June 22, 2014

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."  Matthew 13:44

Central to the teaching ministry of Jesus was the kingdom of God.

Why do you think that is so?

Could it be that until you acknowledge God as your king you can't actually acknowledge Him as your God?

You can't "kind of have Him for a God"! At least not as a capital "g" God.

So, for God to be your King you must commit to putting Him first in your life and make serving Him your chief passion! If He isn't your King then you aren't committed to His kingdom.

Being "kind of committed" is an oxymoron. It is like being "kind of pregnant" or "kind of dead" or "kind of married". You can't do it!

We have done a disservice to the kingdom and to Christians by implying that it is possible to be a Christian and not surrender to Christ. We have been negligent to allow believers to think that they can occupy the kingdom of God and not acknowledge God as King!

Jesus makes it quite clear with this story that those who wish to possess the kingdom must decide to make the kingdom their most treasured possession. The cost to enter the kingdom is exactly what this man did in the parable - sell out and buy in.

This man in the parable made a clear decision to treasure God's kingdom above all else. That is commitment! It cost him everything to cross the line into the kingdom.

There is no comfortable way to enter the kingdom and there is no comfort zone within. There is only a cross! There is only His cause!

You cannot comfortably arrange His kingdom around your preferences or your priorities. Do you think you could walk into the palace of a king and hand him your schedule and agenda and expect him to accept it? I don't think so!

So, how do you think you can presume on God to conform HIS kingdom to your comfort level? You cannot!

What part of kingdom do you not understand? What part of commitment do you not understand? What part of sell out do you not understand?

Could there be a connection between His great love and His kingdom? Could there be a connection between your lack of commitment and your lack of love?

Is it possible that trading your comfort for commit to His kingdom is the price of true love?

It was for Jesus! The cross was not comfortable! But it was the price of purchasing access to the kingdom for you and me.

Are you ready to sell out and buy in?

June 21, 2014

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted" Matthew 5:4

Here's a truth you may not have considered, you WILL mourn over your sin. Either you will mourn over the conviction of your sins and repent of them or you will mourn over the consequences of your sins.

Either way you will be brought to deep sorrowful grief over your sins.

The issue at stake in the second of Jesus' pronouncements known as "The Beatitudes" is whether your sorrow over your sin will bring you God's comfort or His condemnation.

Will you recognize that you are poor in spirit? Will you agree with God about your total moral depravity, repent of it and cry out for His mercy? If you will you will know His comfort. If not you will face His judgment and wrath.

If you are heart-broken over your sinfulness you will know the comfort of His peace, His presence and His promises such as:

"Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all.Suppose we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living by the truth. But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin. Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure.  I John 1:5-9

“Come to me, all of you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest. Become my servants and learn from me. I am gentle and free of pride. You will find rest for your souls.Serving me is easy, and my load is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14

These are just a few examples of the comfort God brings to those who are aware of their spiritual poverty and grieve over their sinfulness.

For those who trust in their own self-righteousness and who tolerate or celebrate sin in their hearts, they will never know His comfort.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:18-32

Each of us will mourn over our sin. There is no doubt about that.

The question is, "Will you mourn over your sin, turn from your sin and seek His comfort? Or, will you remain in your sin and face the horrible eternal sorrow of God's wrath?

June 20, 2014

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

What would a world look like if there was no fear of God and no sorrow for sin?

It would look like marriage doesn't matter and you can live with whomever you wish however you wish. It will all be regarded as the same.

In that world having an abortion would be moral but supporting a team named the Redskins would be immoral.

A high school student in that world could have his Bible taken from him at his school but he could be given a condom.

In that amoral world, someone believing in the Biblical account of creation would be called immoral and ignorant but those convinced of man-made global warming would be anointed as the enlightened ones.

Making profane public pronouncements against God or Christians in that world would be considered free speech but protesting the government in public could get you on a terrorism watch list.

That world would look like people intent on doing whatever they think will make them happy without facing judgment or accountability all the while becoming increasingly unhappy in the process.

In other words, it would look just like 2014 American culture.

Not good.

It was under similar cultural, political and moral conditions that Jesus delivered this teaching on the Kingdom of God that has become known as the Beatitudes. He proclaimed that these counter intuitive truths would bring abiding joy to those who embraced them and enacted them.

Foundational to finding joy is to understand the significance of sin. In the Old Testament there are eight words for sin and twelve words for sin in the New Testament. The most common definition of sin is “missing the mark” or “falling short of the glory of God”.

Your sin grieves God, hurts you and harms others. It robs you of peace and joy and purpose.

Until you confront your sinfulness and confess it and repent of it with great sorrow, you have no chance at finding the blessed joy God desires you to know.

Mourning over sin will turn your world right-side-up. It would become a radically different world overnight if people would face their spiritual poverty and cry out to God in repentance.

Would you like to go first?

June 19, 2014

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4

Can you image what America would look like if it was led locally and nationally by people who were grieved by sin?

There may be a few of us old enough to remember when sin was taken far more seriously than it is today and those were far better days.

Many of you have been around long enough to observe how our culture has continued to disintegrate as sinful behavior has gone from being tolerated to being celebrated.

Allow me to take it one step further. Image what our churches would be like if the people who populate them and lead them were truly grieved by sin.

Jesus says in this second point of His Sermon on the Mount, that those who follow Him must be grieved by sin. They should grieve, first of all, over their own sin. They should be grieved over how their sin grieves God and how it hurts other people.

Would your life be better if you were grieved by the sin in the TV programs you watch and you stopped watching those programs?

How would it impact your life if you were grieved by the sin in the movies you watch at the theater or in your home?

How would your life be different if you were grieved by the sin in the music you listen to regularly?

Would you play different video games if you were truly grieved by sin? 

Would you parent your children differently if you were truly grieved by sin?

Would your marriage change if you were truly grieved by sin?

If you are distressed over the condition of the American culture, how you answer these questions should clarify the extent to which you are part of the problem OR part of the solution.

It is not up to your society to change, it is up to you and other Christ-followers to change according to the teachings of Christ. He began with the Beatitudes and so should you.

June 18, 2014

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." I John 1:8-10

Sin is serious business. There are no little sins because, as these verses tell you, sin is unrighteous and fills you with unrighteousness. An unrighteous person cannot have fellowship with  a holy God.

To further understand the seriousness of sin consider that your sins, the big ones and the "small" ones, caused Jesus to suffer a horrible death on the cross. The Holy, Righteous Son of God became unrighteous when He took your sins upon Himself. It took a BIG SAVIOR to atone for our sins.

So, how should you respond to such an amazing act of mercy and grace? You confess your sins to God. The word for "confess" means "to agree" with God about your sinfulness. When you "agree" with God about your sinfulness you also "agree" with Him about His holiness. As you come into agreement with God and enter into fellowship with Him it will begin to break your heart for how your sins made Him suffer.

That sounds a lot like Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are they who mourn....." Mourning over your sins and confessing your sins are essentially the same idea. And what happens when you confess your sins in a spirit of mourning, He forgives your sin and cleanses you from all of your unrighteousness! He is faithful and He will do it!

Being forgiven from your sin and cleansed from your unrighteousness sounds a lot like the remainder of the Beatitude, ".....they shall be comforted".  What is more comforting than knowing you have been forgiven and purified by the grace of God in Christ Jesus?

If you want a better understanding of the second Beatitude, get your heart and mind around I John 1:8-10!

You will be blessed and comforted!

June 17, 2014

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4

Indiana Wesleyan University is not only a world-class Christ-centered educational institution, but they have also  a well-regarded athletic program. No thanks to me.

I was a brand new college freshman playing a brand new sport in the very first intercollegiate athletic event in the history of Indiana Wesleyan University (then Marion College). The varsity soccer team was playing at rival Huntington University and we were excited and nervous. Not only was it the very first college contest in history, it was also the first soccer match for most of us who had never played competitive soccer before.

Somewhere near the middle of the first half I was sent into the game. My heart was pounding and I was pumped. Like a man possessed I was all over the field making tackles. I was inspired! But then, as I was moving in on a player with the ball he unleashed a rocket of a kick that was whistling right at me about chest-high. (Now remember I was a catcher. For most of my life I was accustomed to people firing baseballs at me at hard as they could and it was my conditioned reflex to put up my hands and catch the ball with my glove). So, it the heat of the moment when a soccer ball is whizzing at me my life-long baseball reflex trumped my newly developing soccer instincts and my hands flew up to react to the ball immediately I was called for a hands penalty. They proceeded to score on the penalty kick and that turned out to be the difference in the game.

We lost and it was my fault! It was a stupid mistake! I knew better and I would never make that mistake again but in that split second I broke a rule and cost my team the game. I let them down! They played their hearts out and my blunder wasted their efforts.

I was devastated. These forty-some years later it still hurts! I am ashamed! I can't believe I am sharing it with you.

When Jesus said, "Blessed are they who mourn", He meant that I should have the same sort of heart-breaking  shame and sorrow over my sin as I did over my soccer miscue. That means sorrow over my sinfulness and sorrow over every sin every time.

Jesus wants me to mourn over what y sin does to Him. He wants me to mourn over the pain it can bring others and He wants me to have great sorrow because sin hinders my fellowship with Him.

Want to be blessed? Be heart-broken over your sin.

June 16, 2014

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," Acts 3:19

Probably the greatest barrier of all to repentance is our pride. The story is told of a little boy who went with his sister, Mary, to visit his grandparents at their farm. The grandmother had a pet duck of which she was extremely fond. One day Johnny was playing with his slingshot. He aimed it at the duck and hit it right on the head. The bird toppled over, kicked a few times, and died. Johnny was frightened to death. He looked about and saw no one, so he took the duck and ran into the woods, dug a hole and buried it.

He and Mary always divided the chores, and that evening it was her turn to do the supper dishes. But instead, Mary turned to him after supper and said, "Johnny, you do the dishes tonight." "You're crazy," he said. "This is your night; I am going out to play." Mary said, "Come here. I saw you kill that duck this afternoon. If you don't do exactly what I tell you to do, I am going to tell Grandma what you did. You know what that means. It was her prize duck." "All right," said Johnny, "I will do the dishes."

Next time it was Mary's turn the same thing happened, and this went on for two weeks. Johnny was going around with his tongue hanging out. Every time he would bring up the matter she would always say, "Johnny, remember the duck!" At last he couldn't stand it any longer. Mary had gone to town, and his grandmother was sewing. Johnny went in and stood around and twisted his ear and bit his nails, and finally he said, "Grandma, there is something I just have to say." "What is it, son?" she asked. He said, "It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, Grandma. About two weeks ago I was playing with my slingshot and I shot at your duck and I killed it."

The grandmother wiped a tear from her cheek, and she reached out and said, "Come here, son." She put her arms about him. "I was sitting upstairs by an open window, and I saw you kill that duck." And then she added, "I wondered how long you were going to take this bondage to Mary. I have watched her give you orders for two weeks, and I wondered how long it would be before you came to me."

Our heavenly Father has seen everything that you and I have done. He himself has taken the consequences of those things by giving his Son to die for us. He is waiting for you to come and confess it, to acknowledge it and say, "Lord, here I am. I want a fresh start. I want a new day in my life. I want a new beginning. I want a new birth. I want to be yours from this moment. I repent. I am coming home."

This will only be the beginning, but the beginning of a wonderful new relationship. Once we have repented, we will still need to confess our daily failures, but now we are heading in a new direction. We are on God's side. We are assured of his unending love, assistance and companionship. And it is a relationship that will last forever. Death itself was defeated in Jesus' resurrection so even that cannot rob us of our Father's love. The greatest things are yet to come.

Get honest with yourself and before God. He knows your secret sins. Repent and run into His waiting arms!