rules

I Did It My Way

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Psalm 59:13
“And let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth.”

In the early eighties, a well-known Christian band wrote a song called “God Rules.” In some ways, it became the anthem of many young Christians. I remember having a “God Rules” bumper sticker on my car, and proudly writing it on my school notebook. To me, that phrase was a slang term meaning little more than the fact God was best. I believe the Psalmist is saying much more than that, he is speaking of the sovereignty of God. The word sovereign means ‘to possess supreme power.’ David is declaring that God has supreme power over His people.

Throughout Scripture, we see evidence of God’s supreme power. We see nature bow to His authority when seas part, storms cease, and the sun stands still. Sickness, demons, and death are also at His beckoning, and obey His commands. It is clear, there is no power in heaven or on earth that is not subject to the sovereign rule of God. No power, that is, except the will of man.

In His sovereignty, God will not force you (at least not now) to bow to Him. He gives each of us a choice. We can choose to bow our will to Him in obedient surrender, or we can choose to resist His love and live our own way.

A modern song writer penned these words in contrast; “For what is a man, what has he got, If not himself, then he has not. To say the things he truly feels, And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows, I took the blows, and did it my way. Yes, it was my way”

David is boasting in the rule of God, while others boast in the fact that they have refused to submit to God’s ways. Again, Scripture makes it clear, one day all will bow to God. Paul declared, “. . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, . . . ” (Philippians 2:10). Even those who declare “I did it my way,” will bow before the One who sovereignly rules, and recognize that He truly is King and Lord. The problem is, only bowing then, is too late to reap the benefits of His rule. I would hope that as we age and come toward the end of our life’s journey, we would be singing, not that we ignored God, fought against Him and lived in rebellion, but that we had bowed to His supreme authority, and did it His way. The benefits are far-reaching. Paul said that godliness is profitable for all things having promise for this life and the one to come (1 Timothy 4:8).

Then and now, God still rules.

Pastor Jim

 

Legalism

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Acts 11:3 
“You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

There are many churches I would love to visit and observe the work God is doing. The church in Jerusalem was one of those churches. In the early chapters of Acts, we read about this church that began as a work of the Spirit, was birthed in revival, emphasized outreach, focused on discipleship, and even sent out saints to impact the world. We read that they gathered at Solomon’s Porch (an area adjacent to the Temple), to worship, pray, and preach. No building in the city was large enough to house the multitudes who were coming to Christ, so the believers met together in homes throughout the city for prayer, study, fellowship and communion. What a thrilling time it must have been to be a part of that work of God. Sadly, by the end of the book of Acts, the church in Jerusalem had changed. No longer was it the hub for ministry that it once was. Instead, it had become a place filled with internal conflict brought about by legalism. The seed of that is found here.

Imagine the scene. Peter arrives back from his trip. He has had a vision in which God spoke to him. That is exciting!  They should be intrigued and celebrate how amazing God is; that He would interrupt Peter’s sleep and speak to Him. Beyond that, Peter had just led a whole family to Christ. The kingdom of God just got bigger! In addition, this family was not Jewish, they were Gentiles. Their acceptance of Christ was now opening up the entire world to the Gospel message. The church should have been ecstatic; celebrating the fact that the whole world was now their mission field. Instead, what these guys took away from Peter’s story was, “you ate with Gentiles!” That blows my mind! How sad, that this once vibrant church could become so legalistic.

Legalism could be defined as putting restrictions upon us that the Bible does not place on us. Now, it is clear, there are certain restrictions that the Bible does place on us. Those restrictions are the driving force behind many who refuse to come to Christ. John wrote that “. . . light came into the world but men loved darkness more than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). We must understand, the restrictions Scripture places on us are for our best. God is, in fact, trying to keep us from something, and that something is unnecessary suffering.

That being said, the legalist is the one who puts restrictions on us beyond what the Bible teaches. They focus on what we wear, what we eat, the day we worship, the style of music, and the list goes on and on. Once legalism enters a person’s life, or a church body, people no longer measure their Christian life by growth in Christ, but instead, by adherence to the rules. Instead of clinging to Christ and seeking for others to know Him, we become focused on making sure the women are wearing the right clothes and the men eating the correct foods.

It is abiding in Jesus, not adhering to a set of rules, that will transform our lives and attract the world to the Gospel. If we want to see Christ continue to work in us, we must continue to abide in Christ.

Pastor Jim


Counter-Culture

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Leviticus 18:2-5
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”

IMG_1505Israel needed to learn a very important lesson if they were going to be successful in walking with the Lord. That lesson: the Word of God is counter-cultural in every culture. They were being called to live by a different, and higher standard than the nation they came out of, and the one they were entering into. The same is true of the Christian today. It should not be shocking to us that the world has a different view of what is holy, acceptable, right or wrong, than we do. Instead of looking to the culture around us, we need to look into the Word of God to learn what is holy and what is sinful.

I find it interesting that the first area God addresses, after explaining that culture and His Word will not agree, is the area of sexuality. Moses gives a long list of things that were apparently, culturally acceptable in Egypt and Canaan, but were forbidden by God. Those things include incest, polygamy, beastialty, and homosexuality.

Our culture is consumed with sex; it is the underlining theme of most TV shows, music videos, and songs. Many of the social media sites are riddled with enticing pictures, and pornography is a multimillion dollar worldwide industry. It has become common place for people to have sexual relations, and even to live together, before marriage, and for marriage to be considered disposable. One of the saddest commentaries, is that this seems to be almost as common among professing Christians, as it is in the world at large.

It is time that we, as believers, realize we are called to a higher standard. We should not look at the world, but to the Word, to determine how we will live.

Pastor Jim

 

Do The Right Thing

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Zechariah 7:3
“Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/b9a/30989304/files/2014/12/img_1253.jpgThe people in Zechariah’s day were beginning to realize their lifestyle was unacceptable to God. They concluded, the solution to unrighteous living was to fast on certain days. Prior to implementing their new religious program, they approached the prophet for guidance. He declared what they really needed to do was obey the Word of The Lord.

Zechariah 7:7
“Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets…”

There is something about the nature of all men that when we become convicted of our sins, we want to perform religious deeds. We think we need to go to church, recite a prayer, or be involved in some other religious activity. While these activities are very important and must play a role in our lives, our greatest need is to return to the Lord and live in obedience to His written Word.

Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). He declared to the disciples that if they loved Him they keep His commands (John 14:15). The truest evidence of repentance is a change of behavior. Albeit, there are times when that is very difficult and almost impossible to do. I am reminded of a man with a deformed hand who met Jesus in a church service. Jesus asked him to do the one thing he was incapable of doing. He said “stretch forth your hand” (Luke 6:10). Rather than giving excuses, or even good reasons why he could not obey, the man simply trusted and obeyed. His obedience was met with the power of God, and his deformity was healed.

If God has revealed areas in your life that need to be corrected, don’t settle for a few religious activities. Instead, turn to Him with your whole heart and receive His power to live obediently to His word.

Pastor Jim