Tag Archives: relationship

A Living Kingdom

God’s Kingdom is meant to be a living Kingdom, living through you and me, as we follow Christ Jesus. I share this message with you to encourage you to surrender to God and then allow him to reign as King in your life – now and forever.

Lead Scripture:

Matt. 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

1. Jesus introduces his ministry with one phrase, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

2. What is the significance of this statement?

a. At the time, the pronouncement ushered in Jesus’ public ministry.

b. What about now?

i. Today, the words of Jesus are a clarion call to a new life. Jesus is pronouncing his victory over:

1. The kingdom ruled by Satan
2. The kingdom ruled by Man
3. The kingdom of ruled by Self

ii. He is inviting us to surrender to Him and share in this victory.

3. What is the kingdom of God/heaven?

a. Simple answer: The place where God reigns as King.

b. Consider what allegiance is owed a King . . .

i. In a 21st Century Democracy, we have a hard time with such concepts as “King” “allegiance” and “sovereign authority” because we are king and sovereign over our lives.

  • We decide what we will do, when we will do it and how we will do it. We do not take kindly to being told what to do. We claim “freedom” from any ruler and authority. Our allegiance, in the social contract, is first and foremost to ourselves.

ii. In the bible and other historical texts, a King is the absolute ruler of his kingdom.

  • The King is completely sovereign.
  • The King is the law and the authority.
  • The King owns the life of every subject and disposes of that life as he sees fit.

iii. There was never a situation where there are two sovereigns in one Kingdom. Such circumstance always resulted in war and the subjects would be required to proclaim allegiance to their king, fight for their king, and die defending their king.

iv. When a King prevailed over another King for sovereignty over a land and a people, the subjects of the conquered country would often be given a choice: Either surrender to the conquering King or die.

  • The decision to surrender subjected the people to a new King and his law, his rule, his will.
  • The life of the subject was, in effect, purchased.
  • The life of the subject was a gift of the king

4. When Christ calls us to “repent” what is he asking for?

a. Total and complete surrender to his Kingship over our lives.

i. Historically, surrender during a war occurs when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers.

  • A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one’s hands empty and open above one’s head.

ii. When the parties agree to terms the surrender may be conditional, i.e. if the surrendering party promises to submit only after the victor makes certain promises. Otherwise it is an unconditional surrender where the victor makes no promises.

  • Normally a belligerent will only agree to surrender unconditionally if completely incapable of continuing the fight.

iii. EXAMPLE: the 1862 Battle of Fort Donelson in the American Civil War. Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army received a request for terms from the fort’s commanding officer, Confederate Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner. Grant’s reply was that “no terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.”

  • When news of Grant’s victory—one of the Union’s first in the Civil War—was received in Washington, D.C., newspapers remarked (and President Abraham Lincoln endorsed) that Ulysses S. Grant’s first two initials, “U.S.,” stood for “Unconditional Surrender,” which would later become his nickname.

iv. EXAMPLE: 1 Kings 20:1-4, “And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, 0 king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that I have”.

  • As the great preacher Andrew Murray once pointed out when he taught from this passage, Ahab gave what was asked of him by Benhadad – absolute surrender.
  • He emphasized these words: “My lord, 0 king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have,” as the words of absolute surrender with which every child of God ought to yield himself to his Father.
  • Murray pointed out that the condition of God’s blessing in our life is absolute surrender of all into His hands. “Praise God! If our hearts are willing for that, there is no end to what God will do for us, and to the blessing God will bestow.”

b. The Kingdom of God has come and has vanquished all of the enemies who have challenged His absolute sovereignty:

i. Satan –defeated

ii. The kingdom of man – defeated

iii. You and I [our sin and rebellion] – defeated

  • We were once enemies of God.
  • By his grace, we are now his subjects. No, through the grace of God, we are more than subjects, we are called his children!

c. In the wake of God’s victory through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is calling for absolute surrender, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is upon you.”

5. Have we surrendered to God’s reign as King over our lives?

a. Are we at war with God?

b. Have we retained sovereignty over some aspect of our lives?

c. Have we placed conditions on our surrender?

6. What are some practical ways we can surrender to God and allow him to reign as King over our lives?

7. Surrendering to God’s reign over your life as King will open the door to a new Living and Eternal Kingdom

THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Dear Friend, here are my notes from a message I delivered regarding the fear of the Lord.  I pray this message will cause your heart to cleave to the life and love we have in God.

Lead Scripture:

Philippians 2:12-18

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. [1]

Questions to Consider:

1. What is your salvation? What do we have to work out?
2. What does it mean to “fear” and to “tremble” before the Lord?
3. What is the relationship between the fear of the Lord and the Joy of the Lord?

I. What is our “salvation”?

1.  Saved from the consequences of sin [All have sinned Romans 2:23-26]:

  • Death [Romans 6:23]
  • Wrath of God/Judgment [Romans 1:18-32]
  • Broken relationship with God

2.  Saved to . . .

  • To worship God [Ex. 7:16 “Let my people go so that they may worship me . . .”]
  • To reveal to all God’s creation the love and grace of God [Romans 1 “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed; Hebrews – even the angels marvel what is being revealed about God through us]
  • To bring God Glory [Eph. 1:11-14]

3.  Salvation is a gift, not something that has been earned. Eph. 2:1-9

  • No magic words.
  • No club of like minded good people.
  • No merit badges or special honors
  • See Phil 3:1-9 – Paul denounces righteousness by works.

4.  Well then, if salvation is a gift, what is their to “work out?”

  • We must work “to know” the one who gave us the free gift of salvation.
  • We must work at sharing in his life – which includes sharing in his suffering and sharing in his joy
  • Paul is pleading with us to live the life of a person who has been saved!!

II.  What does it mean to “fear” the Lord and to “tremble” before him?

First, we must not candy coat this phrase – Fear means Fear.
a.  Greek = φόβος “phobos” [Pronunciation fo’-bos]; From a primary phebomai (to be put in fear); Outline of Biblical Usage = fear, dread, terror (that which strikes terror)

b.  Vines says:

  • Fear, Fearful, Fearfulness: first had the meaning of “flight,” that which is caused by being scared; then, “that which may cause flight.”
  • “fear, dread, terror,” always with this significance in the four Gospels; also e.g., in Act 2:43; 19:17; 1Cr 2:3; 1Ti 5:20 (lit., “may have fear”); Hbr 2:15; 1Jo 4:18; Rev 11:11; 18:10, 15;
  • that which causes “fear,” Rom 13:3; 1Pe 3:14, RV, “(their) fear,” AV “(their) terror,” an adaptation of the Sept. of Isa 8:12, “fear not their fear;” hence some take it to mean, as there, “what they fear,” but in view of Mat 10:28, e.g., it seems best to understand it as that which is caused by the intimidation of adversaries.
  • Terror: “fear,” is rendered “terror” in Rom 13:3; in 2Cr 5:11; 1Pe 3:14, AV (RV, “fear”).

c. Hebrew = פַּחַד “pachad” [Pronunciation = pakh’·ad]; Outline of Biblical Usage = terror, dread, object of dread

Second, despite this “fear” and “terror” God commands that we draw near to him and that we do not “shrink back.” Hebrews 10:37-38.

a. Remember you are saved from His wrath!

b. Go back to the key scripture and you will see Paul reminds us of this point when he says, “it is God who lives and works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.“ Phil. 2:13

c. Saints – God lives in you! And He is working in you!!

Third, the presence of God in us necessarily inspires a firm and abiding fear.

Q: Why?

A: God is holy and we are not.

Let’s consider some examples of those who have been in the presence of God.[2]

  • The People of Israel at Mt. Sinai. Ex. 19, 20, 32-34.
  • Job. Job 38-42
  • King David – Psalms.
  • The Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 6.
  • The Apostles: a. Apostle Peter. Restored; b. Apostle Paul. Knocked off his horse. c. Apostle John. Revelation [Rev. 1]

In considering the foregoing examples, I want you to recognize that the fear of God:

1. Exposes sin, depravity and rebellion.

2. Creates despair – I can’t do this on my own – I need a savior!

3. Compels Surrender to God

4. Inspires Comfort/Consolation from knowing that, despite our sin, God loves us and has provided a way for us to enter into a relationship with Him, that is to say, he has made a way for his presence to abide with and in us.

5. Causes Transformation – new life, new heart, new mind.

6. Results in Glory to God – worship, ministry, action

7. **** Causes a desperate desire not to let anything break our relationship with God.

BEWARE: DO NOT SHRINK BACK, DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED AND DO NOT SETTLE FOR SUBSTITUTIONS. Phil. 2:14-16

Summary: The fear of the Lord is a terror of being separated from God, that is, to be cut off from our relationship with Him. Hence, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling is to live our lives according to God’s good will and pleasure. We must work “to know” the one who gave us the free gift of salvation. We must work at sharing in his life – which includes sharing in his suffering and sharing in his joy. We must live the life of a person who has been given the great gift of salvation.

Shout it from the roof tops – Tell all your friends and family:

“The LORD is my God! He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving all my iniquity and transgression! The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. God is for us! God is for us! No one can stand against us? He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all! God has justified me! Christ Jesus died for me, but much more, he has been raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God and he is interceding for us. His holy spirit lives in me!!! He lives in me!!! I am a new creation!!!! Nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ – no tribulation, no distress, no persecution, no famine, no nakedness, or danger, or sword? No!!!!! In all these things, I am more than a conquerors through the great God who him who loved me. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

III. What is the relationship between the fear of the Lord and the joy of the Lord?

1.  Fear of the Lord results in joy.

2.  Fear of the Lord inspires us to live out our purpose and call to glorify him as we love one another.

3.  We take on the mind of Christ [Phil. 2:1-11] We love one another. [1John 3:16-22; 4:7-11]

4.  Consider how those who love God pray? Always for others? Always with love –taking on the sins of others as if those sins were their own, and seeking forgiveness and reconciliation for all.

IV. WHAT ABOUT YOU AND I

The bible says, “[It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
– Hebrews 10:31

NEVERTHELESS, THERE IS NO OTHER IN WHOSE HANDS I WOULD RATHER BE!

Growing pains . . .

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. . . No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (See James 1:2-12)

In my walk with the Lord, I think I have faced the Lord’s loving correction several times.  Typically, he lights the fire of discipline through my relationships.  I always seem to do or say something that offends one person or hurts another. “Oh, wretched man that I am!! God deliver me for this body of death! I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  (Romans 7:24-25)

The good news is that God’s discipline is an expression of His great love for us.  I think the difficult thing for us to do when we are disciplined is to humble ourselves and receive what God is telling us with joy and anticipation.   God is transforming us into vessels that can receive and give more love than you could ever ask for or imagine.

I would like to share with you an episode from life as an example.  I shared this on Facebook two years ago as a note and, recently, this message resonated with some friends of mine who were experiencing conflict in their fellowship.  I hope and pray that you will be as blessed as I have been through what God has taught me about who He is, who I am in Him and how to love those he puts into my life.

***

One Sunday, I got up and delivered a word of exhortation to the fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ that I worship with every week.  The word was well received from what I was told, encouraging to many, and what I had shared seemed to be right on point with what our Pastor had prepared for his message.

However, little did I know that I had deeply offended a friend I have been going to church with for twenty years.   A few days later, on Wednesday, my friend sent me a measured note via e-mail complaining, not about what I said, but the manner in which I had said it.  In this regard, he explained that he felt like I had disrespected our Pastor by speaking to the church without getting his permission before the service.  He then told me that a “policy” had been implemented while I was in Kenya for this type of speaking and that the policy prohibited people from spontaneously getting up and delivering any kind of message without being invited to do so by the Pastor.

Of course, I was perplexed and confused by this rebuke because (1) our pastor had always allowed me the freedom to speak whenever I had the unction of the Holy Spirit to do so; and (2) I did not know about the “policy.”  My flesh and pride wanted to fight, but the spirit within me said to pray.  So, I prayed.   Specifically, I asked God to show me what, if anything, I had done wrong.  I expected God to tell me I was right and to give me words to rebuke the “friend” who had presumptuously judged my motives and actions.  Instead, and quite unexpectedly, I received a gentle but resolute rebuke from my Heavenly Father.

As I prayed about the issue that my friend had raised and asked the Lord what he was saying through the e-mail message my friend had sent me, God spoke into my heart the following passage from the book of James, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  (James 4:7-8)   When I opened my bible to read what I had been spoken to me, I noticed that the chapter from which this passage in scripture comes from actually begins with a question, “What causes wars and fights among you?”   In answer to that question, James describes worldly desires that wage war within us.  In church circles, we often consider worldly desires in a materialistic sense and ignore how the application of this scripture addresses relationships within the church.  However, as we know, “the heart is deceitful above all things” and, even when we have good motives, sinful desires rooted in pride crop up to divide believers.

For hundreds of years, Satan has divided churches and pit brother against brother over various ideas on what the bible says about how the church should be run.  Indeed, people have a tendency to use the bible as a set of rules and regulations for what they believe is righteous and orderly living, to control and judge how others live and act, and to discriminate amongst who gets “in” to their group and who is excluded; however, such a view of scripture is limited and worldly.

Scripture is not a book of rules and regulations for lawyers and theologians to parse through and spew about.  Rather, Scripture is the embodiment of Christ Jesus. (See John Chapter 1).  As such, Scripture is life giving and life changing because the words are living words that transform our life into His life and our character into his character.  As Jesus said, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,  yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”  The purpose of scripture is to bring us into the Love of God and to teach us how to love one another.   If we use the word of God for any other purpose, then the result is always bondage.

Hence, in responding to my friend’s concerns about what I had done at church, I had to ask God to guard my heart against the fleshly need to defend myself.  In asking for God to do this, he told me to submit to Him.  As I submitted myself to Him and His great love, God revealed to me that part of my friend’s motive in raising his concern was to protect our Pastor and the pulpit from being usurped and undermined in some way.  My actions appeared to my friend to be inappropriate because they appeared to disrespect my Pastor and the reverence that he believed should be given for the authority that comes with the office of a pastor.  I respect my friend and his role in our church and I appreciated his efforts to protect our Pastor. However, I was deeply concerned that my friend did not give me the benefit of the doubt with respect to my motives and actions.

Nonetheless, I explained to my friend that I have no desire to usurp or undermine our Pastor or his Office.  God gave me the grace to apologize and repent for the confusion my actions may have created in my friend and others.  God, through my wife, showed me that I probably should have come to church early or called the day before and asked the Pastor for permission to deliver a word of exhortation.

I then asked God to sift my heart in this matter because I believe I heard Him give me permission to interrupt the service in the way that I did.  In so doing, God did not convict my heart of any ill-motive or desire.  I respect my Pastor and give deference to his authority.  Over the years, I have always believed we have had a relationship of mutual respect that resembles a father-son relationship in many regards.  For the last 20 years, I have faithfully followed his lead as my pastor, friend and brother and I have respected his decisions even when I have not always agreed with him.  It is in the context of this relationship that I have exercised authority to speak in church, whether it is reading a word from scripture, delivering a word of exhortation or delivering a sermon.  There have been times when I have not spoken to my Pastor before church and made eye contact with Him during the flow of a service and/or asked permission to minister to the body in some way.  Sometimes Pastor has waived me off or gently said not right now and other times he has set me free to minister as the Holy Spirit has led.

That said, it is important to understand that my actions in the church have always been bridled by my relationship with my Pastor, not by rules and regulations he has imposed upon me.  Our relationship is marked by trust, respect and love for one another and our love for God and His people.    As scripture says, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. . . . be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”  (Eph. 5:1-2; 19-21)  I think the trust Pastor gives the people he serves makes the ministry he has been given different from other pastors because that trust allows for freedom in our fellowship.  Although this freedom can be messy from time to time and the people under our Pastor’s care may make mistakes in exercising their freedom, this freedom allows people to grow in and contribute to the community of believers from week-to-week.  Over the years, my Pastor has taught me that churches are not organizations defined by charters and bylaws, they are communities defined by people and relationships.

I think the thing that hurt me the most about my friend’s judgment of my actions is that it called into question my love, trust and respect for my Pastor and the love, respect and trust he has in me.  Additionally, his judgment revealed a substantial lack of love, trust and respect for me.  My friend made several assumptions about what I did and said and why I said what I said that concerned me because it revealed that he did not know me well enough to trust that I would not do anything to usurp Pastor’s authority or to disrespect the office of the Pastor.

The Holy Spirit inspired me not to blame my friend for this circumstance.  The Lord convicted my heart and led me to take full responsibility and repent for the lack of fellowship we have had.  As I honestly assessed myself with the help of the Holy Spirit, I realized that I had not made myself available to develop a deeper relationship with him.  Unfortunately, one of my weaknesses is that I have a tendency to be superficial in my relationships.  I may have many friends, but there are few who really know me.  Basically, my fellowship with “my friend” is confined to those instances when we see and greet each other at church and those occasions I attend the men’s breakfast.  Since I began attending my Pastor’s church in 1992, I don’t think I have had any fellowship with “my friend” outside these circumstances. I am embarrassed that I have allowed so much time to pass without building a stronger friendship with “my friend.”  I suspect I have weak relationships with others in our fellowship that I call “friend” as well.  Consequently, there are probably others who have questions about what I do, what I say and what motivates me.

Through this experience, I realized that I need to grow past my natural tendency to settle for superficial relationships if I am going to be a servant and encourager of God’s people. I don’t think those who are called to serve God’s people should be superficial and I do not think that they should be so distant from the people they serve that those people do not trust them.   I can’t do this without God transforming me.  Please pray for me in this regard because I desperately want to follow Christ in his command that I love my brothers and sisters as he has loved me.  (John 15:12)  I want be just like Christ in “laying down my life for my friends.” (John 15:13)  I also want to bear the fruit of his Spirit in my character and in my relationships.

In the context of what I have just said, please take a moment to reflect on 1 John 4:7-10 , “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Isn’t this an amazing truth?!  Our love for God and knowledge of God is not measured by what we do or what we say in church?! It is measured by the love we have for one another!  The evidence of His life living through us is the love we give to one another.  Jesus emphasized this point when he said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.”  John 13:35.   So, while I may be able to speak, prophesy, exhort and teach, if I do not possess love and if love does not possess me, my words are just noise and my actions are meaningless.  (I Cor. 13)

Even when it is painful to my ego, I am thankful for God’s discipline in my life.  My character has several defects and needs to be transformed.  I have so much to learn in life and I need God’s Spirit to teach me.   I am thankful that God has used this lesson as another opportunity for me to grow into His image and likeness and to learn to love those he puts in my life in both word and deed.