I don’t know about you but for too many years when I prayed it was like a shopping list- latest fashion, newest electronic gadget, or more of my favorite color (money green). Oh, I also was a man who thanked God in my praying. I thanked Him for my salvation, parents, wife, children and all the other blessings He bestowed upon me. I’m not saying there was anything wrong with thanking God for what He did in my life, or to even come before Him with my needs and maybe even some wants along the way. There’s nothing wrong with any of this. But somewhere along the way the Holy Spirit convicted me of thanking God so much for what He did, that I had forgotten to thank and praise Him for who He is. In fact, He does what He does because of who He is; because of His character and nature.
There are two verses I want you to consider in Deuteronomy 10:17-18 “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.”
These words were given by Moses in the fortieth year of the wandering of the nation of Israel prior to them entering the land that God had promised years before. And don’t forget, this would also be close to the death of this great leader. They had come so close to marching victoriously into the land once before, but had failed in their faith. Now Moses is challenging them, and he draws their attention to their God and gives descriptions of him. Notice the words “God of gods,” Lord of lords,” “great,” “mighty,” and “terrible.” Moses also pointed out that He was “no respector of persons” nor “takes bribes.” He also takes care of the “orphans” and “widows,” and “loves” the stranger. This is their God. His actions are because of Who He is.
Then two verses later, Deuteronomy 10:20-21 we read “Thou shalt fear (revere) the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.”
All of these actions, “fear,” “serve,” “cleave,” “swear by,” and “praise,” are all because of love. You don’t revere a person you don’t love. Neither do you serve and praise a person you are not in love with. What Moses is trying to get them to understand is that they must truly love their God if they ever trust Him for their future.
Remember when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He told them it was to love the Lord with all that they were; their entire being. And in light of our subject matter here, they were to love God for who He was and not what He had done, because who He was and is dictates what He does.
We are to do the same. We’re to love God for who He is, not just what He does. We’re to thank and praise Him for His character; His nature. The Psalmist said in Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD;. . .” It didn’t say delight in Him for what He does. We also read in Psalm 100:2 “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” Again, not just for what He does but for who He is.
What is God’s nature? What is His character? Who is He? We know of His Omnipotence, Omniscience and His Omni-Presence. This is God’s nature. But He’s also Love – I John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” God is also Righteous – Ezra 9:15 “O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous:” Psalm 7:9 “. . . for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.” God is Holy - I Peter 1:16 “Because it is written Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
There is so much more that describes who God is but I think that’s enough to get across my point. God’s nature, character or who God is determines His action. And because His actions are always in harmony with who He is, we can trust Him in everything He does. And so you and I should always thank Him for who He is. When was the last time you told God you loved Him for who He is?
I had a dear friend that many of you know. His name was Gordon Carpenter. He was one of the most godly men I have ever known. He’s now enjoying this reward with His Saviour, whom he loved and served so many years. I had the privilege of serving on a church staff with this man and also had the privilege of having him speak both in my military church in Germany and in Lakeland, Florida. I remember a mission trip I took with him, his dear wife, my wife, Dick and Charlotte Acock and a group of young people to Nassau. One day He, Missionary Pastor Jack Harvey and I were going to pray. Bro. Carpenter’s prayer was filled with Scripture. I remember vividly how He thanked and praised God for who He was. Bro. Harvey and I both marveled at how much He loved God for who He was and not just for what God had done. That made such an impact upon me that I began to search my heart to see if I loved God just because of what He had done or for who He is. It made a difference in my prayer life.
Let me challenge you to search your own heart. Be honest about why you love God. The next time you pray, start with telling God that you love Him for who is He – “Thank You God that You are Holy. I love You God because You are Righteous, etc.”
That’s my view; how about you?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
INCREASED FAITH
In my many years as a Youth Pastor, I’m sure the teens heard me quote Romans 12:1-2 many, many times. It was one of the exhortations I used to challenge them to serve the Lord with all their hearts. Young people, and most others for that matter, deal with pressure to conform to the world. Paul here is charging them to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, and he reminds them of the mercies that had been dealt with in the first eleven chapters. And because of all those mercies, Paul said that a total dedication to God was the norm for the child of God.
In verse 2 Paul gives the key to not conforming to the world. The renewing of the mind is the formula to the transformation (metamorphosis). This helps us understand the process that is spoken of in II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away (are in the process of) behold all things are become (are in the process of) new.” The change takes place as the Word of God is applied in the life of the child of God. He does not conform to the world but is changed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we come to our text verse, Romans 12:3 “For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Paul now warns against pride and reminds the believer that his thinking should be “soberly” or “sane or with right judgment.” Then the Apostle goes on to mention what I want to emphasize in this week’s “Challenging Concept.” Notice the last part of verse 3 “. . . according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Notice the word “measure.” The implication here is that we are given a limited amount of faith.
Paul says that faith comes from God and is given in a varied degree. We are even given the faith to receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior (Phil 1:29). But Paul is not saying that since God is the One who gives faith, we have no responsibility, or that if God wanted us to have more faith He would have given us more faith. That’s not what he’s saying at all. In fact in II Corinthians 10:15 he hoped their faith would “increase.” He also said in II Thessalonians 1:3 that their faith had “grown abundantly.” That’s God desire for all of us.
Years ago I had faith sufficient for the need of that hour. In fact, I’ve even said, “If I had known then all that I would face in life, I might have thrown up my hands in defeat.” What I didn’t know then was that God gives faith equal to the circumstance we face. Notice I Corinthians 10:13 “. . . God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tested) above that ye are able but will with the temptation (provocation) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
It’s very clear that God wants our faith to grow or increase. Faith sufficient for yesterday is not God’s level of faith for today. His will for you tomorrow may necessitate you have a deeper level of faith than you had yesterday. So our faith must grow and increase.
Let me remind you that faith comes from God. On your own you can not receive more faith by working harder or even through more positive thinking. No, faith comes from God, but that does not mean we sit back and do nothing. We can’t lay back on the couch of “do nothing” and say since God works, that gets me off the hook.
I know of no one who had more faith than Paul but he believed in working. He said in I Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Did you notice the word “labored?” Paul is saying in this situation that the fruit of Grace was hard work. God works and we work. In other words, God gives us faith and we take the next step. God gives us faith and we step out into deeper waters. We trust Him more in harder situations than we did years ago.
Our faith grows as we read and study the Word of God (Rom 10:17) and submit to the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our life (Gal 5:22).
A young married couple makes a commitment to put Christ in the center of their home. They have a time each day to read the Word of God and pray. They attend their local church every service and try to witness of their faith. They learn that they should give God the first fruits of their labor. They really have some insecurities about this but decide to step out in faith. God blesses then in their finances and they now start giving to missions also. Then in one mission conference God really begins to deal with them about quitting their jobs and moving to another town to prepare themselves to take the gospel to the country of Africa. They again step out by faith. Could they have done this when they were first married? Probably not! But now they are at a higher level of opportunity and this level requires a higher level of faith.
God still is the giver of faith, but it also still takes response on our part. God help us to grow in our faith. May our faith increase.
That’s my view: how about you?
In verse 2 Paul gives the key to not conforming to the world. The renewing of the mind is the formula to the transformation (metamorphosis). This helps us understand the process that is spoken of in II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away (are in the process of) behold all things are become (are in the process of) new.” The change takes place as the Word of God is applied in the life of the child of God. He does not conform to the world but is changed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we come to our text verse, Romans 12:3 “For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Paul now warns against pride and reminds the believer that his thinking should be “soberly” or “sane or with right judgment.” Then the Apostle goes on to mention what I want to emphasize in this week’s “Challenging Concept.” Notice the last part of verse 3 “. . . according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Notice the word “measure.” The implication here is that we are given a limited amount of faith.
Paul says that faith comes from God and is given in a varied degree. We are even given the faith to receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior (Phil 1:29). But Paul is not saying that since God is the One who gives faith, we have no responsibility, or that if God wanted us to have more faith He would have given us more faith. That’s not what he’s saying at all. In fact in II Corinthians 10:15 he hoped their faith would “increase.” He also said in II Thessalonians 1:3 that their faith had “grown abundantly.” That’s God desire for all of us.
Years ago I had faith sufficient for the need of that hour. In fact, I’ve even said, “If I had known then all that I would face in life, I might have thrown up my hands in defeat.” What I didn’t know then was that God gives faith equal to the circumstance we face. Notice I Corinthians 10:13 “. . . God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted (tested) above that ye are able but will with the temptation (provocation) also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
It’s very clear that God wants our faith to grow or increase. Faith sufficient for yesterday is not God’s level of faith for today. His will for you tomorrow may necessitate you have a deeper level of faith than you had yesterday. So our faith must grow and increase.
Let me remind you that faith comes from God. On your own you can not receive more faith by working harder or even through more positive thinking. No, faith comes from God, but that does not mean we sit back and do nothing. We can’t lay back on the couch of “do nothing” and say since God works, that gets me off the hook.
I know of no one who had more faith than Paul but he believed in working. He said in I Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Did you notice the word “labored?” Paul is saying in this situation that the fruit of Grace was hard work. God works and we work. In other words, God gives us faith and we take the next step. God gives us faith and we step out into deeper waters. We trust Him more in harder situations than we did years ago.
Our faith grows as we read and study the Word of God (Rom 10:17) and submit to the work the Holy Spirit is doing in our life (Gal 5:22).
A young married couple makes a commitment to put Christ in the center of their home. They have a time each day to read the Word of God and pray. They attend their local church every service and try to witness of their faith. They learn that they should give God the first fruits of their labor. They really have some insecurities about this but decide to step out in faith. God blesses then in their finances and they now start giving to missions also. Then in one mission conference God really begins to deal with them about quitting their jobs and moving to another town to prepare themselves to take the gospel to the country of Africa. They again step out by faith. Could they have done this when they were first married? Probably not! But now they are at a higher level of opportunity and this level requires a higher level of faith.
God still is the giver of faith, but it also still takes response on our part. God help us to grow in our faith. May our faith increase.
That’s my view: how about you?
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