LIGHT

LIGHT

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  (15)  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  (16)  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

We are the light of the world. Jesus came as the original light (John 1:9), but here He passes onto us the task of being the light of the world. With that task is the instruction not to hide that light. Many mistake this light for the spoken gospel, but Jesus clarifies what He is talking about in verse 16 where He says, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out…” It is good deeds that shine the light. The word translated “deeds” in the NLT would better be translated “works” which carries the idea of an extended on going undertaking. In other words, let all your deeds, works be good in such a way as to show you are a child of God.

Elsewhere, Jesus tells us that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another. I have met many people who I could tell were believers by the way they did business and by how they treated other people. 

“For all to see-“ Don’t hide the fact that you are His child. Live righteously in front of others. Now this may seem to be a contradiction to Matthew 6:1 which tells us not to do our “good works publicly, to be admired of others…” It is not a contradiction but a command to know our motives. A pure motive is that “everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” An impure motive is that everyone will praise you.

This is not an impossibility because Christ tells us to do what we do openly for God’s glory, so it can be done. I believe the answer is found in prayer.

Father in heaven, as Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Cleanse our motives and cause us to live in such a way as to glorify You. May we live holy, pure lives and have motives and thoughts that please You. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

SALT

SALT

Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Salt was used for preserving food and flavoring it. Without salt meat would quickly go bad in the heat. Also, the table salt we use does not easily lose its flavor but the salt of Jesus time came from sources that weren’t always as pure as they needed to be for good flavor. Therefore, purity plays a part in this passage. If there is a lack of purity in us we may lose the ability to be of use in preserving others for eternity.

Think about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 18. The sin of these two cities and the surrounding area had become so great God decided to destroy them. Before carrying out His plan He told Abraham what He was about to do. Abraham carries on a conversation with God asking Him to show mercy for the sake of those who are righteous. He starts off asking God to spare the cities if He finds 50 righteous people, then 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally 10. Each time God agrees to spare the cities if He can find that many righteous people.

The Lord sends His angels to Sodom to check on the situation and while there they tell Lot to leave with his family. (I’m shortening this quite a bit. Please read Genesis 18:16-19:29 for the whole story.) Lot goes to talk to his daughters and their husbands. The wording of verse 14 leaves some question to how many daughters Lot had. Some translations suggest he spoke to the fianc’es of the two daughters he took with him. Others seem to suggest that he had other daughters who were already married. If the latter were true then in the city of Sodom was Lot, his wife, two daughters at home, at least two daughters married with their spouses. That is only 8, but the sons-in-law were not righteous either. The young men thought him a fool. So four people fled the city. Later in scripture Lot is described as a man who vexed his righteous soul. Nothing is said of the spiritual status of his daughters and wife.

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.

For a lack of 9 righteous people that area was destroyed completely. When you think your sinful actions don’t hurt anyone remember this story. Remember that your purity does make a difference because it preserves.

Father in heaven, remind us of the importance of being salt in this earth, good salt, flavorful, preserving, pure salt. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

PERSECUTED FOR DOING RIGHT

PERSECUTED FOR DOING RIGHT

Matthew 5:10-12 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  (11)  "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers.  (12)  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Jesus explains this beatitude and with it gives a command, that being, “Be happy about it! (‘it’-persecution for doing right).” And “Be very glad!” Then He gives this reason for such rejoicing, there’s a great reward.

I don’t like the idea of being persecuted, tortured or killed because I’ve done something right… “Right,” when we hear that word in the USA we tend to think of “my rights” instead of doing something righteously. Everything about the Sermon on the Mount goes against fighting for “my rights.” God’s way is so much different from ours and yet this is what Jesus was talking about when he said, "You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32.

We have yet to see real persecution in this country, but it may not be far off. How will you handle it? Will you be able to rejoice when people mock you, lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you follow Christ? Will you be happy about it or will you sulk in self-pity?

The second time Peter and John were arrested for preaching the Gospel they were flogged. Take a look at their response. Acts 5:41-42  The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.  (42)  And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: "Jesus is the Messiah."

They obeyed the Lord’s command to rejoice and they kept right on preaching the Gospel. May God grant us that kind of obedience and faith. May our eyes be set on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ and on the reward that awaits us in heaven.

Father in heaven, grant us faith and obedience to rejoice when we are persecuted for doing right. May we always choose to do right regardless of the cost. And may You ever be glorified in our lives. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

MERCY

MERCY

Matthew 5:7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

This is pretty straight forward. If you are merciful you will receive mercy. So what does it mean to be merciful? It is refusing to give a person the punishment they deserve. It is showing kindness and forgiveness to one who has mistreated you. It is to overlook insults and slights to find a way to bless the offender.

Years ago I heard a pastor relate this story. He was on his home from a preaching engagement far away from his home town. He was driving through the night and decided to stop at a road side truck stop and restaurant. When he walked in he was the only patron. He seated himself and waited several minutes for a waitress. When she approached his table she asked him abruptly, “What do you want?”

He replied that he’d like a Danish and a cup of coffee. She returned several minutes later and practically threw the plate with the Danish and the cup and saucer on the table. The Danish slid off the plate onto the table and some of the coffee sloshed out of the cup into the saucer and onto the table.

He had every right to demand to speak to the manager, but instead he calmly ate his Danish, drank his coffee and left a $50 tip on the table. As he was exiting the door the waitress ran up to him and said, “Mister, you’ve made a mistake. I don’t think you meant to leave this on the table.”

He said, “Oh, but I did.”

She said, “You couldn’t have. I treated you awful.”

He said, “I just figured you were having a bad day and I wanted to bless you.”

She began to sob and shared that she was a single mom who had just gone through a terrible divorce. This was the only job she could find and working nights wasn’t bringing in much money.

He stood there and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her and she became a child of God that night.

That is “Mercy.” God showed His love to us while we were still sinners by sending His Son to the cross for us. That is “Mercy.”

Micah 6:8 No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Emphasis added)

Do you love mercy? Oh I know you love it when others don’t get even for something wrong you’ve done, but do you love mercy? Do you love to show mercy to others? As a disciple of Jesus Christ we are called to be merciful. That means that we are not to be looking for ways to get even with others who’ve hurt us. Do you love mercy?

Father in heaven, thank You for the amazing mercy You’ve shown to us. May we be filled with mercy for others. When we are wronged, quickly remind us to be merciful, kind and forgiving as You have been and are daily to us. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

JUSTIFIED

JUSTIFIED

Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

The word, “justice” would better be translated “justification.” The original word used gives the idea of being in a state that is acceptable to God. So this hungering and thirsting is a desire that can only be satisfied by being made right or righteous in God’s sight. One definition of the word, “justified” is; made just as if I never sinned.

Unfortunately, many give little or no thought to standing before God. Hebrews 9:27 “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment…” None of us will escape the death of our flesh and after that is a judgment. The next verse in Hebrews 9 says, “so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.” Those who have found the satisfaction for their justification in Christ long for His return and they will not be disappointed.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

It is important to understand that our justification before God is complete in Christ Jesus. Knowing this frees us to serve Him out of love, not out of fear. His return will not be to judge those who are eagerly waiting for Him, rather it will be to bring our salvation to full fruition.

See here what awaits both the believers and the unbelievers; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with His mighty angels, (8)  in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.  (9)  They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power.

If you are reading this and have never given much thought to eternity and your need of Christ Jesus I urge you to begin now. The Word of God teaches us that we are all sinners who fall short of God’s perfection and therefore deserve His wrath. But God is not willing that any should perish. He desires your salvation so much so that He made a way by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to come to this earth, live a sinless life and die on a cross in our place. Jesus being totally righteous took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty when He died on the cross. Because He is totally righteous God did not leave Him in the grave but raised Him from the dead. And Romans 10:9-11 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. (11) As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.’"

And so I urge you to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Become a child of God today. If you have more questions about this please feel free to call Fairview Baptist Church at 765-452-9237.

As believers we do not need to fear Christ’s return but can look forward to it with great expectation that He will indeed and has indeed satisfied our hungering and thirsting by giving His life on Calvary’s cross.

Father in heaven, thank You for the promise that You have fulfilled in Christ Jesus by making us righteous through His sacrifice. Grant that we, Your children would have full assurance of Your love for us and live in love for You, instead of in fear of punishment. Through Christ our Lord, AMEN!!!

FISH FOR PEOPLE

Matthew 4:19  Jesus called out to them, "Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!"

There is more to following Jesus than just caring for our own souls. The Father desires that all men would repent (2Peter3:9). He also desires that His house would be full (Luke 14:23).

2 Kings 6:24-7:19 tells about a time when Samaria (Capital of the ten tribes of Israel during the reign of King Joram) was surrounded and under siege by the Arameans. The siege had become so intense the people of Israel had turned to cannibalism. I urge you to read the entire passage, but for our purposes today I’m going to paraphrase a part of the story.

There were four lepers who stayed at the gate of the city. They were outcasts because of the disease that ate away their flesh. In conversation they decided to go to the Arameans and surrender hoping they would either be fed or put out of their misery. When they arrived in the camp of the enemy they found horses still tied up, tents full of food and other items, but no Arameans. The night before the Lord had caused a sound like an approaching army to be heard among the Arameans who fled leaving everything behind. The four lepers started feasting and then thought better of what they were doing. Their country men were back in the city still starving and so, (2 Kings 7:9) “Finally, they said to each other, ‘This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren't sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let's go back and tell the people at the palace.’”

They knew they dare not keep the good news to themselves. As a follower of Jesus Christ you will learn to share with others what He has done for you. You will fish for people. If you make Jesus Lord of your life, you will not be able to be silent about Him. His message will burn in your bones like a fire. He said, "Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" What He says happens. So follow Him and fish for people.

Father in heaven, Fill us this day with Your Holy Spirit power to witness for You that others may join the banquet of Your love, forgiveness and peace that we experience. May many lost souls come to know You today through our fishing, our lives, our words for Your glory.

In the Name of Jesus, AMEN!!!