June 22, 2015

Posted on June 23, 2015 by jgarrott

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The devil has been working to keep people from coming to church at least since the 1st Century. That’s all the more significant when we remember that there weren’t dedicated church buildings until the 3rd or 4th Century. It’s not that the place is significant, it’s the gathering itself. Some people in the US, at least, are giving up on the “organized Church,” but that’s not necessarily in violation of this verse. The point is that we need each other. Christ is in every believer by His Spirit, but He is in us to a far greater degree when we are gathered. We tend to think of ourselves in isolation, but I’m not sure God ever does. He certainly cares about us individually, to the point of caring how many hairs we have on our heads, (Matthew 10:30) but He sees us in the over-all picture, and how we relate to one another. When we fail to recognize our individual responsibility and accountability before God, or the fact that we are part of an organism and are not independent and unrelated, we lose out either way. American society tends to over-emphasize the individual and Japanese society tends to over-emphasize the group. Either is a problem! We need to realize that we are individually and uniquely created and loved by God so that we may relate rightly and well to one another. Often a local church is something of a “gem tumbler.” causing us to knock against each other until we are smooth and polished. That isn’t always fun, but the results are beautiful. We need to recognize our need for that and not shy away from it.

Over the years various people have distanced themselves from this church for various reasons, and we have all suffered for it. As the pastor I have sometimes been the reason they’ve left! I grieve and I seek reconciliation, but I cannot let myself get hung up on that. I am to be faithful with those I have been given and recognize on all levels that they are God’s sheep rather than mine, and I am to be active in drawing more into the Family of God. I am to train the believers to lift their eyes off of themselves and fix them first on Jesus, so that they may then be able really to see the people around them: those in the Body of Christ as their brothers and sisters, and those outside the Body as people in need of salvation. I find that self-centeredness is a major obstacle to receiving the blessings God has prepared and intends for us in every area. I need to teach, encourage, and admonish, in all love, gentleness, and strength, using God’s wisdom and not my own, so that the Body of Christ may be built up for His glory.

Father, we are one fewer in this church as of yesterday. It was a shock to be the one to discover his body when I went to pick him up to bring him to the service, but it was Your grace and mercy that it was his brother in Christ and not some stranger who found him. He will be missed indeed, though he himself probably thought he contributed little to the church. I ask for the comfort of Your Spirit for each of us who are his family in Christ, and I ask for wisdom in all the decisions and actions of the next several days. You know what we need to do far better than I do! May his wake and memorial service be powerful in communicating Christ to his neighbors, so that he may have fruit even in his death, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 21, 2015

Posted on June 23, 2015 by jgarrott

Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no-one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

How like the Lord to have this verse that fits in so beautifully with the message He’s already given me for this morning! I’ll be preaching on “Progressive Salvation,” talking about how we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12) We are called to be active participants in our relationship with God and not simply passive receptors, even though the power comes from Him. He even works in us to create the desire to do what is right and be obedient to Him, (Philippians 2:13) but we have to be receptive of that and choose to follow through on the good impulses He gives us. I’ve always thought it was interesting that we are exhorted to “strive to enter into rest,” and have preached on it several times, because striving would seem to be the antithesis of rest. However, going back to what I wrote yesterday, that’s looking at the situation with too few dimensions; it’s not that simplistic. God always provides everything we need to do everything He asks of us, but we are required to trust Him in it, to receive His supply and put it to use. If we will do that we will indeed enter into His rest, because we will stop trying to do things our way but will let His Spirit carry us along.

This is something I am continuing to grow in, because human words cannot explain it fully. It is indeed like trying to describe multi-dimensional space in 2-dimensional terms! Even as I grow in my own understanding I encounter problems in trying to explain it all to others. Just last night I learned that in a recent incident when I was frustrated at my own ignorance and inability, someone who was with me thought I was mad at them. That’s the same sort of thing. We all see and “understand” things in our own context and from our own perspective, when that is generally inadequate and often completely wrong. We see things as having to work our buns off and God says the work is done, so rest. I’ve still got a way to go to appropriate that fully!

Father, I still remember when You told me to rest, relax, and rejoice. I’ve quoted that a lot since then, but I’m still far from 100% at it. Thank You for not giving up on me. Help me likewise not give up on others, but rather extend to them the grace You have poured out on me, so that together we may grow to be the children that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 20, 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jgarrott

Hebrews 2:11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

The more we delve into what God has done for us in Christ Jesus the more mind boggling it becomes. We rightly call Jesus “Lord,” as He Himself affirmed, (John 13:13) but we can also call Him Brother! We don’t think of that very often. Our relationship with Christ has far more dimensions than we are usually aware of. It’s rather like the multiple dimensions physicists say existed at the moment of creation (which they call the Big Bang). The more we grow in intimacy with Him the more we discover those dimensions. It’s as He was describing in the Upper Room before His crucifixion, with Him in the Father and the Father in Him and them in us and us in Him until your head spins thinking about it all. (John 14:10, 17, 20, 23; 15:4; 17:20-23) When we limit our understanding to specific aspects, or dimensions, we miss out on the richness and interconnectedness of it all. Even this verse in Hebrews says that we have the same origin (where the NIV says “same family”). Living in three spatial dimensions plus time, we can’t even wrap our mind fully around the whole concept of the Trinity, how God could be Three in One. I think the key is to ask God to expand our minds and hearts so that we can take it all in, and then allow Him to do so. The devil’s counterfeit of that is drugs like LSD, and perhaps THC and others. Those produce “religious” experiences, but they are like the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden: they are man seeking to become God.

Having graduated from college in 1969 I am squarely in the “turn on, tune in, drop out” generation, but thankfully the Lord protected me from that. However, I had friends who were snared, and even an inadvertent suicide during a flashback. “Seeking higher spiritual dimensions” isn’t just an abstract with me. The thing is, counterfeits in a way prove the existence of originals, because without an original the counterfeit has no meaning. I have had experiences with the Lord that I’m sure were as intense as those my friends had with drugs. I remember quite a few, including one when the joy, the glory, was so intense that I essentially told the Lord, “If you want to use me on this earth any more, you’d better slack off,” because it felt like one more drop and my body would simply expire. That certainly creates anticipation of heaven! As long as I am on this earth I am to keep growing in my appreciation for and application of all that God has done for me in Christ. In seeking to communicate some of that to others I am writing a book even now. It’s not an abstract, academic thing, but rather a dynamic relationship with a living Lord, and I want as many as possible to experience it with me.

Father, thank You for this reminder this morning. Thank You for how You continue to supply more material to include in the book! I pray that I would in no way limit this to the esoteric, but rather live it out in practical obedience moment by moment, so that all of Your plans and desires for me many be fulfilled, in Your way and on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 19, 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jgarrott

Titus 3:4-5 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Actually, I wanted to continue on through verse 7, but that would have gotten pretty long. This is a beautiful summation of salvation and what it means, which is why Paul starts verse 8 with, “This is a trustworthy saying.” It is helpful to summarize and restate truth from time to time, because we tend to lose focus and forget what it’s all about. Everything in this passage is found in other parts of the Bible, recorded by various different people. This isn’t necessarily superior to those, but pulling it all together like this makes it easier to remember. We often forget that the canon of the New Testament wasn’t set for hundreds of years, not to mention the fact that until the invention of the printing press, everything had to be hand copied, so books of any sort were very expensive. This is the sort of passage that would be appropriate for the instructions in Deuteronomy to “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 11:19-20) If every church member knew this passage well, and particularly if they really understood it, our churches would be far better representations of the Body of Christ!

Having grown up immersed in Scripture, I tend to forget that very few of the people I encounter have the same background. Things that seem completely obvious to me, so as to go without saying, often come across to others as “deep truth.” That actually puts a heavy responsibility on me to share the truth that I know. Preaching is seldom a burden to me, because I have a tendency to preach every time I open my mouth! However, dumping truth on people isn’t very effective in leading them to appropriate that truth for themselves. I need the wisdom and anointing of the Holy Spirit not only to express truth accurately, but to help people understand how it applies to them and to the situations they face every day. Paul’s letters generally start with a section of what might be described as theology, but then they go on to a section of practical application. The theology is very important, but it makes little difference if it isn’t applied in daily living. I keep coming back to James 1:22 and our penchant for deceiving ourselves by failing to apply the truth we hear. That’s particularly pointed for me, because I am more than capable of failing to apply the truth I preach! As a pastor I need to be sure those in the church know the truth, and then come alongside them to train them in applying that truth.

Father, thank You for the many opportunities You give me to share Your Truth. Thank You for conversations, sermons, the Internet, and publishing. May I not give “hearsay evidence,” but express what You have spoken to my heart and enabled me to live out, so that people may be encouraged to believe that You want the same level of fellowship with them, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 18, 2015

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jgarrott

2 Timothy 1:13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

It takes great assurance to make a statement like this, but Paul had every reason for such assurance. First of all there must be humble honesty before God. By this point in his life Paul was completely done with any and all pretense. He was probably aware that the letters he had written previously were already being treated as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16), and that had to be sobering. Knowing that God had previously spoken/written Truth through him, he still tells Timothy to apply what he has said “with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” In other words, truth by itself can actually be destructive, so it must be applied in the context of the love of God. Paul had previously written that very famously in 1 Corinthians 13, and Timothy was probably aware of that. And life itself is essentially meaningless without faith. Faith was undoubtedly the bedrock of Paul’s life by this point, as passages like Galatians 2:20 attest. In fact, his previous sentence is one of the most poignant statements of faith in the whole Bible. (2 Timothy 1:12) Paul knew that such faith and love would be the right framework to make the right use of all the Truth the Lord had enabled him to communicate.

I am certainly not in the place of Paul, writing letters that become Scripture, but I need to operate in the same humility, honesty, and assurance. I know that as Jesus said, apart from Him I can do nothing, (John 15:5) and I also know that in Him I can do everything He tells me to do. (Philippians 4:13) I am to teach and preach with all boldness, but always in the faith and love that are in Christ. Like Paul with Timothy, I am concerned with/for those who will follow me. Unlike him, I have the New Testament as well as the Old as a guide, not only for my own ministry but as something I can pass on to those who follow. I am to watch my own life to be sure that I am a good example and not a bad one. I cannot control how other people live right now, much less what they will do after I am gone. I am to trust the Holy Spirit, not just in my own life but also in the lives of those to whom I minister, and I am to keep myself available to Him for Him to use in influencing others.

Father, as I am in turn delighted, encouraged, frustrated and grieved by what I see in those to whom I minister, help me remember Your faithfulness and patience toward me. Help me be true to You and trust You to enable them to do likewise. You have given me a magnificent spiritual heritage; help me do no less for those who follow me, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 17, 2015

Posted on June 18, 2015 by jgarrott

2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

In my experience these two verses are generally quoted out of context with each other, and it just struck me that they are intimately connected. The area in which Paul doesn’t want Timothy to be timid is in the use of the gifts God has placed in him. Frankly, using gifts can be risky. Sometimes we fail to recognize the gifts, but at other times we focus on the gifts instead of on the One who gave them to us. When we move forward obediently using the gifts, many people will be blessed but others will be envious and critical. Using gifts effectively generally makes waves, and that can be risky business. We’ve got to remember first of all where the gifts came from. Since they are from God, that means they don’t really belong to us, even though they are in us, so they are not ours either to hide or to flaunt. Timothy was evidently a more reticent person than Paul, so Paul felt he should encourage him in this way. We would all do well to ask the Holy Spirit to help us do a spiritual inventory of what gifts have been placed in us and how we are using them, because chances are, every one of us has plenty of room for improvement.

In my own case I have felt almost over-gifted, capable of almost anything I set my mind to (other than sports). However, that has led to a failure of effort, of diligence, of focus, and my life has not been nearly as productive as it might have been. For myself, I need to let the Lord show me which gifts He wants to use through me at this point and apply myself faithfully in those areas. As a pastor, I need to help the believers recognize the gifts that are in them and encourage them to use them faithfully to do the things that God has prepared in advance for them to do. (Ephesians 2:10) I deal with young people who are uncertain as to what gifts they have and whether they will be able to succeed in using them. I deal with people in their 30s and 40s who are burned out to a degree and want to take the easy path. I deal with older people who feel they they are past all usefulness, and aren’t sure what gifts they really had in the first place. All of them need help! It’s clear that I don’t have the wisdom necessary to help them all, so once again I am totally dependent on God. That’s not a bad thing! Actually, pastoral ministry is an area in which I have not felt particularly gifted, so anything good that happens is clearly of God and not of me.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. I needed it! Right now You have me writing a book, and I’ve been letting all sorts of things distract me from that. I ask Your forgiveness. Help me be diligent day by day and step by step, so that the fruit of my life will be exactly as You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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June 16, 2015

Posted on June 17, 2015 by jgarrott

1 Timothy 1:18-19 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.

What stands out to me here is the importance of maintaining a good conscience. Society today seems bent on dulling, even destroying our conscience, but that produces sociopaths. It’s pretty obvious that those are on the increase! I am reminded of the French “expert” over a hundred years ago who advised young women who wanted to “enjoy life fully” to go out walking totally in the nude, to remove all inhibitions. It took time, but that way of thinking certainly seems to have taken hold, sadly enough. When we ignore the pangs of conscience often enough we no longer feel them, and so anesthetize ourselves for our own destruction. Many people have commented on the level of filth in general entertainment today, particularly as compared to 50 or even 10 years ago. When people with functioning consciences fail to object, the trend only accelerates. Paul’s call to Timothy needs to be repeated from pulpits around the world: keep a good conscience! Those who don’t understand the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God often try to squelch their consciences because they don’t like to feel guilty. They don’t realize that those very guilt feelings are God’s mercy to them, calling them to repentance so that they may receive forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 is of vital importance, but we have to maintain an operative conscience for it to take place. Squelching our conscience is denying that we have sinned, and John goes on to say that cuts us off from God completely. (1 John 1:10)

I have ignored my conscience more times than I like to think about, and I realize that I am not unaffected by the general level of filth around me. I need to keep watch that I don’t squelch my conscience but rather keep my repentance up-to-date. As a pastor I am an example to many. I am to assure them that forgiveness is real and complete, but there must be repentance first. I know from experience that repentance is a choice, often made over the protests of the flesh, and as such it sometimes doesn’t feel real even to us. However, if the choice is made in faith, God supplies the strength to carry through, and we receive the cleansing and healing we need.

Father, thank You for our consciences. Help me to value mine and teach others to do the same with theirs. May we listen to Your Spirit and not the lies of the devil, choosing eternal blessing and glory over momentary thrills, so that all of Your plans for us may be fulfilled, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 15, 2015

Posted on June 17, 2015 by jgarrott

1 Timothy 1:3-4 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

The word that caught my attention in this was “command.” We don’t think much of commanding in churches today, and churches that use that kind of language are quickly labeled cults. However, I think this is a trick of the devil. Humanistic command/control systems can and often do become demonic, but in trying to avoid that we throw Biblical authority out the window, and there too the devil rushes in to fill the vacuum. There are teachers “in the wild” today who are teaching all sorts of unBiblical heresies, but no one commands them to stop. I could list several teachers and several heresies, (the lists would overlap) but that wouldn’t be beneficial. Actually, “heresy hunters” can do a lot of damage, ripping up wheat along with the tares. (Matthew 13:29-30) However, going to someone personally, explaining the situation to them Biblically, and if they are stubborn, commanding them to quit, doesn’t seem to happen very often. The problem is that “heresy hunters” generally attack the people rather than refuting the false teaching. That can actually push people into the heresy because they are wanting to defend the person. When we focus on people rather than on truth, we make all sorts of mistakes.

In Systematic Theology class in seminary we were told to pick a topic for the term to write three papers. The first was to compare two opposing viewpoints, the second was to refute one of those viewpoints, and the third was to express and explain the viewpoint with which we agreed, on layman’s terms and without footnotes. I chose Cessationist and Charismatic as the two viewpoints, refuted a book by Merrill Unger that argued the Cessationist position, and finished up with a paper on “The Use of Tongues in Ministry.” That probably made some waves in the Southern Baptist seminary I was attending, and it left my professor thinking I was Assemblies of God. However, I still have good friends who hold to the Cessationist position, and I seek not to attack them personally. I’m not in the Assemblies denomination, or some others that have invited me, because I don’t believe any particular spiritual gift is “defining evidence” of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. However, I have good Christian fellowship with people of many different denominations, some of which teach things I would never allow to be taught in this church. Since I do most of the teaching in this church I’m not in the position of Timothy, much less Paul, but I am still to exercise the authority God has given me to build people up. (2 Corinthians 10:8) Failing to do so leaves them at the mercy of the lies and tricks of the devil, and I am held responsible. (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

Father, I’ve had an uneasy relationship with the spiritual authority You have placed in me, as You well know. Help me exercise it as You desire and intend, to tear down the lies of the devil but not those who have been deceived by those lies. Help me set people free by Your truth spoken in love, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 14, 2015

Posted on June 17, 2015 by jgarrott

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

This verse in Japanese is set to a very catchy tune, making for the very best sort of “ear worm.” Because the verse takes fewer syllables in English, I included content from the verses before and after when I translated it. (Let the Peace of Christ, on japanesechristianmusic.wordpress.com) Such songs are a good way to be obedient to this verse! That said, what is it to “Let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly?” Memorizing the Bible, with music or without, is a good start, but memorization alone doesn’t do it. The whole point is to let it work in us by thinking it over and applying it in all the little details of life. We tend to hear a message on Sunday morning, say, that’s nice, (if we really listen at all) and then forget about it before we even finish lunch. That’s hardly letting it in the front door, much less letting it live with us! When Psalm 1 speaks of someone with a God-pleasing lifestyle, it says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) The Hebrew term for “meditate” could be rendered as “mutter,” that is, say over and over. In Old Testament times many if not most people were illiterate, so this was vitally important in getting the Word out to the people. Today, if we have a Bible app on our phone we can call up any verse at any time, but that doesn’t mean we’re letting the Word dwell in us, richly or not. The whole point is whether we’re living it out.

I don’t have a “smart” phone, but the availability of Bible apps is one of the biggest temptations in that direction. I do delight in using Bible software on my computers, and on this one, that I use for devotions and sermon preparation, Bible Explorer is the most frequently used program. That said, I know that technology is no substitute for a heart that is submitted to God. I have learned that hearing the Word, or reading it, without actively seeking to apply it in my life actually dulls me to it. That’s exactly what James was talking about in James 1:22 when he said that in doing that we are only deceiving ourselves. God of course is never deceived; He knows exactly how we are relating to Him and to what He has told us. As a pastor I am responsible to communicate the Word faithfully to my hearers, but if I am not applying it myself I will get little or no benefit in the process. I am to trust the Holy Spirit to bring His Word to life in my hearers, but I must allow Him to work fully in me as well. The Word of Christ is certainly up to the task!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Every bit of this section of Colossians is underlined, but if I stop with underlining it I have accomplished nothing. Help me indeed live it out, so that Your Word may accomplish everything for which You send it, (Isaiah 55:11) for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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June 13, 2015

Posted on June 14, 2015 by jgarrott

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

This is the ultimate “What would Jesus do” statement, because it speaks not just of actions but of attitude. It is also the ultimate check on conceit, because Jesus never thought better of Himself than He was. At the same time, He also never thought less of Himself than He was, but it was always from the standpoint of loving and serving His Father and also the people around Him. We tend to have real problems with our self-image, inflating ourselves in some ways and completely overlooking or denying ourselves in others. As God, Jesus had and could do everything, but He set aside all that in order to be born as a human baby, so that He could grow up to be our Savior. As a human being Jesus faced all our limitations, but that included knowing that the Father could still accomplish anything at all through Him. Our problem is that the moment we accomplish something we think we have done it, rather than that God has done it through us. If we can get that through our heads and hearts, maybe we can believe a bit better that God can do far more through us as well. We limit by our unbelief what God does through us far more than we realize. We are indeed involved, because it almost always requires our willing participation, but the power and the wisdom are from Him, not us. If we grasp that, then our lives can be adventures in looking forward to what God will do through us next.

Conceit has been a trap for me much of my life, but then so has a feeling of inferiority. I have felt socially inept to the point of being incapable, and I have compensated by nursing feelings of superiority in other areas. None of that has been good for me or for the people around me. I have grown far past where I was at one point, but I can’t say I’ve “arrived” in terms of any of it. Jesus’ example is perfect, and I’m certainly not there yet! I need to keep moving, keeping my eyes on Jesus and expecting Him to use me. That’s not so likely to happen if I’m just sitting still! I’m not to be running off on my own, thinking up things to do, but I am certainly not to be a “bump on a log.” With His attitude I am to do what He did, and even greater things, (John 14:12) for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the meeting we were able to attend last night and for Your faithfulness to speak through me, both on the stage and privately. I pray that I would recognize Your guidance at all times and delight to be useful to You, so that all of Your plans for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule, for the salvation and blessing of many, and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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