FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

What a Secret – Continued

The Word lets us know that by nature, human beings are self-centered, narrow-minded, and greedy. Grace enables us, God’s grace and not ours, to say when it comes to giving generously, “I once was lost, on the issue of giving, but now I’ve found that God’s Word is true. Not because the preacher said so, but rather, because I have been touched by the grace of God.” God’s grace redeems. God’s grace saves. God’s grace converts. God’s grace changes the very heart. God’s grace helps Christians to behave as the Christians did in Macedonia. Arm twisting, sales promotions, Sunday morning pep talks, and pulpit pleadings, and even prosperity bribing, will not produce cheerful giving that pleases God. If the Word of God does not do it, if God’s grace doesn’t take the Word and convince, nurture, and change us, public relations nor false teachings won’t be able to do it, only, the Holy Spirit imparting grace to a surrendered heart can accomplish that which human nature says isn’t possible.

What a Grace

The grace of God must touch you. The grace of God must touch me. The grace of God must touch immature persons of little faith and convert us into understanding that God has called us to be servants. Many of us want positions, especially positions of assumed leadership, but it’s not the position, nor the title that makes the person. It’s the sacrifice that the person contributes in the position. It’s the willingness to serve others over ourselves. If God’s grace was at work in the churches of Macedonia, and if God’s grace was a partial answer for the motivation of the Macedonian Christians, what is the other answer for their generosity? Verse 5 tells us, “they FIRST gave themselves to the Lord” (Bold emphasis added). There are so many in numerous churches throughout the land, and I’m not picking on any specific churches, who are in church, for whatever their reasoning, but who have not given themselves fully and wholly to the Lord. It’s extremely sad and heart-breaking to say, but do you understand? We’re in the congregation, we’re taking part, in part. Good music brought us here. Good singing brought us here. A good organist brought us here. Good preaching and teaching brought us here. The reputation of the church brought us here. A friend brought us here. But I want to ask first and foremost, have we met the Lord? Did He bring us here?

I’m going to take my time and teach the simple Word of God. “They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” What is this talk about first giving themselves to God? “Preacher, how do we accomplish first giving ourselves to God?” Well, church members, and especially church officers, those who serve in the congregations, must acknowledge the reality of God. For some, it can be hard to acknowledge the reality of a God we can’t see.

I can see this the computer screen in front of me. I can see my Bible next to me. In the church assembly, I can see you looking at me, and I can see those pews or chairs, and I can see the pulpit up front, but I can’t see God. However, because we come here Sunday after Sunday with only the physical eyes, we know what somebody else was wearing. We saw where somebody was sitting, we saw somebody usher, we saw somebody sing, but did we see God? Were we made aware of the reality of God?

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation®, NLT © 2015 by Tyndale House.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

What a Contrast – Continued

An old expression goes, “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” There’s always somebody worse off than you. You may be feeling sorry for yourself, but there is somebody whose every breath is predicated on a machine doing the work of the human lungs. Each and every one of us ought to be saying, “Thank You, Jesus!” The Macedonian church taught us three stern realities: (1) they were poor; (2) they were severely tested by troubles, and (3) their joy was great. Because their joy was great they wanted to help the famine-stricken brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Paul stated in the next couple of verses, “For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” When I reflect on those words of Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, I’m reminded of the fact that God does not expect you, and God does not expect me, to do it all. All He wants us to do is to have a part. He expects us, and He desires of us, to have a share. He expects us to make our contributions. Remember, verses 3 and 4 tell us that they begged Paul to let them have a part in this missionary endeavor.

The Christians of Macedonia were saying: “Yes, we’re very poor. Yes, we’re severely tested by trouble but, in spite of it all, God has been good to us. We want to have a share in helping the brothers and sisters in Judea.” Reason and logic are both cold and dispassionate. Reason and logic are not emotional. Reason and logic are very practical. So those of you with an argumentative nature, that grows out of the context of reason and logic, are saying as you hear this message. “How can very poor, severely troubled Christians be happy, and at the same time unselfish? How is it even remotely possible?”

What a Secret

What was their secret? What was the motivation for their behavior? How can I believe there were people who actually behaved as reported by Paul in this letter? Verse 1 gives us a partial answer. Paul explains it this way when he writes, “We make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.” In other words, generosity in people is the work of God’s grace. By nature you and I are selfish. By nature we come here with our hands closed. By nature little children have closed fists. Spiritually, many of us are still little children.

I recently read of an illustration told of a time when a pastor was shaking hands with his parishioners as they were leaving the church. A little boy came by with his mother. He wanted to give that little boy a dollar, but the little boy wouldn’t open up his hands. The pastor explained that the mother had stated, “Well, the reason why he’s not opening his hand is that he has a quarter in it. He felt that if he shook your hand [the pastor’s], he would lose his quarter.” The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver so much so that the Word says, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation®, NLT © 2015 by Tyndale House.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

The churches in Macedonia were far more generous than what seemed reasonable. That is what the Apostle Paul was writing to the Corinthian church. Not what he and his comrades expected, but more. In fact, much more than they could have hoped for. These churches in Macedonia were young in age and small in membership. Affliction and persecution were their daily companions. Poverty had touched their lives deeply. They knew what it was to be without, what it was to run short of having enough to make it because poverty had permeated their lives to the very core. Very few of their membership belonged to the business and professional class. In fact, biblical historians tell us that those who did have possessions had lost many of them as the result of an earthquake in Macedonia. Those who did not lose their possessions through the earthquake had been stripped of them by the Romans, since the people of Macedonia were occupied by oppressive colonial forces. Few of them had “bragging rights,” as it were. Yet these simple, Christ-loving, God-fearing, compassionate-feeling people were moved with merciful generosity when they learned that the apostle Paul was raising an offering for the famine-stricken churches of Jerusalem.

I’ve never been able to understand it in all my years of service. It’s a mystery to me how those who often are the most blessed seem to be the most selfish, whereas those who struggle seem to be willing to share their crust of bread with another beggar who’s begging. This is the way it was at the time Paul was writing the Corinthians. Listen to Paul tell us about the churches in Macedonia. Paul explains:

“Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2 NLT).

What a Contrast

What a paradox, what a contrast, what an extreme! They were extremely poor because of their afflictions, because of their troubles. But, on the other hand, they were most joyful in the generosity of their giving. Simply put, they were very joyful in the generosity of their giving because they gave without complaining. That ought to be a message to us today, for the Bible says, “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). Serve the Lord, not with complaining, not with criticism, but “Serve the Lord with gladness.” They had been severely tested by trouble. Do you hear me? They had been knocked down on their backs, yet they had the joyous generosity of saying “Thank You, Jesus” by giving to somebody who was worse off than they.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation®, NLT © 2015 by Tyndale House.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

God Can Give Us Sufficient Courage for Every Situation We Face

Read Philippians 1:19-25 for insight into this section.

As you read this section of Paul’s letter, you see this is not the whimper of one who is defeated. Rather, it is the shout of someone victorious. Paul tells the Philippians that it matters little what the Romans do to him. Already much good has come from his sufferings. He also knows that Christ will give him strength and courage for every problem that lies ahead.

His release from prison is not his primary concern. His chief concern is “that in nothing shall I be ashamed.” He will be sustained in every trial through the prayers of the Philippians and “the supply [help]” that the Holy Spirit provides.

Glorifying Jesus is primary. It’s been rightly stated that: “Paul wants to meet his fate, whether life or death, with such dignity and spirit that all may see what Christ means to him.”

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” is one of Paul’s best-known statements. Christ had given meaning to Paul’s life. Death held no terror for Paul. Whether he lived or died was entirely up to Jesus Christ. God will give Paul courage and faith whichever way it goes.

Multitudes of Christians through the centuries have read these moving words of Paul and have found courage and new faith in them, for they are a resounding testimony to the God of sufficiency! When some problem has been almost too heavy to bear, or when some crisis or sorrow has all but squeezed the life out of us, many of us have read these words and have gone back to face life with fresh courage.

In conclusion, let me leave you with this: “I grow under the burden,” is the motto of one of the Scottish clans. Indeed! If we Christians learn the lessons darkness teaches, we shall continue to grow in Christlikeness. But if we don’t choose to learn, our lives will forever be spiritually stunted, for the truth is that much of life is spent in dark and shadowy places and it is only Christ Jesus who can bring us the light needed to grow!

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

God Can Use Our Problems to Encourage Others – Continued

Read Philippians 1:14-18 for insight into this section.

The lesson here is clear: God often uses the problems that envelop us to encourage others in life’s struggles. Most assuredly, He uses the problems Christians face victoriously to encourage other Christians to live courageously and victoriously.

What we owe to the encouragement of others can never truly be calculated. All of us have been encouraged in some difficult experience of life, by the encouragement of others, to press on and not give up.

A. J. Cronin was one of these. Born in Scotland in 1896, he took his medical degree from the University of Glasgow and served as a surgeon in World War I. When Cronin was a medical student, his surgical skills were severely criticized by one of his professors. Because of the severity of being criticized Cronin had a hard time getting over it.

“You do not have the skills to become a surgeon,” the teacher told Cronin. “You would be well advised to give up the idea of being a surgeon and settle for being a general practitioner.”

Cronin believed what his professor said, and in discouragement he gave up the idea of becoming a surgeon. After completing medical school at Glasgow, he went to a remote village in the Highlands of Scotland and there, as the only doctor for many miles around, he opened his office.

Physician A. Dudley Dennison, Jr. wrote in his book Windows, Ladders, and Bridges, that one cold winter day a pastor in the area was seriously injured when a tree fell on him. Cronin knew that unless a delicate surgical procedure was done immediately, the pastor would be paralyzed. But he also remembered what his professor in medical school had told him: “You do not have the skills to be surgeon.”

Cronin wrestled with what he should do. He knew that one mistake could mean complete paralysis or maybe even instant death for the pastor. But the pastor encouraged the young doctor to perform the needed surgery. “I will pray as you operate,” the pastor said. Encouraged by the pastor, Cronin performed the surgery and the pastor recovered. It was the pastor’s encouragement that made the difference for Cronin, and his confidence was restored.

Often we have been encouraged by the way others have handled their problems. We have learned from them.

Napoleon’s military tactics have been studied for generations by military strategists. But Napoleon came from humble, poor people and his early years were a terrible struggle.

Millions have been encouraged by the struggles of fellow sufferers: Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe while in prison. John Bunyan produced The Pilgrim’s Progress because of prison. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote The History of the World during thirteen years in jail. Luther translated the Bible while imprisoned in the castle at Wartburg. Dante wrote magnificently during his twenty years in prison, part of the time under a death sentence.

Who has not found encouragement in John Milton? Blind, sick, poor, he refused to give up. “Who best can suffer, best can do,” Milton said.

One of the lessons God teaches us when the darkness falls upon us is that He can use our problems to encourage others. Didn’t He greatly use Paul in that capacity?

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

God Can Use Our Problems to Encourage Others

Read Philippians 1:14-18 for insight into this section.

Roman persecution of the Christians had not yet become severe or widespread. Ominous signs did foretell its coming, but Nero hadn’t yet launched his wholesale attack upon the followers of Christ.

However, Paul’s presence in Rome, although as a prisoner, was still a valuable source of encouragement to the believers there. His boldness in preaching the gospel, and his witnessing to his Roman captors and visitors, gave courage to the Roman believers.

Paul’s courageous example was encouraging; “most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

There are always those who play it safe and then there are the risk takers. The same is true in the Christian life. In Rome, there were some courageous believers who faithfully shared the gospel without concern for their safety, but there were also those who were timid and withdrawn, fearing they would be found out if they said too much.

But Paul’s brave preaching and witnessing had encouraged “most of the brethren.” It was “most of the brethren” that constituted that inner circle of believers, the one’s that dare to do things for Christ while the rest hang back. Paul was encouraged by the Holy Spirit to have won a majority to this scale of activity. It is usually the minority of Christians who put energy into the work while the majority drift along or criticize what the minority do.

Paul’s courage had shamed those who were timid into greater boldness, and it had encouraged the bold ones to witness with greater conviction and joy.

Some, never eloquent before, now find “tongues of angels” as they catch the spirit of Paul. The bolder spirits were rendered “much more bold to speak” than they were before. These cast caution to the winds and are overwhelming daring in their championship of Jesus.

God was at work and Satan would not defeat the eternal purposes of God. He would even use Paul’s imprisonment to hasten the spread of the gospel. Paul’s problems would produce sweet fruit!

The apostle’s courageous testimony had stirred some of the believers up to “preach Christ even from envy and strife.” It had stirred others up to preach Christ “also from goodwill.”

One group preached because it was envious of Paul’s success. These may have been, as suggested, “old teachers of the church in Rome who did not relish Paul’s leadership since it displaces them, a form of jealousy that one sees only too often even in this modern age.”

Or, these may have been the Jews, as others have suggested, who preached that conformance to Moses’s law was the door to Christianity. Their real goal was to advance Judaism, not the gospel of the Galilean.

To Paul it didn’t matter which group was preaching Christ. Certainly, it mattered to him that the full and clear message of Jesus was not being declared by some, but Paul lays that aside to rejoice in the fact “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached.” He found joy in knowing that Jesus is preached.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

God Can Put a Silver Lining in Every Dark Cloud – Continued

Read Philippians 1:12-13 for insight into this section.

During one of his most difficult experiences, as the darkness of uncertainty settled around him in his prison, Paul learned, again, that God gives a silver lining to every dark cloud. This is the very essence of what he meant when he wrote: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Think of the great blessings that have come to the world as the result of hardships some have suffered. These blessings are silver linings on otherwise dark clouds.

Sir Walter Scott was physically lame and, consequently, was not as active as other boys his age. But out of these difficulties came the novels Ivanhoe and The Lady of the Lake.

Abraham Lincoln suffered from poverty with almost no opportunity for a formal education. But because of these hardships, in spite of them, Lincoln was able to empathize with the common, hurting people of his day so much so that he became known as “the great commoner.”

Benjamin Disraeli, elected to the House of Commons in 1837, was a Jew who suffered from racial prejudice. He was such a poor speaker that when he stood the first time to speak in the House of Commons, he was laughed down by his colleagues. But his dark cloud had a silver lining. Disraeli was the only Jew in history ever elected Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, suffering from tuberculosis, moved to the South Pacific in an attempt to regain his health. He didn’t find health there, but he did find the inspiration to write poetry and novels such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, loved by young and old alike. His cloud had a silver lining.

Louis Pasteur was lame in one leg and suffered a stroke in his adult years, but his dark cloud had a silver lining. Refusing to give up, Pasteur developed the process by which children could be immunized against killer diseases.

Beethoven’s increasing deafness did not stop him from hearing great symphonies in his mostly quiet world and then putting those great symphonies down on paper to bless millions.

Handel’s depression and sense of failure became the catalyst that drove him to write the Messiah. Edison’s near deafness from childhood was a major factor, he said, in helping him concentrate in his quiet world. John Bunyan’s twelve-year imprisonment in Bedford’s jail produced The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the greatest, most popular books ever written.

Charles H. Spurgeon, one of the most prolific and beloved preachers, suffered often from severe bouts of depression, yet still seeing God in his dark clouds has blessed millions even after he went to be with the Lord. His dark cloud became silver linings for countless believers and those searching for God.

One of the lessons we learn when the darkness descends upon us is that God can put a silver lining on every dark cloud.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

During life’s daylight hours, when we are lighthearted and full of life, we don’t take time to listen. But when the sunlight fades in some sorrow or difficult experience, God gets our attention and in the darkness He teaches us some lessons we need to learn.

The shadows had fallen upon Paul. He was a prisoner of the Roman government. He knew the Philippians loved him and were praying for him because Epaphroditus had told him so. For Paul the sunlight had faded, temporarily, yet the darkness had descended, and nightfall had come.

However, the darkness will not defeat God Almighty. He would work even in it and teach Paul some lessons that would bless not only the Philippians but all believers in the ages to come.

Life will not always be sweet and joyous. But as we walk with faith in God, life’s dark hours will not defeat us. There are some lessons that God will teach us even in the darkness.

God Can Put a Silver Lining in Every Dark Cloud

Read Philippians 1:12-13 for insight into this section.

In her poem “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” Lena Guilbert Ford has an interesting thought: “There’s a silver lining / Through the dark clouds shining.”

Though Paul was a prisoner surrounded by dark, uncertain clouds, he found the silver lining God had put on the dark clouds.

After carefully thinking through his problems, Paul came to the steadfast conclusion that “the things which happened” to him was producing good fruit. “The things which happened” could literally be translated, “the things dominating me.” Nothing ever “just happens” to the believer. Things either come directly from God or in His permissive will He permits them to come. As believers, we are most definitely not controlled either by fate or luck.

Paul wanted the Philippians to understand that the things dominating his life, namely his imprisonment at that time, would not curtail his ministry or hinder the spread of the gospel. Rather, his dark cloud had a silver lining and his imprisonment had really served to advance the gospel.

Paul’s imprisonment, which Satan planned to use to short-circuit Paul’s preaching ministry, was instead being used by God to spread the gospel of redemption.

For months Paul lived in his own rented quarters in Rome. He was chained to a Roman soldier day and night. The guards were changed every few hours, and these pagan guards couldn’t help but hear the gospel of Jesus from the lips of the apostle they were bound to.

History tells us also that the soldiers who guarded the apostle were not just ordinary soldiers. They were the Praetorian Guard. During the reign of Emperor Tiberius there were approximately 10,000 of these handpicked soldiers. It’s be stated that they had double pay and special privileges and they became so powerful in their own right that the emperors had to court their favor. Paul had contact with one after another of these highly esteemed soldiers.

Chained to these palace guards, Paul had opportunity to witness to Rome’s most elite soldiers, many of whom would be saved and, in turn, become missionaries to the ends of the earth where they would be stationed.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.