A Window of Grace- Ezra 9:8-9
By the time you finish reading 2 Kings, the people of God had so ruined their testimony and their relationship with God that they were on the threshold of captivity. These events are commented on by Albert Barnes -
“At the conclusion of 2 Kings, and also of the preceding book, 2 Chronicles, we have seen the state of misery and desolation to which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were reduced through their unparalleled ingratitude to God, and their innumerable backslidings and rebellions. These at last issued in their captivity; the inhabitants of the former country being carried away by the Assyrians, and those of the latter by the Chaldeans. The former never recovered their ancient territories, and were so disposed of by their enemies that they either became amalgamated with the pagan nations, so as to be utterly undistinguishable, or they were transported to some foreign and recluse place of settlement, that the place of their existence, though repeatedly guessed at, has for more than two thousand years been totally unknown.”
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
It seems that the people of God had established a destructive pattern that led to their eventual captivity. Note the pattern- ingratitude, continuous backslidings, constant rebellion, and their intermingling with the pagan nations. Remember, it was a pattern not a one-time failure or an occasion where they stumbled, but a regular and deliberate pattern that they knew was wrong. So many of us act surprised when we realize that we have been taken captive by sinful habits, yet would not break the pattern that led us there!
(However before you misunderstand what is meant by intermingling – Ezra was grieved at the marriage of God’s people with pagans, grieved at the intimate nature of their intermingling. We are to avoid becoming intimately connected with the worlds system and its philosophies.)
With this background, we now look at what is meant by “A Window of Grace.” In (v.8) the NIV says, “But now for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious…” This literally meant an interval or small window of time – a window of grace given to these people for a specific purpose.
The Lord provides his people with such gracious opportunities and even when we’ve squandered them away, our Father mercifully gives us another chance…Leith Anderson said, “Adversity is often the window of opportunity for change. Few people or organizations want to change when there is prosperity and peace. Major changes are often precipitated by necessity.”
Captivity was as about as necessary as it can get. These people needed change and God was graciously giving them a small window of time to make this change. Theologians believe we live in an interval of time called “the age of grace.” An age that allows men to come to God through Jesus Christ by God’s grace, and this age is supposed to end when
the church is raptured or taken away. The moments of revival that God gives us are meant to shed light on our sinful condition and reveal to us understanding of what he wants to work on in our lives.
As Christians, we sometimes behave in a similar manner as the people in this story. We become ungrateful and slip into destructive patterns until our gracious God steps in and provides a window of grace to get things right with him. The window of grace gives us time to do three things –
Examine our ways – We need to be ashamed of our sin and deeply sorrowful. I mentioned this several weeks ago…sin is serious. It is nothing to make light of or to think that God winks at it. (James 4:8-10; Ps 36:5; Ro 5:20)
Repent of our ways – We need to confess our sins (C.f v.6; 1 Jn 1:9) Ezra’s prayer spoke volumes about his character. He identified himself with the people in their sin even though he himself was innocent. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “Ezra understood that the nation stood together under the covenant and that this breach of responsibility, especially since it had been led by leaders of the nation, could jeopardize the entire nation before God.” You’ve heard it said that your sin affects more than just you. The church is a community and when we sin, it affects the community of believers. This flows to the next point…
Change our ways – We need to be aware or reminded of the consequences of sin
(1Jn 3:4-6,9; He 10:26-27,29-31).
As we close, I want to bring your attention to a phrase that caught my attention –
“And now for a little moment grace hath been showed from Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.” Ezra 9:8 ASV
I believe this gives us insight into what we may pray for as we bring this message back to God at the altar. It was used in several different ways, but in each one, we can see the significance. The term “nail” symbolized a union between the builder and the deity. In other words, the one who was working on the temple, as he placed a nail in the wall, saw this as a symbolic union between him and God. This term also meant a peg in the wall used for hanging utensils. Finally, it was used to speak of the tent stakes used by God’s people as they moved according to his word.
We may borrow from all three – we do in fact have a union with God through Jesus Christ, but perhaps some of you need to work on this relationship…your relationship is suffering and you do not feel close to God like you once did. On the other hand, maybe you have lost your usefulness to God because you are pursuing your own agenda. Then again, perhaps you have been disobedient to the voice of God and you have not moved when you heard his voice…because of apathy, laziness, or rebellion.
God is giving you a window of grace today.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Getting Un-Tangled
Getting Un-tangled
Like 9:57-62
When it comes down to it, most born-again followers of Jesus Christ will say that they truly desire to serve their Lord in a greater way. However, most will confess that it just seems as thought they cannot devote enough time and energy to what they believe the Lord would have them do. We have crowded and cluttered our lives in such a way that it in fact does seem almost impossible to do anything significant for God.
Most Americans have entangled themselves in a massive web of debt. Parents have an endless schedule of activities they have committed their children to as well as trying to maintain their own schedules. In addition, many of us just try to keep as busy as we can – running here and there with hardly a thought that perhaps this is not the way God intended us to be or if we are pleasing the Lord.
Henri Nouwen once said in a Leadership journal interview:
I cannot continuously say no to this or no to that, unless there is something ten times more attractive to choose. Saying no to my lust, my greed, my needs, and the world's powers takes an enormous amount of energy. The only hope is to find something so obviously real and attractive that I can devote all my energies to saying yes. . . . One such thing I can say yes to is when I come in touch with the fact that I am loved. Once I have found that in my total brokenness I am still loved, I become free from the compulsion of doing successful things.
Citation: Terry Muck, "Hearing God's Voice and Obeying His Word," Leadership Journal (Winter 1982), p. 16
There is a Psalm that reads – “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” You may recall that the word “delight” carried the meaning of being soft and pliable or flexible. (Ps 37:4)
We allow our lives to become so full of distractions or commitments that we are no longer flexible for what it is that God may be trying to direct our lives to. The Apostle Paul spoke about avoiding entanglements in our Christian walk (2 Ti 2:4)– “And as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army.” (NLT)
And the (KJV) says – “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
The word “entangle” meant to weave in to; Paul was saying that we must be careful not to try to weave the non-essentials into our walk. Is he saying we cannot marry – no? He is saying we cannot get involved in the lives of our children or family and friends – no?
He is talking about the priority of Christ in our lives – the high calling of being a follower of Jesus Christ and the responsibilities included as well as the benefits.
Let’s look back at Luke 9.
We have three examples of people who found out that they really could not truly follow Christ because of entanglements – because they were not flexible.The first one (Vv. 57-58) who expresses a desire to follow Christ is shown that 1) he will need to look like Jesus. This man needed to see that if he became a follower of Christ he would look foolish. He would need to depend on God’s provision and the hospitality of others. While foxes have holes and birds have nests to live in, the Son of Man did not even have a pillow to lay his head on…2) If he was going to follow Jesus he cannot bring along what he wishes. In other words, you may miss the comforts of life that you have grown accustomed to, eventually you will begin to desire the creature comforts more than you desire Christ. One man said, “What does it profit you to give God one thing if he asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it. You will as a result better satisfy your heart than with that toward which you yourself are inclined.” 3) He cannot come to Christ to merely learn a few things and neither can we. Jesus speaks of picking up our cross and following him. This is not an invitation to an extreme makeover or to join Jesus for a cup of Starbucks. Christ is talking about the death and rebirth of all that we are!
Jesus warns us not make a rash, careless decision.
The second person receives what appears to be a very peculiar response. (59-60) Jesus was not saying leave the corpses to fend for themselves, nor was he downplaying the grief and pain associated with the passing of a loved one. In ancient times, the responsibility a proper burial and taking leadership of the family fell on the shoulders of the first-born son upon the death of the father. A son was the heir of a double portion of the inheritance (Dt. 21:17). Two thoughts here – 1) we must come to a point in our faith when we trust God to take care of our loved ones. 2) We must come to a point in faith when we truly believe that upon our salvation we receive an eternal inheritance – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9) Read – Dt. 18:2; 1 Pe 2:5; Rev 1:5-6 Priests have an inheritance – Christ! We are priests!
The third person gives us a look at the danger of looking back. (61-62) This man’s separation with the world was not yet complete. It was not a case of going back- but of looking back. Not a case of returning to worldly ways but a reluctance to fully break with them. How many of us say things like, “I still have a bad temper, but I know that God loves me.” Or perhaps, “I still have a few bad habits, but God still accepts me.” Then again, maybe we are distracted by all the fun the wicked seem to be having.
What happened to praying through? Fasting…truly breaking from obvious as well as subtle entanglements? “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” (Ps 34:8) Experience the Lord through a personal encounter, by the witness of the Holy Spirit and salvation!
In all of this Jesus is emphasizing one main thought – Lordship- this in essence is what must happen. We are not disallowed relationships, marriage, children, fortune, or whatever we think we are not allowed to have, but rather in these areas and in every facet of our lives we need Christ’s Lordship.
Unconditional obedience and faith in Christ can be the only way to follow Jesus.
“I have vivid memories as a kid of my father taking me to an auction sale, telling me, ‘Don’t scratch your nose at the wrong time, son.’ He said to me, ‘Always remember this: whenever you go to an auction sale, make sure you know your upper limit price.’
That is ingrained in me. The great danger for us is that we walk into the Christian life knowing clearly our upper limit price. Jesus does not allow us to set that. ‘If you save your life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake and the gospel’s, you will keep it,’ said Jesus [Mark 8:35].
Our calling is to a life of unconditional obedience where the price is unknown.”
Citation: Colin Smith, pastor of Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois; source: Preaching Today #204
Are you willing to allow the Spirit of God to show where you are entangled?
Will you admit that you are not soft, pliable, and flexible to God’s will?
What conditions have you placed on being a follower of Christ?
Do you trust God with your loved ones and your future?
Do you live as thought the Lord is you inheritance?
Are there things and people you find yourself looking back to? Perhaps you have not fully separated from un-godly influences and habits.
Is Jesus Christ truly Lord?
Like 9:57-62
When it comes down to it, most born-again followers of Jesus Christ will say that they truly desire to serve their Lord in a greater way. However, most will confess that it just seems as thought they cannot devote enough time and energy to what they believe the Lord would have them do. We have crowded and cluttered our lives in such a way that it in fact does seem almost impossible to do anything significant for God.
Most Americans have entangled themselves in a massive web of debt. Parents have an endless schedule of activities they have committed their children to as well as trying to maintain their own schedules. In addition, many of us just try to keep as busy as we can – running here and there with hardly a thought that perhaps this is not the way God intended us to be or if we are pleasing the Lord.
Henri Nouwen once said in a Leadership journal interview:
I cannot continuously say no to this or no to that, unless there is something ten times more attractive to choose. Saying no to my lust, my greed, my needs, and the world's powers takes an enormous amount of energy. The only hope is to find something so obviously real and attractive that I can devote all my energies to saying yes. . . . One such thing I can say yes to is when I come in touch with the fact that I am loved. Once I have found that in my total brokenness I am still loved, I become free from the compulsion of doing successful things.
Citation: Terry Muck, "Hearing God's Voice and Obeying His Word," Leadership Journal (Winter 1982), p. 16
There is a Psalm that reads – “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” You may recall that the word “delight” carried the meaning of being soft and pliable or flexible. (Ps 37:4)
We allow our lives to become so full of distractions or commitments that we are no longer flexible for what it is that God may be trying to direct our lives to. The Apostle Paul spoke about avoiding entanglements in our Christian walk (2 Ti 2:4)– “And as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army.” (NLT)
And the (KJV) says – “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
The word “entangle” meant to weave in to; Paul was saying that we must be careful not to try to weave the non-essentials into our walk. Is he saying we cannot marry – no? He is saying we cannot get involved in the lives of our children or family and friends – no?
He is talking about the priority of Christ in our lives – the high calling of being a follower of Jesus Christ and the responsibilities included as well as the benefits.
Let’s look back at Luke 9.
We have three examples of people who found out that they really could not truly follow Christ because of entanglements – because they were not flexible.The first one (Vv. 57-58) who expresses a desire to follow Christ is shown that 1) he will need to look like Jesus. This man needed to see that if he became a follower of Christ he would look foolish. He would need to depend on God’s provision and the hospitality of others. While foxes have holes and birds have nests to live in, the Son of Man did not even have a pillow to lay his head on…2) If he was going to follow Jesus he cannot bring along what he wishes. In other words, you may miss the comforts of life that you have grown accustomed to, eventually you will begin to desire the creature comforts more than you desire Christ. One man said, “What does it profit you to give God one thing if he asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it. You will as a result better satisfy your heart than with that toward which you yourself are inclined.” 3) He cannot come to Christ to merely learn a few things and neither can we. Jesus speaks of picking up our cross and following him. This is not an invitation to an extreme makeover or to join Jesus for a cup of Starbucks. Christ is talking about the death and rebirth of all that we are!
Jesus warns us not make a rash, careless decision.
The second person receives what appears to be a very peculiar response. (59-60) Jesus was not saying leave the corpses to fend for themselves, nor was he downplaying the grief and pain associated with the passing of a loved one. In ancient times, the responsibility a proper burial and taking leadership of the family fell on the shoulders of the first-born son upon the death of the father. A son was the heir of a double portion of the inheritance (Dt. 21:17). Two thoughts here – 1) we must come to a point in our faith when we trust God to take care of our loved ones. 2) We must come to a point in faith when we truly believe that upon our salvation we receive an eternal inheritance – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9) Read – Dt. 18:2; 1 Pe 2:5; Rev 1:5-6 Priests have an inheritance – Christ! We are priests!
The third person gives us a look at the danger of looking back. (61-62) This man’s separation with the world was not yet complete. It was not a case of going back- but of looking back. Not a case of returning to worldly ways but a reluctance to fully break with them. How many of us say things like, “I still have a bad temper, but I know that God loves me.” Or perhaps, “I still have a few bad habits, but God still accepts me.” Then again, maybe we are distracted by all the fun the wicked seem to be having.
What happened to praying through? Fasting…truly breaking from obvious as well as subtle entanglements? “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” (Ps 34:8) Experience the Lord through a personal encounter, by the witness of the Holy Spirit and salvation!
In all of this Jesus is emphasizing one main thought – Lordship- this in essence is what must happen. We are not disallowed relationships, marriage, children, fortune, or whatever we think we are not allowed to have, but rather in these areas and in every facet of our lives we need Christ’s Lordship.
Unconditional obedience and faith in Christ can be the only way to follow Jesus.
“I have vivid memories as a kid of my father taking me to an auction sale, telling me, ‘Don’t scratch your nose at the wrong time, son.’ He said to me, ‘Always remember this: whenever you go to an auction sale, make sure you know your upper limit price.’
That is ingrained in me. The great danger for us is that we walk into the Christian life knowing clearly our upper limit price. Jesus does not allow us to set that. ‘If you save your life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake and the gospel’s, you will keep it,’ said Jesus [Mark 8:35].
Our calling is to a life of unconditional obedience where the price is unknown.”
Citation: Colin Smith, pastor of Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois; source: Preaching Today #204
Are you willing to allow the Spirit of God to show where you are entangled?
Will you admit that you are not soft, pliable, and flexible to God’s will?
What conditions have you placed on being a follower of Christ?
Do you trust God with your loved ones and your future?
Do you live as thought the Lord is you inheritance?
Are there things and people you find yourself looking back to? Perhaps you have not fully separated from un-godly influences and habits.
Is Jesus Christ truly Lord?
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