Year: 2015

Saved 

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Ezekiel 9:3-4
“Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.’”

We find a reoccurring theme in Scripture, those who belong to God are protected from His judgment. When the plagues came upon Egypt, the children of God were spared, when judgment fell upon Sodom, Lot was spared, and here, as Judah is being judged, those who turned to the Lord, were spared. It is worth noting, they were protected from judgment because a mark was placed upon them. This is true of those who belong to Christ. Paul explained to the Ephesian Church, they we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13). This seal not only marks us as belonging to God, but also ensures we will one day receive our future inheritance in glory.

The reason the child of God is spared from the judgment of God is because Jesus bore it on the cross. In one of the most profoundly theological statements ever made, Jesus declared “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) It was at that point, the wrath of God was being poured out upon all sin. Every sin ever committed was paid for on the cross, so any who trusts in Christ could be forever pardoned.

While it is true, we often must face earthly consequences for sinful actions, if we have trusted Christ, we will never face an eternal penalty.

Romans 5:9 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

Pastor Jim

 

Love And Obey

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2 John 1:6
“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”

Scripture teaches, the most important of all graces is love. Jesus said it was the first of the commandments, the proof of our relationship with Him, and our most effective witnessing tool. Paul defined love in first Corinthians 13, and declared that love will outlast time. In our world, love is a very common subject, admittedly difficult to define. I think it is important we keep in mind, while the chief thing is love, the chief love, is love for God. John helps us to understand what love for God actually looks like.

“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”

Simply put, if we love God we will do what He says. This is not something John made up because it sounded good in a letter, but was a lesson he had learned from Jesus.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

The truest evidence of love is obedience. Sadly, we all know those who claim to have a passionate love for Christ, yet have no desire to do the things that please Him. That is the height of inconsistency. Love will always evidence itself by seeking to please the one loved. When my children were little, I would take them out to shop for birthday presents for their mother. They always ended up in the toy section and wanted to purchase her some sort of action hero. Because of their immaturity, they could only think of what would make them happy. As they have grown, I no longer make them buy gifts for mom, they choose to go out on their own, and purchase things that they know she will enjoy. In fact, it has become hard to outdo them, because they love their mom so much and want to give what will please her most.

What pleases God, is not great sacrifice, as much as simple obedience. When we read the Bible and do what it says, we are expressing a love much greater than ONLY singing praises, or declaring empty words.

1 Samuel 15:22 “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…”

Pastor Jim

 

Secrets

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Ezekiel 8:8-9
“Then He said to me,’Son of man, dig into the wall’; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And He said to me, ‘Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.’”

Some of the imagery of the Bible is designed to get the attention of the reader. This passage certainly does that. Ezekiel explains, while he was sitting in his living room surrounded by the elders of Israel, he was suddenly lifted out of his chair by his hair, and transported hundreds of miles away to the city of Jerusalem. There he was shown a series of scenes that exposed the wickedness of the people, and in particular the leaders. One of those scenes took him to the the Temple where he dug a hole in the wall, found a hidden door, opened it up, and exposed the hidden sins of those who were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation.

This passage has been preserved for us for two primary reasons. First, it gives insight into the real cause of the fall of Judah. The nation was defeated by their enemies, not because of military weakness, but because they had departed from the ways of God. This is true on every level. A person, church, or nation who turns its back on God, will find they no longer have the ability to stand, and will soon be defeated.

The second is much more personal. This passage illustrates the fact that God sees into the hidden chambers of the heart of every man. No sin is really committed in secret. Everything we do is done in the open before the eyes of God. Think about any secret sin you might be practicing, and think about doing it on a stage in a room filled with people. In reality, our sins are performed in the very sight of God. It is as if we have ushered everyone else out of the room, set up a private stage, and performed our secret sins for an audience of God. The writer of Hebrews put it this way,

Hebrews 4:12-13

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Notice the final line in that statement, “all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Every action we perform, no matter how careful we might be, is done openly in the sight of God. As frightening as that may be, the verse before it gives us the solution. We are told of the ability of the word of God to act like a sword that cuts into our lives and makes the appropriate changes.

Instead of hiding sin in a secret chamber of your heart, take the time to confess your sins to God, receive the forgiveness He offers, and look into His word for help and strength to put those things behind you.

Proverbs 28:13

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Pastor Jim

 

Times Up! 

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Ezekiel 7:2
“And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:
‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.”

Ezekiel is declaring to Judah a message that everyone will one day hear. That message proclaimed the end of the road had been reached, and they must now give an account to the Lord for the lives they lived. For them, this day was a sorrowful one. All of the investments they had made were earthly and unable to provide deliverance from divine judgment. Like Belshazzar, they had been weighed in the balances and found wanting (Daniel 5:27).

The Bible declares there will be a day of reckoning for every man. We will all stand before God to receive the wages for the life we lived on earth. If we have made no investments into eternity, that will be a frightening and horrible day. If we have taken the time to prepare in advance, that day will be one of great celebration and reward. The question we must answer is, “How do we prepare for eternity?”

First off, we must deal with sin. Sin means we have violated the law of God, and is a crime committed by all. The Bible declares the penalty for violating the law of God is judgment, but God has provided a way of escape through the cross of Christ. It will not be your wealth, charm, or benevolence that delivers you in the day of wrath; rather, if you have received Christ, your sins are forgiven and eternal life is granted.

Once a person has received Christ, he can begin to store up treasures in heaven. These treasures are given for faithfully following and serving Christ. When we put the things of God above our own desires, we are rewarded. When we take the time to invest in the spiritual well being of others, we are rewarded for that, too. Essentially, spiritual rewards are granted to those who live for Christ.

It is easy to become consumed with the details of life. We can spend almost all of our time tredding water just to keep our head up, and make it to the end of the day. It is important that we look at life through the eyes of eternity. This will enable us to store up eternal rewards, even in the mundane details of life. A young man, faithfully accomplishing his science project, as a witness to his parents of the reality of his relationship with Christ, becomes a means of spiritual reward. The same is true of a young mother caring for her infant son, or an employee seeking to do his job the best it can be done, to impact his co-workers for Christ.

It is time we look at life through the lens of eternity.

Pastor Jim

 

Pray 

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1 John 5:16
“If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.”

Prayer is a critical part of our relationship with God. It is the means by which we are involved in the work of God on earth. Scripture reveals the things God desires to do when we join in prayer; as a result we get to see God work. There are many texts in Scripture making it clear that when we fail to pray, we fail to experience the works of God. Perhaps the most well-known is when James declares, “You have not because you ask not.” (James 4:2c) Because of the importance of prayer, as it relates to the work of God, John instructs us on how to pray. Verse 14 tells us what to pray for,

1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

The purpose of prayer is to get the will of God accomplished. When we look into the Word of God we will see the things that are important to God. When we ask Him to accomplish those things, we will begin to see our prayers answered. We know the salvation of our loved ones is on the top of God’s list, so we should put them on the top of list, and be praying for them regularly.

In verse 16, John addresses things that we should not pray for. He refers to them as the sins that lead to death. Sometimes, I wish there were a few more verses in Scripture. I wish John would have added a sentence or two explaining exactly what he meant. Since he did not, we are left to do a little digging on our own. What does the Bible say we should not pray about? I think the clear answer is, we should not pray about the things God has told us not to do. When my children were little, they would often ask for something, and not receive the answer for which they were hoping. Instead of accepting the answer they received, they would continue to ask, and at times even plead, beg, or ask with fervency. Their continued asking, after they had been told NO, did not change our minds, it only got them into trouble. In the same way, there are things God, because of His love for us, forbids us to have, or be involved in, and it is wrong for the Christian to ask for those things.

While all that is true, it is clearly not what John is talking about here. He is talking about those times when a friend gets involved in sin, and how we should respond to him. He tells us, if his sin is a deadly one, don’t pray about it. That is, if his sin is so dangerous, and able to destroy them, or their relationship with the Lord, don’t pray. Since I am not sure exactly what John means, I think the best application for the text is, instead of standing back waiting to decide what God wants me to do, I should take the advice of Paul who said, “. . .when a brother is overtaken in sin you who are spiritual restore him in a spirit of meekness. . .” (Galatians 6:1) Rather than letting our loved ones continue down a road that is taking them away from the Lord, we should step in, and do all we can to get them back on track. We already know God loves them, and He wants to restore them, the only question is, how we can help?

Pastor Jim

 

Achilles’ Hill

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Ezekiel 6:11

“Thus says the Lord God: ‘Pound your fists and stamp your feet, and say, “Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”‘”

When I read of the fall of Judah I am reminded of Achilles, who was one of the more famous characters in Greek mythology. He was the central figure of Homer’s Iliad, and the hero of the Trojan wars. The legend tells the story of Achilles, who was held by the ankle and dipped in the river Styx, providing him with supernatural protection in battle. As a result, his only weakness was his ankle that was not covered by the magical waters. It was this weakness that ultimately cost him his life.

Unlike the story of Achilles, Israel truly had supernatural protection. The great armies of Egypt, Canaan, and Assyria were no match for a nation who received its protection from the Lord. Their safety was never in their vast armies, high walls, or military ingenuity. It was the Lord, who was a mighty fortress protecting His people against their foes.

Tragically, Israel had an Achilles’ heel; an area of weakness that would ultimately destroy the nation. That weakness was their wandering heart. Like Samson of old, their strength lie in their commitment to the Lord. Each time they set aside the Word of God and picked up another practice of the surrounding nations, they came one step closer to their fall. Over the years they had come to the brink of disaster, only to call upon God, receive his mercy, and in essence, a stay of execution. This mercy caused them to misunderstand God and sin, thinking of themselves as indestructible. Even with the Babylonian army encamped about the city, they still foolishly thought deliverance would come. What they failed to realize was, sin will weaken an individual and a nation.

As a child of God, you are protected against the wiles of the devil. All of his attacks are shielded by the grace of God. There is no weapon formed against us that can prevail (Isaiah 54:17). That, however, does not mean we are indestructible. That does not give us license to sin or compromise, thinking we cannot be defeated. Like Achilles and Israel, we all have a weakness and that weakness is sin. The solution is to remove it from our lives and cling tighter to the promises of God’s Word.

Pastor Jim

 

Love 

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1 John 4:10-11
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Love seems to be the most common subject of music, art, poetry and film. We have all heard songs with lyrics heralding the importance of love, or movies showing couples falling in love. Love has been romanticized, even idolized, yet rarely realized. It is here that the Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us a description of true love.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

True love is both illustrated and defined by the action of God sending His Son. Paul reminds us, it was while we were still sinners, God sent His Son to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8). John uses the word propitiation, which speaks of a blood sacrifice; the innocent for the guilty. Love is measured at the cross where Jesus willingly laid down His life for you and me. But the love of God does not stop there. It is the desire of God that His love continue to be demonstrated to the world through the actions of His children.

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Since we are the beloved, we are to act like it, by seeking to express this love to each other.

1 John 4:20 “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”

One of the best ways to express love for God, is to love others. This should be done in the home, by going out of our way, today, to show our spouse, children, parents, and siblings that we love them. Perhaps, even looking for extravagant ways to show off our love. After all, God expressed His love by going all out for us. Then this love should be expressed beyond the home. We should be looking for ways to love those around us. Jesus explained that His followers were to be different from the world in that the world loves those who are loving them. The Christian is to love all.

Matthew 5:46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

Make an effort today to share the love of Christ with those with whom you come in contact. The greatest expression of love is to tell someone the way to heaven.

Pastor Jim

 

Visual Learner 

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Ezekiel 4:1
“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem.”

Some people are visual learners. They seem to have a difficult time processing information audibly, but the moment they can see it, things become perfectly clear. Most of the pre-exilic prophets relayed the same message to Judah. They warned of coming destruction by the Babylonians and exhorted the people to turn to the Lord. Ezekiel will share that same message, but will do so with some very powerful imagery. This chapter alone gives three such illustrations.

First, Ezekiel is told to make a model of the city of Jerusalem. When he first began this project, I am sure those who stood back and watched were wondering what he was building. As each day passed, the image became more clear, until it was obvious to all that it was Jerusalem. It must have been quite a shock when he began to fill the surrounding hillsides with foreign troops, and build siege walls outside the city. Even the most casual observer, would have no problem understanding the message.

Once completed, Ezekiel used another approach to get the same message across. Each day he would enter the public square, lay out a bed mat, and lie down on his left side. He remained there throughout the day, and repeated this for 339 consecutive days. One the 340th day, he turned over and laid on his right side for another 40 days. This was done to illustrate the coming judgment on Judah for their iniquities.

Finally, Ezekiel was instructed to bake the bread of affliction. God wanted the people to understand that serving false gods meant becoming slaves. Jesus taught the same truth when He said if we serve sin, we become a slave of sin (John 8:34). Slavery brought affliction and affliction, personal suffering. To deepen the impact of this illustration, Ezekiel was told to cook the bread using human waste as fuel. This proved too much for the prophet, who pleaded with God, and was instructed to use cow dung, instead.

I find it interesting the great lengths God will go, in order to insure that the message gets to everyone. He is still in the business of doing that today. I have heard testimony after testimony of a person who seemed to suddenly be surrounded by believers. They were invited to church, witnessed to at work, and came to realize that an old friend or family member had turned their life over to Christ. It is clear, God desires each of us, and will go to great lengths to reveal His love for us, and our need for Him.

Pastor Jim

 

Watchman 

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Ezekiel 3:17

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me”

A watchman bore the responsibility of keeping an eye on the horizon, in order to warn the inhabitants of the city of any possible threats to their safety. He would be strategically placed on the highest point of the city wall, where he would have the best vantage point to observe the surroundings. A watchman, who failed to do his job, might be responsible for countless lost lives. Ezekiel uses the role of the watchman to teach us something about evangelism. There are three things we need to keep in mind.

First, it is necessary for us to remember that each person is responsible to make his own decision for Christ. Each individual must choose for himself to surrender to Christ. I cannot choose for another, nor can he choose for me.

Second, while we cannot make a decision for others, we can have an impact upon the decision they make. A watchman could not make the people bar the gates or draw their weapons, but he could clearly warn them of the dangers that were ahead. In the same way, while each person must decide for Christ, we can help them make that decision by sharing the gospel, praying for them, inviting them to church, and seeking in every way possible to let our light shine before men.

Third, it is important that we see our witness as bigger than a tool to win the lost. Ezekiel was exhorted to warn the righteous and the unrighteousness alike. Christians are constantly under pressure to compromise, backslide, give up or give in. As a result, we are in constant need of encouragement. We are exhorted to bear one another’s burdens, to strengthen the hands that hang down, and to pray for one another. We need to look at one another in the body of Christ as those who are in need of help and encouragement to continue.

Christianity is a race, but it is not a game. If we are going to be successful, we need to take our role seriously and realize God has strategically placed us so we might have an effect on others for eternity.

Pastor Jim

 

The Rules 

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1 John 3:23
“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

Jesus simplified all of the commandments into two: love God and love others. John, in like manner, states the requirements of God are both simple and straight forward. He writes, God is commanding us to believe on Christ and love each other.

Belief is commanded because it is the requirement for entrance into heaven. When individuals looks at the cross, they realizes they are sinners, Christ is the Savior, they put their trust in Him, and are saved. The sins that once kept us from God are washed away in the blood of God, and our names are written on Heaven’s scroll. All the religious activities, social work, or random acts of kindness, are incapable of doing what simple faith in Christ accomplishes. If you are yet to put your trust in Christ, do so now, and watch as He transforms your life.

Love for one another is the chief evidence that we have truly believed in Christ. It is not the only evidence, but it is the greatest. After years of walking with the Lord, encountering others who have put their faith in Him, and lived lives transformed by Him, John concludes that more than anything else, a person who has met Christ should love others. That is not too difficult to comprehend when we examine the life of Christ, and see it was marked by a continual, even growing, love for others. We read that having loved His own, He loved them to the end. (John 13:1)

One of the greatest ways to testify to the reality of Christ, is to go out of your way to express love to others. As you go about your day, keep your eyes open as to how you might express the love of Christ to others in a needy world.

Pastor Jim