Answers to Prayer from George Muller’s Narratives

Answers to Prayer from George Muller’s Narratives

by | Jun 24, 2021 | article

I have had this book for awhile now.  I found it amongst Allen’s books.  My intention is to post select portions as I read through this book.  In this article, I begin with a quote from Muller on page four.

” I never remember, in all my Christian course, a period now (in March, 1895) that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly.  But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not wait patiently upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow man to the declaration of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes.”  George Muller

On page six is HOW TO ASCERTAIN THE WILL OF GOD, again by Geroge Muller

I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of it’s own in regard to a given matter.  Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here.  Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be.  When one is truly in this atate, it is usally but a little way to the knowlwdge of what His will is.

2.  Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression.  If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

3.  I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God.  The Spirit and the Word must be combined.  If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also, If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to Scriptures and never contray to them.

4.  Next I take into accoount providential circumstances.  These often plainly indicate God’s Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5.  I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.

6.  Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my miind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petions, I proceed accordingly.  In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

“Open wide thy mouth”

In the account written by Mr. Muller dated January 16, 1836, respecting the Orphan-House intended to be established in Bristol [England] in connection witht the Scriptual Knowledge Institution for Home and Broad, we read, ‘On December 5th, the subject of my prayer all at once became different.  I was reading Psalm 81:10″Open wide thy mouth and I will fill it.”  I thought a few moments about these words, and then was led to apply them to the case of the Orphan-House.  It struck me that I had never asked the Lord for anything concerning it, except to know His will, respecting its being established or not; and then I fell to my knees and opened my mouth wide, asking Him for much.  I asked in submission to His will, and without fixing a time when He shoould answer my petition.  I prayed that He would give me a house, i.e., either as a loan, or that one might be given permanantly for this object; further, I asked Him for £1000; and likewise for suitable individuals to take care of the children.  Besides this, I have been since led to ask the Lord to put it into the hearts of His people to send me articles of furniture for the house, and some clothes for the children.  When I wasasking the petition, I was fully aware of what I was doing, i.e., that I was asking for something that I had no natural prospect of obtaining from the brethern whom I know, but which was not too much for the Lord to grant.’  December 10, 1835 – ‘This morning I recieved a letter, in which a brother and sister wrote thus, “We propose ourselves for the service of the intended Orphan-House, if you think us qualified for it; also to give up all the furniture , etc., which the Lord has given us, for its use; and to do this without recieving any salary whatever; believing that if it be the will of the Lord to employ us, He will supply all our needs, etc.”‘

This book was published by The Bible Institue Colportage Association, Chicago, and complied by A.E.C. Brooks.  No date is given.

Wisdom Verse Anger Revisited

Wisdom Verse Anger Revisited

by | Mar 24, 2021 | article

A Small Book About A BIG Problem   Meditations On Anger, Patience, and Peace    Edward T. Welch

This book is a 50 day walk through, looking at anger, patience, and peace.  Welch looks at anger from a Biblical perspective and what the solution is.  Although anger in and of itself is not sin, anger can quickly lead even the most patient person to sin.  Anger can lead to sin, not just in our behavior, but most importantly, in our hearts.  Welch uses the Bible to explore anger, patience, and peace.

Day 1   A slow fifty-day walk

  1. To be human is to get angry
    • Anger can manifest in actions and attitude
  2. To be angry is to destroy
    • We have all experienced destruction by someone’s anger; We have also caused destruction by our own anger
  3. Why fifty days?
    • It is hard to keep important matters in mind
    • Scripture declares that reflection and meditation are essential to a wise and flourishing life (Proverbs 1:33, 7:1-4; 4:13, 20 & 21; James 1:22-25).
    • Read only one a day; answer the questions; spend time thinking about what you are reading; discuss with a friend or family member because this issue is relevant for everyone.

Day 2   Have your reasons

  1. It takes work to control anger and pursue peace
    • Each one of us need our own reasons why we need to tame our anger
    • Some reasons from other people
      • “I heard anger just about every day of my life, and I don’t want to pass it on to my children.”
      • “A friend told me that I am angry. I don’t see it, but I respect my friend and want to take the comment seriously.”
      • My angry words have gotten me into trouble.”
      • “There are things that happened to me years ago that still make me angry.”
  2. Scripture affirms these and goes deeper
    • Proverbs 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11
  3. There are two paths we can take, wisdom and folly
    • Wisdom – life, honor, good relationships, good reputation, coveted insight
    • Folly –  comes naturally, akin to death, separates and causes misery
    • We have to work at wisdom.  Are you interested?

Day 3     What is anger?

  1. Think about the last few times you were angry.
    • What are the elements of most of your anger?
    • Do you think your anger is your legitimate response to stupid people?
    • If so, you are destined to become even angrier; our lives are full of people who make our lives inconvenient
  2. Anger is about making judgements
    • Anger says you wronged me; think of a judge who defers judgment to another judge when the case involved is personal; anger says I am judge, plaintiff, and prosecuting attorney
  3. Anger acquits itself
    • Anger does not seek its own bias and help; anger declares, with great confidence, “I am right.”; in this attitude relationships are harmed and maybe even destroyed
    • We might be right concerning what has made us angry, but we often are not humble
    • Perhaps we were right, but we did not love (Mat. 7:1&2)
    • Anger specializes in indicting others but is unskilled at both self-indictment and love
  4. How do you define anger

Day 4     Judging the Judge

  1. We all make necessary judgments every day
  2. We should speak out against wrong, even when we are wronged
    • Those judgments must be made with diligent self-examination first
    • Matthew 7: 1-2; we must use the same criteria in judging ourselves as we use to judge others
  3. We manipulate facts to vindicate ourselves and condemn others
    • We see others offenses in high definition, and we see our own offenses through filters
    • Matthew 7: 3-5; Jesus tells us to judge ourselves more rigorously than we do others
  4. Imagine submitting to judgment before we judge
    • Speaking with respect, for the good of others, relationships, inviting responses
    • Speaking with humility and not pride, speaking to build up others, speaking with gentleness
  5. Striving to be able to help our bother with the delicate task of taking a speck out of his eye
  6. Can you imagine that!?

Day 5     Murderer

  1. It is difficult to judge ourselves accurately.
    • This is a natural tendency
    • Matthew 5:21&22; Jesus links anger with murder
  2. Have you ever murdered someone?
    • May be not physically, but have you ever been angry?
    • Jesus links both anger and murder as a condition of our hearts
    • Jesus equates simple name calling with murder
  3.  Why does Jesus say this?
    • Anger destroys
    • Jesus offers life, to which we cannot turn to until me acknowledge the murderer within
  4. Identify yourself with this – murderer

Day 6     The Many Faces of Anger

  1. Having the tendency to minimize our anger wisdom suggests that we seek anger out
    • Examine what we say, and how we say what we say
    • Cover anger:  sarcasm, ‘just kidding’, complaining, gossip, defending, frustrated, entitled
    • Cold anger:  silent treatment, withdrawal, indifference, controlling, ‘stupid’ criticizing
    • Hot anger:  jealousy, wrath, murder, explosions, envy, violence, oppression
  2. The more hard-hitting we are in examining ourselves in identifying our angry words and listen to what we say the better success we may gain in controlling our anger
    • Sarcasm: ‘You are stupid.’ Then adds, ‘Just kidding.’ As you enjoy your self-righteous vantage point
    • Complaining: the common refrain of all anger, ‘I WANT!’ and I’m not getting what I want
    • Gossip:  publicizing our own verdict and then trying to convince others to pronounce the same verdict
    • Withdrawal and silence:  nasty, forms of punishment, wanting those who have harmed us to beg for forgiveness and make amends
    • Indifference:  possibly the worst form of anger, we simply no longer care for the person who has offended us; we have exiled them so the bothers us no longer
    • Envy:  desires what others have, leading to broken relationships
    • Jealousy:  ‘I deserve what you have, and you do not deserve what you have.’, taking envy one step further
  3. Anger in our hearts leads to hate in our thoughts, and eventually comes out of our mouths.  Anger cannot be contained and always hurts those around us.  Even when we use innocent-sounding words, like, ‘I’m just being honest,’ anger can do damage.
  4. What are your innocent-sounding words and what are they really saying?

Day 7     Run Toward Wisdom

  1. As we look at anger, we must also look at its opposite, wisdom.
  2. Wisdom is anger’s opposite and has much to offer
    • Patience, peace, self-control, humility, as well as other goals
  3. The core of wisdom is a forsaking of pride and the putting on of humility
    • Listen, proverbs 2:1-5, listen to God and to other people
    • Anger looks down upon and judges; humility looks up and beyond ourselves and asks about others
    • Anger destroys; humility has others best interests in mind, building up
  4. Humility is not your enemy; it does not destine you for mistreatment
    • Humility does not necessarily have to be silent, and just turn the other cheek
    • Humility is not passivity
    • Humility can rebuke, overlook offenses, and invite or get help
  5. Humility is the foundation for all wisdom.
  6. Servant – servant of Jesus, the Christ
    • When we see ourselves in Jesus, our model for manhood, as his servants,  that knowledge has a huge impact on our anger
    • We take less offense when people offend us, thinking, ‘How can I represent my master?’ (John 13:13-14)
    • Being in Christ, and Jesus having served us, how can we be angry with others
  7. Anger is a forgetful nature – it acts as if you are alone
    • No one is going to care for you like you do, so just do it alone
    • How could you not get angry when things do not go as you plan
  8. Wisdom remembers God is with us
    • He has served and does serve us
    • He is the righteous judge
  9. This wisdom turns into love, the opposite of anger
    • Anger – disdain, hatred, contempt
    • Love – patience, gentleness, joy, peace, kindness, faithfulness (Galatians 5:22)
  10. Take the low road today, serving in love

8     Anger And Our Desires

  1. The other person made us angry
    • We have an interaction with someone who says or does something
    • We were not angry before, therefore this person made us angry
    • The logic is airtight, right?  Not so fast, a delusion is taking shape with this thinking
  2. Angry is already in us
    • It is not something that comes upon us unexpectedly
    • Angry, in its embryonic form is what we call desire
    • We desire – power, pleasure, peace, comfort, love, respect, this list could go on and on
    • When we desire something and don’t get what we want, anger is already in us
    • It just takes the right circumstances to bring it out James 4:1
  3. James speaks of passions and selfish desires that are at war
    • Selfish desires that serve you, no one else, not even God
    • The hardest thing to learn about angry is that it comes from within us
    • You are the problem
    • There are good desires, such as love
  4. There is great difference between desiring love and needing love
    • Demanding that we be loved, thinking that we deserve love
    • Quarrels and fights are sure to follow when we begin to demand things
  5. Do you desire respect?
    • Do people have to earn your respect?
    • Do you need it, do you demand respect?
    • Has desire become selfish?
    • Has love waned; do anger and despair take turns being in charge of your emotions?
  6. What desire has become selfish, a need, or a demand for you?

Day 9      Keep At It

  1. Anger is impatient
    • It is too important to not think, or just forget, about an episode of anger and simply move on
  2. We will follow either one of two directional courses in our lives
    • Either toward wisdom or toward foolishness
  3. The course of foolishness is easy, just follow your desires
    • Anger is on this path, with short-term perks; we feel as if we have power and control
    • Those feelings are just a mirage
    • The end will be miserable, overpowered by anger; leaving relationships in tatters
  4. Wisdom is a hard but good course to follow
    • This path can be both pleasant and satisfying
    • Wisdom is the art of understanding the best life
    • The very core of this best life is love
  5. Love even when it is inconvenient or even costly Proverb 3:3&4
  6. Wisdom is developed when a new course of action is stubbornly endured
    • This might seem awkward at first, bur persist until wisdom becomes natural
    • We examine, reflect, and consider
  7. Why bother thinking about your anger? How would you answer now?
    • ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone else.’
    • “I want to have better relationships.’
    • ‘I want to listen to God.’
  8. Among dozens of possible answers, have one for yourself
    • Anger is a resilient foe; you will need a reason to stay focused
    • Be not quick in your spirit to be angry, for anger lodges in the hearts of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:9
  9. Anger lodges in us.  It can be moved, but not in a day
  10. Are you willing to make this a long-term assignment?
Who was John Owen?

Who was John Owen?

by | Mar 24, 2021 | article

What do people think about John Owen and why should he be read?

Communion With God was written by John Owen, a leading pastor, theologian, Puritan. He served as chaplain to Oliver Cromwell and Dean of Christ Church in the University of Oxford. There are some that have accused Owen of being very hard to read, and they are usually people who don’t take the time to read Owen’s works. Let me give you a couple of quotes of some people, pastors, and theologians and let you hear what they have to say about John Owen.

“Owen is extraordinary. Owen is simply extraordinary. He is in a class, Packer says, with Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards—that rarefied top 10 thinkers and pastors in the world. John Owen knows the soul, knows Christ, knows communion with Christ like very few others.”

— John Piper1

“…Owen’s greatest books were written as sermons for an audience of teenagers…Owen’s Communion with God is among his most celebrated achievements—and no wonder. It is the exhalation of his devotion to Father, Son, and Spirit, and the discovery of the limitless love of God.”

–Crawford Gribben2

“Reading Owen is like eating triple Decker fruit Custer cake. The more you dig into it the richer and the more in depth the taste and the thought process and the love of Christ comes out. If you’ve ever thought, ‘How could I have a richer more in-depth love and knowledge of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?’,  Owens is it.”

–Unknown3

“And, with a disregard for other things, he cherished and experienced That blessed communion with God about which he wrote.”
–Sinclair B. Ferguson4

What is Communion With God?

Owen examines the Christian’s communion with God as it relates to all three members of the Trinity. He assures us that every Christian does have communion with God, no one is excluded, and that this communion takes place distinctly with Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Our relationship with God the Father is primarily through love and faith.

Our relationship with God the Son is through fellowship and grace.

Our relationship with God the Holy Spirit is primarily through comfort and sanctification.

In Communion With God we begin to understand the reality of the Trinitarian God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The relationship of each person of the Trinity to each other and also their individual relationship with us as believers in and under the Godhead of the Father. So that we may “…show gratitude for His love by living a life which pleases Him” ( p. 12). Owen also details the nature of the grace which Christ purchased.  “Acceptance with God, sanctification from God, and many great privileges with and before God…Now this we have in Christ’s life of perfect obedience.  This is our righteousness before God.  By His obedience we are ’made righteous’”(Romans 5:19; Owen, p. 128).

John Owen was a pastor, a theologian, a divine. A person well-versed in theology or a professor of divinity. He was also a teacher of theology. Theology is the science that teaches the existence, character and attributes of God; His laws and government, the doctrines we are to believe, and the duties we are to practice.

Owen was a Puritan, a member of a group of English believers who focused their life on living by the word of scripture. Puritans were a group of English reformed Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, who sought to purify the Church of England from all Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England was only partially reformed. Puritans didn’t just believe and respond to the word and spirit of God, but were determined to live every day with this as their focus. They were rich in doctrinal truth, they had great depth and knowledge of the Scripture and the issues about how important it is to follow and rest in Christ. This was extremely important to them at the time, and maybe even more important in the culture of today.

Puritans do not really exist today. It seems today with the culture that we have, that religion becomes more and more watered-down. Today, the Puritan writings are being printed and more and more of their works are being read. I challenge you to read some of their works, it is wonderful. The Puritans wrote a  great deal about how to live a holy and sanctified life. Little of what they preached and wrote contains anything really unique or strange. What is special about the Puritan view of holiness, is its fullness and balance, rather than its distinctive thought. Do they have real value for us today? “The great eighteenth-century revivalist, George Whitefield, wrote:

The Puritans [were] burning and shining lights. When cast out by the black Bartholomew Act, and driven from their respective charges to preach in barns and fields, in the highways and hedges, they in a special manner wrote and preached as men having authority. Though dead, by their writings they yet speak: a peculiar unction attends them to this very hour.”5

   “Puritanism may be defined primarily by the intensity of the religious experience that it fostered. Puritans believed that it was necessary to be in a covenant relationship with God in order to be redeemed from one’s sinful condition, that God had chosen to reveal salvation through preaching, and that the Holy Spirit was the energizing instrument of salvation.”6

The Puritan classic definition of sanctification is well known, we find it in the Westminster shorter catechism’s questions 35 and 36:

What is sanctification?

Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die under sin and live unto righteousness.

What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification?

The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification are: Assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance there unto the end.

Sanctification starts when we are renewed and continues until we die. We don’t reach it here. So, there will be ups and downs in this life, with the Spirit working, testing, and, growing in us for holiness. From these two questions it is obvious that sanctification in the Puritan mind encompasses all Christian living – the entire process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. The Puritans want to see people growing up into strong assurance of God’s love, great piece of conscience, and authentic joy in the Holy Spirit. What did the Puritans actually mean concerning sanctification?  Five elements are listed here; which we see in Communion With God.

1.Universal and moral renewal. First, sanctification for the Puritans is a divine work of renewal involving a radical change of character. It springs from a regenerated heart which is something deeper than any psychologist or counselor could ever reach. God works in the heart, and out of the change of heart comes a new character. This work of renewal in Puritan thought is universal. This means that it touches and affects every area of the persons entire life. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4: 4, 5 that everything is to be sanctified, every sphere of life, “…for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

Holiness is an inward thing that must fill our hearts, our  core being, and it is an outward thing that must spill over to every detail of our lives. 1 Thessalonians 5: 23 says “and  the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless into the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Sanctification is also moral; by this they meant that it would produce moral fruits, the very fruits that we read of in Galatians 5. “…love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness faith, meekness and temperance; against such things there is no law” (vv.22, 23). If you asked the Puritan what these fruits mean when you combine them together, they would say that it represents the moral profile of the Lord Jesus Christ himself (1 Corinthians 8: 28, 29).

2. True repentance. Sanctification for the Puritans consists of repentance and righteousness, the two-sided activity of turning from sin to obedience. Repentance for the Puritans is turning from sin and is a lifelong activity. We must repent every day of our lives and in doing so, we must also turn to righteousness. Repentance, they said is the work of faith. Without the Holy Spirit there is no repentance. The Puritan idea of repentance certainly starts with remorse, but it goes deeper into an essential change of life. Repentance is actually turning. It is a hating of things I loved before, now loving of the things I hated before.

3.Is a holy war. Puritan sanctification is progressive, operating through conflict. The Puritans said conflict is inescapable and sanctification, because indwelling sin remains in the Christian to his great sorrow, engages him in great warfare in many battles. Indwelling sin works from inside, the Puritan said while the world exerts ungodly pressure from the outside. The devil who plays the role of ringleader wants to take those outside pressures and use them along with the internal pressures to regain loss territory. A holy war is raging. That is why Bunyan called his book The Holy War. Sanctification involves conflict with myself, with my flesh, with the world, and satan.  If a Christian is not willing to battle sin the Puritan would say that person should question whether he is a Christian at all.

4.Accepting a struggle. Thomas Watson said the way to heaven is a sweating work. There’s a battle raging but the work of sanctification, happily, will advance. Sanctification is not stagnant. The Puritans employed Paul’s words of 2 Corinthians 3: 18, that we will be changed from one glory to another, if we walk in the Spirit. However, there is a snag, said the Puritans. The Christian will often not be able to see any progress in himself. One of the Puritans used an example of a woman who dusts her furniture and she thinks she has cleaned away all the dust, until the sun shines into the room, revealing all the remaining dust. So, the more the Sun of Righteousness shines in our hearts, even though we may be growing in holiness, we shall see increasingly the motives of our heart. Another Puritan way of evaluating progress in holiness is to ask how we are currently battling with temptation.

5.The inner private person. Puritan sanctification is imperfect though invincible. In this life it is never complete. Our reach will always exceed our grasp. Many people do not understand the Puritans at this point. They think that they are introspective or that they lead us into a legalistic bondage. The Puritans felt the imperfection of their sanctification, precisely because they had God’s standard of righteousness before them. They did not compare themselves with their neighbor, but with God’s holy law. Righteousness for the Puritan was motivational and character. What lives inside of you is important. What you do and say reflects who you are within.

One Puritan said what a man is in private, that is what he really is in the sight of God. Do you think that is true?

I think they would ask us to ask ourselves, what do you think about? What motivates you? Are you really motivated by the love of God? Are you motivated by Samaritanship to others, loving them, doing good to them, and laying out yourselves for their benefit and spiritual welfare? This is the heart of Puritan righteousness.

Who was John Owens?

1 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/why-read-john-owen-what-to-read/

2 Crawford Gribben. 7/22/2020. 10 Things You Should Know about John Owen https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-john-owen/

3 Quote supplied by author

4 good reads The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen Quotes

https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/42953429-the-trinitarian-devotion-of-john-owen

5 Joel Beeke Why You Should Read the Puritans

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/why-you-should-read-puritans/

6 Puritanism https://www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism

John Owen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Owen_(theologian)

A Prayer For You

A Prayer For You

by | Mar 23, 2021 | article

John 17

How many times have you asked someone to pray for you? How many times have you told someone you would pray for him/her? For many people it is instinctive to tell someone who is hurting, “I will pray for you.” Am I right?  Here are some follow up questions. How many times do you think folks who said they would pray for you truly did pray for you? Perhaps at least they did once. How soon after telling someone you would pray for him/her did you truly pray for that person? How often after saying you would pray for the person did you?

Did you know there is a person who prayed for you over two thousand years ago and still does if you meet the criteria of those for whom he prays?

I am thinking of Jesus, God in the flesh. During the last few days of his life on earth he prayed a long prayer. That prayer is found in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John, the fourth book of the New Testament. In that prayer Jesus prays for himself (verses 1-5), he prays for his disciples, specifically his apostles (vs. 6-19), the twelve closest followers who would become the foundation of the church with Jesus being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22), and finally he prays for YOU, if you meet the criteria of those for whom he prays in verses 20-26.  It is in those last seven verses of Jesus’ prayer that we hear him praying for you, if you meet the criteria he states in verse 26. Here is what Jesus prayed: I do not pray for these only (those for whom he prays in verses 6-10), but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Do you see the criteria of those for whom Jesus prays? For those who will believe in me through their word. The apostles Matthew, Peter and John all wrote books included in the 27 books of the New Testament. Have you read the Gospel of Matthew? Have you read the two letters of Peter? Have you read any of the five writings of John – the Gospel of John, the three letters of John and the Revelation, the last book of the Bible?

John wrote his Gospel so the people of His day, especially the Jewish people would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?  We must be careful we do not misunderstand what John is saying here. In the book of James, we read: But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder! (James 2:19-20).  What is the problem with simply affirming Jesus the Christ, the Son of God?  To do so is no different than affirming Caesar Augustus was Roman ruler when Jesus was born.  James is arguing it is not enough to affirm the reality of the person of Jesus; that is, that he is the Christ, the Son of God. To believe in Jesus is to love him by obeying him. Listen to Jesus: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. (John 14:21).

Now you may be saying to yourself, but it is impossible to obey Jesus all the time. You are absolutely correct, not one of us is able to obey Jesus all the time. That is why it is important for us to look closely at the contents of Jesus’ prayer for Christians in verses 20-26.

Do you see He prays for Christians to be ONE?  That they may be ONE, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be ONE IN Us . . . (verse 21).  He reiterates this ONENESS in verses 22 and 23: that they may be ONE just as We are ONE and be made perfect in ONE.  Wherein rests our ONENESS according to Jesus?  Does it rest in our being of the same nationality?  Does it rest in our being of the same denomination?  Does it rest in our being equally educated?  Does it rest in our being in the same economic strata?  On I could go citing worldly standards of ONENESS.  What Jesus cites ls the basis of our ONENESS, is our union with the Father and Son in verse 21: they also may be ONE IN US. More pointedly, I [Jesus] IN them! The core of our ONENESS is Jesus in us – Jesus in each one of us – in you and in me if we genuinely believe in him!

Does this not raise the question, how will we know Jesus is IN us – how do you know Jesus is in you?  In verse 21, to believe IN Jesus is to believe He came from the Father.  This means we embrace the virgin birth.  It means we embrace Jesus is both God and man!  Another way we know Jesus is in us is found in verse 22: And the glory which You gave ME I have given to them, that they may be ONE just as We are ONE.  One commentator raised the question, what was the glory of Jesus? He pointed out there are at least three ways Jesus spoke of glorifying the Father. Here they are:

One way Jesus glorified the Father was in the cross.  There are a plethora of ways Jesus glorified His Father through the cross.  One way is by being the propitiation for us (1 John 4:10).  What is propitiation?  He took the wrath we deserved.  Children, this is a big word, but think of it this way, you do something for which you would ordinarily be spanked – punished.  Instead of you being punished for what you did wrong, let us say your brother or sister stood in your place and took the punishment you deserved.  That is propitiation on a human level.  Psalm 5:5 tells us God is a – hater of those who work iniquity.  Ephesians 2:13 tells us – we were children of wrath!  We are no longer under God’s wrath because Jesus died in our place. Praise the Lord!  Because we who believe in Jesus are in union with him, as we take up the cross, denying ourselves and following Jesus we glorify our Father.  We are to deny ourselves when we do not give into fleshly/sinful desires.  We do that by taking up the cross; that is, remembering when Jesus died on the cross, we died with him so that sin no longer has dominion in our lives.  This is what it means to follow Jesus.  We glorify God when we do that.  When we live in the shadow of the cross we have a Christ-like attitude toward others.

A second way Jesus glorified the Father is by his perfect obedience.  Jesus made it clear His food was to do the will of His Father by living according to His Word!  Think of the account of His being tempted in wilderness. Check it out in Matthew 4:1-11.

   Because we are united to Jesus, when we find our deepest satisfaction and fulfilment in obedience to God, we glorify our Father.  Remember what we saw earlier in the article?  Jesus said those who love Him obey His commandments.  John also makes that point in his first letter (1 John 5:1-4).  John reminds us, the commandments are not burdensome for His brothers and sisters.  Yes, that is the third verse of First John 5.  If you are familiar with the Psalms, we sing Oh, how I love Your law, it is my meditation night and day! in Psalm 119:97.  Go to Exodus 20 and read the first 17 verses – what we understand to be the ten commandments.  The prophet Jeremiah tells us if we are Christians, God writes his law on our hearts.  Check it out in Jeremiah 31:33.

Jesus said, “But what comes of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).  Because Jesus gives us the glory which the Father gave him, instead of these sinful behaviors dwelling within our heart, we who believe in Jesus have the law of God written on our hearts.  How about it?  What comes from your heart?  Do you struggle to do the law of God?  With Jesus IN Christians our desire is to obey, right?

So, what happens when we disobey? John tells us in his first letter, chapter 1 and verse 9.  First, we must read verse 8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  Now we are ready for verse 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In His being recognized as having a special relationship with God, a third way Jesus glorified His Father was realized. Jesus pointed people to His Father Who sent Him.  When attention is drawn away from ourselves, to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, we glorify our Father.  One way we do this is giving honor to our Lord and Savior when we are honored because we did something worthy of recognition.  The abilities we enjoy which enable us to do things well are gifts from our Creator God; therefore, it makes sense to recognize Him publicly whenever we are complimented for something we do well.  Some Christian even use the Latin phrase Soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God alone.

Of course, when we are truly glorifying God and enjoying Him, we will be living as ONE because the only way we are able to do this is if Jesus resides within us. Our ONENESS is seen in our relationship with one another. How do you interact with people on a daily basis? The Apostle Paul talks about humbly counting others as more significant than oneself. In fact, he takes it a step further and calls us not only to look after our own interests, but the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4). Think of the witness you will be to those around you if you treat them this way!

We have seen how Jesus prays for those who believe in him that they will be one. He says that oneness rests in our union with him. We know we are united to him because he has shared the glory the Father gave him with us. We manifest that we enjoy that glory, among other ways by taking up the cross daily, obeying lovingly and showing forth Jesus. Now we will notice Jesus prays we will be with him.

Listen to verse 24: Father; I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with me where I am . . . Isn’t this a reminder of Jesus’ promise in chapter 14 of John’s Gospel?  There Jesus says: Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so . . . I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you Myself; that where I am there you may be also. (1-3)  Jesus promised this.  Here He prays that this will be the case!  Does this not afford us assurance of our salvation?

To what end?  We have seen what it is that Jesus prays for us.  Now we notice what becomes true of us is not an end in itself.  We who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We who have Jesus living in us are a billboard in the world.  Isn’t this what Jesus is saying in verses 21 and 24.  Listen again to those verses: That the world may believe that You sent Me.   I IN them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect IN one; here it is, that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

How well are we showing forth that Jesus has come from the Father – He Who is, as the God-Man before a watching world?

How well are we showing forth the love the Father had for the Son, by the way we show forth the love He has showered on us?

Amen

Keeping Christ Central in Christmas

Keeping Christ Central in Christmas

by | Nov 23, 2020 | article

   In one very factual way, encouraging one another to keep Christ central in Christmas is rather naive. Christ is central to Christmas! Christmas is totally dependent upon Christ. The very word, Christmas, has no meaning without Christ.

   Keeping Christ Central in Christmas can, and often has become, a cliché. Christians become dismayed with culture’s attempts to retain the “holiday spirit” while making every effort to expunge any mention of Christ.  There is a fascinating reality to the world’s substitution of Happy Holiday for Merry Christmas.  It is a simple admission of ignorance, since the word holiday is from the old English hāligdæg, that is holy day which, in its context, was a reference to Christmas.

   As a young Pastor I had people who wanted to do away with the Christmas tree.  They saw it as a pagan remnant dragged into the Christian world.  While acknowledging that there were some pagan origins behind the development of the Christmas tree, it was not the intention of those who are responsible for the tradition to impose any form of paganism upon Christmas.  My response was to think through the tree with all its various decorations and develop a symbolism for each one.  This became the subject of a Sunday night sermon encouraging parents to use the tree and the decorations as teaching tools when they gathered their children around the tree.

   The question persists.  How do we, as Christ followers, implement practicing keeping Christ central in Christmas?  When I was a boy, in the 1940’s, Christmas was about a tree, colored lights and toys.  Church was about sitting still and enduring the “man up front” droning on for what seemed hours (it really was only about 20 minutes I learned later).  There also were variety of  plays in which children were supplied wings to become angels or robes to become either wisemen or shepherds.  Obviously, the liberal church of my childhood days did little to keep Christ central in Christmas.

   When I became a Christ follower at age seventeen and entered the world of evangelicalism, the message of Christmas was clearly articulated.  Nonetheless, the holiday was largely about cultural traditions.  Much that took place in the church was more about culture than Christ and looked not much different than my youthful liberal church.

   But the question persists! How do we keep Christ central? Certainly, you have heard discussions on this issue heretofore.  They run something like this, Only play church music in your home or in your car from Thanksgiving till Christmas.  Be sure to be in church every Sunday of the Advent season.  Be sure children’s programs revolve around the birth of Christ.  Read the Christmas story and not silly things like The Night Before Christmas to your children.  You get the picture.  All these may have merit and are useful ways of reminding us that Christmas is about the birth of the Savior.

   Once more, the pesky question.  “How do we keep Christ central at Christmas?”  Well here is the answer I propose.  Keep Christ central 364 days a year and you will keep Him central on the 365th day.  Is Christmas special?  To answer that, let me ask, Is communion special?  The answer to both is yes.  In my denomination (the PCA), we emphasize self-examination and personal preparation during the week prior to communion so that we come to the table with an intensified desire to worship by our participation.  So, Christmas is an opportunity to intensify our awareness that God became man in order that man might be reconciled to God and hence, worship the King.  Jesus instituted the sacrament to induce our remembrance.  Throughout the Bible there are many examples of commemorative holidays intended to remind God’s people to keep God front and center.  Christmas, with lights and gifts and glorious music in a variety of genres all enhance our remembering that all this tensile only exists because of Christ.  In the final analysis, keeping Christ front and central in Christmas boils down to a personal decision to recognize Him as King every day of our lives.  

 

*Dr. Eyrich is a retired PCA pastor. However, he continues to pursue ministry opportunities from preaching, to counseling, to supervising counseling trainees, to writing and teaching for Birmingham Theological Seminary where he also serves as Director of the Doctor of Ministry—Biblical Counseling Program.