“Simon Peter saith unto them, “I go fishing.” They say” …:We also go with thee.”                                                                                                                                                            (John 21:3)

“…yea [number] seven [is] an abomination unto [H]im…he that soweth discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the [M]aster’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”  (2 Timothy 2:21)

 

The Pharisaical preacher is always prepared to scourge men the men of Scripture. Their favorite targets appear to be Elijah and St. Peter. In Peter’s case it is his denial of his Master and the fishing from our text above.

But first let us explain the purpose of the following two texts from above. Prov. 6 speaks clearly that God hates when a person causes division between brethren. We are sure we have been accused us of this very thing.

We are always prepared to point out poor behaviour in preachers (we, of course must examine ourself before we examine others) and their unsound doctrine. In 2 Timothy 2:21 Paul teaches us to purge ourselves from false teachers and if we do not he warns us with ineffectiveness in ministry and not being meet for our Master’s use.

We have actually heard pharisees use this very text to tell believers that sins will make them unfit for the Master’s use. While pleasuring in habitual and unconfessed sin will cause a division between a Christ-ian and his Master the Christian that mourns over his sinfulness is useful to his Master.

The spiritual irony in this is that while they are misappropriating this verse the verse rightfully understood speaks of the unsound preacher, himself! He is the blind leading the Biblically illiterate.

We admit to using this post to help others purge themselves from these unsound, false teachers that spew lie after lie. And if they are not knowingly lying they are then inaccurate in their understanding of Holy Writ. This would mean they are novices and have been puffed up by (s)atan. It then follows the flock are being led by a minister of (s)atan that has been transformed into a minister of light.

With all that said let us now address St. Peter and his fishing.

Many a pharisee have used Peter’s fishing to point him out as a backslider. A backslider that caused others to backslide. these pharisees call Peter’s outing as a return to his old life and profession. This is a great misappropriation of God’s Word. This is a kin to saying that a Christ-ian that turns to the Scriptures, where he first met Christ, at a time of loneliness or hardship is backsliding.

Why did Peter “go fishing?” Peter went fishing because this is where his Beloved Lord first called him to, “Follow [M]e.” They often fished together. Fishing was something they shared. The Resurrected Lord had already revealed Himself to Peter on a beach (21:1) Peter did not lead the others to backslide but to return to their “first [L]ove” which is Christ.

What is the sequel to this? “Children, have ye any meat?”….”Come and dine.” These are the inviting Words of the very Christ they longed to fish with.

Is your preacher a pharisee?…purge thyself.

“But ye have heard it said, But I say unto you” (Matthew 5)

Have you ever wondered if certain politicians are aware that video exists and that most of what they lie about….err say is recorded? Because our ministry requires us to speak we are aware that what we say can be misinterpreted at times and how we can even be incorrect or thought to be incorrect with what we say. When this happens we must be prepared to clarify  our meaning, correct our meaning or to stand by our meaning. It is not very often that we can get by with misspeaking because our hearer and our reader pay us the compliment of paying very close attention to what we say and to what we write.

But back to the initial question. Have you ever wondered about politicians and their awareness to video? How about television preachers with large churches or radio programs? Have you ever heard someone like Joel Osteen or anyone on TBN? Have you ever heard a radio “preacher” like Gregory Dickow?  Have you ever listened closing to some that identify with the charismatic ministries those so “proud” to be part of the fundamentalist churches or read some of their evangelistic materials? Need I even mention heretics like Peter Popoff and ilk that can be found haunting late night infomercials?

Why is it or how is it possible for these charlatans to get away with it? How is it they are so confident with their guile? We believe there are a couple of answers. Those that hear them are ignorant to the truth. Those that continue to support lying politicians do not pay attention to what they say or they ignore honest journalists that make clear what politicians are saying. The second reason is that they simple do not care. These supporters have simply chosen to support whom they will no matter what. One of the politicians running for president claimed to come under gun fire while exiting a plane. This was very soon debunked but who among her supporters care? Not many if any. Another politician running for president made  the claim to being able to shoot someone in view of the public and his supporters would say with him.

As for the heretical “preachers” The answers are the same with one addition. Their hearers do not know nor do they read, much less study their Bibles. Many blame the preachers for this. While they will bear blame so to must the Biblically ignorant.

The Words of our Master in the text above stands as true today as they did when He spoke them from that mount, “Ye have heard it said [by the lying preachers and politicians] but I say into you [in the pages of the blessed, Holy Spirit inspired Word of God].”

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated [M]e before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen  you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” (Gospel of John 15:18-19)

Beloved, if you doubt this hate please take the time to find an online article on Franklin Graham and scroll down to the comments section. You will be convinced. We have spent time with these commenters and they wish for the death of Christ-ians, they equate Christ-ians with ISIS. They consider Christians to be idiotic for their belief in God. They also hope that all Christ-ians would go to Hell….if there was such a place.

Why does the earth hate us so much?  There a a number of reasons for their hatred. One reason is found in our text above. One reason is envy. The world may not be conscious of this but it is one reason all the same. Our Lord said, “…I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” In other words He chose you and not them. He chose you to be made a new creature in Him. He chose you to love and not them. The world hates you because God predestined you to be partakers of His divine nature and to become Christlike. And since the world hates Christ the world will also hate the Christlike.

Another reason the world hates you is you are what they are not. They see traits and characteristics in you that are not in them. They see the Spirit’s fruit ripening in your life and this causes envy and hate. Scripture calls the believer “blessed.” Blessed is defined as happy and a person to be envied.

The world takes note of the Christ-ians peace and faith; this causes envy and hate. The world takes note of the Christ-ian’s cleanness of life and this too causes envy and hate. The world takes note to the Father’s blessings upon the believer and this causes envy and hate.

The Scriptures state, ” Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.” In other words, it is good to be hated by the right people for the right reasons..

It is written in Scripture that Noah condemned the world by his righteousness. So too, does the Christ-ian condemn the world by their righteous ways which were learned and enabled by Christ and the Holy Spirit, respectively.

How should the Christ-ian respond to this hate? We are to respond to this hate with Christ-ian love, with blessings, with good works, and with prayer for our haters. If we do not respond to hate in this way what is it then that makes us different? (Matthew 5) Note the change in the way our Lord describes the world. First He calls the world, “it” and then the world is called, “his.” Methinks this is because the “it” speaks to world as a whole opposing Christ and the Christlike. The “his” speaks to the individual human, the old creation in Adam and how he will love those that love him, treat him well, and is like him. The Christ-ian is to be different and better than this. The Christ-ian is to view life and haters from a higher plain. The Christ-ian is above all this hate and opposition.

The Christ-ian is to soar far above those that flap their wings and mouths against them. The Christ-ian knows that the haters are, in fact, opposing themselves as every word and every deed is recorded by our Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent God.

Let the haters hate while the Chris-ians love them.

 

Love is the first of the Spirit’s fruit in the life of the believer. Love testifies to a believer’s new life and is the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling Presence. The presence of love in a new believer is a manifestation of the Spirit’s power and willingness to change a sinner in to a saint.

Love, like other spiritual fruit, differentiates the new creature/creation in Christ from the old creature/creation in Adam. The Lord Jesus says, “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? and if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? The Lord says those things as He teaches what Biblical love is and or what Biblical love looks like. Before the above quote the Lord said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you…” He then says, we will be like our Father in Heaven and therefore like Him if we love as He loves.  In other words, to love Biblically one would bless others, do good to others, and pray for others. This would include one’s neighbors, brethren, and enemies.

The Spirit would further manifest His Presence by the believer having a deep and abiding love for the Lord Jesus and His Words, His Ways, and His Works. A loving loyalty will ripen as the believer learns more and more of and from the Lord. The believer will begin to adopt the ways of Christ; he will begin speaking like and or quoting Christ as Christ’s Words hold great weight with him and he will be zealous of good works as His Master is. He will look for opportunities to do good, he will look for people he can help. He will look for ways to be a blessing to others.

This new love will extend to the brethren. The new believer will look at other believers as family. He will prefer other believers above unbelievers. If this brotherly love is absent the professing believer is false. The Apostle John asks the question, ” How can you love God Who you haven’t seen and love not the brethren, who bear the image of God, that you do see? (paraphrased)

The new believer will also have great love for the Word of God as it was the means the Spirit used to bring the sinner to salvation. The Word of God will open a whole new world for the believer; it will color and change His world view. He will see the Scriptures as being his companion and guide. The Book will be seen as the closest one can come to the Physical and Living Christ.

Christ-ian love is the circumstantial evidence of the Indwelling Spirit of Christ. Without this love a person cannot be considered a true Christ-ian. Christ said that the world would recognize us as His by our love one for another. He further teaches that Christ-ians should love each other as He has loved His own. Love is the first-fruits of our salvation.

Paul says it best, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not [love] , I am nothing And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not [love], it profiteth me nothing.”

 

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a [pastor], he desireth a good work. A [pastor] then must be…”?

There seems to be two models that a church follows in choosing a pastor or we should say there are two models that a church could follow. One is the default which is elect men to a pulpit committee and let them bring before the church acceptable candidates. The other is a little more controversial. This one gives the responsibility of naming a new pastor to the departing pastor. The church has entrusted their spiritual well being to this departing pastor so why not continue to trust him with his replacement. If the departing pastor is being removed due to spiritual, moral, or ethical inefficiencies then he is, of course denied this responsibility. The choice would then fall to the associate pastor or the lead elder. This is modeled after Christ, the Ascending Shepherd naming Peter as His choice to “feed [His] Sheep/lambs as well as Paul naming the man to take his place when he moved on to plant other churches.

The trouble with the democratic styled pulpit committee is that each member may have a different idea of what a pastor should be and different goals for the church. Sometimes members can be led by feelings and will try to overthrow the process if their guy is not chosen or will sow discord if they have differences of opinion with another member. These members would have different life experiences that may greatly color their views. Also some may extend this process to hold onto their position of responsibility and control.

Having said all of that we will now give unsought counsel to churches and pulpit committees. This counsel comes from experience and close observation. We have served upon a pulpit committee in the past and know the rigors thereof. We have also observed others pulpit committees in action. We are therefore confident in our counsel. Our counsel will also be Scripturally sound.  Our counsel is as follows:

The church would do well to be involved in the process. Some ways for the church to be involved are by requiring a report naming all candidates and the reasons for their elimination. This will keep the committee accountable to their decisions.

The church should be prepared and be capable of replacing members of the pulpit committee if the process is becoming problematic.

If the church has a deacon board the pulpit committee should not be made up of exclusively deacons. There is a reason some joke about a deacon board being a demon board.

The church should require the candidate to preach only new sermons or to bring only new messages. Most candidates will preach “sugar sticks.” The sugar stick is a sermon/message preached many times and is brought to perfection. Sugar sticks do not give a true picture of the potential. The minister under consideration should preach (5) five messages and end with a rigorous and lengthy Q and A in view of the church. This should not be problematic for a man of God who walks with God and receives from God. A schedule could look like this. Friday night, Saturday morning/evening, Sunday School/Sunday morning . Sunday night should be given the the rigorous Q and A. After all how much can a church learn from one message.

Some questions should include:

1. What direction would you take the church?
2. Can you define prayer?
3. Would you describe your prayer life?
4. What are your views on evangelism?
5. How has your ministry changed over the years?
6. Have any of your Scriptural views changed over time?
7. Do you have any regrets?
8. How do you see your role as pastor?
9. Why are you seeking this pastorate?
10. How would you feel we do not call you to pastor?
11. What are your views on Bible schools?
12. How do you understand Scripture on tithes and offerings?
13. Could you define the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?
14. Who is Jesus Christ?
15. Could you explain your understanding of the Trinity?
16. What is Hell?
17. Who are some of the authors you read?
18. What does it mean to love one’s enemies?
19. How much time do you spend in preparing for Sunday?
20. Could you rate the following: The lost, witnessing, your family, your time spent with God, the church, and God’s glory?

The above (20) questions should give a good understanding of your candidate. The candidate’s answers should be listened to very carefully and he must not be allowed to answer questions vaguely. His body language should be read as well see 2 King 8:11,12. The congregation should be afforded the opportunity to further question the potential pastor.

If the process makes slow progress the pulpit committee should address this with the church and encourage them to continue to persevere and to pray as this is a most important decision. If some do choose to leave do not allow the remaining church members to view them as defectors or false brethren. They should be considered saints on a different path.

If the pulpit committee seems to have become a stumbling block to the process the following might be considerations:

1. Is the bar being held impossibly high?
2. Are there some problems between members on the committee that is holding up the process?
3. Is it possible a member has allowed his responsibility to be changed into a way to hold control and a respected position?
4. Is the committee out of touch with the church membership?
5. Should a member be replaced or should the committee be streamlined?
6. Should the departed pastor be consulted?
7. Does any one member hold too much control or power? Is there a member being overly intimidating?
8. Is the committee using fallacies instead of Scripture to find the right man?

Some questions that might be asked potential pulpit committee members that could keep the process Scriptural and therefore on track:

1. Could you define the position of pastor?
2. What are the responsibilities of a pastor?
3. What is more important God’s choice or yours? Read body language.
4. Does the candidate have to be baptist?
5. What are some deal breakers?
6. How long have you been attending this church?
7. Would you share your testimony?
8. Who holds the authority in the church after Christ? The pastor or the deacon/elder board?
9. How would you respond if you were asked to resign your position on the pulpit committee?
10. How long will this process take?
11. Would you allow the new pastor to make big changes if they had Scriptural support?

The above (11) questions could be adapted to become questions the potential pastor could ask the committee.

After all is said and done the faithful members on the committee or the departed pastor (depending on the model chosen) should be held in high honours as they have proven to be men that care for your spiritual well being.

To those who have serves on a pulpit committee, well done and thank you. To those serving presently, God be with you and may He grant wisdom liberally. To those that will be members on a pulpit committee, Godspeed.

Numbers 6:24-26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Let no man despise thy youth”

The above text is taken from one of Paul pastoral letters too one Timothy. One could deduce or infer from Paul’s counsel that Timothy was a young preacher. One could also infer that Paul is speaking from experience or that he was responding to a letter from Timothy. Either way it is counsel that could be, should be, must be heeded by all other youthful preachers. It can also be fruitful to an older experienced preacher that is pastoring a church with a large number of older members.

The word youth can be taken relative to different situations but the word despise is one that fits anywhere. The word despise does not mean hated in the Bible like it does in today’s vernacular. Today if a person says I despise …it probably stands in for hate or detest or disstain.  In the Scriptures however it means to set a side  and to view as being of little worth as in “pray for them that despitefully use you.” or to hold them, that look upon you as being unimportant, in such high esteem as to lift their name up to God.

Paul counsels Timothy not to let anyone despise his youth. That is to say challenge them, with respect, that view you as one to be ignored. In taking other Scriptural warrants one should go to this prideful person and speak to him or her one on one as you would a father or a mother. If this doesn’t work, depending on the situation go to this person again and bring another. We said depending upon the situation. If the prideful person keeps his/her opinion to one’s self continue to work with them in a private manner.

If this individual begins to share their disapproval with others in the congregation then you will need to step up your efforts. If this individual continues to spread their poor opinion it will become necessary to bring them before the church and it may become necessary to put this individual out of fellowship.

All of the above should pain the pastor or maybe the individual may be correct about him. Once the individual is put out the rest of the congregation should keep their distance as not be become infected with the individuals words. The Pastor and one other would do well to visit occasionally to see if the person has changed their attitude and views.

Be careful at this time as Satan will be sure to cause you to question your calling as a pastor and to one’s call to this church. Use your faith to shield yourself during these time.

We have had to face these challenges in our development as we began quite young. We are now 45 and still deal with this kind of spiritual pride in others. One is out of our reach and does not attend church. The irony to this is this was to man that would call and rebuke others for missing church. That goes to show that he was not interested in the MIAs but was exercising his spiritual pride. Another seems to be coming around. But for all those that despitefully used me there were many others that did not and we thank God for their trust and their witness to others.

A word to the spiritually proud. God hates this trait in so called brethren especially if you are using this weakness to sow discord among the brethren. In fact God lists both in the seven things He hates and sowing discord is said to be an abomination. Examine yourselves and do so quickly. God is ready to forgive and make you a blessing to youthful ministers.

God gives us an example of how spiritually mature believers should react to a youthful minister if he is wrong Scripturally but right spiritually. In the book of Acts we read of Aquila and Priscilla. They are spiritually mature and they hear one Apollos who loved the Lord but was weak in some areas of truth. This couple did not go home and speak ill of the young preacher but took him and showed him, a more perfect way.”

Aged believer which do you resemble? Aquila and Priscilla or the one Christ spoke of in Matthew 5? Is your pastor thanking God for you like I’m sure Apollos did or is he praying for you as one who is despitefully using him? God bless you if you are the first and God help you if you are among the second.

God bless those young ministers that will someday thank God for allowing them to serve Him from their youth.

“Faith is…”

 

The faith of the Christ-ian believer can be described in many ways.

In 1 Corinthians 12:9, faith is said to be a gift by the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 2:20 the faith we enjoy is the very faith of Christ…I mean the very faith of Christ. The very faith wherewith He lived a perfect life, died a sinner’s death, and rose again as the Victor over sin and death. He had no need of His faith in Heaven so He sent it as a gift by the descending and indwelling Holy Spirit. Also in Galatians 5:22 it is listed as the (7th) seventh fruit of the Spirit. We learn that we are saved through the gift of faith in Ephesians 2:8,9 and again we find faith in Ephesians 6 being call the shield of the Christ-ian, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” In Hebrews 11:1 it is written that, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” and through out the rest of chapter 11 we are reminded of the great exploits of our ancestors and that they were all performed “by faith.” In 1 Peter 1:5 we learn that we are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

It would appear from Scripture that there are different types of faith. There is the faith of Ephesians 2:8-9 which allows all that are born again and will be born again to believe unto salvation. Then in other passages of holy Writ like 1 Corinthians  12:3 there is a faith that is given by measure to every Christ-ian. But then later in 1 Corinthians 12 faith is listed with the gifts of the Spirit which would seem to be a greater measure of faith than the faith mentioned in  Romans 13: 3. The faith of Romans 12:3 would seem to be the faith that allows the Christ-ian to face the issues of everyday life with a joy and peace that glorifies God. The faith in 1 Cor. 12:3 is the larger measure that allows a believer to endure the greater hardships with the same joy and peace with faith to spare and to help others.

In Galatians 2:20 it is said that the measure of faith given to all believers and the greater measure given to some believers is the very faith that enabled the Lord Jesus to walk this earth engaging sinful man and yet remain separate from sinners and that is to say uncontaminated by sin. This is the very faith delivered by the indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ to all that believe as faith is no longer necessary in Heaven for faith has been made sight.

Later in the same book of Gal. faith is listed as the (7th) seventh fruit of the Spirit. This faith is grace that gives evidence and assurance to one’s salvation. It may be the same faith that is names in Romans 12:3 as the faith that is given by measure which, like fruit ripens or grows with time and exercise.

In Ephesians 6 faith is called the shield of the Christ-ians. The shield of faith appears to be the greater piece in our armory as the Spirit says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith…” This faith is the grace that allows us to engage this present evil world without being conformed or contaminated. This faith may be related or it may be the same faith that was the Faith that enabled Christ to remain unconformed and uncontaminated when He walked so victoriously on this earth.

Faith, in Hebrews 11:1, is said to be the substance of things hoped for (or expected) and the evidence of things not seen (or received yet). That is to say faith is the substance that allows the exercised believer to expect the things requested and it is also the evidence of things not yet seen. The believers faith grows each time God honours faith and therefore each time a saint uses faith to make request it is the evidence of God’s past faithfulness to the believers well places faith.

In the end whether there are many types of faith or simply two (2), One that allows a sinner to believe unto salvation and another that is given by measure and grows or ripens over time and use instead of different kinds or faith it demonstrates that God is good and God is faithful and we are above all others most blessed.

Therefore, go forth and exercise your ripening faith.

“Be still and know that I Am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”  (Psalm 46:10,11)

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. and [the Lord Jesus] was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake [H]im, Master, carest [T]hou not that we perish? And [H]e arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And [H]e said unto them. Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey [H]im? (Mark 4:37-41)

The words I would draw your attention to are these, “Peace, be still…and know that I am God…I will be exalted…” and “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

From these words we learn that fear and faith cannot coexist in the Christ-ian at the same time. In other words one cannot exercise one’s faith while being full of fear. And one cannot fear when one is exercising one’s faith. Christ teaches us that no one can serve two masters; he will love the one and hate the other. This spiritual principle is exceedingly relevant to our point. The Christ-ian cannot be full of fear and full of faith. The Christ-ian will cling to one and eschew the other. One will glorify God and the other will doubt God. One will acknowledge that God has not given us the spirit of fear and the other will grieve and quench the Abiding Spirit of God. One will proclaim, “I love and trust the Lord Jesus” and the other will denounce His Lordship, sovereign power and eternal love. When one fears one denounces the great Power of Christ’s Name. When one cowers under man’s authority and threats one makes man a god.

To be “so fearful” is to “have no faith.”  Peace is the (3rd) third fruit named in the listing of the fruit of the Spirit. The opposite of peace is fear and the antithesis of fear is faith. Therefore, Peace and Faith are bonded and are unbreakable graces.They are twin like Justification and Sanctification are twin. In the fruit of the Spirit love gives power to joy and the joy of the LORD will fend off fear, anxiety, doubt and worry. John states in his first epistle that a mature understanding of God’s love cancels out all fear.

Beloved, to fear anything is to denounce God’s love and sovereign authority over all things. We understand that the old man still exists and he will try to cause thee to fear and you may for a time be overcome by fear ….but lean not onto thine own understanding. Look to the greatness, the power, the sovereignty, the love, the joy of God and retake your place among the fearless and the faithful. To be faithful one is to be fearless and to be fearless one is to be faithful. For the fearless and the faithful know that God will never leave us nor forsake us.

Christ said, “Fear not, little flock.”

To the logically minded I leave this syllogism: Christ’s little flock need not fear anything; I am part of Christ’s little flock; therefore I need not fear anything.

To those that are more of an emotional nature I leave ye with this: “God has not given you the spirit of fear; but [the spirit] of power, and [the spirit] of love, and [the spirit] of a sound mind.”

They that are in Christ and have taken the shield of faith shall not fear.

“… for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.”  (Nehemiah 8:10,11)

The context of the above passage is this- Nehemiah has heard of the wrecked condition of Jerusalem from one Hanani. Nehemiah is greatly distressed and saddened by this news. Nehemiah was a man that served King Artazerzess in very close quarters so the king was able to see Nehemiah’s distress. Upon being questioned by the king Nehemiah makes known unto him the reason for his sadness.

The king being gracious to Nehemiah gives him leave to return to Jerusalem to rebuild it, beginning with the wall. There is very much to be gleaned from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that we are skipping over so one would be greatly edified to study said books.

Upon the timely completion of the wall “all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street…and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD has commanded to Israel.” As Ezra began and continued to read the law distinctly to the men and women “all the people wept when they heard the [W]ords of the [L]aw. At this point of the narrative we have find our text.The people are told to hold their weeping and should “re-joy-ce” in the LORD their God. Certainly there will be time to weep and mourn over one’s sin but this is not that time. Now is the time to be greatly strengthened by their knowledge of God’s goodness and longsuffering towards them.

When we were younger in our faith we understood not how the “joy of the LORD” was our strength. We do now. Joy is listed as second in the list of the fruits of the Spirit. Therefore joy comes after love and joy must ripen before strength is fully discovered and appropriated.

There are different ways to understand this truth and all the ways a blessed. The first way we can understand this is by being strengthened in the knowledge that God finds joy in us. Yes! God is joyful as He continuously thinks of us. In other words, as we live our lives in Christ we fill God with joy….WAWAWOW!!! What a thought. This will strengthen and encourage us greatly.

Another way to understand this truth is this…The Christ-ian that is fully aware of all s/he is in Christ and all that Christ is to him/her as well as all that Christ is preparing for him/her will be filled to overflow with joy. And this overflow of joy will encourage and greatly strengthen the Christ-ian.

The (3rd) third way one might understand the way the joy of the LORD is one’s strength is by seeing it as the ever ripening fruit of the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit indwells the believer He brings the seeds that will grow into fruit.  The first is love and the second is joy. As the Christ-ian lives in the Spirit, walks in the Spirit and is led of the Spirit these fruits will ripen. As the first two (2) fruits ripen the Christ-ian will grow stronger and stronger. The more the believer’s love ripens and grows for the Lord Jesus, the Words, the Ways, and the Works of the Lord Jesus s/he will find joy. The more the Christ-ian partakes of the divine nature the more the Christ-ian will love the brethren, the neighbor, and the enemy.

The Christ-ian will continue to grow stronger and stronger and stronger as his love deepens and his joy energizes, edifies, and encourages more and more and much more!!! The person or new creature in Christ will be made strong and with this joy-filled strength the other fruits will ripen as well. The fruits of peace (no fear), the fruit of longsuffering (patient endurance), the fruit of gentleness, the fruit of (overwhelming and overcoming) goodness, the fruit Faith (that shields us and allows us to be in the world yet separate from the world and it’s contaminating nature), the fruit of meekness (our secret identity), and the fruit of temperance (self control).

Any way we look at it we, as Christ-ians, are made strong by the Joy of the LORD.

To rejoice is to revisit the fountain of the LORD’s JOY again and again and again.

Re–JOY–ce and again I say, Re–JOY–ce. said by St. Paul the italics and bold font is mine.

Now, EnJOY your day… for this is the day which the LORD hath made; we will reJOYce and be glad in it….no matter what!!!

“The wages of sin is death”     (Romans 6:23)

To many Christ-ians this is a very familiar verse. In fact this may be on of the first verses a sinner learns from Scripture. When a sinner comes in to contact with the word of God this may be the first truth s/he learns as the it is one of the first truths they need to understand. Before a sinner can come to repentance and faith in the Lord and Saviour they must know they are separate from Him and why. This is where many preachers go wrong. We have heard many good messages from preachers on a variety of topics and then after they finish they will offer salvation to sinners. This may sound right and good however there was no mention of sin and man’s separation from God. Many a sinner may raise their hand and say “a prayer” to be saved yet they know not what they are seeking to be saved from! Law and man’s lost condition based upon their life long opposition to God’s law must be understood. In other words a man must be lost before he can be saved. Lost man must know that sin is his great enemy before he can know the Lord Jesus to be his great Saviour. Before a person can know God as his heavenly Father he must know Him as his Judge. Before a man can say, “The LORD is my Shepherd I shall not want.” He must learn to say, “God is my Judge and I shall forever want”

Above we learn of of sin as man’s great enemy and how it separates from God. That is not to say that it is the only way that sin is the enemy. Sin serves as a great enemy between man and God in the Christ-ian life as well.

We have heard many preachers in our life some good and many not. We have heard many preachers preach on sin to a mostly saved congregation. We do not say that a man of God should never speak on the topic of sin to a congregation of saints but we do say that it should not be the main area of preaching as there must be a balance. In other words the Christ-ian congregation should hear more about the greatness of the Saviour than the greatness of sin.

There is a time for a believer to consider their sin. A believer should consider sin when it is committed and when they are being tempted. However once sin is committed and repented of the Christ-ian should begin to think upon the greatness of the Saviour and His readiness to forgive and remember the sin no more!!! When a Christ-ian is being tempted he should cease to dwell on the temptation and meditate upon the power of the Saviour to deliver the godly from temptation. The Christ-ian should dwell upon his safety from G God’s judgment and wrath. The Christ-ian should dwell upon the great truth of God as Father who will forgive His child’s disobedience instead God the Judge Who will punish the sinner’s lifelong rebellion.

Sin serves as the Christ-ians’s great enemy when it is his main focus and keeps him from focusing upon God as his great Deliverer from sin. Once a believer confesses a sin he should be like God and remember it no more. God and God’s readiness to forgive sin and to remember it no more should capture the believer’s meditation.

When a believer’s thoughts are captive to the Lordship of Christ and His office of Saviour his thoughts will not be as readily captive to sin and sin’s draw. If  a person dwells upon the loveliness of his or her spouse S/he will not be so easily drawn to think upon another. If a child of God meditates upon all that s/he has in God s/he will not covet what they do not have. When a believer is so overwhelmed with the greatness of their Lord they will not be so easily impressed with other persons and other person’s passing celebrity.

In closing let us restate the above. In the life of the believer sin and the dwelling upon sin can lead one away from God. However, one could also use sin as a means to lead them to a deeper appreciation of God’s mercy and readiness to forgive them all their sin. Sin will keep an unbeliever at odds with God and the continuous focusing on sin can keep a believer from enjoying his forgiving God and Father. The believer’s sin should lead him to God and not away from God.

One of my desires in ministry is to teach others how to see God everywhere and the above is one more way.

May God bless you as you dwell upon Him and His greatness.