Monthly Archives: May 2022

THE SUPREME MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY

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Read the article and/or go to bottom and watch the video.

KEY PASSAGE: Luke 24:13-26

        SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE: Genesis 2:17 | Ezekiel 18:4 | Ezekiel 18:20 | Matthew 27:46 | John 1:29 | John 12:27-31 | John 19:30 | Acts 2:22-24 | Romans 1:18 | Romans 6:6 | Romans 8:1-3 | 2 Corinthians 5:6 | 2 Corinthians 5:10 | 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 | 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 | Philippians 3:21 | Colossians 2:13-15 | Hebrews 9:22 | 1 Peter 2:21-24 | 1 John 1:9 | Revelation 1:18

                    SUMMARY: The Crucifixion

       If you asked a historian, philosopher, and scientist to identify the supreme moment in history, they’d all have different answers. But from God’s point of view, that moment was the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. As humans we can’t comprehend all that happened at the cross, but God has given us deeper understanding of what transpired in His Word.

                  THE STORY OF OUR SAVIOR

      After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-26). They’d been in Jerusalem and were aware of Jesus’ death and reported resurrection but were disappointed and confused about these events. Jesus responded, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” (vv. 25-26). Then He explained to them all that was written about Him in the Old Testament. Jesus was the only one on earth who knew what had happened, and His Word is still explaining it to us today.

                God judged sin the day Jesus was crucified.

     Because He is holy and righteous, the Lord hates sin. He warned Adam and Eve that they would die if they disobeyed Him (Gen. 2: 17), and He continues to warn us in the scriptures not to rebel against Him because His wrath “is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).

      In the Old Testament, God set up a system of animal sacrifices to deal with sin. According to Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” But those sacrifices were insufficient. What was needed was a perfect sacrifice, and that’s what Jesus came to be. When John the Baptist announced Him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

      Christ was the only qualified sacrifice because He was perfect. On the cross, God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus was our substitute who bore the guilt and penalty of our sins so we wouldn’t have to. This was all according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. He sacrificed His Son to bear the condemnation we deserved (Acts 2:22). Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

                    Christ defeated Satan on the cross.

      Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Even though Satan is still working powerfully in this world today, Jesus won the war against him on our behalf with His death and resurrection.

       The devil cannot condemn us. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt in full. Since we’ve all sinned, we have a certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, but Jesus has canceled it, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). At the cross, God disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Christ.

      Satan is a defeated foe even though he still tempts and attacks us. Christ’s victory over him guarantees that none of his accusations against us can stand because the record of our sins has been removed, and we stand in Christ’s righteousness. When we sin and confess, God promises to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). In fact, His blood is continually cleansing us every day of our lives. God will never condemn one of His blood-bought children.

       Satan cannot make us sin. Christ defeated the power of sin in our lives. According to Romans 6:6, “Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so we would no longer be slaves to sin.” Satan rules over unbelievers, and they have no power to defeat him, but he can’t make any believer sin. Yes, we sometimes do, but we have God’s supernatural power to resist if we’ll use it.

        Satan cannot take our lives. Jesus alone holds the keys to death (Revelation 1:18). We are held securely by Him, and nothing happens to us apart from His permissive will. Death will eventually come, but God is the one whom the cross demonstrated how wicked he is. He tempted Jesus to come down from the cross and save Himself, yet despite the humiliation, abuse, and suffering, Christ did not revile in return, but quietly endured in obedience to His Father’s will, leaving us an example to follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21-23).

        God reconciled us to Himself through Christ. Reconcile means to bring back together two parties who were formerly estranged. Our sin has alienated us from a holy God, and there is nothing we can do to remedy the situation. But the Lord took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself by sending His Son to satisfy His righteous justice on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Jesus bore the tidal wave of God’s wrath that we deserved so we wouldn’t have to. He was forsaken so we could be accepted (Matthew 27:46). Right before His death, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Redemption and reconciliation were complete. Through faith in Christ, the enmity is gone, and as God’s beloved children, we’re clothed with the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

                                     WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

  • How has your understanding of the events on the cross been enlarged? What will you do in response to this supreme moment in human history?
  • In what ways have you believed Satan’s lies and accusations and allowed him power in your life that is not rightfully his?
  • The cross of Christ is the only way of salvation. Have you trusted in Jesus for reconciliation and forgiveness, or have you tried to add to His work on the cross to earn your acceptance?

              Back to the first question that this study asks:

         What is the supreme moment in human history? Well, if you were to ask people that, for example, if you were to ask a historian or a philosopher or a scientist, probably all of them would give you something different. In fact, if you asked most any person, “What is the supreme moment in all of human history”? you’d get a thousand or more different answers. But if you and I were to ask God that question, I think the answer would come very clear, very quickly. Because I do believe that, from God’s perspective, the supreme moment in human history was the moment His Son, Jesus Christ, was crucified.

       Now, a lot of people disagree with that. They just have to disagree with God. And I can understand why, rationally speaking and from a different perspective, somebody would say, “Well, that certainly was not the supreme moment of human history because this was just one man dying between two thieves, two criminals”. Well, you see, the reason a person would object to that answer is simply because they don’t understand what happened at the cross. In fact, most people don’t really understand what happened at the cross. They look at the cross and they see Jesus hanging there, having been nailed there and having been crowned with thorns, and finally pierced in His side. And they see all the events surrounding the cross and they say, “Well, you know, Jesus died for my sins or Jesus died on the cross”. What they don’t realize is that the most important things that were going on that day, you and I never really understand by simply looking at a scene.

       So, what I’d like to do is to show you why the most momentous, supreme, zenith, pinnacle event in all of human history is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Luke chapter twenty-four. And this is a passage that really does not describe the crucifixion, but it’s a passage I want to read because of one particular verse here. And it’s almost humorous in some sense of the word, but sort of sad on the other. And Jesus has been crucified and resurrected from the dead and now here are a couple of His followers on their way. And in this twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, beginning in verse thirteen, here’s what you read, “And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about the things which had taken place. And while they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached, and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?’ And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?'” Now, when I read that, and I’ve read this verse many, many times. When I read this verse, I just sort of fell on my knees in laughter. And I’ll tell you why. He was the only one who knew what was going on that day. And they asked Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days”? And He was the only one who knew what happened the day He was crucified. “And He said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to Him, ‘The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things have happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had also said; but Him they did not see.’ And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for Christ to suffer these things and to enter His glory?'”

        Now, if somebody should ask you: What happened the day Jesus Christ was crucified? What happened at the cross? The first thing is simply this, and that is God judged sin the day Jesus Christ was crucified. When Jesus Christ was crucified, God judged sin. This He prophesied all the way back in the Garden of Eden when He said to Adam and Eve, “Of all the trees of the Garden you are freely to eat. But if you eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, ye shall surely die”. Then if you’ll recall all through the scriptures, God warns us about sin. He says, “The soul that sins will die”. In Romans, that first chapter, He makes it very clear in the eighteenth verse, he says that the wrath of God, God’s animosity toward, His uncompromising hatred of sin, God’s wrath is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness of men who hold or suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness. God hates sin. When we say that God judged sin, God did exactly that. Because all through the scriptures we find God expressing His, listen, His vehement opposition to all sin. For the simple reason He knows its destructive power in a person’s life. All you have to do is look at a newspaper, look at a magazine, watch the television, listen to the radio, and you and I see the awesome consequences of sin in people’s lives every single day. God judged sin at the cross. When we say that God judged sin on the cross, here’s what that means. He says that Jesus Christ bore our sin in His body. Which simply means, listen, now watch this, that God capsuled all the sin of mankind from Adam all the way back from Adam, all the way to the last person who will ever live. He capsuled all of that sin with all of its penalty, and what did He do? He placed every bit of that upon the person of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. He placed all of that sin upon Him. And then when He placed all of that sin upon Him, what did He do? He killed His only begotten Son and He killed Him and separated Himself from Him as a sinner. He placed all of our sin upon Him. He bore the total weight of all of our sin, all of our guilt. Any one of us could come up with enough sin in our lives over these years, that our sin would be enough, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands and millions and billions of times, God placed upon His only begotten Son. Listen, the sum total. He capsuled all of sin and placed it upon the life, upon the body of His only begotten Son, and then He condemned Him. The key word, if you could just ask for what’s one word that sums it all up, it is substitute. And that is that Jesus Christ went to the cross, listen, with your sin-debt and my sin-debt, every single sin we’ve ever committed, will ever commit, plus everybody who’s ever lived. Put it all upon Him. And then when He put it upon Him, then He killed Him. That is, He crucified His only begotten Son. So, when we say that God judged sin at the cross, what He did, listen. He judged and condemned sin in the person of His Son. There isn’t anybody who’s ever lived that could possibly ever live with whom God could have done that because every single one of us have sinned against God. And therefore, it took one who was absolutely sinless in order to bear the weight and the penalty for the sin of all mankind. But there’s a second thing that He did at the cross that makes it the most momentous moment in human history, and that’s this, that He defeated Satan. Somebody says, “Now wait a minute. Satan certainly isn’t defeated because he works on me daily”.

           We look around and see all the destructive things that are going on in the world today and we see that Satan is behind so much of what’s happening. And somebody says, “Well, if He defeated Satan, somewhere along the way, Satan got away”. No, he didn’t get away. He defeated Satan that day. Well, how did He do that? Well, let’s just think about it for a moment. Because when Jesus was talking to His disciples, and they were… He was talking to them and some others about what was going to happen, here’s what He said to them in that twelfth chapter of John. He says, “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But for this purpose, I came to this hour”. Jesus knew He came for the purpose of being the ultimate Lamb of God to, listen, to bear the sin of all mankind. “‘Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice out of heaven said: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ So the crowd of people who stood by heard it, were saying that it had thundered; and others were saying, ‘An angel has spoken to Him.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.'” Satan will be defeated. And what happened at the cross? Satan absolutely was defeated. Now, let’s think about it for a moment. When you think about how he looked like he was going to be victorious, look, if you will, in Colossians chapter two, because this probably sums it all up best of all. Colossians chapter two, and notice another very important passage of scripture. And look, if you will, beginning in verse thirteen. Colossians chapter two, verse thirteen. Scripture says, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He,” that is, God, “made you alive together with Christ, with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions”. Now, watch this, “Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us; and He’s taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him”. Now, what does he mean when he says that He canceled out the certificate of debt? Person was in debt, oftentimes they would list on a scroll or on a parchment all the things that they owed and they would nail it to the doorpost of their house. When those things were atoned for or paid for or paid down or paid off, the debt was fully paid, they would oftentimes strike a nail through it or take it away. And what he’s simply saying is this. Watch this, when Jesus Christ went to the cross and He paid your sin-debt and mine in full, God took it away. That is, it’s destroyed. There is, listen, we have no debt hanging on our name in heaven. And I remember when I was a kid growing up, in the church I grew up in, they used to sing this song. “There’s a new name written down in glory and it’s mine”. And they sang a song like this, “There’s an old account was settled long ago,” and talking about sin and victory and glory and all of these things. An old account was settled long time ago. Well, all of us have an account in heaven. Well, let me tell you something, if you’ve trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, there’s one thing I know about your account and my account, watch this, that on your account and my account, listen, however He stamps it, He stamped on your account and mine “Paid in Full”. How do I know that? Here’s how I know that. Because when Jesus Christ went to the cross, He went to the cross as payment for our sin.

       Now, there are people who say, “Well now, I know that God has forgiven me of my sin but you know what? I’m just not sure about this matter of being eternally secure, that I’m eternally secure”. Well, let me ask you a question. If, when He went to the cross and God the Father put all your sin upon Him and He died and paid that penalty and the Father condemned Him because of sin, your sin and mine, let me ask you a question. If that didn’t atone for all of your sin, then listen, the atoning death of Jesus Christ was only partial payment. And you know what? If I have only, listen, if I am only partially paid, I’m still a debtor. And you who happen to believe, for example, in purgatory, that you have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life and to forgive you of your sin, but one of these days you’re going to have to die and pay some more, do you know what that says? It says, listen, it says the atoning death of Jesus Christ was inadequate. It didn’t work. There’s something got left over. Something got left out. You’ve got to pay. Listen, how could you pay for sin when the spotless, eternal, unblemished, holy Son of God? If He couldn’t pay for it, you’ll never be able to pay for it. Once you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you acknowledge He paid your sin-debt in full, you don’t ever have to wonder about that anymore. That is, listen, God defeated Satan, and He cannot come back with you and grab you out of the grace of God, the eternal security that God has provided for you. Because what that means is if it’s possible, then His atoning death was only partial payment. And how many times have we said, listen, His death means payment, listen, sin-debt paid in full. There is no hope, no assurance, no confidence and no security if all the sin was not atoned for by Him. Listen, Satan is a defeated foe. Naturally, what He wants us to believe is that He’s not defeated. And in fact, if you look around you and you listen to the devil, you will agree with him. For example, we still face temptation, we still face trials and difficulties and hardships. And there’s war and bloodshed and murder and rape and violence and all the other things going on. And you say, “Well, if Satan’s defeated”, listen, he is defeated in the life of every single believer. Every single child of God is in the hand of a sovereign, omnipotent God. He says He has established His throne in the universe and that He rules over-all. Therefore, whatever comes to us has to come to us by the permissive will of God. If you step out of the will of God, if you choose to live disobediently before God, if you choose to live in rebellion toward God, what happens? God certainly will allow, listen, He certainly will allow chastisement. He certainly will allow Satan, listen, He will allow Satan to work you over, but Satan cannot take your life. So, what happened at the cross? Well, when I think about what happened to Jesus and I think about the fact that He not only, listen, He not only stripped Satan, listen, He defeated Satan, He stripped him of his powers. Not only that, He exposed him for what he was. How wicked and vile and dark and devilish and hellish can you be to dress the Son of God almost naked, nail Him to a cross before a mob of people and jeer at Him and laugh at Him and mock at Him till He dies. You want to know what Satan will do to you? Look at the cross. You want to know what he’ll do to your life? He will strip you of everything that is of value to you. He will cheat you out of your love, your goodness. Listen, He’ll cheat you out of the joy, the peace, the happiness. He will strip you emotionally. He’ll strip you spiritually. He’ll strip you materially. He’ll do everything in his power to absolutely destroy you.

        If he would do that to the Son of God, you think you are a chosen vessel of the devil? On the other hand, he will, very good to you in order to deceive you and cause you to walk in darkness and blindness until the day you die and face Him eternally in hell. God exposed the devil for who he is. Satan did everything in his power to make Jesus look like less than he was. You know what He wants to do in your life? You can mark this down. Satan is going to do everything he possibly can in your life to keep you out of the will of God. He will give you money. He will give you opportunity. He will give you privilege. He will give you things you desire, anything He can get you to do to keep you out of the will of God, that’s how absolutely hateful and, listen, how wicked and vile he is. The third thing that happened at the cross is this, and that is, God, in Christ Jesus, was reconciling the world unto Himself. Now, what do we mean by that? Simply this. The word “reconcile” means to bring back together, two that have been separated, two that have been estranged, those that are enemies. And so, what is He doing? God, in Christ Jesus, is reconciling the world to Himself. Now, watch this. We are not reconciled to God. That isn’t something we do. Reconciliation, this bringing back together. And when I think about the whole issue of the cross, I think about the fact that they stretched Him out on the cross. It’s as like no matter how low in life people are or how far out yonder, they are or where they are in life, God’s wonderful, loving arms were reaching out. What was God saying? I want to bring you home. I want to forgive you. I want you to be who I created you to be. I will enable you to become the person I created you to become. God was in Christ reconciling, bringing back together. What was He doing? God took the initiative to reconcile us, to bring us back by doing what? By condemning sin in the life of His Son and making Him the sin-bearer who paid our sin-debt in full. Here’s what that did. That satisfied God’s demands. Watch this, it satisfied God’s demands for the penalty of sin. What was the penalty of sin? Death. Therefore, death was hanging upon every single person who ever lived. And therefore, in order to satisfy that judgment, somebody had to pay the price. Jesus paid the price that satisfied God’s requirement for justice. Therefore, God can be just and righteous and holy, having forgiven all of us of our sin, though His decree said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die”. Because He was the sin-debt paid in full, now He can accept every single one of us. The cross isn’t a couple of sticks. The cross, listen, is our only hope. The cross is the way of salvation. It is man’s only possibility of being reconciled to God. And when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me”? Suppose that had been the last thing He said? Suppose that’d been the last thing He said? That’d be a sad note. But I thank God that John said in that nineteenth chapter, then He finally said, in the Greek or the Aramaic, it would have been “tetelistai,” just one word, “tetelistai,” which means “it is finished”.

       This is not the word of a victim. This is not the word of somebody who lost a battle. This is not the word of a martyr. This is the word of a victor. This is the word of someone who has come through victoriously. This is the word of, listen, this is the word of someone who has won the battle. Jesus says, “It is finished”. God’s awesome, eternal, redemptive plan for mankind, listen, was absolutely sealed forever. And as a result of Christ dying on the cross, every single one of us who’ve trusted Him as our Savior, listen, it is so finished, we are eternally secure, not in our behavior, not in our promises, but in the awesome, atoning, sacrificial, substitutionary, vicarious death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. That is the hope of all mankind.

WORRY, WHAT ME WORRY

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Read this article and/or go to the bottom to watch the video.

Remember the old comic book: What Me Worry? It was a publication trying to get its readers to be happier, among other things. What do you worry about? Today, there are so many events, situations, or people who can make us worry. Many times, we worry about things on which don’t make sense. Of course, there are some who have a condition that is a mental or physical that make it extremely difficult not to worry. Those people avoid crowds, tight situations, and some even are unable to leave their home. I have a personal knowledge of this type of more permanent anxiety as an ongoing condition. My daughter has suffered with this essentially all of her life. My wife and I did not know about this condition for many years as it was not widely known about. She was finally able to get some help from a professional in this field but not until she was a teenager. So, we need to differentiate those conditions that are mental and physical from the worry that is written about in Matthew.

       An example of what causes many to worry about temporarily is presented is the story of the nervous airline passenger who was pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his departure. During his walk he came across a life insurance machine that offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight. The policy was just three dollars. He looked through the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home. For that price it seemed foolish not to buy a policy, so he took out the coverage. He then looked for a place to eat while he was waiting during the delay, and he found a Chinese restaurant. It was a relaxing meal until he opened his fortune cookie, which read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends”. (Thanks to Dr. David Jeremiah for this story).

            We may smile at the disconcerted traveler, but we all battle those nagging concerns that disturb our sense of inner peace. Our lives are full of concern, and sometimes these concerns have a way of morphing into monsters of the mind. This is the type of worry about which this article is written to help us. This type of worry can be concern on steroids. It attacks our peace of heart, assaults our faith, ties our intestines in knots, fills our minds with shadows, and sends flaming darts to pierce our emotional wellbeing.

       This is the type of worry and anxiety that the Book of Matthew records from Jesus and provides help to overcome. In Matthew chapter six there are many scripture verses from the Sermon on the Mount which serves as a definitive description from Jesus for our worry, anxiety, and for our daily walk of faith. The complete passage is in Matthew 6:25-34-Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry…So why do you worry…? Do not worry…Do not worry”. What exactly is this troubling attitude? Everyone has their own way of describing it. The dictionary defines worry as a set of thoughts that causes us to feel troubled or uneasy, distressed, anxious, or apprehensive”. The Bible provides a host of more vivid definitions, but many of these sayings are attributed to many various people that reveal a different aspect of their anxious thoughts. The following are a few of these definitions from others:

       “Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere.”

        “Worry is the misuse of your God-given imagination”.

        “Worry is putting question marks where God has put periods,”

        “Worry is interest we pay on tomorrow’s troubles”.

        “Worry is a form of atheism because it assumes there is no God watching over us”.

        “Worry is faith in the negative”.

        “Worry is an emotional spasm which occurs when the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go”.

There are many others that may even be more actuate or helpful.

        Much of our worry concerns the future about which we can do nothing about. It is said that “The future is not here, and the future is not ours”. So, this is really saying we can’t control the future nor predict what it will look like. Only God knows the future, so we are letting our minds dealing with something we cannot control. Knowing this can help if we completely put our trust in God. So, let’s attempt to determine the best ways to do this.

        In Matthew 6, the Greek word for worry is “merizo”, which comes from two smaller words which mean to “divide” and “nous” which means “mind”. The idea, I’m told, is “being drawn or pulled in different directions, being torn apart.” So, worrying is like having your spirit pulled apart, having a mind divided between legitimate thoughts and destructive ones. James 1:8 it calls a doubter “a double minded man, unstable in all his ways”. Jesus warned Martha against such double-mindedness. Remember Martha was breezing around the house working and fretting and fusing trying to prepare domestic issues for Jesus and the group there. Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, But one thing is needed, and Mary was chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

        Lots of us are Martha’s many times. We fly around, worried and troubled about many things. We live in a world that makes it easy to worry. With the news we see and hear today about everyday events, we realize we have a lot of valid reasons to worry about the future. But as Biblical Christians we have better reasons not to worry. When we worry, it is both emotionally and distressing and spiritual detrimental. However, worry can choke the word of God in our lives and render us unfruitful. It can tear our thoughts apart and make us double-minder doubters.

         When Jesus said, “Do not worry”, He was not telling us to forego planning. Jesus did a lot of planning while in the wilderness for 40 days, He planned for the Last Supper, and He planned for the disciples to continue His mission after He was gone. Nor was He telling us to live without concern. Concern is a legitimate emotion that allows us to focus on a problem and resolve it. However, concern mostly requires a clear head to respond to a present need or problem. Worry is an unhealthy response to a future fear. We need not worry about being concerned, but we should be concerned about worrying. This leads us to understand and study the Scripture in Matthew where Jesus helps us better deal with worry.

                                                UNDERSTAND WORRY

When we define worry, which we have done, we can better understand it. As indicated previously Matthew 6:25-32 gives us several things that Jesus wants us to know. Let’s begin with verse 6:25, where we are taught that worry is inconsistent. This verse says, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.” Jesus was telling us, in effect: “Listen carefully, you who worry about necessities of life like food and clothing. The One on whom you are depending, is the One who has given you life. If He has created your very life, don’t you think He can care for the simple things that adorn your life? If your God has the power to create these marvelous organisms, we call our bodies. Isn’t it logical to believe He can provide clothes to put on our bodies, food to put in them, and shelter to put over them? Cannot the One who has done the greater also do the lesser?” (Quote from Dr. David Jeremiah) So, if we believe God is our Creator, we should also believe He is our Sustainer. Otherwise, we are inconsistent in our beliefs.

       Then in verse 6:26, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” This verse continues the discussion of worry about material provisions. In this verse Jesus tells his followers not to be anxious about food, but to rely on God as the birds, who are worth far less than people, are fully provided for.

       This almost seems like an overly simple illustration. But what is the application? “Are you not of more value than they?” Are you not more important than a bird? The simplicity of it almost goes beyond us. So let me ask you, “Does not God provide for the birds?” “Yes”, you reply. “Are you more important than the birds?” “Yes”. Then the concluding question, “Do you think God will provide for you?” We could use the same illustration with our own children, because they are important to us just as we are important to God. I feed my dog every day. Do you think my children are more important than my dog? Do you think I will feed my dog and let my children go hungry? Are we not the children of God? Does God not love His children? Do you think God is going to feed the birds and let His children go hungry?

       I love these two verses because they teach both sides of the same truth. If God can do the greater (give us life). He can do the lesser (provide for our needs). And if He gladly does the lesser (caring for birds), will He not do the same for the greater (caring for me). Our Lord’s reasoning is logical and flawless.

       There is a little poem, written for little children in the 1800’s, that sometimes appears under the title “Overheard in an Orchard”. It brings our Lord’s point right down to where we live.

              Said the Robin to the Sparrow,

              “I should really like to know

              Why these anxious human beings

              Rush about and worry so”

              Said the Sparrow to the Robin,

              “Friend, I think that it must be

              That they have no Heavenly Father

              Such as cares for you and me”.

      The next point that Jesus makes is in verse 27: 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

       Worry accomplishes nothing. There are two possible translations for this illustration, because the same word can be translated two ways. The word “stature” is used both of height and length of time. It is used to describe Zaccheus who was short in stature, and it is also used to describe adding to one’s life span. A cubit is about eighteen inches. One possible interpretation for this verse is: If you worry, can you add eighteen inches to your height? Obviously not!

       It seems to me that the New American Standard Bible gives the better translation by referring to a “longer” life span. The question is more likely: Can you lengthen your life at all by worry? Medical experts tell us today that worry probably shortens our lives and causes all kinds of physical problems to develop. In speaking of adding a cubit to your life span, Jesus is mixing metaphors as we sometimes do. After a birthday, we sometimes say, “I’ve passed another milestone.” We have not really passed another milestone, because a milestone is a measure of distance. Can you add anything to your road of life by worrying? The basic statement Jesus is making is that worry accomplishes nothing.

       Anxiety is worthless! There is zero value in worry. It does nothing good for us. An average person’s anxiety is focused on: 40% – things that will never happen; 30% – things about the past that can’t be changed; 12% – things about criticism by others, mostly untrue; 10% – about health, which gets worse with stress; 8% – about real problems that will be faced.

        Then in Matthew 6:28-30 Jesus said: 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”

       Has there ever been a time when worry has served you well? When you’ve been so glad you spent energy conjuring up a potentially bad outcome…or plowing past better thoughts focused solely on your structured vision of security? Worry can actually weaken us, and yet, we worry still. Hoping all our hand-wringing and hard-working grow a shield of protection from life’s inevitable. God knows we’re made this way. Which is why Jesus teaches us how to handle worry when it comes.

       Freedom from worry is one of so many reasons he arrived in the flesh. He shepherds our anxious hearts. And he gave us these words about the splendor of flowers, so we can learn from them. His words are alive. When we read or repeat them, they can actually renew us. This verse in Matthew calls to me now because where I live, it’s almost blooming time. It has me recalling the many times God has spoken to me in the language of flowers. Or trees, mushrooms, birds, and butterflies. His message of resurrection and renewal is prevalent in all of creation. Waves that ebb and flow, the rhythm of sunrise and sunset, and the return of flowers—are all among many of his mind-blowing “object lessons.”

       God wants us to see not only their beauty, but their lack of worry. He describes it as laboring and spinning. It’s true that Jesus is acknowledging our basic need for clothes, but he is asking us to shed the layer of worry we spin (which was how they made clothing in ancient times). In verse 30, Jesus isn’t saying “don’t work and don’t get dressed.” He is asking us to take in the lesson of creation. To see how even the most fragile among us rely on God’s provision and are dressed in just the way that gives him glory. This is how he designed us to flourish…with a soul rooted in faith and at rest in his plan.

       Matthew 6:31-32 sums it up, saying: “31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

       When we are tempted to worry, then, we should stop long enough to ask, “Who am I anyway? Am I a child of God or am I an unbeliever?” This is telling us to stop to think which may in that action, first of all, take our minds off of the worry. Then we are to think who we really are. This should lead us to put all of our attention on the Lord and at least some of our worry goes to the back of our minds.

        Then in verse 32 Jesus mentions that such anxiety might be natural for the Gentiles, who have no God that provides for them, or who believe in capricious or unpredictable gods. Barclay rephrases this verse as stating that anxiety is impious as it represents doubt in God. To adopt a heart of worry when we are faced with lack is to step into the realm of the unbeliever, for scripture reminds us that in the world system it is the unbelievers; the Gentiles; the pagans that fret over the basics of life and adopt an attitude of anxiety.

       It is a pagan mind-set that has overtaken society today – an intellectual perception which has eliminated the truth that God is our provider – a world view that has excluded God from the equation of life and adopted an attitude of self-sufficiency instead of God-sufficiency. It is when Christ has been placed at the center of our lives and we trust Him to be our all-sufficient savior that faith in Him matures. As trust in Him increases so worry and fear decline. When our heart is trusting Him in all things and Christ is in the center of our lives, we will find that anxiety has no place in our thinking and faith in His Word will increase, despite life’s circumstances, until we come to know Him as our all-sufficient provider as well as our all-sufficient savior.

                              OVERCOMING WORRY

   After defining worry and helping us to understand its nature, Jesus ends His emphasis

in Matthew 6 by telling us how to overcome it. He has a two-fold plan. This is the simplest and most affective antidote to worry ever prescribed. First, Jesus said, you must totally commit your life to Him. Verse 33 “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Instead of worrying about food, drink, and clothing, Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous. Paul urges us to offer ourselves as a living-sacrifice to God. Put Christ first! Trust Him with your life, with all your needs, with the concerns of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. With all your heart, live for Him who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

       Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “Let us give up our work, our thoughts, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into His hand, and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled bout, or to make trouble about”. As we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, He promises to provide for all our needs, saying, “all these things shall be added to you”. This is the first part of our Lord’s plan, committing our work, our thoughts, our plans, ourselves- everything- totally to Jesus Christ.

          But there is a second step, which is found in the next verse, Matthew 6:34-       

“34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Having committed our lives to Him, we must concentrate our energies on living one day at a time. As Jesus said in verse 34 “Don’t worry about tomorrow- for sufficient for the day is its own trouble”. If verse 33 gives us the long view (committing the whole life to the Lord), verse 34 gives us the short view (living one day at a time for the Lord).

       The British pastor John Shott said it this way: “One day’s trouble is enough for one day or each day has troubles enough of its own. So why anticipate them? If we do, we double them. For if our fear does not materialize, we have worried once for nothing: if it does materialize, we have worried twice instead of once. In both cases it is foolish: worry doubles trouble.” You can be sure your heavenly Father has made provision for your tomorrow, for He has filled your life with tokens of His goodness and faithfulness today. Lamentations 3:23 reminds us that God’s compassions are new every morning. It is like saying: “Trust Me. I will care for you day by day, Seek Me first, and all these things will be added to you”. Don’t worry about yesterday’s sins, God has forgiven them. Don’t worry about yesterday’s successes, God has recorded them. Don’t worry about yesterday’s sorrows, God can heal them and point us forward. We’re to live life on a daily basis.

      Warren Wiersbe has written many books, one about Isaiah which I bought, read, and loved. I even used it for great material when I taught the Book of Isaiah on Wednesday nights for several weeks until the virus caused us to stop meeting. Mr. Wiersbe wrote about worries: “Most Christians are being crucified on a cross between two thieves: yesterday’s regrets and tomorrow’s worries.” It’s God‘s will that we focus our attention on the present, remembering that He promises to be with us at all times. Recall the Lord’s words at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. When Moses asked God His name, the Lord replied, “I AM WHO I AM? God is the self-existent Creator who dwells in eternity, yet He is always present with us in the now. He is I AM, always “present tense: in our lives.

        What is the meaning of do not worry about tomorrow? This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Remember there are two days you should never worry about: yesterday and tomorrow. You can’t live in the past.

        Those struggling with addiction, while in recovery, often cling to a set of guiding statements as they work to stay sober. A common mantra used in those situations is “one day at a time.” There’s no value in that person worrying about whether they will fall to temptation tomorrow. Their addiction must be fought today. Tomorrow’s fight will happen tomorrow. In overcoming addiction effectively, such people are taught to focus on winning today’s battles. This is compatible with the principles found in this command from Jesus. He tells His followers not to worry about tomorrow. As He has already said, worry doesn’t fix anything. Anxiety over things we cannot control, or out of our reach, makes no sense (Matthew 6:27). God loves us and already knows not only what He wants to accomplish, but what we need to make that happen (Matthew 6:33).
       Jesus says, in short, that born-again believers ought to let tomorrow worry about itself. He’s not saying Christians cannot or should not make wise plans. Nor is He saying believers ought to literally ignore anything but the most immediate questions. His context here is about the emotions of fear and anxiety. Those who trust in God shouldn’t allow wallow in useless worry over the future. Tomorrow’s fight will happen tomorrow. The battle to trust God is always happening in the current moment. Today has plenty of trouble with which we need to trust God. Jesus commands His followers to focus on trust for God in a moment-by-moment way. We shouldn’t try to solve all our problems, for all time, all at once. Let God provide what is needed day by day. Peace is God’s supernatural gift for our hearts. He will pilot your life. He will bear the load and grant you peace as you totally commit yourself to Him and live one day for Him.

        (Thanks to Dr. David Jeremiah and the Holy Spirit)

CAN YOU BE SURE OF YOUR SALVATION?

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The first question is not: How can I be sure of my salvation? Your first question needs to be: Am I saved? What does it mean to be saved? It means to spend eternity in Heaven with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The other choice is to spend eternity in Hell, being punished constantly. Not really a good choice, is it? So, let’s deal with the real question first- How to become a true believer in Jesus and be a Christian for eternity? To be an eternal Christian one must confess their sin, believe that Jesus died for their sin, give their life to serve Jesus and God, believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives now with God in Heaven and then to pray to God to receive His Grace as a gift. There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation. It is totally a gift given to you by our Creator- God.

            Having confessing Jesus as your Savior, you now can ask the other question about being sure of your salvation. Here are a few of those question: Am I going to Heaven? Can I know for certain that when I die, I’ll be with the Lord? Is there any way to be sure I’m really a Christian? Can we be assured? Many have been in church all their lives. Some have had a faith experience when they were a small child, but over the years doubts have crept into their hearts and they have begun questioning the reality of their salvation. To amazement, most of those who asked these questions were church going people. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, observed, “My experience in counseling thousands of students and laymen through the years since I met Christ personally ha convinced me that there are literally tens of thousands of good, faithful church-goers who have received Christ in prayer, but who are not sure of their salvation”. Mr. Bright is NOT saying that most or many of these people are not saved. He is saying they are just not sure of their salvation.

        Perhaps during their Christian experience, they’ve allowed some sin to root in their lives and now they doubt if they were ever saved in the first place. Some have gotten away from a close relationship with God. Others experience doubts while going through difficult periods of life. There are times when a person’s doubt may be traced to a false teaching they have heard on radio or on television, or from a “friend”.  Many Christians are saved in childhood or many, many years ago, but can’t remember the date or occasion.  When our bodies are sick, sometimes our souls catch the disease. It is easy to become disillusioned when our dreams are dashed, our families or our finances are in crisis, or our spirits are low. Do you ever feel that way or in a way like that? If you ask them if they are going to heaven, their answer will likely be something like, “I certainly hope so”.

            Tony Evans, who our men are doing his study “No More Excuses”, observes, “A great spiritual malady permeates the church of Jesus Christ today. If I were to give it a name, I would call it ADD: Assurance Deficit Disorder”. When a person has ADD, it is almost impossible to live the Christian life as vigorously as we should. We have a difficult time praying. We seldom witness. If we are not sure of our salvation, why would we want to share it with anyone else?

On this case sermons may make you feel worse, not better. The peace of God, so richly promised in the Bible, doesn’t seem at home in your heart.

            Well, I can tell you as plainly as I can that you can know you are saved, for sure, for certainly; you can have security. You can have absolute confidence in your eternal hope. The Bible tells us can be certain of our relationship with God and our heavenly home. We can be persuaded. Near the end of his life, the apostle Paul used the word persuaded again when he wrote, “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I believed and persuaded that He is able to keep what I committed to Him until that Day? (2 Timothy 1:12) We can live beyond the needling torment of doubt. Assurance of salvation is not only possible, it is what God longs for us to posses in our minds and hearts. He does not want His children (all believers) to live in insecurity, uncertainly, or uneasiness about His love for us or His ability to keep us to the end. We can know what we believe, for we can know Whom we have believed.

            The words assure, assuredly, and assurance are basic terms in the New Testament’s vocabulary. Here are some verses that use these words.

      Jesus said to (the thief on the cross), “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise”- Luke 23:43

      “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life”. John 5:24   

       “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:47

        “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in mu h assurance.”  

         “Continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of.” 2 Timothy 3”14

         “We desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.” Hebrews 6:11

            “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 10:22

            “By this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him.” 1 John 3:19.

            The Bible uses terms like persuaded, assurance, and knowing, so we can be persuaded, we can have assurance, and we can know for sure. It has been quoted (unknown author), “God wants us to have a “know-so” salvation. Figuratively speaking, He does not want us to be a question mark, all bent over with our head hung low. Rather, He wants us to be an exclamation mark, standing erect with head held high, strengthened by a God-produced confidence in our faith with Him.”        While the entire Bible stresses certainty assurance, there is one section of Scripture that stresses this theme as its central theme- the letter of 1 John. The Gospel of John and 1 John both end with similar statements, giving their respective thesis statements or declarations of purpose.

  1. The Gospel of John was written “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31)
  2. The book of 1 John ends by saying “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

The Gospel of John was written so we can believe and have life. The letter of 1 John was written that those of us who believe can know we have eternal life. The key word is “know”. As Steven Lawson wrote, “The greatest thing in all the world is to be saved. The second is closely related. It is to be absolutely sure that you are saved.”

            Apparently, there were some in John’s day who read his Gospel and trusted Christ as their Savior, but they still harbored lingering doubts about their eternal destination. That is one of the reasons John wrote his first epistle, 1 John, to show those who believed in Christ that they could know they were saved. As we read through 1 John, we notice a five-fold argument for assurance of salvation. Five times in 1 John we see the phrases “born of God” and “begotten of God”. On each of these occasions, we have a different piece of evidence to reassure us of our hope. Every time Joh uses a phrase about new birth, he gave us another test to prove our salvation. These are five of the birthmarks of the Christian.

                   THE BIRTHMARK OF CONFESSION   (1 John 5:1)

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God”. Before you can have assurance of salvation, you have to believe and be saved. You have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. That is the key- you must confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. In John 3, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again”. We are born again when we repent of our sins, trust Jesus Christ to save us, and confess Him as Lord of our lives. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. This verse does not say “you might be saved” it says emphatically, you will be saved. We are saved by God’s grace through faith; it’s not of our good works but of Christ’s eternal work on the cross. As stated earlier, Jesus said in John 5:24 all who believe in Jesus will assuredly have everlasting life. Additionally, we have the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”.

                            THE BIRTHMARK OF CHANGE   1 John 2:29

The second birthmark is a changed life, as seen in 1 John 2:9, “Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him”. When Jesus truly saves us, it makes a difference in how we think, act, speak, and conduct ourselves. The Bible states, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17) As we begin learning to practice righteousness, our habits change. Many times, the changes are dramatic, but there are always changes.

We will not be sinlessly perfect while we’re on this planet; but if we’re Christians, we need to behave like Christians. If we say we’re saved but nothing has changed about us, something is wrong.  We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works, and the Gospel is a transforming agent in our lives.  In John’s epistle he was saying, “Do you want to be sure that you have been born again? Take the brief test- what do you believe? And take the behavior test-has your life changed as the result of your belief?”

                              THE BIRTHMARK OF COMPASSION   1 John 4:7

Those who are truly saved also bear the birthmark of compassion. How can we know you are a Christian and saved? It is by what we believe, by how we live, and by whom we love. Love is the reoccurring theme in 1 John, and the apostle leaves no doubt about how it permeates the lives of true believers in Christ. John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God of God and knows God…We know that we passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” (1 John4:7) We know we are saved by our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. The early Christians say they love one another and are ready even to die for one another. There is a popular hymn that says the same type of thing- “They know we are Christians by our love.”

      The epistle of John contains some of the richest words ever written. The word love occurs 26 times in this letter, as we read verses like, “He who loves his brother abides in the light…Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!…For this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another…He who does not love his brother abides in death…By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us…Whoever has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in Him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth…Love one another…Let us love one another, for love is of God…God is love,,.This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…If we love one another, God abides in us.”

            This is the “brother” test. Do you love your brothers and sisters in the family of God? Those who are truly saved are those who enjoy and bless the household of faith, the family of God.

                                      THE BIRTHMARK OF CONFLICT   1 John 5:4

A fourth sign of being truly being saved is conflict. According to 1 John 5:4, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith’. The word “overcome” implies a struggle. We are faced with an adversary whom we must overcome. Our adversary is identified in 1 John 2:14: “I have written to you , young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have to overcome the wicked one.” This is Satan! When you genuinely born of God, you’ll be growing to be an overcomer as you deal with the temptations around you- the world. You make progress in gaining more victories and losing less battles as you grow stronger in Christ and in the power of the abiding Word of God. Romans 8:37 says, “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”. And in 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be to God who always lead us in triumph in Christ”. We can claim those promises as our own in struggle against temptation. We have His help. His commands are promises in reverse, for every command comes with His enabling strength to obey it.

The Birthright of Conduct 1 John 5:18

The final point is we can see evidence for the validity of salvation in our desire to conduct ourselves in a way that pleases God. According to 1 John 3:9: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin; because he has been born of God”. The point is repeated in 1 John 5:18: “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” This does not say that anyone who is born of God never sins. James 3:2 , “We all stumble in many things”.

What then did John mean. In using the word sin in these passages above, John was talking about ongoing rebellion against the laws of God. In 1 John 3:4: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness.” John was concerned about ongoing conscious and intentional violations of God’s laws. He was talking about a lifestyle of rebellion. Each day we all sin, omitting things we should do and committing things that we should not do and displaying wrong attitudes. When we sin and become aware or our sin, we come to the throne of grace in confession, asking God to forgive us as we forsake our sins. John made this clear when he wrote “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is exactly what King David did every time to earn him the praise from God of a “man after My own heart”. When we are truly born of God, we have God’s seed in us and we inherit His nature, which is in direct conflict with all sin. With God’s seed in us we will never become comfortable with sinning.

His grace is inexhaustible and His salvation is irreversible. So, make sure you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then trust Him with your eternal future. He will never leave you or forsake you. He will never drop you from His Book of Life and He will never turn His back on your need. Nothing can separate you from His love, and of that you can fully be persuaded (John 10:28-29). His word was given that you might know Jesus Christ as your Savior and that you might know that you have eternal life. You can have this assurance because of your conduct everyday. This includes ongoing obedience to all of God’s laws and Jesus’ commands.

GOD’S TIMING- IS IT YOUR’S?

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There is a pointed story about God’s timing. It seems there was a young man who asked God if His second of time is like a million years to us? God’s reply was a simple- Yes! Then the young man asked God if a penny to Him was really like a Million dollars to us? Again, God’s answer was a straight-forward- Yes! So, the young man thought a moment, then he asked God if he (the young man) could get a penny from God? God’s answer this time was a few more words. God said that the young man could have one of His pennies in one of His seconds.

       It seems clear that to understand God’s timing- no matter when we make that attempt- we must know His timing is different than ours. This says we may always expect something from God that does not fit our schedule. So, does this mean when we pray for something, we will never know when God’s answer will come? Our timing is never God’s timing, and God’s timing is never early and it’s never late. Patience comes when we learn to trust God. God’s Word provides nearly 3,000 promises. Promises that we can claim, and that we can stand on, and that our timing is never God’s timing.  Which has nothing to do with whether we will get an answer to our prayers- if ever. First of all, I believe God will always answer our prayers we just don’t know how or when. Secondly, God will answer all of our prayers to fit His Will-not ours. Regardless of God’s timing, this tells us to always seek His Will with our requests to God. To know how to pray in God’s Will is another subject for another time although you may get things out of God’s Will without really knowing how to pray in God’s Will. But let us go to back to try understanding His timing.

      “God loves you and promises to answer the needs of your prayers. But that does not meet He will give you everything you want when you want it. If He did give you everything you wanted when you wanted it, after a while God would become second place in your life and what you got would become most important- not God. Also, He does not do those things for the simple reason is that somethings we ask for are not in His Will. If it is not good for us, He is not going to give it to us.” (Dr. Charles Stanley) Is it possible to get some things that are not in God’s Will? Yes, you may be able to do something to get the thing or things that are not in God’s Will but there can be consequences. However, the issue is not that God doesn’t want you to have these things; it may be that the timing is not right. God knows when you and I are ready for a particular blessing that we desire maybe with all of our heart and our desired timing is just not the best time. We may not be ready for it, or it would cause more concern for us at the time we want it. Timing is extremely important to God. This gets back to the real issue of this writing- What is God’s timing and how do we know it!!

       God knows your life from beginning to end. God has His own schedule. What we desire may be just the thing that God wants for us, but it needs to wait for something to happen first. He knows exactly where you are at any moment, and He knows exactly where you are going to be cause knows when you will best be ready for that big desire you have. So, to give you your desire when you are not ready for it would not be an act of love on His part.  Many times, it is our unwillingness to wait for the best timing that gets us into trouble, causes great confusion and/or the loss of God’s best blessings in our life. There is a powerful verse of scripture in Isaiah that talks about waiting for God’s timing. Isaiah 64:4: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” This means that God is a personal God. He knows every one of us and everything about us because He is omniscient (knows everything always). God acts in our behalf because He is willing to become involved in every aspect of our life. So, acting in my behalf, He will bring about those things that are good for me. He will act in such a way to bring about His Will and purpose. As long as we are one of His children (believing totally in Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) He will be there to give us guidance and direction that will not fail. If we are willing to wait on Him, I will be willing to receive God’s best for me at the right time.

       When we are comforted with these situations of wanting and seeking God’s timing, we have three choices.

     1. We can attempt to manipulate the circumstances and that is an attempt to do the same with God. This means we try to go around things and work all kinds of deals to get the timing we want. Maybe it is using a credit card to get that desire well beyond your means. This also gets you into spiritual debt. This really is disobedience to God and there are consequences that are likely to cause many more problems than we even perceive. So, when we act in this manner, we have unforeseen problems and now God may never want to give us that blessing at all- ever. This is totally unnecessary! God wants you to be free and not in spiritual debt and to provide you what you need.

     2. You can say that since God did not answer my prayers, I will just quit and walk away from God. Maybe it is about a job or opportunity that your prayer is not being answered in the time you feel it needed to or you are not getting the answer you wanted in the timing you wanted. You could just forget that opportunity forever, but it is one that God had prepared for you in His timing. Some of the best things in life we may need to wait the longest for. If we are the type of person who feels that we must have this thing in our timing or it is just not worth the wait, we are likely to miss out on God’s greatest blessings.

     3. I can wait, and watch God work in my behalf. Give God a chance and watch what He does. Given time, God knows exactly what He is doing. We just need to watch and wait to see the marvelous things He can and will do. God knows your situation and how you got there. He knows how to change circumstances, if needed, to do it the best way for your situation. To do it His way!!! Then you will be in a position to get the best option available that you may not even knew of its existence if you had done it on your own. Then you can give God the thanks for it.  

       We must not be in a hurray and always want to just move, move, move. That is no way to live a godly life. So, what are the requirements for waiting on God’s timing?

  1. Trust- if we don’t trust Him, we will not obey Him. Sing the hymn “Trust and Obey” for there is no other way! We must trust if we want God’s best. God doesn’t say we will always like it, He doesn’t say we will always understand, He doesn’t say we will not prefer another way, but He needs to do it His way- even if He says NO! This is true no matter what you have been through or are now going through. Because He loves you perfectly and unconditionally. He is the same awesome God no mater where you are in your journey.
  2. Humility- If you don’t trust Him, we are saying I know better than God. What we know is like one grain of sand compared to all the grains of sand in the world. We must not think we know a lot and of course, nowhere near what God knows. To think more highly of one’s knowledge is pride. We must have a humble spirit. That is not a weak spirit but one that looks to God for knowledge – like Solomon, for faith and obedience like Joseph and Abraham, for dedication like David, for always giving the Good News like Paul, but mostly for redemption, forgiveness, and love like Jesus.
  3. Patience- we must wait for God in all things. Don’t be in a hurray to go our own way- always go God’s way. Wait for further direction from God. Often Job is used as an example of patience. Here is where the longer waits could be needed, and patience is required. Must ask yourself: Is what I am waiting for worth the wait? No one can tell you that but you. A suggestion is to go to God in prayer for that answer. It could come very quickly while you wait. At least you are seeking further help from God. If the ultimate thing for which you are waiting has high value to you and to God, He will provide His answer- just be patient. Because God will provide exactly what He has in mind for you and it will be something that blesses you even more than you originally thought.
  4. Courage- It takes courage to wait for God. A. The temptation to follow your schedule versus God’s must be avoided. B. We must avoid the temptation of the pressure from others. C. Void the temptation to be afraid because God is with you. God knows how to defend you.

       We have a choice. We can do it your way or wait for God’s perfect timing. Consequences of doing it our way by failing to wait. 1. We step out of the will of God. We lose God’s direction and blessings. It is a rebellion against God. 2. It will delay His blessings. It may even forbid forever His blessing. 3. We bring pain and suffering upon ourselves. There are several cases in the Bible where people brought pain and suffering upon themselves when God tried to prevent them. 4. It causes confusion. When we try it on our own, we mess up the situation and causes confusion for all involved not just you. Many times, the situation is now uncorrectable. 5. We cause heartache and suffering for others. It can be a big stumbling block for others even in becoming a Christian.

        We need to follow God in all things and seek His Will in all things. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit who walks with us daily. It needs to be our heart’s desire to obey God, that you try to follow Him, you try to listen to Him and not make decisions without talking to Him and pray this prayer: “God speak to my heart, help me to listen to you and to know the truth.” God will listen to that short simple prayer, if you are a true believer in Christ and have asked for forgiveness of your sins. If we believe in Go”, we will obey Him in all things.

      What should we expect if we wait on God’s timing?

  1. He will express His goodness toward us. Lamentations 3:25-26: The Lord is good to the person who seeks (waits for) Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.  
  2.   He will answer our prayers. Psalm 40:1-3: I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me and heard my cry. And brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.
  3. We will see the fulfillment of our faith. Isaiah 49:23: Those who hopefully wait for me will not be put to shame. God takes our mistakes and turns them around.
  4. He will enable us to win over the struggles of life. Psalm 37:9: For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Palm 37:34: Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you inherit the land.
  5. He will give us peace. Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men, the Lord is nearby. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

   Trust and obey Him. The awesome loving Father will work for you and act in your

    behalf personally.

                        Thanks to Dr. Charles Stanley and the Holy Spirit

        Other Top Bible Verses about God’s Timing in Scripture

    John 6:54: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will   

          raise them up at the last day.”

      John 8:32: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

      Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall

           mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall

           walk and not faint.

      Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak,  

          and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not    

          tarry.”

      Ecclesiastes 3:1 “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time  

          to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.”

WHY DO CHRISTIANS SUFFER

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Read this article and/or go to the bottom and watch the video.

Suffering as a Christian is really a good sign. Why do I say that? First of all, we are true believers in Christ. Then that suffering likely proves we are people who follow Jesus because He said if we are His worshipper, we will suffer for Him as He did. We who have been called to this great purpose of conformity to the image of Christ will for that reason also be called to suffer with Christ. If we want to know him and the power of his resurrection, then we will need to share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Phil. 3:10). Not that our death in any way is redemptive. Only Christ’s death can save. But yet, if anyone is in Christ, then that person has glory and hardship in store (Rom. 8:17). We are often caught off guard by our sufferings, as though we ought to be exempt. We reason that since we are not condemned, then why should we continue to pay any price?

        We hardly have all the answers for the mystery of suffering, especially the suffering of Christians. Ultimately, only God can have reasons for the evil in this world and the pain inflicted on its inhabitants. We do know that the immediate responsibility for evil is ours, not God’s. But we wonder why believers who are acquitted from the responsibility still must receive the consequences deserved by sinners. The Bible explains that suffering has a number of purposes connected with sanctification. One of them is the purification of our faith. As gold is refined by fire, Peter tells us, so our faith is perfected by hardship and trials, so that it will result in praise and glory and honor on the last day (1 Peter 1:7; Rev. 2:10; 3:10). Such an approach is corroborated in our experience. When we suffer, we begin to know what matters and trust only the things that last. We make fewer investments in the transitory and ephemeral. Suffering helps us because it enables us to endure and gives us character (Rom. 5:4). Moreover, it strengthens our hope, the kind of hope that will never be shamed in the final outcome (Rom. 5:5). For this reason,, we can be glad for the pain that God allows us to endure. Not because there is anything good in itself about pain. Nothing could be further from Christian faith than the adages “Joy through pain” and “No pain, no gain.”

 The central reason for Christian suffering is fellowship with Christ.

        The central reason for Christian suffering is fellowship with Christ. We should not be surprised at the trials that come our way but glad that they mean we are communing with Christ’s sufferings (1 Peter 4:12). It can even be said that we fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions (Col. 1:24). It is easy to misunderstand such statements to mean we are somehow continuing the unfinished business of Christ’s passion. The idea is blasphemous. Christ’s suffering was once and for all (Col. 2:14; John 19:30; Heb. 9:26; 10:11–14). That is, the atoning value of his work on earth, culminating on the cross is sufficient and accomplished. Flagellants and others who believe they are participating in the atonement by their self-inflicted pain are far off the mark. However, not all suffering is for atonement. The afflictions of Christ while on earth did not extend forward to include every hardship endured by his people. When we suffer, it is for his sake (Mark 13:13). When Christians are persecuted, it is Christ who is the object (Acts 9:4–5). Although attacks on Christ during his lifetime brought complete satisfaction to God, his enemies were not yet satisfied. And so, they continue to attack him by attacking the church. His afflictions are now received by us.

        Human experience is vast and varied, but few things exist as a universal experience like suffering. The pains and problems vary from person to person, but we all suffer. This fact leads to the common question: why does God allow suffering? Given this constant part of life, the wise person should seek to understand heartaches and how to react to suffering when it arrives.of the most common responses is bitterness — a deep resentment for the pain we all go through. While suffering can undoubtedly sow the seeds of bitterness and resentment, that is not how Christians should respond to it. Instead, we are called to see suffering as a part of life meant to dissatisfy us with the present fallen world and to instill in us a longing for eternity. To unpack this idea, consider the three main aspects of suffering:

         Suffering as a Consequence of Sin

The first truth about suffering is the recognition that it is alien to God’s plan of life. That might sound incredible, but to the Christian worldview, it is vital. Suffering is a product of the fall, a consequence of human sin against God Suffering is in our lives because we are living in a broken world. Some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices, but some is due simply to the world being fallen. This aspect of suffering should drive us to long for a better world, a world redeemed and freed from sin, a world that God will one day come again to establish (Romans 8:19-23). Christians sensitive to sin is a major reason for our suffering.

       Suffering is a product of the fall, a consequence of human sin against God (Romans 5:1)

       (1 Corinthians 15:21). Suffering is in our lives because we are living in a broken world. Some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices, but some is due simply to the world being fallen.

         Suffering as a Tool of Sanctification

Nothing is so broken as to be unusable by God. Although suffering is alien to His goal for humanity, God uses it now as part of our development as people. Nothing forces a person to confront their true self like suffering. Suffering causes our focus to turn inward, to face those parts of ourselves we might otherwise ignore. God can use suffering then to develop us into better people: the people who can love and enjoy Him forever. Due to Christians’ expectation for something better causes some of our suffering.

       3 Not only so, but wealso 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. (Romans 5:3-5)

        2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

          Suffering as a Test of Faith

Finally, suffering is the crucible by which we find our center and demonstrate the truth of our faith to the world. In times of intense pain or turmoil, we cling to what we have placed our hope in. In this way, suffering reveals whether our faith is a mere childish hope or a factual reality. Here we see suffering as a call to live out a better and more faithful witness to the world. Like the prophet Habakkuk, suffering calls us to declare to those around us, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:1belief8). As we develop an understanding of how to approach suffering, we must be clear that suffering never becomes good. Suffering remains evil. What must be understood though, is that suffering can be redeemed; it can be made purposeful. When we are burdened beyond our strength, we must not become bitter but instead allow our faith to make us better. For the Christian, we must see suffering as a trifold call to long for a better world, to seek to become a better person and to live out a better witness. Simply due to our belief in Jesus and our faith, Christians will be persecuted.

        Suffering is a product of the fall, a consequence of human sin against God (Romans 5:1)

       1 Corinthians 15:21). Suffering is in our lives because we are living in a broken world. Some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices, but some is due simply to the world being fallen.

                                          Glory as the Ultimate End

       The whole creation groans with pain (Rom. 8:22). This sorrowful, broken world was subjected to futility by the same God who cursed the human race for its disobedience. And we suffer and groan along with it (vv. 20–23). Romanticism about nature, nostalgic views, and utopian views about the beauty of the creation do not coincide with the reality of world history. But world history does not end with death and futility. It ends with the freedom of the glory of the children of God (v. 21). In fact, the whole creation will come to glory with us. The end is so unspeakably beautiful that our present sufferings are not worthy to compare with the glory to come (v. 18). Physical death no longer has that dreaded finality it once had. Death is now the gateway to full communion with the Lord. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:3–4).

       Jesus told us problems would come our way. At the end of His Upper Room Discourse on the eve of His crucifixion, our Lord’s final words were, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We are encouraged by one of the Bible’s great stories of tribulation and triumph, the story of the Old Testament hero Joseph. Much of Genesis is devoted to Joseph’s story, and God gave us Joseph’s example as an encouragement amid the problems of life. Joseph went through his problems to save his family, save thousands of people, and to save the people of Israel. Joseph’s example gives us a great method of looking at our problems. God allows or gives us problems to provide a way to help others and to possibly share a way to offer us a real blessing. God may put us in a difficult place to help us or even to provide a glorious circumstance. We know problems are not pretty and they are not fun. However, without the problem or burden, we may miss out on a real blessing from God. We must be biblical in facing our problems, and the Bible takes a more hopeful attitude than our emotions may feel. The following are some commentaries on the question of problems.

          Predictors- They will mold our future.

          Reminders- We are not self-sufficient. We need God and others to help us.

          Opportunities- They pull us out of our rut and cause us to think creatively.

          Blessings- They open up doors that we usually do not go through.

          Lessons- Each new challenge will be our teacher.

          Everywhere- No place or person is excluded from them.

          Messages- They warn us about potential disaster.

          Solvable- No problem is without a solution.

So, the questions may be: Are you discouraged now waiting for good news that hasn’t come? Have you felt anything that is a reminder that there you sick? Maybe your problems have been prolonged and chronic and crippling to your spirit. As a true Christians none of this is random. God has not forgotten or forsaken a true believer just like He did not forsake Joseph. This story reminds us that there are advantages in our difficulties and providence in our problems. God does not trivialize our problems, but He does “truthalize” them. It allows us to begin looking at problems from a different perspective. This leads to list and talk about five suggestions as to why Christians have so many problems.

                 PROBLEMS PROVIDE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES

First, problems provide some opportunities that may only come due to the problem. In Joseph’s life story we are struck at how God converted Joseph’s problems into potentials. Missionary and author Isobel Kuhn wrote an account of her life, titled IN THE ARENA, based on the concept that difficulties are God’s way of providing an arena for our witness. “God taught me through the years to view my own trials as platforms in today’s Arena,” she wrote. “I thought this concept was original with me, but one day my husband found that Hudson Taylor had formed the same opinion many years ago. He said: Difficulties afford a platform upon which He can show Himself” (where Himself is God). As God’s children we need to learn how to look for platforms in our problems, Sometimes, our “prisons” are “pulpits”. Of course, for most of us, the prison experience is not literal. The key is looking around in any given set of circumstances to see God is using them to open a door for us. My recent cancer surgery and treatments immediately provided for two significant blessing. During my 21 weeks of chemo treatments, I was able to witness to 79 people at the lab and to finish writing and getting my first book published.

                       PROBLEMS PROMOTE SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Second, the story of Joseph also teaches that problems promote spiritual growth and maturity. There doesn’t seem that there is another Bible character who experienced worst treatment than Joseph, apart from Jesus Himself. To fulfill the role God intended for him, Joseph needed grit, backbone, and dogged resolution; and those muscles only develop in the gymnasiums of life. Sometimes the Lord has to toughen us up. Before Joseph could become Prime Minister of Egypt. He needed fortitude and faith in God’s sovereignty. Psalm 105:17-18 says: “He (God) sent a man before them- Joseph- who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons”. When Joseph came out of prison, he was an iron-souled man. He was a man of great wisdom, courage, and determination. Due to his faith in God and God’s leading, Joseph ascended to great spiritual maturity. This is our example to also gain spiritual maturity. God needs “Iron-souled saints” today, and only way iron gets into our soul is through suffering. When we hurt and endure problems something changes in our hearts as we become more spiritually mature. Peter told his readers, “Though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

                             PROBLEMS PROVE INTEGRITY

Third, our integrity is enhanced and proven due to problems we encounter. Our character if genuine, is never altered by circumstances. As we learn in the Joseph story and several other Bible stories, Joseph was a man of great character, and every problem provided another opportunity to deepen and demonstrate the sterling nature of his integrity. Nothing so exemplifies our character as how we face difficulties. Character is often confused for reputation but there is a vast different. Reputation is what others suppose we are; character is what we really are. Reputation is what those around you think of you; character is what God knows you to be. Reputation is what is chiseled on your tombstone; character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God. Character never changes with the circumstances; it is simply deepened by difficulties. Our backgrounds or circumstances may try to pull us downward, but we have the ability to choose our own convictions. Our situations reveal the way we truly are. When we face the difficulties of life, it is a wonderful opportunity for God to use us to demonstrate the reality and the integrity of our character before others.

                     PROBLEMS PRODUCE A SENSE OF DEPENDENCY

Fourth, problems produce a sense of dependency on our faith in God. They drive us to the Lord and teach us to lean on Him. Joseph depended on God and God was with him every step of his life. Joseph’s faith was solid, and it guided him through all of his problems. William Griffith Thomas, the Anglican cleric and scholar, wrote about this in his devotional commentary: “The secret of Joseph’s power was the consciousness of the presence of God. God had not forgotten him, though it might have seemed to him that it was the case. The very incident that was apparently the most injurious was the link used by God to bring about Joseph’s exaltation. To the man who is sure that he is in the pathway of God’s will. There will come the consciousness of divine presence and blessing, which will be an unspeakable comfort as he rests in the Lord and waits patiently for him. Evil may have temporary victories, but they are only temporary. Good, and right, and truth, must prevail, and it is for the servants of God to wait quietly, to go forward humbly, to live faithfully; and to trust boldly, until God shall justify them by His divine interposition, and glorify His grace in their lives”. Joseph found out how much God loved him, and Thomas’ quote helps us to understand this. It is during the crisis of life that we make a spiritual dependency on the Lord. One of the main ways this occurs is in a personal encounter with God when we live through problems.

                    PROBLEMS PREPARE OUR HEARTS FOR MINISTRY

Fifth, problems can prepare our heart and mind for ministry. In Joseph’s case, you might say that prison was God’s seminary to train him in skills he would need later to lead the nation of Egypt. By the time Joseph was thirty, he understood that leadership was in serving others. Joseph could have wrapped himself in the cloak of self-pity, but here he was seeking to serve others. He put aside sorrow and self-indulgence to help those in prison, and then he dedicated himself to help thousands. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:4; we are able to comfort others with the same comfort we ourselves have received from God. When thrown into difficulties of life, it makes us especially sensitive to others who have similar difficulties or parallel problems. Those who have found the grace of God in the middle of some catastrophic event, are often called upon to share this grace with others and provide ministry to them. Many ministries have been launched in this way. Suffering brings about a heart for ministry. We are able to put our arms bereavement if we have also experienced like circumstances. My ability to understand and comfort those battling cancer was totally different after I faced this terrible disease. One pastor explained it this way: “Brokenness precedes usefulness”, when you have to reach out to parents who have lost children under any circumstance. If we were to take a survey of people in ministry, you can about guarantee they have gone through some sort of painful experience. So, sometimes God wants to prepare us to help someone else who is going through problems.

       Most of us want the crown (reward in Heaven), but not the Cross; Easter but not Good Friday; the gain, but not the pain. But that is not the way it works, and that doesn’t seem to represent the ways of God. In our lives individually, and in our families, and in our churches, God can take our problem and make us better- if only we cooperate. Think of Jesus beside you and lean on Him. Exchange your problems for His peace and let Him infuse your soul with strength and His steel.