DEPART FROM ME

 

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:8)

Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'  (Luke 13:26-27)

In these two passages in the Gospel of Luke, we see two contrasting attitudes: one that leads to salvation and everlasting life, and the other that leads to exclusion and everlasting death.

 The first attitude is demonstrated by Peter. He and his fishing crew had just finished a whole night of fishing and had caught nothing. As they were washing their nets, Jesus came aboard and asked to use their boat as a pulpit to teach the Word of God. After the teaching, Jesus told them to launch out into the deep water and cast the net. In spite of Peter’s misgivings, he obeyed. A miracle occurred! Jesus’ presence brought such a multitude of fish that the net could not bear the load!

 That miracle prompted Peter’s humble confession: “I am a sinful man, O Lord!” His words, “depart from me,” expressed his sense of unworthiness to be in the presence of the Holy One. That attitude is the prime prerequisite for salvation. And with that attitude, we need never fear rejection, for the Lord has said: “whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

 But contrast this with the ones who ARE cast out! (Luke 13:26-27) They felt that they had a right to enter the Master’s house! “Hey, we ate and drank with you! You taught in OUR streets!” Note: “our streets,” as though Jesus should have felt privileged to teach in THEIR streets. Well, they will not enter HIS kingdom. Note too: Jesus was speaking to the religious people of His day, the ones who trusted that they were acceptable because of their religious activities. But Jesus says, “Depart from me!” All their self-righteous religion Jesus called “evil.” Compare this passage with Matthew 7:21-13, given on another occasion. Jesus calls the self-righteous "workers of lawlessness."

That expression, "Depart from me," is an allusion to Psalm 6:8 --

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. 

David, as God's anointed, foreshadowed His Greater Son, Jesus. As David's enemies oppressed him, Christ's enemies sought to destroy Him. Religious as those enemies were, they were "workers of evil" and "workers of iniquity." 

So it comes down to this: If we feel Peter’s sense of unworthiness to be in the Lord’s presence, if we, as the repentant tax collector, refuse to even lift up our eyes toward heaven, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” we will find acceptance with God and will be welcomed into Christ’s kingdom. We will never hear His “Depart from me.”

 

OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.' " Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. (Isaiah 38:1-5)

It wasn’t a doctor who gave Hezekiah the prognosis for the illness that had broken out into a painful boil – it was a prophet. And no less of a prophet than Isaiah! Hezekiah’s reaction was quite understandable. I’ve heard preachers criticize the king for his weeping and pleading, but Hezekiah was only thirty-nine years old! It was Moses, in Psalm 90, who said a man’s years were seventy or even eighty. Hezekiah’s ancestor King David lived to be seventy.

So Hezekiah was planning on many more years to serve Yahweh his God as king over Judah. Now he’s told it’s all coming to an end. “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.”

In light of God’s answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, it might seem that Isaiah’s declaration was just a test. (That’s what I penciled in the margin of my Bible!) It was, indeed, a test for Hezekiah, but it was also literally true. Hezekiah still had a death sentence upon him, but it was postponed for fifteen years. He would still die at age fifty-four!

How much we take for granted in this life! What precious moments we squander! I’m reminded of a poem a heard many years ago:

“Lost, one golden hour,

Set with sixty diamond minutes.

No reward is offered;

It’s lost forever!”

So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:12)

HEAVENLY RELATIONSHIPS ARE BETTER

The Gospel of Luke records some words of Jesus in response to the Sadducees that might seem troubling to those who have lost a beloved spouse:

Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. (Luke 20:34-36)

A close examination of this passage reveals that the relationships of those who have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord will be infinitely better after the resurrection in the heavenly kingdom.

The Sadducees taunted Jesus with the Old Testament law that provided for a widow by requiring the deceased’s brother to marry her (Deuteronomy 25:5), and thus they hoped to discredit the doctrine of bodily resurrection. In answering the Sadducees, Jesus referred to the marriage customs of the time. Arranged marriages were common, young women were “given in marriage.” Though we speak today of the father “giving away” the bride, it is hardly the same as it was then. What’s more, young widows were expected to remarry for practical reasons. Jesus’ answer revealed that the resurrection life in the age to come will be radically different – and better—than life in this fallen world of death and bereavement.

First of all, Jesus says that “those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead” will enter into a new relationship with those they love, a relationship infinitely higher than the cultural norms in our fallen world. Marriage was instituted by God to provide companionship (primarily for the man, who seems to have had the greater need) and to propagate the human race (Gen. 2:18; 1:28). The need to propagate the race will no longer exist in the eternal kingdom, and need for companionship will be fulfilled in a greater way than we can imagine. There will be no loneliness in heaven!

Second, that new relationship is a relationship of pure love. As resurrected “sons of God,” we will share God’s character, free of sin, and therefore free of selfishness. “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), and so we will know and show that pure love toward our departed loved ones, toward others, and most importantly toward God.

Third, that relationship is a permanent relationship: “for they cannot even die anymore: (Luke 20:36). The emphatic words in this statement are striking: “even” and “anymore,” The subordinate conjunction “for” implies that this resurrected, immortal new life is the reason for the new relationship. In this fallen world, the traditional marriage vow is “till death do us part” or “as long as we both shall live.” Death ends that relationship as every widow or widower painfully knows. In this life, death hangs over every relationship. Christ came to free us from that dread by securing eternal life for everyone who trusts in Him:

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

(Hebrews 2:14-15)

 In the age to come, our relationship of pure love will have no end!

So, far from being a disappointing declaration, Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees unveils a new relationship of love in the heavenly kingdom that is pure and everlasting. We will see them again, indeed, and it will be infinitely better than before!

WRITE THIS IN A BOOK

Since the written word was essential in communicating God’s truth, we might wonder when was the first time God commanded someone to write something. What did he command to be written and why? I was surprised to find that the first use of the verb “to write” in the Bible is in Exodus 17:14:

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

(Exodus 17:14)

The first command to write was a pronouncement of judgment! It was against a people known as Amalek or the Amalekites. This vicious tribe was the very first enemy of Israel when God’s people left Egypt, and they remained the implacable enemies of God’s people through David’s reign and even into Israel’s captivity in Babylon. The Amalekites are an illustration of the enemy of God’s people today – sin!

When we understand how devastatingly destructive sin is to our lives, we can understand why God’s first command to “write” a book of remembrance has to do with judgment on this enemy of God’s people

There is a profound spiritual lesson in God's dealings with Amalek.  Theodore Epp, long-time director of Back-to-the-Bible ministries, saw Amalek as a type of the sin nature and by extension the Amalekites as specific sins.  Here God says He will "utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."  In verse 16 He states that He will "have war against Amalek from generation to generation."  The typology finds greater clarity in the life of David, especially in 1 Samuel 30.  King Saul had compromised with Amalek, sparing the "King of the Amalekites" (1 Samuel 15:9), but David (as a type of Christ) showed them no quarter (1 Samuel 30:17-19).

Note the following analogies between the Amalekites and sin in our lives:

I.            Amalek is determined to destroy God’s people before they can enter the Promised Land.

A.    The Amalekites were the first to fight against Israel after they had been delivered from Egypt through the blood of the Lamb.  (cf. Dt. 25:17)

B.     The Amalekites were determined to exterminate the people of God. (See Esther  8:3– Haman, the Agagite. “Enemy of Israel.”

II.         Amalekites attack at the weakest points and at the most vulnerable moments. (Deut. 25:18)

            “Sin that closely clings closely to us” (Compare Hebrews. 12:1)

To defeat sin we need help from our brethren – “Aaron and Hur” to come alongside (Exodus 17:12).

           

III.      Amalek must be utterly put to death – show no quarter!

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  (6)  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,  (7)  in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. (Colossians 3:5-7) 

A.    We do this by the power of the Holy Spirit.

B.     We do this through prayer (Ex. 17:9-12): personal and joint prayer.

IV.      Sin will ultimately be eradicated by the Lord.

“the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation." (Ex. 17:16)

But ultimately, He declares victory:

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." (Ex. 17:14)

 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. (Revelation 22:3) 

In this world we will have warfare with sin from generation to generation. But one day, God will "blot out the memory" of sin forever and establish His kingdom!

Christian, we need to ask ourselves: What are we doing with the Amalekites in our lives?

REFLECTED GLORY REQUIRED

Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:30)

Moses' authority as spiritual leader derived from his intimate relationship and communication with God, which resulted in the divine glow on his face. This reflected glory did not last, but faded until Moses' next encounter with the LORD. Hence, the Apostle Paul noted to the Corinthian church that Moses "used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away" (2 Cor. 3:13). In the context of Exodus we may infer that the only glory the people were to see was the reflected glory of God, not any human glory in Moses himself. The only authority Moses had was derived from his communion with God.

 By way of application, every minister of Christ today should ask himself, "Do people catch a glimpse of the glory of the Lord when I stand in the pulpit and expound His Word?" If not, what is lacking in my on communion with God?  

THIS ONE WILL BE OUR PEACE

THIS ONE WILL BE OUR PEACE

In this season we hear that comforting phrase: “Peace on Earth!” And yet we look at the world around us and see no peace. Right there is the problem: we are looking in the wrong place! Peace is not to be found in human institutions or devices. True peace is found in the Person of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. The prophet Micah revealed it over 700 years before the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago,

From the days of eternity."

Therefore He will give them up until the time

When she who is in labor has borne a child.

Then the remainder of His brethren

Will return to the sons of Israel.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock

In the strength of the LORD,

In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.

And they will remain,

Because at that time He will be great

To the ends of the earth.

This One will be our peace. (Micah 5:2-5a)

This One will be our peace!

That phrase is emphatic: “This One.”  The same expression was used of Lamech’s hope conerning his son Noah: "This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed." (Gen. 5:29)  The Song of Moses proclaims, “This Same (One) is my God” (Barnes trans.). And here in Micah, “This One” is our peace. And who is this One? The Apostle Paul makes the fulfillment clear:

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household . . . (Ephesians 2:13-19 NASB)

Isaiah’s wonderful prophecy calls this Messiah “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Those who receive this Prince of Peace as their Lord and Savior and look to Him for all their needs, experience a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

An accurate translation of that famous angelic announcement of the birth of Jesus makes it clear that the peace He gives is for those who trust in Him:

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

(Luke 2:14 ESV)

He is pleased with those who put their trust in Him. Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

SUNDAY SCHOOL IS NOT JUST FOR KIDS!

The vision for Christian education for all ages in the church setting was that of Welsh pastor Thomas Charles (1755-1814). Charles founded Sunday Schools in chapels to teach reading to the illiterate, using the Bible, and biblical doctrine to all ages. The description of Sunday Schools in Charles's Wales is now happily true of churches all over the world:

"Truly, indeed, it is only in Wales that old men and old women are to be seen leaning on their walking sticks, their spectacles on their noses, seated as a class around the Word of God, with the intention of understanding its teaching; while nearby classes of infants and children, boys and girls of every age and status, give themselves to the same task." (John Morgan Jones and William Morgan, trans. John Aaron, The Calvinistic Methodist Fathers of Wales, Vol. 2)

Thomas Charles of Bala

See you in Sunday School!

Preparing a Place

"I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly,

(2 Samuel 7:10)

"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)

God’s covenant and promise to David reaches far beyond the life of David and his son Solomon. David’s dynasty was to be an eternal reign: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” 7:13). The ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant came through David’s greatest son, Messiah Jesus. The Apostle Paul affirmed this fulfillment on his first missionary journey to Antioch in Pisidia:

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, "'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.' And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'

(Acts 13:32-34)

The Apostle James also confirmed this connection when he declared at the council in Jerusalem:

 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,  says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.” (Acts 15:15-18)

And Jesus Himself affirmed his Messiahship with this challenge to the Pharisees:

"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matthew 22:42-45)

God promised David that He would appoint a place for His people Israel where they would be safe from all harm and nourished by the Lord Himself. The physical Promised Land was not the ultimate fulfillment of that promise. The writer to the Hebrews, commenting on Psalm 95:7-11 referring to the Promised Land as God’s “rest,” says this:

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:8-10)

That “Sabbath rest” is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and it will ultimately culminate in the New Heaven and New Earth where there is perfect peace and righteousness.

When you read God’s promise to David, “I will appoint a place for My people,” can you not hear also the words of the Savior: “I go to prepare a place for you . . . that where I am you may be also”?

DOES YOUR CHURCH GIVE A SWEET AROMA?

Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day regularly. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight . . . with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. . (Exodus 29:38-39, 41)

“Something sure smells good!” We all know the pleasant aroma of savory food in the oven. God spoke to Moses about sacrifices that emitted “a pleasing aroma” to Him. In the Tabernacle in the wilderness, Aaron and his sons were to offer burnt offerings of two one-year-old lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening. Each lamb was to be offered with what amounted to two cups of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil and a quart of wine poured over the whole sacrifice. The combination of these ingredients would certainly produce a distinctive aroma that spread throughout the camp of the Israelites. Whether that would be a pleasant aroma to any particular individual would be a matter of taste. But it certainly became a characteristic aroma in the camps of Israel. Most importantly, the aroma of those sacrifices was pleasing to God because of what they represented.

The pleasantness of the aroma to God was, without a doubt, the symbolic representation of the sacrifice of His Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) The whole burnt offering pictures Christ’s complete surrender to the Father’s will, his total dedication, expressed in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, “. . . not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Another pleasant aroma that permeated the Tabernacle and undoubtedly seeped through the curtains to the surrounding camps was the daily incense that was to be offered on the golden altar in the holy place, just outside the Holy of Holies where the Ark of Testimony (or Covenant) was housed. That incense was a special formula to be used only in the Tabernacle. Israelites were forbidden to use that formula for common use, and the priests were forbidden to offer any “strange incense” on that altar. The incense represents the sacrifice of intercessory prayer. (Revelation 5:8; 8:3, 4). The prayers of God’s people, those cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and surrendered to Him in humble service are also a pleasant aroma to God.

So how does all this apply to our churches? As we have noted, the aroma of the sacrifices and the incense spread to the surrounding area. Those living in the vicinity of the Tabernacle could not miss it. The faithful would find it pleasant, as God did. The aroma of sacrifice would be a reminder every morning and evening of their covenant relationship with God. It was their spiritual atmosphere. But, from the history of Israel we know that there were others who despised the law and the worship of the Lord God. They wanted to run their own lives and they resented any restrictions. These individuals most likely hated the “smell” of those sacrifices and wished they could get away from it. Some probably did.

The Apostle Paul wrote of his ministry and that of his associates in terms of those Old Testament sacrifices:

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ESV Emphasis added)

Notice that Paul says the offering of his ministry was to God, not to people. Yet the fragrance of that ministry spreads all around! To some, those whose heart is yearning for salvation, it is a “fragrance of life,” but to those who are obstinate and rebellious, it is a “fragrance of death.” In either case, the aroma of a church should be pleasing to God. When it is, that church will attract those who love that aroma.

Does your church emit the savor of Christ’s sacrifice? Is it a pleasing aroma the God?

REFLECTED GLORY IN MINISTRY

Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him. (Exodus 34:30-35)

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. (2 Corinthians 3:12-13)

Moses' authority as spiritual leader derived from his intimate relationship and communication with God, which resulted in the divine glow on his face. This reflected glory did not last, but faded until Moses's next encounter with the LORD. Hence, the Apostle Paul noted to the Corinthian church that Moses "used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away" (2 Corinthians 3:13 NASB). In the context of Exodus we may infer that the only glory the people were to see was the reflected glory of God, not any human glory in Moses himself. And the only authority Moses had was derived from his communion with God.

           

By way of application, every minister of Christ today should ask himself, "Do people catch a glimpse of the glory of the Lord when I stand in the pulpit and expound His Word?" If not, what is lacking in my on communion with God?  Years ago, I heard of a church that had an inscription on the inside of the pulpit: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (John 12:21).  A good reminder for every preacher!

           

In the Apostle Paul's analogy, however, Moses is representative of the Old Covenant. The glory of the Old Covenant, which Paul calls "the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones" (2 Cor. 3:7) was a fading glory. It was glorious because it reflected God's holiness and righteousness; it was fading because of Israel's disobedience. God's purpose in forming a holy people of His own would be fulfilled in the New Covenant through the sacrifice of His Son and the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. That glory, "the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6), will not fade away.

MAYBE WE SHOULD CONSULT THE BIBLE

This year marks 42 years that I have been an ordained minister. I have ministered in more churches than I can count, as a missionary on both sides of the Atlantic, as a pastor, as interim pastor, and as pulpit supply. To my recollection, only one church I know of actually followed biblical standards in calling a pastor. (But it was so many years ago that I’m not sure if it really happened or if I just dreamed it!)

As a missionary, I ministered in many churches across the country, raising support, reporting on our ministry, and participating in conferences. After our missionary service, I pastored two churches and preached in churches of various denominations. What I have learned – and it’s a painful lesson – is that while churches I’ve known staunchly professed their faith in the Bible as the Word of God and pastors preached from that Bible, they instinctively turned to other resources when problems arose or major decisions had to be made.

For instance, I have ministered in several churches who were seeking a pastor, and I have shared the Bible’s standards for pastoral ministry, even providing a checklist system for evaluating a candidate based on those standards. Yet time after time churches ignored the biblical standards in favor of psychological profiles and church consultants. Their major concern, hardly concealed, is “compatibility” of the prospective pastor with the congregation. The result of such an approach is often unsatisfactory, and sometimes disastrous. Other times, in spite of the congregation’s worldly, superficial approach, the pastor turns out to be what the Bible says he should be. God is gracious!

Why would a church that claims to believe the Bible neglect to meditate every day on First Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, First Peter 5:1-4, Acts 20:28-35, and other pertinent passages before considering any candidate for the pastorate? Or nominating an elder or deacon?

Then there are those problems that inevitably arise in churches, because they are made up of people. There are interpersonal conflicts. There are differing views of ministry. There are differing priorities in many areas. Personal tastes and preferences become sources of conflict.  Time to call a “church consultant,” right? Why not first see if the Holy Spirit would reveal the root problem through prayerful reading of God's Word?

The root of every conflict is not hard to discern: it’s sin. Ministry involves challenges and decisions, but they do not have to result in conflict. It’s sin that spoils great opportunities for glorifying God and turns them into conflicts that do just the opposite!

So why don’t church members and pastors turn to Bible study and prayer when problems[i] threaten the peace of the church? Why don’t we follow our Lord’s instructions for conflict resolution as given in Matthew 18:15-17?

First, it is time-consuming and requires a great deal of effort. Agonizing in prayerful study of God’s word is not as attractive as getting a quick solution from another source. But if we’re not willing to quiet ourselves before God and listen for His “still, small voice,” we will inevitably lean on our own understanding, an act of pride.

Another reason, I’m convinced, is a lack of confidence that the Bible really has the solution to our problems, that the biblical directives will really work out best when followed. Christians – yes, even pastors – don’t really trust the Holy Spirit to guide the church by means of His Word to a godly resolution of every problem and challenge the church may face.

Admittedly, the Bible is not a problem-solution manual, but the Bible deals with our most fundamental problem – sin – in all its manifestations. Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit it guides us to repentance and restoration. We need not look for specific passages that deal with specific problems. Every book of the Bible gives insight into our nature and how we can deepen our relationship with God and others.

David James-Morse, a missionary to Peru whom I met many years ago, told of a personal crisis during his first term on the field, a crisis that nearly led to his quitting and going home. He decided instead to shut himself up in a small shack on the compound and give himself to Bible reading and prayer until God gave him guidance. And God did give James-Morse guidance. The result was a revival that resulted in several churches being established in the jungles of Peru. Well, how did he go about reading the Bible? He said he started with Genesis and just kept reading and praying until God gave him direction.

We are far too concerned about problem-solving, and far too little concerned about humbling ourselves before God. Yet in the presence of the power and wisdom of God, problems turn to praise and trials turn to triumph. The problems of every church come down to the main problem in every individual who makes up that church – sin. And at the heart of sin is pride.

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

The Apostle Paul told the Colossian church how to have peace with one another:

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:15-17 NKJV emphasis added)

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[i] The word “issue” has become more popular than “problem” in recent decades. The preference for “issue” actually grew out of lawsuits, particularly in the auto industry. If company documents contained the word “problem,” that was used as an admission of guilt! An “issue,” on the other hand, could be anything from a real problem to what color the upholstery should be! Now we all have issues!

YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES

After decades of ministry, I am more convinced than ever that it is not what we do as Christians but what we are that has the greatest impact for Christ. It is not the number of people with whom we have shared the gospel, how many conversions we can number, how many churches we have planted, or the average attendance at our services, that matters for eternity. It is the quality of our ministry that makes a lasting change in lives.

After his resurrection, just before ascending to heaven, Jesus commissioned his disciples with these words:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Certainly there is a commission to do something. The disciples’ ministry was to extend “to the end of the earth.” (Compare Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:47). But the emphasis in this last statement of Jesus’ commission was on being. “You will be my witnesses.” The power of the disciples’ words would be evident from their life. When Peter and John were called before the Jewish council for preaching gospel of Jesus and his resurrection, the council noted:

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

I’m convinced that every Christian, especially those in full-time ministry, need to give more time and attention to being what God wants us to be. That means backing off from frenetic activity in the Lord’s name at the cost of neglecting  a deepening fellowship with the Lord Himself.

An example of quality over quantity comes to mind. I know a missionary whose ministry for many years was in a support capacity. He rarely preached in Sunday services, but he always made sure he got to know every individual and couple who attended. One Sunday, a couple visited from a distant town because they had heard about the church through a radio ministry, a ministry that “support” missionary had helped set up and run. That humble missionary and his wife invited the visitors to their home for dinner, and they spent the entire afternoon listening to them pour out their sorrows. The couple shared they had come to the point of divorce, but they agreed to visit this church as the last hope for their marriage. What they found was new life in Christ. Not long afterwards that couple was baptized and became the nucleus for a new ministry in their town. It was the quality of life of that missionary, his being, that made the crucial difference.

The story repeats itself across history. I think of the Scottish pastor whose humble ministry had not produced many converts, yet one of them was a boy named Robert Moffatt, the great missionary who opened the interior of Africa to the gospel. We probably will not know until heaven just how many lives we have touched for Christ just by being faithful and by deepening our communion with Christ.

Among the people who came to Jerusalem for the Passover the week Jesus was crucified were some Greeks. They came to Phillip with this simple request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  That’s exactly what people need today! They need to see Jesus in the lives of his brethren, those born of the Spirit God. People need to take note, as did the Jewish council, that we have been with Jesus.

A DEADLY FAMINE

In an effort to understand what hunger feels like some folks have committed themselves to fasting for twenty-four hours. That this is a major challenge in our affluent culture says a lot in itself! Nevertheless, we can commend the effort to try and understand “what hunger feels like,” even though the uncomfortable feeling we get from missing a couple of meals is not really hunger.

There is a much more serious famine in our land, one with much greater consequences, deadly consequences, eternal consequences. That’s the famine the Prophet Amos spoke about:

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

Throughout the history of Israel and Judah, there were long periods of silence from God. Some of those periods of silence occurred during times of prosperity, as in the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. The people didn’t seem to care. They were prosperous, things were going well. As the two kingdoms sank deeper into idolatry and its consequent evil behavior, God sent prophets to call them to repentance. But time was running out for both Israel and Judah. After Amos, only one prophet, Hosea, would speak for God to the northern tribes. Then in 722 B.C. Shalmanezer, King of Assyria, would carry them away into exile. As for Judah, after the prophecy of Malachi, the people would languish over 400 years in spiritual famine until God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the promised Messiah.

Now we Christians live in the light of the New Covenant, with the full revelation of God in the Person of His Son (Hebrews 1:2) and the guidance of His Holy Spirit through His completed Word. So is there a famine of the Word of God today? Apparently there is. And as in ages past, it is self-induced. As the ancient Israelites rejected or carelessly neglected God’s Word, even so professing Christians today are neglecting the completed Bible.

Recent surveys have revealed that even regular church attenders spend very little time, if any, each week reading God’s Word. A small minority have actually read through the entire Bible even once. As for pastors, while most say they refer to the Bible in their sermons and include Bible reading in the worship service, it is evident that very few expound the Bible clearly in context and make practical application to their congregations. Alistair Begg gave several reasons for the decline in expository preaching:

I.                   A lack of confidence in the Bible.

II.                Fighting the wrong battles

III.             Using the wrong role models: e.g. business, psychology.

(From “What Happened to Expository Preaching?” The Pastor’s Study, Vol. II)

While few would admit it, many pastors lack faith in the Holy Spirit to change lives through God's Word. Expository preaching lets the Word of God speak for itself by drawing attention to the timeless principles God revealed and applied to His people down through the ages. The Holy Spirit uses “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) to work where only God can work – in the heart!

F. B. Meyer (1847-1929) saw the same lack of expository preaching in his day, and he urged pastors to preach expositorily. His book Expository Preaching Plans and Methods is still well worth reading today, and it’s available in print or on Kindle.

One major reason the average Christian doesn’t read the Bible is because he or she has no idea of the richness of its progressive revelation and the practical wisdom revealed there. Creating a hunger for the Word is a large part of the pastor’s job.

 There certainly is a famine of hearing the words of the LORD today. And the effects of this famine are evident in the weakness of spiritually emaciated Christians in our churches.

MOSES'S FUNERAL PSALM

It seems that Psalm 90, “A Psalm of Moses, the man of God,” is irresistible to ministers preparing a funeral message. After all, our minister’s handbooks all recommend it. The psalm does have some memorable verses on God’s eternality and man’s mortality:

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were born

Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,

Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

You turn man back into dust

And say, ‘Return, O children of men.’

For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by,

Or as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:1-4)

I always think of Isaac Watts’s great hymn, O God, Our Help in Ages Past, when I read those verses. Then there is that reality check about the nature of old age:

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

Or if due to strength, eighty years,

Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;

For soon it is gone and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)

All of the above are quite appropriate at a funeral, when everyone is forced to reflect upon the relative brevity of life. But there is more to that psalm, and the diligent pastor is loath to take verses out of context. That’s when we run into verses that disturb the atmosphere of comfort:

For we have been consumed by Your anger

And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.

You have placed our iniquities before You,

Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

For all our days have declined in Your fury;

We have finished our years like a sigh.

(Psalm 90:7-9)

Who understands the power of Your anger

And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?

(Psalm 90:11)

Anger, wrath, fury? Hardly comforting to a grieving family! And what about the unbelievers who inevitably attend the funeral of a staunch Christian? Well, maybe they need to hear about God’s wrath, but is this the right venue?

While pondering this psalm and its dubious use in funerals, I thought of the historical context in which it was most likely written. It is regrettable that this psalm is rarely expounded in all its fullness.

The first thing that ought to raise a question is why Moses, of all people, a man who lived to be 120 years old, would declare that a man’s years are seventy or eighty? When did Moses witness great numbers of people dying by age seventy or eighty? The obvious answer is during Israel’s wandering in the Sinai wilderness.

Israel had come to the southern border of the Promised Land, but they were hesitant to enter. They wanted to send scouts, one from each tribe, to spy out the land (Deuteronomy 1:22). All of those scouts except two, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a bad report on the land God had promised to give them. The negative report prevailed and the adult population refused to enter the land. In consequence of this lack of faith and obedience, God’s sentence was passed:

'None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD fully.' "So the LORD'S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed. (Numbers 32:11-13)

The total number of men twenty years old and older at that time, minus Joshua and Caleb, was 603,548. That means that during the forty years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness, the nation would average over 1,200 funerals a day! And that was only the men. In addition to judgments for particular acts of rebellion, Moses witnessed the once hearty soldiers, all once fit for war, aging and weakening. He observed that by age 70 most were finished, but some were stronger and struggled on till 80, stooped and aching. And this end was the judgment for their disobedience, their failure to believe God. They were literally “consumed by (God’s) anger.”

Commentators have rightly seen a universal principle these verses: death is God’s judgment for man’s rebellion in Eden. Verse 3 clearly refers to Genesis 3:19 (though a different word for ‘dust’ is used): “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Moses’s witnessing of death in the wilderness caused him to reflect on that tragedy in the garden and its universal consequences.

 But the Bible makes a distinction in the case of God’s redeemed saints:

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones. (Psalm 116:15)

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:21-23)

Derek Kidner observed: “In an age which was readier than our own to reflect on mortality and judgment, this psalm was an appointed reading (with 1 Cor. 15) at the burial of the dead: a rehearsal of the facts of death and life which, if it was harsh at such a moment, wounded to heal.”[1] Psalm 90 has been a part of both Jewish and Christian funerary liturgy for centuries. 

Still, Psalm 90, Moses’s Funeral Psalm, needs to be presented in its context. Though death is a universal result of sin having entered the world, it is not God’s wrath that ushers one of his beloved saints into heavenly fellowship with Him.

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[1] Kidner, Derek. Psalms 73-150. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries.

THANKSGIVING: THE KEY TO MENTAL HEALTH

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

Every age has had its share of anxiety ever since the tragedy in Eden. But everything is moving faster in our hi-tech era, and that increases anxiety. We feel as though we're always behind.

Medications and treatments for anxiety and depression are a big business, but people are as stressed out as ever. What's the cure? Well, before we can cure a disease, we need to properly diagnose it. The Scriptures make it clear that anxiety and depression are spiritual problems. So the cure for them must also be spiritual.

Jesus recognized our natural propensity to worry when he encouraged his disciples to give their anxieties to God and trust Him to provide for all their needs (Matthew 6:25-34). He also urged us not to "borrow trouble" from tomorrow: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34)

The Apostle Paul in the passage quoted above, specifically addresses the problem of anxiety, and he gives us a succinct prescription:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."  First there is a request: Take your anxieties to God, let Him know what's troubling you and ask for His help. Then, and most importantly, thank Him for all that He has already done and for whatever He chooses to do in the present and future. It is a well-established fact that thankful people are less anxious than ingrates! 

We have so very much to be thankful for. As you read this, God has given us another day to enjoy our family and friends, to work and provide for our families, to enjoy our hobbies and recreation, to wonder at the beauty of His creation, to share His blessings and salvation with others. How thankful we should be!

When we follow God's prescription, God guarantees the results: "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

BIG SAUL AND LITTLE SAUL

Big Saul started out as Little Saul. Little Saul started out as Big Saul. Both were of the tribe of Benjamin. The first Saul considered that pedigree a little thing; the second Saul considered it a big thing. The first Saul exalted himself to his own destruction; the second Saul abased himself to his own salvation and exaltation. The first Saul feared the people; the second Saul feared only God.

            King Saul is memorialized and honored in Jewish history as Israel’s first king. Yet the Hebrew Scriptures reveal a man of poor character, devoid of a personal relationship with Yahweh, God of Israel. He was superstitious, paranoid, and vindictive. He constantly relied on his own devices and feared the disapproval of men. In the end, King Saul consulted a medium for guidance since the LORD had abandoned him.

            Saul of Tarsus, on the other hand, began his career as an honored leader of Pharisaic Judaism in the 1^st century A.D, a disciple of the renowned theologian Gamaliel. This Saul took pride in being of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5). His zeal for what he considered to be the truth of God moved him to persecute the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Saul considered to be a threat to the covenant faith of Israel. After his encounter with the risen Jesus, however, Saul of Tarsus cast off all honor and prestige, preferring to be known as Paul, his Greek name meaning “little.” (See Philippians 3:4-14; Acts 13:9ff) Though persecuted relentlessly, Paul committed himself to the Lord (Acts 20:22-24; Philippians 1:19-21). Paul, “Little Saul,” sought no approval from men (Galatians 1:10, 15-24).

            Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12), and “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).  No two men in Scripture illustrate this contrast better than Saul Ben-Kish[1] and Saul of Tarsus.

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[1] Our English Bible identify Saul as “son of Kish,” which was one hyphenated surname in the Hebrew: ben (son) + Kish, hence, Ben-Kish. 

The Essential Key to Spiritual Understanding

"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself." (John 7:17)

 A willing heart of obedience is an absolute prerequisite for understanding God's Word.  Only to an obedient heart does God make known his most precious truths.  That person "comes to understand, to comprehend" (Greek ginosko) the teaching of our Lord.  The Pharisees were not willing to do what God might reveal to them, so God would not illuminate their minds to understand what Jesus was teaching.  They felt they could judge God’s Word, rather than letting God’s Word judge them. 

In 1 Corinthians 2:14-15, Paul says, "But the natural (soulish) man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one."  But the Corinthian Christians were neither "natural," that is, unsaved people, nor spiritual people: they were "carnal" (fleshly) Christians, infantile in their understanding of spiritual truths.  So they could not fully comprehend the deep things of God.  Paul says he had to feed them with "milk" and not "solid food," because they were not able to digest it.

Christians whose focus is still on themselves--on their own desires, their own ambitions, their own pleasures--are still "fleshly" and are not able to receive the rich doctrines of God's Word.  And this fleshly attitude results in "envy, strife, and divisions" (1 Corinthians 3:3). 

Only when we have a true heart of complete obedience will God open our spiritual eyes to the most precious riches of His Word.  We need the heart of Samuel who said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” 

Let’s pray with the “sweet psalmist” David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)