Timeless and Timely

In reflecting on the life of King David, the Apostle Paul referred to him as a man who "served the purpose of God in his own generation" (Acts 13:36). Since we know that David was a man after God's own heart, it makes sense that we as God's men should follow his example. To effectively serve Him, we need to embrace the notion of timeless and timely.

God purpose is eternal and timeless. His purpose remains unchanged since the beginning of time. His desire is for us to know Him, to have intimate fellowship with Him and to tell others of his love for them. In his own generation means we are to be contemporary and timely. We need to reach others and relate to people as they live right now. Abandon your comfort zone. When you read of Christ's earthly ministry in the Gospels, he didn't just hang out in the temple and wait for people to find him. He went out and met human need with divine resources.

Eternal and timeless means the truth of God's Word is still the truth---yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. We should never compromise the truth in the hopes of reaching the lost but rather share and show how God's love has changed us from the inside out. Contemporary and timely means right here, right now. Thankfully, we don't have to carve out the message on stone tablets! We can embrace available technology and share biblical truth with our Facebook friends and send messages of hope and encouragement. When God promised that his Word would never return empty (Isaiah 55:11), he didn't put any conditions on how it needed to be delivered.

To be great at the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) demands that we be timeless and timely. To view where He has placed us as our personal mission field. To be men after God's heart. Like David. In our generation.

The Lords of Hosts

Although there is only one true God who exists in three person---Father, Son and Spirit, Scripture records many different names for Him. Each name reveals a truth or character about Him that is worthy of our worship and praise. One of my favorites, especially when things in life don't seem to make sense and everything seems to be spinning out of control, is Yahweh Tseboath; which means the Lord of Hosts.

Let the Word of God explain what this name means: "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (Psalm 46:10-11). The Lord of Hosts means He is supreme over all other beings and events in the physical and spiritual universe. This entire Psalm speaks to God's power and control over all things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in the future. God is always involved, always on the scene, always in control, never late, never out of the loop, never caught off guard and always accomplishing His purpose and plans. Isaiah 14:26-27 assures us that if the Lord of Hosts has planned it, nothing can stop it.

Notice what David said as he faced what appeared to be an impossible situation in fighting Goliath: "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down...(1 Samuel 17:45-46).

It is with that same confidence in the Lord of Hosts that the psalmist can say: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way.. (v.1-2). As God's men, we must have the same confidence in knowing that the battle always belongs to the Lord.

A Familiar Game Plan

I'm a sports guy, so I use a lot of sports analogies. When a football coach scouts his opponent, he watches what type of plays they run and tries to determine what their game plan might look like. The successful coach is often the one who notices familiar patterns in play-calling and prepares accordingly.

In the spiritual battles we face, our enemy may be formidable and relentless, but his game plan is all too familiar. Time to do a little scouting. In Matthew 4, notice how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. First, to satisfy his hunger, he tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread (v.2-3). Next, he tempted him to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple to allow the angels to rescue him (v, 5-6). And finally, Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would bow down and worship him (v.8-9). The enemy challenged Jesus to misuse his divine authority by saying "If you are the Son of God" (v. 3, 6).

After all of these years, Satan still calls the same plays. He tempts us to rely on ourselves rather than God. He tempts us to take ungodly actions and then expect God to bless them. He tempts us to take our eyes of the Lord and worship him and the things of the world. He tempts us with promises that he can't deliver so that we will buy into his lies and ignore God's truth. He tempts us to accept cheap imitations rather than the blessings that God wants to give us, which are always His best.

Our Savior's response (v. 4, 7, 10) should be our response--complete and total reliance on the Word of God. Then, our enemy's familiar game plan will once again bring about a familiar result--his defeat.

You Alone

There are times when the words of a song resonate so loudly in your heart that you literally stop in your tracks. A recent song--Matt Redman's "You Alone Can Rescue"--had that kind of impact on me. I mentioned this song to Adam Cooke, one of our worship leaders, and it is now a favorite worship song at OBC. Hear the words of the chorus:

You alone can rescue. You alone can save. You alone can lift us from the grave. You came down to find us, led us out of death. To you alone belongs the highest praise.

What a powerful proclamation of Jesus Christ! Our Savior, God's only son, is the only one who can rescue and save us from our sinful state. Christ alone defeated death on the cross and rose from the dead and He alone can raise us from death to eternal life. Christ alone came down from Heaven and lived among men; giving him the name Immanuel, which means God with us. Christ alone was both fully God and fully man; so he was tempted just as we are and understood human weakness, yet he lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15). Christ alone, because of his sinless perfection, could pay for the sins of the world to satisfy the wrath of God. Christ alone, when lifted high, has the power to draw people unto him (John 12:32). And only Christ, because of what he did on Calvary, deserves the highest praise.

Yes, Lord Jesus. You alone.

True Freedom

As believers in the person of Jesus Christ, we probably don't fully appreciate that we have the benefit of true freedom. We probably don't even understand completely what true freedom is. And because of this, we probably don't have as much of an impact in our spiritual life as we could have. So what exactly is true freedom?

True freedom is the security of knowing that our sins--past, present and future--have been paid for by the shed blood of Christ. True freedom is knowing that without that payment, our penalty would be death (Romans 6:23) but with it, we have eternal life with Him. True freedom is knowing that our salvation is based on God's grace alone, through faith alone, in trusting Christ alone. True freedom is knowing that we did nothing to earn our salvation and we can do nothing to lose our salvation. True freedom is knowing that we can't add to or subtract from our salvation. True freedom is knowing that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5) and through Him we can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

True freedom is knowing that serving Him can be completely based on a heart of gratitude for what God has done and not out of a sense of guilt or obligation. True freedom is knowing that we can offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) without having to worry about how we measure up to others. True freedom is knowing that God's Word is always true, always available and always applicable to whatever we face in life. True freedom is knowing that God is all powerful, all knowing, always present and promises to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). True freedom is knowing that God's grace is always sufficient and his strength is perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God gave us true freedom through his Son so that we could live and live life abundantly. True freedom is ours to honor and glorify Him. It is our blessing to enjoy.

In Case You Missed It

As we read and study Scripture, we should pay special attention to the times that the Lord repeats himself. It is almost as if He's saying to us: "In case you missed it, here is something I've already told you that you need to remember."

In Joshua 1, the Lord commands Joshua to be strong and courageous not once, not twice, but three separate times (v. 6, 7 and 9). God had just reminded him the promise he had made to Moses when he freed his people from Egypt to give them their home and that He would never leave or forsake them (v. 3-5). Along the way, He commands Joshua not to depart or deviate in any way from the Book of the Law and he will be successful (v. 7-8). Why did God need to remind Joshua three times to be strong and courageous?

Imagine for a moment if God had just given Joshua the command to take Jericho as recorded in Joshua 6 without preparing him first. The conversation could have gone like this: "Okay Josh, here's what's gonna happen. Your gonna march around this heavily armed and fortified city for six days. Then on day 7, take seven more laps around it , blow the trumpets and the walls of Jericho are going drop like a bad habit." We can imagine the multitude of ways Joshua might have reacted--probably none of them positive--and certainly fear would have been present.

In our fast-paced lives where we are trying to do more and more as fast as possible, we must remember that the Lord is often working behind the scenes which makes His timing more important than ours. God's calling in our life is rarely crystal-clear and the methods that He chooses to accomplish it are often beyond our understanding. But if our Heavenly Father chooses to repeat himself, we better choose to pay attention.

Ready, Willing & Able

Award winning author Lee Strobel, in his current book The Unexpected Adventure, shares with us the excitement of his experiences in sharing the Gospel. "You don't need to have all the answers to every theological question. All you have to do is authentically follow Christ in your own life and ask him to ambush you with opportunities. Simply put, our role is this: to be ready and willing---because God is always able."

Being ready means spending time in God's Word and allowing it to speak to our hearts and applying it to our lives. We don't need to have the entire Bible memorized in order to share with others how it has impacted our lives. Being willing means taking advantage of God-given opportunities to share the truth with those around us. It involves a desire to embrace the personal mission field He has given you to as his ambassador. God has proven his faithfulness throughout Scripture and it should be great comfort to us in knowing that He uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things for his honor and glory. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Samuel are just a few examples of those who were willing to follow God's command and were commended for their faithfulness (Hebrews 11).

The surest part of this equation rests in our Heavenly Father. As the Creator of heaven and earth who spoke everything into existence, He alone is able to accomplish his purposes and plans. His choosing to involve us in his work should be a continual source of praise and worship. There is no greater honor.

Our Internal Friend

One of the major milestones in my personal walk with the Lord was when I started to focus of the third person of the Trinity; the One who is probably least understood but nonetheless vitally important in our lives.

At the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. But the truth is the Holy Spirit began His work long before that. John 6:44 tells us that The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of our sin and the need for a Savior. He is the One who leads us to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our rescue from death and eternal separation from God wouldn't be possible without his work. And it doesn't stop there. When Jesus told his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit---He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8)--he made it clear that the spirit's work would be ongoing. He is our guide into all truth (John 16:13).

It's easy for many to mistake this as our conscience; as even non-believers have a conscience which can sometimes guide them to make good choices. But the Holy Spirit is much different. Because God exists in three persons and the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, we literally have God residing inside of us. As God's men, when we feel the inclination to sin, that internal feeling that we shouldn't isn't our conscience. Rather it is the Holy Spirit once again convicting us; not to condemn us, but to help us and guide us in the right direction. He is truly our internal friend.

Impress or Influence

Often we hear certain quotations that have a lasting impact on our lives; things that change how we think and how we evaluate the things we do.

In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren gives plenty of solid, Scriptural advice on how to live a life of purpose to impact God's Kingdom--for His honor and glory. Recognizing that living a life that has Kingdom-purpose requires several fork-in-the-road decisions, Warren offers up this pearl that greatly impacted my life: "At some point in your life, you must decide whether you want to impress people or influence people."

If we choose to be really honest with ourselves, we will find that much of what we do and many of the decisions we make are based on the impression we want to give others. Far too often, we want people to think we are smarter, richer and more successful than we really are. If we are going to be great at the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31), we must realize that it is far more important to influence people for God's Kingdom than to try and impress them with our own trumped up image of ourselves.

God's Word gives us plenty of motivation to move in the right direction. Proverbs 13:7 tells us that those who live a showy life actually have nothing of real, eternal value. One day, we will all stand before God to give an account for our life (Romans 14:10-12) and He will certainly be far less impressed with our possessions and our bank accounts. As God's men, we were made for eternity, so it stands to reason that our Heavenly Father is more interested in things that have eternal value. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).