To Overcome Go All Out – Part Two

God has never been late yet – but clearly from the world’s point of view, and even logical point of view it looks that way many times, but in the end God comes through! Often not in the way or time of our expectation, but He is always on time.

Was He late when Jonah was thrown over the side of the boat to die!? Those who threw him over believed God was too late to rescue him.

Was He late when Lazarus was sick… Jesus deliberately stayed away until Lazarus had died… then only did he go, even days after he was dead and buried!  But He wasn’t late by His timing, just by Martha’s schedule! (John 11)

Those following Moses thought He was late when Pharaoh’s army had them cornered between the Red Sea and the soldiers… but He wasn’t late at all!

Abraham and Sarah thought God was late in giving them a natural born son… but when she was almost 90 and he was almost 100 it happened!

What do you think God has been late in doing for you recently?  Do the examples just given give you any hope now?

If you have committed your way to the Lord and are trusting in Him… He won’t be late! His sense of timing is better than yours!

Those having all of their lives for the coming of the Messiah likely thought He was late in coming, but “In the fullness of time God sent His son…” (Galatians 4: 4). Though thousands of years of Old Testament history went by, God had a right time for the Messiah to come and He wasn’t a moment too late!

His clock and ours are often out of sync.

John Chrysostom, the ancient Church Father, was a beautiful example of true Christian courage. When he stood before the Roman Emperor, he was threatened with banishment if he still remained a Christian. Chrysostom replied, “You cannot, for the world is my Father’s house; you cannot banish me.”

“But I will slay you,” said the Emperor.

“No, but you cannot,” said the noble champion of the faith again, “for my life is hid with Christ in God.”

“I will take away thy treasures.” “No, but you cannot,” was the retort; “in the first place, I have nothing you know anything about. My treasure is in heaven, and my heart is there.”

“But I will drive you away from man, and you shall have no friend left.” “No, and that you cannot,” once more said the faithful witness, “for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you shall not separate me. I defy you; there is nothing you can do to hurt me.”

God has never been late yet – but clearly from the world’s point of view, and even logical point of view it looks that way many times, but in the end God comes through! He always has and always will.

Often we need to rest our clock and in doing so synchronize ours with His.

To Overcome Go All Out – Part One

The Lord wants us to serve Him, rather He gives us the privilege to serve Him. However, man does so with the reserve of the man who prayed, “Lord I want to serve you, use me, but mostly in a consultant capacity.

About the only form of commitment really being upheld today by our society is a deep commitment to one’s self. Little wonder this past generation has been labeled the “me” generation and the current one is focused on “whatever,” that is, anything goes.

Commitment is serious business to God and should be to us.

God has the capacity to shield His own. Approaching His crucifixion Jesus said He could have called twelve legions, that’s 72,000 angels. In one Old Testament incident one angel killed 185,110 people. That means at the moment Jesus had at His command the kill power of 1,332,000,000 (1 billion, 332 million).

God has the power, but He also has the love and power to know how to use it. It is not always as a champion on a white horse always rushing in at the last minute to rescue His servant.

The Apostle Paul, a man who suffered greatly put in perspective how God works. He wrote, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel” (Phil. 1: 12). He apparently believed, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28.

George MacDonald, the man C. S. Lewis described as his “master” wrote: “This is a sane, wholesome, practical, working faith: first, that it is a man’s business to do the will of God; second, that God takes on Himself the special care of that man; and third, that therefore, that man ought never to be afraid of anything”.

There are two elements often linked in Scripture: “trust” and “commitment”.

Once a person trusts Him, commitment comes naturally. Such was Bill Borden, heir to the Borden Company, abandoned his family fortune and spent his young life as a missionary among the Indians. He died an early death. In his diary were these words: “No reserve, no retreat, no regret.” He indeed was all in.

Trust and commitment always leads to action as noted I Philippians 2: 12, “working out our salvation with fear and trembling!” Phil. 2:12

The text does not say “for” your salvation. The term is used in the sense of a math teacher proposing a math problem and telling the class to work it out, meaning carry it to its logical and correct conclusion. Carry your salvation to its logical conclusion by trusting Him and committing your life to Him in service.

What Is a Friend For? Part Two

John 15: 12 – 19

Jesus said, “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends…”  Thus, He paid us a supreme compliment.  The word “friend” in English, as in its Greek equivalent “philos,” conveys the idea of loving and being loved.  There is something warm and pleasant about it.

The secret of success in one’s search for friends is found in the wisdom of Solomon who wrote: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly” (Proverbs 18:24).  An unknown poet expressed it:
“I went out to find a friend,
But could not find one there,
Then I went out to be a friend,
And there were friends everywhere!”

An English publication ran a contest seeking the best definition of a friend. The winner was: “A friend — the one who walks in when the world walks out.”

Jesus perfected the art of friendship; and after patterning it, passed it on to His followers.  By example and expression He answered the question: “What is a friend?”

However, laying down your life involves more than looking into the gray face of death. There is a principle of slow sacrifice folded into the words of the Saviour.

It is as hard at duty’s call,
To lay one’s life down day by day,
As to lay it down once for all.

Friendship motivates one to daily help another.

It means to make joy possible for those who walk in the shadow of sorrow.

It is to make goodness possible for those who stand in the darkness of temptation.

Illustrative of this are mothers who are laying down their lives daily bit-by-bit for their children.

It is to venture into the world day by day to minister and not be ministered unto. It is to let the message of your music become the harmony of your life.

Now read this little poem again and in light of it go out and show yourself as a friend to those around you. You will find there are many in need of your friendship.
“I went out to find a friend,
But could not find one there,
Then I went out to be a friend,
And there were friends everywhere!”

What Is a Friend For? Part One

“Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel” (Proverbs 27: 9).

Jesus said, “You are my friends…” He didn’t say “I am your friend.” For me to say “Jesus is my friend” is to pull Him down to my level. For Him to speak of us as His friends is for Him to pick up to His level.

James 3:23 “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.”

Obedience evidences friendship. George Whitfield was asked: “Do you ever tire of your work for God?” He replied, “Sometimes I tire in it, but never of it.”

Epicetus said: “I am free and the friend of God, because I obey Him willingly.”

No one can grow weary in well-doing who lives in the light of a friendship that transforms all duty into delights.

We are challenged to be friends. Jesus said, “I have called you friends” (Vs. 15). This was a term used in kingly courts and in the Roman Empire. The confidants of the king were called “friends of the king.” They could see Him at any time. They ranked in importance above even his generals.

We are not sterile slaves who must cower in His presence. We are not members of the remote crowd which must strain to see Him. We are His friends. Every time you pray you are blessed to be entering the King’s court. Think of that.

Inherent in the meaning of the word “friend” is the meaning “partner.” A slave was defined as “a living tool.” We are His partners in His task. That means if we are doing His will He is a partner with us in doing. You can hear the word “part” in “partner.” You can count on Him to always do His part and in doing so He helps us do our part.

A call to serve Him is a call to joy. Joy is inherent in obedience to His will. “…My joy remains in you, and that your joy may be full.” A gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms, an oxymoron. How can a person fail to be joyous while walking in His will?” (Vs. 11).

As a child I remember my dad painting our back porch.  As it grew late, I passed and he said, “Son, get that other brush and help me so we can finish before dark.”  I still remember the pride, the sheer joy of being a fellow-worker with my father. That is what Jesus wants of us.

Eternity

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God” John 1:1, 2.

That can literally be translated, “Before time began to begin.” This the Bible confirms time as a part of creation along with matter.

The Bible also teaches “…that there should be time no longer…” Revelation 10: 6. Means there will be an occasion when there should be no more time.

The one factor that is not a variable is eternity, where there is no time. The very word “eternity” teaches there will be a never ending state. Eternity is but a breath away.

Werner von Braus, the German who is the father of our rocket science program made this observation.

“In this modern world of ours many people seem to think that science has somehow made such religious ideas as immortality untimely or old fashioned. I think science has a real surprise for the skeptics. Science, for instance, tells us that nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation. If God applies this fundamental principle to the most minute and insignificant parts of His universe, doesn’t it make sense to assume that He applies it to the masterpiece of His creation, the human soul?”

If people believed in an eternal state into which they could be thrust without a moment’s time they would be more inclined to prepare for it. Even more, if they believed there were two and only two alternatives of this state of being they would likely think through the alternatives: 1) two and only two states, 2) you can be thrust into one of the two alternate states in which they would exist “forever” without warning.

What would you consider the most important decision you will ever make?

The Pensées (1669–70; “Thoughts” of Blaise Pascal focuses on a matter needing the attention and response of everyone. He wrote:

“The state of death is eternal …[and] how absurd it is for people to go through life without regard for their final destiny… From all this I conclude that I ought to spend every day of my life seeking to know my fate.

We are so caught up with the affairs of this life we give little attention to eternity. Most people are living for today with barely a thought of eternity.

In death we move from a sphere where there is time to one where there is no time. There are two regions in this sphere: heaven and hell. God’s grace is at its zenith in that He allows you to decide in which you will spend eternity.

“They, then, who are destined to die, need not be careful to inquire what death they are to die, but into what place death will usher them,” said Augustine.

An aside question relates to how old will babies be in heaven, and not only they, but all people. Eternity is a timeless sphere and hence all heavenly bodies will be ageless. Our new body will indeed be new chronologically and in composition. That is just one of the many miracles we are unequipped to fully answer.

Randy Alcorn put this into perspective: “He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain. He who spends his life moving toward his treasures has reason to rejoice. Are you despairing or rejoicing?”

There is only one of two answers regarding resting your eternal destiny in Jesus Christ. They are “yes” or “no.” “Later” is a no because of the “X Factor Death.”

Trust Jesus as your Savior and dedicate your life to living according to His word.