WHAT A WRETCHED MAN I AM!

Good Morning, Meet Pastor Dan, Readers…if you’re reading this, you probably realize  the title line is not an original from me, but rather Apostle Paul’s exasperated plea that resulted from wrestling with his own humanness. Here is the man that wrote the first six chapters of Romans and laid-out with such amazing clarity God’s plan of Grace for “us sinners”, yet in Chapter 7 he admits his own struggles with the very issues we all struggle with.  No offense intended, but I find that rather comforting.   It tells me there’s hope for me!

As you know, this path of “sanctification” is laden with trials and tribulations, but it is by facing and overcoming these challenges that we grow in our endeavor to become more Christ-like.  AA makes this statement about its pathway to sobriety, “This is a program of progress, not perfection”; the same can certainly be said about our journey. Even though we are in Christ, we will continue to fall short of God’s glorious standard, but the good news is…we are covered with the blood of Jesus. So in God’s eyes, we are a still a saint (“holy ones” who consecrate themselves for God’s service) who has fallen short.  The important thing to see here is this is not a “sin issue”.  That was taken care of at the cross.  God just wants us to get up; to see and admit our error; and continue on our journey toward perfection.

The reason I chose this subject for today is because I just had an Apostle Paul moment.  This weekend Pam and I attended an event that I didn’t particularly want to attend.  Consequently I copped an attitude of negativity, judgment and condescension. And as you probably suspect, it didn’t take long for people around me to pick up the vibe.  The worse thing is…I maintained that attitude throughout the weekend, and it didn’t really dawn on me until I started thinking about today’s blog.

As I have stated many times in these postings, I always ask the Holy Spirit to lead me to the right subject and to direct my path as I write about it.  Last night it was as though my attempts to communicate were hitting the ceiling and falling back to the floor.  Nothing was coming.  And I have to admit, I was getting a bit irritated. But then a scripture flashed through my mind: “If you are standing before the altar in the Temple offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar.  Go and be reconciled to that person, then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” (Matthew 5:23-24)   It took a few minutes for me to get the message, but as I continued to pray, my recent attitude and behavior was spotlighted. Uh-oh…that certainly wasn’t very Christ-like!  Nothing about that was bringing honor and glory to God.

So my response was, “Holy Spirit, that is not the person I want to be.  Please give me your wisdom in future situations so I can rise above my circumstances to become the “masterpiece” God created me to be.”  The scripture referenced here is Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  Quite to the contrary…there was not much good in the attitude I displayed.

So the point is, regardless if it is Apostle Paul, Dan Presgrave, or anyone…even though we are justified with God and become a new creation at the moment of “rebirth”, that is just the first step in the process of transformation that will take the rest of our life.  And there is no mental delete button at re-birth, so the old attitudes and behavior are still imprinted on our mind. Unfortunately we default to them until we have reprogrammed our mind through spiritual growth and maturity.

There are numerous scriptural references to this process, for instance: Romans 12:2 tell us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” The author of Hebrews talks about this using the metaphor of a race: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.  And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.”   And Ephesians 4: 22-24 tells us: “throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.  Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.  You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness – righteous, holy, and true.”  And finally Apostle Paul, near the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4: 7-8 states: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return.  And the prize in not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return.” 

The race referenced above is the new life of a Christ-follower.  And it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we are called to remain faithful until the end.  But will we fall short and stumble along the way…absolutely.  But God has given us the answer through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Prior to our rebirth, we were slaves to our sin-nature.  We just did what came naturally; we made choices to please our self.  But now that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can call on him to help us make the decisions God wants us to make. This is how we become his masterpiece referenced above.  The more we stay intentional about our choices, the more we move further away from the lure of the world, the lustful desires of our flesh, and the schemes of satan.

The following two scriptures show us the glorious result of intentional living. Romans 8:1-2, 12:  “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.  So dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”  And Galatians 5:17 tells us: “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 sin nature.”

So, My Friends, even though we are in Christ, we are also on a life-long journey (or a race, as referenced above) of transformation.  Will it be bumpy…absolutely!  But it is through this journey that we mature into the person God created us to be.  And take solace…we are already promised victory.  1John 4:4 tells us, “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit that is in this world.” (satan)  So dig in and enjoy the race, and don’t lose sight of the prize at the end – eternal life with Jesus in Paradise!

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May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)