God’s Birthday Gift to Believers

I want to share with you a basic precept of victorious Christian living:  My inability to do anything for myself in the spiritual realm.  Repeat it, memorize it, believe it.  Until we realize and acknowledge this truth we are going to meet with repeated failure.

For this reason God has given to every believer His Holy Spirit.  He is God’s birthday gift to every believer.  Before Jesus went to the cross He gave this promise to His followers: “I will not leave you helpless orphans . . ..” (John 14:18, Williams Translation).  Jesus knew that His disciples would be able to do nothing for themselves in the spiritual realm, therefore, He promised to do something that would fill the void left by His departure.  He would send the Holy Spirit, who would be to them everything Jesus would be if He were physically present.

“And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, to remain with you to the end of the age; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it does not see Him or recognize Him, because he is going to remain with you and will be in you” (John 14:16,17, Williams).

There are two Greek words translated “another;” one means another of a different kind, the other, the one used here, means another of the same kind.  The Holy Spirit is a Helper of the same kind as Jesus.  He is the “other” Jesus.

Notice also that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would “remain with you and be in you.”  In Psalm 51, David prayed, “Take not Thy Spirit from me.” That’s an Old Testament prayer.   We don’t pray that today, because the Holy Spirit is the permanent possession of the believer. In Old Testament times the Spirit came “upon” men temporarily.  Since Pentecost, the Spirit comes “within” men permanently.

It is significant that the word for Spirit is “breath,” or “wind.” Energy is always associated with the Spirit.  Every time you see the Spirit in scripture you find life, energy, activity.  He brooded over the chaos of Genesis One and made it a cosmos.  He brooded over Mary and brought forth the Messiah.  He brooded over the grave of Joseph and resurrected the Lord Jesus.  He brooded over a bunch of weaklings in the upper room and turned them into a powerful band of witnesses.

Have you ever noticed the differences in the disciples before and after Pentecost?  They’re not the same men.  Before Pentecost they were fearful, hesitating, unbelieving, suspicious of each other.  After Pentecost they exploded with courage and boldness and confidence; a new capacity for believing the unbelievable descended upon them.  They became as ONE body, they beat as ONE heart, they thought as ONE mind.

Acknowledging the presence and power of the Spirit is the key to living victoriously.  On the day of Pentecost, when the crowd asked Peter for an explanation of what was happening, he simply acknowledged that it was the work of the Spirit.

Writing to a group of Christians who were living defeated lives, Paul said, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (I Corinthians 3:16)?  As a cure for their immorality, Paul again reminds them of the Spirit’s indwelling presence:

“....do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own” (I Corinthians 6:19)?  The meaning is clear: failure to constantly acknowledge the Spirit’s presence in our lives will lead to sin and defeat.

To acknowledge the Holy Spirit means to yield to His sovereign rule in every area of our life.  Remember:  we can do nothing for ourselves in the spiritual realm.  It must be “by His Spirit.”

WHY JESUS HASN’T RETURNED

Well, Y2K is finally behind us, and I’m glad.  In spite of all the hype it was a big flop. A lot of people are taking back canned goods, bottled water and porta-pots.  And a lot of people are taking back their predictions that the world would come to an end or that Jesus would return.  Most of the date setters have simply moved the date back!  Now He is supposed to come in 2007.

Looks like men will never learn to stop setting dates.  They’ve been doing it for 2000 years.  Every generation thinks it is the last.  One man quoted Jesus’ words about no man knowing the day or the hour and said that means Jesus will come at night on the half-hour.  I pointed out to him that it is always daytime somewhere on the globe.  I guess he thought Jesus was just coming to America.  Okay, we can’t know the day or the hour, but we can know the year (remember the booklet, “88 REASONS WHY JESUS WILL RETURN IN 1988?).  But those who know the language of the Bible, know that the phrase, “the hour and the day,” is an idiom meaning “nobody knows when, period.”

But still the fact remains, Jesus has not returned.  Why not?  Peter in his second epistle has some light on this.  In 2 Peter 3:1-14, he discusses the second coming of Christ, admitting that Jesus has seemingly delayed his coming.  Peter says this delay will cause men to scoff and deny.

The people who are denying His coming in verse 4 are the libertines of verse 3, those who walk after their own lusts.  Mockery and lust go together.  This denial supports their wickedness.  They strengthen their wicked ways by denying the second coming.  The connection is obvious.  Who could let himself revel in sin if he believed the Lord may come in judgment at any moment?  All moral laxity must have and has had the support of false doctrine.

Peter reassures his readers that the Lord will come.  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (verse 10).  The Greek is emphatic—“will come indeed.”  God’s patience and longsuffering will come to an end.  Do not be deceived by the delay.

Then he tells us what our reaction to the Lord’s imminent coming should be.  “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be....” (verse 11).  The truth that Jesus is coming ought to have a decided effect upon our lives.  Our lives should be stamped by holiness and godliness.  We should be eagerly desiring and looking for His return.   His coming ought to fill our thoughts.

And then Peter tells us the reason for the delay.  In verses 8,9, he says,  “Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (in other words, Jesus has only delayed His coming two days!?).

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God is not tardy.  He is not late.  God has not gone over the appointed time.  He is right on schedule.  The Lord’s delay is His longsuffering toward men.  What is a thousand years to God if He can bring one more to repentance?  God’s mercy reins back the wild stallion of judgment.

God is infinite in His compassion, longsuffering towards sinful man.  But do not be lulled into a false sense of security. Do not misinterpret His delay.  He will come!

 THE GOSPEL OF THE SECOND CHANCE

Soon we will come to the end of the year, the end of a millennium. The end marks a beginning. Many are hoping for a new beginning.

There comes a time in everyone’s life when he wishes he could start over. The poet spoke for all of us when he wrote:

I wish there was some wonderful place

Called the land of beginning again,

Where all of our mistakes and all our heartaches Could be dumped like a shabby old coat at the door And never put on again.

Who doesn’t look back on some page in his life and wish for a chance to rewrite it? Half the world’s miseries come from bruised fists knocking on the never-opening door of yesterday, from bloody fingers trying to pick the lock of a forever sealed moment. We don’t live very long before we awaken to our need for a place of beginning again.

And yet there is a place of beginning again. There is a Gospel of the Second Chance. Paul said it in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."

Note the broadness of it: "If any man."

Note the narrowness of it: "Be in Christ."

Our God is the God of the Second Chance: Jacob returned to Bethel, Samson’s hair began to grow again. To Peter, Jesus said, "When thou art converted." To the woman caught in adultery, He said, "Go thy way and sin no more." To the thief on the cross, He said, "Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise."

But this beginning again must be "in Christ." In Christ, God was beginning again. He began with Adam, but the image was marred by man’s rebellion, death fell upon creation, man was banished from the garden to live estranged from his God. He breathed into Adam and he became a living soul; He dwelt in Jesus and He became a life-giving spirit.

God began again, and because He did, we can begin again. "For as by one man’s disobedience, so by one man’s (Christ) obedience many will become righteous."

In Christ all things are made new—behold the old things have passed away. A new beginning for our world begins in Christ; a new beginning for you begins in Christ.

THE FINAL OPTION

"But suicides have a special language Like carpenters they want to know WHICH TOOLS. They never ask WHY BUILD."

These words were written by Anne Sexton, who received the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. She attempted suicide on several occasions, and eventually died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 1974. Her sister and aunt also committed suicide.

Suicide is not a subject we like to talk about or that I like to write about, but there is a growing epidemic, especially among teenagers, of suicide in this country. Approximately 2,000,000 people between the ages of thirteen and nineteen attempt suicide each year. Of that number, 6,000 will succeed. Since 1970, suicide has gone from the fifth leading cause of death among teenagers to the second.

The subject is on my heart because in recent weeks I have been deluged by parents whose children have recently taken their life or parents who are afraid their child is considering it. It is the constant terror of their lives.

1.Those who talk about it never do it. This is a costly myth that many have bought into. The truth is that those who talk about it, do often follow through.
2.Talking about it will cause someone to do it. The reverse is true: talking about it, studies show, actually reduce the chances of suicide.
3. Anyone who commits suicide is crazy. That would seem to be the case, but that is a myth. There are many reasons for committing suicide than being "crazy."
4.If someone wants to kill themselves, they can’t be stopped. Would-be-suicides can be stopped if they receive proper care and treatment.

1. A previous suicide attempt.
2. Preoccupation with death and talk of suicide
3. A sudden change in behavior or attitude -- depression, moodiness, withdrawal, feelings of helplessness and worthlessness.
4. Giving away prized possessions.
5. Decline in performance at school or work.
6. A change in eating or sleeping habits.
7. Verbal behavior that is ambiguous or indirect. "You won’t have to worry about me anymore." "I’m thinking of taking a long trip."
8. Impulsiveness or taking unnecessary risks, driving recklessly.
9. A sudden change from moodiness to lightheartedness, excessive laughter, a carefree attitude. This can mean the person has found a way out, settled on suicide and is now relieved of pain and burden. He does have an option—a fatal option.
10. Alcohol or drug abuse.

1. Confront them with the subject. If you feel your child or loved one is thinking about suicide (reading material about it, visiting web sites that discuss it), ask them:

(1) "Are you thinking about suicide?"
(2) "How long have you been thinking about it?"
(3) "How do you plan to do it?" If they actually have a plan you need to take them real seriously and get them to a doctor.
(4) Where do you plan to do it?"
(5) Who do you expect to find your body?"
(6) Do you really want to die or do you just want the pain to go away?"

If the person has expressed an immediate plan and has access to the means, do not leave him alone. Get help immediately. There is a National Youth Crisis Hotline you can call 24 hours a day:

1-800-448-4663. Or you can call your local police.

2. Listen to them. Let them talk. Let them know you take them seriously and want to hear what they have to say.

3. Let them know you care. Tell them that you will stay with them and help them find help. Assure them that help can be found.

Many suicides think they are doing their loved ones a favor by getting out of the way. Others, many others, are seeking oblivion from an empty, meaningless existence. While being a Christian doesn’t mean that a person will never take his life, the best suicide prevention in the world is the salvation that can be found only in Christ. In Christ we are made new creatures, old things are passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

CHAMBERLAIN’S BOAST

NBA hall-of-famer, Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, 63, died at his Bel Air, California home, October 12. Chamberlain was one of the all-time greats in pro basketball. During his record-smashing 14-year pro career that ended in 1973, he earned two championship rings, four MVP awards and 13 All-Star appearances. The 7-foot-1, 275-pound center dominated the game like no other player. In the 1961-62 season, he averaged 50.4 and 27.7 rebounds per game. In one game he scored 100 points.

In 1991 Chamberlain wrote his autobiography, in which he boasted that he had sex with 20,000 women.

I wonder if he made that same boast when he met God.

The truth is much of what we boast about is not something of which we would boast in the presence of God. Like Wilt Chamberlain, all of us will meet God someday—what will be our boast? Will we boast of our good works, our churchmembership, our charitable giving, our morality— what?

There is really only one boast sufficient before God. Paul tells us what that is in Galatians 6:14, "But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified unto me, and I to the world" (NASV). Paul’s boast was in the cross of Christ. The word suggests the ideas of pride and joy. But the main idea in this context is that Paul makes the cross the grounds of his confidence before God.

When you think about it, standing before God, can be a chilling thought. Just imagine. Standing in the presence of a thrice-holy God to give an account of yourself. What is the grounds of our confidence at that moment? The cross of Christ, says Paul. What others in his day were trying to escape, he gladly embraced. To the unbelieving world, the cross is an offence, a stumbling-block. One church removed the cross from his building because "it was offensive to unbelievers." Offensive or not, the cross is to be our glory, our boast. And one of these days, the offended unbelievers must face the cross. They may as well get used to it here and now.

The cross is offensive to man because it demands he think of his sin and helplessness. It strips him of his pride and exposes him for what he is. The cross means that God hates our sin so much, and that sin in so great, that only the death of His Son can take it away.

We cannot boast in ourselves and in the cross at the same time. John Stott says, "Only if we have humbled ourselves as hell-deserving sinners shall we give up boasting of ourselves, fly to the cross of salvation and spend the rest of our days glorying in the cross.

In the cross not only do we have a new life, we also have a new lifestyle. We and the world have parted company. Each has been crucified to the other. Before we were anxious to please, be a part of, the world. But now, what the world thinks of us is profoundly unimportant. As far as the world is concerned, I no longer exist, and as far as I am concerned, the world no longer exists.

As Paul said, I don’t know what others will boast about before the Lord, but my boast, my confidence, will be in the cross of Christ.

WHEN YOU'RE TREATED UNFAIRLY

I talked to a man a while back who told me he had left his church.   When I asked him why, he replied that there had been too much division and strife among the members and that he had been treated unfairly.

"Where are you going now?" I asked.

"I'm just visiting around," he said.  "I guess I'm looking for the perfect church."

"Well, if you joined it, it would no longer be perfect, would it?"  He didn't think that was as funny as I did.  But there is no such thing as a perfect church.  Jesus said "offenses must come," and come they will.  The only place you'll find perfect harmony is in a cemetery.  As long as the church is made up of living, imperfect beings, there are going to be offenses.   How then should we react when we are treated unfairly?  The apostle Peter has some suggestions.

1.  Don't be surprised. In I Peter 4:12, he says, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, AS THOUGH SOME
STRANGE THING HAPPENED UNTO YOU."  The word "strange" means "alien" or "foreign."  Don't act as though this is something out of the ordinary for believers.  Actually, mistreatment is true to our character as Christians.  Remember the Beatitudes?  The last one says, "Blessed are the persecuted."  Jesus is describing the Christian character:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, they that mourn, the meek, they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.  And what happens to this ideal character?  They are persecuted.  That's how the world reacts to the kind of person described in the first seven beatitudes.

But is it also true to our calling.  In 2:19 and 21, Peter says, "For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully....For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps."  We were called to mistreatment as surely as we were called to holiness.  Paul makes an interesting statement in Philippians 1:29: "For unto you it is given (a gift of grace) in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake."   Both believing in Christ and suffering for him are gifts of grace, suffering as much as belief.

2.  Don't be vindictive.  In 2:20, Peter says, "For what glory is it, if, when you are buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?  but if, when you do well, and suffer for it, YE TAKE IT PATIENTLY, this is acceptable to God."  Patient endurance is to be our response.  Being right does not give us the right to get even.  The word "glory" here means "reputation, prestige or credit."  Our reputation before the world is involved here.

3.  Don't be intimidated.  In 3: 13,14, the apostle says, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?  But and if you suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye: AND BE NOT AFRAID OF THEIR TERROR, NEITHER BE TROUBLED."  When someone mistreats us don't be aggravated or intimidated. 

Why?  Because no one can harm us.  Now that's interesting, because in the next verse he talks about our suffering.  Now how can he say on the one hand that we cannot be harmed, but we can suffer.  This is similar to John's statement in I John 5:18, "The wicked one cannot touch us."

If we are zealous for good works (followers of that which is good), no one can truly harm our character, our inner goodness, our relationship to God.  "The body they may kill," as Martin Luther's hymn states, but they cannot hurt the real you.

Peter concludes, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (3:15).  When we are treated unfairly, if Christ is Lord in our hearts and we respond the right way, people will ask us for a reason concerning the hope that is in us.  In short, being treated unfairly is one of the greatest opportunities we have to witness to the world.

GOOD YEAR FOR BAD NEWS

Last Wednesday evening a group of young people gathered at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, TX for a prayer meeting, when suddenly a deranged man broke in and started shooting. When the gun smoke cleared seven church members were dead and the gunman had killed himself.

People commenting on the tragedy said, "We’re not safe anywhere anymore." I wanted to say, "We never were." And this year has certainly proven it. Has there been more violence this year, or is news coverage just better? I’ m afraid it’s the former. For many reasons, many of which we aren’t aware of, our society is becoming more and more violent. This has been a tragedy-filled year. This has been a good year for bad news.

Do you know what the scariest sound in the world is? It’s the telephone ringing after midnight. Most of us have heard it. Unless we have kooky friends, it can only mean one thing: bad news.

I said that most of us have heard it. If you haven’t yet, you will. You can’t escape it. But there is help.

Psalm 112:7:  "HE SHALL NOT BE AFRAID OF EVIL TIDINGS."

"He shall not be afraid of bad news!" Why? Because "his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord."

Psalm 111 and 112 are companion Psalms, 111 telling about the character of God and 112, the character of those who trust in God. Some of the same things said about God in 111 are said about His people in 112.

Let’s look at some of those characteristics:

1. He fears the Lord, v1. In 111:10, the Psalmist writes, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom." FEAR OF GOD in the Old Testament is not a scary, servile kind of fear—it is reverence, respect, an awesome attitude that so reverences God, it would do nothing to offend it.

2. He delights greatly in God commandments. His commandments are not merely a drab duty, they are a delight! The commandments here are things of practical nature and interest. It is simply doing God’s will.

3. His heart is fixed, v7. The Hebrew word, "fixed", means firm, directed toward the right, remaining erect, straight and firm, refusing to bend or warp. He has dropped his anchor in the Lord and it holds fast.

4. He trusting in the Lord, v7. To rely or lean upon, is the meaning of the word. The verse literally says, "trusting in the Lord," and indicates a completed action. This man has just now trusted the Lord. It is something that he already done in the past. Even more literally, it reads, "Having trusted the Lord, He is trusting the Lord." It’s too late to learn to swim when the flood waters break over your soul. This person is not sustained by his own courage but by his confidence in the Lord.

5. His heart is established, v8. The Hebrew word here for "established" is the same one translated in Psalm 111:8, where speaking of the commandments being sure, the Psalmist says, "They stand fast forever and ever." You become like the God you trust. And a heart that leans upon the established commandments becomes established himself.

When the bad news comes we need to trust in the Lord; in other words, trusting God is BETTING EVERYTHING WE ARE AND HAVE ON THE FACT THAT GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY AND FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES.

The truth about abortion is that 1 out of 4 of our generation is not living because they were murdered before they were born. Since 1972 over 35,000,000 innocent babies have been aborted.

MORE LIGHT FROM DARKENED MINDS

And then after the L.A. shootings, when the shooter was found to be a member of an aryrian group and was dedicated to killing Jews ("This was a wake-up call to kill Jews," he said), Janet Reno said, "This was a hate crime. We need stricter gun laws." Silly me, ignorant me, I thought the call would be for more hate control rather than gun control.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT ALL THIS?

What are our spiritual leaders saying today?

LifeStyle Ministries
P.O. Box 153087
Irving, TX 75015

©Ron Dunn, LifeStyle Ministries, 2001