February 14, 2020

Sing!

Did Jesus sing when He lived on the earth? If He did, why and when did He sing? Furthermore, if Jesus sang, how should that impact our lives today? If Jesus, the Head of our Church, our Lord and our Savior, sang while He was on the earth and if we are to be growing in Christ-likeness, then the answer to these questions ought to impact our lives. With 100% certainty we can say that Jesus sang while He lived on this earth. As Jesus completed the Passover with His disciples, we read in Matthew 26:30, “and when they sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Many times we can just skip over those words “when they had sung a hymn.” But I want to encourage you to not skip those inspired words of God. At one of the most crucial moments of Jesus’ life, as He just instituted the Lord’s Supper, and as He departed to the Mount of Olives where He would be betrayed into the hands of sinners, we find that Jesus sang! So what did Jesus sing? The answer is most likely one of the Hallel (Hallelujah) Psalms, Psalms 115-118, that the Jews would historically have sung during and at the conclusion of the Passover meal. This also gives us some insights into how Jesus would have learned to sing as a boy growing up in a Jewish culture (Luke 2:52). The con-text of Luke 2:41 reveals that Jesus’s parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover. Jesus would have heard the singing of Levites as the Passover lambs were slain and Jesus most likely would have been led in song by his father as they ate the Passover meal together. In both the temple and in the home, Jesus learned the importance of singing praise to God.

Therefore, it should not surprise us that the gathering of the local church is to be a time of singing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16), and the Christian home ought also to be a place where teaching, through singing takes place (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:20-21). A primary means for imparting truth is through song. Consider how many Scripture verses you can recite and compare that to how many song lyrics you can recite. It is likely that you have more lyrics to songs placed in your mind than you have Scripture verses. This is not necessarily a bad thing if the lyrics in our minds are rooted in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. In Ephesians 6:4, fathers are specifically encouraged to bring up their children in the admonition of the Lord. The word “admonition” literally means to “put or place in the mind.” Singing is a God-ordained way to place truth in our minds. That is why the church is told to teach and admonish one another through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Let me conclude with some practical suggestions to help us in our singing. First, participate in the song service of your local church by singing! Second, think about what you are singing. Third, develop a personal repertoire of songs that are rich in meaning and praise to our God. Memorize one new song each month! Fourth, sing those songs whenever appropriate as praise to God and as spiritual encouragement to your own soul. Allow them to be songs in the night whose truths can turn you to Christ and bring you through life’s darkest moments. And finally, if you are a parent, develop a strategy where your home is a place where doctrinally-rich songs are frequently sung to the praise of God and to the benefit of your children.

January 14, 2020

Expectations

When you run a race, you have an expectation that provides tremendous encouragement. Let me try to explain. In 2019, one of my daughters and I had the opportunity to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles). It was a hot and sunny September Saturday morning. When the gun went off and the race began, every runner had an expectation: at the 13.1 mile mark, there would be a finish line. When you start the race you certainly don’t see the finish line, but you are expecting it. Between the tenth and twelfth mile, the course turned onto a freshly paved blacktop road with no shade and the sun beating directly upon us. That one expectation was what kept many of us running. And although we couldn’t see the finish line until the final tenth of a mile or so, we were looking for it in our minds and we were expecting to see it at 13.1 miles. With each passing mile, we knew we were one mile closer to the finish line.

For believers in Christ, we also have an expectation that keeps us running the Christian race with endurance and faithfulness. That expectation is the Lord’s glorious appearing. Titus 2:13 proclaims, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The verb “looking for” means to expect, and it implies that there is an expectation for the fulfillment of a promise. The great promise for the believer is that Jesus is coming again. In other words, as we live life on the earth, we are to be looking for or expecting that the Lord will come again and we will see Him face to face! The appearing of Jesus is our blessed hope and expectation.

Titus 2:11 describes Jesus’ first coming to this earth. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” Praise the Lord for His amazing grace: “that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Praise the Lord for His incarnation, His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension. And the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us how to live or to run the Christian race. Titus 2:12 declares, “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” This verse describes how we are to live our lives for Christ today. But God’s grace not only teaches how we ought to live today, it provides one of the greatest and most encouraging expectations for every believer. You see, in the Christian life, Jesus is the finish line. The One who gave Himself for us is the One who will return from heaven and take us home to be with Him forever (Titus 2:14).

So here is the encouragement for 2020. Expect the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That expectation will encourage you to live godly even when the race is hard. It will encourage you to run with joy when the race is smooth. It will encourage you to persevere even when you feel like giving up. Jesus Christ may or may not appear in 2020, but we know that with each passing day we move one day closer to His appearing! Keep looking for and expecting the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior!

December 10, 2019

Why Great Fear is Necessary to the Christmas Message

Usually one of the last things associated with Christmas is fear and certainly not “great fear.” Yet, in The Gospel According to Luke, the author emphatically declares that on the night of Christ’s arrival, the shepherds were greatly afraid (Luke 2:9). And these shepherds were not wimps. They spent many nights in darkness fending off predators as they defended and protected their sheep. Yet, on the night of Jesus’ birth, they were “megas” – the Greek word for “greatly” – afraid! What started as a typical night quickly changed as an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them (Luke 2:9). It is interesting that both the angel and the glory are said to be “of the Lord.” The angel of the Lord certainly could have been responsible for causing some fear. In Luke 1:11-12, an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias, and when Zacharias saw the angel, “he was troubled and fear fell up-on Him.” In Luke 1:29, Mary was troubled when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. But it is interesting that even though Zacharias and Mary experienced fear when they saw the angel, neither of them were said to be greatly afraid. When the angel of the Lord appeared the to shepherds, they too would have experienced fear. But it is when the angel of the Lord is connected with the glory of the Lord that the shepherds experienced great fear!

Consider for a moment why the all-consuming, perfect and holy glory of the Lord would produce great fear. First, think of Isaiah’s response to seeing the glory of the Lord: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” The word “woe” describes a passionate cry of despair because of impending danger and judgment. The words “for I am undone” mean that he is about to perish or be cut off or destroyed. Isaiah was greatly afraid because he understood what his sins deserved when confronted with the glory of the Lord. Second, think of the often quoted memory verse found in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And just four verses earlier, we read how all the world is guilty before God. The perfect glory of God exposes our sinfulness and the just judgment that our sin deserves.

It is this great fear that causes the shepherds to truly comprehend the “great joy” that the Christmas message from the angel of the Lord contained. Again, back in Luke 1, both Zacharias and Mary received a message of joy from an angel (Luke 1:14; 28), but the message that the angel of the Lord brings in Luke 2 is great joy. The angel of the Lord pro-claims to the shepherds why their message is one of great joy: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Without the great fear produced by the glory of the Lord causing the shepherds to recognize that they were under the impending judgment of God, the shepherds would have no need for a Savior. The reason why so many people miss the Christ-mas message of great joy found in our Savior is because they have never been greatly afraid in light of the glory of the Lord!

Without the great fear, the shepherds would not have understood the great joy! When we understand our condition in the presence of the glory of the Lord, we will be ready for the gracious proclamation from the Lord and we will find great joy in the Savior, Christ the Lord! Luke 2 is a testimony of God’s amazing grace. It is His grace that “taught our hearts to fear and grace our fears relieved.”

November 5, 2019

Harvest is Coming

In Western New York, harvest is generally connected with the days of late Summer and early Autumn. As a church, we are looking forward to our Harvest Dinner on Sunday, November 10th at 5:00 p.m. Please feel free to invite others to join us for this wonderful meal with a celebration baptismal service to follow. Although there is no cost and tickets are not needed, we do ask that each person signs up for the Harvest Dinner via the sign-up sheet in our church foyer. As a church, we will also be taking our harvest offering on that day. The harvest offering will be used as a Christmas gift to the missionaries that our church supports.

Besides the yearly harvest season, there is another type of harvest that every person will someday receive. This harvest is not associated with fruits and vegetables, nor is it connected with a certain season of the year. Rather, this harvest is something in which all believers in Jesus Christ participate. Actually, there are two types of possible harvest. Notice what the Bible tells us in Galatians 6:7-10: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary in well doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Notice several details about the harvest. First, there is a principle determining the harvest. God established this principle, and it is the same principle that guides farmers today. When you sow green beans you harvest green beans. When you sow sweet peas, you harvest sweet peas. The harvest is marked by the characteristic of what one plants. The life of every believer is also guided by this principle. They are not sowing physical seeds, but instead actions, thoughts, and deeds that are either going to come from the ground of the Spirit or from the flesh.

This leads us to the possibilities of what we can harvest. If our lives are marked by the flesh, then we will reap the corruption that comes from the flesh. Corruption gives the idea of rottenness and decay. However, if our lives are controlled by the Spirit of Christ, then we will reap life everlasting. The word for everlasting speaks about that which endures beyond this present age. If you go back to the beginning of this book in Galatians 1:4, you will see that the only harvest a natural person can produce will be marked by this present evil age. But the good news of the Gospel frees us from our bondage to sin and in Christ we now have liberty to live according to the Spirit. Our harvest no longer needs to be marked by the corruption of this present evil age, but in can be marked by the fruit of the Spirit of God. Sadly, some believers in Christ will abuse their freedom and still produce a harvest of corruption.

This brings us to the plan to produce a good harvest. Instead of doing evil, by continuing to do that to which you were once in bondage (Galatians 1:4), now through the gospel of Jesus Christ you have been set free, so that you can now serve the Lord as you serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13). God in His mercy and grace saved us so that we could produce the fruit of the Spirit. He saved us so that in this season, we would do good to all, especially those of the household of faith.
May we believers in Christ live by faith in the one who loved us and gave Himself for us, knowing that the passions and desires of our flesh have been crucified with Christ. And as our faith works through love, may we persevere in doing good as we look forward to reaping an eternal harvest that is full of the fruit of the Spirit.

October 8, 2019

When Global Warming Strikes

No matter where you turn, it is likely you will hear someone say something about global warming or climate change. This subject has infiltrated our public education system, it has dominated political events, and it
frequently is promoted through news outlets. Some will make doomsday predictions, while others claim that the science does not support the alarming cries. How is anyone to know what to believe about what is going to happen to the earth? For the Christian, our final authority is the Word of God. So what does the Bible say about a theology of the
earth?

We don’t have to read too far in the Scriptures to see the first reference to the earth.  Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Truth #1 is that God created the earth. An important sub-point is that all things God created are designed to bring glory to God. Truth
#2 is described in Genesis 6-8; that God destroyed the earth by a worldwide flood. Genesis 7:17-20 makes it clear that this was not a local flood, but a worldwide flood that covered the mountains and every high hill under
the whole heaven.

Both of the truths from Genesis concerning the earth also teach us something about God. God is the Creator of all things and therefore He is to be worshipped. God is also the judge. Therefore, one’s view of the
earth’s history will also be seen in one’s theology of God. Romans 1:18-25 describes man suppressing the truth in his unrighteous state. It is not that man doesn’t know the truth of who God is, because God has shown it to them in the creation. But unrighteous man changes the truth of God into a lie and worships and serves the creature rather than
the Creator.  2 Peter 3 describes how false teachers willingly forget that God destroyed the world by a flood.

Not only does the Bible begin in Genesis talking about the earth, but it concludes in Revelation by also talking about the earth. In Revelation 13, during the future 7-year tribulation period when the Anti-Christ has gained political control over all the earth, he will demand that people worship him. The Anti-Christ will have a press secretary called the “False Prophet,” and the False Prophet will not only cause the people who dwell on the earth to worship the Anti-Christ, but he will also cause the earth to worship the Anti-Christ (13:12). The false worship system of man will reach its climax during this period. A key component of it will be that earth, which is designed to bring glory to its Creator, will become part of a political agenda that worships a man.

Revelation also tells us what is going to happen to this earth after Christ returns to the earth and rules and reigns on the earth for a thousand years. In Revelation 21, John saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away.  2 Peter 3 provides the details for how this earth will pass away. This time it won’t be by water but by fire. The Lord is going to judge the earth again for its rebellion against its Creator. Global warming will strike. But the cause will not be man, but rather our Creator God as He judges this world.

So when you hear the chatter about global warming or climate change, use it to testify of our Creator God who is coming to judge the earth. Warn them of the time when global warming will truly strike when He destroys the
earth by fire. Share with them the good news of how Jesus Christ came to earth the first time to die for our sins.