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God’s ‘Earth Day’ Every Day

Study Guide  April 28, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

Gen 1:28-31- “God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” NASU

This last Monday was the celebration of Earth day, which was begun back in 1970 as a way to promote awareness about environmental issues. And if you look around the world, there genuinely are many abuses of this beautiful planet that God made for us all to enjoy and to take care of…or to manage under His guidance. Recently our daughter and family, living in Bangkok, Thailand, had to endure a really bad stretch of air pollution that had settled all over Southeast Asia. Schools were closed for awhile, and people were told to wear masks wherever they went. A badly polluted river runs right near the International School where Sara and Todd live and work. That gives us something else to pray for when we think of the health conditions of where they serve.

And while that is an example of real negligence, it certainly reminds us all that since God made this world as a gift for mankind to care for, all the while using it’s vast resources to prosper, all people have the responsibility to respect and protect and care for this amazing planet that God created for us. As followers of Christ, we not only have the responsibility to be good stewards of this beautiful world, but we also have the responsibility to explain to the world why God made it in the beginning and what He has planned for it in the end…or in the forever future we should say. Plus, we are to give voice to truth and give the Biblical picture of what’s going on with this world to a world that has historically lived their lives by falsehoods and distortions about all of creation. And of course, that requires that people be reminded that every consideration about creation has to be connected with reverence for the Creator. Whenever the Creator is left out of the picture everything gets all distorted.

Actually, the fact that so many people are now being made aware of this need to care for the environment points to a great opportunity for God’s people to fill in the rest of the picture and point them to the Creator, who they also need to become their Redeemer! Remember, the Apostle Paul used the fascination that the Greeks had about their many so-called gods to fill in the picture by pointing them to the one true God. Notice what he said: Acts 17:22-28- “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being…” NKJV

That is one of the most affirming and instructive witnesses ever given. Notice how Paul affirmed and commended their concern and interest in religious things, and then informed and instructed them about the truth of God as the true Creator of the heavens and the earth, as well as the personal Creator of all people, and then pointed out the need for each person to reach out to this personal Creator as their Lord and God. He started with where they were and showed them where they could could be, if they were willing to go there, of course.

And what was their response? Acts 17:32-34- “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.“So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” NKJV

So again, some mocked, some were made more interested, and some believed unto salvation. And that’s the way it always is. But the point is that Paul left the responses in the hands of God the Holy Spirit, and simply used their religious interests as a way to share with them a realistic worldview, the Biblical worldview. In a similar way, we can also affirm people who have a genuine concern for taking care of the environment. We can commend them for that, and then also instruct them further on how it all fits together in God’s plan.

Now, we know that an overall Biblical worldview is what is sorely lacking in many educational places and in many people who are passionate about the environment, but are negligent about the Creator. And yes, like those who mocked Paul’s revelation of truth, there are some in the environmental circles that mock the truth of God as Creator and only Savior. There have always been people throughout history that have worshiped creation, but rejected the Creator. From some early Greek transcripts found in 12 B.C. references to ‘maga’ or ‘Mother Gaia’ were found. This was a notion that nature had it’s own spirit. And from that came the notion of an ‘Earth Mother’, or ‘Mother Earth’. And although, that did make for a very humorous commercial some years later… “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”…remember that…still, it did give rise to many cultures associating ‘spirits’ with the Earth. And these people would then practice some sort of worship rituals and even give names to the so-called ‘god-spirits’ of the Earth.

But although some in the various environmental movements have taken a very adversarial stance against Biblical Creationists, still, God’s people don’t have to let them set the tone nor take the lead on the need to both love God and take loving-care of God’s creation. Of all people on Earth, God’s people should be taking the lead and setting the pace on being careful to do whatever is possible to protect the environment and care for God’s creatures and be examples of how God’s good earth should be respectfully managed and treasured. And as God’s people do so, like with Paul with those in that Greek crowd that were sincerely interested and who did later become saved by God’s grace, we, too, can look at the environmental concerns of the sincerely interested and the sincerely seeking, as opportunities to come alongside of them and basically say: “You know, since you love the beauty of this Earth, with all it’s amazing creatures and plants and trees and such, you’re really going to love its Creator! In fact, let me tell you about what God has in mind for this planet when He decides that it’s time to renovate and resurrect the Earth in the years to come!”

I always thought that Isaiah’s picture of the coming Millennial Kingdom was one of the most striking ways to inspire people about the coming changes in Earth’s ecological system. Isa 11:6-9- “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.” NLT

You talk about ‘climate change’! There’s going to be a climate change all right, and it’s going to change not only our decaying weather systems, but also the damaged instincts of the entire animal kingdom. Who wouldn’t want to live in an environment like this! This is like going ‘back to Eden’ again! And this is all coming. This is the change that is going to be good for the Earth…great for the Earth, and for all who love its Creator and Redeemer.

But, still, even though the Earth and the animal kingdom is not like this yet, everyone is still responsible for taking as good of care of this sin damaged version of the Earth as we can. Remember, it belongs to God, and so God’s people should be the leaders in taking as good of care of God’s Earth as we can, even though it is wearing out like a garment. (Ps 102:25-26- “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.” NASU) Which also means that this Earth probably needs even greater care since it’s wearing out, and God’s people can demonstrate what loving the Creator and caring for His creation really looks like.

Again don’t let the mockers set make the case for caring for the Earth. And don’t let the mockers make you become like them, nor let them keep you from using one of the most powerful persuasions God uses to bring people to salvation: the witness of His creation as a message about His salvation. That’s what the Apostle did, right? And even though there will be some who arrogantly reject the message, it’s pretty hard to deny the power of it. For example: You already know something about every evolutionist who rejects the Creator and Savior. You already know, that they already know, what they should know, but are simply refusing to know… Here’s what I mean: Rom 1:19-20- “They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” NLT

Oh, to be sure, they know that this amazing world had to have a Creator, and that they accountable to the Creator. But it’s like Paul went on to say that they are simply suppressing that truth in the stubbornness of their self-will. Or, they are simply ignoring that conscientious awareness in their soul, or what’s been called – ‘the God-given baloney meter’ that’s going off in their heads about their foolish beliefs.

It’s also like the Psalmist pointed out: Ps 19:1-4- “How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory! How plainly it shows what He has done! Each day announces it to the following day; each night repeats it to the next. No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth.”TEV So even the stars in the sky are yelling out the glory of God and the fact that everything that exists belongs to Him. That’s what Ps 24:1 says too: “The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are His.” TEV God alone is the sole Creator and Owner of this world. And so the people of this world will either live on it as a born again child of God or as a thief and a stranger to God.

Think about that a moment: Remember, it wasn’t a coincidence that the two men who were crucified on either side of Jesus were both thieves. These two thieves represented all mankind. For everyone has stolen from God His rightful rule as Lord of our lives. All have stolen the rightful worship and service that God deserves as our Lord, as well as stolen from His glory and His rightful ownership of our time, and our talents, and our treasures. But one thief repented and therefore was saved…but the other thief did not repent and therefore remained unsaved. So, yes, everyone in the world was represented by one of those two thieves. Each one of us is either a thief that has repented or a thief that has not yet repented.

It’s just like in the category of environmentalism. There are those who have stolen from God’s glory by their falsehoods of evolution and their worship-like attitudes toward the creature and creation rather than the Creator. They are the unrepentant thief. But fortunately, there are others who have repented and received the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and are trying to give God glory for it all, even in how they lovingly care for His creation. And, again, that is then also a powerful witness to others around us as they see followers of Jesus being even more passionate about caring for the Earth than they are, because we know the One that made this Earth and what it represents. God made the Earth as a home for God and His people to spiritually and physically dwell together. The Earth is God’s gift to His people. Basically our Heavenly Father has been saying to us all what He said to Adam and Eve: “Look around…I made all of this for you!” The Earth was like a birthday present for our first parents…the most amazing birthday present possible, right? And the Lord Jesus said that when He renews the Earth from all the damage that the effects of sin and the curse and abuse has had on it, that this original birthday present of our first parents will become the inheritance of their children, or we should say – God’s children. Remember? Matt 5:3-5- “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 gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” NASU

That’s something that those who do not know God also do not understand about this Earth: The Earth is part of the inheritance that God is going to give to His children to enjoy for all eternity. Also, God has some big changes planned for it as well…everything from climate change to creature change and even dimensional change. It’s going to be bigger and better than ever! And that just make sense, too…because for resurrected people you’re going to need a resurrected planet!

But again, every day God’s people are to be passionate about the careful tending and cultivation and management and use of the Earth, for we know Who it belongs to, and we also know that by Jesus’ gift of salvation to us, we belong to Him as well.

(A great free Bible and nature devotional: cru.org Scripture Field Guide, by Neil Downey)

Who Rode Into Jerusalem?

Study Guide, April 14, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

Do you ever have any problem remembering names? Right, It’s one of those normal challenges for most of us. I have a good buddy back in Nebraska. One time a few days after his birthday I sent him a coffee cup. And on the cup it said: “It’s not that I forgot your birthday. I just couldn’t remember your name.” But a lot of us do have some trouble remembering names all right.

I have this pamphlet with the 50 Names of Jesus. It’s really great, but I’m glad they are all written down. But in thinking of this special day of Palm Sunday, those who studied the writings of the Prophets did know Jesus by many of His names in the Scriptures. But at the same time, on that day of Jesus’ triumphal entry, many didn’t know who it really was that rode into Jerusalem that day, even though Jesus had identified Himself over and over to them. So today, let’s just look at a few of those ways He told them Who He was.

Each year the Jewish people celebrated the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. It was the last feast of the year, like a harvest festival. It was sometimes referred to as the Feast of Ingathering. The actual Hebrew name is ‘Sukkot’. It looks like ‘sue-cot’, but it’s pronounced as ‘sue-coat’. But one of the traditions of the Feast was the daily drawing of water by the priests from the Pool of Siloam. The priests would then take the water to the altar at the temple while the people chanted a verse from Isaiah 12:3 – “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!” NLT Then at the altar the priests would pour out this ‘water of salvation’ and the people would sing from Psalms 113-118, and they would call out ‘Hosanna’, meaning, ‘Save us now’. They would also be remembering the water that God brought forth from the rock during their ancestors wilderness wanderings. And that water essentially saved the Jewish people.

Now this was a Fall festival, and Jesus entry into Jerusalem was in the Spring, but the point is, that before Jesus ever rode into the city He had been revealing His true identity to all of the people over and over at many times and in many ways. So here, during this festival, while the priest was pouring out this ‘water of salvation’ and the people were chanting “Hosanna, save us now”, we find that the Apostle John recorded something amazing that happened at that very time. John 7:37-38- “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” NLT

Can you imagine the surprise of hearing that? In the midst of the thousands of pilgrims to this Festival, Jesus calls out to them and tells them that what they have been looking for all these years through this festival tradition of pouring out these waters of salvation and calling for salvation had now come to pass. The answer to their prayers and their calls for the ‘waters of salvation’ was now standing before them in their very midst. Jesus tells them that He is the ‘living water’ of their salvation. He is the One to whom they had been calling out “Hosanna!” to for all of those years. Jesus had come as the answer to their call; again, the answer to their prayers. What an amazing moment!

So what did the people do? Well, John tells us that some believed in Jesus right then and there, and received Jesus as their ‘Living Water’ of salvation. But there were others who doubted Him, and there were still others that rejected Him. And that’s the way it has always been right up to our very day….some believe…some doubt…some reject. But the point is, Jesus had clearly told them ‘Who’ He was.

Another tradition in this Festival was the lighting of huge oil lamps in the courtyard of the temple. These lamps gave off so much light that it was said that all the courtyards of homes around the temple were lit up from them. And during each of the days of the Festival these lamps were lighted to help them celebrate and to think about the coming of the promised Messiah. They would talk about the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah, like: Isa 42:6- “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations…” Isa 49:6- “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” NASU

So the light from these massive lamps would shine for seven days. But after the seven days of celebrating, the lamps would be put out, and the reality would set in that they would have to wait again till the next Festival for their hopes that the light of the Messiah would come. So, again, John tells us that on that very next day while they were holding their ‘eighth day solemn assembly’ that Jesus is there, in this courtyard of the temple in the midst of the people, and John tells us what happens: John 8:12- “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” NASU

What a moment in history! Again, they had been celebrating this Feast year after year for hundreds of years and Jesus comes to them and essentially points to their massive lamps that pointed to their hopes for their Messiah to come and He says – ‘These lamps have been pointing to Me! I am the Light that you have been looking for. And not only for you, but I am the Light of the world, and I will give light and life to all who follow Me.’ Fantastic!

You would think everyone would have bowed the knee and believed in their Messiah. Well, again, some did, some doubted, and then there were others who rejected, as in what John recorded next: John 8:13- “So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” NASU Oh, it was true all right! They could have checked out all the prophetic details to prove that if they wanted to. So, No, their problem was not His testimony…their problem was their hard hearts. Remember, they were the same ones that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead said ‘If we let Him go on like this the Romans are going to come and take what power and privileges we still have away from us.’ What? They just witnessed Jesus raising someone from the dead and they are most concerned about their power and position with the Romans? Any sensible mind would realize that since Jesus could raise people from the dead that it confirmed the fact that Jesus was Lord and Savior, and would bow before Him and surrender their life to Him. But that’s one of the problems with the sinful heart…it distorts and damages all good sense, especially when it’s all entwined with self pride and self will.

But this incident also brings to mind what Abraham said to the unsaved man in Hades who wanted him to send another Lazarus back from out of Paradise to go warn his brothers about ending up in Hades for not repenting. And Abraham told him, ‘No, if they don’t believe the Scriptures, then even if someone would rise from the dead they still won’t believe.’ Know this about a hardened unrepentant heart. A hardened unrepentant heart is even harder than stone. That’s why in salvation God doesn’t repair the sin damaged heart…He replaces it with a completely new heart…a new spiritual heart. That’s why becoming a Christian is not about the reformation of a life or the rehabilitation of a life, but the regeneration of a life. But our point is, Jesus clearly identified ‘Who’ He really was; He was the long awaited prophesied and promised Messiah; the Light of the world!

He also gave them another prophetic picture of who He was on the very day that He rode into Jerusalem. Zech 9:9- “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, Your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.” NLT So, for 500 years this prophecy about the King Messiah waited to be fulfilled. They were to be looking for their King, the promised one that was to come to them through the line of King David, but He would be riding on a colt. Now remember, whenever a King would ride into area He intended to conquer he would be riding a stallion. But a colt was a symbol of the King coming to make peace, or reconciliation. And that’s exactly what the Prophets had been telling them to look for when the Messiah came…to look for Him to reconcile them to God through His atoning sacrifice on their behalf.

And so, it came to pass. On that Spring day, that Palm Sunday, it happened: Matt 21:4-11- “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’“So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:”Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” NKJV

The thing is, they all should have known! Yet, many were asking, “Who is this? Who just rode into Jerusalem?” Their response? Again, some believed…some doubted…some rejected. Those who rejected had the same problem that the false religious leaders of the day had. Do you remember what Jesus pointed out was their problem? Matt 22:29 “Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” NLT

This is one reason that even here at the Chapel that we stress so much and so often about how absolutely essential it is in life for each of us to study the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the key to knowing truth and the key to understanding our God, as well understanding our world and our very own lives. To ignore the Scriptures is the same thing as ignoring God. And that’s what these false religious leaders had been doing; ignoring God by ignoring His Words to them. And you know what they say about ignoring someone, right? ‘Ignoring someone is the worst form of insult.’ It’s what many of the people in Jerusalem had been doing who had to ask, “Who is this One who is riding into Jerusalem on this colt?” They had been ignoring God by ignoring His words to them. And as a result, some of them became part of the number of those who ignored Him, rejected Him…ignored their Messiah, rejected their only hope of ever receiving the ‘living water of salvation’, the only ‘light of life’…eternal life. By ignoring the prophecies, ignoring the Scriptures, they didn’t recognize the time of their visitation.(Luke 19:44) They did not recognize their only Messiah; the only Lord and Savior.

There’s an old saying: ‘Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.’ It means that people get so caught up in the details of things that they can’t see the big picture…or see what the real issue is. We could say something like that of so many of the people of Jesus’ day; ‘They couldn’t see the festival for the traditions.’ The people had gotten so caught up in the details of their traditions that they couldn’t see the big picture of what the festival was all about…what all of their festivals were all about! The festivals were all about the coming Messiah who they were to recognize when He came because they had been paying attention to God, Who had been speaking to them through His words of the Scriptures to them.

But they weren’t paying attention. They were ignoring the Scriptures because they were ignoring God, just like so many people today. They can’t see the Savior because they are ignoring the Scriptures. Why do you think the biggest battle on Earth is the battle against the Bible? But for all who do ignore the Scriptures Jesus words to them today are the same words to those who ignored His words then: “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

To know Who it was that rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday you have to know Who it was that wrote about it all to begin with. God wrote about His coming long before He came. And when you study the Scriptures then you can know who Jesus really is, the only Creator and Lord and Savior of the world! And then you can also know that when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior that the power of God will then give you new life, new spiritual life, in union with Jesus Christ. And for us to do know Him, then we are called to share the Scriptures and help other people come to know Who it really was that rode into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday…Creator, King, Lord, and Savior.

(Some information gratefully gleaned from: Messiah in The Feasts of Israel, Sam Nadler)

Look for Me – Remember Me

A Devotional Communion Service

Study Guide, April 7, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

The Bread

One of the key phrases in the Lord’s Supper is what Jesus said to His disciples, and said to us disciples today: “Do this in remembrance of Me”. Jesus was calling for us to make this communion act of worship become a regular part of our worship experience. And yet we also know that in all of life, in each day of life, there is this need of ‘remembrance’, not just of what our Lord Jesus has done, but of who our Lord Jesus is to us. And because of who He is, that changes everything about who we are. And every day we are to remember that!

But it’s also remarkable that for thousands of years before Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper and said to His people – “Remember Me”, He had already been calling out to His people – “Look for Me”. In fact, from the earliest days of Earth’s history and to our first parents God put all mankind on alert: “Look for Me”. It was in God’s rebuke to Satan that this first announcement came: Gen 3:15- “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” NIV The striking of the heel was a reference to Jesus’ death on the Cross, and crushing of the head was a reference to the fact that Jesus would conquer both Satan and death, as we know He did in His victory through the Cross and His Resurrection.

This passage is also what is referred to as the ‘protoevangelium, meaning, ‘the first Gospel, because this is the first announcement of the coming Redeemer found in the Bible. To God’s people, this verse was their great hope; to Satan, it was God’s declaration of war, which will conclude with his eternal imprisonment of course, and to Eve, it was assurance that she was forgiven and that her Redeemer would come through the birth of a child. And since only God can be this Deliver who has the power to defeat Satan, it pointed to one person who would be both human and divine, or a human Messiah who would also be God. But to our point today, right away we have this announcement from God to the world: “Look for Me!”

And so for thousands of years God gave His people vivid pictures of the Messiah’s coming. Many of us in our Life Groups had the great experience of looking into some of these ‘pictures’ as we went through a study on the Feasts of Israel. These ‘Feasts’ or festivals were ways that God illuminated and illustrated that first announcement of a coming Deliverer in Genesis 3:15. These sacrificial traditions all pointed to the Person and the works of the coming Messiah and were, in essence, in every festival, a calling out to the people: “Look for Me!”

That’s actually described to us in the account of Simeon at the time of Christ’s birth, remember that? Luke 2:25- “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel…” NASU Simeon was looking for the Messiah. Now, God had told him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah, but what has Jesus said to us?

Matt 24:42- “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

Mark 13:37- “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’” NASU

Rev 22:20- “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” NKJV

We are all to be looking for Jesus. He promised to return and God always keeps His promises. We should live our lives in such a way that people would say to us: “Are you looking for something?” And we would say, “Well yes, I am. I’m looking for Jesus to return to Earth at any time, just like He said He would.” And then, if they are ready to hear more, you can tell them about some more of Jesus’ prophecies, that He’s returning first for His Church, and then He’s returning to reclaim His Earth. But still, “Oh yeah, we’re looking for something all right!”

But again, the feasts of Israel were all about ‘looking’, looking unto the Lord and looking to the Lord through the symbols of the feasts. Remember, the Lord’s Supper was begun during the Feast of Passover. Matt 26:18-19- “As you go into the city,” He told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with My disciples at your house.'” So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.” NLT One of the specific features of the Passover was the inspection of the lambs for sacrifice. How amazing that on the same day, the tenth day of the month that the lambs were selected for the Passover sacrifice, Jesus, the Lamb of God, rode into Jerusalem, as God’s selected Lamb. And just like the lambs then went through inspection to demonstrated that they were unblemished, Jesus went through inspection; by Pilate, and then Herod, and then back to Pilate again. He was inspected, questioned, and interrogated. And then from the mouth of a Roman governor came the words, “I find no fault in Him.” (Luke 23:4) Just think of that. How amazing how all of that prophetic puzzle fit together in such a way that while the sacrificial lambs were being inspected that Jesus, too, was being inspected and then declared to be ‘the unblemished Lamb of God’. The Apostle Peter put it this way:1 Peter 1:18-19 – “…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” NKJV

The Cup

Even the Prophet Isaiah had made it very clear what the people were first to be looking for…they were to be looking for this Lamb; this Lamb of God. Isa 53:6-7 – “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” NASU

But instead of this Lamb, many of the people had started looking for the Lion of the tribe of Judah to come as their conquering King. They were looking for the Son of King David to take up the crown and reign over all their adversaries. But that’s the thing about looking…they were supposed to be looking not for what they wanted to see, but looking for what God had told them they would see. First, they were to look for this Lamb of prophecy. They were to be looking for exactly what was coming…the Lamb who would go the Cross before becoming the King who would wear the Crown. They were to be looking for the Lamb of God who could finally and ultimately take away the sin of the world! And that’s exactly what John the Baptist told them when essentially he said, ‘People, the Lamb that we’ve been looking for is now here! The Lamb that the Prophets have been telling us about is now here! The Lamb that all those lambs you have been sacrificing all these years that were pictures of the Lamb to come is now here!’ And actually, he did say one very specific thing that should have amazed them about this Lamb of God, because it was something that could have never been said about any other sacrificial lamb. John said this: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 NASU This Lamb could take away the sin of the world. That’s the first time in history that this had ever been said about any sacrificial animal, because all the other animals could only temporarily cover the sins of the people. In fact, the writer of Hebrews put it this way: Heb 10:4-7- “…it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said:”Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am — it is written about Me in the scroll — I have come to do Your will, O God.’” NIV

The Lamb of God could do what was impossible to do with any other sacrifice that had ever been offered for over a thousand plus years of offerings…take away the sin of the world. They were to be looking for the only Savior who could take away their sin, take away that penalty of sin that had been pronounced by God to our first parents when they sinned: “You shall surely die”…not just physically, but spiritually.

But that’s the same problem people have the world over. They are not looking for the Lamb of God who alone can take away the sin of the world…the sin in their world. Oh sure, many are looking for some kind of forgiveness…it’s just that they aren’t looking to follow the only One Who can can forgive them. Many are looking to have their sins covered, like those temporary coverings of those temporary sacrifices, but they are not looking to be converted in their heart and soul. They are not looking to God to let God tell them how they can be restored to a new life and a new relationship with the Lord of life. They’re looking to be excused of their sin, but that’s really not forgiveness at all; because to be forgiven requires repentance; repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as their only hope of being forgiven and saved. But history has shown us over and over something about the unconverted heart of man, and that is, that even though repentance is the first thing that people need, repentance is last thing that most people want.

As has been aptly said: “Many people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.” But all people everywhere are to be looking for the God who made man in His own image. And yet, many people are looking for a god who they are making up in their own image. And the difference between the two is the difference between Heaven and Hell. No, the God that people are to be looking for is also the difference between a saved person and an unsaved person. The difference is the ‘blood of the Lamb’. Like with that first Passover; only those who responded in faith and applied the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts of their house were spared the judgment of their sins. It’s the same today: Only those who respond in faith and accept the shed blood of the Lamb of God as payment for the debt of their sins will be spared the judgment of their sins. When anyone turns to God in repentance and receives Jesus in faith as their Savior, as their Lamb of God, God covers the doorposts of their house, their heart, with the precious blood of the Lamb, and they then belong to Him forever.

The Apostle Paul gives us this assurance: Rom 10:8-11- “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” NIV

Knowing how amazing all of this is, how amazing our Savior is, how amazing this gift of our salvation is, how amazing Jesus’ grace to us really is, isn’t it striking, that when the Lord Jesus introduced the practice of the Lord’s Supper that He didn’t just say: “And now, do this often.” Or, “Now, commemorate this observance often.” Or, “Remember what I did for you by observing this memorial.” No, instead He said: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” And certainly all of these other works of our salvation are implied in this ‘remembrance’, but still, in Jesus call, we hear more than just a command to remember what He did…we hear His desire for us to also remember ‘why’ He did what He did… “Remember Me”. Remember, it wasn’t the nails that held Jesus to that Cross…It was His love; His love for you and for me. And that changes everything!

Three Lenses for Life, Pt. 5

Study Guide, March 24, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

One of the popular notions and even goals of many people is to try to think outside of the box. “Hey, you just need to ‘think outside the box’”, they say. The concept is used a lot in business in relation to thinking creatively, freely, and off the beaten path. And it can be a very productive way to approach thinking about things in general. And in a spiritual sense, thinking outside of the box should be the goal for everyone. But it’s right here that this concept runs into a stone wall, because in reality, the only way that anyone can think outside of the box is if they think inside the Book! What do we mean?

What is the box in a spiritual sense? The box is this world, our world, the Earth. And you can’t get outside of the box until you get into this Book. The Book, or the Bible, is the only revelation and information about truth and righteousness and reality that was given to us from outside the box of our world. The only way you can think outside of the box is by getting into the Book and then thinking about life and seeing all of life through the Book, or through the Scriptures…through the lenses of the Word of God. So, spread the word: ‘If you want to think outside the box you have to think inside the Book’, because everything else is still inside the box!

And we have been looking into three things that God’s Word reveals that God uses to think about and to see our world, as in three lenses through which God sees the world. And they are found ‘in the Book’. Now, we have looked at them individually, so in our study for today, we are going to put them all together. And, once more, these three things are: Jer 9:24- “I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU

So back to the box and the Book: Again, the only way anyone can think about life and look at life from outside the box of this world is by looking at it through the teachings and the truths of the Book that has its origin from outside of our world. And until a person is redeemed by the King and Savior of this world, he or she is still a spiritual prisoner of sin and is actually imprisoned in the world; imprisoned in ‘the box’. Gal 3:22- “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.” NLT

So the unrepentant, unredeemed people of this world, are prisoners of sin and they are living out their lives imprisoned in this world of sin. Thus, this world is the box. But when anyone comes to their senses and repents and receives Jesus Christ as their Savior, their spirit is born again, born from above, and they are freed from their bondage of sin and from the prison of this box, this world of sin.

So now, as spiritually free people, we are to think differently from when we were imprisoned in the box. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul said about that? Rom 12:2- “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” NASU Unless you and I commit to getting our minds transformed and renewed by the Book we will naturally become conformed to the box…conformed to the thinking and the mindset of the world around us. But we not only can actually think and live outside of the box, we are, in fact, commanded to think and live outside of the box by thinking and living according to what God has revealed to us in the Book…His Book, the Bible. Which brings us to those three virtues in particular in which God both delights and sees the world. Which also brings us to this particular point: Those things in which God delights and through which God sees the world are to be the very things in which we also delight and through which we are to now see everything in our world. The things in which God delights are also to be the very things that drive our behavior. Since God delights in mercy, justice, and righteousness, we are to be driven by mercy, justice, and righteousness. And thus, these very things are then to be what directs our thoughts and what determines our behavior throughout life. Basically, these three delights of God are to be the three lenses through which we see all of life and think about all of life and deal with all of life.

For example: Since mercy, justice, and righteousness are now the lenses through which we see all things around us, when it comes to things like social issues and value issues, since we are no longer thinking inside the box, but now in the Book, the views and directives of the Book are what are to determine how we see and where we stand on all of these issues as well. And while the culture around us, which is still stuck in the box of man’s philosophies and opinions, and as such, is getting tossed all around by every wind and wave of compromise and peer pressure, instead, God’s followers are freed from this box and we are now anchored to the timeless truths and the standards of God’s Holy Word. And so while others look inside the box of man’s sin damaged reasoning and distorted judgment God’s people look inside the Book and find God’s timeless truths and eternal standards of righteousness. And then like Martin Luther said before his persecutors, we stand before our world and say: “Here I stand; I can do no other!” You see, You either stand with the Word of God or you fall with this ungodly world.

Which, by the way, this ‘stand’ also frees us from something else. By standing on the promises and the values of God’s Word, we are also freed from falsehoods of the world’s charges that our views and beliefs are due to biases and prejudices and personal opinions or hate. Those charges are absolutely baseless and completely false, because when you’re thinking outside the box and thinking inside the Book, all spiritual issues, all social issues, all value issues are not about our personal opinions on these matters; no of course not; they are all about the views and the standards of God’s mercy, God’s justice, and God’s righteousness…the very things in which God also ‘delights’! And so in every matter in life, we first look to see what delights the heart of God and then we choose those very things in how they relate to everything, whether it be a government issue, or a marriage issue, or a social issue, or a personal issue. We choose to delight in these very same things and also then choose to think about life and look at all of life through these lenses of God’s mercy, God’s justice, and God’s righteousness.

Again, we first decide and we then determine that we will choose to delight in these three things in which God delights. And when we do, then these three things become the lenses through which we see, evaluate, and then act on everything. Like our God, we start with looking at others through the lens of mercy. Mercy is like our default mode, as in ‘For God so loved the world’… We always start with lovingkindness, or mercy. Remember what the Apostle Paul said about that? Eph 4:31-32- “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” NASU We practice mercy because God is so merciful to us.

So we always start with mercy in our dealing with others, but it’s like what Paul also said in Rom 12:18 – “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” NASU Don’t you love how liberating and practical the Word of God is? ‘As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.’ As in, you are only responsible for your part in extending mercy and promoting peace. You are not responsible for when this mercy is spurned or when this peace is rejected or neglected. The other side is responsible for that. And if mercy is spurned, then something else steps up. Or, just like with God, when mercy is spurned, justice then steps up. Remember, Jesus instructed His disciples to act upon this step of justice when mercy is spurned when He taught them this: Matt 10:12-15- “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” NASU

Do you see what Jesus taught about how serious it is to spurn God’s mercy, even when offered through God’s people? Mercy is not something to be trifled with nor trampled upon. Those who choose to reject, neglect, spurn, or spite the mercy of God, have just chosen justice instead. And justice carries a judgment, either in the form of an immediate correction or a coming chastisement, but either way it carries a change in the relationship. And even when the offense is forgiven, the consequences may carry some tough ramifications. And that is what most people tend to completely misunderstand about forgiveness. They don’t face the reality that sin sets consequences into motion that often move separately from forgiveness. The offender can be forgiven for their offense or offenses, but the consequences of their sin may still trouble them for some time.

Case in point: King David once sinned against God in a situation where he proudly relied upon the power of his army instead of humbly honoring and relying upon the power of the Lord God alone. And though God forgave him, notice the consequences. 2 Sam 24:10-13 – “Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord , please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”‘” So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” NASU

The point is that forgiven sin may still hold severe consequences for the forgiven person. Sin changes the landscape of relationships from nations to cultures to even families and friendships. And this is just another reason to fear sin. We should fear the consequences of even forgiven sin. So mark it down: Justice will always be done…now, soon, or later, but justice will surely be done.

Which brings us then to also delighting in righteousness, and looking at life through this lens of Biblical righteousness. And since we’ve been speaking of things that most people don’t understand; one thing that people continually trip over is this: Prov 14:12- “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” NASU More death and destruction has occurred in man’s history because of ‘what seemed right’ than anything else. Earth’s history is littered by the demise of societies that were shaped by following the philosophy of ‘what seemed right’ for them.

Think about that in relation to that well known Scripture of Prov 14:34- “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” NASU Or, sin is the ‘destruction’ of any people. Now let’s connect Prov 14:12 with this verse and put it this way: ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but ‘what seems right’ is the destruction of any people.’ Remember, wars have been started by ‘what seemed right’, but it wasn’t righteous at all. Cultures have collapsed because those in power forced ‘what seemed right’ on their citizens, but it wasn’t righteous at all. Families have fallen apart because of those who pushed their opinion of ‘what seemed right’ on the others, but it wasn’t righteous at all. Marriages have broken apart because of the selfishness of ‘what seemed right’ to one at the expense of the other, but it wasn’t righteous at all. And many individual lives have self destructed because of their insistence on getting their own way which ‘seemed right’ to them, but it wasn’t righteous at all. From our first parents in the Garden of Eden, who chose ‘what seemed right’ to them, to today; our world is being destroyed by ‘what seems right’, but isn’t righteous at all.

If whatever you choose is not righteous, then you have just chosen the curse, even if it seems at the time like a blessing to you. Remember: Righteousness is not defined from inside the box. Righteousness is defined from inside the Book! This world doesn’t define righteousness – God does! And therefore, as God’s people, righteousness is what is to decide and determine everything we now do about anything we have to do or get to do. When you are looking at life through the lens of ‘righteousness’ you no longer evaluate the things in life around you on the basis of ‘what seems right’ to you or to anyone else. No, you look inside the Book to find what is right according to what God says is right, and then you choose to follow that, because this is what will exalt your life.

Righteousness exalts your life; it builds up your spirit, it strengthens your soul, it enlightens your mind, it brings joy to your heart, and more. But if it’s not righteous, then it’s like poison in your mind, like black mold in your soul, like decay in your body…whatever is not righteous will work its destruction in your life.

That’s why God wants us to choose His words of life to follow. He wants to bless our lives, both now and throughout the Kingdom ahead. But when people choose the curse instead of the blessing and choose man’s opinions instead of God’s words, they also choose the consequences that are set into motion by those choices. And the consequences of ungodly choices are always destructive, no matter how much those choices might ‘seem right’ at the time.

So remember to run everything inside the box of this world that ‘seems right’ through the filter of ‘what is right’…the filter of ‘righteousness’ as found inside the Book of God’s Word before you choose to believe it or act upon it. Actually, practice looking at all of life through these lenses of mercy, justice, and righteousness. And the more you do, the more you will also come to delight in these things. And the more that you come to delight in the things in which God delights the more you will become like your God who made you. And He made you to be more and more like Him. And you can’t get any better than that!

Prov 21:21- “Whoever pursues righteousness and mercy will find life, righteousness, and honor.” God’s Word Version

Listen to this message from Chad Martin, church planter in Raleigh NC and owner of Mission Media.

The Incomparable Christ

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Three Lenses for Life, Pt. 4

Study Guide, March 10, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

In our study of three key things in which God delights, we come to the third one, which is…well, let’s read it again: Jer 9:24- “…I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU How wonderful to know exactly what God delights in…for then we know exactly what we should also delight in. Think about it: Since our primary goal in life is to become more and more transformed into the image and character of God, that necessarily means that we are to seek to think more about life and see more of life just as our God thinks about it and sees it. Our God delights in showing mercy…so should we. Our God delights in justice and doing justice…so should we. And our God delights in righteousness…in both the essence of righteousness and the exercising of righteousness…and therefore, so should we.

But first, this reveals a need, and that is, the need to understand what Biblical righteousness is all about. And that brings us to first understand that the Bible reveals that there are two distinct kinds of righteousness: One is God’s ‘perfect righteousness’, and the second is our practice of righteousness, or ‘practical righteousness’, which is imperfect, but, still, we are called to practice it; meaning – we are to seek to do righteous works better and better. Thankfully, God’s not looking for perfection from us, but He is looking for improvement. But, in theological terms, this difference between these two distinct types of righteous is known as ‘Salvation righteousness’ and ‘Sanctification righteousness’. And that first brings us back to the gift; or this gift of ‘Salvation righteousness!

Remember, last week we pointed out what the Apostle Paul said about two things in Romans 6:23. He said that the reason for death, or separation from God both physically and spiritually, was the due to the wages of sin. But in contrast to that he then he said that eternal life was not the result of any wages or merit on our part, but was in fact a gift from God. As we pointed out before: Hell is earned, but Heaven is a gift. Look again: Rom 6:23- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NASU

So eternal life is a gift, and the source of this eternal life is the Person of Jesus Christ Himself. That’s why in order to have eternal life a person needs to not just intellectually believe a set of facts about Christ, but needs to receive the Person of Jesus Christ into their life. It’s a commitment of joining your life to Christ and Him joining His life to you. The term ‘Christian’ literally means: One who is ‘in Christ’. And, thus, also the picture of a person opening the door of their life and asking Jesus to come into their home, or their heart and life. When you invite Christ into your life you are inviting Jesus, who is Himself ‘Eternal life’, into your life. Eternal life doesn’t exist apart from Jesus Christ. The only thing that exists eternally apart from Jesus Christ is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God. But that’s also why eternal life is a present possession for whoever has Jesus Christ in their life as their Lord and Savior.

And included in this gift of Salvation, where you now share in Christ’s own eternal life, is this gift that is identified as, well, let’s read this: Rom 5:17- “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” ESV

There it is! This ‘ gift of righteousness’ is included in the gift of Salvation. And, again, this gift of righteousness is a distinct kind of righteousness. And since it is a ‘gift’ that is given in connection with the gift of eternal life, when we become united to the life of Christ when we are born again, that means that this is a kind of righteousness that is not of our own making. And this is a very important point to understand, one that world religions continually stumble over in their rejection and neglect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are trying to make up a salvation righteousness of their own, but that is impossible to do because the human spirit is already dead in trespasses and sin. The point again: Salvation righteousness is Christ’s righteousness, not ours. No one can ever create or make up their own salvation righteousness. Salvation righteousness is unique, because it was created by Jesus and belongs to Jesus alone. But praise God, He gives it to us by His grace through our faith. Do you remember the exchange that takes place at salvation? 2 Cor 5:21- “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” NASU This is why we call the ‘Gospel’; the ‘Great Exchange’. Jesus, the sinless One, takes our spiritual death penalty upon Himself, and then He gives to us this gift of His own ‘righteousness’.

In theological terms this is known as the ‘Imputation of Christ’s righteousness’. And ‘imputation’ essentially means – ‘to credit to our account’. And this is what we see through another word that is used in Romans 5 to describe our ‘position in Christ’. Rom 5:1-2- “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” NASU Here Paul is revealing the doctrine of ‘Justification’.

Martin Luther called ‘Justification’ the ‘Standing up or Falling Down’ doctrine of the Bible. Why did he call it that? Well, because ‘being declared righteous’ by God’s grace alone through our faith alone is the only way anyone can stand, as one declared righteous, before a Holy and Just and Righteous God. And that reminds us of that other attribute or thing in which God said He delights: Justice. Justification is a legal word. It refers to ‘being declared righteous’ even though, in and of ourselves, we are not righteous. We are actually guilty and not righteous. But since Christ paid the debt or wages of our sin and also then credited us with His own righteousness, we can now ‘be declared righteous’ because of our union with Him. We are therefore ‘Justified’ because of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness!

But let’s now let the Apostle Paul put this in terms of our standing with God. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he was clarifying to them this very truth about the fact that he was not right with God because of his own doing. In fact, he makes it very clear that when he stood before God the only way he could be right with God is if he possessed a ‘righteousness’ that was not his own. Look at what he says: Phil 3:9- “…and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…” NASU If Paul didn’t have a righteousness of his own in which he could stand before God as a saved man, then whose ‘righteousness’ did he have? Right! Christ’s righteousness that was imputed to him or credited to him as a ‘free gift’ when he trusted in Jesus as His Messiah and committed his life to Him.

And the point being is this: Neither you nor I have been declared righteous and stand before God as right with God because of any righteousness of our own, but because we have a righteousness that is not our own. This ‘Salvation righteousness’ was created by Christ’s perfect obedience to the Law and then credited to us when we received Jesus as our Savior and committed our life to Him. Remember that is why Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it! Why? Because no one on earth had ever fulfilled it or would ever fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law, since all have sinned, and therefore there are none righteous.

That is the one of the greatest puzzles in life: The Scriptures say that only the righteous will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. But then they also reveal that there are none that are righteous, rather, all have sinned and fall short of the righteous standard of God. (Mt. 25:46; Rom. 3:10,23) That is the key problem of the Universe. So if no one is righteous, how then can anyone ever qualify to go to Heaven? Because there is one; one Person who never sinned and who also obeyed every requirement of God’s Law perfectly. And that is Jesus Christ alone. And Jesus is willing to share His righteousness with all who are willing to receive Him into their life.

And that brings up another question for the unsaved people of the world: “Whose righteousness are you depending upon in order to go to Heaven?” If you only have your own, then you have a problem, because the Prophet Isaiah long ago made it clear: Isa 64:6- “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” NASU Why are our righteous deeds like a filthy garment? Because they are stained from the presence of sin in our lives. And even after we are saved and are then commanded to live righteous lives and practice righteous works, we are to remember that our salvation removed the penalty of sin from our lives, but not the presence of sin from our lives. And it is this presence of sin that needs daily washing through our humble confession of our sins to God so that our attempts at obedience and our practice of righteous works can then be acceptable to our Holy God. That’s why the Apostle John called for us saved people to both seek to do good works, or righteous deeds, but to also daily ask God for forgiveness or for the cleansing of this presence of sin so that our offerings of worship and service will be acceptable to God. Though saved from the penalty of sin, we still need daily cleansing from this presence of sin.

There is a remarkable statement in light of this from the Heidelberg Catechism, which was a Protestant document written in Germany in 1563 AD for the purpose of applying Bible doctrines. And it has this great ‘reality check’ about our need to obey God and to practice righteous deeds as well as we possibly can, but to also remember that we still need forgiveness and cleansing. Listen to this: “Against all perfectionism we are warned: Even the best we do in this life is imperfect and stained with sin; rendering all obedience imperfect at best.”

So remember, the perfect righteousness that Paul was talking about, in which he stood and in which we stand saved and secure before God, is that righteousness that Christ created through His perfect obedience to the Law. This ‘perfect righteousness’ is the gift in which we stand as ones who are ‘declared righteous’ in Christ. And now, as saved children of God, we are commanded from here on out to practice this righteousness or practice these righteous works that Jesus performed perfectly as we seek to obey and please our God. And it is this ‘practicing righteous works’ throughout our lives that is known as ‘Sanctification righteousness’. We are sanctifying ourselves or ‘setting ourselves apart’ more and more for God’s will and service. And we know that this is what God is going to evaluate as He meets with each of us to determine how much we sought to obey Him, and then determine our rewards, privileges, and service assignments in the Kingdom of Heaven based upon our ‘practice of righteous’. But again, He’s not looking for perfection in our attempts at righteousness, but for perseverance in seeking to do them the best we can for our great Lord and Savior.

Remember, our relationship with God is based upon Christ’s perfect righteousness that He gave us as His gift to us. And now our ‘fellowship’ with God, our ‘communion with God, is based upon our practice of righteousness as our gift to Him. But remember – they are two different sets of righteousness. And the reason this is very important to understand is because whenever conscientious Christians begin having doubts about their relationship with God, or their standing with God, it’s usually due to them looking at their own set of righteousness, or this ‘fellowship righteousness’ or this ‘Sanctification righteousness’ of their own making, which again, is ‘imperfect at best’. And therefore, they then start feeling insecure before God and perhaps even unsure of their salvation. But that is because they are looking at the wrong set of righteousness to give them their assurance. Remember, their imperfect righteousness of their own is not what their salvation is based upon. Paul told us that our right standing before God is not because of any righteousness of our own, but it’s because we now have this other perfect righteousness that is not our own. It is not of our own making…Jesus made it. It’s Jesus own sinless righteousness, but we were given this gift of Christ’s own perfect righteousness when we were born again and united to Christ. God credited Jesus’ righteousness to us and even clothed us with it. And that is what gives us our assurance that we belong to God and we are secure in our standing with God…all because we are covered with this ‘Righteousness of Christ’.

Isn’t is just like our loving God to assure and secure and to comfort His children by reminding them that their saved relationship with Him is not based upon what they do, but upon what they wear? Now we are expected to do all we can do in serving God after we are saved. And God is going to meet with us and review what we did for Him after He saved us. So be very sure about that: You will want to have done all you could for your Lord and Savior in obedience and service to Him. And now is the time to do it, of course. But He wants us to know that we are saved and we are His because we are wearing something very special that He made just for us. We are wearing His robe of salvation that He made and that He gives to each one who asks Him to be their Lord and Savior. Notice that this is exactly what Isaiah the Prophet was rejoicing about: Isa 61:10- “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness…” NASU This very robe of righteousness that Isaiah was rejoicing in is the same gift of righteousness that Paul was talking about as the righteousness that was not his own. Neither Isaiah nor Paul nor you or me made this ‘Robe’…No Jesus Christ made this robe through His sinless life in performing every command of the Law perfectly. And then He takes this ‘Righteous robe’ and places it upon every person who surrenders to God in repentance and trusts in Jesus as their Savior. And although we will know for eternity that this robe of righteousness was made by Jesus, we will get to wear it for eternity because it’s part of God’s gift to us. And the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable. He has promised to never remove His robe from us once He clothes us with it. And that’s why we stand before God assured and secured in our Salvation!

We need to unpack this study a little further, so we’ll continue it next time. But if you’re not sure you have this robe, this would be a wonderful time to simply tell Jesus that you want to give your life to Him and ask Him to come into your life and receive His forgiveness and His gift of righteousness…this robe of righteousness….It’s the garment of salvation.

Three Lenses for Life, Pt. 3

Study Guide , March 3, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

So what do you delight in? It’s remarkable that God revealed three things to us that He especially delights in on this Earth…and of course will also delight in them through all eternity. And when we also learn to delight in these three things and learn to then look at all of life through the lenses of these three things, not only will we then be more and more like our God, but we will also be much more useful to God, as well as helpful to everyone around us. And as we saw, these three things are revealed to us in Jer 9:24- “I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU

When God tells us exactly what He delights in, well, that changes everything. By knowing what God delights in we are given the key that unlocks not only what we should also delight in, but even how we should see everything in life; as through these three filters or lenses. And so we continue to unpack what we began looking into in our last study on the second virtue that God said He delights in, and that is ‘justice’.

You recall that ‘justice’ simply refers to ‘life as it should be’ on planet Earth. God delights in the way life ought to be, with order, righteousness, humility, and obedience to our God. Sounds simple enough, right? It’s like when God gave the laws of the 10 Commandments to Moses for how life was to be lived with their God…simple and straight forward – 10 Commandments. But when Moses went down the mountain to present God’s laws of how life should be, the people had already broken the 1^st two! “You shall have no other gods before Me” and “You shall not make for yourself an idol”. And there stood this idol that had already been fashioned in the short time Moses had been gone! I’m sure Moses must have been thinking – “Oh no! This is going to be a lot harder than I thought!”

But one of the often overlooked points about the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai is the fact that the laws for Earth do not originate on Earth, nor are they supposed to, but rather the laws for Earth originate in the courts of Heaven. And because the world does not understand this, and also refuses to accept this, the world has become a mess of unjust laws and lives in a mess of injustice world-wide. But the reality is that God made it very clear to mankind that mankind was not to determine their own laws or precepts for how life should be lived on planet Earth. No, those laws are determined by the Creator and are then given by the Creator to mankind for everyone to then follow in order to live their lives guided by God’s ‘justice’, or ‘the way life should be’.

Remember, this is the wisdom that our Founding Fathers and America’s first judges had. For example: Justice John McLean (1785-1861) served in the U. S. Congress, and then held cabinet positions under two U. S. Presidents. His view on the importance of the Bible to American government and its institutions was clear: “For many years, my hope for the perpetuity of our institutions has rested upon Bible morality and the general dissemination of Christian principles. This is an element which did not exist in the ancient republics. It is a basis on which free governments may be maintained through all time…Free government is not a self-moving machine…Our mission of freedom is not carried out by brute force, by canon law, or any other law, except the moral law and those Christian principles which are found in the Scriptures.”¹

Let’s be clear: There is either God’s law or man’s law. But since man did not create himself, the authority goes to the Creator on how all men should live. There’s a little board game that has a brief caveat in the manual about not changing the rules for the game. It says: “You no make-a-the game, you no-make-a-the rules!” Maybe Moses also said something like that after he found out what the people had done. But the point is that ‘justice’ refers to the fact that obedience to the revealed laws and commandments for mankind is the duty of every human being. Doing justice is a chief duty of mankind. Remember the verse? Mic 6:8- “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, But to do justice, to love kindness,And to walk humbly with your God?” NASU

How odd that many people think that since they do not believe the revealed Scriptures of God that they are not duty bound to obey them. That is the epitome of self pride and foolish thinking! That’s why a record is being kept of unbelievers lives for review at the Great White Throne Judgment, because everyone is duty bound to obey their Creator. Justice requires it! Remember: Heaven is a gift, but Hell is earned. Rom 6:23- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” NASU Every day that the unrepentant unbeliever lives they are adding up the wages of their disobedience to the Creator and Lord of Life; and they will receive what is justly due them in their final sentencing.

Remember, God first reaches out in Lovingkindness, or Mercy. But when Mercy is spurned, Justice steps up; and therefore the unjust and unrepentant individuals will receive the wages of their sin. Every person on Earth has the responsibility to live by the just laws and precepts and principles of the Creator. I like how Dr. Hendricks used to say that the problem with America is that it needed on either side of the country both a Statue of Liberty and a Statue of Responsibility! You can’t have one without the other, no matter what the false prophets of humanism claim. Which has basically become the religion of many Americans now; ‘Humanism’ – thinking that mankind has the right to make up their own laws on planet Earth, instead of obeying those laws already given by the Creator.

And, of course, responsibility implies accountability. And that is a word that ‘humanists’ bristle against! And in this unbelievers share the same attitude of the Pharisees who said about Jesus – “We will not have this Man rule over us!” For one thing, they rejected the fact that ‘this Man’ was both ‘God and Man’. And a second thing, they refused to be accountable to or to be judged by His Words. Friends, this same Pharisaical attitude prevails in much of our society today.

How often do unbelievers quote or misquote from the Bible the passage on judging, especially when they do not want to be accountable to God’s Word? Yes, they pull out: “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Which is kind of interesting wording, as that’s really a borrowing of two different Bible versions: The King James and the older New American Standard version. But it seems to sound pretty authoritative that way. The problem is that in the Lord’s sermon on the mount His instructions to the people were not about ‘not judging others’. No, the correction was for them to stop judging other people by their own standards or their own opinions. Look at the passage: Matt 7:1-5- “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” NASU

God expects everyone to live very circumspect lives; being careful about how we live each day knowing that everyone is accountable to God and to one another for what they say and what they do. Plus, we are to both instruct and to correct others as well. That’s why Jesus gave another statement about this necessity to judge both oneself and others. However, hardly anyone outside of Bible believing Disciples of Jesus Christ, knows about this commandment by Jesus about judging. Look at this: John 7:24- “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” NASU

So God does in fact command us to judge others, yet, not by our own standards, nor by human standards, or by personal opinions and personal preferences, and such. And we are not to judge unjustly, like Jesus pointed out about the speck and the log. Meaning, that in the process of being our brothers keeper, in the process of loving our neighbor as ourselves, in the process of carrying out social justice and judgment, and in the process of obeying God’s commandment to judge all things, we are to humbly judge ourselves as well as others. And by carrying out justice humbly, it means that we always start by humbly judging ourselves by God’s standards to see if there is any area that needs correction in our own lives, as well as then doing justice with others by correcting and holding others accountable to that same standard of God’s Word!

Again, doing justice requires judging…or examining everything, but not by human standards…no, only by God’s standards, by God’s revealed Scriptures to mankind. Recall the Apostle Paul’s words? 2 Tim 3:16-17- “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” NASU God intends for His Words to be used to teach, reprove, correct and train, so that God’s people will be equipped and so that the world can then become…’convicted and repentant’. Note, God’s Word or Truth is what God the Holy Spirit uses to convict the world of sin, and righteous living, and the judgment to come. John 16:8- “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…” 13- “…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” NASU Yes, The Gospel is certainly good news, but the good news of the Gospel follows the bad news that everyone’s sin has already condemned them, and there is more judgment yet to come. Again, justice requires judgment. That’s why people are called to repent and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior while they still have ‘today’, or are afforded the opportunity to humbly respond in repentance to God’s judgment that is already upon them.

But then there is something else about justice that God delights in, and we can therefore delight in it as well. For ‘justice’ insures ‘fairness’, that is; God’s justice insures fairness, both in provision as well as retribution. Now, we all know that this world is not fair, but thankfully, God is! Therefore, we are to know that even when we are treated unfairly by this world, or by others in this world, God is going to see to it that, one way or the other, that we, His people, are going to be fairly and justly compensated.

Case in point: 2 Tim 4:14-15- “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.” NASU Here is what the Apostle Paul knew, and what every believer is to know: The Lord will repay anyone for any harm they have ever caused you which they have not made right with God and you. God will see to that!

Remember, ‘Justice’ includes what God said in Romans 12:19 – “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” NASU You see, God is assuring us that He will repay everyone for every wrong done against us. And in knowing this, it reassures us that justice will be done. Because this world and everything in it belongs to God, sooner or later justice will always be done. It is an immutable, an unchanging, law of the Universe: Gal 6:7- “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” NASU

Remember, God’s people are the apple of His eye. And so there is no way any one should ever think that they can get away with mistreating God’s children and not have to face the vengeance of God for doing so. Just think of the vengeance that rests upon the persecutors of God’s church over the years, or the vengeance that rests upon anyone who falsely accuses, mistreats, or harms any of God’s children in any way. When you think about the promises of God be sure to include this promise from God: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

But think about it again: Justice – ‘just as it should be’. When God was speaking to Moses about what He wanted for His people He revealed how much He longed for them, really for us all, to live life just as it should be, so that they could then enjoy life in relationship with Him, just as God intended it to be. Listen to the heart of God here: Deut 5:29- “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” NASU So when you think of ‘justice’ think about how much God longs for us to have the kind of heart for Him and for His design for our lives that He has for us and has prepared for us. God knows that doing His will is the only way that life can be well for us; for anyone. Doing our duty to God is the secret to delight. As Dr. Warren Wiersbe so wonderfully put it: “Make duty your delight; then you can find joy in everything.” So wisdom is to look at all of life through our duty to God. For that is not only ‘Just and Right’, but it is simply the way God designed this world to be; a world of ‘lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness’.

1. wallbuilders.com/america/christian/nation

Three Lenses for Life, Pt. 2

Study Guide  February 24, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

I thought we needed to have a very brief introduction to our study today, so here it is: “Part 2!” That’s it…brief and to the point. But what’s the point? The point is that we discovered that God essentially views all of life through three lenses, which are basically three of God’s attributes. In fact, in Jeremiah 9:23-24 God reveals that these three things are foundational things that He wants us each to understand about our God. And we are posting this passage again because if there is one passage we each really need to understand it’s this one concerning what God wants us to understand about Him. So look again: Jer 9:23-24- “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU

In our first part of this study we explored ‘lovingkindness’. Today we’ll explore ‘justice’.

We might start by asking a question. So, just how foundational is this virtue of ‘Justice’ anyway? The answer is: Ps 89:14- “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” NASU Since the very foundation of God’s throne is ‘righteousness and justice’ then that naturally implies that our entire lives are also to be built upon this same foundation of righteousness and justice…along with lovingkindness and truth, or mercy and truth going forth with these, as they do with God.

Now, here’s a very interesting thing about the meaning of this concept, or this virtue, of ‘justice’. When we consider ‘justice’ we naturally connect it’s meaning with ‘laws’ or the ‘giving of laws’. And certainly God is the King and Law-Giver of the Universe. The Scriptures are replete with God’s laws and commandments for all people on planet Earth. So justice is certainly oriented toward law and order. But there is another definition of ‘justice’ that just really clarifies the whole concept, and that is: the basic meaning of ‘justice’ is: ‘As it should be’! What’s that? That’s right! ‘Justice’ is all about ‘As it should be’! As what should be? As everything should be!

Just think: God is Himself, perfect and also ‘just’, or, ‘as God should be’. And then God created a Universe and world to be a ‘just’ world, or to be a world ‘as it should be’; a world whose foundation is also righteousness and justice, as is God’s. And of course, that implies a world based upon God’s order, God’s authority, God’s plans, and God’s will. As the ‘Sovereign and Just’ Creator of all things, all things should also then be ‘Just’, or all things should be ‘just as they should be’.

But what we are getting at is that for all of us created inhabitants of God’s world, ‘justice’ simply means that, in light of the fact that we owe our very life and breath and existence to our ‘Righteous and Just’ Creator and Lord, in our character then – we are also to be ‘just as we should be’, and in our conduct – we should also do ‘just what we should do’. That is a foundational principle for all life on planet Earth.

God created the galaxies and the solar system and the Earth and even mankind with a particular order and design, or created them each on the foundation of ‘Justice’ or ‘just as they should be’. Again, remember that in the Scriptures God revealed that all of His laws and all of His commandments simply reflect this very ‘order’ of how all life should be for all of us, and that these very laws and commandments were and are all designed for our good…for our well being…for our happiness, since even these laws emanate from God’s lovingkindness toward us. God simply created a world the way it should be and He created mankind the way all people should be. In other words, from the very foundation of God’s throne of Justice, God created a ‘Just’ world.

But here’s where we go: “Uh ohh!” Ever since the Fall of Man, this world has not been the way it should be, and especially the people of this world have not been the way they should be either. That’s why we needed this: 1 Peter 3:18- “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” NASU Christ, the ‘Just’, lived a perfectly just life…a life lived in complete sinless obedience to God; ‘as it should be’. And then He bore the physical and spiritual death penalty that was upon the ‘unjust’, that’s us, so that He could then bring His now ‘justified’ followers into a restored relationship with God.

And that’s the wonder of the Universe right there…of how God, who is ‘just’, or who is the way He should be in holiness, righteousness, and sinlessness, could pardon and then join His eternal life with those who are unjust, or who are unholy, unrighteous, and sinners. Again, there was only one way: The Sinless One, Jesus Christ, had to take the place of the sinner, that’s us, and bear the penalty of sin, which is physical and spiritual death, as a substitute for each one of us.

One glaring thing about sin that much of the world still does not understand is that the central damage to the human spirit has already been done. There is no hope of them ever being ‘just’ or ‘right with God’ apart from forgiveness and new life in the Savior Jesus Christ. The presence of sin in every human being has already killed their human spirit. Now, their soul is still alive, as the soul refers to the mind, emotion, and will…that part of the human being is still active, but the spirit in each human being has been killed, or separated from God’s spirit because of their sin.

That’s why salvation is way past being a matter of behavior or good works. The unsaved spirit is already dead and under eternal judgment. The need is not for rehabilitation of religious behavior, but for regeneration of the human spirit. Remember: The judgment awaiting unrepentant people at the Great White Throne Judgment is not to determine where they will spend eternity. No, that is already decided, as both the Apostles Paul and John have revealed. The unbelievers are already dead in sin and they have already been condemned, or assigned an eternity of separation from God. No, the coming judgment is to determine the degree of their sentencing in that place where they will live in eternal separation from God. This is one of the clearest teachings of the Scriptures, yet has been the most shrouded in false teachings, and strangely enough; this false teaching has come mainly through false religions.

One of the clearest signs of false religion is if their teachings indicate that people are basically good and simply need to try to practice the religious deeds instructed by that particular religion, thereby giving them some degree of assurance that they will be considered worthy of going to Heaven.

Understand this: If mankind is basically good, the Jesus basically did not need to die in mankind’s place on a cross. And that is an insult to God and to the Cross of Christ. No, only if mankind was already basically dead in trespasses and sin did Jesus basically have to come as the only sinless person that has ever lived and then take upon Himself the sin penalty of sinners. Only if mankind was basically already condemned to an eternity apart from God in Gehenna Hell did Jesus need to come to Earth on a rescue mission to die in mankind’s place in order to have the dead spirit of repentant people become reborn into new life with Christ by the gift of Christ’s own eternal life that He freely gives to each one who will repent of their sin and trust in His saving work on their behalf. That is the Gospel that Jesus came to Earth to share with the world.

Here is another key issue that false religions stumble over: Even the Law, or the instructions of obedience to God, were given in order to have ‘fellowship’ with a Holy God. They were not given for the purpose of trying to gain eternal life or to establish a ‘relationship’ with a Holy God. Remember what the Apostle Paul said about that? Gal 2:16- “Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 3:21-22- “If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.” NLT

Obedience to God doesn’t establish a relationship with God. No, a relationship with God is established through being born again by God’s grace through our faith in receiving Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. A relationship with God can’t be worked for or earned, because a person who is already dead in sin first needs new life in union with God. And new spiritual life can only be received through receiving Jesus and His gift of eternal life.

What a person who is already condemned and is ‘imprisoned in sin’ needs is to be pardoned and released from that prison. And only Christ can grant a person a pardon based upon that person surrendering in repentance and trusting Jesus in faith for taking their spiritual death penalty for them on the Cross. Certainly, obedience to God improves that relationship and prepares us for rewards and privileges of service in the New Heavens and New Earth, but only God’s grace through your faith alone in Christ as your Lord and Savior can establish a new relationship as a reborn child of God’s and a part of His forever family.

Think about it: Obedience by children in a family doesn’t establish their relationship with their Parents. No, only physical conception and birth does that. Obedience makes the relationship and fellowship closer and deeper, but it doesn’t cause their birth into the family. Their relationship is caused when they receive this gift of new life.

What the false religions of the world need to come to understand is that a relationship with God is not based upon behavior, but upon birth…or really, re-birth of the human spirit through union with Jesus Christ’s own Spirit. But note that this is the Bible truth or Gospel that Satan is working overtime to keep covered up…because if he can make people who are already dead in trespasses and sin think that they are actually spiritual alive and basically good…and if he can make people who are already imprisoned in sin and already condemned to spend an eternity in Gehenna Hell think that this decision still hasn’t been decided…and if he can make them think that if they will only try to add some more good deeds or merits to their already basically good nature…well then he will help keep them imprisoned in their sin and keep them from true repentance and faith and being reborn into God’s forever family.

Remember this: People naturally assume, the world over, that either they are going to Heaven because they are a pretty good person, or that the verdict is still out, and if only their good works or merits outweigh their bad works that they will no doubt qualify for Heaven. But both of these assumptions are completely false, as well as, again, an insult to the Cross of Christ. That’s why they need the truth of the Gospel.

Most people the world over don’t really understand John 3:16 because they don’t understand John 3:18. But John 3:18 is why Jesus’ Gospel begins with repentance: ‘Repent and Believe’. Note John 3:18- “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God’s one and only Son.” NIV That is the startling truth that most of the world does not understand. With everyone you see who has not repented and trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior you can see John 3:18 written across their life: ‘Stands Condemned Already’. That’s why they need John 3:16- “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV

Remember, Jesus came to a world that was already condemned to perish, a world in which the inhabitants ‘stood condemned already’. That’s why each one needed a Savior. Apart from repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ the verdict is already in: Condemned already! And no amount of works or merits or behavior can give spiritual life to an already condemned and spiritual dead person. Only the life of Jesus Christ can do that; and that is a gift received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

And in saying this: Let this serve as a reminder to make sure that you are not trusting in your works or merits to qualify you to go to Heaven. We’re all way past any chance of that; for all have already sinned and have already fallen short of the righteous standard of God. No, Make sure you are trusting in the obedient works of Christ and sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ on your behalf for your salvation. Make sure you have opened the door of your heart and asked Christ to come into your life and grant you new eternal spiritual life in union with Him. And then be assured: When you ask Him, Jesus will then unite His life with your dead spirit and make it alive again; born again into the forever family of God. And then you can work and serve and obey your Lord for the rest of your life, seeking to please your God and also prepare for serving Him in His coming Kingdom.

There is a lot more to unpack about this virtue of ‘Justice’, so we’ll press on with that in our next study.

Walking the High Ground in Relationships

Study Guide – February 10, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

Since today is our special annual Valentine’s luncheon in appreciation of our ladies we thought it would also be a good time to sharpen our relationship skills a bit…and not just in areas like in marriage, but in practicing good relationship skills all around.

Speaking of marriage…You still remember the four most important words in a successful marriage? “I’ll do the dishes!” Right, that’s just a love builder right there. And Charles Shultz, creator of the Peanuts cartoons said that “Love is sharing your popcorn.” One guy was talking about how really careful he had to be in how he related to his wife because he said: “My wife is a psychologist…So not only does she know when I’m being a jerk, but she knows exactly what type of jerk I’m being.” And as Winston Churchill was looking back over his career he said: “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to persuade my wife to marry me.”

But of course, we know that there is one principle that is in the top slot for all relationships, and that is what’s rightly called the Golden Rule: ‘Do one to others before they do one to you!’ No, wait…that’s doesn’t sound right…that sounds a bit backwards…or sideways…or upside down…That’s more like a Garbage Rule. However, it does seem like this distorted version – ‘Do one to others before they do one to you’ – is really more like the version that is practiced a whole lot more than the real Golden Rule. And therein lies much of the problem in this whole realm of relationships, for human nature is naturally very self serving, as well as very defensive, and quite resistant to correction. What an assortment of obstacles to good relationships, right?

It’s actually a bit comical how God chose to explain this condition to us. Notice Ps 32:8-9- “The Lord says, “I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as My eyes watch over you. Don’t be stubborn like a horse or mule. They need a bit and bridle in their mouth to restrain them, or they will not come near you.” God’s Word Version Quite an uncomplimentary picture of our human condition, huh? So, we have a choice to make in both how we relate to God and how we relate to others. Are we going to default to our bent of being stubborn like a horse or mule, or are we going to look to God and be willing to be teachable, correctable, and simply…wise?

That’s another thing to know about the human condition: We are naturally bent toward foolishness. We are naturally bent toward stubbornness and resistance to being led. But to be wise requires that we become ready and willing to be led…led by our Master and Lord Jesus Christ. And if we are willing to be led by our Lord, that will then be demonstrated by how we respond to what the Lord leads us to do about His actual Golden Rule: Matt 7:12- “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” NLT

Think about it: God summed up the essence of the entire law and the prophets as to the key to right relationships by stating this: And let’s emphasize it a bit further…

“Do for others what you would want them to do for you.”ERV

“Always do for other people everything you want them to do for you.” God’s Word Version

“Whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them…” Amplified Version

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you.” NASU

And one more from the Message Bible: “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.”

What if we made this one Golden Rule become the very rule that ruled in our minds and hearts? What if we made this Rule that Jesus gave us become the very rule that ruled in how we dealt every day with our wife or husband or child or brother or sister in Christ or friend or co-worker or anyone, really?

What if we determined to make the rest of our life become a demonstration of this Golden Rule that Jesus commanded us to demonstrate to the rest of the world, beginning in our own world? What if we made this Golden Rule be the first rule that we choose to rule our conversation and our conduct with everybody around us?

How about this? What if we said to our self: “Self…in everything today, you are going to treat people the same way you want them to treat you. Self…you are going to talk to other people the same way you want them to talk to you. Self….now listen up self…because you tend to drift away here…so Self…today you are going to do to others and for others whatever you would like them to do to you and for you. Self…it’s time for you to talk to others like Jesus talked to others and it’s time to treat others like Jesus treated others. Oh, and Self, one more thing…remember Jesus wasn’t making a suggestion to you about this. It’s a commandment. And since this is a commandment that means that this is a matter of obedience to Him. So, Self…are we clear?”

How about that? That sounds like a necessary talk we need to regularly have with our old selves.

Plus, here is one place that whenever we are thinking of something like, “Lord, so what do you want me to do?”…the answer is: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you!” That’s what God wants us to do!

Now this is a very interesting thing right here, because much of life really is not about you…it’s about others. But when it comes to this Golden Rule…this ‘doing of this rule’ is not about others…it is about you. It’s about what you are going to do about this Rule. And since this Golden Rule is the essence of the entire Law and Prophets, then the doing of this Golden Rule is not only a central rule for all life and practice, but it also then comes with the power to essentially change the world around you.

Sometimes people get frustrated by the enormity of the problems of this stubborn world and they say, “Well, I can’t change the world!” No, but you can change YOUR world! And the way you change YOUR world is by changing you! You change YOUR world by changing how you treat people in your world, and by how you talk to people in your world, and by what you do to and for people in your world. Do you treat the people in your world the same way you would want them to treat you? Do you talk to the people in your world the same way you want them to talk to you?

But it’s right here that many people throw their challenge flag, and say something like: “But you don’t know the people in my world. They don’t deserve to be talked to and treated along the lines of the Golden Rule. They don’t deserve it.”

This is actually a huge mental hurdle for us right here, because it means that whatever ‘low ground’ others take in this area of relationships we are still going to have to take the high ground. You see, in order to do the Golden Rule you have to let go of evaluating if people deserve it or not in order for you to do the rule for them.

Now, don’t confuse the issue. We’re not talking about forcing relationships where there are broken trusts or abusive situations or refusals of repentance of serious wrongdoing and such, which all cause standing breaches in relationships. We’re just talking about this tendency that many have in their ordinary day to day dealings with others of thinking that others first have to earn or deserve their attempts to treat them according to the Golden Rule. But that would be like waiting for someone else to start the Golden rule first, before you then do the Rule. No, you have to scuttle that kind of thinking and shift your focus to simply obeying God and getting on with demonstrating to others what it looks like and what is sounds like when you live under the rule of the Golden Rule. Remember, the Golden Rule starts with it ruling you!

If you wait for others to deserve your demonstration, well, you have pretty much just eliminated a whole lot of people around you in your world. Plus, think about it: What if God would have waited for you and me to deserve it for Him to demonstrate the Golden Rule to us? Right…we would probably still be waiting…and probably still dead in our trespasses and sins.

You know that old saying about the Golden Rule: Whoever has the gold rules? That’s a humorous kind of comment on money and such. However, in a spiritual sense, since Jesus has given to us the Golden Rule, that means He intends for us to rule by this Golden Rule. We are to rule our lives by it, and then rule how we do life with others around us.

Now, some might think: “The Golden Rule…the key to all relationships? Really, could it be that simple?” Maybe back that up a little…because that’s like calling the Sun ‘a simple star’. Just because the Sun is a simple star doesn’t mean it isn’t central…central to all life on planet Earth! Remember, God made the Sun to be the primary source of energy for our entire planet. The Sun warms the planet and keeps it from becoming a lifeless ball of ice and rock. The Sun also drives the hydrological cycle on Earth, or the four main stages of the water cycle for the entire planet. The Sun generates our weather patterns and provides the necessary products for plant life and all life. So it may be a simple star, but it’s simply one central and amazing star for our whole Solar System!

And just like the Sun is central to our Solar System the Golden Rule is central to relationships on planet earth. It may sound like a simple premise, however, do you remember what Jesus said about it? It is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Now, where have we heard that before? Matt 22:37-40- “And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” ESV

So just think: All the teachings and the wisdom of all the Law and the Prophets come down to this: The Great Commandment and the Golden Rule. Simple…yet it’s the highest ground that anyone can walk in both their relationship with God and in their relationship with others. It’s highest in not only that it is noble and righteous and rewardable, but also in that it is powerful. And it’s powerful because God uses our obedience to His commandments to change lives. Remember that: God is trying to change lives. And one of the key ways He changes lives is through you and me practicing the Golden Rule in the lives of others around us. You want to help God change the world? Then just do the Rule! We could make a T-shirt out of that: Just Do the Rule!

But don’t get sidetracked about this ‘changing others’, because ‘changing others’ is God’s thing…’obedience to God’ is our thing. Remember, a major thing that God is seeking to do in and through our lives is to show the world more and more of what He is like. But He cannot do that if His children keep insisting on showing the world what they are like instead. Even Christians still fall prey to limiting how they treat others or talk to others or do to others or do for others, all based upon how they ‘feel’ about any or all of that. But now we’re simply back to ‘living by our feelings for self’ instead of ‘walking by faith for Christ’! We are commanded to walk by faith, not by feelings. And when we do, we not only then give God freedom to work through us, but we also then experience a wonderful victory in us, a victory of no longer being in bondage to our feelings, but inspired by our faith, and encouraged by the rewards of living by faith over our feelings.

Plus, seeking to show others; our loved ones, our friends, and even as Jesus pointed out – our enemies…seeking to show them something of Jesus in how we treat them and talk to them is the most powerful influence you can have on them and the most fulfilling experience you can have with them. Again, when God’s children do choose to try to demonstrate something of the Golden Rule to others around them, then they also show something of the God of the Golden Rule to them. Plus, it really is the best chance you have to either keep a great relationship that you have with others continue to be great, or to improve whatever that relationship might be like at the time. Doing God’s Word is always the best thing that you can do unto God and for others.

Let the Golden Rule rule you, and then, in your relationships with others…well, Just Do the Rule! It’s Golden!

(Marriage humor from: www.hitched.co.uk)

Three Lenses for Life

Study Guide – January 27, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

So, what does this remind you of… “Which is better? One or two? How about now…better one or better two?” Right, the eye test. My brother just retired from Optometry. I wonder how many times he asked those questions over the course of his career? He’s probably heard a lot of eye doctor jokes as well. Like: A man went to the eye doctor and said “I keep seeing spots in front of my eyes.” And the Optometrist said, “Well, have you seen any doctors before?” And the man said, “No, just the spots.” Or, “What do you call a deer without eyes?” “I’ve got ‘no eye-deer’”. Well, there are a lot of eye doctor jokes. And they are pretty funny, even though they are a little ‘cornea’!

But seriously, wouldn’t it be great if we did have three lenses through which we could not only see life clearly, but also understand life clearly? Well, there are three such lenses through which God Himself looks at all of life. And if we will learn to look at all of life through these same three lenses, then we will come to understand all of life much more clearly. And yet, in order to use these lenses, we must first learn, or we should say, we must first choose to ‘delight’ in these things, just as God does. Let’s return to the passage before we unpack this. Jer 9:23-24- “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU

We earlier saw that one of the most important things God wants in our relationship with Him is for us to come to understand our God better and better. And that is just an amazing thing to know – that God is that personal with us, His children. But then we find that God wants us to also know exactly what it is that He delights in, along with the fact that these are also three guides, or three attributes, or three lenses through which God sees and acts upon everything in this world. And, as such, we are to then understand that basically these three attributes govern the universe; lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness. Talk about the laws of nature – these are the laws over all that exists in the universe. And so, it behooves us to then choose to learn as much as we can about these three things, and to also then delight in these three things, and to then look at everything in our world through the lenses of these three things. And when something ‘behooves’ us that means it’s supposed to ‘move us’, because ‘behoove’ is far more than a suggestion…it’s a necessary action.

So now let’s think about it: God delights in ‘lovingkindness’. This Hebrew word ‘chesed’ is a combination of ‘love’ and ‘mercy’. And how thankful we are that this love and mercy, this lovingkindness, is the central motive of everything that our wonderful God does. It’s why we have John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, (so loved you and me) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him (like you and me) shall not perish, but have eternal life.” NASU Thank the Lord for loving us enough to give His life for us so that we would not perish in our sins, but be pardoned and given eternal life in union with our Maker and our Savior.

But another point we need to see and to understand here is that this means that everything God does is from this central motive of lovingkindness. Everything God does begins here…with His love. Even when our first parents sinned against God and they were driven from the Garden of Eden, it was because God loved them and wanted to protect them. Gen 3:22-24- “Then the Lord God said, “The man has become like one of us, since he knows good and evil. He must not reach out and take the fruit from the tree of life and eat. Then he would live forever.” So the Lord God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden to farm the ground from which the man had been formed. After he sent the man out, God placed angels and a flaming sword that turned in all directions east of the Garden of Eden. He placed them there to guard the way to the tree of life.” God’s Word Version

If Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Life they would then live forever on earth as sinners, separated from a relationship with their Creator. So even their being driven from Eden was because God loved them, and drove them out so that even though their sin had set the just judgment of death into motion, physical and spiritual death, still, through the coming Redeemer, they would be given another chance, given a new birth physically and a new birth spiritually.

Interesting isn’t it, that although we think of our new spirit in terms of the new spiritual birth, we usually don’t think of our new body in terms of a new physical birth. And yet, that is exactly how Paul described it in 1 Cor 15:35-38- “But someone will ask, “How do the dead come back to life? With what kind of body will they come back?” The seed you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies first. What you plant, whether it’s wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn’t have the form that the plant will have. God gives the plant the form He wants it to have. Each kind of seed grows into its own form.” …42-43- “That is how it will be when the dead come back to life. When the body is planted, it decays. When it comes back to life, it cannot decay. When the body is planted, it doesn’t have any splendor and is weak. When it comes back to life, it has splendor and is strong.” God’s Word Version

This explanation by the Apostle should directly influence how Christians think about the death of the body. It’s like the planting of a seed so that it can come back to life…or be reborn into the splendor and strength of immortality! It’s also a point that is far too overlooked by our world, and sometimes by God’s people, who ignore what God has revealed to us in the Bible, in how that even in the death of the physical body the love of God is demonstrated. And how is that? By this: That even like with Adam and Eve, God loves us so much that He allows the seed of the sin damaged mortal body to die on this dying planet so that the plant of the immortal body can then live forever with Him in the New Heavens and New Earth. Remember, the presence of sin in this world has damaged everything in it, including our physical bodies. Sin is a universal toxin or poison. Yes, sin is a rebellion against the Creator, but it is also a poison to our body. And God loves us too much to leave us in this poisoned and damaged condition. And so, like Adam and Eve, because we too have sinned, we cannot go back to Eden…but we can go on to Heaven, because God loves us. And one day this planet Earth will also be reborn, and then God’s original plan will be continued, along with all of His redeemed and immortal children. Wow! And it’s all coming soon.

This is also why Christians die differently than the world…because although we love this life that God has given us, and we love our loved ones and want to stay with them as long as we can, and we love each other…still, we know that Jesus loves us, and so when death comes, we are willing to let go and let this seed of our mortal body be planted in death so that it will be reborn into life in an immortal body in which we will then live forever with those we love who also love Jesus and are loved by Him.

By the way: As for that Tree of Life in Eden? The Apostle John tells us in Rev. 22:2 that we’ll see it again, in the New Earth. And since we will already have immortality, this time it’s fruit and even its leaves will just be for our enjoyment and sense of well being. Hey, Whatever fruit you like the best now…well, the fruit from the Tree of Life is going to be the best ever! Even its leaves are therapeutic somehow!

But now back to God’s lovingkindness…again, this is the central motive for everything God does. Even God’s commandments are born out of God’s lovingkindness. And oh, how the world bristles against God’s commandments, like they would know what’s better for their lives; and like God’s commandments are restrictions to their happiness. How foolish! The world is completely foolish when it comes to understanding the purpose for the commandments of God. Actually, Moses even had to remind God’s people about the purpose of God’s commandments. Look at this: Deut 4:40- “So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” Deut 5:29- “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!” Deut 10:12-13- “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” NASU

God’s commandments are born out of God’s lovingkindness. And since God knows what it is that will make life be ‘well for us’ He then gives us His exact instructions in order to accomplish His loving desire for us. And that’s why it is not only sinful to disobey God’s commandments to us, but it is also the height of foolishness as well. It’s an example of how sin damaged the human nature is, to think that the creature would know better than the Creator about how to live a fulfilling and contented life. The sin damaged mind of the natural man has led mankind to live in a constant state of being ‘duped by sin into foolishness’.

The clearest example of this is that people have the tendency to live according to their personal preferences rather than according to God’s permissions. Back to our first parents: Gen 2:16-17- “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” NASU So Adam and Eve had God’s permission to choose from any tree in the entire area of Eden. Just think: the choices and liberties and privileges were enormous! But instead of going by God’s permission, they went with their own personal preference instead…and it resulted not in rejoicing, like they assumed it would, but in remorse…for the rest of their lives.

Most people tend to live their lives by their personal preferences about most everything, with little or no regard or knowledge about God’s permissions. Mark it down: Wisdom is to prefer what God has first permitted. Foolishness is to prefer what God has not first permitted. Foolishness is not first finding out what God has permitted before acting on it.

What God permits is what will produce joy, both now and forever, just like we saw in Deuteronomy. But to prefer and then to choose what God has not permitted will produce remorse sooner or later for sure, and forever, without repentance. That’s another reason to study the Word of God in order to find out just what God has permitted us to do in every area of life; from marriage and family, to church and community, to business and medicine and government, and so on…and then – just do that! Make sure that in whatever you prefer to do or to choose in life that you also have God’s permission to do that or choose that. Remember, if God doesn’t permit it, then just like in the Garden of Eden, no matter how good it seems to you or looks to you or you think may make you wise, it will result in leanness to your soul and regret to your heart.

But again remember, God delights in exercising lovingkindness toward us. That’s His central motive and attitude towards you and me. He even delights in showing mercy to us in our time of need. In fact, He calls for us to come to Him even when we might feel like drawing away from Him, like Adam and Eve felt after they sinned. They went and hid, but God came for them, calling for them to come back to Him. Why? Because He wanted them to understand that He delights in lovingkindness. He delights in showing mercy to His children when they are in need of mercy. Heb 4:16- “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” NLT

Well, we still need to unpack the other two lenses of Justice and Righteousness. We’ll get to that soon. But just think: God delights in exercising lovingkindness towards us. And that means that He loves us even more than we want to be loved by God, and that He forgives us even more than we want to be forgiven by God, and that He longs for us to be with Him in Heaven even more than we long to be in Heaven with Him. What an amazing God and Father we have!

AMEN

Study Guide – January 13, 2019

Pastor Clay Olsen

We’re starting our study with an ending…an ending to our prayers. And yet, an ‘Amen’ at the end of our prayers is really not an ending, but an agreement…an agreement to continue on in what we just prayed about. But actually, the affirmation of ‘Amen’ is even a whole lot more than an agreement to go on in what we prayed about. It’s really about making a commitment to the Person of God, and to the plan of God, and to the purposes of God. The word ‘Amen’ is a power packed word with a multitude of meanings and implications. And by examining just a few of them it can deepen our fellowship with our great God and move us to a deeper understanding of our great God’s work in and through our lives.

Of course the classic understanding of the use of ‘Amen’, especially in concluding a prayer is; ‘let it be so’, or ‘so be it’, or ‘may it be done’. But in the Hebrew the word was often used in the verb form more than one hundred times in the Old Testament, with meanings such as; to take care, to be faithful, reliable or established, or to believe someone or something. It was like they were committing themselves to what was just pronounced to them by God or prayed to God by them.

And remarkably enough, in John 3:3 when Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” NASU… the actual Greek translation of what Jesus was saying was this: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” So Jesus used the word ‘Amen’ to also mean ‘truly’ or ‘truth’. In fact, Jesus said “Amen, I say to you…” dozens of times in the New Testament.¹ So the word has this additional sense of finality and authority and the sense of sheer ‘truth’.

So as we end our prayers and say ‘Amen’ we can understand this to mean that we are standing with truth, or taking a stand for truth, or making a commitment to truth. So saying “Amen” is like saying to God and others, “I pledge myself to ‘truth’”! Which is really like saying, “I pledge myself to the One who is the Truth – Jesus, my Lord and my God”!

But we also mentioned that the word ‘Amen’ itself also comes with many implications when we say it to our Lord. The Jerusalem Prayer Team International uncovered some of those Biblical implications of what ‘Amen’ means by giving a concept that each letter stand for in the word ‘Amen’. And we can go deeper in our walk with God by using these Biblical implications as well. It’s in the form of an acrostic.

The ‘A’ in ‘Amen’ implies that we ‘Agree with God’. This is to be the alpha and the omega of our attitude in everything we pray about or do in our relationship with God. We are in full agreement with God and God’s will, and therefore we are committing to live in submission to God and to His will. We basically are taking the attitude of Jesus: ‘Not my will, but Thy will be done.’

It’s like the Apostle John revealed in1 John 5:14- “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” NASU The unsaid thing that John may have been thinking, but did not write is: “And why would you have any confidence to ask for something that is not according to God’s will anyway? Really? Seriously?” But John didn’t say that…he wouldn’t say… “Really? Seriously?” We might say something like that, but John wouldn’t.

But seriously though…Often, in children, they call the tendency to continually do the opposite of what they are supposed to do an ‘Op-positional Disorder’. And certainly some children have an extreme bent this way, but in relation to mankind’s general sin nature, we all have something of an ‘Op-positional Disorder’, since we tend to want to have life go our own way. Essentially we are all bent with this malady of: ‘May my will be done!’ It is so easy to mix up ‘My’ with ‘Thy’ when it comes to the issue of whose will you’re going to go with or act upon. And it seems we need to settle this pretty much on a daily basis. It’s very important to default to God’s will as opposed to our will.

It’s kind of a strange things that goes on in our brain that we so often just assume or we tend to assume that what we are thinking or choosing or praying is God’s will, or at least that He will probably back us up on it. And it’s not that our intentions are necessarily wrong, it’s just that we’re not working with the right instructions. Jesus’ disciples are quite the examples of this habit. When some parents brought their children to Jesus for prayer the Disciples assumed this would be bothersome and started to turn them away. But Jesus said ‘No, don’t do that.’ And then they found out that what He wanted was for them to bring the children to Him instead. I guess they didn’t ask Jesus first.

And when the crowds came to hear Jesus’ teachings the Disciples assumed that since it was so late that the people needed to go home to eat and such. But Jesus said ‘No, they don’t need to go away.’ And then He told His Disciples that they were going to give them something to eat.’ And they did, since we find out that Jesus wanted to perform a miracle to demonstrate that He was the Creator as well as Messiah. So, again, they just didn’t ask Him first what He wanted to do.

And when they learned that others were using Jesus’ name to cast out demons they assumed that they should stop them because they were not of their group. “Master, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.” Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him! Whoever isn’t against you is for you.” Luke 9:49-50-God’s Word Version Here we see that even the Disciples were an example of how people tend to be a bit ‘clique-ish’ or ‘clann-ish’, or a bit judgmental toward others who aren’t one of their group. We’ve all got to be careful with that, right? But, once again, it appears that they just didn’t ask Jesus first what He wanted to do about that situation.

The point is; don’t assume that your idea or wants or wishes are necessarily God’s will. Even if you mean well, we each need to ask Jesus first, examine the Scriptures first, and find out what He wants to do about everything we plan to do or intend to do. Or, we just need to find out what God wants and then totally agree with Him and then trust and obey Him in doing it. Amen?

Now the ‘M’. The ‘M’ is for ‘Move with God’. One of our American anomalies is that we tend to think and act very independently. And yes, a spirit of independence is a good and noble thing, that is, in relation to being personally responsible and personally motivated and personally sacrificial and helpful and such. But we tend to push independence past these virtues of independence and it soon morphs into being not just independent, but disconnected, or irresponsible, or uncommitted. As such, that then affects how we relate to both God and others. We start thinking and living like we are vines, when we are branches. We start thinking and living like we are Potters, when we are jars of clay. We start thinking and living like we are Shepherds, when we are sheep. Or how about this one? We start thinking like we are the Hand, when we are the glove.

To ‘move with God’ requires letting God lead you…letting God be in charge of your life; in charge of your will; in charge of your wants; in charge of what you do and why you do it.

Which leads to the ‘E’ – ‘Engage with God’. This is like ‘Move with God’, but this takes us deeper in this connection and in our action of being God’s branches and vessels and sheep and gloves. This takes us into finding out not only what God wants us to do about His will, but also what God wants us to know about Him personally; about what God is like and why God does what He does, and so on. I still marvel over one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever found out about what God really wants in our relationship with Him. You may know the passage, but we’ll never know enough about what God reveals about Himself in it.

Look at this: Jer 9:23-24- “Thus says the Lord , “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.” NASU

How simply remarkable that one of the things God wants most is to be understood by us. That’s not what usually comes to mind first when a believer starts wondering about what is God’s will for my life? We tend to think of God’s will as first involving what God wants us to do rather than to think that God’s will is foremost about what God wants us to understand and to know about Himself.

How amazing that the Creator of the Universe is also that personal, that He comes to us and calls us to come to Him, to come and better know and better understand Him. And the key thing that He want us to understand about Himself is that He delights in three key things: lovingkindess, justice, and righteousness. This trinity of attributes of lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness are to be the guiding filters for whatever you understand about God or know about God or think about God, as well as guiding your understanding of everything going on in this world, or in your world.

These are the three key attributes that God delights in. And therefore, and here is how that affects us,..You will only come to know and understand God when you learn to also delight in these three things as well.

Knowing God is actually the real goal of life itself. Even the measurement of your love and reverence for God will be in direct proportion to the measurement of your understanding and knowledge of God. A very central problem to why both the world and even many of God’s own children do not love and revere God like they should is because they do not understand or know God like they should…especially like God wants them to understand and know Him.

It’s by coming to understand and know God better that you come to conform more and more into His image; actually, into the image that God created you. And the more that you conform to God the better you will be able to confide in God, because you’ll understand God better. And the better you become at confiding in God the closer you will be able to abide with God, and be at peace as well.

But let’s conclude with our last letter. The ‘N’ is for ‘Never doubt God’. Now on the surface we would say, “Well, sure. I don’t doubt God. God is faithful, righteousness, and true. Everything that God says always come to pass, and will come to pass! I don’t have any doubts about God…my doubts are about me.”

Yes, our doubts tend to linger on ourselves, on things that we are discouraged about or disappointed about, or are just too difficult. But let’s ask a question that God Himself asked: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” Gen 18:14 NASU Or, let’s ask that another way: “Are you too difficult for the Lord? Are your problems too difficult for the Lord to help you with? Are your habits too difficult for the Lord to overcome? Are your desires too deep for the Lord to meet? Are your problems too difficult for the Lord to solve?

When it comes to the issue of doubts, the subtle problem is that we don’t think we are doubting God when we are doubting ourselves, but we really are. It comes back to ‘who’ we are trusting in. Think about it: Have you ever been disappointed in yourself? Well, you know what? To be disappointed in yourself is to have believed in yourself. We have our eyes and our belief on the wrong person. Our belief, our trust, our eyes are to be on Jesus, not ourselves.

Remember, it was to Abraham and Sarah that God asked that question after He told them that together they would have a son through which God’s covenant would be fulfilled. And Sarah laughed and basically said, “Look at us…we’re old. That’s not possible.” And God said, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” Or back to our point: “Are you too difficult for the Lord?” Sarah was looking at herself when God was calling her not to look at herself, but to look at Him. But by looking at herself her doubts about herself then seeped into doubting God’s promise to her and thereby became a doubt about God. Be careful here: Doubts are deceptive little buggers.

The problem is that we know ourselves too well and our God too little. What we need to do is to find out what God has promised, then put His promise over our problem or problems…then look away from ourselves and to our God…and turn from trusting in ourselves to trusting in God. We just need to be careful that we find out what God has promised and not build up expectations about things God has not promised. So also keep watch out for false expectations. But in what God has promised, by turning to God, trusting in God, and looking to God and not ourselves, we will then not let those nagging doubts about ourselves seep into and creep into what God has promised to do in and through our lives.

So when you say “Amen” to God, let that be your commitment to God that you are going to Agree with God, Move with God, Engage with God, and seek to Never doubt God. Amen!

1. Daniel Doriani, Amen, biblestudytools.com

Renewal: The Key to Resolution

Study Guide, December 30, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

It’s that time of year again when a lot of people all over the world make New Year’s Resolutions. Making resolutions before the New Year is a really common thing to do. Keeping resolutions?…right…not so common. Somehow they have come up with some research on how many people actually keep their resolutions. They claim that only around 9% actually follow through with their resolutions. I think they should make a resolution to re-do that research…it can’t be all that low, can it?

Why do you think it is that so many people don’t stick to their resolutions? You know, they have even researched that. I was reading an article about that and gleaned a few of those reasons, and thought it would profit us all to Biblically expand on them. So here we go.

One reason was: ‘Many people try to go it alone’. That’s kind of interesting because the Scriptures actually speak to the problem of going at things alone. Eccl 4:9-10- “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.” NASU And the Proverbs also talk a lot about the perils of isolation and the benefits of working together, serving together, growing together, and so on.

That’s especially pointed out in the analogy of the church as well. Notice Eph 4:15-16- “…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” NASU So, we certainly know that God calls each of His children to connect to a local body of believers for the purpose of living out their discipleship and serving God through a local church. God’s people especially are not to try to go it alone in the Christian life. Remember, even though no one else can do your discipleship for you, still, discipleship involves seeking help from others for your own walk with Christ and also being involved in helping others in their walk with Christ.

So for 2019, make a point of helping build up others in their Christian walk, and you will find yourself getting built up as well.

Another reason they found that many don’t stick to their resolutions is that their goals or wishes are unrealistic. And this was often associated with common sense things, such as in setting goals that were unhealthy, as in related to things like getting too little sleep in order to get more done, or setting a goal for an unhealthy diet in order to try to lose a lot of weight in too little time.

Even Christians tend to get caught up in having unrealistic expectations about some things. And often it’s related not to whatever resolution or goal it is that they are making…no, it’s related to what they are leaving out of their resolutions or their goals, or leaving out of their plans, we should say. Notice what the Apostle James has to say about this: James 4:13-16- “Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.” NLT

The problem is not about the making of plans nor of having industrious ambitions. That’s all fine. No, the problem is actually three-fold. One is the unrealistic expectation about this world itself, and our life in it. James informs us that to assume that any future time already belongs to us is completely unrealistic. Who can assume that tomorrow belongs to them as though tomorrow is something that is owed to them? Each day that a person lives on planet Earth is not something that is owed them; rather each day is a gift to them, and it is a gift given to them by God. Ps 118:24- “This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” NASU Yes, the Psalmist was rejoicing in the Sabbath day, but he was also revealing that every day is a new gift from God, not to be taken for granted nor taken advantage of, but something to be grateful to the Creator for…for giving thanks to God for giving you another day of life on planet Earth. How often do we remember to thank God for the gift of each new day?

But another problem James points out here is that they were thinking and acting like this world was their permanent home, when the reality was that they were only passing through this world, as both the prophets and the apostles had told them time and time again. In fact, James made that about as clear as possible by using the example of the morning fog. It wasn’t going to be long before they were going to be long gone from this world, because God’s people are all on a brief journey through this world, with our permanent citizenship in Heaven and the New World ahead. Remember, God calls us things like ‘sojourners’, ‘pilgrims’, and ‘strangers in this world’ for the express purpose that we understand that this world is not our home. Home is where our Heavenly Father is. Actually, the real reason we are still here is that our assignment, our mission, our work here is not yet done.

And then the third problem, and the most egregious of their arrogant attitudes, was again, not in the making of ambitious plans and preparing for the possibility of a long life on this earth…No, that’s fine. But the real problem was thinking and acting like they were the masters of their lives in making their plans, instead of bowing before their Master, their Lord, and taking the place of being His steward, and seeking His guidance and His will in whatever plans they were making. And in not doing this, well James says, that is the equivalence of ‘boastful arrogance’ and the ‘doing of evil’.

So remember, whenever you look ahead to make plans for the days ahead, first look up to your Lord and Master and ask God to direct you in making these plans for any day ahead that you are given as a gift from God. And be careful, for our nature is that we tend to do the opposite. As my college Pastor used to say: “We sort of fill out the page of our plans and then ask God to sign His name at the bottom; when what we need to do is to give God a blank sheet with our names already signed at the bottom and then ask, “Lord, will You fill this in for me? And whatever it is, ‘Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

Again, remember, God will not be ignored or dishonored, no matter how good of plans or resolutions we might have. If God is not sought out first in the making of plans or resolutions, then it falls under the heading of ‘vanity of vanities’, and is in danger of having no lasting value.

So make 2019 a year for seeking God’s will in all that you do and thanking God for His gift of each new day that He’s given you to do it.

Now here was an interesting reason for people not sticking to their resolutions: ‘Giving up too easily’. I remember Dr. Howard Hendricks once telling about a parent he was counseling. And the parent was lamenting how much difficulty he had with a wayward son of his and was just pretty much done with it all. And Dr. Hendricks asked him how old his son was…and the man said “he’s 38”. And Dr. Hendricks said, “Well, why are you giving up so soon?!” Of all people, Christians are to be in everything we do for the long haul. Remember: Failure doesn’t define us; Faithfulness is to define us. And a central feature of ‘faithfulness’ is ‘perseverance’! We keep pressing on in anything that is good and in everything that is God honoring!

In many things in life we tend to let our failures be final, when in reality, as Dr. Warren Wiersbe reminds us: “Failures are part of the bumps we climb on!” Remember, by the grace of God and the perseverance of our faith, whatever stumbling blocks the world, the flesh, and the devil throw into our path can be transformed into stepping stones as offerings to God, as we continue to ‘fight the good fight of faith’.

Here’s a fascinating example of this in the Apostle Paul’s own life. Here’s what he once said: Rom 15:24- “So I will visit you when I go to Spain. Yes, I hope to visit you while I am traveling to Spain, and I will stay and enjoy being with you. Then you can help me continue on my trip.” NLT This is kind of like a ‘resolution’ he makes about his mission work. He says something like: “And this year my goal is to go to Spain and take the Gospel all over those lands.” But instead, it was not long after this that Paul went not to Spain, but to prison. So what does he make of that? Well, instead of seeing that as a defeat, he says this: “ Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” Phil 1:12-15 NASU

What a victorious attitude” That’s the attitude of an ‘overcomer’; the mindset of a ‘conqueror’; and the commitment to perseverance! Even in difficult circumstances, like here with Paul’s imprisonment, if we turn those circumstances over to God and ask Him to use them someway and somehow, God will then grab even our hard circumstances by the scruff of the neck and make them honor Him and bless others and turn out for reward for us. Our plans don’t have to work out perfect to be good. We just have to persevere in doing good and letting God work them out together for His good. Amen?

So make 2019 a year for persevering in doing good for God’s sake and letting Him work it out together for good!

And then there was one other reason given for why people don’t stick to their resolutions that was very insightful: Wrong Perspective. They gave this example of a wrong perspective: “While you may have the best intentions with your resolution, you could be putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Put it in perspective. “Rather than associating the New Year with resolutions or changes you need to make, consider it a time for reflection on things you wish to work on throughout the year. Quit dwelling on what you have not accomplished and focus on what you will accomplish instead.” ¹

Let’s inject a deeper Biblical perspective on it all that is actually the real key in both making and keeping resolutions. Rom 12:1-2- “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” NASU

This passage here is Romans 12 is the ‘sunnum bonum’ of all resolutions, or the ‘supreme good’ of all resolutions, because true change in your behavior follows true change in your thinking. And true change in your thinking first follows a true change in your will; that is, a willingness to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to the Lord for Him to be first in all things in your life. Remember: Sacrifice precedes service. And since we are ‘living sacrifices’, that means we pretty much need to offer ourselves anew each day. And in doing so, each day becomes a new day of both sacrifice and service. Just think, God tells us that His lovingkindness and mercies to us are new each day. (Lam. 3:22,23) That’s supposed to lighten our burdens about our past and inspire us for the present, and for the future. Sacrifice and service are the keys to our sense of satisfaction and significance.

Plus, Paul also reveals here that the key then to any kind of resolution in life or transformation in behavior is through this: ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind‘! How remarkable and wonderful it is that by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truths of God’s Word we can actually renew, even re-wire our mind, in order to, like the songs says, ‘See Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, and follow God more nearly day by day’. Again, sacrifice precedes service, and renewal of the mind precedes resolutions in behavior. Yes, a resolution begins in your mind, but a resolution won’t transform your mind apart from renewing your mind. And how? By replacing being conformed to this world’s thinking with being transformed with Biblical thinking.

So make 2019 a year of growing more and more in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through His Word, for that is the key to transformation and resolution. And by the grace of God, we can do this!

1. (Several of the ‘reasons’ gleaned from an article by Jene Luciani, Top 10 Reasons You Don’t Stick to Your Resolutions)

Behind the Christmas Scenes

Study Guide – December 9, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Christmas tends to fill our minds with the many scenes of the Christmas story; from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Shepherds to Angels to Wise Men and gifts. These are great images and features of the great message of our great Savior and our great salvation. But in thinking of these great scenes, we thought it would be fascinating to take a bit of a look behind the scenes of some of them in order to gain a greater understanding of the greatest story ever told.

Take Nazareth for instance – At that time Nazareth was a small dusty town in the region of Galilee. One of the most ironic questions ever asked was in connection with Nazareth. And, strangely enough, it was asked by a future disciple of Jesus’; Nathanael. Here’s what he asked: John 1:46- “Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” NASU What? ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ Talk about missing the mark by a mile! The answer is: How about the most wonderful thing in the Universe would come out of Nazareth: the Savior of the World! (by way of Bethlehem, that is.)

So why would Nathanael say something that sounds so crazy to us? Well, Nazareth was one of those towns that just had a bad rap in that region. Although, it was quite a mixture of religious beliefs. It was also a place where half the population was ‘unsynagogued’…just kind of made that up…like the Jewish form of ‘unchurched’. They were just unreached, or refused to be reached. Plus, many said the people there had what they called ‘a rude dialect’. That’s like one guy kind of apologizing to another about the way he talked said, “You’ll have to excuse me…I don’t talk so good.” And the other man said, “Ah, don’t worry about that. Most people don’t hear so good neither!”

But probably a lot of that bad attitude against Nazareth by the people of Judea was simply because a lot of Judeans had bad attitudes anyway about the people who lived in Galilee. They were just sort of prejudiced and carried a ‘more kosher than thou’ attitude toward those who lived in Nazareth. In fact, their bad attitudes infected their thinking so much that they even had bad theology. In another instance, while Nicodemus was being insulted by other members of the Sanhedrin they said: John 7:52- “They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” NASU Yet, Jonah was from Galilee. They were badly mistaken. Bad attitudes and disobedience always distort your theology.

People tend to think that their disobedience is caused by their lack of understanding, when it’s the other way around: a lack of understanding is simply further set into motion by their disobedience and by their resistance to repentance toward God. If people will listen with a repentant spirit, they will be given more light for understanding. But when they turn away in their heart, then they also shut the door to understanding in their mind. Remember Jesus said: “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Luke 8:18 NLT So we are to listen with the purpose of obeying, and then we will be given more understanding.

But back to Nazareth: Remember, God works according to His plan, not according to people’s prejudices or cultural pressures. And His plan involved choosing a godly couple from a not so godly town to care of and raise the Son of God and Savior of the World. Remember: It’s not where you’re from or what others think of you that matters, but where you are going and what God thinks of you! That’s what matters now and forever.

Now, here’s another intriguing thing that was going on behind the scenes that first Christmas. And it also was put in the form of a question: Matt 17:10-13- “Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” NASU Elijah has always been a hero to the Jewish people and to us all. Remember, like Enoch, Elijah also was taken up to Heaven without first dying…As in, Enoch and Elijah already experienced the Rapture. It’s the Church’s turn next! But the unbelieving Jews again distorted the teachings about Elijah and the prophesies. So Jesus went on to explain. “Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready for the Messiah. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.” NLT The prophecy was that John the Baptist would come in the power of Elijah, but not be the prophet himself. Again, They got their theology mixed up because of their unrepentant hearts and minds.

It’s really strange how the unrepentant teachers of the Law tended to latch onto Old Testament prophets and like to think that they were following in their footsteps. Remember how they liked to use Moses to say he was their guide in all matters of belief and practice? But they weren’t believing and following Moses’ teachings at all, and Jesus blew that mirage up when he told them this: John 5:44-47- “No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” NLT

What a stinging rebuke?! They said they believed and follow Moses, but Moses was writing about Jesus; Yeshua the Messiah. They weren’t followers of Moses at all, just like they weren’t followers of Yahweh. You see, most people are okay with having a religion, as long as they are still in charge of what they want to do about it or make of it. What they aren’t okay with is surrendering to a relationship in which God is their Lord and only Savior.

It’s like with Christmas: most people like the idea of the religious holiday with a baby Jesus and having some religious experiences when they want and the way they want them. What they have trouble with is surrendering their lives to the King Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all and only Savior of their soul. They have their hopes in their religion, but what they don’t have is a repentant faith placed in one Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Just like with the Pharisees; they, too, loved the idea of holidays…they just didn’t like that need to be holy in the sight of God…as in, separated unto Christ as Lord, who came to them in the form of Jesus of Nazareth.

Again, they were heart headed because they were hard hearted! They were still looking for Elijah the prophet, but not listening to what God said about the one who would come in the power of Elijah in order to prepare the way for the Messiah! Listen to Jesus explaining that: Matt 11:10-15- “John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.” 13-15- “ For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” NLT

Note again: that last thing that Jesus said is a crucial teaching. Like: “So, what are ears for?” Most would say: “Ears are for hearing.” But no – “Ears are for listening”. God says, ‘Since you have ears to hear you should then listen to what I am saying to you.” ‘Listen’, as in ‘pay attention and then obey’. Many hear…few listen and obey.

It’s like with the Angels; people tend to be selective listeners…even when it comes to listening to what Angels have said to mankind. Now, it’s pretty bad when you can ignore Angels, right? But for example: Most people love that account of Gabriel telling Mary that she had been chosen to carry the Christ child and to then care for Him as His mother. What a wonderful announcement and image to think about this season, right? But here’s the odd thing. Most people have pretty much ignored everything else Gabriel has announced to the world, even one of of the most precise prophecies ever given. Most have ignored Gabriel’s earlier account to Daniel where he gave to mankind the very time line for the future of the Earth, including the First and the Second Comings of Christ, the Messiah! We have gone through it in detail before, but just to say again: Gabriel’s countdown of Earths’ history is the most precise yet most ignored revelation in the Bible. It gave the exact number of years until the appearance and even the appointed death of the Messiah, along with the prediction of Christ’s return to Earth as King of all.

God expected the Israelites to be keepers of this time line and to then tell people what time it was, prophetically speaking. Even part of Gabriel’s visitation to Mary was like: “Hey, do you know what time it is? Haven’t you been paying attention to the time line I gave you? It’s time for the Messiah’s first advent!” Again, we won’t go into this time line as it does take some time, but we just want to make the point that we should each become more and more familiar with this prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel in Daniel chapter 9. The prophecy is so exact that it calculates out to the very day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as His official announcement as being the long awaited Messiah. In fact, as Jesus was coming into Jerusalem He spoke of how they should have known that this was the time that the prophet Daniel had spoken of, through Gabriel’s announcement. Luke 19:41-42- ”When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.” 44 – “…because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” NASU

It’s like again, if people really want to know if the Bible is truly the inerrant Word of God, all they have to do is examine the prophecies of the Scriptures, like this one by Gabriel to Daniel. God has given an overload of evidence that His Words are the very words of truth and life.

In fact, one more ‘behind the Christmas scene’ has to do with this very concept of God’s Word. For the Apostle John even goes back long before Jesus’ coming to Earth. John tells us that the reason we can trust these words of God is because they come directly from the ‘Word’ Himself. John 1:1-4- “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him,and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.” NLT

Of course, God would give us His words to teach and guide our lives because He Himself is the very Word of Truth and Life. And then the Word became flesh. Logos became a human being. Truth took on a body and walked among us. And it’s the Apostle John that told us that Jesus is still in His resurrected human body and will be both God and Man forever. John 11:25- “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” NLT

And all those who have given themselves to God in repentance and received Jesus Christ by faith as their Savior will also live forever with Jesus. And we trust that each of you have that assurance that Jesus is your Savior. If not, talk to Jesus about that today and make sure.

These scenes behind the scenes of Christmas really are fascinating. And the more we explore them the more we will experience of the wonders and joys of Christmas. So, keep exploring and sharing what you find with others this Christmas season and beyond.

Listening But Not Hearing

Pastor Robert Kornegay – Dec 2, 2018

Instructions from the Psalmist on How to Give Thanks

Study Guide, November 18, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Many of you have enjoyed trips over to Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. While we were there last weekend I picked up a guide to the stories of historical sites and homes of Ocracoke. And one story in particular was really fascinating. It told of a landowner that needed to have an old schoolhouse moved off of his property. So he hired several men to do the job. The thing is, the job was rather difficult. And as the men were doing the job he was listening to them complain about the conditions, with one man in particular who seemed really good at grumbling. So he picked out a stump and gave instructions for that man to do nothing all day but to sit there and be the designated grumbler for all of them. Really! It was his job to grumble and gripe about the heat, the mosquitoes, the strenuous work, the low pay, and the mismanagement of the whole deal. That way the others could just work while he did the complaining. And, of course, he would get his pay like all the rest.¹

Now, that’s pretty clever! Just assign somebody to be the designated grumbler, and that takes care of it for everybody! The rest can just get on with the work. Maybe that should be a new position in business and government offices and such: ‘Designated Grumbler’. Well, most people don’t need instructions on how to grumble or gripe. We all have had some practice in that! But evidently we do need instructions on how to give thanks. In fact, King David, the Psalmist, recognized this need and then compiled some of his counsel on that very thing, which we find, interestingly enough, in the book of 1 Chronicles. So since we can always use some help on sharpening our gratitude skills, let’s explore.

Before we get into 1 Chronicles chapter 16, it’s also fascinating to find that this passage was actually compiled by David from three of his previous writings, or previous psalms. It’s like these instructions on this skill or discipline for faithful living was so important that he took time to do some research on some of the previous counsel that God had given him about it in order to get it just right. And so here are the passages that correspond to what we have in 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 16:7-36 corresponds with Psalm 105:1-15; 1 Chronicles 16:23-33 goes with Ps. 96:1b-13a; and 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 goes with Ps. 106:1b-c, 47-48.

And notice this surprising thing right off the mark: 1 Chron 16:4- “He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel…” 7 – “…on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.” NASU How about that? What we find here is that this practice of gratitude or the giving of thanks was such an essential skill for faithful living that David assigned the Levitical priests with this duty at the tent of meeting where the Ark of the Covenant was located, which of course, signified the presence of God in their midst. This offering of thanks and praise was not just an aside that the priests or people were to do whenever they thought about it or felt particularly thankful and such…no, this was a required assignment, a commanded activity for these Levites who were appointed to do it, and for this to also be an example to the rest of the people on what God required of His people for faithful living. One of the things to realize about the practice of praise and thanksgiving is that it has the power to change your life, especially change how you ‘do life’.

Notice some of the instructions: 1 Chron 16:8-14- “Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.” NASU

Do these sound like suggestions? No, these are both instructions and commands to the Levitical priests on ‘how to give thanks’ to the God of the Universe and Judge of the Earth. And before we notice some of these instructions in particular, it’s also a bit surprising to many people to find that in most instructions throughout the Bible on how to develop a deep devotional relationship with God, as well as how to develop a healthier mind and a more faithful walk with God, that most of these instructions are ‘heavy on praise and light on petition’. They are ‘Praise heavy and Petition light’. Now, of course, God wants us to pray about everything and to bring our petitions before Him. He cares about our every need. But central to even the very well being of our soul and mind is this deep need of going higher and growing deeper into the very life and reality of our Creator and our God. And the gateway to going higher and growing deeper into experiencing the reality of our God and a relationship with Him is through these gates of praise and thanksgiving. The higher you go in praise the deeper you will also go in the knowledge and understanding of the Person you are praising. That’s the thing about gates: gates open up the way to places beyond where you are, or where you were. Try thinking of praise and thanksgiving as ‘gates’ to a higher knowledge and deeper understanding about God and the real world and then watch what difference it makes in your life, and in dealing others and with life itself.

Throughout these ‘instructions’ for giving thanks are great revelations about the One to whom we are thanking. For example: King David calls us to delve further into areas like: the wonders of God’s creation; and God’s deeds among the nations; and into the marvels of God’s attributes; and into His judgments in the Earth. We are also called to ‘recall’ His covenants. Many Christians do not understand much about God’s covenants with His people. And as a result, they then tend to have a confused understanding about God’s plan for His people and about this world in general.

We are also instructed to dwell more on our great inheritance as heirs of God in this world and in the coming Kingdom. King David is basically instructing us to learn more and more about our Creator, and in our learning, to then praise and thank Him more and more in our daily fellowship with Him and then carry that attitude of gratitude with us as we deal with those in our world around us.

Which, right there, this is something that is very striking, because the Psalmist strikes at one of the central stumbling blocks of human nature; that is; that people tend to default to wanting to learn more and more about themselves and less and less about the One who made us all. Recently my daughter Beth pointed out an article to me from Newsweek that claimed that humans are still evolving. However, when it comes to ‘evolution’, I like the old question of: “If monkeys evolved into humans, then why are there still monkeys?” Good question. Anyway, much of the argument of the article sounded like they were describing basic adaptation instead of evolution. Yet, many people still have their hopes set on this hope that mankind will evolve into a better and better version of itself, and, of course, a better version of themselves. But the reality is that this ‘hope’ is a completely ‘false hope’, because not only is mankind not evolving into some better version of themselves, they are actually devolving into a more rebellious version of themselves. The sinful human nature of mankind is devolving into further arrogance about themselves and into further rebellion against their Creator and their only Savior. In fact, it’s no coincidence that in the Apostle Paul’s citation against the worsening rebellious hearts of mankind he points out one thing in particular that especially characterizes the unrepentant heart. Notice this: Rom 1:21- “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” NASU

Do you see how crucial both honoring God as God and giving thanks to God is for even those not yet converted to Christ as their Savior? Even the unconverted have no excuse to not recognize that mankind has a Creator, and that they are to be thankful to their Creator for the very life they have! And if they do not honor Him as God nor give thanks to Him, then they will continue to devolve in their thinking and affections.

Here’s an announcement to all who do not honor God as God nor give Him thanks: “You will continue to become more and more futile in your speculations about life and your foolish heart will continue to become darker and darker.” Thus, saith the Lord through the Apostle Paul!

But now back to the Psalmist’s instructions for God’s people, for us, concerning this daily discipline of praise and thanksgiving. Let’s go to 1 Chron 16:23-27- “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place.” NASU

It’s very important to note how much the Lord talks about ‘joy’ knowing that we all live in a world of hardship and struggles that often just go on from one to the next. And that doesn’t mean that we ignore the hardships, or assume that those going through these hard times aren’t handling them rightly or that they are against others around them, and so on. A very wise lady that I live near to – actually in the same house with, said, “Sometimes you’re just having a hard time with hard times. It’s not against anybody. You are just having a hard time. That’s all.” And that’s true. That’s good insight. And fortunately, God not only understands how hard these ‘hard times’ of life can be, but He also is ready to give us some ‘secret strength’ to help us deal with the hard times of life. And this ‘secret strength’ is ‘His joy’!

In the midst of Jesus’ ‘high priestly prayer’ in John 17 to the Father about the hardships His followers would face He said this: John 17:13- “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” NASU You see it? The joy that Jesus can infuse into us is our secret strength in handling the hardships of this life. But every day, day by day, the choice is ours as to whether we will draw from Jesus ‘well of joy’ or not.

In a great article called “How giving thanks benefits your brain” it pointed to a physiological wonder in the human brain. It stated that the emotions of joy and the senses of anxiety or worry both travel the same pathway in the brain, albeit not at the same time. The point was, if you choose joy or choose to focus on the complimentary components of joy, like praise and thanksgiving and such, that there is literally no room on that pathway in your brain for worry and anxiety. In other words, joy crowds out worry. It’s like joy saying to worry: “There’s only room for one of us on this path…and it’s not going to be you!”

Think of it this way: Things like worry, ungratefulness, cynicism and such never just stop with themselves…no they always produce something. Like cynicism turns people into miserable curmudgeons.² A ‘curmudgeon’ is a cantankerous and critical person. Well, we certainly don’t want to produce that mess in our lives, right? On the other hand, gratitude lightens our spirit and produces that secret strength – joy! In fact, the habit of gratitude is actually central to having a well developed mind and life. Thankfulness is really therapy for the mind and soul.

And, as we pointed out earlier, the practice of praise and giving thanks falls under the heading of ‘the basic disciplines of life’. In other words, praising God and giving thanks go way past the notion of being tied to whether we feel thankful or waiting on things to work out for us in order to then praise God. No, this discipline is so crucial to the very development of our character and our relationship with God and our work for God in this world that it is part of ‘God’s will’ for our lives. Note: 1 Thess 5:18-19- “…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” NASU And, of course, the command is not to give thanks ‘for’ everything, but ‘in’ everything, because in everything God is still to be honored as God and given thanks for all the unchangeable and immovable things that the Psalmist was pointing out to us in his instructions to us on how to give thanks.

And to help us out further in knowing how to give thanks King David concludes his instructions with this: 1 Chron 16:31-36- “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord; For He is coming to judge the earth. O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise.” Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.” NASU

Thank you King David! Remember, as New Testament priests, we have also been assigned to walk through these gates of praise and thanksgiving each day into the presence of God. It’s one of our daily assignments, as priests and servants of the Lord. Plus, there are parts to God’s world that you can only get to through these gates of praise and thanksgiving. So, happy trails, and Happy Thanksgiving.

1. Ocracoke Guide, Ocracoke Walking Tour, 2018/19 edition
2. Susanne Maynes, How giving thanks benefits your Brain, Christian Healthcare Newsletter, November 2018

Brian Bernhardt – Field Representative for Smyrna Ministries

Nov 11, 2018

An Outreach to the Persecuted Church

The Counterfeiter

Study Guide  November 4, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Have you ever noticed how that sometimes things that are almost right can really go wrong? It’s like some of these well meaning church bulletin announcements that were almost right…but not really. Like this one: “The outreach committee has enlisted 25 people to make calls on those who are not ‘afflicted’ with any church.” Now it’s possible that some people who are affiliated with a church are still afflicted by it…but that’s another subject. Then here’s one that said: “Potluck Supper: Prayer and Medication to follow.” I don’t think that one was very well attended…not sure why…This one said: “Don’t let worry kill you off – let the church help.” Maybe that could go on our sign next week…maybe not…It’s also amazing how just one little word can make the difference, like: “Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.”

It’s like the insightful statement about discernment: “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It’s knowing the difference between right and almost right.” Very insightful, right? Discernment is also knowing the difference between who said that, as I assumed it was C.S. Lewis, but it’s attributed to C.H. Spurgeon. I was almost right, but almost right is still wrong.

We bring this up because last week we started examining the Fall of the Anointed Cherub. And in doing so we saw that in order to better understand what’s going on in our world it’s important to better understand the one that the Apostle Paul referred to as: ‘The god of this world’…little ‘g’ here, meaning…Lucifer, Satan, or another key title; The Counterfeiter. That title goes along with ‘The Deceiver’, but it’s this ‘counterfeiting’ aspect of Lucifer that explains an enormous amount of the problems that are going on in the world. People are falling for his counterfeits in religious beliefs to cultural philosophies. So here we go.

First of all, remember the fact that Satan is, at this time, already a defeated foe. And that is important to know. That’s something that Jesus assured His disciples about when He said: Luke 10:18- “And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” NASU Of course, Jesus was reinforcing in the minds of His disciples that His sovereign power was defeating and breaking the power of Satan over and over. And how ironic that, as we saw in our earlier study, Satan’s boastful declarations in Isaiah 14 were all about how lifted up he was going to be. Remember: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”. But then Jesus said, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening”. And that is what Satan has been doing ever since His rebellion against God. He has been in a downward spiral fall ever since.

In fact, it is very assuring for all of us to know about these ‘Falling and Casting out judgments’ by God upon Satan. Remember, as soon as Satan rebelled against his Creator the judgments began falling upon him: Ezek 28:18- “Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub…” NASU Satan’s initial judgment was that God cast him down from his privileged position of God’s anointed cherub before His throne. God expelled him from the mount of God. He was cast out of heaven! But he was still allowed access to God. Remember the scene in Job? Job 1:6-8- “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”” NASU Satan was roaming around the Earth with the attitude of the ultimate ‘trouble-maker’. Satan is the epitome of the Proverbs – Prov 4:16-17- “The wicked cannot sleep until they have done something evil. They will not rest until they bring someone down. Evil and violence are their food and drink.” ERV

How strange, but how important to know, that the reason wicked, evil, and mean spirited people do what they do is because they can’t rest unless they have done something wicked that day. They have become so vile and hard-hearted that the only time they are content is when they have caused problems. Their minds and hearts are troubled until they have made trouble for someone else. The trouble is, we now have a world full of trouble-makers, who are defined by Proverbs 4:16 and 17. And, of course, Satan is the leader in trouble-making.

But, again, it’s important that we know this is what Satan is doing day in and day out world-wide, along with his demonic forces that are at his disposal. And we wonder why the world is in such a mess. Why, the book of Daniel even informs us that for every nation and government in the world there are corresponding demonic entities that have been assigned to influence and incite these governments and their people to do evil, to choose evil, to practice evil. That’s why the Apostle Paul gave us the insight about what’s really going on in this world by telling us: Eph 6:12- “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” NASU

Now, the fighting and conflicts certainly spill over into the physical ‘flesh and blood’ realm. But what Paul is informing us about is to realize that the reason that the problems of this world are so constant and are ever worsening is because these demonic spirits, under the evil leadership of Lucifer, will never cease from stirring up trouble on Earth and making trouble for as many tribes, tongues, people and nations as they can. But, God is also never ceasing to redeem and build a family and a new Kingdom out of as many tribes, tongues, people and nations as whosoever will surrender to the King of kings and Lord of lords – Jesus Christ!

But even though Satan knows these things, he knows the Scriptures, he still rebels, because that is one of the most insidious things about the destructive power of sin. And that is, one of the worst components of sin is that sin is so addictive that even though Satan knows the Scriptures and that his time is short, he still chooses his sin and chooses to have his own way, rather than to bow before God, even though it will end with eternal judgment. In fact, the Scriptures reveal that Satan’s next judgment, or next casting out, will be in the Tribulation period when he is cast out of having access to Heaven and is restricted to Earth. Rev 12:7-9- “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” NLT

And then, following that restriction, he will then be imprisoned in the bottomless pit. Rev 20:1-3- “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” NASU

And then after his short release, where he forms one final rebellion against King Jesus before the Millennium concludes, God casts him into his eternal imprisonment in Gehenna Hell. That is also something very important to understand, that Hell is a place that was intended for Satan and his demonic hosts. Matt 25:41- “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…” NASU Hell was not prepared nor intended for humans. No, the New Earth and the New Heavens are intended for humans, but again, that destination is a choice humans make.

When thinking of the coming judgment you sometimes hear people ask: “Why does God send anyone to Hell?” The answer is, “He doesn’t”. God doesn’t ‘send’ people to Hell. Yes, He ‘sentences’ people to Hell, but that’s because they have chosen their sin over the only Savior. They would not repent and believe Christ’s Gospel. They rejected or neglected the Savior, thus, essentially choosing to remain separated from God. And separated they shall remain, forever. It was their choice. That’s why Paul said to all he could: 2 Cor 6:2- “For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.” NLT

Today is all we have. We trust that you have assurance of your own salvation today. Don’t put a decision like that off till tomorrow, because you don’t even know if you will have tomorrow. All you ever have is ‘today’. Make sure you have chosen to receive Jesus into your life as your own Lord and Savior. Then you can face tomorrow with certainty that your next home is Heaven, to live eternally with your Creator and your Savior.

Now then, do you remember that Satan is called the ‘god’, little ‘g’ of this world? (2 Cor.4:4) Remember that he said his desire was to ‘be like God’? Remember what he wants most is to be worshiped? Remember that the Apostle Paul said this about Satan: 2 Cor 11:14-15- “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” NASU The point is; ever since Lucifer was first cast down from the mount of God in Heaven this has been his all consuming desire – to be worshiped. Which brings us to the answer to the question of how did all these world religions get started anyway, which deny that Jesus is the only God and Savior, and they promote a different so-called god or gods? Realize this: Behind every false religion on Earth is this ‘angel of light’, this Counterfeiter, Satan himself, whose original desire to be worshiped like God has given unrepentant people something and someone to worship. Worship is either going to Christ or to the Counterfeiter.

Ever since Satan’s question to our first Parents in Eden of: “Oh, has God said?”, Satan has been planting doubts, deceiving minds, and offering counterfeit religions to mankind, with the major purpose being; his all consuming desire to be like God; to be worshiped. Oh sure, we so often link a major world religion with some human founder. But we are to understand that this human founder is himself ‘a link’ as well. This human founder is linked to the spiritual deceiver, the spiritual counterfeiter, the little ‘g’ god of this world – Satan.

Be very clear about that: There is only one God in existence: Our Creator and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is also only one entity entitled ‘the god of this world’. And that is Satan. So if false worship has not been going to the One true God, where has it been going? Right, to the Counterfeiter. Plus, we should know that the time is coming, when the Counterfeiter of religion will take his ‘counterfeiting’ schemes to the next level. No longer content with deceiving the peoples and nations of the world by offering counterfeit religions, and knowing his time is short, Satan is finally going to just move from being this ‘World Counterfeiter’ of religion and worship into being the ‘World Controller’ of religion and worship. And now Satan goes even so as far to counterfeiting the very Incarnation of Jesus Christ, by taking possession of a man that we know as, ‘The Anti-Christ’. Note:

2 Thess 2:4- “He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.” NLT Satan will one day grow tired of his religious charades of counterfeit religions and will just outright claim to the world that he is god. And all these false religions, whatever names they have gone by, or whatever beliefs they have taught, will be forced to worship Satan, now embodied in the Anti-Christ, or die.

But that’s when the King returns and the One true God, the Lord Jesus Christ, puts Satan into the abyss and begins the long awaited reign of Jesus as the sole Creator and King of the Heavens and the Earth.

Pray for the eyes of those who are being deceived by The Counterfeiter so that they might come to a knowledge of the truth, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior. And then, study the Word of God yourself, so that you come to know it so well that you will be able to identify counterfeit teachings, counterfeit religions, counterfeit ideas, counterfeit philosophies, and so on, as well as to then protect your family and friends from such things, and to better share with them the Words of Life; the Scriptures and Gospel of the One true God; Jesus Christ.

The Fall of the Anointed Cherub

Study Guide  – October 28, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Before we were attacked by the Philistines, or that’s what the attack of the Hurricane felt like, we were tracking down some answers on practical questions from the most practical segment of our society – Kids. We know that because when it comes to questions about everyday things, kids ask some of the best questions, especially about everyday things about faith and life. And one of the key questions that kids ask about is ‘The Fall of the Anointed Cherub’. Now, they don’t put it in those terms…no, their question about this evil entity is more in terms of: “Who is the devil?”, and “Why did God make the devil?” and “Why is the devil after us?” Again, pretty practical questions, And why it’s important to track down answers to questions like these, and this subject in particular, is because the more you know about your enemy, the better equipped you are to then contend and defend against him. So let’s examine this once anointed cherub, but now a fallen enemy.

Now, we should mention that in the Angelic world there are divisions and ranks among the host of angels that serve God and His purposes. Two of the holy Angels we know by name are Michael, who is called an ‘archangel’, meaning ‘leading angel’, and the other Angel is named Gabriel. We are also told that there were certain orders of angels called ‘Seraphim’ and ‘Cherubim’. The Seraphim were especially noted for what we could basically call ‘worship leading’. We see some brief picture of that in Isaiah’s vision. Can you imagine being in a worship service led by Seraphim Angels? Seraphim also means ‘burning ones’, so they could really lead some ‘fired up’ worship services, right? They also later had the specific tasks of communication between the throne of God and with certain ones on Earth, as we see with Michael and Gabriel.

Then the Cherubim class also had certain roles that included being special attendants or guardians to the throne of God. We see that guardian activity later depicted as Cherubs were the guards in the Garden of Eden, and later on two Cherubs were carved to watch over the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. Other divisions of the Angels are later referred to as ‘Powers and Dominions and Rulers and Authorities’, which now include both sides of holy angels and unholy angels. But, suffice it to say, when it comes to the world of Angels, we are going to be completely astounded when we one day meet these amazing creations of God and ministers to God’s people. Plus, we each need to thank our own personal Guardian Angels for all the messes they helped us with throughout our lives.

But with that said, it is also astounding to realize that the devil was once known as ‘The Anointed Cherub’. We learn that from Ezek 28:11-17- “Again the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.” NASU

What a majestic beginning, but what a shameful ending! This is also an example of what’s referred to in Scripture as ‘the law of double reference’, where the writer uses one person or situation to also describe another. Ezekiel was making these charges against the King of Tyre in a symbolic way, but at the same time he, or really, God was judging Satan with these charges in an specific and factual way.

Just think: Before Lucifer self-destructed into Satan, God had originally given him the highest privilege in Heaven: to serve as the Anointed Cherub, the guardian Angel before the throne of God. And as for those stones; these are the same stones that the High Priest of Israel later wore, in addition to three others. Lucifer was one of the crowning achievements of the angelic realm. But just like with people, God did not create the Angels to be robots, but created them with individual wills. And when you are created with a ‘will’ you then have an ability to choose. And what is the greatest choice there is in life? Did you know that the greatest choice in life is not what you choose to do, but who you choose to love? With every angel God created, as with every person He has created, the greatest thing that God desired was to create Angels and later Humans for the highest purpose of sharing the very essence of God’s being: His Love. And as for Angels choosing to love God in return, the Scriptures indicate that not only with Satan, but the other Angels at some point made their decision, or their choice that forever settled their identity as well. We’re referring to the fact that the Angelic world is now and forever divided between the Holy Angels and the unholy or demonic angels. Again, that division is forever settled.

And as for humans, well, God went not just the extra mile, but the extra infinite length of love that is beyond all measurement…because even after we each sinned against God, which is love of self ahead of love of God, God gave us another chance to choose. God so loved the world that He gave His Son….to give us another chance to choose. And yes, by all means, God is the initiator of our salvation, as we are saved by His grace through our faith, but He still comes to our door and knocks, and waits for us to open the door of our life to Him, because God want’s to be wanted. Imagine, God wants to be wanted; to be chosen; to be loved by us. Amazing grace!

How do we know that? Matt 22:36-38- “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” NKJV Remember, what God commanded first is what He wants most.

But Lucifer replaced the love of God with the love of self. And it destroyed him. Now we know that Isaiah reveals that self-pride poisoned Satan’s mind and heart. We often speak about the sin of ‘self-pride’ as being the deepest root of all sin. But the thing is, this tap-root of self-pride grows out of the soil of self-love. And when we say self-love, we’re not talking about taking care of yourself and feeling good about the gifts and talents and abilities and accomplishments and such that God has given us to enjoy and develop further. We’re not talking about having a healthy self-acceptance and an appreciation of your life and privileges and such. Those are good things, and actually they are the very kind of things that are meant in the second commandment that God gave, remember? Matt 22:39-40- “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” NKJV Jesus is directing us to have the kind of love towards others, the kind of love that cares for and promotes the appreciation and enjoyment of others gifts and talents and accomplishments and such, like would would for ourselves. That’s healthy love, a caring love, a Biblical love; a love that honors God and blesses us all.

We can actually get to the real essence of Biblical love when we learn that true love for God and love of God is when you find that your greatest pleasure is found in pleasing God. How do we know that? Because in a prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 11:3, the key quality of Jesus was this very thing about genuine love: His delight was found in pleasing His Heavenly Father, in obeying the Father. That is the key to ‘genuine love’; finding your greatest pleasure in pleasing the one you love. We even see this quality of true love among committed husbands and wives, when each one’s greatest pleasure is found in pleasing the one they love.

So now, back to the issue with Satan. Satan….Lucifer, replaced this love of God with love of self. He replaced his God with his own self. And his greatest pleasure decayed into pleasing himself. That is a corrupted love, a dark love, that only craves more darkness…more decay into self love, self-occupation, self-centeredness. It’s a deformed love of self that shows itself most in displays of self-pride. It’s very interesting that the center letter of ‘SIN’ is ‘I’.

Remember Satan’s declarations in the midst of his Fall? Isa 14:12-15- “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” NKJV

Now the name ‘Lucifer’ comes out of the phrase ‘son of the morning’ or ‘star of the morning’, as ‘Lucifer’ is the Latin for ‘morning star’. Does that sound familiar? Who else is given that title? Rev 22:16- “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” NASU

Lucifer even got to carry a name of God’s. Guess what? So do we? Followers of Christ are called ‘Christians’, meaning; those who are ‘In Christ’. You and I are carriers of Christ’s name. That’s a bigger privilege and responsibility that perhaps we have ever thought about, or even imagined. Now, certainly Lucifer wasn’t ‘Thee bright morning star’! That was God Himself. But Lucifer was supposed to be a reflection of ‘Thee bright morning star’. And you are I are also to be a reflection to others of Christ, our ‘Bright Morning Star’. But reflecting God in worship and service of God is a long long way from replacing God in worship and and serving of self. But that is exactly what Lucifer did. He chose himself above his Creator and God. And in his choosing himself over God he chose the corruption of his life that results from it. Choosing self above God always corrupts your life; corrupts your mind and heart and soul.

Take careful note of that. With every choice of self over God comes the accompanying corruption of your very self. Remember, we only have two choices to make in everything in life: we choose the blessing or we choose the curse. Any choice that pits self or anything else above God is always choosing the curse.

We should also point out another caution that we should learn from Lucifer’s example. And that is: Be careful: Your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness. Satan’s great privilege mutated into great pride. Similarly, our strengths, whether they be in our privileges or talents or abilities can become our greatest weaknesses and can corrupt our hearts if we let them mutate into self-pride. One of the greatest ironies of life is that self-exultation always results in self-destruction. Make careful note of Jesus’ warning: Matt 23:12- “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” NLT And again in James we are reminded: “But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 Holman Bible

One thing you do not want going on in your life is to have God resisting you. You do not want to have God opposing you in everything you do because He sees self-pride in you. Again, enjoy the talents and abilities God has endowed you with, along with the accomplishments and achievements that come with them…yes, by all means, enjoy them, but give credit to God, give glory to God for being the very source and reason for all these good things. Remember, apart from Christ, we can do nothing! It’s because of the grace and the gifts of God that we have life and various strengths and abilities and even ‘breath’ itself. So enjoy whatever good things God has given you, but give glory to the Giver of all good things. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Be humble about yourself and be proud about your God. And when God sees you being humble about yourself and proud about your God, He will then exalt you as His child of whom He is proud.

Now, we mentioned that this this examination of Satan was going to take some time. But we do need to close with one of the greatest comfort and confidence building truths there is about what we all can be doing and need to be doing in order to defeat Satan’s schemes against us. For you see, James informed us that God resists the proud. And we know that the originator of the ‘self-pride sin’ was Satan. So we then know that God is fiercely resisting Satan. So James goes right on to instruct us with this: “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8 Holman Bible

So now is the time to join God in ‘The Resistance’! And when you join God in the resistance against Satan, then Satan has no choice but to flee from you. Amen? And the best way we resist Satan is by submitting to the will of God and drawing nearer and nearer to the heart of God. Just think: Every time you do something to please God, at the same time you push Satan away from you. Actually, God is doing the ‘pushing’, but you get to enjoy the victory! So here’s a little motto to fire up your faith: ‘Every time you please God you push Satan.’ Again, God is doing the pushing, but He’s doing it hand in hand with you. And be sure and tell the Kids that: “When we please God we push Satan away.”

Assurance Agents

Study Guide, October 21, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Our study time in the Word together is going to be a little different today. Today is going to be somewhat of a training session and also hopefully an inspirational session. And, interestingly enough, a time when we each adopt an additional personal identity. We know that as a part of our birthright as God’s children, we have been given lot of key concepts to help us with our personal identity. We are ‘Overcomers’, Branches, Builders, Royal Sons and Daughters, Jars of Clay, New Testament Priests, Temples of the Holy Spirit, Ministers of Reconciliation, Citizens of Heaven…and more. These are all specific ways that our God thinks of us, and therefore, we should think of ourselves in these terms as well. Remember, you are not who you say you are or who others say you are, but you are who God says you are. Actually, part of God’s mental therapy ministry in our lives is for us to dwell more upon what God thinks about us than what we or others think about us. Then we will be much more mentally healthy, as well as much more ready to then live and act according to who we really are in Christ. A lot of inner turmoil and inner personal conflict is due to living with a distorted mental state about your personal identity.

But as we said, a great help in doing what we ought to be doing is to first think of ourselves according to the Biblical way that we are to be thinking about ourselves. And that leads us to another identity God has given us, and that is; Ambassador…Ambassadors for Christ. And of course, this identity has to do with the commission that Christ has given us. It is probably one of the most well know passages of the Bible, and yet at the same time, one of the least practiced. But note again: Matt 28:18-20- “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” NASU

This passage is most often referred to as ‘The Great Commission’. And yet it is often responded to as ‘The Great Suggestion’. Let’s face it, witnessing to others about the Gospel message is the hardest of the disciplines of the Christian life. When many Christians are asked about their disciplines of, say…their prayer life –they are like: “Got it”; their Bible study – “Got it”; their fellowship in church – “Got it”; their witnessing…. “Uhhmmm…don’t got that!”

The thing is, even though the discipline of witnessing is the hardest to practice, no follower of Christ is excused from doing it because it’s hard. So what we need to do is to find a way to make witnessing a more natural part of our life, so that it is not as daunting. But witnessing need not be so daunting, so difficult and discouraging, if you find a way to make it a more natural part of your life. And that is one of the things we have been trying to do over the years here for our Chapel family. That’s why we came up with this witness handout booklet some years ago. Our goal is to assist you to better carry out Christ’s commission that He gave to you to be His witness in your particular spheres of life; or in your own Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world. And so, to better help all of us do this we have added some new features for the use and distribution of these Gospel handouts. And one of these features includes that additional identity for us all that we talked about earlier. Again, we are Christ’s Ambassadors to our world around us. We are ‘Agents’ of Christ and the Gospel commission. And this ‘commission’ involves ‘communication’. But as we have pointed out, it’s this ‘communication’ of it all that brings the ‘daunting’ factor into all of it. So what is some way that we can break through that ‘daunting’ factor of witnessing?

What we have compiled for the purpose of helping us all more consistently carry out our part in the Great Commission is a packet of materials that communicates the Gospel message and some central teachings of the Bible. In fact, the packet is a ‘Gift from Chapel By The Sea’. It’s called an ‘Assurance’ Packet. I know that because it says so right on the front…But really, the intention is for you and me to be able to actively obey the Lord in His commission to us to share His gospel message by handing out these ‘gifts’ to others that are packed with the Bible’s gospel truths. Now, certainly, you don’t have to use these particular materials or this particular method in your own practice of witnessing. But just a question here: What materials or method of witnessing are you presently using? If you have to think about that for very long, then that’s a reason we are suggesting and making this particular set of materials and method of witnessing available for you…for us all.

Here’s a really ‘encouraging’ way to think about this. One of the greatest, yet least talked-about problems that most people are carrying around in their heads and hearts when it comes to their faith and religion is a lack of assurance about their future, or their life after death. The most common answer to the question: “Do you think you are going to Heaven?” is: “I hope so.” That answer is anything but ‘assuring’. Most people have a ‘hope so’ kind of faith, and would actually really love to have a ‘know so’ kind of faith’, or an ‘assurance kind of faith’, but ironically, most people never get around to talking to someone about how you can have that kind of assurance. But if someone would just give them something that would help them gain that ‘assurance’, well, that would be like a gift! And that is where you come in, because you have such a gift. You have an ‘Assurance Packet’, a gift from Chapel By The Sea. And the whole focus of it is to help others come to have assurance about their faith, assurance about having a relationship with God, assurance about having a ‘know so’ kind of faith that so many people deep down really want, but never get around to examining.

What so many people need is for some Ambassador, some Agent, some ‘Assurance Agent’ to provide them with some information so that they can, by the working and convicting, and converting ministry of the Holy Spirit, can come to a saved and assured relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Tyson and I were talking about handing out these Assurance packets and he suggested it was like being an ‘Assurance Agent’. ‘Assurance Agents’! Of course! So that’s what we’re going with!

With all the things going on lately from the storms, there’s a lot of talk about ‘Insurance Agents’, which are really in need right now to serve others. But we can serve others in every situation or any need in life by being ‘Assurance Agents’. And these Gospel truths have the provisions that people need for both now and for eternity.

But now, if you choose to accept this mission as being an Assurance Agent for our Lord, you should familiarize yourself with the Biblical information in these gift packets. So let’s quickly walk it through.

The first note is a brief greeting. Let me read it:The Greeting…

The next paper is an overview article on having Assurance. Let me just read the first paragraph…And then there are some Scriptures that speak about salvation and then it even closes with a suggested prayer on how a person can talk to the Lord Jesus and open their life to Him.

And then there is the handbook on ‘Assurance of Eternal Life with God: We All Need It. We All Can Have It. A step by step explanation of how you can be sure you are going to Heaven.’ And you’ll want to get very familiar with the information in the handbook for any further conversation that might come up. Besides, the Biblical information in this handbook covers many issues that even many Christians are still fogged about. So study it for the purpose of your own edification as well.

And so these three items make up this gift packet. And what we are recommending is that to start with that you take a few of these packets in the foyer that we have already made up. We hope that we run out and will have the need to order more. And then we’ll have the items always available so that you could just take some home from time to time and put the packets together on your own, which we assume you’ll enjoy doing as well.

We then recommend that you join in this mission of the Chapel to pass these ‘gifts’ along to others on a regular basis, so that it just becomes a natural part of your life and allows you to be an active Witness for the Lord Jesus Christ…along with all of the unique joys and rewards that come from witnessing for Jesus as His personal disciple.

Do you remember how we often point out that the hardest things in life to do are also often the best things and most rewarding things to do? Well, even though ‘witnessing’ is one of the hardest Christian activities to do, it is also one of the best and most rewarding things you can ever do in this life, and with eternal joys from having done it. Plus, this key discipline of witnessing will add a greater dimension to your Christian experience than anything else. There is a special blessing, a power for living, that is expressly connected with witnessing. When a believer begins actively witnessing to others with the gospel of Christ as a central part of his or her lifestyle, the Holy Spirit empowers them in life changing ways. Witnessing for Christ is not only a specific discipline, but it also has specific blessings that then become the experience and legacy of your life.

And as we have pointed out before, handing out Gospel information to others is only one of the ways to witness, or to communicate the Gospel with others. But it is a very powerful way, and has been throughout history, from the time that witness letters were sent out in the days of King Hezekiah to the time of the circulation of the New Testament Epistles to the time of the Great Reformation and on and on. Remember that Martin Luther and the Reformers made great use of tracts. Hudson Taylor, influential missionary to China, and George Whitefield, powerful evangelist in early America, were converted through tracts. The Japanese commander of the Pearl Harbor attack came to Christ through a tract given to him by an American prisoner of war. The founder of Jews for Jesus was converted through a tract. Charles Haddon Spurgeon encouraged the mission of distributing Gospel tracts by his church members as a way that they could each be active ‘missionaries’.

If you were called to go the ‘uttermost parts of the world’ as an ‘Overseas Missionary’ one of the key things you would do is distribute Gospel information to others. Well, consider this: As long as you are called to stay here as a ‘Home Missionary’, that is one of the key things that you can do as a witness for your Savior in your own Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. Remember, we are Christ’s Witnesses. There’s no question about that. The only question is if and how we are going about our great commission of witnessing. And one way is being an ‘Assurance Agent’. Think of it as just part of what we do as members of Chapel By The Sea. And you can even tell others that part of what we do as members of Chapel By The Sea is that we give out these ‘Gifts’ to others to help and encourage them in their own spiritual journey. We give out these ‘Gifts from Chapel By The Sea’, these ‘Assurance Packets’.

So take a few to get started…we hope to run out, and then we’ll make more of the materials available for you to pick up and assemble and then use as you make witnessing through distributing the information of the Gospel a central part of your lifestyle.

From Hardest Afflictions to Highest Achievements

Study Guide, October 14, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

It feels as though our planet is at war with the people who live on the Earth, doesn’t it? For many weeks we have gone from Fires to Hurricanes to Earthquakes to Tsunamis and back to Hurricanes again. C. S. Lewis hit it right on the head when he said, “We are born onto a battlefield.” That’s really what life is, a battlefield. We do have to dress for battle each day. I remember what Joe Gibbs said to a reporter when he was coaching the Washington Redskins after he was asked about how he prepared for coaching each day. He said, “Well, I put my armor on each day.” Good answer!

But we are not only battling the world, the flesh, and the devil each day on this battlefield of Earth, we are also achieving great things for God and others and even for ourselves, and for all eternity. How so? Well, a couple weeks ago Pastor Tyson had some great teaching on how crisis times call God’s people to greater commitment. And that is so important for us all to know. It’s one of the great reminders that as redeemed people of God that by God’s power we can produce redemptive works and rewards out of every hard thing that this world throws at us; from destruction to disease to afflictions to sufferings. By the power of God’s Spirit, Christians are the greatest ‘counter-punchers’ on the planet. The Apostle Paul gave a profound picture of this when he said: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2 Cor 4:8-10 NLT

It’s like a boxing match against afflictions going on here, with Christians throwing counter punches to whatever the world throws at us, and winning! Paul had said in an earlier letter to the Corinthians that living the Christian life was like a boxer who trained and fought with purpose and precision. And interestingly enough, he said that he even boxed against himself, in order to keep his old nature in line.

What a remarkable set of proclamations of victories over the most difficult situations of human experience. And yes, we know that the flesh and the physical aspects of our lives are vulnerable to struggles and even to harm, but know for sure that the most important part of you that is now in the hands of God is beyond the reach or the threat of anything in this world. John 10:27-29- “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” NASU

Our soul belongs to God. And therefore, nothing can touch the soul of a Christian. It’s recorded that often early church martyrs used to infuriate their persecutors by proclaiming and reminding them that there was nothing they could do to their soul which belonged to God. Their soul was beyond the reach of their persecutors, and there was nothing they could do about it. They also reminded their persecutors that there was nothing they could do to affect their final destination of Heaven. Plus, they would even remind their persecutors that the only thing they were actually accomplishing with each act of persecution against them was that they were making their rewards in Heaven even greater for them personally. Their persecutors were gaining nothing and and these Christians were gaining everything. And that infuriated their persecutors even more, but it was also absolutely true. And it reminded them further that their every act of persecution against a soul that belonged to God was just further judgment against them and further compensation for God’s people!

And that brings us to another amazing reality: Our great Redeemer turns even the hardest afflictions of this world into the highest achievements and rewards for God’s children. The harder life is for you in this life the greater the rewards and compensation for you in the after life, or in the new life in the new world. And the key to it all is found in this. Actually, the key is found in one of the most profound verses found in the Bible concerning the experience of our Lord Jesus while on Earth. Heb 5:8- “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.” NLT Absolutely stunning revelation! “He learned obedience from the things He suffered.”

Now then, Jesus certainly did not have to learn about obedience, as though that was ever in question. Jesus was not only perfectly sinless, He was also perfectly righteous and perfectly obedient in all things. But there was something about the sufferings of life that affected His obedience in a unique way. And when we learn this principle about the sufferings and struggles of life we will not only gain more of that victorious attitude of those early church martyrs toward the worst things that can happen in life, but we will also walk on the highest plane that we can walk in this life.

Remember, even the Psalmist spoke about walking these high places with the Lord. Ps 18:30-34- “As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” NASU Does that sound like a ‘victim’ here or a ‘victor’? Even the Psalmist knew that although we walk the same Earth as everyone else, when you walk it with the Messiah, you walk on higher ground, you walk a higher plane, you walk on a higher level of experience…even in the midst of sufferings.

And why is that? It’s because our awesome God is able to take the hardest afflictions in this life and transform them into the highest achievements for His children…when…when, like Jesus, you turn these deepest trials into your highest offerings of obedience to the Father. When you turn every oppression of suffering in this world into an offering of obedience to God you conquer all!

And how just like our Heavenly Father to take the lowest things that can happen to us in this world, the sufferings of this world, and transform them into the highest accomplishment and achievements that any human can experience in this world. And make no mistake about it: Obedience to God is the highest achievement of human experience. The award ceremonies of Heaven before the Bema Seat, the Judgment Seat of Christ, are all about obedience, the grand achievements of obedience to the Word of God and the Will of God. And yes, even our ability to obey is by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, but it’s the same act of the will whereby Jesus said to the Father: “Not My will, by Thy will be done.” That is the greatest victory statement a person can make! In every choice, in every decision, in every situation, even in sufferings and afflictions; “Lord, not my will, but Thy will be done!” That is victory!

When you take what the world means for evil; storms, disease, heart-aches, and loss, and you use it to take another step up in your offerings of obedience to the Father, you enter into a deeper experience and fellowship with Jesus, who, although He was God, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death of a cross. (Phil.2:6-9)

Although Jesus was God, He learned obedience through the things that He suffered. Again, Jesus knew everything there was to know about obedience, but what He did was that He took the hardest experiences of this life, the sufferings of this life, and He made them His stepping stones of His obedience to the Father. He walked upon His sufferings like stepping stones on a path that He laid out of obedience to God.

Now of course, we cannot choose the hardships or the sufferings that come into our path, but we can choose what we do with them. We cannot keep all the stones of suffering from coming into our lives. But when you make the stones of suffering become stepping stones of obedience, well then you find yourself walking a little higher than you walked before. You are walking on the stones of suffering, rather than letting them pile up on you. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we can turn each stone of suffering into a stepping stone that we then walk on as we offer ourselves more and more in obedience to God.

And when you walk on these stepping stones of suffering you find that you are no longer under the stone, but you are on top of it. It’s still a stone of suffering, but now it’s under you instead of on top of you. The stone of suffering is no longer between you and Jesus; it’s under you and Jesus, and you are walking on these stones together with your Savior and God.

C. S. Lewis said: “Obedience is the key that opens every door.” Obedience is the key to happiness even in the midst of sadness. It is the key to joy even in the midst of sorrow. It is the key to gain even in the midst of loss. It is the key to understanding even in the midst of confusion. It is the key to strength even in the midst of weakness. It is the key to self-control even in the midst of temptation. It is the key to truth even in the midst of falsehoods. It is the key to eternal victories even in the midst of temporal defeats. It is the key to present peace even in the midst of persistent war. Oh…to be sure; “Obedience is the key the opens every door.”

And the present experience and the eternal rewards that accompany obedience to Christ is why Paul said: Phil 3:10- “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” 12-14- “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” NASU

To press on each day is to be obedient to God each day. Paul knew something that most of the world is completely fogged about. The world has always viewed obedience as simply one of the hardest disciplines of life. To be sure, obedience to God is a discipline. Remember it was Paul that also said: Gal 5:17- “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” NLT

Have you noticed this tug of war going on inside of you…this wrestling match going on inside of you between your old sin nature and your new spirit nature? Don’t think that just because you choose the life of obedience that it won’t be a daily challenge. Obedience to our Triune God is always contested by the unholy trinity of the world, our own flesh, and the devil. Our obedience to God brings these three enemies to the front lines of the battlefield like nothing else. Why? Because obedience to God is not only one of the hardest disciplines of life, it is also, and more-so, one of the highest virtues of life. Again, it’s one of the highest achievements in life. Each act of obedience to God is one of the greatest accomplishments in life. Obedience to God is the proof of true worship and genuine devotion to God.

You want to bring glory and honor to Jesus each day? Then just trust and obey Him each day. You want to follow Jesus more and more each day? Then just follow through with obeying Jesus’ words each day. You want to be a faithful friend to Jesus each day? Then just obey what Jesus commanded us to obey. And as you make obedience to God your highest goal each day, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, you will transform even your hardest afflictions into your highest achievements.

Remember, God can take the lowest things of this world, like sufferings and afflictions, and transform them into the highest achievements for His children, along with great rewards for them. Obedience is the key that opens every door for all of this.

[Each act of obedience to God is the highest achievement a man or woman can do.]

Hebrews 4:12-13

September 30, 2018

Pastor Tyson Schoch

The word of God is effective, unstoppable and there is no hiding from it.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 

Savior From The Storm

A Devotional Communion Service

Study Guide, October 7, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

The Bread

As we look at these images we might wonder what these storm images have to do with the Lord’s Supper. The thing is, in a very real sense, these images represent the reason for the Lord’s Supper, because they show us more than the condition of people’s homes after a storm…they show us the condition of people’s hearts and souls due to the storm of sin.

The storms of weather hit occasionally around the world, but the storm of sin is continual…and it has been continual ever since the Fall of Man. We could say these images are somewhat similar to what the human condition, the human soul looks like to God. The storm of sin has ravaged the lives of people world-wide. And this storm is just going on and on and on. But thankfully, we have a Savior from the storm of sin. Amen?

Sure, the storms of weather can devastate property and structures, but the reason we are not devastated in our souls is because we have a Savior who saves us from the storm in our soul.

Eph 2:4-10- “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” NASU

Because God is rich in mercy He came into this sin-storm ravaged world in order to restore our souls and rebuild our lives. We often talk about how after storms damage our homes and businesses and such, that our intention is to restore and rebuild them all to be better than before. And that is a noble intention. We intend to do that here at the Chapel. But when Jesus comes into a sin-storm damaged life, His intention and His promise is to renew our soul and to rebuild our life to not only be better than it was, but to be beyond what we can even think or imagine.

Notice again: “…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” When upon our trusting in Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, Jesus breathed His eternal life into our soul, He raised our spirit up from the dead. Have you ever thought about the fact that every believer has had a Lazarus type experience in our spirit. Jesus resurrected our spirit and we are united to Christ’s own eternal spirit. But then we are told that He also ‘seated us with Him in the heavenly places’. What’s that all about? The word ‘seated’ means that you have already been given a place of honor in the realms of Heaven.

Have you ever driven into a parking lot where there are reserved places with a sign that has the person’s name on it? Right, it’s reserved for those who already work there and are already known there and valued there. Well, think about this: 1 Peter 1:3-5- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” NASU

You have even way more than a reserved parking place in Heaven; you have a special reserved place at the King’s table. In other words, your name is already known and honored in Heaven as one of the King’s own sons or daughters. In fact, Heaven is now your actual home…you are already a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Phil 3:20-21- “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” NASU

Just think: In our great salvation, the condition of our soul went from being ravaged and damaged from sin to being resurrected into new life, eternal life with Jesus. And on top of that, you have also been assigned royalty, and granted a royal position in the Kingdom of Heaven, along with an unimaginable inheritance in this coming Kingdom. And all because…because Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

The Cup

We saw one of the powerful reasons that Jesus came to save us was because of His great love and mercy towards us. And then something else showed up in that passage in Ephesians: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” This is one of the greatest purpose statements for our lives. Not only were we saved because God wanted us to be His children in His forever family. But we were also saved to serve alongside of the ultimate Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: Mark 10:45- “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” NASU When God saves us He also calls us to come alongside of Him and for the rest of our lives to now work with Him. He calls us to join Him in doing good all the rest of our days on this Earth until we go Home. It was also said of Jesus: Acts 10:38- “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good…” NASU

That’s actually just a really good answer to any question about what we should do each day. Like Jesus, we should just go about doing good. What a great answer for kids who wonder: “Hey Mom”, or “Hey Dad, what is there to do today?” And there you have it: “Well, just go about doing good. That’s what Jesus did each day. He went about doing good!”

If you think about it, it’s revealed to us that we were even created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Or, we were created in God’s image in order to also be like God in His actions, or in His works and ways. And God is a worker. And as we work in doing good on behalf of others, we serve as a reflection of our Creator and Lord.

Even as a result of this storm, part of God’s image of doing good works and serving others has powerfully been on display. God’s people have really been going about doing good and serving others in Jesus’ name. We could go around this sanctuary pointing out people who have been doing amazing things in serving and doing good for others. You should be very encouraged to know that the Lord is saying to you: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” For as you do these works you are being a reflection of Jesus to others around you. Plus, the more good you do the more you will personally experience what serving alongside of our Savior produces…and that is, the fruit of God’s spirit.

Even in the midst of the sadness and frustration from a storm, the more that you do what you were created to do, the more you experience the joy of being who you were created to be. Good works to our spirit is what good fertilizer is to soil. Our good works fertilizes the growth of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. And the fruit of God’s spirit is what satisfies our soul even in the midst of storms. Even when the storms are raging in the world outside of us, Jesus can keep the storms from raging in our world inside of us. For just like He saved us from the overwhelming storm of sin, He saves us from being overwhelmed by the sorrows of storms. And sure, there are some sorrows, naturally. Remember, even Jesus, was called a ‘Man of Sorrows, and well acquainted with grief’.But still, Jesus said to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” 15:11- “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”John 14:27 NASU

In a world of storms and struggles there is still a greater power at work. For our God is at work; working to save people from the storm of sin and then working with those He has saved, you and me, to go about doing what we were created to do…to do good to others in Jesus’ name.

Unusual Assurances, Pt. 4

Study Guide, September 9, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Recently Sharon was asked a couple really good questions by kids. One was: “Does God take naps?” Good question, right? Now, to kids, young kids, naps are more of a nuisance thing than an enjoyable thing. Even if they are fussy, grouchy, sleepy, and really in need of a nap, usually naps get a bunch of push back from young kids – right Parents? But it is interesting that at some point the whole ‘nap’ thing transitions from being viewed as a ‘curse’ to being sought out as a ‘blessing’. Naps morph from ‘Do I have to take a nap’ to ‘All right! I get to take a nap!’ Why do you think so many people like to retire in Spain? Cost of living? Nope…Siestas…Naps!

But outside of the nap itself, part of the question is a wonder over if God ever needs to rest…or sleep. Well, we do know that after creating light and separating out a period of light from a period of day that God decided to ‘call it a day’…No, that’s not what it meant. No, even though God rested after He created all the days that doesn’t imply that God was tired. God has no needs, remember? God Himself is the source of all life and energy in the first place. Even the Psalmist reminds us – Ps 121:4- “Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.” Holman Bible Now that was an assurance that God was always attentive to His people, but it also does confirm that ‘sleep’ is not a need that God has. Actually, the sleep and awake cycle of human beings is like the darkness and light cycle in nature. Sleep is a physical based need, not a spirit based need.

However, that does bring up a fascinating consideration, because even though God does not need sleep, before the Fall, did Adam and Eve ever need sleep? Here are some very interesting thoughts from those wise folks at Answers in Genesis. “The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the world before the Fall. But we can make a few inferences based on what God has given us. “So the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.” Gen. 2:21 The word used here means specifically a ‘deep sleep’. This implies that normal sleep probably did exist, and this deep sleep is much more than normal sleep. So, I suspect Adam and Eve did have some sort of regular sleep cycle, though, Adam and Eve could have been created merely with the capability to sleep initially. They may not have needed it. Perhaps sleep, after the Fall, helps recoup a little of what was lost, since man no longer had access to the Tree of Life after sin. I suspect sleep was a part of the original creation as a reminder of what God did during Creation Week. God, too, at the end of His work of creation, rested.¹

And so that brings up another question: Will we sleep in Heaven? And this now gets us into the features of our new immortal resurrected bodies, in which we will enjoy the wonders and pleasures of the New Earth and the New Heaven forever. And when it comes to the resurrected body, nearly all we know about it is what we learn about it from what’s revealed to us about Jesus’ resurrected body, along with some other Scriptures that inform us about our existence in the eternal state. But perhaps what Adam and Eve experienced before the Fall on the original Earth gives us some indication about what sleep may be like for us in the New Earth.

Some people I’ve talked to about what it’s going to be like for us in Heaven have actually brought up the hope that we will get to sleep some in Heaven. I think they were the same ones that really liked ‘naps’. But that’s okay. Even the whole concept of ‘rest’ is used throughout the Bible as a good and desirable experience. Jesus even told His disciples to ‘Come apart and rest a while.’ (Mk 6:31) Actually, there’s a principle that says: ‘Either come apart and rest a while or you will just come apart!’ You know what we mean? So ‘rest’ is a need of ours; and sleep is a need of ours. However, when we cross over into the abilities and the capabilities of the immortal resurrected body, we move out of the realm of ‘needs’ and into the realm of ‘capacities’. So this implies that just like Adam and Eve may not have needed to sleep before the Fall, but they were able to enjoy ‘resting’, it’s very likely that our resurrected bodies will not be in need of sleep in order to function, but we may very well have the capacity to enjoy sleep as a part of this gift of ‘rest’ in the New Earth and New Heavens.

Again, we don’t have definitive revelation on matters such as these, but we do have some Scriptural examples of such things that are consistent with it all. For another example: And this is the other question that Sharon was asked about Heaven: “Will we get hungry in Heaven?” Now, I found this really interesting because when most people ask the question about food in connection with Heaven they ask it in terms of ‘if people will eat’ in Heaven. And they have pretty high hopes about it. But this little person even wanted to know if we will get hungry? And knowing what some kids think about having to stop what they are doing just in order to then sit down to eat, I kind of wonder if that’s somehow connected to the ‘nap’ thing. You know, kids don’t want to stop playing just to take a nap, and they often don’t want to stop playing to take time out to eat either….unless they are really hungry? And then, they’d rather just eat on the run. Isn’t it something how kids like to eat side-saddle at the table…like they’re in ready position to take off as soon as the last bite is down? So, in some kids minds this question is more like: “So will I have to stop playing in Heaven and sit down and eat? Cause the only time I want to stop playing is if I’m really hungry, and then for just a minute or so!” Kids want to know these things…

Again, when we come to the features of the resurrected body, we move from the realm of ‘the have to’s’ and into the realm of ‘get to’s’. We even see that now in the very definition of the word ‘hunger’. The word itself means; ‘a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with a desire to eat.’ So we know that the immortal body will no longer be subject to the weaknesses and needs of the mortal body, like needing food to live, but that doesn’t preclude having a desire for food, a desire to eat. So in the first part of that definition, no, we won’t have any discomforts or weaknesses associated with hunger, but in the second part of the definition, yes, it’s apparent that we will get hungry in the sense of desiring food.

How do we know this? What is one of the first things that Jesus did after His resurrection? Luke 24:40-43- “And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.” NASU

So for one thing, we see that the resurrected body is capable of eating real food. In fact, many of the previews that God gives us of the Kingdom of Heaven involves feasting together. Rev 19:9- “Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” NASU And even the prophets wrote about the feasts to look forward to in the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah: Isa 25:6- “In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.” NLT

So eating delicious foods in the Kingdom Age and the Eternal Age is a central feature of the joys of Heaven of which we are to look forward to experiencing. Our church fellowship dinners are kind of like ‘previews’ of the many gatherings for feasting and fellowship times ahead in the Kingdom of Heaven. Wonderful to think about! By the way, have you been putting in your requests to the Lord of certain foods for Him to consider to be on the menu in Heaven? Remember, the Lord told us we can ask Him anything. Also remember, God answers prayer three ways: Yes, No, and ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ But I think coffee and chocolate are a given…those blessings will almost certainly be part of Heaven’s joys, right? I think that coffee trees and cacao trees were part of the reason the third day of Creation was pronounced ‘very good’. I may be reading into that a bit more than is there…

Another question kids ask about Heaven…kids of all ages really, is: “Will we know each other in Heaven? Or older kids ask it in terms of: “Will we recognize each other in Heaven?” This is another great question that does come with some great revelation about it. Recall the instance when Jesus took three of His disciples to what we call the Mount of Transfiguration. Luke 9:28-34- “About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Then two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” NLT

Peter had a bit of a ‘blurting things out habit’, didn’t he? But the point here is, how did Peter know that he was looking at Moses and Elijah? There were no portraits of Israel’s prophets in the Temple. And Jesus had not introduced them when the disciples woke up. Peter simply had the knowledge that these men were Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. And if Peter, in his limited mortal human understanding, was given this knowledge of recognizing the identities of people whom he had never seen before, then when we are given far greater understanding in our immortal state, yes, we will know and recognize one another in Heaven. Others will still resemble themselves, and you will still resemble yourself.

Also, remember that when Jesus appeared to His disciples when they had gathered together in a closed room they immediately recognized Him. Even in His glorified and resurrected body He was still Jesus. Which implies that when we do go Home one day to Heaven, others who knew you will immediately know you…because you will still be you…except for the part of now being new and really improved. Thank you Lord. And you will recognize and know who you knew, loved ones and friends and such. And I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we will no longer have that problem so many of us have of forgetting people’s names. Like, “And who did you say you were again? Ezekiel, right!” I don’t think that’s going to ever happen. Even if we do have to learn new names, again, I think the whole ‘forgetting’ thing is a thing of the past. And still, as we saw with the account with Peter, we may be given understanding of who others are that we have not yet met. Like, we may be talking with our loved ones and then look around to see two fellows talking with Jesus, and we will also realize that they are Moses and Elijah!

Have you thought much about just that aspect of Heaven, of meeting all of the amazing people of the Bible, the Prophets and Apostles, and Mary and Joseph, as well as the great servants of God throughout history? Just the meeting and greeting and fellowshipping aspects of Heaven are beyond amazing.

And then how about what age are we going to be in Heaven? Let’s ask another question: What age do you want to be in Heaven? Just thought I’d ask…But again, some commentators have proposed that since Jesus was resurrected at the age of what is often thought of as being around the prime of life, that this is an indication of what our resurrected bodies will also be like. The Apostle John also said: 1 John 3:1-2- “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” NASU So what we do know is that we will be like Jesus in holy moral character and also in perfect physical health and physical condition, whatever appearance of age it might be. And just knowing this is so encouraging, so inspiring, so overwhelming that it’s just another reason to join in the doxology with the Apostle Paul: Rom 11:33-36- “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” NASU

1. Bodie Hodge, Did Adam and Eve Have to Sleep Before the Fall?, Answersingenesis.org

Associate Pastor – Robert Kornegay

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Unusual Assurances, Pt. 3

“What is Death?”

Study Guide, August 26, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

We started this mini series on ‘Unusual Assurances’ with the help of some great questions that children ask. Again, we have been using these questions from children as springboards into various amazing and often reassuring teachings about life from the Scriptures. And as we started it we referenced that crisis verse in Genesis that set the whole course of man’s history, and his future, into motion. It was this: Gen 2:17- “…but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” NASU And the question that kids have asked about that is this: “Why didn’t Adam die when God said he would?” Great question, right? And part of the answer to that first comes in the form of another question: “What is death anyway?” And the answer to that would seem obvious. But we know that there are many things in this world that seem obvious, yet many people remain oblivious as to what they really mean or really are. Actually, in this upside down world of ours, oftentimes there is a fine line between the obvious and the oblivious.

For example: One dictionary defines ‘death’ as the end of the life of a person or organism. Seems obvious, right? However, that definition distorts the real meaning of death, which is essentially: ‘A separation’. So death is a separation. And that leads to another question: ‘A separation of what?’ Now we’re getting back to our child’s question of ‘Why didn’t Adam die when God said he would?’ And the answer is: ‘He did!’ Or more specifically, when Adam sinned against God he did die or he was immediately separated from God as to his spiritual relationship with God. Plus, he also set the dying process into motion, or this separation process of life from his physical body into motion as well. So in reality, when Adam sinned his spirit was immediately separated from God’s spirit and his body began the dying process, or the separation process from his living soul.

Remember, when God created Adam, God stated that he became a living soul. Gen 2:7- “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” KJV And the NLT puts it like this: “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” And at this point, Adam was also spiritually united to the life of God, since he was created without sin. But as the Apostle Paul points out to us: Rom 5:12- “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” NLT

Sin has many effects on our world, but sin had and continues to have two fundamental effects upon this world. One: Sin immediately separates the spirit of a living soul from the Spirit of God, like it did with Adam and Eve. Our first parents spiritual relationship was immediately separated with God because of sin. They spiritually died when they sinned. That’s why Paul describes the condition of any person who has not received the Messiah, the Lord Jesus as their Savior, as still being spiritual dead. And this is paramount for any Christian to understand about the condition of people around them that have not yet been spiritually born again. Here it is: Eph 2:1- “In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God.” ERV

This is a stark irony about people in our world. Most people think about death only in terms of something that is going to happen to them in the future. When the reality is that, even though they are still physically alive, they have already died. They are already spiritually dead; dead in their sins. In fact, our entire world is inhabited by the ‘walking dead’, the ‘spiritually walking dead’. And unless they give their life to Christ in repentance and receive Jesus into their life by faith as their Savior, they will walk right into eternity still spiritually dead, separated from a relationship with God.

Remember, spiritual life is only found in relationship with Christ, in being re-united to God through receiving Jesus Christ into your life. So whenever you hear the word ‘death’ or think of ‘death’ you need to realize that there are two parts to death; spiritual and physical. Which brings us to the second effect of sin upon this world. So; Two: Sin set into motion the separation of life from physical beings and even material entities. What we mean by ‘entities’ here is like we talked about last time, like even the Earth itself has been and is being affected by the presence of sin, as the Psalmist put it: Ps 102:25-26- “Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.” NASU

Sin is the ‘death agent’ acting on the planet Earth and on every living thing on planet Earth, causing everything to wear out and decay, or waste away. Ever since the presence of sin entered into the world, the Earth has been wearing out. That’s what effect the presence of sin has on any living organism or being. And so even though when we receive Christ as our Savior and He removes the sin penalty from us, the effects of the presence of sin has already started the mortality process on our bodies…or the dying process. But, praise God, He is even going to clothe us with an immortal body! But, again, the Earth and everything and everyone in it has essentially been dying ever since sin entered the world.

Now, that brings up another fascinating question. When do we begin dying? In Science and Medicine that concept is often answered in terms that we begin dying the day we are born, speaking of this wearing out or this ‘mortal’ aspect of the physical body. They have a way of stating that concept that goes like this: ‘Media vita in morte sumus’ or ‘In the midst of life we are in death.’

And as stark as that sounds, since human life begins not at birth, but at conception, the full reality is that this dying process is set into motion even before birth; it is set into motion at the very conception of a human being. In other words, the mortal part of our being, the physical part of our life, has been dying ever since we came into being.

Paul refers to the bodily part of our life as the ‘outer man’ and the spiritual part of our life as the ‘inner man’. And notice what he reveals: 2 Cor 4:16-17- “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” NASU So how about that? Even though the body is aging, there is a part of you that actually is getting younger day by day!

But still the mortal body is wearing out and wasting away. It’s not called ‘mortal’ for nothing. Awhile back when Dr. Norm Geisler learned he had cancer, Pastor Robert said that when people asked him about dying, Dr. Geisler would say that we’re all dying…just at different rates. And while that does sound a bit ‘morbid’, still, to redeemed children of God, or to all of us who have had our spirit already resurrected by Christ’s Spirit, praise God, it’s actually a reminder that this dying world is not our Home. No, our Home is where our Heavenly Father lives. And it reminds us to rejoice in the fact that just as our Savior was clothed with a resurrected and immortal physical body we also will be clothed with a resurrected and immortal physical body in which to enjoy the physical wonders and the joys of the New Earth and the New Heaven forever.

Which also leads us to adopt new attitudes about death itself. And one of those attitudes about death that we are to adopt has to do with the fact that since this temporary world in which we now walk is not our Home, that means that life in this world is actually just a long walk on our way Home. Life is a long walk on our way Home. Recently Sharon told me about a description she came across that described dying for Christians this way: Dying for believers is simply God’s people walking each other Home. Isn’t that a great picture? As we walk through this world we are just ‘walking each other Home’, with our Savior, our Shepherd, leading us all Home. For Christians, life on planet Earth is just a long walk Home.

And since we are pilgrims in this world on pilgrimage to our real Home, this calls for us to adopt another attitude in relation to death, or we should say, in relation to what death means for a follower of Christ. We often refer to the death of someone as a loss, like the loss of a loved one, which it is. The loss refers to the loss of the fellowship and the physical presence that was enjoyed and was a precious gift for us in this life. Remember, even Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Even though Jesus would soon see Lazarus again, and even though we know we will see our saved loved ones again, there is a temporary loss about death. But there’s also a greater reality that is going on in the death of a redeemed child of God, which the Apostle Paul identified this way: Phil 1:21- “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” NASU Have you ever thought about death that way? ‘To die is gain’. Again, in death there is certainly temporary loss and sadness to family and friends, but for the believer himself or herself, the greater reality is that to die is gain. In fact, Paul said that you can’t even compare the two; you can’t even compare the world the believer has just stepped out of to the world he or she just stepped into…the world of Heaven…Home.

Think about even that word the Apostle chose, or that God chose for the Apostle Paul to use. The word ‘gain’ means ‘profit’; ‘advantage’. The meaning is that Paul was revealing to us that when you compare living to leaving, the advantage goes to ‘leaving’; the advantage goes to ‘dying’. For the believer, that is what death is; it’s leaving this broken world to go Home, where everything is perfect; perfect health, perfect environment, perfect relationships, perfect peace, and even more. For the moment a believer’s body dies, he or she experiences what life was always meant to be; perfect joy in the presence of our perfect Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Nothing in this life is perfect, and everything in the next life is perfect. And until the Lord returns, the only doorway into the perfect land of Heaven is through the doorway of death. But again, God tells us not to fear this doorway, because why? Because Jesus is the One who walks us through it.

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Could it be that God wants His children to adopt a different attitude toward death than the world has? And no, not to hasten it or to intentionally put ourselves in harms way and such. But what would happen if God’s children would start thinking to themselves and even telling others that ‘to die is gain’? That would get people’s attention!

To others in this world, death is the worst that can happen. Death is what people fear the most. But Jesus said otherwise: Luke 12:4-5-” I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” NASU

For unsaved people in this world, death is not what they should be afraid of; what they should be afraid of is what death finalizes for them. Death finalizes their destiny of judgment by the Judge of the Universe, to whom they would not repent so as to be saved. They would not repent of their sins and ask God to be their Lord and Savior, so God remains their Judge. Either God will become your Savior or He will remain your Judge. Each person decides which He will be for them for all eternity.

Actually, we can tell how deceived and calloused our world is toward God and His Word by how little people are afraid of sin. People are not afraid of sin. Have you notice that? Remember that the central effect that sin had on Adam and Eve when they sinned was that they immediately became afraid. That’s what they told God when He came to them in the garden and asked why they were hiding from Him. They said they were afraid. That’s is the natural effect sin has; sin’s natural effect is that sin induces fear; unless the one that sins has become terribly deceived and greatly calloused.

Actually, that’s how we know how deceived and calloused our world has become toward God is because so many people are not made afraid by their sin. They are not afraid of sin, and they are not made afraid when they sin. And when sin no longer causes it’s natural effects, then we know that the sinner is under great deception and has become severely calloused in their soul toward God. That’s why we need to keep praying for the eyes of the lost to become open and their hearts to become convicted, to become sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God, so they can turn from their sin and have their Judge become their Savior, who will forgive their sin, like He did with Adam and Eve, and then cover them with His forgiveness, and re-unite their spirit with His Spirit and become their Heavenly Father.

Which leads us back to the fact that for all of us who have repented toward God and have received Jesus by faith as our Savior and Lord, Jesus reminds us that even when it comes to death, we don’t have to fear it; because we fear God, and are His eternal children. And what has God done? 1 Cor 15:50-57- “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” NLT

So for the Christian, death is not a defeat, but a victory. Jesus conquered death, and since we are conquerors in Christ, that means that through Christ we conquer death. Sort of gives new power to what Paul also said: Phil 4:13- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” NKJV So let’s rephrase that to include what he said about death: ‘I can do all things, like even conquer death, through Christ who strengthens me.’

Unusual Assurances, Pt. 2

Study Guide, August 19, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Kids have a unique perspective on things in our world, don’t they? Even with things of the Bible, they look at things and think about things in an unusual way. For example, one little guy thought the Golden Rule was: ‘Do one to others before they do one to you.’ And another child thought Noah’s wife was named ‘Joan of Ark’. Another one thought Moses was not allowed to go into the land of Canada. And another had learned about the great miracle with Joshua, when Joshua commanded his son to stand still…and he obeyed him!

Kids have a different way of looking at life and thinking about life, and even helping us adults to rethink many things about life, or at least to think through them a little deeper. And so last week we began looking into some questions that kids have about God and then expounding on them together. However, if you tell a child that you would be happy to expound on his question, he may not ask you another one…unless you explain what ‘expounding’ is.

Have you ever gotten this question from a child: “What does God look like?” What a great question. And it’s really a great question because it implies that God does have a certain look about Him, as in a physical or material look about Him; now that is. Actually, this question from children…or we could say, this assumption from children about God having a certain look about Him is really more insightful than a lot of adult’s assumptions…that is, that God is only ‘metaphysical’, or without substance or material form.

Certainly these are all qualities about God which do need some explaining…or some expounding. And again, in answering a child’s question, you’ll want to shorten the answers that we are expounding on. But for our study, we need to expand the expanse on that which we are expounding.

As to the metaphysical aspect of God, we know that God said this: John 4:24- “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” NASU So God reveals that the essence of His person is ‘spirit’, or, not ‘matter’ or material. Remember, before the material world ever came into existence, God existed, and existed from all eternity, in ‘spirit’ form, or apart from a material form. But after God chose to create a material universe and a material world…a physical world, God began doing things He had never done before. And when God does things He has never done before we really need to pay attention. Like what?

God, who is spirit in essence, began appearing to those He created. Remember this? Gen 3:8- “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” NASU Now, apart from our first parents now hiding from God because of their sense of guilt over their sin, this first part of the verse pictures one of the most beautiful scenes of Adam and Eve’s experiences with God before the curse of sin. This statement reveals a re-occurring or daily practice where, although in the presence of God at all times, still, at the end of each day, they would hear God walking in the Garden to meet with them in some special and fantastic way. Even the description of ‘walking’ implies that the immaterial and spirit based Person of God would appear to them in some visible or even material form. And in this ‘form’, God would either walk together with them in the garden or they would sit together and have their special evening fellowship.

Can you picture that for a moment? Have you ever pictured that, along with all of the things that this implies about God, as to how much God enjoys, or could we say, looks forward to special times with us when we have our ‘garden visits’ with God? It’s as though these were the first ‘quiet times’ or ‘devotional times’ in Scripture, where Adam and Eve would take some time out from all of the other wondrous things going on in this new world of theirs and just spend some time with God, walking and talking in the garden.

Perhaps this scene was intended to shape the way we think about our own quiet times or devotional times that we have with God, whether that be in the morning or at night or even in the cool of the day. Do you ever hear now, by faith, the sound of God walking in your garden or your yard or your house or wherever you have your devotions, realizing that God is coming in a special way just to spend some time with you?

Some might think, “But that was with Adam and Eve that God did that?” Well, think again: Who is Adam? Who is Eve? Guys…Adam is you. Ladies…Eve is you. What God did in fellowship with Adam and Eve He intended to do with you…or we should say, “He intends to do with you.” Really, sometimes I think children understand this better than a lot of adults do, since adult’s world gets so full of things that tends to then crowd God out. But once you come to understand that God looks forward to walking in the garden with you and spending a little personal time with you each day, it will change your whole image about ‘personal devotions’ or ‘quiet times’, as well as your image of our amazing God.

What’s also implied here is that this is the first of many times throughout Scripture where God would take on a physical form to appear to people. It was the first example of what is called a ‘theophany’. The word ‘theophany’ simply means ‘the appearance of God’. Other cultures and belief systems have claimed their own versions of ‘theophanies’, like the Greek mythological gods and such. Therefore, the Biblical ‘theophany’ has also been described as a ‘Christophany’ in order to specify that the only God that exists is the Biblical God, who has appeared to man throughout history in human forms, the last of course, in the Person of Jesus Christ. R.C. Sproul was once asked about how he could talk about Jesus Christ being the only way to be saved with all the other gods and religions in the world. And he said, “You mean apart from the fact that there are no other gods?”

(Again, how much of this you want to explain to a child when he or she asks you what God looks like is up to you. We’re using their questions as ‘springboards’ to explore some theology…or to ‘expound on theology together’.)

But the fantastic reality in this is that the metaphysical God began appearing to His newly created beings in physical forms. In one of the most remarkable conversations that Jesus had with the Pharisees He said something to them that rocked their world. It should have caused them to review the Scriptures, but they were too stubborn for that. But here’s what Jesus said: John 8:56-57- “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” NASU So this really dumbfounded them. But this revelation by Jesus referred not only to the fact that Abraham had seen the coming of the Messiah, the coming of Christ by faith, but that Abraham had actually seen Christ by sight! Remember the visit? Gen 18:1-2- “Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth…” NASU

This was another early appearance of God, or a theophany. Jesus Christ took on a pre-incarnate form of a man, and along with two Angels, He met with Abraham and told Abraham about things that were to come. But again, Jesus tells the Pharisees that He and Abraham had already had a visit together. He may not have yet been fifty years old in His ‘incarnation’, or in the body that Christ had taken on in the Person of ‘Jesus’, but in reality, He had been around a lot longer than they imagined. In fact, Jesus put it this way: John 8:58- “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am.” NASU Now Jesus really rocks their world, because not only does He tell them that Abraham had already seen Him in a physical form, but He also tells them who He really is! And where had they heard that identity of God before? Ex 3:13-14- “Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” NASU Jesus reveals to them not only had He visited with Abraham in a Pre-incarnate form, but He is also the One who met with Moses in the burning bush and revealed who He was, the eternal God; ‘I Am’! This is the eternal name for God, and that is who Jesus was and is; ‘The Great I Am’!

Some other physical appearances of God in the Old Testament were also really astounding, like as we mentioned, in the burning bush. But then there was the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, through which the presence of God led the Israelites through the Wilderness. The lighting and thunder on Mt. Sinai was a powerful manifestation of God.

And how about this: Isa 6:1-5- “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said,“Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” NASU What did God look like to the prophet Isaiah? Well, God’s physical form is not revealed here, but just Isaiah’s description helps us envision the Lord as our King of unimaginable glory!

Again, part of our point is that God was doing things that He had never done before, all because of His desire to be in closer and closer relationship with the people of His own making. And to do this He, God who is Spirit, began appearing in physical forms to His people, His family. Which ultimately led to this: John 1:1- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 14- “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” NASU This, of course, is the great Incarnation of God: God in Christ also became man in Jesus, and made a way for us to reunite with Him though His substitutionary life and death for us. And then as the Angels later revealed to the Disciples, this same Jesus will come back for us, or we shall go to Him. But Jesus Christ will forever be God and Man, our Resurrected Lord. They would physically see Him again, and so will we.

And as for us, or as for us spiritual and physical beings; to see God is one of the deepest desires of the human soul. It’s often overlooked, but one of the greatest comforts to Job in his hours of suffering was this: Job 19:26-27- “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes — I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” NIV Knowing that he was soon to see God, and in his own resurrected body no less, was not only the deepest desire of Job’s heart, but was also his greatest strength to deal with his terrible struggles. The Psalmist pointed out that this was also a key to his strength to dealing with the hardships of this life, as it would be for us as well. Ps 105:4- “Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. NASU Joni Eareckson Tada, who has endured the loss of the use of her arms and legs for many years, said she had so many questions for God. But then she said that she realizes that once she sees His face, she thinks her questions will just melt away.

To see God is not only one of the deepest desires of the human soul, it is also one of the greatest motivations for living; knowing that we are going to, and perhaps one day soon, look upon the very face of God, well…it gives us genuine power for living. And not only will we see that wondrous glory of God’s Spirit, we will also see the wonder of God’s actual face, the physical face of God, His resurrected face; because it’s the face of Jesus Christ, our Risen Savior and King!

So part of the answer to what does God look like is that God looks exactly like Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the physical and visible manifestation of the spiritual and invisible God. Those who lived when Jesus walked the Earth already saw what God looks like. And we are about to find out, because soon and very soon, what….we are going to see the King!

Unusual Assurances

Study Guide, August 12, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

We are looking forward to having a Pre-School again here at the Chapel. We had one years ago. It’s a great way to bless families and invest in children and those in our community. But it’s also a blessing for those who serve and fellowship with the kids, because something that astute adults understand, is that you can learn a lot from kids, if you pay close enough attention. Kids tend to see the world around them just like it is, and they think about the world just like it is, and they wonder about the world that is, as to – ‘why it is the way it is’? In fact, they ask a lot of the questions that many adults used to ask, but maybe never got answered. And so they just stopped asking, or forgot about them all together.

The thing is, oftentimes if you track down the answers to these beginning questions about life and our world around us it can save a lot of confusion and misunderstandings about things later; like questions that adults still have about why the world is the way it is. If you pay attention to the early questions about our world, it then provides you with later answers about life and our world, and especially about the world to come. And then you can also help other adults remember those questions they once had, but now provide them with some Biblical answers. Plus, you’ll be ready to help kids too, because you know, they have questions! So, with the help of some really good questions from children let’s explore our world together.

All right, talk about a practical question, here’s one from a child: “Why did God make mosquitoes?” Good question. Actually, this is a question that a lot of adults are still asking. So what’s up with bugs that bite and sting and harm humans, and animals as well?

Now, I’ll be giving the ‘long answers’ to these things, since it is a study we’re doing. But when a child asks something like this, you can give them the short answer, unless you have a lot of time. But one of the important concepts to always keep in mind for not only helping children better understand our world, but for adults to better understand it as well, is to remember this: The way our world is today is not the way it always was, nor the way it’s going to be. This point is paramount in understanding most everything. The only way to understand our world today is to understand how it was when it was originally created, and to also understand how it’s going to be when it is re-created. In the meantime, it’s critically important to understand that this version of Earth and life on Earth is the broken one; it’s the damaged version. We live in a broken and damaged world. And we will live out our lives in this damaged version until the Creator restores it and remakes it like the original version…with even more features added, of course.

Remember, God’s original creation was all good…there was nothing damaged, nothing threatening, nothing harmful; nothing buggy. On days 5 and 6 we have the creation of the creatures of Earth:

Gen 1:20-25- “Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens. God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” NASU

It’s interesting that in the Hebrew that ‘winged bird’ is ‘flying creature’. So that could include quite a variety of winged creatures. Plus, the description of ‘creeping things’ can include a wide variety of ground insects as well. But the point again is that with every buggy creature that bugs man and beast today, it’s important to remember that it wasn’t always this way! So the real question is not; ‘Why did God create mosquitoes?’, but ‘Why do these mosquitoes that God created now bite us?’ Again, something went wrong! Since everything that God created was good, everything in creation existed in complete harmony, and was mutually beneficial to one another, and all creatures were completely safe and perfectly healthy at all times and in all ways. So in the original Earth there was no biting, no bugging, no harming of anything or anyone. Therefore, what we know is that even mosquitoes had good attitudes before something went wrong in this world.

Can you imagine a world in which mosquitoes are as friendly to you as your family dog? Amazing! Now, not even your dog can imagine a world where mosquitoes are friendly, along with ticks, and bees, and any of the other creatures that now bite and bother us all. But that’s how far we’ve fallen. That’s how far our world has fallen from what it originally was. That’s why we call the entrance of sin into this world: The Fall…the Fall of Man into Sin. Gen 2:15-17- “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” NASU Of course, that sets another question into motion: “What is death?” We’ll come back to that one in our study series on all of this…

What is important to know is that when our first parents disobeyed God, this new presence of sin, this ‘death agent’ in creation, set into motion such damaging affects that all creation was now infected with everything that goes with death and sin; even the subsequent biting and bugging and fighting and harming and so on… It’s called ‘the curse’. And even all the creatures of earth were and have been affected by it. Rom 8:19-22- “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” NLT

Perhaps if we could hear well enough, we could hear the animal kingdom ‘groaning’, anxiously waiting for the Creator to restore this world of death and decay to it’s original version of pristine life and pure health. Maybe what we call that annoying buzzing or whining sound of a mosquito is actually the sound of it ‘groaning’…like ‘mosquito groaning’. Remember, God didn’t create anything to bite us, but because of the poison and the infection of sin in the world, everything is now broken. Even the very physiological structures of the creatures of this world have been damaged and altered by the curse of the sin agent in the world.

Did you also notice three key words in that Romans passage about why the animal world now is the way that it is? “Against its will…” “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse.” Remember, the rebellion against the commandment of the Creator was not from the animal kingdom, but from the human kingdom. But because sin is the poison of Creation, all things in creation were poisoned by the Fall of Man into sin. And, again, the result of this presence of sin in the world is that it has affected and infected everything. This sin-virus has permeated our world system and has damaged everything from the world of humans to the world of animals…even to the world of weather. Yes, even the Earth and it’s weather systems are wearing out like a garment…all due to the sin-virus; the curse. And so again, among the effects of the poison of sin are that ever since sin entered the world, the animal world has been filled with fighting and harming one another…even harming those who were to be their guardians…mankind.

So if we are really going to get to the crux of the issue as to ‘why mosquitoes bite’; mosquitoes bite because man’s sin poisoned them; it cursed them, along with all of the animal kingdom. Something inside of them is broken and causes them to bite and fight.

A point to remember is that the beginning point to nearly every question about what is wrong in our world is this: It’s not how it was in the beginning, nor is it the way it will be when the Creator fixes our broken world.

Actually, here is a passage of Scripture that you ought to share as often as possible with children…and I’m talking now about ‘children of all ages’…but especially young children, because it’s a picture of what the animal kingdom looked like originally and how it will one day be again when God fixes this broken world. Isa 11:6-9- “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.” NLT

We know that the Bible reveals that there is coming a day when there will be complete harmony between all the creatures of Earth and with all the people of Earth. But do not forget this: There already was a time when this was the way it was on our planet Earth. This is the way it was in the original version of Earth. The way things are now are not the way things have always been. There was a time when Adam and Eve could have played with wolves and leopards and snakes.

Here’s another question kids ask, which you have probably heard: “Can God make a rock that even He can’t pick up?” Another good question. The short answer is Luke 1:37- “For nothing is impossible with God.” NLT And then another great passage is Jer 32:26-27- “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”” NASU So ‘Nothing is impossible with God, and there is nothing too difficult for God.’ What great truths about God with which to assure children, who have so many cares and the worries and concerns; to assure them that nothing is impossible with God or too difficult for God. (Again, children of any age…)

But the longer answer is that it’s important to remember ‘who’ God is! God is the Creator, who is Himself infinite in power! Which means that nothing that is finite, like a rock or any created thing, could be a problem for One who is infinite in all things; infinite in strength and power and everything else. So no…and it’s interesting to put it like this…but, ‘No, God can’t make a rock that even He can’t pick up because God is the Maker. And God is more powerful than anything that can be made!’

In fact, there are other things that God can’t do. Did you know that? That’s actually a good question to ask kids, and anyone else for that matter: “Did you know that there are things that even God cannot do?” Now this line of thinking does take some explanations. But again, knowing that there are some things that God cannot do is certainly unusual; but at the same time, it is very assuring and reassuring.

Like what? I have mentioned before, and I mention it quite often really, that one of the things that gives me great assurance of my salvation is not in something that God can do, but in something that God cannot do; and that is: God cannot lie. God cannot lie! God is perfect in every way. God is perfect in truth. And therefore, whatever God says to you and to me is absolutely true. Like, when God says to you and to me…

John 5:24- “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”…

And then in John 6:37- “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”…

And then in 1 John 5:12-13- “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”…

And once more in Rev 3:20- “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” NASU…when God makes these promises to you and to me, it’s settled! We can rest our eternal salvation upon these promises from God, because God cannot lie. All of the promises that God has made to us will come to pass. They are more sure than anything that exists in the universe; more sure than any law of the universe. When God says it; that settles it!

That’s why it is so important to learn and to then have a working knowledge of the different promises that God has made to us. Then when the problems of this world arise, we can place a promise from God over the particular problem and then deal with it according to God’s promise and not just according to our problem.

One problem that we do have each week is that we run out of time…but the promise is that ‘there is a time for everything’…So next time, we’ll look into some more questions that kids have about God and even some more things that God cannot do…self imposed things, that is.

Sunday Message “Hidden in Plain Sight” from pastor Robert Kornegay: 

It Starts With Our Creator’s Rights

Study Guide July 29, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

Perhaps some of the most well known words to many people are contained in this statement: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Truly, they are some of the most profound and encouraging words ever penned by men. And at the time that they were stated most people also understood what was not stated, but was clearly implied. And what was implied is what we are going to explore in our study today.

We could also put it this way: Without an understanding of our complete dependence upon our Creator we can never understand our limited independence as the created ones. And we can take that even further. Let’s restate this ‘Declaration’ and we’ll get a clearer picture of the real issue: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created by the Creator who is Himself endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are the right to reign in each person’s life, the right to define the liberties and the boundaries of each person’s life, and the right to determine the purposes by which each created life will live, in which the pursuit of these will result in eternal life, true liberty, and genuine happiness.’

This ‘declaration’ starts with the Creator’s rights, which is right where any discussion of ‘rights’ needs to start. For unless you start with our Creator’s rights, it is impossible to determine or define any of the rights of those who have been created. The rights of the created are always conditional upon the rights of the Creator and constrained by the rights of the Creator! Now that seems as clear and as obvious as can be. However, and ironically enough, very little thought or consideration among most the created people of this world ever starts with the consideration of the Creator’s rights over them and His created world. But mark it down: Unless you start with the Creator’s rights, people will default to their own imagined rights, which are often so very wrong!

When is the last time you heard an open discussion about ‘rights’ either in the media or university settings, where they were giving equal time to the Creator’s rights over all of us who have been created? Right, not only does our Creator not get equal time in our society’s discussion about ‘rights’ – our Creator rarely gets any time or any consideration at all as to His unalienable rights. And so, as a result of that, what many people the world over perceive as actual ‘right’s are actually complete ‘wrongs’! In fact, without living in complete dependence upon your Creator and in complete deference to your Creator’s rights, not only are you apt to insist on doing ‘wrong’ and calling it ‘right’, but you will even believe you are choosing to be independent, when what you are really choosing is just more continued ‘slavery’!

One clear example of that is what the Apostle Paul revealed about the actual condition of any who have not turned their life over to God in repentance and received Christ into their life by faith as their Savior. Note this: 2 Tim 2:24-26- “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” NASU

How about that for a reality check? Every day and all day long unsaved people can make a declaration of their personal independence as masters over their own lives, along with their right to choose however they wish to live. But the fact remains that they are actually living each day as a captive of the devil. The Scriptures reveal that they are even enslaved by him. Plus, along with imagining that they are their own masters, choosing to do their own will, they are in fact, simply choosing those things which are already the devil’s will for their life. That is how utterly deceived each person is who has not, as the Apostle Paul put it, ‘come to their senses and repented toward God and then escaped the snare of the devil.’

Again, true independence is living in complete dependence upon your Creator and living with complete deference to your Creator. And any perceived personal rights are only right if they honor our Creator’s rights over us all. As was stated in our restated ‘Declaration of Dependence upon God’, our Creator has the unalienable right to reign over us, or to rule over us. Which again, we can reinforce that statement by turning it around, as in: No created being has the right to rule over their own life, since their Creator alone owns their life.

Deceived people often make statements about owning their own life or their owning their own body. But that is a complete falsehood since no one owns their life or their body. You would have to be your own ‘creator’ in order to ‘own’ your life. All created beings are owned by the Creator. At the most, we are ‘stewards’ of the life and the body that is owned by the Creator of all life and the Master over all life.

This is a verse that we say a lot and use a lot, and it should be one of our ‘go to’ memory verses since it clarifies this truth of God’s sole ownership so very well. Ps 24:1- “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” NASU God alone, as sole Owner of all life, has the right to rule over each of our lives. That is where any discussion about ‘rights’ needs to start. ‘Rights’ are not something that are first ‘declared’, as in, if enough people ‘declare’ them and then demand them that they will then somehow become theirs. No, ‘rights’ are not things that are declared; ‘rights’ are things that are imparted from Someone who has the right to impart these ‘rights’ to others. And, of course, that ‘Someone’ is the only One who created the earth and owns the earth and all it contains and all who dwell in it. God alone has the right to reign and rule over my life, and your life, and every created life on planet Earth. Or once again, turn it around: No one has the right to rule over their life, except for the One who created their life and owns their life; and that One Person is: God!

Next, our Creator also has the unalienable right to define the liberties and the boundaries for each created person’s life. And the remarkable thing is, both are given by God, not to burden us, but to bless us. Remember who mankind’s God really is and what He is really like? As Moses asked to better understand this newly found God of his, God introduced Himself this way: Ex 34:5-7- “Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and He called out His own name, Yahweh. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty.” NLT

What do you think Moses learned about our Creator from this introduction by God about Himself? He learned that with God there is such great compassion and such great forgiveness and such great faithfulness, along with such great liberties. And yet, he also learned that with God there are such great responsibilities, and that if these responsibilities are disregarded or if pushed beyond the boundaries as set by God, then God will not excuse the guilty, as in; they will be judged for mocking God’s authority.

As we pointed out last time, ‘God is not mocked. What a man sows, so shall he reap.’ Or, as Moses also learned, what a man chooses he will receive. God put it like this: Deut 30:19-20- “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life.” NLT

Wouldn’t it be great for people to know what the key to life is and to living it well? Well, God has told us. He has given us the key to what life is about and how to live it well: “Love the Lord your God, obey Him, and commit yourself firmly to Him!” It’s a choice. And what is the choice again? Our Creator says to us: ‘I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.’

Now back to the issue of ‘rights’ a moment. So many people, especially in our country, are obsessed with the issue of ‘rights’. But way before the issue of ‘rights’ is this issue of ‘choices’. Now remember, ‘rights’ start with God. What comes next for us is ‘choices’; choices we make about God’s rights; choices we make about God’s right to rule over our lives, choices we make about the liberties God has given us and the boundaries He has set before us; and choices we make about living according to the purposes for which He has made us, of which good choices result in life, liberty, and happiness.

Let’s put it another way: No one has the right to not love the Lord. No one has the right to disobey His commandments. No one has the right to disregard His authority and His purposes for which He created them. No, no one has the right to deny God His right to reign over their life. What they do have…is a choice. What every person on Earth has is an unalienable right to choose the blessing or the curse. And whatever choice or choices they make then becomes a constant source of blessings upon them or a constant source of curses upon them.

Again, how ironic that what so many people call their rights are simply curses that they have chosen to be theirs, and theirs for eternity, unless they come to repentance. But why would anyone choose a curse anyway? The answer is; they choose the curse because not only does the sinful heart of people love darkness rather than light, but the sinful heart of man is also deceived above all else. Here’s another ‘go to’ memory verse we should have down: Jer 17:9- “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” NIV That’s why you don’t trust your heart…you trust God’s Word, which is God’s heart! When you have a deceitful heart in the hand of the Deceiver, the devil, then you can become so deceived that you can no longer tell the difference between a blessing and a curse. In fact, you begin to look at evil and call it good and you look at good and you call it evil. When people come to the place where they choose curses over blessings that is a clear indication that are being held captive by the devil to do his will. When beliefs and deeds, that the Bible define as clear ‘wrongs’, are then pronounced by people as personal rights, that is a clear sign that they are completely deceived and are being held captive by the devil to do his will, which is; to steal, kill, and destroy their life and keep them from choosing God’s will.

When people completely ignore the Creator’s rights over their life then that is a clear sign that they are no longer living by the unalienable rights given to them by their Creator, rather they are living by the choices that are being driven by their sin nature and the influence of the devil to do his will; while they are continuing to be held captive by him. They are choosing ‘the curse’, and yet calling it ‘their rights’. But Friends, the curse is always the wrong choice. And a ‘wrong’ can never be a ‘right’, no matter how many times you say it or how much people want it to be.

Plus, God created us for so much more. He created each of us for godly purposes to live godly lives and to live out God’s plan for our lives. Listen to His plan: Eph 2:10- “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” NLT Of all of the created wonders the universe, the people of Earth are the masterpieces of God’s creation. Next time you feel a little low, think about that fact, that you are a masterpiece of God’s creation, and that ought to pick you up a little bit. But along with God creating each person as a masterpiece, He also created the purposes for each created person to live by and work out and enjoy.

And once again, God has the right as our Creator to determine the purposes by which each created life will live. And His purposes are basically summarized as – God’s will. And because our Creator is also the God of compassion and lovingkindness, when we align our lives with God’s purposes for our lives we also discover that this is the pursuit that truly does result in eternal life, true liberty, and genuine happiness. We find that obedience to the will of God is the key to the happiness that our souls crave.

Remember what Jesus said to the one who remarked how happy must be the woman who bore Him; the Messiah? Luke 11:28- “But Jesus answered, “Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”” TEV Here Jesus reveals the key to genuine happiness: Learning God’s Word and obeying it! There’s the blessing again…choosing the blessing day by day. Remember? ‘There’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’

The best thing anyone can do for themselves is to learn God’s Word and obey it. That is the key to human happiness. And, of course, God, as our Creator, has the right to command His creatures to obey. Which again, turn that around and catch the full weight of it: This means that no one on earth has the right to disobey God’s Word or to disregard God’s purposes by which He intended them to live their lives.

It all comes back to our Creator’s rights. It all comes down to our Creator’s rights. And as God has told us, everyone’s life will conclude with what they did about their Creator’s rights over their lives. Did they choose the blessing or the curse?

Basically, each person has only one right: the right to choose God to be their Lord and Savior. Any other decision is simply an ‘eternal wrong!’

Motivated by Mercy

Study Guide, July 22, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

There is a song in our hymnbooks that starts out: ‘There is a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea…’ And right away we have an amazing image of the width and breadth of God’s mercy. Our Atlantic Ocean has a width of about 4,000 miles at it’s widest point. The Pacific Ocean has a width of about 12,000 miles at its widest point. That’s about half of the Earth’s circumference, which is about 24,000 miles.

But back to the statement in the hymn: ‘There is a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness…’ well…like 12,000 miles wide! Or basically, wider or more than we could ever need or even hope for! There is mercy more than sufficient for our needs and our well being.

As we talked about last time, the Psalmist was so overwhelmed by the mercy of God that he talked about it over and over throughout the Psalms. Remember we pointed out that he devoted an entire song or Psalm to the celebration of God’s mercy that endures forever. It is Psalm 136 where David bursts into praising God for who He is, and then for what He is able to do, and for what God has done in creation, and in redeeming His people. He praises God for His loving providential ways toward them and for His grace in times of calamity, and then praises Him for being the God of Heaven who loves His people on Earth…and all because, remember?… ‘Because His mercy endures forever!’

That’s kind of like a semester load of theological study right there. We could safely say that the Psalmist was a scholar on the subject of God’s mercy. In fact, he not only knew that God’s mercy endures forever, he even knew that God’s mercy followed him! And it would continue to follow him forever! Remember that? Ps 23:6- “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” NKJV

But wherever King David was or wherever he went, he knew that he was being followed. And what it was that was following him were two things: God’s goodness and God’s mercy…goodness and mercy – always there, always sufficient, always ready to wash over his needs whatever he was…with goodness and mercy. So, wherever you are and wherever you go, stop a little more often, and take a little longer look behind you until you see something following you; something of what David saw following him…God’s goodness and God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea, ready to wash over you and fill you with God’s all sufficiency.

Interestingly enough, David also knew that the only thing that put a distance between how close God’s goodness and mercy could follow him was the presence of sin in his life…and one sin in particular; notice: Ps 138:6- “Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble, but He keeps His distance from the proud.” NLT David knew what he was talking about. There had been times in his life when his pride had risen up and caused him to dishonor God and treat others badly. But his pride had also caused something else; it caused God’s goodness and mercy to pull back; to put just enough distance so that God’s discipline of justice could step in and deal with David’s pride…for God keeps His distance from the proud, even with His children.

David knew about that, too. He even wrote about his experience of that: Ps 51:1-3- “Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.” 7-8- “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; You have broken me—now let me rejoice.” NLT

David knew about that distance and about the discipline that comes in times of unconfessed sin. It not only creates a distance in your fellowship with God, but it also creates a loss of joy in your spirit. Again, we decide by our pride how far back God’s goodness and mercy will follow us, and will keep us from His fellowship. Plus, we then lose out on that joy of the Lord, which is our strength.

But David also knew how to close that gap. And it wasn’t by covering up his sin by doing more for God or even sacrificing more…no, that gap is only closed one particular way. Thankfully, David also told us what that is: Ps 51:16-17- “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” NASU

If you want God’s goodness and mercy to follow you closely, you have to carry something with you wherever you go; a broken and contrite heart. No, not a broken down spirit or a condemning heart; not a broken will or a heart riddled with guilt or a mind filled with self pity. Actually, all of those are still elements of self pride anyway..since they are still focused on self. But broken in a sense of self surrender of your own will to God’s will, and contrite in the sense of having a humble mind and attitude before God and others and especially about yourself. A surrendered will and a humble heart are among the most precious and valuable gifts that you can daily give to God…gifts that are pleasing to God and are just what God wants from His children.

Plus, when we offer our contrition, our surrendered will and humbled heart to God, it’s like wading into that Sea of Mercy; it just gets deeper and wider the further we go. Those of us who are privileged to live by the Ocean or to vacation at the Ocean know what it’s like to wade into the waves and feel the waves of the sea wash over you again and again. It’s exhilarating and calming at the same time. That’s how the waves of God’s mercy are meant to be for us; both exhilarating and calming. As we come to God in contrition and seek to walk before God and others in humility, God causes the waves of His mercy to wash over us; with both exhilarating and calming effects on our minds and in our hearts.

Sometimes people have come to the beach because their Doctor has prescribed that as part of their therapy. They come for cleansing of their minds and spirits as they experience the waves of the sea and and then dwell on the Ocean’s majesty. David wrote: “Greater than the roar of many waters—the mighty breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is majestic. Lord, Your testimonies are completely reliable; holiness is the beauty of Your house for all the days to come.” Ps 93:4-5 Holman Bible

Some of us need to feel the waves again…the waves of God’s mercy washing over us, and dwell again on God’s majesty and His holiness and just how easy He really is to please. Of course He wants our service, and of course He treasures our sacrifices…but what He wants most of all is for our service and our sacrifices to flow out of a spirit of worship from a surrendered will and a humbled heart. That’s what closes the gap of fellowship, and then His goodness and His mercy can then move up closer in following us, and even flowing over us, like those waves of the sea. Again, as the Psalmist pointed out, those waves of mercy are both exhilarating and calming at the same time. Your joy is restored and your motivation is renewed as well.

In a wonderfully insightful and inspiring book called God Is My Delight, another shepherd, named Phillip Keller, was writing about God’s mercy toward him. And he said that in understanding God’s mercy better and then experiencing it more, it then motivated him to live more for God’s glory and God’s pleasure. He wrote: “Oh what good cheer! What new hope. What amazing incentive to go out and live for His honor. In His loyalty He does not condemn me. He corrects me and loves me. Well did David cry out with soul-stirring conviction – ‘God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.’ For if He did, I would perished long ago in my pride and perverseness. It is Christ who, amid my peril, picks me up, restores my soul, cleanses my conscience, extends forgiveness. In this amazing action He assures me He is the friend of sinners. He is my friend. And therein lies my peace, my faith, my very life.” ¹

There is this marvelous result of mercy – mercy is motivating. God’s mercy changed Phillip Keller’s life like it had with King David. Jesus even gave us a principle about that when He once met with a proud Pharisee and a humble woman who had come to Him for forgiveness. Jesus revealed: ‘He who is forgiven much will love much, but he who is forgiven little will love little.’ Interestingly enough, Jesus was not talking about the amount of sins that needed to be forgiven, but rather how much people understood about how much forgiveness they needed because of their sins. The proud Pharisee didn’t think he needed very much forgiveness at all, since he didn’t think he was very much of a sinner. As a result he wasn’t very motivated to love God or show mercy to anyone else. But the woman understood the depth of her need of forgiveness for her sins. And upon receiving such forgiveness and mercy, she was motivated to love God even more and to show mercy even more.

The more we understand how much we have been forgiven by our merciful God the more motivated we will become to serve our God out of love and to show mercy to others through love. Actually, that balance is summed up in another passage where the Psalmist revealed the key to experiencing God’s pleasure in our walk with Him. The verse is Ps 147:11- “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.” NKJV Here God reveals the perfect balance we are to keep in order to please our God in our walk with Him and to then experience His pleasure in our walk for Him. ‘A holy fear and reverence for God, coupled with a confident hope and deep trust in His mercy for us.’ They not only go together, but they cannot be taken apart. In the same heart, at the same time, there must be both, a reverence of God’s authority and a trust in His mercy; both an understanding of His justice and a confidence in His mercy. And not that we are to hang between the two, but that we must live and order our lives under the influence of the two.

Think about it: Our fear of God will keep our trust from swelling up into presumption, and our trust in God’s mercy will keep us from sinking into despair. When King David neglected fearing God’s authority over his life, he then presumed upon God by spurning God and His mercy. But remember, God’s mercy and justice always travel together…whichever one steps up is something that we decide, by either our pride or our humility. We cannot presume upon God’s mercy without the consequences of God’s justice; like David found out: “Your hand of discipline was heavy upon me day and night”. When mercy is spurned, justice steps up. But neither are we to distrust God’s desire to show mercy. Remember what the Prophet Micah found out? Mic 7:18-19- “Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” NIV

That’s another reason I like looking out at the Ocean…I see where my sins are buried…way out there in the depths of the sea. But God delights in showing mercy. But again, not to those who are proud, not to those who presume upon Him by not confessing nor forsaking their sin, but for those who fear Him; who humbly seek to honor Him and who trust in His mercy. In fact, as the Psalmist told us, God takes pleasure in those who both fear Him and trust in His mercy.

What we learn from the Psalmist is that we do not need to live any day under the clouds of guilt or doubt. For that steals our joy and makes life mundane. The source of real joy is God’s mercy – and He is ready and willing to give it. The Father’s storehouse is full of mercy, but we must not take His goodness for granted in our self-pride and self-will. ‘Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, so shall he reap.’ But when we come to God with a humble and contrite heart, and we empty ourselves in daily confession and have a desire to do His will, then God will fill us with the wideness of His mercy. God loves to be wholly respected and fully trusted. God takes pleasure in that. And remember; whatever pleases God will then become our pleasure, as well as our joy, and a great motivation for serving our Merciful God.

1. W. Phillip Keller, God Is My Delight, p. 107

Mercy Index

Study Guide, July 15, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen

With all of the turmoil and strife, conflict and misery that we have to deal with in our world, we thought we would all benefit from a healthy dose of ‘mercy’ in our study today. How does that sound to you? But since we mentioned ‘misery’, there is an term that is used in economics that they refer to as the ‘misery index’. Kind of odd terminology, but the misery index was created by an economist named Arthur Okun, a professor at Yale. It was based upon the sum of the nation’s annual inflation rate and unemployment rate to serve as a snapshot of the economy’s health. Later it was modified to include the sum of unemployment, inflation, bank lending rates, and subtracting the gross domestic product per capita. So the lower the number the less misery, and the higher the number the higher the misery. You say, okay…and where are you going with this? Well, oddly enough, this is how they then rate countries around the world on those lists you may have seen of most miserable or the happiest countries, based on this ‘misery index’.

As in, so this is what determines happiness? Have so many forgotten about King Solomon’s experiment already? King Solomon had the lowest ranking ever according to this misery index and so he should have been the happiest, but do you remember his conclusion? Eccl 1:2- “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” NASU His misery index may have been low, but his misery experience was off the charts! By the way, economists have estimated that King Solomon’s wealth in today’s dollars would figure to be around 2.2 trillion dollars! That’s right, not ‘billion’, but ‘trillion’. And a trillion is one thousand billions. So in reality, you can have 2.2 trillion dollars and still be high on the ‘misery index’. Just ask King Solomon.

Fortunately there is another index that really does accurately measure ‘happiness’…we can call it the ‘Mercy Index’. And this ‘Mercy Index’ is also an expanded index and based upon indicators like: the employment of God’s love, the inflation of grace, God’s bank lending of His righteousness, and the subtraction of judgment. And the possession of the sum of those indicators and then the level of our experience of them determines the height of where we are on this ‘Mercy Index’ and it’s accompanying happiness.

What do you think? Maybe we should send in this list of Biblical indicators to the researchers so that they can rework their misery and happiness tables for the countries and people of the world.

There is another list of indicators pointing out just how amazing God’s mercy really is in relation to our well being. Recall that King David wrote an entire song about it. We know it as Psalm 136. David was so overwhelmed about the immeasurable mercy of God that even though he wrote about it constantly throughout the Psalms, it’s like he just had to compose one song or Psalm that would be entirely dedicated to pointing out the infinite wonder of God’s mercy.

How about this…we’re not going to read the whole Psalm this way, but just to catch the weight of this, let’s read the first nine verses together. I’ll read the first part of the verse and then everyone can read the last part of each verse that says each time: “For His mercy endures forever.” And don’t think about that you’re just repeating it, but think about the height and depth of this revelation about God’s mercy…and then we’ll talk some more about it. So here we go:

Ps 136:1-9

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

² Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!

For His mercy endures forever.

³ Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!

For His mercy endures forever:

⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders,

For His mercy endures forever;

⁵ To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,

For His mercy endures forever;

⁶ To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,

For His mercy endures forever;

⁷ To Him who made great lights,

For His mercy endures forever —

⁸ The sun to rule by day,

For His mercy endures forever;

⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night,

For His mercy endures forever.” NKJV

In every verse of its 26 verses God is declaring to us this amazing reality of His mercy and of the truth that it endures forever…that it will be central in our lives and in our world forever. And as we have often pointed out: When God says something once it is instantly all important to pay attention to it. But whenever God says something over and over it means that it is absolutely essential to listen to it, to learn all you can about it, and to live according to it everyday! In fact, this particular song that David wrote was one that the people were intended to sing every day…like as part of their devotions. Amazing, right? And really, what is the only antidote to our human nature of forgetting and taking for granted those things which are the most important to remember and to thank God for day by day? Yes, the antidote to forgetting crucial truths day after day is to remind ourselves of them day by day.

You remember that chorus that was popular when many of us were a lot younger….Day by Day? Remember the words? “Day by Day, Oh Dear Lord three things I pray: To see Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly, Day by Day.” That’s a pretty good devotional focus, as well as a reminder of the essential things in life. Well, that’s part of our point; the fact that ‘God’s mercy endures forever’, and that we are to daily focus on that fact, are both essential for the sake of our well being and for our living well for God’s sake.

And certainly one of the essential things about God’s mercy is for us to better understand it and to then live in light of that understanding. First, remember that God’s mercy is the foundation of mankind’s salvation. God in His mercy does not give us what we do deserve, judgment; and in His grace, He gives us what we do not deserve, justification or He counts us righteous, all for the sake of Jesus Christ. So, Mercy is God’s unmerited response to our basic human need. Paul put it this way in Titus 3:4-7- “…When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” NLT

We could just stop right here and meditate on our great salvation as explained by the Apostle…Why does God save us…because we deserve it? No, in Romans 6:23 Paul explained to us that the wages that we do deserve amount to eternal separation from God because of our sins. Our only hope of being saved is not in our merits, but in God’s mercy. Salvation is not based upon a merit system, but upon a ‘mercy system’. But although we are saved by the mercies of God, it is not automatic.

That’s one of the strange things about how people think concerning religious things. A high percentage of Americans still believe in Heaven, along with a corresponding high percentage that think they are going to Heaven. And that would be wonderful, if that same percentage actually represented spiritually born again people who have given their lives to Christ in repentance and received Him into their life as their Lord and Savior. But that is not something that very many people have done. The problem is that this high percentage have not repented toward God and trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in order to be born again. They are just assuming that the merits of their life will save them, as though since they assume they are a pretty good person, naturally they will go to Heaven. Therefore, an extremely low percentage of Americans think they are in the condition of perishing and going to Hell. But until a person repents toward God and places their faith in Jesus Christ to save them, they are still perishing, and will perish for eternity. That’s what Jesus said to religious people who were counting on the merits of their life to make them right with God. He said, “I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)

Remember, the ‘merit system’ of salvation – which every religion in the world naturally believes and is depending on for their salvation – cannot save anyone. Why? Because everyone is way past any chance of meriting or earning their salvation…they are already dead in their sins. That is one of the most foundational truths that everyone in the world needs to know. The Apostle Paul made it as clear as could be made. Eph 2:1-2- “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” 4,5- “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” 8,9- “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” NASU

Think about what God has revealed here to the world. Every person on Earth is already dead…spiritually separated from God because of their sins, and cannot be reunited to God based upon their works. And yet, nearly every religion on Earth teaches people that they can achieve Heaven by their works. You may remember me telling of the temple districts in Bangkok, Thailand. In various places they have actual ‘Merit stations’, where people can gain extra merits to add to their hopes for their eternal existence. But again, people the world over believe they are going to Heaven based upon the merit system, when it is only based upon the mercy system: because of the mercy of God and by the grace of God through our faith in the merits of Jesus Christ alone. To insist that Heaven can be merited is a direct argument with God, a rejection of God’s Word, and a dishonoring of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Basically the religions of the world are telling ‘spiritually dead people’ how to improve their lives…when what spiritually dead people need is LIFE itself. And spiritual life is only found in Jesus Christ. There is no spiritual life apart from being united to Jesus Christ. Spiritually dead people don’t have spiritual life until they are spiritually born again through receiving the Person and the life of Jesus Christ into their life. They are way past meriting Heaven. They are already dead in trespasses and sin. Their only hope of being delivered from the condemnation of Hell that they are already under is through repenting of the sins that killed their spirit and trusting in the mercy of Christ to be their personal Lord and Savior.

Now remember, we are to work for God out of our salvation, but no one can work for their salvation, because salvation is not a merit system, but a mercy system. And neither is it automatic, as so many tend to think of going to Heaven as being just sort of automatic. That is a dangerous way to think and live. Many presume on God’s mercy by treating it like one of those automatic doors at department or grocery stores; as you get near it, it just opens automatically. Many people think about Heaven and God’s mercy that way, like when they get close to the door of death that the door of Heaven will just automatically open for them.

Well, salvation is free, but we have to ask for it through calling out in repentance toward God and placing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. The door of the Kingdom of Heaven is only opened to those who, as Jesus said, have have been spiritually born again. And their names are recorded in Heaven in the Book of Life. Or, as Peter said, their place in Heaven is reserved for them. You have to have a reservation to go to Heaven. Again, salvation is a free gift, but you have to call ahead. Rom 10:9-10- “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.” 13- “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Holman Bible

That would be an interesting way to witness, wouldn’t it?…to ask someone: “Have you made your reservation in Heaven yet? Yeah, you have to call ahead. ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

We have more wonders to talk about concerning the ‘mercies’ of God that endure forever. So we’ll go further on that next time. But one thing we each need to be sure about is that we are not depending on the merit system for our own salvation, but upon God’s mercy system. Be sure that you have called out to Jesus Christ, and in repentance and faith, that you have asked Jesus to forgive your sin and to unite His life with your spirit and cause you to be born again as His child forever. If you are not sure about that, we encourage you to call out to Him right away…even today.

The Cleansing Blood

A Devotional Communion Service

Study Guide, July 8, 2018

Pastor Clay Olsen 

Choir: God So Loved the World

Praise: Oh, Lord You’re Beautiful

The Bread

A five year old once asked: “What does my blood do all day?” Good question. Well, imagine a flexible plastic tube winding southward from Canada to the jungles of South America, plunging into the oceans and surfacing at every inhabited island, shooting out eastward through Africa and joining all of Europe and Russia, as well as the Middle East…a pipeline so long that it links every one of the over 7 billion people worldwide. Now then; inside this tube is an endless treasure of provision; cereals, fruits, clothing, and all types of accessories. All 7 billion people have instant access to what they need by simply reaching into the tube.

Such a pipeline exists in each of our bodies, reaching not 7 billion, but around 40 trillion cells in every person’s body. That’s the latest count…give or take a few trillion. But each one of these trillions of cells has special withdrawal privileges from the fluid, called ‘blood’, for whatever it needs. Eight to ten pints of this all purpose fluid takes care of all 40 trillion cells. No wonder the Bible tells us that the life is in the blood!

In William Cowper’s hymn, the words are familiar to us: “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” Well, this theological image makes for good biology as well. Dr. Paul Brand highlighted this wonderful cleansing power as he described the functioning of the human kidney. And several thoughts from this study are from his insightful book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. I highly recommend it…you’ll find it fascinating and practical at the same time.

I understand that some medical people judge the intricate workings of the kidney as second only to the brain in complexity. Here complex chemicals are filtered out as one fourth of the blood supply from each heartbeat rushes through the kidneys. Filtering is what the kidneys are all about, but in a very little space and time. Each new heartbeat pumps of quarter of the blood through kidney gates. The kidney manages speed by coiling the tubules into two million crystal loops, where all the cells are picked over one by one. It kind of reminds us of factory workers standing over a belt picking out every part that is not quite right.

Then the kidneys remove the red cells entire payload to remove some thirty chemicals. Then it places back 99% of the volume into the bloodstream. The 1% is rushed away to be eliminated. And then, one second later, the heart pounds and another quarter of the blood rushes in to fill the tubes, and the cleansing continues. Some Surgeons speak with a kind of reverence when they talk about the kidney. And some people who have lost theirs or use of their kidneys know just how blessed we are who still possess ours!

So all this focus on the process of cleansing leads back to the symbol. Blood sustains life by carrying away the chemical by-products that interfere with it. And this, right here, points out the perpetual problem of sin.

You know, too often we tend to view sin as a list of grievances that displease God. But even a casual reading of the Bible shows that sin is a blockage, a paralyzing poison that restricts reaching the life God designed for us. Remember, God’s laws were given for our sake, not just for His own. Sin needs to be continually filtered out of our lives just like the toxins are filtered out by our kidneys. Pride, egotism, lust, selfishness, envy, gossip…all poison our system and they must be purged out in order for us to be healthy and whole. The more we cling to our carnal desires and our unyielded self-will, the farther we withdraw from God and the more spiritually and morally sick we become.

In our Wednesday night studies we have been examining this Old Testament representation. God’s presence rested in the Most Holy place, approachable only once a year on the Day of Atonement by the high priest, who had purified himself through an elaborate system of blood sacrifices. But Jesus made that ceremony obsolete by His own, ‘once for all’ sacrifice. Matt 26:28- “…this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” NASU And then, in the book of Hebrews, Christ’s complete once for all sacrifice is contrasted with the partial and continual rituals by the high priest. Heb 7:26-27- “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” NASU It’s amazing how Christ was both the High Priest and the sacrificial victim, offering up Himself on the altar of the cross.

The Old Covenant sacrificial system came to an end the day that Jesus offered up His own sinless blood on the altar of the cross and proclaimed “It is finished!” The final sacrifice for sin had just been offered. God even tore the veil of the temple from top to bottom to reveal to the world that everyone could now enter into His presence through this ‘once for all’ and ‘all sufficient sacrifice’ of the sinless blood of Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb. And all who are now saved through receiving the Savior and trusting in the Savior’s sacrifice to remove their sin penalty can enter into direct communion with God. Heb 10:19-21- “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God…” NASU And Paul also tells us in Eph 2:13- “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” NASU