Father Abraham Had Many Sons and Daughters

Father Abraham Had Many Sons and Daughters

(and also many blessings and promises)

Abraham lived about 2,000 B.C. in the town of Ur, which was in what is now modern Iraq. The people of ancient Ur worshipped idols and knew nothing about God.  One-day God spoke to Abraham.  In Genesis 12:1 we read that God told Abraham to leave his home and his relatives and everything he had known and travel to an unknown land far away.  He was to trust God to lead him to this unknown land.  Abraham wasn’t given a map or GPS or any directions of how to get to this land.  But Scripture says that Abraham believed God would show him the way and he obeyed and took off.  Abraham “went out not knowing whither he went.”  Hebrews 11:8. 

Traveling back then was difficult and dangerous.  Travelers crossing the desert could easily run out of food and water and thieves were known to hang out around the desert routes to rob and plunder. Abraham left his comfortable home with his wife Sarah and along with relatives, servants and flocks he followed Gods’ leading some 800 miles across the endless desert to the land God had promised him, - Israel.  Now wouldn’t you say that Abraham had faith to do that?

God was so pleased that Abraham trusted Him that God made promises to him. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless, thee, and make thy name great: and thou shall be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.!  Gen. 22:18. Genesis 12:2 and 3

And “All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.  And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth.”  Genesis 13:15-16.   And again in Genesis 17:8: “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Did you notice that God promised this special land to Abraham and to his children forever? 

Abraham believed Gods’ promises even though he didn’t quite understand their full meaning.  Even though Abraham was a sinner God was pleased with him because of his faith.  We read, “He (Abraham) believed in the Lord: and He (God) counted it to him for righteousness.”  Genesis 15:6. 

God made promises to Abraham that his children would become a nation (Israel) that would bless the earth and as always Abraham believed God.  Many of God’s promises to Abraham had to do with his future children. But along with these promises of children, Abraham was growing older and no children were being born to him and his wife!  Year after year passed and Sarah did not become pregnant.   Old age was setting in and Sarah soon past the age to bear a child. God was testing their faith!

As always Abraham waited and believed that God would somehow keep His promise. Finally, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, God gave them their promised child, Isaac.  The name “Isaac” means “laughter”, Perhaps after having to wait so long for this baby, Abraham and Sarah had to laugh.  Wouldn’t you?

Abraham was even willing later to offer up this special son Isaac to God when God tested him, because he trusted that God would bring Isaac back from death. There wasn’t anything that Abraham would hold back from God.  Throughout his life Abraham kept following and believing in God no matter what. 

God made a covenant with Abraham concerning these promises (Genesis 15:8-18) and continued repeating His promises later to Abraham’s son, Isaac and then to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.  Hebrews 11:18-19.  God made other provisions and blessed and set aside land for Ishmael, Abraham’s other son by Sarah’s maid, Hagar. (Genesis 21:12-13) And God kept repeating these promises down through the generations through Israel’s prophets. These promises from God to Abraham’s children, the Jewish people, were recorded again and again in the Bible. 

All of these promises were made a long time ago and at first they don’t seem to matter much to us today, do they?   But wait, here in Matthew 1:1 we read: “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  Jesus was also the promised Son of Abraham.  Galatians 3:16 says: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.  He said not, and to seeds, as of many: but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.”  The promises that God made to Abraham were made to Christ.  Ezekiel 39:27-29 describes how God will bring Israel back to their land from where they have been among the nations and pour His Spirit on them and be their God.  More Bible prophecies concerning those original promises to Abraham tell us that Jesus will come back and set up His kingdom in the Promised Land with His people Israel. 

One of Abrahams’ promises from God was that Israel would become a nation and would bless all of the nations of the earth.  We Christians have been blessed with salvation through Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah. Our Bible is Jewish, our Savior was born Jewish, even our Christian faith is Jewish.  We have definitely been blessed by Abrahams’ Seed.

 In fact, Scripture tells us that if we have faith in Christ Jesus we are also sons and daughters of Abraham and have inherited the wonderful promises that God gave Abrahams’ children, Israel.  We have been given these promises through Christ.  Galatians 3:26&29 reads: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. … and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  So along with the Jews, we too have inherited the promises made to Abraham, and we are also considered “sons of Abraham!” Since Abraham believed God, all of us who also follow in his footsteps and believe God are his “sons”.  There is an old gospel hymn that goes something like this: “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham.  I am one of them and so are you.  So let’s just praise the Lord.”

Since Scripture says that God makes us sons (and daughters) of Abraham through Christ because of our faith, do we have even a little of the faith in God that Abraham had?  Will we leave our comforts like Abraham did and follow God anywhere not knowing where He is taking us? 

Abraham had to wait decades into his old age for his promised son?  And he died never seeing his children take over the promised land, Israel.  Many of Abraham’s blessings were realized after his death.  And some of his promises are still yet to come. And that might be the same with us.  Are we willing to wait till after we die for our prayers to be answered if that’s what it takes?  Are we willing to let God be God and trust His mysterious ways? 

Philippians 4:19 tells believers in Jesus: “My God shall supply all of your needs, according to His riches in Glory.”  It appears that God is giving us the same sure promises and blessings that He gave Abraham, if we have faith.  Let’s try to give back believing faith to God like our father Abraham did.  Let’s follow in Abrahams’ footsteps and have a faith that pleases God.     

  

    

  

Love is the Missing Ingredient

Love – the Missing Ingredient

God judges us by a different measure than we judge ourselves and others.  It seems that God isn’t so impressed with the rich and famous. Or the good looking and the intelligent. We can be dedicated and hardworking and know our Bible’s backwards and forwards and have a strong faith in God. But without the missing ingredient all that isn’t enough! And the missing ingredient is love!  Scripture says that God judges us on how much we love!  That is everything to Him!

This judgment of God’s does not have to do with whether we go to heaven and have eternal life or not. Scripture says we don’t earn our salvation.  By faith we are given that free gift through our Lord Jesus Christ.  But then if we have eternal life through Christ but misuse the earthly talents God gives us, we will have nothing to show for those God entrusted talents when we get over on the other side!  When He asks what we did with what He gave us, what will we say?    

Are we using the talents God left us lovingly or are we using them selfishly and with little concern for others?  Scripture says that love is what God wants from His children.  We are to be loving like our Father, God.  And Scripture says that God is love and we His children are to be full of love also.  (1 John 4)  

Let’s listen to what Scripture says: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.”  (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)   

The “love chapter” 1 Corinthians 13 is saying that without love, we are nothing!  Absolutely nothing!  Without love spiritual wisdom and Christian ethics and God talk amount to nothing more than a lot of clanking noise. (1 Corinthians 13:3) The Pharisees and religious leaders who were responsible for sending Jesus to the cross were supposed “men of God”. They had given their whole lives to studying God’s Word and they had all of the correct answers.  But because they lacked love, their perfect doctrine didn’t seem to help them recognize their Savior and Messiah when He came to them!  Without love they were blind and couldn’t see the Lord Jesus Christ when He was standing right in front of them! 

And there are modern day Pharisees right here today among us that may be making that same mistake.  We have been in some good Bible believing church groups where proud people believed all of the correct doctrines.  Competitive folk with all of the latest answers.  Somehow we weren’t always accepted in these groups even though we tried hard to fit in.  Good Christians becoming judgmental and critical and leaving love behind. Never taking time for their lost brother or giving help to the struggling sinner.  And worse yet, mixing their Jesus in with all of their criticism and hate!  So easy to do.  And so dangerous. 

We Christians have the truth and we want to make change in our society. With our money and power, we will take back the night and make our nation great!  Like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, today modern day Pharisees have conservative teachings and pure doctrines but may have forgotten the missing ingredient.  – the ingredient of love! 

The “love chapter” describes what love is!  Let’s listen: “Love suffers long and is kind.  Love does not envy; love does not parade itself: is not puffed up.  Does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.  Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but it rejoices in the truth.  Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails. “ (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

Love in the Scriptures is described as gentle and suffering.  Never failing.  Never pushy or rude.  Never parading itself about insisting on its own way. We are to die to ourselves and let the Spirit of Christ work in us.  The Spirit of Christ always works in us with love. And love wins battles. 

 Jesus never won battles with money and power.  His ways were never showy or confrontational. Jesus won the battle with love – love that took him to the cross to die for us.  He insisted that His kingdom was of another world. And He tells us to follow Him.  To “Love our enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-36) and when we are slapped on one cheek to “Turn the other cheek”. (Luke 6:29, Matthew 5:29)   Let’s ask the Lord to love others through us.  And help us be able to love our enemies.

The “Love Chapter” closes this way.  “Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will fail: where there are tongues, they will cease, where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  For now we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.  When I was a child, I spoke as a child.  I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abides faith, hope, love, these three:  but the greatest of these is love.”  (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)  

Gideon, the Mighty Man of Courage

Gideon, the Mighty Man of Courage

Gideon was a Jewish farmer who lived in Israel.  The year was around 1050 B.C. and thousands of warring Midianites like locusts had descended upon Gideon’s land, causing misery and starvation to the Israelite people. The Midianites were wild nomadic people from the Aramean desert, who stole everything in sight - all the animals and all the crops.  They left the Israelite farmers and village people desperate and destitute.  (Judges 6) 

God had promised to protect His people, the Israelites, and bless them with abundance if they would follow Him.  But Gideon’s generation was not following God.  They still expected Him to bless them but they were worshipping Baal and other idol gods and had forgotten the God of their fathers. Scripture says that: “the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,” (Judges 6:1a) and “The Midianites so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.”  (Judges 6:6) And of course God heard their cry and rushed in to help.

God sent a prophet to speak to the Israelites and tell them that he would protect them from the Midianites if they would come back to Him and worship Him only and turn from worshipping their idols.  And then God called Gideon to deliver His people from the Midianites, promising Gideon that He would be with him.  But Gideon was afraid to lead and told God that he was not able to do what God was asking of him.  (Judges 6:15) Gideon was a coward and referred to himself as the least in his father’s house and a member of the poorest clan in Israel.  That was his excuse for trying to get out of doing what God had asked him to do.

But God didn’t take “no” for an answer from Gideon.  Scripture tells us that God sent an angel to Gideon calling him again to be God’s man for the job.  Gideon looked up to see a bright angel standing there and then the angel gave him this greeting: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of courage.” (Judges 6:12) Why would the angel call Gideon a “mighty man of courage” when in reality Gideon was trembling with fear?

The exciting thing here is that God didn’t call Gideon what he was as a natural man without God.  But God called Gideon what He knew that Gideon had the ability to be in Him.  With God and in God’s strength Gideon, the frightened coward could become Gideon, the mighty man of courage!

  And this principle is the same for you and me.  Without God and in our own strength we can sometimes be frightened little people.  But with God we can do anything that needs doing since God promises to be with us and give us the strength through Christ (Philippians 4:13) Perhaps we need to stop looking at what we think we are and start listening to God and believing Him and what He says we are in Him!

Gideon asked God for several signs to prove that He would be with him in battle. And God patiently worked with Gideon’s insecurities and game him the signs he asked for and more.  (Judges 6:36-40) Finally, after many proofs and signs, Gideon believed God and gave in to God’s request to lead his people in battle and free them from the Midianite invasion. 

Gideon’s first job as the Lord’s warrior was to tear down an altar to Baal, as Israel had always been commanded to do. (Exodus 34:13, Deuteronomy 7:5) This altar belonged to Gideon’s father and Gideon took ten men and did as the Lord told him.  But because he was afraid of his family, he tore down his father’s alter to Baal at night so he wouldn’t be seen.  The next morning the men in his town demanded that Gideon die, but Gideon’s father Joash, stopped them.

After this the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he obeyed God and went throughout the land calling out men to come with him and fight the Midianites.  Thousands of men answered the call and God spoke to Gideon and told him that there were too many men in his army. “Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave” the Lord said.  So 22,000 men left leaving 10,000 to fight. The Lord spoke to Gideon again saying that there were still too many men, and more men were sent home.  Finally, when there were only 300 men left, the Lord spoke to Gideon and said that He would use those 300 men to drive out the many thousands of Midianites from the land.  God wanted the Israelites to know that He would win the battle for them instead of letting them believe that they would win it in their own strength. 

Gideon listened to the Lord’s instructions and then he divided his 300 men into three groups.  Each fighting man was given a trumpet and an empty jar with a torch inside.  Listening to God’s instructions, Gideon led his men out to fight in the middle of the night. The men followed Gideon and when they got to the edge of the enemy camp they all blew their trumpets and broke their jars so that their torches would be seen.  Then they all shouted “For the Lord and for Gideon” and continued blowing their trumpets.

 While Gideon’s 300 men held their positions around the enemy camp, the Midianites rushed out of their tents terrified.  God muddled their minds and caused the Midianites throughout their camps to turn on each other with their swords.  The army fled in confusion, killing one another as they went.  And Gideon and his armies drove them out of their land.  After that the Israelites tore down all of their many altars to Baal and they started worshipping God again.  And there was finally peace and prosperity in the land of Israel for that whole generation – until the next generation came along and forgot God again and built new altars to Baal.  (Judges 7 and 8)

Why would God choose Gideon as a leader when Gideon didn’t seem to have any special talents? And it seemed to take Gideon a long time to trust God enough to even agree to take the job God wanted him to take.  God must have seen that Gideon was capable of eventually trusting Him and believing in Him.  Scripture says that “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”  (Hebrews 11:6) God’s Spirit did not come onto Gideon until after he believed God enough to take down the family’s altar to Baal.

  We read in Scripture that God looks for people who will be open to Him and trust Him.  Scripture says: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth to find those who are open to Him so He can strengthen their hearts.”  (2 Chronicles 16:9)   God is looking for people who are available to Him. He often finds that ordinary people are more available to Him than powerful and famous people.  And Scripture says that when God does find people who want Him, He strengthens and blesses them and equips them to successfully do what He leads them to do.  And best of all God pours onto these believers His unconditional love.  What does God see when He looks into your heart?  Are you one of the people God is looking for and hoping to find? 

  

Hope in Christ Changes Your Life

Hope in Christ Changes Your Life

My neighbor Suzie, died last week. The light in her window is out now and her house is dark.  For the last thirteen years we have been neighbors and the flickering light from her television set has been on day and night. Over the years when I would wake at any hour of the night and glance outside I would always see her window lit up from the light of her television screen. Year after year she lay in bed watching television and talking about how she wanted to die.

Doctors treated Suzie for depression and told her that she was in good health.  They encouraged her to get out of bed and exercise and go out with friends. But Suzie complained that all was hopeless and that she was too old to get out of bed. She lived with her son and a maid came regularly to clean. Several of her daughters lived nearby and visited often and her ex-husband came by to do chores for her. Everyone tried to cheer her up but Suzie continued complaining that her life wasn’t worth living.

Neighbors brought Suzie food and invited her out, but she usually refused the food and the invitations.  I invited her to come with us to church, but she fussed that church goers are all hypocrites.  As the years went by she became more bitter and angry at her world.  Feeling sorry for herself she began showering guilt and criticism on family members and neighbors and on anyone who dared to come near her, driving many away.  

Finally, last week Suzie telephoned some of her friends and family members and told each of them “Goodbye”. She assured each one that she had no reason to live. And then that very night she went to sleep and never woke up.  Her son found her the next morning, dead in her bed. She had wanted to die for so long and finally she had gotten her wish.  Did she take her own life by overdosing on sleeping pills?  No one knows for sure. Family and neighbors (myself included) feel like we have failed her.  I sadly look across the street at her window that has finally gone dark and wonder if I could have done more to give hope to this woman so nearby who felt so hopeless for so long.

The Bible says: “Without hope (a vision) the people perish…”  (Proverbs 29:18)   How many people like Suzie are also struggling with feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of suicide?  We Christians have the hope of salvation in Christ and we have been called upon by God to share that glorious hope to our world. (Matthew 16:15)   Scripture says: “The fields are ready to be harvested, but the laborers are few…” (Matthew 9:37, Luke 10@, John 4:35) Here in our scripture, the “fields” that are ready to be harvested represent people who are looking for hope.  These people are ready for us (the laborers) to bring them the hope we have in Christ.  Not just any hope will do but hope in Christ. We humans cannot live without hope. Hope is to the soul what oxygen is to the lungs. 

When we put our hope on other people, they can disappoint us.  And when we count on our money to take care of our needs, it can be stolen and our stocks and bonds can lose their value. When we trust in our good health, it can fail us at any time. The things of this world can let us down.  But when we put our hope on God in Christ, He will never let us down!  Scripture says: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  (Colossians 1:27)   God promises his followers: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)   and ‘Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which can never be shaken but endures forever.” (Psalm 125:1)

We may ask how can we prove that God is real so that we can put our trust in Him?   Consider this: -If God could be seen through a telescope or under a microscope, He would not be the Almighty God proclaimed in His Word.  He is the Creator and as such God cannot be studied in the same way as His creation!  If we humans could understand the God of the universe, He wouldn’t be the God of the universe.

 Scripture says that we need to “see” God with the eyes of faith and hope and that God gives each of us a “measure” of hope and faith in Him.  But we can close our hearts and refuse that “measure” of hope that we have been given. (Romans 12:3)   It is a mystery but if you will step out and believe in the God who is there, you will find that God is there for you.  God will give you that saving faith in Him if you ask Him for it.  It is God’s will that everyone have faith in Him and live.  (2 Peter 3:9)  Because “without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  (Hebrews 11:6)  Hope and faith are a mystery but if we open ourselves to believe in God, we will believe in God.  It’s that simple!   

Romans 8:24-25 says: “Hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”   Another Scripture hints at this truth.  “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Corinthians 4:18) And Hebrews 11:1 states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

One of the Bible scriptures that shows us a sneak preview of the end of the age when Jesus Christ comes again in glory, never fails to give us hope: “Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep (die) but we will all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  (Our dead bodies that only lasted a lifetime will now be changed into bodies of life that will last for eternity.) Then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O Death is your victory? And Where O Death is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God who gives us the hope and the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

Hebrews 11 is called by some the “Hall of Fame of Faith” chapter because it lists and honors many of the great men and women of faith we read about in the Bible.  God used about half of these people who had great faith in Him to perform great miracles and heal many.  But the other faithful half are still waiting for God to answer their prayers. Scripture says: “These (half) were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.  God has planned something better for them so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”  (Hebrews 11:39-40)

In Hebrews 11 some of the believers in God received what they were promised, while others didn’t – at least not here on earth.  Why didn’t they?  How do we handle it when we have prayed for decades for something we know God would want and the prayer is still not answered?  We know that with God nothing is impossible. (Luke 1:37)  Ah, the mystery of prayer!  The answer to these questions is that God always answers our prayers.  But some of our prayers may be answered on the other side.  Sometimes our hopes and dreams don’t seem to be working out here on earth.  But in eternity, all of our hope is realized. 

 

        

    

    

Sex is the Idol of our Time

Sex is the Idol of our Time

A major sexual revolution has taken place in the last fifty years.  In just these few years much has changed in our society when it comes to relationships between the sexes. Fifty years ago abortion was illegal in the U.S. and the forms of birth control available didn’t work well.  Along with this, women who did become pregnant outside of marriage back then were often treated with prejudice.  Because of these influences, along with Christian beliefs that sex should include marriage, most couples did not have sexual relations until after marriage.  

  A double standard prevailed back then in that the un-wed pregnant girl was shamed while the father of the unborn child usually got off the hook.  Often he had professed his love for the girl, but then when she had become pregnant, he had dropped her and run the other way.  Alone and embarrassed, the pregnant girl in that judgmental society became a sad victim. To avoid being criticized by friends and family, the un-married pregnant girl would often go to a “home for un-wed mothers” and hide out there until after the birth of her child, keeping her pregnancy a secret from the disapproving public.

 Most of these single mothers would give their newborn babies up for adoption, believing that it was best for their babies to be in stable families.  Back then there was a strong belief in society that a child needed to be raised by a mother and a father who were in a loving committed relationship – a marriage.  The single mother also wanted to find the love of her life someday and be married.  She was told that if she kept her baby, that good men would not consider marrying her.   

 Nearly every woman back then wanted more than anything else to marry a good man. Most of the popular songs were about falling in love or finding your “one and only”.  Back then romance, marriage and true love were so all important that women were often blamed if they broke the rules when it came to sex outside of marriage. 

Fifty years ago women (mothers, wives and girlfriends) were put upon a pedestal and treated special.  Most men would never swear or say “dirty” words around women. A good woman was one who remained a virgin until marriage and all women were supposed to be an influence towards keeping the society sexually moral. It was their responsibility. Women were trusted to be the nurturers and protectors of children.  And the wife was also to have a stabilizing effect on her “man” and on her family.  In return women enjoyed respect from their gentlemen friends and treated with chivalry.  So when a woman broke the rules and had sex with a man who didn’t love or marry her, she was taken down off her pedestal and considered a “loose” woman.          

But all of these behaviors began to change in 1973 when abortion became legal (Roe vs Wade) in our country. And ever since then millions of abortions have been performed routinely.  The first birth control pill (Enovid) had been introduced ten years earlier, opening the door for much more sexual freedom and new possibilities for sexual conduct.  And about this time pornography which had always been illegal in the U.S.A. was made legal by another unfortunate Supreme Court decision.  Most of society (Christian) did not want pornography because it opened the doors to a saturation of sexual stimulation on television, advertising, the movies and later on the internet. But it was forced on us anyway! Gone were the good ole’ days!

Many sexually liberated women happily climbed down off of their moral pedestals and demanded sexual equality with their men. Some dismissed the warnings in the Bible against casual sex as being old fashioned and out dated.  These were modern educated women who had outgrown religious notions and they demanded the freedom to enjoy sex with any man they liked without worrying about unwanted pregnancies.  And the men seemed to happily go along. Also many women were tired of being dependent on men, especially men who let them down.    

 Now that women finally had reliable birth control and also abortion as a backup, they were free to do whatever they wanted to do sexually without fear of having unwanted pregnancies. There was big money to be made in this new sexual revolution and big business jumped in to reap the profits!  Billions of dollars in profits rolled in for the music industry, the abortion industry, drugs, alcohol, media, advertising, movies, the clothing industry, etc.!  Sex sells so they all jumped in! 

 Styles were changing and clothing became form fitting and sexually suggestive whereas before women dressed more modestly.  Psychedelic drugs and wild music entered the picture with sexually transmitted diseases going viral and dreaded new sexual diseases appearing and killing millions.  Marriage and family life started breaking down.  Millions of children were now being raised in a moral wasteland without the shelter of stable loving homes. Divorce rates skyrocketed and now we see an increasing unwillingness to enter into marriage in the first place?   

 So much changed in so little time!  We have changed the definition of marriage from what it had always been and what the Biblical definition is – the God ordained union of a man and a woman! (Mark 10:6-9) And there is talk of changing the definition of marriage even further in the future to where marriage can be a union which includes more than two persons. Many people today find themselves trapped in a sexual promiscuity which destroys their self-esteem.  We don’t seem to need God or His standards any more when we can do things our own way and when all other issues must take second place to worshipping the sex god in all of its many forms and perversions.   

The Bible teaches that sex is not free and that God gave us the gift of sex only in the context of marriage. (Hebrews 13:4-7) Adultery is especially outlawed in the Bible and is important enough to be one of the Ten Commandments.  (Exodus 20:14) God gave us this commandment against adultery out of love because adultery breaks up families and hurts people, especially children.  And also we are to “run away from “fornication” (sex outside of marriage.)  (1Corinthians 6:18)  

In the New Testament we find that Jesus teaches that sex represents love and a long term commitment to each other in a marriage. Scripture says that sex is a life uniting act.  But sex is cheapened and becomes meaningless when this “life uniting act” is used outside of a “ life-uniting intent.”  Jesus took the Bible as His authority, and if Jesus is our Lord, we must follow His example. Sex outside of marriage may feel good but when God’s pattern is broken, people get hurt.  If we keep God’s laws, we will live under His blessing.   

How are we Christians to live in this sexualized society?  We may lose some friends if we don’t go along with the “new sexual morality”?  Are we willing to pay the price and go against the crowd?  We are called to follow Jesus. But how do we follow Jesus through the confusion of this sexualized maze?  For starters, if we have made sexual mistakes in the past, God will forgive us.  And if we are dating now, let’s enjoy getting to know the person we are dating without confusing the relationship with sex.  Let’s keep sex for lifetime commitment - marriage. If we are married, let’s be faithful and true in our marriage and love only our spouse.  Let’s not indulge in lusting after other persons but put all of our efforts into building up our spouse.  Let’s be responsible for our own children and not cheat on our spouse.  Live a faithful life and a good life!

Let’s avoid places and persons who might tempt us to be unfaithful.  Let’s not be squeezed into the world’s mold. And let’s teach our children these values too.  Lets’ count on the Lord to help us because the Spirit of God will set us free from sin where a set of rules will be powerless.  (Romans 8:1-4) If you have problems in areas concerning sex, pray and ask God to set you free.  He promises to give you the power to do good things and live the good life.  (Philippians 4:13) Stand on His promises and count on Him to help you overcome. (Ephesians 6:13)  

God is calling you to be His witness in this sexually broken world.  It is impossible to love and serve God all the way and also disobey in the area of sexual morality!  Give sexual immorality up now.  As Christians we are called to be “salt” in this world.  But if the “salt” has lost its’ taste, it is worthless.  (Matthew 5:13-16) We don’t want to be tasteless salt or a worthless witness to our Lord. Let’s go all the way with God.  

Some of these ideas in this blog were taken from Nicky Gumbel’s booklet, “Searching Issues”.    

     

The Mysterious Working of the Risen Christ

The Mysterious Working of the Risen Christ

This is the time of year that Christians around the world come together to celebrate Easter.  When we celebrate Easter we celebrate our salvation and our new life in Christ!  We celebrate being set free and being saved from sin!  None of the other world religions have any celebrations coming close to this or any belief that begins to compare with our Easter.   

The Easter story is such a thrilling story that it stands alone.  Jesus had been crucified and his body had hurriedly been laid in a garden tomb. He died a few hours before the Sabbath and since the Jewish religious laws required that no one work on the Sabbath, Jesus’ body had to be buried quickly during the few hours left before sundown.  Sundown marked the beginning of the Sabbath.

Some of the women who had been followers of Jesus planned to go to His tomb when the Sabbath was over and anoint His body with burial spices.  So very early that following Sunday morning these women walked together to the tomb weeping as they went and expecting to find Jesus’ dead and broken body in the tomb.

The big surprise in the story comes when the women get to the tomb and find an empty tomb and the stone rolled away from the door along with bright angels standing nearby. The confused women were wondering if someone had stolen Jesus’ body, but then the angels stepped forward and asked the women: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here: but He has risen.” (Luke 24:5-6)

From that moment on nothing remains as it was before, not in the women’s lives or in our lives or in the history of humankind.  Jesus is not dead!  He is alive!  He has risen!  He has conquered sin and death because He is Life itself!  Because He lives, we shall live also!  (John 14:19-20)    Easter is the time when we celebrate our risen Lord and the fact that His Spirit is alive in us. 

And often we make the same mistake that the women at his tomb made.  We talk about Jesus as if He lived long ago. And we forget that He lives today in the present while leading us on to the future. And He wants to live in your heart and bring you into His kingdom.  He is the Son of God and He will forgive you of your sin and make you whole. He is alive today and He wants you to follow Him. Let the risen Jesus enter your life – welcome Him as your Savior.  Trust Him and open your life to Him.  He will receive you with open arms.  Take a risk, you won’t be disappointed.  He is calling you.  Don’t be afraid.  Trust Him and He will give you peace and joy and strength to live the good life.

Jesus calls us to go into the world and feed the hungry and take care of the sick and bring others to Him.  He calls us to be His hands and feet.  A committed missionary knows the joy of being a spring of living water which spills over and refreshes others. And Jesus promises to be that spring in us.  As we go out to do His work the mysterious working of the risen Christ and his Spirit will go with us.  But if we refuse His call and refuse to share and stop giving and lock ourselves up in our own comforts.  Such a life is nothing less than slow suicide.

Some people do not commit themselves to missions because they think that nothing will change and that it is useless to make the effort.  This attitude makes it impossible to be a missionary.  It is a self-destructive attitude, for “man cannot live without hope: life would become meaningless and unbearable.”  Our faith is all important.

If we think that things are not going to change, we need to recall that Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death and is now almighty.  And we have the victory through Him. He never fails. Jesus Christ truly lives.   Put another way, “If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is in vain.”  (1 Corinthians 15:14) The Gospel tells us that when the first disciples went forth to preach, “the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message.”  (Mark 16:20) The same thing will happen for you today.  We are invited to discover this, to experience it.  Christ, risen and glorified, is the wellspring of our hope, and He will not deprive us of the help we need to carry out the mission which He has entrusted to us.

Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past:  It contains a vital power which has permeated this world.  Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up.  It is an irresistible force.  Such is the power of the resurrection, and all who evangelize are instruments of that power. 

This blog consists of sermons delivered by Pope Francis and written down in “The Joy of the Gospel”  by Pope Francis.

Coming Home

Coming Home

When we celebrate Easter we are celebrating the gift of our salvation.  Salvation is coming home.  Leaving the land of slavery (to sin) and entering the Promised Land, (our new home.)  The Jewish people had been slaves in Egypt until God miraculously freed them and led them across the Jordan River into a land He had promised them – Israel.  Our salvation is somewhat like that in that when we believe in Jesus and follow Him we are miraculously given His Spirit to live in our hearts and lead us home.

Jesus told a story or parable about coming home.  There is a Father with two sons, and the story starts with the younger son asking the Father to give him his share of the inheritance money early. (Luke 15:11-32) Inheritance money was meant to go to the son after the Father was dead.  But the son doesn’t want to wait so he demands his money right away.  And the Father sadly agrees, giving the son half of his money, even if the Father might need it in his old age.  The other half of the inheritance would go to the older son.

The younger son leaves home carrying a big bag of his Father’s money.  And he travels far away to the big city where he falls into drinking and fighting on back streets, boozing and gambling in bars and dens and hanging out with prostitutes and strippers in the gutters. Drugs and liquor, fighting and wild women!  The son spends his time and money in riotous living. 

But then one day all of the son’s money is gone. And all of his friends are gone too, -all the loose women and the drunken men.  They don’t seem to like the son now that he has spent all of his money.  The son roams the streets alone and homeless.  Cold and sick, hungry and desperate.  What is he to do?  No one will help him!  The son tries to find a job and a farmer hires him to feed his hogs.  He eats the food the hogs leave and he sleeps with the hogs out in the field.  Cold and dirty, starving and alone in the cold and the wind, the son has lots of time to think about things. 

Of course the son thinks about how good things used to be back when he was home with his Father and his good hard working older brother.  His Father’s workers were paid good wages and had plenty to eat and here the son is out in this pig pen shivering with cold and eating dry husks.  The son tells himself that he will go back to his Father and say to him: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son: make me like one of your hired men.”   Being my Father’s hired hand would be better than staying here and starving with these hogs, he tells himself.

Every day since the son has been gone, the Father goes out to look down the long lonely road that leads to the far away country where the son has gone. Day after day the Father keeps watching and hoping he might someday see his wayward son coming back home. The Father loves and misses his son so much and his heart is so heavy with longing for his son.  And then one day it happens!  The son is still many miles away when the Father thinks he can barely see a man way off in the distance coming down the long road.  Could it be his long lost son??  The excited Father rushes out of his house and runs down the long dusty road.  Finally, when he reaches his son, the breathless Father throws his arms around the son, kissing and hugging him. 

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” the son started telling his Father.  But the Father won’t listen.  “Quick” the Father calls to his servant, “Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fatted calf and kill it.  We will have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive.  He was lost and is found.”

So there is a great celebration in the Father’s house that night.  The good faithful older brother is out in the field working when he hears music and dancing coming from the house.  When the servants tell him that his younger brother has returned and that his Father is throwing a party for his younger brother, he is furious!   The older brother refuses to go in the house where neighbors are partying.  He doesn’t want to see his younger brother.  He has been the good son all these years.  He has faithfully worked in his Father’s fields and his Father has never thrown a party for him!  But now this no good younger brother of his has taken his Father’s money and wasted it with loose women and now his Father is celebrating his homecoming!  He is hopping mad!

The Father goes outside and begs his older son to come inside and join the party.  The Father says: “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad because your brother was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found.”  Jesus ends the story here with the older brother still standing outside angry and refusing to come in to the party. Did the older brother stay angry forever or did he eventually forgive his younger brother?  Jesus never says.  He leaves us hanging!  Maybe we are supposed to finish Jesus’ story!  Maybe we are part of the story!

I think the older brother believes that there is not enough money to go around.  He feels that he is better than his younger brother because for years he has worked hard for his Father and obeyed all the rules, where his younger brother has not.  What if the Father in the story had gone to market the day the younger brother came home?  And what if the older brother was home to greet his younger brother when he returned?  Would the older brother have represented his loving Father?  Or would he have refused to let his brother in?

 Could we be the older brother in Jesus’ story? Have we worked hard for many years and seen another brother skipping out and breaking rules?  Are we angry and feel that it isn’t fair? Do we believe in giving this prodigal brother a second chance?  Or do we leave him out in the cold?  Who represents the loving forgiving Father in our world today?  Do we?  How do we finish Jesus’ story?

And the loving Father in Jesus’ story represents God, our loving heavenly Father.  When we go astray our loving heavenly Father misses us and watches anxiously for us to come home to Him.  And when we are still far away, He runs down the long road to meet us and bring us home.  It doesn’t matter how far we have strayed; He is anxious for us to come back.  Our heavenly Father’s love for us is so great that He gives His Son to bring us back.  He wants us home that much. If we want to come home we can have eternal life.  (John 3:16) That is what Easter is all about!

   

   

   

What is the Deliverance Ministry?

What is the Deliverance Ministry?

The deliverance ministry is the ministry of casting out demons.  I believe that the power behind the deliverance ministry is the love of God.  He sacrificed His Son and He will with Christ also freely give us all things. Scripture says: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) The armies of hell have no defense against God’s redeeming love for us.  Amazingly God loves us so much that He wants to free us from any spiritual bondages we are under.

We may be held in bondage and not even realize it.  We can freely walk around with a smile on our face praising the Lord and still be bound – bound by shame, rejection, fear, anger or un-forgiveness, impurities and addictions. Since so many people have these problems we may just think that it is normal.  Some of us have prayed and read God’s Word and confessed our sins and gone to Christian counselors and still have not been completely set free.  These weaknesses may have spiritual roots that can only be pulled up and broken by Jesus Christ who is our Redeemer and our Deliverer.  Jesus has come to set the captives free.  And scripture says: “If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:36)

God has granted us the authority to use the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ to defeat the works of darkness.  (Matthew 16:19: Luke 10:19)   Evil is real but so is the power of Jesus Christ.  In God’s wonderful order, He uses the prayers of His people to restrain demonic (evil) activity.  We Christians have been given power over evil spirits.  Scripture says: “He who is in you (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he who is in the world. (the devil) ”(1 John 4:4)  Even though we have been commanded by Christ to cast out demons, many of our churches do not have a deliverance ministry and many Christians never realize that through Christ they have been given authority over evil.   

 Deliverance is not always a once in a lifetime event, but it can be an ongoing process.  While we believers are still on earth we are to be advancing in becoming more like Christ.  It is a spiritual process.  Christ sets us free but we must occupy the freedom He has given us.  As we advance to drive out the enemy in our lives there will be warfare.  Yet, God promises to contend with our enemies until they are destroyed.  Many of us Christians seem to be comfortable with a certain amount of sin (bondage) in our lives.  But God is calling us to repent of and reject all of our sins, not just some, and to “not give the devil a foothold.”  (Ephesians 4:27) 

Since the founding of the Church there have always been some church groups that have had a deliverance ministry. When churches today plan to have a deliverance ministry there are some costly mistakes that they need to keep from making.  First the ministry of deliverance cannot be placed in the hands of a person who is an immature Christian or a person who has wrong motives and wants to build up his own reputation.  All of the glory should be given to God. The leaders must be humble and God fearing and bring encouragement and comfort to the people going through the deliverance.  The ministry needs to be done as a team and each team member should be accountable to each other and to the leader.  Team members should not view themselves as having special powers that others don’t have. 

Also effective deliverance is the result of being grounded in God’s Word.  Unsound doctrine and hidden special doctrines can quickly wreck the deliverance ministry. There are always wolves (fake Christians, false prophets) that would try to come in and harm the sheep. (the children of God).  The church that is involved in the deliverance ministry must be on constant watch to keep these spoilers from ruining this vital ministry.

There are other essentials for a successful deliverance ministry.  First, the ministry must be performed in a safe place.  By this I mean a place that is not threatening to people who may be afraid to confess and renounce their sins.  A safe place is a place where the ministers are caring and loving and where they are not shocked by confessions of sinful behavior that they will hear. It is a place where the people who are ministering deliverance are mature and trustworthy and where love and grace are demonstrated.  If those coming to be delivered are going to allow another person to lay hands on them for the purpose of casting out unclean spirits, they need to be able to count on the persons who are ministering deliverance to keep everything that happens there confidential. 

It can be a heady thing to come up against the demonic and see evil forces be forced out of a person when you order them to go in Jesus’ Name.  It can cause the person who is ministering deliverance to feel proud that he has been used by God.  And proud that in Jesus Christ’s Name he has been given the authority to order these evil spirits out.  But if this person on the deliverance team is not careful he can parade the hurts and pains of others before others, showing off how amazing he is.  Casting out demons can be turned into a theatrical side show if the ministering team isn’t humble. And the person who has been delivered may feel humiliated when they are being showcased for others to see.  And then God is not glorified.  When Jesus delivered a person from evil spirits He often took the person away from the crowd for these very reasons.  (Mark 7:33 and 8:23)   

The persons who have been delivered from evil spirits need to learn truths and disciplines that will help them to maintain their deliverance. They need revelation of what keeps opening the door to demonic control and they need to stay away from these influences. People who have been delivered from a bondage need to be connected with others who will hold them accountable for their choices and offer them encouragement and also correction.

 The freed person needs to learn to walk in the Spirit and commit everything in their lives to God.  Scripture says: “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)   Ongoing submission to God and staying away from those places where bondage can occur easily are a huge part of maintaining freedom from past bondages.  

Sometimes people are not ready to receive deliverance.  They have not taken the time to be ready to live a new life and allow God to change their old thoughts and habits.  Real deliverance comes from thoughtful preparation.  One sin that can stand in the way of successful deliverance is the sin of un- forgiveness.  We must be ready to forgive people who have sinned against us just as God has forgiven the sins we have committed against Him. (Matthew 6:12)

 Scripture says: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  (Galatians 5:16) We need to learn to live our lives in step with the Holy Spirit.  We can receive freedom from bondage through Jesus Christ, but we have a part to play if we are to keep that freedom.

Our part is to trust God and obey Him.  To repent and renounce our sin.  And God’s part is to break the yoke of bondage and remove any demonic presence.  When we are ready then His part is to sanctify us and make us clean.  Scripture says: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”  (Psalm 51:7) Christ is our Righteousness and through Him we are made clean.  When we find ourselves polluted by our past or loaded down with the bondage of the present, then we can enter God’s cleansing stream and become “whiter than snow.”  It doesn’t get any better than that! 

The information and ideas for this blog were taken from Chris Hayward’s book “God’s Cleansing Stream, Deliverance in the Local Church” with the foreword by Jack Hayford.