The Good Confession

1 Timothy 6:11-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 17, 2021.

For the next six weeks, we are going to put a pause on our study through the Gospel according to Mark.  We have reached chapter 15 which details the crucifixion and then chapter 16 details the resurrection of Jesus.  We will pick them up so as to ramp up to our Easter service.

Today, we will go to First Timothy.  I want to talk about making the good confession in the modern world.  We are in a spiritual battle that requires faith in Jesus, in his teachings, and his actions.  

Jesus came into the world to testify to the Truth.  All others before him could really only confess what the Holy Spirit had told them.  Jesus is unique in that he is the only one who is an eye-witness of the Truth and who actually came from heaven to give that witness to the world.  He has told us the truth about the world’s plight, about each of our sin, about the way that it can be fixed, and about the only one who can do the fixing (Jesus himself).

If the Christ had a true testimony that all Christians are to confess before the whole world (that is, speak the same testimony as he) then know this.  The antichrist system of this world has a false testimony that it pressures and forces all to confess.  It is the anti-confession in regards to Jesus, and it will find its climax in the whole world worshipping the Beast through taking a mark, a loyalty pledge that is just as much a confession as it is an economic choice.

Let’s look at our passage.

Our Pursuit

In this passage, we have an older minister, Paul, making sure that a younger minister, Timothy, has a full understanding of how to teach the believers in the churches that were under his care.  Paul was not sure when he would be able to visit Timothy again.

Thus, Timothy is not a new convert and most likely the words here are not new to Timothy either.  Paul actually addresses him as “man of God” in verse 11.  These words are the encouragements and commands of a general to those fellow solders under him in the midst of battle.  We too must understand that we are on a battlefield that has progressed for millennia.  What is the pursuit of my life?  If I am truly a man or woman of God then I will hear the commands of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul and respond in kind.

Before Paul reminds Timothy of his pursuit, he reminds him of what he must flee.  It is hard to go after something when another thing, or things, has our hearts.  Thus, Satan has filled this world with philosophies and lies that seduce our hearts into false pursuits.  He leverages the desires of our flesh against the call of the Holy Spirit.  They are things such as: riches, power, pleasure, fame, pride, and the list goes on.  We must flee these things because our lives depend upon it, and the lives of those we influence.  It is not that these things should not be had, but that they can never be the pursuit of our life.

The anti-confession of this world draws us into these anti-pursuits.  In this passage, Paul has been warning against the teaching of those who think that godliness is a means of gain (vs. 5).  He says that they think this way because they are full of corrupt desires and their minds are destitute of the truth (vss. 4-5).  It is in this context that we are given the statement, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (vs. 10).”

Godliness is not a means of obtaining riches, it is gain in and of itself.  You cannot obtain anything greater than being more like God, like Jesus.  The Gospel is not about making us rich and powerful in this world, but rather about taking on the image of our Father in heaven.  We do not live godly in order to get salvation, or natural blessings in this life.  No, we pursue a godly life because He has already saved us, while we were yet sinners, and has blessed us beyond belief.  We just couldn’t see it before we believed in Him.  Just as we are to flee sexual immorality, so we are commanded to flee the love of riches, and those who would pervert the Gospel into a means of riches.

With our hearts free from false-pursuits, we are then enabled to pursue what is true, God Himself, His image, and His character.  In truth, we cannot accomplish this on our own.  We cannot even accomplish it with the help of well-meaning believers who come alongside of us.  Without the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we would be lost to the seduction of The Lie, the lie that we don’t need God, or Jesus, to satisfy our hearts and minds.

Paul lists righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.  These are all fruit, or evidence, of the Holy Spirit within us.  Yes, we are to pursue them, but our obtaining of them to any measure is enabled by His presence.  This world cannot obtain true righteousness because it lacks the Spirit of God.  It can only redefine righteousness to match exactly what it wants to do.  We have seen over the decades the raising up of a false-righteousness that is now being used to condemn those who cling to the righteousness of God found only in Jesus Christ.  Christian, never forget that we are not called to pursue the desires of the flesh, but rather to pursue the image of God in our life.

Our Fight

In verse 12, Paul then commands Timothy, and us, to fight the good fight.  It involves a battle in which we will face enemies and contestants that desire to defeat us.  Some of them are sentient (spirits and humans), and some of them are abstract such as our internal weaknesses.  The false pursuits are the “bad fight.”  Too many people are fighting the wrong battles, and thereby, they are being used by Satan to become useful idiots in his plan to destroy God’s people and the Truth to which they cling.

It is called in the passage, “the good fight of faith.”  Eternal life is offered to all who will fight the good fight of faith.  In fact, the fight of faith is all about “laying hold of eternal life.”  When we believe upon Jesus, eternal life takes up residence within us through the Holy Spirit.  This eternal life continues to work within us to make us fit to dwell in the direct presence of God in eternity.  However, our faith will be tested in this world.  Just like love is tested by our experiences with others, so our faith is tested by the things we face in life.  This battle, both to keep believing and to agonize over what faith should do now, does not end until we finish this life.  It is in that day of resurrection that we will once and for all lay hold of eternal life.  Each difficulty begs the question, “Will you continue to believe and follow Jesus now?”

Yes, it is a battle, but the battle is worth it.  We have been called to eternal life!  Sin has put us under a death sentence, but Jesus came that we might have eternal life, and life more abundantly.  Jesus told his disciples to take possession of their souls by faith, and in so doing, we strengthen our grip upon eternal life.  No one can take it from you, but you can surrender it by shipwrecking your faith in Jesus.  May our faith be strengthened in Jesus, and not just a redefined Jesus that the world can accept.  No.  It must be the same Jesus that this world crucified 2,000 years ago, and would crucify all over again if he appeared again.  Can the world see the true Jesus in me?

Paul reminds Timothy that he had made the good confession before many witnesses (vs. 12).  All faith is expressed and is activated through confession.  We believe in our heart and confess with our mouths (hands, and feet) that Jesus is Lord.  Paul most likely has Timothy’s initial statement of belief in Jesus.  The many witnesses were other believers who are rejoicing in his confessing the truth of Jesus.  However, life always leads us to places where we must confess before witnesses who are hostile.  Just like Jesus before Caiaphas, and Peter before the servant girl, we will be faced with the opportunity to deny or confess Jesus, and thus the Father, before all men.  We must do the spiritual work now so that we are prepared for those moments.  Otherwise, we will crash and burn just as Peter did.

In verse 13, Paul reminds Timothy and us that Jesus testified the good confession before Pilate.  Most Gospels only have the question, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus then answers, “It is as you say.”  However, John 18 adds that his kingdom is not of this world, now, which implies that it will be one day.  Jesus came from heaven to testify to the Truth so that we can confess, agree with and stand by, his testimony, and thereby participate in his victory.  This sounds wonderful until you are face to face with a hostile enemy challenging you to deny Jesus.

Our Charge

Paul ends this part with a charge, a statement of strong urging, to believers.  We must hold fast to these things.  Paul reminds Timothy that he is in the presence of God and Jesus Christ.  In fact, everything that we do and hear is in the presence of God.  The Latin phrase is, coram deo.  How careful we should be of the things we flee and the things we pursue.  He who will judge all men looks upon us now.  How will we choose and how will we respond now?  The past is important, but the present is always what matters now.  Yes, I had faith yesterday.  Praise God!  But, what will I do today, now that I face this, whatever this may be?

When Jesus testified before Pilate, he was going before us blazing the way.  Jesus testified to the Truth as in a legal witness.  He knows the truth as an eye-witness because he is from heaven.  However, he knows the truth because he is Truth and one with Truth.  He went before us as a great captain of our salvation.  And, so, we must learn to follow him and agree with his testimony with our own confession before the people and powers of this world.

Ultimately, we are to keep this command to pursue the image of God and fight the good fight of faith without spot and blameless (vs. 14).  This is not about never making a mistake, but taking responsibility for our mistakes through repentance and turning back to Christ.  The daily maintenance of faith is a daily cleansing of our lives before our Lord Jesus.

We are not released from this command until Christ appears at the Second Coming.  Paul’s description of the Lord as the Potentate, or Sovereign over all things, is to encourage us.  We are on the right side when we stand with Jesus.  It may not look like it in this world, but all other sides, even those of the “new and improved Jesus,” will fail. 

What truths of Christ are being contested today and in what way?  Over and over again, we see the Scriptures being re-interpreted and obvious meanings cast aside for more modern, acceptable ones.  Will we stand with Jesus, or will we fold like an adulterous spouse?  O friend, hang on to your faith and go to work strengthening it, because you are going to need it in the days ahead!

Good Confession Audio

The Spirit of the Age

Ephesians 2:1-3; 6:10-13.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 6, 2020.

We have reached Mark chapter 13, which is a big transition in the book.  We will also have a visiting evangelist next Sunday.  Therefore, I have decided to go a different direction today and talk about the Spirit of this Age.

Throughout history, it has been noticed that people groups can be infected by an idea that seizes them to such a degree that they are caught up into something that is bigger than themselves.  The group energy often pulls the individuals that comprise it beyond where they would go on their own. 

Fyodor Dostoevsky, among others, saw this happening in his country of Russia, and, at the end of the 1860’s, published his novel The Possessed (depending on how it is translated it could also be called The Demonized).  At one point in the book, some revolutionaries have started a poorer part of town on fire.  During the pandemonium of trying to put the fire out, one character that has been a bit of a goof, even borderline mental, shouts one of the best lines of the book.  “You can’t put out the fire; the fire is in the minds of men!” 

We similar activity in our own country today, and must ask ourselves the question.  Just what has seized the minds of not just 21^st century Americans, but people all over the world?  The Bible refers to it by many names, but we are going to use “The Spirit of the Age.”

The reality of the unholy spirit

In the opening verses of Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul points out the reality of a spirit that is influencing this world.  Satan loves to mimic God.  If there is something that God has done then he will mock it with a false version of his own.  Just as there are true prophets of God so, he sends false prophets.  Those who pretend to speak on behalf of God, but delude the people.  Just as there is a true Christ so, he sends all manner of antichrists, or false Christs, in order to deceive the people.  The Bible warns of a coming, ultimate Antichrist who will deceive the whole world with the help of the ultimate False Prophet.  It should be no shock that there would also be the work of an unholy spirit, which represents the whole force of spiritual wickedness led by Satan.

Notice how Paul portrays those who do not follow Christ.  Yes, they are walking in their sins, but they are also under the influence of the “prince of the power of the air.”  In fact, he says more pointedly that this unholy spirit is presently “working in the sons of disobedience.”  They are those who refuse to follow the Holy Spirit of God and believe upon Jesus Christ.

There are some who disobey the Holy Spirit knowingly.  They believe that the God of the Bible and Jesus of the cross have misled the world.  They work directly against the Truth of God.  However, the great majority of people in this world participate in disobedience unknowingly.  They are simply following the course of this world that was laid out in front of them, and going with the overall flow of this Age.

Paul explains that this spirit uses the lusts of our flesh and the desires of our mind to influence and direct us.  Like a harness on a horse, we can be pulled around away from truth and towards the destructive ends of our own desires.

Satan didn’t make Eve want the fruit of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  He only influenced her towards the idea of rebellion against God’s command.  The Bible tells us, “when the woman saw [who saw?] that the tree was good for food [good for whom?], that it was pleasant to the eyes [whose eyes], and a tree desirable to make one wise [which one?], she took of its fruit and ate.”  The strong desires and appetites of our flesh do not want to be limited by the Truth of God.  The willfulness of our mind wants to go in particular directions that God warns against.  On top of all of this, there is a spiritual realm with beings who are working overtime to influence and manipulate us towards rebellion against God, whether knowingly or unknowingly.  This is the Spirit of the Age.

You should go ahead and read all of Ephesians 2.  When reading verses 1-3, it seems a rather dark image with little hope.  However, verse four says,

“But God, rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”

Christians are no longer a part of the “walking dead.”  Instead, we have been delivered and made alive.  The biblical picture is not one of Zombie movies, or games, in which we are trying to slaughter all the zombies created by the evil spirit of this world.  Rather, we are the hand of Christ to touch the minds and hearts of the zombies so that they may have a renewed mind.  Everywhere he went, Jesus touched people and healed them.  He has given us the antidote to the greatest wound, the direst disease, that this world has.  We have compassion because, “we too were zombies once.” 

Let us never forget the battle that is going on all around us.  If we merely go through life trying “to get ours,” or trying to change the world according to the philosophies of this world, then we will find ourselves part of a fire that may promise a better future by which to warm ourselves, but in the end only leaves mankind in cinders and shackles. 

Later in the letter, Paul touches on this spiritual dimension again.

Our battle is not with people, but with the Spirit of the Age

In Ephesians 6:10-13, we are reminded of our real enemy.  Jesus has given us a clear directive, but it is easy for us to lose sight of the one we should be fighting.  Paul reminds us that our battle is with the spiritual powers that are enslaving people by their own lusts and self-will.

An important part of any battle is one’s protective gear.  Paul tells us to put on the armor of God.  The things that he lists involve the very things that often make us afraid.  The Spirit of the Age (SotA) warns us not to tell the truth because it will cause us trouble.  The SotA tells us that doing the “right thing” will only get us into trouble.  The SotA tells us not to share the Gospel because we will look stupid; don’t trust God because He doesn’t exist; don’t trust Jesus to save you, take your salvation into your own hands.  And, the antibiblical messages never stop.  Through fear, the Spirit of this Age convinces people to lay aside the only things that can protect them from it.

Christians, we cannot put our faith in Jesus without also trusting his armor.  Too many Christians are wearing the armor of Saul, the armor of this world.  However, Christ calls us to wear the armor that the world can’t see and it can’t understand.  It is an armor that protects our hearts and minds from the lies of a deceptive enemy.  Now is the day to stand on the Truth of God’s Word even when the world says it isn’t true.  Now is the time to do what God says is right rather than what the world says is right.  We need to be a people of the Gospel, walking in faith, and holding onto the salvation of Jesus through prayer.  This is the only protection we have against an enemy that is to us much more than Goliath was to little David.  However, always remember that is sufficient for the task.

Paul does list one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit.  He makes it clear that he is talking about the Word of God, the Bible itself.  It is powerful and able to cut to the hearts and minds of people.  It is the Good News of Jesus, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.  Becoming a student of God’s Word, and a follower of the Holy Spirit of God, will enable us to both stop attacks against ourselves, and rescue others from the grip of the spirit of this world.

Jesus said that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  This world tells us that our problem is that we don’t have stuff that other people have.  But, the truth of God tells us not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbor, much less steal or destroy it.  It tells us to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.  Yet, the spirit of this age stirs up envy, jealously, resentment, and then anger and rage.  It seeks to light a fire of passions in you that can be used to destroy you and your neighbor (and our communities, nations, world). 

The spirit of this age tells us that our problem is all the differences that we have: gender, race, economic status, etc…  But, the truth of God tells us that there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  It is not that these distinctions and affect on our lives aren’t real, but that they are used to manipulate us.  Men and women fighting against each other, blacks and whites, the have-nots against the haves, these are the things that only destroy us further.  In Christ, believers are to cease living for their distinctions.  They are to lay down the bloody flag of earthly revolutions in the flesh, and join God’s revolution against the spirit of this age.  If we will do this then we will truly find life.

Spirit Age Audio

You Will Receive Power

We regret that the audio for this sermon is not available.  Please enjoy the article.

Acts 1:4-8.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020.

A common theme throughout this world is that people often feel powerless.  They feel powerless to change their life, their community, their nation, and their world.  People respond to this in different ways.  Some will come to cynically give up on change and drop into a world of placebos and addictions.  Others gravitate to larger movements, political groups, and social groups thinking that this will give them the power that they seek.

You will find that there are many kinds of power in this world.  However, none of them will satisfy and make a difference like the power of God Himself working within you to affect change in you. 

Today, it is important for believers who have heard the call of God’s Spirit to salvation, also to hear His call to empowerment.  It will not be a power that looks like the world, nor will it be a power that you completely control.  Rather, it will be a relationship in which you learn to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and step out by faith in ways you never would have done without Him.

We wait for the Holy Spirit

In our passage today, we have a scene that happens shortly before Jesus ascends into heaven with his disciples observing it.  Here, they are told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, whom Jesus also called “another Helper” in John 15.  Just as Jesus had been a constant help to them in various ways, so the Holy Spirit would come and take the place of Jesus in their daily lives.  This would be the same kind of help, but in a different way.  The Holy Spirit would not be a physical presence.

In verse 4, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, “The Promise of the Father.”  Throughout the Old Testament there are many places where the prophets spoke of a time when the Spirit of God would be poured out upon all of God’s people.  It came to be specifically connected to the New Covenant that God promised to make with the remnant of Israel, and whosoever from the Gentiles that would join them.  Take time to read Joel 2:28-32.  Earlier in the chapter, they had been called to repentance, and promised a restoration that was material and yet also a restoration that was spiritual (verses 28-32).

It must have been discouraging at times waiting for this promise that seemed too good to be true.  Century after century, Israel was under the domination of world powers due to their disobedience.  Then one day, Jesus came on the scene.  A man who operated in the full power of the Spirit of God.  Now, in our passage, he is promising them that it is going to happen to them not too many days from then.

It is here that we need to stop and recognize that it was important for Jesus that the disciples be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  It was not just for his apostles.  It was for all those disciples there that day, and for all who would respond to the Gospel call to believe on Jesus in the future, even Gentiles.

There is a distinction that we should make here.  It is clear that the disciples had been drawn by the Holy Spirit to Jesus.  Also, they had believed in Jesus for salvation.  So, the Holy Spirit was clearly operating on the earth already.  However, at the Day of Pentecost, something new was going to be added to the way that the Holy Spirit operated here.  Those there that day would be the first group who would experience a changing over from the old way of the Spirit’s operation on the earth to the new way. 

Today, a person who believes in Jesus immediately has the Holy Spirit taking up residence within them.  He dwells in them.  Yet, the Holy Spirit wants to do more than just dwell in us.  Two images are used to explain this.  The first is the phrase “filled with the Holy Spirit.”  It pictures a vessel that is filled up with the Spirit.  He floods into our whole life, every nook and cranny of our mind and heart.  The second image is that of baptism.  He wants us to be immersed into the Holy Spirit like water baptism does in water.  This is called being “baptized with or in the Spirit.”

Under the old operation of the Holy Spirit, only certain prophets, kings, and high priests would be filled with the Spirit and then only sporadically as it was needed.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would come upon every one who belonged to God and would be a constant presence in their life.

Ultimately, Jesus is telling us that we cannot do this mission of His, whether personally or as a group, without God’s help.  The good news is that He is more than willing to help us.  It was His plan all along.  Imagine Satan in the Garden.  He is cursed, but so are Adam and Eve.  From that time on, humans were easy targets for his schemes and machinations.  Yet, the killing of the Son of God at the cross opened the door for humans to be indwelled by God’s Spirit.  This changed the game, and has led to a global move of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, which has pulled people out of the grip of Satan, and brought them into the kingdom of Christ.  Satan is being plundered as we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to reach the lost!

In our passage here, the main reason for waiting is clearly connected to the Feast of Pentecost.  The events of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus were accomplished on the very day of each of the spring feasts.  They had been prophetic enactments of what he was going to do.  So, Pentecost was about more than a material harvest of food in Israel, but also prophetically pointing to a time when God would empower His chosen ones to go into the whole world and harvest new believers into Christ’s Kingdom.  The Holy Spirit needed to be poured out on Pentecost so that we would understand its significance.

Yet, there is another benefit to the waiting that we see here.  Throughout the Scriptures, believers are called upon to wait for God’s timing.  In our flesh, we are always ready to jump ahead, but God’s timing is not just better for Him, it is also better for us.  Like Israel in the wilderness who wanted to rush into the promised land, God takes His time so that they can grow in faith before they fight giants.  New believers today immediately have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.  Yet, they also need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and not just once, but every day.    There is technically no reason for them to wait in order to be filled with the Spirit.  Yet, sometimes people are timid or apprehensive towards the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  Whether it happens at the same time as salvation or months later, believers should take time to pray, to ask, and to seek God for the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, an experience where He floods into your being, where Christ lays you down under the waters of the Spirit.  It may take time, but let God fill your heart with confidence towards this promise until it happens.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses to the lost

With the many movies of super heroes and the powers they have, it is easy to see that the world fantasizes about these matters.  Yet, the power of the Holy Spirit is not as the world fantasizes.  When we talk about the Holy Spirit flooding our whole being and empowering us, we should not imagine it as a kind of “good possession.”  Demons can take possession of people who have surrendered their personal sovereignty through various occult means.  When that happens, there can be a complete subduction of the person beneath the personality of the evil spirit.  The Holy Spirit is not like that.  He is not seeking to overpower you and seize control of you like some kind of marionette.  Rather, He is a helper who comes alongside of us in order to empower us as we yield to His help, but also as we step out in faith upon His leading.  You do not have to fear the Holy Spirit.  He is the pure and clean Spirit of God that has the same love for you that compelled Jesus to go to the cross for you.

In verse 8, Jesus tells them that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.  Becoming a believer in Jesus was not just to be for Israel, i.e. for the Jews.  It was for the whole world.  That was a daunting mission for those early believers.

Today, Christianity is so big that we might be tempted to think that we can do it now without the Spirit of God.  It is common among certain denominations to teach that the empowering of the Spirit is not as dynamic as it was in those days, and we should not expect any such things today.  However, we cannot look at the outward structures of the Church and its institutions.  The Church is not the institutions and the numbers that each claim.  The Church is all of those who have had a true spiritual work in their hearts and are following the Spirit of God.  We still need the Holy Spirit today if we are to save people who may be in our cities right now burning cars and looting stores.  Such people will not be reached unless the Spirit of God enables us to reach them.  Even then, we must recognize that individuals who do receive a Holy Spirit-empowered witness can still reject it.  That is the sad reality.

Another part of the empowering that the Spirit gives is spiritual gifts that He gives to each believer.  These are intended to help us in the mission.  These giftings are not just natural gifts.  They are means by which the Spirit of God diversely works through each of us.  This is intended so that no one person has all of the Spirits gifts, and then has no need of other believers.  It helps us to recognize the truth that His Word tells us, we need each other, and we need the Holy Spirit working through one another. 

These giftings are things that we will have to discover, and cooperate with, by acting in faith.  I will talk about these more in next week’s sermon.

The world needs believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to give them a witness that is spiritual and not fleshly.  Take time to daily seek the Lord that He would fill you with His Spirit and enable you to be a greater witness of who Jesus is!

What Are We Doing At Abundant Life? Connect Part 3

Romans 10:13-15; 1 Peter 3:12; 4:7; Romans 8:12-15; Romans 3:20-22; Jude 1:4, 20-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, May 3, 2020.

Today, we will continue in our series on the purpose of the Church and for individual believers.  Before we move to the second purpose, I want to look at four things that are not actually our purpose.  Rather, they are the things that help us to accomplish the purpose.  They are the simple actions of the life of faith in Jesus, and we do them because we believe that Jesus is the eternal Word of God, and our source of life.  Each of these things will enable us to Connect to Jesus in whole-life worship, Grow to be like Jesus, Serve Jesus, and Share Jesus with others.  If they are absent, then our ability in these areas will be impotent.

I need to hear and read the Word of God

Without God revealing Himself to us, we would be at a loss to discover His character and purpose.  The Bible is the proven Word of God and no other religious book even comes close to comparing with it.  In the Romans 10 passage, we see the importance of the Word of God.  The Apostle Paul works backwards, or reverse-engineers, from the goal of a person who has been saved by Jesus in order to highlight what is needed.  He impresses upon us the importance of hearing God’s Word for those who are unbelievers and lost.  People who don’t know God typically don’t read the Word of God for themselves.  Someone needs to bring it to them.  However, once a person hears God’s Word, it becomes the spark that enables them to believe and then call upon the name of Jesus for salvation.  Yet, our need for hearing and reading the Word of God doesn’t end once we are saved.  We can’t do what God wants us to do if we don’t become a person of The Book.

We are going to see a pattern as we go through the purposes.  The very things that help us to receive salvation also become the things that help us in our continuing discipleship.  We will talk more about discipleship in our next purpose, but we must reject the idea that I can survive spiritually without becoming a student of God’s Word.

As we take time to internalize God’s Word through prayerful study, prayerful contemplation, and talking with other believers about it, we receive the Words of Life that give light to our minds and souls.  People may ridicule the fact that it is an ancient document written by men from a strange culture.  However, the words have proven themselves to be more than just the words of men about ancient issues.  It has proven relevant in every age.  Also, some believers may never say such a thing about the Bible, but in practice, they never really read it.  It doesn’t seem practical to them.  A Bibleless Christian is an oxymoron and will hardly accomplish any of these purposes.

Jesus is the Truth and the Wisdom of God.  In an age that likes to talk about “my truth,” it is important to understand that this world is dying from a prevalence of “my truths” and a lack of real Truth.  The biblical phrase for this is, “each one doing what is right in their own eyes.”  Jesus is the blazing revelation of just who God is and what He wants from us.  Any wisdom and truth that is other than him is a pretender, and is actually an anti-truth, anti-wisdom.  Jesus is called The Word of God, so we cannot know him without actually being a student of the written Word of God, which reveals him to us.

This should not be a casual relationship.  It is our daily manna that we need to go out and pick up as the Lord provides.  I cannot lean upon yesterday’s manna, but must go after it each day.  Without it, we will die on the vine in this wilderness-world where truth and wisdom are as rare as food in the desert.

Thus, always remember that our connection to Christ and to other believers is dependent upon the vigor of our interaction with the Bible.  This needs to happen daily in private devotional times, and weekly in interaction with other believers, whether one-on-one, or in a group study.

I need to pray to God

By now, you have realized that I am not telling you anything new.  Everybody knows that Christians are supposed to read the Bible and pray.  However, prayer and reading the Bible are the kind of things that we intend to do, but never really get around to doing.  It is imperative that we stop being lax in this area.  It is not a matter of preference, but spiritual life and death.

Prayer is simple and yet can be more complex.  When churches gather and sing songs of worship to the Lord, they are giving a special kind of prayer.  We are spiritually addressing and praising our Father in heaven.  I need not be in any particular place, nor need I be alone.  The main thing is to speak to God at all times about the things that we encounter.

By the way, technically we are praying to the Father in the name of Jesus.  He is our “access pass.”  However, I don’t believe that God gets angry if we address Jesus in our prayers.  Jesus is the Son of God, and the perfect representative of the Father to mankind.  To pray to Him is to pray to the Father.

In Luke 18:1, the whole purpose of the parable that Jesus goes on to tell is to teach us that we should always pray.  The story is about the persistent widow who wants justice from her adversary.  In this, we find that even those who pray can become discouraged and give up praying like they used to do.  However, we will not receive anything from God without giving ourselves to daily prayer.  Second of all, prayer is not only about getting justice, or getting our material needs satisfied.  It is a daily conversation that we have with our Lord about the things that we are learning.  It is that wrestling of Jacob with the Angel of the Lord.  I won’t let go unless you bless me!  So, let us not kid ourselves.  We will accomplish nothing of value without taking time to talk with God about it.

1 Peter 3:12 reminds us that God is watching all the time and He is listening as well.  He is not a cosmic vending machine, but rather a personal being.  This is a relationship of those who are sentient.  Like any relationship, we can feel like He is not responding as quickly as we would like, or in the manner that we want.  Yet, prayer begins with the simple act of faith that says, “I know He hears me, and I know He loves me.”  Prayer without faith is a sad act of futility, but the prayer of faith of a righteous man is one of the most powerful things we can ever do.

In chapter 4 verse 7, Peter adds another layer to our prayers.  He says that the end of all things is at hand; therefore, we should be serious and watchful in our prayers.  In the context of Scripture, Peter means the end of all things, “as we know it,” or TEOTWAKI in the modern parlance.  This world will not always continue going as it does today.  This is definitely true in the historical arc of change, but it is also true in a greater sense.  When the flood came, it ended one world and a whole new world took its place.  The Second Coming of Jesus will be such an event.

It is easy for us to become inundated by the media and philosophies of this world.  These are dominated by the spirit of this age, which works in opposition to Jesus.  Prayer is a mental exercise, but it is far more than that.  Peter sees our soul as something that needs to be watched over, like a shepherd watching over his sheep.  It is through spiritual vigilance and conversations with the Lord that we keep our heart from growing weary of standing with him against the philosophies of this age.  If you do not pray then this world will grind any faith you have to powder.  The good news is that this world has a way of driving us to our knees.  Don’t neglect this important part of our connection to Jesus.

I need to listen to the Holy Spirit

I could have treated this as part of prayer.  Prayer is not intended to be a monologue, but a dialogue.  Yes, God is not always so talkative, and yet, we must intentionally listen and watch for His responses.

In Romans 8:12-15, we find that it was the Holy Spirit that first led us to Christ and opened our eyes to his saving grace.  It was our listening and responding in faith to the Holy Spirit that brought us through the door of salvation.  This must not stop at salvation.  We cannot pick up our cross and follow Jesus without listening to the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is not physically on this earth.  He speaks to us by His Spirit.

Now, the spirit of this world pulls us into gratifying our flesh.  For some, it is sexual immorality, and for others it is substance abuse.  Some go after spiritual experiences and spiritual power through any means necessary.  The devil cares not what direction you go, as long as it is to gratify your fleshly desires.  These always pull us away from Jesus and his purposes.  Even believers will die if they quit following the Holy Spirit of God and simply follow their own heart.

This begs the question.  To what am I listening?  This is not always so easy to discern.  Sometimes our flesh wants things that look religious and have a veneer of spirituality.  Yet, at their heart they can be only about our pride and purpose. 

Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we have to move when the Spirit of God is moving.  When He says it is time to repent, then we need to embrace repentance and do it.  When He says it is time to help someone then we need to do it.  This is a subjective area that takes time and is a relationship that needs to grow.  So, I am not trying to strap a legalistic burden upon you, but rather to stir you up to the inheritance in front of you.

God’s Word is the guardrail to learning how to hear the Holy Spirit for ourselves.  It was produced by men who listened to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not going to contradict Himself, but my flesh will contradict itself all day long.  Having other believers around me is another guardrail that God can use to help us keep on the right path in this area.  Ultimately, we must avoid pride and arrogance in this area.

In verse 15, Paul refers to the spirit of bondage.  Our flesh always leads us into some kind of bondage.  Yes, Americans have great freedoms, but in some ways, we are more in bondage then the slaves ever were.  Learning to hear and recognize the Holy Spirit begins in reading the Words that He inspired.  It is then forged in our prayers to God over time.  Though we will never lack a need to grow in this area, steady faith will bring you to the place where you will recognize that same voice that led you to trust in Jesus in the first place.

I need to choose to live out the righteousness of Christ

It is not enough to hear the Word of God, and to hear the Holy Spirit.  We must learn to exercise our faith by doing, by the actions that He puts before us.  Do I pursue what is right in my own eyes, or do I listen to what God says is the righteous thing that I should be doing?  For the believer in Jesus, there is only one answer.  I want Jesus!

In Romans 3:20-22, Paul talks about the righteousness of Christ versus dead works.  Sometimes people are confused about the New Testament teaching on works.  Always remember that it is not works that are condemned (though sometimes it only uses that word).  The condemnation is technically upon what is called “dead works.”  Dead works are those things that my flesh does in order to achieve or earn salvation, whether from God or from this world.  They are not born out of faith in the leading of the Holy Spirit, but in faith of my flesh that I can do this!  The true believer has come to understand that none of us are able “to do it.”  We cannot be righteous enough to deserve God’s love and presence.  We are saved only by the grace of God.  Yet, we are saved in order to live out the righteousness of Christ.  Yes, it is the righteous works that He did which cover my sins.  However, he also laid down a template for our discipleship.  He has shown us how to become like the Father.  The Holy Spirit will teach us how to say no to ungodliness, and yes to the things that Jesus wants us to do (that reflect the Father’s image).  The things we do in response to the Spirit of God give life and are true righteousness.  Anything I do out of an attempt to force God to give me what I want is a dead work.  So, Christians ought not to put down seeking to live set apart for the Lord, rather than for the world.

In our last passage, Jude 1:4, 20-21, we see the apostle’s concern for how we live.  The early Church had its fair share of false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles.   They tended towards two errors.  Either they promoted legalistic approaches to God, or they promoted using the grace of God as a license for immorality.  Jude warns believers that those who do so “deny the Lord.”  If you have truly received the grace of Jesus then you won’t easily choose to sin.  My sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross.  My sin is what led to his gruesome death.  How can I continue to hold on to it?  Jesus did not go to the cross because he was pleasing his flesh, and your flesh will not lead you towards Jesus.  To embrace sin is to let go of Jesus, period.  Be quick to repent of such an attitude and ask the Lord to cleanse you from such a horrible persuasion.

We could use the word “obedience” here, but that word falls short of what God intends for us.  Little kids need to obey because they don’t understand, even can’t.  However, adults need to believe, to have faith, to agree.  My heart needs to valiantly rise up to the challenge of the Holy Spirit to march on.  Yes, Lord, I hear you.  I will follow.  It is the response of a person who has seen that they not only need Jesus, but that they also love who and what he is; and we want to be like him.

Grace is not a license for immorality; it is the gift of transformation.  God graciously puts His Spirit in your life to enable you not only to connect to Jesus, but also to have His abundant Life pouring into you and creating a life-long transformation. 

May we give ourselves to studying God’s Word, praying to God and worshipping Him, hearing the call of the Holy Spirit, and taking those bold steps of faith to follow Him.  There is no other way to life!

Connect III audio