Consistency

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.

When we think of the word, ‘consistency,’ we may also think of the word, ‘constancy.’

The reason is because being consistent has the implication of being the same no matter the circumstances. Paul demonstrated that sort of consistency in his life. He was constant in his consistency. (I guess you could say there is a redundancy in that statement, since he was consistent – the implication is he was ALWAYS consistent.)

Redundancy aside, the reason Paul was consistent constantly is because of Who he consisted of.

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a NEW creation.”(2 Cor 5:17)

There comes a time when this new creation is even demonstrated to itself, as its own manifestation. Sometimes the question is put: “What are you made of?” (Of what do you consist?)

Or, of Whom do you consist? When you consist of Christ it becomes evident to all only by the seasons of life. It happens when His strength or joy or love becomes evident in your life. You are consistently demonstrating the things only Christ can do.

Paul writes to the church at Philippi from a Roman jail. His joy is made complete in the knowing they are continuing on in the faith he carried to them through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His joy is made complete in the knowing God will be FAITHFUL to complete the good work He started in them – and in anyone else who receives Christ.

And this is what makes for consistency: it is that God is faithful. It is as simple and as wonderful as that. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. There is no depth, or width, or height – and certainly no Roman prison cell. For those who may be thinking Paul is in jail because of inconsistency, let them think again! Paul’s ministry at Philippi began in a Philippian jail, (see Acts 16,) and now he once more communicates his great love for them – from a Roman jail! How consistent with Christ’s sufferings.

-  Pastor Bill

Battle Fatigue?

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 

We are reminded Paul writes the letter to the church at Ephesus from a Roman prison.

We are reminded Jesus was sent into the desert without food by the Holy Spirit for 40 days, and He was hungry and thirsty before Satan came along and tempted Him.

How could Paul write such a grace-filled and God-blessed epistle from such a location? How could Jesus fend off Satan in the midst of such a trial?

The answer is: the armor of God. (The power of the Holy Spirit.) Paul acknowledges and preaches it. Jesus uses it. It works.

James says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

Paul writes, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor 10:13)

Temptation is something we will always be faced with in this life. Deal with it. Whether it is the temptation to quit or feel sorry for yourself, rather than blessed as Paul must have faced, or whether it is the temptation to inappropriate power or recognition Jesus faced - or any number of others - you will be tempted. It seems the stronger your relationship with Christ, the stronger the temptations may be. (See Paul.) Paul encourages us to put on the armor of God. The whole armor. Lord knows you’ll need it.

-  Pastor Bill

Friends of the Bridegroom

Matt 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12 But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

There is a point to the prophetic content in the Bible. One of the points to prophecy is for us to understand Who the Author of God’s Word is: The Holy Spirit. The Word of God is Holy, inerrant, and true. Prophetic content proves that. All of the prophetic content has proven true in the past, and only what remains for the future has yet to be proven true – and is proving true as we watch world events unfold before our very eyes.

There are two major themes contained in Biblical prophecy. The first is the coming of the Messiah into the world. ALL prophecies contained in the Old Testament pertaining to the birth and lifetime of Christ have been fulfilled. Jesus came just as He said He would, to the town He said He would be born of, to the lowly estate of His earthly parents, and He died and rose again – just as the Word declared. It is staggering to count how many people missed His coming in LIGHT of the fact they had God’s Word to guide them to the time and place of His birth, and told them of the events of His life. Some were watching and waiting, but not many.

The second major theme contained in Biblical prophecy concerns Jesus’ return to take His church out of the world, (The Rapture,) for a seven year period, and then to return with His church to the earth to rule and reign for a thousand-year period of time, (The Second Coming.)

Of the return of Christ for His church – we not only have the Word of God, we also here have the words of Christ Himself. Jesus tells the heartbreaking parable of ten virgins coming out to meet the Bridegroom when He comes for His bride. In this story, Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the ten virgins are those in the church. Unfortunately, even though all ten virgins were present physically in the church, only five of them were present Spiritually. They were not ready for Christ’s return for His church, even though they had His Word, (which He here amplifies,) and even though they had the opportunity to be ready – by being born again and filled with the Spirit. Are you ready for the return of Christ?

-  Pastor Bill

Armed Conviction

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 

One of the things Christians realize very early in their new walk with Christ is that life is not necessarily easier than it used to be. It is quantifiably better and greatly preferred, but it is not necessarily easier.

Those who preach a gospel of prosperity do a great disservice to those who are contemplating giving their lives to Christ. The modern church has often careened over to a doctrine of a “better life in Christ” without presenting any of the difficulties accompanying that choice. Jesus, on the other hand, said, “Consider the cost.”

The cost of a life in Christ is often great. Even as this particular scripture is written, Paul himself is being held in a Roman prison – and will eventually suffer be-headeding - simply because he chose to follow Christ in all that he did in his life. This made Paul a bold witness for Christ as he followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, and this brought about persecution unto death. Have you considered that cost?

Today Christians largely worship Christ out of convenience, not conviction. It shows. In an era when there is little conviction the power of the church recedes, even as the ability to reach people through technology grows.

The problem is when a person gives their life to Christ, that person immediately gains a new and powerful enemy: Satan. This is what Paul is saying. “Be ready to take a stand for Christ.” Satan will do all he can to immediately turn the new believer away from the proclamation he has made. And it is impossible to defend yourself from a spiritual enemy using physical means. It will take every piece of the armor of God for the Christian to stand against the onslaught from the enemy of God. Get ready!

-  Pastor Bill

Sub-mission

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

One of the most unpopular passages in the entire Bible according to modern American society is found right here in Ephesians 5 as Paul turns his attention to marriage. “Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord.”

Note that I did not define his discussion as “Christian” marriage, because when it comes to marriage there is ONLY one kind, and it is designed by God. The only true “marriage” IS Christian marriage – and so it is redundant and unnecessary to refer to “marriage” as “Christian marriage,” because truly there is no other kind.

The world calls what they enter into “marriage,” but it really isn’t. What the world enters into is a legally-binding relationship founded on the bargain taking place in ‘romantic’ love. This can be a wonderful blast for the emotional life of a man or woman, but it cannot last. ‘Romantic’ love is unrealistic because it only sees the best in the other person in the relationship, and that fades as soon as the worst becomes more visible. The next phase breaks down into the bargain of, “I will love you IF you will love me.” Soon after follows discontent – and – in about 50% of the cases, divorce.

It is the inevitable result for those who know nothing of the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. It is the main reason worldly marriage is failing so miserably. It’s that bargain. Worldly ‘married’ life is a 50-50 bargain, and when one side becomes less than 50, the other side feels slighted and hurt, and the whole “relationship” breaks down and possibly apart.

Marriage is designed by God to be a place of and for submission. Since we are only IN submission when we disagree, you can easily see this relationship is designed to remove the fleshly ingredients of selfishness and pride, and, as Paul writes, to bring us into a supernatural image of Christ’s sacrificial relationship to His Church, where His love is offered 100%, and unconditionally.

-  Pastor Bill

Walk This Way

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 

With apologies to ‘Aerosmith’ and ‘Run DMC,’ Paul said it first: “Walk this way.”

Walking implies motion, movement in the life of the Christian. In Ephesians 4 Paul speaks of growing. In Ephesians 5, Paul talks about walking – that is – walking out your faith, your growth, your love – all the while making steady progress, and imitating Jesus Christ just as a child imitates the good and godly traits of his earthly parents.

The problem is too many Christians are sitting rather than walking, and without exercise the body becomes bloated, analytical, and self-critically defeating. But a body in motion, with somewhere to go, and something to accomplish, is fixed on the Godly goal rather than comparison and analysis.

The best form of Christian fellowship takes place during service and sacrifice. We have seen this dramatically demonstrated here at CCGC recently. For those who had the opportunity to serve in the transformation of this building, there was an unbreakable bond of fellowship built during that process, and we could point to that fellowship-building as being more important than the building-building.

The building is temporal, but the bonds of fellowship are eternal. It is difficult to imagine how such bonds of fellowship could have been created by simply listening to a Bible study. What Paul is saying is that we now must ‘do’ the Bible study, and ‘be’ the Bible study…walking in the light of Christ to carry out His will, and accomplishing on this earth what is pleasing to Him. There is nothing like it.

-  Pastor Bill

Measured Growth

Ephesians4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

If something is alive it grows. Pretty simple equation.

On the doorpost of my son’s room there are some pencil marks. It is probably the one place in the entire house where pencil marks on the wall are acceptable. Each mark denotes the growth of my son, and there is a steady progress demonstrated throughout his young life. The spaces between the marks may not be equal increments, but they are steady, and they are higher all the time. (In fact, the marks have become so high they are starting to scare me a little.) How can I pay for the food and clothing for such an expansion?

And here we see that growth never comes without some pain. It will either be the literal physical growth pains which science has recently suggested are real, or it will be the pains of seeking to afford the expansion of the size of the growth.

But if something is alive, it grows. It cannot be stopped. Growth is not to be feared, it is to be expected and planned for.

How then do we apply this as a principle in our Christian lives? Do we expect Spiritual growth? Do we plan for it? Or do we shy away from it and neglect the process entirely? (Maybe I’ll grow – and maybe I won’t.)

Paul beseeches us to Spiritual growth ALL THE WAY to the measure of the FULLNESS of Christ. Can you imagine what the church would be like if all were growing together as they grew up into the fullness of Christ? I can too. This is why Paul encourages us so strongly. It is everything the church is to be about: Spiritual growth in the discipleship of Jesus Christ. Growth indicates life.                                                                                

-  Pastor Bill

Captured

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Being a prisoner of anyone is an especially unpleasant thought.

Paul really puts this into perspective, and it is his own experience that speaks loudest. Arrested at Jerusalem at the Temple, almost beaten to death, captured by the Roman guard, held in jail for years before trial, transferred to Rome, and now held in a Roman prison cell for  years without ever knowing when or if he will be released.

The Roman prison system was not redemptive, it was punitive. Since the idea was to punish the prisoners, no attempt was made at providing a comfortable living environment. In fact, you could probably say no effort was spared to make sure a very uncomfortable environment was the norm.

Poor, pitiful Paul? Not hardly. Paul writes from jail a beautiful expression of the love of Christ, in a way only someone who is IN jail could. Without self-pity, Paul writes of the LOVE of Christ – in a time when one might think he would say he had been abandoned by Christ.

But this always seems to be the story. Those who find themselves in the most trying situations find themselves more in the presence and the love of Christ than ever. What we hear over and over again, (with Paul being a prime example,) is that the more we have need, and the greater our despair, the more Christ can and will move upon the human heart to minister in the greatest depths of the soul. There are no prison bars which hold back the love of Christ.               

-  Pastor Bill

Saved From?

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Life is the one thing we all appreciate above all. We might say we value ‘love’ above all, but then, we have to be alive to experience love. We cling to life with all we have until we cannot cling any longer.

This is what makes death such an enemy to us. Then there is also the uncertainty of death. It has been well said, (and I think it reflects human nature,) “I don’t mind the thought of death so much; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

Hmmm. The question is: What can we do about it? Should Jesus tarry, death awaits us all. It is certain and looming, and it is completely unknown to us when it will occur. (So it is very difficult for us to arrange our schedule to not be there when it happens.)

It is fascinating the Bible tells us as long as we live in our sins we are dead already. Walking dead. Talking dead. As good as dead. And then…God in His great abounding mercy offers us an alternative.

And here is the really fascinating part: some people will knowingly choose to remain dead in their sins rather than receiving the salvation being offered freely by Christ. The reason is because they do not truly understand what they are being saved from. (And Satan has real victory in any heart in which he can make hell a fairy tale.)

Jesus saves us because we require being saved, in the same manner a drowning man requires saving. “Salvation” is not a flowery Christianese term; it has real meaning, because when the Bible speaks of “death’ it is speaking of eternal damnation. This is what Jesus will freely save us from, if we will but place our faith in Him – because it is by grace alone we are saved. We cannot do more than receive it, but we cannot do less than understand what it truly means – to be saved.  

-  Pastor Bill

How Blessed We Are

Ephesians1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Happy and blessed is the best we can be.

The question is: What do you consider a blessing – and what does it take to make you happy?

Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, (which is believed to be a circular letter, rather than a letter to a specific church,) with an encouragement which is unmatched in the New Testament. For this reason, these opening chapters of the book are known of as the “Alps of the New Testament.”

Why? Because here we rise to the heights of heaven to consider our fate. There will be specific instruction on conduct and good Christian living to follow, but first we soar to the highest of heights, to the very throne of God and Christ, to consider Who it is Who loves us so, and Who it is Who has made all these arrangements to bring us up along this High way.

It is wonderful to consider what it means for God to have chosen me. What a blessing! And, according to Paul’s words, it is a “spiritual blessing.” It is one thing to be blessed in material ways, but here Paul reveals the greater glory of our Spiritual blessings in Christ.

There is no way anything we may receive in this life can compare with God’s election, and God’s pre-destination, and God’s redemption, and God’s dispensation, and God’s inheritance…and it is only made better by the knowledge that it is God’s pleasure to do so.      

-  Pastor Bill