Psalm 101 (NLT)1 A psalm of David. I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs. 2 I will be careful to live a blameless life…I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. 3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. 5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride. 6 I will search for faithful people to be my companions…7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.
If everyday we woke up praising our God and committing our hearts and ways to Him, imagine how much nonsense we would avoid. David not only had a heart of worship, but also a heart that longed to walk in integrity. It sounds like David was careful about how he lived. He wouldn’t allow the vile or the vulgar into his home. He stayed away from those who were crooked. He rejected perverted ideas and would not hang with those who were gossips and slanderers. He would not allow pride and conceit to dominate his life or be with those who walked in them. He cried out for and searched diligently for companions that were faithful and believed as he believed. He did not allow liars to serve in his house or be close to him.
I wonder if this empowered him to stay out of trouble and please his God. What if we became a people of integrity. A people that was whole. Maybe we should be careful what we allow into our homes and be careful who we allow to influence us. I believe that the Holy Spirit will give us this divine direction we need…let’s ask Him to help.
I was just struck by the power of this idea of integrity…I need more and want more! Have a great one!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Jealous for Us
Exodus 34:14 (NLT)14 You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.
Have you ever had days where you wake up and feel absolutely lousy and you don’t want to be around anyone? I think we all have. As I was reading Exodus 34 I was struck by this particular verse above. Contained in this verse is God’s heart for his people.
Just a few verses earlier Moses was praying for his people, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession” (v. 9). Basically Moses is saying, “I know we are an absolute stench in your nostrils, but please be and go with us. We need you and we need to know that we are Yours in spite of how awful we are.”
I find it unfathomable that this holy, righteous God would have anything to do with us. Here we are in our restless state attempting to run from God and from others and He says He is jealous for us and that He desires an intimate relationship with us. AMAZING!
So next time you wake up feeling horrible and are tempted to isolate yourself, draw near to God in your state and ask Him to travel with you on your journey. Know that He sees you as His special possession and that He is jealous about His relationship with you. Peace, Pastor Bryan
Have you ever had days where you wake up and feel absolutely lousy and you don’t want to be around anyone? I think we all have. As I was reading Exodus 34 I was struck by this particular verse above. Contained in this verse is God’s heart for his people.
Just a few verses earlier Moses was praying for his people, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession” (v. 9). Basically Moses is saying, “I know we are an absolute stench in your nostrils, but please be and go with us. We need you and we need to know that we are Yours in spite of how awful we are.”
I find it unfathomable that this holy, righteous God would have anything to do with us. Here we are in our restless state attempting to run from God and from others and He says He is jealous for us and that He desires an intimate relationship with us. AMAZING!
So next time you wake up feeling horrible and are tempted to isolate yourself, draw near to God in your state and ask Him to travel with you on your journey. Know that He sees you as His special possession and that He is jealous about His relationship with you. Peace, Pastor Bryan
Friday, November 30, 2007
A Life that Glorifies God
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2(NLT)1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.
Knowing God will radically affect how we live. Through our faith in Jesus, we have been given a new heart that will direct the flow of our lives (Prov. 3:24). Jesus came as the Way, the Truth and the Life for each of us (John 14:6). He interpreted the truth of the law to show us the way to live our lives. As we abide in Him we will be empowered by the person of the Holy Spirit and enabled by His transforming grace.
One of the greatest benefits of knowing and walking with God is that we can live an abundant life in the midst of difficult situations. We have a hope. The way we live can bring glory to our great God. As you approach life, see to it that you examine the way you live and live in such a way that will bring glory to the One who sees when no one else does.
Knowing God will radically affect how we live. Through our faith in Jesus, we have been given a new heart that will direct the flow of our lives (Prov. 3:24). Jesus came as the Way, the Truth and the Life for each of us (John 14:6). He interpreted the truth of the law to show us the way to live our lives. As we abide in Him we will be empowered by the person of the Holy Spirit and enabled by His transforming grace.
One of the greatest benefits of knowing and walking with God is that we can live an abundant life in the midst of difficult situations. We have a hope. The way we live can bring glory to our great God. As you approach life, see to it that you examine the way you live and live in such a way that will bring glory to the One who sees when no one else does.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Ministry to the Lord
Psalm 101:6 (NASB95)6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
I want to encourage you to fulfill the greatest ministry you have as a human being…the ministry to the Lord himself. The scripture declares that as we walk blamelessly (literally walk in integrity) we minister to God himself. Not only do we minister to the Lord, but we also receive the most important benefit of walking with God we can receive, His very presence. In his presence is fullness of joy.
If you are feeling distant from God, cry out to Him and ask him to unit your heart that you might walk blamelessly before Him. As you do your conscience will be free from guilt and shame as you minister to the Father.
Blessings, Pastor Bryan
I want to encourage you to fulfill the greatest ministry you have as a human being…the ministry to the Lord himself. The scripture declares that as we walk blamelessly (literally walk in integrity) we minister to God himself. Not only do we minister to the Lord, but we also receive the most important benefit of walking with God we can receive, His very presence. In his presence is fullness of joy.
If you are feeling distant from God, cry out to Him and ask him to unit your heart that you might walk blamelessly before Him. As you do your conscience will be free from guilt and shame as you minister to the Father.
Blessings, Pastor Bryan
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Source and Course
Romans 3:19-22 (NLT) 19 obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
Here is a liberating statement when it comes to walking with God and pursuing Jesus. “To be sure, the Law is not the source of our righteousness, but it is forever the course of our righteousness.” Paul teaches us in the verses above the importance of understanding the source and the course of our righteousness. Throughout church history one of the stumbling blocks to the Christian faith is the ‘muddling up’ of these two.
The biggest issue facing Jesus and guys like Paul was this issue of “righteousness.” The Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune: “The Way in which a man may attain a state of approval with God”. If we don’t know the source of our righteousness we can easily fall into the trap that the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus’ day fell into…self-righteousness (self-justification). Paul tells us that God “has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law…” (v.21). He goes on to declare that we “are made right with God by placing our faith is Jesus Christ…” (v. 22)
The person who has never experienced this righteousness will be tempted to use their obedience to the law and the law itself as a means to sense or feel ‘right’ with God. In reality the law of God was designed to show us where we have missed the mark of God’s word. It is a means by which we can truly stay the course in our righteousness. Paul in his letter to the Galatians tells us that the law is a guardian to us (Gal. 3:24).
Just as our sin does not make us sinful, neither do our righteous deeds make us righteous. We sin because we are sinful, and we do right deeds because we are made righteous by Jesus.
I leave you with this illustration. If we muddle these two…the source and course of our righteousness... we may be tempted to do what the Pharisee and Scribe were doing in Jesus time. They were like the farmer who had a diseased apple tree. No one could see the disease, for it was contained in the core of the tree. Because of the disease, the apple tree could not produce healthy apples. Year after year the crops got worse and worse. To cover up the disease, the farmer decides to go and purchase hundreds of apples at the store and some fishing line. He takes the fishing line (invisible to the naked eye from a distance) and sows the healthy apples onto the diseased tree. From a distance it looked like the apple tree was healthy and very productive, yet inside the tree was still diseased. All of us are tempted to sow apples on our diseased trees.
Remember our hearts, apart from Jesus righteousness and faith in Him alone, are wicked and utterly diseased. We need a heart transformation. Here is the promise of Christ’s salvation work in our lives. Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NLT) 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. Let us be those who have a new heart and thus are led by God’s Spirit into the course of our righteousness…obedience to God’s laws. Blessings! Pastor B
Here is a liberating statement when it comes to walking with God and pursuing Jesus. “To be sure, the Law is not the source of our righteousness, but it is forever the course of our righteousness.” Paul teaches us in the verses above the importance of understanding the source and the course of our righteousness. Throughout church history one of the stumbling blocks to the Christian faith is the ‘muddling up’ of these two.
The biggest issue facing Jesus and guys like Paul was this issue of “righteousness.” The Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune: “The Way in which a man may attain a state of approval with God”. If we don’t know the source of our righteousness we can easily fall into the trap that the Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus’ day fell into…self-righteousness (self-justification). Paul tells us that God “has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law…” (v.21). He goes on to declare that we “are made right with God by placing our faith is Jesus Christ…” (v. 22)
The person who has never experienced this righteousness will be tempted to use their obedience to the law and the law itself as a means to sense or feel ‘right’ with God. In reality the law of God was designed to show us where we have missed the mark of God’s word. It is a means by which we can truly stay the course in our righteousness. Paul in his letter to the Galatians tells us that the law is a guardian to us (Gal. 3:24).
Just as our sin does not make us sinful, neither do our righteous deeds make us righteous. We sin because we are sinful, and we do right deeds because we are made righteous by Jesus.
I leave you with this illustration. If we muddle these two…the source and course of our righteousness... we may be tempted to do what the Pharisee and Scribe were doing in Jesus time. They were like the farmer who had a diseased apple tree. No one could see the disease, for it was contained in the core of the tree. Because of the disease, the apple tree could not produce healthy apples. Year after year the crops got worse and worse. To cover up the disease, the farmer decides to go and purchase hundreds of apples at the store and some fishing line. He takes the fishing line (invisible to the naked eye from a distance) and sows the healthy apples onto the diseased tree. From a distance it looked like the apple tree was healthy and very productive, yet inside the tree was still diseased. All of us are tempted to sow apples on our diseased trees.
Remember our hearts, apart from Jesus righteousness and faith in Him alone, are wicked and utterly diseased. We need a heart transformation. Here is the promise of Christ’s salvation work in our lives. Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NLT) 25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. Let us be those who have a new heart and thus are led by God’s Spirit into the course of our righteousness…obedience to God’s laws. Blessings! Pastor B
Friday, July 20, 2007
Personal Peace is an Enemy
Jeremiah 29:4-11 (ESV) 4 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord. 10 "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
For the sake of brevity please consider the above Scriptures in regard to the following questions:
First, do I believe God has sent me to the city I live in with a specific mission in mind for my life?
Second, do I live in my city with a sense of 'permanence' or do I live in a 'temporal' mindset?
Third, when I wake up everyday do I pursue the welfare of myself first or my city first? Where are my prayers primarily directed?
Fourth, have I believed a lie of the enemy that tells me to pursue "personal peace" at all costs?
Fifth, do I want the promise of v. 11 and yet forget the preceding verses which actually will help see this promise fulfilled?
Our response to these questions will help us determine whose peace we are pursuing and indicate to us our ability to change our culture. Jesus came to the earth as a 'cultural missionary.' He lived like Jeremiah told the Israelites to live while they were sent into exile. Can you imagine how bound Jesus must have felt while he walked the earth? Here He was God living in the flesh...what a torment that must have been, yet He sought the welfare of His city and His people first before his own welfare. I wonder how great an impact we could make on our cities if we simply imbibed this incredible 'selflessness' that Jesus possessed. Not selflessness for simple self-gratification, but selflessness with a mission to reconcile people back to God. Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ...
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (ESV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Today, let us press on to the mission of reconciliation and not personal peace. Personal peace is an enemy of God, yet this empty idea is fully embraced in our culture...don't believe the lie. In Christ's kingdom the way up is down, the way to life is death, and the way to exaltation is humility. I leave you with Christ's words:
Mark 10:45 (ESV) 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
For the sake of brevity please consider the above Scriptures in regard to the following questions:
First, do I believe God has sent me to the city I live in with a specific mission in mind for my life?
Second, do I live in my city with a sense of 'permanence' or do I live in a 'temporal' mindset?
Third, when I wake up everyday do I pursue the welfare of myself first or my city first? Where are my prayers primarily directed?
Fourth, have I believed a lie of the enemy that tells me to pursue "personal peace" at all costs?
Fifth, do I want the promise of v. 11 and yet forget the preceding verses which actually will help see this promise fulfilled?
Our response to these questions will help us determine whose peace we are pursuing and indicate to us our ability to change our culture. Jesus came to the earth as a 'cultural missionary.' He lived like Jeremiah told the Israelites to live while they were sent into exile. Can you imagine how bound Jesus must have felt while he walked the earth? Here He was God living in the flesh...what a torment that must have been, yet He sought the welfare of His city and His people first before his own welfare. I wonder how great an impact we could make on our cities if we simply imbibed this incredible 'selflessness' that Jesus possessed. Not selflessness for simple self-gratification, but selflessness with a mission to reconcile people back to God. Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ...
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (ESV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Today, let us press on to the mission of reconciliation and not personal peace. Personal peace is an enemy of God, yet this empty idea is fully embraced in our culture...don't believe the lie. In Christ's kingdom the way up is down, the way to life is death, and the way to exaltation is humility. I leave you with Christ's words:
Mark 10:45 (ESV) 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
'Burned Stones'
Nehemiah 4:2 (ESV) “2 …Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?"
This was a taunt of the enemy as Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem attempted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. I will not go into all of the history here because you can download the messages and the notes on the series we are currently doing on the book of Nehemiah. I will cut right through the fat! Bottom line…the enemy of our souls will prey on our weaknesses. Most of us have bad pasts, wounds, insecurities and are driven by fear; we are prime targets for the ‘accuser of the brethren.’
Satan is God’s permanent enemy and by default he is every believer’s enemy. One of the main weapons he uses is accusation and condemnation. These weapons are so effective because most of the time the evidence he brings up against us is true and very condemning. So what do we do? What is our defense? When the enemy of our soul and our own consciences condemn us, where can we flee to receive grace. Let’s look at this in layers.
First, we must understand the gospel and the work of our great advocate Jesus. I will put some Scriptures here for us to marinate in…
Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV) 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV) 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Revelation 12:10 (ESV) 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
1 John 3:8 (ESV) 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
John 10:10 (ESV) 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Romans 8:1-2 (ESV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
From these Scriptures we can see many promises for us as believers: deliverance from the domain of darkness; redemption of sins; transference into God’s kingdom (sentenced to life not death); made alive in our union with Jesus; forgiven and acquitted of all trespasses (past, present, future); legally declared righteous by God himself; authority over the enemy because our great King has knocked Satan’s teeth out; the accuser of the brethren is thrown down by Jesus, Jesus has destroyed (rendered powerless) the works of the devil and given us life…new abundant life; no condemnation because the Holy Spirit has set us free and sealed us for eternity. In the words of POD…”is that all you got…I’ll take your best shot!”
We can confidently stand upon these promises, not based upon any of our merit, but only the merit of Jesus Christ!
Second, we have two legal advocates who speak on our behalf and intercede for us when it comes to the accusations of the enemy of our soul…Jesus and the Holy Spirit…
1 John 2:1 (ESV) 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
John 14:16 (ESV) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Romans 8:26-28 (ESV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The Greek word for advocate in 1John 2:1 and Helper in John 14:16 was used in legal language for an advocate for the defense, and more generally for one called upon for help.
This means that we have Jesus who resides in Heaven interceding for us as well as the Holy Spirit who resides in us interceding for us. Good luck messing this whole thing up!
Third, we are free from God’s wrath! Jesus substituted Himself on our behalf.
Romans 5:9-10 (ESV) 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
1 John 2:2 (ESV) 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 4:10 (ESV) 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Simply put…Jesus while he endured hostility, abuse, accusation, etc on the cross, hung condemned between Heaven and earth. Both God and man had condemned him to death. 1 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. In becoming sin and absorbing all of our sin by substituting Himself for us, He therefore drank the ‘cup of wrath’ from God in heaven. He received the just punishment for sin…DEATH!
With this substitution comes a divine exchange. When we put our trust and faith in the person of Jesus for our salvation (His death, burial and resurrection) we become the righteousness of God. What does that mean? Simply, Adam’s sin was charged or imputed to us, we have our own sin we commit that is charged to us, when we believe upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, our sin (and Adam’s sin) is charged to Jesus or imputed to Jesus and Jesus perfect righteousness is charged to us or imputed to us. WOW! This means that Christ’s perfection is charged to us and in God’s eyes…He declares us righteous and saved!
This is the good news of the Gospel. We are exempt from God’s wrath in regard to sin because our legal record has been expunged by Jesus perfect righteousness (while living) and his perfect death!
I could keep going, but alas I must stop. There is so much more! To answer the enemy of Nehemiah in regard to his question “ …Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?" YES! Burned stones can be revived by the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. Just as Nehemiah used these charred stones to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so does Christ revive burned stones in order to build His kingdom and redeem the culture. Remember, condemnation means ‘unfit for use.’ I think you can see from the Scriptures above that all believers no matter what their past and no matter what their current state are all declared ‘fit for use’ by God himself through the work of His Son Jesus Christ! We love you and desire for God to shower you with this revelation that you are a living stone!
1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV) 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
This was a taunt of the enemy as Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem attempted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. I will not go into all of the history here because you can download the messages and the notes on the series we are currently doing on the book of Nehemiah. I will cut right through the fat! Bottom line…the enemy of our souls will prey on our weaknesses. Most of us have bad pasts, wounds, insecurities and are driven by fear; we are prime targets for the ‘accuser of the brethren.’
Satan is God’s permanent enemy and by default he is every believer’s enemy. One of the main weapons he uses is accusation and condemnation. These weapons are so effective because most of the time the evidence he brings up against us is true and very condemning. So what do we do? What is our defense? When the enemy of our soul and our own consciences condemn us, where can we flee to receive grace. Let’s look at this in layers.
First, we must understand the gospel and the work of our great advocate Jesus. I will put some Scriptures here for us to marinate in…
Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV) 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV) 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Revelation 12:10 (ESV) 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
1 John 3:8 (ESV) 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
John 10:10 (ESV) 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Romans 8:1-2 (ESV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
From these Scriptures we can see many promises for us as believers: deliverance from the domain of darkness; redemption of sins; transference into God’s kingdom (sentenced to life not death); made alive in our union with Jesus; forgiven and acquitted of all trespasses (past, present, future); legally declared righteous by God himself; authority over the enemy because our great King has knocked Satan’s teeth out; the accuser of the brethren is thrown down by Jesus, Jesus has destroyed (rendered powerless) the works of the devil and given us life…new abundant life; no condemnation because the Holy Spirit has set us free and sealed us for eternity. In the words of POD…”is that all you got…I’ll take your best shot!”
We can confidently stand upon these promises, not based upon any of our merit, but only the merit of Jesus Christ!
Second, we have two legal advocates who speak on our behalf and intercede for us when it comes to the accusations of the enemy of our soul…Jesus and the Holy Spirit…
1 John 2:1 (ESV) 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
John 14:16 (ESV) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Romans 8:26-28 (ESV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The Greek word for advocate in 1John 2:1 and Helper in John 14:16 was used in legal language for an advocate for the defense, and more generally for one called upon for help.
This means that we have Jesus who resides in Heaven interceding for us as well as the Holy Spirit who resides in us interceding for us. Good luck messing this whole thing up!
Third, we are free from God’s wrath! Jesus substituted Himself on our behalf.
Romans 5:9-10 (ESV) 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
1 John 2:2 (ESV) 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 4:10 (ESV) 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Simply put…Jesus while he endured hostility, abuse, accusation, etc on the cross, hung condemned between Heaven and earth. Both God and man had condemned him to death. 1 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. In becoming sin and absorbing all of our sin by substituting Himself for us, He therefore drank the ‘cup of wrath’ from God in heaven. He received the just punishment for sin…DEATH!
With this substitution comes a divine exchange. When we put our trust and faith in the person of Jesus for our salvation (His death, burial and resurrection) we become the righteousness of God. What does that mean? Simply, Adam’s sin was charged or imputed to us, we have our own sin we commit that is charged to us, when we believe upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, our sin (and Adam’s sin) is charged to Jesus or imputed to Jesus and Jesus perfect righteousness is charged to us or imputed to us. WOW! This means that Christ’s perfection is charged to us and in God’s eyes…He declares us righteous and saved!
This is the good news of the Gospel. We are exempt from God’s wrath in regard to sin because our legal record has been expunged by Jesus perfect righteousness (while living) and his perfect death!
I could keep going, but alas I must stop. There is so much more! To answer the enemy of Nehemiah in regard to his question “ …Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?" YES! Burned stones can be revived by the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. Just as Nehemiah used these charred stones to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so does Christ revive burned stones in order to build His kingdom and redeem the culture. Remember, condemnation means ‘unfit for use.’ I think you can see from the Scriptures above that all believers no matter what their past and no matter what their current state are all declared ‘fit for use’ by God himself through the work of His Son Jesus Christ! We love you and desire for God to shower you with this revelation that you are a living stone!
1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV) 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Here are a couple of afterthoughts as we studied chapter three of Nehemiah last Sunday. Work is a common theme throughout the entire book of Nehemiah and the noun work recurs again and again (2:16; 2:18; 3:5; 4:11; 4:15; 4:16-17; 4:19; 4:21; 5:16; 6:3; 6:9; 6:16). Most people reduce work down to what they get paid to do vocationally. When the Bible speaks of work it has in view much more than money or gain. We might define work as any exertion of effort that aims at producing a new state of affairs. This exertion will by necessity require our unique wiring and talents. This is exciting because all work can actually be sacred if done unto the Lord. We live in culture that has been taught to compartmentalize their lives…we have separated the sacred from the secular, when in reality as a believer all that we do (if done unto the Lord) is considered sacred. Why? Not because of our might, our efforts or our work in itself, but because of our union with Christ.
Because Christ is holy, we too are holy, because God declared us righteous upon our belief in the Good News: Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3-5). Paul said this is of first importance. So, because Christ is sacred and all His work is sacred, then through our union with him, all that we do can actually bring glory to him (1 Cor. 10:31). Just as our sin does not make us sinful, so also our good works do not make us righteous. We sin because we are sinful, therefore we do our work unto the Lord because He is righteous. That is good news for all who are not vocational ministers. Most view my work as a pastor as holy because I am a pastor, when in reality, the same divine energema (energy) that God gives me to fulfill my vocation as pastor is the same divine energema that he gives to all who work a different vocational job…homemaking, sweeping snow, obeying orders, practicing for a performance, building websites, serving coffee, teaching school, upper level management, middle management, etc.
Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Because we have been bought with a price we are to glorify God with our bodies. Paul also encourages us to give ourselves (not our work) as living sacrifices which are holy and acceptable (because of Christ’s work) to God. That means I can wake up everyday and present myself as a sacrifice to God. I don’t have to offer a burnt offering or a blood sacrifice. I can present the members of my body (those parts we need to perform our work) as a pleasing, sacred sacrifice to God. I should wake up with the intent to work hard as doing my work for Him and His kingdom.
Meditate upon these words that Paul wrote for our instruction.
Romans 12:1-3 (Phillips NT) 1 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. 2 3 As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. For just as you have many members in one physical body and those members differ in their functions, so we, though many in number, compose one body in Christ and are all members of one another. Through the grace of God we have different gifts. If our gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision. If it is serving others let us concentrate on our service; if it is teaching let us give all we have to our teaching; and if our gift be the stimulating of the faith of others let us set ourselves to it. Let the man who is called to give, give freely; let the man who wields authority think of his responsibility; and let the man who feels sympathy for his fellows act cheerfully.
We can see from these verses, as we simply give ourselves as holy and living sacrifices, we have our minds renewed to the TRUTH that transforms us. Also we can break free of the ‘rat race’ of the world and truly understand what God’s will for our life is. Also, we are too walk in humility as we use our talents to glorify God. The Psalmist tells us to ‘delight ourselves in the Lord and he will give us the desires of our heart’ (Psalm 37:4). That means as we delight in Him, He will birth inside of us His desires and thus we are able to fulfill His will in the earth, all the while effecting change upon our world… Bryan Schwartz
Because Christ is holy, we too are holy, because God declared us righteous upon our belief in the Good News: Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3-5). Paul said this is of first importance. So, because Christ is sacred and all His work is sacred, then through our union with him, all that we do can actually bring glory to him (1 Cor. 10:31). Just as our sin does not make us sinful, so also our good works do not make us righteous. We sin because we are sinful, therefore we do our work unto the Lord because He is righteous. That is good news for all who are not vocational ministers. Most view my work as a pastor as holy because I am a pastor, when in reality, the same divine energema (energy) that God gives me to fulfill my vocation as pastor is the same divine energema that he gives to all who work a different vocational job…homemaking, sweeping snow, obeying orders, practicing for a performance, building websites, serving coffee, teaching school, upper level management, middle management, etc.
Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Because we have been bought with a price we are to glorify God with our bodies. Paul also encourages us to give ourselves (not our work) as living sacrifices which are holy and acceptable (because of Christ’s work) to God. That means I can wake up everyday and present myself as a sacrifice to God. I don’t have to offer a burnt offering or a blood sacrifice. I can present the members of my body (those parts we need to perform our work) as a pleasing, sacred sacrifice to God. I should wake up with the intent to work hard as doing my work for Him and His kingdom.
Meditate upon these words that Paul wrote for our instruction.
Romans 12:1-3 (Phillips NT) 1 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. 2 3 As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. For just as you have many members in one physical body and those members differ in their functions, so we, though many in number, compose one body in Christ and are all members of one another. Through the grace of God we have different gifts. If our gift is preaching, let us preach to the limit of our vision. If it is serving others let us concentrate on our service; if it is teaching let us give all we have to our teaching; and if our gift be the stimulating of the faith of others let us set ourselves to it. Let the man who is called to give, give freely; let the man who wields authority think of his responsibility; and let the man who feels sympathy for his fellows act cheerfully.
We can see from these verses, as we simply give ourselves as holy and living sacrifices, we have our minds renewed to the TRUTH that transforms us. Also we can break free of the ‘rat race’ of the world and truly understand what God’s will for our life is. Also, we are too walk in humility as we use our talents to glorify God. The Psalmist tells us to ‘delight ourselves in the Lord and he will give us the desires of our heart’ (Psalm 37:4). That means as we delight in Him, He will birth inside of us His desires and thus we are able to fulfill His will in the earth, all the while effecting change upon our world… Bryan Schwartz
Monday, July 9, 2007
New Website!
We have finally completed the new website! If you are seeing this blog, you probably found it through our site at www.lf-church.com
Please give us feedback on what you'd like to see added and what you already like about it, we'd love to hear from you. Email feedback@lf-church.com
Please give us feedback on what you'd like to see added and what you already like about it, we'd love to hear from you. Email feedback@lf-church.com
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