When You Need A Friend

Text: Genesis 14: 1-16

Key Verse: "He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people" (Genesis 14:16).

The Holy Spirit would drive one thing home to our hearts through Abram's experiences in this passage. We do not lead our Christian lives in isolated seclusion - we are members of one another and in circumstances of this nature, one Christian can often be the means of deliverance of a weaker brother or sister. There was nothing Abram could do to deliver Lot from Sodom. Sodom represented an inward choice in Lot's heart to live in the materialistic, sensualized atmosphere of Sodom.

If a child of God chooses to be materialistic, sensual, commercial, and greedy for things of the world, not much can be done for him or her. Only Lot could take himself out of Sodom. But from this circumstance that threatened Lot's very life and liberty, Abram's resources were amply sufficient through prayer.

James 5:16b tells us, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. There is a Chinese translation of that verse that is excellent: The earnest, hot-hearted prayer of a righteous man releases great power. That is certainly the case in this incident.

The prayer offered in faith, we are told in the same chapter of James, will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up (James 5:15). Many have been puzzled by this verse, but if we read the context, we see clearly that the affliction here is one that has arisen because a child of God has become involved in deliberate sin. Such a one is to call the elders of the church together and confess his or her faults, and then the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him or her up again. It is a wonderful experience, this power of prayer for someone else.

The history of the church is replete with instances of such deliverance through faithful prayer. A wise and experienced missionary leader, speaking to a group on the subject of prayer, addressed the matter of overwhelming sin that so grips the heart as to enslave the life and frustrate all activity for God. He gave some very wise words of advice. Perhaps some younger Christian, he said, may find himself in such a circumstance, and the thing he is doing is so shameful that he cannot bring himself to confess it publicly; then let him seek out some older man of God, someone he can trust, and lay the whole matter before him and ask him to pray concerning this.

It is wise counsel, indeed. When Lot could not possibly help himself, Abram, separated in heart from the Sodom-like attitudes that rendered Lot so powerless, was able to lay hold of God and affect a great and mighty deliverance.

As Christian we ought to bear one another's burden and see the need to pray for one another if we find ourselves in a position we can barely do anything.

** Culled from www.raystedman.org **

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Life With God

 TEXT: John 6:41-59

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. (John 6:56)

Those marvelous words represent what was apparently a very offensive statement to these Jews. It sounds that way even to us if we take his words literally. Talk about eating human flesh and drinking human blood turns many people off. Evidently those listening to Jesus felt that way. You can hear the cynicism in their voices: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat? What does he think we are—cannibals?" This was most offensive to Jews because they had been taught all through the centuries that God did not want flesh in which there remained any blood. The word "kosher" means to cleanse; and it particularly refers to the preparation of meat. The Jews cannot eat any meat that has not had all the blood drained from it.

But in these words our Lord reveals the absolute necessity for receiving his life: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." That is unequivocal, isn't it? There is no doubting what he has to say. This is absolutely essential to real life. If you do not have this, you are on a temporary slide into ultimate corruption and total death. The most you can do is merely preserve your life for awhile, and hold death at arm's length. But death is inevitable unless you know the One who gives life. Then Jesus shows how that life is real: "For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." It is the real kind of life that God intends for us.

This sharing of life with Jesus will, later on in this gospel, become the theme for the Upper Room Discourse. I do not think you can find any theme more exalted, more remarkable, more mysterious than this—the sharing of life between Jesus and us: "You in me, and I in you," (John 14:20). Those are very simple words, but to understand what they mean is to grasp the very center of truth itself. "You in me, and I in you"—this reflects our universal hunger for intimacy.

The most intimate physical act is sex, which is a way of sharing life together. Sex has been accurately described as "the urge to merge." That is what happens physically, but it also happens psychologically. Friendship is a form of sexuality, or intimacy. When you are with a friend, what do you do? You tell your friend what you have been doing, and ask what he or she has been doing; you share your secrets. That is the urge to merge at the psychological level.

When we think about the greatness, the glory, and the wonder of God, what do we want? True worship is the desire to merge with God, for him to possess us and us to possess him. That is what Jesus says happens when we eat and drink his life. When we come and believe in him, and keep coming and keep believing in him, we grow into an intimate relationship with God.

Jesus has modeled this for us: "As the living Father sent me, and I live by means of the Father [this was the secret of his life], so he who eats me will live by means of me." That is a wonderful description of the Christian life. Jesus lived by means of the Father, and we are to live by means of him in everything we do.

May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you.

*Copyright Ray Stedman Ministries / www.raystedman.org.*

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Two Possibilities

Text: Romans 8:5-8

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5

There are two possibilities as Christians that will determine if we manifest the righteousness of God, depending on whether we walk according to the Spirit or according to the flesh. The difference is what you set your mind on, i.e., what you are thinking about all through the day, what is important to you. Is it the viewpoint of the flesh, which governs the thinking of the world? Or is it the viewpoint of the Spirit — God's viewpoint — on life? That is the determining factor — what you do with your thinking. Where you set your mind is going to make the difference.

What is the mind set of the person who lives according to the flesh? You only have to look around to see what that is. It is the natural viewpoint of life. People want to make money, because money provides comfort and conveniences that we would like to have. People want to have fun. People want pleasure, money and fame. People will give their right arm to gain influence and prestige. People desire to fulfill themselves. They want to manifest every capability that is within them. That is what the world lives for. And it wants it all now, not later. That is the natural point of view.

You say, "What's wrong with that?" There really is nothing wrong with that, unless that is all you want. If that is all you want, then it is very wrong. This is what the Scriptures help us to see — that there is another point of view, which is life viewed according to the Spirit. "Ah," you say, "I know what that means! That means you have to forget about making money and having fun and fulfilling yourself. All you do is go around memorizing Scripture and thinking about God all day long. You go around reciting Scripture verses and telling people what is wrong with their lives."

Many people think that is what we are talking about when we say that we are to have our minds set on the things of the Spirit. But, of course, if you see people like that, you soon discover that kind of life does not produce the results this passage tells us should be there. That is really nothing but another form of being run by the flesh — it's a religious form of it, but it is the same thing.

What does it mean, then, to have your mind set on the Spirit? It means that, in the midst of making money, having fun, gaining fame and fulfilling yourself, you are primarily concerned with showing love, helping others, speaking truth, and, above all, loving God and seeking his glory. The trouble with the world is that it is content with just making money, having fun, and fulfilling itself — that is all it wants. But the mind set on the Spirit desires that God be glorified in all these things. When your mind is set on the Spirit you look at the events of life from God's point of view, not from the world's. Your value system is changed and it touches everything you do. The important thing in seeking to fulfill your needs, is that God be glorified. That is what makes the difference. That is the mind set on the Spirit. It does not remove you from life — it puts you right back into it. But it does it with a different point of view.

I hope you are blessed. May the grace of the Lord be with you. Feel free to share and leave your comments.

Copyright © Ray Stedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org.

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With God

Text: 1 Corinthians 7:10-24

"Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you — although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord's freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them" (1 Corinthians 7:21-24).

Paul is dealing here with the common problem of slavery in that day, and yet what he says is interesting. Basically, what he says is, "To be a slave or to be free is not the overriding consideration of life: it is what you are inside that counts." In the novel Roots, and in the television portrayal of that book, it was very evident that some of the slaves who were believers in Christ were much more noble, more loving, more compassionate, more understanding, demonstrated more integrity than their "free" masters. This whole passage calls us to the fact that that is the true freedom.

Paul is not denying the possibility that God may so arrange things that an opportunity for freedom is given. If so, "Take it," he says. Basically, it is a gift of God. Christianity, though it is revolutionary, it is not designed to be radically so. It is not a violent overthrow of systems of the past, but it is designed to free from within. This is what the apostle is saying. So if you are in a situation that is difficult to handle, and hard to bear, remember that is only external; it is only temporary and passing, and you can be free in Christ in a most beautiful and effective and influential way.

The key words in verse 24 are "with God." Regardless of what your situation may be, even if you cannot change it, even if it is a so-called "difficult" marriage, remember that God is able to meet you right where you are and to fill your life with love and joy and peace despite the struggles. The struggles themselves will help you do it if you understand them as God's choice for you. So, Paul says, "... do not become slaves of human beings." How do you become slaves of human beings? Well, you do when you conform to the world around, when you let the opinions of the world shape your judgments as to what you ought to be in marriage, or whether you ought to get a divorce or not. You are becoming a slave to men, instead of to the Lord, when you do that. When you follow after teachers in the church and think of one as being better and preferable to the other, you are becoming a slave of men. When you give way to the secular pressures to sexual infidelity you are becoming a slave of men. Do not become slaves of men, Paul says, but remain where you are, "with God."

Copyright 2014 / Ray Stedman Ministries / www.raystedman.org

   

I hope you are blessed. Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

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Dead To Sin

Text: Romans 6:1-2 

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2)

Notice three things about this question: Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? First, notice that the question is logical. This is a very good question. If your gospel does not arouse this question in somebody's mind, there is likely something wrong with it, for it is the kind of question that ought to be asked at this point. There is something about the grace of God that immediately raises this issue. If sin is so completely taken care of by the forgiveness of Christ, then we don't really need to worry about sins, do we? They are not going to separate us from Christ, so why not keep on doing them? It is a perfectly logical question.

But, second, notice that even our very nature would have us raise this question. It is not only logical, but it is also natural. That is because sin is fun, isn't it? We like to do it. Otherwise we wouldn't keep on doing it, we would not get involved in it. We know sins are bad for us, but we like to do them. Otherwise we would not. Therefore, any kind of a suggestion that tells us we can escape the penalty for our sin and still enjoy the action arouses a considerable degree of interest in us.

We must understand that Paul is talking about a lifestyle of sin, not just a single act or two of failure. He is talking about Christians who go on absolutely unchanged in their lifestyle from what they were before they were Christians. The word for go on sinning is in the present continuous tense. It means the action keeps on happening. Paul is talking about a habitual practice. Can we go on living this way?

Finally, notice that this question is put in such a way as to sound rightly motivated and even pious. Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? This suggests that our motivation for sinning is not just our own satisfaction — we are doing it so that grace may increase. God loves to show His grace. Therefore, if we go on sinning, He will have all the more opportunity. This question is not asked by a complete pagan, but by someone who seems intent on the glory of God. Having said that, we come now to the answer, the positive answer of Paul.

Paul immediately reacts with a very positive statement, bluntly put: By no means! We are those who have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? This does not mean that sin is dead in me. It doesn't mean that I have reached the place where I cannot sin. Neither does Paul mean by this that we are dying to sin; that we are gradually changing and growing, and there will come a time when we will sort of outgrow all this evil. It doesn't mean that at all.

Again, we must face clearly the statement the apostle makes. He puts it in a once for all way: We died to sin. It is impossible for your lifestyle to continue unchanged when you become a Christian. It is simply impossible, because a change has occurred deep in the human spirit. And those who protest, and say they can go on living this way, are simply revealing that there has been no change in their spirit, there has been no break with Adam. They are still in the same condition.

Copyright 2014 / Ray Stedman Ministries / www.raystedman.org

I hope you are blessed. Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you and your family. God bless!

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How To Enjoy Life

Text: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

"Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God" (Ecclesiastes 5:19).

Enjoyment does not come from possessions or riches; nor does it come from companionship, popularity, and fame; or from the approval and admiration of others. Enjoyment comes by knowing the living God and taking everything from His hand with thanksgiving, whether it is pain or pleasure. That is the gift of God, and that is the lesson of this great book of Ecclesiastes.

Notice how the chapter closes: "He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart" (Ecclesiastes 5:20). Have you ever met people like that? They have lived a full life, but they never talk about the past. Some people live in the past.

William Randolph Hearst, who amassed one of the great fortunes of our time, ended his days amidst all the opulence and splendor of the castle that he built in southern California, sitting in a basement, playing over and over again the movies of his paramour from Hollywood in an effort to eke out a degree of enjoyment from the past.

When people discover the richness of life that God has provided, they do not think of the past or even talk about it. They do not talk about the future, either, because they are so richly involved with the savor of life right now.

How good it is to know the living God, to know that He controls what comes into your life. He expects you to make choices; Scripture always encourages that. But rejoice in the wisdom of a Father's heart and richly enjoy what is handed you day-by-day; that is the secret of life. Such a one "seldom reflects on the days of his life" because God will keep him occupied "with gladness of heart."

May the grace of the Lord be with you. Feel free to share and leave your comments.

Copyright © Ray Stedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org

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Faith And Doubt

Text: Jeremiah 33:11-44

"I took the deed of purchase — the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy — and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land." Jeremiah 32:11-15

What a ringing testimony to the power and greatness of God! God had said the land ultimately would be restored, and this deed would be valid. Therefore, it was to be put in a safe place. That is what Jeremiah did. He sent Baruch down to the title company and had him bring a deed to be signed. He acted before witnesses, and had the witnesses sign the deed and the copy — one to be sealed in a safe deposit box, the other to be kept by Jeremiah himself and passed on to his heirs, so that eventually they might claim title to this land. He worked in this normal way, and then clearly announced the purpose of it all: "It is because God says there will be houses and fields and vineyards bought in this land again."

Faith takes no halfway measures. There is no hedging of Jeremiah's bets here, no saying to these people, "Well, I'm just buying this property on speculation, hoping it will all work out, but it's just a gamble, a shot in the dark." No, he assures them that God has spoken, and that everything he is doing is consistent with the word of God.

Later in chapter 32, another quality of faith comes in. Beginning with verse 16 and continuing through verse 25, a remarkable prayer of Jeremiah is recorded. These are Jeremiah's private thoughts about this deed. Before men this prophet is bold and resolute and confident. But before God he admits that he is not quite so sure this is all going to work out. He says to the Lord in verse 25, "And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, "Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed."" I am glad this account is here, because this is what we might call "the doubtings of faith."

Faith always has its doubts. I once had the impression that if you doubted, you could not have faith — that faith and doubt were contrary to one another. But I gradually began to understand that this is not true. Doubt is the proof of faith. Doubt is actually an attack upon the very faith we have. You cannot have doubts unless you have faith. Faith is the way God works, and so the enemy is bound to attack your faith immediately as he sees you beginning to act and live and walk by faith. Therefore doubts will begin to arise — as a result of Satan's attempt to overthrow your faith. There is no faith without doubts.

Jesus himself, though he always lived by faith, and everything he did was by faith, nevertheless was subjected to times of severe doubt. Otherwise he was not "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning," (Hebrews 4:15 RSV). Doubt is part of the life of faith. If you are trying to walk by faith in a promise God has given you, and you are troubled by doubts, this is the proof you are really living by faith. Hang in there! Do not let your doubts overthrow you.

*** Written by Ray Stedman Ministries ***

Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

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Sinful Morality

Text: Romans 2:1-11

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1

Here Paul talks about those who pass judgment on others. The apostle makes two points about these people. First, he says that these people know the difference between right and wrong; otherwise they would not presume to be judging. Paul's second point about these people is that they are guilty because they are doing the same things themselves. The judges are as guilty as the ones they have in the dock.

Whenever moral people, those who pride themselves on a degree of righteousness and a standard of ethics, read a statement like this, they are taken by surprise. What do you mean? How could this be? I will use myself as an example, simply because I am such an excellent example of what the rest of us are like. I see three ways by which I try to elude the fact that I am guilty of the things that I accuse others of doing:

First, I am congenitally blind toward many of my own faults. I do not see that I am doing the same things that others are doing, and yet other people can see that I am. We all have these blind spots. One of the greatest lies of our age is the idea that we can know ourselves. We often argue, Don't you think I know myself? The answer is, No, you do not know yourself. You are blind to much of your own life. There can be areas that are very hurtful and sinful that you are not aware of.

I caught myself the other day saying to someone, Relax! Take it easy! It was only afterward that I heard my own voice and realized that I was not relaxed, and I was not taking it easy myself. Have you ever lectured your children on the sin of procrastination? Then did you barely get your income tax report in on time, or not get it in at all? How blind we are! We are congenitally blind toward many of our own faults. We are indeed guilty of doing the very things we accuse others of doing.

A second way we try to elude the fact that we are guilty of the very things we accuse others of doing is by conveniently forgetting what we have done that is wrong. We may have been aware of our sin at the time, but somehow we just assume that God is going to forget it. We do not have to acknowledge it in any way — he will just forget it. As the sin fades from our memory, we think it fades from his, as well. Consider our thought life. In the Sermon on the Mount we learn that if we hold a feeling of animosity and hatred against someone, then we are guilty of murder, just as though we had taken a knife and plunged it into that person's breast.

We think these things will go unnoticed, but God sees them in our heart. He sees all the actions that we conveniently have forgotten. We, who condemn these things in others, find ourselves guilty of the same things. Isn't it remarkable that when others mistreat us we always think it is most serious and requires immediate correction. But when we mistreat others, we say to them. You're making so much out of a little thing!

The third way we try to elude the fact that we are guilty of the very things we accuse others of doing is by cleverly renaming things. Other people lie and cheat; we simply stretch the truth a little. Others betray; we simply are protecting our rights. Others steal; we borrow. Others have prejudices; we have convictions. Others murder and kill; we exploit and ruin. Others rape; we pollute. We cry, Those people ought to be stoned! Jesus says, He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone, (John 8:7). Yes, we are all guilty of the same things we accuse others of doing.

Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

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According To Light

Text: Romans 2:12-29

"All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. Romans 2:12-16

Here we are dealing with the question of what to do about the people who have not heard the gospel. What about those who live where the Bible is unknown, or those who are in a different religion where there is no reference to the facts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? In this passage Paul says that their problem is that they defile their consciences. These people will be judged by their own standards. God judges men, not according to what they do not know, but according to what they do know.

In Chapter 2, verses 9-10, Paul also says the judgment of God is according to light. God is not going to summon all mankind and tell them they are going to be judged on the basis of the Ten Commandments. But people will be judged according to light. That means that God will say to that individual, What did you think was right and wrong? When the individual answers, God's question then is, Did you do the right, and not the wrong? By that standard everyone fails. Paul makes that clear: All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law. The fact that such men never heard the Ten Commandments, or anything else that is in the Bible, does not mean they are going to be acceptable in God's sight. They will perish, not because they did not hear, but because what they did know was right, they did not do.

Here we have a revelation of what goes on in the primitive world. Men and women who have never heard anything about the Bible nevertheless are subject to judgment because they have truth written in their hearts. They do know what is right and wrong. They show it in their own lives. People say, Let your conscience be your guide. That is a recipe for unhappiness. If that is all you have, it is a certain way of plunging into a life that alternates between fear and momentary peace.

Copyright Raystedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org.

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True Spirituality

Text: Philippians 3:3
 

...who put no confidence in the flesh. Phil 3:3b

The measure of true spirituality is in contrast to those who put confidence in some self-effort. Paul says, we "put no confidence in the flesh." We are living in an age that continually strives to get us to put confidence in the flesh. We are taught from childhood that the way to become proficient and competent and accomplish our aims and desires is to develop our self-confidence. This is what destroys human life. Self-confidence is not intended to be our strength, but rather it's to be our confidence in God. We were intended to face life recognizing we are weak, ineffectual, and unable, that it might drive us back upon the one who is totally adequate, and can be our total strength. This is the way God intended us to live. Therefore, the spirit of self-confidence is the most deadly lie that has ever been perpetrated upon the human race.

Now there is self-confidence that is based on God in us, but when it comes from something in ourselves, something we have learned or achieved, it is deadly. Paul says we have learned at last to put no confidence in the flesh. Even in religion there is strong emphasis on putting confidence in the flesh, or perhaps I should say, it is especially in religious areas we encounter this pressure.

Just this week (years ago) I read from from a pamphlet that is widely distributed monthly through the nation, which purports to be a guide to developing the Christian life. The writer said, "What I didn't know and had to discover the hard way is that if you don't have faith in yourself you hardly can have faith in people in the world, or in God. I had to see that God created us in his image, and we must have faith in the image. If we achieve that then we have his spirit within us and we can accomplish anything, even ridding ones self of sin."

That is the kind of perverted philosophy that is being widely purveyed today, that is literally holding millions of people in continual bondage to the flesh. It's no wonder that the spirit of the apostle flamed with indignation against this thing. Knowing the liberty that is in Christ Jesus, he puts the matter frankly. It begins with faith in God, and eliminates faith in self. When we have no confidence in the flesh, then we discover we can have full confidence in him who is able to do anything through us.

Do you see how any confidence at all in the flesh is over-confidence? We fear we are going to get over-confident. We don't mind a little, but we don't want to become over-confident. But Paul says any confidence at all is over-confident. He has no confidence in himself to do anything. None in his background, training, talents, accomplishments, no confidence in the time he spends in prayer, the number of chapters of scripture he reads, the number of verses he memorizes. No confidence in the power of his eloquence to persuade people or his devotion to move them. Furthermore, he has no confidence in anyone else who trusts in these things. The only one in whom he has confidence is Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to share and leave your comments and reactions. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

Copyright Raystedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org

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Knowing Him

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:9-11

"I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death Phil 3:10"

Paul says he is quite ready to give up the usual status symbols of the Christian for the personal knowledge and friendship of Jesus Christ. This is not an academic subject. This is not a course in Christology or on the person of Christ. This is not knowing about Christ. This is knowing Him. As Paul Rees says, "Knowing about has value; knowing has vitality." This knowledge the apostle is talking about is not simply a casual contact now and then. You don't get to know your friends that way. The friends you know best are the ones you have spent most time with, or at least you have gone with through deep experiences.

This knowledge of Christ comes by continual sharing of experiences together. It comes by the two of us, Jesus and I, living our lives together, moment-by-moment sharing experiences. It comes by gazing on the face of Jesus Christ as he appears in the pages of scripture. It comes by allowing every circumstance to make us lean back on his adequate life, hiding nothing from his eyes, by bringing every friendship and every loyalty to his gaze, for his approval or disapproval, by walking every day reckoning upon him to be with us. That's the secret of a successful ministry.

That is exactly what Paul says comes of knowing Christ. First there is that "power of the resurrection." It is a risen Lord who dwells within us, and we have that power which is able to do in us "above all that we ask or think, according to that power which works in us." This is the power of Christ's resurrection. It is power that is perfectly adequate for every possible circumstance. It is confidently acting in full assurance that he is acting with us simultaneously, and that risen power is ours!

The second thing that stems from this knowledge of Christ is the "participation in his sufferings." The remarkable thing about the sufferings of Christ is that they are always for someone else, never for one's self. This is that compassion we all earnestly long for. It doesn't come by trying. It comes by knowing him; by simply entering into what he is to you. That makes you compassionate. This is the primary reason why Christians suffer. Not so much for you, but for others. Have you ever noticed that when a Christian gets desperately sick and he takes it as an opportunity to manifest the grace of Christ, that Christian becomes the center of victory and hope and blessing to everyone who visits him?

Then the last thing is, "becoming like him in his death." What does that mean? The death of Jesus Christ was the end of the old life of sin and self-pleasing. We know that there was no sin nor self-pleasing in his own life, but on that cross he was made to be all that we are, sinful and self-pleasing, and then it was put to death. The cross was the end of that. That is liberty, because for the first time if we accept this as being true, we are set free from our selfish, ease-loving, luxury-seeking. We are free to be real men, real women-uncluttered, if you like. Unbound, delivered, no longer constantly concerned about what happens to us, but only concerned about what happens to Christ.

What a ministry this is! What a marvelous ministry among people the apostle Paul had. Yet it is freely offered to every believer in Christ. I must stress, this is not achieved by trying, struggling, striving. It comes as a by-product of knowing Christ.

Copyright Raystedman Ministies | www.raystedman.org

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To Live Or Die?

Text: Philippians 1:19-26

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! Phil 1:21-22"

The Christian view of death is given in just four words in this passage: "with Christ, far better." That sums it up. But before we look closer at that, it's important that we see what this man's view of life is, because these are not the words of a man who is sighing after heaven but resigned to living on earth. This is not the utterance of someone who is fed up with living and couldn't take life any longer so now the only hope is that heaven is close at hand. For Paul, to live is Christ, and that is exciting! Living, he says, means fruitful labor, in which I can take the greatest delight. The prospect of continuing to live is not an unwelcome prospect here, in fact he says "I hardly know which to choose", both prospects are so enticing and inviting. The Christian is not so neurotically desirous of death that he no longer wants to live. We sometimes give the wrong impression. We sing these wonderful songs about the glory up there but sometimes, unfortunately, Christians leave the impression that this is really all they're living for is what comes at the end.

The Christian does not live with some unutterable longing to escape, to evade life, to run from it. No! Paul is not at all saying that! He says, "to live is Christ" — I love it! And evidently the Spirit of God tips the scale here in favor of life, so he goes on to say, "convinced of this I know that I shall remain, and continue with you all" — because you need me and I will have the joy of coming to you again. But facing the possibility of death does not mean he is tired of life, but that death can only mean a more wonderful and deeper companionship with Christ. That is what makes life worth living. He says, "to die is gain", and you can only say that if you are prepared to say, "to live is Christ"!

What do you think is really living? What kind of circumstance do you have to have before you can say "Oh, now I'm really living"? What do you substitute for "Christ" in these words of Paul? "To me to live is money"? Then to die is to lose it all, isn't it? "To me to live is fame"? To die is a name in the obituary in the paper and never have it there again. "To me to live is pleasure"? To die is to go out into an unknown. "To me to live is health"? To die is to lose my health. You see the only thing that makes sense in life is to say with the Apostle, "for me to live is Christ," because then you can say "to die is gain." The truth about the Christian faith is that heaven begins down here.

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Adversity Means Advance

Text: Philippians 1:12-15 

 

"Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. Phil 1:12"

 

Paul is in jail in Rome, writing to his friends far across the sea in Philippi. He manifests a reaction that inevitably makes the world sit up and take notice. He understood that adversity means advance. The manifestation of this kind of attitude is a test of Christian maturity. The Christian who has become well enough acquainted with the God of the impossible whom he serves, knows that even through apparent defeat, God still is able to work. Such a Christian has begun to grow up in the Lord. He recognizes that in God obstacles are really opportunities, and nothing can really imperil the gospel. That is an amazing declaration when you think about it. Nothing that is intended to defeat ever brings defeat, that God works His way despite the obstacles, and all obstacles only serve ultimately to spread Christian faith.

I ran across the story of a Swiss French pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II. He said this: "I was not able to stand firm except by remembering every day that the Gestapo was the hand of God — the left hand. The worst of tyrants will only end by accomplishing Christ's will."

That is the glorious mark of Christianity that has made it an invincible force through all the centuries. Here is Paul, under arrest, chained day and night to a Roman soldier, unable to leave the house or the city of Rome. Imagine what this must have meant to the restless, surging spirit of this man. God had sent him out under His commission that was to take him to the very ends of the earth.

It must have been easy for Paul to be discouraged. There is no doubt he was tempted many times to feel sorry for himself and to wonder why God would ever let this kind of thing happen to him when all he was trying to do was fulfill God's will. Do you ever feel that way? It must have been easy for him to chafe under these circumstances as month by month goes grinding on and there seems to be no change. But as we read the letters that come from him out of those days there is not one word of complaint. Instead there is a marvelously triumphant spirit, and an expression of confidence. Why? When he was tempted he undoubtedly fell back on what he knew about his God. In other words, in the face of temptation to fret and chafe, he believed God.

Earlier he had written to these very Roman Christians with whom he was now meeting. "All things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose." He believed that! Even though the immediate hour didn't bring relief, he believed Him, and out of that confidence he could see that even those things that seem to be against him are working out the purposes of God.

Copyright| Ray Stedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org

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The Truth About Our Hearts

Text: Jeremiah 17:1-18

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

In those two lines you have the explanation of all the misery and heartache and injustice and evil of life. It all stems from that. The heart, the natural life into which we were born, has two things wrong with it. First, it is desperately corrupt. This means it never can function as it originally was designed to do. It can never fulfill all you expect of it. It will never fulfill your ideals, or bring you to the place where you can be what you would like to be. It is corrupt. It is infected with a fatal virus. It cannot be changed. There is nothing you can do about it, ultimately. It is useless and wasted. Therefore there is only one thing it is good for — to be put to death. That is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did with it when he died some centuries later. He took that fatal nature, human nature, and he put it to death.

I know that many people have trouble at this point. This is the verse, among others like it in the Scriptures, which divides humanity right down the center. You either believe this verse, and act in these terms for the rest of your life, understanding this fact, or you deny it and say, It is not true; man is basically good. It is either one side or the other. Your whole system of philosophy and of education and of legislation, and everything else, will be determined by which one of those views you take. This is the Great Divide of humanity, right here.

It is amazing, but I think one of the greatest confirmations of the truth in this verse is the Constitution of the United States of America. Our founding fathers were so aware of this great fact — that man, by nature, is desperately corrupt — that they never trusted a single man, even the best of them, with ultimate power. They set up checks and balances by which any man in office, even the most admired of men, would have his power scrutinized and examined by others. They did not trust anybody, and rightfully so! No system of philosophy, of psychology, of education, will ever serve to eliminate the wrongful, evil failing of the human heart. It cannot be done. We have to face life on those terms.

As if that were not bad enough, there is also another quality about the heart: it is deceitful about all things. It never looks quite as bad as it really is. It has an amazing power to disguise itself and look good and hopeful and fair — admirable, even. That is what is so deceitful about it. This explains why, all through the centuries, men continually keep trying to make their hearts seem better. We want to think as if we are just a few steps from success. This is why most of the approaches of humanity are equivalent to taking a well with poisoned water, and improving it by painting the pump!

The heart is clever, crafty; it can appear one way when it is quite another. We know that we have a frightening ability to hide a hateful heart under flattering words, or that we can speak softly and lovingly to someone whom we utterly despise. We do it all the time. We can use a sweet tone, and act and sound as if we are perfectly at ease, when inwardly we are seething with revolt and rebellion. That is the heart. It has that ability. It can appear fair. It can make the most impressive vows to do better. It can promise reform, and suffer hardship.

That is the heart, and the only book in the world which tells you this is the Bible — and those which are based upon it. You will never find that information in any other source. All studies of humanity will never lead you to this revelation. This is God himself, opening up a truth which divides the world, and which men must know if they are going to face life the way it really is.

Copyright 2014 | Ray Stedman Ministry | www.raystedman.org

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