The Shepherd’s Presence

A. W. Tozer preached about Shepherds and he said a little something like this:

The safest place for a sheep is by the shepherd’s side.

Wolves are not afraid of sheep. They aren’t even afraid of all the sheep in America. What can sheep do? Gang up and Baaa louder? Give a wolf enough time and he will clean out America of all sheep.

But the presence of a shepherd changes everything. Shepherds can scare off wolves. They can kill and hurt wolves. If it weren’t for shepherds, wolves would have enacted the survival of the fittest on the sheep.

Here’s my riff off of that: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.” They don’t follow at a distance either, they get right up close to Him.

People who say they are saved and yet don’t live like they are next to the Shepherd are deceiving themselves. Odds are they’ll get eaten by a wolf soon enough. Who wouldn’t want to be with our Good Shepherd?

Apparently lots of people because there are an increasing number of wolves. Be careful out there. Be a true sheep by following the True Shepherd.

Worshipping Jesus

If you worship a Jesus that is not the real Jesus, you are not worshipping Jesus. There are many false Christs in our world, here are a few.

*The Jesus who exists only to meet your physical needs.
*The Jesus who is all grace and no judgment.
*The Jesus who is all judgment and no grace.
*The Jesus who is all love.
*The Jesus who is all hate.
*The Jesus who is all giver instead of the gift.
*The Jesus who talks about pretty things.
*The Jesus who smashes your enemies.
*The Jesus who doesn’t notice that your whole life is not in accord with what He said.
*The Jesus who gets you parking spots but has no power to rescue your marriage.

The list could go on. Many believe in Jesus, few believe in the Jesus of Scripture. Get to know Him, then decide if you really believe in Him.

Why You Don’t Make Sense

Anytime you talk about true spiritual things, most people will have no idea what you are talking about. It just happens that way. It’s not your fault, it even happened to Jesus, the best spiritual teacher ever.

“You must be born again!”
“How can a man enter back into his mother and be born again?”

“I will give you living water and you will never thirst again!”
“You don’t even have a bucket and the well is deep.”

“Roll the stone from Lazarus’ tomb.”
“But Lord, by this time he stinketh.”

On and on we could go. The natural man does not get spiritual truth.

So next time you are teaching and someone says something and probably even quotes a verse that has absolutely nothing to do with what you just said, in fact, might even be the exact opposite of what you said, don’t be surprised.

Of course, there’s always a chance you are the natural man!

The Ruling Mandate

*A politician says he has a mandate to rule because he was elected by the people.
*God says He has a mandate to rule because He elected people.

Thank you. I made that up myself.

Yelling at Adults

Allow me to digress.

Saw this article about how parents are yelling more at their kids since they aren’t allowed to spank anymore. I have also noticed this trend. In our children’s schools they don’t discipline in any effective way, so teachers spend their days frustrated and constantly yelling.

I also notice this in other parents. Those who I know don’t spank much tend to yell more. I was happy to see someone noticed this.

However, the conclusion of the article is not only should we still not spank, we shouldn’t yell either. Yelling is destructive and ruins families. I agree, but am at a loss as to what a parent would do otherwise if not allowed to effectively discipline through the liberal application of sensory discomfort.

Reminds me of Isaiah chapter three where God says that as part of His judgment on the nation of Judah is:

“And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.”

The inmates are running the asylum. The End is nigh.

John Flavel on Delight

“We cannot but conceive it to be a state of matchless happiness, if we consider the persons enjoying and delighting in each other: he [Christ] was with God, John 1: 1. God, you know, is the fountain, ocean and centre of all delights and joys: Psal. 16: 11, “In thy presence is fulness of joy.”

“To be wrapt up in the soul and bosom of all delights, as Christ was, must needs be a state transcending apprehension; to have the fountain of love and delight letting out itself so immediately, and fully, and ever lastingly, upon this only begotten darling of his soul, so as it never did communicate itself to any; judge what a state of transcendent felicity this must be. Great persons have great delights.”

The Judgmental Son

Once upon a time I said some stuff in a sermon that wasn’t exactly true. Seriously. It happened many, many years ago when I was young, of course. It went something like this:

God is fed up with people, He’s in heaven waiting to wipe out sinners. But Jesus Christ intervened, died for sinners and the grace that was on display holds back God’s judgment. Christ is holding back His Father from judging.

Notice anything wrong in there? Besides my poor grammar?

Here’s the error: the notion that God the Father is the bad guy and Jesus Christ is the good guy who restrains the bad guy, is all wrong. God the Father is given a bad reputation. We view Him as the maniacal, judgmental God of the Old Testament, the one that Jesus stopped.

This is wrong. Here is why:

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.”

The Father doesn’t judge anyone! He’s not a bad guy being restrained by good guy Jesus! Oh no! The Father doesn’t judge anyone!

All judgment has been given to the Son, the same one who restrains judgment by His own sacrifice. It is Christ who returns in Revelation with blazing eyes and a sword riding a white horse.

The One who paid the price is the same One who will rip that price out of your flesh for not letting Him pay it for you. It only makes sense, even if at one point I didn’t get it.

Regenerating Degenerate Generates

G. Campbell Morgan said that humanity can be divided into three phases:

Generated–God generated all human life. He is the creator and sustainer, without Him the breath of life is removed and we be dead.

Degenerated–Man took their life and followed Satan, the destroyer, and gave up on God, the Creator. Human life fell into sin, disease and waste, falling into a completely degenerate state.

Regenerated–God is not satisfied with our choice and wants to bring us back to perfection, so He graciously provided a way for humanity to be born again, to be regenerated.

 God loves His creation. He hates what we’ve done to it. He wants it back and one day He’ll take it back. If you are not regenerated before then you will eternally be being destroyed.

All humans take part in phase one and two. Only a remnant responds to phase three. If you have any desire to be with God you must be born again. Regeneration is required for access to God.

Lovingly Ignoring You

“Love believes all things” is a tough statement for me to cope with. Seriously? All things?

Love sounds naive, gullible. Reading the rest of what God says makes this interpretation impossible. Love gives the benefit of the doubt, it hangs in there, believes until proven otherwise. Innocent until proven guilty.

People say stuff all the time, most of which is unnecessary and often just plain evil. Some of that talk is directed at you and the Bible counsels us to not listen to everything we hear.

“Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee.”

It’s not that you don’t hear them, that we walk around with our thumbs in our ears “nahnahnahnahnah I can’t hear you” kid type stuff. It’s that we just let it go. We hear it in love, and love often just forgets stuff.

The reason Solomon says not to listen to others is because pretty soon you’re going to say something you don’t want others to remember! The next verse says:

“For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.”

Love others how you would be loved. I want people to listen to me, but I also want them to give me a break. Give me the benefit of the doubt that I am indeed trying to be helpful. Forget the dumb things I say (which shouldn’t excuse my dumbness or make it OK to continue to be dumb), but lovingly give me a break.

I think this is a foundation of unity in the Body of Believers. Let us also not forget this verse:

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

If you’re doing what is right, someone will have a problem with you. It’s a fact, one that needs to be handled with love!

Extremes are Extremely Annoying

“Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious.”
–G. K. Chesterton

“Truth is not in the middle, and not in one extreme, but in both extremes.”
–Charles Spurgeon

“Most heresies come from espousing one opposite at the expense of the other.”
–Philip Yancey

“Heresy is simply a school of opinion in which something is particularly pressed out of proportion to its logical place.”
–Harry Ironside

“Do not be overrighteous,
       neither be overwise—
       why destroy yourself?
Do not be overwicked,
       and do not be a fool—
       why die before your time?
 It is good to grasp the one
       and not let go of the other.
       The man who fears God will avoid all extremes”
–Ecclesiastes 7:16-18