Category: Word of Encouragement

Word of Encouragement

“What the Spirit Says…Tried and True”

Word of Encouragement- The Church of Smyrna- “Tried and True”

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22

 

“…We make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God…”- 2 Corinthians 5:9b-11a

 

Dear Beloved of the LORD at KCPC: I am writing short messages on the seven churches for our Word of Encouragement so that we might better assess where we are spiritually as a congregation, show us areas that need to be realigned with God’s Word, and how we might more effectively and sincerely make it our aim to please the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

If you would like to read the introduction to this short series, you may read here: Word of Encouragement

 

What are our strengths and weaknesses as a congregation? How can we ask God to better search and know us corporately? How are we doing at KCPC as a visible manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom on earth? Are we loving God and others as we did when we were first saved and gathered as Christ’s flock?

 

We will focus today on Jesus’ message to the Church at Smyrna.

 

It is important to remind ourselves that these seven congregations of the Revelation were real historical churches at the time that John the Apostle wrote his Revelation of Jesus Christ.  However, we want to understand that they are also symbolic of the entire church age between Jesus’ first and second coming.

 

This means that what Jesus says to the churches, we need to consider soberly for ourselves.  Jesus is still speaking to us (Hebrews 12:25).  Jesus is particularly speaking to His people in these letters as a corporate body and congregation of confessional Christians, and not merely as individuals. This is why it is good to use these letters to be assessed by Christ as we seek to grow in him as a body.

 

We should understand that through the reading and preaching of the Word in public worship, we at KCPC are also recipients of this important letter.  Jesus is addressing us, too!

 

Dear Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church…Dear Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Purcellville, Virginia:

 

Jesus’ letter to the Church at Smyrna reminds us of the challenging truth that a church can be considered faithful by the Lord Jesus and yet suffer.

 

Suffering and tribulation are part of being faithful to God’s Kingdom as the Church Militant in his world.

 

The truth revealed here is: An outwardly rich and successful church (numerically as in attendance, and/or programs provided) does not necessarily mean it is a faithful church; an outwardly “poor” and “unsuccessful” church (in the eyes of the world) that suffers for their faith does not necessarily mean that it is an unfaithful church.

 

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna” (v. 8a).  Smyrna is one of only two of the seven churches that receive only encouragement from the Lord Jesus.

 

Where was Smyrna? It was located in Asia Minor about thirty-five miles north of Ephesus.  The Church Fathers, particularly Irenaeus wrote that the Apostle Paul had stayed in Smyrna on his missionary travels.  Church history also reminds us of the great Pastor Polycarp who died a martyr’s death at Smyrna in the second century.  Pastor Polycarp had learned from, and been friends with the Apostle John.

 

The letter is from our Lord Jesus, particularly describing Himself thus: “The first and the last, who died and came to life (v. 8b; cf. 1:17-18).  Jesus is the Great God in the flesh and yet his knows of this suffering congregation of saints.  Jesus is the first and the last, yet he is also the Compassionate God who speaks to his people.  Jesus is the God who is Transcendent, yet so close. Jesus is the one who suffered unto death and gave His life for us, so that we would willingly our lives and be faithful unto death for Him!

 

Jesus has nothing to rebuke this church about, but he has a reminder-warning to them about what they are to expect as partners in the “tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus” (1:9). Listen to the kindness and compassion of the Lord Jesus:

 

“I know your tribulation…” (v. 9a)

 

“I know your poverty…(but you are rich)” (v. 9a; cf. James 2:5; for “rich in good works”- 1 Tim. 6:18)

 

Notice that no matter how overlooked and unappreciated and threatened by the world the Church at Smyrna was, Jesus compassionately sympathizes with them in their weakness as their great High Priest who lives to intercede for them at the Throne of Grace (Heb. 4:14-18).

 

The City of Smyrna was a very rich one.  In contrast, the Church of Smyrna did not live up outwardly to that rich and luxurious reputation; the church was considered poor in the eyes of the world.  Smyrna Church had no big buildings or lofty cathedrals, they were probably not very large in numerical size, and probably did not have a lot of exciting congregations to “wow” the crowds- –yet they were commended by Christ for their riches and success in faithfulness!

 

The Christ who was rich and made himself poor for our sakes, tells the Church of Smyrna that from God’s objective perspective (regardless of what folks on earth think) that the Church at Smyrna is rich in Gospel truth and eternal blessings! 

 

In our finite and limited judgment here on earth we are not good judges of whether a congregation is rich or impoverished, successful or unsuccessful.  We can however draw some implication-inference-conclusions from what Jesus says here to the Church at Smyrna.

 

Lots of congregations of Christ that seem rich and successful may not be.  Christ says later in his letter to the Church at Laodicea:

 

ESV Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

 

What makes a congregation rich? It is **NOT** money, power, fame, a radio show, and lots of people flocking to the worship necessarily.  According to Jesus what makes a congregation rich is how much they are rich in good works, that is, congregations show forth their knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus in how they live before God and the world.

 

Remember the way our LORD defined true riches:

 

ESV Luke 12:15, 21: And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions…So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

 

The congregations who are rich in God’s Gospel, and are heirs to the riches in heaven can be small in number and yet many times will be in a world of sin and misery (although there are exceptions).

 

It does not matter a hill of beans how large a congregation is, numerically speaking.  Among ministers and even members of church congregations there can oftentimes be a kind of boasting about how big one’s building is, how large and loud the organ is; how many folks worship on any given Sunday, and how great and charismatic the pastor is.

 

All of these perks can be good (if they do not distract from the mission), but if the church is without the true gospel and the “richness in good works” it is a failure according to Jesus (as we will see in Jesus’ address to other congregations in Asia Minor).

 

We should be careful when we see a faithful, Gospel-preaching congregations dwindle down according to God’s mysterious providence, that we do not think them as poor, when they may be rich.

 

Again, we are poor judges of what constitutes a truly rich congregation (1 Corinthians 4:3-4, 7)!  But you can know them by their Gospel fruit (cf. Matt. 7).

 

Jesus says: “I know the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan…” (v. 9b; 3:9-10; John 8:31-59; Philippians 3:3; Romans 2:25-29).  Apparently Non-Christian Jews were claiming to the Roman government that the Church at Smyrna was not a Jewish sect, but was a non-Jewish group with the implication that they were an “unauthorized” congregation of saints (Jewish sects were protected by the Roman Empire at this time in history).  This would have caused trouble for the confessing members of the Smyrna Church because if they were not a Jewish sect then they had to offer idolatrous worship to the emperor.  If they did not offer this idol worship, then they would have been persecuted and most likely killed.

 

In light of this, the Risen-Ascended Christ tells the Church of Smyrna that they indeed are the true Jews and because of this, they will suffer persecution.  Jesus wants the church to understand herself not only as the True Jews by faith, but also that their citizenship is in heaven.  Persecution of the congregation will be provoked by false Jews and the Kingdom of Rome.

 

We don’t want to miss that here is the Risen-Ascended Christ’s assessment of **unbelieving** Jews.  This is consistent with what he preached in his earthly ministry and what was clearly interpreted by the Apostle Paul.

 

This is in no way Anti-Semitic as we might call it; this is the LORD of history evaluating what a true Jew is, and is not (cf. Romans 2:28-29).  Those synagogues in the 1st century who did not receive the Gospel revealed themselves as those who did not belong to Christ or his Church regardless of their outward success in adherents or numbers of worshippers; by rejecting Christ they were rejecting their right to be called children of Abraham (see John 8:31-59).

 

There were those who were Jewish ethnically who also became True Jews through faith in Christ.  Although they would have been rejected by the Synagogue (of Satan for their profession of faith), they were members of the Church of Smyrna.

 

In fact, it was those who were Jewish ethnically who were opposing and oppressing many of Christ’s followers.  The Church was being persecuted in Christ (Acts 9).  Remember that pagans and Rome persecuted the early church, but also the unbelieving Jewish synagogues as we learn in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.

 

Jesus says to the Apostle Paul who was of the synagogue of Satan before his conversion-regeneration, those who persecute Christ’s Church are those who persecute Christ; and those who persecute Christ are not true Jews.  A True Jew is a “Spirit-filled’ Christian, one united to Jesus Christ by faith whether Jew or Gentile by birth!

 

Jesus says: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer…” (v. 10a).

 

God grants mercy to many congregations of the world and allows us to live without persecution often in our lives.  However, the Church of Jesus Christ is to expect nothing less than persecution and not to be surprised when it comes along; persecution is allowed by God to make us more like Jesus Christ and it is not to surprise us!

 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory1 and of God rests upon you. – 1 Peter 4:12-14

 

We may not understand the suffering and persecution in the United States as well as other countries and nations in this world.  We may have plenty of prosperity and time on our hands to interpret the Book of Revelation as wholly a future, speculative “riddle” to be unlocked by our interpretive genius. 🙂 (That’s not completely unfair, is it?)

 

But as I have tried to make clear in our introduction.  The Book of Revelation is about hope in suffering in this present age.  The book is not for fanciful self-centered interpretation, but given to the Church as God’s Word to encourage perseverance in persecution and suffering!

 

Let’s talk a bit more globally about the True Church of Jesus and how those who suffer could benefit from Christ’s letter here (and hopefully if as Americans we find ourselves one day similar circumstances we will be strong enough through Word and Sacrament to face the persecution onslaught):

 

The World Evangelical Alliance estimates that 200 million Christians live in societies today where they are threatened with imprisonment, torturing and martyrdom.  Many Christians in Muslim countries undergo daily persecution and it is reported that Communist North Korea is perhaps the most dangerous place on earth to confess Christ openly and own a copy of the Scriptures.  In North Korea Christians are brutalized in prisons for their confession and profession of Jesus Christ.

 

In 2006 in Eritrea on the Continent of Africa (Northeast Africa), it was reported that almost 2000 Christians were imprisoned for their faith.  On June 6th 2009, Pastor Hua who faithfully preaches the gospel in Beijing, China was taken as he was changing trains and taken to a hotel and beaten by officials.  They reportedly said to him: “I’m going to strangle you and I’d like to see whether you can still preach the gospel” (officials also threatened to arrest his wife).  The Chinese “Domestic Security Protection Squad” is set up to suppress the spread of the Gospel.

 

One of the first messages of the Persecuted Church that I have read is, even before presenting the news: “Pray for us!”

 

We must seek to pray for these persecuted Christians at all times (Eph. 6:18), and we must seek to prepare ourselves for possible persecution like this in the future.  Here is one way we could pray (from the Book of Common Prayer):

 

Prayer: “Grant that we, who now remember these before thee, may likewise so bear witness unto thee in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of glory that fadeth not away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” – taken from The Book of Common Prayer

 

In order to have knowledge of the Church’s persecution, and to pray specifically, you can read the updates from our missionaries in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church on our website; you can Google “Christian Persecution” or “The Persecuted Church” or go to “The Voice of the Martyrs” to learn more about the “Persecuted Smyrnans” throughout the world.  We may not all agree fully doctrinally and confessionally on every point with every persecuted Christian throughout the world, but we must admit that those who are truly preaching the Gospel are strong warriors for Jesus who are standing up to unbelief by the giving of their own lives.

 

Prediction of suffering: “Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison…” (v. 10b).  It is important to note that the devil, the Adversary and Enemy of God and His people is the force behind all of the church’s persecution.  This is why Jesus tells us to overcome those who are the Church’s enemies with love rather than vengeance.

 

The devil is God’s instrument and sometimes God allows the devil to be used to bring about His sovereign purposes- -but we are called to love our enemies as ourselves (see Romans 12:12-21).  Listen to how the Apostle Paul teaches the persecuted Smyrnan Church in his Epistle to the Romans:

 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it1 to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:12-21

 

Knowing that good comes out of our suffering persecution, we are to overthrow the power of the devil, and overcome evil by doing loving good in God’s Name.  We do not retaliate or seek vengeance to repay our enemies in God’s Name, but we seek to love, bless, serve, and witness God’s power through our suffering and persecution!

 

Suffering is part of our union with Christ; Suffering is not outside God’s sovereignty and purposes for His Church Militant.

 

What is God’s purpose in our suffering?: “…That you may be tested, and for ten days will have tribulation (v. 10b; cf. 1:9; 2:2-3; Matthew 24:7-9; John 16:33).  What makes a true and rich church of Jesus Christ? From this passage it is clear:

 

1) A congregation who professes the true God and Jesus Christ as the only hope of salvation; 2) A congregation who understands suffering as part of God’s revealed will and purpose for His church to make them holy like Christ; and 3) A congregation who loves Christ more than their own lives and would be willing to die for Christ.

 

Notice the specific “ten days” of tribulation.  Now this does not mean literally 10 days but is taken from the Book of Daniel (as much of John’s imagery and numbers are taken from Daniel and the Old Testament prophets).  Remember the 10 days that Daniel and his friends underwent the test of not partaking of the king’s idolatrous food.

 

The 10 days are symbolic of a sovereign time set by God that would be limited in duration, and that could indeed by accomplished by God’s grace.  The “testing” will only be temporal; the “testing will be “manageable” and “doable” by God’s grace to them as they walk by faith and not by sight- -just as Daniel and his friends did as exiles and strangers in an evil world.

 

As Jesus says to those who love not their lives unto death (2:10):

 

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life…” (v. 10c; Matthew 10:21-22; Rev. 12:11; James 1:12)

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (v. 11a)

 

“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (v. 11b; “second death”: Rev. 20:6, 14; 21:8)

 

How does the persecuted and suffering Church conquer- -even through death?

 

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.- Revelation 12:10

 

Remember Who the letter is from: “The first and the last, who died and came to life (v. 8b; cf. 1:17-18).  Jesus is the Great God in the flesh who laid down his life to die for the sins of His believing Church.  Jesus was raised from the dead and lives to rule and reign and watch over the Church at God’s right hand!

 

In Christ we suffer; in Christ we die; in Christ we live!

 

Death cannot hold us- -where O death is your sting? Where O death is your victory?- -We will be raised with Christ to experience eternal blessedness in the presence of God.

 

Confessing Christians will not experience the second death of eternal torment and hell.  A short endurance and life of suffering is not worth comparing with the grace to be revealed to the overcoming Church Triumphant:

 

ESV Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

 

ESV Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him…

 

A short unbelieving life of denying Christ is not worth comparing to the curse to be revealed at the end of the ages.  As the Apostle John later shows to us in the Book of Revelation concerning the second death:

 

ESV Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

 

ESV Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

 

The Book of Revelation is to encourage the godly in Christ to continue to accept suffering and persecution for the Name of Jesus, while looking forward to a great eternity of bliss and peace in the presence of God!

 

ESV 1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

 

The Book of Revelation is to discourage the ungodly who deny Christ to be warned now for their causing suffering and persecution to the Church for Jesus’ Name.

 

The ungodly are to understand that the second death of eternal torment and hell await if they do not repent, join the throng of suffering martyrs, confess Jesus Christ before God and man as King of kings and Lord of lords!

 

Christian: Do not fear but hope in the LORD as one who will conquer in reliance upon God’s grace.  No matter what suffering and/or persecution may come, let us learn to say with our Old and New Covenant brethren:

 

ESV Psalm 56:11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

 

ESV Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

 

ESV Hebrews 13:6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

 

In light of God’s grace, let us be careful that we do not compromise God’s truth and live apathetically in this world.

 

May we at KCPC seek to witness the truth of God’s Gospel in every aspect of our lives and experience the suffering and tribulation that God allows by His grace so that we can be a “rich” and “successful” congregation in every way before God’s face.

 

May these devotional studies of assessment from Jesus using the letters to the seven churches of the Revelation cause us to better align ourselves with His truth, and encourage us all to make it our aim to please Jesus who died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:6-8).

 

May we live daily as a congregation before the face of Christ and so before the Judgment Seat of Christ. When we all arrive at our destination and we stand as the congregation KCPC before Christ’s Judgment, may these short devotions have better prepared us, so that we can stand confident and encouraged in the Lord Jesus’ presence.

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Jesus Christ

 

In Jesus’ love,

 

Pastor Charles

09/23/11

 

“Has God Forgotten Me?”- Psalm 77

Word of Encouragement

 

ESV Psalm 77:19-20: Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

Dear Congregation of KCPC,

 

Have you ever asked these questions: “Has God’s steadfast love toward me ceased?” or “Has God forgotten to be gracious to me?” (Psalm 77:8-9).

 

Honestly, have you ever wondered if God has forgotten you?

 

Do you have times when you think because of the difficulty you are going through that God must not love you?  Are you tempted to despair and discouragement because you are so overwhelmed?

 

Perhaps you confess that God is great and good, and you confess that God is Sovereign, but in reality, in the actual way you are living from day to day, it seems that your situation looks so hopeless that you are often living functionally as if there was no God? Perhaps you’re being tempted right now to believe that God could not love you and you feel so overwhelmed by your circumstances, and you’re even tempted to question the way God has led you.

 

This was the concern the Psalmist had as well (Psalm 77). As a believer, you’re not alone and Psalm 77 has been God-breathed out by the Holy Spirit to encourage you today.

 

In Psalm 77, the Psalmist wondered if God had forgotten him. He wondered if God had forgotten His graciousness, and had shut up His compassion toward him in anger (Psalm 77:9). The Psalmist wondered if God had forgotten His steadfast love toward him. He pondered in prayer if God had come to the end of keeping His promises (Psalm 77:7-8).

 

Sometimes God’s people can be so troubled by present circumstances that we can forget that the LORD’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). We must remind ourselves that the way the LORD leads us is “through the sea” (Psalm 77:19).  God shows His power and love and faithfulness to His people by leading them His way “through the sea”. When the Psalmist speaks of “the sea” in this Psalm, he is referring to God’s people when led through the Red Sea from slavery to the place where they would experience God’s greater presence and learn to worship and serve Him. God taught His people by bringing them “through the sea” that His ways are better ways, although they seem extremely difficult at times.

 

God brings us “through the sea” not to discourage us, but to encourage us to greater trust in His Word and Works on our behalf. He calls us to go “through the sea” not to discourage us but to humble us, so that we might learn to better depend upon Him, and so that we can experience His greater presence and learn to worship and serve Him more wholeheartedly. God’s purposes are for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28). We can rejoice because although the situations God leads us through can seem overwhelmingly difficult, we can walk through them as we know that He leads us and shepherds us as our kind and loving Lord.

 

Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, was led “through the sea”. The LORD Jesus Christ on our behalf was led by God the Father and with the power of the Spirit’s presence through the pain of suffering the torment of crucifixion, being crushed by the wrath of Almighty God, so that we could be forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus for our sins. Christ was led the way of the cross “through the sea” for us so that we could be reconciled to God and to trust and walk with God all the days of our lives and for all eternity.

 

Israel in the Old Covenant was led through the sea, from slavery and death to sonship and life. The New Covenant reality this pointed to was for God’s people to be led through the cross from death to life in union with our Savior, the precious Lord Jesus, who delivered us from slavery and made us sons in Him (Colossians 1:13-14).

 

The imagery that the Psalmist uses in Psalm 77:20 is important for our encouragement today. We are told that the Lord “led your people like a flock”. The important truth is that although God’s paths, God’s ways are higher than our ways, and not the way we would take, these ways are ordained for our deliverance and salvation. We have yet to be fully conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, we have yet to fully make it to the Promised Land, and so God’s way is “through the sea” (Psalm 77:19). It is “through the sea”, now in Christ through carrying our cross that the Lord Jesus accomplishes, perfects, and prepares us for the place He is already preparing for us for all eternity (John 14:6).

 

Although we feel forsaken, we are actually be shepherded by the Lord Jesus Christ through sanctification. We are His flock the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100).

 

So when you look around you today and you are led into circumstances that may frighten you, or test your faith, or cause you to wonder if God has forgotten His graciousness toward you, remember the God who works wonders, and who delights in revealing His power and might through our weakness. Listen to the hope of the Psalmist that is ours in Christ Jesus:

 

ESV Psalm 77:11-14: I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

 

Remember God’s love for you revealed in Jesus; remember the perfect deeds of Jesus Christ who earned the righteousness for you that you could never attain and freely gives His perfect righteousness to you by faith. Remember God’s “wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11) throughout redemptive history, but especially as you focus on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and ponder this work, meditate on God’s mighty deeds. Remember that God’s way is holy; it is perfect.

 

Then worship and praise Him in the midst of your circumstances knowing that God is faithful to you and will never forget His people!

 

If you are being pursued by evil one himself, being persecuted for your faith and all that you can see before you is a great sea that you must cross, ponder God’s ways, remember that He is leading you this way, and that He will shepherd you as your sweet Lord; confess this: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not ever need anything but Him” (Psalm 23 paraphrased).

 

If you are being led to carry the cross of Jesus Christ, and you are being crucified and have cried aloud to God, and your soul refuses to be comforted, and even your thoughts of God are causing you to moan because of your trouble (Psalm 77:1-4), ponder the death and resurrection of your Savior who has gone before you, who has died and been raised for you.

 

Ponder the love of God in Christ Jesus and how he calls us to follow Him carrying our cross because He is the Great Shepherd who has sought us and bought us and redeemed us by His precious blood!

 

When you ask the questions: “Has God’s steadfast love toward me ceased?” or “Has God forgotten to be gracious to me?” Look to Christ on the cross for you and behold His love for you! See on the cross of Jesus Christ that God’s steadfast love can NEVER CEASE; God can NEVER FORGET to be gracious to you. You have His word; you have His works shown to you in Jesus.

 

And if you are still wondering how you might live praising Him in the midst of your particular way “through the sea” look to how God did not forget His Son.  Christ came to live and die for His dearly beloved people. Christ laid down His life for us, and after being crushed by God’s wrath for our sins, in our place, Jesus was placed in a tomb. The way of the tomb is not hopeful; Jesus remained under the power of death for our sins for three days! In this situation, the way looks hopeless and impossible. Unless God Almighty, our Great God and Savior is the Shepherd. Then even the way through the tomb cannot stop God from shepherding us to victory!

 

God remembered Christ and on the third day He rose gloriously from the dead. Through the sea, Christ received the victory of resurrection and glorification. We too who believe, although our paths are fraught with difficult times and circumstances, will also see the glory of the Lord in the Land of the Living and be resurrected and glorified.

 

Let us hope in God.

 

Build your faith today, beloved congregation of Jesus, by pondering the words and works of God in Christ for us.

 

His way is through the sea. You haven’t lost your way for He is shepherding you. He says to you: “Follow me” and “Trust me”.

 

You may not feel His presence right now, and you may not see His footprints, but you can be confident in Jesus Christ that He is carrying you every step of the way.

 

ESV Psalm 77:19-20: Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

Ponder the love of God for you.

 

IN Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

 

PS I will have more later this week on our WOE study from how we can be Assessed, Aligned and Aim through studying the seven churches of Revelation.

“What the Spirit Says…Orthodox and Loving”

Word of Encouragement

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22

 

“…We make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God…”- 2 Corinthians 5:9b-11a

 

For the next couple of weeks, I will be writing short messages on the seven churches for our Word of Encouragement so that we might better assess where we are spiritually as a congregation, show us areas that need to be realigned with God’s Word, and how we might more effectively and sincerely make it our aim to please the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

If you would like to read the introduction to this short series, you may read here: Word of Encouragement

 

What are our strengths and weaknesses as a congregation? How can we ask God to better search and know us corporately? How are we doing at KCPC as a visible manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom on earth? Are we loving God and others as we did when we were first saved and gathered as Christ’s flock?

 

Jesus is Lord of His Church. He knows us by name at KCPC. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, our virtues and vices, and the seven letters to the churches in Revelation teach us three important truths that I want to consider with you for the next few weeks: Assessment, Alignment, and Aim. Jesus makes assessment of His churches; Jesus teaches us through His Word by His Spirit so that we would be aligned with His revealed truth; and Jesus has died for us and loved us so that we will make it our aim to please Him.

 

As prophet, Jesus speaks; as priest he is Mediator before God, assuring the churches of his continuous presence and his availability for them to come and seek forgiveness when they repent; as king, Jesus rules and reigns over his people, providing them instruction, protection, blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

 

Let us look first at Jesus’ message to the Church at Ephesus. It is important to remind ourselves that these seven congregations of the Revelation were real historical churches at the time that John the Apostle wrote his Revelation of Jesus Christ.  However, we want to understand that they are also symbolic of the entire church age between Jesus’ first and second coming.

 

This means that what Jesus says to the churches, we need to consider soberly for ourselves.  Jesus is still speaking to us (Hebrews 12:25).  Jesus is particularly speaking to His people in these letters as a corporate body and congregation of confessional Christians, and not merely as individuals. This is why it is good to use these letters to be assessed by Christ as we seek to grow in him as a body.

 

We should understand that through the reading and preaching of the Word in public worship, we at KCPC are also recipients of this important letter.  Jesus is addressing us, too!

 

Dear Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church…Dear Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Purcellville, Virginia:

 

Our letter is from Jesus Christ, who is described as: “He who holds the seven angels and walks among the seven golden lampstands” (2:1b). Our Lord Jesus addresses us. More particularly, our great Lord and Savior who addresses us in Revelation 1 as a gracious and loving Savior who has died for us:

 

“Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come…from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us by His blood…” (Rev. 1:4b-6a).

 

Jesus presents to us the Gospel good news that He is our hope for grace and peace from God and with God, and that Jesus loves us and has saved us from our sins. Rejoice!

 

Jesus goes on to speak: “I know your works” This should cause us all to consider soberly Jesus’ loving assessment of His churches. But there is always grace from our Lord in our time of need (v. 2a).

 

Jesus says: “I know your toil and patient endurance” (cf. 1:9; v. 2a). The Church militant lives between the tension of new creation and consummation (already- not yet) that is characterized by tribulation. Although there is great peace and joy in Jesus, our pilgrimage as Christians is characterized by tribulation (see John 16:33; cf. Revelation 1:9).

 

Jesus says: “I know how you cannot bear with those who are evil” (v. 2b). Ephesus was a faithfully confessional church, holding to the truths of Christ and Holy Scripture. They “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1).

 

Jesus says essentially to Ephesus: “I know you take doctrine seriously” (vv. 2c, 6). Your love for my truth is obvious in the way you live.

 

Jesus says: “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake and have not grown weary” (v. 3). The congregation is continuing to fight the good fight and persevere by God’s grace as a people. Your patient endurance is commendable.

 

This was an outwardly orthodox congregation of Jesus Christ.  Faithfulness on the surface, and outwardly standing against evil; the congregation takes doctrine seriously; they were patiently enduring.

 

Outwardly this is a faithfully solid and conservative conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Although this congregation is walking before God rightly outwardly, inwardly their hearts have turned away from Jesus.  Because their hearts had turned a bit away from Jesus, their loving hearts had grown a bit cold, even unloving.

 

The congregation was no longer as loving as it once was.

 

We should evaluate ourselves in light of this as Christ continues to speak to us. God has granted us a great deal of love for God and one another at this time in our congregational life, and this is apparent by God’s grace. But we must always understand that there is a danger of letting our hearts grow cold, although outwardly we are doing many good works for Christ. Notice…

 

Jesus says: “But I have this against you…” (v. 4a)

 

Through Jesus’ word, there is always room to grow, always room to learn, always room to be more reformed by and through the words of our Risen-Ascended Glorified LORD!

 

Jesus says: “You have abandoned the love you had at first” (v. 4b).

 

The point of this is that we as a congregation in Christ’s True Church might be reformed and ever reforming as Christ speaks to us through Scripture.  We should desire to and strive together as disciples to be the congregation that God has called us to be in Christ.  We must do this together in reliance upon God’s grace.

 

This takes love.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 reminds us of the definition of biblical love for one another:

 

ESV 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

 

Is this what characterizes our congregation?  I think we strive to be faithful, healthy, holy, even theologically astute and accurate, but are we loving? Do we have love for Jesus in our worship, in our devotions, in our prayers, in our service and affection for one another? Do we show love to others who may disagree with us, while we correct them gently, speaking the truth in love? (see 2 Tim. 2:23-25).

 

Ephesus was overall a pretty good congregation.  The Lord says good things about them.  However, they lacked love; they had abandoned the love they had at first.  There had been a gradual coldness because the congregation neglected to assess themselves and continually align themselves with the Gospel of grace.

 

This temptation to grow cold seems to be a scriptural echo of what Jesus had said in Matthew 24:12-14 about the visible Church when he returns:

 

ESV Matthew 24:12-14: And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 

You may remember that the Apostle Paul had started the Church at Ephesus as a mission church.  He had remained at Ephesus for three years preaching, teaching and training disciples.  He left Pastor Timothy to continue what he had started; Timothy was the first called and ordained pastor of the congregation as it went from mission status to a self-supporting, self-governing, self-conscious, and self-propagating congregation of Christ’s Church.

 

The Apostle Paul had warned the elders that threats from within and from without would threaten the life of the Church (Acts 20:17ff).

 

The Church at Ephesus was one of the exemplary model “flagship churches” of the Churches of Asia Minor.  When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesian Christians he had commended them for their great love for one another:

 

ESV Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your lovetoward all the saints…

 

The Apostle Paul had taught the Ephesians to live a life of love rooted in God’s eternal love for them in Jesus Christ.  Through a meditation and daily realization of God’s love for them in Christ, they were to live a life of love; walking in love, speaking the truth in love to one another and those outside their congregation.

 

ESV Ephesians 3:17-19: …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

ESV Ephesians 4:2 …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…

 

ESV Ephesians 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

 

ESV Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 

Marriages were to be characterized by husband and wife loving one another, and children showing love by honoring their parents (5:21-6:4).

 

But something had changed since the first.  Some of the gains that the Ephesian Christians had gained by God’s grace had been lost because of a lack of love. Can you see how easy it is to get out of step with the truth of the Gospel, to shift from the hope of the Gospel, and to drift from the message of the Gospel we have heard?!

 

When we get out of line with the truths of the Gospel as a congregation, we want to be realigned quickly by God’s grace. The Bible teaches that we can get out of step with the truth of the gospel, shift from the hope of the gospel, and drift from the message of the Gospel we have heard (see Gal. 2:14; Col. 1:23; Heb. 2:1).

 

Jesus says to Ephesus (and to us!): “Remember” (v. 5a).  This is an “eschatological remember”.  This means “don’t forget” the grace of God and the mercy that should lovingly motivate your theology to make Christians like Christ in knowledge and actions. “Remember” in Scripture is a recollection to action. Here they are to remember the Gospel grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and to go and love likewise.

 

Jesus says: “Repent” (v. 5b).  With Jesus there is always the opportunity to repent, to turn and find mercy with our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:16); Jesus is always calling us to the Mercy Seat! Let us hear what the Spirit says in our need for daily repentance!

 

Jesus’ commendation to Ephesus:  “You hate the works of the Nicolaitans that I also hate” (v. 6). Jesus is saying: “This you have right; you must be loving, yes, but being loving does not mean to compromise with error. To be loving does NOT mean to compromise truth; this you have right.” No one knows much about the Nicolaitans, but it is obvious they were a heretical group who taught false theology and whose practices were immoral and impure.  They were probably those from within the congregation that were compromising with the world of paganism in the City of Ephesus.

 

Jesus says: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (v. 7a).  This is how judgment begins at the household of God (cf. 1 Peter 4:17) as we allow Jesus to assess us by His most Holy Word, then to align ourselves by His grace to His Word, and then to aim to seek to please Him as a congregation.

 

The “judgment” we receive as Christ’s congregation is admonishment for what we are not doing biblically, and we are to be disciplined by this word of judgment as God’s dear children (Heb. 12:5ff), and to repent and seek to be obedient and make it our aim to please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).

 

“He who has ears to hear” is from the Prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 6:9-10).  In Isaiah’s prophecy, Isaiah was sent to preach to congregations of Israel.  Those who had ears to hear and repented in light of God’s Word were the remnant, the true elect of God; those who rejected and had no ears to hear were the unbelievers (even if they were in the visible Church). Jesus also used this language in his parable of the sower during his earthly ministry to make a distinction between different kinds of hearts (soils); some of the hearts who heard were hardened, some were shallow, and some were distracted by worldliness. Those who heard were abundantly fruitful (see Matthew 13; Mark 4).

 

Preaching God’s Word is the way or means Jesus with the double-edged sword of his word brings straightness and aligns God’s people with God’s Word and Will (Heb. 4:12-13).  For those who have ears to hear there is salvation even in judgment because they become more like Christ through discipline.  For those who reject the message of Christ through His Word by His Spirit, there is judgment. Let us seek to be fruitful by seeking Christ to have hearts that hear and obey God’s Word. Let us seek transformed hearts that will be transformed through Jesus’ love for us.

 

To the conquerors: “I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (v. 7b).  This is one of the great benefits of being heirs of God with Christ (Romans 8:15ff).  The sacrament Tree of Life that appeared in the Garden of Eden and was denied our disobedient parents, is present now not in Eden, but in the New Jerusalem where Jesus is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-6).

 

By God’s grace in Christ, we are invited to partake of what this sacramental tree symbolized in Jesus Christ alone.

 

The Tree of Life is a sacramental tree symbolizing the eternal life found in Jesus Christ for those whom he loves.  Those who partake of the Tree of Life will never die but live at Shalom-Peace with God in the New Heavens and New Earth for eternity.

 

Though for now they may experience the Kingdom of God in the tension with tribulation and suffering, they are to remain patient (1:9), and seek the life of the Kingdom in Jesus Christ even now (Matthew 6:33), awaiting the full revealing and Revelation of this Kingdom when Christ returns. This should increase our love for God and each other that would naturally grow cold, but through grace is warmed and overflows into service and mercy to others.

 

For now, we as the Church of Jesus Christ at KCPC must hear and respond obediently to Jesus’ letter to the Ephesian Christians, understanding it is a letter addressed also to us.  We must love in response and reliance upon God’s grace and we must not compromise truth.  We must speak the truth in love and know that we may be persecuted for it.

 

For now, even as we live under tribulation, and we suffer, and we struggle against false doctrine and impure practices that God hates, we must seek to be patient in our endurance, fight the good fight, and to love one another as we did at the first.

 

And Christ enables us to do that by granting us the life now that we need that is found in Jesus Christ.

 

As Jesus addresses not only Ephesus, but also KCPC, how are we doing in our love for God and each other? Let us assess ourselves before the Throne of Grace; let us align ourselves with the Gospel Word of Christ; let us seek to make it our aim to please Jesus who died for us (2 Cor. 5:14-15); let us be controlled and constrained by His love!

 

Let us end with Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Church.  Let us turn to Ephesians 3:14-21 and pray together:

 

ESV Ephesians 3:17-19: “…That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

May these short devotional studies of assessment from Jesus using the letters to the seven churches of the Revelation cause us to better align ourselves with His truth, and encourage us all to make it our aim to please Jesus who died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:6-8).

 

May we live daily as a congregation before the face of Christ and so before the Judgment Seat of Christ. When we all arrive at our destination and we stand as the congregation KCPC before Christ’s Judgment, may these short devotions have better prepared us, so that we can stand confident and encouraged in the Lord Jesus’ presence.

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Jesus Christ

 

In Jesus’ love,

 

Pastor Charles

09/09/11

 

“Deep Waters in Christ”

Dear Congregation of KCPC,

 

When you read the story of Noah, what do you see in the flood waters?

 

Noah passed through the waters of judgment and found salvation in the promises of God. God’s covenant promises to Noah were ultimately fulfilled in Christ and were for Noah and his household; Biblical faith is family faith. The Apostle Peter tells us that the flood waters typified (or symbolized, or corresponded) to water baptism; not salvation through a mere external ceremony or outward cleansing (cf. Romans 2:28-29), but water as a means of the Spirit’s working salvation in Christ that transforms us from within:

 

ESV 1 Peter 3:20-22: “…Because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds (anti-type) to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

 

When you see the flood waters, think of baptism (1 Peter 3:20-22). The baptism waters symbolize the judgment of Jesus Christ our Covenant Head and representative who was baptized into God’s judgment and wrath so that we might be His Holy children. Jesus as our Covenant Head (greater than Noah!) underwent the wrath of God on the cross which was a fulfillment of what the flood waters symbolized. As our Lord went to the cross, he cried:

 

ESV Luke 12:50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

 

Here are the truths you can be confident in today because of Jesus Christ:

 

1)      Like Noah, you’ve been saved from God’s wrath and judgment by believing the promises of God in Christ.

2)      As Noah was separated apart from the wicked and condemned world by the flood, so have you been set apart because of God’s covenant promises in Christ. You have been separated apart to be holy and to shine like the firmament in a corrupt and perverse generation (Phil. 2:15).

3)      As Noah, you and your household are privileged to God’s covenant promises in Christ. These covenant promises and blessings imply covenant responsibilities to believe, and obey and walk with God by faith.

4)      Christ’s judgment and condemnation is yours by faith; Christ’s justification-vindication-resurrection is yours by faith (Col. 2:9-12).

5)      Like Noah who trusted in Christ (Heb. 11:7), you have been washed, cleansed, and purified by the Spirit of God who “hovers” over the face of the baptismal waters (cf. Gen. 1:2-3; 2 Cor. 4:6; Titus 3:5-7).

6)      Now live obediently in light of God’s covenant promises in Christ; covenant privileges imply covenant responsibilities, especially if you are a head of your household like Noah was- -make the Gospel known!. Live in this world and conduct yourself like one saved from the judgment waters, the very wrath and condemnation of God. Be merciful, grateful, and daily offer yourself up to God as one who has passed from death to life (John 5:24). As the Apostle Paul teaches us:

 

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. –  ESV Romans 6:13

 

Like Noah, has God revealed Himself to you as the Alpha and Omega of your salvation? Has God initiated grace with you through covenant promises in Christ, and has he “shut you in” as he did Noah and his family by closing/sealing the door of the ark during His judgment (Gen. 7:16b- “And the LORD shut him in”)?

 

If you are in Christ, you have been sealed by the Spirit of God unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14). All of God’s promises are “yes” and “amen” to you and your family. As Noah before you, live obediently in light of the grace you have been shown and make this grace known to your family.

 

Has God “shut you in”? Are you united to Christ by faith, and sealed unto the day of redemption? Then nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ because in Christ, you were baptized into death, and raised to new life. God has given us deep waters as a means of grace to sign and seal his promises to us in Jesus!

 

Rejoice!!

 

ESV Romans 6:3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

 

Now “improve your baptism” this day and until Jesus returns:

 

Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 167  How is our baptism to be improved by us? A. The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it to others;(1) by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;(2) by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements;(3) by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament;(4) by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace;(5) and by endeavoring to live by faith,(6) to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness,(7) as those that have therein given up their names to Christ;(8) and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.(9)

 

Scripture References: (1)Col. 2:11,12; Rom. 6:4,6,11 (2)Rom. 6:3-5 (3)1 Cor. 1:11-13; Rom. 6:2,3 (4)Rom. 4:11,12; 1 Pet. 3:21 (5)Rom. 6:3-5 (6)Gal. 3:26,27 (7)Rom. 6:22 (8)Acts 2:38 (9)1 Cor. 12:13,25,26,27

 

IN Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

 

PS I will have more later this week on our WOE study from how we can be Assessed, Aligned and Aim through studying the seven churches of Revelation.

What the Spirit Says: “Assessment, Alignment and Aim”

Word of Encouragement

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22

“…We make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God…”- 2 Corinthians 5:9b-11a

 

What can we learn as a congregation of Christ at KCPC from the letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation? The churches addressed in the Book of Revelation are seven historical churches of Christ that symbolize the entire church age of Christ’s church. From the first to the second coming of Jesus Christ, these churches represent both strengths and weaknesses, virtues and vices, that characterize Jesus’ church until we reach our goal of glory and perfection (Phil. 3:12-16). We can be confident that Jesus who began a good work in us will perfect and complete it by His grace! (Phil. 1:6).

 

For the next couple of weeks, I will be writing short messages on the seven churches for our Word of Encouragement so that we might better assess where we are spiritually as a congregation, show us areas that need to be realigned with God’s Word, and how we might more effectively and sincerely make it our aim to please the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

What are our strengths and weaknesses as a congregation? How can we ask God to better search and know us corporately? How are we doing at KCPC as a visible manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom on earth?

 

Jesus is Lord of His Church. He knows us by name at KCPC. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, our virtues and vices, and the seven letters to the churches in Revelation teach us three important truths that I want to consider with you for the next few weeks: Assessment, Alignment, and Aim. Jesus makes assessment of His churches; Jesus teaches us through His Word by His Spirit so that we would be aligned with His revealed truth; and Jesus has died for us and loved us so that we will make it our aim to please Him.

 

(1) Assessment– Jesus makes an assessment of His churches. The Risen-Ascended Jesus assesses His churches during the present age; Jesus is already making a determination on how we are doing at KCPC. We see this truth revealed in how Jesus begins each letter to the seven churches. Jesus begins his letters with: “I know your works…” (2:2, 19; 3:1b, 8, 15); “I know your tribulation and poverty…” (2:9); “I know where you are..” (2:13) which clearly tells us that Christ knows all about us, both good and bad, both strengths and weaknesses.

 

We can find out more specifically how Jesus assesses us at KCPC by studying these letters to the seven churches. What does Jesus think about our works? The Book of Revelation tells us that our works “will follow believers” (Rev. 14:13) and that we will be assessed by our works, so this is important. These works for Jesus are not in order to merit salvation, but they are the good works we do eagerly in light of the salvation we have already received. We are saved by grace and created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

 

We should be reminded that we will all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive from Jesus Christ what is due for what we have done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:10). As the Apostle Paul says “what we are is known to God…” (2 Cor. 5:11). As believers, we should fear God because of His love for us. We ought to make it our chief aim to please Him so that we can be confident on this day to come.

 

“By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” – ESV 1 John 4:17

 

But sometimes we are a bit frightened by the thought of appearing before Christ. It is true that there will be rewards and losses depending on how faithful we were to the gospel and to the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10ff). But we don’t have to be frightened by this day, although we should always fear God. We don’t have to be frightened of judgment because Jesus has taken our judgment and condemnation upon Himself (Romans 8:1; 1 John 1:9-2:2). We will not be condemned as believers; although we will be assessed; particularly our works for Jesus will be assessed. Many folks are frightened in an unhealthy manner by the Judgment Seat of Christ because they are putting off for another future day what they know they need to repent of today.

 

But how can we be better prepared and ready for the return of Jesus Christ? How as a congregation of Christ can we be hopeful about the Judgment Seat of Christ? Let us live our lives daily before the face of Christ, seeking to please Him by His grace, so that the future judgment day to come might be a blessed reality in our present. If we seek the Lord Jesus Christ now and seek to better know Him, then we will have much more confidence in the day to come. We will have already been assessed many times because we sought this assessment on a daily basis!

 

The reason and goal for our existence is God’s glory in our getting to better know and enjoy Jesus! What or who could keep you from such a glorious Savior? What or who could keep you from honesty before Him daily and letting Him search your heart and to teach you? You are His disciple-follower, and so must learn from Him.

 

What is our assessment right now before the face of Jesus Christ? We should seek to regularly ask this question.

 

(2) Alignment– Jesus teaches us through His Word by His Spirit so that we would be aligned with His revealed truth. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” is repeated with each letter to each congregation. Jesus speaks to KCPC so that we might listen. Listening is not only hearing, but doing what we hear.  It is important to ask God for ears and perhaps more importantly, for ears to hear what the Spirit is saying through the Word of God (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). To listen to the Spirit is to learn so that we can grow in our knowledge of Jesus and His Gospel. We want to hear so that we can align ourselves with God’s direction in Scripture, and let our lives line up with the grace and mercy that He has revealed to us.

 

When we get out of line with the truths of the Gospel we want to be realigned. The Bible teaches that we can get out of step with the truth of the gospel, shift from the hope of the gospel, and drift from the message of the Gospel we have heard (see Gal. 2:14; Col. 1:23; Heb. 2:1).

 

As we study the seven congregations of the Book of Revelation and what Jesus says to them, let us ask: How does Jesus commend them? What are their strengths? How does Jesus rebuke them? What are their weaknesses? At KCPC, how might we learn from these examinations of the Sovereign Lord Jesus? In light of what we study, let us align ourselves up with Jesus’ truth. Let us hear what the Spirit says to the churches! Sometimes God grants us good examples to follow that teach us how we ought to be living; sometimes Jesus grants us poor, unbelieving examples so that we will learn what we do not want to be. We have both in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation.

 

At KCPC, we are a congregation of sinners saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews says that Christ still speaks to His congregations by His Word and Spirit, and we must ask God for ears to hear what the Spirit says the churches. Jesus still walks among the seven golden lampstands which are his congregations, and we must not refuse Him who is speaking (Revelation 2:1; Hebrews 12:25).  As a congregation, we should continue to repent both individually and corporately so that as a congregation our joy might be full, we might know the peace of God that transcends all of understanding to guard our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7), that we might grow up and mature into Christ (Eph. 4:11ff), and that we might be of one mind, unified in our mission to make the Gospel known to a perverse and crooked generation (Eph. 4:1ff).

 

Are we out of alignment? We should constantly be asking this question.

 

(3) Aim– Jesus has died for us and loved us so by God’s grace we seek to be faithful to Christ and His Gospel and “make it our aim to please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). God’s people have been saved for service. Christ saved us from death, hell and slavery to the devil so that we might be His loving servants. His grace to us ought to cause us to no longer live for self, but for Christ alone. This **aim** is summarized in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:

 

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” Is this our overarching aim? Is this aim to live to love and serve Jesus our most important goal. We should ask this question daily.

 

As a congregation, let us remember that Christ will return like a thief in the night. Let our walk before God as a congregation be characterized as watchful, prayerful, and careful. Let us not grow wearing in doing good, for we know that we will reap if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9).

 

Let us prayerfully we can seek the Throne of Grace daily and find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:14-16). We can pray and seek Christ and get to know Him better as our Risen Lord and King!  By God’s grace we can ask God to search and to know us, to try us and know our thoughts (Psalm 139:23-24). In seeking God in this way, we can be self-aware, and self-examining, so that we will not deceive ourselves, and ask the Omniscient and Omnipresent God to take a close look at our hearts as we live for Him.  There is great peace in knowing that God loves and knows us, but this can also be quite disconcerting. But when we fail to please Him he is gracious and merciful to forgive us! (1 John 1:9ff).

 

Let us not live for self. Because Jesus died for us, let us live for others. In fact, let us pray to count others more significant than yourselves. Let us look not only to our own interests, but also the interests of others (Phil. 2:3-4). Let our aim be to please Him- -we will be joyful and satisfied in our work for Him!

 

What is our aim? What is the overarching aim of our mission at KCPC? Are we living to please God in light of the glorious work of Christ on our behalf? Are we living with an eye to the Judgment Seat of Christ? This should be our regular concern.

 

May these short devotional studies of assessment from Jesus using the letters to the seven churches of the Revelation cause us to better align ourselves with His truth, and encourage us all to make it our aim to please Jesus who died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:6-8).

 

May we live daily as a congregation before the face of Christ and so before the Judgment Seat of Christ. When we all arrive at our destination and we stand as the congregation KCPC before Christ’s Judgment, may these short devotions have better prepared us, so that we can stand confident and encouraged in the Lord Jesus’ presence.

 

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”- Jesus Christ

 

In Jesus’ love,

 

Pastor Charles

09/01/11

“At Your Right Hand”- Psalm 16:11

Word of Encouragement

 

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”- Psalm 16:11

 

What hope we have as the people of God! We who were by nature wanderers from the fold of God, wanderers from the presence of God, wanderers from the delights and joy that only God can give. But now, because of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ, He has made known to us the path of life! “You make known to me the path of life,” the Psalmist prays. We haven’t found the path of life on our own, we were not even looking for it (Eph. 2:1-4), but God who is rich in mercy made it known to us in Jesus Christ.  Jesus, our Beloved Lord says to us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”

 

In Jesus we find this path that is characterized by life in God, and that takes us to God Himself. In God’s mercy, Jesus, who seeks and saves the lost, sought us out and found us and now we walk on the path that leads to Heaven. Your hope, Beloved, is a celestial city, a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem that will never be shaken (Heb. 11:13-16; 12:27-29)- -the Eternal City of God!

 

Jesus descended into this world to show you the path of life; Jesus ascended back to heaven to show you the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at God’s right hand.

 

By God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ, we are now made pilgrims who walk by faith expectantly look for a heavenly city and a heavenly inheritance. The path we are on does not lead to destruction, but to more life, life as complete in God. In this celestial city we await, that we journey toward on this path of life, we find the full communion with God that we were all created to enjoy.

 

As you travel this path, although times can be difficult and you may at times grow weary, do not give up, do not give in, do not be distracted, nor seek to be satisfied in this world. You were made for Jesus, only in Him can you find ultimately all that you’re are longing for from the depths of your hearts and souls.  Although the journey along the path of life can be difficult, Jesus walks with you and will never leave you nor forsake you. “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age…” (Matthew 28:20).

 

Knowing that Jesus walks with us, makes the journey satisfying and joyful. In fact, the Psalmist says that in the presence of God is “fullness of joy”! The Spirit of God has united us to Jesus Christ so that as we journey as pilgrims we can enjoy Jesus’ presence and be filled with joy along the way as He promised His disciples (John 14-16; Romans 15:13).

 

As we seek God along our journey on the path of life, so we find our Beloved Savior-Husband-Lord and King of kings and Lord of lords enthroned and exalted at God’s right hand (Hebrews 7:24; Romans 8:34). What is He doing there? Ruling and reigning over heaven and earth, as well as praying for us that though all of hell would break loose upon us, we could find at God’s right hand where Jesus is enthroned, His strength, His power, His mercy, as well as the forgiveness, the help we need by His grace, and all of God’s “pleasures forevermore”!

 

At God’s right hand in Jesus Christ we find strength in our weariness; grace in our weakness; hope in our struggles; pleasures forevermore in our emptiness here. At God’s right hand we find in Jesus all things we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4). All that we long for here, we find at God’s right hand; truly there are “pleasures forevermore” there in Jesus!

 

What are God’s “pleasures forevermore” in Jesus? Are you hungry? Jesus will fill you; He is the Bread of Life. Are you thirsty? Jesus will quench your thirsts; He is the Fountain of Life. Are you in need of a deeper intimacy and communion with God? Jesus will be your comfort and joy; He is our Heavenly Bridegroom. Are you tired and weary? Jesus will be your rest; He is our rest from our burden of sins, our pains and anxieties, and everything that would distract and/or hinder us along our pilgrimage in this present world.

 

This is the foretaste of Life Eternal and Heavenly Hope that you can have now by God’s Spirit in Jesus. This foretaste will be complete when we see Him face to face, when we behold the king in His beauty and see Him face to face, and we shall be like Him! As we walk with Him may a sense of His fullness of joy and an increase of the pleasures forevermore be ours because we trust in Him as the Psalmist.

 

Let us take refuge in God our Savior (Psalm 16:1). Let us realize that because Jesus is our Lord there is no good apart from him (Psalm 16:2; John 15:5). Let us rejoice that we have a beautiful inheritance in Christ (Psalm 16:6). Let us bless the Lord and let our hearts be glad because Jesus has taken our flesh, and can sympathize with us in our time of need (Hebrews. 4:14-16), because He has tasted the challenges of this path, the sicknesses, the difficulties, the weariness, the loneliness, the abandonment, the cold-hearted hatred; Jesus has taken our sins upon Himself, and tasted the pangs of death and what it means to lose the comfort and power of the presence of God as one forsaken because of sin. And this was for you.

 

God raised Jesus from the dead after He took upon Himself our sins, after He was crushed for our iniquities, and propitiated God’s wrath in our place. God did not allow Jesus to see corruption in hell, but raised Him in exaltation glory to God’s right hand to experience the fullness of joy and the Father’s love at God’s right hand as King of kings and Lord of lords (Psalm 16:10). And to live for us at God’s right hand so that we would have joy now.

 

Jesus descended into this world to show you the path of life; Jesus ascended back to heaven to show you the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at God’s right hand.

 

Jesus is a trustworthy Savior, and friend, and Lord, and King, and Shepherd, and Husband. Let us go to him to find in Him the fullness of joy, and the pleasures forevermore this day!

 

Don’t wait another minute seeking in this world or in yourself what only Jesus can give to you. The blessings of God are not found in this world, nor within yourselves, but at God’s right hand!

 

Seek Jesus there.

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

08/31/11

Communion with God in Christ

 Word of Encouragement

We as Christians walk with God now in union and communion with Jesus Christ by faith. The Bible teaches us that even though we still live here in this world, we are really already translated, raised, taken and resurrected to live with God.

 

Notice this truth in Colossians 3:1-4:

 

ESV Colossians 3:1-4: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

This teaches us people of God that no matter how short your life may be, no matter how insignificant you think you and your life may be, you are united to Jesus Christ by faith and already you have died with Christ and been raised up with him! Your life is greatly significant and you can be one who is defined in Christ as one who walks with God and enjoy sweet communion with this great God!

 

Colossians 3:1-4 teaches that believers “have been raised with Christ” now (v. 1a), and that because of this we are to live in communion with God “seeking the things that are above” (v. 1b).

 

So secure is our present existence in union with Jesus that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” and that Christ is our life (vv. 3-4a). Although we remain here, our union with Christ is so very **INTIMATE** that we live in Him and move in Him and have our very being in Him- -we are His holy temple, the special people in which He dwells by His Spirit.

 

Can it be said of you that you “walk with God”?

 

Do you realize more of your union with God through communion with God? We should understand the distinction in our relationship to God between our union with Him and our communion with Him. Do you make this important distinction?

 

Our union with God in Jesus Christ by faith can never be broken. Our union will never fluctuate; no one, nothing can snatch us out of Jesus’ grip, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (John 10:28ff; Romans 8:31-39). If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

But our communion with Christ because of our union must be developed; we grow into our communion just like getting to know a friend better or a parent if we are adopted into a family. In our communion with God, He is always near and promises that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us to commune with us (James 4:4ff).

 

We should understand that it is not that God withdraws from us who are in union with Jesus, but that we have a tendency to withdraw from him and not walk with him as we are called to do in Jesus Christ. God doesn’t move away from us, but we do and we often wander away from God from our hearts, although we are in union with him.

 

In other words, while living already translated in Jesus Christ, we can live as if we are still part of this world and not seek communion with Him as we should.

 

As we realize what Christ has done for us and how he has pleased God on our behalf, and we know how we are saved from our sinful condition, so we learn to develop our communion with the Triune God.

 

Let us remember these things as part of developing our communion with God.

 

Meditate on these things this week (especially in light of today’s sermon), and by God’s grace and Spirit, you will find that you will please God more in your obedience (not in order to be saved, but as a manifestation of your gratitude for salvation), and you will find more joy in your journey here (see John 15:11):

 

ESV John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 

 

***Developing our Communion with God:  Remind yourself daily…***

 

(1)   Remind yourself of the distinction between union with Christ that is unbreakable and will not fluctuate, and the communion with God that must be sought and developed.

 

(2)   Remind yourself daily that you were not seeking God, but this glorious and self-existent and wonderful God who you had lived sinning against, sought you out and initiated a relationship with you in Jesus Christ for the sake that you might know Him better.

 

(3)   Remind yourself of the interaction that should be happening in your life as you grow in the knowledge of the Triune God. Our communion with God is interactive: God works in us by His Spirit, we respond with joyful obedience; God speaks to us through His Word, we respond with thankful gratitude and walking according to His commandments; God tell us how much He loves us, we love him back by living for him and seeking to please Him.

 

(4)   Remind yourself that because God is your Father, you are a child of the living God and heir to all that Christ is heir to, and that God will lead and guide you and even chastise you because you are a dear child whom he loves and he knows better than any earthly parent what you most need.

 

(5)   Remind yourself that because Jesus is your Savior, you have a Shepherd who will never leave you nor forsake you but guard and guide you to the promised land of eternity. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a loving Husband-Bridegroom, who has given his life for you, and has betrothed himself to you, so be faithful to you Heavenly Husband. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a great and mighty King who is with you and will strengthen, help and uphold you in your day to day struggles. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a dear friend who has laid down his life for you and lives to make you joyful (see John 15:11-15). Jesus calls us friends, will you not seek him, this Heavenly friend who only longs to rejoice over you and to be with you. Won’t you just be with Jesus sometimes, leaning confidently on his bosom, letting him know that you love him?!

 

(6)   Remind yourself that because the Spirit of God is with you, you may have as much of Christ as you seek in Him! The Spirit loves to talk about Jesus, minister Jesus and lead us into all the truths of Scripture about Jesus! We have the Spirit to war against our sinful flesh; we have the Spirit to comfort and console us, and to help us to pray. Won’t you seek His power to enable you to die more and more to sin, to realize the union you have with Christ and the communion with him you need to develop. Won’t you seek Him for the power to desire Him more?

 

(7)   Remind yourself to delight yourself in the LORD daily (Psa. 37:4)! The Bible says “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Is the LORD **THE** desire of your heart?! You can have more of Him the Bible says- -you can walk closer in communion with him. Can you say with the Psalmist: “Who have I in heaven but you, and what on earth do I desire but you?” (Psalm 73:23ff). You can have this kind of response to your union with Jesus and grow in your communion. Remember that what enlists a person’s affections, rules the person. This means that if God is what gets you excited, then God will rule over you. If someone or something else is loved or delighted more in and gets you excited than God, this/these things will rule you. There is no way to live for God if your affections are not given over to him and this is the urgent practical need of communion with him!

 

(8)   Remind yourself to please God in Jesus Christ in response to the Gospel message that you have died and already been seated with Christ in the Heavenlies. You no longer need the things of this world. Seek the things of Christ that are above, and beware of prosperity that tempts you to have a weak relationship with such a glorious God!

 

(9)   Remind yourself daily that God is a consuming fire and worthy to be reverenced, feared and worshipped according to His Word. Although He has been gracious in Christ, may we never presume upon His grace and the blood of Jesus, thinking that if we do, we will not be judged with great and painful consequences! Remind yourself that although God has stooped to be gracious in Christ, He is still the living God and you are to approach Him in Christ with fear and trembling (Heb. 12:25-29). May we seek never to grieve our God because of our sins- -may we never live as those who are trusting in Christ’s precious blood and living blatantly sinfully thinking that Christ’s blood can be excuses for sin and freedom to live as we please!

 

(10)                       Remind yourself daily to develop your prayer life as never before now that you know that you have already been raised, translated, and resurrected with Christ. Because your life has been hidden with Christ in God, develop your relationship with God by talking to Him all the time. Talk to God through prayer in the precious Name of Jesus in formal prayer times in your closet, on the way to work, during difficult circumstances and times during your day, and as often as you possibly can. Pray for yourself, pray for others, delight yourself in talking to the Triune God who has saved you in Jesus!

 

We all can walk with God in union and communion with Jesus Christ by faith. All who are listed in Hebrews 11 are simple sinners like you and me who had both good and bad times in their lives. What set them apart from the rest of the world was their faith in God and His promises. They believed that God existed and that God rewards those who seek him.

 

Do you believe in God? Do you believe God? Do you believe God rewards those who seek Him?

 

Look to Jesus Christ and see your life!

 

Then go and live a life worth living—one that is pleasing to God as you more effectively and accurately walk with God as His child.

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

08/07/11

“Walking with God”- Do You Walk with God in Union with Christ?

Word of Encouragement

 

ESV Genesis 5:22-24: Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. ESV Hebrews 11:5-6: By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

 

Beloved, are you characterized by “walking with God”? Is your life an example to others of what it means to walk with God? Are you satisfied with your walk before God in Christ today? Is your life lived well?

 

Today I want to talk with you about union and communion with God. I want us to better and more effectively to know how to walk with God in Christ in a way that perhaps you have never dreamed possible! God can do immeasurably above all that we ask or imagine- -and so let us trust God to teach us to better realize our union with Him in Jesus, and to seek to develop our communion with Him.

 

In Genesis 5, we are told of a unique man named Enoch. He is described a one who “walked with God” (Gen. 5:22, 24). Very rarely in the Bible is this used of men in their relationship to God. Noah is described as one who walked with God, and the priests who walked before God’s special presence in the Holy of Holies are described as men who walk with God (Gen. 6:9; Mal. 2:6). Enoch’s relationship was special, and Hebrews 11:5-6 tells us more specifically of what it means that Enoch walked with God.

 

Enoch was commended as one who walked with God because he lived as one who “pleased God” (Heb. 11:5). In Genesis 5, Enoch is unique in that his life does not end in death, but God takes him, or translates him to God’s special presence without undergoing the curse of death that he deserved. Genesis 5:24 teaches: “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

 

Enoch’s being taken by God without seeing death reminds us of two important truths: (1) Although death is a curse upon mankind for sin (Gen. 2:17; 3:19- “You shall surely die”), God has the power over death and so there is hope in God for all who believe His promises that death is not the final word; and (2) Enoch may have lived a brief life (in comparison to the other people who lived during his time very long lives), nevertheless, his life was lived well, pleasing God and then continuing in communion in his life with God forever. Enoch lived well in communion with God.

 

We should understand right away that Enoch ultimately points us to his greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Adam, the Son of Seth, the Son of Enoch…and the Son of God (Luke 3:23, 37-38). Enoch’s short life (of ‘only’ 365 years!) was characterized by walking with God, pleasing God, and eternal life without seeing death, yet this life could only be possibly by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Although Enoch did not know as much as we know today about the Lord Jesus because we live in the fullness of God’s revelation of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-2; Gal. 4:4ff), nevertheless, he trusted God’s promises to him that were given at that particular time in redemptive history, and he lived by faith in knowing God was faithful to his promises that he had made to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:15). Enoch believed the gospel good news as he knew it at his time in history, and walked by faith before the living God pleasing God with his faith.

 

God blessed Enoch and he did not see death. God favored Enoch and so he was privileged to be taken, or translated to live in eternal communion with God without seeing death.  But death was a reality for all other men in Adam (notice the phrase “…And he died” in Genesis 5 that describes the effects of the curse and heightens the contrast with Enoch’s life).

 

Although Enoch would not see death, he could not have solved the problem of death as a curse upon man. Enoch could not take away the problem of the curse of death upon mankind. Even Enoch was born into Adam’s image (Gen. 5:1-3), which means that he was conceived in sin with a sinful nature, and so he could not have died for himself or for others in order to take away the death curse that hung over mankind because of Adam’s transgression against God (Rom. 5:12, 14). As a sinner, Enoch’s life was lived by God’s grace alone; Enoch’s translation into eternal communion with God was by grace alone.

 

Even though Enoch did not see death, death was still a problem for mankind, especially in the realization of God’s gospel promises to undo the curse of sin caused by the serpent, and destroy the serpent and what he had done to Adam and His seed in his diabolical death-works (Gen. 3:15). How would death be abolished and the serpent’s work destroyed?

 

Enoch’s sinfulness in Adam, and inability to abolish death himself points to another, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Enoch’s greater son, because death could only be abolished by one who was perfect, untainted by sin and the curse of Adam, and could die under God’s condemning wrath as a sacrifice for all who believe.

 

Jesus Christ came in the fullness of time, born of a woman, born under the condemnation of the law that threatened death, in order to abolish death. Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might be the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus entered into Adam’s genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) without the taint of sin (because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit of the substance of Mary), to do away with the curse of death by taking the curse upon Himself!

 

Jesus died, and was raised from the dead! Death could not hold him; Jesus abolished death; Jesus’s death was the death of death! We can rejoice that death that threatens all mankind in Adam has been abolished, and the sting and threat of death has been removed from the viper’s poison.

 

ESV Hebrews 2:14-15: Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

 

Jesus in his death for sinners, as the son greater than Enoch “destroyed the one who had the power of death”!

 

The Apostle Paul exults in the Gospel good news that death has been abolished not by our works, but by Christ’s work on our behalf that is received by grace alone through faith:

 

ESV 2 Timothy 1:9-10: …[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…

 

Jesus abolished death in his death so that life and immortality might be brought to all who believe. This is the great promise of life that Enoch’s translation and being taken to be with God was pointing forward to! Enoch could be taken by God and not see death, but Enoch could not take away the curse of death.

 

Praise God that we live not in a time of types and shadows as Enoch before the flood and the incarnation, but in the fullness of the time and the bright light of God’s realities in Jesus Christ! Let us rejoice in Christ’s victory over death. Although we may see death, and walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil, for our death is now as merely going to sleep to awake to eternal life and communion with God for all eternity (Psalm 23:4-6; 1 Thess. 4:13-19). Some Christians will not see death when the Lord returns, but will be immediately translated as their brother Enoch before them!

 

God indeed has the power over death and this is what Enoch’s life and translation points toward in Jesus Christ. But Enoch’s life also points us to a life that is pleasing to God and one that has of communion with God not only in this present life but also in the life to come.

 

Enoch’s life points us to eternal life with God, but an eternal life with God that begins right now as we believe! Enoch’s life point us not merely to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but more fully and exhaustively and extensively to the believers’ union with Jesus Christ!

 

Now you may say to me: “Pastor, Enoch was a great man, I am an average man or woman, etc.” But I would remind you that we live on the other side of the death and resurrection and ascension of Christ Jesus! No matter how “average” a man or woman you are, you are extraordinary in God’s sight compared to Enoch and the time in which He lived.

 

Enoch lived a life in union and communion with God, but Enoch could have never dreamed (unless revealed to him outside of Scripture) of the close union and communion with God that we have because of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

Enoch pleased God by walking with him by faith and believing God’s promises only imperfectly in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Jesus Christ, one greater than Enoch, and Enoch’s greater Son, walked with God perfectly and he came under the curse of death and was raised from the dead in resurrection power, not only for himself, but for all who believe both in the Old and the New Covenants!

 

Jesus Christ is a life greater than Enoch’s that gives us more than an example of what it means to walk with God, but one who walked with God and pleased God on our behalf.

 

Jesus walked with God and pleased him for us. Jesus secured our salvation and our union and communion with him. Enoch’s life points forward not merely to Christ’s resurrection, but union with Jesus Christ and all the benefits of that union! In Jesus Christ, we have one who has pleased God perfectly on our behalf. Jesus’ perfect righteousness before God that he earned in walking with God is imputed to us by faith as we receive it. God’s work in Jesus Christ is received by grace alone and we are reckoned or considered perfectly righteous in God’s sight because of Christ’s perfect life (Romans 4).

 

Christ lived perfectly walking with God and therefore in Christ we have walked perfectly with God and pleased Him in a way we could never have done as sinners. Enoch was a sinner and God imputed the righteousness of Christ to him through types and shadows that God gave to His believing people at that time in redemptive-history. We live in the fullness of the times as Christians and we can live gratefully knowing that Christ has pleased God by walking with God perfectly on our behalf.

 

Jesus has overcome and abolished death, and he has been translated, he has been raised, he has been taken, he has been resurrected to live with God in eternal communion for all eternity with the living God. In fact, Jesus is ruling and reigning at God’s right hand as King of kings and Lord of lords, and the last enemy to be conquered by him is death (1 Cor. 15:23ff- although it is already a present reality, it has yet to be fully manifested).

 

We as Christians walk with God now in union and communion with Jesus Christ by faith. The Bible teaches us that even though we still live here in this world, we are really already translated, raised, taken and resurrected to live with God.

 

Notice this truth in Colossians 3:1-4:

 

ESV Colossians 3:1-4: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

The Bible teaches us that as Christians we live in union and communion with God, walking with God now, and even having been translated to be with God now, in a way that Enoch would have never imagined in his “short” life! This teaches us people of God that no matter how short your life may be, no matter how insignificant you think you and your life may be, you are united to Jesus Christ by faith and already you have died with Christ and been raised up with him! Your life is greatly significant and you can be one who is defined in Christ as one who walks with God and enjoy sweet communion with this great God!

 

Colossians 3:1-4 teaches that believers like Enoch before (but much better) “have been raised with Christ” now (v. 1a), and that because of this we are to live in communion with God “seeking the things that are above” (v. 1b). Although we live in this world now, we are to live as if already translated like Enoch, because we have been translated and raised with Christ.

 

So secure is our present existence in union with Jesus that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” and that Christ is our life (vv. 3-4a). Although we remain here, our union with Christ is so very **INTIMATE** that we live in Him and move in Him and have our very being in Him- -we are His holy temple, the special people in which He dwells by His Spirit.

 

Although we await the full realization of the abolition and destruction of death, and the full manifestation of the everlasting glory that Enoch was able to experience. Nevertheless, we are already partakers of it now in our union with Jesus.

 

As Christians, we must understand that we now live by faith in all of God’s promises in Jesus, knowing that as we live by faith in our union with Jesus, we will always please God. We are reminded in Hebrews 11:6:

 

“Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

 

Let us live by faith in Christ Jesus, and live in light of God’s promises in Scripture, let us live as if God exists and rewards those who seek Him as He has promised!

 

Like Enoch, but so much better, we can live pleasing God, and knowing that already we have been taken to be with God in a very special and unique way!

 

It can be said of believer who seeks God and lives by faith in God’s promises fully revealed in Jesus that they are “not” or “no more” “for God has taken them”. We can especially no longer be friends of this world, the world that is enmity with God (James 4:4ff), because we live in the Heavenly Places in Jesus (see also Ephesians 2:5-10).  Like Enoch, but in a way that Enoch never fully could have imagined at his time in history, we are dead in Christ and raised with Christ in our union with him, and we already live and move in the Heavenly Places by God’s Spirit here and now.

 

Can it be said of you that you “walk with God”?

 

Do you realize more of your union with God through communion with God? We should understand the distinction in our relationship to God between our union with Him and our communion with Him. Do you make this important distinction?

 

Our union with God in Jesus Christ by faith can never be broken. Our union will never fluctuate; no one, nothing can snatch us out of Jesus’ grip, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (John 10:28ff; Romans 8:31-39). If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

But our communion with Christ because of our union must be developed; we grow into our communion just like getting to know a friend better or a parent if we are adopted into a family. In our communion with God, He is always near and promises that if we draw near to Him, he will draw near to us to commune with us (James 4:4ff).

 

We should understand that it is not that God withdraws from us who are in union with Jesus, but that we have a tendency to withdraw from him and not walk with him as we are called to do in Jesus Christ. God doesn’t move away from us, but we do and we often wander away from God from our hearts, although we are in union with him.

 

In other words, while living already translated in Jesus Christ, we can live as if we are still part of this world and not seek communion with Him as we should.

 

As we realize what Christ has done for us and how he has pleased God on our behalf, and we know how we are saved from our sinful condition, so we learn to develop our communion with the Triune God.

 

Let us remember these things as part of developing our communion with God. Meditate on these things this week, and by God’s grace and Spirit, you will find that you will please God more in your obedience (not in order to be saved, but as a manifestation of your gratitude for salvation), and you will find more joy in your journey here, just because you are already translated and are “not” because you have “been taken, like Enoch, but so much better.

 

Developing our Communion with God:  Remind yourself daily…

 

(1)   Remind yourself of the distinction between union with Christ that is unbreakable and will not fluctuate, and the communion with God that must be sought and developed.

 

(2)   Remind yourself daily that you were not seeking God, but this glorious and self-existent and wonderful God who you had lived sinning against, sought you out and initiated a relationship with you in Jesus Christ for the sake that you might know Him better.

 

(3)   Remind yourself of the interaction that should be happening in your life as you grow in the knowledge of the Triune God. Our communion with God is interactive: God works in us by His Spirit, we respond with joyful obedience; God speaks to us through His Word, we respond with thankful gratitude and walking according to His commandments; God tell us how much He loves us, we love him back by living for him and seeking to please Him.

 

(4)   Remind yourself that because God is your Father, you are a child of the living God and heir to all that Christ is heir to, and that God will lead and guide you and even chastise you because you are a dear child whom he loves and he knows better than any earthly parent what you most need.

 

(5)   Remind yourself that because Jesus is your Savior, you have a Shepherd who will never leave you nor forsake you but guard and guide you to the promised land of eternity. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a loving Husband-Bridegroom, who has given his life for you, and has betrothed himself to you, so be faithful to you Heavenly Husband. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a great and mighty King who is with you and will strengthen, help and uphold you in your day to day struggles. Because Jesus is your Savior, you have a dear friend who has laid down his life for you and lives to make you joyful (see John 15:11-15). Jesus calls us friends, will you not seek him, this Heavenly friend who only longs to rejoice over you and to be with you. Won’t you just be with Jesus sometimes, leaning confidently on his bosom, letting him know that you love him?!

 

(6)   Remind yourself that because the Spirit of God is with you, you may have as much of Christ as you seek in Him! The Spirit loves to talk about Jesus, minister Jesus and lead us into all the truths of Scripture about Jesus! We have the Spirit to war against our sinful flesh; we have the Spirit to comfort and console us, and to help us to pray. Won’t you seek His power to enable you to die more and more to sin, to realize the union you have with Christ and the communion with him you need to develop. Won’t you seek Him for the power to desire Him more?

 

(7)   Remind yourself to delight yourself in the LORD daily (Psa. 37:4)! The Bible says “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Is the LORD **THE** desire of your heart?! You can have more of Him the Bible says- -you can walk closer in communion with him. Can you say with the Psalmist: “Who have I in heaven but you, and what on earth do I desire but you?” (Psalm 73:23ff). You can have this kind of response to your union with Jesus and grow in your communion. Remember that what enlists a person’s affections, rules the person. This means that if God is what gets you excited, then God will rule over you. If someone or something else is loved or delighted more in and gets you excited than God, this/these things will rule you. There is no way to live for God if your affections are not given over to him and this is the urgent practical need of communion with him!

 

(8)   Remind yourself to please God in Jesus Christ in response to the Gospel message that you have died and already been seated with Christ in the Heavenlies. You no longer need the things of this world. Seek the things of Christ that are above, and beware of prosperity that tempts you to have a weak relationship with such a glorious God!

 

(9)   Remind yourself daily that God is a consuming fire and worthy to be reverenced, feared and worshipped according to His Word. Although He has been gracious in Christ, may we never presume upon His grace and the blood of Jesus, thinking that if we do, we will not be judged with great and painful consequences! Remind yourself that although God has stooped to be gracious in Christ, He is still the living God and you are to approach Him in Christ with fear and trembling (Heb. 12:25-29). May we seek never to grieve our God because of our sins- -may we never live as those who are trusting in Christ’s precious blood and living blatantly sinfully thinking that Christ’s blood can be excuses for sin and freedom to live as we please!

 

(10)                       Remind yourself daily to develop your prayer life as never before now that you know that you have already been raised, translated, and resurrected with Christ. Because your life has been hidden with Christ in God, develop your relationship with God by talking to Him all the time. Talk to God through prayer in the precious Name of Jesus in formal prayer times in your closet, on the way to work, during difficult circumstances and times during your day, and as often as you possibly can. Pray for yourself, pray for others, delight yourself in talking to the Triune God who has saved you in Jesus!

 

IN Christ, we realize that Enoch’s life of pleasing God as he “walked with God” teaches Christians today that we can all be Enochs!

 

We all can walk with God in union and communion with Jesus Christ by faith. All who are listed in Hebrews 11 are simple sinners like you and me who had both good and bad times in their lives. What set them apart from the rest of the world was their faith in God and His promises. They believed that God existed and that God rewards those who seek him.

 

Do you believe in God? Do you believe God? Do you believe God rewards those who seek Him?

 

Look to Jesus Christ and see your life!

 

Then go and live a life worth living—one that is pleasing to God as you more effectively and accurately walk with God as His child.

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

08/02/11

True Repentance: “Against You Have I Sinned, O God”

Word of Encouragement

 

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment….For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. – Psalm 51:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10

 

True repentance is godly sorrow for our sins against God that is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit in us. True repentance is a gospel grace of God given to believers as a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ as one of the fruits of His life, death, resurrection and ascension for us.  True repentance is not what saves a person any more than faith is what saves, but Christ saves us through faith and true repentance. We do not put our hope in our repentance, but in Christ alone that grants to believers repentance. The focus of our salvation is always the grace of God to sinners received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

 

But are you truly repentant? Many confessing Christians are not truly repentant. Many confessing Christians may be sorry for being troubled for their sins, but are not so sorry for troubling God with their sins, and offending His Holy character by their sins. We must be aware that there is still a self-centered focus that characterizes our lives, even when it comes to repenting before God. If we are not repentant, if repentance is not what defines us, then how can we say we are true Christian? The fullness of the Gospel era in the full revelation of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ begins with this proclamation:

 

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”- ESV Mark 1:15

 

How do we know and recognize true repentance in us? Notice the Psalmist in Psalm 51 in our scripture above; when repenting of sin, the Psalmist knows that the offense if first a sinful offense against a Holy God: “Against, you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” Repentance is produced by “godly grief” according to the Apostle Paul.  In Psalm 51, David had sinned against others when he sinned with Bathsheba. He had both committed adultery and he had murdered. But his sin was first against God.

 

The Apostle Paul had written a letter to the Corinthians for their conduct and behavior that was unbecoming to the gospel of Jesus and their response was a realization that they had sinned against God first, even though they had also sinned against the Apostle Paul and others in the congregation.  The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 7 contrasts true godly repentance produced by godly grief and what he describes as “worldly grief” that produces NOT repentance, but death.

 

What is worldly grief? Simply, it is being sorry for having to suffer the consequences for sin, but it is not godly grief that leads to repentance. True repentance is sorry for offending our Creator and God.

 

Every sin strikes at the honor of God, the being of God, the glory of God, the heart of Christ, the joy of the Spirit, and the peace of a man’s conscience. A truly repentant person strikes against all sin by the power of the Spirit, as the Spirit wars against the flesh, so the repentant person allies himself daily with the Spirit’s work to kill sin by drawing strength from a crucified Christ to crucify all (not merely sins in general, but sins in particular!). Christ has not only paid the penalty of our sins, but in our union with Him by faith, he has granted us power over our sins.

 

When you sin are you first sorry for offending God? Are you saddened first NOT with the fact that this sin could cause others to disrespect you, or that you might be found out, or that you might have some consequences to suffer, or that it would really hurt your family if they knew what you had done, or that the sin has made you feel guilty and like you’re not a good person, etc.? If this is your first concern, it is usually your only concern.

 

Sadly, this is what is called repentance many times in Christian churches. But the Bible teaches very clearly throughout redemptive-history, that repentance is first sorrow for grieving God; repentance is sorrow for sinning against God your Creator, and Lord who redeemed you.

 

This is why the Reformers, particularly Luther and Calvin spoke of repentance being a daily activity as a Christian and what should characterize the true Christian each and every day. As the Psalmist wrote: ESV “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3). Repentance is to “know your transgressions against God” and that daily you sin is ever “before you”. To truly know the saving work and power of Jesus Christ, one must know from the sinful depths which they have been saved. Repentance is a continual turning from sin and folly to the grace of God found in Christ alone.

 

True daily repentance should be some of our first words out of our mouths to God when we get out of bed each morning. A truly repentant person can never content themselves with one act of repentance any more than they can be content with one act of faith or one act of love in the Christian life (Thomas Brooks). If you want to learn to pray more, then ask God to help you to have a deeper repentance, a deeper knowledge of how much you offend Him in words, thoughts and deeds that sin against Him and are abhorrent to Him in both your committing of certain sins and the omission of certain duties.

 

True repentance can make you pray more, and it can help you to be filled more with Christ’s joy. Why? Because you will more deeply realize the truth of what Jesus says: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), and so you will seek the grace from Christ alone to live for God. As you learn to depend upon Christ more, you will more and more realize that He is your Savior from sin and your closest friend who teaches you to be obedient to His commands, and fills you with His joy: “My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full” (John 15:11b).

 

But don’t get too confident in your own self to repent. Repentance is not something you do first, it is something God does in you; repentance is a gift from Jesus Christ. Repentance is something that God gives to you by the working of His Spirit. This is another reason boldly to approach the throne of grace to find help in your time of need (Heb. 4:14-16). You need to be repentant in order to grow, you need repentance in order to be full of joy and walking with God, but you can’t produce repentance on your own. Call out to God for a greater repentance! This too, will keep you in your prayer closet seeking God as he has promised to reward you (Matt. 6).

 

Jesus gives repentance: ESV “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”- Acts 5:32. Jesus grants repentance. Do you seek Him for it?

 

Our forefather in the faith, Thomas Brooks reminds us of the fact that we should never fool ourselves into believing that repentance is an act of our own ability: “There is no power below that power that raised Christ from the dead, and that made the world, that can break the heart of a sinner or turn the heart of a sinner to God. You are as well able to melt hard metal like adamant as to melt your own heart; you are as able to raise the dead and to create a world, as to repent….Repentance is a gift that comes down from above….It is not in the power of any mortal to repent at pleasure” (Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices).”

 

How do you know that you’re truly repentant and that Jesus has granted you repentance? There are a few main ingredients of true repentance: A sight of one’s own sin, sorrow for sin, confession of sin, hatred of sin, and turning from sin.

 

A sight of one’s own sins before God. As we learned above, we are to have a sight of our own sinful condition before God, as well as our specific sins we commit against God (this is one important use of the Law of God and the Ten Commandments for the Christian life; the Law is never to be used as a way of gaining salvation, because it only aggravates sin and makes one hopelessly realize their sinful helplessness and need of grace to do anything good for God, but as commands in the Christian life, it helps us to see more clearly our own sins and our need for constant repentance and grace). Many of us are good at spying the sinful faults in others, but we can see no faults in ourselves. Our own sins are veiled with ignorance of our sins due to pride and self-love.

 

A sorrow for your sin. Godly sorrow is sorry for one’s sin against God. It is not first concerned with the trouble that the sin has brought to the sinner, but the pain that it has brought to the heart of our loving Savior. Remember the penitent tax collector before God; this should be our daily prayer of repentant and act; he “beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13). Psalm 38 (various verses) says: “There is no health in my bones because of my sin…My iniquities have gone over my head, they are a burden to me, they are too heavy for me…But for you, O LORD, do I wait; O Lord my God, you will answer.” Anyone who can repent without sorrow must suspect if he is truly repentant. Notice in Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

 

What characterizes true repentance is a broken heart, and deep sorrow for sin because as a Christian particularly your sins have been against grievous to God who loves you in Jesus. Our Lord Jesus tells us that the Christian is characterized by repentance and “blessed” as he teaches in the sermon on the mount: ESV “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The Christian is repentant and sorry for sin because the Christian is poor in spirit before God, mournful for one’s own sins as well as the sins of others, and meek.”

 

Remember the promise of Psalm 126:5: “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy!”

 

Confession of sin. As our sins are ever before God, so God’s promise must be ever before us: ESV “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). An unrepentant person is basically living a lie because they are living as if they have no sin; a unrepentant person is calling God a liar as well (1 Jo. 1:10). But a truly repentant person knows not only our sins before God, but knows that when they confess, God is faithful to His promises, and He is just in that He will never demand another payment for sin, when Jesus Christ has already borne your curse, your sins and your sorrows on the cross for you (Isaiah 53; 1 Peter. 2:22-25).

 

Confession is self-accusing. Confession brings a sinner before God as one’s own accuser to find a Savior ready and willing to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. By self-accusing we prevent Satan’s accusations against us. This is what the Apostle John means when He reminds us in confession of our sins to God that we have an Advocate, or a Mediator, or a “Defense Attorney” to stand for us against any Accuser (1 Jo. 2:1-2; Rev. 12:10). Confession should be voluntary and immediate once Jesus has given repentance. As the prodigal son was quick to come to his father and say: “I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18). Remember that if you draw near to God in repentance, he will draw near to you in forgiving mercies and loving grace.

 

Hatred of sin and turning from sin. This is a recognition that Christ is your Savior from sin, and that the struggle in the Christian life is what the Apostle Paul wrote in seventh of Romans: “What I want to do , I do not do…That which I do not want to do, that I keep on doing.” The Apostle Paul’s hope and our hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 7:25), but we no longer love sin as we once did, now we hate sin. When you realize that although you are guilty and culpable for your sins before God, but in some mysterious way you hate them so much before God that you can say with Paul that it is “not I but sin living within me” then you know that you have a true hatred of your sins. Paul wrote: ESV “Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” A sinful, unrepentant person cannot agree with God’s law and believe it is holy, righteous and good. A truly repentant person can love the law of God and hate their own sins in such a way that they (although are culpable) feel like that it is not them doing the sin, but sin dwelling within. This proves that there is no more enmity against God (Romans 8:7-9) because the Spirit of God is at work in the believer’s heart. Our confession (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 15) states this clearly:

 

“…Upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with Him in all the ways of His commandments.”

 

If you still love your sins, you are not repentant, and you cannot claim assurance of faith. You should really seek God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to examine yourself to see if you be in the faith; if you love your sins, you should seek to make your calling and election sure (see 2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 3:9-11). If you sin, and hate your sins, that is one thing; but to sin, and love your sins, that is another. Be careful here that you keep your focus on the dying Savior on the cross and that in your self-examination you don’t get lost within your own bosom and belly! Your hope, our Gospel hope is held out to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Run to Jesus, run to Jesus, run to Jesus and find in Him forgiveness- -tell Him you love your sins, and need repentance and call upon His name for grace.

 

Also, be careful with forms of pseudo-repentance, like when you do something really sinful and heinous and you just feel guilty about it because it was such a thing that you should have never done. Watching certain films, listening to certain music, and looking at certain images on the internet can make you feel after the fact guilty for doing such a thing, but there is also a bit of a thrill. You must understand that this is NOT repentance, but a pseudo-repentance. This is more of a shame and guilt because you know that what you have watched, listened to, or done was wrong, but it doesn’t mean you have truly repented and that you are sorry for your sins because you sinned against God’s great holiness, Jesus’ love and the grieved the Holy Spirit. Be warned.

 

In your hatred of sin, you also turn from your sins. The Christian life is a constant turning from our sins, folly and idolatries to God; the Christian life is a constant, prayerfully watchful turning from flesh to the Spirit of God, to walk by the Spirit and not gratify the flesh (Gal. 5:16-26); the Christian life is a constant turning from worldliness to godliness to live the way you were created in Christ Jesus to live (Eph. 2:10). Is your life described as the Apostle Paul describes the repentance of the Thessalonian Christians?

 

ESV 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10: For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

 

Do you know the sweetness of Christ in His forgiving love for you? Do you know that if you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you and to cleanse you from all of your sins.

 

Be not unbelieving. Be not unbelieving in your accepting the righteousness that God requires of every man by faith alone in Christ alone. Be not believing in accepting God’s forgiveness as you confess and abhor your sins because of your love for Him; be not believing in that you continue in your sins thinking that there are no consequences. For the repentant, there is grace and love and mercy found in Jesus Christ; for the unrepentant there is only condemnation and the wrath of God. And remember, do not think that repentance is something like your allowance that you “save for a rainy day” later on in life, as if you could repent when you desired to repent. Like Cain, Pharaoh, and Esau before you, don’t kid yourself into believing that you will somehow repent “one day”; your ongoing unrepentant heart before God is actually hardening you, and will eventually damn you as those unrepentant souls before you. Beware.

 

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand…Seek the LORD while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Today is the day of salvation; today is the day of repentance; repent and believe the good news. Jesus says: “Come to me all of you who labor and are heavy-laden with your sins, and I will give you rest; my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

 

GRACE.

 

Prayer of John Calvin: “Now let us bow before the majesty of our gracious God in acknowledgement of our faults, praying that He will make us more sensitive to them. And as long as we have to walk in this world, let us learn to grieve daily over the weaknesses we are subject to. And after we ask him for forgiveness and pray that He will accept us in His infinite mercy, may He, despite our unworthiness, be pleased to strip us so completely of all our fleshly corruption and so renew us by His Holy Spirit that we will bear His mark and image. And may we be strengthened in the hope of life in heaven, and may we, illuminated by the mind and spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, learn to bear patiently the reproaches of this world and scorn all the arrogance and pride of those who have contempt for God and would seduce us and turn us from the right path.”

 

For further reading: Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 15: ‘Repentance unto Life’

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

07/30/11

“To Live is Christ!”

Word of Encouragement

ESV Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

As Christians we must learn not merely to live for Christ, but to realize that Christ is our life.

If we have Christ, we have everything we need and we can lose nothing. Even death will be our gain, not a loss. Having the mindset “Christ is my life” will help us to make progress in our faith and grow in our joy (Phil. 1:25). Christ teaches us in “Discipleship 101” that we are to love and serve Christ more than we love and serve our most beloved persons and things, including our very lives (Luke 14:26).

Don’t merely live for Christ, but realize that Christ is your life.

This means not merely living for Jesus, but living in a way that shows that Jesus is what defines your life!

Think about the Apostle Paul who was writing this letter to Philippians to encourage Christians. Paul is imprisoned, in chains for Christ and His Kingdom. Yet the Gospel is advancing- -many are being en-couraged– -the Gospel is advancing and the brethren are boldly preaching without fear the good news of Jesus Christ as a Savior from sin, even though they are threatened with persecution. Paul can rejoice because He knows that whatever happens to him, he interprets the circumstances from God’s perspective and He knows that what may seem like “hindrances become by God’s grace high-speed highways for the advancement of the Gospel (Phil. 1:3-11).”

For Paul, to live is Christ.

Paul has nothing to lose- -HE HAS EVERYTHING IN JESUS.

Whatever place he finds himself, it is for Jesus; it is with Jesus; it is in Jesus! Nothing to lose and everything to gain! (v. 21) – -REJOICE!!

Paul lives his life in a moment-by-moment “win-win” situation; there are not good times and bad times- -every moment is a good moment where Christ can enter in by virtue of Paul’s real and Holy-Spiritual union with Him and be transformed- -made more like him- -and to become more and more fruitful as he progresses in his faith.

 

Do you have this kind of ability to rejoice? All Christians can know this both theologically and practically!

For the Apostle Paul, “to live is Christ” is THEOLOGICAL and very PRACTICAL.

 

THEOLOGICALLY Paul is in union with Jesus Christ.

Paul is: “Buried with Christ” (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12); “United with Christ” (Rom. 6:5); “Crucified with Christ” (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20); Alive with Christ” (Rom. 6:7); “Heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17); “Suffers with Christ” (Rom. 8:17); “Glorified with Christ” (Rom. 8:17); “Have the same form as Christ- -be like him” (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:21); “Be conformed with Christ” in every way: life, death, and resurrection (Phil. 3:10ff).

“The foundation, center, purpose, direction, power and meaning of Paul’s life is Christ” (see Hansen, PNTC, Philippians).

  “The central soteriological reality is union with the exalted Christ by Spirit-created faith. That is the nub, the essence, of the way or order of salvation for Paul.” -Richard B. Gaffin, By Faith, Not By Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation

Our union with Jesus Christ is a glorious reality, where we can withdraw from the Risen-Ascended-Exalted Jesus all the power we need for life and godliness!

 

PRACTICALLY (theology lived out), Paul knows that Christ is the most important person, thing, possession and reality in his life. Period.

All of Paul’s “meaning of life” or what it means to live for Paul is about Christ.

Paul cannot fathom a life that is truly a life being without Jesus Christ.

 

CHRIST IS HIS LIFE.

What about your life?

Is Christ your life concerning the BIG Questions of life? Can you say with the Apostle Paul to live is Christ? Ask yourself:

“Who am I?” Can you answer: “I was created for Christ.”

“What is my purpose?” Can you answer: “Christ.”

“Why am I here?” Can you answer: “Christ.”

 

Paul’s mind, affections, and will are filled and directed by Christ; Jesus defines Paul’s person and mission and is his purpose.

What defines you? What brings you the greatest joy? Honestly. Getting at what brings you the greatest joy (which is often just happiness that changes with circumstances, but what is it that makes you happy most of the time), will help you to know what defines your life.

What is your heart’s greatest longing?

What’s most important to you? Right now.

What is your most important goal?

What could you never live without?

What fills your daydreams and captures your imagination?

What possesses you? (We often says what “possesses that person to do that?!”)

What is your most valuable asset? What is most precious and “worthy” to you?

 

Does Jesus bring you the greatest joy? When you say the name JESUS does your heart beat harder within you? Do you sense his presence and think of His goodness towards you?

Can you say with the Psalmist:

ESV Psalm 16:2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

ESV Psalm 73:25-26: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

What do you long for the most? What causes you most to rejoice now? This will help you to find what matters most to you. “To live is ___________.”

 

Is it Christ Jesus who died for you?

“Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.” – Robert Murray M’Cheyne.

Christ Jesus is the chief end of our lives. We are to glorify and enjoy God forever. We can only do this when Christ Jesus is the chief end, aim, and/or hope of our lives.

No true joy is possible UNLESS JESUS CHRIST is everything (as the hymn we sing reminds us):

“When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride…

…Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God: all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood…

…Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

 

We will never be able to rejoice always like the Apostle Paul (see also Phil. 4:4ff) until we know what it means “to live is Christ” or “To live—CHRIST!”

Jesus Christ must be our life! Jesus must be dearer to us than our richest gain; Jesus Christ must be more dear to us than our jobs, our careers, our families, friends, reputations, finances, homes…

Our Gospel promise is that God who began the Gospel work in us, will complete it (Phil. 1:6). As God has sought us, and redeemed us by the blood of Jesus, so let us seek for Christ to be our life. As Christ has laid down His life for us so that we can be God’s children (although we do not deserve such mercy!), let us learn to live for Him and Him alone!

 

Let us learn to pray for one another for the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to fill us and that we might be overflowing with God’s joy and hope in Him!  Let us pray to know Christ better- -his love, his work for us, his priestly intercession, his sufferings for and with us- -and to know Christ more intimately, closely, adoringly, affectionately. Let us at KCPC come to Christ more and by your grace, O Father, let us leave with more of Christ. Grant that we might be a congregation characterized by “TO LIVE IS CHRIST.” For Christ’s sake and His glory alone! Amen.

 

In Christ’s love,

 

Pastor Biggs

07/29/11