Come See a Man

John 4:29

Sharing is something that we do instinctively. When our taste buds are tantalized by the food of an excellent restaurant, we are eager to share this information with all out friends and many times to strangers that have just met. My wife and I have had friends call to tell us that a certain grocery store has a fantastic price on eggs. We as a people love to share deals with anyone that listens. There is a certain amount of excitement in sharing bargains.

It seems we have lost the excitement of our salvation. We have the example of this woman, a woman that apparently had a bad reputation, a woman shunned by the good people of the city. She was an outcast because of her lifestyle.

Then she met the Savior. She heard the good news. She believed Jesus report. The Holy Spirit seized the moment and impressed upon her that Jesus was the “I AM” of scripture. Salvation brought a flood of emotions. She wanted to tell others of a “man.” Her excitement was so great that she forgot the pot in her eagerness to tell the whole city to – “Come see a man.”

Where is our excitement? We who have experienced the forgiveness of our Savior. We who have been so blessed, we that have a promise of life everlasting and life abundant. Where is our overwhelming desire to tell others of a Savior.

To whom much is forgiven we find much excitement. ARE YOU EXCITED?

ABIDING IN CHRIST

John 15:5; I John 2:28; II John 9

Abide – to dwell, to rest to continue, to stand firm.

I John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

There is a place to abide. We are to abide in Jesus. All of our assurance and hope and every blessing resides in our abiding in Jesus. Abiding in Jesus indicates a close relationship. Our abiding in Him indicates that within His nearness, we have peace and re-assurance of His care for us and He is watching over us. I fear that sometimes He sees every moment of my life, whether it is joy or sorrow. He has experience all that I could ever experience in this life. He knows every step I take and every obstacle that hinders my walk. When I stumble, He is there to steady me. When I fall He picks me up and brushes me off and heals body and mind.

I cannot have confidence in this world and the rule of man. I cannot have confidence in government that they will always want the best for me. I cannot have confidence in fellow man that they will treat me right and never fail me or desert me. My confidence must stay on and with the Lord Jesus. He is always present when I need Him. I have confidence in His return to take me home one day. In His time, at the right time, I shall see Him in the air and hear the trumpet of victory sound and I shall meet my Lord in the Air. What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face . . .

My desire is to not be ashamed before God when I stand before Him. Therefore, I must abide. I don’t know when His return is so I must be ready at any time. I have confidence in his return as a thief in the night and because His appearance will not be announced, I must be faithful and true at all times. I must not be drawn away by worldly lusts or desires. I MUST abide in Jesus at all times.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”

Abiding is fruit-bearing. The place of abiding is in Jesus Christ the Son of God. Some choose to abide in the world, in sports, arts, education, politics, power or prestige. The propensity of some to always gravitate to worldly things is evident in what holds their attention and receives their time. These days of hectic activity of the world, we hardly have time for Jesus, much less abiding in him. Abiding means to spend time with him. We abide in our house that we call our home. This is where we eat, we sleep and basically live our lives. This is the hub of our life. Jesus should be the hub of our life.

With Jesus, we are “in Him.” We should be just as comfortable being in him as we are at home. Abiding in Him means that no matter where we are He is ever-present. Since we are in Him at work, we should be just as faithful in representing Him at work as we are at Church. Where ever we are, if we abide in Christ, we will produce, not just fruit but much fruit. Notice that statement “… for without me ye can do nothing. If we are not producing fruit, maybe we should examine ourselves to see if we are abiding.

II John 1:9  “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”

If we are abiding in Christ, we have an overwhelming desire to abide in His doctrine. Truth is so important in a time of lying and deceit. So many distort and twist the doctrine of Christ in this modern depraved age. The Bible says, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” John 8:32. We areresponsible for diligently searching for the truth and finding it. Finding the truth tells of the love we have for Christ.

Fear of Man

Proverbs 29:25 – The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 

Isaiah 51:12 – I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; 

John 12:42 – Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

There are many signs that show the fear of man. There is not a one of us that want to admit we have fear, especially the fear of not having mans approval. When we have fear, we feel the lack of safety. Mn normally seeks the approval of other men. For many, this fear keeps them from taking a stand. This fear holds them back from doing outstanding deeds. There are some that struggle with this problem all their life. Because of it they do not witness to the lost or take a stand for the truth.

Through Isaiah, God says “I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;”. God always puts things in perspective. Man dies. At present, man lives. While man lives every man makes a fool of himself from time to time. The most knowledgeable says or does something stupid. The most cunning messes up from time to time. If truth is made known, we fear man more than we do God. What keeps us from blessing our meal in public? Fear of man. What keeps us from witnessing about our Savior? Fear of man. What keeps us from standing firm on the truths of the Bible. Fear of man.

Consider that some that know the Lord as Savior do not reveal themselves to others because of the fear of the things that they might have to give up or the worldly pleasures. One of the fears of some Jews that were saved was, they would be pushed out of the synagogue. They were saved but wanted to cling to their past life. Some are like that today.

We need to rise up and dispel the fear and be bold to take a stand for Christ and truth.

A Principled Man

A man without principle never draws much interest.

Jas_3:13  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
1Pe_1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 
12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

Packages

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.

UNDERSTANDING GREED

William Andrew Dillard
Parson to Person

Greed is the universal requisite of natural man. It is his sinful nature, manifesting itself repeatedly, and often.
Greed may be likened to the grease that keeps the wheels of insatiable desire turning. It is the sinful motivation of natural man to create an elusive, indefinable, apex of life that cannot satisfy or be perpetuated due to the deterioration of all things, and the brevity of earthly life. Greed is soundly condemned in the pages of Holy Writ. From its description of ultimate selfishness in Psalm 17:12, and Proverbs 1:19 to its marked prohibition in pastors and deacons in I Timothy 3 to the woes pronounced upon the perishing in Jude 1:11, the Holy Word underscores its wickedness.
Dreamers of an ultimate, human heaven on earth of their own making have led men far afield from the best government ever experienced on earth: Theocracy! The Hebrews knew this in their liberation from Egyptian slavery, the wilderness wanderings, and possession of the Promised Land. But greed led them to reject their government. They wantonly lusted after the monarchial form established by godless nations around them, with the human glory and personal gain it could bring.
So, over the millenniums of time men ever searched onward for their zenith of a utopia on earth. From monarchial, to oligarchical, to fascist dictatorship, to communism and socialism they dream and work on. It is somewhat interesting though that there is a form of government that stands out as superior to them all. It is capitalism! Communism and socialism purport to equalize the standards of men, stifling the baseness of greed. Only trouble is, it does not work because all men are greedy. So the populace is forced into poverty while the rulers bask in luxury; the ill-gotten product of their greed. Soon the system breaks down as history consistently shows.
On the other hand, Capitalism plays to the greed of men, allowing a free market place and a republic form of democracy restricted to protecting those tenants. It works well for all because it encourages entrepreneurship. Men may work and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Is it a perfect form of government? No, by far, it is not, but it is the best the world has to offer as its continued success testifies. Is greed good? Certainly not, but greedy is what sinful men are. 
One day, heaven will rule on earth. Then and only then will men realize their fullest potential, and appreciate what a perfect government can do and be for them. But sadly, even the millennial reign of Jesus will ultimately be rejected by sinful men to their own eternal punishment. What follows is a new heaven and a new earth; a new city of complete perfection for God’s people. Now that is what should be the desire and preparatory work in the heart and mind of everyone.

MAN-UP

MAN-UP

1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 

2Sa 10:12  Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.

I. TOUGHEN-UP – Life is not always fair nor is it always easy. At best all of us struggle from time to time with experiences that we have beset us. Anger is not a help in negotiating the pitfalls of this life. Time and thoughtfulness and the Word of God applied can get us through any situation. Your way is not necessarily the best way. Attitude and appreciation are two very important items in getting through difficult situation. Sometimes we need our attitude adjusted to appreciate what we have received or the situation we are in.

II. STAND-UP – It is a simple thing to stand up when a woman or the elderly enter a room. This is common courtesy and decency. This item in not about that. It is addressing standing up for what is right and decent and morally acceptable. It also address the idea of when we have done something wrong, stand up and admit it with humility instead of striking out at those that correct you. Babies strike out because they don’t know better because they are, well babies. They suck a bottle. Be a man. Stand up and say – I did it, I am sorry, I was wrong and I deserve the punishment that I will receive. I will strive to do better.

III. GET-UP – Get your day started off right, Get Up and Make Up your bed. That is your first accomplishment of the day. If you can not accomplish that small thing, there is not much else you can accomplish. Get Up and get yourself ready for the task that is at hand. If it is a job first thing in the morning, get up in time to get dressed and eat and get to work 15 minutes early, eager to earn your money. This will be a recommendation to a better job with better pay. Do not be a quitter. When a prospective employer sees a quitter, they know you won’t be long working for them before you quit.

IV. SHUT-UP – Shut up. Learn when to speak and when not to speak. It is never good to react immediately with the first thing that enters your mind. You need to take the time think seriously about your reply. Most immediate replies are defensive replies spit out in anger. They are hurtful and often make little sense. There is a saying – It is better to remain quiet and be thought stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Continual badgering will not influence parents that truly love you. It will turn bosses away from you and bring you closer to being fired. There is always a warm body just waiting for you to get fired so that they can get your cushy job and maybe even do better work than you do. Just SHUT-UP.

V. LISTEN-UP – Listen to others. If you want others to listen to you, then learn that you have 2 ears and 1 mouth. That means listen more and talk less. If someone said, you put your arm between those two wheels and it will break your arm, that is the voice of experience. Experience is the best friend you can have next to your parents. Your parents are the best you can have. What does experience do for you? It keeps you from having broken arms, broken legs and broken heads. Your peers, your friends your age can never give you the guidance and direction that a parent or older person can give. They have traveled this road you are about to travel. They have a wealth of knowledge. They have had the broken arms, broken legs, and broken heads. There is more though. A broken soul. Do you know what a soul is? It is emotions and mental abilities. These can be broken. They can also be fixed if one is willing to listen. They can be fixed if one is willing to be loved deeply and return love. This comes with experience. Parents and old people have that experience of broken hearts and deep felt emotions that bring tears and weeping. They have experienced broken hearts because of children going astray and possibly being hurt and ruin their lives. They struggle each day because of their desire for their children to not suffer what they have suffered and not to hurt the way they have hurt. This is a reason to LISTEN-UP.

VI. WISE-UP – To what is going on around you. There are many pitfalls in life. We must be aware of them. There are characters that say they are our friend but would lead us to destruction. Destruction of our character, destruction of our reputation, and destruction of our very lives. Let me tell you what a true friend is. A true friend cares for you so much that he will not lead you to do immoral or illegal things but will instead warn you to not do those things. A true friend will help you to do the RIGHT thing. A true friend will not be rebellious against the authority of parents, school officials, police officers or those older than you. Surround yourself with good friends and learn from them and make them the best friends you have.

VII. GROW-UP – There is nothing worse than being around a teenager or adult that is a whiny, crying, sullen brat. My dad used to say to me – act your age not your IQ. The assumption that is made is that teenagers are maturing and becoming responsible men and women. Sometimes that is not true. They are remained bottle babies and pout and sulk when they don’t get their way. Your age might indicate that your body is maturing but the mind is still in that stage where you are sucking milk from the bottle. You are a bottle baby. A big body with a baby mind and attitude. It is time grow up and move toward man-hood or woman-hood knowing that when we reach that magic age of 18 that we are ready go out in the world and make it on our own. I find it interesting that so many that are called men and women today that are 18-30 years old are living in mom and dads basement because they could not cope with the real world. A man 30 years old was taken to court by his mother and father to get an order for him to move out of their home.

IX. PAY-UP – Pay what you owe. Pay the Lord first. He is worthy of a minimum of 10% of your income or allowance. One you learn this then pay for the bills you make. I received a ticket one time and told my dad. He said, you got it, you pay it. If you don’t have the money, you spend that time in jail. I knew my dad was serious. If I went to jail, I knew there would be no visits. I knew I would be blessed if dad would come pick me up after they let me out of jail. Dad would not be proud to have a jailbird as a son. As long as you have a job pay up. Save enough to treat the family to ice cream cones once in a while. You driving? Pay for your own gas and pay the extra insurance on the car and be a man about it and quit your belly-aching.

X. DRESS-UP – There is not need to look homeless or like a slob or a jock all the time. Dress-up. A man in a suit is very impressive and shows maturity in choice of dress. A man in a Polo type shirt or a button up shirt with a nice pair of slacks is acceptable anywhere. Dress-up to go to church, that is what a mature man does. It honors God. Dress-up when you go to events and to town. It shows a measure of maturity and an amount of responsibility when in the presence of others.

May we show others our maturity by the way we live our lives. It is a day when slovenliness is practiced and accepted. Let us be a man and model our lives in such a way that other say, – NOW THERE GOES A MAN.

APRIL 11 – Man’s Inventions

APRIL 11 – Man’s Inventions

Ecclesiastes 7:29  Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. 

Man was created. He was not birthed in the beginning and he did not evolve. Man was created in innocence. He had not committed sin and did not know sin. He was upright in stature and practice of living. It is mans own invention that brought sin into this world. Man is responsible for his own failings because he trusted himself when confronted with the sin of disobeying God. We are the same today. We are a rebellious and disobedient people ready to turn away from the path God has given us and chose a path of sure destruction.

What are our inventions? A way of salvation that is not God’s way. It is the way of mans own thoughts and imaginations. Never forget that salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing that man can do. Baptism is a pictorial ordinance that shows the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and identifies us with Christ. It has no part of salvation but does show obedience. Man has devised a preferred baptism that is convenient and does not show anything related to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Man has invented a Lord’s Supper that knows not the design nor the purpose of this ordinance. There are some “so-called churches” today that have so marred the Bible doctrines that they can no longer be recognized as Bible doctrine.

Man’s inventions have led us so far away from the Word of God that only lip-service is rendered. Man has even invented new ways of “persuading converts” through entertainment and persuasion. They now are making converts that are condemned to the abyss of hell because it is lip service to salvation because of persuasion. The Holy Spirit is not involved but the salesmanship and entertainment that is bringing into contact with religion, yet they have never been convicted and repented.

God’s way has always been better.

MARCH 21 – Which Way

MARCH 21 – Which Way

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

We are all traveling a journey of a lifetime. Where we end up depends on the choices we make. The journey between the beginning and the ending is determined by what guides us. There are only two paths to living and two endings that will take place. There is the path of the world which many take because it fits the desire of the natural carnal nature. We also have available the path that God has laid down for us, a spiritual relationship with the Son and a spirit led path. It is important to choose a path wisely.

It is the way in which man is born. Job knowing God made this statement, “Job_5:7  Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” This is a description of the natural man without God. Isaiah had some astute words to impart about the life of man in his natural or carnal condition. “Isa_50:11  Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” What we have at birth is a sin nature that needs to be cleansed.

They see many walking in this way. Man’s propensity is to follow the crowd and be accepted as one of the crowd. Even in rebellion against the crowd, the rebel joins another crowd, not for the better and sometimes for the worse. They will put their interests in what the others find interesting. They will join the fads that others begin. If they find a need for spirituality, they will join with whoever meets their desires that allow them to be what they want to be.

It is an easy way to walk in. They will be encouraged and congratulated when they look like everyone else. They will find that the world’s philosophy will reward them even when they are in the midst of struggles and disappointment. When families are falling apart, people are struggling with addictions, they are told it is not their fault. They swing around the truth that every person is responsible for their own actions.

It is a way which is profitable to self. There are times when some find this wicked type of life to be profitable. This profitability could be financial or a position of power. It can be profitable until death rings life’s doorbell. This time of facing death is a very disconcerting time for the carnal natural man. There is fear and uncertainty involved in dying with no hope.

How shall we know this way of death? It is the way of sin. It is the course of this world. It is the way of indifference to the things of eternity. It is the easy path of the world in ignoring God and His Son Jesus Christ. The offer for forgiveness stands and is ignored. It is a free gift and is spurned. Those that have received Jesus as Savior have a brighter future at death than the natural carnal man.

What is your relationship with the Lord? Are you still a natural man or have you been cleansed by the blood?

FEBRUARY 5 – Show thyself a Man

FEBRUARY 5 – Show thyself a Man

1Ki 2:2  I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; 

3  And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 

David is about to die. He has his son Solomon before him and is giving him instructions. His first statement was, “shew thyself a man.” There are certain distinctions that reveal that a male is a true man. He guides the home based on Gods Word. He is a comfort for the family during times of sadness, loss, or trial. He follows God and the Word of God.

The Old Testament often relates that God tells a man to be strong. The names that come to mind immediately are Joshua who was told to be strong and of a good courage. Three times he was admonished to be strong and of good courage in Joshua 1:6,7,9; and Solomon is here charged by David to be strong; Asa was charged to be strong in II Chronicles 15:7. time after time the admonition is to be strong.

Long ago when I was a teenager, my father had a record he played for all the teenagers of the Church he pastored. It was by Don Lonie. He gave three things that if one would incorporate these into their life, they would live a wonderful life. Those three things are respect, responsibility, and religion. I have used these three things in messages a few times.

Respect – A lack of respect brings snarky, spiteful, and hateful responses to others. Here is where we have failed. It is with our children. A strong father will demand a respectful yes sir/ma’am or no sir/ma’am from their children. I have heard, don’t call me sir, that is my father. We have just harmed the children with such a response. We are teaching, not only God’s Word but also respect in our Sunday school. I love the term brother or sister as we address each other. It tells of a relationship. My closest preacher friends I will call Bro. Last Name when Church members are present. When others are not around I refer to them as Bro. First name. I have given them respect as a person, respect as a relationship, and respect as to holding a God called position as preacher or pastor. Be Strong in showing respect. Be strong for the family.

Responsibility – We live in a day and age where if someone does something wrong, it is never their fault but someone else is at fault. This is truly a pathetic situation. We must take responsibility for what we have done that is wrong. It is natural for a child to shun responsibility but we are to train children to take responsibility for what they do wrong. We must learn to step up to the plate, so to speak, and say I did it, it is my fault and I accept responsibility. We have become blame shifters. As a pastor, there are times I take responsibility for a mistake that someone else has made. I may have been negligent in instructing someone. I am responsible for what I teach the Church I pastor. I have been known to teach something I believed and after further study come back and apologize to the Church for teaching them something wrong. We must be strong in taking responsibility.

Religion – There are those that give religion a bad name. They say; I do not do religion, I do relationship. Everyone does religion. Some religiously lie. Some religiously steal. That is a use of the word religion. Religion and Spiritual have definitions that are very close, Yet there are those that claim they are spiritual and not religious. That raises a question in my mind, are you spiritually a Buddhist, a Hindu, maybe New Age? We sure fumble through words to establish our superiority. Here is what I am. I am religious because I have established a relationship with Jesus Christ by trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection. I religiously go to Church when there is a service. I religiously read and study Gods Word. I am a religious person spiritually identified with Jesus Christ and a fellow heir of my Savior. If we are not religiously taking our family to each and every worship service we can, we are failing our family responsibility to raise our family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

It is time we showed ourselves a man before God, our community and our family by being Strong in respect, responsibility, and religion.