“Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your
slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.’” – Matthew 20:25-28
The sermon yesterday was about Biblical paradoxes. Those
things that the world considers contradictory – things that just do not make any
sense. Actually in the context of our
culture and human thinking – they don’t.
They don’t make sense because truth of those things that seem to be
contradictory – mutually exclusive -
must be spiritually discerned. They
cannot be understood apart from the Spirit of God.
Many Christians have the notion that they are entitled to a
good – financially secure – sickness free – long life. All of those things are
nice, but not necessary, from a heavenly perspective. God is not patiently waiting in heaven to
“take our order”. “Uh, I would like a
good job – a nice house – no problems with my children – oh, could you
super-size that?” That is really not the way it works. The life that we have been called to – saved
to – is one of sacrifice and faith. A
life that runs contrary to the wisdom of the world. Like considering others to
be more important than ourselves.
“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone
who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” – John
12:25
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” – 1 John 2:15-16
How are you doing with that?
It is a constant struggle isn’t it?
Our flesh craves what our spirit detests. The world’s measure of success is contrary to
God’s definition of a successful life. Along
those lines, there are two verses that I would like to clarify in your
thinking.
“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the
desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4
That does not mean that if you seek God, He will give you
what you want. It means that if you seek God, He will cause you to be
passionate about what He is passionate about.
He will conform you into the image of His Son – Jesus. That you will value what He values – not what
the world values. I am not saying it is wrong to have things – what is wrong is
when things have you.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate
on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8
The Bible is a spiritual book that reveals the Creator God –
His Son, Jesus and His plan for mankind.
It is common for people – Christians – to impose the world’s values in
their interpretation of the Bible. Last
verse.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy
3:16-17
Did you catch the purpose for the scripture? To equip us for
good works – not financial success or problem avoidance. Scripture, primarily,
has a spiritual purpose and a spiritual application. Maybe not what you want to
hear or even believe, but it is the truth.
If you struggle with accepting Biblical paradoxes (or is it paradae?) it
is because you are struggling with your flesh – like most of us do from time to
time. Think about it and then pray about
it and then you might need to repent. Just sayin’
No comments:
Post a Comment