That I May Know Him (4-4-13)

Exodus 15:1-4 - "Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.”"

This passage in Exodus 15 records the events that happened right after the Lord led His people out of Egypt by parting the Red Sea and leading them through on dry ground. Almost the entire chapter consists of a song of praise from Moses and the Israelites to God for His deliverance. This is the first song recorded in Scripture, and it's a song that sprung up as a result of what the Lord had done. The children of Israel were trapped with no way of escape and yet the Lord delivered them. He did the impossible, divided the sea and caused them to pass though on dry land. And not only that, but He also brought the waters back upon their pursuers and the Egyptian army was drowned. They watched all of this and in response to all that the Lord had done Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord. It's important that we know what the Lord has done. And I find that many times in my own life a song of praise will well up in my heart and through my lips in response to what the Lord has done. When we see the way that the Lord is working in our lives, bringing us through a seemingly impossible situation, we often overflow in songs of praise to our God. But I want to compare Exodus chapter 15 to Exodus chapter 33. Because while it's important that we know what the Lord has done, it's not enough. The experience in Exodus 15 only lasted for a season. In chapter 15 they were singing and rejoicing, in chapter 16 they were murmuring. The history of what God has done in the past is not sufficient for us in the future. We must know, not just what He has done, but we must know who He is. In Exodus 15 Moses is dealing with the question of what God has done. In Exodus 33 he is dealing with another question, the question of who God is. And so we come to Exodus 33. In Exodus 33:13 Moses is praying to God and he says - "Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight. Consider too, that this nation is Thy people." In chapter 15 he is singing, praising the Lord for what He has done. In chapter 33 he is seeking, seeking to know Him. There is not an answer to the question "who is God?" To know Him is a discovery. I remember hearing a man speak on knowing God one time and He compared it to the astronauts and astronomers looking out into space and launching out to find out what's out there. So they went out and discovered that some of those lights that we see in the sky are planets. And then we launched out further and discovered that some of those lights are stars, and some are whole galaxy's containing planets we didn't even know were there. And the further out into space we go the bigger we realize it is, and the further we go the more we discover. Our relationship with God is similar to that. The more we get to know Him the bigger we realize He is, and the more we know the more we realize we don't know. This discovery is going to take all eternity because He is infinite. Moses is crying out for something more than just a knowledge of what God has done, he is crying out to know God.

David says something similar. In Psalm 143:5-6 he says - "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Thy doings; I muse on the work of Thy hands. I stretch out my hands to Thee; My soul longs for Thee, as a parched land." He said that he remembered what the Lord had done in the past, and in fact he wrote many psalms praising God for what He had done, but he cries out for something more. "I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for You." He is longing for more than just a head knowledge of what God has done, he wants to know God. This is deeper than a simple knowledge of what God has done. This is a relationship.
This desire that we see in the lives of Moses and David is also seen in the life of the apostle Paul. In Philippians 3:10 he cries out - "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Think about these three men. Moses, the man who spoke with God as a man speaks with his friend, face to face. The man whom God chose to lead His people through the wilderness and through whom God gave the Law. David, the giant slayer, the king and the sweet psalmist of Israel. a man after Gods own heart. The apostle Paul, writer of many of the books in the New Testament, an instrumental leader in the early church whom God used in a mighty way and who suffered many things, including death, for His names sake. These are the ones who are crying out "That I may know Him!" If these men have this desire and this passion to know God how much more should we. We will never come to a place where we can stop seeking to know Him. Because there's always more. The apostle Paul had the desire that other believers would share his desire to know God. His prayer for the Ephesian believers in Ephesians 1:17 was - "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him." He prayed for the Colossians in Colossians 1:10 - "so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." And he makes his prayer again in Ephesians 3:18-19 praying that we - "may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." The only way we can know that which surpasses knowledge is if God reveals Himself to us. And the amazing thing is that He wants to. He is stretching out His hands toward us desiring to make Himself known. He wants a deep intimate relationship with us more than we want one with Him.

It is not sufficient to know what He has done. For what He has done we sing praises and the songs well up in our hearts, but it's the knowledge of Him that we truly need. Moses moves past Exodus 15 and comes to Exodus 33. And we hear Paul echoing "That I may know Him." May this be the cry of our hearts as well.

Philippians 3:10 - "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

Mindset (4-2-13)

Colossians 3:1-4 - "If, therefore, you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

In light of the fact that Christ could come for us at any moment we're instructed to fix our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. This is not our natural tendency. It's easy to get caught up in the things of this world and to put our focus on temporal things, but the Word of God is clear that the spiritual things, the things we can't see, are more real than the things we can. Because the things that aren't visible are eternal whereas the things which are seen are only temporal. This is a strange thought, but in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul says - "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Since this is the case our minds should be fixed on the unseen, the eternal things, the things above, not on things on the earth. In the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:31-33 the Lord Jesus said - "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." God doesn't want us to be concerned about the things of this life. He knows our needs and He is faithful to supply those needs. And He doesn't say "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and then seek these things." He says "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Like I said, this is contrary to our natural mindset. But in the same passage that we are told to "set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth." we are also told, "for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Once we give our lives to Christ our old self is put to death and we are made a new creation in Christ. Only He can put this eternal mindset in us and only to the extent that we surrender our minds to Him. We can continue to put earthly things in the forefront of our minds and pursue vain things if that's what we want to do. But at the judgment seat of Christ, spoken about in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, our lives, our actions as well as our motives, will be tested as by fire and only the eternal things will withstand the fire. 

Paul talks about our mindset again in Romans 8:5-8 where he says - "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." We see this same distinction between the fleshly and the spiritual in Philippians 3:18-21 - "For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." One of the characteristics of the enemies of the cross of Christ is that they set their minds on earthly things. But it goes on to say that we, on the other hand, are not of this world. We are citizens of heaven. And as citizens of heaven we are eagerly waiting for Christ to come in the clouds, call us up to Himself and transform us. When we see Him we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Therefore, our minds should be set on things above.

Colossians 3:1-4 - "If, therefore, you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Judging (3-27-13)

1 Corinthians 4:5 - "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God."

There are several passages of Scripture that tells us how we are to live since Christ could come back at any moment. We've already seen from 1 John chapter 3 that those who look for Christ purify themselves just as He is pure, and this culminates when we see Him, because when we see Him we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. We also saw from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that as often as we partake of the Lord supper we "proclaim the Lords death until He comes." And from James chapter 5 that our lives should be characterized by patience because the coming of the Lord is at hand. In 1 Corinthians 15 we saw that in light of the fact that the coming of Christ is imminent we need to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our toil is not in vain in the Lord. And in Hebrews chapter 10 we saw that we need to be considering how to stimulate one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together but encouraging one another and all the more as we see the day approaching. But there are a few more passages of Scripture that I want to look at in reference to the Lords coming in the clouds that give us very specific application.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 4 the apostle Paul refers to us as the "servants of Christ." And since this is the case, we don't need to be condemning other Christians because of what they are or are not doing. Christ is their Master just as He is our Master. For some reason we feel that it's our responsibility to determine the motives behind everything another Christian does. But that's not our responsibility. I can't see another persons thoughts or motives so I have no right to judge them. Christ sees every thought and every motive of every heart and we would do well to leave the judgment up to Him. We read in Romans 14:10-13 - "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way." We will each give account of ourselves to God. This doesn't say "for we will all stand before the judgment seat of Jesse." It says that "we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." He is the Judge, not us. We are all fellow servants under one Master and He is the one to whom we are going to have to give account. We shouldn't be holding one another to our standards. Christs standard is the only perfect standard and His judgment is the only judgment that matters. When the Lord comes he will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. Therefore, in light of His return we should keep from judging one another in comparison to ourselves. Whenever we judge another we are putting ourselves in the place of God. Only He knows the heart, only He knows the motives. 
Of course this doesn't mean that as Christians we walk around with our eyes closed oblivious to what everyone else is doing because, well, it's not my place to judge. The Lord Jesus said in John chapter 7 - "Do not judge according to immediate appearance but judge with righteous judgment." The Corinthian church neglected to judge sin in the church and ended up with a church that was infiltrated by sin. The apostle actually says to them in chapter 5 that they need to judge those who are inside the church. This is not a contradiction. We need to hold one another accountable in the body of Christ. We need to point out the sin in a brothers life if they are continuing in it. What we cannot do is judge the motives of other people or compare to ourselves. It's too easy to sit in judgment and speculate about why someone did something, but we don't know so we shouldn't be judging their motives. It's too easy to look at other believers and make up a hierarchy of spirituality in our own minds, comparing one another with one another, but that is wrong. The only standard is Christ Himself. We need to stop comparing ourselves with ourselves and stop judging one anothers motives. The Lord is the only one who is qualified to do these things and He will do it at the proper time.

1 Corinthians 4:5 - "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God."

Hebrews 10:23-25 (3-21-13)

Hebrews 10:23-25 - "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

This passage tells us how we should be living in relation to other believers as the day of Christ draws near. There are three basic instructions that we're given in these verses. First, we are told to "consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds." How often do we really do this? We're not just told to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, but we're told to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. This involves thinking. We are being instructed to think about other people and how we might move them to action. How often do we ask ourselves, 'I wonder how I could help this person grow in his love for the Lord and His people?' Or "I wonder what I could do to encourage this sister to engage in good works?' Honestly, this is something that I rarely do. It doesn't come easy. It is important for us to focus on our own personal walk with the Lord and how we are doing, but at the same time the Christian life isn't a solo event. We need one another. We need to think about each other and how we can help each other grow in love and good deeds. In Ephesians chapter four the church is called "the body of Christ." What we're being instructed to do in Hebrews chapter 10 is to act like it. The members of a body are intimately connected and concerned with the well being of the other members. As the body of Christ we need to be looking out for one another and consider how we might provoke each other to love and good deeds.

The second thing we are told to do in this passage is to not forsake our own assembling together. We need to meet together with other Christians. How are we going to stimulate one another to love and good works if we never meet together? In Acts 2:42 we are told of four things that the early church did when they met together. Acts 2:42 - "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ doctrine and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." First, the apostles doctrine, that's the ministry of the Word. We need to meet together in order that we might sit under the teaching of the Word of God. Second, fellowship. This is simply meeting together with others who, though from different walks of life, all have one common thing that ties us together, and that is our relationship with Christ. And we can meet and encourage one another and get involved in each others lives. Third, the breaking of bread, communion. I dealt with this in large part from 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we saw that as often as we do this we proclaim the Lords death until He comes. This is something that the early church met together to do and this is something that we need to be meeting together to do, to remember Christ. And finally, prayer. They met together to recognize their dependance upon God for all their needs, physical and spiritual, and to thank Him for who He is and for what He has done.
The early church continually devoted themselves to these four things. We are told in Hebrews 12 not to forsake our own assembling together, and all the more as we see the day approaching. As Christs coming draws near we should continually devote ourselves to meeting together with our brothers and sisters under the headship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, this passage tells us that we need to "encouraging one another." Living in this world can be very discouraging. The worlds systems and governments are opposed to Christ and all who belong to Him. After going through our day to day lives we need to be encouraged. It's easier to run with endurance when you've got others running right beside you. But this doesn't mean that when I come together with other believers I am just a recipient of encouragement, I am encouraged, but I need to encourage others in turn. Encourage one another. That's reciprocal, back and forth encouragement. After giving these three pieces of instruction the writer finishes by saying "and all the more as you see the day drawing near." We need to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, and all the more as Christs coming draws near. We need to faithfully meet together to sit under the teaching of Gods Word, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer, and all the more as the day of Christ draws near. And we need to encourage one another, and all the more as we see the day approaching. Christ is coming, maybe today. This should impact the way that we live in relation to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Hebrews 10:23-25 - "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

1 Corinthians 15:58 (3-11-13)

1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 15 is the classic chapter on the resurrection. It begins by speaking about the resurrection of Christ and how His resurrection was according to the Scriptures. It then goes on to tell about many of the eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, and then Paul goes on to present a case for the absolute necessity of the resurrection. He states that if Christ did not rise from the dead then our faith is worthless. But after talking about all that, the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to go on and talk about a future resurrection, a resurrection of all believers. The Bible teaches that when a Christian dies their body goes into the ground but their spirit goes to be with the Lord. But there is a resurrection coming in which the bodies of those who have died will be taken up into heaven and changed into a new body, one that is imperishable and undefiled. When this resurrection happens all the believers that are still living will be caught up along with those who have died. This is what 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is speaking about - "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." This is the event known as the rapture of the church and Paul clearly talks about this event in 1 Corinthians 15. And we can gain a great deal of knowledge by reading through this entire chapter and seeing how the Lord connects His bodily resurrection to the resurrection that is in store for all believers. But my purpose right now isn't to look into all the different aspects of the resurrection, although that is a very profitable study, my purpose is to look in this text and see how the Lord says we are to be living in the light of His soon return.
At the end of the chapter we're given one verse of application. In light of the fact that we are going to be called up at the last trumpet and changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, verse 58 says - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

Be steadfast, immovable. This almost sounds redundant. He says that we're to be "steadfast." This word carries with it the idea of being fixated, but in case we missed it he seems to emphasize that point by say that we are to be, not only steadfast, but also immovable. This is a much stronger word. To be immovable means just that. So what is this talking about here? Does this mean that we are to stand in one spot and never move again as we wait on the Lord to appear? Certainly not. Is this speaking of a moral or doctrinal steadfastness, holding firm to the truths of Gods Word without compromise? It could be. Peter says something along these lines in 2 Peter 3:17-18 - "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." So this is definitely a something that is taught in Scripture. We need to watch out for deceitful philosophies and false teachers creeping into the church and be sure that we are standing firm upon Gods Word as the ultimate authority in all things. But that doesn't appear to be what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 15:58. He doesn't mention doctrine or false teachers but actually he is talking about being involved in the Lords work. Again the verse says - "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." In Light of Christs soon return we need to be busy about our Lords business. We need to be so committed to the work of the Lord that no one or nothing will be able to distract or dissuade us from it. We need to be steadfast, immovable in the Lords work. When Christ returns He should find us busy about His business. Christ is doing a work all around the world today. Wherever His people are He is doing a work in that place. Christ did not place you where you are right now for no reason. God has a specific work for you to do right now right where He placed you and we need to be busy about our Fathers business. Are you doing the work that the Lord has given you to do? Here's a better question, are you steadfast and immovable in the work that the Lord has called you to do?
But the verse doesn't stop there. In light of Christs imminent return we need to be steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord, but it also says that we are to be "always abounding in the work of the Lord." Always means always, it's pretty hard to get around that. And abounding doesn't sound halfhearted or like we're barely getting by. But is these even feasible? Is it possible for us to "always abound" in the work of the Lord? In his book, the pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer talks about a habit that Christians have of unconsciously dividing their lives into two categories, the sacred and the secular. The sacred would consist of things like going to church, praying, reading the Bible, witnessing and others things like this. The secular would be things like eating, sleeping, going to work or school, things that both saved and lost people do because they're just a part of living in this world. And so when we're told to "Always abound in the work of the Lord" we can respond by saying something like, "I can't be involved in the Lords work right now, I have to go to work, don't I?" Or, "I have to sleep sometime, I can't always be busy about Gods work." But this mentality comes as a result of dividing our lives into these two different categories. The Lord hasn't called us to a divided life. Did you know that the things we might call "secular" we can actually do for the glory of God? Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." The Bible says that we can even do such trivial things as eating and drinking for the glory of God. And this can apply to any area of our lives. When you go to work or to school, you can do your work to the best of your ability, having a good attitude, and God will be glorified in that. So what am I getting at? I am simply saying that it is possible to "always abound in the work of the Lord." Everything that the Lord has commanded us to do He has enabled us to do. He would not tell us to "Always abound" in His work if it were not possible. Gods commands are His enablings. At the same time, this doesn't mean that everything we do is automatically fulfilling His work. We need to be careful with our time and our choices. We need to consider how God can best do His work through our lives, and if there is some trivial event or practice in our lives that is hindering His work or dimming the light that He wants to shine through us then we need to forsake that, whatever it is. This is extreme, but this is the life that God wants us to live. A life wholly devoted to His work. And in light of His soon return this is how He wants us to live. "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."
But that still isn't the whole verse. After telling us to "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," He says "knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." The work that we do "in the Lord" will last forever. There are a lot of things that we do in the flesh, sometimes we even think that we're doing them for the Lord, but our heart isn't right, our motivation isn't right, and these works will be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ when our lives will be tested by fire to divide the worthless from those things that bring God glory. In our flesh we cannot please God, with our own efforts we cannot bring Him glory. The only way He will be glorified in our lives is if we allow Him to live His life through us. We need to surrender ourselves, body, mind and spirit to Him. Our toil is not in vain "in the Lord."
Christ is coming soon, maybe today. Our lives can either be filled with earthly pursuits, or we can be consumed with Him. As the Lords return draws near may we be found faithful in the work that the Lord has called us to. May we not become distracted by the trivial worthless things of this world that are passing away. May we constantly abound in His work without wavering.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,  

Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."