“..who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

1 Peter 1:5

Some days we just feel like we will not make it. Other days we feel as though we could conquer the world. I’ve experienced these emotional ups and downs, and sometimes during the same day! The important thing is; however, that when we open our Bible’s and turn to a verse like 1 Peter 1:5 that we read it and see that we are being held in God’s power. This changes everything and brings our ups and downs into balance because we see that it’s not really about us.

Now I realize that the idea of being held in someone’s power can carry some negative connotations, such as, controlling, manipulative, or a task master, but in this case things are entirely different. God is all powerful and sovereign and for those who are his he exercises his power to guard and protect. He has prepared a salvation, an inheritance and a hope as we read in the previous two verses, that is untouchable by sin and evil. It is his good plan that we obtain it and it is by his power that we can have the confidence that we will.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

The reason we can have confident, assured, and grounded faith that we will receive God’s salvation is because he himself will sustain our faith to the end. God has granted us our faith, it is not of our own doing it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), and he promises to preserve it until our days are over and done. Praise God! This is why we can get off emotional roller coasters and rejoice that life is not about us being defeated or about us conquering. He allowed His Son to be defeated for us and through that glorious act He conquered sin, death, and the grave. Life is about Him. It’s about bringing Him glory and trusting that by His power and because of His love we are also more than conquerors over every circumstance we find ourselves in, and that conquering really means getting over ourselves and rejoicing in the Lord Jesus in everything (Romans 8:37).

The final word that I will say about 1 Peter 1:5 is that it tells us that our salvation is ready to be revealed. That is so exciting to me, and a little scary. I was just thinking today about a quote I heard from Leonard Ravenhill in one of his messages, he said, “Five minutes inside eternity and we will wish that we had sacrificed more, wept more, bled more, grieved more, loved more, prayed more, given more”. And it’s true. Think about it, our salvation is ready to be revealed, it’s ready! It’s waiting! It could be any moment! And most of the time I’m thinking about by the seat of my up and down emotions. My heart does soar when I think about coming into His courts to spend eternity there, but I don’t want to forget Ravenhill’s words when I wake up tomorrow morning and say good morning to my husband and my kids, or when I step outside my door to head out into the world.

I thank God that it is by his power my faith is sustained and guarded, and I thank him that my salvation is ready to be revealed, and I beg him that he would awaken my eternal senses to be alert and working to prepare for that moment when I find myself five minutes inside eternity.

Preparing the Way,

Danae Martin

]]> http://preparingtheway.net/held-in-gods-power-1-peter-15/feed/ 0 http://preparingtheway.net/the-only-sinners-prayer-that-saves-souls-luke-1614-17/ http://preparingtheway.net/the-only-sinners-prayer-that-saves-souls-luke-1614-17/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:09:16 +0000 preparin http://preparingtheway.net/?p=2097

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??
Maybe you’re wondering what this title is all about? What do I mean, “the only sinners prayer that saves souls”. Is that suggesting that there is a type of sinners prayer that does not save? It should be common sense that repeating a set of words at an altar call could no more save a soul than chanting “I’m warm, I’m warm, I’m warm” over and over after being dropped off buck-naked in the Arctic in 90 below temperatures could keep you from freezing.

I grew up in the church and quite frankly it can be one of the most dangerous places to grow up. If the Gospel doesn’t take genuine roots at an appropriate age (and I don’t mean repeating a prayer when you’re 3 with your mom) but genuine repentance and faith in Christ, then you can grow up with the idea that you are safe and sound, a shoe in with God, kind of like a family pass simply because your parents pray a lot and they make everyone go to church on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday’s for youth. That type of spiritual blindness by far can be the most dangerous and damning of all types. The Matthew 7:21-23 type, where a false sense of salvation can take someone all the way to the Great White Throne only to find out they weren’t actually part of the family. God doesn’t have any grand-kids (e.g. your parents are His children and know Him well so therefore you fall into the category of grandchild). It just doesn’t work that way.

The Pharisees are easy to pick on examples:
This was the issue with the Pharisees, they were Abraham’s descendants so they felt like they were the elect of God. Because of their false sense of security in misunderstanding election they presumed upon salvation by God because of who they were. They assumed that God was somehow pleased with them and therefore they needed no repentance (God’s elect are not those who need no repentance, but rather His elect will always produce genuine repentance leading to authentic faith in Christ and salvation). They thought that giving a little extra in the offering plate (more than was required), and not collecting taxes on behalf of the heathen Gentile government, somehow made them extra special.

They prayed publicly and loved hearing the echo of their own words, to them it meant that they were more spiritual and closer to God than anyone else. They tooted their own horn, thanking God that they had never done the nasty things that other people had. They wore long robes and prayer boxes between their eyes and on their arms wherever there went, even into the public market places so that people would recognize them as spiritual and “honor them”. They spent more time in the scriptures than anyone else, they prayed more than all others in Israel, yet none of their prayers were heard and their foolish hearts were darkened to the truth even more. With all their religious activities and their rich heritage they could get no further away from saving faith even if they tried.

In this text we pick up were Jesus is speaking with a crowd of people and Pharisees   He had just finished dealing with the “Love of Money” and is now addressing the false fronted religious zealots who loved money, position and recognition. Let’s Read..

Luke 16:14-17 ESV .. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Human Nature is to Self Justify:
As humans we are bent towards self-justification. Let’s say you were in a room with some people right now and a church leader who maybe you weren’t even all that close with, but just happens to have some insight into your personal life, started to speak to you about things that you needed to get right, areas that you needed to repent about and people you should go and apologize to.
I know my first reaction isn’t always to bow my humble knees and cry out for mercy from the Lord, instead I think too often our response is much the same as the Pharisees. We tend to think of ways to justify why we do things, why we are upset with so and so, why we can’t read our Bibles, and more. At the core of every human being is the sin of self righteousness, we really, really love ourselves and we want what’s best for ME. We resent those who resent us based on the premise that they have wronged us. We raise one hand against our neighbor while the other is raised to our Maker!

The Pharisees were so blind to their own sin that they ridiculed the only one who ever had the guts to blow the whistle on them, that person was the God-man, Jesus Christ. In Luke 16:17 Jesus goes on to tell them that the law was most important and all that was preached up to John the Baptist, and that since then the kingdom of God has been preached and many have been pressing into it, almost forcefully. Yet because sin and hard hearts are still all around us the Law is still of utmost importance. In fact Jesus makes sure that He is not accused of removing the law from it’s proper place (see also 1 Timothy 1:8-11)

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

Jesus was assuring the Pharisees that they had not moved onto grace, that they were in fact still under the law, and guilty of breaking it. It’s not dangerous to break God’s law, it’s dangerous to refuse or neglect to see that you have broken it. The law is an essential tool for man kind to reveal the true nature of our sin. It’s like a mirror that we look into, and the reflection we see should be “exceedingly sinful”, if we’re honest with ourselves.

What Christ offers for guilty sinners is nothing but the BEST NEWS of all time! That’s why it’s called GOOD NEWS. I can tell you right now that I am most thankful for grace. I have sinned and continue to sin on a daily basis, repentance is a daily occurrence for the true believer. As we move onto maturity God reveals deeper layers of sin in our lives, in fact sin we didn’t even know existed. The importance of self examination through scripture meditation and prayer could not be emphasized enough. We are sinful beings and God is a Holy and Just God. The only righteousness we have has been imputed to us by Christ Himself, our own righteousness is like filthy rags.

Comparing Ourselves:
The final text I want to look at directly relates to our main text in Luke 16. The Pharisees failed to see themselves as wretches, always seeing someone who was far worse than themselves to compare with. This is a common problem when we compare our righteousness against another human being. A semi-clean pig is only clean looking when compared to a very muddy pig, but when compared to a blanket of snow every pig is dirty.

Luke 18:9-14 ESV .. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Shake of the Head, the Roll of the Eyes, The Sigh of Judgment:
I tread on thin ice when I write this. It’s with shaky hands that I continue even writing beyond this point, only because I know how guilty I am and what I deserve in light of this story. I believe the Pharisee in this story genuinely thought of himself as a decent living, moral, honest human being who studied scripture, was zealous for God and hated evil. These shoes are a little to close too fitting for my comfort, what about you? He prayed and thanked God for all the graces on his life, that He was not like the rest of the scum bags out there and even the tax collector who was praying really close to him.

Maybe this is too tough to relate too, let’s paint a better picture. You’re driving down the road and someone out of nowhere cuts you off, they were not paying attention and decided to switch lanes without looking. You instantly slam on your breaks sending your coffee through the air and watch as it pours out all over your dash. You have a few choice words, along the lines of, “I can’t believe this idiot did that, what a jerk! A driver like that should be pulled off the road and have the book thrown at him!” What you have done is placed yourself in a position of judge and jury, your response either has to mean that you have never once in your life done anything remotely similar in other words you have been a perfect driver, or that due to the logs hanging out of your eyes you are so blind that you cannot see your driving failures. I know when this happens with me it’s usually the latter. We have all fallen drastically short, our own failures are so inconceivably condemnable through human eyes that the sin of thinking well of ourselves is almost worse than the the sin itself. A sobbing criminal is easier to have compassion on than one that tries to justify himself by comparing himself to another criminal notably worse than he. The most righteous person on earth is the most wretched person when compared to the citizens of heaven. God did not spare the self-exulting angels who lifted themselves up in praise, how much less will He spare those of us who exalt ourselves and compare ourselves to against others. God is not pleased with you or me, He never has been and never will be and that’s a fact. He was only ever pleased with one MAN, and that was the God-Man Jesus Christ, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. God can only be pleased with us when we beat our chest in despair and plead for His mercy. When we thrust ourselves at the mercy of Jesus and our wretchedness is replaced with His righteousness, that is how we please God.
This what the “Only Sinners Prayer That Saves Souls” looks like, “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER!’” I promise you that if you pray that prayer in that way from a heart that has been humbled by the God of the universe, He will answer you and save you. Grace & Peace

Shane Martin
Preparing The Way.

Opening Thoughts: I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have heard Sunday talks on money, nor how many times it has been followed directly with a call to give. I think we have all been there, maybe some of you have even preached these messages with hopes that it would encourage more people to give. Perhaps some of you after hearing messages or a series of messages on this topic only caused you to clench your fist tighter around your hard earned cash. Whatever the case may be, if the heart of the issue is not dealt with, those listening and those preaching will both lose.

The hope behind this post is not to show anyone up and not to point fingers at certain churches or people, but to speak to you from a heart of my own conviction, my own lack of giving and my own foolish stewardship many times. The passage we are about to look at is where Jesus is preaching about a foolish steward, an unhappy manager, a lost position and wise preparation for the future. Let’s read.

Luke 16:1-13 ESV
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Wasteful Steward: 
The responsibility of taking care of someone else’s possessions is not to be taken lightly. Imagine if you hired someone to take care of your estate, their job was to live in your home, manage your things and to increase your wealth. However, after several years you noticed that instead of increasing some of your possessions had vanished, your money was actually depleting and your debts had gone on unpaid. You then received reports that the person you had placed in such a great position was wasting your things, using them as their own, not collecting your money owed to you and more. Imagine how disheartening that would be? This steward had been doing just that. A steward in those days basically acted as if they were the one who owned the estate, they made all the decisions because they had been entrusted to do that. Did that make them the owner of anything? No, it simply meant they had the power to decide where things would be spent, how the money would be invested and so forth. This manager failed to be faithful with what he had been given authority over and he had been wasteful.

Guilty As Charged:
When someone has been “caught red handed”, as the saying goes, they usually do not try and defend themselves simply because they have been exposed and it’s too late anyway, the cat’s out of the bag. We know that this manager was guilty because once the owner confronted him and issued him a “pink slip” he did nothing to defend himself, after all what could he do? He had wasted what hadn’t belonged to him.

What the manager did next showed amazing thought and heart felt preparation. In the moments that followed, and while he still held the position of manger, he quickly called in all the debts for his master. One of them he forgave 50%  and the other 20%. In those days debts where quite hard to collect, so for the manager to collect so quickly shows he had some quick forethought, one was to free up some cash for his master and another was to make friends rather quickly. As you recall in our text he said, “ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses”, when he forgave portions of these debts he made friends with these debtors, now upon his dismissal he had hope that he would be received into their homes and perhaps even manage their affairs.

Jesus Makes the Comparison: 
In the story the master praises the manager’s shrewdness for looking out for his own future. Knowing that he would soon lose his position, that word would get out about his unfaithfulness and that he would never find work in high position again he acted quickly. In fact if you read the text the manager speaks of digging ditches and begging as his two options. In other words he would be a bum, destitute and ruined.

Jesus says that this worldly man knew he was about to be ruined and literally cast out into the darkness, so he used the current situation to prepare for the safety of his future. If men of the world would go to such great lengths to make preparations for their future earthly lives, how much more should believers put the same kind of preparation into their eternal future. This does not include building castles here, it doesn’t include chasing rainbows, it doesn’t include desiring to be rich, as 1 Timothy 6:9 uses strong language against such ambitions, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”

What it does include is taking care of what God has given us management over. Next time you get a pay check and think it’s yours, think again, it’s God’s. In fact it’s all God’s, the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear and money you spend, all of it is God’s and you are his manager.

In this text Jesus urges us to use our earthly money to make friends (in a spiritual sense), give to the poor, take care of those in need, feed, clothe and care for the widow and the orphan in distress, and help our brothers and sisters who are struggling. These are all the things that God has given us these resources for. In doing these things we are making friends in eternity..

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9 ESV)

I know it’s time for me, and maybe it’s time for you as well, to start seeing the things we own and the money we make in their true light, as the things God owns and the money that belongs to Him. So next time we look at God’s bank-statement and see how much God has in his account that we manage let’s think, “What does He want me to do with this money? How does He want me to spend it? and, How will my management of these funds affect my eternity?”

I don’t know about you but I think I’m going to start to view MY, I mean GOD’s, money differently from now on. So to that I say, “God, what do you want me to do with your next paycheck?”

Preparing The Way
Grace & Peace, Shane Martin

What Pleases God? The Bible is very clear about faith being the only thing that pleases God. In fact it states that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Why is that? Faith in what? The answer is that it’s faith in Christ as the “Passover Lamb”.  In the end of time Christ will come in Judgment bringing a swift end to all who trusted in their own good works as a means of salvation and to those who failed to depend on Him for His.

Trusting in Christ as the “Passover Lamb” is to believe that although you have never pleased God, and as a result of your sin deserve His wrath, Jesus’ perfect life and selfless obedience to the cross trumps that; therefore, if you apply His blood to your life through faith in His finished work your sins will be remitted and you will be saved. In our text we will learn what true saving faith is and how we can obtain it. Let’s read…

Luke 17:5-6 ESV .. The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Faith, Where Does It Come From?
The disciples made a request to God that in itself was faith, for they went to Jesus and requested that He increase their faith. How was He to do that if He had not the power to increase a person’s faith on His own accord? Perhaps God has the power to increase faith? Or just maybe faith itself is literally a gift from God. I remember back in the day when my mom would be baking some delicious treats, as she often did, and so it happened on several occasions that she would run out of eggs, or something of that nature, and she would quickly ring up a neighbor to ask if she could borrow a few eggs. It would have been ridiculous for my mother to make a call and ask for eggs if she believed the neighbor had no eggs to lend her. The very act itself was faith that they could bail her out, or at very least she had hope that they could.

This is exactly what we see in the disciples. They are coming to Jesus with a request for increased faith. What they don’t see is that this very request itself shows impeccable faith simply because they truly believed that Jesus had the ability to increase their faith. The disciples did not ask each other for such a favor, and I doubt very much you would ask me to increase your faith, and you better believe that I wouldn’t ask you. You nor I have the ability to grant such a request, faith is a gift that only God can give out and the act of requesting for an increase of it is evidence that it’s already been granted to you.

So then, since the disciples already displayed faith simply by their request does that mean the faith came from their own doing? Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God“. The disciples had been in the presence of the Word of God for a long time, they had been listing to His teachings, asking questions and hearing what he was saying, yet it still did not come from their own abilities. As Jesus told Peter in Mark 16:17 “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven“. Faith is clearly something that is given as a gift from God to those whom He chooses to grant it to, and this He does according to His own wisdom and council.  One of the most important texts in scripture to reveal the origin of faith is Ephesians 2:8-9. Some may interpret this as, “we come to Christ through faith that we obtain in ourselves or that we acquire it on our own”, but that’s not what it says. Let’s read..

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV .. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

You might ask, is grace the gift or is faith the gift? The truth is that they are both the gift. “This is not of your own doing, it is a gift”, directly follows the instruction that faith is the only means by which one can be saved. If faith be the means and and grace be the pass and neither of them are of our own doing but are both granted to us, then we cannot take credit for it, nor can we lose it if we possess it. When people take credit for their faith in God pride sets in, this is the pride that you made the right choice. I’m thankful I was not left up to my own choice, for if I had been I would have rejected and despised God until the day I died. The Bible tells us that no one seeks Him and all who do come to Him are drawn to Christ by the Father. Faith is a gift granted by God and I am reduced to nothing at the thought that He who rules the universe granted it to me.

Size Doesn’t Matter:
When it comes to faith you don’t need very much, size has nothing to do with how much can be accomplished. Have you in your entire life ever witnessed someone telling a mulberry tree to uproot itself and cast itself into the sea, and it obeyed? I haven’t and please leave a comment if you have because I want to hear that story! For real, the size of faith Jesus is talking about here is microscopic, yet with it the impossible can be done. But wait! Was Jesus giving the disciples miracle ideas? Was He actually suggesting they try the bush and sea thing out, you know just to test where their faith level was at? I know some folks nowadays that had Jesus told them this in person they would gather the first crowd they saw, tried the trick out, then after it flopped likely do some leg healing routines then take up a huge offering. Jesus wasn’t suggesting they try that, He was telling them that the impossible can be done with the smallest measure of faith.

Faith in Christ for the salvation of wicked sinners who are in love with their sin, tell me what’s more impossible than that? Remember when the Rich Young Ruler walked away from Jesus and Jesus mentions that it’s harder for a Rich man to get to heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? Well there He goes again, stating the impossible that wasn’t a suggestion either.  He’s driving the point home that the most impossible situation, the salvation of a sinning soul, is possible through Him and it doesn’t take much faith, in fact, all it takes is the very presence of faith however small it may be.

The disciples asked for more and Jesus literally told them they had enough. Why do you want more? All it takes is faith the size of a seed, you don’t need more than that. For guilty sinners Jesus is all we have, He’s our only hope, and faith is all we need to partake of Him. By faith the Israelites applied the blood of the Passover Lamb to their door posts and likewise by faith we apply the blood of Christ to the doorway of our sinful hearts. He is our living hope that on the day when death visits our doorway God’s wrath and punishment will see Christ’s blood instead of our sin and pass by.

Mr. Hugh Kennedy, an eminent Christian from Scotland, when he was dying called for a Bible, but finding his sight gone he said, “Turn me to the eighty of the Romans, and set my finger at these words, I am persuaded that neither death nor life….”. “Now,” said he, “is my finger upon them?” And, when they told him it was, without speaking any more, he said, “Now, God be with you, my children I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ this night ” and so departed.

Grace & Peace, Shane Martin
Preparing The Way

Servant Or Slave? Some would argue that it’s not at all a good nor reasonable thing to refer to a Christian as a slave of Christ. The word slave after all can invoke some rather negative feelings.  What we associate with slavery is harsh masters, cruel conditions, poor treatment and regarding human life as an equivalent to that of an animal or perhaps even lower. Slaves were purchased and ripped away from their homes, carted off to far away lands and abused, they were purchased and used solely for the purpose of their master’s gain.

Christ on the other hand is just the opposite. We were slaves to sin through our own evil and corrupt nature, like Adam and Eve we dove in head first lapping it up by the mouthful unknowingly, being shackled to its demands. Sin commanded us to do and we did. Sin abused us and we would grieve often times over the outcome and the consequences that ensued, yet we enjoyed and cuddled right back up to our nasty master, being swallowed deeper and deeper still into its dark pit. Thankfully we have been ransomed by a great and kind Master, One, who unlike the slave trader that gains a slave for His own profit, gained us for our profit.

He became poor so that we might become rich, and that not of material wealth but of spiritual wealth and prosperity that we would gain godliness, righteousness,  forgiveness, entrance into the heavenly kingdom, and a share in His reign. He suffered to purchase us, He was despised and rejected by men so that we could be adored and accepted by God. His loss was our gain and our gain was His glory. Jesus turns the systems of servants and slaves on its head, a system where the servant knows full well what he deserves but in turn receives what he does not. Every Christian alive should, because of love, be motivated to relentlessly labour for the Lord; not seeking comfort, break or reward, but persevering through thick and thin knowing that we have already obtained our reward through the promise.

The promise of eternal life is far more than we could have ever hoped to deserve, yet so many times we find ourselves drawn to books and authors who tell us that God is our sugar daddy waiting to bless us with all the earthy comforts we could possibly dream of. Your best life now is waiting on a shelf for you to enjoy and all you have to do is reach out and grab it. That sounds a lot like heaven though doesn’t it? Jesus assured us that this life was not going to be like heaven at all “In this world you will have trouble“, not a bit like heaven actually. We have a mandate as Christians and that is to work as hard and as long as we are able for our King who graciously bought us with His blood, raising us from death to life.

Luke 17:7-10 ESV .. ”Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”

Our Place Of Humility: The servant’s place is never sitting around wining and dining with the master. The servant’s place is serving that master. It’s far too easy to lose sight of the fact that we are Christ’s servants and begin believing popular opinions that Christ is ours. Works righteousness people will tell you that if you serve God well He will serve you, bless you, favor you, and hang out with you at His table. Christ’s table, where we will feast with Him, is in the end of this age and until then we are to be His humbled servants who serve Him day and night and from one job to the next.

The Plowman & Shepherd: What do I know of a plowman? Not much I guess other some of the movies I’ve seen set in the pioneer days. These men would work exhausting hours behind beasts of burden in order to get the job complete in time for planting. It’s a job that has no perks, it’s filthy dirty, and the reward of their hands takes many months to produce fruit for their homes. Likewise, shepherds would spend long hours in the pastures tending to the sheep. It was a very tiresome job keeping watch over their sheep by night. The shepherds job was to protect the sheep at all costs, they could not fall asleep or it could mean that night prowlers would start picking their sheep off one at a time.

With these two examples Jesus expresses that there is a large variety of jobs to do in His kingdom. His servants are required to roll up their sleeves and sweat, not being afraid to get dirty. The majority of the jobs we do for the Lord will not come with any fanfare, in fact they will most often go unnoticed. The ones that do come with rock-star status should be wept over daily in order to remain in a humbled state. George Whitefield was a preacher who had a lot to do with the Great Awakening in Great Britain. He preached over sixteen thousand messages (most of them outdoors) and it was noted that his voice could be heard more that a mile away. He preached often to crowds of twenty and thirty thousand people at a time. God used this man mightily for His glory. In other words, the job he was given was not cleaning the toilets in the church. Yet this man knew his weaknesses and stressed daily about them, so much so that he eventually handed his ministry over to his friends, the Wesley brothers. Please read the recorded following prayers that he prayed. Some of these have been taken from his journals.

Shortly after his conversion he prayed this:

O Heavenly Father, for Thy dear Son’s sake, keep me from climbing. Let me hate preferment. For Thine infinite mercies’ sake, let me love a low contemptible life, and never think to compound matters between the happiness of this world and the next.

“God alone knows how deep a concern entering the ministry and preaching was to me. I have prayed a thousand times, till the sweat has dropped from my face like rain, that God… would not let me enter the Church before he calls me and thrust me into his work. I remember once in Gloucester, I know the room, I look up at the window when I am there; I know the window, the bedside and the floor upon which I have lain prostrate. I said, Lord, I cannot go; I shall be puffed up with pride and fall into the snare of the devil”

This he wrote during the height of his popularity:

The tide of popularity began to run very high. In a short time I could no longer walk on foot as usual, but was constrained to go in a coach from place to place, to avoid the hosannas of the multitude. They grew quite extravagant in their applause’s, and had it not been for my compassionate High Priest, popularity would have destroyed me. I used to plead with Him to take me by the hand and lead me unhurt through this fiery furnace. he heard my request and gave me to see the vanity of all commendations but His own.

After being praised in a letter from the people of Bristol, he wrote:

O pray, dear Mr Harris, that God would always keep me humble and fully convinced that I am nothing without Him, and that all the good which is done upon earth, God doeth it Himself…. Sanctify it, Holy Father, to Thine own glory and Thy people’s good.

Here is the final quote:

“Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified” . . . “Let my name die everywhere, let even my friends forget me, if by that means the cause of the blessed Jesus may be promoted” . . . “But what is Calvin, or what is Luther? Let us look above names and parties; let Jesus be our all in all – So that He is preached . . . . I care not who is uppermost. I know my place . . . Even to be the servant of all” . . . “I am content to wait till the judgement day for the clearing up of my reputation; and after I am dead I desire no other epitaph than this, ‘Here lies G.W. What sort of man he was the great day will discover’”

It is safe to say that George Whitfield even through the intense popularity that he received, considered himself an unworthy servant not willing to receive thanks for simply doing the duty he had been given from the Lord. Whatever the Lord calls us to do and however often He requests us to switch jobs, we are called to be thankful, humble, unworthy servants of the most high King.

Our Reward: Jesus emphasizes that after our labouring in the fields we are not called upon to relax at His table but to change our clothes and suit up for our next service to Him. Our rewards are not for the here and now but for the there and after, “afterward you will eat and drink“. Afterward is when we retire from our duties, when we breathe our last breath and enter into our rest. May God grant us the patience, humility, endurance and thankfulness to say ”We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty”.

Grace & Peace
Shane Martin
Preparing The Way.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, “

(1 Peter 1:3-4)

How often do you think about Heaven and what it is like? For me I don’t think about it enough, but when I do, when I really meditate on it as I read through the scriptures that describe its majesty, I am reminded of that old hymn that sings, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” The glory and majesty of heaven IS Jesus’ presence there, and when I settle on that thought for a time the things that seem so important or overwhelming in my day grow strangely dim. Imagining being in heaven for all eternity, without end, with the One I love makes my exhaustion seem more bearable, it diminishes anxiety over finances, it quenches my thirst for material pleasures, and it causes my HUGE problems to become miniscule. It is because these things are temporary. They have an expiry date, they will NOT last.

C.S. Lewis so wisely said, “All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.”

Heirs
What is the inheritance that verse 4 is talking about? If you continue reading vs. 5 reveals it,

“who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
(1 Peter 1:5 ESV)

Our inheritance is our salvation. Jesus saved us for a future hope, one that is being prepared for us in heaven. Yes, there are a multitude of benefits and shadows of the glory to come once we are converted here on earth and for the duration of our time while we wait to go home to be with Him, but the fulfillment of our salvation, our inheritance, awaits us in heaven.

I am reading the Little Pilgrim’s Progress with my 6 year old son right now and we just read the chapter tonight when Little Christian is welcomed into the Celestial City and enters into the presence of the King.  Here is how the chapter ends,

“The little pilgrims had now reached the threshold of the Palace, and as the doors were thrown open they heard a sound of the very sweetest music. The Prince Himself was waiting to receive them, and He smiled upon them and took their hands in His own. Then He led them into the Palace, and the whole City was filled with joy because their pilgrimage was over and they had been brought safely through the Dark River into the presence of the King.”

I love this story and plan on reading it to my kids every year that they live in our home. It is such an amazing description of the journey that unfolds in a Christian’s life. It is so revealing of the nature of a true pilgrim and a false one. It also serves many warnings of the traps the enemy sets to try to ensnare us and the temptations and sinful choices we often make, as well as the consequences that are sure to follow.

The greatest part of the story though, the climax, comes finally after the long and grueling road, in reaching the gates of the Celestial City and knowing that the suffering is over and eternal joy is ahead.

Imperishable, Undefiled, and Unfading…
As I mentioned earlier, I often feel exhausted, overwhelmed by finances, tempted by material possessions, and other issues of life that come up. But this is why being in God’s word daily is so important, because when I open my Bible and read and am reminded that what I am living for is being guarded in heaven where moth and rust cannot reach it and I can take a deep breath and say, “These things will pass away; they are perishable, defiled, and fading, but my hope and my salvation will not perish, be defiled, or fade because God is good and He is guarding me through faith,” as we will see in the next blog post on verse 5.

“The most tragic strain in human existence lies in the fact that the pleasure which we find in the things of this life, however good that pleasure may be in itself, is always taken away from us. The things for which men strive hardly ever turn out to be as satisfying as they expected, and in the rare cases in which they do, sooner or later they are snatched away…. For the Christians, all those partial, broken and fleeting perfections which he glimpses in the world around him, which wither in his grasp and are snatched away from him even while they wither, are found again, perfect, complete and lasting in the absolute beauty of God.” ~Randy Alcorn (Heaven)

Preparing the Way,

Danae Martin

]]> http://preparingtheway.net/heaven-1-peter-14/feed/ 2 http://preparingtheway.net/you-must-forgive/ http://preparingtheway.net/you-must-forgive/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:42:05 +0000 preparin http://preparingtheway.net/?p=2161

Overview: Luke 17:1-4 is the text I will cover in this post and it deals with the following subjects, temptation, sin, offenses, rebuke, forgiveness, judgment and repentance. I will briefly be looking at all of them, however the one I really want to zone in on is repentance and forgiveness.

When someone does us wrong we have a tendency to hang by the neck awaiting for an apology, then when it finally does come along, depending on how close the relationship is, we often want to punish the offender by holding out on the forgiveness side of things. Have you ever stopped for a moment to wonder why that is? Perhaps it’s because we have been hurt so badly that we naturally want to hurt back?

When the one who has wronged comes to their senses and humbly offers an apology it then puts the offended in the power seat, does it not? Is that not an offense in and of itself? Let’s look and see what Jesus has to say about it.

Luke 17:1-4 ESV And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Temptation To Sin: (1. the temptation), Jesus was no stranger to temptation yet He was without sin, but who was it who tempted Him? Satan did of course. You remember, he took Jesus to the top of a mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and then he asked Jesus, who was very hungry at the time, to turn stone into bread and he then whisked Him off to the top of the temple and challenged Him to jump and receive help from the angels. Of course Satan, being the Bible scholar that he is, twisted the scriptures in every way in order that he might cause Jesus to stumble and so enter into sin.

Satan, as we know, is as damned a spirit-being as could possibly be. Why is this important you might ask? The reason it’s important is because Satan is the perfect model of a tempter and Jesus is telling His disciples that whoever tempts others to sin will be as condemned as Satan is. It would be better that they had never been born, is the language He used in reference to Judas Iscariot (Matthew 16:24). Oh yes, Jesus does say that temptation to sin will come (see also James 1:14 “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire“) but we are to be extra careful that we do not cause others weaker than ourselves, or with less liberty than we have, to sin against their conscience. We must remember that what Satan had asked Jesus to do was not sin in and of itself, for all of those things would have been perfectly proper and acceptable for Him to do if they had been within God’s will and plan and not the Devil tempting schemes. If He had gone ahead and performed those tricks for Satan Jesus would have been obeying the devil’s tempting voice to do something that was perfectly fine for Him to do on any other occasion. Sin is not always doing things that are morally wrong, but it’s also yielding to the temptation of the devil when we know that it’s not the will of God for that time or place.

(2. the consequence of the tempter) The picture of someone being hurled into the sea is not one of love and tenderness but rather of aggressive judgement. Yet Jesus adds an additional element to it, a Millstone, hung around the neck before they are cast into the deep blue sea. Seriously? You have to ask yourself, isn’t it enough just to be made to walk the plank? I mean, why such harsh and drastic measures? I think what Jesus is saying is that the millstone, which weighed in the hundreds of pounds, was to make good and sure the offender would never make it back to shore, in fact it would secure their seat at the bottom of the ocean pretty fast. Yet, as horrific as that punishment sounds, this would not even come close to the horrific punishment that awaits all tempters.

(3. really important message), We know this is of utmost importance and that Jesus wants us to ponder long and hard on this weighty subject, for He immediately adds, “Pay attention to yourselves!” He’s warning His disciples of the slippery slope, giving them a clear picture of what is to come for those who engage in tempting others to sin. In light of this, I for one am very thankful for the doctrine of grace and how the God of the universe offers complete forgiveness to all who hide themselves in Christ, for those who do not justify their actions but instead run to him in repentance and trust.

Rebuking Your Brother: This is one of those statements that either make people rub their hands together in delight at the thought of being justified to rebuke another, or on the flip-side of the coin it can cause others to cringe, the ones who will grab at the “judge -not-lest-you-be-judged” card at first sign of any godly rebuke. Yet, both of these positions are unbiblical. There is indeed a right and godly way to rebuke a person who professes to be a brother or sister in Christ, however, it should be done with “fear and trembling” and not with a self-righteous, power trippin’ ego. The reason for rebuke must always fall within the proper guidelines of God’s Word for legitimate use.

Jesus makes it  unquestionably clear in this text, the only situation where rebuke is applicable is if someone sins against another and the offended lovingly rebukes the offender in order to produce repentance and restore the damaged relationship.

Repentance and Forgiveness: If the offender comes to you and repents, Jesus’ command is that we must forgive them. Is there any situation that would justify unforgiveness? If there is, Jesus doesn’t leave room for it. Obviously there are some offenses that are much more difficult and seemingly impossible to forgive at all let alone at the drop of a hat. But still, is it not our duty as believers to forgive those who have sinned against us? Are we not as debtors to Christ obligated to forgive our debtors?

It’s all in the “Lord’s Prayer” when Jesus tells us to pray this, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”. This is literally saying, “Forgive me of my sins in the same way that I forgive others who sin against me”. You see how important it is to forgive? Let’s look at Christ who is ripped to utter shreds, onlookers could not even tell if He was a human being. As He hung on the cross with nails pounded through His hands and feet and thorns as long as your fingers stuck into his head, He was mocked, spit at, punched in the face repeatedly and yet He prayed for His killers, His abusers, His executioners, and the religious zealots who snarled at Him as He wheezed for another breath. This is the God of the universe, Creator of all things that we’re talking about here and He has every right to tell us that we need to forgive.

This is not a suggestion that Jesus is recommending, it’s a command that He is issuing.  For we were those mockers, those haters and abusers before Christ saved us, the Bible says that we were enemies with God in our hearts by our wicked works. Every sin we have ever committed is a blow in the very face of God, and every offense we have ever partaken in has been recorded in His book to be revealed on the day of our judgment. The disobedience we committed when we were young was disobeying God’s command to obey our parents. All the rebellion toward authority. We have worshiped people and things and therefore robbed God of the rightful worship due to Him. The time we’ve stolen from our bosses, the immoral thoughts and fantasies we’ve had, the men and women we’ve had sex with outside of God’s design in marriage, the material things we’ve secretly desired that belonged to someone else, and the lies we’ve told to escape earthly suffering. Yet after being guilty of all these crimes they are permanently washed away, including the record of our guilt (Colossians 2:14), the moment we repent of our sin and place all our hope in Jesus.

1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins that He is both Faithful and Just to forgive us of them and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Isn’t that good news? That He’s faithful, meaning that we can trust this text and be confident that He will do exactly as He says. That He’s also Just in the fact that He will not allow any sin to go unpunished and in order to keep a perfectly “Just System” He punished Christ on our behalf. Seriously, if anyone is qualified to talk about forgiveness, it’s Jesus! If a person claims to be a believer and says, “I cannot forgive because you just don’t understand what they have done to me”, clearly they themselves do not understand the vast number of offenses that they have also committed  toward God. This is why Jesus says in Mark 11:26, that if we do not forgive those who sin against us, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us, it’s that just that serious.

So if the offender comes repenting and seeking forgiveness, in order to bring legitimacy to our claim of being a “follower of Jesus”, we must be obedient to His command and forgive.

Have you ever been punched in the pride? Well we’re all about to, because instead of leaving this with a one time offense idea Jesus takes it to a whole new level and says that if the same person sins against you seven times each day (do the math, it’s thirty-five times in one week) and every single time they come back to you in repentance, you must forgive them. This is getting super tough isn’t it? It might be easy to forgive once, but seven times in the same day for possibly even the same thing? Wow!

In the time of Jesus it was common practice for the Jews to forgive three times and that was considered over and above the code of expectation. So you can see how radical of a command Jesus was issuing here. He was basically knocking it out of the park by more than doubling what they would have considered a lot already.

Restoration: So why does Jesus do that? Why does He tell us to forgive seven times the same person for possibly the same offense? Is it because He wants you to be the “Bigger Christian”?

I remember when I was a kid the general idea on being the first to forgive was that you were the “Bigger Christian”. I even remember parents telling their children “It doesn’t matter that the other kid is in the wrong, you be the bigger Christian and go forgive them first”. For Real!? Can you imagine what Jesus thinks of that logic, this statement is no doubt one of the best breeding grounds for self-righteousness that there ever was. Jesus does not tell us to forgive so that we can be the better Christian. He commands us to forgive because we have been forgiven of much. Additionally, He is also at work in the heart of the offender and when we forgive without any hesitation or conditions we reflect the unrestrained love and forgiveness that Jesus has already poured out on us for our offenses. Furthermore, if forgiveness be withheld we could very well be the cause of a souls utter ruin.

In 2 Corinthians Paul is dealing with an issue of sin and rebellion in the church, one that had taken place directly against him in fact. The offense to him was personal and there was a biblical rebuke that had taken place, followed by what was likely ex-communication of  the leader of the rebellion. He now calls on the body to follow his Christ-like example to forgive the offender. Let’s read what he says:

2 Corinthians 2:5-9 ESV .. Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.

Overwhelmed by Excessive Sorrow: When my wife and I first read this text we humbly wept knowing that we had each been guilty many times of withheld forgiveness, thus causing the other person to be overwhelmed by sorrow. There is a point where someone will simply shut down and take the path of no return, the road of eternal anguish, for they sought repentance and received no forgiveness and were grieved beyond recovery.

This Christ-less conduct has been the death of many marriages, and from what can be gleaned in scripture, the transgression of withheld forgiveness is much greater than all other offenses combined for it is the direct cause of another souls’ permanent ruin.

I don’t know who will be reading this post, nor am I qualified to write it. But I do know that it must be written and if you read with a tender conscience God will bring to mind someone whom you have neglected to forgive. Remember, every person is the worst sinner in the world including you and I. We all deserve God’s relentless wrath, yet we have been given his favorable grace, forgiveness and mercy. Now go and do likewise for He commands it.

Grace & Peace,
Shane Martin

Preparing The Way

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

1 Peter 1:3

I sin every day. That’s my confession and I shouldn’t think it is shocking, especially to anyone who knows me well. I don’t get up in the morning planning on sinning, in fact, I get up early and pray that Iwon’t sin. However, my sin reminds me of my need for my Savior and my deep gratitude for God’s mercy.

Let me just be crystal clear about this though, I don’t practice sin (remember “do not get up in the morning planning to sin”)… I practice righteousness; that is, I rely on the Holy Spirit to teach me how to be holy as God is holy. Kind of like a piano teacher teaches his student how to play Tchaikovsky. There is nothing in me that naturally knows how to be good, so I need a teacher, and God sent His teacher to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. (“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26 ESV)

As Peter begins the body of his letter here in verse 3 it is full to the brim with magnification of the role of GOD’S MERCY in our salvation. Sinners would destroy the world if it weren’t for God’s mercy. In His loving kindness and patient suffering He mercifully brings good to the world. The earth is sustained by his mercy and therefore it is wisdom to surrender to the Lordship of His Son Jesus Christ and foolishness to resist Him.

“All the evil in the world is from man’s sin, but all the good in it is from God’s mercy.” ~Matthew Henry

Salvation comes through God’s Mercy
God’s mercy is a mysterious wonder. We have done EVERYTHING wrong from the beginning. There has NEVER been any good in us. We have ALWAYS rejected him. Even giving your life to Jesus, or accepting him, or surrendering to him, or whatever it shall be called is not of your own doing or it would be to your good credit for making such an excellent and worthy choice. But Titus 3:5 rings the bell of truth.

“he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”
(Titus 3:5 ESV)

It was ACCORDING to His MERCY that we have been saved. In unreasonable mercy he causes some to be saved and be born again. There is nothing we have done or could do to that would ever entitle us to the riches of God’s salvation. So where does that leave us?…….. with a living hope.

It’s Alive!
Any hope outside of Jesus is a perishing one. It will fade and die with the one who trusts in it. But hope in Jesus will sustain us for eternity.

Whatever we go through in life a Christian’s hope in their resurrected Savior will bring strength, perseverance, energy, and vigor. And that is because it is a living hope, it is a hope that brings life. It is not a hope that depends on my feelings or emotions, or that wavers on my capability or determination. It hinges entirely on the death and defeat of death that Christ secured on the cross and in rising from the tomb three days later.

As the old hymn goes,

                                             “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
                                               Because He lives, all fear is gone;
                                               Because I know He holds the future,
                                              And life is worth the living,
                                              Just because He lives!“

Tomorrow
We have no promise of tomorrow. People of all ages die of all different causes, some expected, some not. Don’t wait until tomorrow to call out to God. There is hope in nothing else but God’s great mercy, as Peter describes it in this verse. Your hope will not fail you. If you belong to Jesus then don’t despair, he’s got you. If you don’t know if you belong to Jesus then don’t wait, the Bible says that TODAY is the day of salvation. He will apply His great mercy to you if you cry out to Him.

    “I waited patiently for the LORD;
        he inclined to me and heard my cry.
    He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
        out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
        making my steps secure.
    He put a new song in my mouth,
        a song of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
        and put their trust in the LORD.
    Blessed is the man who makes
        the LORD his trust,
    who does not turn to the proud,
        to those who go astray after a lie!
    You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
        your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
        none can compare with you!
    I will proclaim and tell of them,
        yet they are more than can be told.”
(Psalm 40:1-5 ESV)

Preparing the Way,

Danae Martin

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

1 Peter 1:1-2

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound….” Everyone knows this song, most of us can sing it by heart. Can we sing it from the heart?

Why did John Newton write that the sound of grace was sweet? Answer: Because it saved a wretch like me! It is the grace of God that takes a person who is living life according to their own desires, blind to the consequences of their sin, and gives them the ability to see the truth of the gospel and to repent. In order to sing Amazing Grace from my heart I need to believe that His grace is amazing because it saved a wretch like me.

You may have heard that John Newton was the captain of a slave trading ship in the mid-1700′s when he came to a knowledge of the gospel and was converted. He was in his early 20′s at that time and he lived in the service of the Lord until he died at the age of 82. Pastor John Piper shared this quote from John Newton and said of him: “Even at the end of his life he is still marveling that he was saved and called to preach the gospel of grace.”

“I commit my soul to my gracious God and Savior, who mercifully spared and preserved me, when I was an apostate, a blasphemer, and an infidel, and delivered me from the state of misery on the coast of Africa into which my obstinate wickedness had plunged me; and who has been pleased to admit me (though most unworthy) to preach his glorious gospel.”  ~ John Newton

The apostle Peter closes his greeting in 1 Peter 1:2 with this same message, that grace is our only reason for being present and accounted for in the courts and in the family of God.

Predestined
It can’t be avoided. The word “predestined” is in the Bible and it is used by God when He talks about His people. It means to destine in advance; foreordain; predetermine. There is sometimes fear associated with this word for some people, and I think there are many reasons for that, but if you look at how Paul uses it in Romans 8:29 and how it is used here in 1 Peter 1:2 hopefully the glory of it will overshadow any cause of apprehension you may have had about it.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
(Romans 8:29 ESV)

This verse erases any confusion or argument that God only knows what is going to happen and who will come to Him. It says that if he foreknows you then he also predestined you……. Not scary.. AMAZING!! His affection was set on you from BEFORE he said, “Let there be light.”

It goes hand in hand then with 1 Peter 1:2 (which is modifying the Christian’s title of “elect exile” in vs. 1) when Peter frankly states that those who are “elect exiles” are so according to, or because of, the foreknowledge of God the Father. This understanding strips us of any claim we might try to hold on to of making the right choice. And it’s good to be stripped of our pride so that we can hold on to God’s GRACE instead.

Celebrate God’s grace in that you belong to Him because He foreknew and predestined you!

Growing in Holiness
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers is to make us holy, and often it is a painful process. In the sanctification of the Spirit we are faced with our sins like a muddy child is faced with a bath and a scrub brush.

Upon conversion the Holy Spirit sets us apart from darkness to light, from the realm of unrighteousness to righteousness, and we are made “clean” as far as our record of sin being wiped out by the blood of Jesus. However, there is also a growing in holiness that takes place as we grow in God.

We were once guilty criminals awaiting our death sentence and being watched over by the warden of the Law. The Father stepped in and elected us for freedom, based on no good deed or act of our own doing. We were set free in a moment! A clean slate. Then the Holy Spirit was handed a scrub brush named sanctify and He began His work.

Our sanctification will last our whole lifetime. J.C. Ryle said this, “In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe — only believe; in sanctification the word must be ‘watch, pray, and fight.’” We can praise God that He does not leave us how He found us, but that He puts His Spirit inside of us to cleanse and sanctify us.

Obey the Savior
Peter is writing a careful and well thought out greeting to the recipients of his letter. After giving them the title of elect exiles (which I blogged on in my previous post) he explains how they came to be called such a name, and the credit is given entirely to the work of the Trinity.

Elect exiles…  by the will and plan of the Father.

Elect exiles… being cleaned and purified by the Holy Spirit.

Elect exiles… for the purpose of obedience to Jesus and by his blood.

We have been chosen by the Father, transformed by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the Son, all for the great design of obedience unto him which glorifies God. To obey Jesus is to die to yourself.

The cross is laid on every Christian. It begins with the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death… we give over our lives to death. Since this happens at the beginning of the Christian life, the cross can never be merely a tragic ending to an otherwise happy religious life. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time… death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call. That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Celebrate God’s grace in shedding His own blood so that yours would not have to be!

Preparing the Way,

Danae Martin

Backwards in Eternity: The poor become rich and the rich become poor, the beggar becomes prosperous and the prosperous a beggar. Such is the case with the “Rich man and Lazarus”.  Because our world is so busted up with sin, much of what we see and even come accustom to is completely backwards to how God’s kingdom operates.  God’s kingdom is free from sin and is no respecter of persons. I’m going to be really candid, I struggle with being a respecter of persons, it’s my weakness. I don’t think that it’s because I love others more but rather that I have a sinful tendency to flock towards people that I think can improve my situation. I would likely have passed the guy sitting at the gate with dogs licking his wounds just to catch up and talk to the super rich guy. Why? Because he can likely do something for me and my selfishness. Pride and greed are ugly sins that put on pretty masks many times.

I battle this daily, and when I say “I battle this” that’s exactly what I mean. Every Christian should be in a war against their flesh, if they are not then their flesh has already won, be sure of that. You might even say, “I can’t believe you would walk by that guy at the gate”! Think about how many times you have walked by a homeless person on the street without even looking simply so you wouldn’t have to lie when they asked you if you had any money. To our shame most of us are the rich guy in this story. Let’s repent of our indifference and change.

Does Hell Exist? There are many people that will try and refute the existence of a place called hell. You know how you can gauge the condition of the church on issues like hell? Look up the stats for books like “Love Wins”, a popular book explicitly casting off the idea that Hell is a legit place and eventually everyone will respond to Christ and be saved. Let’s just say there are a lot of churches that bought glass display cases for that book and benched all their other books on the realness of Hell.

So let’s forget what anyone says for or against hell, what does the Bible say? What’s more, what does Jesus say? Does He even speak about it? The answer as you well know is a resounding YES! The truth is that the words we are about to read should sober any person who dares gaze upon the text. If we commit this topic to heart it will revolutionize our churches. If any of us had to spend even 30 seconds in Hell we would be the most unstoppable witnesses for the Gospel there ever was.

Luke 16:19-30 ESV 
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

Have Mercy on Me: The rich man, who was a proud man on earth, no doubt wined and dined with the elite of the day. He wore the finest clothes that money could buy (purple was extremely costly to purchase in that time).  The man feasted like a king every day and lived in a gated courtyard. You think he was rich though; he didn’t have running water, a refrigerator, a stove, 42 inch TV and Blu Ray or  2 cars. He would walk into most of our homes today and say, “You guys are doing pretty well for yourselves”. This passage wasn’t written so that we could look down our noses at some rich guy that lived 2,000 years ago, it was written for us that we might examine ourselves and see if we are not repeating the same thing that he did.

“Have Mercy On Me” is a cry of anguish coming from someone who’s looking for immediate undeserved deliverance. Deliverance that was once within reach but now billions of light years beyond reach. What was his request? Was it to be let out? No! Was it to come over and join Lazarus and father Abraham? No! He was requesting that Lazarus dip the END of his finger into some water and then touch it to his scorching tongue. I seriously can’t imagine what type of anguish it would take to make such a request. He didn’t even ask for the entire finger to be wet, he’s simply requesting a drop.

There are a few things to take note of here and one is that the Rich man could see everything that was going on in “heaven”, (no. 1). People in hell somehow have an ability to see what they rejected; what they traded in for their pride and rebellion, (no. 2). There must have been visible water where Lazarus was since that was the request. The torture of being in a fiery furnace and being able to look out at a fresh water fountain is beyond what words can express. There is a reason it’s called HELL, because it’s not only what you are going through but also what you can clearly see you passed up.

As we continue reading in this text we see that Abraham rejects his request for the simple fact that eternity is final, fixed, in concrete, forever. There is no changing ways, changing minds, saying sorry, repenting; for the soul that sins will die. Abraham reminds the man of his life on earth, how he received all the good things that the world had to offer, (no. 3). In Hell there is memory of the past, what you did on earth, how you lived, and why you were wrong.

I Beg You: The once prosperous man who walked by the beggar at his gate every day is now the begging. Have you heard that phrase “Misery Likes Company”? This is not the case here. In Fact, Hell is filled with Billions of people who are all alone begging and pleading for someone to go and talk to their families. It’s so horrific that a soul’s mind, second only to self relief , is turned toward the protection of their families. No one in Hell wants their family there for company. I have heard people say, “I’ll party in Hell with my friends“. To that I say, “There is no party in Hell. You’re all alone and you’ll wish your friends weren’t there“, then direct them to read Luke 16.

The rich man pleaded that Lazarus be sent back to his family and warn them of the dreadful place. The thought of anyone he loves joining him there made him shudder.

I think now would be a good time to remind us all that this was two thousand years ago and he is STILL in Hell doing this, and will be doing it in two thousand years to come, and one hundred thousand years after that, and a billion trillion years after that. Hell is permanent, and considering Abraham’s response it’s likely that all of the rich man’s brothers and father are there as well. Every one begs, they pray and plead but “There’s not a Hope in Hell” that any one will ever answer their prayers.

Law and the Prophets: Abraham reminds the rich man that the law and prophets were given to his household through Moses and all the prophets of the Old Testament, yet they neglected to do anything with them. The Bible says that the LAW brings knowledge of sin, and the prophets did almost nothing but call people to repentance. Although his family rejected it there is hope for yours, mine and anyone else who would faithfully use the scriptures to reveal sin and help a condemned soul see the beauty in the gospel.

God is the one who opens the eyes of the blind, but we are called to share the Gospel to a lost and dying world. The Bible says that “without the Law there is no knowledge of sin”, I wonder if that statement is true? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s in the Bible, so it must be. So if there is no knowledge of sin, by that it means how exceedingly sinful sin really is, then there can be no need for the Savior. Drowning people are the ones who scramble for a life jacket. When you are comfy in your boat there is no need for one. When we share the Gospel with people we need to rock the boat so that people may see their need for their life-saver.

If we are faithful to show someone their need for the Savior they will be much more inclined to turn their heart towards your words. Law brings knowledge of sin, sin brings death, and death is delivered into hell. There is only one way of escape, one way in which men may be saved. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. Who do you know that is headed for Hell? Read through Luke 16 every day this week before you go to work, play, music practice, grocery store, family gatherings, look those strangers and lost loved ones in the face and imagine what they will be doing in 100 years. Let’s share the Gospel while we still can.

Grace & Peace,
Shane Martin

Preparing The Way