There will be a volunteer meeting on Friday, January 27 at 8pm upstairs in The ROCK. Volunteers will need to arrive on Saturday by 10am. The event goes until 2pm and volunteers will be needed to help clean-up and table/chair removal. It is preferred that volunteers wear a solid red, white or blue polo shirt – or any other kind of shirt, so long as it’s solid. It is not mandatory, though.

For those of you who just want the facts:

Friday, January 27 – 8:00pm – Volunteer Meeting

Saturday, January 28 – 10:00am – 2:00pm-ish – Scrapbooking Event and following cleanup

Dress: Solid red, white or blue polo shirt or other solid shirt, preferred.

Contact: Christy Ballard – OH3017 [at] yahoo [dot] com

DON’T FORGET about our Open House Thursday and Friday, October 27 & 28 from 7p-9p and Saturday, October 29 from 10a-2p! We need volunteers so check out the needs in the newsletter below!

Vol. 2, Iss. 2. Enjoy!

Pebbles for Thought Newsletter October 2011

Hey everyone!  Just wanted to get some info out to you all about what’s going on in the church.  We are still painting in the gym of The ROCK tonight, Monday, September 19th.  Show up around 7pm in your workin’ clothes!  Once the painting is done, we can get the gym floor installed.  We’ll have information about the Dedication and Open House out soon, but right now it’s tentatively Oct 7th for the Dedication and the week of Oct 17th for the Open House.  Stay tuned for more details.

Connect Ministry

Connect for the young adults at FFBC has started back up again!  We had our first meeting last night and it was a great vision-casting and hang out time, talking about the needs for high school grads and young adults up to about 30 yrs old.  Aaron Simpson, who has come to speak with the youth group several times, has decided to join us in this ministry to young adults in our community.  With the ROCK coming to completion, it could not be a better time.  We have started a Facebook page to get the information out about what is going on.  Even if you are not in the young adults age group, please go and “like” the Facebook page to help spread the word!  Here’s the link:

Connect – Fairfield FBC on Facebook

Jesus makes an interesting comment about the true church in the age of apostasy. He says, “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have NOT denied My name.” (Rev. 3:8)

I find two things interesting here. First, Jesus tells us that if He opens a door, no one can shut it. To me this means that in spite of the false church’s seemingly great wealth and power in the age we live, if God wills the true church can and will still fulfill her calling. Whatever God wants us to do for Him, nothing on earth can stop us from doing it. The key is it must be something that God wills and NOT simply something we want.

And the second thing that I find interesting is that Jesus says we have “a little strength.” You see, it has never been a matter of us having great strength anyway. The key to being strong is recognizing how weak we really are. Paul says, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinth. 12:9-10)

It is out of our weakness that comes God’s strength. Notice Paul does NOT say that when I am weak that God is strong. He purposely says, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” This means that we actually become the vessel in which flows the strength of God.

One of the best stories that illustrates this truth is found in the Old Testament. It is the story about one of the strongest men that ever lived. Samson mistakenly thought that his great strength came from his long hair. This is very apparent by what he told Delilah: “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall be weak, and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:17)

But the truth is his strength came from the Lord. Delilah lulled Samson to strength and had a man shave off the locks of his long hair. She woke him up and said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He thought he would fight them off as he had always done before, “but he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” (Judges 16:20) The Philistines easily subdued him and put out his eyes and threw him in prison.

I am convinced that the purpose of this story is to show us that even one of the world’s strongest men is weak without the spirit of the Lord. It is the presence of God that makes us strong. SO the first step to being empowered by God is to recognize our own weakness. When we acknowledge our weakness, then we can be strong!

The second step to being empowered by God is accepting and embracing God’s will. Do you remember when Jesus was struggling with dying on the cross? He earnestly prayed three times, “Father, if is it Your will, take this cup away from Me, nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) The next verse says, “Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” It is only when we are willing to embrace God’s will that we are empowered from on high.

Now this power takes on different forms. Last week, we saw how it empowered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to survive the fiery furnace, a tremendous miracle of God. But sometimes God chooses NOT to deliver us from imminent harm and even death. Sometimes He chooses to deliver us through death like He did with Stephen.

Stephen’s deliverance was different, but it was just as much a display of God’s power. Stephen was given the grace to die faithfully for the Lord. Scripture says that Stephen “being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55) In some ways Stephen received a greater deliverance than Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The key is to understand that whatever God’s will is ALWAYS a display of being empowered from on High, whether it is a miracle deliverance on earth OR a glorious deliverance into heaven.

We know that the great apostle Paul experienced BOTH. He was miraculously delivered more than once. He goes so far as to say that he was often delivered from certain death. (2 Corinth. 11: 23-25) He says that once he was stoned and left for dead. Another time he was lost at sea and survived. Paul learned a valuable lesson of life when serving the Lord. Until God’s will has been completed through your life, NOTHING can end it.

The apostle John is another example of this truth. Nero, the emperor of Rome had John put in a boiling vat of oil, but John miraculously survived because God had NOT yet revealed His glorious Revelation that would complete His Holy Word. What a comfort it is to know that when we seek to embrace God’s will it is always going to be a win- win! As Paul put it “to live is Christ and to die is gain!” Win- win all the way!!!

Now with this as a foundation for understanding, let’s try to understand what Paul meant when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13) First of all let’s examine the context for his words.

As is so often the case, these words are taken out of context and as a result grossly misinterpreted. The overall theme of this final chapter is rejoicing in the Lord. More specifically, he explains that he has learned that whatever state he finds himself in- to be content. He writes, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Phil. 4:12)

This means that to be strengthened by the Lord has NOTHING to do with having or NOT having. It is so typical of sinful man to relegate the Word to meeting his own sinful and selfish needs. It takes an exceptional level of maturity to realize that we are not here to experience personal blessing and benefit, especially in the physical realm.

And the apostate church today seems to be consumed with material blessings and shuns the possibility that there is any place in our lives for suffering and difficulty. I have learned a great principle concerning the true blessings of God. If something appeals to my flesh, it is NOT a true blessing of God. Why would God give us or do anything that would feed our sinful flesh? It makes no sense to me.

Now please hear me out. I am not saying that God ‘s will is that we all be miserable and poor and constantly be in a hellish state. Paul makes it clear he had his share of pain and suffering. But he also says he had experienced “abounding.” God does desire to pour out His bountiful blessings upon us, even materially. But they are to enhance our walk with God, not harm it.

This means His material blessings are given for us to share with others and NOT selfishly to hoard for ourselves. We are empowered by giving not getting. This is why Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This brings me to the third crucial step to being empowered from on High and that is a lifestyle of giving.

Let me prove to you that giving is where the real power comes from. Let’s look at two key Old Testament men- Abraham and Moses. BOTH are listed in what we call the great roll call of faith.

Abraham is often mentioned by the prosperity gospel people who like to use him as an example of how God wants to bless us materially. They will point to verses like Genesis 13:2- “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.” And then there is Genesis 13:6 which says, “Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.”

It is interesting that when the writer of Hebrews mentions Abraham, he didn’t talk about these things. Instead, he mentioned his willingness to follow God wherever He led him, leaving his father and all his relatives except his wife and a nephew named Lot. He also highlighted Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he had waited his entire lifetime.

Abraham may have been rich, but he was an extremely generous man. He even allowed his nephew,Lotto choose the far better land when they decided to separate. (Genesis 13:6-11) It is interesting that Lot represents a very immature believer and would have probably be a member of the name it claim it crowd today. But Abraham represents a mature believer whose heart’s desire was to follow God and was willing to give Him anything He asked, even if it was the most precious thing he had.

          Moses is another great example of a man who had a very giving heart. “By faith, Moses… choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:25) You have got to love the way the writer of Hebrews put this. This is exactly what it takes to be empowered from on high- choosing suffering affliction over the passing pleasures of sin. That is exactly what it comes down to. There is an element in the “church” today that is trying to convince us that Christianity is about the “passing pleasures of sin” when it is really about “suffering affliction with the people of God.”

We are living in a world dominated by evil and ruled by the prince of darkness. And Satan loves to see people in churches that choose the passing pleasures of sin over suffering affliction. The longer I am saved, the more I realized that Jesus described this world as a place of far more suffering than pleasure. Pleasure will come, but not so much while living here on earth. Our earthly suffering will be turned into our heavenly reward. And learning to give like Jesus is the key to being empowered from on High. Just look at the amazing things Moses was able to do.

First, there were the ten plagues God brought upon Egypt. God used Moses to bring these plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. In each of them I can see the power of God. Next, there was the crossing of the Red Sea. One of the greatest miracles of all time and it happened as Moses lifted up his rod and God caused the waters to part. (Exodus 14:21-22)  Then there were numerous miracles in the wilderness like water coming out of the rock or the manna and quail. And finally, Moses is the one God chose to reveal His Holy Word- the author of the first five books of the Bible and the recipient of the Ten Commandments, written by the very finger of God.

These are the kind of men I want to be like. Men who knew what it was like to sacrifice material blessings in order to receive spiritual reward. So what kind of church are we going to be? The verdict is still out. I believe God has been preparing us for what lies ahead. It is my prayer and hope that when we are tested, we too will prove that we will be found faithful.

          The final sign of a true church is that it is empowered by God. Paul told the Philippian church that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) The question is what does this mean. The concept of being empowered by God is more abused than any other teaching of the Bible.

          First of all, it is no accident that it is the final sign mentioned of the true church. We will see that both the liberal church and the legalistic church claim to be empowered from on High. The Corinthian church thought that God would do anything they wanted Him to do. They were misusing and abusing spiritual gifts. They were bragging about speaking in tongues, their superior knowledge, and even their “faith.”

          But listen to Paul’s stinging rebuke: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

          Remember the reason the liberal church was a loveless church is because they had forsaken the truth of God’s Word. So Paul goes on to tell them: “Love does NOT rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6)

          The legalistic church thought that their power came from keeping the law. The problem is that it is impossible for sinners, which are lawbreakers to keep the law. As long as I am in this sinful body, I will sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is NOT in us.” (1 John 1:8) The purpose of the law is to show us that we are all lawbreakers. It was NEVER intended to give us a way to be saved. Paul even told the Corinthians that “the letter (of the law) kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)

What being Empowered is NOT:

          Actually the liberal church is anything but monolithic. Most of what we have discussed about the liberal church thus far has been willful ignorance. Most of what the Corinthian church is rebuked for is their willful ignorance. They had purposely forsaken the Word of God and replaced it with human reasoning.

          But that is NOT the only way a church can forsake the Word of God. Another way to forsake the Word is by blind ignorance. It is not so much rejecting the Word as it is just NOT knowing the Word. You could call it lazy ignorance. Paul exhorted Timothy to “Be diligent to present himself approved of God, a worker who does NOT need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) Understanding and correctly interpreting God’s Word is hard work.

          “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do NOT want you to be ignorant; you know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.” (1 Corinthians 12:1-2) Paul states that the reason the Corinthians had made a mess out of spiritual gifts was out of ignorance. He even likens it to when they had been caught up in idol worship.

          He goes on to explain that there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4) These are listed for us in Romans 12: (1) Prophecy, (2) Serving, (3) Teaching, (4) Exhortation, (5) Giving, (6) Leading, and (7) Mercy. Next he explains, there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (1 Corinthians 12:5) These are listed at the end of 1 Corinthians 12: (1) Apostles, (2) Prophets, (3) Teachers, (4) Miracles, (5) Healings, (6) Helps, (7) Administrations, and (8) Tongues. Finally, he says, there are diversities of activities (operations), but it is the same God who works all in all. (1 Corinthians 12:6) I like to call this final list: manifestation gifts. He then list them: (1) the word of wisdom, (2) the word of knowledge, (3) faith, (4) gifts of healings, (5) working of miracles, (6) prophecy, (7) discerning of spirits, (8) different kinds of tongues, (9) interpretation of tongues. Notice these are totally up to God and He manifests these things in all believers at His discretion.  “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11) This is so clear!

          The question is why was the Corinthian church so ignorant concerning spiritual gifts. Remember that the Corinthian church was at best very immature and at worst filled with lost people. Immature people have always been intrigued with the supernatural… things like speaking in tongues or miracles or healings. I am convinced the more mature a believer becomes the less important these things are.

          Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego showed a remarkable level of maturity when faced with the fiery furnace. They had no doubt concerning God’s miraculous powers. They knew that if He willed, He could protect them from the flames of King Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. They even told him, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace…” But they also knew that it was up to God, not them as to whether He would. They did not turn their faith into “getting God to do what they wanted Him to do.” Their faith was far beyond that. Their faith would sustain them no matter what God chose to do. “… and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.”

          It is a huge mistake to think that walking by faith means we know what God is going to do. If we always knew what God was going to do, we would actually be walking by sight. At yet millions of “Christians” get caught up in this name it claim it mentality. Their faith becomes what they can get God to do for them. We will see that true faith is what God uses to do what He wants to do. It may be a miracle like surviving a fiery furnace, but it may also be dying like Stephen who was stoned to death. No one will ever convince me that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had greater faith than Stephen did.

          Another thing about faith is who gets the glory. The Corinthian church wanted supernatural things to happen so the world would take notice of them. “Just look at us- the miracles we are doing, the healings and our amazing ability to speak in tongues.” This has never and will never be the reason God does miraculous things. Listen to what King Nebuchadnezzar said after God miraculously saved them from his fiery furnace.

          “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent His Angel, and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be cut to pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap, because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” (Daniel 3:28-29)

          When God does something, even the lost recognize that it is God who did it, like the king did here. So part of the liberal church doesn’t even believe in the supernatural power of God and has discarded just about every miracle in the Bible, even the resurrection of Christ. This part of the liberal church is no doubt totally apostate and lost. But there is another part of the liberal church that has NOT forsaken the Word of God, but is simply ignorant of it. This part of the liberal church is probably saved, but is just very immature. Unfortunately there are many false prophets who prey on individuals like this. These false prophets are knowingly ignorant and by design try to keep their followers in the dark and hidden from the truth.

          This is why it is so important that every believer “study to show himself approved unto God.” It is dangerous to solely base what we believe on what others tell us the Bible says. It is imperative that we check it out for ourselves. The same is true when it comes to legalistic churches. They are sometimes even worse when it comes to mindless robots than the liberal church.

          The Pharisees wanted everyone to rely upon their interpretation of Scripture. I guess the thing that bothers me most about legalistic churches is their desire to control their people. It’s like they want to be Holy Spirit police. They see maturity as conformity rather than transformation. But Scripture doesn’t say, “Do NOT be conformed to this world, but be conformed by the renewing of your mind…”

          Listen the secret to being filled with the power of God is not being outwardly conformed, but rather inwardly transformed. Conformity does NOT require a change of heart. Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but on the inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:25-28)

          You would think that those who are intellectually correct in doctrine would be more likely to be saved than those who are not. BUT I personally believe the wing of the liberal church that is blindly ignorant is more likely to be saved than many in the legalistic church. At least many in this wing of the liberal church reveal a true heart for God. But most legalists are condemning and cold and look more like Pharisees than Jesus.

          The most revealing sign of lostness in the legalistic church is the presence of the essence of sin. I have known for a long time that the essence of sin is the desire to be your own god- the desire to be in control. Sadly, my observation of most legalistic churches is this desire to be in control of their member’s lives and for that matter everyone else’s.

          Just listen to Paul rebuking the Galatian churches. “As many desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For NOT even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.” (Galatians 6:12-13)

          It is amazing that nothing has really changed in almost two thousand years. There are still many churches that want to run your life. There is only one Holy Spirit and that is the Spirit of the living God. He and He alone is capable of transforming our hearts to make it possible for us to become like our Lord Jesus Christ. We will examine how this works next week.

          Let me close with these incredible words of Paul to the Galatians: “Do NOT be deceived, God is NOT mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life everlasting!” (Gal. 6:7-8)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7)

There are just two signs left revealing what a true church looks like. These last two signs are what happens to a church that is willing to fully embrace the will of God. It is a church that is filled with inner peace and outward power. Tonight I want us to zero in on inner peace.

One of the most amazing signs of a true church is that it is a church filled with peace. When the people of God are striving to embrace the plan of God, one of the amazing results is the peace of God that literally rules in both our hearts and our minds.

Listen carefully to these words as Jesus prayed for His church: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21)

This is what produces true peace, which is when we are in harmony with God. If we can become one in God, we will be one with one another. And a church that strives to embrace God’s plan no matter what will experience harmony with God.

Why there is so much disunity and turmoil?

          The church seems to be as divided today as anytime in church history. Besides dozens of denominations, there are many divisions within denominations like American Baptist, Independent Baptist and Southern Baptist. There has always been a great deal of doctrinal differences throughout church history, but today the differences are bigger than ever. The primary reason for this is the age of apostasy. The majority of the church today has fallen away from the Word of God.

          It is impossible to stay in harmony with people who claim to be Christians but do NOT believe in His Word. Take the issue of abortion. I believe the Bible teaches the sanctity of human life. When a woman becomes pregnant it is NOT about a woman’s right to choose, it is about the right to life itself. Those of who cherish the Word of God stand against those who do NOT.

The Basis for Unity

          In Ephesians 4, Paul writes, “I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you are called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

          First, notice the connection of unity and peace. They must go together. You cannot have unity or harmony unless there is a bond of peace and you cannot have peace unless there is unity or harmony.

          He then goes on to tell us what the basis for our unity is. “There is one body and one Spirit, just was you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

          Let’s examine these seven things which are unity and peace are based upon.

1. One Body- the church is described as the body of Christ. And Christ does not have many bodies. He has only one. Every true believer from the day of Pentecost until the day of the rapture is a member of this one body of Christ. The moment a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ into their heart as Lord and Savior, they become a part of the body of Christ. The problem is that many claim to be a part of the body that have never truly accepted Christ. Jesus warned us that this would happen in several parables. For example there is the parable of the wheat and the tares. (Matthew 13:24-30) Jesus explains that the wheat are the good seed, true believers and the tares are the sons of the “wicked one.” He says that the enemy who sows these tares is the devil. This means that many in the church today are the “devil’s plants.”
2. One Spirit- the same Holy Spirit indwells each believer, so that we belong to each other in the Lord. Without the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible to experience unity. And obviously with so many in the “church” today not being true believers, we would not expect to find unity.
3. One Hope of your calling- this refers to looking forward to the return of the Lord. Only true believers are looking anxiously for Jesus to return and take us home.
4. One Lord- this of course is our Lord Jesus Christ. Without submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, it is impossible for two redeemed sinners to discover unity and peace.
5. One Faith- this is the one agreed upon body of truth given to us by Christ. It includes things like the Trinity, the Virgin Birth of Christ, Christ’s dual nature, His atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection and His bodily return to this earth. Since many churches today no longer hold to this one faith, it is impossible for those of us that do to be in harmony with them.
6. One Baptism- this is not the physical act of baptism. Although there is broad disagreement over the act of baptism, the baptism Paul is talking about is the baptism of the Spirit. This is the act of the Spirit when He places the repentant sinner into the body of Christ at conversion.
7. One God and Father- marvelous oneness of believers in the family of God is evident here, for Paul says, for God is over all, and working through all, and in all. We are children in the same family, loving and serving the same Father, so we ought to be able to walk together in unity.

These are the things that are necessary to produce harmony and peace. We find all these things in the Philippian church, but NOT in the apostate church. First, we find that the false church is not a part of the one body because they are not true believers. Second, even though they profess to be believers, they do NOT possess the Holy Spirit. Third, the false church is NOT eagerly anticipating the return of the Lord. Fourth, they have no interest in submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Fifth, and maybe most revealing, they have forsaken the body of the truth of God’s Word. Sixth, they have not been immersed into the body of Christ.  And finally God is NOT their Father. No wonder there is so much disunity in the church today.

This Peace that Surpasses All Understanding

          It begins with a spirit of rejoicing. Paul says, “Rejoice, again I say rejoice!” When we learn to truly worship God, it creates a peaceful atmosphere. The psalmist says that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” It is like we are actually able breathe in God. He fills us up with His amazing presence.   

          This allows us to be gentle to others. Paul says, “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” This is where the legalistic church falls far short. They come across as harsh and condemning. The world is already condemned. We are not going to reach it with a message of condemnation. Our message ought to be a message of hope and redemption. This doesn’t mean we are soft on sin. We still stand upon truth, but we share that truth in the spirit of love, just like Jesus did to the woman caught in adultery. Jesus will forgive you and even save you by His grace if you are willing to turn from your sin.

          The next step to leading to God’s abiding peace is to learn NOT to be anxious about anything. And the best way to do this is to turn everything over to God. Paul puts it this way: “Let your requests be made known unto God…” And how do we let our requests be made known? By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Communion with God is the way we learn to NOT be anxious. But notice it is accompanied with a spirit of thanksgiving.

          When a believer OR a church experiences one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father, the result is a peace that surpasses all understanding. This is not something you can figure out with your mind, it is something that you experience in you heart.

          As I said earlier, it is something that happens as a result of embracing the plan of God. Our church has been blessed for many many years with an abiding peace. We have had our struggles and even battles, but the fellowship of the church has remained strong. Paul reminds us that we have been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ…” Tonight as we close, let’s take some time thanking God for His many blessings!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7)

There are just two signs left revealing what a true church looks like. These last two signs are what happens to a church that is willing to fully embrace the will of God. It is a church that is filled with inner peace and outward power.

I find the words Jesus used to describe the church today very interesting. He says that the church thinks that it is “wealthy and have need of nothing,’ but it is actually “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17)

The overall church today is a mess. Scandal after scandal and story after story about church leaders involved in what Paul calls “unseemly” have become all too common. In my thirty years as a pastor, I have seen things go from bad to worse in the church. Jesus’ words, wretched and miserable truly do describe church today.

But this shouldn’t really surprise us. First, because Jesus told us this would happen. But second, this is what happened to the liberal church in Paul’s day. The only difference between Paul’s day and ours is the magnitude of the problem. The church in Corinth was the exception not the rule. But I am afraid the liberal church today is the rule rather than the exception.

 The Misery of the Liberal Church

Paul addresses several things that reveal how miserable the Corinthian church was.

1. They lusted after evil things. (1 Corinth. 10:6) This could include many things, but let me just mention three that both the Corinthian church lusted after and we see many churches today lusting after as well. First, there are material things. We are being flooded with a world of materialism today. Things in and of themselves are not evil, but when we start lusting after thing after thing, we can quickly turn neutral things into evil ones. Second, there is sexual immorality. Several times, Paul tells the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality. The church’s attitude towards sex outside of marriage may have changed, but God’s Word has NOT. All sex outside of marriage is sinful! Third, there is pleasure. Maybe the most indicting thing about the church today is its ever-growing desire for pleasure. Many churches today preach a “gospel of pleasure.” By taking a few verses out of their context, the message you hear in many pulpits across America is all about how God wants to bless you. God does not bless sinful hedonistic fleshly desires.
2. They claimed to be tolerant. In order not to offend anyone, many churches have become tolerant of all kinds of beliefs. Homosexuality is being shoved down many church’s throats based upon the premise from hell that Christians should be tolerant. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s Table and of the table of demons.” (1 Corinth. 10:21) God’s Word is not about tolerance. God’s Word is about truth. There are not many different ways to go to heaven; there is just one. However, Jesus makes it clear there are many ways to go to hell- “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it.” Now that is where tolerance leads.
3. They rejected God’s creative order. “For man is not created for the woman, but the woman for man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of the woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.” (1 Corinth. 11: 8-12) The meaning for God’s creative order has been abused from both sides of the fence. The left has abandoned it all together and the right has taken it far beyond its intended purpose. When Jesus came to earth, He submitted to the Father’s will. This never made Jesus less than the Father. He was still fully God. He just temporarily submitted Himself to God the Father. I believe there is absolute unity and equality within the Godhead. In God’s creative design He made man first. This does not make man better or worse than the woman. I believe together they were made in God’s image. The man reveals the strong and protective side of God while the woman reveals the compassionate nurturing side of God. Notice Paul says neither the man nor the woman is independent of the other. God made the first woman from man, but every man since then has come from a woman. The key is for us to have love and respect for one another. In the Christian realm God has made man to be head of the home. And in Christian marriage God instructs Christian women to submit unto their husbands and Christian men to love their wives as Christ loved the church. But once again the key is balance. When a husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church, it is easy for her to be submissive unto him just as Jesus was submissive unto His loving heavenly Father.
4. They defiled the Lord’s Supper. Apparently the Corinthian church had taken the Lord’s Supper and turned it into a drunken orgy. “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is NOT to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of god and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do NOT praise you.” (1 Corinth. 11:20-22) The New Testament church had a custom of getting together once a week to eat together. The meal came to be known as the “love feast,” and everyone would share what they brought. Apparently the rich people would bring plenty for themselves but refuse to share it with the less fortunate. At the end of the meal they would partake of the Lord’s Supper. Paul rebukes them for their utter selfishness and tells them they are making a mockery out of the Lord’s Supper. Their selfishness revealed a much deeper problem, which was a lack of appreciation for what Christ had done for them. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remind us of what Christ has done for us and inspire us to learn to be selfless like He was. The problem was so serious that Paul tells them that “many of them were weak and sick and even dying.”
5. They abused their spiritual gifts. This was the only church in the New Testament that had taken the gifts of grace given by the Holy Spirit and turned them into a platform to boast how great they were. Paul dedicates three chapters to rebuke this church for abusing spiritual gifts. Right in the middle of this rebuke, Paul describes what is missing in this church. It is the first thing He had praised the church in Philippi for. But Paul makes it clear although the Corinthians boasted about what a loving church they were, they were anything but a loving church. A tolerant church is NOT a loving church. Paul tells them “love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” Unless love is married to the truth it is not love. Then he tells them one of the most incredible things about love. True love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. And without love, it doesn’t matter what you do… it means absolutely NOTHING to God. You could even have faith to move a mountain OR be willing to die for Christ, but unless the motivation is the agape love of God, it will profit you nothing.

Now all of these things made the church in Corinth wretched and miserable. This church represents the liberal church today and the primary reason it is in such a mess today is because it has forsaken the Word of God and thus warped the meaning of love. This kind of church will never experience internal peace and external power. Both of these are only granted to the church that is willing to embrace God’s plan of redemption!!!

The Misery of the Legalistic Church

          You will NOT find rejoicing again I say rejoice in the legalistic church either. The legalists are usually bigger sour-pusses than the liberals. Whereas the liberals are too soft on sin, the legalists are too hard.

          “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1) The legalist’s problem is that he thinks he is now above sin, especially certain kinds of sin. Since he struggles with the concept of being saved by grace, he also struggles with the concept of living by grace.

          I have to constantly remind myself that I am what I am by the grace of God. There go I, except by the grace of God. Paul makes it clear that we all are in danger of stumbling and falling into sin. And it is imperative that the true church is more about restoration rather than retribution. There are times when it is necessary to exercise church discipline, but living in a world filled with sin, we better be focusing on restoration. God is a God of forgiveness. He wants us to learn to forgive others as He has forgiven us. I don’t know about you, but I need forgiveness every day. Without a spirit of forgiveness and restoration, there cannot be peace in the household of God.

          Paul goes on to say, “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” The legalists are just as deceived by their self-righteousness as the liberals are by their “tolerance.”

          There is one more thing Paul mentions that helps reveal the importance of discernment and balance. In verse 2, he writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And then in verse 5, he writes. “For each one shall bear his own load.” On the surface these two verses seem to be contradictory. Which is it- are we to help bear one another’s burdens or NOT?

          It turns out that Paul uses two different words for burden. The first burden is like getting a cart stuck in a ditch. It is impossible for one person to push it out. So we are to come along and help in this case- thus fulfilling the law of Christ which is LOVE. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a great example of this.

          The second burden is like carrying a knapsack. The knapsack is personal responsibility. Each of us must learn to be personally responsible for ourselves. When we take on someone else’s responsibility, we are actually harming them rather than helping them. A great example of this was God’s program of workfare in the Old Testament. In the book of Ruth, the reapers of Boaz field would leave some grain behind in the fields. The poor were allowed to come along and freely reap what was left. Great harm is being done today because parents and even government programs allow children and grown-ups to live irresponsible lives. It is like carrying someone else’s knapsack. This invariably leads to misery and unhappiness.

May God help us to help those who truly need help and be careful NOT to help those who can help themselves!

The fifth sign of a true church is a passionate desire to know Christ. The pathway leading to knowing Christ can often lead us down the road of suffering. It takes a mature believer to realize that one of God’s most effective tools to help us become like Jesus is to experience “the fellowship of His sufferings.” This is how Paul states this fifth and all important principle: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Phil.3:10)

So what do we find in the liberal church? “Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing as he ought to know.” (1 Corinth. 8:1-2) Instead of a desire to passionately know Christ, the liberal church is passionate about knowledge itself.

The problem is that unless knowledge leads to knowing God, knowledge is worthless, vain and empty. As Paul says, “If anyone thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing.” One of the greatest examples of this is something called, “higher criticism.” It was born out of liberal theology of the early part of the 20^th century. In my opinion it is the primary reason we are now living in the age of apostasy.

Paul explains why knowledge is so dangerous. It leads to pride which always leads to trouble. Let me explain what higher criticism is and how it works. Higher criticism elevates human reason above divine revelation. It takes the Word of God and replaces it with things which man “thinks he knows to be true.”  For example, as liberal theologians studied the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Pentateuch, they noticed that different words were used for God. Hebrew words like Jehovah and Elohim.

These liberal theologians decided that the Pentateuch was NOT written by Moses, but was a collection of four different sources called JEDP. J- passages using Yahweh and being the oldest (950 BC) ; E- passages using Elohim (850 BC); D- known as the Deuternomist passages (600 BC) and P- known as the Priestly passages (500 BC).

This kind of thinking was like a cancer that once unleashed spread throughout the Bible. It wasn’t long before these liberal theologians were questioning every book in the Bible. They claimed there were two Isaiahs and it was absolutely impossible that a man named Daniel wrote the book named after him in 550 BC.

And what was there proof that it was impossible? The predictions in Daniel were too accurate to have been written before they actually happened.

Soon their poison spread to the New Testament. They began to question who actually wrote the gospels. They claimed that whoever wrote Matthew, Mark and Luke used the same common source later named the Q source.

Here is a direct quote from the encyclopedia: “The existence of Q has sometimes been challenged. The existence of a highly treasured dominical document, being omitted from all the early Church catalogs and going unmentioned by all the fathers of the early Church, remains one of the great conundrums of modern Biblical scholarship^. Despite challenges, the two source hypothesis retains wide support.”

The reason that it was never mentioned is because it never existed. Higher criticism led to a color coded New Testament. One color denotes what Jesus actually said (about 10% of what the Bible attributes to Him). Another color denotes what Jesus may have said (another 25%) Another color denotes what Jesus would never have said (all the remaining quotes of Jesus). They deny Jesus’ Virgin Birth and His glorious resurrection.

When many leaders in the church accepted higher criticism, they opened Pandora’s Box and led much of the church away from the true Word of God. Apostasy means to fall away. And what is it the church falls away from? That’s right- the church has fallen away from the Word of God. And once you fall away from the Word of God, you will fall for anything because you have nothing. And Paul as put it: “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows NOTHING.”

I am not even going to dignify the color coded words of Christ. I believe that Jesus said every word attributed to Him in the entire New Testament. But I will say that if Jesus believed that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible then I believe Moses wrote them. Jesus said, “But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” (Mark 12:26)

It is a foolish thing to elevate anything above the revealed Word of God. Once you do, you have NOTHING to stand on. It is no wonder that the liberal church today has embraced abortion and homosexuality.

          So what do we find in the legalistic church? There problem is NOT that they have forsaken the Word of God, but rather the Spirit of God. Paul tells the Galatians: “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:4-5)

          Instead of a passion to know Christ, the legalistic church becomes “estranged from Him.” The problem with the legalistic church is they do NOT realize that the Word of God must be living. And when you cut the Word off from the Holy Spirit, the Word becomes dead. The Word ceases to be the Word without the Holy Spirit. So although they may claim to be upholding the Word, they are NOT.

          You see it is impossible to fulfill the Word of God in the flesh. Instead of allowing God to use His spirit’s power to produce the fruit of the Spirit, a legalist depends upon His own ability and seeks to use external rules/laws to “live for God.”

          Remember we discovered that in order to truly know God, it takes the power of His resurrection. By surrendering our will unto the Spirit’s control, God is able to work from the inside out. He helps us to renew our minds- instead of thinking selfish and sinful thoughts, He helps us to begin to think of Him and others. And Paul tells us the greatest manifestation of this is expressed through love. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:6) That is the key!

          Legalism will lead you to become like the Pharisees, who were cold and callous. They could care less about other people. All they were concerned about was how they looked. Their pride had blinded them to how warped their thinking had become. Let me put it to you this way: the legalist’s focus is on conduct, but the godly person’s focus is on character.

          Paul goes even further when he says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal. 5:17) This is a profound statement. It is not that legalism is a hindrance to our Christian walk, legalism will destroy our Christian walk. Earlier Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)

          We must seek to stay away from legalism just as much as we must stay away from liberalism. If we are really saved, liberalism is not nearly as dangerous as legalism. Just look at what happened with Peter and even Barnabas. They both got caught up in legalism and Paul had to rebuke them for it.

          So what exactly causes good godly men to become so easily caught up in legalism? Maybe the worst effect of the flesh is the desire to be able to do things on our own. It goes totally against the flesh to submit control to anyone else. And legalism provides a way that we can “do the things of God” and yet still be in control.

          The reason the Pharisees hated Jesus was because they could not control Him. He refused to submit to their “traditions” which they claimed made them godly. Jesus basically told them that godliness is NOT external conduct, but internal character. And internal godly character comes from submitting unto the Holy Spirit.

          I don’t just want to obey Jesus’ commands, I want to “desire to obey His commands.” Do you understand what I am saying? This is the difference between legalism and true Christianity. This makes our obedience real. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John writes, “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)

          Once again it comes down to this. The liberals are missing the truth and the legalists are missing the love. It takes both truth and love to maintain a balanced Christian life. Paul explains that love is a fruit, NOT a feeling. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23)

          A most amazing thing happens when we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit. God is able to produce in us what we are incapable of producing ourselves and that is love. Love is the key to overcoming the flesh and all the selfishness that comes with it. Notice that Paul says, “Against such there is no law.” I.e. this is something that the law can never do. Only the Holy Spirit can produce these amazing things, chief of which is the very love of God in a willing heart.

          Let me recap the fifth sign of a true church. The true church not only knows God’s plan of redemption, it actively seeks His plan. It realizes that God’s ultimately purpose in everything that has happened is that we might come to know Him through Christ. This means we understand that although God’s plan began with creating a perfect world, it included the subsequent fall that brought all the pain and suffering into this world.

          Furthermore, we also realize that God’s plan not only included the horrible suffering of Christ on the cross, but that we too will suffer and sometimes severe pain and suffering. But we also understand that the reason that we suffer is that it actually serves as a pathway to knowing Him. “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinth. 12:9-10)

          It takes a high level of maturity to realize just how valuable and important “the fellowship of His sufferings” is. Peter nails it when he writes, “In this greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith… though it be tested by fire…” (1 Peter 1:6-7)

          But the liberal church is not seeking to know God. In fact, it is far more concerned with man’s reason, than God’s revelation. It is a dangerous thing to replace knowing God with the desire to know.

          And the legalistic church seeks to know God without His Spirit, which is absolutely impossible.

          May God help us to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, even if it means being conformed to His death.

 “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Phil.3:10)

We have come to the heart of what Christianity is really all about. Many believe that Christianity is about being saved from hell. Others would say it is being saved from your sins. Those things definitely happen, but that is NOT what Christianity is really all about. The heart of Christianity is the ability to experience and enjoy fellowship with God!

This was, is and always will be God’s plan. The reason we are saved from hell and delivered from our sin is so that we can have fellowship with God. Now once we understand this, we will see our sin as God sees it- an obstacle to fellowship. This is why John wrote, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

God’s whole redemption plan revolved around removing sin so that He could have fellowship with us. When He created Adam & Eve as representatives of the entire human race, He knew that until mankind fell into sin, the potential to do so would always loom over us. I am beginning to see that God purposely allowed the devil into the Garden of Eden to expedite the inevitable.

Several years ago I realized that there were only two possibilities for God in creating beings who could truly love Him back. Since love demands a choice, God could only created beings who truly had a choice to love Him OR not love Him. The first way was for God to create beings all at once and at some point give them an opportunity to choose. This is what He did by creating the angels.

When the devil led his rebellion in heaven, all the angels were given the opportunity to love and serve God OR to not love and refuse to serve Him. Many angels chose to love God and were forever sealed as the holy angels of God. Others chose to follow Satan and fell and became demons. But since angels cannot procreate, it was impossible for God to become an angel and redeem them. In fact, I’m not even certain if He could have become an angel that He could redeem them because they had chosen to become fallen.

You see, in God’s plan with the angels, they were all created holy and were given the opportunity to stay holy. But in God’s plan with man, God allowed Adam and Eve to fall before they procreated making all of their descendents unholy sinners. Our choice is a matter of becoming holy NOT staying holy, since we never have been holy. Even in our mother’s womb, we are conceived in sin, which means there is never a point even prior to birth that we have ever been holy.

So in creating man and allowing mankind to be born into this world in a fallen state, God’s plan involved a process the Bible calls redemption. Redemption begins the moment we invite Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. It continues throughout our lives in a process the Bible calls sanctification. As our minds our transformed from thinking like a sinner to thinking like Jesus, we literally “prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)  Finally redemption is completed when we receive our glorified perfect bodies.

And the reason God does all of this is so that we will be able to enjoy sweet fellowship with Him throughout eternity. Our problem is that we failure to realize just how devastating the stain of sin has been on how we think. Sin has made us so self-centered, we only want to know God as long as it doesn’t interfere with our own self-interest. The idea that we would actually desire to suffer if that is what we need to help us know God is repulsive to us. So as we examine God’s plan to “know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” we must call unto God for His wisdom to understand these things.

To Know Him

          Ultimately God’s plan is all about know Him. Sadly sin has obscured the truth about who God really is. But I am discovering that as God peels away the sin in my life, I am beginning to see God for who He really is. First and foremost God is LOVE!!! Everything that God has done, is doing and will do is because of His love.

          The reason God created us with the freedom to choose is because He so loves us. He knew that unless we had a will of our own to choose to love and serve Him OR NOT to love and serve Him, we would be puppets rather than people. God created us in “His image” which demands that we have the ability to freely choose.

          The reason God allows us to experience what it is like to live in a fallen world filled with pain and suffering is also because He so loves us. You see, for love to be love it must also be truth. And so what does a world that has fallen into sin look like? Exactly what this world looks like.

          The reason God gave His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross and pay for our sins is because He so loves us. He knew that we are all hopelessly lost in our sins and there is NOTHING that we can do to save ourselves. So God designed a plan of redemption is which He Himself could save us.

          The reason God gives us the choice to accept or reject His plan of redemption is because He so loves us. Even though the desire of God’s heart is that “none perish, but that all would come to repentance,” He refuses to force anyone against their will to accept Jesus into their heart. This is why He says, “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” From beginning to end it is always about God’s love.

          The reason people will die and go to hell is NOT because God hates them, but rather because He loves them. The reason people will go to hell is because they have chosen to go there, NOT because God sends them there. The devil tries to convince us every step of the way that God doesn’t love us, but the ultimate proof he is a liar is the cross on which Jesus died. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

          I now know all of this! Why? It is because I now know God through Christ. This is why Paul goes on to say the desire of His heart is to know Christ and….

The Power of His Resurrection

          You cannot know God until you experience the power of His resurrection. Something has to happen in our hearts before we can even begin to know God. The Bible says that we are “dead in our trespasses and sin.” This means we are spiritually cut off from God. No matter how hard we try to know God, it is impossible. There is only one thing that can rescue spiritually dead people and that is a spiritual resurrection.

          And that is exactly what happens when a person places his faith in Christ. “But God who is rich in mercy, because His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together…” (Ephesians 2:4-6) This is what it means to be born again.

          Everything changes! When a person experiences the power of His resurrection, he literally becomes a new person. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” (2 Corinth. 5:17)

          This also is a part of God’s incredible plan. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant… I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…” (Jeremiah 31:31,33) Five hundred years later, in the Upper Room, Jesus lifted up the cup of redemption and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20) When Jesus died, He established this new covenant between us and God. And when we accept this new covenant by trusting in Christ, we experience the power of His resurrection.

          The problem is even though we have been born again, we are still wrapped in the grave-clothes of sin. Our bodies that we live this new life in are fallen corruptible bodies. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Bible says, “And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.” (John 11: 44)

          How alive do you think Lazarus was when he waddled out of the grave? He was fully alive. When we trust Christ, we too are fully alive… instantly a new creation. Our problem is NOT that we need to be more alive. Our problem is we need to have our grave-clothes removed. Ultimately this will be done when we shed these old fallen bodies and move into our new glorified sinless bodies.

          However, I am discovering that we don’t have to wait to get to heaven to begin to already enjoy some of the blessings of heaven. This is exactly what Paul is talking about when he says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (Phil. 3:12)

          The question is what is the best way to cut ourselves free from these grave-clothes? As I have already said, ultimately we will have to shed these sinful bodies. Paul puts it this way: “the Lord Jesus Christ will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil. 3:21) But that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do but wait for that to happen. Paul encourages us to “press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14) Paul also tells us what God’s best tool is to cut us free from our grave-clothes.

 The Fellowship of His Sufferings

          To fulfill God’s plan for us here on earth, it is NOT enough simply to know Him and the power of His resurrection, we must also experience the fellowship of His sufferings even to the point of being conformed to His death. It is not enough to be washed in the blood; we must also be placed in the fire. God told Israel, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10)

          Peter says, “Greatly rejoice… if you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of our faith… is tested by fire…” (1 Peter 1:6-7) No one likes to suffer, but if we could somehow see that God is able to remove the grave clothes of sin through suffering, we could learn to become grateful for the things that produce suffering in our lives. I will never be grateful for the suffering, but I can become grateful for what the suffering does. It helps me to know God in ways I never thought possible.

          The Bible never says that Jesus was grateful for the cross of suffering. It says that “He endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him.” Jesus looked beyond the cross and saw the countless millions who would go to heaven because He went to hell.

          So what is it you see when you look at your own personal suffering? Most of us can’t wait for our suffering to pass. In fact, most of us ask God to either keep us from suffering or remove our suffering ASAP. But what if our suffering is needed to help strengthen our faith by removing sin from our lives?

          I know this is a high level of maturity in the Christian journey, but I am convinced that if we are going to think like Jesus, we will learn to thank God for our suffering rather than asking Him to keep us away from suffering. “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinth. 12:9-10)

          This is why I am so disturbed by so many churches which always seem to talk about how God wants to bless you and cause you to prosper and very little if at all about how God can use our suffering for our good and His glory. It just convinces me that we are in the age of apostasy.

          Where are the sermons on Phil. 1:29? ”For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Or Phil. 2:17 where Paul says, “Yes, and if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” And where are the sermons on Phil. 3:10 which talk about knowing Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings?

          In fact if Paul were alive today he would say something like this of many of today’s pastors- “For many walk… and now I tell you even weeping, that are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, who god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame- who set their mind on earthly things.” (Phil. 3:18-19)

          May God help our church to fully embrace God’s plan even though it may lead us down through hell before it leads us up toward heaven!