Whom do We Serve?

We are Enslaved to Whom we Obey-

   “15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:15–18, ESV)

Jesus told the pharisees that they were enslaved to sin simply because they were sinners

“34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34, ESV)

Jonathan Edwards, in a Sermon from 1720 says the natural man serves a tyrannical master...

"The service of sin is a most tyrannical service; men therein lose their reason and understanding. Sin makes all his servants labor till they are blind and mad, till they are not able to see whereabouts they are, and then leads [them] away towards their own destruction."

But we are free men and have the power to walk in newness of life, having been set free from sin!  We now serve a gracious master.  Let us then remind ourselves...even preach to ourselves daily...that sin has no dominion over us and we need not present our members to sin, but rather, we can present our heart and soul to God and He will bring about obedience by the blood of His Son and the in-working of His Spirit for the sake of His glory!

“4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4, ESV)

“13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:13–14, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Do We Worship in Spirit and Truth?

A Reflection on David's Effort to Bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem-

Observe the worshipful celebration that surrounds this procession but let us always consider our hearts and ensure that we worship God in Spirit and Truth...

“3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.” (2 Samuel 6:3–6, ESV) 

So here we see the happy occasion of the Ark being brought to the City of David (Jerusalem) as David has recently taken the City for the Israelites under his newly established throne over all of Israel.  Notice, however, that there is a problem.  Compare their actions against God's specific direction regarding how to handle the holy things of the tabernacle and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant...

“15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.” (Numbers 4:15, ESV)

“13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.” (Exodus 25:13–15, ESV)

 “8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.” (Numbers 7:8–9, ESV)

David and his men were ignoring God's law and they were perhaps more in celebration of their conquest and their own efforts, not realizing fully that God was greater than the blessings and more to be honored than His gifts and completely responsible for their strength?  Their eyes were not on the Lord as evidenced by this neglect of God's plain direction.  Do we tend to do the same?  Do we sometimes ignore God and His direction?  Do we act with motives more about ourselves that "doing all things to the glory of God"?  Do our actions tell of our heart?  Are we sometimes deceived?  Do we sometimes receive God's blessing only to value the blessing more than God?

Next we see the outcome of their misplaced effort that did not honor God and was not revering the truth of His Word...

“6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:6–7, ESV)

Let us learn to obey God and to seek to honor Him not by our own ideas but by the truth of His Word.  See how David's response to this chastisement by God is probably like our own can be...

“8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.” (2 Samuel 6:8–11, ESV)

So David interprets God's judgement against Uzzah as a breaking out from God's normal patient and merciful temperament with His people. Perhaps David considers Uzzah's action as righteous? Perhaps David thinks it better we break God's law than allow the Ark to be "defiled" by falling to the ground? In a sermon I recently heard by R.C. Sproul, R.C. suggests that Uzzah errantly assumed that his hand was less defiling than the dirt of the ground. He notes that dirt does not sin but honors God perfectly always in doing precisely what it was created to do. Uzzah did what the Apostle Paul condemns in Romans...

“8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.” (Romans 3:8, ESV)

Does God owe us mercy?  Do we have a posture of entitlement before God?  David sinned here and he was angry at God for reminding him that we are to hallow His name.   David needed time and space from his error for God to bring repentance and restoration.  Do we sometimes get mad at God and do we fear Him only after we are disciplined in some manner?  Only after we suffer a consequence to our sin?  Is this what it takes?  Perhaps we should fear Him naturally and live joyfully under His authority and carry the ark on our shoulders in the first place.

David got there after a few months and then he tried again with a new repentant, God-exalting attitude and he worshiped now in Spirit and in truth.  He offered worship to God on God's terms and he did not presume to make up his own rules.  David was quite over the conquest of his hand and surely gave God David humbled himself before the Lord and this fear of God is the beginning of wisdom...

   “12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (2 Samuel 6:12–15, ESV)

David writes Psalm 68 sometime following this and we see his heart giving glory to God for all power and strength...

“35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” (Psalm 68:35, ESV)

Let us check our heart and be certain that we are not feeling an entitlement to God's mercy.  Let us seek to live under His authority by submitting to it.  Let us search out His direction rather than making up our own ideas of what it is to follow Jesus.  Let us not do evil thinking that good will come of it.  Let us not dishonor God in how we live but let us always walk in surrendered obedience to His good will and let us be like the dirt- that we would fulfill our purpose as image bearers always.

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Reflection on Psalm 139

Psalm 139

This psalm is wonderful and tells of the omniscience (all-knowing) and omnipresence (everywhere) of God as well as His loving care.  Much gold to be found here but let's highlight verse 5 where it sits in this section from verses 1-10.

Verses 1-10

“1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:1–10, ESV)

Reflections on verse 5

Here is such high and wonderful statement that Davis goes on in verse 6 to say that it is too high for him.  David says this truth is too incredible to comprehend correctly.  We cannot possibly understand this and yet continue to have one ounce of worry or fear or distress in our souls.  We err when we fail to see the strength in our position in God's grace, but of course, this is human.

Prayer- 

Lord God in heaven.  Help me to know that you hem me in.  Help me to know that you are holding me with your gentle and strong hand exactly where you have me and exactly where you want me.  Your protection and your guidance and your power beset me.  I am unable to escape and no power can stop your hand that keeps me.  I am fixed in such a way that there is no chance of failure.  Lord you hold me from each side altogether even knowing my failures and my weaknesses and my faults.  You know everything about me and then you tell me that you hem me in.  Thank you for such a confidence when I consider how much you know of me.  Thank you that my own insufficient knowledge of myself that would already damn me and put me to shame is not the glue that holds me.  It is you who hem me in by your strong hand and it is you who go before and come behind me.  You are the God of my past and my future.  You are the king of my present and my strength.  Let my mind not lose sight of this O God and let me understand more and more the truth of this wonderful psalm and let me rejoice in my standing.  Let me not be proud when I am on the mountain, but let me trust in your hand alone.  Let me always see your hand as generous an merciful and gracious and never as impinging upon my rights or my freedoms.  Let such lies be far from me and let he be humble and contrite before you that I would tremble at your Word O Lord.  I thank you for thy love and care in the name of your holy Son- Amen!

Charles Spurgeon's comments-

From the Treasury of David, C.H. Spurgeon's commentary on the Psalms: 

“Thou hast beset me behind and before.” As though we were caught in an ambush, or besieged by an army which has wholly beleaguered the city walls, we are surrounded by the Lord. God has set us where we be, and beset us wherever we be. Behind us there is God recording our sins, or in grace blotting out the remembrance of them; and before us there is God foreknowing all our deeds, and providing for all our wants. We cannot turn back and so escape him, for he is behind; we cannot go forward and outmarch him, for he is before. He not only beholds us, but he besets us; and lest there should seem any chance of escape, or lest we should imagine that the surrounding presence is yet a distant one, it is added,—“And laid thine hand upon me.” The prisoner marches along surrounded by a guard, and gripped by an officer. God is very near; we are wholly in his power; from that power there is no escape. It is not said that God will thus beset us and arrest us, but it is done—“Thou hast beset me.” Shall we not alter the figure, and say that our heavenly Father has folded his arms around us, and caressed us with his hand? It is even so with those who are by faith the children of the Most High.

Our good shepherd knows us intimately and keeps His guiding hand upon us!

Soli Deo Gloria!

I Need Easy Steps! I Need a Formula!

So how do we die to live?

Matthew 16:24 essentially gives us three steps at the outset...

“24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, ESV)

Deny yourself / Take up your Cross / Follow Jesus

Restated, this can be-  

1. Turn around
2. Surrender
3. Walk together

Turn around:  This denial we discussed is not ultimate, so what is it?  I think it begins with denying the lie of the world that it's all about me and that all we have is what we see.  Denying self is about refusing to accept anything that pulls me away from God.  Denying is about getting clarity in stopping the direction I am heading and turning to see the cross of Christ.  Denying self is also to admit that I don't have the ability in myself to follow Jesus and that I need God to act in me.  Denying self is also recognizing that I am a sinner and confessing and asking God to change me.  

Surrender:  Jesus said that you must renounce all you own or you could not follow Him.  This sounds like the parable about the treasure in a field where the man sells all he owns in order to have the treasure by buying the field where he buried it.  So surrender, I think, is making Christ the treasure of our life and putting down any old goal or desire or driving factor in our life and replacing it with one purpose- Jesus.  Our old desires and our old purposes die on the cross and we now live to God.  I am no longer a firefighter…I am a disciple of Jesus who sometimes works at a fire station.  But this is supernatural.  We need God to work in us to give us this surrender, this death.  This is abandonment of trust and hope in the world for our satisfaction or happiness and replacing the object of our hope and trust and letting God be our portion and the strength of our hearts.

Walk together:  Jesus wants us to follow his example.  Jesus wants us to follow Him.  Jesus wants us to rely on the Father as He did.  Jesus wants us to Pray and to seek only the Father's will as He did.  Jesus wants us to sacrifice ourselves for our bride as He did.  Jesus wants us to put others before ourselves as He did.  Jesus wants us to be compassionate and merciful to those who are suffering as He was.  Jesus wants us to keep our eyes set to heaven and to not store up treasures on earth as He did.  Jesus wants us to walk in fellowship with the Father as He did.  Jesus wants us to live crazy meaningful lives that change everything like He did.  Jesus wants us to be servants as He was.  Jesus wants us to conquer with surrendered obedience to the Father as He did.  Jesus wants us to trust that He has made a way.  Jesus wants us to believe that He is our advocate and that He holds us firmly on the path.  Jesus wants us to live in the light of the truth and not in the shadows of the lies of the world.  Jesus wants us to be on mission.  Jesus wants us to be disciples.  Jesus wants us to make disciples.  Jesus wants us.

Denying self, taking up a cross, and following Jesus is making our life about Jesus and not about ourselves.  Let us do this each day when we wake.  May we be God-centered, gospel driven, and Christ exalting in our families and in our work and in our ministry and in our recreation.

We need God's grace each step of the way so let us pray regularly and seek to connect with Him in His Word.  We cannot make our life about Jesus without the Holy Spirit doing this in us.  Ask and receive, seek and find.

“10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:10–11, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

So Die to Live, huh?

A Paradox of choices

Yesterday we looked at the exhortation of Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 16.  See yesterday's post for this.

The expanded statement to be drawn from study of this passage is "Die to death in order to live to life".  There is no ultimate self denial, but only the choice to live rather than die and what kind of self denial is that!

That is called grace and that is called surrender and that is called "God is able and I am not".  Ever tried to get out of a Chinese finger trap?  What seems like giving up and surrendering is actually victory and freedom.

Find the expanded idea to die to death and live to life in Romans 6:10 in the example of Jesus...

“10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” (Romans 6:10, ESV)

The grounding statement in this Matthew 16 passage is found in verses 27.  The whole passage hinges on the fact that Jesus is going to come and He will repay each person according to what we have done.  See Romans 2:6-10 for a comparison...

“6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.” (Romans 2:6–10, ESV)

There are two options in Matthew 16 and here in Romans 2 when we consider the coming of Jesus.  Death or life.  Attain the world or attain your soul.  Seek yourself or seek God.  Follow a lie or follow the truth.  See the two options in Matthew 16-

Option 1 is in verses 24-25.  

Deny yourself this life (later clarified to be "the world") and get some different life (eternal life).  Get Jesus.  Remember that Romans 6:23 says that eternal life is in Jesus.

Option 2 is in verse 26.  

Protect "your life".  Take the world.  Lose your soul.  Don't get Jesus.

The paradox of dying to live comes alive in Romans 2 (pun intended) as Paul writes about how the selfish people (one who obey unrighteousness rather than the truth) will receive wrath and fury but the other people (I guess the unselfish people) will receive glory and honor and peace.  I will take door number two thank you!  But look at what it says.  How does it describe the "unselfish people"?  They seek for glory and honor and immortality!  That doesn't sound very self denying or unselfish, does it?

Or does this maybe reveal the paradox of Matthew 16 for us?  Maybe Paul is taking out the "means" of the kind of self denial that Jesus is explaining in Matthew and jumping right to the "end" of the self denial that Jesus is talking about.  Do you see it?  Do we fail to see that the kind of self denial that Jesus is calling us to for eternal life is no denial at all?  Do we see that it is merely denying ourselves the lies of the world and choosing the truth of what we receive in choosing Jesus?

If we choose to follow Jesus, the world sees us as denying ourselves of certain pleasures and freedoms.  But the truth is that we gain ultimate joy and freedom!  So we are called to give up the pretend happiness and hollow pleasures for the real deal.  Give up the broken copy for the real Mccoy...

“11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

So do we settle for the hollow and fleeting and unfulfilling joys of this world or do we go for the glory and honor and immortality in Jesus?  If we live for His glory we honor God and we live forever.

So let us not be enemies of God by making ourselves a friend of this world...

“4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, ESV)

But let us be rich toward God and enjoy eternity with Him with all that it offers in great excess to this life...

“21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”” (Luke 12:21, ESV)

As a wise man once said "You gotta do a little dying to do a little living!"  Now let us die to self  with joy and only in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit knowing that we are surely not losing anything valuable but rather, we are gaining Jesus- and He is everything!  

So important questions-

1. How do I do it and in what power?
2. When do I get the gain?

More on these to come...but until then-

“11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11, ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Die to Live

Reflection on Jesus' exhortation to His disciples in Matthew 16

In Matthew 16:24-28 Jesus explains the we must not seek to save our life, but rather, we should deny ourselves and lose this life in order to save it.  We are to take up our cross and follow Him.

People die on crosses and it seems that we must die in order to live.  So what kind of death is this and what does it mean to deny ourselves?  Is this an ultimate self denial where we are left with nothing?  Are we to refuse all pleasure and find "holiness" in a life of denial of all?

Consider this and search your bible (concordance and/or cross references are very helpful) for some responses to these questions and we will pick it up tomorrow.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Faith of an Outsider

Reflection on the Faith of the Caananite Woman in Matthew 15

In Matthew 15:21-28 (also Mark 7:24-30) we see the story of a woman who is not a Jew but who has great faith and she receives blessing from Jesus in the healing of her daughter.  This, however, only happens because she is willing to acknowledge her brokenness and her plight of being an outsider, not a member of the family of God.  She rests her faith, it would seem, on the promise of God from Genesis 22:17-18…

“17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”” (Genesis 22:17–18, ESV)

As she addresses Jesus as the son of David, she was surely aware of some Jewish tradition and teaching.  Though she is an outsider she pleads not upon her merit or any sense of Jesus owing her this blessing, but rather she pleads based upon the blessing God promised to all the nations being blessed in the offspring of Abraham.  She perceived that the blessing of Abraham spills over into saving grace for every tribe, people, language, and nation (cf. Rev 5:9).

“22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”” (Matthew 15:22–27, ESV)

Jesus knew this woman and her faith before the interchange began and He lead her to this confession through his statements and He is pleased to bless her.  She did not arch her back to the suggestion that mercy is not deserved or earned.  She did not contest that the family nature of this blessing was unfair or unjust.  Salvation is a family matter and God sent His Son for His lost sheep.  But Jesus explains in John 10 that He has other sheep (other than the house of Israel)…

“15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:15–16, ESV)

So let us not come to God demanding something that is not ours and something that we do not deserve.  Rather, let us cast ourselves at His feet and claim the promises of God knowing that He will not turn away those who genuinely and humbly call upon His mercy in the person of Jesus…

“13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13, ESV)

Some give appearance of relying upon His name and are yet turned away (cf. Luke 9:57-62).  But this woman honors God and understands mercy.  Her faith is genuine and as is the case with all genuine faith, it was an unmerited gift from God (cf. Eph 2:8).

“28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Matthew 15:28, ESV)

Like the Caananite woman here, let us recognize our need and let us give glory to God in trusting in a promise of mercy rather than in our deserving or earning or our twisted sense of entitlement.  Let us rejoice in the Lord and praise His glorious and amazing grace that saves a wretch like me!

Soli Deo Gloria!