How To Encourage Yourself In The Lord

The Bible says of King David, "David encouraged himself in the Lord" (1 Samuel 30:6). You get discouraged; encourage yourself in the Lord. How are you to encourage yourself in the Lord? Let me tell you how to encourage yourself in the Lord.

1.  Think of God's Goodness in the Past

If you're discouraged, just think of all that God has done for you. Count your many blessings. See how faithful God has been. Psychologists tell us that gratefulness is one of the healthiest emotions that you can possibly have. It's almost impossible to be grateful and discouraged at the same time. Count your many blessings. Remember God's goodness in the past.

2.  Think of God's Closeness in the Present

And then, remember God's closeness in the present. You're in the midst of a problem—remember the Lord. Is your problem greater than God? Our Lord says, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). And, I want you to know, friend, if you're discouraged right now, God has been good to you in the past, and He is with you, right now. Remember the Lord. 

3.  Think of God's Faithfulness in the Future

And then, think not only of His goodness in the past, and His closeness in the present, but think of His faithfulness in the future. He said, "I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). And, He says, "You can do all things through Christ who will strengthen you" (Philippians 4:13). Encourage yourself in the Lord. Do you know what fear is? Let me tell you what fear is: Fear is forgetting God. That's all it is. It's just forgetting God. He says, "Don't be afraid. Remember the Lord" (Nehemiah 4:14).

Let me give you some verses. 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Psalm 27:1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).

Fatigue—renew your strength. Frustration—refocus your strategy. Fear—remember the Lord. I'm telling you, if you're afraid, it's because you've taken your eyes off of the Lord. Nehemiah said, "We serve a great God." 

Robert Louis Stevenson told a story—I read it many, many years ago—about some passengers who were on a ship. It looked like the ship may be going down. It was a tumultuous storm, and the passengers were below. And, they were whispering one to another, "Will we go down? Are we safe?" One of the passengers said, "I've just got to find out," and he made his way across those heaving decks, and up to the pilot house, where the pilot of that ship was there, with his hand on the wheel. And, he looked at him. The pilot knew he was afraid, and just turned and smiled at him. The man didn't say a word, but he just went back below, and he said, "We're going be all right." He said, "I've seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled at me." What you need to do is to see the face of God. You need to find the smile of God. And, I can tell you, friend, that He has sailed rougher seas than the one that you're in, right now.

Corrie ten Boom said this: "Look at the world—you'll be distressed. Look within—you'll be depressed. Look at Christ—you'll be at rest." Remember the Lord.

Advertising For God

Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. (Daniel 6:3 KJV)

Businesses often use slogans as a means of advertising or creating a certain reputation with the public. I once came across a list of the following business slogans:

• Bakery: "It's nice to be kneaded."

• Car Dealership: "The best way to get back on your feet...miss a car payment."

• Computer Store: "Out for a quick byte."

• Operating Room Entrance: "May I Cut In?"

• Photographer's Studio: "Out to Lunch: If not back by five, out for Dinner also."

• Proctologist's Door: "To expedite your visit, please back in."

• Propane Filling Station: "Tank heaven for little grills."

• Sanitarium Door: "Nobody leaves here mad."

• Undertaker's Window: "Drive carefully. We can wait."

As Christians, how others view us and the kind of reputation we have is very important. There are some whose testimony is harmful. There are a lot of people who are going to hell because of people who are going to heaven. A non-Christian lawyer attended a church service and listened to the testimonies of some who were known to him for their shady deals and failure to meet their honest obligations. "How did you like the testimonies?" a man asked him at the close of the service. He replied, "To a lawyer there is a vast difference between testimony and evidence."

Unfortunately there are those who profess to be Christians, but there is little evidence they are Christians in the way they live.

On the other hand, there are some Christians whose testimony is helpful.

There was something about Daniel that attracted others. There was something contagious about Him. He caught the eye of others. He impressed others. He did not turn people away by how he lived, but the reverse. People were drawn to him.

As Christians, do we live in such a way that others are attracted to us? Do they look at us and see that there is something different about us? Does the way we live convince the lost that come in contact with us that our faith is real, and most of all, that Christianity is real? 

Are you a good advertisement for Christ? Are you creating a good reputation for Him? 

Going The Second Mile

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. (Matthew 5:41 KJV)

Toward the end of the 19th century, an elderly man and his wife arrived by train in the city of Chicago. It was a stormy night and their train had been delayed so it was after midnight when they finally arrived at a downtown hotel they hoped would have a vacancy. The young clerk on duty that night was a man named George Boldt and he explained to the tired travelers that there were three different conventions in town and his hotel was full...but that he would be glad to call around and check with some other hotels. However, after several calls, it was clear that there were no empty rooms to be found. The young clerk said, “I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain on a night like this. Would you be willing to sleep in my room in the basement? It’s not large, but it’s clean and I don’t need it tonight because I’m on duty.” The couple gladly accepted his offer. The next morning the man tried to pay George personally, but the young clerk refused. Then the man said to George Boldt, “You’re the kind of man who ought to be the boss of the best hotel in America. Maybe one day I’ll build one for you.” The young clerk only smiled and said, “I was just glad to be of service.”

Several years later George Boldt received a letter from the elderly man including a train ticket inviting him to come to New York City. When George arrived in the “Big Apple,” the old gentleman took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan and said, “This is the hotel I have built for you to manage.” George Boldt stared in awe and said, “Are you joking?” But—it was no joke. You see, the old man’s name was William Waldorf Astor. And that’s how George Boldt became the first manager of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This is his portrait and it hangs in the lobby—a tribute to a clerk who showed enough integrity to go the second mile.

"If someone forces you to go one mile…" This expression came out of old Persia and refers to the authority given by the king to those sent to do his bidding. If a courier or soldier needed assistance in fulfilling the king’s mission, he could commandeer any man or horse or wagon with no questions asked. Later the armies of the Greeks and the Romans adopted the practice.

In Jesus’ day any Jew could be forced away from his own concerns to help a legionnaire who may or may not have really needed him. In much the same way Simon of Cyrene was "compelled," (forced) to bear the cross of Jesus (Matthew 27:32).

The Jews of Jesus’ day, of course, deeply resented this humiliating law and saw it as a symbol of foreign domination. You can imagine, then, their surprise when Jesus said, "go with him two miles."

The rewards and blessings don't come until the second mile because the first was required. It is only as we do more than is required that people will notice. 

The God Who Hung On A Cross

In her book The God Who Hung on the Cross, journalist Ellen Vaughn retells a gripping story. The story takes place in the 1970′s when the Khmer Rouge, that brutal, Communist-led regime, took over Cambodia, destroying everything in its path. When the soldiers finally descended on one particular rural, northern village, they immediately rounded up the villagers and forced them to start digging their own graves. After the villagers had finished digging, they prepared themselves to die. Some screamed to Buddha, others screamed to demon spirits or to their ancestors. But, one of the women started to cry out for help based on a childhood memory—a story her mother told her about a God Who had hung on a cross. The woman cried out to—prayed to—that unknown God on a cross. She thought, surely, if this God had known suffering, He would have compassion on their plight.

 

Suddenly, her solitary cry became one great wail as the entire village followed her example and  started praying to the God Who had suffered and hung on a cross. As they continued facing their own graves, the wailing slowly turned to a quiet crying. There was an eerie silence in the muggy jungle air. 

 

Slowly, they dared to turn around and face their captors and when they did they discovered that the soldiers were all gone.

 

Back in September of 1999 Pastor Tuy Seng (not his real name) traveled to Kampong Thom Province in northern Cambodia as a missionary. Throughout that isolated area, Seng discovered that most villagers had cast their lot with Buddhism or spiritism. Christianity was virtually unheard of and most people were not open to him sharing the Gospel message. But much to Seng’s surprise, when he arrived this one small, rural village the people warmly embraced both him and his message. When he asked the villagers to explain their openness to the Gospel, an old woman shuffled forward, bowed, and grasped Seng’s hands as she said, “We have been waiting for you for twenty years.”  And then she told him this story of the mysterious God Who had hung on the cross. Of course Pastor Seng was more than happy to do exactly that.

A Bride For The Son

The great concern of the Father is that Jesus Christ will have a bride.

Matthew 22:2, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king that made a marriage for his son. Jesus said that's what it's all about. You want to know what the kingdom of heaven is like? It's like a king making marriage for his son. Now, you see, God the father desires his son to have a bride and God the son desires that bride. Do you remember there in John chapter 17 where the Lord Jesus prayed to the father and he said father, I pray for them whom thou hast given me that they may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory. The great passionate heart of Jesus Christ longs for his bride. 

Now, Jesus Christ is incomplete without His Church. It is not by happen stance that we call our husbands, our wives, the other half or the better half. And the Bible teaches that a wife or a husband is to complete their mate.

 

Ephesians 1:22-23 (KJV) 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

The church is the fullness of Jesus. Now, do you see that? The word fullness 

is pluroma and means, "that which completes". You see, Jesus is not yet complete. There is a yearning, a longing in the heart of the Lord Jesus and He is praying father, "Give them to me that they may be with me."

 

If you want to know what God is up to in this day and this age, he's calling out a bride for his son and if you want to be a part of the greatest activity on earth you ought to pray that God will make you a soul winner. Every time you bring a soul to Jesus Christ the bride gets that much closer to being complete and ready to be presented to the son.

 

The great compassionate heart of God the father longs for a bride for his son and the great heart of the Lord Jesus says I am incomplete without my bride. And so, would we pray to God, that he'd make us a part of this wonderful romance of redemption? If you are not part of His bride yet, will you say, "I do" to Jesus?

Pray a prayer like this. "God, right now, with all of my heart, once and for all, now and forever, with as much as in me is, I trust you to save me.  You said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And I believe. Thank You for saving me." 

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth him, should not perish but have everlasting life. 

The father is seeking a bride for his son. Jesus is incomplete without you. Come to him because you are incomplete without him. 

A Picture Of The Believer Safe In Jesus

There's a well known story about a group of early pioneers who were making their way across the central United States to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteads. They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was painfully slow. One day they were horrified to see a long line of smoke to the West, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was apparent that the dried grass was burning fiercely and racing toward them. They had crossed a river the day before, but it would be impossible to go back all the way to the river before the flames would be upon him. One man seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when that area of grass was burned away, the whole company rolled back upon it. As the flames roared toward them from the West, a little girl cried out in terror," are you sure we shall not be all burned up?" The leader replied," my child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!”

 

What a picture of the believer who is safe in Christ and faith in him! We are standing where the fire has already been. When Jesus died on the cross, he bore the full brunt of the burning wrath of God against human sin. He became sin for us and paid the price for our full pardon from sin. He took the fire of God's judgment for us so that if we stand in him by faith, we have nothing to fear. The price for our sins has been paid, and we are saved in him, our refuge.

 

As an old poem says,

 

On Him Almighty vengeance fell,

That must have sunk the world to hell;

He bore it for a chosen race,

And thus became their hiding place.

The Great Escape

The story goes that during the 16th century, the Dutch people rose in revolt against the cruel King Philip II of Spain. Philip sent a great army under the Duke of Alva to suppress the rebellion. Rotterdam held out for a time but finally capitulated. From house to house the victors went, searching out citizens and then killing them in their houses. A group of men, women, and children were hiding in a corner house when they heard soldiers approaching. A thousand terrors griped their hearts. Then a young man had an idea. He took a goat in the house, killed it, and with a broom swept the blood under the doorway out to the street. The soldiers reached the house and began to batter down the door. Noticing the blood coming out from under the door, one soldier said: “Come away, the work is already done here. Look at the blood beneath the door.” And the people inside the house escaped.

How did the children of Israel escape the night that Lord smote the land of Egypt? The Lord saw the blood on the doorposts of their houses. How do we escape the wrath of God and an eternal hell? It is when the blood of the Lord Jesus has been applied to the doorposts of our heart.

As the songwriter said:

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

For my pardon this I see—Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

For my cleansing this my plea—Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Nothing can for sin atone—Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

Naught of good that I have done—Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

This is all my hope and peace—Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

This is all my righteousness—Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

O! precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews declared in Hebrews 9:11-12, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”    

He offered not the blood of goats and calves, but instead offered His own blood. He entered not into the Holy Place time and time again on the Day of Atonement, but once! The one and only sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was enough to obtain eternal –I repeat – eternal redemption for each of us.

The Bible says in Hebrews 10:11-12, “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” Every day the priests would offer sacrifices for sin. Each year the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies with the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat to make atonement for sin for one more year. Yet all those sacrifices only covered sins.     

The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus did more than cover sin. As John the Baptist said, His sacrifice took away sins. Furthermore, the Bible said that Jesus, once He offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God. The implication being, that the work was done. The High Priest under the Jewish system never sat down in the Holy of Holies. He entered with the blood and left as soon as His work was done. The same process was repeated year after year on the Day of Atonement. But in the case of the Lord Jesus, He sat down indicating that the work was done and the last sacrifice had been offered.

What does this say to each of us? It tells us that the work of salvation is finished. It tells us that salvation is not in what we do, but in what the Lord Jesus has done. Salvation is not by our works, but by His work! It is not in how good we live, but by His death. It is not a matter of “do” but “done.”

Betraying Our Secret

Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. (Daniel 6:5 KJV)

The princes looked for anything they could to discredit Daniel. There was only one area in which they could come up with something. We read in verse 5, “Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” The only way they could find a conflict between Daniel and the Persian government was in his religion. They knew that if they found anything it would be where his faith ran afoul the Babylonian religion.

What a testimony to the kind of Christian life Daniel lived. You could not divorce Daniel from his faith. You could not explain him apart from his faith. It was his faith that made him who and what he was. Daniel was not a part-time Christian. He was completely a full-time Christian. He was a Christian through and through and all around him knew that he was such a Christian.

There is an Old Italian proverb that says that every flask smells of the wine it holds. Daniel gave forth the aroma of a one-hundred percent Christian.

L.E. Maxwell tells of a group of prospectors who set out from Bannock, Montana in search of gold. They went through many hardships and several of their little company died en route. Finally they were overtaken by the Indians who took their good horses, leaving them with only a few limping old ponies. Then they threatened them, telling them to get back to Bannock and stay there, for if they overtook them again, they would murder the lot of them. Defeated, discouraged, and downhearted, the prospectors sought to make their way back to the capital city.

On one occasion as they tethered out the limping ponies on a creek side, one of the men casually picked up a little stone from the creek bed. He called to his buddy for a hammer and upon cracking the rock, he said, "It looks as though there may be gold here." The two of them panned gold the rest of the afternoon and managed to realize twelve dollars' worth. The entire little company panned gold the next day in the same creek and realized fifty dollars, a great sum in those days. They said to one another: "We have struck it!"

They made their way back to Bannock and vowed not to breathe a word concerning this gold strike. They secretively set about re-equipping themselves with supplies for another prospecting trip. But when they got ready to go back, three hundred men followed them. Who had told on them? No one! Their beaming faces betrayed the secret!

Like Daniel, the life we live as Christians should betray our secret. We have been saved! Jesus is our Savior! He lives within our heart. Who we are revealed in what we are, leaving us with a testimony that our faith is genuine.

Calvary Covers It All

Job 35:3 (KJV) For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

 

 What is the purpose of cleansing? It is found in the last word of our text—the word “sin.” The purpose of cleansing has to do with sin in our life. If there were no sin there would not be a need for cleansing. Sin creates the need for cleansing.

 

What is sin? Sin is offending God. A good description is given in Genesis 50:17. Jacob dies and Joseph’s brothers are fearful that Joseph will take revenge for all they did to him, so they sent a messenger to Joseph with this message: “So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil.” They spoke of their “sin” (our word) as actions whereby they did evil things to Joseph. They had done Joseph wrong. They had committed an offence against Joseph. Sin is breaking God’s laws. Sin is missing God’s mark. Sin is offending the God whose laws you have broken.

 

The word also includes the penalty for the offence of which one is guilty. There is not only the committing of sin, an offence against God, but also the consequences for doing so.

 

As I look at Psalm 51 I see that there were seven affects sin had in David’s life. First we see that sin will soil the soul. David says in verse 2, “wash me” and “cleanse me.”  David felt dirty. He could not take a bath in his marble tub and wash away the dirty feeling he had deep in his soul.  Sin soils the soul.

 

Secondly, we see that sin will saturate the mind. David said in verse 3 “my sin in ever before me.” Day and night, night and day, what David had done was constantly on his mind. He could not forget his sin. Sin will saturate the mind.

 

Thirdly, we see that sin will sting the conscience. David said in verse 4, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight.” David was a conscious-smitten man. He knew he had broken God’s law and broken God’s heart. Sin will sting the conscience.

 

Fourthly, we see that sin will sadden the heart. David said in verse 8, “Make me to hear joy and gladness.” Also, in verse 12 we read “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” He had lost his joy, happiness, and peace. Sin had left him miserable. Sin will sadden the heart.

 

Fifthly, we see that sin will sicken the body. David speaks of the “bones which thou hast broken” in verse 8. David is speaking poetically and not literally. His bones had not been literally broken, but he had suffered physically as a result of his sin. Not all sickness is due to sin, but sin affects us in many ways, even physically. Sin will sicken the body.

 

Sixthly, we see that sin will sour the spirit. David prays in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Sin had affected David’s attitude and spirit. David became critical and judgmental. His sin affected how he saw things and looked at others. Sin will sour the spirit.

 

Last, we see that will seal the lips. David said in verse 13, “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” His praise had dried up. His witness had been silenced. Sin always brings to a halt all spiritual activities. Sin will seal the lips.

 

Ask David if sin has consequences? He would tell you in a second that sin always has a price and sin always has a penalty. This is the purpose of cleansing. It is to deal with the committing of sin and the consequences of sin.

 

Here is the good news. When we sin we have the promise that God will forgive us and cleanse us from our sin. David also said in Psalm 51:7, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” David was saying, “God you can make me clean again. You can wash me and make me whiter than snow.” In Psalm 32, the companion to Psalm 51, David said in verse 1, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

 

God puts no restrictions or limits on who can be forgiven and cleansed from sin. It is anybody and everybody offer.

One night many years ago at the Old Lighthouse, the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Illinois; a man rather slight of build slipped into the services. He like so many that came to the mission was under the influence of alcohol. He did not respond to the invitation, but however, did keep coming back to the services. Still he did not respond to the invitation. The workers of the mission had gotten to know who he was. He was a professional entertainer. “Mac,” as he was called, was in town between bookings. He was as he later testified, “a slave of Satan, sin, and suds.”

 

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Taylor, better known as Ma and Pa Taylor, were running the mission at the time. Ma had been in the entertainment field before she was saved and knew of its many pitfalls and temptations. Her heart went out to Mac and she began to pray that God would save Mac.

 

One night, the service was in progress, and Ma Taylor was playing one of the big, nine-foot Steinway Grand’s that Billy Sunday had given the mission. Ma looked toward Mac and saw that he was trying his best to sing with them. When the singing was over, she noticed that he listened to every word of the speaker. When the speaker was over, the invitation was given. The first one to respond was Mac.

 

As the invitation continued, Ma Taylor could see that Mac was having some sort of trouble. She motioned for someone to take her place on the piano. She went and knelt down beside Mac. As she did so, she heard him say, “But you don’t understand; you don’t know how bad I am, Lord. Really I’m the worst man in the world. You can’t save me, I’m too bad.”

 

Ma Taylor began to speak to Mac. She remembered a testimony she had heard some weeks before on, “Calvary Covers It All.” She said, “Mac, Calvary covers it all---all the sin of your past life!” Mac looked at her and said, “Please say that again, Mrs. Taylor.” Ma Taylor repeated, “Mac, Calvary covers it all!” There was a moment of silence and then Mac replied, “Calvary does cover it all! My whole past of sin and shame! Oh! Mrs. Taylor, I’m so glad it’s true and you told me.” That night, Walter MacDonald became a new creature in Christ. As he used to say, “Jesus found me and made me all over at the Pacific Garden Mission.” Happy Mac, as he became known after his conversion, left the entertainment world and went on to become an Evangelist and outstanding soulwinner.

 

A few days later, Ma Taylor went into the chapel when no one was there and in the quietness of the hour, sat down at the piano and wrote “Calvary Covers It All.”

 

Far dearer than all the world can impart

Was the message that came to my heart,

How that Jesus alone

For my sin did atone

And Calvary covers it all.

 

Yes, Calvary does cover it all! That is the promise of cleansing.

 

The question was asked in Job 35:3, “What advantage will it be unto thee? And what profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin”? What is the profit of cleansing? Once again, let me draw your attention to 1 John 1:9 and briefly share with you two things about the profit of cleansing.

 

A) Forgiven Sin

 

John 1:9 tells us that two things happen to our sins when they are confessed. For one thing, they are “cleansed.” John tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

B) Forgotten Sin

 

Notice the word “forgive” in 1 John 1:9. This word takes forgiveness a step further and helps us to appreciate even more the profit of cleansing. The word literally means “to send away or send forth.” When God cleanses us of our sin He not forgives our sin but He also forgets our sin. Our sins are “sent away.”

Going For The Gold

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:11-14 KJV)

You may recall a scene from the summer Olympics held in Atlanta. The eyes of the world were on an American athlete by the name of Carl Lewis. He stepped to the line for his third try in the long jump. He wore a nervous look on his face when he readied himself for the jump. He took off, his hands knifing through the air in his classic style. He accelerated into his takeoff, legs churning. He jumped with his legs bicycling in the air as he stretched out to grab extra inches. After the jump he fell face into the sand. When he saw where he had landed he broke into a broad smile and put his hands on the side of his head as if in disbelief.

When the white flag went up, signaling a clean jump, Lewis jumped up and raised his arms in triumph as the crowd chanted, "U-S-A, U-S-A." His jump was 27 feet, 103/4 inches, that was his fourth consecutive Olympic triumph in the long jump. Even more important, it gave him his ninth Olympic Gold medal. He became the only person in Olympic history to ever win a total of nine gold medals.

Since then, Micahel Phelps has won 11.  

Before us in our text, the Apostle Paul paints a picture of the believer going for the gold. The imagery that Paul uses takes us back to the Roman and Isthmian games of the Greeks. The picture is of a runner in a long distance race. His objective is to win the prize, or as we would say, win the gold.

The picture of a runner running in a race is often found in the Bible. We find the picture in Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." We also find the same picture in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."

Paul must have been a sports fan. He referred to sports on many occasions to illustrate a spiritual truth. The devotion, discipline, and dedication of the athlete stirred the heart of Paul and he called for the same in the life of the believer.

In our text, we could say, that he is calling for the believer to go for the gold. 

Gold medallists are people that have trained, worked, and practiced hour upon hour, day by day, week after week, month after month, and even year after year. Some of them have prepared from the time they were a child. All the work and practice has been for the purpose of developing themselves. Their objective is to get better and be the best at what they do. Paul had this in mind in verse 12, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

He says in verse 15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded," and in verse 16, "Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained." Those who train the Olympics have already exemplified a certain level of skill and athletic ability. They are already the best among the best. They have already attained a high level of achievement. They have already beat out a number of athletes to get to where they are. To be have been selected to be a part of an Olympic team indicates that they are the best of the best.

Paul is not speaking to those that are immature. In verse 15 he speaks of those that are perfect (mature). In verse 16 he speaks of those that have already attained. He is speaking to those who have grown in their Christian and have already reached a certain level of maturity.

At a quick glance it would seem that what he says in verse 12 contradicts what he says in verses 15-16. He says in verses 15 and 16 that he is mature and that he has attained. Yet, in verse 12 he says that he has not attained.

Paul is not contradicting himself, but clarifying what he is saying. He states that he is a mature Christian, but that he wants and needs to keep on maturing. He is declaring that he still has room for growth and there is still a need for spiritual development in his life.

It is like an athlete being chosen for the Olympic team. To be chosen, as I stated earlier, means that he or she is the best of the best. They are the best of their countries athletes in a certain sport. Yet, that does not remove them from the need of further development and growth. The long hours of practice and the weeks of hard work still continue. They are good, but they want to be better.

It doesn't matter how long you have been saved and how spiritual mature a person may be, there is always room for further growth and development. Spiritual growth is not for a time in your Christian life. It is for the total of your life. It is not for a while, but for the whole.

The gold medal Christian is always growing just as an Olympic champion is always getting better. It matters not how good they are, they want to be better in what they do.

We read in verse 13, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Paul not only wanted to be the best runner he could be, he also wanted to run the best race he could run. Paul was saying, "I haven't yet become all that I can be, but I am concentrating on getting there."

D.L. Moody said, "It is better to say, 'This one thing I do,' than to say, 'These forty things I dabble in.'" Paul was stating that he was not dabbling in forty things, but concentrating on one thing and that was winning the gold. To be an Olympic champion has its costs.

We read in verse 13, "And reaching forth unto those things which are before." A runner must keep his eyes on the finish line. A runner cannot watch the crowds in the stands or even be focused on what other runners are doing. He must be focused on the course in front of him and the finish line before him.

The words "reaching forth" give us the picture of a runner headed toward the finish line. It is the last lap and he is coming down the home stretch. Every muscle is straining, the heart and lungs are pounding in their chest and they are gasping for each breath of air. They are giving everything they have, reaching forth, to finish the race and win the gold.

That is how we are to run our race. We must be totally focused, allowing nothing to distract us. It is giving our all to win the gold. Someone has said that we are too near the crown to lay down the cross. We are too near the finish line to give anything less. The gold is before us and we must reach forth to win the gold.

Paul said, "I press toward the mark." The mark that he spoke of was the finish line. Paul was consumed with not only running his race, but also finishing it. He dreamed of the day when he hit the tape and crossed the finished line.

As Paul neared death he said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). His testimony was that he finished the race as he had wished. Many a runner has started the race, but did not finish the race. Many have dropped out, some fell out, and others were kicked out. But thank God for those that did finish the race.  

In the 1908 Olympics, there was an Italian runner by the name of Dorando Pietri. When he entered the stadium for the final 100 yards of the marathon he was running, he was in a state of collapse. The Italian runner fell five times before an official finally helped him across the finish line. He was disqualified, but he would not quit until he finished.

In the 1992 Olympics, Derek Redmond of Great Britain, about halfway through the 400 meters race tore a hamstring. Redmond hobbled the rest of the way with the help of his father, who rushed from the grandstands to aid his son. He came in last, but he finished.

In the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City, Tanzania's John Stephen Akhware, with his right leg bloody and bandaged, staggered into the stadium more than an hour after the winner had crossed the line. He said afterwards, "My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish the race."

As believers, we represent a heavenly country and we have not been left here just to start the race, but to finish the race. There is gold before us. Let's go get the gold!

Levi's Genes

And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. (Hebrews 7:9, 10 KJV)

Scripture provides a powerful example of how the good deeds of forefathers affect future generations. Levi was given credit for paying tithes to Melchisedec when they were actually paid by his great grandfather Abraham 135 years earlier.  Levi's genes came from Abraham.

When God looks at you he sees you and your genes...your lineage. Most people are in a lineage of blessing or cursing. 

Deut. 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

Exodus 20:5-6 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; [6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

To make sure this message is not overlooked, God repeated it three more times.

Exodus 34:7  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Numbers 14:18  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Deut. 5:9-10  Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, [10] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Most want to be in a lineage of blessing. The Smith’s were proud of their family tradition.  Their ancestors had come to America on the Mayflower.  Their line included Senators, Pastors, and Wall Street geniuses.  Now they decided to compile a family history, a legacy for their children.  They hired a fine author.  Only one problem arose: how to handle that great-uncle who was executed in the electric chair.  But the author said not to worry, he could handle that section of history tactfully. When the book appeared, the family turned to the section on Uncle George.  There, they read, “George Smith occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution, was attached to his position by the strongest of ties, and his death came as a real shock.”

Proverbs 20:7  The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. This is what we want. 

The Second And Third Generations Have The Greatest Potential. We read about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-who became Israel.  Its been thousands of years and we still refer to the nation as Israel...the third generation. Jesus said the disciples would do greater works than His.  He was like the first generation.  There was Elijah and Elisah.  Elisha did double of Elijah.  Gehazi was next in line and had the greatest potential of all, but he blew it.

I can do more in the future than I can with my own life, simply by raising Godly children. The just man walketh in his integrity: his children (his grand children, his great grandchildren, his great great grandchildren) are blessed after him.

Grandpa and granddaughter were sitting talking when she asked, “Did God made you, grandpa?”  “Yes, God made me,” the grandfather answered. A few minutes later, the little girl asked him, “Did God made me too?”  “Yes, He did,” the older man answered. For a few minutes the little girl seemed to be studying her grandpa, as well as her own reflection in the mirror, while her grandfather wondered what was running through her mind.  At last she spoke up.  “You know, Grandpa,” she said, “God is doing a lot better job lately.”

Each generation should get a little better.  Each generation should surpass the previous generation in their Christian life.  Get a picture bigger than yourself.  Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

If you are in a lineage of blessing. Thank God and keep it going. 

If you are in a lineage of cursing, break the chain and start the way of blessing. The situation is not hopeless.  Anybody can stop it.  There is an illustration in the Bible of this happening.  It is found in 2 Chronicles 15.  It is about King Asa. Asa’s father Abijah, was not a Godly man.  Neither was his grandfather.  But Asa was.  He broke the generational curse and started a line of blessing.  He was the first of five of the greatest kings Israel ever had. Abijah’s mother was named Maacah and her name meant “oppression”.  She was the daughter of Absalom and the wife of Reheboam.  Remember that Absalom was the one who tried to take his father, David’s kingdom.  Absalom had bitterness toward his father and created an increasing run away train of rebellion that effected other areas as well. Asa saw the curse.  He saw the bitterness and idolatry.  He made a covenant with God and then took action.  He removed his grandmother from being Queen.  He went to the groves and cut down the idol, then smashed it, then burned it.  He annihilated idol worship.

Isaiah 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

Either way, if you are in a lineage of blessing or cursing, YOU do righteousness so that the people who will come from your genes will get credit for what you do.

Nelson's Annual Preacher's Source Book Volume 3 (Edited by O.S. Hawkins) Review

This is the first time I have gotten a Preacher's Sourcebook of any kind. I am really impressed by this one published by Nelson's and edited by E.S. Hawkins.

It contains sermons and outlines for every week of the year.
I has sermons for special occasions and holidays.
There are full sermons and sermon starters.

Sermons and notes contributors include:
Daniel Akin, Mark Bailey, Matt Carter, Steve Dighton, Dave Epstein, J.D. Greear, Jeff Iorg, James MacDonald, K. and Marshall Williams, Sr.

Articles were written by O.S. Hawkins, Jim Henry, and Steven Smith

Articles include topics on funerals, preparing to preach, preaching the great days of the Christian calendar (New Years, Palm Sunday, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, Sanctity of Life Day, and Christmas Day), weddings, moral and ethical issues, and preaching the gospels.

The books also has a place for your notes and includes and index which makes finding things very easy.

There is also space for "Special Occasion Registries including: Baby dedication, Baptisms, Funerals log, Marriage registration and marriages log, and sermons preached.

Of course I would not only use this book and bypass sermon preparation, but it is nice to have sermon starters.  Sometimes getting the idea is the hardest part of sermon preparation.  This book could also be used as a commentary to see what other preachers think about a topic or passage of Scripture. What is hardest for me are preaching something new and fresh on the same holidays year after year.

I am looking forward to using this book as a source guide.

I was given this book as part of the BookSneeze blogger program and was not required to write a positive review.

It's All Because Of Amazing Grace (part2)

If you were to go to official web site of Olney, England you would find that is identified as, “The home of the world famous Pancake Race and the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’”! I don’t much about the Pancake Race, but I am familiar with Amazing Grace.

The longer I am saved and the more I learn about my salvation, the more I understand that all I am and how I have is because of God’s amazing grace. Apart from grace I am still a sinner lost without God. Apart from grace, I am still walking after this world and living in my sin. Apart from grace, hell is still my eternal destiny. However, by God’s grace, all has been changed.

Yesterday we learned about the position grace has gained us. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7 KJV). "That being justified by his grace" is our position.We also see in verse 7 that we have received a wonderful possession because of God’s grace. We read of how “we should be made heirs.”  Imagine, one day there is a knock at your door. You open the door and there stands a man who identifies himself as an attorney. He explains that a friend has died and has left you are large inheritance. You say, “That would be wonderful.” Well, I got good news for you. Someone has died and has made us an inheritor of the riches of His grace.

 God’s grace has not only gained us a position before God, but it has also given us a possession from God. By the grace of God we have been given a wonderful inheritance.

We read in Galatians 4:7, “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Paul tells us that if we are heirs then it proclaims that we are sons. By the grace of God we have been made sons of God. I stand in awe that God has declared me righteous. I stand in even greater awe when I think that He has made me a son.

We read in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, [5] To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Paul explains our sonship as an act of being adopted as a son.  

When we think of adoption we think of the process whereby a couple makes a homeless child one of their own. The word “adoption” in Galatians has an altogether different idea. The word means “to place as an adult son.”

In Bible days there were several cultures that had ceremonies in which a son passed from boyhood into manhood. In the Jewish culture, on the first Sabbath after a boy had passed his twelfth birthday, his father took him to the synagogue, where he became A Son of the Law. The father would utter upon him the benediction, “Blessed be thou, O God, who has taken from me the responsibility for this boy.” The boy would then pray a prayer that recognized his passage from boyhood to manhood and vow to keep the commandments of God.

In the Roman culture, the year at which a boy became a man was not set, but was always between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. At a sacred festival in the family called the Liberalia he would take off the clothing of children and put on the toga virilis, which was the toga that adults wore. In this act, he moved from being a boy to becoming a man.

Now what was so significant about moving from boyhood to manhood is that as a child, one might be the owner or inheritor of vast property and wealth, but because they were considered a child, they could make no decisions concerning it or do anything with it. But when one became a man, he entered into his full inheritance. It was now his to use as he pleased.

When Titus 3:7 says that we have been made heirs, it is proclaiming that we are adopted sons. We have been given an inheritance, and as sons we have access to that inheritance. It is ours to enjoy and experience even now. Our inheritance is not something that we must wait until we get to heaven to enjoy. We can enjoy it now!

You ask, “What is our inheritance?”

In Ephesians 1:18 Paul prayed that, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” Paul wanted us to know what the riches of our inheritance are.

The Bible speaks of the “riches of His goodness” in Romans 2:4. In Romans9:23 it speaks of the “riches of His glory.” Ephesians 1:7 speaks of the “riches of His grace.” Our inheritance is consists of the riches of His goodness, His glory, and His grace.

Our inheritance gives us everything we need to live a godly life. It provides for us everything we need to face the trials and difficulties of life. It places at our disposal all that is needed to live a life of victory, joy, and fruitfulness. The word “heirs” in Titus 3:7 speaks of someone who shares an inheritance. The idea is that of being a joint-heir. The Bible says in Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” When we talk about our inheritance we are talking about we share with Christ. To put it another way, all the riches of Christ are ours as heirs of God.

There is life after death and God’s grace enables us to know where we are going beyond death’s door. Eternal life is our promise and God’s amazing grace assures us that we have eternal life. By God’s grace we have been justified. By God’s grace we are made heirs of God. And by God’s grace we are given the assurance of heaven being our eternal destination. Grace is indeed amazing.

It's All Because Of God's Amazing Grace

That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7 KJV)

We read that we have “justified by His grace.” The Bible says in Romans3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The Bible is speaking of a position that each Christian has gained by God’s amazing grace. We have been justified!

In a nutshell, to be justified is to be declared righteous by God through Jesus Christ. When one is saved, instantly they are given a righteous standing before God. It gives us a new standing before God. We were sinners condemned by God. But when we are justified we are declared righteous by God. God no longer see me as a sinner, but in His Son, Jesus Christ, He sees me without sin. He not only forgives our sin. He forget them as well.

Wiersbe tells the story of a man that was driving through Europe in his Rolls-Royce. The car broke down on him and he cabled the Roll’s Royce Company about his problem. They flew a Rolls-Royce mechanic over; he repaired the car and then flew back to England. As you can imagine, the man wondered what it was going to cost him. So when he got back from his holiday, he wrote the company and asked them how much he owed them. He received a letter from the company that read: “Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Roll’s-Royce.”

When we say that we are justified, we are saying that there is no record with God anywhere of any of our sins!

Let me describe the day I was saved by using a courtroom scene. Picture in your mind a courtroom. A thrice holy God the judge is seated in the judge’s seat. I was being arraigned before him. He said to me, “Rick, have you loved me with all your heart?” I replied, “No, Your honor.” God said, “Have you lived for Me and honored Me?”

“No, Your honor.”

“Have you obeyed Me and kept my Word?”

“No, Your honor.”

“Rick, do you believe that you are sinner?”

“Yes, Your honor.”

“Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins?”

“Yes, Your honor.”

“Will you accept Him now as your Saviour.”

“Yes, Your honor.”

Then God said to me, “Then you penalty has been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross and you are pardoned and forgiven of your sin. Because Jesus is righteous, and you believe in Him, I now declare you legally righteous.”

Being justified doesn’t mean that we have stopped sinning or that we will never sin again. We do sin and when we do, we need to get forgiveness for those sins. But when we are justified, it means that God has dealt with our sin problem once and for all in Christ, declared us righteous and has given us a right standing with Him. We are justified!

The Bible says in Romans 5:9 that we are “justified by his blood.” How can a holy God accepts sinners? Someone has to pay the price for sin. God cannot ignore, condone or overlook sin. His holiness demands that He deal with sin. That is what Calvary is all about. Jesus died on the cross paying the price of sin for us. He bore the penalty of sin. He shed his blood as the payment for sins penalty.

The Bible says in Romans 3:28 that we are “justified by faith.” Justification is not based on what we have done for who we are. Justification is based on what Christ has done and Who He is. We read in Titus 3:5-6, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; [6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Jesus paid the price for sin on Calvary and all we have to do is to accept what He has done for us by faith. We could never be saved by our works. No matter what we do or how good we are, it would never be enough. Salvation is always through Christ, plus nothing, minus nothing, and it is accepted by faith.

Titus 3:7 says that we are “justified by His grace.” If it were not for God’s grace Christ would have never died for our sins. If it were not for God’s grace, God would be demanding justice, rather than inviting us to accept by faith what Christ had done. Friend, it’s all because of God’s amazing grace!

The Goal Of The Christian Life

The goal of the Christian life is walking in victory. I encourage you to read the first nine verses of Joshua 1.

The best way to define the victorious life is to describe it, so let’s examine some of its ingredients.

(1) We enter into God’s promises. The promises of the Bible become experiential instead of merely theological, God’s promises to Joshua were definite. He told the Israelites the land was theirs; they needed only to act--act with strength, courage, and obedience. And the promises made generations earlier were fulfilled before their eyes I’m afraid many Christians look at the promises of God as I looked at the Sears catalog as a boy. To many Christians the Bible is just that--a wish book. They read the promises with enthusiasm and shout “Amen” when they are preached from the pulpit, but never really expect to see them fulfilled in their own lives, but the Bible is not a wish book; it is a faith book. And for those who by faith cross over into victory, all the promises of God become real.

(2)​We experience Gods presence. One of the promises God made to Israel and repeated often in this chapter is “I will be with you.” They would experience His continuing presence. God would be real to them.

(3)​We exercise God’s power. Joshua would have the power to do everything God asked him to do. When the original spies went into the land, they cowered like grasshoppers before the giants of Canaan . But Caleb, standing on God’s promises, declared the giants would be bread for them. “Pass the peanut butter! We’ll make sandwiches with them.” And a generation later, as Israel acted in God’s power, they found Him spreading a banquet table for them. God’s power gives us victory over the giants in and around us. We become not only giant-defeaters but also giant-eaters!

Resurrection Power: Think of it! The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is made available to every believer. You’re facing a problem. Which is easier--solving that problem or raising a dead man from the grave? The answer is obvious If God can raise one from the grave, He can do anything. You have resurrection power residing in you.

Reigning Power: God has made kings of of slaves and princes out of paupers. “in life,” not in heaven. Its not the “Sweet Bye and Bye” but the “Nasty Here and Now’.

Released Power: The life of victory means that I no longer labor according to my strength but according to His. My ability is no longer measured by my power but by His. Throw the word “impossible” out of your vocabulary. You can do anything and everything God wants you to do. There is nothing that can prevent you from being exactly what God wants you to be. No wonder it’s called the gospel--good news!