January 1, 2007: Let Us Keep to the Point

January 1, 2007
Let Us Keep to the Point

". . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death" —Philippians 1:20

My Utmost for His Highest.

". . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . ."

We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, "My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory." To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.

My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness.

"Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!" (see Philippians 1:21).

Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.

My Thoughts............................
At a time when miracles often occurred, God allowed Stephen to be stoned ( Acts 7:59-60 ) and James to be beheaded. Although Acts 12 tells of Peter's supernatural deliverance from captivity in prison, Jesus had already prophesied that he would eventually die a martyr's death ( John 21:17-19 ), as (according to tradition) did all of the other disciples except John. James made it clear that strong faith is no insurance against suffering: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).

Whenever we are inclined to presume that the illness or suffering of another person is the result of that person's sin, we should recall the foolishness of Job's "counselors" in attempting to explain the mystery of God's will. Job's friends were obstacles to Job's relationship with God when they don't really know why things are happening to Job. Their lectures were based on logics, assumptions and reasoning. The problem was that all their accusations were unfounded. He did not know Job or the things he had done. We must be careful about how we react to the problems or sins of others. We must not accuse others of things we are uninformed about.

Christians filled with the Holy Spirit do not make assumption and will not act like Job's friends, making bad theology based on what someone is facing when they don't know all of the facts. Although faith won't always deliver us from tribulation, it will keep us conscious of God's promises and of the assurance that He will work everything out to good of His children ( Romans 8:28 ).

In my position: Divine healing will happen but God's time is not the same as our time.

I believe that God can sovereignly choose to heal whomever and whenever according to His will:
1. The gospel is good news about our sin problem, not our sicknesses (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
2. Christ’s atonement focuses primarily upon our sins (iniquities), not our sicknesses (Lev. 16:1-34; Is. 53:5-6, 11-12; 1 Pet. 2:24).
3. Christ died for our sins, not our sicknesses (1 Cor. 15:3).
4. Christ was made sin, not sickness (2 Cor. 5:21).
5. Christ forgave our sins, not our sicknesses (1 John 2:12).
6. Christ gave Himself for our sins, not our sickness (Gal. 1:4).
7. Our bodies are corruptible and thus subject to sickness (1 Cor. 15:42-44).
8. We will all die physically (Heb. 9:27).

Many people think that the mark of an authentic Christian is doctrinal purity; if a person's beliefs are biblical and doctrinally orthodox, then he is a Christian. People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life. But we must never forget that true Christianity is more than teaching - it is a way of life. In fact, it is life itself. "He who has the Son has life," remember? When we talk about life, we are talking about something that is far more than mere morality, far more than doctrinal accuracy. Ray C. Stedman

Superficial Christians are apt to be eccentric. Mature Christians are so near the Lord that they are not afraid of missing His guidance. They are not always trying to promote their loyalty to God by their independence from others. A. B. Simpson

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there are always some obstacles in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. Alfred D. Souza.

If you get busy serving God, you're too busy to sin. Chuck Baker

Some say if only my fears and doubts will leave then I will get to work. But instead you should get to work and then your fears and doubts will leave. Dwight L. Moody

Can I rejoice in tribulations? Did the Bible say tribulation works patience and patience leads to character and character leads to hope?

Tribulation works patience (hupomone) which means patient endurance because whatever trouble I go through, I learn to endure. In I Thessalonians 3:3 says: "So no man is disturbed by these afflictions, for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this". Destined in my life? As a Christian, how am I to endure through my trials? My salvation itself does not automatically refine my character because through trials, if I don't understand grace, I would become a bitter, angry, and cantankerous person just because things are not going "my way". Grace teaches me that I am to continue to rejoice and praise God even in the midst of my trials and suffering in this earthly life! This is related to the Beatitudes of a "happy paradox" to focus on God's power to control my thoughts.

So I do I endure through my trials? Grace (See 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).....God said "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses (i.e. illnesses), in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In God's grace, I am secured by His peace, by His grace and secured by His eternal hope. My hope in God is never disappointed that I never be ashamed even though my fellow Christians may make me feel ashamed of my sufferings. Remember Lazarus' sickness was mentioned in John 11:4 first because sickness was the "necessary purpose" for bringing glory to God. What was to be the point of Lazarus's sickness? Jesus said, "The whole point of Lazarus's sickness is not death, but the glory of God." Remember the story of a blind man since birth (John 9:1-3)?

Sometimes sickness is designed for the glory of God that some people feel, think or believe it is not true. God still can receive glory in such a case because suffering often produces a stronger servant.

2 Corinthians 1:7

"And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

Romans 8:17 "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"

My Thoughts on a local Church’s Role:
People with disabilities often will check out which local churches have ministries for the disabled. Not all churches are able to meet with all disabilities however churches are to work with other churches to see people with disabilities get their spiritual food without treating them as 2nd or 3rd class citizens. Ministries are using the Bible to encourage people who are affected by all kinds of trials including disabilities (both visible and invisible) so that we can be conformed to God's image. The ministry's objective is to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of the afflicted people in practical ways while at the same time, Glorify God. God has a plan. God has a will. His main goal is to save souls. More are being saved through special ministries that are able to reach out to those who need to hear that God is with them.

Local Churches are to "include" them rather than treating as 2nd or 3rd class citizens. When truth speaks, there is not burdens but rather "The truth shall make you free"; that is, free from the woes, the yokes, the burdens. The burden of loving help which we are admonished to give to others: "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2) which never harmed a soul. Another area of burden is the moral responsibility which no one can shift to another: "For each one should carry his own load" (Galatians 6:5) which is a source of comfort if our hearts are right.