Stay Focused.

Isaiah 3-4, 1 Peter 1

Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned! – Isaiah 3:10 NLT

The opening chapters of the book of Isaiah are filled with God's stinging condemnation of the people of Israel. Through His prophet, Isaiah, God predicts the judgments He is bringing for their unfaithfulness. He outlines their sins in great detail. “For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence” (Isaiah 3:8 ESV). Their words and actions were so wicked, it was as if they didn't even believe that God existed. Their behavior seemed to deny the very presence of God. They were marked by pride and a lack of shame. So God was bringing judgment. But in the midst of all of God's righteous anger and accusations of unfaithfulness, He addresses the righteous or godly. He indicates that there remained a faithful remnant who would continue to honor and worship Him. And He tells them not to worry – that it will be well with them. They will eat the fruit of their deeds. In other words, their faithfulness in the midst of all the unfaithfulness will be rewarded. These people would have to go through the same judgment as everyone else. They would have to endure the same circumstances as the rest of the nation of Judah, but God would be with them. He would somehow reward them for remaining faithful to Him.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Our God is fully aware of what is going on in our hearts – at all times. He knows who is faithful and who is not. While it would be easy to draw the conclusion that everyone in Judah was wicked and apostate, God indicates that there are still a few who have not forsaken Him. There was still a righteous remnant who had remained faithful to God and who were trying to stay morally and religiously pure in the midst of the rampant sin and idolatry that was taking place all around them. God is always right in what He does. He never punished unfairly or causes the innocent to suffer unjustly. One of the indictments He had against the people of Judah was their abuse of the poor and needy. He accused the rulers and elders, saying, “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor. How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” (Isaiah 3:14-15 NLT). God was not blind to the injustices. He was not oblivious to the plight of the poor or the lonely condition of the faithful few who were trying to their belief in God alive while surrounded by runaway sin and moral decay. God was watching. He was fully aware of all that was going on. And the same is true in our day.

What does this passage reveal about man?

God has always preserved a faithful remnant. There have always been a faithful few in all generations who have refused to turn their back on God. The temptation is to believe that we are all alone, that no one else is faithful, but us. The prophet Elijah faced that problem. He reached a point in his life and ministry when he believed he was the last man standing. After having witnessed a powerful miracle by God, and having personally defeated the prophets of Baal, Elijah received a death threat from Queen Jezebel. This bad news caused him to run for his life. Then, when confronted by God, he answered, ““I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10 ESV). He was all alone. He was the only one left who remained faithful to God. Or so he thought. But God corrected his thinking, saying, “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18 ESV). Elijah was not alone. There were others who shared his love for God and his desire to serve Him alone. God had preserved a remnant. But Elijah needed to be reminded that, for all his claims of belief and faith in God, for all his efforts on behalf of God, he had stopped placing His hope in God. He had let his circumstances dictate his conclusions about life and about God's ability to intervene in his situation. That small remnant of faithful Jews living in Judah had no idea what was going to happen. They could not argue with God regarding His assessment of their nation. They were fully aware of the sins taking place all around them. And they were not completely innocent themselves. While they were comparatively faithful compared to the majority of their peers, they were still sinful. They knew God was just in His pronouncement of judgment. But they didn't know what the future held for them. They were going to have to continue to trust God.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Peter told the believers living in his day the same thing. They were living in a time of great persecution and difficulty. These relatively new believers found themselves facing all kinds of opposition. But Peter reminds them to keep their eyes focused on their future hope. He wanted them to remain faithful to God in the midst of all their difficulties. They were going to be tempted to take a look at their current conditions and give up. But Peter told them to look up. “Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” (1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT). Something greater was coming. God was going to preserve them through their current difficulties because He had promised them something better in the future. Peter went on to tell them, “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT). The key to surviving the trials of life was to keep their hope focused on the faithfulness of God. And in the meantime to live their lives according to the reality of their future destiny. Peter told them, “So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as ‘temporary residents’” (1 Peter 1:17 NLT). They were to continue to live holy, set apart lives. Their future hope was to have a present reality to it. Their faith in God's promise of future glorification was to be the impetus for their present conduct. “Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory” (1 Peter 1:21 NLT). Because Jesus died and was raised again, we can know that our future hope is secure – no matter what we see happening around us. The trials of this life test the purity of our faith. When things get tough, do we give up or do we look up? When difficulties come, do we focus on our circumstances or turn our eyes to our faithful, promise-keeping God?

Father, help me to keep my eyes focused on You. Don't let me get distracted by the temporary trials of this world. The troubles of this life simply test where my hope and allegiances lie. While this world will constantly disappoint me, You never will. And while You may delay in bringing about Your future reward, help me not to grow weary or to give up. May I live with my eyes firmly focused on the hope that is yet to come. Amen

No Place For Cockiness.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to e more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. – 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT

There was a group of believers at Corinth who viewed themselves as having a superior knowledge. They had become a bit prideful and cocky over the subject of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. This was a common practice among the pagans in Corinth, but some of those who had converted to Christianity were continuing the practice even as believers. Their justification was that they knew that the idols to whom this meat had been sacrificed were not really gods at all – because there were no other gods besides Yahweh. They also seemed to believe that they were protected from any harm because they had a special relationship with God. From this section of Paul's letter, it would appear that they also believed that believed their participation in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper provided some kind of supernatural immunity to them. So Paul gave them a brief history lesson, using the people of Israel as an illustration of what can happen when you let your guard down and assume you are immune from or impervious to temptation or sin. Paul recounted the story of the Israelite's days wandering in the wilderness after God had freed them from captivity in Egypt. He wrote about the pillars or fire and smoke that guided the Israelites night and day. He wrote about their miraculous crossing of the sea on dry ground. He recounted God's provision of manna and the water from the rock. He spoke of God's appointment of Moses as their leader and the requirement of the Israelites to follow him faithfully. In all of this, Paul was trying to compare the situation of the Corinthian Christians with that of the Israelites. Both had been freed by God. They had been provided leadership by God. Since baptism is an outward express of faith, the act of the Israelites walking through the sea, following the cloud and accepting Moses' leadership, were in essence a waterless form of baptism – an expression of their faith. The manna they ate and the water they drank from the rock were symbols of God's supernatural provision – much like the Lord's Supper. The bread and water were provided by God. The rock from which the water flowed was representative of Christ Himself. Just as the bread and the wine of the Lord's Supper represent the body and blood of Christ and His provision for our spiritual needs, the manna and water represented the supernatural provision by God of the Israelite's physical needs.

And yet, in spite of their status as God's chosen people and God's miraculous provision of food and water, the people ended up in idolatry. That was Paul's whole point with this little history lesson. He was warning the believers in Corinth not to get cocky and too sure of themselves just because of their unique relationship with God made available through Christ. Paul reminded them that "these things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did" (1 Corinthians 10:6-7 NLT). The Israelites were guilty of idolatry, immorality, unbelief, grumbling, complaining, and unfaithfulness. All in spite of the fact that they were the chosen people of God. They had been delivered by God. They had been led by God. They had been fed by God. But in the end. God was not pleased with some of them. They had rebelled against Him and they never made it to the Promised Land, having died in the wilderness instead. Again, Paul warned the Corinthians that "these things happened to them as examples for us" (1 Corinthians 10:11 NLT). Then Paul writes those memorable words: "If you think are standing strong, be careful not to fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT). Like the Israelites, believers will face temptations along the way. Despite their position as God's chosen people, they will find themselves facing all kinds of opportunities to rebel against God and practice both idolatry and immorality – either literally or spiritually. And when we become cocky and sure of ourselves, that is when we are the most vulnerable. Remember the Israelites. They had miracles, manna, clouds of fire and smoke, water from a rock, sandals that never wore out, and countless other signs of God's presence and power – and yet, they sinned. They turned away from God. It could happen to anyone. But God is faithful, even when we are not. He will not allow the temptations in our lives to be more than we can handle. He always provides a way of escape – an exit strategy. But we have to be aware of our vulnerability and susceptibility at all times. It is when we think we are "strong" that we are in the greatest danger. Self-confidence can be a dangerous thing for a believer. We must place our confidence in God, not ourselves. The Corinthian believers were running the risk of placing too much confidence in their position as God's chosen people. Like the Israelites of old, they were setting themselves up for a dangerous fall. No one is immune to idolatry or spiritual unfaithfulness. They are a constant threat to all believers – at all times. But we must always turn to God for help. We must recognize our own weakness and His sufficiency. He will show us a way out so that we can endure. Because He is faithful.

Father, never let me become cocky or complacent. Keep me fully aware at all times of my propensity and capacity to become unfaithful. I don't want to become so self-assured that I let my guard down and end up failing and falling. I don't want to take my position as Your child for granted or allow my eternal security to let me live carelessly in this lifetime. Failure and unfaithfulness is always a real possibility. But You are faithful. You provide a way of escape at all times. Thank You for that assurance. Amen.

When It Comes to Faith – A Little Goes a Long Way.

Luke 17:1-10

The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!” – Luke 17:6 NLT

Once again, we have a very difficult passage this morning. There are two seemingly disconnected messages that have nothing to do with one another. What is it that Jesus is trying to tell His disciples and, by extension, us? The first message has to do with temptation. It is similar to a teaching Jesus gave that was recorded by Matthew. Jesus tells His disciples that there will always be temptations to sin. It is part of living life in a fallen world. But His real point seems to be that you don't want to be someone who tempts or leads another person into sin. Because Luke has included this teaching of Jesus in this section of messages, I believe he is purposely connecting it to Jesus' indictment of the Pharisees and religious leaders. One of His greatest frustrations with these so-called religious leaders was that, through their actions and attitudes, they were causing others to reject His message. They were preventing others from accepting the Good News that Jesus came to bring. Later on in His ministry, Jesus would make this point painfully clear: "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You won't go in yourselves, and you don't let others enter either" (Matthew 23:13 NLT). So I believe Luke is including these two teachings of Jesus in this section because he viewed them as having something to do with Jesus' views regarding the religious leaders of the day.

The last thing we should want to do as believers is to cause someone to sin. Instead, we should be calling one another to repentance. If it is necessary, we should even be willing to rebuke them in order to get them to repent. As representatives of Jesus, our job is to encourage one another away from sin, not toward it. Rather than encourage rebellion against God, we should motivate one another toward repentance to God. And when they do repent, we should be ready to forgive them – even if their sin was toward us. Over in the Matthew passage, Jesus takes this message a step further, saying, "So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut of off and throw it away. It's better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It's better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell" (Matthew 18:8-9 NLT). That seems pretty drastic, doesn't it? But Jesus is trying to get us to recognize the seriousness of sin, both in our individual life and within the body of Christ. We are not to tolerate sin. We are not to become comfortable with sin – in our own lives or within the church. When Paul found out that there was a situation going on in the church at Corinth that involved a man having sex with his step-mother, he addressed it quickly and powerfully. He said, "I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you" (1 Corinthians 5:1 NLT). Evidently, the church had decided to simply tolerate this situation rather than deal with it. But Paul told them to remove this man from their fellowship. He said, "you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns" (1 Corinthians 5:5 NLT). Then Paul gives them the reason behind his harsh recommendation. "Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old "yeast" by removing this wicked person from among you" (1 Corinthians 5:6-7 NLT). Deal with it. Remove it. Take it seriously. Or it will spread and infect the whole congregation.

Back to Luke's account. Jesus would love to see the religious leaders repent of their sins. He would love to see them recognize their sinfulness, turn to Him as their Messiah, and receive forgiveness. And even though their sins were directed against Him, He would have forgiven them. But until they did repent, Jesus would continue to point out their sins and rebuke them for their hard hearts and hypocrisy. We must understand the power and pervasiveness of sin. We cannot afford to make light of it. As Jesus said, it is like yeast, and will spread uncontrolled through our lives and through the church if left unchecked.

The second part of this passage appears to be a total detour. The disciples ask Jesus to show them how to increase their faith. It sounds like a legitimate request. But what are they really asking? Because of the manner in which Jesus answers them, it would appear that their request had an ulterior motive that was less than innocent. Their request for increased faith seems to be so that they could do bigger and better things. They wanted to do miracles like Jesus. They wanted to cast out demons like Jesus. They had gotten a little taste of what this was like when Jesus sent them out two by two with the power and authority to heal and cast our demons. They came back pumped. They liked what they had experienced. They were wanting more of the same. So Jesus tells them that it wasn't a matter of the QUANTITY of their faith, but the QUALITY of it. He tells them that with just a small amount of faith, they could tell a tree to be uprooted from the ground and be thrown into the sea, and it would happen. Now, you have to stop and think about this statement. What is Jesus really teaching us? Is He saying that if we believe hard enough, we can literally uproot trees with a word from our mouths? The point seems to be the contrast between the size of the faith compared to the difficulty of the task. A little faith can do a lot. Jesus seems to be telling the disciples that they don't need MORE faith, they need the right KIND of faith. Jesus uses a real-life illustration to make His point. If a master has a servant who has been plowing in the master's field or caring for the master's sheep, and that servant comes in to the house, does the master invite his servant to sit down and eat with him? Certainly not. He tells the servant to serve him first. And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was supposed to do? No. Then Jesus makes it personal. “In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty’” (Luke 17:10 NLT). Faith must be God-directed. The disciples wanted more faith so they could do more things for their own glory and benefit. They wanted to accomplish more, but they wanted to do it on their own terms. Jesus is telling them that they simply need to do what He wants them to do. They needed to be faithful first. They needed to trust Jesus and listen to what He was saying. Again, I think Jesus is also sending a message regarding the religious leaders. They refused to listen to God. They refused to obey God. They were rejecting the very Son of God. Rather than view themselves as servants of God, they had tried to turn the tables and almost demanded that God serve them. After all, in their minds, they deserved it. They were descendants of Abraham and faithful servants of God. But they were neglecting their duty to God.

Jesus wants the disciples to know that their faith must not be based in their ability to accomplish great things for God. It must be focused on God Himself. Our faith, even in small quantities, will accomplish incredible things, as long as we are leaning on and listening to God. If God demands that we uproot a mulberry tree, we will have all the power to do it, because we are doing His will. And He will get the glory, not us. Like the servant in Jesus' example, we need to be willing to do our duty, faithfully. We need to be willing to focus on God and His desires. Then when He commands us to do something, we will have our faith in the right place and He will provide the power to produce the right outcome. We don't need more faith, we just need to focus what little faith we have on the right thing – serving God.

Father, show me how to serve You more and me less. Help me make it less and less about me and more and more about You. If You are the focus, faith will never be a problem. If I realize that You don't need me to do anything, but that You want to reveal Your power in me and through me, then I don't need more faith. I have You.  Amen.