It's not about me... or you

With the lead up to Easter, I kept wondering whether I should just teach the traditional Easter message of the Gospel as many do, and I appreciate that because we all need the reminder. So I pondered this and felt God leading me to talk on something slightly different. Something that I feel that we, as God's chosen, can become forgetful about.

Today I want to talk about what the universal atonement of Christ means to us. The fact that He not only died for my sins or yours, but for the sins of the whole world. And we see this teaching in Scripture such as in 1 John where the author says to the Israelites, "

1 John 2:2, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

Now, some people are willing to debate verses like that till the cows come home. That isn't my intention here. Rather, this is my purpose in this message:

That we, as Christians, tend to often forget that God's grace, mercy and love isn't only about those who are already saved, but is concerned with the whole world. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pointing fingers at all. I know some Christians who show such love to the unlovable because God first loved the unlovable when we couldn't. What I do want to get at is this mindset that we sometimes slip into. This idea that because of who we are or what we have, we are somehow better than those around us and we try and use this to our advantage. 

And this isn't just a mindset that was adopted by Christians once Christ came and died for us.

No, this is something that goes back to ancient Israel.

In 1 Samuel 4 we hear the story of Israel's battle with the Philistines and early on in the chapter Israel goes out to war and is defeated and the elders ponder, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." (v. 3 NIV) 

In other words, "Look guys, something's not right. Instead of consulting God, let's go get the ark so that we can be confident that God is with us."

Now, I could try and give a heavy theological explanation for this, but none is needed. Instead I want to share what the NIV Study Bible notes. Now it gives a decent but lengthy explanation so I'll simply share the last sentence as it summarises the mistake made by Israel. 

It says, "They [Israel] reflect the pagan notion that the deity is identified with the symbol of his presence and that God's favor could automatically be gained by manipulating the symbol."

And man... we may not have an ark but we have the crosses around our necks to our very status as Christians to justify ourselves rather than consulting the King of kings and allowing Him to speak through us. 

And we forget to remember that the very people that we are shunning are the very people that Christ came to save. From the religious leaders who had Him crucified to your neighbour down the road who is so full of pride that we, in our own way through judging him, have become prideful ourselves. 

I can confess to that. The pride I sometimes have in my heart and I think to myself about some people, "Nah, they don't deserve God's grace. " And instead of humbling myself in servitude, I judge instead. 

I hope we can all see the irony in that. 

Many people like to claim that God in the Old Testament is different from who He is in the New Testament. This can't be further from the truth because the very same God who died for us, is the same God who pleaded with the wicked in Ezekiel. 

In Ezekiel 18:23, God asks this question, "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (NIV)

And He answers this very question in Ezekiel 33:11, 

"Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?'"

When people die without Christ, does He rejoice?

This is the question we need to ask ourselves, because if He does, why would He die for us in the first place? Scripture continually attests to the doctrine that God shows no favoritism (Acts 10:34), that He would rather have everyone come to salvation (2 Peter 3:9) and that even in the midst of our most wicked sin, our most deceitful personality... He died for us and gave us the choice to be made alive in Christ (Romans 5:8). 

So does He rejoice? No. And in the relisation of this, we come to know that this salvation we have... it isn't about us and our own prejudice. 

Its about Him and His love, His desire and His glory. 

Sometimes, we simply need the reminder that Israel received in Joshua 5:14 when the commander of the LORD's army proclaimed that he was neither for nor against Israel, and in saying this, reminded Israel that it is not God who fights their battles, but they who fight His. 

In the same way, it is not us who decide who is worthy of receiving God's grace, but God Himself. 

Let us not turn from this truth, in our own false sense of self-righteousness, but allow God to minister to us as we serve as witnesses of His grace and glory.  

God bless you all. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

Spiritual Valleys

Today I want to continue with the analogy I brought up last week about mountains and valleys in our Christian walk, and today, I really want to place emphasis on this because this is the part of our lives that, after a spiritual mountain where we've felt so close to God and so full of Him, that, once its over, we sort of see the next part as a curse when it should be a blessing.

Now, what am I talking about? I'm talking about valleys. But valleys aren't normally situations we imagine being times when we feel close to God. Let's think about this for a moment. As I talked about last week with mountains. Mountains are about being close to God, being surrounded by His glory, hearing His Word clearly in our lives.

Valleys? Well, Psalm 23:4 surely doesn't say 'Ye though I walk along the mountain of death.' No. When we think of the valleys in our lives, we end up thinking of the times filled with suffering and trials and pain. When we no longer feel that strong connection with God and the overhanging trees seem to block out all of the light. You can see the sort of spiritual symbolism I'm getting at here.

In our minds, valleys do not sound pleasant when it comes to our spirituality. But here's the thing: we need valleys. Why? Because fruit doesn't grow on mountains.

To paint a picture for you, when I think of this analogy, I think of the Himalayas. Snow-capped mountains, clear skies, the glory of God on earth.

But there's one problem. While it may be splendid, there's no actual fruit. In the same way, these spiritual mountains in our lives are incredible, but there's no spiritual fruit for us.

 Now, I need to clarify something about this. When I say fruit, I'm sure we quickly think of the passage in Galatians 5:22-23 which says,

"²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (NIV)

And these are amazing, godly attributes that Christ lived out and that He lives out through us. 

But how do we often build up these attributes? Sure, we pray for them. But does God give us these attributes straight away?

While He is fully capable of doing that, God doesn't normally work that way. If I pray for patience, will I receive patience at a moment's notice... or will He send trials my way that lead me to rely on His strength so that I may build up patience?   

Romans 5:3-5 says, "³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

Suffering leads to perseverance, perseverance to character and character to hope. And in such a world full of sin and grief and suffering, isn't it an amazing thing to not only have hope but to be a beacon of hope founded on God?

We can pray for God to move us and transform us while we are on the mountain, but while on the mountain, there will come a point when He says, "Okay, I will transform you from glory to glory into My likeness, but you're going to need to go back into the valley so that I can build you up."

I hope you can begin to see how these valleys, though they appear daunting, are His doing and His blessing to us. But I understand if some of you may be wondering "But what if I won't know when the next mountain is or I lose hope that He can do this all through me?"

Exodus 24:18 tells us this, "Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain fortydays and forty nights." (NIV)

While on the mountain, Moses was sustained by God for forty days and nights without food or drink as another verse points out later in Exodus. Now, that's God's providence right there at work on the mountain. 

But what about Christ? Christ wasn't on a mountain, He wasn't even in a valley. He was in the desert, probably the worst place to be spiritually-speaking, for forty days and forty nights. 

And its as though God is saying to us, "Yes, I can do awesome things in your life and show you My glory on the mountain, but I'm also the God who not only commissions you back into the valley, but I will walk by your side even into the desert and do the impossible through you when you feel as though you can't take another step." 

Why? Because as Jesus proclaims to the Devil, in Matthew 4:4, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (NIV)

The connection that Moses had with God on the mountain is the very same connection you and I have with the same God regardless of whether we feel like we're on a mountain or in a valley or stranded in the desert.

He remains by our side through it all.

God bless you all.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

Spiritual mountains

Today, I want to talk about something I'm sure we've all been through as Christians, especially if we've ever gone to a camp or a conference that has just been so full of God. Over the course of this week and next week, I want to spend some time talking about the mountains in our lives as well as the valleys, the spiritual ones of course.

In 2009, I went to a Bible camp in Chang Mai, Thailand with my friends. This was the first major Christian event outside of my youth group that I had been to and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had been a Christian for around a year or so at the time. When we finally got there and got settled down, it was just amazing. The worship, the sermons, the fellowship. It was just so Spirit-filled to see other youth desiring God and hearing from such inspirational people. However, like many good things in this life, it had to come to an end and when I finally got home, I guess the feeling that can be describe what I felt was homesickness. I had gone from such awesome fellowship to being back home alone and I missed the fellowship, the worship, the testimonies.

I later spoke with a friend of mine and he gave me an analogy that has stuck with me since then and it has to do with mountains and valleys and it goes like this:

Our lives are full of mountains and valleys and every now and then, God will take us up a mountain and we'll feel closer to Him than we ever have been before and we'll be able to receive hindsight of where He is leading us in our lives.

But there's no fruit on a mountain, and God doesn't want us to remain fruitless.

So He sends us down back into the valley where there are trials and troubles and sometimes we don't know where we're going. But soon enough He will bring us to another mountain and our lives are filled with a continual series of mountains and valleys; and so today I want to look at what spiritual mountains do in our lives and then next week we will look at the spiritual valleys of our lives.

Now, the major thing about spiritual mountains in our lives is that they bring us into His presence in such an awesome way.

For those of you who are familiar with the first few books of the Bible then you will know there is something awesome about mountains in the Old Testament.

Before the tabernacle was built, God often resided on mountains when He desired to speak to the Israelites and when this happened, this is what He commanded them:

In Exodus 19:12, it says, "Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death." (NIV) 

Now many laws in the Old Testament had the death penalty and if you notice, when it came to such things as obeying the regulations God gave regarding the Ark or the Tabernacle, anyone who disobeyed these laws received the death penalty. God's presence was no light matter for His people. His holiness and majesty was not meant to be taken lightly. 

And in Exodus 19:16, we get an idea of just how amazing this event was when it speaks of the cloud that covered the mountain, the lightning and the trumpet that sounded declaring His presence. 

So, we have this picture of the awesomeness and the glory of God that rested on the mountain. 

Now the mountain was not entirely off limits. Yes, it was to the general population, but to Moses and the elders it was not and if you read in Exodus 24, it describes their calling go to up on the mountain. Then at one point, God calls Moses to go further while the others waitied. 

In Exodus 24:12, it says, "The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction." (NIV)

And then verses 15 and 16 describes what happened to Moses and Joshua, his aide, as they ascended further up the mountain.

"When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai." (NIV)

When Moses went up on the mountain, the glory of the LORD covered him and as w'ell look at later on, he didn't return the same from these encounters. 

Now, here is the blessing for us as Christians in all of this. Because of Christ, who is our High Priest and Mediator, anyone can approach God in the same way Moses did. We have that same access that Moses had to the glory of God. 

And when we are on these spiritual mountains from time to time in our lives, we become so full of His glory and as God spoke clearly to Moses on the mountain and as it was where Moses received the Law, in the same way, on our own spiritual mountains, those are the times when we often find ourselves able to most clearly hear His voice. 

Now, don't get me wrong. We can hear His voice just as clearly in trials and suffering. But on these spiritual mountains, its during these times when we aren't troubled or struggling with trials and we often find ourselves more capable of receiving that hindsight and instruction from Him in the same way Moses did. 

And even when we return from these spiritual mountains. If we were truly moved by God, we never return the same.

In Exodus 34:29-35, we read about how after each time Moses returned from the mountain, his face was radiant.

Exodus 34:29 says, "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD."

Moses didn't return from an encounter with God unchanged and while the passage goes on to describe that Moses didn't notice the change, the others did. In the same way, when we return from these conferences or camps or any form of spiritual mountain in our lives. Though we don't notice it, God moves us in ways that are evident to others. 

And I have a feeling some of you may be wondering "Well, that's useful to know about spiritual mountains, but what does that mean for my everyday walk?" 

Well, even though we don't have these spiritual mountains everyday, we do have the same access to God that Moses had and while His voice may not sound as clear or His presence may not feel as strong, He still remains by our sides. 

But when you do find yourself on a spiritual mountain, cherish it. Sometimes we don't find ourselves on another mountain for years, but He is able to give us the hindsight to where He desires us to go and the instructions needed to do His will. 

And whenever the valley seems too long, remember.

Remember the last time He led you onto the mountain and take hope in how He appeared to you knowing He will finish the good work He began within you. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

An Appeal to Defense

Last week, we focused on the idea of oppression and His promise of peace and a light heart in the midst of trials. Today, I want to finish this message that somehow managed to turn into three messages, starting with A Lukewarm Mindset, then becoming The Calm in the Storm and now An Appeal to Defense (I'm not going to link that one, though that would be funny).

An appeal to defense, our calling to defend Christ.

You know, sometimes, its difficult to answer the hard question and its easy to think that when the opposition fails to realise the truth, that somehow you've failed in teaching it. And as a result we end up thinking "Well... apologetics isn't for me, I can't use reason with my faith since the world doesn't seem to accept it".

And we come across beautiful verses like 1 Peter 3:15 which command us to give a reason for the hope that we have in Christ, and we wonder, "Well how on earth am I going to do that? How does it seem that I fail when renown preachers prevail?"

But, thanks be to God, we are not all the same and the few words spoken by a child can be just a powerful as though spoken by a renown leader. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 shows us this. Read carefully what Paul tells the Church of Corinth:

"And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (NIV)

Where does the power of Paul's testimony come from? The Spirit. 
Who did he need to know? Christ and Him crucified.
Was his message complicated? Not at all.

Now, don't get me wrong for a moment, I am not attempting to undermine apologetics where we have such teachers as William Lane Craig who adamantly defend Christ, but what I am trying to say is that we are not all Dr. Craig. The way God desires to use you and the words He has for you to speak are different from those of your brothers and sisters.

And God has a calling on each of our lives and He places us where He wants us to be and, if we allow Him, His Spirit will do the speaking for us.

I know that I have my own tendency to collect all of these apologetic books and think "Alright, if I read through these, I'll be a pro at debating atheists." This is not the case.

A friend of mine once told me about someone whom he knew that was interested in learning about the Enemy so he could better combat the Enemy's ways and so forth. And this person, after some time, was approached by a brother in Christ out of concern and he essentially said to him that when someone is checking money to find the counterfeit bills, what do they do? Do they spend their time studying counterfeit bills and comparing them to real ones? No, instead they study the real ones nonstop so that when they do find a fake one, they recognise it instantly because they know exactly what a real one looks like.

Now, that's not the perfect analogy but the message is still there. The truth we need is not in debates or lengthy scholarly essays, its in His Word. And the truth we need to share is with Him. When it comes to defending Christ, ultimately we need only tap into His wisdom and let Him lead us from there.

I think a lot of our disheartening, though, doesn't come necessarily from what we say, but how the world responds. And in the midst of this, we've forgotten Christ's words where He says that the world is going to hate us because it hated Him, and yet He always spoke the truth.

John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (NIV)

And if we notice how in John 18, when Christ is before the High Priest, He always spoke truth, yet He was still condemned. Don't be surprised when the world hates the answer given for the reason you hope. James 1:2 tells us to rejoice in our sufferings, so rejoice. 

The final thing I want to remind you of is the worldview to which we are preaching and Pilate's answer to Christ and His words is so iconic of today's world. In John 18:38 after Christ spoke to Pilate in private about who He is, Pilate simply responded: 

"What is truth?" 

Despite hearing truth, the world still asks the same questions, expecting a different answer. This is the condition of the world. This is not always our failure to teach the truth as God intends. If the world responded to Christ with that question, why should we be surprised when it does the same to us? 

We know that Jesus alone saves, so let God water the seeds that have been planted by the truth that we bring. Don't fret when the world ignores what you say and don't despair when the world doesn't seem to understand.

He's still in control, have no fear in giving the reason for the hope you have. 

God bless you all. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV