West Park Baptist Church

Jesus Christ

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Daily Dose of Faith (5/18/2020)

Over the past few weeks I’ve been noticing a trend developing. Thoughts are formed about this current covid-19 situation, trenches are dug, and the war of opinions is underway.

Should I wear a mask or shouldn’t I?

Do I really need to keep social distancing from people?

Can I trust the government to make the best decisions? How about the medical community? What about my church?

The other night I went to Kroger to pick up something, and 6 young people ranging in age from roughly 11 to 16 saw me in my mask. One of them asked, “What’s with all these people wearing masks?” Recently someone in my family wore a mask while shopping, and a man got right in her face, challenging her decision to wear a mask in public. He was aggressive and eventually walked away after making his point. His demeanor reminded me of people’s very deeply held opinions right now and in that case how people shouldn’t respond to others in our current situation.

But one of the questions that is most important is: How should we as followers of Jesus Christ respond to one another both in and out of the church right now?

To help answer that question in the days ahead I would like to continue my recent exploration of the Fruit of the Spirit, as well as other lists of virtues in the New Testament, to challenge us as followers of Christ to best represent Him and bring glory to Him in the reopening of the economy and the church. My goal will be to personalize each fruit, to figure out applications during this time of reopening, and to offer as much counsel as I can for myself, my family and for all of you who read along.

In close today let me share a link with you to an article on the Gospel Coalition website titled “Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You.” The author describes our need for patience with one another during this time. I will be back on the blog tomorrow with thoughts about love. Until then continue praying for our church leaders, our government leaders, our medical community workers and one another.

 

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Counsel for the Heart: Tools for Restoration (Gal. 6:1-5)

It’s been very instructive for me to focus on the fruit of the Spirit. In the average daily struggle, calling to mind my Comforter and Counselor and Agent of true change has been such a help!

How has it been for you to study the spiritual fruit? We have one more time together today to dig into the practical method of walking by the Spirit, evidencing His fruit and applying it in the restoration of fellow believers.

Galatians 6:1–5

[1] Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [3] For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. [5] For each will have to bear his own load. (ESV)

Getting to the Heart:

We learned yesterday that the Lord Jesus is in the process of restoring each of us to His image. He is the absolute best at the work of restoration. He sees the finished product, and just as one house is different from another, so the Lord knows the uniqueness of every believer. As a Master carpenter, Jesus knows all about using tools, and his main tools in the people restoration projects are you and me! And He further counsels us about the tools we need to follow His plans for restoring one another. Yesterday we learned about Gentleness and Watchfulness. Today let’s dig in further to learn about the other two tools we need in our restoration kits.

  1. Gentleness.
  2. Watchfulness. (For these first two see the previous article in this series).
  3. Love – Paul says that restoration requires burden-bearing, and this fulfills the law of Christ. What law? Aren’t we free from the law now? Well, yes, but also no. The law of God is no threat to our security and freedom, but by the Spirit we are free to work out our salvation, and in this case it is the law of love for neighbor. Remember how Jesus bore the burden of our sin, all the way to the cross (see 1 Pet. 2:24)? This was love in action! We are called to enter the messiness of sin, not to partake in it but to rescue and restore someone. Even when we would cringe at entering a messy situation with someone, we can rejoice to identify with our Burden-bearer.
  4. Your backpack – Ok, this tool doesn’t seem to match the others, but it’s legitimately in these verses! Galatians 6:5 says “Each will have to bear his own load.” “Load” is not the same word as “burden” (6:2). It actually refers to a small pack that a traveler would wear, and the pack is essential and as personal as each individual. Another skill that Jesus wants His followers to have is the skill of honest self-assessment, and that’s what the text means by “each will have to bear his own load.” Each of us has unique skills, setbacks, strengths and weaknesses. We do no good by comparing ourselves with others, but there’s a humility that comes when we remember who we are and the growth God has worked out in us over time. Each of us has limitations in carrying out our spiritual responsibility, but that shouldn’t stop us from seeking to restore others! If anything an honest self-assessment provides us with two things (at least): 1) a healthy “boasting” in what God has done in our lives: a cause for rejoicing; 2) patience with others in their sin, especially not taking personally what they say or do. When someone may respond in anger we can rightly think, I don’t know what that brother may be facing today or what is in his backpack. Perhaps he’s farther along with the Lord than he was a year ago. Regardless, the Lord is at work! 

The bottom line: if we would apply gentleness, humility, love and a proper self-awareness to our ministry of restoration, we will do well, and others will come to know the love and support of our loving Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s talk it over: 

  • What strengths has God equipped you with to help you minister to others?
  • What difficulties have you faced in your life that could help you to bear the burdens of others with gentleness and love?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You have loved us and sought us each time we’ve gone astray. You sacrificed Yourself for us so that we would see Your worth and have hope to return to You. Lord, please help us to grow in the ministry of restoring others. Help us to recall when you have restored us and help us grow in humility to be of use to You. Amen.

Worship in Song: 

His Forever

Memory Passage: Galatians 5:22–24

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (ESV)

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Counsel for the Heart: Restoration (Gal. 6:1-5)

Who doesn’t like Fixer Upper?

That’s a rhetorical question. I’m arguing for the sake of point that men like to take a sledgehammer and demolish a non-load-bearing wall. Women love the same sometimes, and they get to add to it design, flowers, and happy family memory-making times.

The concept of home improvement shows revolves around finding an old home with good bones and putting in the time, money, love and effort to restore it.

Please know that those who claim the name of Christ are also in need of restoration. Each of us has been saved and secured by the work of Christ Jesus for us, but each of us falls into what the Bible calls “a trespass” now and again, and we need restoration. Let’s go back to Galatians for one more time in this series to read about the work of spiritual restoration.

Galatians 6:1–5

[1] Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. [2] Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [3] For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. [5] For each will have to bear his own load. (ESV)

Getting to the Heart:

No one restores broken-down saints like the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus sees beyond the brokenness to what is true in the life of the sinful saint. He sees the full potential of what He has done and will yet do. His finished work in the fallen believer will be glorious, beautiful and someday perfect! In the mean-time, Jesus chooses to use every one of His followers in the restoration work of a brother caught in any trespass.

Yesterday I mentioned that this work is for the “spiritual” (6:1). Remember, that has nothing to do with a higher spiritual status. It refers to the “mature,” who know they are nothing without Jesus, and in humility depend on the Spirit to be of use to the Master in the lives of other people. After all, they know they have been loved by Jesus, and they want to love others like that.

Jesus equips you with tools for the restoration process of a broken brother. Today I’ll mention 2 and on Friday the rest.

  1. Gentleness – Where have we seen this before? In the fruit of the Spirit. We studied the meaning of gentleness in another post in this series. Let’s redefine it. Gentleness is essentially self-forgetfulness. It’s not self-deprecation or speaking ill of yourself. It’s the fruit of Christ that helps you put yourself aside so you can humbly focus on the needs of someone else. You and I need this when we restore someone, otherwise we will be mad at being inconvenienced by someone else’s sin or fearful that the problem will overwhelm us. Gentleness is a quality that we need the Spirit to produce in us. It’s love, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self-control in action.
  2. Watchfulness – Whenever I watch a Fixer Upper episode, there’s one unwritten law that always comes up: there are hidden problems that will come up and cost an extra thousand dollars, at least. There’s a hidden cost in spiritual restoration too: your own sin problems come up during times of spiritual restoration. Your problems will appear like a bee-hive inside a wall! When you are called on to consider another above yourself you won’t like it. You’ll be tempted to be short-tempered, anxious or even prone to fall into the same sin you are trying to help the other get out of. Watch yourself, and count on your own sin showing up.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the final tools, but for now…

Let’s talk it over:

  • Do you like to watch home improvement shows? How does a home improvement project compare to a spiritual restoration project?
  • When have you experienced the help of someone else to restore you? Alternatively, how has the Lord used you in the process of restoring someone else?

Prayer:

Sovereign Lord, You see the end from the beginning, and You ordain the means. Thank You for investing in us not only to rescue us from the penalty of sin but also to restore us from the presence of sin in our lives. You do not run from big projects, for Lord Jesus You bore our sin burdens on the cross. Help us in love to bear one another’s burdens and to fulfill Your law. Amen.

Worship in Song:

My Worth is Not in What I Own

Memory Passage: Galatians 5:22–24

[22] But the _____ of the _____ is _____, ____, _______, ________, ________, _________, ___________, [23] ____________, ____________; ______ such things there is no _____. [24] And those who __________ to ______ ______ have _______ the _____ with its _________ and __________. (ESV)

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Counsel for the Heart: Our Security (Gal. 5:23-24)

Security: in a world full of threats we need truly need it.

Each night I make my rounds to lock all doors, make sure the garage door is down and ensure our vehicles are locked. While these aren’t threat-proof measures to take, they help me and my family feel a little more secure at night.

We take measures to secure our money. Our children and grandchildren. Our health.

But what of our souls? What about the threats within?

As we’ve been examining the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, we’ve seen that there’s a true war happening within. How can we truly know the outcome? In the meantime, where does our security come from in the midst of the inner war? Let’s turn to our text today for the answer.

Galatians 5:22–24

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (ESV)

Getting to the Heart:

Let’s consider the strong security we have in God by the following three points.

  • Freedom from the law. As you may have seen at the end of verse 23, we’re told that those who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit have no law against them. What does this mean? Well, the law of God is perfect and pure, and by the law God regulates our actions, determining what is right and wrong. But beyond this is the tendency that all human beings have to submit to laws in order to prove their worth or importance. The Holy Spirit has freed us from that treadmill of following laws to prove our worth to God, others or ourselves. We are free now to live life in the Spirit. But how can the Spirit do this?
  • We belong to the Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus has taken on Himself all our record of sins, and He was punished for our sake. Further, every record of right and purity and good that He accomplished now belongs to us. Jesus has so identified with His people that everything He has belongs to them, and everything His people have and still experience is His and His experience too. We have a gracious Savior who took our wicked record and gave us His perfect record. That’s why no law can touch us – nothing may condemn us now.
  • We have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. On the one hand, this means that Jesus crucified on the cross dealt a death blow to our flesh. When someone believes this good news, it unites that person to Jesus, and their flesh is crucified once for all. On the other hand, this verb “have crucified” indicates an action that was done but that still has ongoing effects. That means each day we still have a responsibility to crucify our flesh, with particular focus on the passions (or controlling lusts we have) and desires (literally “over-desires,” things we want that are good but become defiling because we want them too much or in the wrong way).  This does not mean abusing or punishing your body! That would do no good. We daily crucify those passions and over-desires by asking “What is it I think I need in order to feel fulfilled?” “What is my reason for thinking I need that so badly?” Knowing that we are free in Jesus Christ, we can then confess our wrong desires with freedom to Jesus, confess our wrong motives for wanting that thing, and ask Him to help us see Him as the Lover of our souls no matter what, the great Delight of our hearts, the Superior Satisfaction over all passions and over-desires. Then walk in the Spirit, seeking ways to grow and please the Lord, trusting in the Spirit’s power to change us each day.

Let’s talk it over:

  • What steps do you take in everyday life to feel safe or secure?
  • Considering those three points of security that the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit provide us, how could you express them as personal statements to better help you meditate on and remember them? For example, “I belong to Jesus Christ now, and He belongs to me.“

Prayer:

Our gracious Lord and Savior, thank You for saving us and helping us in the daily battle against the flesh. You are so faithful to us, choosing to unite Yourself to us forever, even now in the midst of this battle of the Spirit vs. the flesh. Help us by Your Spirit to daily crucify our over-desires for things that otherwise are good but that we would in our flesh manipulate and twist. Help us to identify motives behind those desires so we may repent and turn again to see You in Your glory and beauty, remembering the fruit of the Spirit that is found fully in You. You are our delight and joy, Lover of our souls and best friend we have. Amen.

Worship in Song:

Jesus Paid it All

 

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Stand for Your Marriage

By Tom Larson

The worldwide pandemic we are currently experiencing has been the cause of much stress and hardship for many families. Husbands and wives in troubled marriages will likely tell you the federal, state, and local directives regarding stay at home orders have served to heighten and exacerbate the already existing tensions found in their broken homes. For some, the increased conflict and friction has instilled a strong resolve to abandon the marriage covenant, and pursue a path that leads to liberation and greater personal happiness. But is a path that embraces divorce one that Bible believing Christians should willingly chase after? The answer to this question, and so many others can be found in Scripture. All we need to do is be open to what God’s Word is plainly telling us.

Matthew 19:4-6 reads, He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

When Jesus told the hypocritical Pharisees that God joined husbands and wives together, He did not suggest marriages stay intact only for as long as things were working. Nor did He offer a way out of the marriage covenant if one or both spouses felt happiness and fulfillment was no longer in reach. On the contrary, our Lord declared separation should not occur. In other words, don’t do it.

Through the years however, society and culture has gone to great lengths to minimize and marginalize the importance of holding true to one’s marriage vows. Unfortunately, much of this way of thinking has crept into our churches. No-fault divorces are not all that uncommon among professing Christians, and attitudes concerning marriage and divorce have become almost identical to those held by non-believers and secular society.

But if your heart truly yearns to be in line with God’s will, and you desire to honor the Lord and bring glory to His name, even in the midst of the volatile storm that may now define your marriage, I strongly urge you to focus your eyes upon Jesus, and to follow the example He demonstrated while ministering here on this earth. Christ never abandoned his bride. Up until his dying breath, He was forgiving and loving. Despite our rebellious, stubborn, and sinful behavior, He always remains right there, never leaving or forsaking us. This is the example we are called to follow.

For many years, I lived the life of a Christian husband and father in name only. I chased after worldly pleasures to satisfy my own flesh. In the end, the environment this behavior cultivated in my own home, led to the destruction of my marriage. Unbeknownst to me at the time of my separation and divorce, God was working to remake me into His image. This also was the case for my precious wife. For us, the tribulation and destruction the Lord allowed to be brought into our lives, became a way to direct our hearts, minds and souls back to Himself. In His perfect timing, true reconciliation and restoration of our marriage occurred. Praise be to God for the discipline He exerts over His children! Although we may not like it at the time, it is for our own good and benefit that the refining fires of correction are brought upon us.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11

God indeed works in wondrous ways, but the lesson we should all learn as it relates to suffering, is in the tremendous opportunity it presents for transformational growth to occur. When these storms come, do not seek to pin blame on others, or wallow in self pity. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to convict your soul and bring your thoughts and desires back into alignment with God’s will, rather than your own.

You may be one of those individuals who is now struggling with your marriage. Perhaps your spouse has left, or you are in the beginning stages of the divorce process. In either case, as someone who experienced the miracle of marriage restoration, I can say without a doubt, no circumstance or situation is too difficult for God. The key for believers is to trust in faith and wait for the Lord to do what only He can. Humble yourself and submit to His will daily. Lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge His Word, and you will be guided alongside the path that brings honor and glory to Him. The Pastors and Biblical counseling leaders at West Park are committed to helping you grow in your faith. If you are in need of guidance and counsel to help you navigate the storms currently being faced, please do not hesitate to reach out.

The Lord has a special plan for you, your family, and your marriage. Rather than allowing our present circumstances to shape and determine where our relationships lead, take charge through the empowering of the Holy Spirit and allow transformational change and godliness to chart your course as you head into these turbulent waters.

May God Bless.

Tom Larson

Purposed Marriage

http://www.purposedmarriage.org