18 Pentecost – Sunday
posted
Isaiah 55:6-9, Seek the Lord
Psalm 27:1-13, Light and Salvation
Philippians 1:1-5 (6-11), 19-27, A
Life Worthy of the Gospel
Matthew 20:1-16, Laborers in the
Vineyard
"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near"
(Isaiah 55:6). Let us forsake wickedness and unrighteousness; let us
return to the Lord our God so that he will have mercy on us and pardon
us abundantly. Mankind's ways and thoughts are different than God's.
God's ways and thoughts are as much higher than mankind's as the
heavens are high above earth.
I fear no one or thing because the Lord is my light and salvation. He
is my refuge, so I know I am safe.
Evildoers who oppose and attack me will not triumph over me. No matter
how many gather against me nor how well armed, I am confident and
unworried.
The one thing I have asked of the Lord and which I long for and seek is
to dwell in the Lord's house as long as I live, so that I can behold
his beauty and be taught by him.
In times of trouble he will hide and shelter me. "He will set me high
upon a rock" (Psalm 27:5c) above the enemies which surround me. I will
give him offerings and sacrifices with joyful shouts and songs of
praise.
"Hear O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! Thou
hast said, 'Seek ye my face.' My heart says to thee, 'Thy face, Lord,
do I seek.' Hide not thy face from me" (Psalm 27:7-9).
Lord, you have been my help; don't turn me away in anger, don't throw
me aside and forsake me now. You are my God whom I rely upon for my
salvation. My own father and mother may forsake me but you will not.
Teach me the way you want me to go and lead me on a level path so my
enemies can't trip me up. Don't let my adversaries accomplish their
plans against me. False witnesses assail me and plan violence
against me. "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the
land of the living" (Psalm 27:13).
The congregation at Philippi in Macedonia (north of Greece) was founded
by Paul and his protege, Timothy (Acts 16:1-13), on Paul's second
missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41). It was the first Christian
congregation in Europe. Paul was in prison, probably in Rome around
61~63 A.D. at the time.
Paul told the Philippian Christians that he was praying with joy and
thanksgiving to God for their partnership with Paul in the Gospel of
Jesus Christ from the time he first presented it to them. Paul assured
them that the Lord would bring the work he had begun to completion and
spiritual maturity at the Second Coming of Christ on the Day of
Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). Paul's joy and confidence in the
Philippians was justified because they were dear to him and they shared
in the grace of God in Paul's imprisonment and in the defense and
confirmation of the Gospel.
Paul longed for the Philippian Christians with the love of Christ, and
it was Paul's prayer that they would grow in Christian love, (divine)
knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:17-27; 2:1-8) and (spiritual) discernment (1
John 4:1-3), so that they would approve what is worthy and be blameless
in God's judgment at the Day of Christ's return, full of the fruits of
righteousness which come only through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus
Christ and glorify God.
Paul was confident that through the prayers of the Philippians on
Paul's behalf, and by the help of the indwelling "Spirit of Christ,"
Paul's circumstances would result in his salvation (from eternal
condemnation and destruction). Paul was certain that his faith in
Christ would not be put to shame and that Christ would be honored by
Paul's words and deeds , whether he lived or died physically.
Paul realized that in living he served Christ and participated in
Christ's suffering for the redemption of the world, and that physical
death was even better, because he would be no longer separated from
Christ's presence. Paul found it hard to choose which he would prefer,
because he desired to accomplish useful labor for the kingdom of God,
but he also desired to be in the immediate presence of Jesus in his
heavenly kingdom. Paul was willing to sacrifice his personal desire for
the joy of Christ's presence, so that others might grow in spiritual
maturity and share in the joy of Christ's presence eternally also. Thus
Paul hoped to visit the Philippians again so they would have occasion
to glorify Jesus.
Paul's only admonition was that they should live lives worthy of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that whether Paul was able to visit them
again or not, he would hear that the Philippians were firmly
established in the unity of the one Spirit, working together
side-by-side with one mind for the faith of the Gospel.
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went to
hire day laborers in the marketplace at 6:00 a.m. He agreed to pay them
a denarius a day, the typical daily wage, and sent them to work in his
vineyard.
At about 9:00 a.m. he went into the marketplace again and saw others
still idle, and told them to go into his vineyard and he would pay them
whatever was fair. At noon and at 3:00 p.m. the landowner did the
same. At 5:00 p.m. he saw others still idle and asked them why they
standing idle all day. They said that no one had hired them, so the
landowner told them to go into his vineyard also.
At 6:00 p.m. the landowner told his steward (foreman) to pay the
laborers, beginning with the last hired, and then on to those who were
first. Those last hired received a denarius, so those who had been
hired first thought they would receive more, but when they also
received a denarius, they grumbled at the landowner. They complained
that the last hired had worked only and hour for the same wage as the
first hired who had worked through the heat and burden of the day.
The landowner replied that he had done the first hired no wrong. They
had agreed to work for a denarius a day. If the landowner chose to give
to the last the same pay, shouldn't have the right to do so, or did the
first hired begrudge his generosity? Jesus declared that in God's
kingdom the first will be last and the last first.
This lifetime is intended by God to be our opportunity to seek and come
to know and have fellowship with God our Creator (Acts 17:26-27), and
to choose whether or not to trust and obey him. Jesus is God's
only provision for the forgiveness of our sin (disobedience of God's
Word; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10) and salvation from our eternal
condemnation and destruction at God's judgment. (Acts 4:12; see God's
Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
Jesus is the only way to know divine, eternal truth, to be restored to
fellowship with God which was broken by sin, and to be spiritually
reborn to eternal life (John 14:6, John 3:3, 5-8). Only Jesus gives the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his
disciples who trust and obey him (John 1$:15-17). The Holy Spirit is
the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2
Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
The Lord promises that if we truly seek him he will allow himself to be
found by us (1 Chronicles 28:9c). If we trust and obey Jesus he will
come to us and reveal himself to us (John 14:21). Now is the time to
seek him, while he can be found. Now is the time to call upon him while
he is near.
The Lord wants to reveal himself to us and to show us that his words
are completely true and trustworthy. As we trust and obey him we will
experience the joy of his presence and the security of his protection.
We can be certain that our enemies will not prevail.
Psalm 27 is ascribed to David, the great shepherd-king of Israel. David
trusted in the Lord to be his light of spiritual enlightenment, his
guide in righteousness, and his salvation from his enemies and
from sin. When David was pursued by his enemies, the Lord protected and
delivered David from them. When David gave into temptation and did what
was sinful the Lord did not forsake him; the Lord forgave him his sin
when he truly repented and returned to obedience in the Lord. David
believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living.
Through obedient trust in Jesus Christ we can "see" the goodness of the
Lord now, in this lifetime through the gift of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, and we can be certain that we will see his goodness in the land
of eternal life in his presence in God's kingdom of heaven.
Paul's life after his conversion is an example of God's mercy and
pardon for those who seek him through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus
Christ by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul was guided to
spiritual "rebirth" by a "born-again disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10-18).
Thereafter, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Paul proclaimed
the
Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:19b-20) and made disciples of Jesus
Christ in fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)
which Jesus gave to his disciples to be carried out after they had been
filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Paul made "born-again" disciples of Jesus Christ, Timothy, for example
(2 Timothy 1:6), and taught them to repeat the process (2 Timothy 2:2).
Paul was continuing to "disciple" the Philippian Christians,
encouraging them to grow in Christian love, divine knowledge and
spiritual discernment, to spiritual maturity, by the guidance and power
of the Holy Spirit. Paul admonishes all Christians to live lives worthy
of the Gospel, in unity by obedience to the Holy Spirit, so that we
work together to carry on and complete the ministry of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Paul trusted in the Lord to shelter and protect him from his spiritual
enemies. Paul had the assurance of the Holy Spirit within him so
that he was confident that whether he lived or died physically he had
eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Jesus came into the world to save us from spiritual, eternal death, and
to save us from the fear of physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus'
resurrection demonstrates the truth of existence after physical death,
and by his Holy Spirit within us we experience with certainty that
Jesus is eternally alive.
As long as we remain physically alive we have useful labor to do
for the kingdom of God, as we are guided and empowered by the Holy
Spirit. We will experience persecution for the Gospel as Jesus did and
as Paul did, but we have the comfort and assurance of the Holy Spirit
within us. When we die physically we can be sure that we will be in the
presence of the Lord in the new Creation restored to paradise in God's
eternal kingdom, where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or
pain (Revelation 21:4).
This world and this lifetime are the Lord's vineyard. He calls us
to enter into the New Covenant of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Our reward is eternal life in paradise. We are living in the Day of
Grace (God's unmerited favor; his free gift), of salvation through
faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. He calls us throughout the day
to work in his vineyard. The "harvest" is abundant but the "laborers"
are few (Matthew 9:37-38).
The only work of lasting value is what we do for the kingdom of God. If
we are not working in the Lord's vineyard, we are wasting our time,
opportunities and resources. How long will we stand idly by without
accepting the Lord's invitation and joining the harvest?
In one sense the Church is the "marketplace" where the Lord seeks
laborers for the harvest. Christians are to be trained and equipped by
the indwelling Holy Spirit to participate in the harvest, and are then
to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit to go into the "vineyard."
Are we hanging around in the "marketplace" and not answering the Lord's
call to enter the vineyard and help with the harvest?
There is a Day of Judgment coming, when it will be too late to join in
the harvest. It will be too late to change our eternal destiny, and no
one knows when that Day will come, but we can be certain that it will
come at the end of our individual lifetimes. Those who have accepted
Jesus' invitation to join in the harvest, who have trusted and obeyed
Jesus, will have been spiritually "reborn" and will enter eternal life,
but those who have refused Jesus' call, and have refused to trust and
obey Jesus will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in hell
with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you
first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus
Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew
28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1
John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost – Monday
posted
18 Pentecost – Tuesday
posted
The Lord told Ezekiel that Israel was no longer to use the proverb that
the fathers had eaten sour grapes and that their children's teeth were
on edge. God declared that all souls belong to God, both the fathers
and their children. Every soul that sins will die (eternally).
People claim that God's way is not just, but it is actually mankind's
ways that are not just. A righteous person who turns from righteousness
and commits sin will die (eternally) for his sin, and the wicked who
turn from wickedness and does what is right will live (eternally); he
will not die. Yet Israel claims that God's ways are not just. Instead,
it is their ways which are not just.
The Lord declares that he will judge his people individually according
to what they have done individually. The Lord commands everyone to
repent and turn from sin, or sin will be their eternal ruin. God's
people are to cast away all their sinful ways and each get a new
heart and a new spirit. Why would they choose what leads to eternal
death? God doesn't delight in anyone's death, so we should turn to him
that we may live.
We are all eternal beings in physical, temporal bodies. There is a Day
of Judgment when we will be accountable to the Lord for what we have
done individually in this lifetime (John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:31-46).
God's standard of judgment is more merciful and just than the world's
standard. God is willing to forgive all of the past sins of people who
earnestly change their ways and begin to live according to God's ways.
Similarly, a righteous person who turns from righteousness to do what
is evil will not be saved because of his past righteousness.
All of us are sinners according to God's Word (Romans 3:23; 1 John
1:8-10), and the penalty for sin (disobedience of God's Word) is
(eternal) death (Romans 6:23). God doesn't want anyone to perish
eternally, but for all to have eternal life in the heavenly paradise of
his eternal kingdom (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17).
God has designed a Savior, Jesus Christ, into his plan for Creation
from the very beginning (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus Christ is God's only
provision for our forgiveness and salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see
God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).
God calls everyone to turn from sin and get a new heart and a new
spirit within them. Only Jesus can give us a new heart to desire to do
God's will and a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, who makes it
possible for us to know God's will and empowers us to do it. Only Jesus
gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to
his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).
By the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit Jesus' disciples are
spiritually "born-again" (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life beginning now
in this lifetime. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that
one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians
1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Why would we want to refuse eternal life in heavenly paradise in the
presence of the Lord in exchange for a few years of sinful pleasure now
in this lifetime (Hebrews 11:25)? Jesus is the only one who can free us
from slavery to sin and eternal death (John 8:34-36).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you
first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus
Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew
28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1
John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost – Wednesday
postedposted
Matthew 21:28-32 Doing God's Will
Jesus told a parable of two sons. Their father told them to go and work
in his vineyard. One son told his father he would not, but he later
repented and worked in the vineyard. The other politely said that he
would, but did not go. Jesus asked his hearers which of the sons had
done his father's will, and they picked the first.
Then Jesus said that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom
before the Jews, because John the Baptizer came declaring the way of
righteousness and tax collectors and harlots heeded him but the Jews
had not. And when the Jews saw the tax collectors and harlots respond,
the Jews did not repent and believe John's message.
Saving faith is not just intellectual assent. Faith is not getting
whatever we believe if we believe "hard enough." Saving faith is acting
on belief in Jesus' Gospel. Jesus warned his hearers that it is not
enough to claim Jesus as Lord if we don't do what he teaches (Matthew
7:21-27, Luke 6:46).
Tax collectors and harlots were the outcasts of Jewish society. Jews
would have nothing to do with them. But they recognized their
sinfulness and heeded John's message of repentance and reconciliation
with God. Even when the Jews saw "sinners" repenting and being restored
to righteousness, they refused to repent and believe.
Someone has said that there are two kinds of people in this world: the
righteous who know they're sinners, and sinners who think they're
righteous. Unless we're willing to realize and acknowledge our sin, we
can't receive the forgiveness and restoration which only Jesus can give.
We have all sinned (disobeyed God's Word) and have fallen short of
God's righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), and the penalty for
sin is (eternal) death (Romans 6:23). Jesus is God's only provision for
our forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction (Acts 4:12; see
God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Would we rather die
eternally than admit that we're sinners in need of a Savior?
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you
first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus
Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew
28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1
John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
18 Pentecost – Friday
posted
Jesus used a metaphor of a grapevine to describe his relationship with
his disciples. Jesus is the true vine and God the Father is the
vinedresser. God removes all branches that bear no fruit, and prunes
branches that bear fruit so that they will bear more fruit. His
disciples are purified by the Word, the Gospel that Jesus has spoken,
but we must abide (remain) in him and he in us. Jesus’ disciples cannot
bear fruit unless they remain connected to Jesus, but those who do
remain connected will produce much fruit. Apart from Jesus we can
accomplish nothing (of eternal worth; for God’s kingdom). Disciples who
don’t abide in Jesus are cast away where they wither and die, and are
gathered up and burned. “If you abide in me and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you will, and it will be done for you” (see Conditions for
Answered Prayer, sidebar, top right). God is glorified when we bear
much fruit, so proving to be Jesus’ disciples. Jesus loves us as much
as God the Father loves Jesus. Jesus tells us to remain in that love by
obeying Jesus’ teachings, the same way that Jesus remained in God’s
love by obeying God’s commandments. Jesus taught his disciples thus, so
that he would be able to have complete joy in his disciples and his
disciples would have complete joy in Jesus.
Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us. There is no
greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Those who
obey Jesus’ teachings are Jesus’ friends. We are not just servants of
Jesus; we are his friends. The master doesn’t share personal things
with his servants, but Jesus shares everything with his that God the
Father has revealed to Jesus. It wasn’t we who chose Jesus, but he who
chose us and appointed us to bear fruit which will endure for eternity.
So God will give us everything we ask of God in Jesus’ name. So Jesus
commands us to love one another.
We can do nothing in this lifetime which will endure for eternity
except what we do by the guidance and empowerment of the indwelling
Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6) to complete Christ’s mission to bring the
message of forgiveness of sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and
salvation from eternal condemnation to the world. Jesus calls us to
follow him and be his disciples, but we must respond in obedient trust.
As we begin to trust and obey Jesus he will give us the gift of the
indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to
his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). By the
indwelling Holy Spirit we have a personal fellowship with God the
Father and Jesus Christ. God reveals his will for us personally, and
equips us to carry out his plan for us.
Christian discipleship is a spiritual growth process. We have to learn
to trust and obey Jesus, and recognize the “still, small voice” of the
Holy Spirit. New believers must be “discipled” by mature, “born-again”
disciples until the new believers are “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts
1:4-5, 8), before attempting to go into the world with the Gospel. Then
the indwelling Holy Spirit will continue the “discipling” process.
We need to seek the Lord’s guidance one day at a time with daily
Bible-reading, meditation, and prayer. We need to weekly worship
regularly. These are the ways we stay in Jesus and Jesus’ words stay in
us. We can’t expect the Lord to reveal his personal plan for our lives
if we haven’t read his “book,” the Bible completely. We can’t expect
the Lord to guide us if we are unwilling to seek that guidance through
his Word and his Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
In too many instances in the nominal “Church” today the Church is
failing to make disciples, and failing to teach them to know, trust and
obey Jesus’ teachings. In some parts of the nominal Church, the Church
is teaching “Cheap Grace;”* the gift of eternal salvation, without the
requirement of discipleship and obedient trust (see False Teachings,
sidebar, top right). It is failing to teach disciples to seek the
“baptism” and infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Unless the Church makes “born-again” disciples all it can accomplish is
to build buildings and make “members.” This is too often what passes
for evangelism in the nominal Church. If it fails to make “born-again”
disciples, there won’t be any “born-again” disciples to select leaders
from.
Jesus taught his disciples by word and example. Jesus said that there
is no greater love than to give one’s life for one’s friends, and he
demonstrated that love for us on the cross. Jesus gave up his physical
life for us, but received eternal life. Every truly “born-again”
disciple personally testifies that Jesus is risen and eternally alive.
We are to follow his example, surrendering our earthly lives in
obedient trust, and experiencing now, in this lifetime, spiritual
rebirth and the assurance that we have eternal life. The gift of the
indwelling Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ
and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans
8:9b, 11, 15-16).
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and
obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you
first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus
Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew
28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1
John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?
*See: The Cost of Discipleship,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1963
ISBN 0-02-083850-6