Month: October 2015

Robes Of Righteousness 

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Isaiah 61:10
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Certain garments are necessary for certain activities. People wear football apparel to play football, a suit for the office, and a wedding gown for the wedding day. In the same way, appropriate apparel is required for entrance to heaven. Isaiah called these the garments of salvation. These clothes can only be purchased by placing faith in Christ. When we do that, our old filthy rags of self-righteousness are replaced with a robe of righteousness, and we are welcomed into the banqueting hall of the Lord. Jesus put it this way;

Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Feast

“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.'” But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

‘For many are called, but few are chosen.’”
Pastor Jim

 

What Love 

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Isaiah 62:5
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.”

Life can cause us to misunderstand God. In the midst of difficulty, it is common to respond like the disciples who cried out, “Lord don’t you care that we are perishing” (Mark 4:38)? It is during those times, we need to cling all the more to the promises of God. Circumstances are often misleading. If we want to know how God truly feels about us, we need to look into the pages of His Word. Isaiah declares that God rejoices over us. I have had the privilege of performing quite a few weddings. My favorite part of the ceremony is to look at the face of the groom as his bride appears. The sheer joy on his face is electric. God declares his love for us is like that of a groom with his bride. Whatever difficulty you are in the midst of, take some time to sit with the Lord and look at His precious promises. Allow His Word to do the work of washing, reviving, and empowering you to keep pressing on. There is nothing more powerful in all the world than the voice of God. With it, He spoke the world into existence, and with it, He will speak strength and comfort into you.

Pastor Jim

 

Bridging The Gap

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Isaiah 59:1-2
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Sin is missing the mark. Just as an archer aims at a target, lets his arrow fly, and misses; so we attempt to do our best, only to fall short of the perfect standard of God. The problem is, sin has grave consequences. Sin not only effects our emotions by making us feel guilty, it also effects our ability to have a relationship with God. Isaiah reveals, the real impact of sin is separation from God.

If we were hiking and came to a gorge where a bridge used to be, we would be forced to either fashion a new one or find another way across. When it comes to sin, the gorge is too wide. Our efforts can never bridge the gap between man and God. We must look for another way across. Fortunately, there is a way. Jesus went to the cross to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to God. We are told, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead youwill be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

Imagine the utter joy of sin being forgiven, and knowing God personally! This message so impacted the first generation of believers, they sacrificed all to travel the world, telling anyone and everyone that reconciliation with God was possible.

Thank God that while sin separates, Jesus restores.

Pastor Jim

Peace

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Isaiah 60:18
“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land,
Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders;
But you shall call your walls Salvation,
And your gates Praise.”

Isaiah promises a time when violence and destruction will be replaced with salvation and praise. Clearly, we have not yet entered that time. Violence is one of the major themes of our day. While this is true everywhere, it is especially true in the Middle East. It seems as though, not a day goes by where we are not faced with reports of violence, war, and terrorism.
Isaiah promises a day when this violence will be a thing of the past; a time when the Messiah will come to reign and rule, and peace will govern the earth. While we await that day, we must remember, it is possible to have the peace of Christ reign over us even in these dark days.
I recently met a man who had been a terrorist. His view of non-Muslim people was they were infidels and he would be rewarded by Allah for killing them. One day, this angry man, filled with hatred, was invited to church by a young woman. He accepted her offer, if for no other reason than to further persecute Christians. What he did not know is, he was about to encounter the true and living God, and have his life forever changed. Through a series of events, over a number of weeks, this man fell to his knees, invited Christ into his life, and found that the anger which governed his life, was immediately replaced with peace, joy, and love.
No matter who you are or what you are facing, Jesus wants you to drink from the waters of salvation, and experience His perfect peace.

Pastor Jim

 

Double Agent

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Titus 1:16
“They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

  • The church in Crete was like most churches. It had a pastor, who was seeking to minister to the spiritual needs of the people, while facing many struggles from within and without. It had members who were growing in the Lord and seeking to serve Him, and members whose growth was stunted, due to a variety of lingering and tolerated personal sins. Then there were others, who only pretended to be Christians. Paul describes this group as ones who claim to be followers of Christ, yet they fail to really follow Him.

“They profess to know God…”

The word “profess” is a very important word. It is used in Romans 10 to describe personal responsibility in salvation. We are told, in order to be saved, we must “confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9). The word “confess” is the same word translated profess in our text. It is used again in 1 John 1:9 where we are told “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us”, and is also used in Hebrews 11 to describe those who lived lives committed to the Lord. Those individuals are also described as men of whom the world was not worthy. Paul is suggesting there are people in the church who look like they are believers. When we see them on Sunday mornings we assume they are living lives committed to Christ. They say all the right things, speak the language, know the songs, maybe even lift their hands in worship, or hand out bulletins at the door. The problem is, their lives from Monday through Saturday don’t back up the profession of their lips. They are only pretending, play acting, putting on a show in order to hide the fact that they have never surrendered all to Christ.

“in works they deny Him…”

The word “deny” is also a very important Biblical word. Jesus used it in Luke 12:9 when He said, “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Paul also used the word when writing to Timothy stating “If we deny Him, He will also deny us.” (2 Timothy 2:12) The word “deny” means to reject, and was used to describe those, who on Palm Sunday raised their voices in praise, but on Friday cried out “crucify Him.” Paul explains in this verse, the word means more than a simple statement. While it is necessary to confess Christ with our lips, it is also necessary that our lives back up our profession. Coming forward at the altar call is an important step in your Christian life, but it does not stop there. We must move on to walking after Jesus in our daily lives. If you are putting on your best Christianity to show up at church each week, only to live a double life throughout the week, you are not only in sin, but in grave danger. Deception is always dangerous, but self-deception is deadly.

Don’t wait another minute to lay down your sin and get things right with the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

Finish Line 

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2 Timothy 4:6-8
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Paul has come to the end of his road. While prison was an all too common experience for the apostle, he had been delivered from it, and other perils, time and time again. Somehow, he knew this time would be different, and his deliverance would be through death. Not long after this letter was written, Paul was martyred for his faith in Christ. As his journey concludes, Paul examines his life, looking at his past, present and future.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Looking back over his years as a believer, Paul sums his life up by comparing it to a race. The simple statement that he has reached the finish line, reminds us of the training, self-discipline, and obstacles he faced along the way. Finishing well starts when we decide to live for Christ. Many sit back, thinking about how they should get more serious about their relationship with Jesus, but as days become weeks and weeks years, they have done nothing about it. If we want to end this life as Paul did, we must decide, today, that we will live for eternity, laying down whatever is keeping us from moving ahead. Paul used another word to describe his life, he called it a fight. While fights may be something we enjoy watching, they are not something enjoyable to do. Sometimes, the only way to get in the race, is to stand firm, and fight against the desires of the flesh that keep us bound.

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, . . .”

Paul did not see his present situation as a victory for the enemy, but as an opportunity to minister to others. In Old Testament times, the drink offering was to accompany the sacrifices that were burned on the altar. It would add to the beautiful aroma of the sacrifice. Earlier, Paul used the phrase, “if I am being poured out as an offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith” (Philippians 2:17). Paul saw his current struggles as a means to minister to others. Suffering is never pleasant, but God wants to use it in our lives as a witness to others. It is often through the difficult experiences, that we find inroads into reaching others with the Gospel.

“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

One of the most comforting truths that kept the Apostle moving forward, was knowing death was not the end. He knew a final breath in this body, meant the first step into eternity. As a result, Paul lived to bring glory to God. This led to the expectation that upon entering glory, Paul would be rewarded with the crown of righteousness. This crown is not Paul’s alone, but for all who live committed to Christ, and anticipate seeing Him face to face; they will one day receive the crown of righteousness.

Let’s live today in expectation of His soon return.

Pastor Jim

 

When Righteousness Dies

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Isaiah 57:1
“The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart…”

Isaiah watched as righteousness ceased in the land. Those who lived their lives according to the standards of the Bible were looked down upon and even persecuted. Rightoeusness was seen as a plague, and the righteous were treated with contempt.

In many ways, we are facing the same attitude today. Unrighteous behaviors are being passed off as lifestyle choices. Anyone who dares to speak out against sin is called intolerant, while those who turn a blind eye to sin, or worse yet, applaud the choices of wickedness, are seen as openminded, loving, and progressive. We are failing to see that God has given man a standard to live by, and there are consequences for violating His ways.

One of Isaiah’s primary messages was unrighteousness weakens the nation. It mattered little to the prophet, the size of Israel’s military, or their economic condition. To him, the greatest danger was turning from the Word of God. We are constantly being reminded of the economic, social, and international troubles our nation has. At the moment, we are facing threat of war, threat of disease, and a continual economic crisis. The fact is, our nation is more than broke, we are in debt so deep it may be impossible to ever get out of it.

Instead of waiting for Washington, it is time for the individual Christian to take steps away from sin and toward the Lord. When we, as believers, choose to set aside sin, pride, prejudice or compromise, that action has a dramatic effect on those around us. Perhaps it is time to examine yourself and see if there are things that need to be set aside in your life. We may never know the impact a decision to stop smoking, drinking, or compromising will have on those around us.

Pastor Jim