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неделя, 31 януари 2010 г. Не мрази дисциплината! А ти да охкаш в сетнините си, когато плътта ти и тялото се изтощят. Ще казваш: „Как можах да намразя дисциплината! Как можа сърцето ми да отхвърли поправлението! Не се покорявах на учителите си, нито слушах наставниците си. Малко остана да изпадна в крайна разруха сред цялото събрание [или църквата]. Това са думите на човек, който е познал пътя на праведността от дълги години и който редовно е бил виждан в църквата. Той знае как да казва „Амин”, когато проповедникът казва нещо правилно. Също така пее и знае наизуст всички песни от хвалението. Вероятно се моли в публичните събрания. И въпреки това, този човек никога не се е покорявал от сърце на истините, които е научил. Тук той е описан в края на живота си, осъзнаващ твърде късно, че е пропуснал най-важното - знаел го с ума си, но никога не го е повярвал и не му се е покорявал със сърцето си. Интересно е, че когато Исус говори за лицемерите, Той използва конкретен речник: „Краят на лицемерите ще бъде плач и скърцане със зъби”. Питал съм се, защо точно такива думи са казани относно лицемерите и вярвам, че отговорът е следният: затова, защото те са хора, които знаят всичко, но никога не се покоряват. Има особена горчивина, когато се окажеш отхвърлен, всред разруха в края на живота си при условие, че през всичките тези години си седял в църква и си знаел кое е правилно, изразявал си външно съгласие, но сърцето ти никога не е било променено. Никога не си стигал до момента на истинско предаване, посвещение и да направиш Исус наистина Господ на твоя живот. Дерек Принс Прочетете Цялата Статия... петък, 29 януари 2010 г. Да блогираме в Интернет: Прав правете пътя на Господа! Да блогираме в Интернет: Прав правете пътя на Господа! Йоан 1:23 Аз съм "глас на едного, който вика в пустинята; Прав правете пътя за Господа", както рече пророк Исаия. Да участваме в Християнски форуми, да си правим блогове на християнски сайтове е добре. Запознаваме се, общуваме, насърчаваме се и т.н. Това е добре и така трябва да бъде, но това е само едната страна на нещата. Трябва да не стоим затворени и изолирани в тези форуми и сайтове, а да излезем навън. Да се включим в други форуми и сайтове, където ще срещнем хората от света. Всеки от нас има любим спорт, любимо занимание, така че можем да намерим тема за разговори. Има много начини да им говорим за Бог на тези хора, ние сме ловци на човеци. А Исус рече на Симона: Не бой се; отсега човеци ще ловиш (Лука 5:10). Ако не ни харесват на някой форум, местим се на друг, важното е, че са чули. Има форуми, които се водят за християнски, но нямат нищо общо с това. В един такъв форум попаднах и започнах да им благоветсвам. Тези хора търсят духовното, но го търсят в различни източни учения и религии. Писах коментари, обяснявах им кой е Бог, кой е Исус. Свърших си работата и напуснах. Дали са повярвали не знам, но чуха всичко. Тези хора едва ли ще влязат в църква, но ще прочетат вашия коментар. Няма значение, че може да не ви харесат. Апостол Павел, харесваха ли го, и на колко места го биха с тояги. В интернет, няма да ни бият с тояги, най много да ни кажат, че не се интересуват. Но важното е, че са чули и един ден може да си спомнят и да се обърнат към Бога. Католическият папа Бенедикт, призовава своите служители да блогират. И е прав. От моя опит на благоветсване знам, че има хора избрани. Кажеш им за Исус, слушат, кажеш им да повторят молитвата за покаяние, повтарят. Готови са, трябва само да чуят. Blog.bg е най динамичния блог в интернет пространството на България. Може да прочетете и много интересни неща, публикации на различни теми, почти от всякаква област, лични истории и мисли на различни хора с различни професии. Искат да общуват, не искат да са сами, търсят някой да споделят това, което мислят. Но тези хора не познават Бог, някои от тях са объркани, отчаяни, нямат радост, хора, които търсят някой да ги подкрепи, да им каже една хубава дума, да им покаже обич и внимание. Тези хора търсят надежда, готови на всичко, за да излязат от това положение. А ние имаме мощен Бог, който познаваме и Той е мощен да спасява. Те го чакат. Някой трябва да им каже само.Благословение! Прочетете Цялата Статия... вторник, 26 януари 2010 г. Защо е слаба църквата ни? Защо няма съживление в църквите ни? Ние хвалим Господа по няколко пъти в седмицата, събираме се на молитва, вземаме Господна вечеря, излизаме отпред за молитва и пак сякаш нещо не върви. Причината е греха. Грехът прави църквата ни слаба. Бог знае, че ние сме човеци и сме слаби и понякога се поддаваме на измами, заблуди и грях. Но нали имаме Святия Дух. Чувствителни ли сме към Него? Исус е обещал, че Той ще ни напътства във всяка истина. Оскърбяваме ли го с нашите действия или поведение. Отговорът е, да. Той е чувствителен и се наранява, но Той и ни предупреждава и обвинява. Понякога ни събужда през нощта да кажем само две думи: „Господи, прости”. Няма значение, дали това е станало в миналото или сега това, за което искаме прошка. Той знае как да ни припомни. Бог приема разкаяно сърце. Такова беше сърцето на Давид. Имаме ли ние същото сърце или нашето сърце се закоравява в греха и ставаме нечувствителни към Святия Дух. Святият Дух ни упътва всякога, но ако ние го пренебрегнем ставаме нечувствителни към Него. Започваме да си мислим, че сме безгрешни, че не живеем в грях. Когато имаме съмнение за нещо обръщаме ли се към Словото, да разберем какво казва Бог там и какво ни съветва. Ако не го правим, а уповаваме на собствените си разсъждения и умувания ще сбъркаме. Библията казва, че сърцето е лъжливо. Нашите собствени пътища не са Божиите пътища. Понякога братя и сестри ни предупреждават, но ние не обръщаме внимание. Защо? Защото сърцето се е закоравяло в греха. Грехът може да бъде всякакъв. Можем да съгрешаваме, като не говорим истината, като обичаме света и всичко, което е в него, като гледаме светски филми и сериали и до такава степен ставаме зависими, че не можем да си представим, че ще изпуснем предаването. Клюките и одумването след църква отнемат благословението ни и още много други. Но ако, ние не отхвърлим упътването на Святия Дух или ние се вслушаме в съвета на някой брат или сестра и се разкаем, ние излизаме победители. Бог няма да ни отхвърли. А още по добре е, ако още в началото, когато Святият Дух ни предупреди да се разкаем и да не влизаме в грях, тогава ставаме още по силни в Бога и в изграждането на характер, какъвто Той иска от нас. И така църквите ни са слаби поради греха, поради липсата на дух на разкаяние. Въртим се в един кръг, както евреите в Синайската пустиня. Зависи от нас. Ще кажем ли не на греха или грехът ще ни контролира, зависи от нас. Бог ни моли, да изберем днес проклятие или благословение. Наш е изборът. Нека бъдем святи, както Той е свят. Молитва: Господи, прости ми, че не съм достатъчно чувствителен към Святия ти Дух. Прости ми, че толкова пъти Ти обещавам да ти служа, а в същото време продължавам да живея в греха. Днес (сега) казвам не и не искам повече греха да ме контролира. За всичко, за което се съмнявам ще търся отговор в Твоето Слово. Знам, че като живея в греха, нямам Сина (Христос). Още един път казвам, не на греха и избирам благословение. В името на Исус, Амин. Прочетете Цялата Статия... понеделник, 25 януари 2010 г. Какво съм аз в Христос? Еф. 1:4 Аз съм избран в Христос преди създанието на света. Гал. 3:13 Христос ме изкупи от проклятията на закона. Еф. 1:7 Аз съм изкупен. Аз съм опростен чрез Христовата кръв. Кол. 1:14 Аз съм изкупен и греховете ми са простени. Кол. 1:13 Бог ме избави от властта на тъмнината и ме пресели в царството на Своя възлюбен Син. Рим. 5:1 Аз съм оправдан чрез вяра и имам мир с Бога. 2 Тим. 1:9 Аз съм спасен и призван по Божията благодат. Рим. 6:3 Аз съм кръстен в Исус Христос чрез Неговата смърт на кръста. Рим. 6:8 Аз съм умрял в Христа за греха и вярвам, че живея с Него. 1 Кор. 7:23 Аз съм купен с цена. 1 Кор. 10:16 Аз имам общение в Христовата кръв и в Христовото тяло. 1 Кор. 11:25 Аз съм в завет с Господа Исуса Христа. Гал. 2:20 Аз се съразпнах с Христос и сега вече не живея аз, но Христос живее в мен. Рим. 6:6 Аз не съм роб на греха. 1 Кор. 2:16 Аз имам Христов ум. Еф. 2:5 Аз съм съживен заедно с Христа. Кол. 2:12 Моето старо естество умря на кръста и сега живея в Христос. Кол. 3:10 Аз съм нов човек и се подновявам в познание по образа на този, който ме е създал. 2: Кор. 5:21 Аз съм праведен пред Бога чрез Исус. Еф. 1:13 Аз съм запечатан с обещания Свят Дух като залог. 1 Кор. 2:12 Аз имам духа, който е от Бога. 1 Кор. 6:17 Аз съм съединен с Господа и един дух с Него. 2 Кор. 3:17 Господният Дух е с мен и аз съм свободен. Гал. 5:18 Аз се водя от духа и не съм под закон. Гал. 2:20 Аз живея с вяра, която е в Божият Син, който ме възлюби и предаде Себе си за мен. Гал. 5:1 Аз стоя твърдо в Христовата свобода. Евр. 2:11 Аз съм осветен и едно в Бога. Еф. 1:5 Аз съм осиновен в Бог чрез Исуса Христа. Еф. 2:6 Аз седя заедно с Христос в небесните места. Еф. 2:18 Аз имам достъп до Отец чрез Святият Дух. Еф. 3:12 Аз имам дръзновение и увереност в Бога чрез вяра. 2 Тим. 1:7 Бог ми е дал Дух не на страх, а на сила, любов и себевладение. Еф. 4:16 Аз пристъпвам дръзновено към престола на благодатта за да придобия милост и благодат. 1 Пет. 1:5 С Божия сила съм варден чрез вяра за спасение. Еф. 6:14 Аз стоя препасан с истината през кръста и вярата е мой щит. 2 Пет. 1:4 Подарени ми са най големите и скъпоценни обещания. Еф. 1:3 Аз съм благословен с всяко духовно благословение чрез Христос. Гал. 3:29 Понеже съм Христов, аз съм Аврамово потомство. Отк. 1:8 Моят Бог е Алфа и Омега, който е, който е бил и който иде, Всемогъщия. Нему да бъде славата! Прочетете Цялата Статия... неделя, 24 януари 2010 г. Молитва за освобождение от заблуди Небесни Татко, признавам че има само един истинен и жив Бог и това си Ти, който съществуващ като Отец, Син и Святи Дух. Признавам Исус Христос за Божи Син (1 Йоан 5:10). Той е Словото, което стана плът и пребивава сред нас (Йоан 1:1,14). Вярвам, че Исус Христос дойде да съсипе делата на Сатана и Той (Исус) ограби началствата и властите, изведе ги на показ явно, тържествувайки на тях (1 Йоан 3:8). Христос ме изкупи от проклятията на закона (Гал. 3:13). Аз съм изкупен и опростен чрез Христовата кръв (Еф. 1:7). Аз съм спасен чрез Божията благодат чрез вяра (Еф. 2:8). Исус Христос е за мен пътя, истината и живота (Йоан 14:6). Небесни Татко, знам че изпитваш вътрешностите и сърцето и желаеш искреност (Ер. 11:20) и сега, ако се изправя пред Истината съм на път към освобождение. Аз искам да позная истината и истината да ме направи свободен. Признавам, че съм бил заблуждаван от Сатана, бащата на лъжите. Вярвам, че Сатана и демоните му са подвластни в Христос, защото като вярващ съм част от Христовото тяло (Еф. 1:19-23). Подчинявам се на заповедта да се противя на дявола (Яков 4:7). Моля те в името на Исус Христос да смъмриш всички измамни духове заради пролятата кръв на Твоя Син Исус Христос. Заявявам на Сатана, че Исус Христос е мой Господ и отхвърлям всякакви имитации на дарби или дела на Сатана в живота си (1 Кор. 12:3). Изправям се срещу заблудата на Сатана, като пленявам всяка мисъл да се покорява на Христос (2 Кор. 10:5). И тъй като чрез вяра съм Те приел в живота си и сега стоя в небесните места, заповядвам на всички измамни духове да ме напуснат (Еф. 2:6). Благодаря Ти Отче, че съм свободен от властта на тъмнината и съм преселен в царството на Твоя възлюбен Син (Кол. 1:3). Избирам да говоря истината с любов (Еф. 4:5). Изпълни ме със Святия Дух, който да ми бъде учител. Нека Святият Дух ме упътва за всяка истина (Йоан 16:13). Води ме чрез познанието на Твоята Истина към вечен живот. Прочетете Цялата Статия... събота, 23 януари 2010 г. Молитва по Новия Завет Моля ти се Господи, да не съгрешавам в говорене и да обуздавам чрез езика си цялото си тяло. 3:17. Дай ми Боже мъдрост която е от горе, която преди всичко е чиста, после миролюбива, кротка, умолима, пълна с милост и добри плодове, примирителна, нелицемерна. 4:7. Искам Боже да се покорявам на тебе и да се противя на дявола. Да се приближавам при теб и ти да се приближаваш при мен. 5:16. Да се моля усърдно, защото си казал, че голяма сила има в усърдната молитва. 1 Петър 1:3. Благодаря ти Боже, че чрез голямата си милост ни възроди за жива надежда чрез възкресението на Исуса Христа от мъртвите. Че чрез Божия сила сме вардени чрез вяра за спасение. 1:13. Боже искам да не се съобразявам с моите страсти. 1:15. Да бъда свят в цялото си държание, защото е писано: “Бъдете святи, понеже Аз съм свят”. 1:19. Благодаря ти Боже, че съм изкупен със скъпоценната кръв на Христа като агнец без недостатък и пречист. 1:22. Искам да се покорявам на твоята истина. 2:1. Да отхвърля всяка злоба, лукавчина, лицемерие, завист и одумване. 2:2. Искам чистото духовно мляко. 2:9. Ти Боже ни призова от тъмнината в своята чудесна светлина. 2:11. Искам да се въздържам от плътски страсти, които воюват против моята душа. 2:13. Да се покорявам на всяка власт, която е от Бога. 2:24. Благодаря ти Господи Исусе, че понесе в тялото си нашите грехове на дървото, тъй щото като сме умрели за греховете, да живеем за правдата. Защото като овце блуждаехме, но сега се върнахме при пастира и Епископа на душите ни. 3:2. Научи ме Святи Душе да се отнасям благоразумно с жена(мъжа) си, за да не става препятствие на молитвите ми, също и с всички останали. 3:9. Да не въздавам зло за зло или хула за хула, а да благовестявам понеже за това съм призован. 3:10. Научи ме Святи Душе да пазя езика си от зло и устните си от лъжливо говорене за да видим добри дни, защото твоите очи са върху праведните. 3:15. Да те почитам в сърцето си. Научи ме да бъда винаги готов да отговарям с кротост и страхопочитание. 4:2. Да живея по Tвоята воля. 4:7. Да живея разумно и трезво и да се предавам на молитва. 4:10. Според дарбите, които си ми дал да ти служа. 5:5. Научи ме да се облича със смирение и всяка грижa да възложа на Тебе, защото ти се грижиш за нас. 5:10. Моля те Боже да ни усъвършенстваш, утвърдиш и укрепиш. 2 Петър 1:3. Твоята Божествена сила ни е подарила всичко потребно за живота и благочестието чрез познаването на Този който ни е призовал чрез Своята слава и сила. Искам Боже да те познавам. 1:12. Да затвърдявам моето призвание и избиране, да върша добродетели. 1:12. Да се утвърдя в истината. 1:19. Да внимавам на Твоето слово като на светило. 3:18 Помогни ми да раста в благодатта и познаването на нашият Господ и Спасител Исус Христос. Нему да бъде славата. Благодаря ти Боже, че кръвта на Твоят син Исуса Христа ни очиства от всеки грях. 2:5. Учи ме да пазя Словото Ти, да не любя света, защото всичко, що е в света – похотта на плътта, пожеланието на очите и тщестлавието на живота не е от Теб. Моля те, пази ме Боже. 3:21. Боже нека моето сърце не ме осъжда и да имам дръзновение спрямо Теб (Бог) така, че каквото и да поискаме да го получим от Теб, защото пазим твоите заповеди и вършим това, което е угодно пред Тебе. 4:8. Твоята заповед е да вярваме в името на Твоят Син Исус Христос и да се любим един друг, защото Бог е любов. Боже дай ми дух на любов. 4:12. Ако се любим един другиго Ти пребъдваш в нас и любовта ни към Тебе е съвършена в нас. 4:16. Бог е любов и който пребъдва в любовта пребъдва в Бога и Бог в него. Нека пребъдваме в Божията любов. 5:14. Помогни ни Боже нашата увереност да бъде в Теб, така че, ако просим нещо по Твоята воля Ти да ни слушаш и като знаем, че ни слушаш каквото и да попросим, знаем че го получаваме. Този, който се е родил от Бога пази себе си и лукавият не се докосва до него. Аз съм се родил от Бога и пазя себе си и лукавият не се докосва до мен. 3 Йоан 2. Искам Боже да молитствам за да благоуспявам и да съм здрав във всичко, както да благоуспява душата ми. Римляни 6:4-6. Благодаря ти Боже, че като се кръстихме в Исуса Христа нашето старо естество бе разпнато с Него, за да не робуваме вече на греха. 6:11. Така, че се считаме мъртви към греха и живи към Бога и Христа Исуса. Аз се считам мъртъв към греха и жив към Бога. 6:14. Грехът вече не ни владее, защото не сме под закон, а под благодат. Грехът вече не ме владее, защото не съм под закон, а под благодат. 6:22. И сега като се освободихме от греха станахме Твои слуги(синове, дъщери) отиваме към святост за да принасяме плод на Бога. Аз искам да съм свят за да принасям плод на Бога. 8:1. Сега прочее няма никакво осъждане когато сме в Христа Исуса и ходим не по плът но по Дух, защото законът на животворящият Дух ни освободи в Христа Исуса от закона на греха и смъртта. 8:11. И като живее в нас Духът на Този, които е възкресил Исуса от мъртвите ще съживи и нашите мъртви тела чрез Духа си, който обитава в нас. Съживи Боже, моето мъртво тяло. 8:14. Ние сме Божии синове(дъщери) понеже се управляваме от Божият Дух. Аз се управлявам от Божият Дух. 8:15. Не сме приели дух на робство, та да бъдем пак на страх, но сме приели дух на осиновение чрез който викаме “Авва Отче”. 8:31. И така ако Бог е с нас, кой ще бъде против нас. 8:34. Исус Христос е от дясната страна на Бога и ходатайства за нас. Ние във всичко сме повече от победители чрез този който ни е възлюбил. Аз съм победител чрез Исуса Христа. Нищо не може да ни отлъчи от Божията любов, която е в Христа Исуса, нашият Господ. 10:11. Никой, който вярва в Него няма да се посрами. 12:2. Боже нека да не се съобразявам с този свят, но да се преобразявам чрез обновяването на ума си за да позная от опит що е Божията воля – това което е добро, благоугодно на Тебе и съвършено. 12:6. Според дарбите, които си ни дал поради твоята благодат нека да ти служим с усърдие. Любовта ни да бъде нелицемерна, да държим на доброто. В братолюбието да се обичаме един друг. В усърдието да бъдем нелениви пламенни по дух като служим на Господа. Помогни ни Боже да се радваме в надеждата и в молитва да сме постоянни. Да бъда постоянен в молитва. Да благославяме и да не кълнем. Да бъдем единомислени, да не се считаме за мъдри. Да не си отмъщаваме, но да даваме място на Божият гняв. 13:1 Да се покоряваме на властите, защото няма власт, която да не е от Бога. 13:12 Да отхвърлим делата на тъмнината и да се облечем в оръжието на светлината, да се облечем с Господа Исуса Христа. 15:13. Ти си Бог на надеждата и Боже сега ни изпълни с пълна радост и мир във вярването така че чрез силата на Святият Дух да се преумножава надеждата ни. 1 Коринтяни 2:7. Благодаря ти Боже, че ние получихме Твоята тайнствена премъдрост, която е била скрита, която е била предопределена от Тебе преди вековете да ни докара слава. 2:12. Ние получихме не духа на света, но Духа, който е от Бога за да познаем това, което Бог е благоволил да ни подари, което и възвестяваме не с думи, научени от човешка мъдрост, но с думи научени от Духа. Ти си ни дал Христов ум. Аз имам Христов ум. Аз съм Божи храм и Божият Дух живее в мен. 4:5. Господи пази ни да не съдим нищо преждевременно. 6:15. Аз не съм свой, принадлежа на Теб. 10:16. Благодаря Ти Боже за общението, което имам в Христовата кръв и Христовото тяло. 15:?. Боже дай ни да бъдем твърди и непоколебими и да преизобилстваме всякога в Господното дело, понеже ние знаем, че нашият труд не е напразен. 16:13. Дай ни да стоим твърдо във вярата и всичко да става с любов. 2 Коринтяни 1:22. Благодаря Ти Боже, че си ни запечатал и си ни дал в сърцата ни Духа в залог. 3:6. Направи ни способни служители на един Нов завет, не на буквата, а на Духа, който оживотворява. 3:17. Защото Господи Ти си Дух и където е Твоят Дух там е свободата и гледайки Господната слава, се преобразяваме в същият образ, от слава в слава както от Духа Господен. 4:13. Нека да имам същият дух на вяра според писаното “Повярвах затова говорих”, защото Този, който е възкресил Господа Исуса, ще възкреси и нас. 5:7 Нека да ходя с вярване не с виждане. 5:17. Аз съм ново създание в Христа. 5:21. Бог направи за нас грешен Онзи, който не е знаел грях, за да станем ние чрез Него праведни пред Бога. 6:6. Нека да бъдем изпълнени с чистота, с благоразумие, с дълготърпение, с благост, със Святият Дух, с нелицемерна любов, с говорене истината, с Божия сила чрез оръжията на правдата в дясната ръка и в лявата. 7:1. Като имаме тези обещания нека очистим себе си от всяка плътска и духовна нечистота, като се усъвършенстваме в святост със страх от Бога. 8:7. Нека да изобилстваме във всяко нещо – във вяра, в говорене, в знание, в пълно усърдие и любов. Защото знаем благодатта на нашият Господ Исус Христос, че богат като беше за нас стана сиромах за да се обогатим ние. 9:8. Бог е силен да преумножи на нас всякакво благо, което е достатъчно във всяко добро дело. 10:3. Ако и да живеем по плът по плът не воюваме, защото оръжията с които воюваме не са плътски, но пред Бога са силни за събаряне на крепости. Понеже събаряме крепости и всичко, което се повдига срещу познанието на Бога и пленяваме всеки разум да се покорява на Христа. 10:17. Когато се хвалим нека да се хвалим с Господа. 13:5 Нека да изпитваме себе си дали сме във вярата. Галатяни 1:4 Благодаря ти Господи Исусе, че даде себе си за нашите грехове, за да ни избавиш от настоящият нечист век според волята на нашият Бог и Отец. 2:16. Ние се оправдахме не чрез дела по закона, а само чрез вяра в тебе Исусе, защото чрез дела по закона никой не може да се оправдае. Нека в нас да живее Отче Твоят Син и животът, който го живея сега в тялото си да го живея с вяра, която е в Божият Син, който ме възлюби и предаде Себе си за мене. 3:11 Ти си казал, че праведният чрез вяра ще живее. Аз искам да живея чрез вяра. 3:29. И ако сме Христови, то сме Аврамово потомство, наследници по обещание. 3:26. Божии чеда сме чрез вяра в Исуса Христа. 4:5. Изкупени сме от закона и получихме осиновяване. И понеже сме Негови синове (дъщери) Бог изпрати в сърцата ни Духа на Сина си, който вика “Авва Отче”. Затова аз не съм роб, а син (дъщеря) и като съм син (дъщеря) то съм Божий наследник чрез Христа. 5:1. Да стоим твърдо в свободата, за която Христос ни освободи и да не се заплитаме отново в робско иго. 5:5. Да ожидаме чрез Духа оправданието си чрез вяра, защото в Христа Исуса само вярата има сила, която действува чрез любов. Да бъдем послушни на истината. 5:13. Ние сме призовани на свобода и да не употребяваме свободата си като повод за угаждане на плътта, но с любов да си служим един на друг. 5:14. Защото целият закон се изпълнява в една дума: “Да обичаш ближният си като себе си”. Да ходим по Духа и да не си угаждаме на плътските си страсти. 5:18. Като се водим по Духа не сме под закон. 5:22. Да бъдем изпълнени с плодовете на Духа, които са: любов, радост, мир, дълготърпение, благост, милосърдие, вярност, кротост, себеобуздание. Против такива неща няма закон. 5:24. И когато сме в Исуса Христа, разпънали сме плътта заедно със страстите й. Аз разпнах плътта. Ако живеем по Духа по Духа и да ходим. 6:1. Да се поправяме с кротък дух. Ако мислим себе си за нещо то мамим себе си. 6:9. Да не ни дотяга да вършим добро, защото ако не се уморяваме, своевременно ще пожънем. 6:14 Нека да се хвалим с кръвта на нашият Господ Исус Христос, защото сме нови създания. Аз съм ново създание. Нему да бъде славата! Ефесяни 1:3. Боже Ти си ни благословил в Христос с всяко духовно благословение в небесните места. 1:4. Ти си ни избрал в Него преди създанието на света за да бъдем святи и без недостатък пред Него. 1:5. Ти си ни осиновил чрез Исуса Христа по благоволението на Своята воля. Аз съм осиновен чрез Исуса Христа. 1:7. В Исуса Христа аз имам изкуплението си чрез кръвта Му, прощение на прегрешенията ми според богатството на Неговата благодат, която е направил да доставя нам изобилно всяка мъдрост и разумение. 1:13. Аз съм запечатан с обещания Свят Дух като залог. 1:17. Нека Бог на нашият Господ Исус Христос ни даде дух на мъдрост и на откровение. 1:18. Да просвети очите на нашето сърце за да познаем каква е надеждата и колко велика е силата Му към нас. 2:16. Който ни възкреси заедно с Христа и сложи ни да седим с Него в небесните места. 2:8 Аз съм спасен по благодат чрез вяра. 2:10. Аз съм Негово творение, създаден в Христа Исуса за добри дела. 2:13. Бил съм далеч от Бога, но сега съм близо чрез кръвта на Христа. 3:12. В когото имаме своето дръзновение и достъп с увереност чрез вяра в Него. 3:16. Боже дай ми да се утвърдя здраво чрез Твоят дух. 3:17. Нека чрез вяра да се всели Христос в моето сърце, тъй че основани в любовта да бъдем силни и да познаем Христовата любов за да се изпълним в цялата Божия пълнота. 4:2. Нека да се обхождаме със съвършено смирение, кротост, с дълготърпение, като се претърпяваме един друг с любов. 4:22. Нека да съблеча старият човек според предишното си поведение, който тлее по измамните страсти. Да си обновим ума чрез Духа и да се облеча в новият човек създаден по образа на Бога в правда и святост на истина. 4:25. Да говоря истината, да не се гневя, никаква гнила дума да не излиза от устата ми, но онова което е добро за да принесе благодат. 4:31. Всяко огорчение, ярост, гняв, вик или хула заедно с всяка злоба да се махне от мен. 4:32. Да бъдем благи, милосърдни, да си прощаваме един друг както Бог ни е простил. 5:1. Да бъда подражател на Бога и да ходя в любов както Христос ни възлюби. 5:8 Сега съм светлина в Господа и като чадо на светлината да принасям нейния плод. Който се състои във всичко, което е благо, право и истинно. 5:10. Да опитвам що е благоугодно на Господа. 5:15. Да се обхождаме мъдро и да изкупуваме благовремието. 5:17. Да проумяваме що е Господната воля. 5:19. Да пеем и да възпяваме Господа в сърцето си като благодарим за всичко на Бога Отца в името на нашият Господ Исус Христос. 6:5. Да не дразнем децата си но да ги възпитаваме в учение и наставление Господно. 6:7. Да работя с добра воля като за Господа. 6:10. Да заяквам в Господа и в силата на Неговото могъщество. 6:11. Аз се обличам в Божието всеоръжие за да устоя срещу хитростите на дявола. Нашата борба не е срещу плът и кръв, но срещу началствата, срещу властите на тази тъмнота, срещу духовните сили на нечестието в небесните места.. Затова аз вземам Божието всеоръжие за да устоя и противостоя в злия ден и да надвия на всичко. Аз стоя препасан с истината през кръста. Правдата е мой бронен нагръдник. Вярата е мой щит с която угасявам всичките огнени стрели на нечестивия. Всякога да бъда готов да благовестявам. Спасението е мой шлем. Аз вземам меча на Духа, който е Божието Слово. 6:18. Да се моля в духа по всяко време, с всяка молитва и молба. Да бъда бодър в това, с неуморно постоянство и моление за всички. 6:19. Нека да бъда дързък когато оповестявам тайната на благовестието. Филипяни 1:6 Боже аз искам да се усъвършенствувам до деня на Исус Христос. Моля се любовта ми да бъде все повече изобилно просветена и всячески проницателна. 1:10. Да изпитвам нещата, които се различават за да бъда искрен и незлоблив до деня на Христа, изпълнен с плодовете на правдата. 1:20. Аз искам да възвелича Христа в тялото си с пълно дръзновение. 2:3. Искам да правя всичко със смиреномъдрие и да считам другия за по-горен от себе си. 2:5. Нека в мен да бъде същият Дух, които беше в Христа. 2:12. Да изработвам спасението си със страх пред Бога и трепет, защото Бог по благоволението си действува в нас. 2:14. Да върша всичко без роптане и без препиране. 2:15. Да бъда безукорен, незлоблив, непорочен като Божие чадо сред едно опако и извратено поколение между които блестя като светило на света, като явявам словото на живота. 2:21. Да не търся своето си, а онова което е Исус Христово. 3:1. Да се радвам в Господа и (3:3) да се хваля с Исуса Христа и да не уповавам на плътта. 3:8. Да познавам моя Господ Исуса Христа е най-превъзходното нещо. 3:9. Да бъда в Него не чрез своя правда, а чрез вяра и правдата от Бога въз основа на вярата, за да позная Него, силата на Неговото възкресение. 3:12. Не съм станал съвършен, но се стремя към това Божие призвание, което е Христа Исуса. 4:4 Да се радваме всякога и нашата кротост да бъде позната на всички. 4:6. Да не се безпокоя за нищо, но във всяко нещо с молитва и молба да изказвам прошенията си на Бога с благодарение. 4:7. Божият мир да пази сърцата и мислите ми в Христа Исуса. 4:13. Моята сила е в Христа Исуса. 4:19. Бог е ,който ме подкрепя и снабдява всяка моя нужда според Своето богатство в слава в Христа Исуса. Колосяни 1:6. Нека вярата в мен да расте и принася плод. 1:9. Да се изпълня с познанието на Неговата воля чрез пълна мъдрост и проумяване, 1:10. Да се обхождаме достойно за Господа, да му угаждаме във всичко, като принасяме плод във всяко добро дело и като растем в познаването на Бога, подкрепяни с пълна сила според Неговото славно могъщество, за да издържим и дълготърпим всичко с радост. 1:12. Ние сме съучастници в наследството на светиите, за което благодарим на Отец, който ни извади от властта на тъмнината и ни пресели в царството на Своя възлюбен Син. Аз съм изкупен и греховете ми са простени. 1:19. Аз съм в мир с Бога чрез кръвта пролята на кръста от Неговият Син Исус. 1:22. Чрез Неговата смърт в плътското Му тяло, сега се представям пред Отец като свят, непорочен и безупречен, ако остана основан и твърд във вярата и не се помръдна от надеждата. На нас светиите се откри тайната, която е била скрита за векове и поколения. Нека възвестяваме тази тайна Христос, като съветваме всеки човек с пълна мъдрост. 2:6. Да се обхождаме вкоренени и назидавани в Исус, като се утвърждаваме във вярата си изобилстващи в нея с благодарение. 2:10. Да имам пълнота в Него. 2:11. Аз съблякох плътското си тяло. 2:13. Бях мъртъв чрез прегрешенията си, но сега съм жив чрез Него като всичките ми прегрешения са простени. 2:18. Никой не може да отнеме наградата ми. 3:1. Аз съм възкресен заедно с Исус и търся това, което е горе, гдето седи Христос, отдясно на Бога. 3:5. Нека да умъртвим природните си части, които действат на земята: блудство, нечистота, страст, зла пощавка и сребролюбие. Да отхвърлим всеки гняв, хулене, ярост, злоба, срамотно говорене от устата си, понеже сме съблекли старият човек с делата му и да се облечем в новият, който се обновява в познание по образа на Този, който го е създал. 3:12. Като Божии избрани, възлюбени, святи да се облечем в милосърдие, благост, кротост, смирение и дълготърпение. А над всичко това да се облечем в любовта, която свързва всичко в съвършенство. 3:15. Нека в нас да царува Христовият мир. 3:16. Христовото слово да се вселява в мен богато и с пълна мъдрост да се уча. Да пеем на Господа с благодат в сърцата си и каквото и да вършим да вършим всичко в името на Господа Исуса, благодарящи чрез Него на Отца. Като жена да се подчинявам на мъжа си, както прилича в Господа. 3:19. Като мъж да любя жена си и да не се огорчавам против нея. 3:21. Да не дразним децата си, за да не се обезсърчават. 3:23 Каквото и да вършим да работим от сърце, като за Господа. Като Божий слуга аз ще получа наследство от Господа. 4:2 Да постоянствам в молитва и да бдя в нея с благодарение. 4:5. Да се обхождаме мъдро към външните като изкупуваме благовремието. 5:6 Това което говорим да бъде винаги с благодат, подправено със сол за да знаем как да отговаряме на всекиго. 4:17 Да внимаваме на службата, която сме приели от Господа за да я изпълним. 1 Солунци 1:5. Нека да благоветстваме не с думи но със сила, със Святият Дух и с голяма увереност. 1:10 Да очакваме Исус Христос, който ни възкреси от мъртвите и който ни избавя от идещият гняв. 2:2 Да бъдем дързостни в Бога като благоветстваме. 2:4 Като знаем че сме одобрени от Бога да говорим така, че да не угаждаме на човеци, а на Бога. 4:4 Да се държим със съседите си със святост и почит. 4:7 Бог ме е призовал на святост. 4:11. Усърдно да се стараем да живеем тихо, да вършим своите работи и да работим с ръцете си. 4:12. Да се обхождаме благоприлично пред външните и да нямаме нужда от нищо. 5:5 Да бъда буден и трезвен. 5:8. Като трезви нека да облечем за бронен нагръдник вяра и любов и да сложим за шлем надеждата за спасение. 5:10. Да не забравяме, че Исус умря за нас, за да живеем заедно с Него. 5:11 Да се насърчаваме един друг и да живеем мирно помежду си. 5:14. Да увещаваме безчинните, да насърчаваме малодушните, да поддържаме слабите, да бъдем търпеливи към всички. 5:15 Да не връщаме зло за зло. Но да търсим доброто един на друг. 5:16. Да се радваме винаги. Непрестанно да се молим и за всичко да благодарим, защото това е Божията воля за нас в Христа Исуса. 5:19. Духа да не угасяваме, а да бъдем изпълнени с Него. 5:21 Всичко да изпитваме и да държим доброто. 5:23. Нека Бог на мира да ни освети напълно. Аз вярвам в Този, който ме е призовал. 2 Солунци 1:3. Нека вярата ни да расте и любовта на всеки един от нас да се умножава един към друг. 1:11. Нека Бог да усъвършенства в нас всяко добро желание и дело на вярата. Да се прославя чрез нас нашият Господ Исус Христос и ние в Него според благодатта на нашият Бог. 2:13. Аз съм избран от Бога за спасение чрез освещение на Духа и вярване в истината. 3:3 Нашият Господ е верен, който ще ни утвърди и ще ни опази от лукавия. 3:5. Моля се Господ да оправи сърцата ни в Божията любов и Христовото търпение. Прочетете Цялата Статия... вторник, 19 януари 2010 г. Духовна Война от Диин Шерман За всеки християнин Как да живееш в победа и да възвърнеш земята Диин Шерман, глава 10 Освободи ни от злото. Бях само млад мисионер, но бях шокиран от това което ми каза възрастен пастор. Аз го срещнах в един малък град високо в планините. “Аз се преместих вън от града Диин,” ми обясни. Той започна да ми разказва, как някога е ръководил процъфтяваща служба. “Но града беше твърде много зъл…не е място да живееш за Господа въобще,” продължи той. “Там имаше твърде много натиск за грях.” Аз онемях. Този пастор беше взел много от хората си и се уединил в планините да избяга от изкушението. Сега това градче имаше малко по малко сол и светлина. Обаче, аз съм сигурен, че християните не могат да оставят греха зад тях. Те само ще намерят нови изкушения. Изкушението е част от живота, няма значение къде ти живееш. Ние не можем да обвиняваме нашите съседи, нито обстоятелствата заради изкушенията. Нито можем да обвиним Бог. Съгласно Яков 1:13-15: “Никой, който се изкушава, да не казва: “Бог ме изкушава”, защото Бог се не изкушава от зло и Той никого не изкушава. А който се изкушава, се завлича и подлъгва от собствената си страст; и тогава страстта зачева и ражда грях, а грехът, като се развие напълно, ражда смърт.” Но има надежда... 1 Кор. 10:13: “Никакво изпитание не ви е постигнало освен това, което може да носи човек; обаче Бог е верен, Който няма да ви остави да бъдете изпитани повече, отколкото ви е силата, но заедно с изпитанието ще даде и изходен път, така щото да можете да го издържите.” Този стих ни учи няколко важни неща за изкушението. Библията ни показва, че изкушението не е грях. Много хора се чуствуват нечисти(изцапани) и страдат неимоверна вина защото са били изкушени, но изкушението не е грях. Евреи 4:15 казва, че Исус беше “Който е бил във всичко изкушен като нас, но пак без грях” Ако изкушението носи вина, тогава Исус е грешен. Разликата между грях и изкушение е тази: Изкушението е считан грях; то става грях, когато ние се обвързваме (поддаваме) на него. Грехът може да не е действие – то може също да бъде мисъл, която обитава в нашият ум. Ние се нуждаем от откровение от Бог да ни покаже, че ние можем да бъдем изкушени без да бъдем измърсени(изцапани). Изкушението, съгласно 1 Кор., може да ни “обладае”. Това означава, че изкушението е външно за нас. То е извън “новото създание”, което сме в Христа. 2 Кор 5:17 казва, “Затова, ако някой е в Христа, той е ново създание; старото премина; ето (всичко) стана ново.” Какво това означава да бъдем ново създание? Това означава, че греха не е вече част от нас. Ако кажем, “Аз съм крадец,” или “Аз съм лъжец”, ние никога няма да овладеем тези грехове. Дяволът ще ни провокира да съгрешаваме, защото ние вярваме, че това (греха) е част от нас, които сме. Дяволът ще каже, “Ти си точно това. Ти имаш този проблем от 30 години. Това е слабостта ти.”Вместо да вярваме това, ние трябва да вярваме на Словото, което казва, че ние сме обновени. Ти не си единствен Факт е: Изкушението е присъщо за човека, съгласно стих в 1 Кор. Всеки е изкушаван. Ние никога не трябва да се чувстваме самички в нашата борба с изкушението. Много вярващи вярват, че те само имат дяволски мисли. Аз съм съветвал хора, които казват, “Аз знам, че съм единствен, който имам този проблем. Тъкмо имах спокойно време и внезапно всички тези ужасни мисли изпълниха ума ми!” Освобождение настъпва като им кажа, “Но вие не сте единствените. Аз съветвах няколко вярващи тази седмица, които ми казаха същото”. Това е, защото подходящо публично покаяние и смирение е така благотворно за Тялото на Исус. Когато някой изповяда грях, има много които се окуражават, знаейки, че те не са сами. Ние трябва да бъдем по-честни едни към други и да споделяме товара си, трудностите и изкушенията (изпитанията). Аз съм благодарен за близките, верни приятели с които работих в младежката мисия. Ние бяхме окуражени да бъдем отговорни едни към други през тези години и споделяхме нашите борби. Това ни помогна и спаси от много клопки. Някои вярват, че духовният човек не изпитва изкушение. Това не е вярно. Истинския зрял мъж или жена в Бога с готовност изповядва борбата с изкушението. От друга страна дяволът обича да ни казва лично колко изкривени (извратени) и различни сме. Той ни казва, че ние сме единствените, които правим това. Другите са намерили свобода в Исус, а пък ние сме уникални и безпомощни. Ние никога няма да бъдем свободни.. Това са лъжи на врага. Изкушенията, които изпитваме са познати на християните по света и тяхната сила върху нас може да бъде отслабена. Тук не е само греха сам по себе си, но силата зад него подтикваща и окуражаваща ни към него. Даже ако кажем “не”, ние не въздействаме на силата. Ние въздействуваме на провокиращата сила прикрита зад изкушението, като се смиряваме и се отваряме (разкриваме) пред Бога и човека. Тогава нашата молитва може да блокира движещите сили. Мой приятел, ръководещ служба беше силно изкушен чрез хомосексуалност. През повечето от времето той го преодоляваше, но подтиците бяха винаги там. Той не постигна победа докато не си призна (изповяда) борбата пред избрана група от доверени приятели. Те се молиха за него и го приеха с любов. От това време на смиряване себе си, той е свободен от силата стояща зад този грях. Ние може тайно да се надяваме, че ще дойде време и ще живеем в победа без изкушение. Ние мислим, че изкушението ни пречи да бъдем това, каквото Бог иска да бъдем. Но липсата на изкушение не може никога да ни направи по-добри християни. Ако ние не постигнем победа по средата на изкушението, ние нямаме победа въобще. Греха не е неизбежен Ако ние вярваме на лъжите на дявола, когато ни казва, че неизбежно отиваме към грях и изкушението е твърде силно за нас, тогава ние ще попаднем в грях. Ако ние вярваме в това, ние нямаме никакъв шанс и сме осъдени. Но 1 Кор. 10:13 ни казва, че изкушението не е никога повече от колкото можем да носим. Ние трябва да знаем без никакво съмнение, че Божието Слово е истина, когато казва, че не можем да бъдем изкушени повече от това, което можем да носим. С Божията милост, ние сме способни да отстояваме изкушенията до точката на победа. Хиляди вярващи християни непрекъснато падат под грях, защото те нямат откровение на ново създание, което са в Исус. Ние се нуждаем да говорим на дявола и да кажем, “Грехът не ще има власт над мене”. Библията е ясна за това, че ние можем да живеем живот в победи. (Откр. 12:11) Ако това не беше вярно, къде е силата на Кръста и на Възкресението да ни пази свободни от грях? Ако греха беше неизбежен, казаното “ново създание” щеше да бъде само думи, защото реално няма нищо ново въобще. Рим. 6:11-14 “Така и вие считайте себе си за мъртви към греха, а живи към Бога в Христа Исуса. И тъй да не царува грехът във вашето смъртно тяло, та да се покорявате на неговите страсти. Нито представяйте телесните си части като оръдия на неправдата; но представяйте себе си на Бога като оживели от мъртвите и телесните си части на Бога като оръжия на неправдата. Защото грехът няма да ни владее, понеже не сте под закон, а под благодат." Нека да се концентрираме повече на правдата от Бога в нас, отколкото на потенциала на греха. Това не се нарича теория на безгрешна перфектност. Никой на земята освен Исус не е безгрешен. Докато отидем на небето, ние винаги ще коригираме и променяме поведението си, мотивите и действията си. Но с помощта на Светият Дух, ние ще ставаме повече като Исус всеки ден. Грехът ще ни съпътства рядко и по-рядко, когато растем в Него. Той ще ни пази от препъване и ще ни прави да стоим в Неговото присъствие безупречни с голяма радост. (Юда 24) “А на Онзи, който може да ни пази от препъване и да ви представи непорочни с радост пред Своята слава.” Винаги има изход 1 Кор. 10:13 ни обещава, че Бог винаги ще ни даде изход от изпитанието (изкушението). Какъв е този “изходен път”? По-точен въпрос е: Кой е този изходен път? Животът на Йосиф е чудесно учение как да избегнем изкушението. През своя живот той беше изкушен, но победи. Най-графичното описаното изкушение дойде, когато той работеше за Потифар. След като мина известно време, жената на Потифар хареса Йосив, и му предложи един ден, “Ела и легни с мен.” Това не беше само сексуално изкушение, но то беше най-логичното нещо да направи. Да направи нещо друго освен това означаваше край на кариерата му. Ако той искаше да я направи щастлива, той можеше да го направи. Ако Йосиф имаше предвид само собствената си позиция и живот, той можеше да го направи. Той сигурно трябва да е знаел последиците от отхвърлянето на жената на Потифар. Все пак не се поддаде. Йосиф каза на жената на Потифар, “Как аз мога да съгреша срещу Бог и извърша това голямо зло?”. Йосиф живееше в страх от Господа. Той избегна изкушението, понеже той знаеше позицията на Бог в тази ситуация. Ако ние само си правим сметка, дали ще бъдем хванати или какво другите мислят, или ако мислим за нашите си нужди, права, желания, страдания, или всичко друго освен какво е в сърцето на Бог, ние не ще избегнем изкушението. Ние трябва да живеем в страх от Бога. Питай за страха от Бога, който съгласно Притчи е “ да се мрази злото” (Притчи 8:13). Исус ни учи да се молим редовно: “и не ни въвеждай в изкушение, но избави ни от лукавия”. Както Бог ни води в живота, така Той ще ни помогне да избегнем тежко изпитание. Директна атака Бог понякога допуска да бъдем атакувани от врага. Това не означава, че врага може да ни открадне спасението, да ни направи да грешим или да владее волята ни. Считайте, какво Павел казва: “А за де не превъзнасям поради премногото откровения, даде ми се мъченически трън в плътта, пратеник на сатана да ме мъчи, та да се не превъзнасям” 2 Кор. 12:7. Това беше Павел, изпълнен с Духа вярващ, засегнат от пратеник на Сатана. Всеки християнин има и ще има атака от врага. В повечето от времето Бог допуска това, защото Той иска ние да се научим да се противим. Ние се нуждаем да се научим да се издигаме (утвърждаваме) и да се противим на атаките на Сатаната. Повечето от времето, тези атаки са за определено време, както случаят с Йов. В много редки случаи , като този с Павел, Бог допуска атаката да продължи, знаейки, че Неговата благодат е достатъчна за всеки един. Обаче, ние никога не трябва да приемаме пасивно каквото дявола ни подхвърли на пътя ни. Ако ние не се научим да се противим (съпротивляваме) на него, той ще пълзи върху нас – понякога с години – докато застанем срещу него. Пет начина на атаки от Сатаната 2 Кор. 12:10 “Затова намирам удоволствие в немощи, в укори, в лишения, в притеснения за Христа; защото когато съм немощен тогава съм силен.” Има много начини с които дяволът ни атакува. 2 Кор. 12:10 ни дава пет от тях: немощ, укори, лишения, гонения, притеснения (трудности). Немощ (слабост) Това просто означава, че дяволът ни атакува физически. Ако ние не осъзнаем това, той може постоянно да ни измъчва в тялото. Това не означава, че всяка болест е от дявола. Има две крайни позиции в тялото на Христос за това. Едната група поддържа, че всички болести са от дявола. Това не вярно, освен ако не означава, всички болести са дошли в света поради падението на човека. Другата група вярва, че няма нито една болест от дявола. Това е научна реалност, която ние трябва да приемем. И двете позиции са по-равно неправилни. Болестите могат да бъдат причинени от вируси. Много често ние сме болни не заради дявола, не заради грях в нашият живот, нито поради осъждане от Бог. Ние сме болни поради бактерии, вируси, или физически ненормалности. Това е света в който живеем. Ние можем да бъдем болни поради вродена слабост. За пример, само защото аз нося очила не означава, че имам дявол. Нашите тела са ограничени. Слабостта е предадена на нас по времето на Падението. Болестите могат да бъдат резултат от злоупотреба с нашето тяло. Неправилна диета, липса на упражнения, или недостатъчна почивка могат да донесат болест. Рядко, даже, болестта може да дойде от свръхестествен източник. Това може да бъде действие на Бог. Аз проповядвах преди, че Бог никога няма да донесе болести на своите чада. Но аз изследвах Библията и намерих, че понякога Бог го прави. Бог рядко използува болестите като физическо осъждане. Когато Той го прави, това е милостив акт за да докара покаяние и възстановяване. Ако болестта е от Бог и човека се покае, следва почти винаги възстановяване. Веднъж проповядвах в Гвинея и млад мъж от нас разви мистериозна треска, която продължи 4 седмици. Ние се молихме постоянно за него и имахме и медицинска помощ. Но въпреки, че видяхме други изцелени по същото време, нито нашата молитва, нито медицинската помощ имаше въздействие върху този млад мъж. Тогава един ден той си призна ужастна горчивина в сърцето. Той беше моментално изцелен без никаква молитва да бъде казана за него. Друг свръхестествен източник на болест може да е дявола. Ние се нуждаем да се съпротивляваме на атаките му. Кажи нещо подобно като това: “Сатана, аз отхвърлям тази атака. Аз заповядвам в името на Исус да ме оставиш!” . Ако вие не сте сигурни дали или не това е атака на Сатаната, ние се нуждаем да питаме Бог. Той е верен да ни покаже източника на проблема. Каквато и да е причината ние винаги трябва да се облягаме на Бог за разбиране и изцеление. Укор (порицание) Сатаната атакува чрез укори. Те са опити на Сатаната да ни обвинява. Светът много от близко наблюдава Църквата на Исус. Ако има там някаква причина за обвинение, Сатаната със сигурност ще го направи. Тъжно е, че много вярващи помагат на дявола в тази посока, чрез собственият си грях или чрез съмнение и говорене (клевета) срещу другите християни. Пресата е първата да прокламира нашата невярност, нашите скандали, нашата измяна. Светът ще се опита да свържи християните с всяка секта или лицемерен религиозен водач. Съпротиви се на врага и отхвърли да бъдеш част от неговите атаки да докара укори. Един от начините да се блокира е да отхвърлиш самия ти изкушението. Преди да се поддадеш и да съгрешиш, помисли си за начина по който Сатаната прави да си причина за укор. Също притъпи атаките на Сатаната върху другите, като не се поддаваш да клеветиш и клюкарстваш. Ако участвуваш в публикуването на книги и списания бъди внимателен да не атакуваш братя и сестри в Христос. Лишение (беда, нещастие) Силите на тъмнината могат да ни атакуват като ни докарват в лишения (беди). Когато обстоятелствата и отношенията ни обсадят, ние винаги се изкушаваме да се оставим в бедата вместо да се изпълним с вяра. Врагът ни докарва в подценяване и паника, надяващ се да се предадем. Тук има безпрецедентен натиск да се откажем, да отпаднем, да изгорим, или да чувстваме, че ние не можем да се справим с живота или службата. Преследване Сатаната ни атакува също чрез преследване. Той ще попречи проповядването на Евангелието чрез преследване на проповедниците. Историята е пълна с мъчения, затваряния, и всякакви методи на пречене – всичко това да предотврати Евангелието да бъде прокламирано. Сатаната също използува преследването да не допусне хората да се обвържат с Християнството. Трудности (притеснения) Последно, Сатаната може да ни атакува чрез задържане на необходимости (нужди), или както се казва в 2 Кор. 12:10 като ни дава “притеснения” в нашият път. Овладяването на средствата, които се нуждаем за да говорим Евангелието на изгубените ни се пречи от силите на тъмнината. Това е главната стратегия на врага да изложи Бог и неговата вярност, и да пази Неговите дела да продължават. За нещастие, това е изключително успешно. Колко много мисионери и пастори са се отказали, разочаровани след години на борба с тежки финансови проблеми? Ние трябва да се съпротивляваме на врага, и да видим освобождение на финанси, сгради, работници, и всички средства от които се нуждае службата. Ние трябва да се съпротивляваме на дявола, докато той се откаже. Той се надява, че ние ще се откажем първи. Време е да го спрем Дяволът взема каквото ние му позволяваме (даваме, отстъпваме). Това не означава, ние да се откажем лесно. Той познава човешката природа и се обляга на нашата липса на издръжливост (твърдост), надяващ се, че ние ще се откажем първи, както ние правим често. Ако ние продължим да се противим на него, той накрая ще се откаже. Това може да не е веднага, но ще се случи. Колкото сме по-настоятелни, толкова той ще е по-малко. Ако ние сме убедени, че имаме власт, той ще види това и евентуално ще прекъсне атаката. Ние никога не трябва да се отказваме или да се обезкуражаваме. Победата е наша, но цената е вяра и постоянство. Ние живеем в паднал свят. Злото (дяволското) е навсякаде около нас, но Христос е в нас. Ние ще продължим да понасяме неща, които би трябвало да избегнем. Ако ние отговаряме(реагираме) правилно, те ще ни изградят. Тук няма липса на характер или сила. Ние сме изпитани, че можем да изградим характер. Ние сме обект на изкушение, така че ние можем да станем силни и да изработим омраза към злото. Ние сме атакувани от Сатаната, така че ние можем да увеличим нашата зависимост от Бог и да изградим духовни мускули. Бог ни зове да спрем да бъдем жертви и да станем мощни воюващи във всичките реалности на живота. Прочетете Цялата Статия... понеделник, 18 януари 2010 г. Дарът сън Ето едно послание към вас от Словото. Aз легнах и спах; станах, защото ГОСПОД ме поддържа. Няма да се убоя от десетки хиляди от людете, които ме нападат отвсякъде. Псалом 3:5-6 Спокойно ще легна и ще спя, защото Ти, Господи в самота ме правиш да живея в безопасност. Псалом 4:8 Той дава сън на възлюбените Си. Псалом 127:2 Едно от най-прекрасните откровения на Писанията е, че сънят е дар от Бога за тези, които люби. Давид се намираше под голям натиск, заобиколен от врагове отвсякъде. Животът му беше в опасност и той възкликва: „Десетки хиляди са против мен отвсякъде”. И все пак всред всичко това, той познаваше благословението на несмущавания и спокоен сън. Давид ни дава две причини за това: „Защото Господ ме поддържа” и „Защото само Ти, о Господи, ме правиш да живея в безопасност.” Неговата сигурност зависеше единствено от Господа - а не от обстоятелствата, нито от материални защитни средства, нито от несигурните обещания на хората, а от вечните, непроменими обещания на Божието Слово. Всяка вечер той предаваше себе си на Господа и си лягаше в увереност в Него. Той знаеше, че душата му е в безопасност, когато Господ я пази. Можеше да заспи и да се събуди без безпокойство, без страх, без тормоза на безсънието. Има мнозина днес, които нямат тази блажена сигурност. Когато дойде нощ, те са притеснени, объркани, уплашени. Безпокойствата и грижите на деня ги преследват и през нощта. Ако сте един от тях, научете урока от Давид. Вижте в Бога своя вседостатъчен източник на сигурност и мир. След това приемете с проста вяра Неговия дар на обич - съня. Дерек Принс Прочетете Цялата Статия... събота, 16 януари 2010 г. В Божията прегръдка 1 Вяра или страх? Господ ще пази излизането ти и влизането ти От сега и до века. Като заети хора знаем от опит, че живота не е винаги лесен и благоприятен за нас. Понякога страха ни провокира, понякога губим надежда. Но даже и да не разбираме, защо всичко става така и защо обстоятелствата се променят не в наша полза, никога не трябва да губим вяра в Бог. Божият план за нас е съвършен. Каквото и предизвикателство да имаме, ние трябва да оставим съмненията настрана и да продължим напред. Бог е близо. Ето какво казва псалмиста: Господ е Пастир мой; Няма да остана в нужда. На зелени пасбища ме успокоява; При тихи води ме завежда. Освежава душата ми. Благословение на всички! Прочетете Цялата Статия... вторник, 5 януари 2010 г. Привлечи ме близо до Теб Привлечи ме близо до Теб не ми позволявай да се отдалеча аз ти давам всичко отново за да те чуя да кажеш, че аз съм Твой приятел Жадувам Те...Господи никой друг не е като Теб нищо не може да Те замени топлината на Твоята прегръдка помогни ми да намеря пътя върни ме отново при Теб Ти си всичко, което искам...Господи Ти си всичко, което желая Ти си всичко, което искам помогни ми да разбера, че Ти си близо до мен. Прочетете Цялата Статия...
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015 Following Job's Example - Job 42 Among people who are familiar with the stories of the Bible, the expression "the patience of Job" will occasionally pop up. Job is one of the most famous of all people for the trouble they had - not, I'm sure, something that anyone would like to be famous for! Our Old Testament lesson today is about the end of Job's troubles. Thankfully Job's life had a happy ending! It's a part of the Bible we like to read! We all like happy endings. I would not be surprised if there are not some here who are waiting to see if the Downton Abbey series is going to have a happy ending or not. Part of Job's happy ending was to finally hear from God, after all that time when God seemed to be ignoring him while he suffered. It was, of course, a mixed blessing. To hear from God meant coming face to face with that awesome Being, which is an experience indeed desirable, but at the same time, shall we say rather scary. Most people to whom this ever present Mystery is revealed fall on their face as if they'd just died on the spot - it's so overwhelming. While Job had been waiting for God to say something to him - hopefully about why he was suffering so much - he talked a good deal because he had to answer back to his "friends" who were convinced Job must have done something wrong. Job knew he had not done anything wrong to deserve his suffering and he was quite adamant about it. But when God finally spoke, Job realized he'd said too much about the affair. In fact, God confronts him with just how ignorant he really was about everything, v. "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?" God says. Job, of course, as you can imagine, now wished he hadn't said anything - and his words from this point on were few. And when God was finished talking to Job - asking Job where he was when God had made all the wonders of creation - Job's final reaction to God is to abhor himself and repent "in dust and ashes." But in the midst of this storm of suffering in his life, in the midst of all the pain and confusion, Job was still walking with his God. He was still for God, he was still on God's side, he was still - as God called him - a righteous man. And while the book of Job is often referred to as a philosophical book, delving into the mysteries of the problem of pain and suffering in a world otherwise good, it's also very much a book on how to walk with God. It's a book that teaches us important lessons about how to relate to this God who, as C. S. Lewis depicts him in the Chronicles of Narnia, in the character of Aslan, he is "not a tame lion". He is who He is, and we have to get in stride with him, not he with us. And that can be very, very challenging to our faith. And one of those lessons is that, if we would walk with God, we must be willing to accept his plans for us when circumstances are mysterious and the purpose is unknown. I have always been impressed by the fact that when God finally answered Job's cries, God never said a word about Satan's accusations against Job and how his testing had been to prove that Satan was wrong about him. As the story goes, it seems Job never knew about that. He never did know the reason for why those bad things happened to him. But he was content to have it that way. He was content for God to be God - to have his own purposes and for Job himself to mind his own business. And his business was to trust him. Years ago when I worked with Kay Arthur at Precept Ministries, there was a saying that meant a lot to her and was repeated often in those days - I forgot where she got it from - and it was this: "trust his heart, when you cannot trace his hand." Satan wanted Job to curse God. He wanted Job to prove that he was trying to live a righteous life because of what he was getting out of it for himself. But when God allowed those afflictions to come to Job, Job did not curse God. Job would not give up the truth that God is good. And even though he had no idea - and never did - as to why the Lord's hand seemed to be against him during those days, he nevertheless trusted God's heart. He held onto God's goodness, and eventually proved his belief to be justified. And is this not the character quality of meekness, as we find in the Beatitudes in the gospel of Matthew? A meek person is someone who accepts God's will for them, even when it is something we would not chose for ourselves. And Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And Job proves himself to be a righteous man - as God said he was - by displaying a meek spirit toward God. Friends, when the Lord allows mysterious circumstances - and those often painful - in our lives, we must never, never, never give up believing that God is good. That's what the devil wants us to do. That's what the world wants us to do. But if we did, it would be a lie. If God is anything, he is good. And he has proved that by giving us His Son, to become one of us - to become a man - and to suffer more than we will ever suffer, for our ransom and salvation. And think of it: as a man himself, when he hung on the cross, he felt what it is like to not understand what God is doing with us - so much as to cause him to cry out, "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me? What are you doing?" And yet, he refused to give up his faith in the goodness of his heavenly Father, and even though it meant his death, with his last breath, he prayed, "Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit." Through the mystery and pain, he trusts and commits himself into the good hands of God. Yes, in this way, with his meekness, Job was something of a type of Christ, and we would do well to follow his example if we would walk with God. Another lesson we learn from Job about walking with God is that, if we would walk with God, we must be humble. Job says, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Now, when you read the book of Job, there are times when it seems like Job thinks a lot of himself. He rattles on about all the good things he has done. But let us remember that he is answering false accusations about his character. His friends are saying, "Come on Job, admit it! You must have done something wrong!" Job, in arguing for his righteousness, is not doing it out of pride, but out of an insistence that the truth be told. And that's what Paul tells us true humility is, in Romans 12:3: it's the truth about ourselves. We are not to think too highly of ourselves, but neither are we to think too lowly of ourselves. We are to just think what is true about ourselves before God. And of course, it's not very pretty, but by God's grace in Christ it's not all bad either, and we have to be truthful about it. Of course, what Job has to repent of at the end is talking about himself too much. He realized that it would have been better to just be silent before God and let God justify him before his friends. And I cannot help but observe that, again, we have one of the Beatitudes here in Job's life: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." To be poor in spirit is to recognize the truth of just how impoverished we are spiritually apart from the graces that God gives us in his Son. There is nothing good in us but God has given it to us. So, we confess that there is this or that good about us, but we give God the glory for it - because it all comes from him. That's true humility, and that was how Job was able to walk with God. He could have been proud instead, and said, "Why, God has no business making me suffer - I'm such a righteous guy!" But you see, that would have been to bring an accusation against God - to not walk with God but against him. Job's humility saved him from that kind of foolishness. So we learn from Job that, to walk with God, we must be willing to accept mysterious and unknown things in our lives, we must be humble, and then thirdly, we must pray. And specifically, we must pray for those who may be part of the troubles we are experiencing. Job prayed for those friends! We noted in v. 10, that it says the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. What's been left out of our reading is the part where God, having done with Job, then speaks to his accusers and tells them they are in trouble. He says, "My wrath is aroused against you ... for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." And then God tells them to bring offerings to Job - Job is now going to act as their priest - and God tells them that Job will pray for them. You see, God expected Job to pray for these characters, because He knew Job walked with Him. And sure enough he did. Job walked with God and he did it as someone who was ready to pray for troublesome people. If we would walk in fellowship with God, we must be compassionate toward those to whom he himself is compassionate. Does the apostle not say, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son?" Just think: the people that are giving you the most trouble right now - be they in your family, or at work, in church, or in Washington, D.C., these are people for whom God gave his Son to die for their salvation. How must he think about them? Does the Bible not say that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance? We need compassion, and to pray for people who obviously need the Lord is an act of compassion. Doesn't Job remind us again of the Beatitudes? "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Job obtained mercy! He wound up with far more in the end than he had at the beginning! But he also was himself merciful. When his friends showed up to bring him their offerings to God so that He would turn his wrath from them, Job could have easily said, "Nothing doing! You did nothing but rub salt in my wounds when I was suffering. Serves you right if God zaps you!" But no; he brought their offerings to God, prayed for them, and kept on God's side about the affair; he kept walking with God. And surely, Job is again something of a type of Christ. Are the words not already echoing in our heads? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The guys nailing Jesus on the cross were definitely not helping him to have a good day. But Jesus had compassion on them; indeed, he had come to save those guys through the very nails they drove into his body. Job prayed for his persecutors. Jesus prayed for his. And if we would walk with their God, we must pray for ours. Besides, it's good for us. It helps us to get over our obsession with the trouble we are having. We need to forget about ourselves and think about others. What does Paul say? "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," who came to save them. So, we should pray for them. Jesus said, "In this world you are going to have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." And when, by the grace that overcoming Lord gives to us, we walk with God as Job did, we overcome the world, too, through him. The world tempts us to give up our faith in Christ and our belief in the goodness of God. But when we refuse to give up that faith, we overcome the world's temptation. Let us overcome the temptations inherent in our troubles by following Job's good example - and Job was a good man. Let us hold onto God's goodness when we cannot understand what is happening to us. Let us keep a humble attitude toward ourselves before God. And let us pray for others - especially those who are troubling us. And as God rewarded Job, He will not fail to reward us. And He will reward us with riches Job never had. Dear old Job finally died and left everything behind. But our reward is forever. Praise the Lord. Amen. Sunday, September 8, 2013 My sermon from the St. Luke's men's conference this summer Chapter 6 is part of the section of Paul's letter, chapters 5-8, which contain absolutely critical information for a full experience of the Christian life this side of heaven. Roughly, one could say that chapter 5 deals with our justification - how we are made right with God, ch. 6, our sanctification - or how to live a righteous life, ch. 7, our relationship to God's law, and chapter 8, our relationship to the Holy Spirit. Now we need to understand it all to have a fully formed Christian life, but I cannot preach on all 4 chapters in 15 or 20 minutes! I've decided to jump into chapter 6 because it is the next step beyond our understanding and receiving the free gift of justification. We who are of the Reformed churches understand justification by faith and by faith alone. We all esteem Martin Luther and his work to bring this doctrine to clarity in the Church. But how do we live out this faith that justifies us; this faith that has a living quality to it that produces a particular kind of life? This is where chapter 6 of Romans comes to play. And one of the ways I like to explain chapter 6 is to set it immediately within the context of our everyday life by asking the question: "Now that I am right with God, how do I not fall into temptation to sin? How do I live out this faith I have as a gift from God; this faith that unites me to the very life of Christ Himself. How can I have victory over my temptations?" Paul's answer can be summarized simply in these words: "What has happened to Christ, has happened to me." Now lets unpack this. According to Paul in these verses in ch. 6, what happened to Christ? In verse 10, Paul says he died unto sin. What does that mean? When Jesus hung on the cross, all our sins were laid on him. They were credited to his moral account before God so that, when he died, the penalty for all of our sin would be paid for. That is how God is able to forgive us for our sins: they were paid for by the death of Jesus. But Paul is adding something else here. When Jesus died on the cross, he not only died for our sins, he died unto our sins, that is, he died in his relationship to them. While hanging on the cross, he had a relationship to our sins: they were his. Once he died, that relationship was over; Jesus was dead unto all sin. He would never again have anything to do with our sins; that old relationship on the cross was gone; it was done for. What happened to Jesus next? Paul says in verse 4: "Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father," and then in verses 9 and 10, he says, "Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God." What happened to Jesus? He died to our sins and then he was raised to live a new life unto God and he lives that life unto God today. How does what happened to Christ apply to me? How does it enter into my experience? I learn in ch. 5 how it affects my justification; how does it affect my sanctification? Paul tells us in ch. 6 by bringing in the subject of our baptism. We know that our baptism is the official occasion when we are recognized as being joined with Christ and His Body. Whether our baptism actually was the occasion of our being united with Christ - or being born again, to put it that way - it is still our badge of union with Christ. But we are not joined with Christ merely in his legal position before God so that we may be justified. We are joined with Christ so that the power and virtue of his historic death and resurrection might be a living reality in our present lives. If I pay all my power bills, I'm in right relationship with the power company and that's a good thing. But for what reason? Just so I can feel good about being right with the power company and have good credit? I want good credit, but I want more than that. I want to be right with the power company, so that, when I flip a switch, I can have all that power in the power grid flowing through my house and lighting it all up. Now that's the kind of thing Paul is talking about here in chapter 6. Being right with God, we also now have the Let's think about it some more, so we can be sure we understand this, because it's a challenge to our imagination. What happened to Christ has happened to us and in our union with him in baptism those things that happened to him enter our experience. But how? We weren't there in history when it happened. But God was treating us as if we were there. As far as God was concerned, when Jesus died to our sin on the cross, we were there with him, dying to our sin. When he walked out of the tomb 3 days later, we walked out of his tomb with him to live a new life. Paul says in verses 3 and 4: "Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that (here's the reason why we are joined with Christ) like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of God, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Jesus died and rose two thousand years ago. But when we are united to him by our new birth, our regeneration, our re-creation - those things which baptism stands for - the power of that death and resurrection become a living reality in us; as if God is doing spiritual surgery on us. He changes us. He deals a death blow to that old nature of ours inherited from Adam, and he gives us a new self - a self that is one with the very resurrected life of Jesus. We are not the people we used to be. As Paul says in verse 6: "Knowing this, that our old man - the old self that we were in Adam - is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (or rendered inoperative) that henceforth we should not serve sin." What has happened to Jesus has happened to us that we may no longer be slaves to sin and therefore no longer have to fall to temptation. Now as our Pentecostal brethren are wont to say, this is shouting ground! You do not have to serve sin any more! What happened to Jesus has happened to you. Your old relationship to sin is dead and gone; you are not who you used to be; born in Adam. You now are born anew in Christ and a new creature. You are free from sin and you have living in you the power of the resurrected Christ; indeed the resurrected Christ himself makes his home in your heart by the Holy Spirit. And you don't have to be afraid of the wages of sin in your life anymore; you can be free of it, because you are free of it. Praise the Lord! What a wonderful Saviour! He has not only saved us from the penalty of our sins, he has saved us from the power of sin over us. Thank God for his wonderful Gift. So lets go back to our question: "How can I have victory over temptation?" The answer is based on what we learn here in ch. 6, vs. 1-10 and, if you will, Paul next gives us 3 steps to deal with temptation in verses 11-14. First of all, you have to believe that these things we have been talking about are true. The first step in the face of temptation is to take a believing stand. Paul says in verse 11: "Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." You simply believe that all we have said at this point is true; you say to yourself, "I don't have to do this anymore! I am dead to sin and alive to God, because what has happened to Christ has happened to me, and I'm not going to give into that temptation anymore." You take a believing stand. The second thing Paul tells us to do is to refuse the sin you are tempted with, to say "No" to it. He says in verse 12: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof." Paul is putting it on you, because you are now free in Christ to resist, and so you can do it. So, you refuse to go that way; you refuse to do that thing; you refuse to continue in that old habit, because you are dead to it in Christ. And the third and last step is to get busy doing what is right. Paul continues in verses 13 and 14: "Neither yield you your members as instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you." Turn from the negative and get on with the positive, and you can, because the power of a new life lived for God is yours. Now this process, - this response to temptation - can break down at any of the three steps. You can forget about what has happened to you through your union to Christ, and so you don't bank on it in step one. You can also fail to really believe that these things about you are true, and step forth into your future with the Lord by faith in step three. But I find step 2 to be the one that is the most difficult. Paul says you have to not let sin have its way in you; you have to say "No" to the thing. Here's my point: the whole process breaks down in step 2 unless you really mean it. You have to really mean it when you say no. Our problem is that we tend to not mean it because we love our sins. We like the pleasure they bring to us. We like the way it feels when we put someone down. We like the way it feels when we get back at someone or when we get our way regardless of what it means to others. And we do not want to give up that pleasure. Friends, this is where we enter into the truth of our union with Jesus on his cross. Jesus took up his cross and died to our sins; we must take up our cross and die to our sins as well. We must allow the death dealing work of the cross to kill our sins, and so we must be willing to live without their pleasure. This is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 5, that passage parallel with this one in its truth, when he says "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections and its desires," and only then can we walk in the Spirit, as Paul says in Galatians, which is the same thing as living out the resurrection life of Christ in Romans 6. We must fast from the pleasures of our sins if we are to be rid of their destructive influence in our lives. We must follow Christ in dying to sin and its pleasure, as he says in Mark 8: "If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." That is the only way to having victory over our temptations. We should be happy enough to lose the pleasures we have in our sins in light of all that Jesus has done for us, but he has a whole world of blessings for us that are beyond our comprehension to motivate us. If we wonder, "What will I do if I can't have that pleasure any more," then look to the pleasures that the Lord offers us. We could go all over Scripture to find them, but we could simply look again at that parallel passage in Galatians where Paul explains that the alternative to all the miseries that our old, sinful nature brings us, are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. My goodness! What a universe of happiness can be found in those qualities! And they are ours, if we are willing to give up the temporary, miserable, and decaying pleasures of sin, which ultimately lead to death itself. Perhaps we should dig a little deeper and ask: why do we want to have victory over temptation? Is it because we are afraid of losing a good reputation if we are found out that we have done this or that? How poor. How sick. How beneath our calling as the children of God! Jesus fasted from all the pleasures of heaven and went to the cross in hope that one day he might share with us that very same joy that he now sets before us. Let's give up the straw and dust that sin offers us and enjoy the beef and beer of a righteous life! What has happened to Jesus has happened to you! What is going to happen to Jesus is going to happen to you! You are going to share his glory and joy forever! And in the meantime you can begin to taste the glory of that new life you will have on the Resurrection Day by the power of the risen Christ in your heart, if you will reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God, say no to the pleasures of sin for a short season in this life, and get on with the business of walking that narrow road - that road of love and joy and righteousness - to the glory that is to come. Amen. Thursday, January 15, 2009 Romans 12:1-4 - First Sunday After Epiphany The apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-4 has a different view. For Paul, the Christian life is not something academic; it is a sacrifice to God. Having presented to the Romans the wonderful work of Jesus Christ on our behalf in chapters 1-11, he begins chapter 12 with the words: I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. When we survey all that Christ has done for us, when we view Him dying on the cross for the sins we have committed, ultimately because he loves us and wants to see us bring glory to our Creator, we are so moved by his sacrifice on our behalf that we desire to render our appreciation to him in kind. The right response is not, "Now I must become a Bible student." Instead, we sing, Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. It is because his love demands our all that Paul tells us to present our bodies to him. Love for God is not expressed merely by holding to a creed. We are to have loving affection for Him and especially loving action, loving obedience expressed in physical and tangible ways. Our love for God is to be lived out through our bodies, for it is through them that we do the will of God in this material world. Paul speaks of this in chapter 6. Having written of our death and resurrection with Christ through our baptism, he says, 11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 19: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. You see how he expects our new life in Christ to be lived out through our bodies; not just thought about in our minds. When Sheila and I were in Cambridge a couple of years ago, we visited Ridley Hall, an evangelical college there. One of the students told me that the principal was all the time quoting Bishop Hanley Moule, who was the first principle of Ridley Hall, later becoming the Bishop of Durham in 1901. When he said that I thought, "Ah, here is a kindred spirit, because I'm quoting Moule all the time myself," in fact, the last time I preached here I quoted him. I want to do so again today. Bishop Moule, in one of his commentaries on Romans, wrote of how Jesus served men through His body, "walking to them with his feet; touching them with his hands; meeting their eyes with His; speaking with His lips the words that were spirit and life. As with Him, so with us." As we look, speak, hear, write, nurse, travel, and so forth, we carry out the will of God in this world in relation to our neighbours. We thus render God service. Let us now note, however, that as soon as we are dedicated as sacrifices to God, what does Paul say we are to do? He says we are to care about how we think! I have not been saying that thinking is not important; it is absolutely critical in fact. What I have been saying is that right thinking does not comprise the whole of our duty, nor is it the starting point of Christian living. The Christian mind is not Christian simply because it thinks Christian thoughts. It is Christian and it thinks Christian thoughts because it has been sacrificially dedicated to Christ. We give our minds to Christ as we give our whole beings to Christ and then, following Paul's instructions here, we work on our minds. We seek to develop a Christian mind. Working against our effort to develop a Christian mind is the world around us. There is always pressure on us to conform our words and actions to the ideas and ideals of the current age in which we live. Paul tells us we are not to be squeezed into its mold. We are not "of this world," or "of this age." In us has already dawned the age to come. If any man be in Christ, he is new creation. Our thinking is to be governed by the ideas and ideals of the age that was inaugurated with the resurrection of Christ and which will one day replace this current age. Now this present age encourages pride and self-centeredness. Not so the age to come. Paul tells us that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Instead of exalting ourselves in pride, we are to think accurately about ourselves; to think no more highly than what is true to fact. As for self-centeredness, our thinking about ourselves is never to be wholly individualistic. We are to always think of ourselves in light of the Body of Christ to which we belong. We thus learn that we are to be people of humility with a mutual concern for one another in Christ. If we make humility and mutual concern major issues in our thinking, in time, as our minds are gradually molded by these ideals, we will live out in our actions and speech the good, perfect, and acceptable will of God. In other words, we will love God and one another as we ought. And what will this look like? In our families, we will think about the feelings of others and the consequences of our words and actions in their lives, and try to say and do what is helpful to one another. It is possible for us to be too relaxed about our discipleship in the comforts of home. We can let down the guard over our speech and actions that we tend to keep up when we are in public. In fact, it is in the family where some of our greatest challenges to discipleship may come. We should not think that we have a right to indulge our anger or selfishness or peevishness with family members because "they are family." They are still our neighbours - indeed our closest, with therefore the highest demand upon our being faithful in Christian charity, not the lowest! The apostle Paul, more than once, tells us who are heads of our homes, not to lay down our lives for the company we work for, but to lay down our lives for our wives. Our wives are told, not to complain about their husbands, but to honour them and obey them. And our children are taught that the beginning of all respect for authority begins with respect and obedience to one's parents at home. And these duties are to be carried out with our bodies - our speech and what we do for each other with our hands and our feet. We are not to merely love and obey with intent. We are to really do it. We are to think about what we should be doing and do it. If we love the Church we will care about the atmosphere and habits of our homes. Our families are to be mirrors of the Church. And as they come together in the Church, the Church will be a composite of the whole of our families. The quality of the life in the family, in that respect, becomes critical for the overall sake of the Church herself. In our churches, if we are humble and caring for each other, our life together will look like that described in the rest of this letter, which you may read later. Therein you will find that the Body of Christ, infused with the spirit of self sacrifice unto Christ, will function with mercy and affection and beauty - each recognizing his own place and being concerned to be faithful in it; love, joy, and peace will reign in the hearts of all the believers, who follow the path of humility, kindness, and patience. But, you may say, that will require sacrifice. Indeed. It's comfortable to keep our religion on a merely intellectual level. But when it comes to "fleshing it out," to actually doing what we believe and think is true, we find that we no longer have the time and energy and resources for ourselves that we once enjoyed. We must lay down our lives in sacrifice. But, as believers, we are glad to do so, for, as Jesus says, he that loses his life for the Lord's sake will find it. We lay our bodies upon the altar of the gospel of Christ and we find a fellowship of love that answers the longings of our own hearts. We find ourselves not just knowing about the mercies of God, but living in them. We don't just read the story of Christ, but we find ourselves living inside the story with Christ. We are the offering of the gentiles to the LORD promised by prophets of old. We are Christ's living sacrifices, alive more than ever, destined to live for evermore. With such a wonderful calling, let us follow our Lord who has gone before us on the path of sacrifice, and get up on Monday morning, engage our minds to remember what we know is true, and start loving and hoping and believing and serving the people God has placed in our lives. Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Newman on Lessons from the Nativity From his sermon on Religious Joy, Luke ii., 10,11; Parochial and Plain Sermons, Volume 8, No. 17 THERE are two principal lessons which we are taught on the great Festival which we this day celebrate, lowliness and joy. This surely is a day, of all others, in which is set before us the heavenly excellence and the acceptableness in God's sight of that state which most men have, or may have, allotted to them, humble or private life, and cheerfulness in it. If we consult the writings of historians, philosophers, and poets of this world, we shall be led to think great men happy; we shall be led to fix our minds and hearts upon high or conspicuous stations, strange adventures, powerful talents to cope with them, memorable struggles, and great destinies. We shall consider that the highest course of life is the mere pursuit, not the enjoyment of good. But when we think of this day's Festival, and what we commemorate upon it, a new and very different scene opens upon us. First, we are reminded that though this life must ever be a life of toil and effort, yet that, properly speaking, we have not to seek our highest good. It is found, it is brought near us, in the descent of the Son of God from His Father's bosom to this world. It is stored up among us on earth. No longer need men of ardent minds weary themselves in the pursuit of what they fancy may be chief goods; no longer have they to wander about and encounter peril in quest of that unknown blessedness to which their hearts naturally aspire, as they did in heathen times. The text speaks to them and to all, "Unto you," it says, "is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Nor, again, need we go in quest of any of those things which this vain world calls great and noble. Christ altogether dishonoured what the world esteems, when He took on Himself a rank and station which the world despises. No lot could be more humble and more ordinary than that which the Son of God chose for Himself. So that we have on the Feast of the Nativity these two lessons—instead of anxiety within and despondence without, instead of a weary search after great things,—to be cheerful and joyful; and, again, to be so in the midst of those obscure and ordinary circumstances of life which the world passes over and thinks scorn of. Image: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/image_galleries/salisbury_cathedral_nativity_gallery.shtml Saturday, December 27, 2008 Joseph's Challenge - First Sunday After Christmas - '08 In Acts 26, we read Christ's words to Paul while he was on the Damascus road concerning the mission given to him. It was Christ's intention to give to Paul's hearers forgiveness of sins and the inheritance of all those sanctified by faith in Him. However, these wonderful gifts would only be given on two conditions. The first is that their eyes would be open, that is, that they should understand the spiritual truth which Paul would preach. The second is that they would turn from darkness to light. That is the message of repentance. The blessings of Christ are in His light. All those who would have them must leave their darkness behind. They must leave their sins and their idolatry if they would have Christ. This is always the challenge of Christ to us. Will we have Him or will we hang on to what we have without him, namely sin and death? As the angel proclaimed to Joseph, Jesus came to save His people from their sins. This is a message much grander than merely going to heaven when you die. Christ came into the world to change us; to change our condition, both in our standing before God and in our very characters. To introduce people to Christ was Paul's mission because this is the church's mission. The mission of the church is to bring people into confrontation with the person of Jesus Christ. And when we do so, He challenges the character of our hearers. The Church has done this for us. We ourselves have been brought face to face with the risen Christ and His claims on our lives. Our character has been challenged: will we repent or will we not? What we have discovered is that this initial challenge to our character was only that, an initial challenge. Christ continues to challenge the character of His people for we are not yet in this life completely free from all our sins as we will be in the resurrection. We are not yet perfectly sanctified in Christ. Rather we are progressively sanctified as He challenges our characters and we respond in faith and repentance to his challenges. As I have said, this is what Christ always does. We have just read in Matthew 1 of the challenges He brought to Mary and Joseph. Jesus is not even out of the womb yet and He is challenging the character of his servants! In Matthew 1, we see Mary and Joseph in the middle of the awkward situation that the Lord has put them in. We are told that they were espoused to one another. The marriage agreement has been established and they were both surely looking forward to their wedding. However, Matthew says that Mary "was found with child of the Holy Ghost." The language here is of human observation, not divine revelation. She was found with child. We are simply told the fact of her condition. This is because the narrative continues from the perspective of Joseph. He had not been present at the annunciation of Christ's conception. All he knew was that the woman he loved was with child and that had to be very painful and disturbing. I think we can safely assume that Mary told Joseph about the origin of the child and her cousin Elizabeth may have also added to the evidence. But, still, Joseph was being asked to believe in a remarkable miracle. Let us pause to consider what all of this meant to Mary. What has the coming of Jesus meant to her? It has meant the possible misunderstanding and loss of her husband. If he could not believe the miracle and were to leave her, she would be in an even worse condition, for she would eventually have a child out of wedlock. What an incredible challenge this must have been to her faith! Our narrative, however, is, as I have said, about Joseph and the challenge to his character. What does he do? We are told that he shows himself to have a just or righteous character. He is not thinking primarily about himself but Mary. Many men would have taken this situation as an affront to their egos or their reputations and have sought to take out their frustrations on poor Mary. They would have made as big a deal out of it as they could, and tried to be sure that the whole community knew that they rejected this woman who had obviously been unfaithful to them. But Joseph does not do that. He determines to annul the agreement privately and to save Mary as much suffering as possible. This had to have been painful for him, but he thought more of her than of himself. He shows himself righteous in character, keeping the command to love our neighbour as our self. The story goes on to speak of Joseph’s thinking. We picture him alone somewhere, reflecting on his situation and Mary’s, considering his plan of action and their broken hearts. Suddenly the angel appears and tells Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. This word of the angel tells us something of what Joseph had been thinking about, does it not? He was afraid of something. What was there to fear in taking her as his wife? Surely it was the stigma of the birth of this one child that would go on for the rest of his life. Though his wife may believe in her innocence and though he may in time come to believe in it, the rest of the community would not. He and Mary would have to live a misunderstood life. Joseph was afraid of the pain of this. But now the angel assures him that he need not be afraid, for this is God’s doing. That did not, however, take away the stigma and the slander. The challenge to Joseph’s character remained. Would he believe God, marry this young woman, and endure the social discomfort? Again, Jesus is still in the womb and yet his presence in the world is bringing huge challenges in the lives of people. Thankfully, Joseph took the challenge. He refused to fear the pain his marriage would bring him, choosing rather the joy of being a part of God’s plan for the world. Like Moses, he chose the reproaches of the world that He might share in the glory of Christ. We need to ask ourselves tonight where Jesus is challenging our characters. He has not sent us angels with messages - I wouldn’t think - but He does challenge us in other ways. He challenges us through His Word as we read it and hear it taught and preached. He speaks to us through the admonitions of other Christians - which can be a very difficult challenge for us to accept. He challenges us through the still small voice of our consciences. He also challenges us through His providences. As we follow him in the path of duty, as Joseph was doing, we find things coming across our path that call us to sacrifice and humility. God has brought these things to pass to challenge us - will we trust him or be afraid and forsake the path of duty? In times like those, we may wish for an angel to speak to us! But really all we need to do is to keep our eyes on the very one who challenges us, Jesus Himself. Who is He? Why did the angel tell Joseph to call his name Jesus? Because somehow there was a connection between that name and His mission to save us from our sins. What is this connection? The name Jesus is our English for the Hebrew name Joshua. We should therefore remember that Jesus’ name was really Joshua and all the images of which that name reminds us from the story of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan should be present in our minds. This is the connection. To be saved from our sins is to be brought into the Promised Land of the salvation of God. The book of Hebrews, 3 & 4, speaks forthrightly about this connection. Our salvation in Christ was pictured by the victory over their enemies and the rest from warfare which the children of Israel were to have in Canaan under Joshua‘s leadership. Sin is our enemy; it brings death and destruction into our lives. We, however, are just as helpless in ourselves to conquer this enemy as the children of Israel were to conquer the giants in the land of Canaan. But we have Joshua with us. We have a leader; he is the captain of our salvation. He is the one who fights our enemies for us. On the cross of Calvary he defeated both Satan and sin that we might enter into His promised land of rest. Therefore, we who believe in Christ enter into His rest, his victory for us. Thus, Jesus, Joshua, saves us from our sins. Now here’s the point: the very same one who challenges us to trust Him and obey Him in the difficulties of this life is the one who will enable us to do so victoriously. As Joshua challenged the children of Israel to enter the land and fight their enemies and win their victory, he also lead them into that fight and victory. Our Joshua does the same for us. Therefore, we do not look at the challenge, thinking of how we are going to get through it; we look to Him who is going to lead us through it. Our faith is in our Captain, who has never failed us and will never fail us. Where is this Jesus challenging you this evening? What have you learned from the Scriptures? What have you been told by others What has your conscience been speaking to you about? What is the unexpected but plain duty that now lies before you? What have you, like Joseph, been thinking about, that you are afraid to act on. Fear not. Trust and obey this Jesus. He is with you. Joshua is also Emmanuel; God with us. And as it also says in Hebrew, ch. 13, He will never, ever leave us. Therefore, we may boldly say, the LORD is my helper. I will, by His abundant grace, accept His challenge. Saturday, December 20, 2008 Jesus, Stand Among Us - St. John 1:19 - Advent IV Now John tells the Jews, in effect: "There stands one among you whom you do not know and he is more important than I am." That had to be disturbing to the Jews. John was highly respected. He was recognised by the whole nation as a true prophet of God. He has now told them that there is already in their midst someone who is the Messiah, or Elijah, or the prophet foretold by Moses. Yet they do not know who he is. Imagine the excitement that these words would bring. Would there not be an uncanny feeling among them, a fearful feeling, a suspense. "Who is it then?" they would ask. "When will He show himself? Why has he not done so already?" "What is he thinking? What does he have up his sleeve?" The questions started by John's words would go on and on. John, however, was exulting in all of this. The Messiah has come! He's been waiting for him all his life and now he knows who he is: Jesus of Nazareth. Of all people! John's purpose for coming into the world is now being fulfilled before his very eyes. The fact that this One foretold now stands among his people is not something foreboding, not something eerie, but something strengthening, something assuring, something wonderful. It's what he's longed for all his life. John told the Jews about Jesus standing among them, and we can speak today, as the church of Jesus Christ, of our Lord standing among us. There are two senses in which He stands among us. One is simply the truth of his constant presence, established by the Father. The word "stand" leads us to think of an established position. Jesus Christ, by virtue of His faithful fulfillment of His mission given Him by the Father, now is established as the head of the Church. As He promised in the Upper Room to his disciples, He has come to us by His Spirit and He promises never, ever, to leave His people. We are His temple. We are His dwelling place. He is therefore always present. This is very comforting, is it not? There are times when we feel he has left us, for whatever reason. But we are never to believe that. We are to always remember that leaving us is the last thing He will ever do. The other sense of standing, though, is the occasion of His manifestly helping us when we are in need. There are times when he stands with us in a special way; when he manifests his power on our behalf. Paul speaks of this experience in 2 Tim. He tells of the first time he had to stand before Nero in that last series of his appearances before him. He writes to Timothy: At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Thus the Lord stands among us, both in the sense that he is always present with us and that he also aids us when we are in need. While all this is true and encouraging, there is nevertheless something of the same uncanniness about it which the Jews must have felt at John's words, for, after all, He is who he is. He is the Lord. He is the Holy One of God. He is present with us to bless us, but he does have His own agenda. He's not for us the way we normally think of people being for us. Recall His conversation with Joshua. In Joshua 5, the children of Israel have passed over the Jordan river and encamped at Gilgal. Here they keep the Passover and the mannah ceases, for they begin to eat of the fruit of the land. At some time during this, Joshua was near Jericho - we suppose reconnoitering the city - when the Bible says a man appeared before him with a drawn sword. Joshua approaches this man and asks, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" And what is the answer? "No, but as Comander of the army of the LORD I have now come." In other words, I'm not necessarily for either; I serve someone else. Now, if we had been Joshua, would this have been comforting or threatening? It's comforting if we know we too serve the LORD, but it is also threatening because it runs against the passion of our sense of self-interest and self-survival. We are suddenly aware that the one who stands among us may have an agenda that is not always safe for us. We may find his higher purposes leading us to sacrifice. There's another aspect to the uncanniness of Jesus standing among us and that is the fact that there's always a sense in which we, like the Jews of John's day, do not know him. We certainly know Him better than they did! He has revealed Himself to us and we have the New Testament and hundreds of years of biblical learning to delve into and the ever present Holy Spirit to teach us how wonderful and good He is and all the wonderful things He's done for us. Yes, we know much, and hopefully we are continuing to learn, for after all, we are to be always growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. But, at the same time, as Paul says in 1 Cor. 8:2, no man knows anything as he ought, and, as Moses said, the secret things belong to God. No matter how much we learn, our thoughts are still not His thoughts in an absolute sense. Jesus can stump us just as much as He ever did his disciples. He is always about things of which we know nothing and do not understand. And there are always things about ourselves that we have not yet recognised that He is trying to bring to our attention. Thus, there stands one among us whom we do not know. Yes, we know who he is, we know a lot about him, but we do not have absolute knowledge and that's the thing that can bother us. That's the thing about Him that can bring an uncanniness to the way we feel about His presence. We can find ourselves asking the same kind of questions the Jew's asked: "What is he thinking about us?" "What does He have up his sleeve?" "What is there that He knows I should know by now but I keep on being hard-headed and dull about it? What is there that he's trying to teach me that I ought to be doing but I still haven't gotten the idea? Where is he being patient with me because I still haven't seen myself in this or that light or because I still have all these heretical ideas that I think are so wise and biblical?" Our Lord stands among us, and that is wonderful - it's a blessing without which we could not live. But, being who He is, and our knowledge of Him being limited, there is something uncomfortable about it that we have to get used to. This aspect of our relationship with the Lord is the same which C. S. Lewis tries to bring out in one of his Narnia novels. When a Narnian is asked if Aslan was safe, the creature answered, "He's not a tame lion." This fact lends an edge, as it were, to all the other nice things we learn about Aslan in the story. There is a degree of unpredictability added to his character, and even danger, for wild lions are not what we would call safe. And he may do something or ask someone to do something we feel is a little wild. In the same way, there is one who stands among us, who is who he is and the way he is, and we do not really know him. He is not what we would call predictable. Merely compare the grand expectations of the Jews for the Messiah and the scene in the manger in Bethlehem. That was not the way men thought the Messiah would come. This fact gives us a great reason to keep humble and open minds. We never know when we will find ourselves so very confident in what we are thinking or doing, only to find Him rebuking us and challenging us. Therefore, when it comes to our doctrines and our convictions, we hold them with a humility that is ready to be instructed. We are ready for our doctrines and convictions to be improved. And we always know they need improving in some way or another and we are ready to have our Lord intervene in our lives to bring about these improvements. And we certainly never take pride in moral achievements. After all, He's been standing there the whole time and we know he knows the real story behind it all. We know that we would have gotten no where in service or in grace unless he had not been present with us, if he had not heard our cry and speedily helped and delivered us as we ran, in a fashion, the race that He has set before us. Living in the presence of this one who stands among us is something we really cannot fully comprehend but it is the most important thing in the world to do. Yes, it can be scary at times, but it is also the most blessed thing, for in the presence of the LORD is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore. Jesus, stand among us In Thy risen power; Let this time of worship Be a hallowed hour. Breathe the Holy Spirit Into every heart; Bid the fears and sorrows From each soul depart. Thus with quickened footsteps We pursue our way, Watching for the dawning Of eternal day. Sunday, November 30, 2008 Come, Lord Jesus! Advent 1 - '08 Advent is primarily the season of anticipation of the celebration of the birth of Christ. But how are we to anticipate this celebration? Advent is really a complex event. Throughout the Church and throughout history, Advent has been a time, not only of listening to the joy of the angels and the shepherds and the wise men, but of listening to the call of John the Baptist to make ready the way of the Lord with repentance, and the cry of the Spirit and the Bride in Revelation, saying, “Come, Lord Jesus,” for we, like those Jewish believers who awaited the first coming of the Messiah, have our own coming of the Messiah to look forward to: the second coming, with all that that means of both joy and fear. This multifaceted understanding of Advent is reflected in the Collect and Propers for today, the first Sunday in Advent. In them, we are reminded that we who believe in Christ are to live in the light of the coming of Christ which we will experience, His coming on the Resurrection Day, the Day of the fullness of our salvation. In Romans 13, Paul speaks of us as those who have been asleep, spiritually asleep. In times past, we have lived our lives on this earth as if it would always be night and we could indulge ourselves in living that is displeasing to God, violating His moral law. We have lived dreaming that there would be no consequences to our actions. But this was all a lie and God has opened our eyes to recognise that the Day is at hand. God has raised His Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead, the firstborn of the new life to come, and He is coming again to bring us into the fullness of the salvation He has purchased for us. Things have changed. We are now the children of Light, destined for the Day, and the Day approaches. Therefore, it is only fitting that we live in the Light of that Day, the Light that is already ours and that will be ours. We should not only wake up and get out of the bed of self-indulgence and self-centeredness, but we should put on our clothes, the armour of light, and get ready to enter this Day that is dawning. Advent is a time to remember all of this. Christ’s first coming foreshadows His final coming, in which we shall share. Yes, we do rejoice in those special aspects of His first coming, and are glad to look back to the baby born in the manger and recall the amazing condescension of the Son of God in His taking on human flesh. We too sing the Magnificat and revel in the fulflilment of ancient prophecy and the fullness of the times come to pass and the salvation God then brought to His people. But when are we living? We are not living in those days and a lot has happened since then! We are in the days of a new waiting and anticipation of a new coming: the final coming, to bring to consummation the purposes of God. We should therefore live as those who find themselves in such an exciting and meaningful time. This, of course, necessitates self-examination. Paul challenges us to ask ourselves the question: are we living in a spiritually sleepy manner or are we awake? Do we live in the light we now have and anticipate the light to come, or are we indulging our selves in the thinking and habits of darkness. This is a time of the year to examine ourselves to be sure we are ready to receive our Lord’s coming with good conscience and gladness, for the whole point of Christ’s coming in the first place was to save His people from their sins. As we examine ourselves, the natural place to begin is with the basic, fundamental morality of the ten commandments. According to Paul in Romans 2, this is the law by which Christ will judge us when he returns. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit has been given to the church that we might be able to keep the Law of God. Here in ch. 13, he tells us of the motivation that enables us to keep the law, and that motivation is love. Love fulfills the law for it is a motivating power that leads us to loving action. So, how are we doing in the way of God‘s commands? As we ask ourselves this question, we must avoid our modern tendency to sentimentalism. It is common in our day for people to think that if they intended to do something right then their failure to do it doesn’t matter. But this is wrong; it demonstrates an impoverished understanding of morality and justice. Paul does not say love fulfils the law by giving us good feelings about our neighbour. He says that love fulfils the law because it does no harm to one’s neighbour. It does what the law says we are to do. The point of Romans 13 is right motivation worked out in right action. Are we keeping God’s commands? As we seek to be ready for his coming, surely an examination of ourselves in the light of His Law is the best place to start. But we have presented before us in our Scripture readings another means of examining our selves. This is by asking ourselves if we are attending to prayer. Let us beware that we are not in the same position as those Jews were when Jesus came to Jerusalem to present Himself publicly as the long awaited Messiah, as we read in Matthew 21. This coming of Christ, like His birth in Bethlehem, is another foreshadowing of the final coming that is before us. When He comes again, He comes to judge the earth, and, as Scripture reminds us, God’s judgement begins with house of God. The Jews cried Hosanna in the Highest and rejoiced at his coming as He rode into Jerusalem on that day, but they found themselves hearing His rebukes in the Temple, for they had not been ready for His coming by watching for that coming in prayer. Rather, they had been indulging themselves in the things of this world. It is by living a life of prayer that we live spiritually awake. As we attend to prayer privately, in our families, and in the congregation, we are paying attention to spiritual affairs. We are spending time thinking about our spiritual condition and the spiritual needs of our neighbours. Instead of spending our time in this world preoccupied with our own little concerns, we involve ourselves in the grand, eternal concerns of the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we join with the Holy Spirit and the universal church in whom He dwells by expressing our longing for the Kingdom of God to come and for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our waiting on God is a kind of passive obedience. We are willing to let God have His time in our lives and in our concerns. But there is also an active waiting; a waiting that contributes to the thing for which we wait. Our prayers are a means of waiting actively. We are doing something about the kingdom of God. We are bringing the kingdom of God to earth, now and in its final denouement, as we ask God to act and bring this kingdom into our lives. But while prayer is a means of actively waiting on God, it is also a means of passive waiting. As we pray and our vision of our Lord and of His grand purposes for His kingdom are thereby enlarged, we find the grace of patience which we so desperately need to endure those hardships that are ours in this world as we must wait for our salvation to be complete. We find the patience we need with our own sins and failures; we find the patience we need with other people; and we find comfort in the patience of God. We breathe that calm spirit of heaven, that knows no hurry, but only the perfect will of God. Prayer then is both an active and a passive way in which we stay awake in the sleepy world and keep at the ready for the coming of the Son of Man. In the gospel of Luke, we learn that there were believing Jews who did attend the Temple for the right reasons and in the right spirit. We know the names of some of them: Simeon and Anna. These two, and I’m sure there were more, lived their lives in light of that first coming of the Lord. They were awake. They were both obedient to God’s law and prayerful. And when He was presented to them in the Temple by his parents, they recognised Him and delighted in Him and were not ashamed. Let us take these old Jewish saints as our examples this Advent season, by living in the Light of the Lord’s coming. Instead of thinking of ways we can indulge our flesh, let us love one another, keeping God’s commands, and continue steadfastly in prayer. Let us join the cry of the Spirit and the Bride in Revelation, saying, “Come, Lord Jesus,” keeping spiritually awake and ready, for the Day we long for is at hand. Monday, September 8, 2008 Motivation and Desire For Comfort The desire for comfort may be a very high or a very low, a noble or a most ignoble wish. It is like the love of life, the wish to keep on living, which may be full of courage and patience, or may be nothing but a cowardly fear of death. We know what kind of comfort it must have been that St. Paul prayed for, and for which he was thankful when it came. We have all probably desired comfort which he would have scorned, and prayed to God in tones which he would have counted unworthy alike of God and of himself. And the difference in the way in which people ask comfort of God, no doubt, depends very largely upon the reason why they ask it, upon what it is that makes them wish that God would take away their pain and comfort them. The nobleness of actions, we all know, depends more upon the reasons why we do them than on the acts themselves. Very few acts are so essentially noble that they may not be done for an ignoble reason, and so become ignoble. Very few acts are so absolutely mean that some light may not be cast through them by a bright motive burning within. And so it is not merely with what we do, but with what happens to us. It is not our fortune in life, our sorrow, or our joy; it is the explanation which we give of it to ourselves, the depth to which we see down into it, that makes our lives significant or insignificant to us. All this, I think, applies to what St. Paul says about the comfort which God had given him. He gave to it its deepest and most unselfish reason, and so the fact of God's comforting him became the exaltation and the strengthening of his life. Image: http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/por/brooks.htm Sunday, April 6, 2008 Psalm 23 - Good Shepherd Sunday There is perhaps no psalm better known than the 23rd psalm. There is good reason for that. People have always needed such words as these, because all our lives are full of trouble and cares are all around us. Never give into the lie that no one else knows the troubles you have seen. Self-pity robs us of the abundant comfort that we can find in such a passage as this from God’s Word. Instead of saying “Woe is me!” let us confess these words with our brother, King David: 1: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. When I read these words, I always remember the story of a woman who sought out a minister who had just preached on this psalm. She was in deep trouble and despairing. He asked her simply: “Do you believe the LORD is your shepherd, right now?” She said, “Yes, I do.” Then he said, “Then you can say, not only that you will not lack what you need, but that you do not want now, for He is your Shepherd now.” David is not saying, “Everything will be all right someday,” he is saying, “The LORD is my shepherd, and because he is my shepherd, therefore I have all I need now and I always will.” We only experience the caring love of our Heavenly Father today. Is that not what Jesus tried to help us to understand? Matthew 6:34 (Phillips’) "Don't worry at all then about tomorrow,” He said. “Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day's trouble is enough for one day." You are no longer in the past. You are not in the future, and have no idea what it will bring. You only live now and it is here and now that Jesus, your Good Shepherd, stands with you, ready to help you, moment by moment, through this very day. He is taking care of what happened yesterday. He is preparing your blessings and graces for tomorrow. Life is now. We walk with our Lord now. There is much wisdom in the saying, “Live one day at a time,” for that is the only day in which you can live and it is the day in which the Lord is ready to make real to you His love. There’s something else I always think about when I read Psalm 23. It was a comment made by a friend one time, when he said, “In order to have the LORD as your shepherd, you must first realise that you are a sheep.” How true that is. Do you know what one of the biggest reasons is for why we worry so much? It is because we take on our troubles ourselves and spend our time trying to figure out what we are going to do about them. We think we are the answer to our needs. A sheep doesn’t do that. A sheep relies on its shepherd, and it’s a good thing that it does. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals, and least able to care for themselves, of all the animals on earth. Their strength is in their shepherd, not in their own resources. If they have a good shepherd, they will thrive. Does it not make sense that, if God promises to lead us and provide for us, we should rather look to Him to do so than to ourselves? Do we think we know better than he? If we would know the comfort of having the LORD as our shepherd, we must first realise our weakness and helplessness. Only then will we really rely on him; only then will we really follow him; only then will we be able to receive from him the blessings he has for us. Recently, I picked up an old volume that I’ve not look at for a long time on the Psalms, and reading the commentary on Psalm 23, the writer brought to my attention something else that I’m sure to think about from now on whenever I read the psalm. Let me show you what I’m talking about. The psalm begins very evidently, as we have observed, with the image of a sheep and his shepherd. But notice the change in the latter part. In verse 5 we read: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” As the writer noted, David has changed images. He now speaks of a host and his guest, doesn’t he. I’ve always enjoyed these words in the psalm, and have recognised how they add to the blessing of the relationship between David and the LORD, but the shepherding image is so strong in it, that for some reason it hasn’t dawned on me that there is a real change of image here. I see plainly now that the psalm is not just a psalm on God’s shepherding. It is a psalm with two images: the divine shepherd and the divine host. Now, what is the importance of this change of image? As the writer explains, in both cases we have divine care and provision, but in the latter, everything is intensified, the need and the supply being move vivid. Instead of a sheep in a pastoral scene, we now have the scene of someone who is marching through enemies in battle, working his way home to the LORD’s house. We find the LORD providing an abundant provision of refreshment and security interspersed in a dangerous and wearying march. It reminds us of the image of the Christian life in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Though Christian faced many a peril, the LORD would here and there refresh and restore him on his way to the There was, of course, danger to be considered in the shepherding image. But the danger there encountered was by the shepherd on behalf of his sheep. If a wolf or some other dangerous beast were to attack the flock, it would be the shepherd who would need to encounter the danger of their rescue, with his rod and his staff. David knew this well. You will recall the story of when David was talking to King Saul about Goliath the giant and how David argued with Saul that he would be able to kill the giant. David said: 34: … Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36: Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37: David said moreover, the LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” In the shepherding image, it would be the shepherd that would have to confront the danger on behalf of his sheep. And, by the way, this idea moves our hearts, does it not, when we recall that our Good Shepherd, Jesus, did this very kind of thing for us. We were in danger of being devoured by the devil! But our Jesus took on the devil and fought him and gave him his death’s blow that we might be rescued from him. The Good Shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. But to get back to our point: the second image now has the guest of the host as the one who is facing the dangerous conflict. The table is spread in the presence of the guest’s enemies. The verse depicts how we have the privilege of dealing with our LORD’s foes in this life on his behalf. He fought for us; now we fight for him. But we learn here that, though we be always in conflict, yet we always have a spread table and an abundance of provision – so much so that David could say his cup ran over. Thus we find in both images our dear LORD’s kind, thoughtful, and abundant provision for those upon whom he has set his merciful care. As sheep, we have such abundant provision, that we can lay down and rest in green pastures. As soldiers, we have such abundant provision, that we can talk about it as like a cup running over with blessing. Dearly beloved, when we feel our life is stuck in a valley full of shadows, and darkness is all around, when we feel threatened and wearied with the things we have to deal with as we seek to serve the Lord, let us heed the Spirit of God when He reminds us of Psalm 23. He is trying to remind us of what is true about God and what is true about us, in spite of what our circumstances may lead us to believe. We are sheep – but we have a Shepherd who takes care of us today and who takes care of our tomorrows. We are warring pilgrims, but we have a gracious Host who so cares for us that we feel protected by Him. Your Heavenly Father has always been and always will be your faithful Shepherd and your faithful Host. He will not fail you. As He has seen you through the darkness before, He will do so again. He will so abundantly provide for you that you can with confidence say with David those wonderful words: “6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” Let not your heart be troubled. Be at peace and wait upon Him in your daily duties. Your weeping may endure for the night, but your joy, your God, will come to you in the morning. Amen. Monday, March 31, 2008 Christ the Firstborn - The First Sunday After Easter I don’t know or remember how many of us are the firstborn children in our families, but being the firstborn is not that big of a deal in our time. In our post-Freudian age, usually people bring up the idea of being firstborn because they want to talk about the psychology of a firstborn person; otherwise it’s just a curiosity. In comparison with the ages past, we are a strange lot. It used to be that being the firstborn was a very big deal, indeed. The firstborn would inherit the family estate, if there was one. He was certainly saddled with the responsibility of keeping the family going should something happen to the parents, of assuming the family farm or business, and being the protector of his sisters, to be sure they were treated well and married well. In a royal family, it was the firstborn who would inherit the crown. Being firstborn had a lot to do with a person’s life. Well, however people may think of being firstborn in the world today, we Christians are in a family that has a brother who is the firstborn, and his role is very important indeed; we are looking to him for everything. Jesus is the firstborn of the people of God, and he became the firstborn on the day of his resurrection. In Rev. 1:5, we read of Jesus, “who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” He is the first born from the dead because he is the first of all of us who will be raised from the dead, like he was, on the last day. We also read in Colossians 1:18, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” He is our head, he is our beginning, he is our firstborn – again, the firsborn from the dead; the first everlastingly raised, flesh and bone, from the dead. Therefore, he has all the right of our respect and honour as such. We have another place where Jesus is called the firstborn in our lesson this evening from Romans 8. You will remember verse 29: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Now this is very interesting. Paul says that Jesus’ being the firstborn is tied together with our lives in a particular way. He says that Jesus will be the firstborn at the Resurrection because his brothers, his family members, have been conformed to his image. This means that God’s plan is not merely to collect a bunch of people together so that they can be his family, with Jesus their firstborn brother. God’s plan is to do more than that. He wants to so work in our lives that we will actually share our firstborn brother’s image, so that we will not simply be in the number of his family, but bear his own likeness as well. We will be his brethren in a very real way. What does it mean to be in the likeness of Christ? Well, it can mean many things, but what does it mean in Romans 8? First remember that the main theme of the chapter is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives: 14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The Spirit not only identifies us as the children of God by his presence in our lives, he makes us the children of God. And how does he do that? He prays in us and through us. He leads us to call upon God as our Father and to call upon him especially for a particular concern: to call upon him for the fulfillment of his purpose for this world, for the creation as a whole. Paul says that our sufferings in this life, as the children of God, are a joining together with the sufferings and groaning of the whole creation. We and all the earth long for the day when the new age will come, in which all will be renewed and sorrowing and sighing will flee away. 22: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23: And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” What does it mean to have the Spirit? Paul says it means we experience his firstfruits. Elsewhere in Scripture, we find these firstfruits are many, but here the experience of his firstfruits is groaning; groaning for our full redemption. And the Spirit helps us with this groaning, with prayers that we can’t find words for. We just long. We just groan. And God, who sees our hearts, knows what we are feeling and hears that prayer, a prayer for the great day when our firstborn Brother will fulfill all his family duties to us completely. Everything that is his responsibility to fulfill as our firstborn brother, he will perform; all will be new, the whole creation and we who will live there. It is in this groaning of the Spirit, in this praying and hoping and waiting, that we are made into the image of Christ. Did he not groan for these very same things? Did he not weep at Lazarus’ tomb? Did he not weep and sweat and groan in the garden of Gethsemane? Did he not groan on the Cross of Calvary? Yes he did, and his groanings were all for these very things we have been talking about. He groaned and suffered and died that the very desires the Spirit gives to our hearts might be fulfilled. He groaned, and still groans, that the whole creation will be renewed and that we might be his brethren on that wonderful Resurrection Day. He groaned that we might know his love and never, ever, be separated from it, but that we might mutually, he and we, enjoy his love, and the love of His Father, together for ever. That is truly something to be called wonderful! It is as we learn these things, it is as we experience these things, it is as we are changed by these things, into people who understand God’s purpose and who long for it, who are willing to groan for it in prayer and suffering, that we become like the Son of God, that we really look like his family. Our likeness with Christ is therefore a likeness of vocation. We are involved in the divine purposes with our lives as he was and is involved. And as we are involved, so God our Father is very deeply involved. Indeed, the whole world is involved with the fulfillment of our vocation in Christ. That is why Paul says what he says in v. 28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Everything in our lives, under God’s amazing and powerful providence, is in some way connected with the fulfillment of all those things for which we groan. Do we believe that? It is because Christ is risen that He is our firstborn elder brother and we belong to him. It is because he is risen from the dead that all the promises of God – not just this one here in Romans 8:28, but all - are secured for us; that all the promises of God are “yea” and “amen” in Christ Jesus. Yes, we groan! But all our groaning, be it the groaning of earthly sufferings, the groaning of persecution, or the inner groanings of the Holy Spirit, they are all gilded with the finest everlasting gold. As Paul says in verse 18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Let us therefore be those who have this hope. Let us rejoice in the goodness of God in our lives, even in our sufferings, and let us ever more praise with adoration our firstborn brother who makes all things worthwhile: Jesus Christ, our Lord. Image: painting by Goodman, from www.allposters.com Monday, March 24, 2008 Easter Day Sermon - Excerpt - John xx.19,20 Let us now consider the disciples reaction to all of this. The Gospel says, “Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” The truth of Jesus’ resurrection finally hit them and the celebration began. I was moved by these words of Charles Simeon, while preparing this sermon: “Gladness is opposed to grief; they had seen the saddest sight that was ever exhibited in the world; - a sight that made the sun to blush, and hide his head beneath the sable mantle of midnight; - a sight that wrung their hearts with unutterable anguish; - but the cause of their grief was removed; - their Lord, who had been torn from them by the cruel hands of lawless rabble, was now restored to them; - he had been dead, but he was now alive again.” Having seen the worst sight of all, they now beheld the best and most wonderful sight of all: the incarnate Son of God risen from the dead! Here was the very focus of the joy of heaven itself displayed before them: their own beloved Lord was alive again. Oh, they were glad because they loved him. And their gladness would only grow as they came to better understand all he had done for them. Their gladness of love, of comfort, of peace, would grow from fulness to fulness. Their gladness of confidence would also grow in like fashion as the gladess of a soldier can grow if he has a general that is of the finest quality. There have been a few times through history when an army general has been everything a general ought to be. The perfect general will be a genius of strategy, leading his men to victories. He will be a humble man, who, while maintaining the dignity of his position, nevertheless makes his men to feel that he is their comrade in arms. He will show care for his troops, being sure their needs are met and that their orders are worthwhile. He will be a fighter, not asking his men to do anything that he himself would not do, often found beside his men in the heat of battle. Such generals have been few but where they have served, their soldiers have been glad with that gladness of respect, of love, of admiration and of confidence that leads to the highest morale of which an army is capable. And it has often been the case that when this general comes onto the field, his men will be so glad to see him and so excited, that they will break their ranks and usual order and cheer him with loud enthusiasm. Such a general was Sir Winston Churchill’s ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, or “Corporal John” as his soldiers liked to call him. Sir Winston writes in his biography of “It is on this morning field of [the town of] Elixem that we see [ The parallel with Jesus of such a leader as I have described, and as Churchill has described, and the parallel of the soldier’s enthusiasm with the gladness of the disciples are plain to see. Jesus proved himself the greatest Captain to have ever lived. He had defeated the greatest enemies of all mankind: sin, the devil, and death itself! And he had safely brought his disciples through that struggle and now proclaimed their victory! None more glorious and yet humble than he! None so kind and considerate! None so brave, none so wise, none so capable of confounding and vanquishing his enemies, none so loving as He! None so inspiring of glad confidence than he! Well might those disciples be glad to see the Lord! No more inspiring figure in all of human history stood before them – and the inspiration only grew and grew with the increase of their understanding as the days and months and years drew on. It is no wonder they were willing to lay down their lives for such a Captain. Many men had done so and would do so for their generals. Why not they for theirs, who was the best of all? Oh, frends, what is this risen Jesus to us? Does our faith, our confidence in him, match his grand qualities? Have we not sufficient ground in him for our peace, our faith, and our joy? Have we not here, in Him, a source of confidence that can dispell every gloom, remove every obstacle, and overcome every opposition? Oh let us raise a shout of Huzzah! to this our Captain, leave the sin that so easily besets us, and launch out into the battle of faith and duty that is set before us. Then we may rejoice with that glorious army of saints among whom we will stand on the day of our Resurrection, and on that day, with unbridled affection and to the top of our voice, acclaim Jesus the victorious Lamb of God! Image: http://www.britishbattles.com/spanish-succession/battle-blenheim.htm