On The Journey

On this Sunday we celebrate the time that we have had with Dr. Caleb Tindano of Burkina Faso.  He will be going home on June 12 and we are going to miss him.  This brother has been on a journey both literally and metaphorically.  Similarly we are all on a journey through this life.  The Bible uses this same imagery in Hebrews 11 to teach us how to walk in this journey of life and how to do it well.

Believers Live By Faith

In Hebrews 11:8-12, the Holy Spirit reminds us of the life of Abraham and Sarah.  They were called to leave their home country and to travel to an unknown place.  There they would live in tents with a nomadic lifestyle.  They would also have kids at an extreme age (90 and 100).  Lastly they would be the source of multitudes.  These descendants are more than just the biological, but more importantly, include those who are children of Abraham by their faith in Jesus Christ.

Over and over again the passage states that they did all this by faith.  Now this is important because in Hebrews 10:38 it says that “the just shall live by faith.”  This is a quote from the Old Testament passage of Habakkuk 2:4.  It is similar to Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “we walk by faith, not by sight.”  Now what did they do by faith?  Several verbs are given to explain their actions of faith.  First is “obeyed.”  Obedience is something we naturally resist.  However, faith enabled them to go to a country that they didn’t necessarily want.  They also, “dwelt,” “waited,” and “bore.”  Each of these were things that were not easy to do.  They dwelt in a land in tents, as nomads, and among hostiles.  They waited when all of us would vote or now.  And, Sarah gave birth at 90 years old.  When do you say, “no thanks, but I changed my mind.”

Faith is that inner knowing and trust that God will do what he has said he will.  But far simpler than that, faith knows this: at the end of the day God is good.  The strange thing about believers is that they could look at all the stuff going on around them and quit trusting God.  But instead they continue to trust that God is what he says he is, he is good.

Believers Die in Faith

In Hebrews 11:13-15 we are reminded that Abraham, Sarah, and all other righteous people died while having faith in God.  To those who don’t believe in God this would probably be the strongest argument for walking away from this “God.”  The Spirit reminds us that though Abraham didn’t see all that was promised to him, it wasn’t because God wasn’t good or that he doesn’t really exist.  It does mean that the scope of his promises is far greater than our life.

There is a modern phenomenon that psychiatrists increasingly encounter called “Truman Show Delusion.”  The Truman Show was a movie in which a man’s whole life was secretly filmed and he eventually discovers that everyone in his life, even his wife, is an actor in a show in which he was the only real thing.  However absurd this may seem we sometimes act like this in regard to life.  God’s promises are greater than you and your life on this earth.  They encompass all believers of all time and all life, both this temporary life and the eternal life we have begun to enter.

Abraham didn’t see all the promises.  But he did see them by faith, “afar off.”  He was also assured of them.  This assurance can only really come from God himself.  When we assure ourselves it only works so long.  This is a supernatural assurance that is in the face of even death itself.  They “embraced” those promises as well.  They changed their lives and raised their kids in the environment of a full embrace of God’s promises.  “We want them and we will see them someday.”  By doing this they were confessing their true identity as nomads in this world.  God’s promises are about things that are beyond this life, which makes us nomads among those in this world who see this life as all there is.

By faith, believers are citizens of a heavenly kingdom (vs14).  Just like people who go to another culture experience a cultural dissonance, so believers feel that dissonance everywhere they go, even in their home town.  This world does not value true faith in the One True God.  Spiritually it is not our home and this makes us homesick for that place we have never been.  We know it by faith.  It is a country and a capital city that will be supplied by God himself.  No civilization or world of man will create them.

The reason I entitled this section, Believers Die in Faith, is because of the words of verse 13.  Believers not only live by faith, but when they come to the end of their life, that same faith continues.  It looks forward with the trust that God is good and it is not over yet.

God Rewards Our Faith

Ultimately our very salvation and eternal destiny is tied to our faith in God, specifically the Lord Jesus.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

But another aspect of this in Hebrews 11:16, is that God is not ashamed to be called their God.  More than that, he is not ashamed to claim us in the life to come.  He walks into a room of the world’s rich and powerful, beautiful and strong, and picks up those whom the world looks upon as weak, poor, ugly, undesirable.  They are beautiful to God simply because of their faith in him; faith that endures through death.  You are beautiful to God to the degree you trust him.

Thus God has prepared this place for those who have trusted him in life and in death.  God’s kingdom will come down and not just be in our hearts.  Jesus will literally come through those clouds and establish a world of peace that operates on the basis of trust in God.

No matter where you are on this journey, your faith will be tried.  You are a stranger in a strange land and that is an uncomfortable feeling.  May you remain faithful to Him who is always faithful and in the end will be found to have been completely good.

On The Journey Audio

Trust in God

On Sunday, May 27, Evangelist Ernie Salinas preached a message about trusting God during this current time of social disruption.  The following article is a summary prepared by Pastor Marty Bonner.

Troubled Hearts

In John 14:1 Jesus reminded his disciples that things would happen that would trouble their hearts.  Not just the disciples, but the whole nation of Israel was in the middle of a huge social disruption that would forever change how they related to God.  Similarly our nation is in the middle of such a disruption that has fragmented our society.  Certain cultural patterns of thinking and living are being broken down and either transformed or discarded.  This creates a period of confusion as people ask this internal question.  “If I can’t do this (whatever is no longer acceptable) then what do I do now?”  How should I act and what is expected of me are other ways of asking this question.

Now Jesus was not only speaking to the social disruption that was happening in the first century AD, but he also spoke to the social disruption that would be prevalent at the end of the age.  In Matthew 24:6 and following, Jesus talks about how there would be social turmoil and wars.  Yet, he tells his followers to not be troubled by these things.  That word troubled is the picture of a turbulent sea of various currents that keep our heart agitated and anxious.  This time and its events will have the effect of agitating our minds and filling our hearts with worry.  But Jesus tells them to not allow their hearts to be tossed to and fro by these events.  How is that possible?

The disciples were about to get a lesson in how to do this.  Their time with Jesus and the way things had been for the last 3 years was coming to a close.  Jesus had been their stability and had told them what they were going to do each day.  They followed him.  But that dynamic was about to be changed or transformed.  In John 13:30 there is an interesting phrase that is used after Judas leaves to betray Jesus.  It simply says, “and it was night.”  Most scholars point out that this is meant to be more than a chronological statement.  It wasn’t just night time, but it was metaphorical of the dark night their hearts were going through.  A time when the light you have been living by seems to be snuffed out and you can’t see to find your bearings.  What do we do now?  This question was asked by each disciples as they saw their Lord crucified and buried.

That is why Jesus was telling them to not let their hearts be troubled.

Trusting God And Jesus

After telling them to not let their hearts be troubled (a negative command) he then positively commands them to not only believe in God but to also believe in him.  That word believe is to put your trust in them.  The turmoil would cause them to contemplate not trusting.  However, they were to fight that and find a calm and peace around continuing to trust God in the face of impossibility. 

It has been said that uncertainty is a certainty.  In this world the uncertainties around us will either cause us to give up or it will cause us to look to the certainty that is God himself.  Jesus went on to tell his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them.  Not only was he preparing a place for them, but he would come and bring them to be with him.  Trust me, is what he was saying.  Even when it seems impossible, trust me.

We are given a tender picture of this in Revelation 21:4.  Here we find that all who have put their faith and trust in God will reach a day when he personally wipes the tears from their eyes.  This is not a sense of  “quit your whining, we don’t cry here.”  It is more a tender picture of God stepping in with his personal touch to wipe away those tears of this life.  He becomes the One who knowingly understands our tears and identifies with our tears.  He will tenderly brush them away as he heals our hearts from the pain and sorrow.

The believer must always hold before them the hope that God has given us in this.  No matter how difficult my path in this life, I will eventually leave this anxiety behind and I will be welcomed into God’ healing presence.  Thus I do not need to be tossed about by the troubles of this life.  Though they are real and I will have to deal with them, through faith in Jesus I can find a place of peace here and now in the midst of my own personal night.

Facing the Schemes of the Devil

If you have become a child of God then you will need to learn to deal with temptation and to conquer it.  I don’t say this in a legalistic sense but, as the Bible shows us, we have an enemy who is working to try and either destroy our faith or neutralize it.  Let’s take some time looking at the temptation of Jesus by the devil in Matthew 4:1-11.

There Are Different Kinds Of Temptations

Three different attempts are made to tempt Jesus in this passage and they are very different.  We need to realize that Satan has a whole toolbox of tricks that he uses to trip up believers and unbelievers.  In Ephesians 6:11 the Bible says:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (NKJV).

“Wiles” comes from the same root that we get the word “method.”  Thus our enemy has methods, strategies, and operations by which he tries to trap us.

Temptation #1, Jesus is tempted to please his flesh above the spiritual.  There is nothing wrong with eating bread.  However, Jesus had been “led” into the wilderness by the Spirit of God.  He was preparing himself for the coming ministry through prayer, fasting, and facing temptation.  Food was not a priority on this mission, but being in concert with the Father was.  The enemy loves to get us to focus on any desire of our flesh above the higher spiritual things of God.  But the stomach of Jesus is not the only target.  Satan target’s the pride of Jesus when he says, “If you are the son of God…”  This trick of the devil manipulates us to prove ourselves.  Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8 that man lives by every word from God’s mouth, not just bread.   When you look into the context of that verse you realize that Moses was telling Israel that God took them through the wilderness and allowed them to thirst and hunger, so that they might look past the bread and seek him.  It was a test.  Thus Jesus doesn’t just throw a bible verse at the devil, rather, he shows that he knows the heart of this temptation.  Good things can get between us and God.

Temptation #2, Jesus is tempted to use God’s Word for selfish gain.  In this temptation the devil takes Jesus to the highest point in the Temple and tries to get him to jump.  The reasoning is that the Bible promises that God will keep the messiah from dashing his foot against a stone.  God will be forced to supernaturally protect Jesus in front of the multitudes at the temple.  Thus Jesus will be accepted.  God’s Word is not given for us to twist to our own ends, or to manipulate God into accomplishing our desires.  This presumes upon the goodness of God.  God will not be played a fool.  Thus Jesus quotes a verse that says you shall not tempt the Lord your God.  How is this tempting God?  You are tempting God to quit giving you his goodness and to judge you.  We can do this today by using the amazing grace of Jesus as a license to sin.  God has promised to forgive us our sins.  Thus I can sin as much as I want and just ask forgiveness after the fact.  In Romans 6 Paul says, “God forbid.”  This kind of attitude is spiritually dangerous and tempts God to judge us.  It is important to note here that the devil can quote scripture.  It is always twisted and perverted out of its context but he makes it look good.  The Bible says that the devil transforms himself into an angel of light.  That means he comes looking as if he is God’s messenger to you.  He carries a bible and quotes scripture.  He may even have a church where he preaches every Sunday.  We need to verify for ourselves that any “teaching” from another really does line up with all the word of God.  Jesus doesn’t argue Satan’s verses.  Instead he points out that there are other Scriptures.  He quotes from Exodus 17 where Moses is reminding them of an incident where they were accusing Moses and God of bringing them into the desert to kill them.  God sent poisonous serpents into the assembly as a judgment to their accusatory demands.  They were in effect rejecting God’s way through the wilderness.  Was Jesus going to reject God’s way, which involved death on a cross, or would he try to force another way?

Temptation #3, Jesus is tempted to idolatry.  Satan doesn’t quote any scripture this time nor does he employ any subtlety either.  This temptation simply comes as a brute force attack.  Following God won’t work.  Just worship me and you will get it all in a far easier way.  Will you stick with God and receive what he has for you or will you worship another to get something “better?”  Many sell their souls to the devil for the fame and wealth of this world.  But it is always far less than it looks and it never satisfies.  Jesus saw through this blatant charade and reminds Satan that man should worship God alone.

God’s Children Will Face These Temptations And More

Whether Satan is subtle or not his temptations are always strong and must be resisted.  Several lessons can be learned as we look at this passage and meditate on it.  First, a battle always comes on the heels of times when we know that God has spoken.  In chapter 3 Jesus had just been baptized as the Holy Spirit descended upon him and the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”  Yet, immediately the Spirit takes him into the wilderness where the tempter tries to bring him down.

Another lesson is that we need to face temptation privately in our hearts before we can truly conquer it in public.  We should never settle for merely looking like we have avoided temptation.  God will not settle for appearance only.  But on a different note, why live such a life that would not be filled with joy?  Often we need to get alone in prayer and the word and break down the lies of the enemy.  Perhaps we need some mature, godly counsel.  But don’t settle.  Lastly, the devil uses temptation to neutralize our ability to do anything for God.  God’s way makes us useful for others, but his way fixates us on ourselves.  You may be able to find some other lessons upon further study.

Satan uses temptation to try and destroy or at least neutralize our faith.  But, he also uses temptation to keep those who don’t know God trapped in the chains of sin.  Let’s be aware of the methods of the enemy and combat them in our life.  Let’s also be wise in how we approach the lost.  May God help us to demolish the lies of the enemy in their life through love and truth.

Facing the Schemes Audio

Mother's Day: One Thing is Necessary

Today we are going to be focusing on moms because it is Mother’s Day.  However, I think we can all learn something from the passage we are going to look at today.  In Luke 10:38-42 we have an account where Jesus visits the home of a woman named Martha.  Take some time to read through the passage.  In this story Martha and her sister have two very different reactions to Jesus, which leads to a conflict that is spoken to by Jesus.

Making An Impression On Jesus Isn’t Necessary

Several places throughout the Scriptures we are told that Jesus loved this family.  Martha apparently is the older sister due to the fact that it is called her house.  Although not mentioned here, this has always been considered the same Martha and Mary who had a brother named Lazarus.  Jesus had a special place in his heart for this family.  Probably because they provided a peaceful and safe place for him to stay when he was in the area.

Now Jesus shows up with his 12 disciples and Martha invites them to her house.  Two different choices immediately are made.  Martha begins to prepare a meal, while Mary sits and listens to Jesus teach.  Have you ever tried to impress God?  I think part of Martha’s problem is not that she wants to care for their food needs, but rather all the other junk that is going on inside of her heart and mind.

Three descriptions of Martha describe her condition.  She was “distracted” with much serving.  Granted, serving is a good thing, but not when it becomes a distraction to something better.  The word distracted has the sense of being drawn away from something by something else.  The serving was getting in between Martha and her sister, but even more importantly it was getting in between her and Jesus.  The second descriptor is “worried.”  Why would she be anxious?  Is she afraid she won’t get the food out quickly?  Was she going overboard?  Clearly she is upset that Mary doesn’t help her.  But it seems that Martha has envisioned something to impress Jesus and is worried she can’t do it by herself.  It is interesting that in Matthew 6:31-33, Jesus specifically told his disciples to not worry about what they are going to eat.  But to put God’s Kingdom first.  Then the food part will be supplied.  This is not a promotion of being lazy, but one of priorities.  Martha was losing a sense of priority in her worry.  The last descriptor is “troubled by many things.”  The word comes from the same root as the word “turbulent.”  It literally means a crowd.  Martha’s mind and heart had become a crowd of worries and desires that were crashing back and forth like an unruly mob.  And all of this was over the issue of preparing a meal.

In contrast to this Mary is simply sitting and receiving from Jesus.  There is a time for making a meal but the contrast is clear.  Martha was fixed on what she could do for Jesus, but Mary was fixed on receiving from Jesus.  Lastly, Mary was not concerned about what Martha was concerned about.

Only One Thing is Necessary

Martha grows more and more agitated until she finally has had enough.  Instead of confronting Mary she goes over her head and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her.  Jesus’ answer is that Mary had chosen something better than Martha and he would not take it from her.  His statement that “one thing is needed” begs the question.  “What is that one thing?”  I believe the Matthew 6 passage we looked at earlier helps us to see what is needful.  What is necessary?   To keep the higher eternal things at a higher priority than the lower temporary things of this earth, like eating.  The lower, temporary things do need to be taken care of: food, clothing, shelter, jobs, education, etc…  But, if we let them be of a higher priority in our life, we will be overwhelmed with a very turbulent crowd of desires.  Martha was angry with Mary, but Mary had done nothing wrong.  She had simply chosen to spend time with Jesus before eating.  Why despise that?  Only when I am consumed with earthly concerns would it bother me.  Perhaps there is a worry about impressing Jesus with the great care that their household would give him.  Whatever her concerns, they had created a problem in her heart.

Was it necessary to eat right away?  Apparently not.  Jesus doesn’t seem to have asked for food to be prepared.  Why not spend some time together first?  Was it necessary to do so much serving?  Was it necessary to get angry with her sister?  We can excessively worry over earthly cares.  The reality is that they will be hungry again in a matter of hours.  No amount of eating will eternally satisfy.  Thus we need to be careful that our heart and minds do not become turbulent with these lower concerns.

Martha wants to serve the Lord, but the best way to serve the Lord is to know what he really wants.  In John 3:34 Jesus told his disciples that he had food they didn’t know about.  It was the food of doing his father’s will.  Jesus was not a slave to earthly food because doing the work of teaching, miracles, and laying his life down satisfied him on a higher level.  Later in John 6:27-29, Jesus was talking to the crowd that he had miraculously fed.  They had rushed around and oared across the Sea of Galilee in order to find Jesus.  But they followed him for natural food not the higher spiritual food.  Yes we have to eat, but the natural should not rule over the spiritual.

"Choosing the good part" is when we see that it is more important for us to wait upon the Lord and let his teaching transform us than it is for us to rush out and do great things for him.  Who should have joined who?  Martha wanted Jesus to make Mary join her.  In reality Martha needed to join Mary.

Have you been pressured in things of this life by yourself or others?  Are you laboring to satisfy an inner crowd of emotions and desires that are fixated on the earthly temporary stuff over the top of the eternal?  Jesus wants you to have rest and to have peace.  Stop today and rest at his feet, let him teach you.

One Thing Is Necessary audio