Healing of a Divine Physician

 

MAY 31 Healing of a Divine Physician

. . . Who heals all your diseases. Psalm 103:3

Humbling as this statement is, yet the fact is certain that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of Him for a moment tonight. His cures are very speedy—there is life for a look at Him; His cures are radical—He strikes at the center of the disease; and so His cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease never returns. There is no relapse where Christ heals, no fear that His patients should be merely patched up for a season. He makes new men of them: He also gives them a new heart and puts a right spirit within them. He is well skilled in all diseases. Physicians generally have some specialty. Although they may know a little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one disease that they have studied more than others; but Jesus Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature. He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and He never yet met an unusual case that was difficult for Him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange diseases to deal with, but He has known exactly with one glance of His eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal doctor; and the medicine He gives is the only true panacea, healing in every instance. Whatever our spiritual malady may be, we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no brokenness of heart that Jesus cannot bind up. “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”1 We have only to think of the myriads who have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power and virtue of His touch, and we will joyfully put ourselves in His hands. We trust Him, and sin dies; we love Him, and grace lives; we wait for Him, and grace is strengthened; we see Him as he is, and grace is perfected forever.

1 John 1:7 Because of Jesus, Ted

The Deep Cost of Sin

 

MAY 30 The Deep Cost of Sin

. . . So that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Romans 6:6

Christian, why would you play with sin? Has it not cost you enough already? Burnt child, will you play with the fire? What! When you have already been between the jaws of the lion, will you step a second time into his den? Have you not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all your veins once, and will you play at the cobra’s den and put your hand in the dragon’s lair a second time? Do not be not so mad, so foolish! Did sin ever yield you real pleasure? Did you find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to your old drudgery, and wear the chain again, if it delights you. But inasmuch as sin never gave you what it promised to bestow but deluded you with lies, do not be snared by the old fowler: Be free, and let the memory of your enslavement prevent you from entering the net again! It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which are all focused on your purity and holiness; therefore do not run counter to the purposes of your Lord. Another thought should restrain you from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore do not be the serf and slave of sin. There is still a higher argument: Each time you serve sin you are “crucifying once again the Son of God . . . and holding him up to contempt.”1 Can you bear that thought? If you have fallen into any special sin during this day, it may be that my Master has sent this admonition this evening to bring you back before you have wandered very far. Turn to Jesus afresh. He has not forgotten His love for you; His grace is still the same. With weeping and repentance, come to His footstool, and you shall be reunited in His love; you will be set upon a rock again, and your goings shall be established.

Hebrews 6:6 Because of Jesus, Ted

What Will You Do?

 

MAY 29 What Will You Do?

Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. Joshua 6:26

If the man who rebuilt Jericho was cursed, how much more does the man who works to restore false religion among us deserve the same. In our fathers’ days the gigantic walls of false religion fell by the power of their faith, the perseverance of their efforts, and the blast of their gospel trumpets; and now there are some who would like to rebuild those false systems upon their old foundations. Lord, we pray, be pleased to thwart these unrighteous endeavors, and pull down every stone that they build. It should be a serious business with us to be thoroughly purged of every error that tends to foster the spirit of falsehood, and when we have made a clean sweep at home we should seek in every way to oppose its all too rapid spread abroad in the church and in the world. This we may accomplish only in secret by fervent prayer and in public by faithful witness. We must warn with judicious boldness those who are inclined toward the errors of false religion; we must instruct the young in gospel truth and tell them of the dark doings of falsehood in earlier times. We must assist in spreading the light more thoroughly through the land, for false teachers, like owls, hate daylight. Are we doing all we can for Jesus and the Gospel? If not, our negligence plays into the hands of the heretics. What are we doing to spread the Bible, which is the antidote to falsehood? Are we sending out good, sound gospel writings? Luther once said, “The devil hates goose quills,” and, no doubt, he has good reason; the writer’s pen blessed by the Holy Spirit has damaged his evil kingdom greatly. If the thousands who read this short word tonight will do all they can to hinder the rebuilding of this accursed Jericho, the Lord’s glory shall spread quickly among the sons of men. Reader, what can you do? What will you do? Because of Jesus, Ted

Using Your Memory Well

 

MAY 28 Using Your Memory Well

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. Lamentations 3:21

Memory is frequently the slave of despondency. Despairing minds remember every dark prediction in the past and expand upon every gloomy feature in the present; in this way memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of bitter-tasting herbs. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same recollection that on the one hand brings so many gloomy omens may be trained instead to provide a wealth of hopeful signs. She need not wear a crown of iron; she may encircle her brow with a tiara of gold, all spangled with stars. Such was Jeremiah’s experience: in the previous verse memory had brought him to deep humiliation of soul: “My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me”; but now this same memory restored him to life and comfort. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Like a two-edged sword, his memory first killed his pride with one edge and then slew his despair with the other. As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before. Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection, which is so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, “the bosom-spring of joy,” and when the Divine Comforter bends it to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know. Because of Jesus, Ted

Wear the Badge of Perseverance

 

MAY 26 Wear the Badge of Perseverance

Continue in the faith. Acts 14:22

Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not only a beginning in the ways of God, but also means continuing in those ways as long as life lasts. It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: He said, “Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.” So under God, dear believer in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be, “Aim higher.” The only true conqueror who shall be crowned in the end is he who continues until war’s trumpet is blown no more. Perseverance is, therefore, the target of all our spiritual enemies. The world does not object to your being a Christian for a time, if she can tempt you to quit your pilgrimage and settle down to trade with her in Vanity Fair. The flesh will seek to ensnare you and to prevent your pressing on to glory. “Being a pilgrim is weary work and makes me wonder: Am I always to be mortified? Am I never to be indulged? Can I not have at least a holiday from this constant warfare?” Satan will make many a fierce attack on your perseverance; it will be the target for all his arrows. He will strive to hinder you in service: He will insinuate that you are doing no good and that you need to rest. He will endeavor to make you weary of suffering; he will whisper, “Curse God, and die.” Or he will attack your steadfastness: “What is the good of being so zealous? Be quiet like the rest; sleep as others do, and let your lamp go out like the foolish virgins.” Or he will assail your doctrinal sentiments: “Why do you hold to these doctrinal creeds? Sensible men are getting more liberal; they are removing the old landmarks: Fall in with the times.” So, Christian, wear your shield close to your armor and cry earnestly to God, that by His Spirit you may endure to the end. Because of Jesus, Ted

Declare Great Things

 

MAY 25 Declare Great Things

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. . . . Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them. Luke 24:33, 35

When the two disciples had reached Emmaus and were refreshing themselves at the evening meal, the mysterious stranger who had so enchanted them on the road took bread and broke it, made Himself known to them, and then vanished out of their sight. They had constrained Him to stay with them because the day was far spent; but now, although it was much later, their love was a lamp to their feet, indeed wings also. They forgot the darkness, their weariness was all gone, and immediately they headed back the seven miles to tell the wonderful news of a risen Lord who had appeared to them on the road. They reached the Christians in Jerusalem and were received by a burst of joyful news before they could tell their own tale. These early Christians were all on fire to speak of Christ’s resurrection and to proclaim what they knew of the Lord; they happily shared their experiences. This evening let their example impress us deeply. We also must bear our witness concerning Jesus. John’s account of the sepulcher needed to be supplemented by Peter; and Mary could speak of something further still; the combined accounts provide us with a complete testimony from which nothing necessary is missing. Each of us has peculiar gifts and personal experiences; but the one object God has in view is the maturing of the whole Body of Christ. We must, therefore, bring our spiritual possessions and lay them at the apostles’ feet, that we may share all of what God has given to us. Withhold no part of the precious truth, but speak what you know and declare what you have seen. Do not allow the toil or darkness or possible unbelief of your friends to dissuade you. Let us rise and march to the place of duty, and there declare what great things God has shown to our soul. Pray for the parents of the children killed in the Uvalde Elementary School! Because of Jesus, Ted

Excuses! Excuses!

 

I'm writing this note from our home in Shawnee, Kansas, on a rainy, windy Tuesday afternoon. This is definitely not good bike-riding weather!  Check out this postcard with our summer schedule. We’ll be in New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, New York, North Carolina, and Colorado. We would love to see you at one of these events! Here are the links to the various ministries: America’s Keswick Village Bible Church        Cannon Beach Conference Center       Word of Life The Shepherd’s Church One Voice Mission      This weekend we'll be at America's Keswick in Whiting, NJ. If you are in the area, you are welcome to attend any of the services. We love meeting friends of the ministry as we travel around the country.  Your generosity has been amazing during this pandemic season. Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your support. If you would like to help out financially, you can donate online, or you can mail your gift to: Keep Believing Ministries P. O. Box 257 Elmhurst, IL 60126 Don't forget to support your local church. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch. We love hearing from you. Ray Pritchard Keep Believing Ministries Shawnee, Kansas  Excuses, Excuses! Exodus 3:11-4:17 Sometimes the mental pictures we have of certain Bible characters are not quite right. Once we get a particular image in our brain, it's almost impossible to get it out.    Take Moses, for instance.          When I think of Moses, I see Charlton Heston in my mind’s eye, about to part the Red Sea. It's Moses and then it's Charlton Heston and then it's Moses.   Such is the power of the silver screen that for many people over the age of 50, Charlton Heston is Moses. Once you've seen The Ten Commandments, no one else could ever be Moses.  If you are younger and have seen The Prince of Egypt, Moses comes to mind as a completely different character. At the very least, you’re not thinking of Charlton Heston.   All that is harmless enough, but sometimes our images get in the way of reality.    Again, Moses is a good example.    Most of us think of Moses as a mighty hero of faith. He stood up to Pharaoh and led the children of Israel across the Red Sea on dry ground. He received the Ten Commandments and spoke with God face to face.    All those things are true.    But there's another side to the story.  If you roll the tape back to the beginning, Moses was anything but a hero. When the Lord spoke at the burning bush, he told him: “So now, go.” Simple and clear.   "Moses, I've got a big job for you to do. Put your sandals back on and head for Egypt. I want you to talk to Pharaoh for me.”   The only problem was, Moses didn't want any part of it.   He had two objections to the whole plan. First, he didn’t want to tangle with Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world. Second, he didn't think the people of Israel would follow him.   In short, he thought the whole idea was a disaster and that maybe God should look somewhere else for a leader.   That brings us to our text for today. We pick up the story in Exodus 3:11. But here’s the takeaway for all of us:   When God calls, don’t make excuses!   Before we jump into the text, let’s note that Moses is 80 years old. We could hardly blame him if he felt he was too old and the job too hard.   As for his two objections, both were rooted in reality. It’s not as if Moses is making this up. Pharaoh wouldn’t be glad to see him and didn’t want to let the Jews go anywhere. Who could blame him? He was getting free slave labor. As for the second objection, Moses had every reason to worry about how his countrymen would receive him. After all, he had been gone for forty years, and the last time they saw him, he was running from the law.   I don’t blame Moses for having his doubts. Psychologists talk about the “Imposter Syndrome,” which means you secretly think you aren’t qualified for your job. You’re a faker waiting to be exposed.   We’ve all felt that way at one point or another.   Moses makes five excuses to the Lord about why he isn’t qualified to do God’s will.   See if they sound familiar.   Excuse #1: I’m Unqualified   But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh         and that I should bring the Israelites         out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11).   Was he unqualified? The answer is yes. From a human point of view, he’s not a likely prospect to go toe to toe with Pharaoh. After all, he had been gone a long time, he had killed a man, and his reputation wasn’t the best. If you were picking candidates to lead God’s people out of Egypt, Moses would not have been at the top of the list.   But God!   That’s the answer. God’s whole reply can be summed up in five words: “I will be with you.” That’s the bottom line. Nothing else matters. If God is with Moses, then he cannot fail.   When Moses says, “I can’t do this,” God’s answer is, “You’re right. You can’t, but I can.”   Excuse #2: They Don’t Know Me   Then Moses asked God,         “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me         to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’         what should I tell them?”  (Ex. 3:13).   It’s true. He had been gone for 40 years. A whole generation had arisen that knew nothing about Moses. If they heard anything about him, it would have been that he was a fugitive from the law. He killed an Egyptian, hid his body, and then he ran off into the desert. No one had seen him since then.   So this excuse contains a kernel of truth. But that’s not the issue. The question is not, “Who are you?” but rather, “Who sent you?”   That reminds me of a story from the days when Richard Daley (the father, not the son) was mayor of Chicago. In those days you got a job through patronage. You knew someone who knew someone who could get you a job.   One day a man went to a certain office asking for a job. But no one knew him, so the question became, “Who sent you?” The answer came back, “No one.” The man in charge famously replied, "We don't want nobody nobody sent."   That’s a good principle to remember in spiritual matters. If you come on your own authority, we don’t have time for you.   God knew the people would ask Moses that question, so he prepared him with the answer: “I AM” has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14). That simple phrase contains the essential truth about who God is. He is the personal, eternal, self-existent God of the universe. He always was, he always is, he always will be. He is above all things, beneath all things, behind all things, and in front of all things.   By him all things hold together. In him all things have their being. Without him, the universe does not exist.   Think of it this way. According to his name, he is the essence of whatever you need at the moment.   I am your strength.     I am your courage.        I am your health.          I am your hope.            I am your supply.           I am your defender.       I am your deliverer.      I am your forgiveness.   I am your joy.                 I am your future. God is saying to you and me, "I am whatever you need whenever you need it."   He is the all-sufficient God for every crisis.   Go to the elders of Israel. Tell them what I told you. They will believe you.   Go to Pharaoh. He won’t cooperate. I’ll work miracles. He will let you go.   Plunder the Egyptians on your way out. Ask for gold and silver. They’ll give it to you.   In other words, don’t worry about the future. God has a plan that covers all the details.   Excuse #3: They Won’t Believe Me!   So now Moses has another “What if” question:   “What if they won’t believe me and         will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Ex. 4:1).   That’s very possible. Likely, in fact.   Moses had a checkered past. After being raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, he rejected Egypt and chose to suffer with God’s people. But then he murdered an Egyptian, covered it up, and ran away. He’s been gone 40 years.   Now he shows up saying God spoke to him in a burning bush in the desert. There is no way the Jews will believe that story. It sounds crazy.   God knew that, so he asked Moses a question:           “What is that in your hand?”         “A staff,” he replied (Ex. 4:2).   We’re talking about a shepherd’s staff. It was a walking stick. Every shepherd had one. There was nothing special about it. Moses no doubt found it in the wilderness.   Several years ago, I had a bike accident that broke three bones in my left leg and led to three surgeries. I was laid up for almost three months. During that time, my brother-in-law Mark carved an ornate cane with a fancy top and a four-toed rubber bottom. It’s the only cane I’ve ever used. It’s quite a treasure because Mark made it by hand.   Moses’ staff was nothing like that. It was the sort of staff you found in the desert, used for a while, and then threw away.   What’s the point? God will now use the ordinary to do the extraordinary. He told Moses to throw the staff on the ground, where it turned into a snake. God told him to pick it up again, turning it back into a wooden staff.   By the way, the hard part was picking it up again!   God has three answers for Moses. The first was the wooden staff (vv. 2-5), showing that God can work miracles with ordinary objects. The second was the leprous hand (vv. 6-8), proving that God has power over the worst diseases. The third was turning water from the Nile into blood, which was a preview of the first plague (vv. 8-9).   This was God’s way of saying to Moses, “I’ve got your back. As long as you obey, my power will convince the people God is with you.”   Don’t miss the original question. Moses asked God, “What if.” We all want to bargain with God. Something in us makes us slightly suspicious of God's motives.    "Now Lord, what if I get in trouble for speaking up for you at the office, what are you going to do then?"    “If I volunteer to teach Sunday School and the kids turn out to be brats, can I get out of it?"    "And by the way, about tithing my money, if I give my money and then can't make my car payment, will you make it for me?"    Moses had the same problem we all have.    He knew exactly what God wanted him to do. It was perfectly clear.    “Moses, you're the man to lead my people out of Egypt.”    That was the whole job description. Moses' problem wasn't his knowledge. He knew exactly what God wanted. His problem wasn't his education or his family background.    God had already taken care of all that.   Moses' problem was fear. He was afraid it wouldn't work out right if he did what God wanted him to do.     Something would go wrong.   Like maybe the Pharaoh would have him thrown to the crocodiles, or the children of Israel would laugh at him, or he would end up trapped by the Red Sea and only a miracle could get him out.   Moses wanted assurance of the result before he took the first step.   So he's out there by the burning bush trying to "what if" the Almighty.   We do the same thing.    That's why we hesitate to obey God.  We're trying to "what if" the Almighty.   When God calls you, it will work out one way or the other. All your little "what ifs" are just so much wasted time.   And that really is the issue, isn't it?   As long as you are saying "what if," you aren't obeying.  You're negotiating. And there's a big difference.    To obey means you say, "Lord, I'm ready. Now you work out the details." Negotiating means saying, "Lord, you work out the details, and then I'll obey."   All Moses has to do is obey, and God will take care of the rest.    If Moses needs a miracle, he'll get one.  If he needs an answer to prayer, it's on the way.   He'll get whatever he needs as long as he obeys God.   For Moses there was one issue and one issue only.  Will I obey God?    Excuse #4: I Can’t Do It   But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—                  either in the past or recently or         since you have been speaking                to your servant—         because my mouth and my tongue         are sluggish” (Ex 4:10).   Evidently, he thought the Lord would fix his problem:   “If I sign up for your team, you’ll make me eloquent. That’s the deal, right?”   God’s answer comes in the form of a question:   “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf,         seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Ex. 4:11).   God says to Moses, “Yes, you are inadequate because I made you that way. But your weakness is part of my plan.”   God promises to give Moses whatever he needs in spite of his weakness. All Moses has to do is go and speak to Pharaoh. The rest is up to God.   Excuse # 5: I don’t want to do it   “Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses” (Ex. 4:13-14).   At last, we get to the heart of the problem.   God has called Moses, and he doesn’t want to do it.   No wonder God got angry.   But even now God has an answer to this objection. If Moses can’t speak, his brother Aaron will speak for him. Perhaps Moses had stage fright, or perhaps he had trouble putting his words together. Maybe he was a fast thinker but a slow talker.   God’s solution is simple. He will tell Moses what to say. Moses will tell Aaron who will do the public speaking.   Aaron must have been persuasive and a natural leader because he founded the Levitical priesthood.   Moses will be “like God” to him.   It’s a workable solution, but not without problems. A few months down the road, while Moses was talking with God on Mount Sinai, Aaron would do nothing while the people built a golden calf.   What is in Your Hand?   I remember a powerful sermon on this text by Jack Wyrtzen, founder of Word of Life, called, “What Is That In Your Hand?” Jack loved reminding his listeners that a wooden staff is not very beautiful. It’s just a staff you used to herd the sheep.   But God took the thing Moses depended on and worked a miracle.   We all have gifts, talents, and abilities. We all have handicaps of one sort or another.   We have things God has given us. We have doubts and insecurities.   We are just clay pots into which God has poured the treasure of the gospel. That’s always been God’s plan.   His power. Our Weakness.   Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:7:   “We have this treasure in jars of clay,          to show that the surpassing power          belongs to God and not to us.”   Scholars tell us the “jars of clay” were cheap, ordinary, everyday clay pots. The kind of pots a housewife might use for milk or soup. They might even be used as a “chamber pot.”   Easily cracked. Not long-lasting.   That’s you and me. That’s all of us.   A pot has value if it is useful to its owner. It’s not worth much by itself. But though it is cracked and scarred, and though it will be eventually thrown away and replaced, the pot holds something precious.   It contains God’s power.   When we get to the end of all our excuses, God says to us what he said to Moses: “Trust me. I can do more through you than you can imagine. Make yourself available to me, and I will do amazing things in your life.” Two Quick Applications   1. God has the same question for you and me: “What is in your hand?”   A staff may not seem like much, but when you place it at God’s disposal, it can be part of a miracle. Everyone has “something” in their hands.   Your “something” won’t necessarily be the same “something” your neighbor has.   You may have a gift for writing. You may have a talent for singing. You may have a desire to care for the needy. You may have financial resources. You may have time to help others. You may have a green thumb for gardening.   You may be a painter, architect, teacher, nurse, accountant, or administrator.   You may have children or grandchildren who need your guidance.   You may teach Sunday School, or perhaps you can lead a missions trip, or maybe you will run the soundboard during the second service.   You may be a coach who can teach kids how to hit a baseball, play half-court defense, or pole vault.   You may know how to program a computer or how to make money on social media. You may be a photographer, calligrapher, fisherman, or hunter.   Perhaps you can make reels on Instagram or TikTok videos that millions of people will watch.   Don’t waste one second complaining you can’t do what someone else can do. As I survey this long list I just made, I’m happy to report I can do almost none of those things. Perhaps one benefit of being further along in life is knowing what I can’t do so I can spend more time doing what I can do.   God has placed “something” in your hands. Use it for his glory!   2. God will equip you with everything you need to do his will.   Moses is the only person in history to whom God spoke from a burning bush. The only one!   That didn’t happen to Abraham, David, Joshua, Nehemiah, or anyone else in the Bible.   Moses had seen God’s glory. And he said, “Send someone else.”   No wonder God was angry with him.   It’s one thing to wait for confirmation. But while we wait, we ought to think and pray and read the Bible and consult with wise counselors.   At some point, “waiting by faith” becomes “stalling by faith.”   There’s a little Moses in all of us. Don’t make God angry by saying no when he calls.   When God calls us, will we obey?  When we read it in the Word of God, will we obey?  When we hear it from the pulpit, will we obey? When we discover it in our quiet time, will we obey? When a friend gives us a piece of advice we recognize is of the Lord, will we obey?   When we dare to say "yes" to God, even when it hurts, that’s when the miracles begin.   It’s a big step forward spiritually when we can say,   "Lord, I'll get involved.  I'll stop sitting on the sidelines.  Here am I. Send me."    Then, and only then, the miracles kick in, the answers begin to come, and the sun begins to shine again.    Once we obey, God is obligated to take care of us. As He did for Moses, so he will do for us.   This world is in deep need. There is trouble everywhere. God has called us to go with the Good News.   He will not let us down, He will not let us off, He will not let us go.   So we come again to the bottom line: When God calls, don’t make excuses!   May God give us the grace to say, “Here am I, Lord! Send me!” AMEN! Ted

Be Worthy

 

MAY 24 Be Worthy

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27

The apostle’s concern is not simply with our talk and conversation with one another, but with the whole course of our life and behavior in the world. The Greek word translated “manner of life” signifies the actions and the privileges of citizenship: And in this way we are commanded to let our actions, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. What “manner of life” is this? In the first place, the Gospel is very simple. So Christians should be simple and plain in their habits. There should be about our manner, our speech, our dress, our whole behavior that simplicity that is the very soul of beauty. The Gospel is preeminently true. It is gold without dross; and the Christian’s life will be lusterless and valueless without the jewel of truth. The Gospel is a very fearless Gospel; it boldly proclaims the truth, whether men like it or not. We must be equally faithful and unflinching. But the Gospel is also very gentle. We see this in Jesus: “a bruised reed he will not break.”1 Some professing Christians are sharper than a thorn-hedge; such men are not like Jesus. Let us seek to win others by the gentleness of our words and deeds. The Gospel is very loving. It is the message of the God of love to a lost and fallen race. Christ’s command to His disciples was, “Love one another.” We need more real, hearty union with and love for all the saints, more tender compassion toward the souls of the worst and vilest of men! We must not forget that the Gospel of Christ is holy. It never excuses sin: It pardons it, but only through an atonement. If our life is to resemble the Gospel, we must shun not merely the grosser vices, but everything that would hinder our perfect conformity to Christ. For His sake, for our own sakes, and for the sake of others, we must strive day by day to let our manner of life be more in accordance with His Gospel. Because of Jesus, Ted

Matthew 12:20

Never Grow Stingy

 

MAY 23 Never Grow Stingy

You have not bought me sweet cane with money. Isaiah 43:24

Worshipers at the temple were keen to bring presents of sweet perfumes to be burned upon the altar of God. But Israel, in the time of her backsliding, became ungenerous and made fewer offerings to her Lord. This was an evidence of coldness of heart toward God and His house. Reader, does this never happen with you? Is it not possible that the complaint of this text may occasionally, if not frequently, be brought against you? Those who are poor in pocket, if rich in faith, will be accepted even though their gifts are small; but, poor reader, do you give in fair proportion to the Lord, or is the widow’s mite kept back from the sacred treasury? The rich believer should be thankful for the wealth entrusted to him but should not forget his large responsibility, for where much is given, much will be required. But, rich reader, are you mindful of your obligations, and is your giving to the Lord proportionate to the benefit you enjoy? Jesus gave His blood for us; what shall we give to Him? We are His, and He has purchased us for Himself—can we act as if we were our own? O for more consecration! O for more love! Blessed Jesus, how good it is of You to accept our sweet cane bought with money! Nothing is too costly as a tribute to Your unrivaled love, and yet You receive with favor the smallest sincere token of affection! You receive our poor forget-me-nots and love-tokens as though they were intrinsically precious, though indeed they are but as the bunch of wild flowers that the child brings to his mother. Let us never grow stingy toward You, and from this hour may we never hear You complain of us again for withholding the gifts of our love. We will give You the firstfruits of our increase and pay You tithes of all, and then we will confess, “of your own have we given you.”1

1 Chronicles 29:14 Because of Jesus, Ted

The Beauty Of Christ

 

MAY 22 The Kaleidoscope of Christ’s Beauty

Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved. Song of Songs 1:16

From every angle our Well-beloved is most fair. Our various experiences are meant by our heavenly Father to provide new vantage points from which we may view the loveliness of Jesus. How friendly are our trials when they allow us a clearer view of Jesus than ordinary life could afford us! We have seen Him from the mountain peaks, and He has shone upon us as the sun in His strength; but we have seen Him also from the lions’ dens, and even there He has lost none of His loveliness. In the experience of suffering and pain, from the borders of the grave, we have turned our eyes to our soul’s spouse, and He has never been other than “beautiful.” Many of His saints looked upon Him from the gloom of dungeons and from the martyr’s flames; yet they never uttered an ill word of Him, but died extolling His surpassing charms. To keep our gaze on the Lord Jesus is noble and pleasant employment. Is it not unspeakably delightful to view the Savior in all His works and to perceive Him matchless in each? To shift the kaleidoscope, as it were, and to find fresh combinations of matchless grace? In the manger and in eternity, on the cross and on His throne, in the garden and in His kingdom, among thieves or in the midst of cherubim, He is everywhere glorious in His beauty. Examine carefully every little act of His life and every trait of His character, and He is as lovely in the minute as in the majestic. Judge Him as you will, you cannot censure; weigh Him as you please, and He will not be found wanting. Eternity shall not discover the shadow of a spot in our Beloved, but rather as ages revolve, His hidden glories will shine with even more inconceivable splendor, and His unutterable loveliness will continually ravish all celestial minds. Because of Jesus, Ted

Do You Think I Came To Bring Peace???

 Our question comes from Luke chapter 12—you’ll see that from the card that you received—and if you would like to see it in its context, then if you turn to page 738 in the church Bibles, then you can find exactly where it’s set. It’s actually, as you will see, just part of the fifty-first verse, but let me read the little section that begins at verse 49.

Jesus is speaking and he says, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

A quite striking little section, isn’t it? And you say to yourself, “Well, why did we choose this one?” which is really the question I’ve been asking earlier in the day.

Last week we went out into the community with our question. We didn’t do that this week, but when we did so last week, asking people if they could answer the question “Who do you think Jesus is?” we received a whole variety of responses. They were very interesting, and nobody said they didn’t know. If we had gone out with this question this week, I think we would’ve discovered that there would be almost across the board the same response from people, if they had any response at all. And that is, if we asked them, “What do you think the answer is to the question posed by Jesus: ‘Do you think I came to bring peace on [the] earth?’” I think almost exclusively people would say, “Oh yes, I’m sure he answered yes to that.” And if we pressed them on it, they would say, “Well, if we know anything about Jesus, we know that he’s about love, that he is about forgiveness, and that he is about harmony.” And in saying that, of course, they would be expressing truth in every instance—but, of course, not answering the question correctly. Because the answer to the question is not yes but actually no. And the statement that Jesus makes in replying in this way to his own question—“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division”—it’s all the more striking when we look at it in the wider context not simply of the immediate verses that are around this verse here but also in the rest of the Bible.

And so, for example, let me quote to you some verses from the Bible with which you may actually be familiar and which may have already come to your mind if you’ve been thinking about this question at all.

First of all, what about the arrival of Jesus—the birth of Jesus—and the angelic chorus? If you remember that from Christmastime at all, you will recall that when the angels sang, they sang what? “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men.”[1] Well, that doesn’t just seem to fit properly with Jesus’ answer here.

And what the angels sang they sang in accord with the words that the prophets had spoken, strikingly in Isaiah chapter 9, which you will recall, if not from your Bible or from Sunday school class, from Handel’s Messiah: “For [unto] us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be [upon] his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, [the] Mighty God, [the] Everlasting Father, [the] Prince of Peace.”[2]

And so what is Jesus on about here? “Do you think I have come to bring peace on the earth?” We’ve already gone to two very important passages that seem to contradict exactly what it is that Jesus is saying.

And what about the Sermon on the Mount? What about when he brought everyone together and taught them and gave them these Beatitudes and these internalized principles—a bit like the Ten Commandments turbocharged? And in the course of that in Matthew chapter 5 he says to his followers, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called [the] sons of God.”[3]

Clearly Jesus did not advocate conflict. He didn’t put together a group of individuals who were going to be insurrectionists.

It’s just getting worse by the quote, isn’t it? Because clearly Jesus did not advocate conflict. He didn’t put together a group of individuals who were going to be insurrectionists.  In fact, he taught his disciples that at least in terms of their personal conduct, retaliation was not an option for them.

And when it was coming towards the time for him to go to the cross and he approached the city of Jerusalem, Luke records for us—in Luke chapter 19—that as he looks out on the city and as he views the people moving around the city, he exclaims to Jerusalem as a place, “If you, [Jerusalem,] even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”[4]

So, when we study the Bible and we come to a difficult question in the Bible, one of the ways in which we deal with it, of course, is to do just what we’re doing now. And that is to say, “If we’re not going to lift this text from its immediate context and from the wider context of the Bible, then we have to be honest and fair and say that what Jesus says here in Luke chapter 12 in answer to his own question at least superficially seems to run counter to the whole drift of his emphasis, both in his words and in his works.”

But it gets even worse than that. Because when, after the ascension of Jesus, the Scriptures are penned, not only in the Gospels but also in the Letters, we discover, for example, that when Paul looks back on the words and works of Jesus and seeks to describe them for those to whom he writes his letters, he describes what Jesus has done in terms of peace. Let me give you just two quotes. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 he says that what was happening in the death of Jesus was “that God was reconciling”—which is a verb which just simply means “making peace”—“that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” And in his opening chapter when he writes to the church at Colossae, he says this: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him”—that is, in Jesus—“and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven”—and now here comes the phrase—“making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”[5]

So it would seem that in expectation of the coming of Jesus, in the words and works of Jesus, it would be very, very hard to step away from the notion that somehow or another, how Jesus lived, what Jesus said, how Jesus died was without any question irrevocably linked to the issue of peace.

“Do you think I came to bring peace on [the] earth? No, I tell you, but division.”

I love this, because I had friends at school in Ilkley in Yorkshire when I was a boy who used to find passages like this and say, “There you go, Begg! There’s a contradiction for you. What’re you going to do with that one?” And we used to have these great discussions. Never did I think for one nanosecond that I would end up in the predicament in which I find myself this evening, but that is a story for another day altogether.

A Fire and a Baptism

Let me try and unpack this for us in a way that will resolve the conflict and allow each of us at least a measure of relief. The words that we’ve just quoted from Paul—when he wrote to Corinth and then to Colossae—help us to understand what Jesus says immediately before his question here in verse 51. Before he comes to the question “Do you think I came to bring peace on [the] earth?” and then makes his striking response, he actually says two other things which are equally demanding when you think about them.

His preface to the question has to do with a “fire on the earth,” he says, and has to do with a “baptism” that he’s about to face. What does he mean by this? “I have come,” he says, “to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”

Well, this is a reference—it’s not a unique reference, because even already in the Gospels there’ve been mention of fire. John the Baptist, who preceded Jesus and pointed to his coming, used this metaphor concerning the coming of Jesus and what he would say and do. And indeed, it is a picture that you find all the way through the Old Testament. But when Jesus says this, he is referring to the fact that fire does at least two things: it burns up what is combustible and it purifies what is noncombustible. So, for example, precious metals are purified in fire; newspaper, tissue, cardboard, various bits and pieces are consumed by fire. And this notion of a fire that is already kindled, to which Jesus refers, is a fire which will burn up and at the same time purify. He’s referring actually to the fire of God’s holiness, which will ultimately be unleashed against a world that persistently turns its back upon him. 

Well, why would Jesus look forward to this? Why would he say, “I wish it were already kindled!”? Well, he’s looking forward to this because he looks forward to the day when evil will be removed entirely from the world—when evil will be removed entirely from the world.

Ultimately, he who is described in Isaiah 9 as the Prince of Peace will reign eternally. In the meantime, strife between good and evil continues.

Now, I haven’t met many people who aren’t intrigued by that possibility and, indeed, would be prepared to commit their lives to that eventuality. Every day, as we turn to our newspapers, as we listen to the news as it is broadcasted to us in various media forms, we say to ourselves, “I wish it were possible for all of this dreadful stuff to be done away with.” And what the Bible says is, it is going be done away with—that ultimately, he who is described in Isaiah 9 as the “Prince of Peace” will reign; he will reign eternally. But in the meantime, strife between good and evil continue. 

That’s the fire. What about the baptism? “I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” “There’s a fire that’s going to burn, and I wish it was kindled! I have a baptism, and how I wish I was through it!”

Now, he’s not referring to baptism as here this evening. Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan; you may remember that from your studies in the Bible. And when he was baptized, John the Baptist tried to dissuade him; he said, “You know, I don’t think we’ve got this the right way round. I think since you are Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, you should be baptizing me.”[6] And Jesus says to John, he says, “[No, let it] be so now”—this is the King James Version—“[let it] be so now: for thus it [is fitting] to fulfil all righteousness.”[7] In other words, “We’re going to go ahead with the baptism in this way in order that I might do the right thing before God, my Father.” And what Jesus was expressing in his baptism was his resolution to do the will of the Father.  

What he refers to now in his baptism is his death upon the cross, which will, of course, will be the ultimate expression of his obedience to the Father’s will. Again, the Old Testament spoke about how it was the Father’s will to bruise his Son and to crush him.[8] And Jesus, when he was baptized, was saying, “Father, I have come to do your will, and in my baptism here, I’m declaring at least this to all who watch me.” And then they listened to his words, and they watched him move towards Jerusalem, and suddenly they begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It takes a while, but they eventually get it. And what Jesus is saying here in verse 50 is simply this: that he lives his life under the looming shadow of his death—that he is living his life under the looming shadow of Gethsemane.

In the twenty-second chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Luke describes for us the scene that Jesus has in mind: “‘Father, if you are willing’”—in the garden of Gethsemane, he says—“‘take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ [And] an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him”—listen—“and being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”[9] And this was in prospect of his death on the cross where, by taking the place of sinners, he would bring about a reconciliation.

Now, again, let me quote to you from Handel’s Messiah:

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we [were considering] him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.[10]

Now, this message is awesome! Do you have your card in front of you? Do you see the quote at the bottom of it? This would be a good time just to look at that quote. What is happening here in the death of Jesus? Says Vaughan Roberts, “How can God forgive people and accept them into his heaven?”[11]—especially when people are sinners! How can God forgive sinners and accept them into heaven? “On the cross Jesus stood in for others and took their punishment so that all who turn to him can be sure that they’re forgiven by God. That is how committed God is to ensuring that we need not face the hell of separation from him which we deserve. It is as if Jesus is saying to us, ‘You will only go to hell over my dead body!’”[12]

Jesus is covered in shame so that those of us who have shameful lives may be covered with his glory.

Jesus is covered in shame so that those of us who, if we’re honest, have shameful lives may be covered with his glory.  There is no story like this anywhere else that I’ve ever read in all of world religions. This is the story of a physician who heals by taking the patient’s disease. This is the story of someone so committed to effecting reconciliation between God in his holiness and men and women in their rebellion that he is prepared to put his very life on the line in order to effect that reconciliation.

I found a little book this week, written in 1905 by a man called the Reverend W. B. Russell-Caley, M.A., Vicar of St Matthias, Plymouth, England. And I read it in a sitting; there are hardly any pages to it at all. And part of it was related to what we’re just looking at here. And when he had explained in the course of this book the wonder of what Jesus had done upon the cross, he then writes as follows; it’s a little quaint, but it works. He says, “We must never ignore the necessity of personal acceptance and trust.”

In other words—someone asked the question last Sunday night, Is it enough simply to know these things in your head? Or, How do we move between just the awareness of these truths and them becoming the kind of reality we’ve heard expressed tonight in those who’ve been baptized? “I was an atheist, but I’ve come to trust in Jesus.” “I was brought up, but I went away; I’ve returned.” They’re all talking in very personal terms, aren’t they? It’s hard to avoid the fact that they’re apparently all on about some reality—some experiential reality. They’re not all trotting out just a standard textbook explication of religious orthodoxy.

And that’s what this man is referencing; he says, “We can’t ignore the necessity of personal acceptance and trust. The lifeboat is no good unless the drowning man gets into it. And no one else can get in for him. He must do it for himself. Yet surely, he would never say that the hand which sees the lifeboat was his salvation. He could only view it as the means by which he apprehended the proffered safety.”

The Question’s Answer

Now, I’ve said enough to answer the question; let me answer it for you. What Jesus means here when he talks about division is directly tied to the work that he was to accomplish in effecting reconciliation. So that when a man or a woman comes to understand this story—this good news story, which is what the Bible is ultimately all about: “How can sinners be put right with God? How can my life be transformed, and how can I discover forgiveness?” and so on—when a man or a woman comes to trust in Christ in that way, their newfound faith in Jesus will prove, almost inevitably, to be a divisive factor.  

And Jesus here was dealing with a Jewish mindset that viewed the idea of a coming kingdom in terms of tranquility and peace and harmony and everything being super. And you may have been places where folks have said to you, “You know, I think you should really try Christianity, because it is all about tranquility and peace and everything becoming super.” But that message doesn’t come from the lips of Jesus—at least not in Luke chapter 12, does it? “Do you think I came to bring peace on the earth?” he says. “I don’t want you fellows to go out into a fool’s paradise. No,” he says, “I actually didn’t come to bring peace. I came to bring division.”

Now, what he means by that is clearly not that his ultimate objective was division but that the effect of his accomplishment of salvation would be division—that when a life is changed in its core, in its direction, in its values, in its focus, in its purpose, in its dreams, whatever that change may be, it changes the dynamic of interpersonal relationships.

And in the case of somebody coming to believe in Jesus—coming to say, “I actually realize that when he died upon that cross, he died as a sinless man. Why, as a sinless man, would he die? Well, apparently to effect reconciliation. Reconciling whom? Reconciling someone like me to a God who is absolutely pure and holy. So now I understand that this is a magnificent thing which Christ has accomplished, and I could never be the same again once I understood it. And when I began to share it with my family, my mother said, ‘You know, Penelope, your father and I have spent a large part of our lives making sure that you were brought up with Christian principles and Christian values. And you know that we took you to such and such a place routinely. And we don’t want you coming down to the breakfast table with that New Testament. And we don’t want another invitation to one of your talks, or your events, or whatever those things are you go to. You’re causing trouble in our family, Penelope.’” You ever heard anything like that?

Or, “What’s happened to you? We always ate our meal at this time on a Sunday evening. What do you mean, you’ve got to go twice? Who says you have to go twice?”

“No one says I have to go twice.”

“Well, why in the world would you go again? You go the first time, you get your ticket stamped; it’s over. Why’re you going again?”

“I like going.”

“What do you mean you like going? Once it’s done, it’s done. You don’t have to keep going back! We’ve taught you properly about these things.”

“Dad, I don’t think you understand. I have discovered Jesus as a living personal friend and Savior.”

“Oh, just… just… go on!”

Or someone says to their wife, as he’s pulling his socks on in the dimness of the morning before he heads out, and she’s been inviting him to something that he’d absolutely is sick to death of hearing about, and he turns to her as a parting shot, and he says, “You know, the strange thing about you, Mary, is that you have… something weird has happened to you, and you’ve begun to suggest that somehow I’m not a Christian at all.”

I have a friend in Glasgow—my wife and I do—a fine lady in suburban Glasgow, lives near one of my sisters. If she wants to meet with any other members of her family who share her personal faith in Jesus, she is forbidden by her husband to have them in their home. He will have none of it. For this lady, the reality of division is simply that—reality.

Now, let me wrap this up. Jesus demanded careful obedience—costly loyalty—and that’s why not everyone is prepared to pay the price, or to accept those who do pay the price.  If you remember Pilgrim’s Progress, how does it start? Well, it starts with Pilgrim running down the road. And Bunyan says that once he had looked into this book and he had asked himself the question “What must I do to be saved?” and as he had started out on his journey, Bunyan says,

[And] I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door, when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying, “Life! life! eternal life!” So he looked not behind him, but fled [forward to] the middle of the plain.

[And] the neighbours also came out to see him run; and as he ran, some mocked, [and] others threatened, and some cried after him to return; and among those that did so, there were two that resolved to fetch him back by force.[13]

hat was the problem here? Well, he had begun to run after Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul outlines the nature of things in a quite dramatic way. He describes the person before they become a believer in Jesus in this way: he says,

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—[and] it is by grace you have been saved.[14]

You got that little phrase there, “Like the rest, we were…” But when someone is brought into Christ, they are no longer “like the rest.” And it is that very distinction, which is the cause of division, which is the answer to the question before us tonight.

---

[1] Luke 2:14 (paraphrased).

[2] Isaiah 9:6 (NIV 1984).

[3] Matthew 5:9 (NIV 1984).

[4] Luke 19:42 (NIV 1984).

[5] Colossians 1:19–20 (NIV 1984).

[6] Matthew 3:13–14 (paraphrased).

[7] Matthew 3:15 (KJV).

[8] See Isaiah 53:5, 10.

[9] Luke 22:42–44 (NIV 1984).

[10] Isaiah 53:3–5 (NIV 1984). Original lyrics to The Messiah based upon the KJV.

[11] Vaughan Roberts, Turning Points (Carlisle: Authentic Media, 2003), 137.

[12] Roberts, Turning Points, 137.

[13] John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress.

[14] Ephesians 2:1–5 (NIV 1984).

Copyright © 2022, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.