EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY JULY 14, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE GREAT COMMISSION!

Memory verse:  "And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16 vs 15.) 

READ: Matthew 28 vs 18 - 20; Luke 24 vs 47:

Matthew 28:18: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has  been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

28:19: Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 

28:20: teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Like 24:47: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

INTIMATION:

After haven done this great and supreme sacrifice, that had never been done, and would ever be done by any again, Jesus made a request on His followers—His disciples; to go into all the world, telling everyone “the Good News,” that He had paid the penalty for our sins and those who believe in Him can be forgiven and live eternally with God. They should preach the suffering Christ on the cross and His resurrection. Repentance toward God and God’s remission of man’s sins in obedience to the gospel should be proclaimed to all men beginning from Jerusalem. 

All the four records of the gospel mention a commission that Jesus gives to the disciples to take the good news to the world (Matthew 28 vs 19 - 20; Mark 16 vs 15; Luke 24 vs 46 - 47; John 20 vs 12 - 23). Studied together, Jesus commissioned the disciples to (1) preach Jesus in order to make disciples for Jesus, (2) preach the gospel of His death for our sins and resurrection for our hope in order that men might be saved, (3) immerse disciples in water, and (4) teach the word of Jesus to immersed disciples. They were to immerse all those they had discipled to Him. Therefore, one must be committed to follow Jesus before being immersed into a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Jesus made it clear to the disciples that the gospel is for all the world, not just for the Jews (John 10 vs 16). They must go to every village, town and city of the world. No community must be left untouched by the proclamation of the gospel. The statement of Jesus in our anchor Scripture designates what is to be done (preach), what is to be preached (the gospel), and to whom the preaching must go (every creature). The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ death for our sins and resurrection for our hope. This is what must be proclaimed to all the world. The gospel must be preached to every person because every person is a sinner (Romans 3 vs 9 - 10). 

We, as followers of Jesus, are commissioned to spread the “Good News,” and this is the “Great Commission!” Christians today in all parts of the world are telling this gospel to people who haven’t heard about Jesus. We should do this in response to the supreme sacrifice He made for us out of love, and we should return this love by obeying His command (John 14 vs 15).

The driving power that carries missionaries around the world and sets Christ’s church in motion is the faith that comes from the resurrection. Do you ever feel as though you don’t have the skill or determination to be a witness for Christ? You must personally realize that Jesus rose from the dead and lives for you today. As you grow in your relationship with Christ, He will give you both the opportunities and the inner strength to tell His message. 

This is the only request Jesus made on us after had made the aforesaid sacrifices for us. He sacrificed His life (something of immeasurable value) for something completely worthless (our sins). What a sacrifice! He has not left us alone in this service, but promised to be with us always, even up to the end of age, and has accomplished this in the Person of the Holy Spirit—Jesus in Spirit form, indwelling us.

Therefore, haven all these done for us, and all these promises made to us m, what excuse do one have not to engage in witnessing for Jesus? Not doing this is, in my considered opinion, gross disobedience, denying the Savior before men, and consequently, the Savior’s denying you before His Father in heaven!  For Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10 vs 32.) Do you want Jesus to witness for you before the Father in heaven? Then engage in the “Great Commission;” witnessing for Christ here and now. 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to adequately compensate for what You did for me in redemption? Virtually nothing! My not obeying You in carrying out the “Great Commission” is not just disobedience to You, but also wickedness, and selfishness on my part. May I live to obey You all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Ministry — More Important Than Life

 

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24)

According to the New Testament, “ministry” is what all Christians do. According to Ephesians 4:11–12, pastors have the job of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. But ordinary Christians are the ones who do the ministry.

What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others.

It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God.

Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here in Acts 20:24: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life.

You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. It certainly was for Jesus — only in his thirties.

We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our service. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry.

Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life.

THE SUPREME SACRIFICE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY JULY 13, 2021.

SUBJECT: THE SUPREME SACRIFICE!

Memory verse:  "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor that you through His poverty might become rich.” (Second Corinthians 8:9.) 

READ: Philippians 2 vs 6 - 8:

2:6: Who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 

2:7: But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

2:8: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross.

INTIMATION:

In the beginning God created us in His image and after His likeness. He created us out of love, modeled us to be like Him, and to live the best of life without lack or want. But our first parents were grossly influenced that they doubted His integrity, and disobeyed Him. It was for the reason of our haven done things wrong—disobeyed God’s laws—that we were separated from God our Creator. Separation from God is death; but, by ourselves, we can do nothing to become reunited with God.

His sincere, and genuine love, and concern for us occasioned His sending His only begotten Son to the world for our liberation. His Son, Jesus, was God’s unique Son, Who never disobeyed God and never sinned. Consequently, only Him can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful people. Jesus’ incarnation was the act of the preexistent Son of God voluntarily assuming a human body and human nature. Without ceasing to be God, He became a human being, the man called Jesus. He didn’t give up His deity to become human, but He set aside the right to His glory and power. 

Jesus came as a propitiation for us, freely offered His life for us; He knew no sin, but was made sin for our sakes, taking all our wrongdoing upon Himself, dying a shameful death on the cross in our place, and saving us from the consequences of sin—including God’s judgement and death. He gave His life so that we can have life, not only having life, but having it more abundantly.

Before the incarnation and the manifestation of God through Jesus, Jesus was originally in the totality of God in being, essence and experience: He was in the “form” of God—Spirit (John 4 vs 24), and “equal with God” in essence, being, eternity, and work. Since He was God, then He would not have existed in any other state of being than what God is. However, in order to accomplish the redemption of mankind, He did not consider His being as God something that could not be forsaken for the benefit of His creation. 

Jesus was willing to lay aside or empty Himself of His being and essence as God in order to incarnate in the flesh of man. Therefore, He did not have on earth the totality of that which He had before the incarnation. In some way, He made a supreme sacrifice in incarnation in order to accomplish the plan of redemption for the salvation of man: In contrast to lordship, He took on slavehood. In contrast to existence in spirit, He took on the physical. In order to become the slave of humanity, He has to take on the form of humanity. In order to make the divine sacrifice for the sins of humanity, He had to incarnate into the form of those for whom He would die. 

The magnitude of His transition from God to man (Deity to flesh) was awesome and incomprehensible. In the lowered state of incarnation, Jesus was not only in the form of man, but also in a different relationship with the Godhead than what He had before incarnation. In the form of man, He maintained an obedient relationship to God, the Father. He voluntarily died on the cross because it was the will of God. 

Jesus, as a Deity, was rich in all things; haven all things created by Him and for Him. But He became poor by giving up His rights as God and becoming human. In His incarnation, God voluntarily became man—the person Jesus of Nazareth. As a man, Jesus was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power when He became human, but He did set aside His glory and His rights. In response to the Father’s Will, He limited His power and knowledge. Christ became poor when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us rich because we received salvation and eternal life. What a “SUPREME SACRIFICE!”

Jesus took our past, present, and future sins upon Himself so that we could have new life. Because all our wrongdoing is forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the proof that His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, and His resurrection has become the source of new life for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. All who believe in Him may have this new life and live it in union with Him. This great and supreme sacrifice, has never been done before, and would  ever be done by any again.

Prayer: Abba Father, there is nothing I can do to adequately compensate for what You did for me in redemption. Virtually nothing! Give me the grace, O Lord, to obey You in all things all the days of my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Moves You to Minister?

 

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

Faith has an insatiable appetite for experiencing as much of God’s grace as possible. Therefore, faith presses toward the river where God’s grace flows most freely, namely, the river of love.

What other force will move us out of our contented living rooms to take upon ourselves the inconveniences and suffering that love requires?

What will propel us . . .

to greet strangers when we feel shy?

to go to an enemy and plead for reconciliation when we feel indignant?

to tithe when we’ve never tried it?

to speak to our colleagues about Christ when we are timid?

to invite new neighbors to a Bible study?

to cross cultures with the gospel?

to create a new ministry for alcoholics?

to spend an evening driving a van?

to invest a morning praying for renewal?

None of these costly acts of love just happens. They are impelled by a new appetite — the appetite of faith for the fullest experience of God’s grace. We want more of God. And we want this more than we want our private, disturbance-free security and comfort.

Faith loves to rely on God and see him work miracles in us. Therefore, faith pushes us into the current where the power of God’s future grace flows most freely — the current of love.

I think this is what Paul meant when he said that we should sow to the Spirit (Galatians 6:8). By faith, we should put the seeds of our energy in the furrows where we know the Spirit is at work to bear fruit — the furrows of love.

Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE AVAILS MUCH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JULY 12, 2021.

SUBJECT: FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE AVAILS MUCH!

Memory verse: "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5 vs 6.) 

READ: James 2 vs 14 - 26:

2:14: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

2:15: If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

2:16: and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body; what does it profit?

2:17: Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

2:18: But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

2:19: You believe that there is one God; you do well. Even the devils believe—and tremble!

2:20: But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

INTIMATION:

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves. We are saved by faith, not by deeds. But love for others and for God, is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God’s forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7 vs 47). Because faith expresses itself through love, you can check your love for others as a way to monitor your faith.

The characteristics of an effective Christian in any age is work produced by faith, labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by hope. As Christians, our calling from God is to become like Christ (Romans 8 vs 29). To be worthy of this calling means to want to do what is right and good as Christ world. Christians have been created anew in Christ by obedience to the gospel (Romans 6 vs 4 - 5). Since they are recreated in Christ, they respond with good works of thanksgiving. They have been so created, not by good works, but for good works. Such actions show that our commitment to God is real. Deeds of loving service are not a substitute for, but rather a verification of, our faith in Christ.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message, hope is the attitude and focus, Love is the action. Therefore, your faith is put into action through love. Love involves unselfish service to others. When faith and hope are in place, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves. While it is true that our good deeds can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good deeds. Love endures forever (First Corinthians 13 vs 13). Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is an attribute of God Himself (First John 4 vs 8). Does your faith fully express itself in loving others? 

Your faith should be carried into action with an obedient response to the grace of God. (Second Corinthians 4 vs 15). Your faith should move you into action. In your relationship with one another you should be moved into action to care for one another. God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit, but to benefit others in our faith works through love, serve Christ and build up the church. Christians thus work in response to what God has done for them (First Corinthians 15 vs 10). It is their works that manifest their response to the grace of God. 

Though good works are not a qualification of the saving grace of God, rather it is a manifestation of the obedient and faithful response to the free gift of grace. What is required of a Christian is a faith that works through love. This is the obedient faith that responds to the grace of God. One’s recognition of his salvation by the free gift of grace motivates one to work out of love and thanksgiving. When one trusts in God for his or her salvation by grace, he or she will lovingly respond in obedience to God with a better relationship with his or her fellow human. 

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for your saving grace bestowed on us in Christ. My faith is in You. Give me the grace to manifest my faith working through love for You and others, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

PRAYER OF PASTOR JERRY