Appreciation of the Mystery

Appreciation of the Mystery
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
V. 14 “For this Reason”, Paul is referring back to the previous verse when he asks the Ephesians not to lose heart, and it for this reason that He bows before God, that he not lose heart. We have to recognize our ability to be sustained in the Christian walk is to rely not upon our own strength, but to call upon God’s strength. We bow before Him in honor, and submission to the God of the universe. We pray to Him for wisdom, strength, our needs, the needs of others, and to offer up praise. We bow before Him and pray reestablishing the relationship with the Father, through the Son, that we may be included in the family of God.
V. 15 The word family has it’s roots in God. God is the Father of Jesus, and Jesus is the link to the Father. In John 14:8,9 Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus’ response is; “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. The Father is reflected in the Son, and the Son is the reflection of the Father. We are joined to the family of God by faith in the Son. Therefore when people look at the family of God they are to see the Son. What are we as the family of God showing the world? Are we presenting a family that others want to join? I remember growing up that there were always one or two fathers that kids would say, “I wish he was my dad”. They were the family that always seemed to have fun. The dad that was always playing in the yard with the kids, he was the cool dad. Are we representing God in a way that others want to be around Him as well? That they think He is the cool dad, because to me He is that and so much more. It is a joy to be a member of the family of God, and we need to be with a group of believers that share in that joy.
v.16 “That He would grant you” As I watched my children and the children of others, ask for something from their parents, there is a sense of expectation in their request. This expectation borders on the thought that we, as parents, owe them, so much so that their requests become demands. I know that God owes me nothing and I am deserving of nothing. In fact if I were to get what I deserved I would have been long ago pushing up daisies. What I have received from God, is from His grace as He saw fit to give me. God did not owe me salvation, but out of His mercies I have received.
“according to the riches of His glory,” When I realize I serve a God who gives out of the fullness of His infinite mercy and grace, I know that I serve a God who is more than able to meet my needs. In giving one should act according to his ability that God has given to him. For if God has given out of His ability, than how can we deny others the same treatment?
“to be strengthened with might” Our troubles and temptation are great indeed, but we are strengthened by God to be able to withstand them. If we were to rely upon ourselves to keep us from trouble and temptation we would fail. We need the might of God, to walk in the ways of God.
“through His Spirit” The sovereign energy of the Holy Ghost, given to us by God’s infinite richness, is more than enough to give us the spiritual strength to face conflict and do the work of the Lord.
“in the inner man.” We are all compound beings having both an inner and outer man. It is the outer man that the world sees, and is fed by earthly foods. It is the inner man that last forever and is not visible to all. The inner man is not fed by earthly food, but by the Spirit of God. Wisdom, peace, love and holiness, are the food of the inner man. This is bread of life that Jesus came to give, that whoever eats of this bread shall live and be strengthened by it. By supplying manna in the wilderness, each day anew, for the Israelites, God was pointing to Christ and that He was the true bread of Heaven. That God’s mercies were renewed each day through Christ.
VS. 17,18 “ that Christ may dwell” Paul compares the human body to the temple of God in Jerusalem, that just as God’s Spirit came to dwell in the temple, so it does in the body of the believer through Christ Jesus. God from the beginning formed man as His temple, that He may dwell with man. After the body was defiled, God could no longer dwell with man. Purity was the key for God’s dwelling in the temple of Jerusalem, and purity is the key to God’s dwelling in us. Jesus was the incorruptible one, who now by faith, dwells in us allowing God to once again dwell in the temple which is the body of not only man, but the church.
“being rooted and grounded in love.” This is a double metaphor; one that is taken from agriculture, the other from architecture. Plants are to be rooted in the soil, which gives the plant all the nourishment it needs to grow into a healthy producing plant. We are to find our nourishment in the love of Christ as He dwells in us and His love nourishes us that we may bear fruit for the Kingdom. A building is only as stable as its foundation. If the building is grounded by a firm foundation, it will last through the storms. So is it with us. If we stay rooted in the love of Christ, and build not only our ministries, but our lives upon the rock of Jesus Christ, than it will withstand the storms of life.
In verse 18 again Paul uses the metaphor of a building, if we are in Christ and are nourished by the Spirit of God, than we are able to understand the plans of God concerning His church and His will for our lives. No builder begins a building without first looking at the plans, so are we to do as the church. We are to search scriptures and study the blueprint for the church from the beginning to see what God intended for the church to be when He called Abraham out of Ur. Faith is the foundation of the church, faith in God, that He will reconcile man to Himself, and Faith in Christ, that He is that instrument in which reconciliation is brought. In Matthew 16: 16 and 17 we read the statement upon which the church is built. “You are the Christ the Son of God” not any man shall the church be built upon, but by that statement alone. God spoke the worlds in existence, and this statement speaks the church in existence, glory be to God. We by faith become the body of Christ, and become the light and salt to a dark and unseasoned world. Oh how God wants to work through the body of Christ to bring salvation and it can begin with each and every member of that body by just reaching one, just one for Christ.
In verse 19 Paul says that by studying the blueprint of the church, we may know the love of Christ. By knowing the love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are filled with the fullness of God. I was watching a commercial recently where people come out of Taco Bell and shout to the world, “I am full!” What is the fullness of God? To be filled with God is a great thing, but to be filled with the fullness of God is a greater thing. By the fullness of God we are to understand all the gifts and graces, which He has promised to man through Christ, that we are filled with meekness, gentleness, goodness, love, justice, holiness, mercy, and truth. If we are filled with these attributes of God, than how can sin have place in our lives? If we are filled to the overflowing with all that God has for us, than what room is there for sin. And when we do fall in sin, does not the soul revolt from the injection of what is now foreign to it. We are to shout to Satan that WE ARE FULL, we are so full of God and His love that there is no place for sin in our lives.
In the last two verses Paul gives glory to God, how can I add to that? To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Purpose of the Mystery

Purpose of the Mystery
Ephesians 3:8-13
8 To Me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unreachable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
V. 8 In the first half of this verse Paul lifts up God and not himself, as he considers himself least among the saints. A true minister of God does not promote himself, nor does he allow others to do it. They are to promote God, and to shepherd the congregation. What does it mean to shepherd? The pastor is to lead the flock to good food and water, and keep them from danger. What does the pastor get from this? He gets the satisfaction of watching a well fed safe church meet the needs of the community. He sees the fruits of the congregation manifests in the lives of its members. He is fed by the fruits of the church, but his real glory is in heaven. If you are doing the will of God, it is God who will reward you. If you are employed by the Acme Company is it not the Acme Company that issues you the paycheck. It is not your coworkers, but the company. If you are doing the will of God, is it not God who meets your needs? The worker does not seek his reward in the praises of the people, but by what God has for him. In this the preacher does not ask? What does the church want me to preach today, but what does God have for them. In both instances he is considering the needs of the people, but wouldn’t it be better to ask God who knows them better?
V.9 Paul wanted others to see his heart that was sold out to the calling of God. That he was to spread the truth of God’s purpose of the church, which was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing the end from the beginning as we do now, it is easy to see that the Jews were to be a shining light to the world that others would want to come to God. Others were to learn that through sacrifice and faith that they grew closer to God. I can’t help but think of the time that God drew His people near the mountain in order to deal with them directly, to be their God. The people feared the Spirit of God and insisted that Moses continue as their mediator. I wonder how things might have been different if the nation of Israel, had indeed longed to commune directly with God. Now Paul says the mystery of Fellowship that was hidden in God, has now been revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. That He was the link not only between man and God, but to the Jews and the Gentiles. We have a mediator, in Jesus that links us directly, through God’s indwelling Spirit, to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also to the promises given to them.
V.10, 11 according to what Paul is saying in these two verses certain things not only were hidden form the Jews, but also from the demons and angels. There are mysteries of the Bible that can be revealed by study and communion with the Holy Spirit, and there are things of God that have yet to be revealed to us. How marvelous and great is the mind of God, and what great things have yet to be revealed to us. Paul was caught away to the third heaven and yet was not permitted to reveal what He had seen. Jesus told the Disciples that the time of the second coming was known only by the Father. Did Satan really realize the full extent of His action at gaining temporary victory at the cross?
With the death of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God being displayed to the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s eternal purpose in salvation is now revealed to all through Jesus. By manifold wisdom, God means that He is displaying His wisdom to His people, through His people even to this day. I found this interesting little story while on the internet; William Phelps taught English literature at Yale for forty-one years until his retirement in 1933. Marking an examination paper shortly before Christmas one year, Phelps came across the note: "God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas." Phelps returned the paper with this note: "God gets an A. You get an F. Happy New Year." Today in the Word, October, 1990, p. 10. There are things which are meant for us to know and there are things which have yet to be given us. 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am known. The full wisdom of God will be revealed to us when we cross over Jordan, and enter that place that has been prepared for us. Until then we will study His word, and listen to the Holy Spirit, as we grow in Grace to what God desires us to be, and He works through us to make known His plan to all, both in heaven and on earth.
V. 12 “we have boldness and access” Acts 4:13-31 tells of a story where Peter and John were forbidden to preach in Jesus name. They went to prayer and were filled with boldness to do exactly that, preach in Jesus name. Their boldness did not come from arrogance, but from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the power of God. They preached out of faith, and the knowing of who Jesus was. They had a message that they knew would save the people if they would just listen. Have you ever known something in your heart to be true and while trying to convey your message to others met with resistance. First the Jews would have to admit they were wrong and they had just witnessed the death of their Messiah. Can you imagine how tough that would be? Yet some were so moved by the preaching of the disciples that they accepted, by faith, what was being taught.
It is Jesus that allows us to be heard of God, and to hear from God. If not for His death and resurrection we would be lost in sin with no hope of heavenly resurrection. We would be dead in our sins, forever lost. If you take away a man’s hope what is he left with. Many prisoners cling to the hope that one day they would be released, that the bars that confine them will be opened and they shall emerge a free person. If you take away that hope, what are they left with? It is Christ who enters into the throne room of God and says, Father I have someone I want you to meet. Can you imagine? It is the Father who looks at us and says I have been waiting for you. Wow what a scene that was when we first believed. It is the Father who says, now you go tell others of My Son. It is He that fills us with the boldness to do His work for His glory, so that scene can be repeated over and over, for the glory of God.
V. 13 Paul tells the Ephesians to stay strong because of what God has been done in their lives and not look toward the tribulations. If we make a stand for Christ the world will hate you. Jesus tells us that they hated Him and they will hate you. Paul encourages them to bear tribulation patiently, knowing that they leave behind a powerful witness. I will leave you with one more story from Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the World.
Of James, the brother of the Lord, we read the following. James, being considered a just and perfect man, governed the Church with the apostles. He drunk no wine or any strong drink, ate no meat, and never shaved his head. He was the only man allowed to enter into the holy place, for he never wore wool, just linen. He would enter into the temple alone, fall on his knees, and ask remission for the people, doing this so often that his knees lost their sense of feeling and became hardened, like the knees of a camel. Because of his holy life, James was called “The Just” and “the safeguard of the people.”
When many of the chief men had been converted, the Jews, scribes, and Pharisees began to fear that soon all the people would decide to follow Jesus. They met with James, saying, “We beg you to restrain the people, for they believe Jesus as though he were Christ. Persuade those who come to the Passover to think correctly about Christ, because they will all listen to you. Stand on the top of the temple so you can be heard by everyone.”
During Passover the scribes and Pharisees put James on top of the temple, calling out to him, “You just man, whom we all ought to obey, this people is going astray after Jesus, who was crucified.”
And James answered, “Why do you ask me of Jesus the Son of Man? He sits on the right hand of the Most High, and shall come in the clouds of heaven.”
Hearing this, many in the crowd were persuaded and glorified God, crying, “Hosanah to the Son of David!”
Then the scribes and Pharisees realized they had done the wrong thing by allowing James to testify of Christ. They cried out, “Oh, this just man is seduced, too!” then they went up and threw James off the temple.
But James wasn’t killed by the fall. He turned, fell on his knees, and called, “O Lord God, Father, I beg You to forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
They decided to stone James, but a priest said to them, “Wait! What are you doing? The just man is praying for you!” But one of the men there-a fuller-took the instrument he used to beat cloth and hit James on the head, killing him, and they buried him where he fell. James was a true witness for Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles.
Trouble will come, we can turn form God in it, or we can be like Paul and rejoice. For if we are imprisoned, we are imprisoned for Christ, if we are killed we are to be with Christ, and if we are set free we are free to tell of Christ.

The Mystery Revealed

Over the next three weeks we will study the Ephesians chapter three. In these three lessons I hope to reflect on the mystery of the church as it is revealed to Paul through the Holy Spirit. May the Holy Spirit of God confirm the Word in each of us as we study it together.
The Mystery Revealed
Ephesians 3:1-7
V.1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles- 2. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3. how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4. by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5. which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6. that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and be partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7. of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
V.1 “For this reason,” Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel to the gentiles, insisting that they were heirs to the same privileges that the Jews. Paul told that they did not have to partake of circumcision, which set the Jews apart from the rest of the world, therefore making them privileged to the promises of God. He was first imprisoned in Caesarea, where he appealed directly to the Roman emperor, causing him to be delivered to Rome a prisoner.
“the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles” For preaching the gospel to the gentiles telling them that they were not bound by the law, but were called fellow citizens with the saints that died in the faith. This caused the Jews to persecute Paul, have him put in chains, and conspired to have him put to death. Paul was not alone in her persecution, as I have included one story from John Foxe’s book, “Christian Martyrs of the World”.
Marcus, the Bishop of Arethusa, a town in Thrace, destroyed a heathen temple and had a Christian church built in its place. This so enraged the heathens of the town that they waited until he was alone and captured him one day. After they had beaten him with sticks, they asked whether he would rebuild the temple he’d torn down. Marcus not only refused to rebuild it but threatened to destroy it again if anyone else rebuilt it. His persecutors looked around for some way of punishing him, finally deciding on a plan that was as cruel as it was unusual. They tied Marcus with ropes and placed him in a large basket, which they hung in a tree after smearing the poor man’s body with honey. After being hung up in the tree, Marcus was asked once more to restore the temple; he refused, and his tormentors left him to die from the stings of the wasps he attracted.
This is only one account of the many that have been, and still are today persecuted for their willingness to preach the gospel of Christ.
V. 2 On Paul’s visit to Ephesus, he taught them the basics of Christianity. In Acts 20:27 He says that he had not avoided to tell them the whole counsel of God. In verse 2 he reminds them to fall on the teachings they had received, and recognize that it was indeed from God. If there had been more that was needed for them to function as the body of Christ that he would have told them. A fellow that I know had begun preaching and asked me how you knew if you preached long enough. I told him every time he got up there to just lay everything that God had laid on his heart on the people. That way he knew he had held nothing back. I feel that if you empty yourself that you allow the space needed for God to fill you up again. I think that this is what Paul was alluding to when he mentioned the dispensation of grace. That in God’s plan for the redemption of mankind, that He chooses to work though willing vessels. That if we empty ourselves to His will, that He is faithful to use us to reach His goals. John told the people gathered in the wilderness that he must decrease in order that Christ increase, when we surrender our wants and desires for the wants and desires of God, than the words that we speak seem not to come from ourselves, but from God. I know this to be true as I listened to a message I preached over seven years ago, and was astounded that those words were coming from my mouth. This is given by the grace of God in order that the saints may learn the gospel and be used of God to further the work of the church.
V.3 In this verse Paul tells the that what he told them came not from consulting
others, not from his opinions, nor from studying ancient prophets, but by direct revelation from God. Does God still work in this way? Since we know that God never changes, than I would have to say most assuredly yes. Since His Spirit is alive in us, then it is through His spirit that these direct revelations are made.
V.4,5 The great Mystery Paul speaks is that God was reveling to man, through revelation, that the gentiles were now receiving the gospel. Until the time of Christ the power of God reveled through His people as a light unto the world. Now the true light had come unto the world, first to His own, than to the Gentiles. Jesus was to be the one to break down the wall separating God’s chosen people and the gentiles, to bring them together as one spiritual body. It was possible for others to be saved by their faith outside the Jews, case in point of Rahab. The Jews could not think, nor can we, that God is there for one denomination, but for all those who would trust in His Son. Where God worked directly with His prophets in the Old Testament, His Spirit was now dealing directly with the Apostles of the church, in order to bring the Jews and the church together. We know form the Word that this didn’t always happen, and may not be fulfilled till the final days.
V.6 “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs,” This was the essence of the great mystery of Christ, that the gentiles would be joint heirs to the promises given to Abraham. That through faith, we are to become one in body not only with Christ but with Jewish believers. I have talked to misguided Christians who display a dislike for the Jews for the treatment of Christ. Not realizing that it was not the Jews that crucified our Lord, but our own sins. A stark image that I am reminded of was a man knelling at the empty cross with a hammer and nails in his hand.
V.7 Paul again tells the Ephesians that it was not his words that he spoke, but that that was revealed to Him by God. Christians are to give all glory to God, for His work is exactly that, His work. We are His vessels, bought with a price and not our own. We can do nothing lasting for His kingdom, lest the power of God is in it.

The Heavenly Hope

The Heavenly Hope
Hebrews11:8-16
8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10. for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the shy in multitude-innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13. These as died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have opportunity to return. 16. But now the desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city in Heaven.
During the gold rush in California, men left their lives and the comforts of home to seek not the promise of gold, but the hope of a better life. What if these men already had a good life at home? What if their needs were met, they had a great job, riches beyond their need, and a life that was the envy of their neighbors, and would they still go? We surround our teenagers with the many comforts of home, television, phone, computer, stereo, food and shelter, all in the comforts of their air conditioned rooms. Yet we are surprised when they are reluctant to get out on their own. What promises await them? The glamour of apartment life, launder mats, where for the first time they have to wash their own clothes, microwavable dinners, for they never came out of their rooms long enough to learn to cook, they believed the food fairy just left it on the table for them to consume and quickly go about their busy lives.
Abraham had a good life in Ur, but God had a plan for his life that Abraham could not see. God wanted to bring salvation to the world through the lineage of Abraham, but in order to do that He needed to separate Abraham from his family. So God gave him the promise, not merely the hope, of a land picked out by God where he was to dwell, as well as the promise that a great nation would be born out of this one man.
So Abraham went out from the comforts of his home to a promise. He did not know his final destination, only that he had a promise. Being a truck driver I like to have my route planned out for me in detail. I like to know the condition of the road, traffic lights, delays, and the weather before I depart. Abraham did not have any of this, so armed with faith he headed out, to a promise of a new city, whose builder was God.
What have we walked away from to serve God? As an unbeliever I had a group of friends that I partied with. After I started walking with God, the love for Him and the joy that I now had was evident in the way that I behaved and the speech that I used. It was odd to see my friends begin to apologize for the language they used around me. I began to share the gospel with them and soon found that they did not share in my joy. Since then I have gained new friends some share in the joy that I have found and others respect the faithfulness that I have to God. God has not asked me to leave my home and follow Him, but He asked us all to leave the comforts of sin and the temporary joy that it brings, to follow a promise of a city that is build by Him. In doing this we become heirs with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the promise that God gave to them.
When Abraham and Sarah got to the land that God had promised to them they found that it was inhabited. So they did not dwell in homes but tents, as people who were passing thru. Jacob was 15 when Abraham died and they as yet had not received the fulfillment of God promise, yet they were heirs to the promise. When a will is read the heirs of the deceased expect to receive the inheritance immediately. What if the reader of the will were to say that you have inherited riches beyond your imagination, and you shall receive them, yet they walk away empty handed? The heirs go to all their friends and share the joy in the inheritance they have received but have no proof, their live style has not changed, and they have no new cars, no new houses, not even any new toys. Yet they see a joy in their faces that cannot be explained. As their lives go by and they have not yet received their inheritance, only the promise of it, their friends begin to think them nuts. Their children await the promise and when their parents pass they think finally they will receive the inheritance promised to them. Alas as the will is read they too receive the same promise, and walk in the same joy. They walk to the mail box every day, just as their parents had, and come away with only the promise. They may receive a note now and then telling about the riches they will receive, yet never see one dime. Their joy leaves them from time to time and they fall back on the stories their parents had told them as they were growing up, and they call their siblings and share with them in the joy of the promise they will receive.
This is what Isaac, Jacob, and his sons went through as they waited on the promise, strangers in a land that was their inheritance, till the families of Jacob were reduced to slaves in Egypt, still believing the promise.
Verse 13. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off.” Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received many answers to prayers in their lives. They were witness to great things that God did for them, as He was with them all their days. Yet they considered themselves pilgrims and visitors in a land that God had given them as an inheritance. They embraced the promises of god, of a Kingdom and a city built by Him. They were ambassadors of God in a strange land that was there own. They had every opportunity to return to their country, but it was no longer their home. To go back to a life that was simpler, to homes more solid than the tents they now lived in. It was their faith that God would complete what He had begun in them that kept them walking in the will of God. They knew that the place they had come was a better place, but the promises of God far outweighed the comfort of that home far behind.
We go through this life enjoying the riches of this great country, and the many blessing of God. New homes, cars, campers, boats, and the many things that we surround ourselves with make this life desirable. Sometimes they cause us to forget that is it not our home. I can remember a time in my life when I was stripped of everything that I had come to love. All my procession could fit in one van. I was staying with friends and relying upon the grace of God to see me through. I did remember the promises of God, and longed for the promises that His word spoke to me. His word brought me comfort and assurance, as His spirit reminded me, as it still does, that this too would pass. All lives troubles will pass and all lives riches will pass. A Jehovah Witness came to my door one day and in our conversation, asked me; “Don’t you want to spend eternity on this earth?” I looked out my door at the beauty of God creation, at the blue sky, the trees, and the flowers; I heard the stream beside my home and agreed this was a wonderful place. I told the man no, I do not wish to remain on this earth for eternity. For my home is not this earth. I have a promise from God, passed down through Abraham, that I am a joint heir to a city built not by man, but by God Himself. The end of Verse 16 sums this lesson up quite well. “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
May God’s richest blessing be yours, as we sojourn together on this earth, longing for a city built by God, and given to us through the blood Of Christ. Till He comes to take us to a home prepared for us. Amen and Amen.

Walking in the Spirit

Walking in the Spirit
Part 2
Galatians 5:1,13-25
1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15. But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and those are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lewdness, 20. idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentious, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, 21. envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24. And those who are Christians have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
V.16 "Walk in the Spirit," Even as Christians, as we all know, we are still tempted by the flesh, and occasionally fail to it. What you do when this happens is up to you. It is not God's desire for you to walk in the flesh, but the flesh's desire. Does this mean you have no control over the flesh? Certianly not, we have indeed stepped out of the will of God, but not out of His love. How do we get back in the will of God and out of the will of the flesh? By getting back to what brought you to salvation in the first place, the Spirit of God. Double talk, certainly not, but it is God who initiates the relationship between you and He, it is God who provides the sacrifice needed for your salvation, and it is God who accepts that sacrifice, when offered by you. So confession is the beginning of your journey back into the will of God. By confession, we are allowing God to heal us, reestablishing that relationship with Him that He so desires.
If we fail to reestablish this relationship, we give opportunity to the flesh to be master of our lives, and continue to walk in the flesh. We cannot serve two masters. In Luke 16:13 Jesus says that when we serve two masters that we will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and depise the other. So if we walk in the flesh we will come to depise the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and come to love the temporary comfort that the flesh brings. Is God finished with you at this point? Praise His name that He is not, for His love for us is greater than our love for the flesh, and He will continue to strive for you.
V. 17 "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." Upon salvation there is a great battle that is unleashed in you. It is the battle for what the flesh knew, and enjoyed, and for what the Spirit of God is trying to do in you. For you are no longer born of the flesh, but born of the Spirit, yet the flesh strives for what was once its own. If we say we have no sin, we make God out to be a liar, so when we walk in the flesh God still strives for you. Without the grace of God we can do nothing, but for the grace of God we are able to come back into the fold. Even though our ability to hear the Spirit of God is diminished by sin, the love of God speaks to the unbeliever and believer alike to bring them out of sin.
In Romans 7:20, Paul talks of this battle when he says; "Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." In verse 24 he cries out for deliverance. "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" We know that our deliverer is alive and well and sits at the right hand of God on high. Paul reconizes this fact in verse 25; "I thank God- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
V. 18 "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." If you once again receive the Gospel, you receive the grace of Christ. Therefore allowing yourself to be influenced once again by the Holy Spirit, which we grieve. If we walk again in grace than we are no longer walking under the penalty of the law. So victroy over the flesh comes not from the will but from grace. Many times I wish that I could cast off this evil flesh and walk fully in the Spirit, only to know that this will not come to fruition till the resurection. In Romans 7:19 Paul speaks words that I hear echo in my own ears time and time again, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."
In verses 20 through 23 we see the weapons of the flesh and the weapons of the spirit. Both are available to us, one leads to death and destruction, and not to victory over the Spirit. The other leads to victory over the flesh. In our war with sin, and we will war, remember this is the church Paul is talking to, we are not unarmed. For in verse 24 it says that those who are Christians have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. We have made a decision to allow God to cleanse us from all sin by accepting the only sacrifice able to do this. When we offer the blood of Christ back to God, He is faithful to forgive us. Not because of who we are, but beacause of who He is. Not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did on the cross. Verse 25 sums it up well, "If we live in Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit." Amen Paul! Amen!