If You Want It Done Right, .....

Graduation season is upon us and once again, we send forth our educated students into the world to continue the task of being a light to the nations and of successfully fulfilling their calling in life.  There is an underlying assumption that they are prepared and will do a good job.  However, there also is a well-known saying that "If you want something done right, ....."  Do it yourself, right?  

Jesus disagrees!   

In Luke 6:40, Jesus stated "Everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  His demonstrated answer to the question, "If you want something done right," is to teach them and equip them.  He taught them, equipped them, let them "try" doing it, and gave the assignment and encouragement to continue the work. 

Let's consider Jesus' example.  He chose the twelve, taught them truth, let them observe His behavior, allowed them to witness His miracles, and them sent them out in power to do the works.  After He blessed them and ascended into heaven, He enabled them with Someone to remind them of what He taught, to guide them into all truth, and to fulfill the enabling promise of having  "the exceeding greatness of His power." (Ephesians 1:19).  At the conclusion of it all He will extend the most powerful words of accomplishment, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

All creation shows God's handiwork and there are patterns in nature which demonstrate the amazing truth of the next generation continuing what the first started.  One of these is the migration of the Monarch butterfly. Each September some 500,000 monarch butterflies migrate from southern Canada to wintering sites in central Mexico arriving in November.  However, what makes this a spectacular natural phenomenon is that no individual lives long enough to complete the trip.  Female monarchs lay eggs for a subsequent generation during the southward migration, which as the next generation come forth, they continue the mission.  This process involves four generations to complete the annual cycle. 

Clearly the mission of completing the work of Jesus and bringing the Good News of salvation in Jesus to "every creature" requires each generation to impart the message and equip the next to do the task.  Therefore, the most important work of this generation is to prepare the next generation with the Christian foundation of Jesus and His Word to "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20).

If the student will become like his teacher, it behooves the teacher to be like the Lord Jesus.  Paul says, "imitate me and I imitate Christ."  Jesus prayed in John 17, "I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by the truth."  One of David's requests of God was "Teach me thy ways."  The point is that we, this generation, must press in to know God and His ways, in order to effectively impart this life-giving pattern to the next generation. 

Of course, the ending of the great commission is that Jesus is with you always, until the end of the age.  Therefore, do not get weary in continuing yourself to grow into Him and in teaching young people to know the Lord and His ways.  The work will be done right, when we equip them and teach them to do it right. 

Live!

You are the risen of the Lord!

Because He lives, I live. John 14:19

I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave His life for me. Galatians 2:20 

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. John 5:24

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. John 11:25-26

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11  

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,  Revelation 19:7

Today, as we celebrate and remember Jesus' death and resurrection, nothing is more important and powerful than to agree with Jesus and what His Word declares as the glorious and eternal truth.  All praise and thanks to God forever! 

Have to add a P. S.

  One Easter morning as I was preaching about the resurrection of Jesus, I followed the eastern church's chant, "He is Risen!" and the congregation would reply, "He is risen indeed!" getting louder each time we declared it.  A lady, who was in the hospital with pneumonia had been released just to attend services, felt a warmth in her chest and was instantly healed.  Ever since then, I know the power of the resurrection is released by declaring Jesus is risen.  

Piggy-Back into His Joy

    Clearly God has turned our mourning into joy, but it is up to us to choose to stand in His provision.  Obviously, it is easy to dwell in our fallen-nature tendency to complain, to feel sorry for ourselves, and to be anxious and fearful. However, God exhorts us to allow His joy to come in and our joy to be full.  Let there be joy!  Serve the Lord with joy and gladness of heart.    

Psalm 35:27 has an amazing exhortation: Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, "Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.'"  Jesus came and took our place because He delights in showing mercy and allowing us to share His glory. He is worthy of it all, glorious praise for what He has done. 

    

  At school this week I tried to demonstrate to the children what Jesus did for us.  We imagined a pit of fiery hot lava (hell) and pointed out that everyone who sinned deserved death, and to be thrown into the pit.  We suggested that when they look at the cross they should see themselves on the cross, because that is what our sin deserves.  However, Jesus took their place.  

Then I picked up "piggy back" one of the first graders, told him to pretend I was Jesus who picked him up, and carried him through the "fire of hell" and brought him to the other side called heaven.  Jesus is the only one who can walk through hell and take us to heaven.. We are the most blessed people on earth to have Jesus to "piggy back" carry us from eternal death and hell into His glorious home to joyfully live with Him forever! .

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  As long as we focus on and think about how blessed we are to know the Lord and our living hope of His resurrection, we can afford to be joyful and full of peace.  He has already won the victory for us over every enemy, including sin and death.  Because he lives, we live (John 14).  Capital One may ask "what is in your wallet?"  Life asks us, "What is on your mind?"  As a man thinks, so is he. When our minds are filled with the truth of how blessed we are (having all things that pertain to life and godliness 2 Peter 1:3), obviously joy and gladness are the result.  On the piggy back ride with Jesus, (or in His hand), nothing can separate us from the eternal joy of our salvation!

Too Good to be True

 It is finished.  Everything man could ever need ("His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him," 2 Peter 1:3) is already ours.  Instead of begging God to heal or provide, we simply can thank Him that He has already provided it.   When asked "What must we do to work the works of God? Jesus declared the work of God is to believe in Him who He sent. We live by faith not sight, faith in what Jesus has won for us through His death and resurrection.

It sounds too good to be true.  In the world we are conditioned to realize when an offer seems "too good to be true," it probably is a scam and not true.  As a result of this thinking, we tend to take everything with a grain of salt, so we don't get taken advantage of.  Therefore, the Word of God must be received in our spirit where the Holy Spirit bears witness, rather than through our mind.  Our thinking is foolishness compared to the wisdom of God, and no one can come to God in the wisdom of man according to 1 Corinthians 1.  The mind must be renewed to think God's thoughts.

Our spirit man is where the "knower" part of us resides.  The Word is spirit and life. However, It does have the power of God to transform our thinking and enlighten the mind with truth.  Notice how Ephesians 1:17-18 asks God to "give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know..."  The Word enters our spirit and in God's order, our spirit then directs our soulish part (mind, will, and emotions) to understand and submit.  Psalm 103 is also an example, "Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name."  The "spirit" Word enters our spirit and then the spirit of man directs the soul to act.

I love the line in Psalm 21, which says I am "most blessed forever."  How could we be anything but most blessed, when we are the righteousness of God, we will reign with the Lord Jesus forever, all things are working for our good, He is a very present help in times of need, by His stripes we are healed, all my needs are met according to His riches in glory, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and we shall swell in the house of the Lord forever?    

We can take any of the promises of God, which always seem "too good" for our natural mind, and simply receive them as seed in the good ground of our heart.  We are instructed to receive the Word with meekness, by laying down our thinking in order that His thoughts may dominate our thoughts.  As a man thinks, so is he.  

Hearing and declaring God's Word allows these "God thoughts" to produce faith, which is an assurance, a know-so conviction of things not seen.  Ephesians 5 talks about "the washing by the water of the Word."  Just as Paul realized that he had to die daily because of the wicked tendencies of the flesh, we likewise need to let the Spirit help us put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13) by daily washing our heart and thinking with the Word of God.  When we know the truth of Jesus' triumph over sin, sickness, and death, we are set free from striving to be good enough.  We enter His rest because He is "too good."