Soldier, Be Content!~Dimitiri Nikiforos

Soldier, Be Content!

July 15th, 2009

Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages" (Luke 3:14).

God wants us to be content in this life. When we become discontented with our lot, we can easily be led astray into other worse sins. Take the soldiers who came to John the Baptist as an example. When they asked John what the Lord required of them, he said, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

The term "wages" included rations and money. In New Testament times soldiers were poorly paid. Their salaries consisted partly of a daily food allowance and partly of a minimal daily wage. Roman soldiers were paid in salt. Many of them were unhappy with their pitiful earnings and turned to dishonesty, bribery and extortion. Their lack of contentment turned them into villains and petty thieves. John's word to them was spot on. "Soldiers," he said, "be content with your wages."

This is valuable counsel for us Christians today. In scripture we are exhorted as "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim. 2:3). We are God's military personnel. How can we serve our Commander-in-Chief faithfully? One way is by being disciplined and not allowing ourselves to become entangled with the affairs of this life (2 Tim. 2:4). Another is by being contented with what we have.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 shows us why this is so crucial to our Christian walk: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

Let's not underestimate the value of contentment in our lives. John didn't. While you may be underpaid, overtaxed, unappreciated and overlooked in your employment, stand fast soldier! You are in the Lord's army, and He will faithfully clothe you, care for you, feed you and shelter you. Keep your head up, give thanks in all things, and know that your Commander-in-Chief is gracious (1Pet. 2:3). In His own time He will reward you.

In His strong love,
Demitri

The Spirit Promised to Glorify Jesus~Bob Hoekstra

The Spirit Promised to Glorify Jesus

"When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all the truth…He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you"…Now we have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (John 16:13-14 and 1 Corinthians 2:12)

The promised teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit guides us into all the truths of the word of God. "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all the truth." As the Spirit fulfills this promise, He especially wants to unfold God's truth in ways that will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." The desire of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory and honor, not to Himself, but to the Lord Jesus Christ. "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me" (John 15:26).

One basic way the Spirit glorifies Jesus is by revealing to us (and bringing into our growing experiential knowledge) the free heavenly riches that are ours in Christ. "Now we have received…the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." This is the language of grace: "freely given to us." The wonders of God's grace are poured out freely: "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved" (Romans 3:24 and Ephesians 1:6, NASB). What man deserves (and has earned by his own sin and offenses) is judgment. However, Christ supplies at His cost (His death for us) the free remedy of eternal life. "But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many…For the wages of sin is death, but the [free] gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 5:15; 6:23).

These freely given things of everlasting life include far more than the precious gift of forgiveness. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). We are to freely drink from a river of blessings (including, peace, hope, fruit, gifts, victory, etc.) throughout time—and even for all eternity. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts… and let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 21:6; 22:17).

Lord Jesus, these freely given things of God, revealed to me by Your Spirit through Your word, cause me to glorify You greatly. Please teach me to freely drink of these riches yet more and more, through humble dependence upon You, Amen.

Spiritual body armor~Greg Laurie

Spiritual body armor

July 15th, 2009 Posted in Pastor's corner, essentials, sermons | No Comments »

We are engaged in a spiritual battle. There is no escaping it. The question really is, do we want to win or lose on the battlefield of life?

Having already looked at the utility belt of truth that the Roman soldier would wear, and what that would mean to us, let’s consider our first piece of actual body armor. Honestly, if this one is missing, we will be cut down quickly in the spiritual war.

I am talking about the breastplate of righteousness.

Protecting vital organs

Paul speaks of it in Ephesians 6:14: “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (NKJV).

For the Roman soldier, the breastplate was essential. It was basically a tough piece of leather with animal horn or hoof pieces sewn into it.

The piece went from the neck to the abdomen, and it protected the vital organs, including the heart. One well-placed blow here or to the head and it’s done, party’s over, and you just became a casualty.

Our modern equivalent would be body armor or the bulletproof vest.

What is the breastplate or righteousness?

To wear the breastplate of righteousness is the simple recognition we have “Christ’s righteousness” in our life. The Bible says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19 NKJV).

This simply means that when a person puts their faith in Jesus and is saved, His righteousness is transferred to our “spiritual bank account.” This is not personal morality, and it is certainly not “self-righteousness,” but something that God does for us.

For instance, Paul was a moral man, but he wrote that his desire was to “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9 NKJV).

Justified!

In other words, we stand right before God, regardless of the way we feel. It is a part of what we call justification.

When a person is justified by God, all of their sins are forgiven. But, as they say in those commericals on TV, “Wait, there’s more!” We also have the righteousness of Christ transferred to our account, so to speak.

Why is this important?

This is important because the devil will say to us, “You are not worthy, you are weak, you are going down!” When he does, we can say, “I stand righteous before God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ!”

Scripture says Christ has “made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV). In other words, if you have put your complete faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone as Savior and Lord, you stand positionally righteous before Him.

You are both loved and accepted by God.

Satan tries to defeat us with accusations, but we stand in our relationship with God through Christ. Confident of our standing before God, because of the righteousness of Christ that has been deposited into our “spiritual bank account,” we know we have God’s protection in our lives against the accusations of Satan.

So today, make sure that piece of your armor is on because, frankly, if it isn’t, then the other pieces will not do you much good.

Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down,~Jon Courson

Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down,

2 Corinthians 7:6

When Paul was going through the wringer internally, externally, emotionally, and physically, how did God comfort him? Through Titus. This amazes me. You see, Titus was one of Paul’s students, one of his disciples. After sending him to Corinth with his first letter, Paul says it was when Titus returned that he was built back up.

I’m afraid my reaction would have been, ‘Oh, it’s just Titus. Lord, why didn’t You send me someone famous or deep? Billy Graham perhaps. But Titus? He’s just one of my boys. How can he help me?’

I think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As He sweat great drops of blood while He prayed with intensity, an angel came and strengthened Him (Luke 22:43). Jesus could have said, ‘I’m way above the angels.’ Instead, He received the ministry of the angel.

So too, Paul received encouragement from Titus because he recognized an important principle: often the Lord comes to us in the unexpected person at an unexpected time in an unexpected way ...

‘We know Him,’ they said. ‘He’s the carpenter’s son,’ (Mark 6:3) — not realizing He was the Son of God.

Mary wept at the tomb, mistaking the Lord for a gardener (John 20:15).

On the road to Emmaus, they thought He was a stranger (Luke 24:18).

On the Sea of Galilee, they thought He was a ghost (Matthew 14:26).

Don’t miss your Titus, gang. It might be your son or daughter. It might be a neighbor or co-worker. It might be someone you would never think had much to offer, but they’ll come to you with words of encouragement — if you’re wise enough to listen. Many people miss out, waiting for a pastor or a prophet, an author or a musician because they fail to recognize the Lord in the person sitting right next to them.

Turn and Be Restored~Bob Caldwell

Turn and Be Restored

5:21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old Within this last chapter of Lamentations, we can see the steps of repentance that can open the way for spiritual renewal. Repentance has two sides to it. It is not only acknowledging the sin that has brought God's judgment, but also acknowledging that God is the only hope for restoration. Both are important for anyone who is ready for a new beginning with God. This chapter begins with the first glimmers of hope, declaring, "Remember, O Lord, what has come upon us" (v. 1). This is stated in light of the reproach and loss of everything God had desired Israel to have. All had been lost because of sin, but God remains the same. He has not ceased in His desire to see His promises realized for His people. As Jeremiah said in the closing of this lamentation, "You, O Lord, remain forever, Your throne from generation to generation," (v. 19). We may go up and down, be in sin or in righteousness, but God remains perfectly the same. This is vital to keep before us when we come to our senses and sincerely seek repentance. We must remember God's unchanging faithfulness. God may have to bring affliction and judgment, but it is with the end desire of restoring us. But restoration will never happen until we have first been forced to experience how evil sin really is, which comes most often by experiencing sin's painful consequences. But God's end desire is for us to come to our senses, fully turn from sin, and come once again under the riches of His grace. When in repentance we turn our backs to sin and our faces back to God, knowing that His is waiting with open arms, repentance will be all the more doable. We know God "remembers" who we were meant to be as His children. He will not give up on us. This is the expectation behind verse 20, "Why do you forget us forever and forsake us for so long a time?" Jeremiah knows the bigger picture, and it makes no sense that God would drag out Israel's suffering beyond what is necessary. Jeremiah knows God will answer his cry to help them turn back to God. Once Israel admits they can do nothing of lasting good unless God empowers it, God is more than ready to help them repent, turn back to Him, and restore them. Restoration and renewal are God's ultimate desire for each one of us. Sin has left us all in great reproach and loss. Like Israel, we can bring some horrible consequences upon our heads. But also, like His desire for Israel, it is to bring us to our knees so that we will come to Him in obedient faith. He will help us to turn back and become a restored person. Remember—God knows His ultimate goal in His discipline upon His people: it is to bring us to repentance that He may fulfill His desire to transform us into His image.
Lamentations 5:1-22 A Prayer for Restoration 1 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners. 3 We have become orphans and waifs, Our mothers are like widows. 4 We pay for the water we drink, And our wood comes at a price. 5 They pursue at our heels; We labor and have no rest. 6 We have given our hand to the Egyptians And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities. 8 Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin is hot as an oven, Because of the fever of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not respected. 13 Young men ground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood. 14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, And the young men from their music. 15 The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which is desolate, With foxes walking about on it. 19 You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? 21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us!
Lamentations 5:1-22 v. 2 our inheritance – The land given to the tribe of Judah was a part of Israel's inheritance. v. 6 Egyptians And the Assyrians – Israel was fully dependant upon their allies, the Egypt and Assyria, prior to and during the Babylonians' siege of Jerusalem. Neither of these allies defended Israel from Nebuchadnezzar. v. 9 the sword in the wilderness – This is probably a reference to marauding bandits. v. 12 Princes were hung up by their hands – This was a common tactic in the ancient Near East. Rebellion leaders and members of the royal house were often hung after execution for everyone to see. v. 13 young men ground at the millstones – Grinding at the millstones refers to the process of grinding grain into flour and was a job reserved for the lowest members of society. Prisoners in Mesopotamia were often forced to grind millstones as part of their punishment. boys staggered under loads of wood – Wood fueled many things in the city, including providing heat for homes and fires for kitchens. Slaves were often hired to carry wood into the city. v. 16 The crown has fallen from our head – A symbol of their lost dignity and honor.
Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old –Lamentations 5:21 Thank You, Jesus, that You are so forgiving and patient with us. Our heads and hearts are so easily turned, Lord, to things of the flesh and of the world. You know us, Lord, better than we know ourselves. We pray for the scabs to fall from our eyes so that we may see ourselves as we really are. For those of us who are in opposition to You, we pray for forgiveness and mercy and strength to make different choices. Draw us to You, God. Draw our hearts and our minds to You.
Children's Ministry The Children's Ministry BBQ fundraiser was a success and we are thankful to the Lord for bringing so many people with a heart to help a child go to camp. Prayer Points For the children who will receive the scholarships, that their experience at camp would fill them full of the love and grace of God.

If we live for God and not ourselves we can change the world we live in.~David McGee

Wednesday, July 15th 2009

Romans 6:9

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
NKJV

Life Lesson

If we live for God and not ourselves we can change the world we live in.

Jesus lived His life for God and the world will never be the same. He died, I died; He lives, I live. He went to heaven, I am going to heaven. He beat death, I will beat death. Jesus died once, for all. He changed all the rules. He broke death's back. He paid the penalty for sin and He crushed sins power over all who call on His name. Through Jesus, the warrant of death becomes a covenant of eternal life and pointless existence becomes a purposeful mission. Friend, you have been drafted into God's army.

Matt 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." NKJV

Let's join together to reap a harvest. You may have accepted Jesus, but have you joined with Him in God's mission? Does it matter to you that there are people in our world that have not heard the Word of God? Do you care that there are multitudes that have never heard the gospel message? If we live for God and not ourselves we can change the world we live in. A life sacrificed for God... your life or someone else's? People don't know because they have not been told and people die everyday without God. They may live down the street or on the other side of the globe, but one thing is sure, they need us to care enough to tell them about Jesus... and I do... and I will. Will you? Onwards, for our King!

Dear Father,
Thank You for loving this world. Thank You for Jesus. Please give me opportunities to share the gospel with others and please forgive me for times when I may have selfishly remained silent. Please use me to change the world. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee
Senior Pastor
Calvary Chapel of the Triad
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