right here in Matthew 12:50 how you can know for sure. If you’re doing God’s will, you’re in the family.

HOW TO STAY IN GOD’S FAMILY

You stay in God’s family by doing His will. A good place to start is to obey the Bible. The Bible is God’s will. So doing that the Bible says is one way we stay in the family.

Of course, God has a lot of specifics for each and everyone of us. What He wants me to do in any one situation in life may not necessarily be what He wants you to do in the same situation. So what applies to me may not necessarily apply to you.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. God speaks to us directly and personally through His Holy Spirit. He gives us the specifics and lets us know what He wants us to be doing right now and for the rest of our lives.

YOU CAN’T OBEY GOD UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT HIS WILL IS.  I think all of us often assume we know God’s will. My will is His will. But unless we’ve prayed about it and heard from God, we don’t know what God’s will is. And, chances are, we’re not doing it. WE CAN’T DO SOMETHING UNLESS WE KNOW WHAT IT IS WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO. So praying and learning God’s will is just one half of the equation. The other half is, once you know what God’s will is, are you going to do it? That’s hard—especially when you’ve got your mind set on doing what you want to do.

DYING IS SELDOM EASY OR PAINLESS. I know we’ve got all sorts of pain killers to numb the pain or make it unfelt. But when the vicodin or morphine wears off you’re back to feeling the pain. And boy does it hurt! That’s the way dying is. It’s hard and painful. And no one wants to go through it.

And that’s the way self-dying is. I’m talking about the cross and crucifying self, selfish interests, selfish desires, selfish will. It’s a hard thing to do that many people don’t want to do it. And when they do it, they do it screaming because it’s painful to give up your way to do it God’s way.

Yet, this is exactly what God would have all of us do. Luke 14:27, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE CROSS WITH YOU, IF YOU’RE NOT PUTTING IT TO USE, IF YOU’RE NOT ON IT, JESUS SAYS YOU CAN’T BE HIS DISCIPLE.

What’s the cross for? The cross kills everyone who’s on it. No one comes down from the cross alive. When you get hung on the cross you’re hung until you’re dead.

So where are you at right now? Are you on the cross or off?

I know we say that all Christians are going to Heaven when they die. Listen. I’m not the Gatekeeper of Heaven. If it was up to me, everybody in church and everybody who’s a Christian will go to Heaven. But this isn’t exactly what God said! Jesus said here in Matthew 12:50 that you’re family only if you do God’s will. Which is to say, if you’re not doing God’s will you’re not family.

Jesus reiterated this condition of doing God’s will in Matthew 7:21-23, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Brethren, I don’t know how to make it any clearer to you than this. IF YOU’RE NOT DOING GOD’S WILL YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO HEAVEN.

Let me hasten to say this doesn’t mean that if you mess up once or twice, or even a lot of times, you’re not going to Heaven. We all are human and imperfect. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to mess up. And just because we mess up doesn’t mean we’ve lost our salvation and we’re going to hell. No, God has given us the offer of forgiveness so that we can be forgiven and go to Heaven. Of course, we have to repent of our sins and turn away from them. But the point is, just because you sinned doesn’t automatically mean you’re not in God’s family.

Jesus here is talking about a pattern, a habit, a lifestyle, a way of living where you’re doing your will on a regular basis and not God’s will. Make that a life’s habit and you’re guaranteeing yourself a horrible surprise when you die.

So how can you know, how can you be absolutely sure, you’re in God’s family? If doing God’s will is a habit and lifestyle with you, then you’re in. It’s as simple as that.

If obeying God isn’t a habit and lifestyle with you, and you want to go to Heaven, then guess what you need to be doing: you need to start obeying God. If you don’t want to obey God, but don’t want to go to hell either, then ask God to give you a new heart. Ask Him to change your heart and mind. Ask Him to give you an obedient heart, Ezekiel 36:26-27. As a Christian, I’ve had to pray this prayer a number of times and it’s always worked for me. It’s a prayer that God will answer, Philippians 2:13.

God wants you in His family. If you want in, He’ll bring you in and, with a lot of prayer, crucifixion, teaching, and chastening too!, you’ll have a heart to obey God. That might not seem possible to you right now. But take it from me who’s gone down the road before you, it’s possible to say Not my will, but Thine be done, and to mean it with all your heart. It’s such a refreshing and gratifying stage to be at in life and you, my dear friend, can join me! With God’s help, you can make it! For with Him all things are possible and not even your hard head or heart is impossible for Him to change. If He can’t change you He’s not God. Of course, if you’re not wanting to be changed, then it’s all on you. Either way, God will always be God. If you want changed, God will see to it that you are changed. You have His word and His guarantee on that and He will not fail.

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CHRISTIAN LIBERTY PART 3

January 17, 2013 at 8:51 AM (Christian Liberty, Doctrine)
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CLARIFYING SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM

1. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS TOTAL, ABSOLUTE, UNRESTRICTED FREEDOM IN THIS WORLD. I hate to burst your bubble, but this is the real world, not a dream world. No one is totally, absolutely, 100 % free. Everyone has free will. But no one has total, absolute freedom.

We live in a democracy that is the freest nation in the world today. Yet, we’re governed by so many specific laws that it’s obvious we’re not free to do anything or everything that we jolly well please. The laws, police, court system, and penal institutions, are proof that no one is free to do whatever he wants to do.

As goes the nation, so goes the church. No Christian is totally free to live and do as he or she pleases. No Christian lives without Divine Law or restraint. We all live under God’s Law. Just like living in a free nation, we’re free even though we have laws—including God’s laws—that  govern us. We’re free. Just not as free as we’d like—that is, 100% free without any kind of restraint, law, or threat of punishment. There is no such freedom in the created order. Only God is totally, absolutely free. Everyone else—from Satan, to demons, to angels, to mankind—live free, but under God’s laws.

2. FREEDOM FROM MEN’S RELIGIOUS LAWS OR THE LAW DOESN’T FREE YOU FROM OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD.  Since Christ set us free from the Law and from men’s religious laws as a basis for salvation or righteousness; so many people automatically think or assume that they don’t have to obey God’s Word. They equate obedience with bondage to law, legalism, and works salvation.  Freedom thus becomes the freedom not to obey God; the freedom to do as they please. Obedience, whenever it’s undesirable or inconvenient, is explained away and disobedience justified with the oft-repeated, tired refrain, “I’m free. I’m not under the law.”

CHRISTIAN FREEDOM, BRETHREN, IS NOT THE FREEDOM TO DISOBEY GOD. Just because Christ set us free from the law as a means of salvation or righteousness doesn’t mean we don’t have to obey the Word anymore. FREEDOM DOESN’T RELIEVE US OF THE DUTY TO OBEY GOD.

The Old Testament Law required obedience. When we come to the New Testament, we find that God still requires obedience of His people. What did Jesus say to the rich young ruler who wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life? If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

This theme of obedience runs throughout the entire New Testament and it’s one of the very last things God warned us about in the Bible: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14). You see, obedience is required of all those who would enter into Heaven.

Disobedience, even in the guise of Christian liberty, disqualifies us from Heaven. Jesus made this quite clear when He said in Matthew 7:21-23, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? {23} And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

ONE OF THE HARDEST TRUTHS FOR PEOPLE TO GRASP OR RECEIVE IS THE TRUTH THAT FREEDOM (THAT IS, CHRISTIAN FREEDOM) IS NOT THE LIBERTY OR RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT TO DO. IT’S NOT THE LIBERTY OR RIGHT TO DO AS WE PLEASE.

It all goes back to the failure of people to see the distinction between freedom and free will (see Christian Liberty Part 1). Free will is the liberty to make our own choices or decisions. We can choose whatever we want to choose.

But freedom is the power or ability to obey God. You see, when we were enslaved to Satan and sin we couldn’t obey God. We lacked the willingness and power, or ability, to obey God. The sin nature of the old man had no desire for godly obedience. But when Christ saved us, He set us free from Satan’s power and He changed us. He made a new man out of us. He washed the old  sin nature away. He gave us a new nature of righteousness and holiness (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:24). He gave us something we didn’t have before and that is the desire to obey God.

With a new nature and with freedom itself, God gave us the liberty and power to do what we formerly couldn’t do, and that is, obey Him. Romans 6:18-22 reads, Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.  (19)  Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.  (20)  When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.  (21)  And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.  (22)  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

WHEN CHRIST SAVED US HE ENDED SIN’S TYRANNY OVER US. HE GAVE US WHAT WE DIDN’T HAVE BEFORE, NAMELY, HE GAVE US THE FREEDOM TO OBEY GOD. That’s what freedom is: the freedom to obey God.

In the world in which we live, a person is either free or slave. He can only be one or the other. But the paradox of Christian freedom is, A CHRISTIAN IS INDEED FREE, BUT HE BECOMES, AND REMAINS, A SLAVE TO GOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. It’s a paradox to the natural mind, but a spiritual truth nonetheless. A Christian is both free and a slave at the same time, Romans 6:22.

Now if you understand the truth that you were a slave of sin even though you had free will, then you will have no problem comprehending the truth that you are now a slave of God even though you still have free will. Brethren, NO ONE IS TRULY FREE. WE ALL BELONG TO SOMEONE, EITHER SATAN OR GOD. A PERSON IS EITHER A SLAVE OF SIN OR A SLAVE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE’S EITHER A SLAVE OF SATAN OR A SLAVE OF GOD. WE ALL—BOTH SAVED AND UNSAVED—ARE SLAVES. NO ONE IS TRULY FREE FROM DOMINION, OWNERSHIP, OR RULE. We all have free will, both saved and unsaved alike. But we’re all still slaves–either of Satan or of God.

You see, when Christ set us free from Satan and sin, He set us free to become His slave. Romans 6:18, ye became the slaves of righteousness.;  Romans 6:22, ye are become slaves of God. Whereas once we were slaves of Satan and sin, Christ set us free and now–even though we’re free–we’re slaves to doing the right thing and living the righteous life. FREEDOM, BRETHREN, IS NOT THE FREEDOM TO DO AS WE PLEASE: IT’S THE FREEDOM TO OBEY GOD AND DO THE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM.

Does your freedom make you obey God or does it make you disobey Him? After you’ve exercised your freedom, are you in obedience to God or are you in disobedience to Him? Brethren, no matter how you choose to define and use your freedom, freedom is not the freedom to sin: it’s the freedom to obey God and not sin.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 4. More misconceptions about freedom. Thought-provoking. Controversial. But right and true. Pop in and I’ll prove it.

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SCARIEST WORDS EVER

August 6, 2012 at 10:55 AM (Life of Christ, Teachings)
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We all like to hear good things said to us or about us. The positive words of encouragement do us a world of good.

I know the words that I’d like to hear God say to me when I stand, or rather, lie prostrate, before Him at the judgment seat. I’m hoping He’ll say Well done, thou good and faithful servant!  These have got to be the sweetest words I’ll ever hear God say and I’m really hoping I’ll hear Him say them to me one day.

Unfortunately, God doesn’t only say good things all the time. He’s got some harsh words to say too. And the scariest of these words that I definitely don’t want to hear Him say to me are, I never knew you. Depart from me, you worker of iniquity! Friends, when you hear God say that to you, you’re as good as toast!

These words of our Lord are taken from His sermon on the mount. Here’s the fuller version of what He said: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity, Matthew 7:21-23.

These 3 verses, in my opinion, are the scariest verses for a Christian because they tell us that many professing Christians who believe they’ll go to Heaven when they die will have a rude awakening and the shock of their life when our Lord sends them to hell instead.

Why will the Lord send these Christians to hell? (1) Because they’ve not done the will of God. They lived their lives in disobedience to God and neglected, or refused, to do His will; and (2) they worked iniquity, that is, they continued to live a life of sin, continued to live like the heathen. Instead of quitting sinning, they persisted in sin.

FRIENDS, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO EXPECT GOD TO OPEN HEAVEN’S GATES TO YOU IF YOU LIVE IN DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD AND CONTINUE TO SIN AND DO THOSE THINGS THAT DISHONOR AND DISPLEASE OUR LORD.

Two things shock and frighten me about the Christians who God will send to hell. (1) These unwary, unsuspecting hell-bound Christians called and considered Jesus their Lord; they worked for the Lord, engaged in Christian ministry or leadership; they prophesied and preached the word of the Lord; they cast out devils; and they did many wonderful works—not just a few or a handful, but many—they performed lots of signs and wonders; they did miracles of healing, deliverance, and who knows what else.

Jesus didn’t deny that they did these things. So what these Christians said and did were true. They did all these things that they said they did. So they were very effective in Christian ministry and many people were saved, healed, and delivered through them.

Most frightening perhaps is the fact that these people did way more for God than most of us have done to date. They did many things that most of us have not done even once as far as healing or casting out demons is concerned. These hell-bound Christians put us to shame by how much they did and how successful they were in their witness and ministry.

Yet, in spite of all they accomplished, they find themselves barred from Heaven because they lived a double life. They worked for the Lord and continued to sin on the side. They professed to be Christians, yet continued to live and act like heathens.

(2) The second thing that really frightens me about these hell-bound Christians is the fact that they are not a handful or an insignificant minority. They are not a few among many. They are not the oddballs or the exceptions to the rule. Jesus said many shall say unto Me. Brethren, there are many among us who will not step on streets of gold, who will not live in heavenly mansions, who will not spend eternity in Heaven.

And if there are many among us, then we must ask ourselves, “Am I one of the many Christians who will end up in hell?” That is truly a scary thought and it ought to motivate us to do everything in our power to make sure we are not one of the many who will be barred from Heaven, but one of the few who find, and walk, the strait and narrow. Jesus said in Matthew 7:14, Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth to life; and few there be that find it.

THE FACT THAT GOD SENDS THESE DISOBEDIENT CHRISTIANS TO HELL TELLS US THAT NOT EVERYONE WHO PROFESSES TO BE A CHRISTIAN WILL GO TO HEAVEN.

This stands in stark contrast to the only condition that many Christians believe is the only thing you need to do to be saved and go to Heaven, and that is, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31); whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13); and  whosoever believeth on Jesus shall not perish but shall have life everlasting (John 3:16).

Of course, all these verses are true. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ will get you saved.

But God couldn’t say everything at one time or in one verse. Believing and receiving Jesus into your heart and life is just the beginning. Salvation isn’t just an act or a conversion experience. It’s a life. And it’s a life that’s lived in obedience to God’s will. These verses that we just read in Matthew 7 bear this truth out.

Here are some of the things God wants all of us to do. These are the things that will get us to Heaven. And failing or refusing to do them will imperil our soul and cause God to utter the scariest words that none of us want to hear God to say to us.

  • Do the will of God. Matthew 7:21, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
  • Abstain from sin and iniquity. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  (10)  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
  • Walk the strait and narrow. Matthew 7:13-14, Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  (14)  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
  • Don’t believe wrong doctrine. 1 Timothy 4:1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
  • Live a holy life. Hebrews 12:14, Follow peace, and holiness, with all men; without which no man shall see the Lord.
  • Confess the Lord before men and not deny Him. Matthew 10:32-33, Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.  (33)  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
  • Live the crucified life. Luke 14:27, And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Galatians 6:7-8,  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  (8)  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
  • Be spiritually fruitful. John 15:2, Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
  • Persevere or endure to the very end. Matthew 10:22, He that endureth to the end shall be saved.

The point is, many people limit salvation to believing on Christ. And since that’s all they need to do to be saved, then there’s nothing else they need to do to be saved. They’re saved already. They’re going to Heaven. So now they can relax, breathe a sigh of relief that they’ve escaped the fires of hell, then go back to living the heathen lifestyle that they’ve always lived.

Jesus is here correcting this mistaken notion of salvation and He’s telling us as clearly as He can that, yes, salvation and Heaven begin with believing. But it doesn’t stop there. You need to mix actions with your faith. You need to act like you believe. You need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You need to live your life in obedience to God and do His will.

DISOBEDIENCE IS DAMNABLE.  One act of disobedience may not necessarily be damnable. Just because you sinned once doesn’t mean you’re going to hell. Repentance and forgiveness are God’s provision to save you from hell and avert the hellish consequences of sin and disobedience.

But one continuing act of disobedience—if you spend the rest of your life disobeying God; then that life of disobedience is certainly damnable. And the only thing that will save you from hell—the only life-saving thing you can do for yourself—is give that sin up, turn away from it, then spend the rest of your life in obedience and holiness unto God.

IF YOU PERSIST IN SIN, THAT SIN WILL KILL YOU. And the fact that you consider yourself a believer, the fact that you’re a minister, or a successful Christian worker or an effective witness or evangelist; the fact that you call Jesus your Lord and consider yourself a Christian; the fact that you fully expect to go to Heaven when you die; will not save you from hell. Sin will send you to hell and the only way it won’t is if you give it up, quit doing it, and start obeying God. Sinning might be cool with the crowd you hang around with. But, believe me, you’ll be hot as hell itself when payday comes, as it surely will. YOU JUST CAN’T SPEND YOUR LIFE DISOBEYING GOD AND EXPECT HIM TO BE NICE TO YOU ON JUDGMENT DAY!

So do you want God to say to you on Judgment Day Depart from me, you worker of iniquity? These are definitely the scariest of words to hear when hell is only a judgment sentence of God away. If you don’t want to hear God send you to hell with these words, then do the smart thing and quit sinning. Spend your life serving and obeying God and you’ll definitely not hear God say these scariest words to you on Judgment Day.

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