March 21, 2012

Posted on March 22, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 28:18-19 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”

As one Bible teacher used to say, “Any time you see a ‘therefore,’ be sure you know what it’s there for.” The point of this passage is delegation. This isn’t just something off the top of Jesus’ head; He really does have all authority in heaven and on earth. It is on the basis of that authority that He commands His disciples to go make more disciples, accepting no barriers of distance or race, and by extension, language. I have had Americans in Japan confront me with “Who do you think you are, pushing Christianity on the Japanese when they already have religions of their own.?!” The answer, for me and for every disciple of Jesus Christ, is very simple: “I’m a follower of the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth, and He told me to do it.” When we really understand the authority of Christ, all sorts of things become much simpler. Like little children we tend to kick and fuss about all kinds of things, when the only answer really necessary is a Parental “Because I said so.” It is logically obvious that the Creator of the universe has all authority in this universe He created. Because Jesus inhabited a created body, (though He predated the manger in Bethlehem from eternity past) it was important that He made it clear that authority was His, and it was on the basis of that authority that He told His disciples to make more disciples.

This is an issue I have had a slowly growing understanding of, and I need more growth. On one level I seem to understand it fully, and on another level I don’t seem to understand it much at all. That is complicated by the fact that as a pastor, I have more authority in some areas than those who aren’t pastors. I am painfully aware that authority cannot be divorced from responsibility, but I need to keep remembering that responsibility can’t be divorced from authority, either. Not only does God hold me responsible for accurate, faithful use of the authority He has vested in me, He has also given me the authority to do everything for which He has made me responsible. I have the authority to call people to repentance and faith, to encourage, admonish and correct. That authority is never to be exercised outside of humble, grateful awareness of my dependence on God, but that in no way diminishes the authority. Right now we as a body are being challenged to sharpen our focus on Christ and obedience to Him. I need to issue that challenge in all love, but with no apology, because I do so in obedience to the One who has all authority.

Father, thank You for how You are indeed growing me in this area. Thank You for the assurance You gave me in all the events of last week, that I wasn’t at a loss for what to do, because You were guiding me. Thank You that You are just as present right now, in questions of provision and the like. Keep me from presumption, but help me walk in full assurance of the authority You have delegated to me, so that I may be faithful to fulfill every task You have for me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 20, 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It is interesting that those at the foot of the cross didn’t recognize that Jesus was quoting the first line of Psalm 22. That Psalm is an amazingly specific and accurate description of what Jesus experienced on Golgotha. Jesus knew ahead of time what would happen, and He went into it with open eyes, because of His love for the Father and for mankind. The taunts of the Pharisees, recorded a few verses before this, show that they knew exactly what they were doing; they just refused to believe Jesus was Who He said He was. In their minds, anyone who claimed to be the Son of God had to be a fraud, because God becoming man would be too personal, too demanding of accountability. This is the same motive for perhaps the majority of atheists today. If they acknowledge that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life,” (John 3:16) then they are accountable for believing in Him with obedience for their own salvation. They can’t stand that! Atheism doesn’t come from an objective examination of the evidence, it comes from a prior refusal to submit to a Creator. Regardless of how you interpret the chronology of Genesis, for example, an objective examination of all the evidence will lead you to the conclusion that there had to be a Creator, and once that is established, everything else falls into place.

I deal with only one stated atheist, whom I love dearly, and his problem at this point is pride. He has lived a long and successful life, and he doesn’t want to acknowledge that he was wrong all along. It’s not that he’s a bad person; quite the contrary. However, he’s as much a sinner as every other human being, and just as much in need of God’s saving grace. I am not to attack his position in his presence, but rather in prayer. I need to stand firm on his behalf against the lying spirits that have bound him, so that God’s truth may penetrate those bonds and set him free. Intellect will never win him to Christ, but God’s love and grace will, so I need to be an open channel for that love and grace.

Father, I know that You love the people around me more than I do, however much I might love them. You desire their salvation more than I do, however much I might desire it. Guide me in being an effective tool in Your hands to work Your will in their hearts and lives, bringing them from darkness to light, from death to life, for a mighty harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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March 19, 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Here we have the mystery of God’s foreknowledge and our free will. God knew what Judas was going to do before he was even conceived, but it was still Judas’ choice to do it. That’s the logical difficulty of God being omniscient and omnipotent, yet still giving us free will. There are those who come down on one side or the other of that conundrum, either insisting that God is not all knowing and all powerful, or that we are no more than puppets, and therefore bear no personal responsibility. Frankly, it is a difficulty that is beyond human intellect to resolve, which is why those who worship human intellect tend to be atheists. The problem is rooted in the fact that God is outside of time because He is immaterial, a Spirit, whereas we have spirits but we are firmly implanted in physical bodies. We don’t see things God’s way, because we can’t! However, this is where faith comes in. We have to accept that, like little children, we don’t know it all, but we do know our Daddy, and that’s enough.

I’ve wrestled with this issue a few times, but I keep coming back to God’s grace: even though He knows what we are going to do, He still loves us! That’s why grace is so amazing. In communicating the Gospel I am not to ignore or belittle honest intellectual questions, but I must not let them be excuses, because in the final analysis, that’s what most of them are. We don’t want to acknowledge our accountability before God. I need to remember God’s grace and patience toward me, and extend that same grace and patience toward others. However, that doesn’t mean failing to confront them when that is called for, failing to challenge them to grow in faith and obedience.

Father, You know me better than I know myself, and yet You still love me. Thank you. That is indeed amazing. Help me be an active, and increasingly effective, instrument of Your love and grace to all I encounter, so that many may be brought to faith and active discipleship, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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March 18, 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 25:40 “The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

This is a justly famous verse, and it has been applied and misapplied by and to many, many people down through the centuries. It’s important to note that this is not part of a parable, it is a literal description by Jesus of what is going to happen in the Judgment. It is thus an important guiding principle for every believer, but it has also been hijacked by those who have no intention of living in obedience to God. Those who want to take the place of God want to create dependence in others, and this verse has been used to that end. However, justification for such use falls apart when we consider the whole Bible, which encourages individual responsibility and accountability. The situations Jesus mentions in this passage – sickness, hunger, imprisonment, and the like – are essentially temporary conditions. Also, Jesus is talking about individual response to needs, not organizational, much less governmental response. This verse cannot be used to justify the “nanny state,” however much people try. It is also important to note that Jesus says, “My brothers.” If someone is in rebellion against God, their first and primary need is for repentance, not social welfare. That’s why the current brouhaha over free contraception is such a crock. Making it easier for people to violate Biblical morality is doing them no favor at all!

Naturally, I need to be an instrument of God’s love, grace, and compassion toward all I encounter. However, I also need His wisdom and discernment in order to provide each person with what they need, rather than necessarily what they are asking for. This is a major issue for every pastor, because the world is full of leeches, as well as those with genuine needs. It’s important to note that Jesus didn’t heal every sick person in Judea and Samaria during the years of His ministry. If He had, there would have been no one for Peter and John to heal at the Beautiful Gate! (Acts 3:1-10) I am not to be stingy in any way, but I am to seek the Lord for how to minister to whom, lifting people up and drawing them to Him, rather than creating dependence on me or enabling rebellion against God.

Father, yet again I am reminded that I don’t have the wisdom to do things right on my own. I ask You to work in and through me so that needs may be met and people drawn to repentance and faith for salvation. Keep me from being cold and analytical about needs that come to my attention, but rather let Your love flow through me whatever the cost to me, so that hearts may be turned to You and Your name praised and glorified. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 17, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 25:29 “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

This is another of those passages that seem terribly unfair from our human perspective. Humanism tends either toward selfishness or socialism, and this is neither. The whole thrust of this teaching by Jesus could be summed up in the pithy phrase, “use it or lose it.” Jesus used money as the illustration here, but it applies to everything in life. All that we have is entrusted to us by God, and we are accountable to Him for what we do with it. We tend to divide things into categories of what God is interested in and what He isn’t, perhaps using Luke 20:25 (Give to Caesar… ) as justification. However, everything we have is from God, without exception, and if He even keeps track of how many hairs we have on our heads, (Luke 12:7) then He is interested in what we do with all of it. That’s not to say we are to spend every moment of our lives at church; rather, it means that wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we are to be living for God. That specifically includes our “day jobs,” as Paul pointed out with the extreme example of slaves. (Ephesians 6:5-8) What Jesus is saying in this passage is that everyone who uses what he has to serve God will discover that he has more and more, but those who decline to serve God with what they have will discover they no longer have it.

Again, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone else. I was given quite a package of abilities through genetics and upbringing, and I wish I could say I have been a faithful steward of them. Some I have put to good use, but some have fallen by the wayside. However, as I have used what I have, I have indeed discovered more and more that God has given me. Interestingly, very little of that has been financial, though God’s provision in that area has been secure. Recently the Lord has made it clear that I was to stop complaining about my lack of administrative and social gifts, and rather exercise what little I had. As I have done so, He has indeed stretched and grown me, reminding me yet again that He can do anything at all, even using me. I need to get that awareness across to the believers, because Japanese are self deprecating to a fault. That wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t believe the negative things they say about themselves! I need to help them recognize what God has already given them, so that they may rejoice to use it for Him and experience His multiplication, just as this passage talks about.

Father, thank You for carrying me through this week, enabling me to say and do things that were certainly not my native ability. Help me indeed communicate Your all-sufficiency to the believers, so that they may lift their eyes from what they see as their own inability and trust You to do great things through them, as they are faithful with what You have already provided. May we indeed be and do all that You desire and intend, so that multitudes may be brought into Your kingdom, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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March 16, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

MT 24:42,44 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

This week has certainly been a lesson in the unpredictability of when we will meet the Lord. However, God does know, and He enables those who are committed to Him to be prepared. It is a minor and relatively unimportant detail, but the man whose funeral I did yesterday had gotten a haircut the very day he was called home, so he looked really good in the casket. In parts of the Southern US, signs that say “Prepare to meet your Maker” or something similar are almost a tradition. On those mountain roads they seem like a good idea! However, in general they are laughed at, because laughter is a refuge in which we hide from the reality of our own mortality. Hiding does no good! The point, as Jesus says clearly in this passage, is to be faithful at whatever tasks the Lord has assigned to you so that whenever He shows up, either for you individually or at the end of the Age, you will be commended and not reprimanded or worse.

I’ve been involved in enough funerals to have a grasp of this issue, and I can honestly say it was a joy to do the one just passed, because he loved the Lord and lived accordingly, and I could say without hesitation that he is rejoicing in heaven right now. I have been amazed at the little details along the way, as the Lord has arranged things to help the man’s widow and son adjust to what is a drastically new reality to them. There was family reconciliation and clear communication of the Gospel, and too many good things to mention, even that I’m aware of, and I know there was much more that I know nothing about. Personally, I need to be careful that I am at my assigned tasks, working faithfully without either complaining or sloughing off. I need to keep pressing in for deeper fellowship with my Lord, so that when the transition comes, it will be pure joy. That means keeping my repentance up to date, not letting anything build up that would be a barrier between me and my Lord. As a pastor, I need to encourage others to do likewise. That doesn’t mean standing over them with a glower, thundering, “You’re going to die!” That would certainly be counterproductive! However, I need to remind them that “it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful,” (1 Corinthians 4:2) and we have all been entrusted with many things by God.

Father, I feel like I have at least three or four messages I’d like to share with the flock, springing from the events of this week. Help me know what You want fed to them when, so that they may have hearts to receive and appetite for more, to grow strong in Christ as You desire and intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 15, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

This is the kind of verse that gets some people excited and some people wanting to throw out the whole Bible. However, there are quite a few verses like that, so your approach to this verse will reflect your approach to God and the Bible. If you are man-centric, you will try to bring everything down to the level of your own experience. If You are willing to focus on God and become Christ-centric (God-centric), then you will seek to let Him bring you and your experience up to His level. The difficulty with this particular verse is that some people use it as a springboard for believing in faith, rather than actually believing in God. That quickly degenerates into a kind of magic, where faith is seen as a tool for manipulating people and events rather than as getting in line with God who created it all. Here, Jesus had just used the fig tree as a tool to expand the disciples’ minds to see that indeed, nothing is impossible for God. However, that needs to be balanced with an awareness that Jesus didn’t “pray away” any of the suffering He endured before and during His crucifixion, and there was certainly nothing deficient about His faith! Likewise, when Paul prayed earnestly three times for healing of a particular physical problem, the answer he got from God was, “My grace is all you need.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) As we pray in faith, it must always be as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

My problem here, as I think it is for many sincere Christians, is praying with full assurance. I’ve seen some genuine miracles in answer to prayer, my own and others’, but I’ve seen far more presumptuous prayer that didn’t get the desired result. There is a fine line between faith and presumption, and I don’t always come down on the correct side of that. I need God to show me more and more how to get in line with Him and let His Spirit pray through me, because there is literally no limit to what can happen then. When I trust Him enough to let His words come from my mouth, nothing can stand in His way.

Father, thank You for how You are indeed continuing to grow and train me. Thank You for how You have been carrying me through this week, and that You will continue to do so. It has really been an intensive time of prayer, and that is always good. Thank You that the wake last night went as You desired, giving comfort and closure to the bereaved. Thank You that You will do the same this morning in the funeral and cremation. Thank You for the training this is for the two who are answering Your call to ministry, including the son of the man we are commemorating. I pray that I would be an open channel for Your Spirit throughout today, so that people may be brought to repentance and faith, as well as the bereaved being given comfort and closure, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 14, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 20:4 “He told them, `You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'”

This is a well known story that Jesus told, and it has generated lots of opinions and discussions over the centuries. It is even one place I have a small difference of opinion with my seminary professor grandfather, W. O. Carver. To me, the biggest point is that we have to trust God to give us “what is right,” regardless of the service He asks of us. And we don’t need to try to figure out just “what is right” is, either! Only God knows the true value of our service. I am reminded of something else Jesus told His disciples: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10) As we saw just yesterday, God is never stingy, but He asks for faith. We need to trust that He will amply reward our labors. Paul and others also dealt with this issue of rewards, and Paul cautioned that not all service is worthy of reward. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) We need to be concerned more with the quality of our service than with the quantity of the reward! There is no excuse whatever for sloughing off and saying, “God is a God of grace, so I’ll be OK.” God is certainly a God of grace, but that’s all the more reason to give our all in gratitude and not cheapen that grace with some distorted sense of entitlement.

This certainly applies to me, as it does to every believer. I know full well that I haven’t done everything God has told me to do, and that I have done many things He hasn’t told me to do, or even that He has told me not to do. That’s why I’m enormously grateful that He’s a God of grace! I need to communicate this reality to the believers, not with any hint of having “arrived” myself, but encouraging them to join me in trusting God to do what is right. I need to keep my own eyes fixed on the high calling that is ours in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3:14) and call them to do likewise.

Father, I’m in the middle of dealing with the home-going of a brother who is a clear example of today’s passage. It’s been less than a year since he was baptized, but I have no question of his reward! Only You know the full impact and value of his beautiful, childlike faith, but I know it impacted me! I do ask Your abundant strength and comfort for his widow and son, that they would not only praise You for Your faithfulness to him, they would trust You fully in everything regarding them as well. I pray that the service tonight and the funeral tomorrow would be all that You want them to be, drawing those who don’t yet know You to repentance and faith, and encouraging and comforting those who are already Your children, so that all of Your plans may be fulfilled as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 13, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

It has become a catch phrase with the “prosperity gospel” crowd, but it is indeed true that you can’t out-give God. The problem with the “prosperity gospel” is that whatever they say, it ends up coming across as giving to get, and that’s not true giving. God’s supply is abundant, and by giving freely we acknowledge that fact. Anything we hold onto, rather than releasing it to God, is a barrier to our fellowship with Him. It’s interesting that Jesus put the most emphasis on giving up our families, even though families are God’s idea and He wants us to bless our families and be blessed by them. That comes into sharp focus when you consider overseas missionaries. My mother was sometimes praised for having “given up so much” to be a missionary, but she said the only thing she really gave up was closeness to family. I can empathize with that! Modern technology has shortened many gaps and bridged others, but there’s still no substitute for playing with my grand kids. I know of numbers of missionaries who have left the field for “family reasons,” and my impression is that it’s seldom what God has in mind. It is when we genuinely release things to God that He gives them back multiplied, or else gives us something much better.

Like my mother, I don’t feel I’ve “given up” much, and I’m already quite sure I’ve received far better than I’ve given. I need to help the believers understand and trust this reality, never “penny pinching” where God is concerned, but not being irresponsible, either. When God asks us to give up something we need to let go of it, no questions asked. That’s far easier to say than to do! I am faced with issues all the time where it is hard to let go of control (as I see it emotionally) and let God work His will in and through me. That’s a big part of the instructions in Isaiah 40:31 to wait in hope on the Lord. It is only when we trust Him enough to let go of the steering wheel that we receive the abundance of everything we need that He has planned for us.

I’m certainly having a training session in waiting on the Lord right now! Because of getting no sleep at all last night, (long story) the temptation is just to relax and essentially give up, but that’s not operating in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, or even in the fulness of how we are to relate to one another. Father, I ask You to take me by the hand and guide me as You know I need to be guided, so that I won’t place anything above You, but gladly let go of everything for You to use it for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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March 12, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by jgarrott

Matthew 19:3, 6 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

The historical context of this exchange sounds very contemporary. There was a group of “Bible scholars” who contended that Moses’ provision for divorce allowed them to discard their wives for something as trivial as burning a meal. (Actually, that is literally Muslim practice today, and the husband simply saying, “I divorce you,” three times to his wife is sufficient to enact the divorce. It is a mystery to me why any women are Muslim!) Jesus obviously came down firmly on the other side of this argument. This is extremely applicable today, not only because of the encroachment of Sharia law into non-Muslim countries, but because of such things as “no fault divorce” in countries like the US. When divorce can be trivialized to the point of being called “amicable,” marriage has lost much of its meaning in society. That’s the only reason homosexual “marriage” has any traction at all. When marriage is considered from a Biblical standpoint, anything as absurd as that is out of the question. The current turmoil in US society didn’t start with the homosexual “movement,” it started with the general breakdown of morality, greatly accelerated by the counter-cultural movement of the ’60s and ’70s. God didn’t tell Adam and Eve to get together because it would feel good, He did so because He knew each needed the other for completion, that only as a couple would they have the balance they needed to be all He intended them to be. This isn’t to put down singles, because Jesus covered that issue right after this, but it is to say that lifelong heterosexual marriage is the norm that God established for mankind, and we deny that to our peril.

This is an issue I deal with frequently, not simply because I do counseling with the couples whose weddings I perform, but because I’m in a greatly blessed, faithfully monogamous marriage that is approaching the 43 year mark. Most of the couples I counsel have no Christian background at all (Christians get married in their own churches, rather than in a “wedding chapel.”) and it seems to be something of a shock to some of them when I explain the Biblical basis for marriage. However, I’m happy to say that there is a low divorce rate for couples I marry! Sadly, that rate is not zero, but there will always be people who are so self-centered they can’t see how they are hurting themselves by failing to be faithful to their spouse. I am to be faithful to proclaim God’s truth, and trust Him to work it into people’s hearts and lives for their blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for the righteous example my parents and Cathy’s parents set for us, and for how marvelously You have blessed us in following their example. I pray that we would lead and encourage many more to discard the lies of the devil and walk in the blessing You intend for them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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