Eternal Security

“Do you believe that ‘once saved, always saved’ is true?” he asked me. Obviously the man was looking for an argument, his mind already mind up.  I smiled because like most clichés it was true on the surface but left much unsaid and misunderstood.  Some repeat that line like a mantra, excusing huge holes in their Christian life and personal devotion. Others scoff at it and live in perpetual fear that they are not ‘good enough for God.’  For those of you not in on the old debate, the question is about having trusted Christ as Savior, can a person lose their way, falling back into sin, and be alienated from the Lord?

My thought when questioned about that is why is it important? If we love God, we choose to live close to Him, we follow and obey the Spirit and the issue is non-existent, is it not?  I compare it to a married person asking, “How much do I have to love my spouse in order to stay married?” Marriage is not just a legal contract conditioned on fidelity. It is a covenant that is fed and nurtured, not because of obligation, but in devotion.

John encourages me with this truth. "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”  (1 John 5:1-5, NIV)  If we claim to know Christ Jesus and responded to the invitation to faith, there will be observable evidence of an inward change. What is it? That love will show in our choices. We will obey our Father. Moreover, that devotion will not be something we sigh about, complain over, or look for a minimal compliance.  No, it will not be a heavy burden to live for Him, it will be our delight!  Why? Because our focus will not be on our ability to be holy, but on Him who is transforming us, inside out.

The Christian religion puts the focus on the goodness of the person.  Be good. Don’t sin. Go to church. Don’t … don’t … don’t! That is at the least an extremely immature way of understanding the way of Jesus and, at worst, it is a lie that robs the one attempting on his own to do what only God, the Holy Spirit, can do through faith and by grace of true peace and genuine salvation!  The Word tells us that God intervened, sent His Son to erase the blot of human disobedience. How do we get in on that promise? We believe and trust. "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT)

That profound truth of amazing grace will inevitably change the way we live. Stop asking the question about whether you are ‘eternally secure.’ Instead focus on the majesty of the Gospel, shown us in Christ Jesus.

Here is a word from the Word, a real promise and an invitation for a Monday morning.  "So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?"  (Colossians 2:20-22, The Message)  "If you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life." (Colossians 3:1-4, The Message)

Don’t leave Jesus at your church, take Him with you to work today and let the whole world see His love in you, for you, and through you.

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This Is Amazing Grace

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness

Whose love is mighty and so much stronger

The King of Glory the King above all kings

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder

Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder

The King of Glory the King above all kings

This is amazing grace

This is unfailing love

That You would take my place

That You would bear my cross

You laid down Your life

That I would be set free

Oh Jesus I sing for all that You've done for me

Who brings our chaos back into order

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter

The King of Glory the King of Glory

Who rules the nations with truth and justice

Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance

The King of Glory the King above all kings

Jeremy Riddle | Josh Farro | Phil Wickham

© 2012 Phil Wickham Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Seems Like Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

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When you’re tired, be careful!

Being a pastor is a joyful calling for me … most of the time.  It is a privilege to lead a congregation, to love people, to be there for others in times of need.  Then there are those weeks when I give it my all, walk with people through crisis, when I’m disappointed in an outcome, preach with a holy passion and I get tired.  When fatigue sets in, I become vulnerable to discouragement. Everything looks impossible and worst of all, I am prone to anger. In my own life, I call it the “Elijah complex.” 

Elijah was a preacher to Israel in an evil time, when two ungodly people ruled: Ahab and Jezebel.  The Lord God gave Elijah the difficult job of announcing judgment!  At God’s command, rain would not fall and consequently, crops would not grow, leaving many to suffer and die. Obviously that message would not make Elijah an admired man, would it? Famine came and people hated him. Finally, there was a crisis, a conflict, and an amazing victory on Mt. Carmel. Jezebel was furious and declared that she would kill him if she found him. Should he have been afraid? Not really, God was with him but the man of God was exhausted and in the moment when he might have rejoiced, he ran away! Alone under a tree in the wilderness, he sobbed, "I have had enough, Lord. Take my life." (1 Kings 19.4) He was not just being dramatic or selfish. He was genuinely spent and his perspective was skewed by fatigue. Listen to his lament: "I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." (1 Kings 19:10)

Can you identify with his heart?
Have you ever poured yourself into some great effort for the Lord,
or given life your all only to descend into discouragement when it was over:

overwhelmed by feelings of isolation, futility, or hopelessness?

God didn't kick him while he was down. God didn't say, "Well, what a weakling my prophet turned out to be. I'll just let him die and find someone else to do my work." The Lord showed up to restore Elijah! First, he was fed miraculously to restore his strength and then God gave him a new vision.  Those few verses in 1 Kings 19 that describe the scene are among my favorites in the Scripture.  The mountain where Elijah was holed up was torn by a powerful wind, then shaken by an earthquake. After that, a blaze of fire swept the face of the mountain. The prophet discerned that God's Presence was not in the BIG, NOISY, and IMPRESSIVE displays! Then came a gentle whisper- God's revelation of Himself.  The prophet was reminded that he was not alone. "There are 7000 in Israel who have not joined the idol worshippers!" And, he was directed to go find Elisha and start to mentor him.

Tired? Too many failures in a row?  Working diligently and not getting results you desire? In your fatigue, have you concluded that God has 'failed' you? There is no sin in feeling disappointment or even in asking questions. But, make sure you listen for HIS answer. Likely God's answer to you will come in a quiet whisper that invites you to wait out His purposes. Do not try to go it alone! Stay involved with those who love you and share your love of God. Remember this: "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6) I'd love to have my work validated by all the marks of success, but that may not happen. Faithfulness is enough.

And, hear this word from the Word. Even when we are faltering, HE knows what is ahead and He is able to accomplish His purposes.  “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:25-26 -- The Message

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Lord I Need You

Lord I come I confess

Bowing here I find my rest

And without You I fall apart

You're the one that guides my heart

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

Where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

So teach my song to rise to You

When temptation comes my way

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

Christy Nockels | Daniel Carson | Jesse Reeves | Kristian Stanfill | Matt Maher

© 2011 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Sweater Weather Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

“They are full of cheap wine!”

The Spirit filled the first generation Christians. He came with wind, fire, and as they drank His Presence deeply, they were overcome with ecstasy, speaking in tongues, creating a commotion that drew a crowd!  Some who saw what was happening, dismissed it all as nothing more than a bunch of people who were drunk!  It makes me smile that the God we so often worship with such careful decorum chose to begin the Church with a chaotic celebration. 

See the story for yourself. "On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee," (Acts 2:1-7, NLT)  "But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”" (Acts 2:13, NLT)  Was it all just a noisy party that was over in day? No, it was the birth of the Church.

Luke’s story in Acts is about ordinary people who were extraordinarily empowered! Without a national office to coordinate their efforts, funds on reserve in the bank, an advertising budget, or a counseling office – those people changed the world. They took a confounding message of a God come to earth, who died and rose again, to a pagan world and, within one century, there were hundreds of thousands of Christ-followers. That first day in Jerusalem the movement seemed laughable. What could a few dozen followers of Jesus do to change a world full of cruelty and desperation? But, they had a promise:  "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NLT)  Full of faith and expectation, they waited, they were filled, and they did the impossible.

Their message? God invites you to know Him, to come into His Kingdom, a place of love, hope, joy, and ultimately - eternal life!  Their power did not exempt them from sacrifice. Deprivation, disappointment, and death stalked them, but it was of little consequence to them. They were not perfect and Luke tells us that they had conflicts, made false starts, and sometimes got it wrong. But, they met sin and evil head on with God’s power. They preached and lived a divinely given vision of a new way to live 'in the Kingdom' even as they lived here on earth.

Stephen, the martyr, is an example of the way that they lived. At his trial, he preached an amazing sermon that was not filled with pleas for his life. It was a fearless proclamation of the Truth of Christ, that infuriated the council hearing his case. "At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side. He said, "Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!" (Acts 7:54-56, The Message) Stephen's experience of Spirit empowering was not unique. Luke tells us "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence. " (Acts 4:31, The Message)

All Christians are given the Spirit when they accept Christ’s invitation to life. But, there is an empowering experience of Him for all of us, too!  Don’t get hung up on names for that experience, or trying to make it happen in some unique way or place, or fitting it into a neat timeline. Just receive Him!  Peter invites us to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit.’  (Acts 11:16)  When He comes, He will disturb our neat little life. He will lead us to faith that some call folly. He will let us see a hope that others will insist is just a delusion. Jesus said  “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive.”  (John 7:37-39)

Ah, I am hungry and thirsty for God, aren’t you?  Let us pray for a Pentecostal experience and give away our need to control the outcome. Here is a word from the Word that describes their fellowship. My prayer is that we will live in a similar empowered fellowship, for the glory of God.

"A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved." (Acts 2:43-47, NLT)   Do it, Lord!

______________________

Father of creation,

Unfold Your sov'reign plan.

Raise up a chosen generation

That will march through the land.

All of creation is longing

For Your unveiling of pow'r.

Would You release Your anointing?

Oh God, let this be the hour.

Ruler of the nations,

The world has yet to see

The full release of Your promise,

The church in victory.

Turn to us, Lord, and touch us;

Make us strong in Your might.

Overcome our weakness,

That we could stand up and fight.

Let Your kingdom come,

Let Your will be done.

Let us see on earth,

The glory of Your Son.

Let Your glory fall

In this room.

Let it go forth from here

To the nations.

Let Your fragrance rest

In this place,

As we gather to seek Your face.

Let Your Glory Fall- Ruis, David © 1993 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)

CCLI License No. 810055