The Passion of Purity

Today, I intend to give my final message on purity. Just to summarise what we've learnt so far, in A Higher Standard, we established that God calls us to a beautifully high standard contrasted with the world, in Boundaries of Purity we looked at the false presumption that purity is stagnant and examined the biblical idea of purity being alive, and then in Heights of Purity, we examined how high and far this call to purity actually goes and attempted to understand how to follow this.

But there is something final that I need to address and based on Scripture and my own personal experiences with purity, it is something we need to learn. In the past, I have spoken on the need to not only have head knowledge, to understand, but to actually believe in your heart that what you say is the truth to the extent that its not simply words, but something that you follow. The message I am referring to is 18 inches which I want to take further and apply to purity today.

I don't want to dwell too long on the consequences of only having head knowledge but no commitment in one's heart, however, it still needs to be addressed.

Few chapters say it as bluntly as Matthew 7 where Christ says to those that thought they were doing the right things. They appeared Christian, looked Christian but were everything but Christian based on Christ's response when He says "Depart from me, I never knew you."

Based on their own admissions however, it seems quite clear that there was a form of head knowledge, but I would say they weren't committed in their hearts, perhaps even to the point that their hearts were tainted and polluted by the world.

The issue was not that they didn't know Him, but that they were potentially unwilling to go to the lengths of obedience that He requires of us.

And yet we hear about Christians from the past and around the world who will go to great lengths and self-sacrifice for the name of Jesus and it astonishes the world and leaves the world dumbfounded as to how they can endure such torture yet preach His Word so zealously.

And we hear about Christians who have testimonies of sexual purity where they have learnt from past mistakes and become free from sin while others have testimonies of always saying no, not having fallen in these traps in the first place, and we ask ourselves "How?". How can someone manages to maintain purity in such a way as to not fall into the same traps in the first place?

Okay, well I've given it away... I'm talking about zeal! About passion. How can we live up to this standard of purity that we've been talking about for the past three weeks if it means nothing in our hearts, if we have no real desire to follow it actively but it just becomes a sort of passive thing. And then, how do we control this passion so we are not mislead in our goals and intentions?

Romans 12:11 paints a pretty clear picture of what being zealous for God really means when it says,

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." (NIV)

Never be lacking. One of those Christian concepts that seems unbelievable yet its right there in Scripture. Wouldn't it be amazing to have that sort of fire for God each day as we serve Him? 

And we ask ourselves, "How can we never be lacking in zeal?" Surely that's impossible.

Well, for anyone with a Bible that has a concordance at a back, there are some interesting verses found in the Old Testament regarding zeal.

Proverbs 19:2 NIV says, "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way."

Not only is head knowledge dangerous without commitment within one's heart but the vice versa is true as well, and this isn't only an OT concept. No, no. Paul resonates these words in two of his letters. 

Romans 10:2 NIV says, "For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge."

Here Paul is speaking of the Israelites, the Jews who believed, and still do, they are following God's desires. Yet, he makes this distinction that their zeal is not based on knowledge, and he goes on to speak of the righteousness of God and this knowledge of God that have in Christ and His salvation. 

You see, we are called to be zealous for God, but this zealousness isn't hollow, it isn't based on thin air, its based on Scripture. It needs that head knowledge that helps us grow because if we use that knowledge of God that we learn, then we can grow spiritually, but if we allow is to leave us unchanged, then what is the point in learning it in the first place? 

Galatians 6:18a NIV says, "It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good"

We need that knowledge to guide our purpose for our zeal. I'm sure Satan would love for all Christians to be zealous for all the wrong things... but for the Christians to know exactly what God commands in His Word and the purity He calls us to.

Well, then we start to bear such fruit as holiness and goodness and purity. 

Build up that zeal that you need, but don't let it go to waste.

God bless you all. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

The Heights of Purity

Today we will continue our study on purity and the level of purity God requires of us. In the past couple of weeks we looked at first the standard of the world briefly and contrasted that with the standard that Christ gave while on earth and through the apostles (A Higher Standard). We then went further and examined the misconceptions of purity and how purity isn't stagnant but is in continual motion towards Christ in obedience to God (Boundaries of Purity) and we left off hinting towards understanding the extents of purity through His Word. That is where I want to continue today.

Now, when I say 'the heights of purity', what I'm really trying to get at is: what does the purity that God calls us into look like? And, in a way, it can be hard to picture this, especially when we look at passages like Ephesians 5:3 which talks about not even allowing a hint of sexual immorality or impurity among God's children. And like a lot of things in Scripture, this isn't something that can simply be grasped in one simple verse or isn't only confined to the subjects we relate purity to, such as sexuality.

After reading several books on purity when it comes to relationship, they're usually in agreement when it comes to choosing courtship over dating, only a little to no kissing before engagement or even until the wedding day in some cases, refraining from being alone together and so forth.

But I don't want to get too caught up on interpretations because purity encompasses so much more than simply romantic relationships and so I'm going to throw some verses at you and we'll work through them one by one.

The first one I want to look at is Philippians 4:8,

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (NIV)

This is one of my favourite verses. The simplicity of the message is astounding and yet it is so radical for this day and age. 'Whatever is true... whatever is pure... think about such things'. 

Paul knows that purity starts with our thought lives.

And notice he doesn't say "Make sure not to think about lust or coveting or greed". No, no. As we learnt, purity is in motion, it isn't about boundaries, just as our faith in Christ isn't about all the "Thou shalt not's" but is about freedom in Christ. It is simply a constant fixation on the glory and splendor of God and all He has done and allowing our minds to be consumed with that. 

1 Timothy 5:1-2 NIV says, "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity."

Again, just a beautiful passage from Paul as he briefly summarises how we should treat others in the body of Christ and the part that has always fascinated me is the last few words.

Absolute purity. 

It is astounding how simple it sounds and yet so difficult at the same time, and we find ourselves coming back to what was just said about Philippians 4:8, that this isn't about regulations and criteria. Its not about a boundary that is set out and that as long as you're within that boundary, you're treating others with absolute purity. No, not at all. 

Because this all really comes back to Christ's most fundamental teaching: love. And the love we hear about in 1 Corinthians 13 and we know that that passage sounds too cliche in contemporary times. That doesn't make it any less true. 

Not only does love has the essence of selflessness, so does purity. 

And there's a lot more Scripture has to say on purity, but I want to discuss one last verse that I have always been quite fond of as it describes the childlike nature Christ calls us to be as God's children. 

Titus 1:15a NIV says, "To the pure, all things are pure". 

Now, I haven't done any scholarly reading on this verse but the interpretation I have also felt I have received from God has always been this idea that those who are pure, who's minds are fixated on the purity and truth of God, they have this sort of innocence. And some people will interpret this innocence as being naive or ignorant or whatever they want to call it, but I've always seen it as a sort of innocence that refuses to be corrupted by the world. That it is able to see the good where there is good, and doesn't fixate on the evil. That is can hear the worst joke in the world and yet passes it by because the mind is too pure to hold such thoughts so as to understand the joke. 

I hope you are beginning to get this picture of purity that I am trying to paint for you and not only the heights of this purity, but also its beauty. I know I only posted the fist half of the verse and for those you who are familiar with the verse, you know it goes on to talk about those who's minds are corrupted and do not believe and it creates this stark contrast between the purity of God and corruption of the world. 

And I don't claim to hold to this sort of purity all the time but I can say that the times when I have managed to hear a joke and remain so naive as to not understand it and, thus, the devil has managed to take no hold on my mind and God has kept me in peace, and it was such a blessing. 

And there is hope for all who are in Christ because this renewal of the mind must start somewhere and He is fully capable of renewing our minds so that we may attain this purity. 

So, I implore you this week, to just take some time and allow God to refresh your mind and cleanse it as He transforms you from one degree of glory to another in Christ's likeness. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

Boundaries of Purity

Today I want to continue on talking on the topic of purity. Last week we focused on the calling that we have to reach a higher standard. This was essentially a broader overview of the whole Christian standard of what it means to follow God, but today I want to narrow things down. I want to look at something specific that I think is too often misunderstood in today's culture. I want to talk about the boundaries of purity.

I think that it is safe to say, that far too many Christians and non-Christians, have the following idea of purity in mind:

"Purity is a line. A boundary that is marked right before going the "whole" way with someone, and we can go as far as we like as long as we don't cross that line and we're all good with God."

I hope most of you have the same perplexed thought running through your mind that goes,"Who would get that impression from Scripture? O.o"

Now, I want to address two serious misconceptions about purity made in this illustration.

The first is this: that purity is a line right before sex.

It may not seem so, but it feels as though this thought is quite prevalent among young Christians today and its almost amusing in light of what Christ says in Matthew 5:26 when He says,

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (NIV)

And again, we looked at Ephesians 5:3 last week which says that there should not even be a HINT of sexual immorality among us because it is unfit for God's children. 

All one needs to do is do a quick search on Google about verses on purity and no where is a line indicated when it comes to purity nor is there indication of compromise. If Christ taught that even a thought could lead a man into sin, how much more so the actions that are a prelude to sex? 

Now I know that there are some people, that I do not claim to know but I believe there are some, who will try and argue "Well, a specific line isn't indicated in Scripture as to what is acceptable and what isn't etc." And they're right, there isn't a line indicated as I just said. 

But here's the other false assumption made in the initial illustration. Are you ready? Okay.

The second is this: that purity is stagnant, a line, unmovable and something to avoid crossing. 

I've spoken before on the idea of faith being alive and in motion under the heading "Stand firm, but not still" which can be found here, and this idea of faith being alive and in motion wholly includes purity. The psalmist knew this in Psalm 119:9 NIV, "

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word."

What is his answer to living pure, it is living. Not many will say that the idea of living is some stagnant or dull, for that matter, but something alive. Here the psalmist is really talking about active obedience to God's Word. Obeying His commands. 

The other interesting thing to note about that verse is that the psalmist doesn't specify a simple, singular action by which we remain pure but it encompasses the whole of His Word. Some people may say, "Well, you say 'be pure' but I don't know how to start, where to begin." Purity is taught throughout Scripture and the New Testament speaks in abundance on sexual purity. 

A quick Google search and clicking on one of the first links takes me to a site that already gives fifteen verses on purity. Now, this says something doesn't it? Would it be safe to say that those who know His Word, know what it means to be pure, and those who know His Word are the ones who dig into it daily? 

We are in a war. Again, I have spoken on the importance of daily Bible reading (link here). Those who know His Word, will know what it means to be pure and how He desires a living purity for us. 

That purity is not about a boundary, and purity is not about remaining still. Its alive, just as Christ is alive in us. Purity is not something we stoop to and simply avoid the line with, but something we aim for. 

Now, with regards to sexual purity and what is deemed as appropriate, what is not and such, is another topic which I want to touch onto next week, so don't freak out. 

May He teach the meaning of walking in purity this coming week... or you can wait until next week's message (joking). 

God bless you all. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

A Higher Standard

I recently finished a month-long course on purity which I would strongly encourage for anyone who is interested. It can be found at settingcaptivesfree.com and is called the Purity Challenge for anyone who is struggling with sexual sin in particular.

After finishing this course, it prompted me to start thinking about sharing the message of purity more with those around me and I figured, what better way to do this than to write several messages on it? So what I intend to do (though I may end up not following this plan, lol) is to split the message of purity up into different sections, the first one being titled 'A Higher Standard'.

What do I mean when I say a higher standard though? Well its a relative term and as I'll point out further along, the standard that Christ taught actually raises the bar higher than the laws of the Old Testament and is clearly much higher than the standard of the world.

Now, in order to effectively teach this message, we first need to give a basis for the world's standard.

The Bible teaches us that as the end times draw near, as the return of Christ becomes more imminent, the wickedness in this world will increase.

Matthew 24:12 NIV says, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."

In this context, Christ talks about false prophets and persecution of Christians and then in verse 12, He declares that wickedness will increase. Now, I'm not fond of end-time predictions and I have no intention of giving anyone a date but as time goes on, it feels each generation is more wicked than the previous. There's more nudity, more fornication, abortion, murder and the list goes on. It doesn't take a university degree to see that the world is slowly diminishing in moral standards. Just as we can see a slow moral decline from the time of Adam, this generation, and the next, and the next, will all be part of that slow decline in morality until the return of Christ. 

Now, let's go back a bit to Exodus with Moses on Mount Sinai and the Law that was given. This was a big event when God established His covenant with all of Israel and gave all of His Laws to the people. He essentially gave a clear-cut standard. And we're familiar with some of the more known commands that are mentioned in the Ten Commandments. 

We have laws such as "Do not commit adultery", "Do not lie", pretty basic rules. And this continued on for quite some time until Christ came and what Christ essentially did was, not only fulfill the Law by His sacrifice on the cross, but He raised the standard. 

A clear example of this is in Matthew 5-7 with the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus not only reaffirmed the teaching that adultery was wrong but said that if a man even lusts after a woman, he has committed adultery in his heart (5:28). 

Christ raised the standards, He raised the stakes. Other Scripture, such as in Ephesians 5:3, Paul says there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality among the children of God. 

I think about that command and I first think "Wow, dude, how am I gonna keep that standard?" and then the second thought being "That's a pretty awesome standard." 

Now, the Law was good, but ultimately, it didn't bring salvation. Works cannot bring salvation. In Romans, Paul speaks extensively on the relationship between the Law and Christ and how Christ brings freedom to those who follow Him. 

Here's the thing, with the life that we have in Christ, this is no longer about ceremony and giving sacrifices for the remission of sins, this has reached a whole new level of following Christ, ultimately imitating God in character. 

And some think "Imitating God? That's impossible!" 

Well amusingly enough, in Ephesians 5:1, two verses before the verse of sexual purity, Paul says "Be imitators of God".

Its right there, Scripture didn't get it wrong, God wants us to strive to have a holy and righteous character, to go beyond simply keeping our hands to ourselves but keeping our thoughts under control. This higher standard comes with greater strength because it is not with our own strength we overcome, but with His. 

Colossians 1:29 NIV says, "To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me." 

 I think I've shared this verse before. I wouldn't be surprised, its one of my favourites. Paul is so overcome with the Spirit of Christ and the power of Christ within him that he can barely contain it. Satan would have us think we cannot maintain this higher standard that Christ taught while on earth and through the apostles, but God would have us know otherwise. 

The famous verse in Philippians 4 clearly says that we can do anything through Him who gives us strength, and here's the cool part: remember that verse in Matthew 24 that said wickedness will increase? Take a look at the verse following it: 

Matthew 24:13 NIV says, "but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."

The same God who made the sun stand still for Joshua and protected Daniel in the den of lions is the same God who can protect us from the Tempter and the sin that lurks in darkness waiting to devour us. 

His promise to give us strength in our time of need in order to maintain this standard do not falter.

His promises remain. God bless you all. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

The Reality of the Spiritual

I have a strange fascination with certain horror movies. Now, I'm typical when it comes to horror movies where I'll watch it for the thrills and then avoid all the mirrors in my house for the next two days. However, when it comes to horror movies not only concerning the supernatural but particularly demons, exorcisms and the like, I sense something different.

Now, I don't want any of you to be troubled by me admitting that but what interests me about these films is not so much the special effects or the scripting, but the elements on truth in them. The very real dangers that demons pose in this world, the reality of their oppression, the forces of good against it, the power of Christ against them etc.

And yet, there are other things that completely unnerve me. There is a new YouTube channel that is a cartoon mini-series about this kid and Satan. Its humourous and I have friends who watch it but what truly unnerves me is the deception behind it. This familiarity that is created with Satan and I keep thinking "Sure, he may be not be like that but he's definitely real."

See, the thing is: not only is the world unaware of the spiritual realm but, often as Christians, we are not as aware as we should be. Even more so, we neglect the influence and power we possess with regards to the spiritual realm.

As a rare occasion, my message will have a primary text that will be examined. Today, I want to focus on Daniel 10, so if you could all open your Bibles... nah, I'll give you the needed passages.

Now, some of you may be familiar with this passage. Before Daniel 10, Daniel had been praying on several occasions, receiving visions and interpreting dreams and now we read how Daniel was suffering. He had no food or wine and had not used any lotions for weeks. Then a man appeared to him and Daniel describes this man and, like any angelic description, the description of him depicts nothing short of majestic.

Now, the part I want to focus on is the angel's words. Notice, after he comforts Daniel, he says in Daniel 10:12 NIV,

"Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them."

Isn't that awesome? As soon as Daniel spoke, Heaven was stirring and God was planning to send an angel to speak to him. Now, the next few passages is where things get interesting. 

Daniel 10:13 NIV says, "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia."

Now, here the term 'prince of the Persian kingdom' is in reference to a spiritual being, not a physical one, that had influence over the Persian kingdom in the interests of Satan (NIV Study Bible's words, not mine, don't want to plaigarise :P). Now, I don't know if we can know for certain whether this demonic power knew of the angel's mission, but he stopped him regardless and it was not until Michael, the angel who is the commander of the Lord's army, came and aided him. 

Why did this all happen? 

Daniel prayed. 

Then, following this, in Daniel 10:20, the angel says that he will go back to fight the prince of Persia who will be aided by the prince of Greece. I don't know about you but this is starting to sound pretty epic. 

Now, I could give a message on the power, meaning and necessity of prayer, though I will not do that this week. What I do want to focus on is the power we possess in our prayers. 

I'm not sure if we have forgotten this story of Daniel but I think we have a tendency to forget how God works: how He does the impossible by making the Earth stop spinning or causing water to come from a rock. When it comes to prayer, its even more fascinating in some ways because the impact of our prayers impacts the spiritual realm in such a way. 

One of my favourite quotes on prayer is by D. L. Moody who said,

"Next to the wonder of seeing my Saviour will be, I think, the wonder that I made so little use of the power of prayer." 

Some other time, I may get more in depth with other aspects of prayer but here the author marvels at the little use they made of prayer because of the power there is in praying. 

The Bible says that our battle is not against fleshly powers but against spiritual powers and the weapon that God gives is His Word. How better can we use this weapon but to teach. preach and pray? 

1 Thessalonians 5:16 says to "pray without ceasing". Now, don't drive yourself insane by keeping your eyes closed in the hopes you won't walk into a wall, but remember, prayer is simply conversations with God. 

I've spoken before on the importance of remaining fully present with Him (link) and one way of doing this is to simply keep asking Him every few minutes "Am I in Your will?" and simply listen. We know that the prayers that are effective are the ones that aren't the longest, or the best-sounding or the loudest, but the ones done in faith. 

Don't wait until the end of the day and pray out all the prayer requests like a diary or a long, tedious list that begins to feel like a chore. Pray when God calls you to, pray continuously. Remember, the words you speak in prayer impact the spiritual and yourself more than we can comprehend. 

I hope, one day in Heaven, we can look back and see all the things that happened because of those prayers we gave in faith to God. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13 NIV)

A Lukewarm Mindset

Today I want to share a message that I gave a while back when most of the youth group was away before Christmas break. Though this topic can intermingle with many others, I want to give focus to one central idea:  lukewarm Christianity.

The passages that will be examined today are primarily from John 18. In this chapter, we have Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane who has just finished praying His beautiful prayer from John 17 and is about to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Out of defense for Christ, Simon Peter cuts off one of the servant's ears to which he is rebuked by Jesus. Jesus is taken before the high priests and, during this time, Simon Peter denies Christ three times. Because a proper verdict cannot be determined among the Jews, Christ is taken before Pilate.

Now, I don't intend to go in depth over the entire chapter. That would require much too much typing and would probably cause a lot of people to get tired from so much reading, but what I do want to look at first, is Simon Peter.

In John 18:10-11 NIV, "Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, 'Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?'"

Today, Christianity is plagued with lukewarmness. What do I mean when I say 'lukewarm'? I'm talking about those who profess faith in Christ but don't follow His teachings, people who simply go to church and perhaps read the Bible but nothing really more than that. I will speak more on this throughout the message so don't get confused with any ambiguities just yet.

The first thing I want to focus on are the characteristics of a lukewarm Christian, the first one shown here. Now, I don't intend to call Peter a lukewarm Christian, but I do want to use this passage as an illustration.

Here we have Peter, likely with good intentions to defend Christ, where he draws his sword and attacks, but Christ's rebuke brings serious concern about Peter's actions. You see, today, many people will claim to do things in the name of Christ. They may have varying motives that benefit them in one way or another , butt on the outside, they look like genuine Christians. Here, Peter, acted in Christ's defense.

Who wouldn't? If someone were about to do something risk-tasking to the point where it could mean certain death. Maybe it looks like they were coerced or persuaded and you are gravely concerned. Wouldn't you come to their defense as well?

Then Christ rebukes him. He says, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"

Peter was acting against the will of God! Christ has prophesied of His coming death and though Peter's intentions may have seemed spiritual and good, the very actions themselves were against His very will. In the other Gospels, Jesus emphasises this point by pointing out He could command and angels would come to His rescue, but He chooses not to.

In the same way that Peter acted out, though appearing noble but resisting God's will, so do also unbelievers and lukewarm Christians alike, act out. They will perhaps try and tell you that what you want to do for God isn't necessary, or that God wouldn't call you to do what seems like the impossible.

It seems, lukewarm Christians and unbelievers do not know our God at all.

Moving on, we find Christ before the high priests while Simon Peter and another disciple (likely John) were outside.

John 18:15-18 NIV says, "¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶ but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

¹⁷ “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

¹⁸ It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself."

Now I want to address another characteristic of lukewarm Christianity that reveals true colours. Here, we have the other disciple who specifically went in to get permission for Peter to be able to enter as well. Once inside, it is probably likely that Peter was alone and here's why I think that. Notice what happens shortly after he enters. 

First, Peter is questioned about whether he is one of the followers of Christ. And notice how he is asked. It's as though the servant girl sees the disciples as something wrong, something to be looked down on by asking the question in the negative form "You aren't one of this man's disciples, are you?"

To this, Peter denies Christ and instead of going to watch while his Master is put on trial. The one Man who is the Light to the world, the Way and the Truth. He instead decides to go to an artificial light, that only brings temporary warmth, shared with unbelievers. 

The second characteristic I want to address is reaction under pressure or persecution. Though, some Christians may appear holy and righteous, they willingly choose to deny Christ in the face of their peers or co-workers in order to save face. And then, if things couldn't get any worse, they turn from Christ out of either guilt, the need to fit in, pressure or any other reasons you can think of, and seek fulfillment in something else, something that does not truly fulfill at all. 

But, here's the sad thing. As genuine Christians, we can act the exact same way. We genuinely worship Him but when we fall into a sin, we are consumed with guilt and in order to save face among our friends, we turn away from Christ and partake in other activities when, instead, we should be focusing on Christ. 

Before I shed some hope, I just want to bring us to how terrifying a lukewarm mindset really is. 

Matthew 7:21-23 NIV, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

Matthew 10:33 NIV, "But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."

Revelation 3:16 NIV, "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

Again and again, Christ teaches against the dangers of a lukewarm mindset and the result for anyone with this mindset is truly troubling. More troubling than the fate of atheists or unbelievers because they generally know, that according to biblical standards, they won't be entering Heaven, but here Christ is talking about people who genuinely believed they were following Christ, or perhaps they were faking it. Regardless of the intention, the result is the same. 

Either way, they do not enter Heaven. 

I have thought about this issue a lot and have learnt and concluded that lukewarm Christianity is basically about trying to accept Christ on our own terms, by only surrendering 'so far'. Maybe we make a few sacrifices so we can look holy but we don't really change who we are or try to do His will. 

You may be wondering how I could say that some lukewarm Christians can genuinely believe they are doing the right thing yet will not enter to Heaven. To this I reply that they have likely chosen to deceive themselves by ignoring certain Scripture in order to fit their own preferences. 

Because, the thing is, Christ calls for full surrender of self. He says in John 8, that who ever dies to self will be made alive and it is only when we die to ourselves that we can be confident of our eternal destination. 

There is hope that remains for those with a lukewarm mindset and there is hope that remains for the brother or sister who has fallen because of shame and guilt. A lot of people like to claim that God changed between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but if you really read, and I seriously mean that you seek out the Word, you will begin to see that God does not change and you find beautiful passages like this: 

Ezekiel 33:11a NIV, "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live."

There is a Jewish story that is told about the Israelites escape through the Red Sea. After the sea closes in around their slave masters and the Israelites cheer, the angels also cheer and God asks them why they are cheering. He says that the Israelites are humans but these angels know better and know that God does not cheer over their death but wishes for them to turn to Him. 

Now, that isn't Scripture but it does appear to fit His character. 

So, for whoever is struggling with either a lukewarm mindset or feels themselves falling into one, know that there is hope. There is still hope while we have today and there is a choice to be made. There is no day like the present to make that decision. Choose today whom you will serve. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

Daily Scripture

Today, I want to speak on a topic that I'm sure we're familiar with and may even see as being too fundamental orelementary to even teach on, but  I think it is a refreshing message for a number of reasons.

I want to talk about Scripture, and when I say Scripture, I am talking about the Word of God, the Old and New Testaments combined, with all sixty-six books.

But why? Why is this important to talk about? In contemporary times, it feels that more and more people are either trying to add other so-called 'holy' texts to the Old and New Testament by giving them equal authority, or they are trying to demean the authority of the Bible as our basis of divine truth.

1 Peter 3:15 says to give a reason for the hope that we have in Christ.

That hope relies on the authority and the truth of Scripture.

Psalm 119:105 says His Word is a lamp unto our feet. It is our guide, and if we don't have our guide in life, we are walking around aimlessly.

So,  truly, the question that really needs to be asked first is: how do we know we can trust the Bible? This is essential because the Bible, or Scripture, stands at the centre of Christian teaching. If we lose that basis, then the teachings that we live by appear to be based only on thin air.

There is much reasoning that can be done with this particular question starting with pointing out that the Bible is a compilation of books written by 40 different authors over 2000 years and somehow it manages to remain in perfect harmony with itself regarding the matters of prophecies and doctrine.

But I want to remind you all of a verse that I think we can have a tendency to forget in the midst of trying to provide logic and reasoning to belief in Christ.

Hebrews 11:6 NIV says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Here Paul is teaching us that clearly, we must come to Him with earnest faith.

 In other words, if we're only looking to rationalise God and place Him in a box, we're not going to get far and whenever you are giving the hope that you have in Christ, no matter how much reason you add to the reliability of Scripture or the Resurrection of Christ, in the end, what it really comes down to is faith. 

Faith alone. 

Let's return back to Scripture before I get too off topic again. To summarise how we can know the Bible is the Word of God is based on the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV, 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"

In context, Paul is referring only to the Old Testament, however, it is safe to say that the New Testament is inspired by God and because we can say this, it is also useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 

Now, I want to get to the core of my message today which mainly revolves around daily devotionals and the importance of daily devotionals in our lives. When I say devotionals, I'm not entirely talking about plans that have passages designated to read and a little message for each day. 

It can also mean simply reading a chapter, or more, from your Bible daily and meditating on that in prayer. 

In the past, I have paralleled reading Scripture with the manna from Heaven during the 40 years in the desert.  

Briefly, manna was sent down from Heaven, it was sufficient for the day but only for that particular day and would be rotten the next morning. 

I want to bring this point up again to emphasise the truth of it. In our Christian walks, we need that daily refreshment in our lives and as we progress in this message, we will begin to see why. 

In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites to choose that day whom they would serve. This applies to following Christ as well. Though we are saved by accepting Christ into our lives and surrendering to Him, daily, we must choose to lay down our desires and follow Him. If we are needing to do this daily, would it not also make sense to refresh our minds daily with His Word? 

In Ephesians 6, Paul talks about the armour of God and out of this entire armour set, one piece is used on the offense: the sword of the Spirit. 

Ephesians 6:17 NIV says, "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

In other words, Scripture, our Bibles. 

But how do we use the sword of the Spirit? By filling our minds with the truth of His Word daily and when it say, sword, its not meaning metaphorically. This sword is spiritual and convicts the innermost parts of our souls. 

Hebrews 4:12 NIV says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Scriptures teaches us to remain alert and on guard. We cannot allow our minds to grow dull lest we fall trap to one of Satan's lies. 

Perhaps, to emphasis the importance of daily devotionals from a positive negative. The Bible says that the enemy is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

No where in Scripture does it say Satan doesn't take a day off of attacking God's children, so why should we take a day off of reading His Word? If Scripture is the sword and we daily require it to fight this spiritual battle we are engaged in, would it not make sense to dig into His Word daily? 

Now, I know that for some, daily devotionals aren't easy to maintain. I've struggled from time to time to pick up my Bible and read it daily. But here's the thing, if you will allow me to compare reading Scripture to one more thing.

Reading Scripture is like going to the gym. Its hard to get the motivation to do it a couple of times a week, let alone every day but once we get to the gym and start working out (apart from those who like to just go for the massages :P) and you feel your muscles being stretched, it feels good. 

In the same way, spiritually speaking, reading the Bible refreshes our minds and spirit. It nurtures us and the struggle to open our Bibles is forgotten as He begins to teach us. 

There is much more that can be said on daily devotionals, but I hope and pray this is sufficient so that you may all be empowered and encouraged with reading His Word each day. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NIV)