Sowing In Expectation

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I’ve noticed how quick some people are to give up when things don’t get them the results they thought they should get, or the results don’t come as soon as they expected. 

Anytime we try something new, there is always the potential for failure. Even later on, those who appear to be an expert at something rarely do it perfectly. But in either case, there are three things we need to do if we don’t get the results we expected: (1) reflect, (2) evaluate possible improvements, (3) re-engage. 

Even before Jesus commissioned us to take His message of Good News to every street everywhere, He told us not to expect perfect results. In one of His best-known parables, Jesus talked about the farmer sowing seed (see Luke 8:5-8). 

(You can see all of the Scriptures I mention in this post by clicking here.)

Jesus didn’t say, “All of your efforts at sharing the Gospel will be successful.” In fact, He said some efforts would totally fail (falling on the hard path), and some would have only temporary success (falling on the weedy and stony ground). But we keep on sowing the seed because some will fall on good soil and yield a harvest a hundred times more than was sown! 

So, as John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings dynamic, life-changing power (Acts 1:8). The life that is changed first is our own. Everything about us begins to change. 

When people heard Jesus speak, they said, “How did this Man get such learning without having been taught?” (John 7:15). The same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to speak is the same Holy Spirit who will empower our words. 

When our words are Spirit-empowered words, people can feel it. When our words are matched by our lifestyle, people can’t ignore it (John 7:46; Acts 2:37, 4:13, 6:10)! 

Just like salt that influences effortlessly, silently, and irreversibly, we never know what part the salt of our lives is playing in someone else’s life, even if it appears that nothing substantial is happening at all. But God said His word always accomplishes its purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11), which is why we keep on living and speaking as Spirit-empowered witnesses. 

And we live expecting that something is happening—Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). 

How do we take this message of Jesus to every street? 

  1. Stay yielded to the influence of the Holy Spirit 
  2. Regularly and consistently read and apply God’s Word to your own life 
  3. Keep sowing in expectation 
  4. If your efforts appear to fail: reflect, evaluate, re-engage in expectation 

We can be salt without being salty; we can be light without being annoying. 

We have been empowered to take the Good News to every street, so let us not become weary in doing this. 

If you’ve missed any of the message in our series Takin’ Him to the Streets, you can find them all by clicking here. 

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A Christlike Response To Skeptics

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

God is precise in His promise making and promise keeping. He doesn’t just fulfill promises in a vague way or in “the spirit of the law,” but He attends to the jots and tittles of every single detail.  

Last week we saw the example of Jesus going into a dark place to bring the light of hope. It’s the same for us: God uses circumstances to direct our steps into dark places because people need to see the light. 

But people living in darkness sometimes don’t like the light. 

When we feel like our message of hope is being ignored or rejected (or we’re even being persecuted for sharing the truth) we have a natural emotional response that begins to bubble up. That emotion is anger. How do I know this? Because Jesus experienced this too. 

We can do two things with our anger: 

  1. We can blast skeptics with righteous judgment <or> 
  2. We can follow the example of Jesus  

In The Pilgrim’s Progress, Faithful told how a man came and beat him because he had broken the law. Even when Faithful begged for mercy the man said, “I don’t know how to show mercy to anyone.” This man was Moses the Lawgiver. Faithful explained what finally gave him relief: “He would have finished me off, but then One came by, and told Him to stop. I did not know Him at first, but as He went by, I saw the holes in His hands and in His side and I concluded that He was Jesus.” 

Moses had every right to be angry, and he expressed it a way that tried to finish off Faithful. 

Jesus also got angry, but let’s see what He did with it. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures I list below by clicking here.)

In Matthew 12:9-10 we see the motive of the skeptics: catch Jesus doing something wrong. This opposition came from the religionists—they weren’t interested in the truth, they were interested in proving themselves right and righteous. 

As they are asking their entrapping question, Luke tells us that “Jesus knew what they were thinking” (Luke 6:8). And Mark tells us that Jesus then asked a question of His own (Mark 3:4-5). These religionists refused to answer His question, and their stubborn hearts made Jesus deeply angry! 

So Jesus answered His own question, concluding that the Sabbath was the day that god intended for healing and helping. To prove this point, Jesus then healed the shriveled hand of the man who stood before Him (Matthew 12:11-14). In response to this, the Pharisees plotted with the Herodians on how to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6). 

Matthew then writes, “Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place (Matthew 12:15). He didn’t withdraw in fear, but in complete awareness of His Father’s plan. Part of that plan was not for Jesus to win argument, but for Him to win souls. 

Perhaps in His anger in the moment, Jesus would have spoken words that were too harsh. There is a time to speak, but it’s usually not in the heat of the moment. In fact, Laurence J. Peter rightly said, “Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” 

So in fulfillment of another prophetic word given in Isaiah 42, Jesus withdrew to continue His teaching and healing ministry (Matthew 12:17-21). 

What does this mean for us today? I think we can see five important responses in these prophetic words: 

  1. I am to serve others as Jesus did—even those who want to silence me.  
  2. I can let the Holy Spirit use this opposition to bring greater fruitfulness out of my life (Galatians 5:19-26).  
  3. I don’t need to win an argument with skeptics. 
  4. I can be a peacemaker that points people to the Prince of Peace (1 Peter 2:8-12). 
  5. I should live in the assurance of ultimate victory, just as Jesus did (1 Peter 2:23).  

God gets the final word, the decisive word, and the best word, so I don’t have to try to win arguments with skeptics. Like Jesus, I can love and serve in a way that leaves them an unmistakable testimony. 

To check out the other messages in this series called Jots and Tittles: Why it matters that God is in the smallest of details, please click here. 

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Walking Boldly In Dark Places

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

I was reading the results of a survey which said one of the top traits for exemplary leaders was: They keep their word. 

But don’t we really mean, “They keep their word most of the time”? After all, we do allow those who have a track record of integrity an “out” for unusual or unexpected circumstances. And we would still say that leader had honesty and integrity. 

God always keeps His word. He never needs an “out” because nothing is ever unexpected for Him! He is always the Promise Maker and the Promise Fulfiller (Isaiah 42:9, 46:10, 55:10-11; Jeremiah 1:12). 

I like the way Jesus sums up these statement from His Father: For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18 NKJV). 

A  jot is the smallest Hebrew letter (yodh). In Greek the word is iota. This tells us that God is concerned about the smallest of details. 

A tittle is the precise difference between Hebrew letters like cheth and he, between daleth and resh, and between beth and kaph.  

All of these are fulfilled—brought to their perfect completion (Luke 1:37, 22:37)! 

When we see any of God’s promises made and kept, we need to ask ourselves three questions:

  1. What did it mean then? 
  2. What does it mean now? 
  3. What does it mean for me today? 

For example, look at the promise that was made about people living in a very dark place seeing the Light of God. The prophecy is first made in Isaiah 8:19-9:7 that the people of Zebulun and Naphtali would get to see and experience the light of the Messiah. 

Matthew 4:11-17 tells us that after Jesus endured the temptation of the devil for 40 days, He went to Capernaum—the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. But before He arrived there, He was first rejected by the folks in His hometown of Nazareth (see Luke 4:14-31). 

Our God who knows the end from the beginning never makes a mistake; nothing is ever random or inconsequential. We should develop the habit of praying, “Now that this is happened, what would You have me do?” As Jesus was rejected by the people who should have been so excited to see His ministry flourish, He wasn’t dismayed or discouraged, but He directed His steps toward Capernaum. 

In my heart, I may plan a course for my life, but I must trust God to direct my steps. My life has a purpose. Just as the Holy Spirit directed the movements of Jesus, He is directing my steps. 

Even when God seems to have directed my steps into a dark place, He has sent me there as His light. I am sent on purpose. I walk a path Jesus has already walked, and a path that He is still walking with me—He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Psalm 23:3-4). 

I don’t walk into the darkness in my own strength or as a way to fulfill my own plans but instead I trust that “the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7)! 

Because Jesus is fulfilling every jot and every tittle, I can live confidently in Him! 

If you would like to follow along with all of the messages in this series called Jots and Tittles, you can find them all here. 

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Links & Quotes

God’s blessings are not primarily for me, but they are through me for His glory. This is a short clip from an exclusive video I shared with my Patreon supporters. Become a supporter todayI have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” —Dean Smith

Until the mid-1800s, the historicity of King Sargon II (mentioned by Isaiah) was in doubt. Not only has archeology again affirmed the historical statements made in Scripture, but “the way Isaiah spelled Sargon’s name is an indicator that the prophet lived at the time of Sargon II, and that the book was not penned hundreds of years later.” Check out this archeological biography of Sargon II.

And then there is this archeological report about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Fascinating!

How sweet and gracious even in common speech,
Is that fine sense which men call Courtesy!
Wholesome as air and genial as the light,
Welcome in every clime as breath of flowers—
It transmutes aliens into trusting friends,
And gives its owner passport round the globe. —James T. Fields

“A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” —Joe DiMaggio

Not using the spiritual gift God has given you is selfish. He gave you these gifts on purpose so that His kingdom could be made more visible and desirable.

Shut The Door On The Devil’s Lies

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

There is a way we can keep the door cracked open for the devil to whisper his slander to us, and there is a way to slam the door shut! Jesus said one of the best ways to shut the door on the slanderous lies of the devil is to forgive people who have injured us.

The verses I reference in this clip are John 10:10; John 8:44; Revelation 12:10; Luke 17:-5; Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

The full sermon that this clip comes from is Faith to Forgive. 

And check out this post where I talk about the Security we have in standing on God’s promises of forgiveness.  

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Faith To Forgive

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

I shared this in my forthcoming book When Sheep Bite

In January 1647, Oliver Cromwell captured King Charles I during the British Revolution. Within just a few months, Charles escaped and was able to raise another army. A year later, in August 1648, Cromwell’s forces once again defeated the army Charles had raised, and once again Charles was taken prisoner. 

Oliver Cromwell put Charles on trial for his crimes, and after the guilty verdict was pronounced, Charles I was executed. A total of 59 people signed the former king’s death warrant. 

Fast forward eleven years and Oliver Cromwell had died and his son Richard had taken his place as Lord Protector of England. Unlike his father, there was great discontent with Richard’s leadership. As a result, the Loyalists were able to sweep Charles II into power. 

After assuming the throne of England, Charles II wanted the 59 death warrant signers put on trial, but fifteen of them had already died. That little fact didn’t stop King Charles II. He ordered that their bodies be exhumed, placed on trial, convicted of their crimes, and then hung. 

I’m no psychologist, but I think it’s safe to say that Charles II might have had a slight problem with unforgiveness!  

This is from a chapter I entitled “The ties that no longer bind.” The insidious nature of unforgiveness is that it ties us to the one who injured or offended us. 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). The word He uses for “debts” means something justly or legally due, or an offense or sin that has been committed. So a debtor is one who morally or legally owes another for the wrong committed. 

So for these debts, we are taught to ask for forgiveness of God and to give that same forgiveness to others. Jesus uses the same root word for both “forgive” and “forgiven,” but there are nuances that make the picture quite clear. 

  • When we ask God to forgive our debts, it is the active voice (I have to ask for it) and it is stated in the second person (I have to receive it). When I ask my Heavenly Father for this, my offense has been paid-in-full because the legal and moral requirements aren’t due any longer. I couldn’t pay this debt on my own, but Jesus paid it for me (2 Corinthians 5:21).  
  • When I forgive someone who has wronged me, it is again the active voice (I have to give it), but it is now in the first person (I don’t wait around for the other person to ask for forgiveness). I let it go. I don’t hinder the other person or myself with waiting for the penalty to be paid any longer. 

This is the only part of this model prayer for which Jesus gives a commentary afterwards (in Matthew 6:14-15). With this, Jesus is teaching us that to say, “I’m forgiven” is also to say, “I’m forgiving.” 

Unlike Charles II, when we are forgiven and forgiving, the inevitable result is freedom for both ourselves and our offenders. 

If we practice this relentlessly, we are both freed ourselves and freeing others! 

When we ask God to forgive us, He forgives us immediately and completely (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18). We are to forgive our debtors just as quickly. 

When we pray, “Forgive as we also have forgiven,” we are both acknowledging His power to forgive us and requesting the faith need to be forgiving people. As C.S. Lewis noted, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” 

The Bible describes satan’s activity as stealing, killing, and destroying. He’s called the father of lies, so he uses slander to try to steal, kill, and destroy. His slander is: “God can’t forgive that” and “You shouldn’t let them off the hook for what they did to you.” 

These two thoughts are linked, just as “I’m forgiven” and “I’m forgiving” are linked. If I begin to  think that what someone did to me was too big for me to forgive, then I can also believe that there is a sin I have committed that is too big for God to forgive. But when I live both receiving and giving forgiveness, I can tune out this lie from hell. 

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this series called Kingdom Praying, you can find all of them here. 

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Your Irreplaceable Genealogy

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

Have you ever felt like a nameless face in the crowd? Let me tell you what you should do with those thoughts.

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

Some resources from this episode:

Here are a bunch of ways to get in touch with me and follow along with other projects on which I am involved

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The King Of Glory

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

I did a series of Advent messages a few years ago called “The Carols of Christmas” with the premise that many of our old familiar carols had become too familiar and we had lost the true meaning in those beautiful songs. 

I think the same is true with the sentiment of wanting to experience the glory of God. Sometimes you will hear people say, “We just want to see God’s glory!” but I’m not sure they really mean this or really want it. 

Throughout the Bible, “glory” comes from the Hebrew word which means weightiness. When God appears—or even one of His angels glowing with His glorious presence—people collapse under the weight of His glory. Look at the examples of Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, and even John the beloved disciple of Jesus (Exodus 3:6; Isaiah 6:3-5; Daniel 8:15-17; Revelation 1:12-17). 

In the light of Christ’s glory everything is exposed. We have no excuses for our sin. We are seen exactly as we are, and the fear of God’s judgment causes us to collapse under that weight. 

But the First Advent story is filled with the phrase “Fear not.” Let me show you two examples. First, notice the strong emotions when the angels appear to the shepherds— 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:9-10)

What was this good news that would turn their fear into joy? Listen to the angelic message to Joseph—

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21) 

Notice the phrase, “HE will save His people from their sins.” Part of what contributes to our fear of God’s glorious presence is knowing that we are helpless to remove our sins. The fact that Jesus would do this for us was foretold in prophecies like Isaiah 25:7-9 and 59:15-16.

How will Jesus do this? In 1 Corinthians 15:53, Paul says that in order to enter into God’s presence our perishable, mortal lives have to be exchanged for something imperishable and immortal. We are unable to do this, but in the Incarnation, the immortal God put on mortal flesh!  

Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 15 to say, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)! 

If our sins were still clinging to us, spending eternity in the presence of the King of Glory would be torturous! Our fear of His weighty glory is only changed into joy when we accept that He has saved us from the penalty of our sins. Now our fear of His glory isn’t a crippling fear, but as we worship Him for His salvation our fear becomes reverential worship. 

Or we could say it this way—When we fear the King of Glory we fear nothing else! 

Charitie Lees Bancroft captures that idea in these stanzas of her poem:

When satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me. 

Behold Him there! The risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness;
The great unchangeable “I AM,”
The King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

With our sins forgiven by our faith in Jesus, we can now enjoy an eternity in the weighty, awesome presence of the King of Glory! 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Long Live the King of Kings, you can find them all by clicking here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this video where I talk about the logic in Psalm 119. ◀︎◀︎

Fasting Unlocks Feasting

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

I find it interesting how many spiritual disciplines have both a physical and spiritual impact on our lives. Bible study, solitude, and giving all have benefits in both the physical and spiritual realms. This is even more apparent in spiritual discipline #4—fasting. 

As we saw with giving last week, fasting is another one of the spiritual activities that Jesus has a cautionary word for us (Matthew 6:16-18). As with giving and praying, Jesus notes that there are only two categories: true fast-ers and hypocrites. Of course, hypocrite means someone simply playing a role—it’s not who they really are. 

In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus is asked about fasting and He uses some unusual analogies about fabrics and wineskins to teach us two don’ts about fasting:

  1. Don’t fast if you’re not ready for it. Jesus notes that “the unshrunken cloth” will do damage to both the new and old pieces of fabric. This goes back to the get-to vs. have-to attitude we should have about spiritual discipline.
  2. Don’t try to add a new religious practice to a religion-hardened heart. Jesus addresses this using the analogy of new wine ruining old wineskins. 

These fasting thoughts aren’t a teaching that is exclusive to the New Testament, but through the prophet Isaiah, God addressed it in the exact same way (Isaiah 58:5-9). In this passage we can learn the dos about fasting:

  1. Do fast when my heart’s motivation is a hunger for more of God. 
  2. Do fast as the Holy Spirit directs you, not in a formulaic, lifeless ritual. 

I’m not a big fan of diets that are no-no diets because telling people what they cannot eat isn’t a good motivator. But telling people what they can eat brings joy and freedom. 

The insidious nature of junk food is not so much the fat, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients, but the fact that junk food is really empty calories. Your body needs a certain amount of fuel to operate. Junk food contains calories but lacks nutrients. You eat junk food, your body sends a signal to your brain that you’re no longer hungry, and then you never eat the nutrient-rich food. This is why your Mom may have told you something like, “Broccoli first, then dessert.” 

The Hebrew word for “fast” literally means to cover the mouth, but I think fasting is more than that. Just as we said money was one aspect of giving, so food is one aspect of fasting. The idea behind fasting is to be able to identify the “empty calories” of some of our lifestyle choices so that we can feast on the rich “nutrients” that God has for us. 

Just as junk food with its empty calories keeps us from nutrient-rich food, hours of video games or TV binge watching keeps us from mind-enriching learning, endless social media scrolling keeps us from developing real relationships with real people, and obsessive news gathering keeps us from focusing on God’s promises.

Periodically fasting from these things will allow us to spot the junk food we’ve been consuming. Our so that statement for this spiritual discipline says: I fast so that I can identify the junk food that is keeping me from feasting on Jesus. 

Can I give you a brief assignment for this spiritual discipline? After making sure your heart attitude about fasting is God-honoring, add regular fasting to your life so that you can use that time to feast on Jesus. 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in this series on six empowering spiritual disciplines, you can check them out by clicking here. 

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Links & Quotes

The word “saints” is always plural in the New Testament. That means that each us needs all of us, and all of us need each of us. Check out this full message hereI have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“The words of the civil codes of God’s Law are neither salvific nor exhaustive; they are, rather, designed to illustrate applications of the Ten Commandments in various situations, so that local judges and authorities could reason based on the words of the Law concerning what the spirit of the Law required in any situation.” —T.M. Moore

“Sin grows when we think we deserve something from God, or life. Godliness grows when we remember we are debtors to God, throughout life.” —Tim Keller

“Pornography is not new. Archeological discoveries testify that fascination with sexual portrayals is nearly as old as humanity. Yet our times present new challenges. Technological advancements coupled with moral corrosion are increasing the accessibility and normality of pornography at a dizzying rate.” Check out this post that shares nine ways parents can talk about pornography with their children.