Being a Disciple of Jesus

There are aspects of being a disciple of Jesus that need to be re-emphasized these days. 

To follow Jesus will include suffering. Here consider Ezekiel who was a faithful prophet. As a means to communicate to Israel, God kills Ezekiel's wife, something that Ezekiel is not to mourn as a message to the people of Israel (Ezekiel 24.15ff.). 

It will also include willing submission to what one is called to. Here consider Job who said, 'The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.' (Job 1.21) 

But then, hope is also included. And this hope does not merely look to this life but also to the age to come. That is when Jesus will fully reward His faithful disciples. (Psalm 19.11)

Stray Thoughts: Jesus' Call to Hate

During my daily Bible reading recently I bumped into something that made me pause and question. Here’s what I read.

If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26

One of the words stood out to me. It was the word ‘hate’. Really? Jesus wants me to hate? And to hate people who are the closest to me? This can’t be right. If I did this wouldn’t I be disobeying some commands from God, like honoring father and mother? But there it is in the Bible.

I think that you can see why I had to stop and think about this.

Following Jesus

A key question for every Christian is simply this: How can I do a good job following Jesus? Boil everything down, and that is one of the fundamentals of Christian living. So, today we are going to take a look at an answer to that question. And to do that we’re going to take a look at Abram. What God did with him will provide some insight so that you can answer our question well.

Listen as I read the first recorded interaction between Yahweh and Abram.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1–2a

The first thing that we need to do is to be clear about what it is that God is saying to Abram. Once that’s in place we’ll be able to see how this helps to answer our question of doing well at following Jesus.

Take Up Your Cross

A few weeks back I mentioned, in passing, the Scripture that we’re going to look at today. It is, I’m sure, a saying of Jesus that you are familiar with. But, as with the rest of Scripture, there are depths here that we will spend an eternity examining. We’re going to spend a little time working on that this morning. Listen as I read it with a little context.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, [Jesus] said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:34-35

Jesus is clear. If you want to be one of His disciples, then you’ll need to take up your cross. There are no exceptions. Take up your cross.

Now What?

Well, we just heard four of our younger members make professions of faith. Okay, that was good. But, now what? Having done that, what happens next for them? I've encountered different answers to that question. Here's one. We tell them, 'You're in. You've told us that you believe in Jesus. Good! Next stop: heaven. In the meantime, try to be good, and we have some interesting programs at church that you might want to consider.' That's a fairly popular one. Here's another answer. It's what the leaders of my church said to me. They said … nothing. I was twelve or so. A letter from the church we had been attending came in the mail to my home saying that it was time for me to be baptized. So, after a few Saturday mornings of instruction about the church's distinctives and some other things, I was interviewed by the board and then baptized. And after that, as far as I knew, nothing was different in the church's expectations of me. I had jumped through the necessary hoops and that was good enough.

I think that we can agree that neither of those options are a good choice. There must be something different, something better to tell these four. And there is. It's something Jesus said.

Disciple

So, what's a Christian? One way of defining a Christian is to call him a believer. He is someone who believes that Jesus is the Savior. And, obviously, that's an accurate description - or, at least, it could be. But the way folk think today, 'believing' is something that you can do sitting down. It's merely mental. I believe that 2+2 = 4. I believe that there are 5,280 feet in a mile. I believe that Jesus is the Savior.

These days I'm thinking 'disciple' is a better way of defining what a Christian is. You can't do that sitting down. It requires some action. To be sure, there is a mental aspect to it. There are things that you need to think about, things like the Gospel. Isn't that what much of those New Testament letters were about? 'Here are some things about the Gospel that, maybe, you hadn't thought about.' And once the thinking happens, then the doing follows. Being a disciple of Jesus is something that you do. And so, it's something people can see in action. And people need to see disciples in action.  They're too used to watching 'believers' who just 'believe' and then act like everyone else. They need to see disciples. Then, just maybe, they'd be interested in hearing how they might also become disciples of Jesus.

Some tools for self-examination

Found this in my morning reading. It’s based on something from Proverbs.

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

If you would know [be able to recognize] a sluggard [a lazy person] in the things of heaven, compare him with one that is slothful [lazy] in the things of this world.

As,

1. He that is slothful is loth [unwilling] to set about the work he should follow: so is he that is slothful for heaven.

2. He that is slothful is one that is willing to make delays: so is he that is slothful for heaven.

3. He that is a sluggard, any small matter that cometh in between, he will make it a sufficient excuse to keep him off from plying his work: so it is also with him that is slothful for heaven.

4. He that is slothful doth his work by the halves; and so it is with him that is slothful for heaven. He may almost, but he shall never altogether obtain perfection of deliverance from hell; he may almost, but he shall never, without he mend, be altogether a saint.

5. They that are slothful, do usually lose the season in which things are to be done: and thus it is also with them that are slothful for heaven, they miss the season of grace.

And therefore,

6. They that are slothful have seldom or never good fruit: so also it will be with the soul‑sluggard.

7. They that are slothful they are chid [rebuked] for the same: so also will Christ deal with those that are not active for him.

 John Bunyan

So how are you doing when it comes to working at the things of heaven?

Dangerous

Our text is one verse, and it serves as something of a climax to Jesus' argument about the Sabbath. It actually does more than that, though. It is intended as a gentle warning to the Jewish leaders, a warning that, sadly, was not heeded. I think that it remains a gentle warning that still needs to be heeded. Here are Jesus' words. 'Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.' What I'm going to do is, first, take a look at what these words had to say to those men who were arguing with Jesus and then, consider what they have to say to us today.

Dynamic and Not Static

Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 

Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

 Jesus 

Being a faithful Christian is about being a growing Christian. There is no coasting into heaven. We strive to enter. This isn't about stressing about the future. But it is about working at following Jesus. Doing that is hard. It takes effort. Unrepentant failure here will be fatal. Jesus warned us that there will be many who will expect to enter on the last day but won't. Those who do work at this will be blessed with 'more'. (Grace!) The result is that they will be able to do even better when it comes to working at following Jesus. 

However, as Jesus warns, when it comes to those who fail to work at it, 'even what he has will be taken away'. Instead of growth and development as a disciple, the ability to follow Jesus will dribble away. This is not just some natural consequence. It will be 'taken away' by the Spirit. This is the matching curse to that blessing of grace. 

The disciple's situation is not static: 'Once you're in, you're in.' Following Jesus is a dynamic relationship. That is, there is movement in the relationship. Things don't stand still. Every disciple of Jesus is either growing or fading. I fear that this is an aspect of being a disciple that is being missed by too many.

Make Disciples

We're going to take a break today from our series in John's Gospel. With Jon and Lisa joining our church it seemed a good idea to look at some of what it means to be a church and to be members of a church. So, please listen as I read our text, Matthew 28.16-20.

Bearing the Cross

Our text is from Luke 14. We’ve been here before, and that rather recently. It’s here that Jesus explains what is required if someone is going to be one of His disciples. We’re here again because there was something Jesus included that I didn’t deal with last time. Today, we’re going to take a look at that.

Please listen as I read Luke 14.25-33.

Requirements

When Jesus walked the earth He was looking for more than just converts. He was looking for disciples, people who would follow Him. So, from one perspective, the Gospels are accounts of Him calling people to follow Him. And in those Gospels we see Jesus gaining – and losing – disciples. One thing that I have appreciated about how Jesus did this is that there was no fine print to be discovered later. Jesus was up front about what He was calling people to. Being one of His disciples would be demanding. He would be demanding. And there are lots of places where Jesus makes that very clear. Our text is one of them.

So, please listen as I read Luke 14.25-33.

Imitate Me

This is a story that D. A. Carson tells. I’ve heard him include it in a sermon of his, and it’s now part of his new book, From the Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days. I found it at Justin Taylor’s blog in a post called ‘Imitate Me’.

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As a chemistry undergraduate at McGill University, with another chap I started a Bible study for unbelievers. That fellow was godly but very quiet and a bit withdrawn.

I had the mouth, I fear, so by default it fell on me to lead the study. The two of us did not want to be outnumbered, so initially we invited only three people, hoping that not more than two would come. Unfortunately, the first night all three showed up, so we were outnumbered from the beginning.

By week five we had sixteen people attending, and still only the initial two of us were Christians. I soon found myself out of my depth in trying to work through John’s Gospel with this nest of students. On many occasions the participants asked questions I had no idea how to answer.

But in the grace of God there was a graduate student on campus called Dave Ward. He had been converted quite spectacularly as a young man. He was, I suppose, what you might call a rough jewel. He was slapdash, in your face, with no tact and little polish, but he was aggressively evangelistic, powerful in his apologetics, and winningly bold. He allowed people like me to bring people to him every once in a while so that he could answer their questions. Get them there and Dave would sort them out!

So it was that one night I brought two from my Bible study down to Dave. He bulldozed his way around the room, as he always did. He gave us instant coffee then, turning to the first student, asked, ‘Why have you come?’ The student replied, ‘Well, you know, I think that university is a great time for finding out about different points of view, including different religions. So I’ve been reading some material on Buddhism, I’ve got a Hindu friend I want to question, and I should also study some Islam. When this Bible study started I thought I’d get to know a little more about Christianity—that’s why I’ve come.’

Dave looked at him for a few moments and then said, ‘Sorry, but I don’t have time for you.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said the student.

‘Look,’ Dave replied, ‘I’ll loan you some books on world religions; I can show you how I understand Christianity to fit into all this, and why I think biblical Christianity is true—but you’re just playing around. You’re a dilettante. You don’t really care about these things; you’re just goofing off. I’m a graduate student myself, and I don’t have time—I do not have the hours at my disposal to engage in endless discussions with people who are just playing around.’

He turned to the second student: ‘Why did you come?’

‘I come from a home that you people call liberal,’ he said. ‘We go to the United Church and we don’t believe in things like the literal resurrection of Jesus—I mean, give me a break. The deity of Christ, that’s a bit much. But my home is a good home. My parents love my sister and me, we are a really close family, we worship God, we do good in the community. What do you think you’ve got that we don’t have?’

For what seemed like two or three minutes, Dave looked at him.

Then he said, ‘Watch me.’

As it happened, this student’s name was also Dave. This Dave said, ‘I beg your pardon?’

Dave Ward repeated what he had just said, and then expanded: ‘Watch me. I’ve got an extra bed; move in with me, be my guest—I’ll pay for the food. You go to your classes, do whatever you have to do, but watch me. You watch me when I get up, when I interact with people, what I say, what moves me, what I live for, what I want in life. You watch me for the rest of the semester, and then you tell me at the end of it whether or not there’s a difference.’

This Dave did not take up Dave Ward on the offer literally. But he did begin to watch him and to meet with him, and the Lord drew him. Today he is serving as a medical missionary.

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How many of us would feel comfortable offering ourselves as models of what it means to be a Christian? I think that there are two reasons why many shy away from this. The first is simply that we aren’t very good models. That is, there isn’t a lot of difference (that can be seen) between our lives and the lives of most nice religious folk. We say grace before meals and don’t curse, but who would be impressed with that? The difference is not obvious. Watching Dave Ward’s life convinced someone because the difference was obvious enough. But the other reason for this reluctance comes from forgetting that part of what some person would see is us repenting a lot. Our modeling what it means to be a disciple is not that we are perfect. A key part of the model that we are to present is that we are people who sin and who are fighting against that sin by repentance and faith and then who rejoice in the forgiveness of that sin. That is something that needs to be seen by the people of our day. But it is also something that too many Christians cannot model because they just don’t understand it.

Jesus' Call to Be the Church

Genesis 3.14-15

I have this theory. I've mentioned it before. It goes like this. Everything that God will reveal in the rest of the Bible is contained, in seed form, in the first three chapters of Genesis. While there might be some debate on some aspects of that, it is certainly true when it comes to the point of today's text. Genesis 3.15 has a fancy name in the theology books that boils down to this. God will send someone to defeat Satan. Our text is the first expression of the Gospel. The conflict referred to here, the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, is the key theme of the Bible. This war shows up throughout the pages of Scripture. It's Abel against Cain, Noah against the unbelievers of his day, Job against his so-called friends, David against Goliath, the prophets against faithless Israel. The seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent.

All of these skirmishes lead us, of course, to Jesus' conflict with Satan. Here's a good summary statement from Hebrews: 'Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.' Jesus has come to do battle with the devil that he might be destroyed and we might be rescued. We see Jesus battling Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness at the start of His ministry. We see the same battle referred to when Jesus says this about His ministry of casting out demons: 'When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.' Jesus has come to attack and defeat the strong man, Satan. He has come to crush his head under His feet. The climax of Jesus' work, of course, is the Cross. This is the decisive battle. And it has been won. Satan is a defeated foe. He has lost and he knows it. But he doesn't give up fighting. The war continues even though the outcome is not in any doubt. Satan is still doing his worst, but Jesus is Lord. He now rules over all.

It is so important to understand Jesus' goal in this. It's not just a matter of dealing with Satan himself. Jesus also intends to deal with the results of his evil work. Listen to John. 'The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.' Satan breaks things. He breaks relationships. That's what his goal was in the Garden of Eden. And it's worth noting that he succeeded. The relationship between Adam and Eve was broken. Their relationship with the Father was broken. He also breaks people. He shatters their lives. Here, just think about the man with the legion of demons. Physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually the man was broken. And Satan also breaks institutions and communities. A brief glance at a newspaper will prove that. Satan breaks things. This is part of his strategy. It's the goal of his temptations. That apple never was just about a bit of disobedience. It was about destroying the relationships. Satan breaks things. But thanks be to God Jesus has come. He has come to deal with Satan. He has come to do a complete job of it. And that means undoing his evil work. Jesus has come to mend what has been broken. Consider His ministry. Jesus went about doing good. That included healing bodies, casting out demons, restoring relationships, the relationships people had with each other and most importantly the relationship they had with the Father. Jesus' work as Redeemer includes fixing what Satan has broken.

In addition to writing his Gospel, Luke wrote the book of Acts. He begins that book by referring to his Gospel. That is an account, he tells us, of what Jesus began to do and to teach. The implication is that though Jesus is now with the Father, He nevertheless continues to do and to teach. Jesus continues His work of crushing Satan and undoing the fruit of his evil. So, Jesus continues to heal what is broken. Through the centuries He has been making progress and He will continue to make progress until the last day when He returns to complete His work and to consign Satan and his demons to hell forever. But until that day arrives, Jesus continues to heal what is broken. He does that first by calling people to follow Him. And some respond in faith. He takes these and mends their lives. In this way, He is undoing Satan's evil work. He is crushing Satan. The seed of the woman continues His work of crushing the serpent.

I went through all of that to prepare you for a verse. This verse sheds a great deal of light on how Jesus pursues His goal today. 'The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.' What an amazing thought. The goal of the Gospel of Jesus from Genesis 3 to the end of Revelation is to deal with Satan and his works. Genesis 3 pictures that as Jesus crushing Satan under His feet. But here the Apostle Paul says that it is under our feet that Satan will be crushed. Satan will be crushed by the Church. Jesus is not physically with us. But He continues His work. It's just that He uses the Church to accomplish His task, to achieve His goal. Jesus is undoing the works of Satan and He is doing that through His Church.

Clearly, there are some things that we are to do as individuals. Jesus said 'Seek first the kingdom of God', and we are to obey that individually. But He also said this. 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.' This is something that Jesus expects us to do as a group, as a Church. And we know that because of the grammar. Every 'you' or 'your' here is plural, but every time we see the word 'light' it is singular. That means that we, each and all of us, are to shine together as one light. We are to stand together as one city on a hill. This is something that we are to do as a Church, one Church together. If He meant for us to do this as individuals He would have said, 'Let your lights shine'. But that's not what He said. Jesus also said this about His Church. 'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it.' We, the Church, are called to storm Satan's stronghold, hades, to rescue those held there. Jesus promises that we will triumph in that warfare. The defenses of Satan's lair will not be able to prevail against us. But this, again, is something that we do as a Church. So, Jesus is still dealing with Satan. He is still fixing what Satan has broken. And He uses us to do those things. There are aspects of this work that He intends for us to do as individuals. And there are aspects that we are to do as as group, as the Church. In this way, Jesus will heal the world until one day all of the works of Satan will be gone.

Now, all of that leads to this. Jesus intends to use us, Faith Reformed Church, to charge into Satan's domain to rescue some enslaved there, and then to mend what is broken in their lives. But, as a Church, we are not doing that as well as we need to. Jesus calls us to shine our light that those around us will notice what we are doing as a Church of Jesus so that they might praise the Father. But our light as Faith Reformed is dim. It needs to get brighter. That light needs to shine more brightly so that we can be used more effectively by Jesus to free those enslaved by Satan and to heal their broken lives. These are some of the things that Jesus calls us to do as a Church. And if we are to be faithful, these are things we need to do better.

So, what should we do? The first step is acknowledging that we are broken people. In one way or other, the evil work of Satan still affects us. We still need healing. But that is not something that we can do alone. If we would be healed, there are things we need to do together. We need to encourage each other, teach each other, rebuke each other and comfort each other. We need to 'rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.' We need to get close to each other and learn how to trust each other with the fragile parts of our souls. This is part of what it means to be the Church. And we pursue these things not only that we might enjoy more healing. We do these things so that we can, together, do the same for those who, having been freed from Satan's domain by the Gospel, will join us. They have been battered by Satan. They are broken. They will also need to be healed. You see, the Church is a hospital. It is a place where Jesus heals lives using, of all things, the other patients. New Christians enter the hospital to be healed. Jesus uses their relationships with the other patients as part of His therapy. And as they are being healed, they are also used to heal others. This is one key way that Jesus crushes Satan. He uses His Church to bring healing. We need to do better at being a Church, a group, bound together with the cords of love and doing things together so that Jesus can destroy His – and our – evil enemy under our feet. This is what Jesus has called us to be.

Let me anticipate a possible obstacle here. What if someone says, 'Yes, I see what you're saying. But to do that will take time, and I have no time to spare. I am booked to the max. I understand what you're saying about my ministering as a part of the Church, but there's just no time.' Let's consider this. Why might this be the case? Let's assume what might be the very best of reasons: the family. It's the concern for the family that demands the time. Even the demands of a job boil down to being concerned to care for the family. So, though our friend understands the call to be the Church, because of family concerns, he just has no time to do it. What would Jesus say to this? I think that this saying fits. 'Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.' If it really does boil down to what Jesus wants from you on the one hand and concern for your family on the other, Jesus is quite clear. If you don't put Him before your family then you don't deserve to be His disciple. Jesus is very demanding. Understand what's going on here. Jesus has called us to be His Church, to be the primary means of crushing Satan and undoing his evil works in the lives of so many people. This is a part of His call to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. And this is His way for you to find true life.

So, what happens next? I recently read before you the five questions for membership. I have come to appreciate the third question in that list. Let me read it to you. 'Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance on the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?' Whoever wrote this got it so right. At its heart is the crucial matter of following Jesus. The question is simple and to the point. Will you follow Jesus? Is there a more important question anywhere? But the question understands that we are but dust, so very weak, so very sinful. So, it highlights the grace of the Holy Spirit. We'll get nowhere without His gracious work in our souls. And it also includes the word 'endeavor'. Will you 'endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ'? Not 'will you do it', but 'will you work at it'. How honest. Who can promise to follow Jesus well? We all fail at this. But what we can promise, in humble reliance on the grace of the Holy Spirit, is that we will work at it. Jesus is very demanding. He demands that we put Him ahead of everything. Everything. That is not incredibly difficult for sinners. It is impossible. It's incredibly difficult just to work at it. And Jesus knows this. So, He is very patient. He does not expect perfect discipleship in this life. But He does expect us to work at it. The Spirit has put His finger on something that we need to work at. We need to do better at being the Church as He defines it. Do you want to follow Him in this area? Will you work at it? Where will you begin?

Faith Alone Is Not Enough

2 Peter 1.1-15

Slogans can be helpful. By means of a well-crafted slogan you can proclaim an important truth very quickly. 'Give me liberty or give me death.' 'In God we trust.' 'Faith alone.' But slogans – because they are so brief – can be misunderstood and misleading. 'Faith alone' is a precious slogan summarizing a key aspect of the Gospel. Our efforts at obedience to God will gain us nothing, and that is true because those efforts at obedience will ultimately fail. Our only hope of rescue from sin and death is faith in Jesus, faith alone in Jesus apart from the works of the Law. And so, all we need is faith in Jesus, and it's all good, right? Well, yes – but. And that's why this portion of Peter's letter is so helpful. Whatever else Peter is saying in our text, one thing is clear. Faith alone is not enough. Peter wrote, 'But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith ...' Peter writes to a group of Christians. He knows that they have a true and living faith in Jesus. And he also knows that that is not enough. So, he calls them to action. He calls them to add to that faith. And by this Word of the Lord, the Spirit is telling us the same thing. We're going to look at why we should add to our faith and how we are to do that. But before we do either of those let's take a quick look at what we are to add to our faith. Let's start by looking at this list of things to be added.

There are seven items on Peter's list. I don't intend to say a lot about each, just enough to give you the flavor of what Peter is after. The first is virtue. The basic idea here is excellence, especially moral excellence. The opposite of excellent is not failing. The opposite of excellent is mediocre, adequate. So, there is striving toward real holiness or there is simply being satisfied with not being all that bad or even just not as bad as some. Next, there is knowledge. But, knowledge of what? Is Peter talking about knowledge of Jesus? Of holy living? Something else? I don't know. But it's clear that whichever knowledge Peter is referring to it begins with a knowledge of the Bible, a knowledge of Bible content. Who did what where, why and with whom – and what did God have to say about it? Without Bible knowledge all other knowledge – of Jesus, of following Him – is impossible. Then there's self-control. This can be seen in the life of someone who has set his sights on certain goals and who refuses to be distracted from them by less important things. Perseverance, next on the list, is related to self-control. It's pursuing the goals that you have set your sights on and not quitting, come what may, until they are reached. Godliness is a nearly forgotten quality in our day. That becomes evident when you consider some of its synonyms: piety, reverence, the fear of the Lord. The last two qualities – brotherly affection and love – seem to be related. The first is about love for those within the Church and the second love for those outside of it. That's Peter's list. It's not exhaustive. It isn't intended to be. He could have included many more qualities to be added to faith. But this gave his original readers – and it gives you – a sense of what he was thinking about. Maybe I can illustrate what's on Peter's heart with this. The student who asks, 'Will that be on the test?', is looking to just get by. The many who think that faith alone is enough have the same attitude. Peter was teaching those saints not to be like that. Instead, strive for more when it comes to following Jesus. And that's why at the beginning of his list he tells the saints to 'make every effort' to add to their faith. '... make every effort...' The Spirit calls us to work at these things, to strive for excellence in these things. This is to be a priority of us. And that's because faith alone is not enough.

Now, we're ready for the 'Why?' question. Peter actually gives two reasons why we should be working at this. The first is in verse 8. 'For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Do you see what Peter is saying? Developing these qualities leads to knowing Jesus well. Please understand what that phrase means. It's not about knowing the Gospels and the events recorded in them. It's not about understanding certain doctrines of the Scriptures. It's about getting to know a person, and developing a friendship with Him. And Peter tells us that as a disciple gets to know Jesus in this sense, his life will blossom in such a way that he will have a powerful affect for good on those around him. This disciple will not be 'ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.' So, beside whatever benefits there may be to a disciple himself – and there are significant benefits – the reason why a Christian needs to make every effort to add to his faith is for the sake of ministry and mission. Those who are growing in the knowledge of Jesus, growing in their friendship with Jesus, are those who are best able to care for others and spread the Gospel. Or to put it another way, those who know Jesus well, love others well. Loving other people – whether saints or lost – is hard. It takes effort. It is costly and not convenient. It is not something that comes naturally. But this is what Jesus did. He loved. And it cost Him His life. Who can love like that except those who draw closer to Jesus so that He can teach them how to do it? So, here's the first reason why you should work at adding these and other qualities to your faith: so you can love like Jesus did and does.

Peter gives a second answer to our question 'Why?' Listen. 'Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.' Please note what Peter just did in writing these words. He gives a label to His earlier command to add to faith. Here, he calls it 'making your calling and election sure.' And he says that those who heed his instructions in this, 'will never fall'. In fact, those who heed his commands will find that their path into heaven will be made clearer and clearer and thus easier to follow. To put this into more familiar language, Peter is talking about assurance of salvation. It used to be that one of the really big problems for so many Christians was knowing, with some degree of certainty, that they are among the saved. That's less pronounced these days because most no longer even pause to raise the question of assurance. It's just assumed based on the flimsiest of reasons. And yet, when the busy noise of life is quieted and the fears of life come out of the shadows, the questions loom. 'Is this all for real? Am I really one of Christ's? Am I going to make it to heaven?' Doubt. The longed-for solution is assumed to be some special experience or a change in feelings which results in that mystical something called 'assurance'. 'Aha! Now I know that I'm a Christian and that all my sins are forgiven and that I'm really on my way to heaven.' There's nothing of that here. Peter speaks of no special experience or any surprising 'Aha!' moment that comes out of the blue. No, for Peter assurance develops – 'making your calling and election sure' – by making every effort to add to your faith. It is as these qualities he's listed – and others – grow that assurance also grows. Faith alone is not enough.

This matter of assurance is so important but not just for the sake of peace of mind. Doubts about the state of one's soul are, at the very least, a distraction. The goal for the Christian is not to be assured of his own salvation. The goal is for him to love his God and love his neighbor. The sooner that doubts about his soul are put to rest, the sooner he can get at the important matters of life: heartfelt worship, love of the brethren, living and proclaiming the Gospel before a world that is on its way to hell and that with increasing speed. Being diligent to add to your faith – with its resultant assurance – prepares a foundation for faithful living and for that reason it is important. So, what I labeled as Peter's two answers to our question 'Why?' actually end up pointing to the same thing. We work at adding to faith so that we can be about the Father's business in ministry and mission. Faith alone is not enough.

Now for the 'How?' question. How are you to actually put the Spirit's commands here into practice? Peter has already told us. Listen. 'His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.' Now, that's a fairly complicated sentence. So, let me take it apart for you. We've been rescued from the corruption that is such an essential part of this world. The Spirit has done His work, and we are now Christians. Peter tells us that the point of this is that we might be 'partakers of the divine nature'. Here, think of 'nature' as 'character'. The point is that we might share in God's character. Or to put it in more familiar terms, that we might be like Jesus. If you think about it, that's what these qualities – excellence, self-control and all the rest – are about, being like Jesus. That leads to the key to the answer to 'How?' '...He has granted to us His precious and very great promises... ' It is through these promises that we will be able to add to our faith, that we will be able to become like Jesus. '...He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature...' How else could such a thing happen? It's all about the promises.

It seems fair to say that all the promises boil down to Jesus saying this: 'I will take care of you'. There is great variety in the specific promises, but I think that they all echo that one thought. There is this variety because, for one thing, we're dense and don't get it very easily. Repetition and variety help the promises to penetrate our hearts. Sometimes He offers a promise in a certain way because of the specifics of the need He is addressing. Sometimes the promise is phrased differently because of something else that He's already said. But understanding all of that, the promises all seem to be some aspect of this pledge. 'I will take care of you.' The way it usually happens, the Spirit points to some specific expression of that promise, some particular verse that renews the pledge in a specific way to your life. Most often when He does this, the first thing He has us do is to repent. Though this isn't always the case, He often nudges us because we have doubted Jesus' pledge. Repentance is appropriate and needed. But then He calls us to renew our faith in Jesus and in His pledge to us. So, having been reminded by the Spirit that Jesus has promised, 'I will take care of you', we reply, 'I'm sorry. I do believe you. I trust you.' But living faith doesn't just sit there and say, 'Yep, I believe that.' It also acts. How it acts depends on the specifics of the situation.

Let's take one promise, a promise for the fearful. 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' Jesus promises peace instead of fear. 'I will take care of you.' And faith, believing Jesus, will result in enjoying that peace. But notice that the promise calls for faith to act, in this case to pray. Be anxious for nothing but in everything pray. A living faith will pray. Part of the prayer will be requests, not generic requests but requests specifically about the things that that person is anxious about. Another part of the prayer will be thanksgiving, even including thanks for that situation that tempts the person to fear. And then, there is supplication. But what is that? It must mean something. If the person doesn't know what it means he will find out so that he can incorporate that also into his prayers. That is one example of being diligent to add to your faith. And what quality was being added? Fearlessness, enjoying the peace of God in the face of trouble. 'And if these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Let me close with this. For some of you this sermon is an encouragement. The Spirit has been doing His work in your life. You know that faith alone is not enough. You're working at adding to your faith. You're aiming at excellence in following Jesus. Today's sermon has reminded you of 'why' and of 'how' and maybe even some of the 'what'. As you continue to work at adding to your faith, you will see your faith become stronger and more fruitful. You will see marked progress to your goal of excellence as a disciple of Jesus. So, let me urge you to keep at it, depending on the grace of the Spirit. He will bless your efforts.

I fear, though, that there may be some of you who are not being diligent to add to your faith, who are content with who you are, who assume that faith alone is enough. So, there is no striving after excellence, knowledge, self-control or any other aspect of Jesus' character. Where you are is good enough. It's adequate. If I have just come uncomfortably close to describing you, then understand that for Peter and for the Spirit there is no category called 'adequate'. Peter, himself, warns you. 'For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.' I'm not going to get into the details of that blindness. I don't need to. It's enough to say that it's not good. According to the Spirit who inspired this text, there are but two alternatives. There is being diligent to add to faith or there is becoming blind. There is no other category. So, just as I encouraged those who are working at these things I would warn any who aren't.

Jesus and the Twelve – and Us

Matthew 16.1-17.8

Sometimes it's really good to take a close and detailed look at just one verse. You can really learn a lot as you dig down into the verse, removing layer after layer. But then again, sometimes it's good to look at a large section of the Word to see the themes that flow through it. What's not good is to do just one and not the other. So, today we're going to take a look at our very large text of a couple dozen verses. As we do, we're going to see how Jesus interacted with the Twelve. We're going to take a particular look at Peter in this context. It is my hope that what we find will be encouraging as well as challenging. So, let's work our way through the text and see what we'll find.

Having had another disagreeable conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus turns to His disciples to warn them. 'Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' And having heard what Jesus has said, what do they think about? Someone forgot to bring enough bread! They were completely lost when Jesus uses the simple imagery of leaven. Jesus sees this and responds. 'O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread?' I think that it's fair to say that He didn't say this in a calm monotone. He was annoyed. 'Don't you guys get it yet?' And then He repeats His warning. 'Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' That's when they got it. They're a little slow on the uptake, but they do get it eventually.

On to the next vignette. Jesus asks, 'Who do men say that I am?' The disciples offer up some of the popular options. Then Jesus asks another question. 'But who do you say that I am?' It's here that Peter steps forward. 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,' and Jesus commends him. And then comes the famous quote, 'And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.' He then gives to Peter authority in His Church, symbolized by the imagery of keys. In all of this, Peter gets a 'Well done!' - that is until the next scene.

In the next section Jesus talks about His coming trials, how He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes. Peter hears this and responds in a way that is very understandable, at least from one perspective. 'Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"' Peter is being a friend. And Jesus responds to this. You need to note what He doesn't say. He doesn't calmly say, 'Peter, I appreciate your concern, but I don't think you quite understand. Let me explain.' Nope. Rather, Jesus responds with another famous quote. 'Get behind Me!' Do you see what Jesus is saying by these words? 'Peter, you're an obstacle to my mission. Get out of My way!!' Obviously, I wasn't there, but I'm thinking that Jesus said this with quite a bit of heat. You'd think that this would be enough. After all, Peter was just trying to be a good friend. But, as you know, it wasn't enough. Jesus said something more. 'Get behind me, Satan!' This isn't just some throwaway comment. This is a big deal. Jesus knows about Satan. Remember, He has met Satan, face to face, back at the beginning of His ministry. And since that event He has seen in vivid colors the destruction that Satan has caused in the lives of so many. Think about the demons who tormented people, or the sinful lifestyles that some had been led into by Satan's charms, whether that's being a prostitute, a tax collector or a religious Pharisee. This isn't just a case of thoughtless name-calling. Satan was very real to Jesus. Words matter. And Jesus is always very careful with His words.

Now, let's think here. Imagine the situation. Put yourself into the picture. Jesus has just called Peter 'Satan'. Everyone freezes. Something big has just happened. Jesus has created a scene, and life has suddenly gotten very tense. Jesus' eyes are locked onto Peter's. Peter is stunned, reeling. He isn't quite sure what just happened, and he has no idea what to do next. He doesn't understand what's so bad about what he's said. Let's translate it. Jesus talks about going to Jerusalem and facing great suffering there. And Peter responds with, 'God forbid!' Why? Because he doesn't want Jesus to go to the cross. Does that sound like anyone familiar? The cross is the heart of Jesus' mission. Peter doesn't understand that. And so, unwittingly, he encourages the same idea that Satan was trying to get Jesus to agree to. 'Listen, Jesus. I can give You the nations. You can become Lord over all – without having to go to the cross. Just worship me and you can skip the cross.' And where would we be then? Peter was totally unaware of this. His problem was that his idea of friendship was too earthly-minded and not heavenly-minded enough. 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.' And then, Jesus takes this poignant moment to explain not only what His life is about, but also to explain what their lives are to be about. So, He talks about self-denial, self-crucifixion, losing your life to save it and the possibility of losing your soul because you chased after the world.

I have to say that I'm glad that I wasn't there to witness that explosive moment. I would have felt for poor Peter who just got slammed, and then I would have been looking for a hole to crawl into lest I do something similar. I'm pretty sure that when Jesus finished His comments about picking up a cross and following Him I wouldn't have gotten it. I'm also thinking that the Twelve, at that moment, were all like the kid who shows up at school without having done his homework, trying to hide behind an open book so that teacher doesn't call on him. He knows that if the teacher calls on him, whatever he says is going to sound real dumb. You homeschool kids don't know what that feels like. But your parents do. Ah, the joys of being one of Jesus twelve disciples.

The next section of our text recounts when Jesus goes up the mountain to meet with Moses and Elijah while His body is dramatically changed. He doesn't go alone. He takes some disciples, but only three: Peter, James, John. Jesus is transformed, Moses and Elijah appear and Peter opens his mouth. 'Uhh, Jesus what if I throw together a couple of leantos. You and your friends could be a little more comfy ...' Again, Peter doesn't get it. A leanto for Moses?!? Then the Father speaks from the cloud, and Peter and the other two are on their faces, overwhelmed with fear. Jesus comes to them, and with a gentle touch He reassures and comforts them. 'Rise and have no fear.' After which they return to the others.

We've just run through a pile of verses. What did we see? What themes or patterns did we encounter? I have several that I want to point out to you. First of all, it's pretty clear that Jesus has picked a bunch of losers to be His disciples. These guys are dense! They just don't get it, unless they are spoon-feed them – and even then you're not sure. So, why these guys? Remember, Jesus chose them! Why? I'm sure that He could have found some men with a little more on the ball, some education maybe, a little polish, people who could at least carry on a conversation without saying something dumb. He could have. But that would have meant choosing some Pharisees. So, why did Jesus choose these guys and then stick with them? The answer is quite simple. He chose them and stuck with them because they believed. Remember what Jesus said back at the beginning of our text. 'O you of little faith...' We focus on the 'little', and with good reason, but they did have faith. It was small, sometimes microscopic, but they did have faith – unlike the educated and polished Pharisees who carried on many conversations with Jesus. And so, here's a lesson to take home with you. More than anything else, Jesus wants faith in His disciples. And even if a disciple has only a little faith, Jesus will still keep him and work with him. Remember that these sorry losers changed the world, and they did that because of one simple reason: they believed Jesus. One great need in the Church today is people who believe Jesus and who believe Him for more than getting into heaven. The Church needs people who, because they believe Jesus, are able to move mountains, people who are ready and eager to change the world. And it will take faith to change this world. So, Jesus will even use losers as long as they believe. I'm thinking that for some of you that can be a very comforting thought. Some of you, shall we say, don't have a very high opinion of yourselves, particularly at certain times – like when you've discovered that you've sinned again – and all those disparaging thoughts flood your soul. Take heart. Jesus used these guys and He accomplished a lot. He can use you, too. At the same time, I'm think that this can also be a challenging thought. Nothing will change without faith. But nothing is impossible to him who believes. I'd like to see some mountains moved. How about you?

Here's another thought from what we've seen. Disciples do stupid things. It's a fact that we all just need to get used to. And I really do think that it's a helpful way to view sin: doing something stupid. And yet, that doesn't make Jesus change His mind about us. Face it. Peter blows it with his, 'Far be it from You, Lord' statement. He blows it royally. He doesn't understand what's going on and actually becomes an obstacle to Jesus' mission. If Jesus were like most folk, like some of your bosses, He'd take Peter aside and say something like, 'Peter, I don't think that this is the place for you. You're not helping the team to achieve its goals. We appreciate your hard work, but we're going to have to ask you to leave.' You know, nicely telling someone to get lost. But that's not Jesus. In fact, Peter isn't even demoted. What happens next? Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah. Jesus had only three go with Him – and He included Peter. It's as if Peter never said those stupid words. Jesus is committed to seeing Peter fulfill his role as leader. So, He keeps at it. And that's the same commitment that He had for the rest of the apostles. Jesus never dumps even one of them hoping to find a better replacement. He is committed to seeing each one prepared for his role. It worked, didn't it? The world was changed. Likewise, Jesus is committed to you. Each of you also has a role to play in changing the world. Jesus is molding you for that role by His Spirit. He won't give up on you. I find that very encouraging. Do you know why? You have no idea how many stupid I can be. The only reason I'm still in the game is that Jesus is committed to seeing me flourish. He is committed to seeing me fulfill my role. So, once I repent of my foolishness, He's ready to pick up where we left off, as if nothing had happened. In our text, Jesus shows Himself committed to a bunch of losers who do stupid things. We fit in, no?

One more. This one might sound a little strange at first. Jesus can be rough. He can be rough when it comes to how He corrects us. How else would you describe His, 'Get behind Me, Satan'? And He can be rough when it comes to what He expects of us. Jesus demands [!] that we deny ourselves and that we prepare to crucify our dreams and desires. Having that happen in your life, watching as some long-held dream fades right before your eyes, is hard. Jesus can be rough. Tradition has it that all of the Apostles, except John, died a violent death for the sake of the Gospel. That's Jesus being rough. Jesus is demanding, and He is rough at times. But He acts like this because He knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is the way to life. 'For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.' Life – real life – can only be found by following Jesus with a single-minded devotion, a pure devotion. Getting to that point is hard. Jesus has to be rough with us. But it's worth it, of course. It's worth it now, and it's worth it later. 'For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.'

There's lots more here, but we'll stop with this. I'm sure that I've given you something to meditate on. And I hope that you do exactly that.

For The Youth

Psalm 119.9

[Note to the Reader: You need to know that, right before the sermon, I asked all the youth of our church, from ten years old through high school, to sit in the front rows of the sanctuary. I then stepped down from the platform and stood right in front of them to preach. This sermon was especially for them.]

We've just had a baptism and, as you may remember, it's my habit to preach on some aspect of baptism whenever that happens. So, I'm going to do that today, but with you as the focus. Each of you have been baptized and most of you were baptized by me. And while there are great blessings associated with baptism, there are also great dangers. I want to talk to you about both. This morning's text is especially for you. 'How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word.' Let's take it apart and see what it's all about.

The first step is to understand the words. 'Pure'. What is that about? People often understand this word in terms of what it is not. And they especially see it related to sex. So, 'pure' means not being involved with anything immoral. But that's not what the word is about. 'Pure' is telling us that whatever it's pointing to has only one thing. There is nothing else mixed in. So, Ivory soap used to claim that it was '99 44/100 % pure'. You probably don't remember that but your parents do. And all they were saying was that their soap was only soap. There was nothing else mixed in – or almost nothing. So, our text is talking about keeping your way pure, making sure that there is nothing mixed in. But keeping your way pure what? You can have pure garbage, but that's not what's going on here. Another bit of Scripture is helpful here. From the Apostle Paul: 'For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.' At the heart of our verse in Psalm 119 is this idea of pure devotion to Christ. It's about making sure that nothing else gets mixed in when it comes to living your life for Jesus. Pure devotion to Jesus. And this gets us to baptism. There's lots going on when someone is baptized. But here's one thing. The baptized person is completely given over to Jesus. That person begins a life of devotion to Jesus, pure devotion to Jesus. His baptism points to the fact that his whole life is to be about Jesus. And that's what your life is to be about: pure devotion to Jesus; nothing mixed in. This applies to whatever you do. Some of you will be called by God to work as homemakers. Others of you will be called to work in a factory, or in an office, the great out of doors or somewhere else. But whatever work you do, you are to do is as someone who is devoted to Jesus with a pure devotion. This includes more than your vocation. It includes where you live, whom you marry, if you marry, how many kids you want to have, how much money you want to earn and how you'll spend it. Your whole life is about being devoted to Jesus with a pure devotion. And you know that this applies to you because of your baptism.

Now, did you notice that the first half of the verse is a question? 'How can a young man keep his way pure?' That points to the fact that there are things that need to be done to keep your way pure. But it also means that if you don't do what is needed, devotion to Jesus can be lost. Your relationship with Jesus is like any other living thing. Living things are intended to grow. So, a seed is supposed to grow into a tree and as it matures, it's supposed to produce fruit. But living things can also die. If you do not work at keeping your way pure, if you do not work at being devoted to Jesus, then, over time, your relationship with Him will shrivel up and die. There are a huge number of people who have been baptized but who have nothing to do with Jesus. They may go to church, even pray once in a while. But they have not worked at keeping a pure devotion to Jesus. As a result, their relationship with Jesus has died. They take false comfort that all is good with God because they were baptized at some point. But what good is a baptism without pure devotion to Jesus? Hell is filled with baptized people. They failed to consider this verse, and they are now paying the price. I hope that none of you ever says, 'That can't happen to me.' It can happen to anyone who is not careful, me, you, and everyone else in this room. If you are wise, you will take this to heart.

So, the question in the verse is appropriate. 'How can a young man keep his way pure?' What needs to happen so that pure devotion to Jesus grows and bears much good fruit? And the second half of the verse answers the question. 'By guarding it according to Your Word.' First, notice this word 'guarding'. What does it mean to guard? Doesn't it sound like there's some danger, that some attack is possible? And there is danger! This is where I want to talk to you about Satan. When it comes to Satan people go to extremes. Either they make a huge fuss about him so that they think that he's just about equal to God or they ignore him and act as if he doesn't even exist. You want to avoid both extremes. Here are some facts about Satan. He's a fallen angel. That means that he was made perfect but rebelled against God. That also means that he's been around since before Adam and Eve which is a very long time. And one more fact: Satan hates you. It's nothing personal, mind you. Its just that you're with Jesus. Satan's goal is to steal you away from Jesus so that you would join him in his rebellion. You don't actually have to act in any certain way. As far as Satan is concerned, you can be a very nice person – as long as you reject Jesus. So, you see, this is much more serious than taking that forbidden cookie or cheating on some test or having sex with someone who you're not married to. Satan wants you to hate Jesus like he does. That's what he's after. So, the word 'guard' is the right word to use.

Now, if you are going to be able to guard your relationship with Jesus you'll need to have some idea of how Satan will attack. Do you remember the parable of the four soils? It's one of my very favorite parables of Jesus. It's all about how people respond to the Gospel. A man plants some seeds. The seed on the first soil doesn't sprout. So, the birds eat the seed. The seed on the second soil does sprout. A little plant pops up. This person responds to the Gospel and believes it. But when following Jesus gets hard, he gives up. The plant withers away and dies. Then there's the third soil. The seed is planted. A little plant sprouts up. This plant doesn't wither away, but it doesn't produce fruit like it's supposed to. There's nothing to harvest. And the reason is that there are some weeds that also sprout up and choke this plant so that it produces nothing. Jesus explained what this third soil is about. These are people who respond to the Gospel, who in some sense believe it, but who never really grow. There is no pure devotion to Jesus. Ultimately, they are lost. Do you know why they didn't make it? Here's one thing that Jesus pointed to as a problem: 'the pleasures of life'. That's one of the weeds that choked them. Instead of keeping their way pure they were more interested in feeling good. So, for them, the important question was always, 'How can I have fun? How can I enjoy myself?' As a result, Jesus isn't their first desire and their chief joy. Having fun is. Feeling good is. Enjoying themselves is. And so, keeping pure devotion to Jesus becomes less and less important until it disappears. Behind all of this is Satan. Remember what his goal is. He wants to get you to forget about pure devotion to Jesus. He will use any means to achieve that goal. So, there are many people who have been fooled by him because of their desire for the pleasures of life. They turn away from Jesus, laughing and happy and having a good time. They turn away and they die. You have an enemy, someone who hates you. You need to guard yourself against him.

Now, you're not left to figure out on your own what to do to guard yourselves. What's the verse say? 'By guarding it according to Your Word.' This is where the Bible comes in. The Bible is your protection. But, you will not be able to guard yourself with the Bible if you don't know the Bible. I'm going to give you a break for a bit and talk to your fathers. Men, one of the key responsibilities that you have in the proper care of your children is to be sure that they are immersed in the Bible. Would any good father put his young child in a car without buckling him in? How stupid is that? And yet, how many fathers send their children into a world where Satan runs free without a solid knowledge of the Bible? Your children's Bible knowledge is the heart of their protection against Satan. For the sake of their souls, they need to be immersed in the Bible. So, here are some things you must do. First, be sure that they are here every Sunday. This is the place where the Bible is read, sung, and preached in the context of meeting with God. Sunday worship is the primary means of communicating the Word not just to minds but to hearts. Next, you need to read and explain the Bible to your children – daily. That means that, at the least, there should be a time when you gather the family together to read a bit of the Word and make sure that your children understand it so some extent. Call it family devotions or family worship or whatever you like, but this needs to be done every day. What I've just told you is simply a minimum application of this command of God. 'And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.' Last, you need to help your children to establish and maintain their own person time of reading their Bible every day. You do this by describing it and by modeling it to them and then by checking up on them. Remember that, according to Psalm 1, it is those who meditate on the Word at daily who will be blessed. Your goal in this is for your children to be able to pray with the Psalmist, 'Your Word have I treasured in my heart that I might not sin against You.' They need to be immersed in the Bible. Men, if you are not working on these things then you are failing your children. They have an enemy who hates them and desires their ruin. You have a key role to play in guarding the purity of their devotion to Jesus. Fulfill the role that Jesus has given you and enjoy the blessings of having Godly children.

Now, back to you. Your fathers can do everything right, but if you don't give yourselves to the Word, it just won't work. And then, Satan will have you. You may become a nice person with a new car and a big house and fun vacations because your job pays so well, but Satan will have won. And you don't want that. The things that I am telling you aren't just things that pastors are supposed to say. I knew this fellow in college, a Christian who was part of our InterVarsity group. He was one of the guys and even led a Bible study. I found out last week that his life fell apart and that he committed suicide. How do you suppose that happened?

Last thought. How does knowing your Bible help in your fight against Satan? Is the goal to know your Bible so well that you're just too smart for Satan? Well, remember that he's been at his tricks since Adam and Eve. Do you really think that you can outsmart him? You want to know your Bible well because it is the tool that the Spirit uses. It's up to the Spirit to keep you safe. He does this by guiding you through life. And He guides you by using what you know of your Bible. You want to know more and more of your Bible because that gives the Spirit lots to work with when it comes to guiding and guarding you. Having only a little knowledge of the Bible hampers the Spirit's work. And someone who doesn't work at developing his understanding of the Bible will, bit by bit, lose what he knows until the Spirit has nothing to use. And on top of all of this, reading and interacting with the things that you find in your Bible draws you closer to Jesus. He becomes real. He becomes precious. And as that happens, your pure devotion to Him grows and develops and matures. Jesus becomes a very real and very attractive person instead of just some doctrine you're supposed to agree with. And as the closeness develops that also becomes a protection against Satan.

I realize that I may have overwhelmed some of you. That was not my intention. But the things that I have been talking about really are important. So, because I care about you I wanted to try to help you see those things more clearly. I hope that I've had some success.

Desiring Jesus

Psalm 73

One of the prominent themes of the Psalms is the contrast between the righteous and the wicked. On the one hand, you have the righteous, those who have been turned from loving their sin to being disciples of Jesus. On the other hand, you have the wicked who still pursue the ways of the world. One place where we see the righteous and the wicked compared is the familiar Psalm 1. '... the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.' Our text, Psalm 73, is all about this theme. Asaph, a righteous man, looks around him, and what does he see? He sees the wicked. He sees their prosperity. He sees that they are at ease and that their wealth just grows and grows. He sees them enjoying the good life. And they do this while God seems not to notice. And then, he considers his own life, and what he sees is not so pleasant. Life is hard. Despite his earnest efforts to live as a righteous man, life is hard. What a contrast! It makes no sense to Asaph. This explains Asaph's first response to the situation. He is envious of these people. And he comes close to choosing their way of living - the way of the wicked.

But then comes that existential moment when Asaph is able to see the big picture. 'But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.' Asaph has an answer to his questions about the wicked. The solution is all about understanding what happens at the end. This is where eschatology becomes practical and helpful. In the end the wicked are ruined. Now, Asaph gets it. He understands the very different end results of these two very different ways of life. This solution has been helpful to saints of all eras. You need to understand the end of the story.

There is, however, a slight problem with this solution. It's only a partial answer. It does not deal with an important question. What do we do in the meantime? Yes, we know the end of the story, but what do we do while we all, righteous and wicked, await the end results? The wicked do not go away. They are still around. The are still prosperous. That are still at ease. And their wealth still grows. They are enjoying the good life. And God still seems not to notice. So, what is Asaph to think in the meantime? 'They may have it better now, but just wait!' Is that what he is to tell himself? No. He tells himself something much more helpful than that.

It's here that understanding one verse of our Psalm is so important. Listen to it again. 'Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.' Having had his existential moment, having seen where the wicked end up, something happens within Asaph. Something is changed. Asaph's affections are stirred. There is a change of perspective on his life. There is a change of heart. Asaph desires Jesus. More than anything in heaven or on earth, Asaph desires Jesus. Now, with this desire in place, he grasps righteous living in a new way, and he pursues it wholeheartedly.

I want you to notice two things about this pivotal verse. First, notice that he uses the language of heaven and earth. 'Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.' That's the language of Genesis 1. 'In the beginning God created heaven and earth.' There is no word for 'universe' in Hebrew. When they wanted to talk about all of creation they would use the phrase 'heaven and earth'. So, when Asaph includes a reference to heaven and earth, it is his way of saying, 'Choose anything in all of creation. Anything. Whatever it is, for me it takes second place to Jesus. I want Jesus. Compared to Him, everything else is only second best.' That's the first thing I want you to see. To get the second thing, you need to remember the context of the whole Psalm. The Psalm is about the contrast between the wicked and the righteous. So, Asaph's expression of desire is not just a statement of fact, though it is that. It is also his credo and it stands in contrast to the credo of the wicked. The wicked pursue prosperity and ease and the good life. Asaph pursues Jesus. His is a completely different mindset from that of the wicked.

Jesus is Asaph's chief joy. Jesus is what Asaph wants more than anything or anyone else. Jesus is what occupies him as he waits for promised end results of the wicked and righteous. Asaph's life is all about Jesus.

Asaph mentions some of the blessings of desiring and pursuing Jesus that he enjoys while he waits. '... I am continually with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory.' First, there is the presence of God. I find Asaph's imagery such a great picture. 'You hold my right hand.' Whenever I think of this I immediately picture a little toddler taking a walk with his Dad. This pictures security. The toddler may stumble but he will never fall. His father holds his hand. This pictures protection. Who can harm him while Dad is near? This pictures assurance, the assurance of being loved and the assurance of arriving at the intended destination. Asaph also points to the guidance that he is promised. He has submitted to Jesus' yoke and hears that command, 'Let's take the left fork'. Guidance. Then, there's this. 'My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.' Asaph considers his physical strength, 'my flesh' and his inner, emotional strength, 'my heart'. These are the things that the wicked place their hope in. They tell themselves that they will make out okay because they have the strength to face whatever comes their way. Their hope is in themselves. Asaph puts his hope elsewhere. He knows the limitations of flesh and heart. So, his strength for each day is in his God.

Asaph considers this life of his. His hope is Jesus. Security, protection, assurance, guidance, strength. They are all found in Jesus. And then, he looks beyond this life. '... and afterward you will receive me to glory.' Heaven! If enjoying Jesus here has such blessings how much more will there be enjoying Him there?

Having been re-oriented in the house of God, Asaph now has a response for the wicked. 'I see your lives. I see the benefits you enjoy. And there are benefits: the accumulated comforts, the sense of security, the optimism and all the rest. I see it all. And I reject it all. I reject your way of life, the way of the wicked, the way that will perish forever. Instead, my joy, my desire is Jesus. He satisfies now and more so later. You can have your prosperity and your ease. You can have your riches even if they increase ten times more. I have Jesus!' Asaph has a response that speaks to the present as well as the future. He has something that makes sense of life, something that he builds his life on. As a result, he is a man at peace with himself and his situation, man who rejoices in this life and the life to come. Asaph has Jesus, and that's good enough for him.

Now, what shall we do with what we've seen? How does this bit of Scripture speak to our lives? Consider this. I think that it is safe to say that most of us were not trained to adopt the attitude of Asaph. Our formative years were not marked by our being molded to desire Jesus as our chief joy and to identify and consciously reject the ways of the many around us. And so, as a result, the priorities for our lives, to a large extent, imitate the priorities of their lives: a measure of prosperity, a measure of ease. And so, though we are the righteous, we act way too much like the wicked. How many of us have adopted Asaph's credo as our own? 'Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.' Asaph's attitude is intended to be the norm for the righteous. It's just a different way of talking about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. It's just another way of talking about self-denial, self-crucifixion and following Jesus. So, just like Asaph before his Aha! moment, we have sinned. Our love for Jesus has not been what it should be and can be by the grace of God. Now, some of you may be the exception, but this is true of most of us. We have been fooled. We have sinned.

I hope that it isn't a surprise that the preaching of the Word has uncovered some more sin. That's what it's supposed to do. So, just like so many other sermons that you've heard from me, this one will include a call to repentance and faith. The goal is for all of us to be able to say, with Asaph, 'Jesus, I want you more than anything. I want you so much that whatever ends up in second place isn't even close.' Jesus is to be our chief joy. And knowing Him better and better is to be our first desire.

Does this mean that our lives to be completely upended? Should we all quit our jobs and sell our homes so that we can be something like monks? That sounds fairly drastic. But consider this. If that's what pursuing Jesus means in your situation, if that's what He calls you to do, then the answer would be, 'Yes, sell everything, give it to the poor and follow Jesus.' When we read the history books as they refer to people who have, in fact, given everything away and have become monks or the like, there is, so often, this subtle mocking going on. 'How silly! No sane person would ever do something like this.' And while the monks of the ages have not been perfect and maybe they didn't properly understand some aspect of following Jesus, still, what an example! They thought that pursuing Jesus, living as a righteous person, included giving up everything. So they did just that. Having Jesus was that important. Now, it's a fact that Jesus doesn't usually call people to jettison everything - though we know of a few cases in the Bible when He did just that. But we all should be ready and eager to do that, if He should call for it. This isn't because it's some rule to follow, but because that would be the route to gain more of Jesus.

So, am I saying that imitating Asaph will require you to quit your job or something else as drastic? No. But what I am saying is that repentance and faith will include you praying something like this: 'Jesus, I desire You. More than anything, I desire You. So, whatever You want me to do is fine with me. Just let me know what it is and please give me the grace to be able to do it.' That's what repentance and faith would look like from this passage: rejecting the way of the wicked and presenting yourself to Jesus for Him to command in any way He thinks best because He is your first desire and your chief joy.

How this Psalm and this sermon speak to your life is something that you will need to pray about. For some of you, this is something that you have been dealing with and working on. Maybe you've used different words, but it's the same basic idea. 'How do I follow Jesus well?' For you, today's sermon is a gift from the Spirit. He has given you a bit more to work with so that you can take another step toward a full answer to that question. So, I would encourage you to keep at it. And remember that even little steps in the right direction will get you to your destination. And really, isn't growth normally just a bunch of little steps. So, continue on. It will be worth it for this life as well as the next.

It might be that for some of you the topic of this Psalm is relatively new. It's something that you haven't thought about much. If this is your situation, I would encourage you to invest some time thinking about it and praying about it. You may want to get a printed copy of the sermon to read through and interact with. I hope that you have a sense of the importance of this topic so that you will give it sufficient attention. If you boil it all down you'll find that our text is about the basics of being a disciple of Jesus.

I want to say something in particular to you teenagers. You are in the process of establishing priorities for your lives. The priorities of many of your peers are fun and games, with a bit of studying thrown in. That's a variation on the themes of the wicked: a measure of ease and a measure of prosperity. You are faced with that attitude, and its pressure to conform, day after day. And it's influence is subtle. You need to face squarely the question of the priority of Jesus. Will He be your first desire? Will He be your chief joy? Is it the goal of your life to be able to say with Asaph and many other Christians, 'Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.' You've been developing an answer to the question of priorities for some time now, and the choices that you've been making reveal the answer your heart is embracing. Consider the list of priorities that govern your life today. These are the things that are really important to you. Where is Jesus on that list?

Wherever you are in relation to this Psalm, you need to consider Asaph, his experience and his conclusions. There is something here for you to work through and deal with. As you do that and respond to what the Spirit calls you to, there will be blessing. Following Jesus well is worth it.

Working At Following Jesus

Luke 13.23-24

Last week I spoke to you about God's blessings, and I referred to the too many Christians who are not experiencing those blessings and know it. I said, ' ...they do not enjoy God's blessing, things like His peace or Gospel fearlessness. They do not enjoy the shining smile of their Father's face. And they sense that lack. They may pray for these things, but they don't seek for them as God has prescribed.' Today, I want to follow-up on that thought and develop it a bit. I want to talk about prayer and how it relates to working at following Jesus and in this way experiencing God's blessings. And I'll tell you right up front what the main point of the sermon is. When it comes to being a faithful Christian, to following Jesus well, to enjoying the blessings of the Father that flow from this, prayer isn't enough. That's what I want to make very clear to you. And I want to make it clear because thinking this way can result in a serious problem.

One emphasis of good Bible preaching and teaching is the emphasis on grace. Our Father gives us all that we need but not because we have earned it. What we've earned is His just punishment. Nevertheless, the Father does give us what we need. And He does that because Jesus has earned it for us. All His gifts are gifts of grace, gifts freely given. Another emphasis of good Bible preaching and teaching is the promises attached to prayer. The Father stands ready to shower His children with blessings. He promises to answer prayer. Some put these two together - grace and prayer - and unfortunately conclude that when it comes to following Jesus well and enjoying His blessings, all we need do is pray. But then they find that it doesn't work. 'I prayed about it. But nothing happened.' That is frustrating, confusing and very discouraging. And that's the problem that I want to address.

Let's consider some examples. How does the average Christian respond if he is faced with some decision, but he isn't sure what to do? One classic response is to quote this verse from James. 'If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.' So, this Christian prays and asks God for wisdom. The plan is then for the Christian to make his decision, assured that the choice made will be right because he asked for wisdom and God promised to give it. However, it doesn't always work out. Sometimes the decision proves to have been rather unwise. The situation turns out all wrong. And it feels as if God hasn't kept His promise. If this happens more than just once in a while our Christian friend begins to wonder about that verse in James. The assumption, 'All that is required to enjoy Jesus' blessings - like wisdom - is a little prayer', begins to be questioned. Something feels very wrong. When faced with this kind of situation, too many conclude that either the verse is broken and that the only way to proceed is to depend on whatever wisdom they can muster on their own, or that they are somehow not praying in the right way, whatever 'the right way' means. Not everyone comes to these sorts of conclusions but too many do. The problem, however, isn't a broken verse nor is it that God only answers the perfect prayers of some elite. The problem is the assumption. 'All that is required to enjoy Jesus' blessings - like wisdom - is a little prayer.' Listen to this from Proverbs. Wisdom is speaking. 'I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. ... And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.' It doesn't sound like prayer alone will get you wisdom from God. It sounds like gaining wisdom takes diligent seeking, listening carefully to instruction, watching daily at wisdom's doors. It sounds like gaining wisdom takes work.

Let's consider another example. John 3.16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible - and rightly so. The point of the verse is clear. Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. It sounds simple. It even sounds easy. And that's what lots of people conclude. All you need to do is pray the sinner's prayer, and it's all good. Just believe in Jesus, and you're home free. That is, after all, what so many are told. But then what about these words from Jesus. 'Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.' This sounds hard. It sounds as if it will take some serious effort.

Another example. 'Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.' The promise of Scripture is that we will be made holy. God is faithful and He will do it. Again, many look at verses like this and come to the faulty conclusion that their sanctification, their becoming holy, is on automatic pilot. It's something certain to be achieve all on its own. But then we encounter exhortations like these. 'For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' Paul repeats the same imagery here. 'Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.' Then there's this startling word from Jesus. 'And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.' That sounds more than hard. It sounds violent.

And then there is Jesus' famous call to discipleship. 'And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."' Jesus utters His call to follow Him, to be His disciple. And He is clear. Those who follow Him will need to be ready to say, 'No!' to their desires: self-denial. They will need to be ready to see all that is precious to them destroyed: bearing the cross. This is Jesus' call to discipleship. It takes more than prayer. It's hard.

And this is what our text is about. 'Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.' Being a Christian, following Jesus in such a way that one can enjoy the blessings of the Father, involves more than being sure to pray. Faithful discipleship requires squeezing through tight doors, walking on a difficult path, seeking daily and diligently by carefully listening to instruction. Faithful discipleship requires striving. This is hard. This is demanding. This is all-consuming. All of this helps us to understand why there are so many confused and even defeated Christians who, overwhelmed by their troubles, can only say, 'But I prayed about it'. After trying to deal with this, some just quit. They tried being a good Christian, and it just didn't work for them. So, they leave the faith. Others aren't quite so radical, but because of their confusion, their expectations of being a Christian are minimal. There are just too many unanswered questions about how following Jesus works. Then there are those who, in the face of all of this, just try harder. They try harder at their prayers. They try harder at doing what Jesus calls them to do. But because they don't have a clear understanding of what's going on, they are frustrated and are fighting discouragement all the time. And any talk of joy in following Jesus just adds to their confusion.

There's the problem. What's the solution?

Let's go back to that James 1 situation. You need wisdom. So, what should you do? You should ask. So far, so good. The problem comes in thinking of this promise primarily in terms of crisis moments. That is, you appeal to this promise when some issue confronts you and demands a decision. But that's not what the Spirit intended by this promise. The promise is to be appealed to by an ongoing, every day kind of prayer. That means you don't say, 'Give me wisdom right now for this decision'. Rather, your prayer goes something like this. 'Help me, Father, to be diligent in seeking the wisdom that I need to live faithfully as Jesus' disciple day by day. And show me what I need to see.' And then, you crack open you Bible to find that wisdom, confident that it will be given to you. Or when it comes to holiness, you pray, 'Father, I want to be holy, and I know that you want to bless me so that become holy. So, help me to deal with this sin. [And here, be specific. Name the sin.] Show me how to put it to death. Make it possible for me to be vicious with it so that it will no longer plague me.' And then, attack that sin. The same attitude applies to Jesus' call to discipleship. 'Lord Jesus, I want to follow you well. So, show me where I need to deny myself. Make me willing to have what I love nailed to a cross for Your sake.' And then, as the Spirit points out some specific area where you are weak in your discipleship, deal with it until it is no longer an obstacle to following Jesus whole-heartedly.

I hope you noticed that along with hard work, the solution does include prayer. But it is a certain kind of prayer. Too often prayer becomes an attempt at a short cut to avoid the hard work of following Jesus. So, we pray to be suddenly wise without having to do the hard work of diligently seeking for this wisdom in Scripture. We pray to be holy, freed from some sin, without having to wrestle with that sin until we pin it to the mat. We pray to follow Jesus well without taking seriously the call to self-denial and self-crucifixion. And then, we're confused when our prayers don't seem to work. I doubt that anyone actually says, 'I think that I'll skip the hard stuff and just pray for what I want.' And yet, isn't that the trap that we sometimes fall into? Fooled again by our ancient foe. And what is the result? Well, that brings us back to where we started. The result is not enjoying the blessings of the Father and knowing it, but not knowing what to do about it because we tell ourselves, 'But I prayed about it'.

Our text is a good reminder, a fitting word for us to ponder. Enjoying the blessings of the Father takes more than prayer. It takes work. It takes an enormous amount of work. The Gospel is simple. But it's not easy. Following Jesus is hard. Jesus' language of 'striving' is so appropriate. But once we see what we are called to do, then prayer makes sense. It makes sense because following Jesus without the power of the Spirit is impossible. So, it is good and right to pray. But it must be wise prayer, not prayer as a short cut. We pray over the details, the means to the goal of following Jesus well. We pray to accomplish specific tasks, like gaining particular bits of wisdom from the study of our Bibles. We pray about specific sins that block our way so that these might be destroyed. We pray about the particulars of walking faithfully in the ways of Jesus. We pray that we will strive to enter. And then we get to work, confident that we will be blessed in our efforts because we know that our Father is full of grace and ready to give more than enough to any who ask.