Living in the light of eternity

I've just been reflecting on this amazing song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF4qFdxD4kM) which reminds all those who love and follow Jesus of our Hope.

As you grow older, you face more hurts, pain and trouble. These can create bitterness and disappointment with God. Like Elijah after Mt Carmel we can run from what God has given, give up on life, let bitterness and sadness grow.

There is much said in God’s word about how we should respond - ‘A Father disciplines the children He loves’ (we have a loving father using these for His glory in us), ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (He strengthens and enables us in our difficulties) ‘In this world you will have trouble, but … I have overcome this world’ (we find our true rest and value by looking only to Jesus) … and so much more.

But one thing can be missed … the very pain and difficulty we face is pointing us to a desire and passion for glory, a longing to be with Him where we find true joy and pain and suffering pass away. ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, which is better by far’. He sets our hearts on the ‘better by far’ in and through the pain, loss, disappointment and suffering we increasingly face with age or illness. He gently leads us into it so that we will one day say with Paul ‘I have finished the race, I have kept the faith … Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.’

We are to be those who ‘long for His appearing’, who live in the reality of eternity. It’s time to look with wise eyes, rather than disappointed or angry eyes, at our trial, hurt, illness and age. It’s time to turn every trial to worship, to live and rejoice every day in the Hope that is ours in Jesus.

What am I trusting in? - Jeremiah 7:4

 Jeremiah 7:4

"Do not trust in deceptive words and say "The Temple of the Lord, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord!"

I guess this verse share won’t get many ‘likes’. It wouldn’t in Jeremiah’s day either. But it’s message rings out still.

The people of Judah, and Jerusalem in particular, had got to think that they could act as they pleased, do what they liked, because God was with them. They relied on the promises of God, which was a good thing, but they simultaneously ignored the warnings of God, which was deadly. And so they let sin dwell in their lives, expecting God’s grace and love to let them off.

But God saw their hypocrisy and pointed to their ‘dishonest scales’, their gathering of goods, their ignoring of His day of worship, the idols in their life. He saw their trust in others rather than in Him. He knew they were saying, even in His Temple while worshipping, “ ‘We are safe’ – safe to do all these detestable things”. He knew the reality of their hearts underneath their outward temple worship. And He was calling to them - He longed for their purity of heart and worship, He longed for all His best for them.

It is a huge warning. We, even more so, can rest in the grace of God towards us in Jesus. We can quote Matthew 28 that He ‘will never leave you nor forsake you’ or Rom 8:1 that there is ‘no condemnation in Christ’ and yet use that as an excuse for hidden sin. We fail to remember that we quench His Spirit and turn from Him in our hearts. We too can allow sin to reign where righteousness ought to live.

There is, indeed, full acceptance, no condemnation, eternal love in Jesus. We have total assurance in Him. But the work of His Spirit is to transform us (Rom 12.2), His laws written on our hearts (Heb 8 ). We are to live in that reality, standing firm against temptation and sin, by His strength. We must not excuse or bypass failure to deal with temper, gossip, greed, selfishness, lust and so many other sins which we can so readily ignore and hide in our hearts. We are to to be ‘wholehearted’, not abusing His grace.

Warnings are always there to be heeded with humble hearts. It’s as important today to be hearers of His word, these words in Jeremiah, and to respond in humility to them. This verse may not be popular, but it’s a call of deep love to all who love Jesus.

Harsh but vital comfort - Isaiah 57:1-2

 Isaiah 57:1-2

The righteous perish,
    and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.  

 Those who walk uprightly
    enter into peace;
    they find rest as they lie in death.

These verses may be upsetting … and I am sorry if they cause you hurt. But they are important because they were written as a comfort and a challenge.

Firstly we need to know that they do not apply to all who have died. We die because of the fallen state we are born into - “as in Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:52). Death is a fact of life for all because we are fallen and sinful from birth.

But, there is a comfort these verses that applies to all who die in Christ, and there is a comfort for some of them in particular.

For all who die in Christ the wonderful comfort we who are left behind need to know is simply this: “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace. They find rest as they lie in death.” This life is only a small entry in the eternity we have promised to us in Jesus! There is eternity with Him to come, a new creation to enjoy, resting in Him and with Him. The Bible described this as “present with the Lord which is better by far”. All tears wiped away. All things made new. No more crying or hurt. We truly ‘enter our rest’. And so we live in the light of this great and certain promise now, and rest in the truth of it for those who have gone before us and in our final hours. This truth makes all the difference now.

But, also, there is an additional comfort. It is true in some measure for all believers, but it has particular truth for a number. There are some who God takes early because He is preserving them from the pain of this world - the pain of seeing evil prosper, of seeing loved ones reject the Lord and His way, or the pain of seeing nations who once loved the Lord turn from Him. Because Heaven is our home, they are not ‘missing out’ when they die, but gaining everything. And the Lord in His kindness is preserving them from the agony of seeing people turn from His gracious call. Death is not a punishment for any of God’s people because we go to be with the Lord; but it is even more of a blessing for some because God is actively preserving them from evil.

So, there is comfort. But there is also a challenge.

In our finite view we do not know God’s purpose in the death of those He loves, beyond His delight in bringing them to be with Him eternally (Jn 14:1-6). But when we see Godly people taken from us - those used greatly by the Lord, those who particularly walk close to Him and are so Christ-like - we need to also know that their departing may also be a sign to us who are left. We are to ‘understand’ the times, to realise that we do not follow God as they did. Their departure is a sign from God to us of their love for Him and our world’s rejection of Him. The challenge is there so that we turn all the more in love to Him and bold witness of Him. We are to weep not only for them but for our evil society and our fallen world. We are to plead for God’s work of grace to continue in our generation. The challenge is this: They are a sign to us from our loving Father of what it is like to walk with Him, they are a call to us to ourselves walk with Him too, and plead with Him for the evil world we live in.

Comfort and Challenge - these are important verses for us to take to heart.

Mirror, mirror ... - Titus‬ ‭2:1-3:11

We know from James that the Bible should be treated in some ways like a mirror - it enables us to see how we really are. As we read it we see God revealed and realise how far we fall short of His glory. As we read it we see our own rebellion, failure and inability identified and realise how we are not all He designed and desires us to be. As we read it His Spirit makes His words live, encouraging but also convicting. And was we read it and His Spirit convicts so also to we hear God lovingly call us to see His cleansing in Christ, know his eternal acceptance, and turn again to Him to experience the transforming work of His Spirit.

But as I read this passage in Titus 2:1-3:15 it struck me afresh that we are called not merely to use His word as a mirror ‘reactively’.

We often will respond to coming across a challenge or being convicted as we hear a sermon or have our Quiet Time. And that’s great! We must respond to the prompting of His Spirit as we read God’s word if we are loving obedient children of God. But that is like using a mirror at home when you happen to catch a look at yourself as you pass it by on the way out of the house - a chance sighting in the mirror in which we are somewhat surprised to find we don’t look as tidy as we think we are.

But a mirror is intended to be used proactively more than reactively. We deliberately set time aside with a mirror in the morning to check we look presentable. In the same way we are intended to use God’s word much more methodically, as well as devotionally, to check our heart state, our love for Him, our walk with Him, the fruit of the Spirit evident in us, our desire for His Kingdom purposes.

And so Titus was given this set of specific things to particularly teach this church. They needed to proactively see whether their lives reflected and brought glory to their wonderful saviour. Lack of progress in sanctification isn’t an option - it is fundamental to who we are in Christ.

Although such ‘tick lists’ have been terribly abused in the past, that does not stop us from ‘redeeming’ them wisely, all under the umbrella of God’s great patience with us and grace towards us. We are not to abuse such self-checks to become proud of achievements, on the one hand, or become self-beating introspective failures, on the other. But my observation is that our current evangelical culture abuses grace to overlook rampant anger, lack of self control, missing patience, slander and so much more. We dishonour God and destroy the gospel as a result. And what I see in the church I see in me.

Maybe it’s time to take God’s repeated calls to ‘examine yourselves’ seriously as a part of our daily walk with Him. We can do so under grace because ‘perfect love drives out fear’ - ‘there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. Like the Psalmist in Ps 139, we can let our all-knowing God examine our hearts with perfect confidence in His love. Indeed, to do so is a vital expression of the ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ God writes on the heart of all true believers.

And we can start from these very verses. As a man or woman of God are these things revealed in Titus 2-3 still evdent in my life? What does God want to do in me to transform me? To seriously apply this passage to our lives would mean we have started to properly use the mirror God has provided.

True rest ... Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

In eternity those who belong to Jesus will “see Him as He is” (1 Jn 4:3) and we will worship. For now, we have Him revealed in His word, revealed there by His Spirit. But we are meant to dwell on Him and all He is just as much.

So, read these verses from Isaiah 11. They were given to God’s people to comfort and encourage them just as the Assyrians were about to rampage through the land. The destruction of the Assyrian nation was promised, but in the meantime where is their hope to come from? - from seeing the Lamb of God.

So, in our difficult days, see the One who is wisdom, see the One who is almighty. See the One who is justice and righteousness. See His mercy and everlasting kindness. Remember His faithfulness. And know the comfort of His return and coming judgement.

And, like Him, we then need not be those who ‘judge by what we see with our eyes’ or ‘hear with our ears’ … we need not be blown about by the impact of the here and now. Rather, we can rest on Him, trust in all He is, find rest in His sovereign rule and great love.

The Right Desire - Job 17:11-12

Job is suffering. His suffering has been terrible and long. There is nothing to take it away. He even desires that he had never been born because of the weight of the suffering.

As he reflects it seems, indeed, that ‘my days have passed, my plans are shattered’. As we read we know that there is more to come, more blessing in store for Job, but from where he is there is nothing left.

But as he reflects he says ‘Yet the desires of my heart turn night into day’. What desires? He has lost everything and has just said that ‘his days have passed’. So, what desires make such a difference?

Well, in the previous chapter (though part of the same discourse as this verse) he remembers that he has an intercessor before the Father, and that intercessor is his friend. He knows and loves the Lord Jesus - this is his stronghold, hope and anchor. Job has already long before declared ‘The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord’. The desire that turns night to day is simply this … our love for the Lord that God himself has put into the heart of those who trust in Him.

And this is the key - my love for Him mustn’t be stolen by love for other things that will fail. That’s idolatry - to love another instead of love for Him. Wonderfully, love for God is both a fruit of the Spirit and a spiritual gift. We only need, in His strength’ to ‘guard our heart for it is the wellspring of life’ so that we ‘love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength’ … Him the first and foremost love, the One we will never lose, the One who we trust and who holds us, the One who turns our night into day.

Forgetful hearts? - Ps 106:12-13

Ps 106:12-13

Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.

But they soon forgot what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold

So struck by these verses from Ps 106. The Psalmist is remembering God’s goodness to Israel in rescuing His people at the Red Sea even though they had doubted His goodness and protection. When they saw His deliverance “Then they believed His promises and sang His praise”.

But the next verse reminds us that, even though they had seen His mighty power at work so recently, “they soon forgot what He had done”.

That alone is not only such an indictment of them, but reflects our own hearts so much. Does not the God who “so loved that He sent His only begotten son” also love us in the times of difficulty, also care for us in sadness, also walk with us in hardship? Of course He does … eternally!

But the final part was the one that really hit home to me: “and did not wait for His plan to unfold.” Like them, I see the momentary and fail to wait, often in difficulty, sadness or hurt, for all the Lord is doing. He is faithful. He is working out all His purposes which will be to His glory. He is doing far more than I can possibly imagine. And all His promises in Jesus are ‘Yes and Amen’; Not one word of all His promises to us will fail. In my impatience my heart can fail, but ‘looking into Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’ we need not fear or waver.

Yes, I need to learn to “wait for His plan to unfold.”

Freedom to do ... what? - Gal 5:13

 

The glorious outworking of the Gospel is this: we are free! Free from condemnation - Jesus has borne our sin; Free from accusation - Jesus has paid the full penalty; Free from alienation - Jesus has brought us close, adopted into God’s family; free from slavery - we are no longer under the ‘ruler of the air’ but have been redeemed and set free from his authority; and free from the law (the context of this verse) because our righteousness is found in Christ and not our deeds (which are never good enough anyway).

But the wonderful call of the gospel is that, having been freed from all this, we have a wonderful saviour and friend under who we can willingly submit ourselves - His ‘bondslaves’, Jesus our Saviour and Lord. Love for Him constrains me both from sin and towards my Saviour; A new heart, in which He writes His law, directs me; Power from Him by His Spirit equips me with all I need. Freed from condemnation, freed to glad and joyful obedience.

In Him we are ‘free indeed’!

Knowing and experiencing all this, therefore, we don’t ‘indulge’ the freedom He gives to live according to the old desires. His way is life and peace and, knowing His deep, wide, long love for us, it should be our natural response to live in His love, delighted to follow Him, privileged to serve Him, honoured as part of His family to serve one another. It’s what our loving Father longs for us. It is our very best.

Who not to please - Gal 3:10

For a Pastor the tension between loving God’s people and becoming one who seeks to please them is difficult.

We love them and so want their best. But what God’s people want may not be what is their best. Leading them to put themselves under God’s word, as His servants, Pastors cannot do what pleases, but only what God says is best. And it is by this that we truly love them.

In doing so we will be hugely misunderstood, maligned and maybe even hated. But love leads in God’s pathway, not our own. It’s a hard calling, but so worth it when the fruit of God’s work in the lives of His people is seen.

But there is also a further tension. As a Pastor seeks to stand upon God’s word and not be a people pleaser, it is easy to become harsh, demanding and impatient. Just as parents easily lose patience with a child who refuses to walk safely on a footpath and instead walks constantly on the kerb, so we can be impatient and unwise in our desire to lead in God’s way. It is easy to use ‘I’m not being a people pleaser’ to excuse loving action taken in an unloving way.

This is why Pastors need to be prayerfully dependent on God, daily led by His Spirit and reliant upon His power. Who is able to do such a task? Only by God’s grace, wisdom and strength and the prayerful support of God’s people.