What profit is it to know the Truth, but to be unmoved?  It is better that one never knew, than to hear, and be unchanged.  On the one hand, a person is rejecting what they do not know through their sin.  How much more then is the insult of the rejection for the person who knows God?

My exhortation for today is a call to move beyond being mere hearers of the Word, and to become doers.  Here is what you see all throughout the New Testament:  Faith alone saves you (Ephesians 2:8-9), and authentic faith is always accompanied by works that bear witness to what you believe (James 2).  This is why Jesus asks people why they call Him Lord and do not do what He says. (Luke 6:46)  If they truly believed He was Lord, they would.  That was true for the people following Christ during His earthly ministry, and it is true for those who claim to be following Him today.

Matthew 21:28-32 – “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”

John 6:27-29 – “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doingthe works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Matthew 28:18 – “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

What have you purposed yourself to do?  Are you driven by work, the accumulation of things, the pursuit of happiness in relationships?  These things will all pass away, and none of them will profit you eternally.  Instead, labor for those things that will bear fruit into eternity.  Pursue the Lord, and labor to be an effective minister of reconciliation.  Share the gospel.  Love the Word of God and apply it to yourself and others.  Seek not simply to make converts or gather “church buddies”, but make disciples of Christ.

When you were of the world, you sought after the things of the world, but now you are a new creation in Christ.  Those things no longer own you as they once did, but you have found a new treasure in Christ.  Therefore, let your life give rise to praise to the One who is in you by faith, Jesus Christ.  As a new creation, in Him, plow the earth of others’ hearts, that God might grant repentance and faith to some.  Make your and my joy complete, to know the surpassing worth of Christ through losing our lives to gain Him.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Romans 10:1-4 – “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

I have to admit, I read the above passage, and it scares me.  It makes me fearful for a large body of professing believers.  There are three main points that I want to highlight about the people Paul is talking about above.

1)  They seemingly have a passionate outward affection for God.
2)  They are seeking to be righteous
3)  They are not saved

I look at the number of church dwellers on Sunday, and I’m not even sure if many have made it as far as the people Paul is describing above.  I know a great many Christians who simply believe that because Jesus died for their sins, they can go on living in their sin and Jesus will forgive them.  That is NOT Biblical.

Hebrews 10:26-27 – “if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” 

But we’re not talking about that group of people, we’re looking at the type of people Paul talked about above.  These were seemingly “good” and “nice” people.  These were people who showed up at church every Sunday.  These were people who held tightly to their moral convictions.  These were people who remained under the wrath of God, just as lost as the greatest sinner walking the streets.

Christianity is not about finding a better you.  Christianity is not about being a better more moral person.  Someone who believes that is missing the WHOLE point of the cross.  The point of the cross of Christ is that you aren’t a good person, you never would be, you never could be.  When you understand that not just your bad deeds, but even your best deeds are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) in front of the righteousness of God, THEN you by God’s grace may have eyes to see your need for a savior.  I am a Christian, and when I am in front of God, should He ask me what good thing I have done, I will kneel and say meekly – nothing, but by your grace and mercy I have trusted and followed the One who is Good, Jesus, Who has ransomed me with His blood.

My exhortation is the goal of Paul above; trust only in Jesus Christ’s righteousness, not your own.  Submit fully to Him in every way, especially from His Word.  There is a right way, a wrong way, and God’s way to live life.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.   Let us commit ourselves to Him, for His glory, to be a people who joyfully are led by Him into His righteousness, not our own.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

So for you following along with me for a while you’ll know that I had to take a break for a bit as I healed up from a injury to my wrist I had a couple months back playing tennis.  Well today I went to the doctor for a follow up appointment to find out that I’m going to need surgery.  This was a surprise as until today my comments from my doctor were highly favorable that surgery would be unnecessary.  The reality is that while this is extremely inconvenient to lose the use of my dominant hand for a month or two, and there are always risks associated with surgery / anesthesia, this is a very small matter compared to many people are dealing with.

I didn’t want to lose this opportunity however, to encourage you all in your faith, through my circumstance.  Here are the two things that I cling to whenever life throws me a curveball.  God is good, and He is sovereign.  I know the goodness of God from Romans 5:8, which tells me that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me.  While there was nothing good for me to offer God, God in His mercy humbled Himself, at great cost to Himself, and bore the wrath of God due my sin.  God is sovereign.  Even the hairs on my head have been numbered (Matt:10:30); God numbered the stars in the sky and knows each by their name (Psalm 174:4).

So it is that I can agree with the prophet Habakkuk, Habakkuk 3:17-19 – “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.”

How can I be downtrodden when the God of my salvation reigns?  Our joy does not rest in this world, but in our inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.  When everything else is counted as loss to know the glory of God in Jesus Christ, even my sufferings will be made subservient to glorify Him for my joy.  In that I will rejoice, and my hope is that you each feels the weight of that joy as well.

Grace be with you,
Adam

Today is the last in a short series on called “Gaining through Giving”.  We’ve already answer the question of whether or not it is wrong to pursue gain through giving, by saying that it is never wrong to pursue joy in God, which is what we are doing when we are obedient to Him.  We also have looked at what it means to gain through giving up control, money, and time.  Today’s message is really the culmination of all of those things.  We are going to look at what it means to gain through giving your life.  How do you live well, and die well to the glory of God?

Mark 8:34-35 – If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

There is a remarkable difference between Christian martyrs and the martyrs of other religions.  In the religion of Islam, for example, the motive of their martyrs is ultimately to be accepted by their God, and the reward they will receive in heaven.  Some Christians, too, need to ask themselves some hard questions about their own desires for Heaven.  Would they be happy in Heaven with unlimited health, wealth, and being reunited with relatives if God were not there?  That’s another discussion for another day, but Christian martyrs do not die to be accepted by God, as do Muslim martyrs.  Christian Martyrs die because they are accepted by God already, and they die in trying to reconcile others to Him through the gospel.

While not all of us will be called to give up our physical lives for the gospel, we should all be willing to do so, even eager should the need arise.  Moreover we should ask ourselves how every aspect of our life is bringing glory to God through reconciling others to Him through the gospel & making disciples of Christ.  Paul isn’t being idealistic in Philippians 1:21-23 when he says “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”  At that moment, Paul was literally jailed and there was always the possibility of His being killed for His faith.  Yet he spent that time in jail to share the gospel with his jailers, and to encourage other churches through his writing.  Even jailed Paul was still joyful in seeing the gospel proclaimed.

What is the burning center of Paul’s faith that enables Him to feel this way, and empowers Him to continue joyfully in ministry even at the risk of death?  The answer, I believe, can be found in another letter written by Paul to the church at Rome.  Romans 8:23-25 – “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

So for Paul, His eagerness to live for Christ, and even die to that end, is rooted in His hope for His “adoption as a son, the redemption of his body”.  What does that mean though?  Well it doesn’t mean that Paul isn’t already adopted as a son through Christ.  If Paul was talking about that, He would not use the past sense when talking about salvation – “in this hope we were saved”.  So Paul’s eagerness is not about earning or meriting salvation.  Paul is talking here about the fullness of a salvation that has already been accomplished.  We were saved by Jesus Christ on a cross 2,000 years ago, but who we are in Christ is not yet fulfilled.  We are still in bodies diseased with sin.  We are not yet holy as God is holy, but we will be.  We know God in part now through His Word, but then, we will no longer need words because we will see Him as He is.  Then we will have a fullness of knowledge.

1 Corinthians 13:12 – “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

This is what it’s all about.  A life lived in obedience to Christ, being transformed into his image, looking forward to the day when our sanctification will be complete; when our joy will be infinite in seeing and savoring the glory of God in Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Look forward a few verses to Romans 8:29-30 – “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus Himself prayed that we would know the glory of God through Him, for our joy.  John 17:24 – ^“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Well, I wish I could continue, but again that’s probably more than enough to chew on for one day.  I hope that you’re piecing some of these things together on your own from God’s Word.  I hope that maybe you’ve gotten a taste of the joy of the knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ.  If you have, dig deep there.  Everything else is a means to that end.  Everything lost will be gain if it is given up to accomplish that.  Lose your life.  Listen to God’s call on your life at work, at home, at church, among friends.  He has a call on each of us individually, that will result in our greatest joy and His glory.  Let joy in God lead you to live mightily for His name.

Nehemiah 8:10 – “do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam

If you live to be 80, you’ll have lived roughly 2.5 Billion seconds.  That sounds like a lot doesn’t it?  It becomes a smaller number when you realize that you burn through 90,000 seconds a day, or about 32 million every year.  By the time you finish reading this, another 60-600 will have flown by.  These are the moments that make up our lives.  Our most precious resource is not any material possession or money, but our time.  No matter how many pills you take, or how good of shape you’re in, your days are numbered.  So are mine, so are everyones.  Wisdom is gained through calling this to mind as you choose how you will spend the time you have.

Psalm 90:10-12 – “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.  Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

It is because of the very precious nature of time, that how we spend it is immensely important.  I’ve always found personally that a gauge of a person’s convictions were not measured by the amount he/she was willing to give financially, but what amount of their time they committed to a cause.  Now the series I’ve been running through the past few times has been called “gaining through giving”.  Therefore, today I want to look at how and what we gain through giving up our time.

First I want to encourage you with two things.  You are already seeking after the Lord, otherwise nothing I have to say from the Bible would be of interest to you.  In this way you have at least apportioned some of your time to seek after Him and His will.  Secondly, none of us (except for maybe John MacArthur, I don’t think that man sleeps) submits our time to the Lord like we should.  So we’re all in this together.  Our goal is not that we would become task masters, but that we would be treasure seekers.  We don’t want to merely replace our tasks for the day, but to transform them into joy-filled duties of delight for the glory of God.

How do we get there?  Ironically the first and hardest step for most people is to simply stop for a moment.  Will you stop, even for just 30 minutes in the next week to seriously consider how you are spending your time?  It may be helpful to try to map out how much time you are spending on various things in your life, like sports, TV, work, going out with friends, etc.  Looking back on what you have written you will likely fall into one of two camps.  One, you will see a lot of empty time from watching TV, etc.  Alternatively, you will see a week that is so jammed packed, that you wonder if you should schedule your trip to the ER now when you collapse… you know, so it doesn’t conflict with everything else you have to get that day.

Here I’ll have to stop myself from wanting to exhort you to not make yourself “busy to death”, but that’s another topic.  Just know that God wants for you to have peace in your life, and it’s ok to say “no”, even to ministry opportunities.  So here is my challenge and hopefully encouragement.  You’ve stopped for a moment, you’ve got an idea of how you spend your time throughout the week; now match your time up to the Bible and the life of Jesus.  Jesus worked as a carpenter, Jesus ate and drank, and enjoyed the company of friends.  These are the things that we all share in our life, but Jesus was balanced and singular in purpose.  Moreover, Jesus lived to serve others and was at the same time the most infinitely joyful person.  Why was that?

I wish I had the time to unpack this next section of scripture more, but I can already tell I’m running long, so I’m trusting the Spirit in you to do heavy lifting.

Philippians 2:1-11 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

3 quick things to get from the above passage

1)  Joy was the author (Paul’s) ultimate goal through exhorting the Philippians to service
2)  That singular purpose to serve towards the glory of God that was in Christ, is in every believer because Christ in the Holy Spirit is in every believer
3)  Pursuing the glory of God, even at the cost of His life was “gain” to Christ, therefore the glory of God, at any cost of time is gain to us as well (because our joy in Heaven for eternity will be enjoying, in awe, the glory of God, to which there is no end)

If you are asking yourself, well Jesus didn’t seem very joyful on the cross, did He?  Was joy in the glory of God on His mind when He went to die?  Yes.

Hebrews 12:2 – “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross”

Paul says it this way earlier in Philippians 1:21 – ^“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

My exhortation is simple, live to pursue joy in God through dying to yourself, and serving others.  Let your life sing to the glory of God, and know that your inheritance in Heaven is greater than you could imagine.  For you, maybe you need to let go of some things, and make time to serve others.  Others, you may need to trade in some time in front of the TV, for some time serving the poor.  Two things will happen when you life becomes about serving others instead of serving yourself.  One, you will find out just how selfish we all are, and God will begin to grow you.  Second you will find out how rich the glory of God is, when you lose some time, but you gain a brother or sister in Christ for eternity.

Grace be with you,
Adam

One of the great things about not being paid for ministry is that I have free reign to talk about money.  It’s amazing, few subjects compare to money at potential iliiciting a negative response, even from Christians.  You can talk about pride all day long, a lack of patience, lack of spiritual disciplines, but once you start talking to a Christian about his/her money, watch out!

Here’s the problem.  It’s not your money.  Most Christians pay lip service to that idea, but it hasn’t taken root in their lives.  When you claim that you have worked hard for your money (I hope you have), ask yourself a few questions.  Who gave you your brain?  You may have studied hard, but who gave you the ability to learn?  Who gave you your hands?  Your eyes.  Who surrounded you with opportunities so that your gifts could be put to use?

Looked at another way, if the Earth and all that it contains was created by God, how are you going to claim “ownership” of it?  Did you make the Earth?  Where were you when God molded it with His hands that you now want to lay claim to a piece of it?  God never made us owners, we are stewards.  This is the tragedy behind legalistic tithing.  People believe they’re buying off God with 10% of their money so they can be greedy and selfish with the other 90%.  That was never God’s intention.  How do you treat your money?  Do you treat it as if you own it, or how would you say you are stewarding your resources for the glory of God?

What I want to help you move beyond is seeing giving monetarily as something that is merely an act of obedience.  If you cannot give your money away joyfully, ask yourself whether your heart truly desires God.  God has given you money, not so that it would terminate on yourself, but that you have an opportunity in giving it away to reveal the worth of the glory of God, and take part in the Kingdom of Heaven.  When you give it away, be encouraged; the inheritance you’re receiving is the glory of God, which will be revealed to you when you see God fully in Heaven.

Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

My exhortation is to not let your pleasures be simple and small.  Do not be satisfied merely with what you can see in front of you, but seek the higher things of God.  Set your mind on growing your affections for the glory of God through giving, and at the close of your life you will not look back at rusted, deteriorated things with regret, but your eyes will be as they always have been; looking forward to the infinite glory of God.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Ephesians 5:17-18 – “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (also reads, do not be controlled by wine, but by the Spirit)

Romans 8:13-14 – “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Today’s message is about giving up control.  It’s a relatively new idea that one can accept Christ’s salvation without submitting to His will as Lord.  The reason that it is new is that you have to throw the Bible completely out the window to be able to believe such a fallacy.  When Christ calls you to Himself, He calls you to die.  This is the core of the gospel.  Before one can receive salvation, one must recognize they are a sinner, therefore under the wrath of God, and in need of salvation.  That salvation comes through Christ alone.  It is a free gift, but it is not without cost.  The cost is your flesh’s desires.  You put those to death to seek a greater treasure in Christ.  The good news of the gospel isn’t merely that you get out of hell.  God’s plans for you are infinitely greater than merely where you exist.  No, God has freed you from sin through the cross, so that you can no longer live for yourself – leading to death, but live for God leading to eternal life and peace. 

This new life that we have in Christ should be marked by a continual dying to ourselves, to gain more of Christ in us.  This was Paul’s proclamation about His own life from Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Paul had completely given up control of His own life, to where he no longer gave Himself any credit, but all glory was given to Christ in Him.  That is more than a statement of position through salvation, but a description of how Paul lived daily. 

I don’t think any of us truly understands the depth of our own depravity (sinful nature – to break down the Christianese).  It’s not merely that we act sinful, or do sinful things, but it’s who we are from birth.  We see this throughout scripture:

Genesis 6:5 – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Romans 3:10-12 –“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
We do not merely sin, we are sinners.  When we are saved, we are not merely forgiven, we are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). It’s important to see that the “control” we perceive ourselves to have is illusory.  From birth we are controlled by sin and our fleshly desires.  The truth is, we are slaves.  We are either slaves to our sin, or we are slaves to Christ. (Rom 6:16)  Whatever we are obedient to evidences our allegiance.  Therefore, my exhortation is to submit yourselves to God daily.  Through Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have freedom to pursue joy in God, a joy that lasts eternally.  Prayerfully ask God to kill all fleshly desires within you, and replace them with Himself.  The God you meet in those prayers will give rest to your soul, and is gracious and merciful. 

In the end, I could make a pile of every bad thing in my life, and every good thing in my life, and I would leave them both behind and take Christ.  There is a right way, and a wrong way to live your life, but there is a more excellent way still, and His name is Jesus Christ.  Leave your own life behind, and follow Him. 

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Acts 20:35 – “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’“

I don’t know yet how many parts this is going to be.  My guess would be somewhere between 3 and 5, but ultimately God will work that out.  At the end, my hope is not that anyone would necessarily give all of their material possessions away or quit their job to go into vocational ministry.  My hope, rather, is that in every possession, in every moment of every day, your joy would not terminate on those earthly things themselves, but in seeing and taking part in the fulfillment of God’s will for His glory and the Kingdom of Heaven.

I hope and pray that God will transform us by His Word that in the end, we will know – we will taste the joy that is behind Paul’s words in Philippians 3:8 – “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” 

Today, however, I need to set a foundation first by answering the question – “Is it selfish of us, and therefore a sin, to give in a way that gaining is our goal?”  Put another way, if my purpose in serving others and giving financially is not merely for their good, but to further my own joy, is that sinful?

I believe the Bible would say no.  It is not selfish because I do not pursue my joy at the expense of God’s glory; rather, pursuing God’s glory is my joy.  My joy and God’s glory are not at odds with each other, but are one and the same if my treasure is Jesus.  Our inheritance – what waits for all believers who die in Christ, is standing in awe of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for all eternity.  Therefore, whatever else I do in this world, my motive is singular – to do everything to expand the renown and reveal the glory of God.  Whatever gain I have in that regard is what awaits me and every other believer in Heaven.

Matthew 13:44 – “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” 

Jesus when using the parable in Matthew 13 of finding a hidden treasure, does not fault the man for delighting in the treasure, but explains that all who understand the Kingdom of Heaven and God will respond this way.

John Piper says it this way – “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him”.

So whatever is done with a heart to increase the name of Jesus Christ and reveal His glory is never sinful.  Ultimately, my hope in teaching isn’t that I would make professing converts.  If all I have is professing converts, I will be very sad looking back on my life.  I want our hearts to be lit ablaze by the glory of God in Jesus – for us to savor and delight in Him from His Word.  I want us to see the glory of God, as He Is, so infinitely valuable that everything else that would seemingly offer temporary joy is counted as loss to us.

When I serve and love others, it is not because I am a good person.  There is nothing good in me, save Jesus Christ.  When I serve and love others, it is not merely an act of obedience to God because He tells me I should do this or that.  That is bordering on legalism.  No, I only know love because God first loved us.  I see, and taste, and savor the infinite worth of God from scripture and root my joy in Him.  As I do so, I find this to be true – obedience to God means less of me and more of Him.  My service and my joy are all about gaining more of Christ.  Not joy in God for any other end, like prosperity or health; things that are passing away, but joy in God Himself who is our treasure for all eternity.  As humans, our appetite for pleasure is insatiable, therefore, may we all increasingly have and pursue the One Joy that is infinite; that never ends.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Are you an encourager?  Without debating the merits of the show as a whole, one of my favorite skits on Saturday Night Live was Debbie Downer.  No matter what was said, she would find a way to twist the conversation back onto herself to try to gain attention/sympathy.  Comedic genius.

Ask yourself this question:  Do you have things going on in your life that are difficult?  Are you struggle as you work towards a goal?  If you answer “yes” to these questions, then rest assured you’ve got 100% of the world as company.  Jesus knew that this life wasn’t easy.  He even tells His followers that He is sending them out as sheep amongst wolves.  (Matt 10:16)  Persecution and suffering will come as a Christian, setting aside the everyday struggles/battles that we all deal with.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that as Christians we are called to encourage one another.  More than a suggestion, we are commanded to in scripture:  Hebrews 10:24-25 – “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 – “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

The title today really is meant to address 1 5:9 above.  Once God, the Holy Spirit, has wrought saving faith to believe in a person, that person is sealed for all eternity – you cannot lose your salvation.  God uses means of grace though by which He sustains faith over time in a believer.  The Bible talks about “being saved” (Acts 2:47, 1 Cor 1:18, 1 Cor 15:2, 2 Cor 2:15) and “obtaining salvation” (above) as if it is something that is ongoing.  It is.  Salvation is more than a decision to believe, but it is a life altering relationship with Jesus Christ that continues until death and beyond.

For any of us who have ever been wronged by a professing Christian, you know how much that can quench your affections for the Church and even God.  How much greater then, should we strive to encourage those believers around us.  The timely encouragement of a believer is more valuable than gold; it can be the difference between someone walking away from their faith.  Your encouragement will be a means of grace God will use to sustain the faith of others.  God, through you, will use encouragement from scripture to fan into flame the faith of the believers around you.  Arm yourself with the Word and purpose yourself to encourage others.

Now, with that said, let me encourage you:  If you find yourself encouraged or challenged by these daily writings, know that it is not my words, but God who is at work in you.  If these writings spark a desire to grow in your knowledge of the Word, it is Jesus that you long for, because all the Bible is about Him.  Today, where you stand, God loves you completely.  Who we are today is not worthy to be compared to who we are becoming, in Christ.  Therefore, let your affections be singular for God, and your heart eager to lift up those around you.

Grace be with you,
Adam

I want to take a day here to dig deeper into the sovereignty of God.  Most all of us, I would say, would profess that God is Lord and sovereign.  I would also say that most of us struggle with understanding just what that means and finding joy in it. 

If we’re honest, there are some things about God that are very difficult to bear.  For example, trying to grapple with the goodness of God amidst the loss of life in a natural disaster while knowing that God was always in control.  The “Why’s” of life can suffocate us.  Why did my parents divorce, why did my friend die, why did my spouse commit adultery, why did I not get that job or promotion, why does my child have cancer, and on and on.  Many people want to “get God off the hook” by saying that he was caught by surprise at these things, but we know that isn’t true from the Bible.  All things are held within His power, and in Him we live and move and have our being.  He is sovereign over all.

Here is where all of us, as fallen, prideful sinners struggle:  Life is not about us.  We want to make it that way, and in doing so we have only revealed our sin, that we would rather be God than worship God.  Life is not about you.  Your life is not your own.  Can you really take that in?  I admit that there is enough sin left in me, that it is a struggle.  Personally, this is a daily focus of prayer and a continual area of my own sanctification.  “God, will you put to death in me my desire for self-exaltation through work, health, friends, family, and even church that I would know more of the surpassing worth of Your glory in Jesus Christ?”  Can you truly empty yourself of feelings of entitlement?  Can you experience loss and say with Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)  Or do you still find yourself judging God in discontentment, feeling that He owes you something?

We were made by God, but we are separate from Him.  Likewise we have a will that is directed by God, but it is separate from Him.  (Prov 16:9)  God made us for a purpose, and His purpose is Good.  God is working all things for His glory, and that is good news to those of us who have been reconciled to Him through Christ.  It is the very glory of God that is our treasure in Heaven.  We will know Him, and enjoy Him infinitely forever.  Therefore, whatever is done for the glory of God is to the good of believers, even when that means we or others suffer.  It is not for us to look into a situation, and sit in judgment of its “goodness”.  Only God who sees His purpose and how all things are working together throughout all time can know what is truly good. 

We are exhorted by God through 1 Peter 4:13,19 – “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ”  “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

As believers we are encouraged through Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

So where does this leave us?  Does that mean that God is uncaring about our personal circumstances?  Certainly not.  The sovereignty of God that brings with it suffering, is also the very grounding of our comfort and joy.  When you suffer, you are comforted by a God who has Himself suffered on the cross.  He is intimately aware of the pains of betrayal through Judas, denial by friends through Peter, abandonment by everyone when He was put on trial, physical agony on the cross and His beatings before.  The good news of God’s sovereignty is that the same God that brings into our lives pain and suffering, is using those things for His and our ultimate good, and He is all-powerful to comfort us and use means of grace (like the Church) to do so.  Jesus Himself wept, and we are told there is a time for all things in Ecclesiastes 3. 
 
So I’ve worked somewhat backwards here.  I’ve tried to give an overview of the sovereignty of God first, and now I’m going to say why.  There are two reasons.  First, I want us to know that the answer to the question of “Why does evil/suffering exist” ultimately is that in some way it results in the greater glory of God, that His righteousness would be made known through His wrath poured out on sin.  Evil exists because God wanted it to, for His glory.  That does not make God evil, because His purpose in it is Good – for His glory.  Likewise it does not excuse those who do evil for being that way, because their motives are sinful.  So I wanted to answer honestly that Theological question.  Secondly, I want to press this truth deeply into the hearts of believers, because it will kill pride, and draw you closer to God, our joy.  There is nothing about you or your circumstances that has not been purposed by God.  My hope is that your response will not be to judge God for what you perceive are “wrongs” done to you by Him, but that you endure and grow in your sanctification through good works amidst trials.  Never try to comfort someone experiencing loss by saying that it was all part of God’s plan… that isn’t helpful.  But root this truth into your own heart now, so that when suffering and evil comes, you may be fully comforted by a sovereign God. 
 
Grace and Peace,
Adam