Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Quick Update

Just want to say quickly that I know that I'm due for a new post. It is coming soon. I will try to post a few times next week to continue my study of what Jesus calls us to.

But to update you and give you an excuse for my delay, I've had an amazing week. Francis Chan spoke at church on Sunday. His message was, I'm pretty sure, a "Dear Tony" message from the Holy Spirit. Between that, my time with him the next couple days and a few other things... this week has been monumental. I have never felt more confident in ministry.

Why? My confidence has so often been in myself. But "myself" keeps letting me down. My confidence is no longer in me. It is in the power within me... the same power that raised Christ from the dead. My confidence is great because it is in the one who called me to this ministry. It is in our only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality... Jesus Christ.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

#3 - Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

I must say before posting anything about what this passage means, that my concerns about this passage are as much for me as for others. I do not ever want to stand as one looking out as judge deciding who this will be and who it won't. I have feared at times in my life that it is me.

With that said, this has to stand as one of the scariest verses in the Bible. We get a picture of the horrible side of eternity. Imagine this scene. People coming before the Lord Jesus Christ with great anticipation of what is ahead and then hearing that earth shaking voice declare the verdict none should long for, "I never knew you; depart from me."

Lest we casually dismiss this passage as simply those who are unsaved, let's look at who Jesus is talking about. I mean, He does give us some details about these people, so it would be wise for us to examine them and ourselves to be sure there are no parallels.

First, these are people who say, "Lord". Now we know from further description that the operative word here is "say". They may call him Lord, but they have not made him the Lord of their lives. That word, Lord, means master. When Jesus is truly Lord of our life, then we, like any other good slave, will do whatever the master says to do. That's why Jesus says that the ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven will be the ones who don't just call Jesus Lord but treat him as Lord... they do the will of God.

I used to think that these were people of other faiths: Mormons, Buddhists, etc. But notice, these are people that call Jesus Lord. Who does that? Christians. He's talking about people who call themselves Christians.

Friends, head these words of Jesus. Do as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." And also, 2 Peter 1:10, "be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure." Don't just sit around hoping that something you said or did in the past is enough to get you to heaven. Follow Jesus. That is salvation. When we believe (not just say) that Jesus is Lord, we will follow him, not just pay lip service to him.

How frightening and hopeless for those people on that day. People who went through this life just thinking everything was fine with them and Jesus because of what they call him. And then they are separated from Him in utter anguish forever.

Sobering. Let it not be us. Live for the King of kings. He is worthy. His grace is sufficient to supply all our needs. He is so much more satisfying than those things that keeps us from following him.

How much better (and how worth it) to hear the words spoken to those who persevere: "Well done, good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

#2 - Matthew 4:10

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."

This response, by Jesus, is in the same context as the first post. He's being tempted by Satan. In this case, he's specifically being tempted to worship Satan. Jesus' response is pretty straightforward.

To remind us of post #1, notice that Jesus uses God's word to respond to all three of the temptations in the passage. We must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Anyway, look at Jesus' response here:
You shall
- worship the Lord your God
- him only shall you serve

Oh, that we would obey this command! How often we give ourselves to idols. In John 4, Jesus tells us the kind of worshippers that God is seeking... "those who worship in spirit and in truth." So our worship of only God must be in spirit (from our hearts... in other words sincerely, not just participating in a church service) and in truth. Not to keep harping on #1, but what does that mean? Jesus prays in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth." So our worship must be sincere and consistent with God's word.

A quick comment about the importance of doctrine and worship. One of Jesus' indictments of the Pharisees was Matthew 15:8-9, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Correct doctrine in incredibly important. The Pharisees worship was in vain. Imagine coming before the Lord, which Matthew 7 says many will do, and finding out that your worship was meaningless. Why was theirs meaningless? Doctrine. They didn't believe and obey the truth. Church, study. Don't just assume that doctrine is something that is just for pastors to know. It is crucial for our worship.

Another comment on worship: Romans 12:1 gives us a picture of our spiritual act of worship. Paul says, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Now this could be a long post, but to comment quickly... a sacrifice is something that is surrendered at a cost (often life); holy means to be set apart; and we're called to be acceptable to God. This verse screams holiness. If we're going to worship God in a way that pleases him, we must resist sin and live for him (him only shall you serve).

Isn't that what Jesus is doing in Matthew 4? I love this because in this passage he's not preaching to others, he's preaching to himself. Yes, the kingdoms of this world are tempting. Power and influence are tempting. Food is tempting. But "you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." When tempted Jesus reminded himself (and Satan) of this command. We as the church should do the same.