Share and Grow

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:8).

Beloved,

One of the best ways to build a stronger relationship is through communication. Communication was taken from the Latin word “communicare” meaning to share. Communication allows you to share your dreams, passions, struggles and hurts with someone else.  Prayer is sharing your praises, petitions and confessions with God. One of the best ways to build a stronger relationship with God is to share your heart with Him through prayer. 

We are called to trust God at all times.  We demonstrate our trust in God as we pour our hearts out before him.  As we go to God in prayer, we place God as our refuge and shelter in the storms of our lives. Prayer allows us to share all that we are with God.  Sharing our inner struggles and deep hurts always deepens the bond of relationships.  How can we expect to grow in our relationship with God without pouring our hearts out to Him? 

Therefore, prayer is a tool to strengthen our relationship with God and to build our trust in His promises.  Prayer is spiritual breathing. We praise God for allowing sinners to come to Him through Jesus Christ. We confess our sin and our lack of faith. We ask for God’s help to increase our faith. We thank Him for hearing our prayers and helping us in our time of need.

Prayer keeps us humble for it reminds us of our ever-present need of our great Savior. Without prayer, we are tempted to trust ourselves and not to trust Him at all times. As we pour out our hearts to God, we show our trust is in Him, our refuge and strong tower.  If we neglect prayer, we are neglecting one of the greatest tools to share our lives with God.  If we neglect prayer, we are neglecting one of the greatest tools to grow our trust in God. Therefore, pour out your hearts to God in prayer.  He is waiting and ready to listen.  Share your heart and grow in faith.

The Blindness of Sin (Luke 18:9-17)

            On May 9, 1864 Union General John Sedgwick led his Union forces against the Confederate army at the Battle of the Spotsylvania Court House. Confederate sharpshooters stood 1,000 yards away and starting firing shots at the Union army. As the shots were fired, the Union soldiers ducked for cover. Sedgwick stood tall and looked down with contempt at his men saying, “What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?” The shots continued to come and his soldiers continued to duck for cover.  The proud Sedgwick scolded his troops again and derided the Confederate forces saying, “Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance.”

            General John Sedgwick held his own men in contempt and mocked the Confederate forces.  Within moments after demonstrating his proud contempt, Sedgwick was hit below the left eye and fell dead. Sedgwick was the highest ranking Union casualty during the Civil War. He walked in pride, and he was humbled as Daniel 4:37 states, “And those who walk in pride the Lord is able to humble.” Sedgwick is a great example of how quick our words can come back upon us. He was the top in his field before his pride led to his sudden demise.

            We all probably can think of individuals that were on the top in their field, but quickly fell from grace: Tiger Woods, Richard Nixon, Lance Armstrong, Mark Sanford, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, etc. They were looked up to and respected, and then, the scandal breaks and they become social pariahs; the top to the bottom overnight. Our natural response is to crucify the fallen and join the public with the verbal lynching, but is this the best response? Is it best to focus on the sins of others and how we are different from “them”? Or would it be more beneficial to focus on how we are like “them” to guard against the pride in our own hearts?

            We all have sin in our hearts.  We all have the potential for grievous sin.  How we respond to the sin of others may be a warning to us in how we may be blind to our own sin? The sin of others should be a warning to us that we are capable of the same sin.  If we only see the sin in others, we are blind to sin that lies in the heart.  Jesus says in Matthew 15:19-20,

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.

We all have the seeds of these sins in our hearts and therefore, we have the capacity to commit any of these sins.  And because these sins lie in our hearts, we are defiled and we should not trust in ourselves.  Seeing the sin in our hearts, should expose our need for a Savior.

            Jesus tells this parable to people who were blind to their need of true righteousness and to those whose pride showed itself in contempt for others.  Luke 18:9,

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

Jesus does not want us to trust in ourselves or to treat others with contempt so we must first examine our hearts by asking, “Are we blind to sin?

Are you Blind to Sin?

            Jesus continues to teach on prayer as this parable consists of two men going to the temple to pray. There are two men, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Let us first ask how we are like the Pharisee, Luke 18:10-12,

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

The Pharisee was doing religious activity.  He was going to the temple to pray.  He fasted twice a week. Remember that it was required for Jews to fast one day once a year, but the Pharisees implemented voluntary fast twice a week for the deliverance for their nation.  They tithed on all their income.

            If you met a Christian that prayed regularly, fasted twice a week for our nation, and tithed on all their income, we would look at them as pillars in the church.  Think about it. The average Christian today only attends church twice a month, let alone twice a week.  Christians give a lesser percentage today than they did during the Great Depression.  According to a Barna research poll, in 2012 only 12% of evangelical Christians gave their tithe (10%) of their income to the church and/or charitable organization[i]. We may want to distance ourselves from this Pharisee, but on the surface, he was doing everything a religious person should have been doing. 

            The main problem with the Pharisee was not his lack of activity, but how he did his activity and what he thought his activities earned him.  Notice that this man places his trust in his service.  “‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” This man places the emphasis on his own strength and his own efforts to please God.  He believed that his efforts made him righteous in God’s sight.  1 Peter 4:11 says,

Whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.

He was robbing God of glory, because he was not giving God any credit for his service. He was taking the glory that belongs only to God. 

            He thought that his service set him apart from other men. He said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” Here is where we see the Pharisee’s blindness.  He puts himself above other men.  He is denying his sin and his need for a savior. The truth is that this man is just like other men for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but he has been blinded by his sin. C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity,

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”

 The proud person is always looking down at others rather than up towards God. 

            We should open our eyes and examine our pride.  “Are you blinded by sin?” is a difficult 

question to answer, because if we are blind to something than we do not know it.  Are you like this Pharisee?  Do you take comfort and pride in how your religious activities are superior to others?  Do you compare how much better you are doing than others? The truth is that many, if not all of us, probably practice some form of this pharisaical pride.  It is subtle, and very dangerous.

            There are certain activities or talents that we may think that we do better than other people. And when we focus on those gifts in comparison to others, our hearts can creep towards contempt. For example, someone may start to think how their priorities are better than others because how much time they spend in evangelism.  They focus on how much evangelism and outreach they are doing, then they start to focus on how little evangelism and outreach others may be doing… “I thank God that I am not like other people who do not care about lost.” Or someone may think how much more faithful they are to the church than others.  They focus on how they attend more services and rarely miss while others appear to be part-time church members… “I thank God that I am not like other people who do understand the importance of the church.” 

Our good works can blind us. We may not be full blown Pharisees, but we all may be tempted to think like one in certain areas. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” Everything we have, our desire for evangelism or our faithfulness to church, has been given to us.  If then we have received it, why do we boast as if we did not? Boasting in our gifts blinds us to our sin.  The same person who has a heart for evangelism may not tithe or the one who regularly attends church may not share their faith. Beloved, ask yourself, “How often do you try to distance yourself from others by your behavior?” It may be more beneficial to your heart to realize how much you are like other men.

Are you Burdened by Sin?

            The second man came to pray in the temple, but his demeanor was much different. Luke 18:13,

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

This man was burdened by his sin.  We know tax collectors were outcasts from their kinsmen because of they were working for the Romans. The Romans would allow them to overcharge the people so many tax collectors became wealthy through their dishonesty.  We do not have any details about this tax collectors behavior, but we know this tax collector understood his sin. He knew what his sins deserved. 

          

  Friend, if you are not a Christian, please know that we are happy to have you here today, there is no other place we would desire you to be. Have you thought of yourself as a sinner? The prevailing view in our culture is that humans are fundamentally good, but the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The core of the human heart is not good, but sinful. And if we are sinful, have you ever thought of what we all deserve because of our sins? The Bible says that we deserve death because of our sins.  God is good and kind to us, yet we have spurned his kindness by rejecting Him. Sin is ultimately a rejection against God.  And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of Almighty God.  Friend, the first step towards forgiveness is realizing your need, like this tax collector.  He beat his breast saying, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” He confessed his sin and his need for mercy. 

            There are always people who trust in themselves and believe in their own righteousness. Jesus says in Matthew 5:20,

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

We need righteousness. And God sent us righteousness through Jesus Christ. Christ came to suffer for our sins; the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.  The mercy is not giving us what we do deserve.  Although we deserve death, God sent Christ to die for us, in our place so that we could receive life.  Jesus died, but God raised Him up on the third day for our justification. Hear Romans 4:25,

Righteousness will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

We receive God’s righteousness not by our religious activities, like the Pharisee thought, but by believing that God raised Jesus our Lord from the dead after delivering him up for our trespasses. 

When we believe in Jesus, we are declared not guilty or justified. Jesus drives home this point in the parable in verse 14,

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

The sinful tax collector left justified by God while the Pharisee remained in his sins. The one, who understood his sin, humbled himself and was accepted by God while the one, who exalted in his own righteousness, was rejected.

            Are you burdened by sin or are you burdened by your own sin? As Christians, we are too often known for maximizing the sins of others while minimizing sins of our hearts.  The more we understand our own sins, the more we will pray for God’s mercy and the more we will be burdened for sinners not by them.

Are you Burdened by Sinners?

            I am convinced the more we understand our own sin, the more we will be welcoming of sinners. Luke 18:15-17,

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

In the first century, children were not treasured and valued.  They were viewed more as a nuisance and a burden.  The disciples rebuked people who were bringing infants to Jesus.  Jesus completely flips the situation. While most rabbis diminished children, Jesus exalted them in saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

Jesus goes one step farther by telling the disciples to not only allow the children to come, but to become like them. He says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” The humble, dependent attitude of a child is the same attitude that Jesus wants of his people.  Jesus is applying the previous parable to the disciples.  We should not hinder the humble from coming to God, but welcoming them with open arms for no one can receive the kingdom without humility.  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The disciples were burdened by these little sinners when they should be burdened for these little ones.  Beloved, as a church, we must always protect our hearts from pride and self-exaltation.  The proud will be humbled.  How we receive people into our community will reveal if we have the heart of a Pharisee or of a tax collector!! Will we be burdened by sinners or will we be burdened for sinners?

This is a crucial question for us.  What kind of church will we be? Will we be the kind of church that welcomes the sinner with the grace in which God has welcomed us or will we be a church that grumbles when sinners enter our community? Will we identify ourselves with sinners or we will look down on sinners with contempt?

Beloved, I pray we will be a church that is burdened for sinners. Jesus Christ was not burdened by us, but for us.  Will we do the same for others?

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[i] http://churchexecutive.com/archives/barna-poll-tithing-stable-in-2012-evangelicals-content-with-their-personal-financial-status accessed 9.13.2014
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Does God Hate?

“Hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  This statement is as standard in the church as air conditioning is in the south.  We have heard it so much that we just assume it is true.  The truth is that “hate the sin, but love the sinner,” is never found in the pages of Scripture.  It is believed to have come from St. Augustine in one of his letters when he writes, “Cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum, which roughly translates as “With love for mankind and hatred of sins.”[1] 

Augustine lived a wild life before the prayers of his mother were answered in his conversion. Our culture has corrupted Augustine’s original meaning by twisting its emphasis.  Augustine was referring to loving others and hating one’s own sins. The phrase regained modern popularity not with a Christian thinker, but with religious, pacifist Gandhi. Gandhi writes in his autobiography in 1929, “Hate the sin and not the sinner is a precept which though easy enough to understand is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world.”  Gandhi did not promote the phrase, but rather his quote has been taken out of context and popularized in our culture.

            All truth is God’s truth so regardless of where this phrase originated, we have to ask, “Is it true?”  Does God love the sinner and hate the sin?  And if so, should we? The answer is Yes and No.  Does God love the sinner?  Absolutely.  Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Does God hate sin? Absolutely. Habakkuk 1:13, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong,” God cannot look on evil with approval.  But does God hate the sinner?  The answer is yes.  Psalm 5:4-6,

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

And this is not an isolated verse.  The Bible says that God hates sinners 14 times in the first 50 Psalms.[2] And this doctrine is not only seen in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament in Romans 1:18-2:5 and John 3:36.

            The Bible is too complex for clichés. Obadiah offers wonderful insight on God’s holy hatred towards sin and His holy love towards His covenant people.  Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament consisting of only 21 verses.  All we know about the author is his name given in the first verse, “The vision of Obadiah.” Obadiah means the “servant of Yahweh.”  There is no other biographical information of him in the next and his name was very common in Israel.  The prophecy can be broken down in two sections: a prophecy against Edom and a prophecy for Judah.

God Hates Pride

            Obadiah opens his prophecy with a pronouncement against Edom. Obadiah 1:2-4,

Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!” Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD. (Obadiah 1:1-4 ESV)

Edom was located in a mountainous region southeast of the Dead Sea.  They believed that they were secure from their enemies because of their location. 

It is difficult to win battles when the opposing side has the high ground.  The Edomites thought they were safe because of their lofty position.  The Lord exposes how pride has deceived them.  Verse 3,

The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “who will bring me down to the ground?”

They believed that they were untouchable; they believed that no nation was able to defeat them because of their position.  They ask a rhetorical question” who will bring me down to the ground? but surprisingly the Lord answers them. Verse 4,

Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring down, declares the Lord.

Their pride deceives them with false security.

    Pride is dangerous to the soul. Pride blinds us to our sin. Both James and Peter quote Proverbs 3:34 saying,

“God opposes the proud.”

God is set against the proud.  Proverbs 6:16-19,

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

God sets Himself up against those who are arrogant and disdainful.  C.S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity,

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man... It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.”

Does that describe you?  Are you always looking down on other people and their pursuits? Do you have pleasure and contentment in what you have or that you have more than others?  The proud are condescending and rude. They never look to serve others, but only themselves. 

            This was Edom.  They thought much of themselves so God, said, “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.”  Your pride has caused you to despise others, therefore you will be despised. As Jesus warns us, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you “(Matt. 7:1-2). How did Edom’s pride manifest itself? They persecuted God’s people.

God Hates Persecutors

            The prophecy continues against Edom showing that they will be completely pillaged and ransacked.  The nation of Edom came from the line of Esau.  Obadiah draws out the comparison between Jacob and Esau.  As Jacob and Esau were brothers, Edom should know its special relationship with God’s people. Yet instead of loving God’s people, they persecuted them.  Verses 5-9,

If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night— how you have been destroyed!— would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out! All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you— you have no understanding. Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau? And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. (Obadiah 1:5-9 ESV)

It is interesting how the Lord speaks of future events as if they had already happened, “you have been destroyed!” and “Esau has been pillaged.” The Lord’s judgments are so sure that when He announces them, they are as good as complete. Edom will be destroyed, but we do not yet know when Edom will be destroyed or why the Lord will execute His judgment against Esau. 

            The Lord calls out Edom for how they persecuted His people.  Why will Edom be destroyed, Verse 10,

Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.

 Those who do violence to God’s people will have violence done to them. Since Edom cut off its help to Jacob, God will cut off His help to them.  The Lord continues in verse 11,

On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, the Edomites did not offer any assistance to help His people.  And in not acting for God’s people, they were acting against God’s people.  God takes it very serious when people act against His people.  When people act against God’s people, it is as if they are acting against God Himself.  On the road to Damascus, Jesus Christ appeared to the then Saul of Tarsus.  Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” As far as we know, Saul of Tarsus never met Jesus in person, then how could Saul be persecuting Jesus? Well, Jesus so closely identified with his special people that, as Mark Dever notes, “Actions against God’s people are actions against God.”  To sin against God’s people was to sin against God. 

            Do you see why God cares so much about unity and love in the local church?  God hates persecutors of His people, because to persecute other Christians is to persecute God.  God indwells believers by the Holy Spirit so to attack God’s people is to attack God.  Does that put a greater weight on how we are called to live and love each other as a body of Christ? We are even identified as the “body of Christ.”  This is an intimate picture of God and His people. 

            Obadiah promises Edom will face a future judgment on that Day and there will be nothing they can do to stop it. Verse 8-9,

Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau? And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter

The wise and the strong will not be able to help on that day. Notice the irony in which the Lord speaks on how often “the day” is used in verses, 11-16,

On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. (Obadiah 1:11-16 ESV)

The Lord says do not rejoice or gloat when God’s people suffer, because the Day of the Lord is near.  “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return to your own head.”

            The Lord is fulfilling the golden rule.  What you do unto to others, will be done unto you.  This is a common theme throughout Scripture.  In light of the day of the Lord, when you will be held accountable for your actions, you must live in a way that honors God by honoring God’s people. 

God Hates Prince of Darkness

            Our world is fallen.  People live in fear. But God promises a day when He will come and restore His people.  Obadiah 17-21,

But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken. Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau, and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines; they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. The exiles of this host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negeb. Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

God will restore His people Israel through His Son when He will establish His kingdom forever. Obadiah speaks about a future days when the exiles in Babylon will possess the land.  This can only happen through the work of Jesus Christ who will destroy the works of the Prince of Darkness. Hebrews 2:14-15,

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

The only way to destroy the one who has the power of death, the devil, is for the Jesus to share flesh and blood like us then to die in our place.  Jesus hates the Devil and therefore He destroys him through his death and then delivers all those who through the fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 

           

God hates evil and he hates those who bring evil.  And although holiness puts Him at odds with evil, His love is always available to those who repent and trust in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to taste death for everyone that through Him they may possess the promise land and experience a kingdom that cannot be shaken.  No one who stands against God will stand, but everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  The last line should give every Christian hope, “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”  Take hope beloved, the Lord will reign.  He is the only lasting King, and will rule the only lasting kingdom.  Do not stand against Him in pride, but humble yourselves so that He may exalt you at the proper time. God will destroy enemies and He will deliver His people.  You can experience His love by turning to Christ and trusting in His death on your behalf or you can wait for His wrath.  John 3:16-18,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

God sent Jesus so that you might be saved through Him. God does not want you as His enemy. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. Believe in Him.  Turn and experience His love today.  Submit to Him as your King for, “The kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”  Hate your sin by loving the Savior.

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[1] http://theproclaimedword.blogspot.com/2012/02/thats-not-in-bible-hate-sinner-love-sin_12.html accessed on 9.9.14

[2] Carson, D.A. The Difficult Doctrine of God’s Love. Crossway Books; Wheaton. C.2000

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Complete Installation

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:17-18

Beloved,           

A friend recently came to my house to help me install a ceiling fan.  I had the fan for about two months, but did not feel confident to complete the task without help.  My friend came and guided me along the process of the installation.  He walked me through turning the power off and removing the old fan. Then he guided me through installing the new fan piece by piece and step by step. Without the help of my friend, I would not have started or have been able to complete the task.  In many ways, my friend was acting similar to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit begins and finishes the work of salvation.  Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  As the Holy Spirit first opens our eyes, He continues to guide us to a deeper relationship with Christ. He convicts us of our sin when we are going in the wrong direction. He guides us through the Word of God to live in righteousness and holiness. He gives us strength and gifts to do the good works that God has prepared for us in advance. 

The Holy Spirit leads us step by step until we are complete and mature lacking in nothing.  Jesus says that, “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot start our journey of faith, continue our journey or complete our journey. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. Therefore, we must be willing to ask for help and guidance from the Holy Spirit.

We must pick up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. As we read the Word, the Holy Spirit convicts and corrects, guides and directs us into truth.  As Spurgeon says, “And even the Bible, itself, without the Spirit of God is but a lantern without a light!”

Beloved, we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance and wisdom to live in truth. Therefore, we must be praying all times in the Spirit, looking to Him to complete God’s work of salvation in us and to equip us for the good works the Lord has called us to complete. 

The Marks of Persevering Prayer Luke 18:1-8

Dennis Jernigan was born in 1954 in Salpulpa, Oklahoma. He was raised in a Christian home and attended a Baptist church.  Although he was surrounded by Christian influences, Dennis struggled with homosexuality.  He battled with same-sex attraction from middle school through his early twenties.  One day while at a concert, Jernigan was born-again by the Spirit of God.  He confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and began his lifelong sanctification journey. Upon his conversion, Jernigan started writing music and now his songs are sung all over the world.  I remember singing his songs in college,

You are my strength when I am weak / You are the treasure that I seek / You are my all in all / Seeking You as a precious jewel / Lord to give up I’d be a fool / You are my all in all.  Jesus, Lamb of God / Worthy is Your name / Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is Your Name.

Jernigan has helped Christians lifted their voices in praise and worship for over 30 years.  How did this once practicing homosexual change to become a world-wide worship leader? The answer came after a concert in his mid-thirties about ten years after he began his musical career.

            A woman named June Smith approached him after a concert.  Ms. Smith had been part of Jernigan’s grandmother’s weekly prayer group.  Ms. Smith asked Jernigan if he remembered going over to his grandmother’s house to play the piano when he was a young boy. Of course Jernigan remembered and Ms. Smith said, “Your grandmother would stand behind you and pray over you that God would allow you to use your love for music to worship him. She came to our weekly prayer group and asked us to agree with her in that prayer.  We prayed for you every week for years.” Then she said, “And son, we still do.”  Jernigan became a world-wide vehicle for worship because of the faithful persevering prayers of his grandmother and her friends.  His grandmother would never live to see the fruit of her prayers, but without her prayerful perseverance Jernigan may still be lost in homosexuality. Persevering prayer helped to transform Dennis Jernigan. 

            Prayer is powerful.  Jesus wants His people to pray and not lose heart. It took years and years of prayers of a group of godly older women to transform a lost young man to a new creation in Christ.  I want to share from this text 5 marks of persevering prayer. 

Prayer should be Regular

            It is important to keep in mind the context of this parable.  Jesus just finished teaching on the coming of the kingdom of God when the Son of Man comes in glory.  This parable is connected to this previous teaching by the last sentence, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  Jesus gives this parable as an encouragement to persevere/  Luke 18:1 says, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”  The word translated for “ought” here is the Greek word “dei.” It is used consistently by Luke to give imperatives to the reader.  We “must” always pray and not lose heart.  Prayer should be as regular to the Christian as breathing. 

            DL Moody was teaching at an elementary school on one of his trips to Scotland.  He started with a rhetorical question, “What is prayer?” And a number of hands shot up to the sky, curiosity caused Moody to call one of the children who said, “"Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." (Answer #98 in the Westminster Catechism) Moody smiled and looked at the boy and said, “Be thankful son, you were born in Scotland.”[1] Prayer is simply offering up your desires God in the name of Christ by the help of His Spirit.  Prayer is asking for God’s help and mercy. 

            Prayer should be a regular part of the Christian life so much so that Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” Christians should always pray.  This doesn’t mean we are only praying and never doing anything else, but rather it means we are always bringing our needs to God.  “God help me concentrate during this sermon, help me eat well today, strengthen me to serve my children, provide for our family’s daily needs, help my kids make good friends, heal my friend of cancer, keep me safe on the road, etc.  What are your needs? Take those needs and bring them to God in prayer. 

Prayer should be Repeated

            We not only should pray, but we should pray repeatedly to our Father.  Jesus told this parable not only to encourage his disciples to pray, but to pray and not lose heart.  We continue to lift our requests to continue regardless of whether we believe they are being heard.  Jesus begins the parable proper in verse 2,

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

The widow was given justice because her repeated pleas for mercy. 

            After preaching one Sunday morning on marriage, a woman came up to me and told me how hard it was to continue to pray for her husband.  She had been going to church alone for 13 years.  Every Sunday she would leave the house alone, walk into the church alone, hear the Word alone, and go home alone.  And after praying week after week, year after year, for her husband to start to come to church, she looked at me that Sunday morning and said, “It is hard to continue to pray.”  And you know what? It is hard, but we still should always pray and not lose heart.  I told her that I was going to start praying with her for her husband and by God’s grace, her husband started coming every Sunday morning to worship, and then starting coming every week to Sunday School.  He is now a vital part of that congregation because a woman was faithful to persevere in prayer for her husband for over a decade.  She did not give up, but reaped the harvest of her prayers at the proper time (Gal 6:9).

            Beloved, I know that there are things in your life that you have asked God for years and years to have been left unanswered. And I am confident that some of you want to give up praying; you are losing heart. Jesus wants to speak to you this morning and say that you should always pray and not lose heart.  Keep going. Do not give in.  I am with you.  I have not forsaken you. I have heard your cries for mercy.  Have courage to continue to pray. 

Prayer should be Reasonable

             Peter writes in his first epistle that you should be, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” We have anxieties and worries that God tells us to bring to him, but our request should be reasonable. Would it be wrong to ask God to give you a new car if you are anxious about reliable transportation to work? Definitely not!  Would it be wrong to ask God to give you a new Lexus so your friends would be jealous? Absolutely yes!! 1 John 5:14-15,

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

And James 4:2b-3

You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

In these three verses, we see three reasons our prayers are not answered. First, we are asking for something outside God’s will. Secondly, we are not asking. We have not because we ask not.  And third, our prayers are not answered because we ask with the wrong motives.

            The persistent widow had a very reasonable request.  She wanted justice.  Verse 3,

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him an saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

Widows were commanded throughout the Law to be cared for by society.  In this case, this widow needed justice, probably financial justice, from someone who was trying to take advantage of her.  We do not have to think this was an older widow, because woman were married as young as 13 or 14 so young widows were common (1 Tim 5:3-16).  Regardless of her age, she came repeatedly with a very reasonable request: justice. She was demanding justice.

            God’s people should care about justice.  We should desire God to vindicate us and to deliver us from persecution and trials.  Although we can make application to prayer with this parable, the thrust of the parable is focused on a specific prayer; the prayer for justice. Jesus concludes the parable verses 7-8,

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

The prayer for justice is a reasonable prayer that will be answered by our God.  The 1^st century Christians were under persecution and were crying out to God to vindicate them against their enemies.  They are much like our brothers and sisters in Christ crying out day and night for justice against the ISIS in Iraq and the Boko Haram in Nigeria. They may be tempted to lose heart and give up their prayers for mercy.  God says that He will give justice to His people.  He will avenge.  And we know that because He just promised us that the Son of Man will come and save the righteous and punish the wicked in Luke 17:20-37. 

            The greatest challenge for us in our prayers is that God answers them in His timing. God will give us final justice on the Day of the Lord. Peter connects God’s promise, patience, and the Day of Lord with a similar encourage,

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

The Lord will give us justice, but His patience is towards us so that no one would perish but all his elect would come to repentance.  We are not called to understand the Lord’s timing, but to be rooted in His character.

Prayer should be Rooted

            Jesus is offering us a lesser to greater parallel.  He is showing that if an unrighteous judge who does not respect man or fear God, but makes decisions that serve his own interests.  If an unrighteous, selfish judge like that will give justice to a persistent widow, will not God do so even more? The comparison can be clearly seen in verse 6-7,

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?

Our desire to always pray and not to lose heart should be rooted and grounded in God’s holy love for us.  Even that verse in 1 Peter 5:7 we read earlier,

Cast your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you.

Luke 11:13,

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

James 1:5,

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

God loves to bless His people. He loves to give to His children.  We see this most clearly in how he gave us unrighteous sinners, His own Son. Romans 8:32,

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

We should always pray and not lose heart because God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. If our God loves us so much that He willingly would send Jesus to die in our place, how will not also give us all things? 

            We are in Christ.  We are children of God. We are forgiven. We are righteous. We are heirs of the world to God. We are new creations.  God has already given us so much and he wants to give us more so we should pray and not lose heart.

            Friend, if you are here and not a Christian, have you ever considered how much God loves you?  Have you thought of how much God desires to have a relationship with you? The Bible says that you are unjust and will face true justice. We all have been there, but God sent his Son, Jesus Christ to bear the burden of anyone who would turn from their sins and trust in Him.  He was crucified, but was raised on the third day. And now because of His victory over the grave, we live in hope of our future resurrection.  Friend, God promises that He will give justice to His people and he invites you to be one of his people, will you come?  Confess your sins and believe in Christ. 

Prayer should be Refocusing

Prayer is an act of humility.  Every time we pray, we say to God, “I cannot do it alone. I need you.”  In this way, prayer is refocusing our dependence upon God.  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Prayer is one way God trains us in humility.  We pray because we need mercy and grace. We pray because we are insufficient in ourselves. We pray because only God can do the impossible.  We pray because our God who knows all told us to pray. 

Jesus wants us to take our eyes off of our light and momentary afflictions and to focus on the eternal weight of glory that awaits us on the return of the Son of Man.  Prayer refocuses our hearts on heaven.  Jesus knows this and therefore encourages us to always pray and not to lose heart.  Verse 8,

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Jesus draws everything back to the Day of the Lord.  When the Lord comes to bring justice to His people, will he find faith? Will he find people trusting in His name? Will he find people believing in His love? Will he find people hoping in their future resurrection on the basis of the resurrection of Christ? 

Beloved, we should have faith in God and God’s command to always pray and not lose heart. George Mueller pastored in England in the mid-late 1800s.  He established 6 different orphanage homes for children in his lifetime caring for over 10,000 children.  It is well-known that he never asked for any monetary donations to meet his financial needs except in prayer to God.  God provided (often times miraculously) every single need for the orphanage.  Mueller wanted the world to see that God is faithful and he could be trusted in all areas of life.  Listen to his words:

It seemed to me best done, by the establishing of an Orphan-House. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now, if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an Orphan-House: there would be something which, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted, of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was the primary reason, for establishing the Orphan-House. . . The first and primary object of the work was, (and still is) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided, with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without any one being asked by me or my fellow-laborers, whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL[2].

Beloved, refocus your hearts on how great our God is.  God is faithful and will always be faithful. He is faithful to hear our prayers.  He will give us justice.  He who called you is faithful; He will surely do it (1 Thess. 5:24).

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[1] http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/devote-yourselves-to-prayer accessed on 9.4.14

[2] http://www.desiringgod.org/biographies/george-muellers-strategy-for-showing-god#39 accessed 9.6.14
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Not an It

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

Beloved,

Early in my Christian life I did not understand the Holy Spirit. Sadly, in too many conversations, I would refer to Him as “It” rather than Him. I viewed Him more as an impersonal force rather the third person of the triune God. As Francis Chan has noted, the Holy Spirit too often is the Forgotten God. We cannot neglect the Holy Spirit, but rejoice in His Divine Presence. The Holy Spirit is God and cannot be neglected.

Jesus came to be our Immanuel, “God with us,” through His incarnation as man. As the time of His departure drew close, Jesus promised that He would send the Helper, the Spirit of Truth to dwell within us. John 14:17, “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” This is absolutely staggering. The Lord Almighty dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is our deposit guarantying our inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14). We no longer belong to the flesh, but the Spirit for the Spirit dwells in us. And if the Spirit of Jesus dwells in us, then the Spirit will also give life to our mortal bodies just as the Spirit raised Christ from the dead (Rom. 8:11). The presence of the Holy Spirit in our life should be our confidence that we are children of the promise.

The Holy Spirit is known as the humble member of the trinity, because His role is to make much of Jesus. We know that the Holy Spirit dwells in us if we desire to make much of Jesus. We do this through speaking words of truth and living lives of righteousness. The fruit of the Spirit-filled life is seen in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We may not have these traits as much as we want, but as these traits grow in our life, we know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us helping and guiding us to the truth.

The Holy Spirit saves us, sustains us, and sanctifies us. Without the Holy Spirit, we are dead in our trespasses and sins without hope and without God. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ so now the God of hope can fill us with all joy and peace in believing and we can overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us not downgrade the Holy Spirit by depersonalizing Him as an impersonal “it,” for He is the One who brings the personal presence of God to our lives. The Holy Spirit is God who dwells within us.