What's Your Foundation?
Psalm 11:1 – 7
Introduction:
In 1968, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Casiguran, Quezon (now a part of Aurora province). This earthquake was so strong that around 268 people in Manila perished, 260 of them killed due to the collapse of the six-story apartment building called the Ruby Tower. Many structures were severely damaged during the earthquake, especially those that were located near the Pasig River. Now, the cause for the collapse of the Ruby Tower can be attributed to the use of substandard materials; however, the severe damage done to buildings located near the Pasig River can be attributed to poor foundation. Volcanologists call it alluvial deposits. Alluvial deposits are loose soil and sediments. They may look sturdy on the surface, but deep within, they are so loose, they will move at the slightest earthquake or flood. These deposits also come loose when there is rapid movement of water that causes the soil to loosen. In August 9, 2009, a six-story hotel building located beside a river in Taitung County, in eastern Taiwan, started leaning towards the river during a heavy typhoon and eventually fell down. When I looked at a video footage of the collapse, I noticed that the foundation on which the hotel was built upon was just soil. No wonder, when typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan with such intensity, the soil eroded and the hotel building just leaned over and fell.
Civil engineers, architects and building contractors all know that the foundation on which you build your house or your building needs to be sturdy, such that it can take any earthquake and flood without collapsing or falling. In fact, I think many would even recommend that you build on top of bedrock because bedrock will not erode like soil. Bedrock is a good foundation on which to build your house or building.
In this morning's Psalm, King David utters words not really intended as a prayer to God, but rather, as a declaration of confidence in God addressed to everyone who will listen. Although it is unclear as to what was the specific occasion for the writing of this Psalm, what is good about this Psalm is that it applies to all occasions when evil powers threaten the security and well-being of God's people. The Psalm begins with an affirmation of faith - “In the Lord I take refuge.” David makes clear that God is his shelter, his hiding place. However, there were people who gave counsel to David that ran contrary to his affirmation of faith. In verses 1b to 3, these so-called friends were advising David to flee like a bird to the mountains, for his enemies have surrounded him and they were ready to shoot arrows on him. In effect, they were telling him that it isn't practical to keep one's faith in God when you are surrounded by your enemies. There is no point in taking a stand for God or to believe that God will deliver you.
An interesting thought brought out by these so-called friends can be found in verse 3. Here we read, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What is this statement all about? According to scholars, the idea behind the statement is that everything nations and typical people put their hopes on have failed. During David's time, kings and rulers put their hopes in their military might like the number of horses and chariots one has in his arsenal. In today's era, nations put their hopes in their stockpile of what are known as weapons of mass destruction. That is why people acknowledge nations like America and China as being powerful nations because of the size of their army as well as the number of planes, ships and nuclear weapons they have. Others trust in their wealth and economic strength. In David's time, wealth was measured in the amount of land, slaves and money that you possessed or in the amount of gold you have in the national treasury. Today, it is no different. We measure wealth by the number of people that are employed by us, by the number of businesses we own, by the amount that we have stored in banks and investment companies. Nations measure wealth by how much they have in their reserves and how much surplus they have. There are also people who trust in their positions. Back then, people aspire to be the leaders of their community or the leaders of the religious establishment. Powerful empires want to be known as the conqueror of other nations. David was in a position of power in King Saul's cabinet. In fact, we could say that he held a very high position, for he was a military commander as well as a court musician to the king. Today, we aspire to be the leaders of our industry or to be the head of our department. Some seek for public office not only because of public service but also for the ulterior motive of making a name for one's self. Nations want to be in the forefront of leadership in this world. Other foundations we build upon include our human relationships – our spouses, our children, our friends, our parents, our siblings. David was related to King Saul by virtue of his marriage to Michal, the daughter of Saul. In the eyes of some people, this would have seem like a marriage motivated by politics and, it may have bestowed a certain degree of respect for David. We also build our foundation on our careers and we pour all our effort, our time and energy into it. These are the things that lots of people build the foundation of their lives upon. Unfortunately, these things can be destroyed by others.
Although a nation may possess military might, it does not ensure victory. Germany and Japan were military superpowers during World War 2, and yet they were defeated in the end. Although a nation may be rich back then, but now it is bankrupt. Consider what is happening in the United States and in Europe. These nations used to be wealthy, but now they are heavily in debt. There are people who build their lives on the foundation of their financial wealth, but they will find that money does not really bring contentment and that it can easily be lost overnight. Those who build their foundation on their positions will find that one's reputation can easily be tarnished by one's indiscretion. There are those who build their foundation on their human relationships, thinking that it will be stable, but they soon find that spouses are not faithful to each other, children do not live up to your expectations, friends are not always loyal to you. Then there are those who build their lives on the foundation of their careers will find that job security can be threatened because the company goes bankrupt or you become redundant and not needed anymore in the company.
The so-called friends of David were calling on him to flee or to hide because the foundations around him were failing. The things that the nation depended upon for her security were being assaulted and destroyed. There was nothing that he could lean and depend upon. From the perspective of these bad advisers, they thought that one's life is built on the things that we've just mentioned – career, finance, relationships, position and might. Now that these things have failed David, it meant that he was easy target for his enemies.
David however affirmed his opening statement – in the Lord I take refuge. From verses 4 to 7, he spells out the reasons why his confidence, his foundation is in the Lord and not on the things of this world.
I. The Lord is still God and King (v. 4a)
The first reason why he is confident in God is found in verse 4. The Lord is still God and King. In other words, God is still sovereign. God is still in control of the situation. David states very clearly that God is still in his Holy temple, He is still seated on His heavenly throne. There is no one who can unseat Him from the throne. There is no one who can remove Him from His temple. David was telling his enemies and these bad counselors - “You know, the last time I checked, God is still seated on the throne and is still God.” The implication of the Lord still being God and King is that He is not a helpless being who watches the events of this world unfold but cannot do anything to correct the wrong; instead He is all powerful and He has everything under control. In fact, everything that happens here on earth is either the direct working of His hand or something that He allows to happen. What happens to us, the trials and testings we go through in life, the troubles that bug us, the losses that we go through, these are all under God's control. Even the attacks our enemy hurl our way are all allowed by God.
Isn't it good to know that the God we trust is sovereign? Aren't you glad that he has everything under his control? Even when the human foundations are shaken and they lose their ground, God is still in control. When you lose money or your relationships are shaky, when your career is not blossoming as you want it or your position in life doesn't really give you an advantage, remember that God has everything in the palm of his hands. He is still God and King.
II. The Lord's Eyes Are Always Upon Us (vv. 4b - 5)
The second reason for David's confidence in God is found in the second half of verse 4 and also in verse 5. Here, we find that God's eyes are upon all people and he examines everyone.
Now, I want us to take note that the idea of God looking upon us is not just to “look at us” but it means much more. When God looks at us, it means that he looks upon us with close scrutiny. He is assessing all people, taking note of their character and of their conduct before others.
From the passage, we can also surmise that when God looks at the righteous in particular, he looks upon them with favor. It is because the righteous are those who trust in God and who fears God such that they will not go around doing evil deeds but will do those deeds that pleases God. God looks at the situation the righteous are going through and He intends to help them according to his might and will. God also sees the wicked, but his treatment of the wicked is different. In verse 5, God sees the wicked but he hates them. The wicked are those who refuse to trust God and turn away from their evil deeds. They have set their hearts and minds on opposing God. Their deeds are totally disagreeable to Him. What the wicked are doing against the righteous gets God very angry and very displeased. Thus, punishment awaits the wicked if they continue on the road of destruction.
Isn't it great comfort to know that the Lord is looking at all peoples, paying attention to what they're doing? It means nothing escapes his sight. Both the righteous and the wicked are closely observed by God. He looks at us with his favor and grace. He looks at us with the aim of helping us. But for the wicked, he looks at their deeds with the intent of judgment against them. So, even if we are going through moments of great trial and testing, when the wicked laugh and ridicule us, take heart, because God sees his people, loves them and cares for them.
III. The Lord is A Just God
Finally, the passage tells us another thing we need to know about God, and this is found in verse 7. In verse 7, we find that God is a righteous God, that He is a God who loves justice. Righteousness and justice are two words that we could say are virtually synonyms. When we say that God is just, we are saying that He always does what is the right thing consistently and without partiality. Since righteousness is a key attribute of God, He will act or treat people with righteousness or justice. His action will always be consistent with His character. He is the one who sets the standard of righteousness.
Because God is a God of righteousness and justice, He will not let evildoers get away with their sins. Remember what the enemies of David were plotting to do? They were planning to kill him. They wanted to kill God's anointed king. They wanted to go against God's plan for the nation of Israel by plotting to kill the man whom God has made king. This is nothing less than rebellion against God. Thus, God intends and will surely bring punishment upon the evildoers. The punishment is mentioned in verse 6 where David wrote, “On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.” Those who plot evil against God and against His righteous people will not escape the fury of God. If they refuse to turn from their wicked ways and seek God, they will not escape God's wrath.
Blessing however belongs to the righteous. In the second half of verse 7, David wrote that upright men will see God's face. This means that those who have turned away from their sins and have trusted God will one day see God face to face in heaven. For the present, it means that the upright will be able to approach God, through prayer, with confidence and will be able to experience God's presence in their lives, almost like being with and seeing God in person. A second blessing, one that is implied by the text, is that God will vindicate the righteous from their enemies. He will be the one to correct all the injustices suffered by the righteous at the hands of the wicked. Now, this may or may not happen in our lifetime, but this is God's promise to us - The wicked will surely be punished for their ill treatment of the righteous.
What's Your Foundation?
This morning's message is entitled, “What's Your Foundation?” The enemies as well as the bad counselors of David thought that the foundations of his life were things like political and military power, financial and material wealth, positions and key relationships. Now that these things were crumbling before him, they advised him to flee. David however reminded them that his foundation wasn't built on these things. He did not build his life on shifting sand. Instead, he has built his life on the solid bedrock that is God. The reason why is because the Lord is and will always be God and King who reigns sovereignly. Second, it is because God's eyes are fixed upon his people, looking upon us with his favor and love and with the intention of helping us in our time of need. Finally, it is because the Lord is a just and righteous God who will act consistently with His character. He will punish the wicked and vindicate the righteous.
I want for us to now briefly look at the New Testament as we continue to answer the question, “What's Your Foundation?” In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul clearly tells us that no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune God, is the foundation on which Paul had built his life on. It is the foundation on which every true believer builds his life on. Aside from the person of Jesus Christ, we must also consider that the teaching of Jesus Christ is the solid bedrock on which we must build our life on. In Matthew 7:24 – 27, Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount by telling the people who have heard his teaching to put them into practice. Jesus knew and obeyed God's Word. We can do no less. When we choose to trust only in Jesus Christ for our salvation and strength, and when we put into practice the pure teaching of the Bible, we will be building our lives on a foundation that can never be shaken by the storms and the floods of life.
I would like to close this morning's message by singing a hymn that I think many are familiar with. It is the hymn, “The Solid Rock”, words written by Edward Mote and set to music by William Bradbury. Before we sing this song, let me just point to the refrain of this song – On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Is your life planted on the Solid foundation that is our Lord Jesus? As we sing this beautiful hymn, I pray that you will commit your life to being firmly built on the person of Jesus Christ, on what he has done for us, and on what he has taught us.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Truly Blessed - Preached on January 1, 2012
The Truly Blessed
Psalm 1
Introduction:
I would like to first greet everyone a very Happy New Year. God has indeed been good to each of us here as well as to the church throughout 2011 and we look forward to what God will be doing in 2012.
I would also like to welcome you all to our series of studies on the Book of Psalms for the months of January and February and the Book of Proverbs during the month of March. Starting today and for 8 subsequent weeks, we will look into the Book of Psalms which has often been described as the hymnbook or songbook of the Bible. The Hebrew name is Tehillim, which means “praise”, while the Greek name is psalmoi which means “music of the lyre” or “songs sung to a harp.” The Book of Psalms has the most chapters among the books of the Bible with 150. Around 73 of the Psalms were written by King David. The other authors include musicians in the temple courts like Asaph and the sons of Korah. The longest Psalm is Psalm 119 which is devoted to describing the beauty of God's Law or God's Word. The most popular Psalm, in my opinion, is Psalm 23, which is a Psalm of great comfort to those who are going through hard times and through the valley of the shadow of death.
To start our series on the Psalms, we begin with the very first Psalm. We could say that the first Psalm is like the introduction to the whole book, and it is a Psalm that many people are familiar with. According to a commentator, the reason why this Psalm is placed first in the book was because, in its six verses it tells us briefly what many of the Psalms and many parts of the Bible tell us – that there are two different ways in which people can live their lives. They can choose to follow the way of the wicked or the way of the godly, and we will need to give an account for the choice we make. Let us explore this beautiful psalm and learn some important lessons that we can take home and apply.
First, I would like to ask you, what does a blessed man look like? Since we're starting the New Year and the Chinese wish to someone during the New Year is a wish for blessing and prosperity, I like for us to think about the question – what constitutes blessing for you? For the world, the picture of a blessed person is that he is financially rich, physically healthy, powerful or influential, well-educated, and has children. What I have just said is a true assessment. Consider the Chinese tradition where three statues are placed in one's home in order to bring threefold blessing to the household. The three statues represent longevity, prosperity and posterity. The Chinese believe that when you have all three, you are truly blessed. Other cultures most likely hold on to the same beliefs. However, there is something faulty or flawed about this idea. If our idea of a person being blessed is someone who has everything that life has to offer, then are we saying that the poor, the powerless, the uneducated, the sickly, and those who cannot have children are cursed? Are we saying that people who go through hardships in life are not blessed by God? If that is our line of thinking, then Jesus himself was not a blessed person because he was born to a poor family and he never received higher education. Jesus would not be a blessed person because he never got married and had children. Such wrong belief about true blessing is not only found in other cultures and religions. Sadly, it is also found in certain sectors of Christianity, through the preachers of the health and wealth gospel who lead people astray by saying that when you believe in Jesus, you will be blessed with material possessions and good health. If that is the case, how do we account for the faithful followers of Jesus Christ in Muslim and Hindu cultures who suffer loss of material possessions and even their lives, all because of their faith in Christ? Let me say it to you straight – you can't equate material prosperity with God's blessing.
So, what is true blessing? In Psalm 1, we can clearly see the people who are truly blessed by God. The passage says nothing about being financially rich as a result of God's blessing. It never says that we will be free from all illnesses. Instead, true blessing has everything to do in relation to our walk with God. Let's spend the rest of our time looking into the passage and understand the principles set forth by the passage. As I mentioned a moment ago, this Psalm tells us that there are two different ways of life that people live. The first way is the way of wickedness, while the second way is the way of the righteous.
The Way of Wickedness
In verse 1, the Psalmist declared that people are blessed if they do not follow the way of wickedness. Now, the way of wickedness is vividly described in verse 1 where a person sinks from one state to the next. The way of wickedness is where a person disregards having a relationship with God and the Word of God and chooses to follow the way of the world. A person is wicked because, first, he chose to walk in the counsel of the wicked, meaning, he chose to heed the advice of wicked people and do what they tell him to do. The second stage of wickedness is when a person stands in the way of sinners, meaning he longs to do what the wicked are doing. He even longs to be with them. The last stage of wickedness is when the person sits in the seat of mockers; he himself is now associated with wicked people and he is influencing others to sin with him. He is a mocker because he laughs and scorns at those who do not follow them. Their particular target for mockery will be the righteous.
The way of wickedness may seem attractive and even pleasing to the senses, but there are consequences for going down this path. The passage gives us three results of following the path of wickedness:
(a) An empty life
In verse 4, the wicked are described as being like chaff which the wind blows away. Now, what is chaff? Chaff is the dry, protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain. It is inedible and is usually thrown away or burned. Once the seeds are milled or pounded, the chaff is then separated by means of tossing everything into the wind. The seeds, being heavier, will fall to the ground, while the empty casing, which is lighter, will be blown aside. The ungodly, though they may enjoy the pleasures of this world, will soon realize that the life they're living is so meaningless and empty. They may look happy on the outside and even like they have achieved much in life, yet they generally have lingering feelings of loneliness and emptiness.
(b) No place among the righteous
In verse 5, we read that the wicked will not be in the assembly of the righteous when Judgment Day comes. The wicked may enrich themselves now and they may enjoy the pleasures of this world now while disregarding the condition of their souls, but one's life doesn't end with the grave. Instead, there is the afterlife where the souls of the dead will be consigned to its proper place. For the righteous, they will be enjoying a place which Jesus calls as Paradise. But for the wicked, they will not be found in that place, but they will be consigned instead to a place of hardship, often called hell, awaiting final judgment. The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 illustrates very well this second result.
(c) They will perish
Finally, the wicked will have to stand before the Lord on the Judgment Day. On that day, they will have to give an account of what they've done and they will be judged for their deeds as well as for what they did with their knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In verse 5, it says that the wicked will not stand. This means the wicked will not be able to bear God's wrath. Then in verse 6, the wicked will perish. It means there will be an eternal punishment awaiting the wicked. When one reads Revelation 20, he will find that a terrible fate indeed awaits the wicked. They will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is known as the second death. The torment from the lake of fire will last for all eternity (Revelation 20:10).
The Way of the Righteous
We've talked about the way of the wicked and the result of such a life. Now, let's talk about the way of the righteous. Let me just briefly define what we mean when we say someone is righteous. A righteous person is someone who trusts only in God for his salvation. He is someone whose sins have been forgiven by God, through God's grace alone. He is someone who has a healthy fear and reverence for God such that he will obey God. When we turn away from our sins and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are made right by God. Our sins are wiped away and we are made clean. Then, God helps us to be righteous by providing us with His Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us. The righteous will also give of his best to avoid associating and doing what the wicked are doing.
It is not easy living the righteous life. In fact, if we want to live righteously, we will be ridiculed and laughed at. But if we choose the way of the righteous, the blessings are tremendous. Consider what the passage mentions as our blessings.
(a) He will have a fruitful life (v. 3)
The righteous is compared to a tree that is planted beside the streams of water. Because it is near the water source, the tree is properly hydrated and nourished. This leads to fruitfulness. The Word of God is the stream of water. The righteous person is one who takes the time each day to delight in God's Word and to meditate on it. He thinks about how he can apply the Word of God into his life and he obeys the Word without hesitation. The result is that he will be fruitful. This fruitfulness will be seen in his character. In the New Testament, this fruitfulness of character is called the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. This fruitfulness is also seen in his good works and in his service to others. When we are taking time to be nourished by God's Word, we will not live a fruitless life.
(b) There is no withering of life (v. 3)
When the leaves of a tree starts to wither, it can mean a couple of things. One, the season is changing. The other is that the tree is drying up because of a lack of water and nutrition. I believe the author of the Psalm has the second idea in mind since the weather is Israel does not go into extreme freezing temperatures for long periods of time. During a season of drought, the trees that are farthest from a water source will soon have her leaves start withering and dropping off. However, a tree that is closest to the stream will remain green in color as the tree is hydrated. The person who takes the time to draw close to God and to meditate on His Word everyday will find that his life is renewed everyday. The person who chooses to obey God everyday will find that God will sustain him and give him strength. Now, this does not mean that we are free from the problems of life and from disappointments; what is does mean is that our relationship with God will remain fresh, and that we will become closer to Him each day.
(c) He will experience true prosperity (v. 3)
Third, the righteous person who maintains his close relationship with God, and who meditates on God's Word and obeys it, will find real prosperity in this life. Now, the prosperity that I am talking about is not about material wealth or even physical health. Instead, the prosperity comes about in that the righteous person finds life and work worthwhile and deeply satisfying. A life where God is in the center is a life worth living. Our outlook in life changes for the better. Sometimes God may add the bonus of material prosperity and physical well-being to the godly but this is an exception rather than an absolute rule. Nevertheless, the godly will feel contented because of his relationship with God. The righteous also knows that the wealth that truly matters is not material things but the treasures in heaven that Jesus talked of. The righteous knows that the health that truly matters in the end is one's spiritual health and not our physical health. The more he aspires for godliness, the more he profits from it (1 Timothy 4:8).
(d) He is under God's care (v. 6)
Fourth, the righteous is blessed with the promise of God's care and love. In verse 6, we read that the Lord knows the way of the righteous. The idea of “know” here is not just intellectual knowledge, but it is knowledge that connotes approval on the part of God, it is knowledge in the sense of a deep, personal relationship. The righteous is God's beloved, and he will do everything to attend to their needs and provide for them. God loves those who belong to Him and will never abandon them. God will help keep us on the right path when we strive to draw closer to Him each day.
(e) He will be among those who will be safe in God's presence (v. 5)
Finally, the righteous will stand in God's presence, free from condemnation. We find this idea in verse 5. While the wicked will surely be condemned, the righteous will receive their reward from God – spending eternity with God in heaven. They need not fear about their future or what will happen after they die. They will be with the Lord forever. Whatever hardships, trials and persecutions the righteous go through in this life is nothing compared to spending eternity with God. Furthermore, this reward can never be taken away from God's people. It will always be theirs because they trusted in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
This morning, we have learned that there are two paths or roads in life. One is called the path of the wicked while the other is the path of the righteous. The Lord Jesus would later on talk about these two paths in the Sermon on the Mount where he talked about the narrow gate and the wide gate. The wide gate leads to destruction while the narrow gate leads to life everlasting. Jesus counseled his listeners to take the narrow gate, even if it is difficult and almost everyone else prefer to easy way. The path of the righteous is not an easy path to travel along, but it is the right way.
We are all left with a choice that we have to make – will it be the path of the wicked or the path of the righteous? We all know the results of following these two different paths. So, which will you choose? I hope and pray that everyone here will choose to walk in the path of the righteous. Real, lasting blessings are found along this path. To begin along this path, you need to start by getting right with God. If you don't have a relationship with God by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, asking him to forgive your sins and give you new life, you can't be righteous at all. Start by inviting Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. For those who already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, I invite you all to take the time to read, meditate and apply God's Word into your life. The Bible is God's instruction manual for us to follow. When we carefully follow what's written in it, we will truly be blessed by God.
As we start 2012, my prayer for all of us is that we will travel along the path of blessing that God has set for us.
Psalm 1
Introduction:
I would like to first greet everyone a very Happy New Year. God has indeed been good to each of us here as well as to the church throughout 2011 and we look forward to what God will be doing in 2012.
I would also like to welcome you all to our series of studies on the Book of Psalms for the months of January and February and the Book of Proverbs during the month of March. Starting today and for 8 subsequent weeks, we will look into the Book of Psalms which has often been described as the hymnbook or songbook of the Bible. The Hebrew name is Tehillim, which means “praise”, while the Greek name is psalmoi which means “music of the lyre” or “songs sung to a harp.” The Book of Psalms has the most chapters among the books of the Bible with 150. Around 73 of the Psalms were written by King David. The other authors include musicians in the temple courts like Asaph and the sons of Korah. The longest Psalm is Psalm 119 which is devoted to describing the beauty of God's Law or God's Word. The most popular Psalm, in my opinion, is Psalm 23, which is a Psalm of great comfort to those who are going through hard times and through the valley of the shadow of death.
To start our series on the Psalms, we begin with the very first Psalm. We could say that the first Psalm is like the introduction to the whole book, and it is a Psalm that many people are familiar with. According to a commentator, the reason why this Psalm is placed first in the book was because, in its six verses it tells us briefly what many of the Psalms and many parts of the Bible tell us – that there are two different ways in which people can live their lives. They can choose to follow the way of the wicked or the way of the godly, and we will need to give an account for the choice we make. Let us explore this beautiful psalm and learn some important lessons that we can take home and apply.
First, I would like to ask you, what does a blessed man look like? Since we're starting the New Year and the Chinese wish to someone during the New Year is a wish for blessing and prosperity, I like for us to think about the question – what constitutes blessing for you? For the world, the picture of a blessed person is that he is financially rich, physically healthy, powerful or influential, well-educated, and has children. What I have just said is a true assessment. Consider the Chinese tradition where three statues are placed in one's home in order to bring threefold blessing to the household. The three statues represent longevity, prosperity and posterity. The Chinese believe that when you have all three, you are truly blessed. Other cultures most likely hold on to the same beliefs. However, there is something faulty or flawed about this idea. If our idea of a person being blessed is someone who has everything that life has to offer, then are we saying that the poor, the powerless, the uneducated, the sickly, and those who cannot have children are cursed? Are we saying that people who go through hardships in life are not blessed by God? If that is our line of thinking, then Jesus himself was not a blessed person because he was born to a poor family and he never received higher education. Jesus would not be a blessed person because he never got married and had children. Such wrong belief about true blessing is not only found in other cultures and religions. Sadly, it is also found in certain sectors of Christianity, through the preachers of the health and wealth gospel who lead people astray by saying that when you believe in Jesus, you will be blessed with material possessions and good health. If that is the case, how do we account for the faithful followers of Jesus Christ in Muslim and Hindu cultures who suffer loss of material possessions and even their lives, all because of their faith in Christ? Let me say it to you straight – you can't equate material prosperity with God's blessing.
So, what is true blessing? In Psalm 1, we can clearly see the people who are truly blessed by God. The passage says nothing about being financially rich as a result of God's blessing. It never says that we will be free from all illnesses. Instead, true blessing has everything to do in relation to our walk with God. Let's spend the rest of our time looking into the passage and understand the principles set forth by the passage. As I mentioned a moment ago, this Psalm tells us that there are two different ways of life that people live. The first way is the way of wickedness, while the second way is the way of the righteous.
The Way of Wickedness
In verse 1, the Psalmist declared that people are blessed if they do not follow the way of wickedness. Now, the way of wickedness is vividly described in verse 1 where a person sinks from one state to the next. The way of wickedness is where a person disregards having a relationship with God and the Word of God and chooses to follow the way of the world. A person is wicked because, first, he chose to walk in the counsel of the wicked, meaning, he chose to heed the advice of wicked people and do what they tell him to do. The second stage of wickedness is when a person stands in the way of sinners, meaning he longs to do what the wicked are doing. He even longs to be with them. The last stage of wickedness is when the person sits in the seat of mockers; he himself is now associated with wicked people and he is influencing others to sin with him. He is a mocker because he laughs and scorns at those who do not follow them. Their particular target for mockery will be the righteous.
The way of wickedness may seem attractive and even pleasing to the senses, but there are consequences for going down this path. The passage gives us three results of following the path of wickedness:
(a) An empty life
In verse 4, the wicked are described as being like chaff which the wind blows away. Now, what is chaff? Chaff is the dry, protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain. It is inedible and is usually thrown away or burned. Once the seeds are milled or pounded, the chaff is then separated by means of tossing everything into the wind. The seeds, being heavier, will fall to the ground, while the empty casing, which is lighter, will be blown aside. The ungodly, though they may enjoy the pleasures of this world, will soon realize that the life they're living is so meaningless and empty. They may look happy on the outside and even like they have achieved much in life, yet they generally have lingering feelings of loneliness and emptiness.
(b) No place among the righteous
In verse 5, we read that the wicked will not be in the assembly of the righteous when Judgment Day comes. The wicked may enrich themselves now and they may enjoy the pleasures of this world now while disregarding the condition of their souls, but one's life doesn't end with the grave. Instead, there is the afterlife where the souls of the dead will be consigned to its proper place. For the righteous, they will be enjoying a place which Jesus calls as Paradise. But for the wicked, they will not be found in that place, but they will be consigned instead to a place of hardship, often called hell, awaiting final judgment. The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 illustrates very well this second result.
(c) They will perish
Finally, the wicked will have to stand before the Lord on the Judgment Day. On that day, they will have to give an account of what they've done and they will be judged for their deeds as well as for what they did with their knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In verse 5, it says that the wicked will not stand. This means the wicked will not be able to bear God's wrath. Then in verse 6, the wicked will perish. It means there will be an eternal punishment awaiting the wicked. When one reads Revelation 20, he will find that a terrible fate indeed awaits the wicked. They will be thrown into the lake of fire, which is known as the second death. The torment from the lake of fire will last for all eternity (Revelation 20:10).
The Way of the Righteous
We've talked about the way of the wicked and the result of such a life. Now, let's talk about the way of the righteous. Let me just briefly define what we mean when we say someone is righteous. A righteous person is someone who trusts only in God for his salvation. He is someone whose sins have been forgiven by God, through God's grace alone. He is someone who has a healthy fear and reverence for God such that he will obey God. When we turn away from our sins and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are made right by God. Our sins are wiped away and we are made clean. Then, God helps us to be righteous by providing us with His Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us. The righteous will also give of his best to avoid associating and doing what the wicked are doing.
It is not easy living the righteous life. In fact, if we want to live righteously, we will be ridiculed and laughed at. But if we choose the way of the righteous, the blessings are tremendous. Consider what the passage mentions as our blessings.
(a) He will have a fruitful life (v. 3)
The righteous is compared to a tree that is planted beside the streams of water. Because it is near the water source, the tree is properly hydrated and nourished. This leads to fruitfulness. The Word of God is the stream of water. The righteous person is one who takes the time each day to delight in God's Word and to meditate on it. He thinks about how he can apply the Word of God into his life and he obeys the Word without hesitation. The result is that he will be fruitful. This fruitfulness will be seen in his character. In the New Testament, this fruitfulness of character is called the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. This fruitfulness is also seen in his good works and in his service to others. When we are taking time to be nourished by God's Word, we will not live a fruitless life.
(b) There is no withering of life (v. 3)
When the leaves of a tree starts to wither, it can mean a couple of things. One, the season is changing. The other is that the tree is drying up because of a lack of water and nutrition. I believe the author of the Psalm has the second idea in mind since the weather is Israel does not go into extreme freezing temperatures for long periods of time. During a season of drought, the trees that are farthest from a water source will soon have her leaves start withering and dropping off. However, a tree that is closest to the stream will remain green in color as the tree is hydrated. The person who takes the time to draw close to God and to meditate on His Word everyday will find that his life is renewed everyday. The person who chooses to obey God everyday will find that God will sustain him and give him strength. Now, this does not mean that we are free from the problems of life and from disappointments; what is does mean is that our relationship with God will remain fresh, and that we will become closer to Him each day.
(c) He will experience true prosperity (v. 3)
Third, the righteous person who maintains his close relationship with God, and who meditates on God's Word and obeys it, will find real prosperity in this life. Now, the prosperity that I am talking about is not about material wealth or even physical health. Instead, the prosperity comes about in that the righteous person finds life and work worthwhile and deeply satisfying. A life where God is in the center is a life worth living. Our outlook in life changes for the better. Sometimes God may add the bonus of material prosperity and physical well-being to the godly but this is an exception rather than an absolute rule. Nevertheless, the godly will feel contented because of his relationship with God. The righteous also knows that the wealth that truly matters is not material things but the treasures in heaven that Jesus talked of. The righteous knows that the health that truly matters in the end is one's spiritual health and not our physical health. The more he aspires for godliness, the more he profits from it (1 Timothy 4:8).
(d) He is under God's care (v. 6)
Fourth, the righteous is blessed with the promise of God's care and love. In verse 6, we read that the Lord knows the way of the righteous. The idea of “know” here is not just intellectual knowledge, but it is knowledge that connotes approval on the part of God, it is knowledge in the sense of a deep, personal relationship. The righteous is God's beloved, and he will do everything to attend to their needs and provide for them. God loves those who belong to Him and will never abandon them. God will help keep us on the right path when we strive to draw closer to Him each day.
(e) He will be among those who will be safe in God's presence (v. 5)
Finally, the righteous will stand in God's presence, free from condemnation. We find this idea in verse 5. While the wicked will surely be condemned, the righteous will receive their reward from God – spending eternity with God in heaven. They need not fear about their future or what will happen after they die. They will be with the Lord forever. Whatever hardships, trials and persecutions the righteous go through in this life is nothing compared to spending eternity with God. Furthermore, this reward can never be taken away from God's people. It will always be theirs because they trusted in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
This morning, we have learned that there are two paths or roads in life. One is called the path of the wicked while the other is the path of the righteous. The Lord Jesus would later on talk about these two paths in the Sermon on the Mount where he talked about the narrow gate and the wide gate. The wide gate leads to destruction while the narrow gate leads to life everlasting. Jesus counseled his listeners to take the narrow gate, even if it is difficult and almost everyone else prefer to easy way. The path of the righteous is not an easy path to travel along, but it is the right way.
We are all left with a choice that we have to make – will it be the path of the wicked or the path of the righteous? We all know the results of following these two different paths. So, which will you choose? I hope and pray that everyone here will choose to walk in the path of the righteous. Real, lasting blessings are found along this path. To begin along this path, you need to start by getting right with God. If you don't have a relationship with God by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, asking him to forgive your sins and give you new life, you can't be righteous at all. Start by inviting Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. For those who already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, I invite you all to take the time to read, meditate and apply God's Word into your life. The Bible is God's instruction manual for us to follow. When we carefully follow what's written in it, we will truly be blessed by God.
As we start 2012, my prayer for all of us is that we will travel along the path of blessing that God has set for us.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Keep Your Guard Up - Preached at GGC, 12/04/2011
KEEP YOUR GUARD UP
Ephesians 6:10 – 20
Introduction:
In a few more days it will be December 7. You might be wondering, what is the significance of that date? What happened on December 7? To be more precise, something happened on December 7, 1941. It was the day Japan declared war on the United States when it bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Although tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting already for some time, the United States and her allies did not expect that Japan would conduct a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. At least 10 American warships were destroyed, and thousands of lives were lost. A few hours later, the Philippines was then attacked (December 8 Philippine time). What was ironic about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that the Japanese airplanes were detected by radar but was ignored by the officer manning the radar post as nothing more than their own planes coming in low for a landing. The Americans had the technology to detect enemy planes approaching but they simply ignored the warning signs. They had allowed their guards down and the consequences were fatal as thousands of lives were lost.
Letting our guards down is dangerous. In everyday life, letting our guards down may cost us the loss of property and even the loss of lives. Thus it is important that we keep our guards up, that we be alert to the possibilities of attacks and robberies by doing precautionary measures such as locking your doors before leaving the house or before going to bed, by keeping the car door shut when you're inside the vehicle or when you park your vehicle, and by staying away from places that are dimly lit or dark. There are many more tips that I'm sure you are familiar with and are regularly practicing, so I don't need to bring them all about this morning.
The sad thing, however, is that while we keep our guards up when it comes to protecting our physical property and our physical lives, we tend to neglect that which is important, namely our spiritual health and well being. This morning's passage is a timely reminder for all believers to always keep their guards up in anticipation of the assault Satan and his minions throw our way. There are a couple of important lessons we must remember if we want to keep our guard up against our enemies. Let's look into our passage in depth to learn how we can stand up to the enemy of our souls.
LESSON # 1: FIND YOUR STRENGTH IN GOD
The very first thing every believer should remember is that, if we want to be able to stand up to the attacks of the enemy, we must always get our strength not from ourselves but from God himself. Verse 10 makes clear to us that we must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. What it means is that we must never rely on our own wisdom or cunning or even physical resolve to stand up to Satan's attacks. This first point is very important because, let's face it, we have this tendency to rely on ourselves. We think too highly about our capabilities to say “no” to temptation as well as our own resolve to stand up for God. Remember Simon Peter? On the night when Jesus was betrayed, Simon Peter said beforehand that he would never deny the Lord and, in fact, he was willing to die for Him. Yet, later that night, he would deny the Lord three times. Peter was relying on himself rather than relying on God to enable him to stand firm. So often, we are like Peter when it comes to fighting the spiritual battles of life. We rely on our own strength, our own thinking and way of doing things. We rely on our talents and skills, on our willpower in order to do great things for God. Sadly, these things will never be enough to win the spiritual battles. We must learn the important lesson of finding our strength in God.
When you and I are tempted to sin, we probably don't always call on God for help. Instead, we keep saying to ourselves, “I won't give in.” But as we continue to rely on our own strength, we find ourselves caving in to the temptation. Before long, we've already sinned against God, all because we did not learn to rely on God's strength from the very start and throughout the process.
But how exactly do we find our strength in God? Proverbs 3:5,6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and to never lean on our own understanding. Instead, we must acknowledge him in everything, meaning we rely on Him, and God will make our paths straight. Victory in the Christian life begins and is sustained by constantly finding our strength in God and not in ourselves. Effectiveness in God's service is not about how good I am or how skillful I am, but it is all about how strong God is, and that I am related to that strong God. When we refuse to rely on God, we are setting ourselves up to failure. We will never be victorious over sin. We will never be truly effective as God's witnesses. We will never be able to serve God in the manner that pleases Him. The apostle Paul got it right when he wrote, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Victory in the Christian life, effectiveness in witness and service all comes from God's empowerment.
LESSON #2: KNOW YOUR ENEMY AND HIS SCHEMES
The second lesson we need to learn is to know who your enemy really is. The enemy of our souls is Satan. Satan doesn't work alone but he has other demons working for him. It is not the person who persecutes you or ridicules you because of your faith. It is not the person who stands in your way and makes life hard for you. So often, we blame people for causing us to stumble in our walk with God. The truth is, people are actually the instruments that Satan uses to attack us and make us fall. I am not absolving people for the sins they may commit against others, but we must realize that the real enemy, the one who is behind all the activities meant to destroy our souls or to make us self-reliant rather than reliant on God is Satan himself. In verse 12, it makes clear to us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, namely people. Our struggle is against Satan himself and his minions.
Let's look carefully at how Paul described the enemy and his henchmen. In verse 11, he is called the devil. The Greek word which we translate as “devil” is the word diabolos which means “accuser” or “slanderer”. He makes false accusations against us in order to discourage us and to force us to quit following the Lord. I don't know about you, but when I was still a young Christian, whenever I sinned against the Lord, I would feel as if God doesn't love me because of what I've done. In fact, I would feel as if I was not really saved. But we all know this isn't true. When we come to Christ, we are saved once and for all. When we sin against God, God may be grieved but he never fails to love us still and longs for us to repent. This is what our enemy is doing – he is making charges against us that seem true, but these would not hold water when compared to God's promises in the Bible.
Satan and his minions are also known as the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, according to verse 12. Satan has this world under his control. This explains why people commit crime against others. This explains why there is so much immorality and indecency in our world today. It is because Satan and his minions are spreading the darkness of sin over the world. He is also waging war against God by attacking the people who belong to Him, namely us. He uses various means to cause us to fall – from temptation to persecution. If he can't make us fall by sinning then he will use whatever means to make us reject God and walk away from Him. He is also in the heavenly realms, making accusations against us before God, like in the case of Job.
Knowing who our enemy is and what his schemes are, we must equip ourselves properly for the warfare that is being waged against us.
LESSON #3: PUT ON YOUR ARMOR AT ALL TIMES
The third and final lesson we need to remember is this: Put on your armor at all times. We're going to dwell a bit longer on this third lesson because we're going to examine all the pieces of armor as well as the weapons mentioned in the passage. But before we look into each piece of the armor, I want us to take note of verses 11 and 13. Both verses say that we must put on the full armor of God. This should mean that every piece of the armor must be worn by us. Soldiers have to keep every piece of their uniform on when they're in the battlefield. It provides protection for them. They also carry around their weapons with them to the battlefield. They do not go to the battlefield dressed in their pajamas. They are suited up for battle against the enemy. During the time of Paul, Roman soldiers who were in battle were dressed in such a way as to provide good protection from every conceivable handheld weapons that enemy soldiers may possess. They do not go out to battle without their full armor. To go to battle without your complete battle gear is suicidal.
Another thing I want us to take note of is that the command to put on the full armor of God is in the present tense. While a command given in the present tense may be to do a particular action once, What it can mean is that once we have put on the full armor of God, we must keep it on at all times. Our enemy is a ruthless one. He will keep on assaulting us with temptations and persecution and ridicule without end. Thus, we have to keep ourselves totally protected at all times.
Finally, I want you to take note that the armor is called the armor of God. What this means is that the armor is something that God has given us for our protection. Spiritual warfare requires spiritual armor, and we cannot generate such an armor from our own efforts and strength. It has to come from God.
Now, let's look at each piece of the armor. Because of time constraints, we cannot study each piece of the armor in-depth, but I will try my best to explain what piece means. First, there is the belt of truth. The Roman soldier's belt kept all the parts of the armor in their proper place and firmly fastened. Weapons were usually tucked into the belt. The truth that comes from God and His Word is the belt that keeps the whole armor firmly in place. Truth alerts us as to how our enemy attacks us. Truth warns us against false doctrines, false religions as well as all kinds of deception the enemy may throw on us. The truth of the Gospel assures us that we who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are saved and that the enemy cannot separate us from God. Truth sets us free from lies. Brothers and sisters, have you girded yourself with the belt of truth?
The next piece is the breastplate of righteousness. The Roman soldier's breastplate covered both front and back of the chest and stomach area. We know that these areas are where our vital organs are. A single stab of a sword into these area would mean certain death. The breastplate, which is made of iron, can prevent penetration of any sharp weaponry. Righteousness is like a breastplate when we consider what righteousness is all about. Righteousness is all about our being justified or being proclaimed righteous and holy by God through the finished work of Christ. It is also about living a holy and just life through the power of Christ. As much as Satan accuses us before God of being sinners, we can boldly denounce him and declare that because we have been justified by God through Christ, his accusation cannot hold any ground against us. By living a righteous and holy life after conversion, we do not give the enemy any reason to accuse us of sinning. The righteous life protects our “hearts” from anything that would stain our memories and leave us living a life of regret and defeat.
We then have the shoes, signifying the readiness that is given by the Gospel of peace. We all know that shoes are intended to protect the feet from harsh, uneven grounds as well as to give traction and to enable the soldier to stand his ground as the Roman soldier's shoes were fitted with nails or spikes. Some people have interpreted this verse to mean that we must be ready to share the Gospel. However, I believe primarily that it is about recognizing the state of our relationship with God as well as the kind of attitude we should have as Christians. Prior to becoming followers of Christ, we were all enemies of God. After becoming followers of Christ, we enter into a state of being at peace with God. Satan often wants us to think that we are still God's enemies. But when we remember that we are already at peace with God through Christ, we will not fall so easily. The picture of shoes may also be talking about being prepared to walk in the way of the Gospel – to live a life of peace, to never use means that are contrary to the Gospel of Christ. If Jesus walked a life of peace, in the sense that he never resorted to violence against others nor did he force people to believe the Gospel, likewise, we are to live a peaceable life in order to win a hearing for the Gospel.
The next piece of armor is the shield of faith. The Greek word for shield here is the word θυρεος which is a large shield made of wood and covered with hide or with metal. The word θυρεος is derived from the Greek word θυρα which means “door”. This shield was at least around 4 feet in length and the sides were curved so as to provide better protection for the front of the body. The animal hide that covers the shield were sometimes dipped in water so as to prevent fiery arrows from destroying the shield. The metal plate served the same function of quenching the enemy's fiery arrows. Faith is our shield from the fiery attacks of Satan. Satan will use any means possible to tempt us and to make us fall. However, when we have faith in God and in His Word, and we live according to that faith, then we will not yield so easily to the attacks of Satan. For example, when you and I believe that God will supply all of our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus, then we will not go around scheming of ways to have our needs met. We will not be covetous of what others have nor will we yield in to the temptation to steal in order to have our needs met. That is how strong a shield faith can be when we use it appropriately and to the fullest.
The next piece is the helmet of salvation. The helmet was a cap made of thick leather or brass. The helmet was used to guard the head from a blow by a sword or a club. For Paul, the helmet was called the helmet of salvation because it symbolizes the hope of our salvation. Salvation is a certainty for all who have faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is something that we cannot lose. Satan loves to attack us when it comes to the certainty of salvation. He wants to plant doubts in our minds as to whether or not we are truly saved. Thus it is important to continue putting our hope in the certainty of God's promise of salvation. Remember that, if you have truly confessed your sins and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are saved. Jesus has promised that those who believe in Him shall have eternal life and not perish. Cling on tightly to the hope of your salvation – the Lord Jesus.
There is only one weapon mentioned here, and that is the sword of the Spirit. It is none other than the very Word of God. God's Word is very powerful as a weapon. The fact that Jesus Christ used it in rebuking and winning over Satan in the wilderness is proof of its power. When we study it, meditate on it, and apply it in our lives, we are actually going on the offensive and the enemy will not be able to stop us. When we use it to rebuke the enemy just as the Lord Jesus did, then it becomes a defensive weapon that the enemy cannot overcome. Be sure that when you're in the battle against Satan, you have your sword, the Word of God, equipped. Study it. Memorize it. Put it to practice everyday.
Finally, Paul instructs us all to pray at all times in the Spirit. Paul does not use any of the armor of the Roman soldier to compare prayer to because, to tell you frankly, there is none. Nevertheless, prayer is a powerful weapon because we are calling on God himself to protect us, to enable us to do his work, to help us stand our ground against the enemy. Prayer is so powerful such that we can use it in aide of others (v. 18). Even if we are thousands of miles away from someone who needs help, we can pray and God hears our prayers and he answers our prayers.
Conclusion:
Keep your guard up. Be prepared to live the Christian life each day. Be prepared to stand up for the Lord through your testimony. Be prepared to face the assault of the enemy. Remember the three lessons – find your strength in God every moment, know who your enemy is and what his schemes are, and always put on the armor that God has given you. Many believers live defeated lives because they don't take these lessons to heart. I hope you and I will not be found wounded and defeated in the battlefield.
Ephesians 6:10 – 20
Introduction:
In a few more days it will be December 7. You might be wondering, what is the significance of that date? What happened on December 7? To be more precise, something happened on December 7, 1941. It was the day Japan declared war on the United States when it bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Although tensions between Japan and the United States had been mounting already for some time, the United States and her allies did not expect that Japan would conduct a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. At least 10 American warships were destroyed, and thousands of lives were lost. A few hours later, the Philippines was then attacked (December 8 Philippine time). What was ironic about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that the Japanese airplanes were detected by radar but was ignored by the officer manning the radar post as nothing more than their own planes coming in low for a landing. The Americans had the technology to detect enemy planes approaching but they simply ignored the warning signs. They had allowed their guards down and the consequences were fatal as thousands of lives were lost.
Letting our guards down is dangerous. In everyday life, letting our guards down may cost us the loss of property and even the loss of lives. Thus it is important that we keep our guards up, that we be alert to the possibilities of attacks and robberies by doing precautionary measures such as locking your doors before leaving the house or before going to bed, by keeping the car door shut when you're inside the vehicle or when you park your vehicle, and by staying away from places that are dimly lit or dark. There are many more tips that I'm sure you are familiar with and are regularly practicing, so I don't need to bring them all about this morning.
The sad thing, however, is that while we keep our guards up when it comes to protecting our physical property and our physical lives, we tend to neglect that which is important, namely our spiritual health and well being. This morning's passage is a timely reminder for all believers to always keep their guards up in anticipation of the assault Satan and his minions throw our way. There are a couple of important lessons we must remember if we want to keep our guard up against our enemies. Let's look into our passage in depth to learn how we can stand up to the enemy of our souls.
LESSON # 1: FIND YOUR STRENGTH IN GOD
The very first thing every believer should remember is that, if we want to be able to stand up to the attacks of the enemy, we must always get our strength not from ourselves but from God himself. Verse 10 makes clear to us that we must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. What it means is that we must never rely on our own wisdom or cunning or even physical resolve to stand up to Satan's attacks. This first point is very important because, let's face it, we have this tendency to rely on ourselves. We think too highly about our capabilities to say “no” to temptation as well as our own resolve to stand up for God. Remember Simon Peter? On the night when Jesus was betrayed, Simon Peter said beforehand that he would never deny the Lord and, in fact, he was willing to die for Him. Yet, later that night, he would deny the Lord three times. Peter was relying on himself rather than relying on God to enable him to stand firm. So often, we are like Peter when it comes to fighting the spiritual battles of life. We rely on our own strength, our own thinking and way of doing things. We rely on our talents and skills, on our willpower in order to do great things for God. Sadly, these things will never be enough to win the spiritual battles. We must learn the important lesson of finding our strength in God.
When you and I are tempted to sin, we probably don't always call on God for help. Instead, we keep saying to ourselves, “I won't give in.” But as we continue to rely on our own strength, we find ourselves caving in to the temptation. Before long, we've already sinned against God, all because we did not learn to rely on God's strength from the very start and throughout the process.
But how exactly do we find our strength in God? Proverbs 3:5,6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and to never lean on our own understanding. Instead, we must acknowledge him in everything, meaning we rely on Him, and God will make our paths straight. Victory in the Christian life begins and is sustained by constantly finding our strength in God and not in ourselves. Effectiveness in God's service is not about how good I am or how skillful I am, but it is all about how strong God is, and that I am related to that strong God. When we refuse to rely on God, we are setting ourselves up to failure. We will never be victorious over sin. We will never be truly effective as God's witnesses. We will never be able to serve God in the manner that pleases Him. The apostle Paul got it right when he wrote, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Victory in the Christian life, effectiveness in witness and service all comes from God's empowerment.
LESSON #2: KNOW YOUR ENEMY AND HIS SCHEMES
The second lesson we need to learn is to know who your enemy really is. The enemy of our souls is Satan. Satan doesn't work alone but he has other demons working for him. It is not the person who persecutes you or ridicules you because of your faith. It is not the person who stands in your way and makes life hard for you. So often, we blame people for causing us to stumble in our walk with God. The truth is, people are actually the instruments that Satan uses to attack us and make us fall. I am not absolving people for the sins they may commit against others, but we must realize that the real enemy, the one who is behind all the activities meant to destroy our souls or to make us self-reliant rather than reliant on God is Satan himself. In verse 12, it makes clear to us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, namely people. Our struggle is against Satan himself and his minions.
Let's look carefully at how Paul described the enemy and his henchmen. In verse 11, he is called the devil. The Greek word which we translate as “devil” is the word diabolos which means “accuser” or “slanderer”. He makes false accusations against us in order to discourage us and to force us to quit following the Lord. I don't know about you, but when I was still a young Christian, whenever I sinned against the Lord, I would feel as if God doesn't love me because of what I've done. In fact, I would feel as if I was not really saved. But we all know this isn't true. When we come to Christ, we are saved once and for all. When we sin against God, God may be grieved but he never fails to love us still and longs for us to repent. This is what our enemy is doing – he is making charges against us that seem true, but these would not hold water when compared to God's promises in the Bible.
Satan and his minions are also known as the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, according to verse 12. Satan has this world under his control. This explains why people commit crime against others. This explains why there is so much immorality and indecency in our world today. It is because Satan and his minions are spreading the darkness of sin over the world. He is also waging war against God by attacking the people who belong to Him, namely us. He uses various means to cause us to fall – from temptation to persecution. If he can't make us fall by sinning then he will use whatever means to make us reject God and walk away from Him. He is also in the heavenly realms, making accusations against us before God, like in the case of Job.
Knowing who our enemy is and what his schemes are, we must equip ourselves properly for the warfare that is being waged against us.
LESSON #3: PUT ON YOUR ARMOR AT ALL TIMES
The third and final lesson we need to remember is this: Put on your armor at all times. We're going to dwell a bit longer on this third lesson because we're going to examine all the pieces of armor as well as the weapons mentioned in the passage. But before we look into each piece of the armor, I want us to take note of verses 11 and 13. Both verses say that we must put on the full armor of God. This should mean that every piece of the armor must be worn by us. Soldiers have to keep every piece of their uniform on when they're in the battlefield. It provides protection for them. They also carry around their weapons with them to the battlefield. They do not go to the battlefield dressed in their pajamas. They are suited up for battle against the enemy. During the time of Paul, Roman soldiers who were in battle were dressed in such a way as to provide good protection from every conceivable handheld weapons that enemy soldiers may possess. They do not go out to battle without their full armor. To go to battle without your complete battle gear is suicidal.
Another thing I want us to take note of is that the command to put on the full armor of God is in the present tense. While a command given in the present tense may be to do a particular action once, What it can mean is that once we have put on the full armor of God, we must keep it on at all times. Our enemy is a ruthless one. He will keep on assaulting us with temptations and persecution and ridicule without end. Thus, we have to keep ourselves totally protected at all times.
Finally, I want you to take note that the armor is called the armor of God. What this means is that the armor is something that God has given us for our protection. Spiritual warfare requires spiritual armor, and we cannot generate such an armor from our own efforts and strength. It has to come from God.
Now, let's look at each piece of the armor. Because of time constraints, we cannot study each piece of the armor in-depth, but I will try my best to explain what piece means. First, there is the belt of truth. The Roman soldier's belt kept all the parts of the armor in their proper place and firmly fastened. Weapons were usually tucked into the belt. The truth that comes from God and His Word is the belt that keeps the whole armor firmly in place. Truth alerts us as to how our enemy attacks us. Truth warns us against false doctrines, false religions as well as all kinds of deception the enemy may throw on us. The truth of the Gospel assures us that we who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are saved and that the enemy cannot separate us from God. Truth sets us free from lies. Brothers and sisters, have you girded yourself with the belt of truth?
The next piece is the breastplate of righteousness. The Roman soldier's breastplate covered both front and back of the chest and stomach area. We know that these areas are where our vital organs are. A single stab of a sword into these area would mean certain death. The breastplate, which is made of iron, can prevent penetration of any sharp weaponry. Righteousness is like a breastplate when we consider what righteousness is all about. Righteousness is all about our being justified or being proclaimed righteous and holy by God through the finished work of Christ. It is also about living a holy and just life through the power of Christ. As much as Satan accuses us before God of being sinners, we can boldly denounce him and declare that because we have been justified by God through Christ, his accusation cannot hold any ground against us. By living a righteous and holy life after conversion, we do not give the enemy any reason to accuse us of sinning. The righteous life protects our “hearts” from anything that would stain our memories and leave us living a life of regret and defeat.
We then have the shoes, signifying the readiness that is given by the Gospel of peace. We all know that shoes are intended to protect the feet from harsh, uneven grounds as well as to give traction and to enable the soldier to stand his ground as the Roman soldier's shoes were fitted with nails or spikes. Some people have interpreted this verse to mean that we must be ready to share the Gospel. However, I believe primarily that it is about recognizing the state of our relationship with God as well as the kind of attitude we should have as Christians. Prior to becoming followers of Christ, we were all enemies of God. After becoming followers of Christ, we enter into a state of being at peace with God. Satan often wants us to think that we are still God's enemies. But when we remember that we are already at peace with God through Christ, we will not fall so easily. The picture of shoes may also be talking about being prepared to walk in the way of the Gospel – to live a life of peace, to never use means that are contrary to the Gospel of Christ. If Jesus walked a life of peace, in the sense that he never resorted to violence against others nor did he force people to believe the Gospel, likewise, we are to live a peaceable life in order to win a hearing for the Gospel.
The next piece of armor is the shield of faith. The Greek word for shield here is the word θυρεος which is a large shield made of wood and covered with hide or with metal. The word θυρεος is derived from the Greek word θυρα which means “door”. This shield was at least around 4 feet in length and the sides were curved so as to provide better protection for the front of the body. The animal hide that covers the shield were sometimes dipped in water so as to prevent fiery arrows from destroying the shield. The metal plate served the same function of quenching the enemy's fiery arrows. Faith is our shield from the fiery attacks of Satan. Satan will use any means possible to tempt us and to make us fall. However, when we have faith in God and in His Word, and we live according to that faith, then we will not yield so easily to the attacks of Satan. For example, when you and I believe that God will supply all of our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus, then we will not go around scheming of ways to have our needs met. We will not be covetous of what others have nor will we yield in to the temptation to steal in order to have our needs met. That is how strong a shield faith can be when we use it appropriately and to the fullest.
The next piece is the helmet of salvation. The helmet was a cap made of thick leather or brass. The helmet was used to guard the head from a blow by a sword or a club. For Paul, the helmet was called the helmet of salvation because it symbolizes the hope of our salvation. Salvation is a certainty for all who have faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is something that we cannot lose. Satan loves to attack us when it comes to the certainty of salvation. He wants to plant doubts in our minds as to whether or not we are truly saved. Thus it is important to continue putting our hope in the certainty of God's promise of salvation. Remember that, if you have truly confessed your sins and trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are saved. Jesus has promised that those who believe in Him shall have eternal life and not perish. Cling on tightly to the hope of your salvation – the Lord Jesus.
There is only one weapon mentioned here, and that is the sword of the Spirit. It is none other than the very Word of God. God's Word is very powerful as a weapon. The fact that Jesus Christ used it in rebuking and winning over Satan in the wilderness is proof of its power. When we study it, meditate on it, and apply it in our lives, we are actually going on the offensive and the enemy will not be able to stop us. When we use it to rebuke the enemy just as the Lord Jesus did, then it becomes a defensive weapon that the enemy cannot overcome. Be sure that when you're in the battle against Satan, you have your sword, the Word of God, equipped. Study it. Memorize it. Put it to practice everyday.
Finally, Paul instructs us all to pray at all times in the Spirit. Paul does not use any of the armor of the Roman soldier to compare prayer to because, to tell you frankly, there is none. Nevertheless, prayer is a powerful weapon because we are calling on God himself to protect us, to enable us to do his work, to help us stand our ground against the enemy. Prayer is so powerful such that we can use it in aide of others (v. 18). Even if we are thousands of miles away from someone who needs help, we can pray and God hears our prayers and he answers our prayers.
Conclusion:
Keep your guard up. Be prepared to live the Christian life each day. Be prepared to stand up for the Lord through your testimony. Be prepared to face the assault of the enemy. Remember the three lessons – find your strength in God every moment, know who your enemy is and what his schemes are, and always put on the armor that God has given you. Many believers live defeated lives because they don't take these lessons to heart. I hope you and I will not be found wounded and defeated in the battlefield.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
BE LIKE JESUS - Preached at GGC, October 9, 2011
Be Like Jesus
Ephesians 5:1 – 20
Introduction:
A few weeks ago, my wife and I went on an overnight vacation in a secluded resort in Rizal province. As we were checking into the resort, displayed on the shelf at the check-in counter were some handbags that were being sold. A closer look will reveal that the bags displayed either had tags declaring that they're Hermes bags or they're Nine West bags . An even closer examination will reveal that all the bags were selling at a price of PHP 750.00. Naturally, we concluded that all the bags displayed were fakes, cheap imitation of the real thing because a genuine Hermes bag can easily cost around PHP 50,000 to a few hundreds of thousands. A genuine Nine West bag, although cheaper than the Hermes brand, would still cost way much more PHP 750.00. However, what was fascinating was that these bags were well sewn. From afar, you could never tell that they're fakes. It is no wonder the owners of these big, expensive brands are up in arms against these counterfeiters because they are destroying and cheapening their brand name.
What I have just related to you was a wrong kind of imitation. To copy someone's design and pass it off as the real thing when it really isn't is a crime. None of us should ever be doing such a thing. Imitating someone's product and selling it off as the real thing is stealing the intellectual property of the designer and of the rightful manufacturer. It can also be costly to human life, like when someone imitates life-saving medicine and sell it in the market but the medicine are nothing more than placebos that have no healing effect. We shouldn't be imitating what we see on TV. In 2008, a 10-year old boy died buried in a playground sandbox because he was trying to imitate a Japanese anime hero named Naruto who used his superpowers to escape while trapped in sand. We also shouldn't be imitating the bad example of certain people. According to a theory called the social learning theory, people learn to engage in crime , primarily through their association with others. By being associated with criminals, they learn beliefs that are favorable to crime, and they are exposed to criminal models. As a consequence, they come to view the committing of crime as something desirable and even justifiable in certain situations.
However, not all acts of imitation are bad. For example, if you want to be a good basketball player who can put the ball in the basket at least 50 to 55 percent of all your attempts, not only should you practice hard, but sometimes it helps to study the pattern of great shooters. If you want to be an honor student, studying hard is important, but sometimes it helps to learn the study habits of other successful students and see what you can copy and apply. If you want to be successful when investing in the stock market, it helps to study what successful investors are doing and what stocks they are buying, and then you imitate what they're doing. When they're buying a certain stock today, you also buy. If they sell, you also sell. Imitation is dependent on who or what your model is. If you are imitating a good model, you will do well.
Likewise, in the spiritual realm, we are also called to be imitators. In fact, today's passage tells us to imitate God himself. I personally believe that when Paul is talking about imitating God, he is in fact telling us to follow the pattern set forth by Jesus Christ [click]. Imitating Jesus Christ stands in contrast to imitating the ways of the world. Last week, we've learned about severing our past association with sin and the world. The command is very clear – we have to decisively put away those things that belong to our past life and choose to do the things that God wants us to do. Ephesians 5:1 to 20 continues the train of thought from Ephesians 4:17 to 32, our passage last week, and I believe the reason why Paul is telling us to imitate Christ is because he is the best model or example of someone living up to God's standards. Today, we'll learn the three areas where we can imitate the pattern or example set by Jesus Christ for us.
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY LIVING A LIFE OF LOVE
First of all, we are to be like Jesus by living a life of love. Note how Paul phrased his words. By telling us to live a life of love, he's saying that our life should be characterized by love for other people. In other words, love is something that must be constantly done by each of us, something constantly shown to others; it isn't something that you can just switch off and on, depending on the kind of people you meet. Loving people constantly is rather difficult to do, isn't it? Yet, if we really want to imitate Jesus Christ, we have to do it. When Jesus loves people, he loves them whether they're lovable or not, whether they've been good or bad. Aren't you glad the Lord Jesus isn't Santa Claus? Santa gives gifts to those who are nice and withholds gifts from those who are naughty. Jesus loves us even if you've done things that hurt him.
Another thing we should note regarding this love is that it is sacrificial in nature. In verse 2 of Ephesians 5, Paul said that Christ gave himself up for us, to be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. We all know the Gospel story – Jesus taking our place on the cross to die for our sins. What Jesus did was a huge sacrifice on his part – he gave himself up. When Paul tells us to imitate Christ's love, he is telling us to love sacrificially, meaning we must be willing to do everything to show God's love to others, even if it means giving up our lives or giving up everything we possess to show that love. Sacrificial love also means giving our time and attention to others which is a hard thing to do most of the time, in contrast to spending time on yourself, which is easier.
Living a life of love is not easy. I would know that because I also struggle through it everyday, even if I have already preached to you about love during our 40 Days of Love campaign last February and March. It is because there will always be people we encounter who are unlovable, people who will test your patience. There will be things that others do or say to you that will turn you off. However, love is not something I must show only when its convenient or when the people are lovable. It is something I must do constantly and sacrificially. It is a command that I must take note of constantly.
If I truly want to imitate the Lord Jesus, then I must follow his lead in loving others. Are you ready to follow in the footsteps of Christ in this area of your life?
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY KEEPING ONE'S SELF PURE
A second area of Christ's life that we can imitate is his purity of life. As one reads through the Gospels, he will find that Jesus lived a perfect life. Although his critics and enemies leveled a lot of accusations against Him, he was totally blameless in the sight of God. Does this mean that Jesus was never tempted to sin and do wrong? Of course not! Jesus was tempted in every way possible, but he never succumbed to sin (Hebrews 4:15). He knew what it was like to be tempted, but he never sinned. Thus, he is our perfect model for keeping ourselves pure.
How exactly do we keep ourselves pure? Let's look at some areas in life mentioned by Paul which we must avoid if we want to be pure. First, there is the area of sexual purity. In verse 3, three words are used to describe sexual sins. These words are sexual immorality, impurity and covetousness. These three words describe how people succumb to sexual sins. Sexual immorality refers to the act of either committing adultery or premarital sex which are both violations of God's design for sex as being something to be done only within the context of marriage. The pagans in Paul's time were blatant when it came to committing sexual sins. Our society right now is no different from Paul's time. Singles are seeking for physical pleasures without having to make a commitment to marriage, while married people are seeking for physical happiness apart from their spouses. For non-believers, committing such sins do not mean anything, but for us as Christians, this is something we must avoid because to commit immorality is actually to desecrate our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18 – 20). It is to make dirty that which is already clean.
The second word used to describe sexual sins is the word “impurity”. Personally, I view this word in the context of one's thought life. Do you allow your mind to dwell on impure thoughts? Do you feed your mind with images and stories that unnecessarily fuel your sex drive? If you want to keep yourself pure, you must not put filthy things into your mind. Don't watch or read anything pornographic in nature. Don't watch any movie or TV show that may suggest doing something immoral. Immorality starts with the mind. If you don't feed your mind with evil things that will fuel your thoughts, you're not going to think about such things readily.
The third word used to describe sexual sins is the word “covetousness”. In the Ten Commandments, we are commanded not to covet our neighbor's wife. In simple terms, don't desire for what is not and will not be rightfully yours. If you see someone handsome or beautiful but that person is already married, don't go around wishing that you can have that person. If you are married, be content with your spouse and don't go around wishing that you could have someone better.
A second area in life which we can keep pure is in the use of our mouths. In verse 4 we find 3 kinds of impure speech that we are to avoid. There is obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. Obscenity is any expression that is of an explicitly sexual nature or an expression that is very demeaning; it is disgusting or repulsive to one's senses. I don't need to delve into what these words are since we often hear them in movies, TV and even when some people are talking to each other. Foolish talk means spoken words that are senseless or useless. When you gossip, you are speaking foolish words. When you slander others, you are speaking foolish words. When you talk of things that don't edify you or other people, you are speaking foolish words. Finally, there is coarse joking. This phrase refers to the kind of joking that is inappropriate, such as jokes that have double meanings, the hidden meaning usually referring to sex. It can also mean jokes that demean people, like the kind you would probably hear when you go to a comedy bar, where comedians make fun of your appearance at your expense. You want to be pure in your speech? Avoid speech that insult people, avoid speech that is disgusting to the ears, and stop using your mouths for useless chatters.
A third area in life that we can keep pure is in terms of our association. The people you are closely associated with will actually affect your thoughts and actions. When I was a freshman student in La Salle, I suffered what you would call as culture shock. I had spent 12 years, from kindergarten to high school, in a sheltered environment – a Christian school. Now, I was in a different environment where people smoked, drank heavily, and even brought pornographic materials to school with no fear of getting caught and expelled, unlike in high school. I had to make a choice early on as to whom I would closely associate myself with. I chose to associate with a couple of classmates who didn't go for the unhealthy lifestyle and who were serious about doing well in school. I also joined Christian fellowships in school. Why did I do this? It was because I was fearful that I would succumb to smoking and drinking if I didn't choose my friends wisely. In verse 6, Paul tells us that we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by other people. In fact, we must not partner with people who will cause us to sin. Now, this doesn't mean that you can't be friends with them. We still can be friends with them but we must not be closely attached to them as to allow them to influence us.
Be like Jesus by keeping yourself pure sexually, in your speech, and in your association.
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE
Finally, we can imitate Christ's life by how we live our life here on earth. Look at verse 15. Here it says that we must be careful how we live – and this means we must be wise when it comes to living our life here on earth. How can we be wise in living our life? There are three areas that Paul emphasizes. The first is in the use of our time. How do you use the limited time God has given you? Jesus lived on earth for a span of 33 ½ years. Of that 33 ½ years, he spent 30 years preparing himself for ministry, then he spent 3 ½ years to proclaim the gospel, which included his dying on the cross and his resurrection. Yet, none of us can ever accuse Jesus of poor time management. The time he spent prior to his years of ministry were spent for personal equipping that made him effective in reaching out to the people. I believe most of us, if not all, will go way past the Lord's 33 ½ years of life here on earth. The question we need to ask ourselves is, am I doing something productive, something useful for the Lord and helpful to people with the time that I have? Very often, we are poor stewards of time, using what we have for things that aren't that productive. Studying and working are things we should be doing with diligence, however, consider what you do with the remaining time you have. Many young people are spending too much time on the internet and on playing video games rather than spending a few more minutes praying or a few more minutes to read the Bible. The same is true with adults. We spend too much time tinkering with our adult toys (cars, gadgets, hobbies) rather than using our time to improve our relationship with God and to serve God in the church or in your community. We also don't spend enough time being with other people, building our relationships with them, choosing instead to sit in front of a computer or a TV set rather than interacting. How many people would we have been able to help, to share the gospel to, if we spend our time wisely by relating with them?
A second area of wise living is in seeking God's will for your life. Look at verse 17. It tells us to not be foolish but to understand the Lord's will for your life. What is God's will for you? There is first of all God's general will for your life. These are the commands and principles recorded in Scripture that we are to obey and follow. Then there is God's specific will for us. These are the issues that we often ask of ourselves – Where will I study? What course will I take? Can I suggest something? If you spend enough time knowing God and his Word, you will be more aware of his leading as well as his plans for your life. You see, many of the issues about God's will actually fall under the category of God's general will. Some of us wonder if it is OK to marry a non-believer. Well, why keep asking God for an answer when its already recorded in 2 Corinthians 6, which tells us it isn't OK? We ask God if its OK to engage in a business where we cheat on the government, when the answer is clear from the Bible that we should give to the government what is rightfully theirs, and that we should not steal. Many of the questions we have about God's will can be answered if we know God's Word and if we are growing in intimacy with God. With regards to the specific will of God, I will just say this: if you take the time to listen to God and to obey God, it becomes easier for you to discern what is his specific will.
The third area of wise living is by being filled with the Holy Spirit. In verse 18 we are commanded not to get drunk with wine which can lead one to debauchery. The word debauchery means excessive indulgence. It implies losing control over one's self. A person who is drunk is usually unable to think soundly. He is also unable to control his physical senses. Furthermore, his judgment is impaired such that he can no longer tell if what he is doing is right or wrong. You can substitute wine with any substance that can cause people to lose control of themselves – illegal drugs, excessive viewing of TV and movies, excessive video games. Instead of these addictive things that will lead to indulgence and destruction, Paul tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, what is the meaning of being filled with the Spirit? It means that we allow God to be in control of every aspect, every area of our life. It also means we are to find our joy in our relationship with God rather than in the stimulants of this world that gives only temporary pleasure but cannot fill the emptiness of our hearts. How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? There is nothing mysterious about this. To be filled with the Spirit is simply to say to the Lord that you want to surrender every area of your life to God's control and you really do it by submitting every thought, every decision and every action to God's leading. It is to always ask the Lord the question, “Will what I do, say or think please you?”. Its easier said than done since we have always acted independently, but you experience great joy when you think about the Lord, you think about his Word, when you think about what you want to do for Him, and when you fellowship with like-minded believers. In fact, it will often lead to our worshipping and praising of the Lord (vv. 19 – 20). The Lord Jesus was described quite often as being filled with the Spirit of God throughout the gospels. If we want to be like Jesus, we should strive to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.
Be like Jesus by using your time wisely, by seeking for God's will for your life, and by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion:
In closing, I would like to simply challenge all of us here, let us be like Jesus. If we are truly serious about our relationship with the Lord, then let us strive to follow his pattern. Every true believer of Jesus Christ should make it his goal, his ambition to be like Jesus. Anything less is an insult to the one who died for you and me in order to save us and give us new life. Will you be like Jesus?
Ephesians 5:1 – 20
Introduction:
A few weeks ago, my wife and I went on an overnight vacation in a secluded resort in Rizal province. As we were checking into the resort, displayed on the shelf at the check-in counter were some handbags that were being sold. A closer look will reveal that the bags displayed either had tags declaring that they're Hermes bags or they're Nine West bags . An even closer examination will reveal that all the bags were selling at a price of PHP 750.00. Naturally, we concluded that all the bags displayed were fakes, cheap imitation of the real thing because a genuine Hermes bag can easily cost around PHP 50,000 to a few hundreds of thousands. A genuine Nine West bag, although cheaper than the Hermes brand, would still cost way much more PHP 750.00. However, what was fascinating was that these bags were well sewn. From afar, you could never tell that they're fakes. It is no wonder the owners of these big, expensive brands are up in arms against these counterfeiters because they are destroying and cheapening their brand name.
What I have just related to you was a wrong kind of imitation. To copy someone's design and pass it off as the real thing when it really isn't is a crime. None of us should ever be doing such a thing. Imitating someone's product and selling it off as the real thing is stealing the intellectual property of the designer and of the rightful manufacturer. It can also be costly to human life, like when someone imitates life-saving medicine and sell it in the market but the medicine are nothing more than placebos that have no healing effect. We shouldn't be imitating what we see on TV. In 2008, a 10-year old boy died buried in a playground sandbox because he was trying to imitate a Japanese anime hero named Naruto who used his superpowers to escape while trapped in sand. We also shouldn't be imitating the bad example of certain people. According to a theory called the social learning theory, people learn to engage in crime , primarily through their association with others. By being associated with criminals, they learn beliefs that are favorable to crime, and they are exposed to criminal models. As a consequence, they come to view the committing of crime as something desirable and even justifiable in certain situations.
However, not all acts of imitation are bad. For example, if you want to be a good basketball player who can put the ball in the basket at least 50 to 55 percent of all your attempts, not only should you practice hard, but sometimes it helps to study the pattern of great shooters. If you want to be an honor student, studying hard is important, but sometimes it helps to learn the study habits of other successful students and see what you can copy and apply. If you want to be successful when investing in the stock market, it helps to study what successful investors are doing and what stocks they are buying, and then you imitate what they're doing. When they're buying a certain stock today, you also buy. If they sell, you also sell. Imitation is dependent on who or what your model is. If you are imitating a good model, you will do well.
Likewise, in the spiritual realm, we are also called to be imitators. In fact, today's passage tells us to imitate God himself. I personally believe that when Paul is talking about imitating God, he is in fact telling us to follow the pattern set forth by Jesus Christ [click]. Imitating Jesus Christ stands in contrast to imitating the ways of the world. Last week, we've learned about severing our past association with sin and the world. The command is very clear – we have to decisively put away those things that belong to our past life and choose to do the things that God wants us to do. Ephesians 5:1 to 20 continues the train of thought from Ephesians 4:17 to 32, our passage last week, and I believe the reason why Paul is telling us to imitate Christ is because he is the best model or example of someone living up to God's standards. Today, we'll learn the three areas where we can imitate the pattern or example set by Jesus Christ for us.
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY LIVING A LIFE OF LOVE
First of all, we are to be like Jesus by living a life of love. Note how Paul phrased his words. By telling us to live a life of love, he's saying that our life should be characterized by love for other people. In other words, love is something that must be constantly done by each of us, something constantly shown to others; it isn't something that you can just switch off and on, depending on the kind of people you meet. Loving people constantly is rather difficult to do, isn't it? Yet, if we really want to imitate Jesus Christ, we have to do it. When Jesus loves people, he loves them whether they're lovable or not, whether they've been good or bad. Aren't you glad the Lord Jesus isn't Santa Claus? Santa gives gifts to those who are nice and withholds gifts from those who are naughty. Jesus loves us even if you've done things that hurt him.
Another thing we should note regarding this love is that it is sacrificial in nature. In verse 2 of Ephesians 5, Paul said that Christ gave himself up for us, to be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. We all know the Gospel story – Jesus taking our place on the cross to die for our sins. What Jesus did was a huge sacrifice on his part – he gave himself up. When Paul tells us to imitate Christ's love, he is telling us to love sacrificially, meaning we must be willing to do everything to show God's love to others, even if it means giving up our lives or giving up everything we possess to show that love. Sacrificial love also means giving our time and attention to others which is a hard thing to do most of the time, in contrast to spending time on yourself, which is easier.
Living a life of love is not easy. I would know that because I also struggle through it everyday, even if I have already preached to you about love during our 40 Days of Love campaign last February and March. It is because there will always be people we encounter who are unlovable, people who will test your patience. There will be things that others do or say to you that will turn you off. However, love is not something I must show only when its convenient or when the people are lovable. It is something I must do constantly and sacrificially. It is a command that I must take note of constantly.
If I truly want to imitate the Lord Jesus, then I must follow his lead in loving others. Are you ready to follow in the footsteps of Christ in this area of your life?
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY KEEPING ONE'S SELF PURE
A second area of Christ's life that we can imitate is his purity of life. As one reads through the Gospels, he will find that Jesus lived a perfect life. Although his critics and enemies leveled a lot of accusations against Him, he was totally blameless in the sight of God. Does this mean that Jesus was never tempted to sin and do wrong? Of course not! Jesus was tempted in every way possible, but he never succumbed to sin (Hebrews 4:15). He knew what it was like to be tempted, but he never sinned. Thus, he is our perfect model for keeping ourselves pure.
How exactly do we keep ourselves pure? Let's look at some areas in life mentioned by Paul which we must avoid if we want to be pure. First, there is the area of sexual purity. In verse 3, three words are used to describe sexual sins. These words are sexual immorality, impurity and covetousness. These three words describe how people succumb to sexual sins. Sexual immorality refers to the act of either committing adultery or premarital sex which are both violations of God's design for sex as being something to be done only within the context of marriage. The pagans in Paul's time were blatant when it came to committing sexual sins. Our society right now is no different from Paul's time. Singles are seeking for physical pleasures without having to make a commitment to marriage, while married people are seeking for physical happiness apart from their spouses. For non-believers, committing such sins do not mean anything, but for us as Christians, this is something we must avoid because to commit immorality is actually to desecrate our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18 – 20). It is to make dirty that which is already clean.
The second word used to describe sexual sins is the word “impurity”. Personally, I view this word in the context of one's thought life. Do you allow your mind to dwell on impure thoughts? Do you feed your mind with images and stories that unnecessarily fuel your sex drive? If you want to keep yourself pure, you must not put filthy things into your mind. Don't watch or read anything pornographic in nature. Don't watch any movie or TV show that may suggest doing something immoral. Immorality starts with the mind. If you don't feed your mind with evil things that will fuel your thoughts, you're not going to think about such things readily.
The third word used to describe sexual sins is the word “covetousness”. In the Ten Commandments, we are commanded not to covet our neighbor's wife. In simple terms, don't desire for what is not and will not be rightfully yours. If you see someone handsome or beautiful but that person is already married, don't go around wishing that you can have that person. If you are married, be content with your spouse and don't go around wishing that you could have someone better.
A second area in life which we can keep pure is in the use of our mouths. In verse 4 we find 3 kinds of impure speech that we are to avoid. There is obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. Obscenity is any expression that is of an explicitly sexual nature or an expression that is very demeaning; it is disgusting or repulsive to one's senses. I don't need to delve into what these words are since we often hear them in movies, TV and even when some people are talking to each other. Foolish talk means spoken words that are senseless or useless. When you gossip, you are speaking foolish words. When you slander others, you are speaking foolish words. When you talk of things that don't edify you or other people, you are speaking foolish words. Finally, there is coarse joking. This phrase refers to the kind of joking that is inappropriate, such as jokes that have double meanings, the hidden meaning usually referring to sex. It can also mean jokes that demean people, like the kind you would probably hear when you go to a comedy bar, where comedians make fun of your appearance at your expense. You want to be pure in your speech? Avoid speech that insult people, avoid speech that is disgusting to the ears, and stop using your mouths for useless chatters.
A third area in life that we can keep pure is in terms of our association. The people you are closely associated with will actually affect your thoughts and actions. When I was a freshman student in La Salle, I suffered what you would call as culture shock. I had spent 12 years, from kindergarten to high school, in a sheltered environment – a Christian school. Now, I was in a different environment where people smoked, drank heavily, and even brought pornographic materials to school with no fear of getting caught and expelled, unlike in high school. I had to make a choice early on as to whom I would closely associate myself with. I chose to associate with a couple of classmates who didn't go for the unhealthy lifestyle and who were serious about doing well in school. I also joined Christian fellowships in school. Why did I do this? It was because I was fearful that I would succumb to smoking and drinking if I didn't choose my friends wisely. In verse 6, Paul tells us that we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by other people. In fact, we must not partner with people who will cause us to sin. Now, this doesn't mean that you can't be friends with them. We still can be friends with them but we must not be closely attached to them as to allow them to influence us.
Be like Jesus by keeping yourself pure sexually, in your speech, and in your association.
BE LIKE JESUS . . . BY HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE
Finally, we can imitate Christ's life by how we live our life here on earth. Look at verse 15. Here it says that we must be careful how we live – and this means we must be wise when it comes to living our life here on earth. How can we be wise in living our life? There are three areas that Paul emphasizes. The first is in the use of our time. How do you use the limited time God has given you? Jesus lived on earth for a span of 33 ½ years. Of that 33 ½ years, he spent 30 years preparing himself for ministry, then he spent 3 ½ years to proclaim the gospel, which included his dying on the cross and his resurrection. Yet, none of us can ever accuse Jesus of poor time management. The time he spent prior to his years of ministry were spent for personal equipping that made him effective in reaching out to the people. I believe most of us, if not all, will go way past the Lord's 33 ½ years of life here on earth. The question we need to ask ourselves is, am I doing something productive, something useful for the Lord and helpful to people with the time that I have? Very often, we are poor stewards of time, using what we have for things that aren't that productive. Studying and working are things we should be doing with diligence, however, consider what you do with the remaining time you have. Many young people are spending too much time on the internet and on playing video games rather than spending a few more minutes praying or a few more minutes to read the Bible. The same is true with adults. We spend too much time tinkering with our adult toys (cars, gadgets, hobbies) rather than using our time to improve our relationship with God and to serve God in the church or in your community. We also don't spend enough time being with other people, building our relationships with them, choosing instead to sit in front of a computer or a TV set rather than interacting. How many people would we have been able to help, to share the gospel to, if we spend our time wisely by relating with them?
A second area of wise living is in seeking God's will for your life. Look at verse 17. It tells us to not be foolish but to understand the Lord's will for your life. What is God's will for you? There is first of all God's general will for your life. These are the commands and principles recorded in Scripture that we are to obey and follow. Then there is God's specific will for us. These are the issues that we often ask of ourselves – Where will I study? What course will I take? Can I suggest something? If you spend enough time knowing God and his Word, you will be more aware of his leading as well as his plans for your life. You see, many of the issues about God's will actually fall under the category of God's general will. Some of us wonder if it is OK to marry a non-believer. Well, why keep asking God for an answer when its already recorded in 2 Corinthians 6, which tells us it isn't OK? We ask God if its OK to engage in a business where we cheat on the government, when the answer is clear from the Bible that we should give to the government what is rightfully theirs, and that we should not steal. Many of the questions we have about God's will can be answered if we know God's Word and if we are growing in intimacy with God. With regards to the specific will of God, I will just say this: if you take the time to listen to God and to obey God, it becomes easier for you to discern what is his specific will.
The third area of wise living is by being filled with the Holy Spirit. In verse 18 we are commanded not to get drunk with wine which can lead one to debauchery. The word debauchery means excessive indulgence. It implies losing control over one's self. A person who is drunk is usually unable to think soundly. He is also unable to control his physical senses. Furthermore, his judgment is impaired such that he can no longer tell if what he is doing is right or wrong. You can substitute wine with any substance that can cause people to lose control of themselves – illegal drugs, excessive viewing of TV and movies, excessive video games. Instead of these addictive things that will lead to indulgence and destruction, Paul tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, what is the meaning of being filled with the Spirit? It means that we allow God to be in control of every aspect, every area of our life. It also means we are to find our joy in our relationship with God rather than in the stimulants of this world that gives only temporary pleasure but cannot fill the emptiness of our hearts. How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? There is nothing mysterious about this. To be filled with the Spirit is simply to say to the Lord that you want to surrender every area of your life to God's control and you really do it by submitting every thought, every decision and every action to God's leading. It is to always ask the Lord the question, “Will what I do, say or think please you?”. Its easier said than done since we have always acted independently, but you experience great joy when you think about the Lord, you think about his Word, when you think about what you want to do for Him, and when you fellowship with like-minded believers. In fact, it will often lead to our worshipping and praising of the Lord (vv. 19 – 20). The Lord Jesus was described quite often as being filled with the Spirit of God throughout the gospels. If we want to be like Jesus, we should strive to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.
Be like Jesus by using your time wisely, by seeking for God's will for your life, and by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion:
In closing, I would like to simply challenge all of us here, let us be like Jesus. If we are truly serious about our relationship with the Lord, then let us strive to follow his pattern. Every true believer of Jesus Christ should make it his goal, his ambition to be like Jesus. Anything less is an insult to the one who died for you and me in order to save us and give us new life. Will you be like Jesus?
Monday, September 19, 2011
Are You On The Right Ship? - GGC, September 11, 2011
ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT SHIP?
Introduction:
I would like to begin today's message by showing you two ships. The first ship is a cruise ship, the kind that offers people leisure and lots of things to do as well as lots of food to eat. On board, you have stage theaters, cinemas, casinos, restaurants, swimming pools, spas, and sports facilities, just to name a few. All these things are included to make your stay during the cruise a memorable one. For every 2 passengers, there will be one crew member. This means a ship with a 3000 capacity would have 2000 passengers and 1000 crew members serving the passengers. Now, let's look at the second ship. It is a warship. In fact, what you are looking at right now is known as an aircraft carrier with around 90 aircrafts and 5400 crew members on board. There are no passengers on board who are traveling for a good time. Everyone on board this warship is doing his part to keep the ship afloat and the morale of everybody high. There are people who fly the planes while others maintain the planes. There are people on the ship's deck, navigating the ship through the seas, and there are cooks who prepare meals for everyone. There are people who man the computerized weapons systems and those who man the radios and telecommunications equipment. Everyone on board a warship has an important role to play. On board a cruise ship, only 1/3 of the total people on board are keeping the ship afloat, the rest are just enjoying the facilities.
Now, what is the relation of cruise ships and warships with what this morning's message? Actually, the illustration that I have just given you depicts what a mature, growing church should look like, and the sad reality that many churches are still far from reaching maturity. The warship is a depiction of a maturing church, where everyone is involved in keeping the ship afloat and moving; sadly though, many churches, including ours, sometimes look more like a cruise ship than a warship. What do I mean? I am pointing out right now that many people who are members of the church are not getting involved at all in the life of the Body of Christ. In fact, they could be what we call as “spectators” who are simply there to watch what's going on, but they don't lift a finger to help.
What made matters worse is that churches hire pastors and full-time workers with the unrealistic expectation that they should be doing everything. They expect the paid personnel of the church to lead every Bible study, visit everyone on the church membership roster, preach in every Sunday service and fellowship, lead small groups, make decisions for the church. Now, pastors are supposed to do the things I have just mentioned, but really, do you think they can meet everyone's needs? Do you think they can live up to an unrealistic expectation that they have to do everything? What aggravated the situation was that we have created this artificial divide inside the church where one group is called the clergy while the other is called the laity. The clergy is wrongly viewed as being more superior than the laity, very much similar to what happens inside the Roman Catholic Church where the priests, nuns, bishops and popes are viewed as being more holier than the ordinary church member.
This morning's passage, Ephesians 4:7 – 16, makes clear that God has given spiritual gifts to all his people. However, Paul does not go through a list of various spiritual gifts like those listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Instead, Paul wrote about four particular offices that God has given the church with specific purposes in mind, for the benefit of the entire church. Without further delay, let's look at these four gifts in the form of four kinds of ministers of the church, how they function in the church, and what these gifts are supposed to bring forth in the lives of every believer.
GOD'S GIFT TO THE CHURCH – THE FOUR OFFICES OF LEADERSHIP
While the Lord has definitely blessed the entire church with various spiritual gifts, there are four specific offices that he has given to specific people in order to minister to the church. Let us briefly go through what these gifts are.
Apostles. The Lord first of all gifted the church with the apostles. In the strictest sense, “apostles” refer to the Twelve whom Christ had chosen as well as others like Paul and Barnabas – the people who have seen the Lord, and who have directly received the Lord's commission. The apostles, together with the prophets, were known as the foundation of the church, with the apostles being the ones commissioned to start the work among the Jews and the Gentiles. They were also responsible for conveying the teachings of Jesus and preserving them in writing.
Prophets. Then there are the prophets. Now, the prophets' main responsibility was to convey God's message for the church. Foretelling the future is a secondary task. They bring to light the sins of men. They also give exhortation to the church in order to strengthen her.
Now, both apostles and prophets, I believe are spiritual leaders who were needed during the first century, during the early years of Christianity, in order to make it firmly established. However, once the church was established and the New Testament was already written, these two offices ceased to exist. However, their impact is felt up till today because we have in our possession the Word of God which helps us to know what is God's will as well as what we are supposed to obey.
Evangelists. The third and fourth offices mentioned are still existing in the church as they are the most needed. The third is the office of the evangelists. An evangelist is simply put, someone who is gifted in conveying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, such that when they proclaim the Gospel, many are touched by the Holy Spirit and come to faith in Christ. They do not need to be high-profile people like Billy Graham or Luis Palau. They can be people who are led by the Spirit to share the Gospel with other people on a one-on-one basis. Now, all of us are to share the Gospel. We cannot be excused from it. However, the evangelist is specially endowed as someone who brings in the harvest of souls very effectively.
Pastors-Teachers. The fourth office is the office of the pastor-teacher. A pastor-teacher is responsible for taking care of the spiritual needs of the church by feeding them with the Word of God regularly as well as by checking after their welfare such as praying for the church, visiting the sick, giving guidance to the church. Not everyone who has this gift is called to lead an entire church. Some may be gifted to lead smaller groups such as a fellowship or a discipleship group.
There's just one thing to note about the four offices that were given to certain people in the church – it did not mean that they had to do everything. Instead, the succeeding passages spell out for us what the four offices should accomplish and achieve in the life of the church. We can call this as the given aim as well as the desired result.
THE AIM & THE DESIRED RESULT
As I have just said, God has given these four offices not for them to do everything and the rest of the church doing nothing. Paul spelled it out very clearly what the four offices were supposed to accomplish. Likewise, this aim should be the same for all leaders in the church. That aim is to prepare God's people for service (v. 12). God put the four offices in place was so that they would get everyone in the church ready and equipped for serving God and others.
This preparation for service is done in many ways. There is instruction in the Word of God. If you want to be an effective servant of God, you have to at least be growing in your knowledge and application of God's Word. At the same time, those in leadership have to be faithfully teaching you and modeling for you obedience to the Word of God. Second, there is training on how you can use your gift effectively. When you are aware of your spiritual gift, it would be wise to have training in order that you can hone your gift. For example, if you sense that you have the gift of encouragement and people around you affirm that, then I think it would be wise for you to learn about counseling or to learn how to verbalize it to a bigger audience. The leaders of the church should be keenly observing your potentials and your gifts and should encourage you to get trained. Third is the actual exercise of ministry, where you put into practice what you've learned and then the leader gives you feedback on how well you've done and where you can improve further. Notice that this is what the leaders of the church are supposed to be doing – we should be empowering you all to become effective ministers/servants of God's kingdom.
Now, when the leaders of the church are diligently doing their responsibility in preparing you all for ministry/service and you are willing to be trained, taught, and to use your gifts, then the result is that the body of Christ will be built up (vv. 12b), meaning, the church will be maturing. Imagine for a moment the human body. When you came out from your mother's womb, you were very helpless. You had to depend on your parents to feed you, to change your diaper, to bring you from one place to another. Your parents however did not leave you at that state. Instead, they began to encourage you to walk and helped you in the process. They taught you how to feed yourself by taking the spoon and putting food into your mouth on your own. They stopped making you wear diaper when you learned how to go to the toilet when you need to. As you continue to grow, you found that you became more agile physically and your thinking became more sharper. That is what the church looks like when it is maturing. It is moving from one phase to the next, higher phase. Your spiritual gifts are just like your arms, legs and brain. They need to be developed in order to become stronger and wiser. When every member of Grace Gospel Church is developing and using his or her spiritual gifts to serve the Lord and others, then maturity will happen to you as an individual member, and to the entire church.
How do we know that a church is maturing, that every member of the church is growing in their relationship with the Lord? Verses 13 to 15 gives us the answers. This forms our final point.
THE EVIDENCES OF MATURITY
In verses 13 to 16, we find three evidences of maturity that happens when every member of the church is willing to receive training and instruction for service and when every leader of the church is willing to train and instruct the members.
(1) There will be unity in the church (v. 13)
When all the members of the church are growing or maturing in faith, what happens is that unity among believers is strengthened. People will begin to quarrel less in areas of doctrine and belief because they will agree on what are the essentials and learn to disagree and be amiable in those areas that are not essential. I think one area of doctrine that people often argue about is regarding the Second Coming. Another is regarding which theological position is correct – Reformed, Arminian, or Dispensationalists. I have learned in seminary as well as working here in church that these things are somewhat secondary compared to what the Bible is really saying to us. When we are willing to receive training and instruction, we begin to see that we hold more things in common. Consider last week's passage. It says that we belong to one body and there is one Spirit that dwells in us. We believe in one Lord and in One God and Father, and we go through one baptism. These are the essentials we must cling on to. These are the things we must defend. However, we don't need to argue about things like which version of the Bible is the best or what color of drapes do we need to see hanging here at the front. We don't need to argue about which music is best for worship – hymns or contemporary worship songs. These are secondary; sometimes they may even be trivial.
When we are in unity, what happens is that together we will become more like Jesus Christ in our speech and action. People will notice that our church exhibits love and she will be attractive to people outside the church.
(2) We will not fall for the enemy's lies (v. 14)
The second evidence of maturity is that we will not fall for the enemy's lies. When a believer is actively learning God's Word and is willing to receive instruction and to serve the Lord, he will not fall very easily to the trap that Satan will set up. In verse 14, we find three things that the enemy uses to cause us to fall – every wind of doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes. Now, the likely reference of all three phrases is with regards to false teachings. There are a lot of teachings out there that sound “Christian”, just watch TV and you'll see people like Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan, the teachers of the Iglesia ni Kristo, and other cults and prosperity preachers proclaiming a false message about God and about the Lord Jesus. They talk about giving your money to their ministry and you will be immensely blessed materially, but we all know that God doesn't operate in that way. Some preachers who stand in the pulpit don't even preach God's Word but they proclaim the message of human goodness and motivation, not in any way dissimilar to what we hear from some motivational speakers in school and in the workplace. It is so easy to fall into the lies of the enemy if we are not trained in God's Word, enabling us to discern what is true from what is false, what is from God and what is not from God. The mature Christian, the mature church, will be one that will not be swayed by false teachers and doctrines, but will always hold on to the anchor that is God's Word.
(3) Love will be Readily Seen (vv. 15, 16)
Finally, the third evidence of a maturing church is that love will be readily expressed within the body of Christ. In verse 15, we find the phrase, “Speaking the truth in love” while in verse 16 we find the phrase “make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Both phrases indicate that a mature believer will show love toward others, a mature church will have members who love each other. When there is conflict within the body of Christ, people actually notice. The same is true when there is love within the body of Christ. People will see it. Jesus himself said that people will know that we are his disciples if we have love for one another (John 13:35). If we, as a church, are always fighting against each other, how can people see Jesus Christ in our midst? Fighting and hatred are sure signs of the absence of love which points to the immaturity of the believer and of the church. If we are truly mature, we will be more loving towards each other. We will show concern for those in need. We will empathize with those who are sad and genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice.
So, those are the three sure signs of the maturity of a church and of her members. There will be unity. We will not fall easily to false teachings. We will show love for one another. Do you think that Grace Gospel Church is anywhere near these signs? Are you, as a member of this church, showing signs of maturity in your faith?
Conclusion:
The leaders of the church have been called by the Lord in order to equip you all for works of service, for you all to become even more faithful in following Jesus Christ. They have not been called in order to do everything to keep the church going while you sit back and do nothing except listen to a sermon on Sunday. As members of this church, I want to challenge you all to do two things. First, you should expect your leaders to do their responsibility in training and equipping you for service. If you find any one of us doing everything on our own and not letting you in on the opportunity to serve and to grow, then you should remind us of what our role is. Our role is to equip you, to prepare you to serve the Lord.
The second thing I would like for you to do is to make a decision that you will be willing to undergo training and equipping. It is God's intention that we be equipped to do his work. If we are not willing to be trained and equipped, not only will we fail to mature as a believer, but we will bring the entire church down with us. We will also be cheating our fellow brothers and sisters by failing to use our spiritual gifts and talents to edify them. So please, when the opportunity comes for you to be equipped and trained, take it immediately. When the opportunity to use your gifts and talents come your way, use them.
Introduction:
I would like to begin today's message by showing you two ships. The first ship is a cruise ship, the kind that offers people leisure and lots of things to do as well as lots of food to eat. On board, you have stage theaters, cinemas, casinos, restaurants, swimming pools, spas, and sports facilities, just to name a few. All these things are included to make your stay during the cruise a memorable one. For every 2 passengers, there will be one crew member. This means a ship with a 3000 capacity would have 2000 passengers and 1000 crew members serving the passengers. Now, let's look at the second ship. It is a warship. In fact, what you are looking at right now is known as an aircraft carrier with around 90 aircrafts and 5400 crew members on board. There are no passengers on board who are traveling for a good time. Everyone on board this warship is doing his part to keep the ship afloat and the morale of everybody high. There are people who fly the planes while others maintain the planes. There are people on the ship's deck, navigating the ship through the seas, and there are cooks who prepare meals for everyone. There are people who man the computerized weapons systems and those who man the radios and telecommunications equipment. Everyone on board a warship has an important role to play. On board a cruise ship, only 1/3 of the total people on board are keeping the ship afloat, the rest are just enjoying the facilities.
Now, what is the relation of cruise ships and warships with what this morning's message? Actually, the illustration that I have just given you depicts what a mature, growing church should look like, and the sad reality that many churches are still far from reaching maturity. The warship is a depiction of a maturing church, where everyone is involved in keeping the ship afloat and moving; sadly though, many churches, including ours, sometimes look more like a cruise ship than a warship. What do I mean? I am pointing out right now that many people who are members of the church are not getting involved at all in the life of the Body of Christ. In fact, they could be what we call as “spectators” who are simply there to watch what's going on, but they don't lift a finger to help.
What made matters worse is that churches hire pastors and full-time workers with the unrealistic expectation that they should be doing everything. They expect the paid personnel of the church to lead every Bible study, visit everyone on the church membership roster, preach in every Sunday service and fellowship, lead small groups, make decisions for the church. Now, pastors are supposed to do the things I have just mentioned, but really, do you think they can meet everyone's needs? Do you think they can live up to an unrealistic expectation that they have to do everything? What aggravated the situation was that we have created this artificial divide inside the church where one group is called the clergy while the other is called the laity. The clergy is wrongly viewed as being more superior than the laity, very much similar to what happens inside the Roman Catholic Church where the priests, nuns, bishops and popes are viewed as being more holier than the ordinary church member.
This morning's passage, Ephesians 4:7 – 16, makes clear that God has given spiritual gifts to all his people. However, Paul does not go through a list of various spiritual gifts like those listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Instead, Paul wrote about four particular offices that God has given the church with specific purposes in mind, for the benefit of the entire church. Without further delay, let's look at these four gifts in the form of four kinds of ministers of the church, how they function in the church, and what these gifts are supposed to bring forth in the lives of every believer.
GOD'S GIFT TO THE CHURCH – THE FOUR OFFICES OF LEADERSHIP
While the Lord has definitely blessed the entire church with various spiritual gifts, there are four specific offices that he has given to specific people in order to minister to the church. Let us briefly go through what these gifts are.
Apostles. The Lord first of all gifted the church with the apostles. In the strictest sense, “apostles” refer to the Twelve whom Christ had chosen as well as others like Paul and Barnabas – the people who have seen the Lord, and who have directly received the Lord's commission. The apostles, together with the prophets, were known as the foundation of the church, with the apostles being the ones commissioned to start the work among the Jews and the Gentiles. They were also responsible for conveying the teachings of Jesus and preserving them in writing.
Prophets. Then there are the prophets. Now, the prophets' main responsibility was to convey God's message for the church. Foretelling the future is a secondary task. They bring to light the sins of men. They also give exhortation to the church in order to strengthen her.
Now, both apostles and prophets, I believe are spiritual leaders who were needed during the first century, during the early years of Christianity, in order to make it firmly established. However, once the church was established and the New Testament was already written, these two offices ceased to exist. However, their impact is felt up till today because we have in our possession the Word of God which helps us to know what is God's will as well as what we are supposed to obey.
Evangelists. The third and fourth offices mentioned are still existing in the church as they are the most needed. The third is the office of the evangelists. An evangelist is simply put, someone who is gifted in conveying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, such that when they proclaim the Gospel, many are touched by the Holy Spirit and come to faith in Christ. They do not need to be high-profile people like Billy Graham or Luis Palau. They can be people who are led by the Spirit to share the Gospel with other people on a one-on-one basis. Now, all of us are to share the Gospel. We cannot be excused from it. However, the evangelist is specially endowed as someone who brings in the harvest of souls very effectively.
Pastors-Teachers. The fourth office is the office of the pastor-teacher. A pastor-teacher is responsible for taking care of the spiritual needs of the church by feeding them with the Word of God regularly as well as by checking after their welfare such as praying for the church, visiting the sick, giving guidance to the church. Not everyone who has this gift is called to lead an entire church. Some may be gifted to lead smaller groups such as a fellowship or a discipleship group.
There's just one thing to note about the four offices that were given to certain people in the church – it did not mean that they had to do everything. Instead, the succeeding passages spell out for us what the four offices should accomplish and achieve in the life of the church. We can call this as the given aim as well as the desired result.
THE AIM & THE DESIRED RESULT
As I have just said, God has given these four offices not for them to do everything and the rest of the church doing nothing. Paul spelled it out very clearly what the four offices were supposed to accomplish. Likewise, this aim should be the same for all leaders in the church. That aim is to prepare God's people for service (v. 12). God put the four offices in place was so that they would get everyone in the church ready and equipped for serving God and others.
This preparation for service is done in many ways. There is instruction in the Word of God. If you want to be an effective servant of God, you have to at least be growing in your knowledge and application of God's Word. At the same time, those in leadership have to be faithfully teaching you and modeling for you obedience to the Word of God. Second, there is training on how you can use your gift effectively. When you are aware of your spiritual gift, it would be wise to have training in order that you can hone your gift. For example, if you sense that you have the gift of encouragement and people around you affirm that, then I think it would be wise for you to learn about counseling or to learn how to verbalize it to a bigger audience. The leaders of the church should be keenly observing your potentials and your gifts and should encourage you to get trained. Third is the actual exercise of ministry, where you put into practice what you've learned and then the leader gives you feedback on how well you've done and where you can improve further. Notice that this is what the leaders of the church are supposed to be doing – we should be empowering you all to become effective ministers/servants of God's kingdom.
Now, when the leaders of the church are diligently doing their responsibility in preparing you all for ministry/service and you are willing to be trained, taught, and to use your gifts, then the result is that the body of Christ will be built up (vv. 12b), meaning, the church will be maturing. Imagine for a moment the human body. When you came out from your mother's womb, you were very helpless. You had to depend on your parents to feed you, to change your diaper, to bring you from one place to another. Your parents however did not leave you at that state. Instead, they began to encourage you to walk and helped you in the process. They taught you how to feed yourself by taking the spoon and putting food into your mouth on your own. They stopped making you wear diaper when you learned how to go to the toilet when you need to. As you continue to grow, you found that you became more agile physically and your thinking became more sharper. That is what the church looks like when it is maturing. It is moving from one phase to the next, higher phase. Your spiritual gifts are just like your arms, legs and brain. They need to be developed in order to become stronger and wiser. When every member of Grace Gospel Church is developing and using his or her spiritual gifts to serve the Lord and others, then maturity will happen to you as an individual member, and to the entire church.
How do we know that a church is maturing, that every member of the church is growing in their relationship with the Lord? Verses 13 to 15 gives us the answers. This forms our final point.
THE EVIDENCES OF MATURITY
In verses 13 to 16, we find three evidences of maturity that happens when every member of the church is willing to receive training and instruction for service and when every leader of the church is willing to train and instruct the members.
(1) There will be unity in the church (v. 13)
When all the members of the church are growing or maturing in faith, what happens is that unity among believers is strengthened. People will begin to quarrel less in areas of doctrine and belief because they will agree on what are the essentials and learn to disagree and be amiable in those areas that are not essential. I think one area of doctrine that people often argue about is regarding the Second Coming. Another is regarding which theological position is correct – Reformed, Arminian, or Dispensationalists. I have learned in seminary as well as working here in church that these things are somewhat secondary compared to what the Bible is really saying to us. When we are willing to receive training and instruction, we begin to see that we hold more things in common. Consider last week's passage. It says that we belong to one body and there is one Spirit that dwells in us. We believe in one Lord and in One God and Father, and we go through one baptism. These are the essentials we must cling on to. These are the things we must defend. However, we don't need to argue about things like which version of the Bible is the best or what color of drapes do we need to see hanging here at the front. We don't need to argue about which music is best for worship – hymns or contemporary worship songs. These are secondary; sometimes they may even be trivial.
When we are in unity, what happens is that together we will become more like Jesus Christ in our speech and action. People will notice that our church exhibits love and she will be attractive to people outside the church.
(2) We will not fall for the enemy's lies (v. 14)
The second evidence of maturity is that we will not fall for the enemy's lies. When a believer is actively learning God's Word and is willing to receive instruction and to serve the Lord, he will not fall very easily to the trap that Satan will set up. In verse 14, we find three things that the enemy uses to cause us to fall – every wind of doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes. Now, the likely reference of all three phrases is with regards to false teachings. There are a lot of teachings out there that sound “Christian”, just watch TV and you'll see people like Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan, the teachers of the Iglesia ni Kristo, and other cults and prosperity preachers proclaiming a false message about God and about the Lord Jesus. They talk about giving your money to their ministry and you will be immensely blessed materially, but we all know that God doesn't operate in that way. Some preachers who stand in the pulpit don't even preach God's Word but they proclaim the message of human goodness and motivation, not in any way dissimilar to what we hear from some motivational speakers in school and in the workplace. It is so easy to fall into the lies of the enemy if we are not trained in God's Word, enabling us to discern what is true from what is false, what is from God and what is not from God. The mature Christian, the mature church, will be one that will not be swayed by false teachers and doctrines, but will always hold on to the anchor that is God's Word.
(3) Love will be Readily Seen (vv. 15, 16)
Finally, the third evidence of a maturing church is that love will be readily expressed within the body of Christ. In verse 15, we find the phrase, “Speaking the truth in love” while in verse 16 we find the phrase “make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Both phrases indicate that a mature believer will show love toward others, a mature church will have members who love each other. When there is conflict within the body of Christ, people actually notice. The same is true when there is love within the body of Christ. People will see it. Jesus himself said that people will know that we are his disciples if we have love for one another (John 13:35). If we, as a church, are always fighting against each other, how can people see Jesus Christ in our midst? Fighting and hatred are sure signs of the absence of love which points to the immaturity of the believer and of the church. If we are truly mature, we will be more loving towards each other. We will show concern for those in need. We will empathize with those who are sad and genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice.
So, those are the three sure signs of the maturity of a church and of her members. There will be unity. We will not fall easily to false teachings. We will show love for one another. Do you think that Grace Gospel Church is anywhere near these signs? Are you, as a member of this church, showing signs of maturity in your faith?
Conclusion:
The leaders of the church have been called by the Lord in order to equip you all for works of service, for you all to become even more faithful in following Jesus Christ. They have not been called in order to do everything to keep the church going while you sit back and do nothing except listen to a sermon on Sunday. As members of this church, I want to challenge you all to do two things. First, you should expect your leaders to do their responsibility in training and equipping you for service. If you find any one of us doing everything on our own and not letting you in on the opportunity to serve and to grow, then you should remind us of what our role is. Our role is to equip you, to prepare you to serve the Lord.
The second thing I would like for you to do is to make a decision that you will be willing to undergo training and equipping. It is God's intention that we be equipped to do his work. If we are not willing to be trained and equipped, not only will we fail to mature as a believer, but we will bring the entire church down with us. We will also be cheating our fellow brothers and sisters by failing to use our spiritual gifts and talents to edify them. So please, when the opportunity comes for you to be equipped and trained, take it immediately. When the opportunity to use your gifts and talents come your way, use them.
Friday, August 12, 2011
TEAR DOWN THE WALLS - Preached at GGC (08/07/11)
Tear Down The Walls
Ephesians 2:11 – 22
Introduction:
I would like to begin this morning's message with a little bit of history lesson. Now, who among you have heard of something called the “Berlin Wall”? For those who lived through the time known as the Cold War era, a time when the world was at the brink of war, when we were just waiting for who will make the first shot against the other, whether the Americans or the Russians, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the separation of the East from the West. The Berlin Wall was constructed by the East Germans in 1961 in order to keep their citizens from defecting to the West. You see, East Germany was under the control of the Russians and they viewed the West as their enemy, thus they did not want their people to be influenced by the freedom and democracy that the West was experiencing. Many people attempted to cross over to the West even with the wall set up, but around 200 people died attempting it. However, in the late 1980s, Russia began to soften up its stance because it knew communism was a failed experiment such that when then US president Ronald Reagan challenged then Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 by saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down These Walls!”, he readily gave in. In November 9, 1989, East Germany lifted restrictions on her citizens traveling to the West. At around the same time, people began to chip away at the wall using sledge hammers. By October 3, 1990, the East Germany and West Germany were reunified into a single country and the wall that divided the two countries was completely torn down.
Now, why do people set up walls anyway? In the example I used about the Berlin Wall, the Communist government of East Germany set up that wall to prevent their citizens from defecting to the West. So, we sometimes set up a wall to keep people inside and to prevent escaping, just like the walls of a prison. We also set up walls for purpose of security, such as the Great Wall of China which was built in order to keep invaders away, or our own homes which have high walls and gates in order to keep thieves and robbers away.
Today's passage talks of a wall. It is a wall that is figurative and yet, also a physical wall that has kept people away from God and from each other. However, this wall has been torn down by God himself through the finished work of Christ on the cross. What exactly is this wall? Let's spend time to examine our passage, Ephesians 2:11 – 22, to learn what that wall is, and how it has been broken down and what are its implications for us today.
Context:
If you still remember last month when we looked at Ephesians 2:1 – 10, we were looking at the subject of salvation, in particular, how an individual is saved by the grace of God. This morning's passage is, quite obviously, the continuation of Paul's train of thought. He is still talking about God's saving grace, but now his focus is not on how an individual is saved, but he now talks about how a group of people, namely, the Gentiles were saved. This passage is obviously relevant to us because we are Gentiles. The passage is all about us!
As I mentioned a moment ago, there was both a figurative wall as well as a physical wall. What wall are we talking about in this passage? While it is true that there is the wall of sin which hinders us from God, another wall that existed was the wall that separated the Jews from the Gentiles. You see, the Jews viewed themselves as being a superior race because of their being the chosen people of God; thus, all other people are inferior to them. The Jews of Paul's time practiced racism against people of other races simply because they thought they were the people of God and others weren't. This reflected especially in the temple in Jerusalem, the place where the Jews worshiped God. In fact, let me read to you something inscribed in the walls of the Jewish temple during the time of Jesus - “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will himself to blame for his ensuing death.” The Gentiles were excluded from worshiping God in the temple. They could come to Jerusalem to worship God but they worshiped him from afar, in the courts of the Gentiles, which was one section farther from the court of the women. There was a physical wall that separated them from worshiping together with the Jews in the temple. Furthermore, their distance to the Holy of Holies symbolized how far they were from God.
But then, there is also a figurative wall that separated the Gentiles from the Jews. I would like for us to examine this figurative wall more carefully and see how Christ has destroyed this wall in order to bring peace to the two groups of people.
The Wall That Separates
The physical wall in the temple is nothing compared to the figurative wall that has kept us separated from the Jews. Verses 11 & 12 listed down how the Jews viewed the Gentiles. First, Jews called the Gentiles as “uncircumcised”, meaning, they did not possess the physical mark of the covenant. Most of us are aware that Jewish infants who were 8 days old were circumcised to symbolize that they are under the blessing of God's covenant with Israel. Now, the absence of the mark of circumcision meant that the Gentiles were not God's people, and therefore they were not blessed by God. You see, circumcision for the Jews was a badge of honor, a mark of distinction. Also, the use of the word “uncircumcised” to describe the Gentiles was meant to be an insult, pointing out that the Gentiles were unclean, therefore, they will be cast aside by God.
Second, the Gentiles were described as being separate from Christ. The idea here is that the Gentiles did not have any expectations whatsoever that there would be a savior, a Messiah, who would come to save them. The Jews early on were already awaiting the coming of the Messiah as described throughout the Old Testament. The Jews had hope for a better future. The Gentiles had no such hope at all as they were worshipers of idols.
Third, the Gentiles were excluded from citizenship in Israel. Because they did not have a single drop of Jewish blood, because they could not trace their ancestry back to any of the sons of Jacob, they were considered as not being part of the nation of Israel. This meant that the Gentiles were foreigners to the covenant of promise, meaning, they were excluded from the benefits of being a citizen of Israel. Even if a Gentile decided to believe in the God of Israel, forsaking his idols, he would still be deemed as a second-class citizen by the purebred Jews because he is not a Jew by blood and lineage.
What made matters worse was that the Jews were hostile towards the Gentiles and vice versa. There was a long history of fighting between Israel and the Gentile nations, and this made both sides view each other with disdain. The Jews believed that the Gentiles were made by God for the sole purpose of fueling the fires of hell. It was even unlawful for a Jew to help a Gentile woman give birth because she would simply be helping bring another Gentile into the world. The Gentiles, on the other hand, have been thinking of ways to exterminate the Jews such as during the reign of King Xerxes of Persia, and during the reign of King Antiochus IV from 175 to 164BC. If the Jews viewed the Gentiles as being inferior to them, the Gentiles, in particular the Greeks, viewed the Jews as being Barbarians because they didn't speak the Greek language and adopted Greek culture.
The One Who Broke The Wall
The situation for the Gentiles was terrible. They had no hope or knowledge whatsoever about God. Furthermore, they were enemies with the Jews. The Gentiles were at a serious disadvantage compared to the Jews who could claim to have knowledge of God and possession of the Law as well as being called the chosen people of God. However, the terrible situation of the Gentiles changed when Jesus went to the cross. In verses 13 to 18, Paul argues that because the Gentiles have believed in the message of the Gospel, the following has happened. First, they were no longer separated from God. Prior to the coming of Christ, the Jews viewed the Gentiles as being lost people, as being very far from God; however, because of what Christ has done and because the Gentiles responded in faith to Jesus Christ, they are no longer lost or far away from God. They are now brought near to Christ, just as every Jew who believes in Jesus Christ is near to God.
Second, the barrier that separates Gentiles and Jews have been broken. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the problem of sin was solved, thus removing the barrier that existed between God and man. Now, both Jews and Gentiles can approach God with confidence through Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles are now on equal footing when it comes to approaching God. Both are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, not by the law which the Jews alone possessed and boasted about. Both receive the same Holy Spirit. Now, the symbol of the separation between Jews and Gentiles was the temple with the barriers that excluded the Gentiles from going near to God's presence. God removed that symbol when he destroyed the temple in 70AD.
Third, God created a new man out of the two. In God's sight, there is now no difference between Jew or Gentile. Both are sinners in need of salvation, and both are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ. He made all those who believe in Jesus Christ his new creation where race, gender, status in life are all secondary compared to what God deems us to be. I will talk about that a bit more in a while when we get to our third point. However, when God created a new man out of the two, what he put into effect was that there would be peace between both Jews and Gentiles, there would be reconciliation, and that there would no longer be any hostility. It is because we now believe in the same Lord, we worship the same God, we have the same Holy Spirit in us. We all share in the same salvation. There is now no point in being hostile towards one another, instead, God reconciled the Jews and the Gentiles because of the commonality that exists through Christ.
Brought Together At Last
When Christ saved both Jews and Gentiles, what he did was to make a new creation, as I've mentioned a moment ago. In verses 19 to 22, we find three descriptions of who the believing Jews and the Gentiles are together as one. First, both groups of people became citizens of God's kingdom. When a person comes to faith in Christ, he is changing his citizenship, from that of the world and of the devil, to becoming citizens of heaven, of the kingdom of light. They both owe their allegiance to the same king. They both have the same privileges of being citizens of the kingdom. They both have the same responsibilities of fulfilling the Great Commission and obeying the Great Commandment.
Second, both groups became members of God's household. In other words, both believing Jews and Gentiles are members of the same family. God is their father, Jesus is like their eldest brother, and they are fellow brothers and sisters. Since, both groups are now related to each other because of Christ, there should be love for one another instead of animosity. There should be acceptance instead of rejection. Members of the same family should care for one another and love one another.
Finally, both groups are the building blocks of the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Simply put, the Jews and the Gentiles are joined together so that they will manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in their midst. They will become a people characterized as having the Holy Spirit and living by the guidance of the Spirit.
Implications for Us Today:
You may be wondering, what does today's passage have to do with me? As I've mentioned quite early in my message, it actually has a lot to do with us because we are Gentiles. In the past, we were separated from God, we had no expectations of a Savior, we were viewed as second-class citizens and as enemies by the Jews, but God has changed our situation greatly. In fact, we stand before God on equal footing with the Jews who believe in Jesus. No one is greater than the other. No one is inferior to the other. Whether Jew or Gentile, we are all one in Christ.
Now, if you still don't get the relevance of this passage simply because it seems like a distant concept, then let me bring it closer to home. Let's face it, almost all of us here are of Chinese descent. Admittedly, we are a proud race. We look very highly at our culture and language. The bad thing is that we tend to look down on people of other races simply because they're not Chinese. Even Chinese Christians have the tendency of looking down on our Filipino brothers. We let our culture and race be more dominant than our oneness in Christ. It is as if the non-Chinese are beneath us when it comes to the issue of race. If we are prejudiced against those belonging to other races, aren't we behaving like the Jews during Paul's time? Aren't we declaring ourselves to be more superior than others?
Consider also how we look down on others who are not as financially blessed and capable as we are, or those who don't have as much education as we have. It is as if these people are not worthy to be in your presence. Again, Christians can be guilty of this. Remember that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote against those in the church who play favorites toward the rich. He warned that we are not to fall into the trap of favoritism. How about those who are not in the same standing as we are - We as masters and those who serve us as our servants, as our employees? I am sure some of us here have maids and drivers who are believers of Jesus Christ. How do you treat them? Do you treat them with respect, remembering that they are your brothers and sisters in the Lord?
We also behave like the Jews when we have this attitude of superiority and dominance over those who don't know Jesus yet, instead of being humble and loving enough to reach out to them and tell them about the Good News. We behave like the Jews when we boast of our supposed goodness and we make other people feel like they are the worse of sinners. The Jews were supposed to show the Gentiles the way to God, but they ended up hindering them from coming near to God. We can end up becoming just like them when we put up barriers that prevent people from coming to the Lord Jesus.
In the sight of the Lord, all who belong to Him, regardless of race, wealth, gender, and standing, are equal in his sight. We are all his children. We are all fellow citizens of God's kingdom. We are all building blocks of God's temple. We are all saved by the same way – by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. We all possess the same Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us learn to accept and love one another because what we hold in common is more important than the differences that are apparent. Let us also behave in such a way as to bring more people into God's kingdom, not turn them away from God.
Conclusion:
We are all one in Christ, regardless of race and color, financial and educational standing, position in secular society, in the workplace. Therefore, let us learn to love and accept one another. Let us never look down on our fellow believers nor view ourselves as being superior to others. Let us also never allow our standing in Christ to become a hindrance for non-believers to come to know Jesus Christ. Let us work together to build up God's kingdom, not tear others down.
Tear down the walls of prejudice and favoritism. Tear down the walls of self-perceived superiority. Jesus has already done his part in tearing down the walls that separated us from God as well as between us and the Jews; are we doing our part of tearing down the walls the separate us from our brothers and sisters, as well as from those who are still far away from the Lord Jesus?
Ephesians 2:11 – 22
Introduction:
I would like to begin this morning's message with a little bit of history lesson. Now, who among you have heard of something called the “Berlin Wall”? For those who lived through the time known as the Cold War era, a time when the world was at the brink of war, when we were just waiting for who will make the first shot against the other, whether the Americans or the Russians, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the separation of the East from the West. The Berlin Wall was constructed by the East Germans in 1961 in order to keep their citizens from defecting to the West. You see, East Germany was under the control of the Russians and they viewed the West as their enemy, thus they did not want their people to be influenced by the freedom and democracy that the West was experiencing. Many people attempted to cross over to the West even with the wall set up, but around 200 people died attempting it. However, in the late 1980s, Russia began to soften up its stance because it knew communism was a failed experiment such that when then US president Ronald Reagan challenged then Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 by saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down These Walls!”, he readily gave in. In November 9, 1989, East Germany lifted restrictions on her citizens traveling to the West. At around the same time, people began to chip away at the wall using sledge hammers. By October 3, 1990, the East Germany and West Germany were reunified into a single country and the wall that divided the two countries was completely torn down.
Now, why do people set up walls anyway? In the example I used about the Berlin Wall, the Communist government of East Germany set up that wall to prevent their citizens from defecting to the West. So, we sometimes set up a wall to keep people inside and to prevent escaping, just like the walls of a prison. We also set up walls for purpose of security, such as the Great Wall of China which was built in order to keep invaders away, or our own homes which have high walls and gates in order to keep thieves and robbers away.
Today's passage talks of a wall. It is a wall that is figurative and yet, also a physical wall that has kept people away from God and from each other. However, this wall has been torn down by God himself through the finished work of Christ on the cross. What exactly is this wall? Let's spend time to examine our passage, Ephesians 2:11 – 22, to learn what that wall is, and how it has been broken down and what are its implications for us today.
Context:
If you still remember last month when we looked at Ephesians 2:1 – 10, we were looking at the subject of salvation, in particular, how an individual is saved by the grace of God. This morning's passage is, quite obviously, the continuation of Paul's train of thought. He is still talking about God's saving grace, but now his focus is not on how an individual is saved, but he now talks about how a group of people, namely, the Gentiles were saved. This passage is obviously relevant to us because we are Gentiles. The passage is all about us!
As I mentioned a moment ago, there was both a figurative wall as well as a physical wall. What wall are we talking about in this passage? While it is true that there is the wall of sin which hinders us from God, another wall that existed was the wall that separated the Jews from the Gentiles. You see, the Jews viewed themselves as being a superior race because of their being the chosen people of God; thus, all other people are inferior to them. The Jews of Paul's time practiced racism against people of other races simply because they thought they were the people of God and others weren't. This reflected especially in the temple in Jerusalem, the place where the Jews worshiped God. In fact, let me read to you something inscribed in the walls of the Jewish temple during the time of Jesus - “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will himself to blame for his ensuing death.” The Gentiles were excluded from worshiping God in the temple. They could come to Jerusalem to worship God but they worshiped him from afar, in the courts of the Gentiles, which was one section farther from the court of the women. There was a physical wall that separated them from worshiping together with the Jews in the temple. Furthermore, their distance to the Holy of Holies symbolized how far they were from God.
But then, there is also a figurative wall that separated the Gentiles from the Jews. I would like for us to examine this figurative wall more carefully and see how Christ has destroyed this wall in order to bring peace to the two groups of people.
The Wall That Separates
The physical wall in the temple is nothing compared to the figurative wall that has kept us separated from the Jews. Verses 11 & 12 listed down how the Jews viewed the Gentiles. First, Jews called the Gentiles as “uncircumcised”, meaning, they did not possess the physical mark of the covenant. Most of us are aware that Jewish infants who were 8 days old were circumcised to symbolize that they are under the blessing of God's covenant with Israel. Now, the absence of the mark of circumcision meant that the Gentiles were not God's people, and therefore they were not blessed by God. You see, circumcision for the Jews was a badge of honor, a mark of distinction. Also, the use of the word “uncircumcised” to describe the Gentiles was meant to be an insult, pointing out that the Gentiles were unclean, therefore, they will be cast aside by God.
Second, the Gentiles were described as being separate from Christ. The idea here is that the Gentiles did not have any expectations whatsoever that there would be a savior, a Messiah, who would come to save them. The Jews early on were already awaiting the coming of the Messiah as described throughout the Old Testament. The Jews had hope for a better future. The Gentiles had no such hope at all as they were worshipers of idols.
Third, the Gentiles were excluded from citizenship in Israel. Because they did not have a single drop of Jewish blood, because they could not trace their ancestry back to any of the sons of Jacob, they were considered as not being part of the nation of Israel. This meant that the Gentiles were foreigners to the covenant of promise, meaning, they were excluded from the benefits of being a citizen of Israel. Even if a Gentile decided to believe in the God of Israel, forsaking his idols, he would still be deemed as a second-class citizen by the purebred Jews because he is not a Jew by blood and lineage.
What made matters worse was that the Jews were hostile towards the Gentiles and vice versa. There was a long history of fighting between Israel and the Gentile nations, and this made both sides view each other with disdain. The Jews believed that the Gentiles were made by God for the sole purpose of fueling the fires of hell. It was even unlawful for a Jew to help a Gentile woman give birth because she would simply be helping bring another Gentile into the world. The Gentiles, on the other hand, have been thinking of ways to exterminate the Jews such as during the reign of King Xerxes of Persia, and during the reign of King Antiochus IV from 175 to 164BC. If the Jews viewed the Gentiles as being inferior to them, the Gentiles, in particular the Greeks, viewed the Jews as being Barbarians because they didn't speak the Greek language and adopted Greek culture.
The One Who Broke The Wall
The situation for the Gentiles was terrible. They had no hope or knowledge whatsoever about God. Furthermore, they were enemies with the Jews. The Gentiles were at a serious disadvantage compared to the Jews who could claim to have knowledge of God and possession of the Law as well as being called the chosen people of God. However, the terrible situation of the Gentiles changed when Jesus went to the cross. In verses 13 to 18, Paul argues that because the Gentiles have believed in the message of the Gospel, the following has happened. First, they were no longer separated from God. Prior to the coming of Christ, the Jews viewed the Gentiles as being lost people, as being very far from God; however, because of what Christ has done and because the Gentiles responded in faith to Jesus Christ, they are no longer lost or far away from God. They are now brought near to Christ, just as every Jew who believes in Jesus Christ is near to God.
Second, the barrier that separates Gentiles and Jews have been broken. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the problem of sin was solved, thus removing the barrier that existed between God and man. Now, both Jews and Gentiles can approach God with confidence through Christ. Both Jews and Gentiles are now on equal footing when it comes to approaching God. Both are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, not by the law which the Jews alone possessed and boasted about. Both receive the same Holy Spirit. Now, the symbol of the separation between Jews and Gentiles was the temple with the barriers that excluded the Gentiles from going near to God's presence. God removed that symbol when he destroyed the temple in 70AD.
Third, God created a new man out of the two. In God's sight, there is now no difference between Jew or Gentile. Both are sinners in need of salvation, and both are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ. He made all those who believe in Jesus Christ his new creation where race, gender, status in life are all secondary compared to what God deems us to be. I will talk about that a bit more in a while when we get to our third point. However, when God created a new man out of the two, what he put into effect was that there would be peace between both Jews and Gentiles, there would be reconciliation, and that there would no longer be any hostility. It is because we now believe in the same Lord, we worship the same God, we have the same Holy Spirit in us. We all share in the same salvation. There is now no point in being hostile towards one another, instead, God reconciled the Jews and the Gentiles because of the commonality that exists through Christ.
Brought Together At Last
When Christ saved both Jews and Gentiles, what he did was to make a new creation, as I've mentioned a moment ago. In verses 19 to 22, we find three descriptions of who the believing Jews and the Gentiles are together as one. First, both groups of people became citizens of God's kingdom. When a person comes to faith in Christ, he is changing his citizenship, from that of the world and of the devil, to becoming citizens of heaven, of the kingdom of light. They both owe their allegiance to the same king. They both have the same privileges of being citizens of the kingdom. They both have the same responsibilities of fulfilling the Great Commission and obeying the Great Commandment.
Second, both groups became members of God's household. In other words, both believing Jews and Gentiles are members of the same family. God is their father, Jesus is like their eldest brother, and they are fellow brothers and sisters. Since, both groups are now related to each other because of Christ, there should be love for one another instead of animosity. There should be acceptance instead of rejection. Members of the same family should care for one another and love one another.
Finally, both groups are the building blocks of the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Simply put, the Jews and the Gentiles are joined together so that they will manifest the power of the Holy Spirit in their midst. They will become a people characterized as having the Holy Spirit and living by the guidance of the Spirit.
Implications for Us Today:
You may be wondering, what does today's passage have to do with me? As I've mentioned quite early in my message, it actually has a lot to do with us because we are Gentiles. In the past, we were separated from God, we had no expectations of a Savior, we were viewed as second-class citizens and as enemies by the Jews, but God has changed our situation greatly. In fact, we stand before God on equal footing with the Jews who believe in Jesus. No one is greater than the other. No one is inferior to the other. Whether Jew or Gentile, we are all one in Christ.
Now, if you still don't get the relevance of this passage simply because it seems like a distant concept, then let me bring it closer to home. Let's face it, almost all of us here are of Chinese descent. Admittedly, we are a proud race. We look very highly at our culture and language. The bad thing is that we tend to look down on people of other races simply because they're not Chinese. Even Chinese Christians have the tendency of looking down on our Filipino brothers. We let our culture and race be more dominant than our oneness in Christ. It is as if the non-Chinese are beneath us when it comes to the issue of race. If we are prejudiced against those belonging to other races, aren't we behaving like the Jews during Paul's time? Aren't we declaring ourselves to be more superior than others?
Consider also how we look down on others who are not as financially blessed and capable as we are, or those who don't have as much education as we have. It is as if these people are not worthy to be in your presence. Again, Christians can be guilty of this. Remember that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote against those in the church who play favorites toward the rich. He warned that we are not to fall into the trap of favoritism. How about those who are not in the same standing as we are - We as masters and those who serve us as our servants, as our employees? I am sure some of us here have maids and drivers who are believers of Jesus Christ. How do you treat them? Do you treat them with respect, remembering that they are your brothers and sisters in the Lord?
We also behave like the Jews when we have this attitude of superiority and dominance over those who don't know Jesus yet, instead of being humble and loving enough to reach out to them and tell them about the Good News. We behave like the Jews when we boast of our supposed goodness and we make other people feel like they are the worse of sinners. The Jews were supposed to show the Gentiles the way to God, but they ended up hindering them from coming near to God. We can end up becoming just like them when we put up barriers that prevent people from coming to the Lord Jesus.
In the sight of the Lord, all who belong to Him, regardless of race, wealth, gender, and standing, are equal in his sight. We are all his children. We are all fellow citizens of God's kingdom. We are all building blocks of God's temple. We are all saved by the same way – by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. We all possess the same Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us learn to accept and love one another because what we hold in common is more important than the differences that are apparent. Let us also behave in such a way as to bring more people into God's kingdom, not turn them away from God.
Conclusion:
We are all one in Christ, regardless of race and color, financial and educational standing, position in secular society, in the workplace. Therefore, let us learn to love and accept one another. Let us never look down on our fellow believers nor view ourselves as being superior to others. Let us also never allow our standing in Christ to become a hindrance for non-believers to come to know Jesus Christ. Let us work together to build up God's kingdom, not tear others down.
Tear down the walls of prejudice and favoritism. Tear down the walls of self-perceived superiority. Jesus has already done his part in tearing down the walls that separated us from God as well as between us and the Jews; are we doing our part of tearing down the walls the separate us from our brothers and sisters, as well as from those who are still far away from the Lord Jesus?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)