Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving By Lessons In The Furnace Of Life

I Googled this question this morning and thought about it as I drove around today:
How many times is the word “thanksgiving” mentioned in the Bible?

That all depends on the Bible translation being used. Here are some answers
Version                                 Number of times
King James Version               30
New International Version   32
New English Translation       29
English Standard Version     38
New Living Translation        31


Yes, I took the lazy man's way of getting to the answer. Thank you Rob J Hyndman for your answer. Why did I ask this question? This will be my third Thanksgiving alone. Through my own fault in many ways but still you ask yourself. "what do I do with me during this time? Why does it hurt so much? The answer to the pain of lonesomeness is simple, but not simple to arrive at. Give thanks to God for all things and in all things!

As I drove(I put on 160 miles total just driving today) I thought of all the events of my life that I could give thanks for. I thought of all the events I didn't give God thanks for...at least at first! I also thought of all the times I was alone at Thanksgiving and Christmas and the reasons why. Many times after a hard time or a trial I think of that POGO cartoon saying, we have found the enemy and he is US!

It is easy to be thankful for the good in life. Food, plentiful water, family, shelter, a roof over our head, in other words all the traditional answers to the “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?” question people ask at the dinner table. Being thankful for happy things, is normal. It is a start when beginning a journey to be thankful in all things.

However, the Bible tells us not to stop there:



“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” ~ 1 Thess. 5:16-18
Giving thanks isn’t a suggestion; it isn’t a nice thought, neither is it something we can do when we feel like it. It’s a command. If we’re really going to follow the command to “be thankful in all circumstances.” We have to learn how to be thankful for the bad, the terrible,  and the sad things in life, even if we caused them or were just slammed against the wall of life unsuspecting bad things were coming our way! Jesus when he was about to face one of the cruelest deaths, the long, slow, agonizing death on the cross broke bread with the disciples the night before his death:


“And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’.” ~ Luke 22:19

 

Think about it, Jesus is fully God he wasn't just a man.  He knew what was about to happen to him. After he ate this last meal with his disciples, Jesus was betrayed by one he called a disciple-a friend. His betrayer gave him over to the Jewish leaders, who manipulated the crowds and convinced Pilate to permit Jesus to be crucified.

Jesus knew all of that was going to happen, yet he still gave thanks over the breaking of bread, knowing that in a few hours he himself would be broken.Unlike Jesus, we don’t know what our future will hold on this earth, but we know what the future holds after this life! However, are we living a life full of thanks right now? Are we thankful during the happy times and the painful times?

Psalm 56:8 declares that “You [God] have kept count of my tossings and turnings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”

God holds all of our tears in a bottle. Isn’t that beautiful imagery? For some of us that bottle has got to be gigantic!

As woman cries over the fact that she discovers she married a cruel partner who causes her emotional pain and even physical pain in order to dominant the woman he was supposed to cherish. The Lord collects her tears in a bottle and remembers why...


As the young girl cries over the loss of her mother in gang shootout, God extends his hand and catches her streaming tears in a glass bottle.

As the girl cries when she loses a boy she falls in love with, God places her tears in a bottle.


As the father and mother mourn the loss of son in battle, God captures his hidden tears in a bottle.


As the woman cries when she finds out she has cancer, God collects her tears of pain in a bottle. She laments that possibly she will miss out on all that is motherly, womanly, and loving to friends and family.


As the tiny boy cries when his dog is hit and killed or has run away, God holds his tears in a bottle.



I am not trying to start a theological discussion on whether or not God uses a real bottle to collect our tears. The point is HE KNOWS EVERY TEAR WE SHED. WHAT IS YOUR LOSS TODAY, I WONDER? GOD IS THERE IF YOU WILL TURN TO HIM!

Yes, God is with us through our pain, especially in feeling alone in our pain. He’s there each step of the way, catching our trickling tears in bottles and keeping track of them in a book. Because we live in a fallen world, pain is going to happen. However, it’s reassuring to know that we’re not experiencing this pain alone. GOD KNOWS!

Pain’s still hard, though; which brings back to that very crucial question:
How do we give thanks, even in the hard times?

I struggle with this too! In Bible college I read a book by Colonel Merlin Carothers, called Prison to Praise. Now Merlin really ticked me off because he had the audacity to tell me I need to praise God for all things including pain and anguish! I quickly reversed this and told others that we need to praise God not FOR all things but IN all things. Well, the Lord doesn't discriminate. He wants us to praise him for every circumstance no matter how terrible it might seem. Why? How can you praise God for the death of a loved one? The blessing comes in the praise for His ultimate will to be done. You may read his story here:

https://merlincarothers.remembered.com/
 

I know pain. Yet, I have hope. Yet still I have doubts when trouble comes but Jesus gives me and you reassurance...
John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

How can get to this place in my heart, you ask? 


My hope is found in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and my trust that he has a plan for everything. Therefore, I do not despair when things go dreadfully wrong. (Well, truthfully, sometimes I despair, but that’s when my eyes are fixed on the situation and not on the Savior.)  There is a song that says "my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name."

If we look at the long version of this question we see that God promised the following to the nation of Israel before the Babylonians cast them into captivity. Did you just read this right? ...just before casting them into CAPTIVITY!

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you…'” ~Jeremiah 29:11-14aJeremiah also wrote, “Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down with in me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” ~Lamentations 3:20-23 God's people have suffered many hardships and even captivity, the Lord has delievered them out of the hand of the enemy.

In John 16:33 (one of my favorite verses), Jesus reassures his disciples by saying, “I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble; but take heart! I have overcome the world.” Did you read that? "IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE!!! BUT TAKE HEART I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!"

The apostle Paul wrote the following in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

    “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh…Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

    “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’

    “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

But even though I have hope, it’s still a struggle to give thanks for the hard circumstances.
I could go on and on about hope, but for the sake of time, I’ll just link more verses so you can look them up if you’d like.


So Ted are you really saying give thanks to God for all the PAIN I'm enduring?

Basically, in this story Jesus was invited to a pharisee’s house. A sinful woman came and worshiped him by breaking an expensive flask of ointment and washing his feet with  her tears and wiping them with her hair.The pharisee was disgusted. Jesus addressed him by telling a story. A moneylender had two people who were in his debt. One owed five hundred dollars, and the other only owed fifty dollars. Neither of them could pay the debt, so the moneylender canceled both of their debts. Here comes the big question: which of the two debtors will love the moneylender more? The pharisee answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”


Jesus told him that he had answered correctly. He then tied his story to the sinful woman, who had displayed grand affection toward Jesus. He declared, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Those who most know forgiveness most know gratitude. Gratitude springs from a forgiven heart. 


Everything that befalls a Christian or non-Christian has a purpose, usually get us to recognize that bad things happen to good people but more importantly to realize that like Matthew 5:45 says the rain falls on the just and the unjust! Many times hardship causes us to consider looking to God for an answer.

There is a promise hidden for those who love God and trust Him even in the darkest circumstances. Jesus promises not leave us as orphans:


John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Here are some quotes by Charles Spurgeon one of the great 19th century theologians:


The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.
As sure as God puts His children in the furnace of affliction, He will be with them in it.
It seems to me that doubt is worse than trial. I had sooner suffer any affliction than be left to question the gospel or my own interest in it.

    Source: Sermons, 29.79.
Most of the grand truths of God have to be learned by trouble; they must be burned into us with the hot iron of affliction, otherwise we shall not truly receive them.
Providence is wonderfully intricate. Ah! You want always to see through Providence, do you not? You never will, I assure you. You have not eyes good enough. You want to see what good that affliction was to you; you must believe it. You want to see how it can bring good to the soul; you may be enabled in a little time; but you cannot see it now; you must believe it. Honor God by trusting Him.

    Source: God's Providence, p. 19.
The furnace of affliction is a good place for you, Christian; it benefits you; it helps you to become more like Christ, and it is fitting you for heaven.


Christian are you going through the furnace of life..give thanks! For out of that furnace will come purity and faith! For those of you who don't know Jesus Christ as a Savior, turn to Him and confess that you are in need of a Savior. Confess openly that you have failed those trials, He will wipe away each tear and replace it with peace at knowing your eternal destiny. There no sin too great that God will not forgive except the sin of unbelief. Ask and receive.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The Orthodoxy of Hell James 2:19

This isn't laziness, but instead a pastor/friend of mine posted an article that I think is relevant. I have met many "Christians" who think they can live like the world and still call themselves Christians...maybe some are and in the end the Holy Spirit will convict them to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. One thing I think that is really worth talking about is this: there will be many armchair and seminary theologians in hell! You see you can have all the scripture knowledge in the world, but without a real personal relationship with the Author of that theology...it is in vain! If you are the genuine article and think you can take a vacation from the agenda the Lord has for you I've got news for you...I've been there and God will not let you rest until you confess and repent of your idiocy and come back on the path He has laid out for you. "Hey Ted, what happened to eternally secure in Jesus...you are!" This doesn't change that! All I am saying is examine yourself to see if Jesus has a real place in your heart. Do you exhibit fruit that says you are the real thing. Do you long for a walk that keeps you close to God? Yes, we sin, we blow it, and His GRACE is sufficient. What he did on that cross on a lonely hill called Golgotha wiped your slate clean, past, present and future. You are not saved by works. You are justified, sanctified holy, but the test is fruit worthy of repentance. Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness.


The Orthodoxy of Hell by Pastor Ray Pritchard  
http://keepbelievingministries.com/
“You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder” (James 2:19).

Some verses ought to scare us.
How can the demons “believe” and still be demons?
If they could “believe” and end up in hell, what about us?

We can say right up front this verse means exactly what it says. The demons believe in God and even believe in the oneness of God, yet that belief will not save them. Strange as it may sound, this is a verse about the orthodoxy of hell. There is a kind of belief that does not lead to heaven. There is such a thing as “demonic faith,” which is not believing in the demons but believing like the demons.

Demons are spirit beings created by God to serve him. They were originally good angels who followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God. They are powerful spirit beings who now serve Satan and his evil purposes on the earth. Their purpose is entirely negative.

According to James, we can learn something important from their bad example. In this message, we’re going to answer three questions to help us learn from the strange case of the demons who believe and yet are still in hell.

# 1: What Do Demons believe?


James answers by saying the demons believe God is one. That’s a good thing to believe. That was the starting point of Old Testament religion. The first readers would instinctively recall the famous “Shema” of Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” To the Jews, this was the most important verse in the Torah. It was the foundation of their religion. Parents taught this verse to their children, they would write it down, recite it, memorize it, and build their lives around it. This verse meant there is only one God and the people were to love him supremely.

But consider this. What the demons believe about God is true. It’s 100% biblical. The demons know the truth about God. They know there is a God, and there is only one God. But we can go further than that.

The demons are not atheists.
They are not skeptics.
There are no agnostics among their ranks.
There are no “liberal” demons who doubt the truth.

When James says, “You do well” to believe that God is one, he is not being sarcastic or ironic. He was being entirely truthful, and his readers would have taken him that way. Biblical faith begins with acknowledging the one true God: “In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1).

True faith begins there.
But it doesn’t end there.

What else do the demons believe?  If we study the various encounters with demons in the New Testament, we learn additional things they believe:

They believe in the deity of Christ. When they saw Jesus, they bowed down to him and cried out, “You are the Son of God” (Mark 3:11-12).

They know his human name. “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” (Luke 4:34).

They know his divine origin. “I know who you are—the Holy One of God” (Luke 4:34).

They recognize true preaching of the gospel. “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17).

They recognize false preaching of the gospel. “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)

They believe in hell. The demons infesting the man from the tombs begged Jesus not to send them to the abyss, the place of final punishment (Luke 8:31).

They acknowledge Jesus as their ultimate judge. Those same demons begged Jesus not to torment them (Mark 5:7).

They believe in a set time for their punishment. They ask Jesus, “Have you come to punish us before our time?” (Matthew 8:29).

They know Jesus is sovereign over them. They must ask Jesus for permission to enter the pigs (Mark 5:11-13).

They know they must bow before Jesus. When the demon-infested man saw Jesus, he voluntarily bows down before him (Mark 5:6).

They submit to the power of Jesus’ word. When he casts them out of a person, they must come out (Matthew 17:18).

Taken together, that’s an impressive array of theological insight. No wonder R. C. Sproul said this:
 
Satan could make an "A" in my systematic theology course. He knows the information and knows that the information is true.

Don’t play Bible Trivia with a demon. He’ll win every time.

# 2: Why Do They Shudder?


The word “shudder” translates an unusual Greek word, used only here in the New Testament. It means to have your hair stand on end. The English word “frizzy” comes from this Greek word. I call it a Halloween word because it describes how you would react in a haunted house at midnight when you hear a creak and then the sound of a door slowly opening. Someone or something is coming, but in the darkness you can’t see a thing. You hear the sound of steps moving slowly in your direction, but who is it? What do they want? What will happen when they reach you? You hold your breath, hoping whoever it is will pass you by. Your muscles tense, your breathing slows. You strain to hear a sound. But the steps come closer and closer. They stop just behind you. You try to run, but your feet won’t move. Suddenly an ice-cold hand grips your shoulder. That terror you feel is what James means when he says the demons shudder.

Stephen Davey points out that if you take the Greek word translated “shudder” and turn it into a noun, it gives us the English word “freaky.” The thought of God freaks the demons out. Now take that and apply it to the demons. Remember, they are not heretics. They know who Jesus is, and they know he will sentence them to eternal doom someday. Everything about him terrifies them.

They hate Jesus.
They fear him.
They cannot deny his true identity.
They cannot escape the coming judgment.

Think about this. The demons know the truth about Jesus. They shudder continually. They live in constant fear of their impending eternal doom. They know the ugly future that awaits them. But knowing all that and living in fear of it cannot deliver them.

When Dr. Criswell preached on this text, he imagined a scene where the devil himself walked the aisle and asked to join the church. The pastor was shocked by this turn of events, but began to ask a series of questions:

“Do you believe the Bible?” “Yes, I do. It’s all true.”
“Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?” “Without a doubt.”
“Do you believe the Virgin Birth?” “Yes, I was there watching it all in Bethlehem.”
“Do you believe Jesus died on the cross?” “Yes, I saw it happen.”
“Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?” “Absolutely. No question about it.”
“Do you believe Jesus is coming again?” “Of course. He said he would.”
“Will you be faithful in attending church?” “I’ll be here every time the doors are open.”

Finally the pastor says, “You have been going to and fro throughout the world, wreaking havoc, causing pain, sowing discord, breaking up marriages, stirring up death and destruction, and dragging people down with you into hell. Do you here and now repent of your sin? Will you turn from your sin, bow your knee, and trust Christ as Savior?” To which the devil replies, “Oh, Oh, I don’t know about that. That is something else!” (From “The Orthodoxy of the Devil.”)

Knowledge of the truth, even believing the truth, even living in fear of what the truth must mean, that alone is never enough. Consider the demons who believe and shudder and are doomed forever. This is what James wants us to ponder.

# 3: What Should We Learn From This?


This solemn verse stands as a warning to every religious person. The more religious you are, the more you stand in danger of having demonic faith. To make it more personal, the thought occurs to me that I stand in grave danger myself. I have been a Jesus-follower for 46 years. But before that I was a church member. I’ve been “in church” all my life. I feel comfortable there. I know the routine, understand the language, know the songs, know how to pray the prayers. I know what’s going to happen on Sunday morning. I know how to take the little cup and then take the little wafer when we observe the Lord’s Supper. I have memorized Scripture. I started out in the Cradle Roll, graduated to the Beginners, then on to the Juniors, then to the Intermediates, then to the Junior High, and finally to the High School department. I knew all the verses to “Just As I Am” by the time I was 12 years old. I went on youth retreats and knew all about “rededication” services. I walked the aisle, joined the church, and was baptized by Brother Colley, my childhood pastor. Later I attended a Christian college, then went to seminary, then pastored three churches, wrote a few books, started a ministry, preached around the world, and now here I am. That’s my life (part of it, at least) in one paragraph. It’s very easy when you know all of that to subtly begin to rely on your religious pedigree in place of having a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me say it this way. I subscribe to the great creeds of the church, I believe wholeheartedly in what evangelical Christians believe, I can sign the statement of faith of every church I ever pastored, and I can happily sign my seminary’s statement of faith. I read the Puritans I quote Spurgeon, I am a happy member of a Baptist church, and I love watching videos of Billy Graham preaching. I learned the gospel when Ed McCollum explained it to me, when Angel Martinez preached it to me, and when I read it on the pages of the Sword of the Lord 48 years ago. I call myself an evangelical Christian. That’s my ecclesiastical home.

So what’s the point? Well, we all have a story, don’t we? Some were raised Catholic or Lutheran or Methodist or Church of Christ or Presbyterian or Charismatic or Brethren or Anglican, or maybe you were raised without any religion. But you’ve got your own religious history. We all do. It’s fine to have a history, good to know theology, great to read esteemed Bible commentators, wonderful to be part of a good church, and it’s very good if you can pass those theology quizzes that pop up on Facebook.

But it’s a huge mistake to think you are going to heaven because of your knowledge or your religious background or even because you went to such-and-such seminary and made straight A's under Dr. Wrote-Many-Books.

The demons made straight A's too. They know theology better than you do. They know the Bible backward and forward. And they even “believe” in the sense that they acknowledge the truth about who Jesus is. They know good gospel preaching when they hear it. And they know the fake stuff because they are the ones inspiring those Candyland TV preachers.

In one sense, the demons are wiser than some of us. Because of what they know about their future, they shudder in fear of their coming judgment. Gordon Keddie poses this question:

“Why is it that demons tremble, while sinners can sail on in blissful unconcern? The answer is that the demons are not so blind as people. They know their latter end … They really fear the wrath to come. But careless sinners say they believe in God positively, go on in daily life to live as if he did not exist and yet can dream that they are safe in the everlasting arms!”

There is another way of looking at this. Many of us take ourselves and our religion too seriously. We look at our own record, we judge our own sincerity, and we compare ourselves with others. We are very impressed with ourselves and consequently not so impressed with Jesus. It’s very easy for us to become “careless sinners” even while pursuing a life of outward piety. We may even think our faith is real because we have a seminary degree.

There will be many good theologians in hell. In fact, hell is populated with good theologians already. They are called demons. Make sure you don’t join them.

Knowledge alone will never save you.
Checking the right boxes will never save you.
Living in fear of hell will never save you.

Let this be a somber warning to you and me. Don’t make the mistake of knowing a lot and yet doing nothing with what you know. That brings me to me my second application.
 

The Great Blondin


We need true biblical faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. True saving faith involves the intellect, the emotions, and the will. The faith that saves us involves all we are in coming to Christ. Faith starts with knowledge, moves to conviction, and ends with commitment.

In the nineteenth century, the greatest tightrope walker in the world was a man named Charles Blondin. On June 30, 1859, he became the first man in history to walk on a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Over twenty-five thousand people gathered to watch him walk 1,100 feet suspended on a tiny rope 160 feet above the raging waters. He worked without a net or safety harness of any kind. The slightest slip would prove fatal. When he safely reached the Canadian side, the crowd burst into a mighty roar.

In the days that followed, he would walk across the Falls many times. Once he walked across on stilts; another time he took a chair and a stove with him and sat down midway across, cooked an omelet, and ate it. Once he carried his manager across riding piggyback. And once he pushed a wheelbarrow across loaded with 350 pounds of cement. On one occasion he asked the cheering spectators if they thought he could push a man across sitting in a wheelbarrow. A mighty roar of approval rose from the crowd. Spying a man cheering loudly, he asked, “Sir, do you think I could safely carry you across in this wheelbarrow?” “Yes, of course.” “Get in,” the Great Blondin replied with a smile. The man refused.

That makes it clear, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to believe a man can walk across by himself. It’s another thing to believe he could safely carry you across. But it’s something else entirely to get into the wheelbarrow yourself. That’s the difference between knowledge, conviction, and commitment.

If you know what it means to believe a doctor when he says, “You need surgery,” you know what it means to have faith. If you know what it means to step into an airplane entrusting your safety to the captain in the cockpit, you know what it means to have faith. If you know what it means to ask a lawyer to plead your case in court, you know what it means to have faith. Faith is total reliance upon another person to do that which you could never do for yourself.

How much faith does it take to go to heaven? It depends. The answer is not much, but all you’ve got. If you are willing to trust Jesus Christ with as much faith as you happen to have, you can be saved. But if you’re holding anything back, thinking that maybe you need to do something to help save yourself, forget it!
 

Five Words


Here are five words that will take you all the way to heaven: Only Jesus and Jesus only. But it is not enough to say those words or to memorize them or to write them on a card. You must trust Christ and him alone.

Don’t fall into the trap of demonic faith. That’s the trap of thinking you can recognize Christ without having a relationship with him. It’s the trap of acknowledging him without accepting him. It’s the trap of fearing him, but never trusting him.

No demon will ever trust Christ. But you can!
No demon will ever repent. But you can!
No demon will ever believe and be saved. But you can!

God help you and me, each of us individually and all of us together, to trust in Jesus Christ. Let us say, “I am trusting Jesus so much that if he can’t take me to heaven, I’m not going there.” Let us wholly lean on Jesus’ name. He is a great Savior. Jesus never turns away anyone who comes to him in true faith.

Depend Fully On Jesus

 https://info.truthforlife.org/private-worship-1?ecid=ACsprvts0k5VftayoMvIszLlZmJur8gvo_lfsYjM0mXix61w9WSYAQ_QiPX9R46CaoW8LXho-uf3&utm_c...