64. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Part 2 Trust the Commander!

We are discussing the encouragement from the Lord Jesus not to worry. We started to say that faith helps us to depend on the Lord rather than on Mammon for our provision.

Life makes many demands. Mammon sees to it that we worry, and he enjoys it when we do. Worry is equal to fear, and fear destroys faith—the only thing that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is what moves God into action, and fear is what moves Satan, and therefore Mammon, into action. Fear and worry are faith in Satan.

We as Christians are a special people (1 Peter 2:9). We do not depend on worldly resources like the world. Our resources come from our home country, heaven.

Our sole purpose is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

The Lord is concerned about our priorities. The busier our lives become, the more important prioritising becomes. The things we enjoy get higher priority while we postpone the activities we don’t like. Many Christians dislike the responsibilities of evangelism, so they postpone them. The attitude is not necessarily rebellion but rather passivity because of fear. The closer we walk with the Lord, the more faith and less fear we have. The Lord, who is the boss and sets our priorities, set some conditional priorities for us. We are first to attend to His business.

What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God? We are part of God’s Kingdom and not of this world. We are pilgrims with a mission. “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,” (John 15:19b). If a secret agent forgets his purpose for being in a foreign country and becomes one with his enemy, what purpose does he serve? Surely he would be dealt with should his superiors find out. “No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4).

Our main purpose is to obey God with the sole focus on building, expanding, and maintaining God’s Kingdom on earth. It involves evangelism and discipleship. That’s all we must be concerned about. We are not to worry about rations, clothes, and tents; that is the job of the Commanding Officer. We are also not to team up with the “civilians” (things of this world), because they absorb the time and focus we need for the task.

Front-line soldiers stay busy with their responsibilities and are mostly restricted to the base and the field. They get little time to have fun with civilians. This is because contact with civilians leads to distraction, and the soldiers would become soft and less focused.

Seeking God’s righteousness is of equal priority. Righteousness means “right standing.” Jesus is our righteousness. “It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Therefore, we must first seek Jesus, and then constantly seek right standing with God. “Surely, the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear,” (Isaiah 59:1, 2).

This is from the Old Testament, and our sins are dealt with, but the principle still applies. God said, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14). He also said, “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees,” (Hebrews 12:10b-12).

To be effective servants of the Lord, we must train ourselves for battle. He expects us to forget about useless, temporary worldly pleasures and instead obey His every command in order to remain in right standing with Him. Then we need to go all the way in the building of His Kingdom. If we do not, how will we answer when we are called to give account at judgment day?

There is a fine line between building a church congregation and building the Kingdom of God. We need to watch our motivation. Who do we have in mind when we work in Christian activities? Are we concerned about God, or are we focused on the pastor, church building, and activities? Do we focus too much on numbers? Are we concerned about what God is doing internationally, or do we give all our attention to issues within the congregation?

The true church is the global church. We should not form congregational borders. We should be so aware of and tuned in to the Lord that we do whatever He tells us to do. We will then find that He is interested in more than just the local church.

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What is the Fear of the Lord? Part 3. Where are you at?

In our last post, we indicated that a true Christian can be defined by Jesus’ statement in John 14:21 among others. We then said that we are going to look at some of Jesus’ commands. Would you agree with me that the letters from the Apostles were inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, and therefore are actually Jesus’ words?

When we look at 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 we see that Paul reprimanded the church for acting the way the world does by taking one another to court. In verses 7-8 he asked: “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.” In other words, we need to be the least, we need to act like Jesus instructed His followers to act by serving one another in purity and holiness. Then he made a profound statement by saying:  “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Many Christians believe that you are set free from the consequences of sin once you are saved and that you can act the way you’d like to, like the Corinthians in verse twelve: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—(and then Paul's response) but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—(and then Paul's response) but I will not be mastered by anything. As a result many Christians live mediocre lives void of the power of God because they yield to their carnal desires instead of resisting sin to the point of shedding their blood (Hebrews 12:1-4). I have used 1 Corinthians 6:12 often out of context to justify what I wanted to do, but I’ll get to my testimony later. I want to discuss the activities, which Paul listed to the Corinthians above, individually as a test for all of us as to where we stand with the Lord.

He mentioned the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God. What is in your thoughts with regard to the opposite sex? Do you at times entertain fantasies about another man or woman you happen to like, even though you’re married, do you maybe interact with one on the social media, thinking it to be innocent? How do you look at a person of the opposite sex? Are your eyes scanning certain body parts? Do you act flirtatiously? Ladies, do you dress in a way as to submit men to sexual temptation? Maybe you ask what’s wrong with these things. Can you imagine Jesus flirting with women or undressing them with His eyes?

This is what it means to fear the Lord. How often do we do little things that make us impure before the Lord and do not repent from it, but continue with it because we enjoy it and think we are okay if we accepted Jesus as our saviour. If the Lord said in the Word that sexually immoral people will not inherit the Kingdom and we continue to be sexually immoral by just looking at the opposite sex lustfully (Matthew 5:28), will we inherit the Kingdom even if we accepted Jesus as our saviour? I don’t think so. We do, however, live in the time of grace, which, by the way, does not mean that the Lord will accept sin with an attitude of “I understand, it’s okay, I'll forgive their wilful, continuous sinning”.

The fear of the Lord means that we need to fear what the Lord will do. If we do not repent (stop sinning and turn away from it), we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This is something to fear. The Lord, however, does not want this, but wants us to be blameless and pure. Therefore He disciplines us until we repent. This is another area in which to fear the Lord, for discipline is not nice and can be costly. He disciplines in areas that hurt the most and to many, it's in the area of finances. His grace means He will discipline us until we repent, even if it takes our entire life, and this discipline is painful and costly. While we’re under discipline, He cannot use us as He’d like to, another thing to fear, for then we cannot bear the fruit set out for us to bear and will not receive the related reward. To be continued.

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63. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Why Worry? Part 1

 Jesus had just discussed three issues about money, which were the fact that we should not focus on earthly treasures, that our eyes should desire which is eternal, and that serving Mammon or money is enmity to God. Now He started his next statement with a 'therefore'. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25)

“Therefore” in this sentence refers to the previous topic. We could state it this way: “Since a treasure on earth is degradable and you cannot serve both God and Money, why are you concerned about money? Why do you worry about your life and material needs?”

The King James Version says, “Take no thought.” Worry is like trying to drive your car in neutral gear—a lot of noise and moving of the controls, but you get nowhere. When we worry, we waste a lot of time thinking about something we can’t do much about.

We should take no thought for anything we need for physical survival and productivity. For most of us, survival in the modern days is much more complex than it was 2000 years ago. We need more than food and clothes if we are to accomplish our goals. We may need transportation, technical equipment, insurance, etc. Yet the Lord says not to give any thought to these.

This is a tall order and Jesus knew it, which is why He explained the following:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matthew 6:26-32)

It is God who must do the thinking! In the nineteenth century, George Muller took care of orphans by faith. He had neither capital nor sponsors. God, however, had the resources. He knew that a lot of His children managed His money well, so all George Muller had to do was to care for the orphans, and God would care for the needs.

One morning, the orphanage had no food. When the matron had told George about it, he told his friend's little daughter: "Abigail, come see what God is going to do." George told the matron that God would supply. Still, there was no food on the table. George said to the children: “There’s not much time. I don’t want any of you to be late for school, so let us pray.”

As the children bowed their heads, George simply prayed: “Dear God, we thank You for what You are going to give us to eat. Amen.”

The children had hardly sat down when they heard a knock at the door. It was the town baker. He said he couldn’t sleep the previous night until he had baked enough bread for the children. Soon they had enough to eat.

Another knock sounded. It was the milkman. “The wheel on my cart has broken, right outside your establishment. I’ll have to lighten my load before I can fix it. I have ten full cans of milk on it. Could you use them? Free of charge. Send someone to fetch them.”

George hadn’t known where he would find food for the children, yet he had not scurried all over town begging for food or organising committees. He knew his Source and he knew God’s promises are true. How about you?

The Lord had told him beforehand what He would do, just as He had told Jesus 2000 years before when He was to do a miracle. God cared for over a million Israelites in a barren desert for over forty years, and Jesus fed over five thousand people with a boy’s lunch.

What is the secret? It is faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). Before we have physical evidence that our needs are met, we already see them as met, through faith. Faith is the voucher proving that we will have what we look forward to. To be continued.

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Golden Nugget - What is the fear of the Lord? Part 2

The phrases ‘the fear of the Lord’ or ‘they feared the Lord’ and so on are often used in the Bible.  I felt the Lord wanted me to add a little clarity about what the fear of the Lord actually entails.  The previous post (to read it, click here) was an introduction and in this post, we continue where we left off.

We read in 2 Timothy 4:3: For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  This is true for the time we’re living in.  I can think of a number of things that people these days want to hear and that teachers, therefore, teach. 

One is the idea that God is love and therefore merciful and kind only; in other words, He will tolerate whatever we want Him to bear with.  Some tend to forget, though, that one of the qualities of His love is that it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, (1 Corinthians 13:6).  In other words, because He is love, He has to deal with evil, i.e. with sin and disobedience.  We also see in Jeremiah 9:23-24: This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Have you noted that the Lord mentioned that He exercises these three things; kindness (love) and justice and righteousness on earth – not only love?  The latter two will, therefore, not only be exercised on Judgement Day but actually now, here on earth? 

You may, however, say that we live in the time of grace; in New Testament times.  Yes we do, but do you remember Ananias and Sapphira as recorded in Acts 5:1-11. Verse eleven said: And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.  What did they fear?  They feared the consequences of ungodly behaviour, which in the case of believers, is the Lord’s discipline (Hebrews 4-12) and Jesus’ judgement one day.  And do you remember what happened with King Herod as recorded in Acts 12:20-23? 

But these people haven’t been true Christians, you may say.  That’s the point. Who are true Christians?  Herod was not a Christian at all; in fact he persecuted the church, but that was not why he was killed.  He was killed because he did not acknowledge the Lord and honoured Him.  

Ananias and Sapphira, on the other hand, were Christians, like millions of Christians today.  They did believe in Jesus and God’s grace and all the things that are convenient, very much like many Christians today.  They were killed because they lied to the Holy Spirit - they did not honour the Lord either.  They were self-centred and carnal.  If we’re honest with ourselves, how many of us are like that?  We saw in the reaction of the church that they were very afraid of God.  Why would that have been?  It was because they learned that God does not play when it comes to disobedience, dishonour, and sin. 

So what is an untrue Christian?  Is it a person who conveniently believe in Jesus Christ as their saviour just to save their skin from hell, but they live a life that suits their own desires?  Jesus describes a true Christian in John 14:21 among other similar passages: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.  Remember this passage, for in future posts we are going to have a look at some commands of Jesus that ought to instil the fear of the Lord if you disobey them.

Another misleading itching-ear teaching is the idea that God does everything and we only have to passively read the Bible, have a prayer relationship with Him, and worship Him.  This is an entire teaching on its own, for the New Testament is loaded with commands instructing disciples to be fruitful and productive – to be active doers of Jesus’ instructions.  Being disobedient in this respect should also lead to fearing the Lord, which will be highlighted in the posts to follow.

          So why do we need to fear the Lord?  Basically it is because He disciplines those He loves whilst on earth (Hebrews 4-12) and one day we will answer before the judgement seat of Christ for all we have done.  2 Corinthians 5:9-11: So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.  Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.  What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  

In the posts to follow we will expand on why we need to fear the Lord. To be continued.


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62. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Why not Transfer Camps?

How does a good steward keep a balance between love for God and the necessity of money? It boils down to this simple command:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Like all things, money was created primarily for building the Kingdom of God. He planned, through the Holy Spirit, to control His Kingdom by directing His saints to function properly in their individual gifts. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully,” (Romans 12:6-8).

If all Christians focused on their gift, obeyed God, and followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom would run without a hiccup. God would use those with the gift of giving to care for those doing other jobs. This doesn’t happen because Mammon, pride, and hunger for power have a firm hold on many of us.

Therefore, each Christian should ask himself: “How much time and money do I need for myself, and how much can I give away?” We spend too much time on ourselves and our need for pleasure, such as watching television. If even our family life takes too much time that belongs to Kingdom activities, it is not pleasing to God. (Luke 14:26)

Our lives should be in balance, but our basic purpose should be obeying the Lord rather than satisfying Mammon’s demands. Money and the things it can buy should be a means to an end but not the goal. Our goal should be to worship the Lord, preach the Gospel, help and encourage others, and teach God’s people. We should use our money to accomplish these goals. A pastor once said that if you give, you dishonour Mammon and honour God; but if you gather things, you honour Mammon and dishonour God.

God does not always work through money. He works primarily through provision, and this usually happens miraculously. For example, my car’s tyres have lasted longer than usual, and somehow we’ve paid the bills this month even though my budget showed that we would make only half the month. For years, the Lord has provided for us in His wonderful, exciting way. We often want to have the money in our pockets before we believe. We want to lean over the side of the boat to feel whether the water has hardened before we get out, but God wants us to step onto the water by faith. Sometimes we must spend or give away our money before the Lord provides more.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:1-5)

The passage about our gifts follows this. It says it all. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes so we see our own condition the way the Lord sees it, because I don’t find much of this attitude among Christians.

Whether we are rich, average, or poor, let us love and worship God by trusting Him, not Mammon, for our provision.

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Golden Nugget - What is the fear of the Lord? Part 1

We read in many places in the Bible that the people feared the Lord.  Most of it is in the Old Testament, but we find a few occasions in the New Testament as well.  What is it to fear the Lord?  Some call it a reverent awe of the Lord, but it is more than that.  

Many of us had righteous parents who knew good values and principles and applied it in our upbringing.  Certain rules were set and when we did not abide by those rules, we were disciplined by the application of a painful experience that we would not have liked to be repeated should we have crossed the line again.  Sometimes you were tempted to disobey the rules a second time and when you did it, what was it that went through your heart?  You realized that, if your parents had to find out about what you did, a repetition of the painful experience will occur – and you feared the moment.  

Would I be right in saying that you feared your parents?  Would that mean that you were scared of them all the time and couldn’t bear to be near them at all, such as being scared of snakes?  No, you feared the consequences of your disobedience that they would apply in your life.  If you lived righteously in terms of their expectations, you would have had nothing to fear and your relationship with them would have been sound.  When you obeyed your parents, you felt confident in their presence, they could trust you, and from their side had a relaxed relationship with you.  Children, even adult children, who live in iniquity always have something to hide.  They are not comfortable in their parents' presence in case they find out and those who don’t care whether their parents know about their iniquity, live in a strained relationship with their parents.  The parents are unhappy, for they love their child, but cannot approve of the child’s behaviour, so the relationship is distant in many ways.  All of us can identify with both scenarios.  It is the same with God.  Our sin and disobedience strain our relationship with Him.  But let me not jump ahead of myself.

In the Old Testament, the Lord’s presence was very real.  The Israelites experienced His wrath in a tangible manner.  For example, after the Egyptians were destroyed in the Red Sea we read: That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.  And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant, (Exodus 14:30-31).  Would you have feared God if you experienced what the Israelites did?

In Leviticus 19 the Lord laid down His law by instructing things like not to steal, lie, deceive one another, swear falsely, defraud or rob your neighbour, withhold wages, etc.  These were all everyday, practical things affecting relationships between people.  Then He said in verse 14: Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.  We see the same in Leviticus 25:17.

In Proverbs 14:16, Job 28:28, and in Proverbs 3:7 we get a similar message: Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  Proverbs 1:8 tells us that: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction, and Proverbs 9:10 tells us that it’s the beginning of wisdom.

In the New Testament we read in Acts 9:31: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

        But what is the fear of the Lord?  In our next post, we're going to start answering this question, beginning with looking at why we have to fear Him. To be continued.  

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61. Sermon on the Mount Secrets Part 3 - Symptoms of Serving God’s Greatest Enemy

We are discussing Matthew 6:24:  “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Mammon KJV] 

Last time we had a look at the Lord's desires for us versus Mammon's plans for us.

When I was a student years ago, I wondered what a casino looked like. I was saved at the time but a bit reckless.  So some friends and I visited a casino, and what amazed me was the glamour.  Everything was overdone, luxurious, and shiny.  It actually gave my born-again spirit an uncomfortable feeling like something crawling down my spine.  If we look at success in Mammon’s terms, we look at luxury in offices, stores, and hotels.  Mammon must show off; he must be seen; his light must shine.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

When people see your light, do they praise Father God, money, or you?  Do you spend most of your money on home decor, clothing, or the newest car?  Do these purchases make a difference in your life, or could you have used the money to bless God’s Kingdom?

Does your power come from money or God?  Even if you are not rich, do you panic if you run out of funds; if the month becomes too long for your budget?  Does a shortage of cash terrify you and tempt you to rely on lenders or the lottery?  Do you envy your more wealthy neighbours and constantly wait to win the lottery or for your ship to come in?  If so, you serve Mammon.  If you quietly rely on the Lord to provide your every need while seeking His Kingdom and righteousness, you serve and love God.

Have you ever watched the stock market in action?  Everybody shouts at once, almost trampling one another to get more of their god.  It’s a worship service for Mammon, and the worshippers get excited.  Moreover, what would you say about Christmas?  Who is the real saviour worshipped during Christmas?  The stores are madness during that time.  How sad that we bow the knee before Mammon.

These are signs that we serve Mammon rather than God:

·         Compromising values for the sake of money; changing my beliefs when I      see what they might cost me.

·         Having the attitude that “business is business,” and in the process                separating righteousness from making money.

·         Allowing money to overtake the purpose of an activity, as in the case of a      police officer giving traffic tickets in order to raise money and not for the        purpose of law and order.

These are signs that we love money more than we love God:

·         Money influences moral decisions.

·         Making money enjoys priority above obedience.

·         We compromise values because of money.

·         Competition diminishes godly love.

·         Making money, worrying about money, and thinking about how to protect it    or get more of it takes the time and energy that belong to the Lord.

·         Obtaining material goods takes priority over godly service.

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:6-11)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

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