P1 - God's Greatness in Psalms and Romans

Psalm 90:1-2 "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

In the posts this week I want you and I to celebrate the Greatness of our God.  Psalm 90-106 is the section of the Book of Psalms that celebrates the Greatness of God.  Romans 11 shows the scope of God's greatness in salvation.  Romans 12-16 reveals the Christian life lived in the power of the Gospel enthralled by the greatness of God in Jesus Christ.  

The starting place to see why God is so great - Psalm 90-92

Psalm 90 starts out this section with Moses reflecting on how God is the Satisfying Refuge (90:1-2), the sinner's Refuge (90:3-11) and the saint's Refuge (90:12-17).  When you turn to Psalm 91, this theme of the Lord as the Divine Refuge continues.  Psalm 92 begins by telling the reader that it is good to give thanks to the Lord, with remaining reasons as to why we should give thanks to Him.  

The Sovereignty of God over things great and small is why God is so great - Psalm 93-95

The theme of God's Greatness threads its way through both the Old and New Testament.  Psalm 93 starts out with the simple three word statement: "The Lord Reigns".  From that statement of God's Greatness we see His Sovereignty over His creation in 93:1.   Psalm 93:2-5 reveals that God has been Sovereign from all eternity, demonstrating that God's Greatness derives not from the creation over which He reigns, but from Himself.  God's Greatness in regards to His Justice and Mercy is depicted in Psalm 94.  Psalm 94:19 is of particular comfort for those who may be worrying, since in focusing upon the Greatness of God, God in turn shines forth His glory into the shadows of worry.  In Psalm 95 we come to understand what it means to enjoy this Great God: Put your eyes upon God's Greatness (Psalm 95:1-5) and Prioritize Closeness with God. (Psalm 95:6-11)  

The Saving power of God expresses why God is so great - Romans 11 

Romans 11 depicts God's Master plan of salvation and the ages concerning three programs: His plan for Israel (11:1-10, 23-29), the Gentile nations (11:11-16) and the church (11:17-22, 30-33).  The Greatness of our God celebrated in the Psalms is celebrated to an even greater height in Romans 11.  The overwhelming questions of Romans 11 is: has God forsaken Israel? Is He forever done with her?  The overwhelming answer is that all Israel will be saved at Christ's appearing.  (Romans 11:25-26) God is forever faithful to the Jews and will save them in the future as they by grace through faith believe on Him.  Since God is ever faithful to His people Israel, that means He can never break His promise and faithfulness to the Church in this current age.  

As you turn to Romans 11:22-36, you continue to see God's Greatness in regards to His Master plan of salvation among the Jews, Gentiles and the Church.  The Jewish people have been set aside in this age in order to be made Jealous and longing for their Messiah in Whom they will be believe and be saved at His return.  The Gentile nations are the primary focus of the Spirit's work in this age.  As He calls and convicts each one, they in turn respond by faith and are saved.  Both Jews and Gentiles who get saved in this age are part of the Church.  The Church is God's instrument that is calling forth all Jews and Gentiles to believe and be saved.  

God's Greatness is praised by Paul in a great outburst of worship called a "doxology" in Romans 11:33-36.  God's Sovereignty in salvation, the inerrant scripture, blood bought redemption and reception of salvation by grace alone through faith alone function together to point to God's Greatness.  Romans 11:36 says it all: "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be the glory forever.  Amen." 

The Marks of a Healthy Christian Faith - 3 John 1-8

3 John 1-2 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

At only 219 words, the book of 3 John is officially the shortest book in the Bible.  Though it is the shortest, its message and importance ranks among the greatest of all Bible books.  If we were to take an inventory of the five Bible books attributed to the Apostle John, here is what we would have in terms of themes:

1. John's Gospel - Written for the purpose to ensure knowledge of and faith in Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. John 20:31

2. 1 John - Written to grant assurances of salvation. 1 John 5:13

3. 2 John - Written to describe the Christian walk. 2 John 6

4. 3 John - Written to describe a healthy Christianity or Christian faith. 3 John 2

5. The Book of Revelation - Written to reveal the Person of Jesus Christ and His present purposes that will lead to the second coming, His coming Kingdom, His judgment on satan and sinners and His eternity with His people. Revelation 1:19

It is with the Book of 3 John that we find our interest in today's post.  What is a healthy Christian? In 3 John 1-8 we will see what is entailed in a healthy Christian walk.

What does a healthy Christian faith look like?
1. Sound faith.  3 John 1-2
3 John 2 states - "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."  The two underlined words provide the definition for what it means to be spiritually healthy as a Christian: namely an effectiveness (prosper) and soundness (health) to one's Christianity.  The first word translated "prosper" could also be translated "effectiveness".  Healthy Christians are effective because of the second word "health", which we could translate "soundness". 

A healthy Christian will be effective in their journey of faith due to the fact they have kept a healthy or sound faith.   In Genesis 24:26 we see the servant of Abraham praising God for granting him a prosperous mission in the search for a bride for Abraham's son Isaac.  Genesis 24:26 reads - "Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.27 He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.” Just as this man had a sound faith in the Lord that enabled him to see God's hand in his long journey to find Isaac a wife, a healthy Christian will be able to see God's hand guiding them in the journey of faith.  But notice the second trait of a healthy Christian, not only sound, effective faith, but also...

2. Strongly committed faith. 3 John 3-4
3 John 3-4 reads - "For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."  In similar manner to what he wrote in 2 John 4, John here states his joy over the fact that the people of God to whom he wrote were "walking in the truth".  

To "walk" with the Lord simply refers to a strongly committed lifestyle of faith.  Enoch in Genesis 5:24 is the first mentioned person in scripture to be described as "walking with God".  In previous studies through 2 John, we discovered that the strength of the Christian walk is based upon God's truth. (2 John 1-3) With truth being the strength or power of the Christian walk, love is the purpose. (2 John 3) Thus a healthy Christian will have a strong committed faith that walks with God in the power of truth purposed in His love.  

So we have seen that a healthy Christian faith is sound, strongly committed and thirdly a...

3. Sharing Faith. 3 John 5-8
3 John 5 reads - "Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers."  When you think of a healthy Christian faith, one of the words that should come to mind is the word "sharing".  There must be a point in the Christian walk where it becomes more about others and less about me.  All the Christian faith is about Jesus - this we know.  Yet when you or I look at the proportion of time spent thinking about ourselves versus others, which way do the scales tip?

John lists out the ways in which we ought to be sharing in our faith.  Certainly the idea of sharing our possessions with fellow believers whom we may not know is stated in 3 John 5.  The fact that we share our love with other members of the church and share in the support of those doing God's work is communicated in 3 John 6. Sharing of your faith is implied throughout these verses.  Whether directly or indirectly, we have a heart for missions and heartily share in the efforts of those who share Christ as seen in 3 John 7-8. 
The Apostle Paul speaks of the importance of sharing and putting others ahead of ourselves in Romans 14:7-8 "For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."  

Conclusion: The marks of a healthy Christian faith
As we have explored the first half of 3 John, we have noted the following three traits of a healthy Christian faith:

1. Sound faith.                        3 John 1-2
2. Strongly Committed faith.    3 John 3-4
3. Sharing faith.                      3 John 5-8

May you and I be those Christians who rely upon grace and strive in Godliness to have the healthy faith unfolded for us here in 3 John 1-8.  

P1 Jesus wants a loving church, don't lose your first love

Revelation 2:4 "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

Introduction: Do you remember the love you had for your spouse on your wedding day? The anticipation! The excitement! You were so thrilled (and perhaps a little nervous) as you were hours or moments away from starting your life together.  Love seemed to be unending.  The newness and freshness of newly married life created in your mind an unending joy.  As years go by and responsibilities, family and life begin to crowd your heart, what is the one thing that should never happen: love growing cold.  God used this illustration of newly married life to rebuke the Old Testament people of God, Israel, in Jeremiah 2:2: “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown." The sad story of Jeremiah 2 is that not only had Israel's love for her Husband, Jehovah God, grown cold, but that love was nowhere to be found.  

As you come to Revelation 2:1-7, you find the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to the New Testament people of God, His bride, the church, represented by the church at Ephesus.  Ephesus was renowned for its doctrinal precision and intolerance for false teachers.  The city of Ephesus was the largest city of Asia Minor, numbering at least 250,000 in number, making it in the words of one commentator the "New York City of its day."  The church there was a church of the city that resisted the rank paganism and immorality centralized in the Ephesians' worship of the pagan goddess Artemis (Diana).  The church was even effective in rooting out false teachers that attempted to infiltrate the church. (Revelation 2:2,6)  However she had lost the one thing that led to Christ's rebuke: she lost or let go her first love.  Why is Jesus Christ issuing forth this sharp rebuke?  

As you explore each of the letters to the seven churches, Jesus commends two of them and rebukes five of them to express one common theme: "What He wants his church at large to be."  Thus in today's post we want to understand the fact the Jesus Christ wants a loving church.

Meet a church in love with Jesus Christ
In order to see the tragic loss of Ephesus' first love, we have to journey back to the beginnings of this church.  The church at Ephesus is mentioned nearly 20 times in the New Testament, and is the direct recipient of one Epistle, the church to which young Pastor Timothy was told to shepherd in 1 and 2 Timothy and the place which the Apostle John himself had exercised considerable influence.  Paul wrote at least one of his letters from Ephesus and the church itself may very well had been the mother church of the other six churches addressed in Revelation 2-3.  Like a whirlwind romance, the people of God at Ephesus were chosen, called and convicted by the Spirit of God and begin to meet in Acts 18.  Early missionaries such as Priscilla and Aquilla and wonderful Bible teachers such as Apollos established the then young church on solid footing.    

As a young bride desperately wanting to see her fiance, Ephesus could not get enough of Jesus Christ. Their love for Him naturally stirred them up to love one another.  The Apostle Paul would end up leading and preaching to the Ephesians for three years. (Acts 20:31).  When the day of his departure came, the Ephesians Elders expressed such intense love for him.  Acts 20:37-38  records the following touching scene: "And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship."

The next snapshot we get of the Ephesian Christians occurs nearly five years later in the Book of Ephesians.  How well are they doing in being a loving church? According to Ephesians 1:15, quite well: "For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints."

Following the letter to the Ephesians, we forward another two and four years respectively in the letters of 1 & 2 Timothy.  The tone of the message to Timothy and to the church at Ephesus in those two letters can be summarized in 1 Timothy 1:5 - "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  Overall, from the early days of Paul's three year ministry in Acts through the letters to Timothy, the church at Ephesus was about the business of love and the truth because she was told to do so and did so quite well.  By the time you reach the end of 2 Timothy, Ephesus is a ten year old church, thriving in the midst of a pagan culture and leading the pack of seven churches in Asia Minor.  

Does that sound like the beginnings of your relationship with Christ? Are you still passionately in love with the One Whom saved you and called your name at salvation? Following your salvation experience, do you recall what it was like the day of your baptism? You were a new convert and were getting ready to do the first major step of obedience for your Master.  Everything was new: a new Bible, a new pastor, new friends, new peace.  When you came into that baptism tank you went in a willing Christian and when you came out your were an obedient Christian, ready to serve Christ in the church of which you were now a member.  Whether we are talking about churches or Christians, that idea of "first love" should characterize not only the beginning of faith with Christ, but should characterize the course of the Christian life and church life. 

The church in love lost its first love
Roughly thirty years span between the close of 2 Timothy to that of Jesus words to Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7.  After introducing Himself as "One who hold the seven stars in His right hand and the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands" in 2:1, Jesus commends Ephesus for six activities or attitudes that would mark any church as being strong.  Now we won't take the time to go through all of those traits, because Ephesus' leaving of her first love seems to cancel out any prior achievements.  As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:2  "If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."  

What is "first love"?
When Jesus states that the Ephesians had lost their "first love" in Revelation 2:4, to what is He referring? The Greek word for "first" is the same word we find in Jesus' reference to the greatest and "foremost" commandment in Matthew 22:37-38, namely "to love the Lord your God will all of your heart, soul, mind and strength." Love for God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the "First" or "foremost" love.  Other "loves" are associated with love for God: love for people or one's neighbor (Matthew 22:39); love for the scriptures (John 14:15, 21); loving to pray (1 Timothy 2:1-3) and love for Christ's second coming. (2 Timothy 4:8) Your love for the Lord Jesus Christ is foremost and really must be the fuel for the other four major activities just mentioned if the Christian and the church is to be a delight and not a drudgery.  

Losing your first love is a scary thing
The scary thing for a church or a Christian is that although it is impossible to have love for God without holding to the truth of His Word, one can dogmatically hold to the truth and not have love.  Many of you, I'm sure, have known people who have a Christianity of the head but no love in the heart.  They know all the answers but lack affection.  Much like Samson in Judges 16:20 who was not aware that the Lord had departed from Him when he rose up to defend against the Philistines, churches and Christians can be strong in programs, strong  in numbers and even strong in preaching and teaching and yet be unaware of the neglect of first love.  The late Dr. John Walvoord wrote concerning the church at Ephesus: Though they had not departed completely from love for God, their love had no longer any fervency, depth or meaning it once had had in the church." 1  Dr. John MacArthur states the matter even better: "They had sunk to the place where they were carrying out their Christian responsibilities with diminishing love for their Lord and others.2

How can the loss of first love take place? What does Jesus command both the Ephesians and us to do when such a tragedy has taken place? Find out tomorrow....

Endnotes:
1. John Walvoord. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, a Commentary". Moody 1966. Page 55

2. John MacArthur. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Moody. 1999. Page 62

P2 Christ's Battleship - Revelation 2:1-3:22

Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this".

In yesterday's post we considered Christ's battleship - the church, in Revelation 2-3.  Christ had John write a series of direct messages from him to seven churches located in Asia Minor or what would be today the country of Turkey.  These seven churches were literal and representative of every church of every age and portray churches and even Christians we may see side by side in our day.  Why did Jesus address Revelation to these seven churches? He warned five of them, commended two of them and addressed all of them to express what He wanted in His battleship the church.

1. Ephesus - Christ wants a loving church
2. Smyrna - Christ wants a courageous church
3. Pergmamum - Christ wants a vigilant church
4. Thyatira - Christ wants a church of conviction
5. Sardis- Christ wants a revived church
6. Philadelphia - Christ wants a faithful church
7. Laodicea - Christ wants a committed church

Have seen the Battleship - the church militant, floating on God's sea of time until Christ's return, we want to consider today the Captain of the battleship - the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Captain of Christ's Battleship, the church, is Jesus Christ
The number "7" occurs over fifty times in the Book of Revelation.  Whenever you see that number, assume it to be God's fingerprint, since it is really God's number, representative of completion, Divine purpose and perfection.  Jesus Christ's fingerprints as the Divine God/man is all over His church.  He is the captain of the mighty battleship - the church militant.  By His Holy Spirit His presence and power is exercised.  The Bible is His wheel and we His people are his crew.  Sinners who are drowning in the sea of humanity and who by His grace call out to Him are plucked up by His Spirit to bring them on the deck of His safety.  Amazingly in each of these seven letters to the seven churches, we see seven descriptions of our Captain - Jesus Christ.  All of these descriptions can be found in Revelation 1, which of course is the first vision of Jesus Christ revealed to John.

1. The Loving Lord Jesus Christ.  
Revelation 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this".  As we see in Revelation 1:20, Jesus Christ is Lord, Owner and Holder of His church.  He loves His church, otherwise He would not mention the fact that Ephesus has lost its passion for her "first love". Hence Jesus Christ is the church's loving Lord. 

2. The Living Christ.
Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this." In Revelation 1:17 Jesus Christ reminded John that He conquered death, hell and the grave. He is the Living Christ.

3. The Word-centered Christ
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this." In Revelation 1:16 we see Christ ever associated with the scriptures, which are His sharp, two edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12) In fact Christ himself is called "The Word" in John 1:1 due to the fact He has the same living qualities as the Bible has in its written qualities.  To sever the church from the scriptures is to sever her from Christ and His voice. 

4. The Judging Christ
Revelation 2:18  “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this."  Revelation 1:15 uses the imagery of burnished bronze to describe Christ as the righteous Judge over His church, and the coming One Who will judge this world.  

5. The All-knowing Christ
Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." In Revelation 1:16 we see Jesus Christ in close proximity to the "seven spirits" which is a seven-fold description of the Holy Spirit. (compare Isaiah 11:2) Jesus promised His Holy Spirit to His church to be her comforter and counselor, both as a corporate body and individual believers throughout the ages. (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:8-11; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13)  The stars are the pastors or messengers or "angels" of the seven churches (Revelation 1:20).  Thus if the church is to revive and continue on, she needs Christ, the source of life.  He alone knows her deeds and knows what the outcome of her journey will be, for He holds all that in His hands. 

6. The Holy Christ
Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this."  Revelation 1:18 describes Christ as holding keys.  He is the Holy Christ who aims to have a holy church presented unto Him as a spotless bride. (Ephesians 5:27)

7. The Creator Christ
Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this." The word translated "Beginning" could be better rendered "The Beginner, the Originator, the Majestic Ruler". In other words, Christ is the Ruler and Creator of His church and really all of creation. (John 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16-17).  Hebrews 12:2 describes Jesus Christ as the "author and finisher" of our faith.  

Conclusion
Therefore the captain of Christ's battleship, the church, is Jesus Christ Himself.  He is described in Revelation 2-3 as the Loving Lord, Living, Word-centered, Judging, All-knowing, Holy and Creator Christ.  Why does this matter? Because only He can ensure by His Word that the Christian life and the church to which we are called to be will achieve His calling and purpose.  I close this blog with these words from 1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."