Last week, we focused on the idea of oppression and His promise of peace and a light heart in the midst of trials. Today, I want to finish this message that somehow managed to turn into three messages, starting with A Lukewarm Mindset, then becoming The Calm in the Storm and now An Appeal to Defense (I'm not going to link that one, though that would be funny).
An appeal to defense, our calling to defend Christ.
You know, sometimes, its difficult to answer the hard question and its easy to think that when the opposition fails to realise the truth, that somehow you've failed in teaching it. And as a result we end up thinking "Well... apologetics isn't for me, I can't use reason with my faith since the world doesn't seem to accept it".
And we come across beautiful verses like 1 Peter 3:15 which command us to give a reason for the hope that we have in Christ, and we wonder, "Well how on earth am I going to do that? How does it seem that I fail when renown preachers prevail?"
But, thanks be to God, we are not all the same and the few words spoken by a child can be just a powerful as though spoken by a renown leader. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 shows us this. Read carefully what Paul tells the Church of Corinth:
"And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (NIV)
Where does the power of Paul's testimony come from? The Spirit.
Who did he need to know? Christ and Him crucified.
Was his message complicated? Not at all.
Now, don't get me wrong for a moment, I am not attempting to undermine apologetics where we have such teachers as William Lane Craig who adamantly defend Christ, but what I am trying to say is that we are not all Dr. Craig. The way God desires to use you and the words He has for you to speak are different from those of your brothers and sisters.
And God has a calling on each of our lives and He places us where He wants us to be and, if we allow Him, His Spirit will do the speaking for us.
I know that I have my own tendency to collect all of these apologetic books and think "Alright, if I read through these, I'll be a pro at debating atheists." This is not the case.
A friend of mine once told me about someone whom he knew that was interested in learning about the Enemy so he could better combat the Enemy's ways and so forth. And this person, after some time, was approached by a brother in Christ out of concern and he essentially said to him that when someone is checking money to find the counterfeit bills, what do they do? Do they spend their time studying counterfeit bills and comparing them to real ones? No, instead they study the real ones nonstop so that when they do find a fake one, they recognise it instantly because they know exactly what a real one looks like.
Now, that's not the perfect analogy but the message is still there. The truth we need is not in debates or lengthy scholarly essays, its in His Word. And the truth we need to share is with Him. When it comes to defending Christ, ultimately we need only tap into His wisdom and let Him lead us from there.
I think a lot of our disheartening, though, doesn't come necessarily from what we say, but how the world responds. And in the midst of this, we've forgotten Christ's words where He says that the world is going to hate us because it hated Him, and yet He always spoke the truth.
John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (NIV)
And if we notice how in John 18, when Christ is before the High Priest, He always spoke truth, yet He was still condemned. Don't be surprised when the world hates the answer given for the reason you hope. James 1:2 tells us to rejoice in our sufferings, so rejoice.
The final thing I want to remind you of is the worldview to which we are preaching and Pilate's answer to Christ and His words is so iconic of today's world. In John 18:38 after Christ spoke to Pilate in private about who He is, Pilate simply responded:
"What is truth?"
Despite hearing truth, the world still asks the same questions, expecting a different answer. This is the condition of the world. This is not always our failure to teach the truth as God intends. If the world responded to Christ with that question, why should we be surprised when it does the same to us?
We know that Jesus alone saves, so let God water the seeds that have been planted by the truth that we bring. Don't fret when the world ignores what you say and don't despair when the world doesn't seem to understand.
He's still in control, have no fear in giving the reason for the hope you have.
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
Monday, March 4, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Calm in the Storm
As I remembered that last week was the last message on purity, I found myself at a loss for what to teach today so I want to finish up on something that I had taught a while back. Originally this message was a continuation of the one entitled "A Lukewarm Mindset" which focused on John 18 and how Peter acted in the face of oppression and how this parallels with today. I want to split up this second half of the message and, today, speak on His providence in the face of oppression.
Now, the message on the lukewarm mindset left off looking at the attributes of a lukewarm Christian, how they give the appearance of a genuine Christian but crumple under pressure and submit to the world. And now, like many Christian messages, I want to change roads and look at how we face the oppression that people find their faith crumpling under.
It isn't breaking news to any genuine Christian that oppression is slowly increasing in the world. In some places its far worse than others, but nevertheless, it is increasing and we know this can come in many forms too. I remember, a while back, there was a substitute teacher at my school who was a devout Atheist and we had some pretty decent conversations on morality and religion that resulted in us not getting any work done (totally not my fault). One day we were talking during break time and somehow the topic of a literal view of creation came up and when he found out that I do take it literally, he responded with something along the lines of "Its one thing to believe in God, but you don't really believe that's literal, do you?!"
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at his disappointment with me but this took little toll on my faith; I'm used to mockery for my beliefs on the creation account. But let's broaden things for a moment and ask: what about younger Christians who are simply trying to defend Christ and Him alone? And they find themselves feeling weighed down by the oppression, because, unfortunately, Satan knows our weaknesses and will do what he can to crush our faith. I'm sure he would enjoy nothing more than to see a young Christian crumple under oppression and for the faith to die.
But just as Satan and his demons don't take days off from attacking us, nor does God leave a day without a promise of His peace. The phrase "Do not be afraid" or similar phrases with the same meaning is repeated 365 times in the Bible.
Now, I've come to accept the definition of a coincidence being "A miracle where God chooses to remain anonymous" and for the number of promises on this topic to be the exact same number as that of day in the year is just amazing and shows nothing less than His providence in our lives.
Now, since the intended purpose of this blog is to keep the youth in mind specifically, I do want to take a moment and speak to them directly.
Guys, the most common thing we will likely hear from non-Christians who are against God but won't openly discriminate against Christians are going to say things along the lines of "You're too young to understand the world" or "You'll grow out of it". And they see our faith as something childish, like believing in Santa, that we grow out of overtime.
Job 32:8 NIV says, "But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding."
These words were spoken by Elihu in the book of Job. He was the last one to speak out of all of Job's friends because he was the youngest and yet the words he spoke were the wisest.
The understanding we have of Scripture is His gift to us. People will say that you are too young to understand when it is they who not even realise that it is God who gives understanding in the first place.
Now, as God has led me to write more and more of these messages, I find that so often do the messages return back to the central providence of God: the peace He brings, His light burden, His easy yoke. And now that we arrive at the topic of oppression, His providence is just as valid and just as applicable.
Matthew 11:30 NIV says, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'"
Now, the message on the lukewarm mindset left off looking at the attributes of a lukewarm Christian, how they give the appearance of a genuine Christian but crumple under pressure and submit to the world. And now, like many Christian messages, I want to change roads and look at how we face the oppression that people find their faith crumpling under.
It isn't breaking news to any genuine Christian that oppression is slowly increasing in the world. In some places its far worse than others, but nevertheless, it is increasing and we know this can come in many forms too. I remember, a while back, there was a substitute teacher at my school who was a devout Atheist and we had some pretty decent conversations on morality and religion that resulted in us not getting any work done (totally not my fault). One day we were talking during break time and somehow the topic of a literal view of creation came up and when he found out that I do take it literally, he responded with something along the lines of "Its one thing to believe in God, but you don't really believe that's literal, do you?!"
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at his disappointment with me but this took little toll on my faith; I'm used to mockery for my beliefs on the creation account. But let's broaden things for a moment and ask: what about younger Christians who are simply trying to defend Christ and Him alone? And they find themselves feeling weighed down by the oppression, because, unfortunately, Satan knows our weaknesses and will do what he can to crush our faith. I'm sure he would enjoy nothing more than to see a young Christian crumple under oppression and for the faith to die.
But just as Satan and his demons don't take days off from attacking us, nor does God leave a day without a promise of His peace. The phrase "Do not be afraid" or similar phrases with the same meaning is repeated 365 times in the Bible.
Now, I've come to accept the definition of a coincidence being "A miracle where God chooses to remain anonymous" and for the number of promises on this topic to be the exact same number as that of day in the year is just amazing and shows nothing less than His providence in our lives.
Now, since the intended purpose of this blog is to keep the youth in mind specifically, I do want to take a moment and speak to them directly.
Guys, the most common thing we will likely hear from non-Christians who are against God but won't openly discriminate against Christians are going to say things along the lines of "You're too young to understand the world" or "You'll grow out of it". And they see our faith as something childish, like believing in Santa, that we grow out of overtime.
Job 32:8 NIV says, "But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding."
These words were spoken by Elihu in the book of Job. He was the last one to speak out of all of Job's friends because he was the youngest and yet the words he spoke were the wisest.
The understanding we have of Scripture is His gift to us. People will say that you are too young to understand when it is they who not even realise that it is God who gives understanding in the first place.
Now, as God has led me to write more and more of these messages, I find that so often do the messages return back to the central providence of God: the peace He brings, His light burden, His easy yoke. And now that we arrive at the topic of oppression, His providence is just as valid and just as applicable.
Matthew 11:30 NIV says, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.'"
In the midst of this oppression, He gives us this promise. This promise of a light heart, of rest, and as mentioned before, of courage. And He doesn't fail to continue to remind us of this:
John 16:33 NIV says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Time and time again, not only does Christ recognise the oppression of the world and the fight we have before us but He PROMISES us that we will have peace in His because He has overcome the world so that we would not be afraid.
And some might be thinking, "Dude, you're just spouting Bible verses here, what am I learning?"
But isn't this what we need? To simply have His Word?
I recall a sermon a while back where the speaker humoursly commented that sometimes he felt that we would learn more in church if we would just read the chapter rather than having someone trying to teach a sermon on the chapter.
And, in a way, its too true. We find ourselves too reliant on what other Christians are teaching us and not allowing ourselves to nurture our own souls with His Word.
We need those few simple verses each day of His promises to restore us in the midst of oppression, two hours each Sunday won't give you the same refreshment nor will it give you the same direction in the midst of oppression.
But His Word? It equips us with exactly what we need to stand firm in the face of oppression and it alone is sufficient. Let His Word give you the calm you need in the storm.
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
Monday, February 18, 2013
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."
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.
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.
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.
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
Monday, February 11, 2013
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.
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.
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
Monday, February 4, 2013
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.
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.
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
Monday, January 28, 2013
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.
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:
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
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
Monday, January 21, 2013
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.
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,
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.
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.
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)
"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)
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