‘Tis the Season
Christmas carols often highlight the joy associated with the holiday season. The lyrics of “Deck the Halls” remind us, “‘Tis the season to be jolly.” For many, however, the attitude exhibited during this time of year is anything but jolly. Perhaps it is the stress of finding the perfect gift for a loved one that causes one to be impolite toward strangers, or the additional hustle and bustle in traffic on the roads and in the stores that brings out selfishness. Whatever the case may be, the attitude of Christmas shoppers is frequently the opposite of the joy expressed in the carols.
For the Christian, each day should be filled with happiness as we wait for the Savior and fellowship with each other. Do we demonstrate the delights of following Christ? Or do those around us look at our disposition and decide they would never want to be as miserable as we are?
The inspired apostle Paul wrote, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking by put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
Which words describe you? Bitter or kind? Angry or tenderhearted? Clamoring or forgiving?
Not only during this Christmas season, but throughout our Christian life, we must show others what is available in Christ. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29).
“Lord, Will You At This Time Restore The Kingdom To Israel?”
Acts 1:1-8
I. PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE KINGDOM
- A. Daniel 2:31-44
B. Isaiah 2:2-3 (cf. Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Timothy 3:15)
C. Joel 2:28-32
II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM
- A. Acts 2:1-21 (cf. Acts 11:15)
B. When they asked the question, the apostles didn’t fully understand the nature of the kingdom (John 16:12-13; 18:36; 1 Samuel 8:1-7)
III. MANY STILL MISUNDERSTAND TODAY: THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF PREMILLENNIALISM
- A. Recommended reading: God’s Prophetic Word by Foy E. Wallace Jr.
B. Premillennialism “means that the second coming of the Lord will occur before the millennium begins…upon his return Christ will inaugurate the earthly kingdom referred to as the millennial reign” (Wallace 346)
C. Consequences of premillennialism
- 1. Makes God false to His promises (Mark 1:14-15; Deuteronomy 18:18, 22)
2. Alternates Judaism and Christianity (Hebrews 8:13)
3. Demotes Christ from His place at the right hand of God in heaven to the earth (Hebrews 1:3; 8:1)
“But Lord, What About This Man?”
John 21:15-21
I. DISTRACTIONS
- A. Peter’s distraction in this context (John 18:15-18,25-27; 21:21-22)
B. The distractions in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-15)
C. Peter’s earlier distractions
- 1. When Jesus walked on water (Matthew 14:26-30)
2. At the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-7)
II. OUR FOCUS MUST BE ON FOLLOWING THE LORD
- A. God must be first (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:1-2,5; Matthew 6:19-21; Hebrews 11:6)
B. Barclay: “Let a man serve Christ where Christ has set him” (John 21:15-22; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Corinthians 12:12-22)
C. Where is your focus? (Philippians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Matthew 7:3-5; Galatians 6:1; Romans 12:1-2)
Setbacks
I experienced a bit of a setback this past week. Five and a half weeks after my back surgery, some of the pain started to come back. Emotionally discouraged and physically exhausted, my hope was that the pain was temporary and I took a little comfort in knowing that I was not completely healed but the pain should again decrease in the coming weeks as the mending continued.
Can this happen to us spiritually? Of course it can. The “fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16) will come at us from every direction. Are we going to give in to that temptation from time to time? Yes, sadly, we will. John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). We will suffer spiritual setbacks. Just as physical pain can discourage us, spiritual weakness can lead to deep disappointment.
Thank God we have an Advocate, a High Priest who understands temptation and who is on our side! Thank God that He is full of grace and desires our fellowship and has given us an avenue by which we can be restored! “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). How grand is the grace of God! How tremendous is His mercy!
This month especially, as we count our blessings and give thanks, may we daily remember His love for us and seek ways to show our love for Him.
“Are You Going There Again?”
John 11:1-10
I. THE CONTEXT
- A. The Jews sought to stone and seize Him (John 10:22-39)
B. “Let us go to Judea again” (John 11:7)
C. Do we take the Father’s commands as seriously as the Messiah did? (John 11:9-10; James 4:13-17)
II. IS THERE ANY EXCUSE TO DISOBEY GOD OR AVOID HIS WILL?
- A. The apostles feared for their lives and for the life of their Master, but that was no excuse (Mark 8:34-37; John 11:16)
B. Do we look for a way of escape from obedience?
- 1. “I don’t feel the need to do that” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; Jeremiah 10:23; Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:12-13)
2. “I’ve done too many bad things” (1 Timothy 1:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
3. “God just wants me to be happy, no matter what!” (Matthew 5:3-10; Romans 12:1-2)
4. “I’m not ready for that level of commitment; I’ll worry about it later” (Acts 24:23-25)
5. “I’m a good person and I love Jesus, but I don’t need organized religion”
- a. Romans 3:23
b. John 14:15
c. Acts 20:28; Colossians 1:24; Ephesians 5:23; Ephesians 4:4; Acts 2:47
Are We “All on the Same Team”?
I asked on Facebook, “What are some excuses you have heard (or used) for ignoring or disobeying the will of God?” One of the many excellent responses came from brother Steve Davis, who replied, “We’re all on the same team.” This may be said many different ways, such as, “Go to the church of your choice,” or, “We’re all headed to heaven, just taking different roads to get there.” Is this a Biblical concept?
If we are on the same team, shouldn’t we be using the same playbook? When the quarterback calls a play, doesn’t he expect the wide receiver to run a certain route? The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the SAME thing, and that there be NO DIVISIONS among you, but that you be perfectly joined TOGETHER in the SAME mind and in the SAME judgment.” Can this be said about all the denominational confusion in the religious world?
Instead of the “church of your choice,” wouldn’t it be wiser to worship with the church of God’s choice (Acts 20:28), in the many that He decrees (John 4:24)? There are not “different roads to heaven,” there is only the “narrow gate…which leads to life” (Matthew 7:13-14).
God’s will is revealed in His Word. The only way to know His will is to study His Word. James 1:25 encourages us to seek the truth and live according to it: “But he who LOOKS into the perfect law of liberty and CONTINUES in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a DOER of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
Denominationalism leads people away from God. Only the Word points to the Lord. May we all love the Lord and His revelation (John 14:15), and study, learn, and obey the things contained therein (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Faulty Memories
I had an idea for a bulletin article earlier in the week but didn’t write it down immediately, and when it came time to submit an article, I had forgotten all about the idea. That’s not the first time it has happened.
Maybe mankind’s faulty memory is why God instituted so many memorials. Going all the way back to the flood when God instituted the rainbow as a memorial, not for the people, but for Himself. In Genesis 8:16, God said, “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” At times, I get frustrated at the appropriation of the rainbow by the homosexual community, but maybe it is by God’s providential design. That rainbow represents a promise that no matter how wicked the world becomes, the Almighty will not destroy it again by flood.
Other memorials God instituted in the Old Testament include the Passover(Exodus 12:24-27), the jar of manna (Exodus 16:32-33), the twelve stones (Joshua 4:5-7), and even the Sabbath day itself (Exodus 20:8-11).
Still today, under the new covenant, we observe a memorial on the first day of every week. Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper just prior to His death on the cross. He said of the unleavened bread, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Christ’s human life was not taken from Him; He gave it for us. What an amazing gift! He followed this with the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). There is power in that blood, power to cleanse us of our sins so we might stand blameless before God.
I am thankful God gave us the Lord’s Supper so that we can continually, week by week, remember the awesome gift of His Son and the power of His blood.
“Up To Seven Times?”
Matthew 18:21-35
I. PETER’S PERCEIVED GENEROSITY
- A. “Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21; Amos 1:3,6,9,11,13; Job 33:29-30)
B. Context (Matthew 18:15-17)
C. The spirit of forgiveness is rooted in love (1 Corinthians 13:5)
- 1. Love “thinks no evil” (NKJV)
2. Love “does not take into account a wrong suffered” (NASB)
3. Love “keeps no records of wrongs” (NIV)
II. GOD’S ENORMOUS GRACE
- A. The first part of the parable (Matthew 18:23-27)
B. The compassion and grace that God offers (Psalm 103:8-13; Exodus 34:6-7; Ephesians 1:7-8; Colossians 1:13-14)
III. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD EACH OTHER
- A. Keep forgiving as long as you have something to forgive (Matthew 18:22)
B. God’s forgiveness is conditional (Matthew 18:28-35; Matthew 6:14-15)
C. Imitate the Lord (Colossians 3:12-13)
Blessed in Christ
Have you ever read something in the Scriptures that made you scratch your head? Jesus says in His famed sermon on the mount, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). How often have you felt “blessed” while mourning? Isn’t this a paradox?
Throughout the Scriptures, we see what we would consider negative events lead to positive results. Consider the inspired words of Romans 5:3-4 (tribulation –> perseverance –> hope), Hebrews 12:11 (chastening –> peaceable fruit of righteousness), 2 Corinthians 7:10 (godly sorrow –> repentance leading to salvation), and James 1:2-3 (trials/testing of faith –> patience). In each instance, we start with something negative, but the end result is something positive.
The mourning under consideration in Matthew 5 does not refer to everyday sorrows, as Paul tells us that “the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). J.W. McGarvey writes in his commentary on Matthew and Mark that this is “those who mourn in reference to sin. ‘They shall be comforted’ because now there is an ample provision made for pardon.”
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Romans 5:8-11)
We no longer have to mourn over our hopelessness, but “rejoice” that “through (Christ) we have now received the reconciliation.” Truly we are blessed!
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