2003-03-04
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Spirit leads me to recite EPH 6: 19-20 another time, because of the great message of Paul’s prayer not only for himself, but for us. “And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the Gospel’s secret. For the sake of this Gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the Gospel as I should.” There is some interesting background that will help us understand the real significance of the language Paul uses in his plea. Beginning with DT 29: 29, we learn that God’s revelation of His truth is gradual, each new revelation released from Him at exactly the perfect time when mankind is ready to hear it. “There are some things that the Lord our God has kept secret; but He has revealed His Law, and we and our descendants are to obey it forever.” In past messages, I have given a host of citations which support this notion. By no means is Christianity a secret society. I truly believe that God intends for all His truth to be made known. Over the years, more and more of it has been revealed to us. My reason for bringing this up has to do with one of the most important reasons that Paul wrote His epistles in the first place. He was genuinely concerned about the spreading of Gnosticism, which was a threat to the spread of real faith and the growth of the church.
Gnosticism believed that “the Christ” was some kind of divine influence that came from God and rested on the man, Jesus, at His baptism. It remained with Jesus until just before His crucifixion and then left Him. Thus, “the Christ” survived, although Jesus didn’t. It was indeed a secret society. Gnostics prided themselves on their knowledge, and the word “gnosis” in Greek means “knowledge.” True happiness, in their view, was acquired by accessing the deepest secrets of their cult. All the while I was learning the beliefs of this cult, the Holy Spirit led me to remember PR 3: 5-6 [KJV], “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Gnosticism came against the practice of real faith, and Paul wanted to be assured that the recipients of His epistles were not being led away from salvation, which only real faith in Jesus Christ brings. Gnosticism was simply that latest manifestation of Satan’s influence that was a problem at the time of the early church.
The teaching of sound doctrine doesn’t always have to be in classrooms. To be sure, it is more often on the front burner as a result of the circumstances and people we meet in our lives. At the end of the book of Revelation, John gives us a warning not only applicable to that book but to the entire Bible. REV 22: 18-19, “I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from him his share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book.” Those are very direct words and important ones. As “God’s ambassadors” here on earth, we are to share the Gospel with accuracy, integrity, compassion, and heartfelt faith. The consequences of not doing so are unthinkable. Titus 2: 11-14 helps us to understand God’s will and why it is so important. “For God has revealed His grace for the salvation of all mankind. That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world, as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear. He gave Himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to Him alone and are eager to do good.”
I love the words which I cite so often from 2 TIM 1: 13-14, so I don’t apologize for sharing them once more. They are at the heart of the advice Paul gave his young protégé, Timothy, from his prison cell. Timothy was to take over leadership of the church at Ephesus, and Paul knew it to be a huge responsibility. “Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, guard the Treasure entrusted to you.” The capital “T” on Treasure in that sentence is no typo. That Treasure is the Gospel message of peace and salvation through Jesus Christ. Paul was telling Timothy (and us) to treat the Gospel like the treasure it is and to share it with love, accuracy, reverence, and wisdom. These things can only come from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We should meditate on that truth and especially, on how it applies to our lives as believers. We must ask ourselves: how willing are we to share the Gospel with others and hold firmly to the true words we have been taught?
PRAYER: O Lord, as we enter Your throne room today, we come before You to offer You our sincere thanks for giving Your Son over the to the pain and suffering of the cross, so that we could be saved and know peace with You. Moreover, we thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit and Your word, which He helps us understand and apply to our lives. Without You, we are unable to make proper use of Your word or even understand it [1 COR 2: 14]. We acknowledge the wonderful blessing You give us in RO 8: 1, “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.” To do this living “in union with Christ Jesus,” we understand that there are standards of behavior which You have mapped out in the Scriptures for us to live by. RO 12: 1-2, “So then, my brothers, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God inwardly transform you by the renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect.” These are the commitments of the new covenant, and we joyfully embrace them as Your covenant partners. Learning well and transmitting Your word with love, accuracy, reverence, and wisdom is a high priority on our list of things to do. We commit ourselves to overcoming shyness and being willing to share Your message of salvation and peace with others who need to hear it. We also promise to do this with sensitivity to their needs. Dearest Abba, we understand that studying Your word with a mind to the context it was written and the exact meaning that was intended is paramount. We know that allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture is the best way to avoid leaning on human understanding. We thank You for enabling writers like Strong, Zodhiates, and others to bring us books that will allow non-speakers of the original Hebrew and Greek languages to do word studies to find the exact meanings intended. You are an awesome God, Who is kind enough to equip believers well to carry out Your agenda. We humbly offer You confession of our sins and our adoration, worship, diligence, loyalty, glory, honor, trust, obedience, thanks, and eternal praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
The use of prayer can be both a defensive and an offensive weapon against Satan’s malevolence. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s message. It may seem strange that in a segment on prayer, I stopped to discuss the importance of sound doctrine. But, we must never forget the wonderful promise our loving Abba makes to us through His Son in JN 15: 7. “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish and you shall have it.” Think about this: “if you remain in Me and My words remain in you.” What Christ is saying here is that we need to study His doctrine (teachings), know them well, and ask for things that conform to it. When we do, we shall have anything we want. That’s an amazing promise in light of the fact that everything Christ teaches us is designed to lead mankind through the narrow gate along the hard path to eternal life [MT 7: 13-14]. If we have to live in the cave of darkness, which earth is now, then isn't it wonderful that God puts a “flashlight” in our hands, so that we can find the safest path out of that cave to eternal life? PS 119: 105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light for my path.” Only our adherence to sound doctrine will keep that light lit for ourselves and for others. That is one more gift from the God Who loves each of us dearly. Peter and I send each of your our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn