Well… we’re back from our walk, Glenn and Cliff are snoozing on the floor and I’m listening to the last concert by the Saint Louis Wind Symphony with a nice cup of hazelnut coffee in hand. So far it’s an awesome day. Next weekend’s concert will end this regular concert season, but what a great season we’ve had. This concert features a work commissioned by the STLWS, Symphony No. 7 (Symphony for Sam) by Andrew Boysen. It’s a befitting tribute to a wonderful man, Sam Goldstein and it certainly shows off the talent of the players. If you’re in the St. Louis area next weekend, please take it in. You’ll be glad you joined us.
I started last week’s blog with the following statement: “Christianity is unique among all world religions in that it is based on faith rather than works”. Jesus said in Mark 9:23“If you can believe, all things are possible for him who believes.” So the question you have to ask yourself at this point is…do you believe Mark’s statement? If the answer is “no”, all that means is you need to engage in more reading, studying, meditating and praying. Why? Because believing is another word for faith, and Apostle Paul is very clear about the origin of faith: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing, and from hearing the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) That is paraphrased by Bob George, author of “Classic Christianity”, when he states, “You can’t have faith in something you know nothing about.” In other words, since we are talking about a specific kind of faith (faith in God and in Jesus Christ), that faith can’t develop if we know nothing about the very essence of God and Jesus Christ – and that can only happen through a relationship. As stated in Deuteronomy 4:29,“if we seek Him we will find Him”, and again in John 15:4,“…if we abide in Him, he will abide in us.” In other words, God is waiting for us to begin seeking, and he wants us to keep seeking. But the truth is…the development of that relationship is contingent on the first two words of those two scriptures: “if you”.
Let me present a scenario here. Suppose you are outside watering your grass and you hear one neighbor tell another neighbor, “The burglaries are getting out of control in our neighborhood. Thieves are boldly breaking into people’s homes and robbing them at gun point.” You think, “Wow, I’d better do something to protect me and my family.” So you go home, sit down at your computer and look up burglar alarms. You find one that has impressive credentials and you deem it to be the best, so you make a purchase. You go to the store to pick it up; you bring it home; you get it installed, and right away you feel safer. BUT…the only thing you don’t know for sure is…“does it really do what it says it will do?” Hmmmm… A week goes by, all is well, but one evening when you are watching your favorite show on TV, the lights and whistles on the control panel go off. A person is entering your property from the east side of your house. But before the intruder can get to your porch, a police car arrives and they arrest the culprit. WOW! Now you’re really excited about this new purchase. Two weeks later that same scenario repeats itself. WOWzer! Now you’re even more excited about this system because you know it works. What’s more, you have just become the latest volunteer salesman for that product. Why? Because you know it works. The truth of the purchase has been manifested in your life, so now you have faith in it.
FAITH VS FEAR
As we experience the truth of God’s word manifested in our own life through study, prayer, and meditation, we begin developing a foundation of truth on which we can stand. This is what Apostle Paul is referring to when he talks about putting on the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-12: “Be strong in the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor (the truth of his Word) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” It is this foundation of truth that allows us to step out in faith because our experience with God’s truth trumps our own fear. And what is fear? Fear is the opposite of, or lack of faith. It is fear that keeps us mired in bondage to our old self!
But as followers of Jesus Christ, we have been called to our life according to a much higher standard than what we see in the world around us. That is indeed a challenge because: 1. we are still living in these fleshly bodies that want to yield to our lustful desires; 2. we see most people around us doing things that seem perfectly natural to them, but we as Christ-followers know we must resist those temptations; and 3. because Satan, the great deceiver, is working at warp speed to shipwreck our new life. The truth is,we will never be free of that conflict. Apostle Paul clearly states this in Galatians 5: 16-18:“So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sinful nature.” I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen people throw up their hands in exasperation and exclaim, “I JUST CAN’T DO IT!” But I always like to applaud them for reaching that state of enlightenment. You’re right…you can’t do it. But the good news is…He can. And that is why the Holy Spirit is part of God’s salvation plan for us. He wants us to overcome this world; he wants us be his shining light in the darkness that is all around us.
TO BE IN CHRIST
In a previous blog I wrote about what it means to be in Christ. Even before the creation of the world, God’s plan was to send a savior, Jesus Christ, to do for us what we (mankind) would prove we could not do for ourselves. Ephesians 1:4 tells us, “…God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure”. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are in Christ and subject to all the promises in the Bible and heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm. And what are those spiritual blessings? Our sins are forgiven: we are now acceptable to God; we are his children; his will for us is revealed; we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us, and we are loved unconditionally. Roman’s 8: 38-39 tells us: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t and life can’t. The angels can’t and demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I would like to suggest reading Ephesians 1:1-14 to get a very clear picture of what it means to be in Christ.
When Jesus was talking with his Apostles at the last supper, he told them again about his impending death. He told them he would be arrested, tried and crucified, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. His followers were in a state of shock and grief at the thought of losing their beloved Jesus, but they apparently missed the part about his resurrection. Jesus knew as he looked at this rag-tag assemblage, they were a rather weak lot, yet these were the men who were going to be responsible for carrying his message into the world. He was keenly aware that whatever strength they did garner, they got from him, so he told them he would not leave them as orphans, but would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth; to be their counselor, teacher, comforter, guide. He told them, in John 14: 15-17, “you do not need the Holy Spirit at this time, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” In this passage, Jesus makes very clear that the Holy Spirit and Jesus are one. The same way Jesus empowered his Apostles 2014 years ago, he empowers us today through the Holy Spirit to accomplish his purpose. That’s the meaning of 1John 4:4, “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit in this world.”(Satan)
Take note as well as delight: we are already victorious in our Christian endeavor. That is made quite clear in the last scripture. The stronger our foundation of faith, the more we can step out in faith. Why should we be stymied by fear? God’s salvation plan for us is absolutely perfect. Not only are we called to live to a higher standard than the world around us, but we are given the power to accomplish HIS purpose. That is why today we are even more than his “proudest creation” (Genesis 1:27), we are his “masterpiece” (Ephesians 2:10) because now we can become the person he created us to be.
Christians…now it’s all about living the abundant life Jesus promised us. Don’t be like the Israelites wandering around in the wilderness for forty years fearing to take the land that God had already promised them. Go for the gusto! Grab the victory that is already yours in Christ. You’ve already won the battle!!
So my question to you today is, do you step out in faith? Why or why not?
May God Bless Ya, and feel free to respond to this posting.
Dan Presgrave, (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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