Category: encouragement

The Faithful Stewards of God’s Mysteries

Thursday, October 6, 2011

“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1,2 KJV).

As Christians we have a ministry to the world. We share the ministry that was also committed to Paul, Sosthenes, Titus, Timothy, Apollos, Barnabas, Silas, and others. These were “faithful” men (“faithful” meaning trustworthy and dependable, not sinless or perfect).

Believers in Ephesus and Colosse were called “faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:2). In Ephesians 6:21,22 Paul mentions Tychicus, “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord.” Tychicus was reliable and trustworthy: Paul depended on him to relay messages to the Ephesian believers and comfort them. Paul also mentions “faithful” Tychicus in Colossians 4:7-9, along with “faithful and beloved” Onesimus (Philemon’s slave).

Epaphras was a “faithful minister of Christ” (Colossians 1:7). Timothy too was called “faithful in the Lord” because he would teach the Corinthians about Paul’s ministry and activities (1 Corinthians 4:17). The Holy Spirit refers to the Apostle Paul as “faithful” in 1 Corinthians 7:25 and 1 Timothy 1:12. A bishop (overseer of the local church) should be faithful, “holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught” (Titus 1:7-9). Deacons’ wives should also be “faithful in all things” (1 Timothy 3:11). The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

The “stewards” of today’s Scripture are “managers or servants of the mysteries of God.” God wants honest saints, men (and women) who will ensure His Word is properly taught and preached. He wants people who stand firm in sound doctrine, not vacillating wimps. Are you a “faithful steward of the mysteries of God?” Will you share the truths of God’s rightly divided Word with others? If you are a member of the Body of Christ, this is what God ordained you to do in Christ!

Not Walking By Sight, Literally

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV).

Two weeks ago Brother “G,” my friend and co-laborer in the Christian writing ministry, suffered a stroke, losing most sight in one eye. Currently, he has greatly limited vision in both eyes (years ago, his other eye suffered a stroke). Last week, after “seeing” my optometrist, I visited Brother G. However, as of three days ago, I have been enduring an eye infection. I am currently typing with sight in just one eye! 🙂

Case in point: in this fallen creation we all have troubles and adversity (they are “common to man”). Sin and its subsequent curse result in our sickness and ultimate death (Romans 5:12; Romans 8:20-22). But, even during sickness, today’s Scripture says we “bear it.” How?

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans 8:22-25).

We Christians are “saved” from despair. While we suffer sickness, we have faith in the hope that, one day, these weak physical bodies will be redeemed and transformed into new glorified bodies (the rapture; 1 Corinthians 15:49-57; Ephesians 4:30; Philippians 3:20,21). Our destination, as members of the Body of Christ, is the heavenly places, where there is neither sin nor suffering.

After “seeing” doctors, Brother G and me still groan in sickness, but we are walking by faith, NOT sight. Literally, we hope in what “we see not.” 🙂

Pray for the Grace Saints

Saturday, October 1, 2011

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12 KJV).

For what should we pray? Notice in today’s Scripture that Epaphras prayed that his Christian brethren would “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” Epaphras wanted the saints to understand what God’s will was, and then he wanted them to allow God to accomplish His will by transforming their lives for His glory. That is our prayer for you, beloved!

Epaphras is not noted as a pastor or teacher (someone in the “spotlight”), yet he still had a vital role within the local church. He “laboured fervently… in prayers.” A praying saint is just as important to the Body of Christ as a church elder. Whether it is a saint silently praying for God’s Word to prosper and accomplish His will, or a saint audibly teaching God’s Word, every Christian is useful in the ministry.

Pray daily for the grace brethren to “stand perfect and complete in all God’s will.” They, like you, grow weary under the continual bombardments of this present evil world. They too need encouragement and strength, for they are also hated by the lost world and are belittled by the denominationalists and religionists. All over the world, there are clusters of grace saints, your brethren! You should be praying for them, and they should be praying for you.

In Ephesians 1:16, Paul writes: “[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;….” From verses 17 through 23, Paul explains what he prayed for believers (basically, that God would open their understanding, allowing them to comprehend the awesome work He was accomplishing by forming the Church the Body of Christ). Pray continually for the saints with that in mind.

The Apostle Paul, in one of the closing verses of his first epistle to the Thessalonians, simply wrote: “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25). So, “brethren, pray for us”… for we are praying for you!

To a Wearied Christian Soldier

Thursday, September 29, 2011

“But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing” (2 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV).

Job was in terrible shape—he lost his livestock, his children, and his health. He was so despondent that he wished he were dead (Job 3:3,9-13)! In fact, Job lamented: “My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul” (10:1).

Sometimes, a believer’s life can be downright depressing. We are hated and ridiculed for being Christians and labeled “hindrances to progress.” Our lives may be threatened and our family and friends will ostracize us because we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole world is against God’s purpose and plan, thus it opposes us Christians. Oftentimes, it seems like we Christians are fighting a losing battle. Deception, corruption, and injustice are just so widespread. How will we ever reverse the course of this evil world? Rest assured that our Lord Jesus Christ will take of that mess at His Second Coming!

The key is to focus on sound doctrine, not on our circumstances. We focus on the things we cannot see: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17,18).

As members of the Church the Body of Christ, we are heaven bound. This evil world system is not our home—that is why we are not welcome here! The present evil world in which we live is only temporary. Our world will not always be so dire and gloomy. One day, Jesus Christ destroy this heaven and earth, and He will create a new heaven and a new earth. We rejoice in that hope!

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). It is worth the suffering! 😀

Just a Few

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13,14 KJV).

One-third of the world’s population professes Christianity. Are there really over two billion Holy Spirit-indwelt believers on earth? Of course not, for today’s Scripture says only “few” will ever trust in God’s Word for salvation. How can so many people be wrong? The Lord has always had a remnant of believers, never large crowds.

Of the millions of people on earth in Noah’s day, only eight (!) individuals believed God and came into the ark of safety (Genesis 7:7; 2 Peter 2:5).

There were not even 10 believers in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:23-33; Genesis 19:24-25)!

When Israel went to possess the Promised Land under Moses’ leadership, twelve spies were sent to search Canaan. Ten spies said that Israel could not defeat the Canaan’s inhabitants, thereby calling God a liar. Only two spies believed God’s promise to fight for Israel and give them the land (Numbers 13:27-33; Numbers 14:6-9).

In Elijah’s day only 7,000 men in the whole nation Israel were not worshipping the pagan god Baal (1 Kings 19:18; Romans 11:4).

After three years of earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ had just 120 believers in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15).

The majority was wrong in the above passages; the same is true today. Only a fraction of today’s two billion professing Christians are genuine, Holy Spirit-indwelt individuals. As King James Bible users, we are a sliver of that fraction. We Pauline dispensationalists who study and believe the Bible rightly divided, we are a fraction of that fraction of a fraction.

We are the smallest (Christians)… of the smallest (King James Bible users)… of the smallest (Pauline dispensationalists). But be not discouraged! God’s people have always been outnumbered. Still, in the end, God wins. Despite the fact that we are “just a few,” the victory is still ours in Christ. 🙂

Christ Crucified

Monday, September 26, 2011

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV).

Christ’s cross is seldom preached in Christendom’s “praise and worship” meetings. We Bereans know Christ crucified, yet religion emphasizes everything but. Most churches stress Jesus’ teachings and miracles, but our salvation is not found in anything that Jesus preached during His earthly ministry. Christ ministered to Jews under the Law (Matthew 15:24; Romans 15:8; Galatians 4:4,5). We are neither Jews nor under the Law (Romans 6:14,15; Romans 11:11; Galatians 2:16,20; Galatians 3:28).

Many claim to “follow Jesus”—but, which Jesus? The Bible speaks of “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4); the “Jesus” of religion (the Four Gospel Records) is not the Jesus God wants us following today. We follow Jesus Christ as our Apostle Paul followed Him.

Paul did not follow Christ after His earthly ministry: “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16). Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, we follow Christ according to His heavenly ministry as described only in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

Recently, a clergyman used his weekly column to voice his concern in my local newspaper. Why was he so distressed? That souls were going to hell? No! His column’s theme was that he feared cigarette butts were greatly polluting our streets! There was not one word about how to be saved by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. Not one word about Calvary’s cross or Christ’s shed blood. Sad.

What did our Apostle Paul preach? “Save the planet?” Christ’s earthly ministry? No, today’s Scripture says he preached, “Christ crucified.” Today, the message of Christ’s cross is the foremost issue, not His earthly ministry. Paul’s Gospel—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This message, the Gospel of the Grace of God, is the most important message we proclaim, for it alone is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16b).

Mine Own Familiar Friend

Saturday, September 24, 2011

“Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9 KJV).

For some three years, he was one of Jesus’ closest friends. His name meant “the praised one.” He “had [kept] the bag;” as treasurer of the twelve apostles, he was one of the most trusted apostles (John 13:29). At the Last Supper, he sat behind Jesus, guarding His back. If there was someone to die fighting for the Lord Jesus Christ, he appeared to be that person. Until….

While eating that final meal with His apostles, the Lord Jesus Christ warns them: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one shall betray me” (John 13:21). The apostles look at each other, wondering of whom Christ is speaking. “Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered him. Then Jesus said unto him, That thou doest, do quickly” (verses 26,27).

The apostles, according to verses 28 and 29, misunderstand this to mean that Judas, since he is the treasurer, is being sent to buy for the feast or give to the poor. According to John 13:18, today’s Scripture was fulfilled when Judas Iscariot, who ate the bread that Christ dipped, betrayed Him. Today’s Scripture was written some 1,000 years before it happened!

As God, Jesus Christ foreknew Judas would betray Him (John 6:64,70,71), but imagine how shocked the other eleven apostles were to see Judas—“the praised [and trusted] one!”—guiding those who would arrest Jesus! Ironically, the Bible revealed that Judas was “a thief,” who previously stole from the apostles’ treasury bag (John 12:4-6)!

We have all had “friends” who have stabbed us in the back. Those who gained our trust, only to later greatly harm us. The Lord Jesus Christ’s most trusted apostle and “friendliest” (“familiar”) friend did the same to Him.

Brethren, we Christians rejoice to endure backstabbing for God’s glory as Jesus Christ endured it!

The Precious Blood of Christ

Friday, September 23, 2011

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18,19 KJV).

The term “redeem” means “to buy something back that which was originally yours.” When God created Adam (the first man), mankind was in complete fellowship with God. There was no sin or death. That all changed when Adam disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6,7). Sin had ruined God’s perfect creation. There, in Eden, God lost the human race to sin and mankind became part of Satan’s policy of evil, “the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:2).

Coming up through the Scriptures, we see God setting His plan into motion. Somehow He would redeem man, and restore the fellowship He and man had once shared. God purposed in Himself to die for man—God would become a man to shed His sinless blood for our sins. The sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ, has “purchased us with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

First and foremost, Jesus Christ died to redeem the nation Israel (today’s Scripture). Matthew 20:28: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many [Israel]” (cf. Luke 1:68). But, 1 Timothy 2:5,6 says: “the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” When we come to Paul’s ministry (“in due time;” see verse 7), God reveals that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for Israel and for everyone else (us Gentiles!).

Just as God will restore Israel at Christ’s Second Coming (Acts 3:18-21; Romans 11:26-29), Christ has restored us unto Himself now: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law…” (Galatians 3:13). If you have not done so, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, His dying for your sins, His burial, and His resurrection for your justification, and God will save you forever.

Our Greatest Opportunity to Glorify God

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” (John 21:18,19 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, informs the Apostle Peter that some 35 years into the future, evidently, Peter will die by crucifixion—“[he will] stretch forth [his] hands.”

Over in 2 Peter 1:14, we read the Apostle Peter writing, some three decades after Jesus Christ spoke today’s Scripture: “Knowing that shortly I must put off this tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.” Peter, shortly after writing that, glorified God in death (likely executed by evil Roman emperor Nero, who had also murdered the Apostle Paul around that time).

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Colossians 3:17 explains: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Every single detail of our lives—from the routine chores to laying down our lives for Christ or the Christian brethren—should bring the Lord Jesus Christ all the glory, praise, and honor He so rightly deserves.

It is noteworthy that today’s Scripture says that the Apostle Peter would “glorify God” by dying. Naturally, we shudder at such a thought, but the least we could do for Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us, is give our lives for Him! Our Christian lives should glorify God; likewise, our deaths should also glorify God. Should we ever be executed for being Christians, we give our heavenly Father many thanks, considering that our dying for Christ is perhaps our greatest opportunity to glorify God.

Ezra’s Heart Beat Synchronously With God’s Heart

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:10 KJV).

Ezra was a priest and “a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel” (verses 11,12). Today’s Scripture tells us that Ezra valued the things that God esteemed. God wanted Israel to know Him and His laws, and He wanted them to obey His laws. Ezra, as a Jew, sought to know JEHOVAH and His law, and to obey Him. Furthermore, Ezra desired to teach His people (Israel) the law of God.

We should all be as Ezra, who valued God’s Word, and desired to teach God’s Word to others. As saints of God, we are His vessels in this present evil world. We have a God-given commission to be Christ’s “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20). God left us here on earth because we have a ministry, and He has given us His written Word, our instruction manual. Everything that God wants us to know is found in His Word, the King James Bible.

If you are a man or woman of faith, your heart will beat synchronously with God’s heart. You will desire what God desires. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2:3,4: “God our Saviour… who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” God wants everyone to be saved, so we should want everyone to be saved. Also, God wants everyone to come to a spiritual maturity. Since God wants us to know His Word, He wants us to share with others the truths taught in His Word.

We marvel that God wants to use us, lowly creatures who still rebel against Him at times, to accomplish His work. Just as Jesus Christ’s heart beat synchronously with His heavenly Father’s heart, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42), so our heart is the heart of Christ, beating synchronously with our Father’s heart! Let His will be done!