Saturday, March 6, 2010

The Judgment of Nations

Zephaniah 3:8

The latter phrase of the 8th verse shows us that this event has yet to occur on God’s timeline, “For all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy”. The earth has yet to be devoured by the fire of God, though Peter tells us that this day is coming, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Don’t worry; forest fires and rising global temperatures are not the end time burning of God. This moment comes at the very end, and there are still other things to be accomplished before this can be.

God promises to “gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger” (Zephaniah 3:8). We know that God’s judgment was poured out upon Jesus at the cross, so He has no more to pour out on humanity, for the sin debt is paid. Where does this terrible anger come from in Zephaniah? Look at the arrival of Jesus following the Tribulation:

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

At the Second Coming, after Jesus defeats the anti-Christ at the Battle of Armageddon, He will sit on His throne in Jerusalem and will gather all nations before Him. This is not a judgment of individuals, for that will not occur until after the 1000 year reign of Christ on this earth. This judgment is for the nations of the earth at that time, and He will divide the good from the bad.

All of humanity is referred to as sheep in the Bible. Even sinners are given this title, for they are lost, in need of being found. The goats of Matthew 25 are the nations that Zephaniah warns us about. When Christ takes the mantle of world leadership and authority to begin His 1000 year reign, He must judge the nations for what they did with His finished work.

It is important to remember that no one will ever be judged for whether or not they kept the law, for all would be guilty. Men do not go to hell for committing acts of sin, but for rejecting Jesus as their redeemer. Jesus said, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

John wrote, in the same chapter, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). You see the wrath of God abiding because they ignored that which appeased God’s wrath: the cross of Jesus Christ.

Believer, your judgment has been accomplished at the cross. Tell someone else that theirs has been accomplished as well, and all they need is to accept Jesus in their heart. Go in Him today.

Friday, March 5, 2010

No Matter What, I Will Rejoice

Habakkuk 3:16-18

Everyone imagines what they would do if they had unlimited money or time. They fantasize of trips that they would take and shopping sprees that they would go on. Then reality kicks in and we see more bills than we do income, and not nearly enough hours in the day. We keep waiting for circumstances to change and for that golden opportunity to come along and make everything better. In short, we have no time to rest, for there is too much to do.

In light of these things, when we hear someone teaching or preaching on resting in the Lord, we often tune out because rest seems impossible. Jesus fell asleep in the boat with His disciples, and seemed content to snooze right through a terrible storm. It was not the circumstances that woke Him, but the panic of His beloved disciples. When He calmed the storm with a wave of His hand and a simple command, He asked where their faith had gone. The reprimand has more to do with their lack of rest in terrible circumstances than it does anything else.

Jesus knew how to rest, even when life was pressing Him. Habakkuk wrote of how believers should, “rest in the day of trouble” (3:16). If we are always waiting to rest in Christ until circumstances are perfect, then we will always be waiting. In the world we find rest when the waters are calm. In Christ, you rest and that calms the waters. Christ is not a responder; He is a Creator!

It takes a resolve to rest. The author of Hebrews encouraged the church to “labor therefore to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). When you arrive at this place, you can rejoice in God’s goodness no matter what happens around you.

Habakkuk writes that though the fig tree stop producing; though the vines yield no grapes; though the olive tree give no oil and the crops refuse to grow, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17). This is quite a resolve, to give God praise and glory even if everything around you fails. In troubled economic times, you and I can have a peace in our heart, for we know that all else may fail, but Christ Jesus cannot fail.

Notice the word ‘LORD’ and its capital letters. The author is using “Jehovah” in Hebrew, which means “covenant keeper”. It is his way of pointing the reader back to the one who drew up the Covenant. God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. God is good, even when things are not.

As you look around you today, you may not see much reason to rejoice. Rejoice anyway! God is good and His love endures forever. Your salvation is in Him, and when you labor to enter into His rest, the storm and the waves cease for you.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Slow to Anger

Nahum 1:2, 3

Nahum is a study in God’s character. First, God is described as “jealous” (verse 2). Jealousy is not a desirable trait in anyone, but the context of the verse shows us that in this case it is what we would call a “godly jealousy”. In other words, God wants to be the most important thing in your life. He is jealous of anything else that we might put in the way.

Next, the Lord is vengeful (verse 2). His vengeance is so powerful that Nahum describes it as “furious” and “reserved for his enemies”. It is part of the character of God to revenge those who live their lives opposed to His sovereignty. His wrath is pent up, or reserved, not for His own, but for those who make themselves enemies.

Finally, He is “slow to anger, and great in power” (verse 3). This awesome power and holiness demands that he “not at all acquit the wicked”. It is this slowness to anger and greatness of power that tells us the most about God’s character; for it is in this that we are introduced to the New Covenant.

Paul would write in Romans 5:10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life”. Notice that God sent Jesus to die for us, “when we were enemies”. It was Nahum who told us that God’s vengeance was “reserved for his enemies”. We are identified as the enemies, thus God’s vengeance was reserved for us.

Since God is slow to anger, He allowed the children of Israel to disobey and break His law for nearly 1500 years. That is the amount of time between the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai and the death of Christ on Calvary. When Jesus died, God’s anger with sin was appeased, since He had placed all sin in the body of His Son on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). Because God cannot judge for the same sins twice, there is no more guilt to be found in sin. This is not a condoning of sin on God’s part, but rather an acceptance of Calvary.

When Jesus died on the cross, God shows that he can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). The only reason that He can do this is because His holy law has been vindicated in the cross.

Nothing of God’s character has changed, for He is constant (James 1:17). With this in mind, if He was jealous in Nahum, then He is jealous now. He still wants first place in our life, but the cross has made a huge difference, not in how God is, but in how God reacts to man. Everything is now filtered through what Jesus did at the cross. Thus God is still great in power, but He is also great in grace and mercy.

Because God is slow to wrath, we are all still here. If He were not slow to wrath, He surely would have taken His church home and started the Tribulation. Every moment that God delays sending Jesus to get His bride is another indication of the mercy and love of God. He wants as many of His sheep as will, to come home to their Father. Oh how He loves you and me!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Know the Righteousness of the Lord

Micah 6:5

Most Christians claim that they know what it takes to be righteous. Things such as reading your Bible, having a daily prayer time, giving in the offering and going to church regularly will usually find their way onto the list. All of these things are great, but none of them make us righteous. These things come from those who are righteous, but they in no way improve upon their righteousness.

Believers are made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our right standing with God comes now, not because we keep all of the law perfectly, but because Jesus did, and the Father accepts Him. If God accepts Jesus, then God shows us His righteousness by accepting us (Romans 3:26). If we see how righteous that He is through His acceptance of us, then we have an insight into the righteousness of God.

God spoke through Micah, stating that Israel could know how righteous that God was by remembering the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was the king of Moab, and he watched as the nation of Israel marched past his kingdom in the book of Numbers. He consulted with the wizard Balaam to place a curse on God’s people as they were encamped in the valley, taking Balaam to a high mountain to show him a fourth part of the camp. Balaam agreed to do it for the money, but found that every time that he opened his mouth to curse God’s people a blessing came out instead. What God has blessed, no man can curse!

After repeated attempts at cursing God’s people, Balaam made this very telling statement about how God views His own:

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21).

Even though God’s people had complained over lack of water in chapter 20, and had mocked God’s provision of manna in chapter 21, God still sees no iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. How can this be? Surely not everyone in the camp of Israel had no sin in their life. Remember, Israel has just put the brazen serpent on a pole in chapter 21 and all who looked upon it were healed. That serpent was a type of the cursed Christ at Calvary, of which all who look upon will be saved. Because Christ took the curse, we CANNOT BE CURSED! Thus, when God looked down into the camp of Israel he saw no sin in Jacob or perverseness in Israel.

God specifically uses “Jacob” and “Israel” in His description, though we know that they are the same person. Jacob means “supplanter” or “heel-catcher”. In other words, he was a cheat by nature. Israel means “prince with God”. One represents the hopeless, while the other represents the hopeful. Notice that God saw no sin in Jacob, though by his name he is a cheater. No matter what stage of development that you are in while living for Christ, Jesus is in you as the hope of glory, and you are viewed as sinless in God’s eyes. Praise God!

See how righteous that He is in you by remembering that what God has blessed, no man can curse. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

  • Paul White Ministries wants to wish our Music Director Michael White a very happy birthday today!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Jesus Loves the Little Children

Jonah 4:11

The story of Jonah is well known to all, even if one has never been to Sunday school. We all know that Jonah was the reluctant prophet, called by God to take the message of repentance to a heathen nation, Nineveh. We know that Jonah ran from the call and ended up being swallowed by a whale. After three days and nights in the whale’s belly, he was vomited up on the shore. Then he goes to Nineveh and God moves greatly, stirring repentance in the hearts of all that hear him preach. For most of us, the story ends there.

The book of Jonah however, does not end with Nineveh’s repentance. Instead, the book follows Jonah outside of the walls of Nineveh, and finds him angry with God. Jonah did not avoid going to Nineveh because he was afraid of them, though he would have had every reason to be. They were a savage nation, sacrificing humans to their strange gods; skinning their prisoners alive to use the skins as dried leather for furniture and piling the skulls of their executed on a large mound outside of the city gates to warn foreigners and thieves. Jonah avoids going to Nineveh because they have been perpetual persecutors of Israel, and Jonah wants them to suffer the wrath of God. He knows that God is merciful and that He will forgive them if they ask, and Jonah wants no part of it.

God causes a gourd, a quick growing shrub in that part of the world, to grow up overnight to shadow Jonah from the hot sun, and then prepares a worm to eat it up. This act of God was to teach Jonah one final and crucial lesson about the heart of God.

God asks Jonah if he is angry about the gourd being destroyed. Jonah replies that he has a right to be angry, even to the point of suicide (Jonah 4:9). God’s response is to teach Jonah the contrast between his love for the gourd and God’s love for Nineveh:

“Then said the Lord, ‘Thou has had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand (120,000) persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?’” (Jonah 4:10, 11)

Jonah was angry over the loss of something that he did nothing to create. God shows him that in Nineveh are people whom God loves, who He did create and who He wants to save. How much more should God do all to reach Nineveh? There are 120,000 people there that cannot tell the difference between their right hand and their left. What kind of person cannot tell that difference? Children! God wants to spare Nineveh because the next generation deserves a chance. He has not changed to this day.

Jesus loved the little children and allowed all that wanted to come near Him and be blessed. God has a special love even now, not only for little children, but for all of the innocent, placed in harm’s way by someone else’s decisions and lifestyles. The next time that you look at someone and hope that they, “get what’s coming to them”, think of the 120,000 children of Nineveh, whom God wanted to save in spite of their parents. The love of Jesus is still great for all who do not deserve it, including you and me.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Find the Right Mountain

Obadiah 1:15-17

Obadiah says that the “day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou has done, it shall be done unto thee” (1:15). For those who have not accepted Christ, this is a pretty frightening thought! The prophet proceeds to explain that as Israel had heard from God on his “holy mountain”, so the heathen will drink the same thing at this mountain that Israel did. What mountain is he talking about, and what drink will they drink?

The 17th verse answers our question partially, “But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance(1:17). There is a contrast between two mountains. The first is God’s holy mountain where Israel drank at first. This can only be Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke with God and received the Ten Commandments and all of the written ordinances of the law. Israel drank of God’s wrath from this mountain on more than one occasion and all because they were disobedient to the law that came from the mount.

Mount Zion is never mentioned while Israel is wandering in the wilderness. Of course, that makes sense seeing as Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Israel has yet to arrive there, but for the time period that Israel was in while in the wilderness, there is only one significant mountain and that is Sinai, the birthplace of the law. All of Israel was judged there, by the pristine, perfect standards of God’s law.

The author of Hebrews describes two mountains: Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Hebrews 12:18-24). The first burned with fire, was black and dark and the voice that spoke from it could not be endured (vss. 18-20). The second is described as the city of the living God, with many angels, where the church lives with Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (vss.22-24).

Mt. Sinai represents the law and all of its demands (Galatians 4:24). While telling man how to live, it provides no help in keeping those demands. It came so that sin would explode in man’s heart, showing him his need for a Savior (Romans 5:20; Galatians 3:24).

Mt. Zion represents the New Covenant and the grace of God. There is no fear in approaching it because Jesus lives there, and His blood is speaking great things about our redemption (Hebrews 12:23).

Obadiah’s prophecy shows us that man will ultimately be judged by the Law, because without Jesus, the only other mountain for him is Sinai. When someone rejects Christ, they are rejecting God’s offer of a New Covenant from Mt. Zion. Because of this, they are left only with Sinai and its demands.

As a believer, you should live and dwell and worship at Mt. Zion, where grace flows in abundance. Any attempts at keeping the law to achieve righteousness places you at the base of Sinai, where not even the great Moses could keep from quaking in fear (Hebrews 12:21).

Preachers must move their pulpits from the darkness of Sinai, where the law is preached with trembling and fear; and station themselves in the heaven of Mt. Zion, where the loveliness of Jesus is presented and the New Covenant is free for all by the precious blood of Jesus.
Go to the right mountain today!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Salty Saints

Matthew 5:13

Jesus calls the believer “sheep”, “light”, a “city” and in Matthew 5, “salt”. Salt has healing properties, cleaning out the wound that it is applied to. It also adds flavor to that which is bland, giving it a good taste. Jesus calls this usage of salt, “savour”. Without the “savour” or the flavoring, Jesus says that the salt is “good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men”.

Jesus is not threatening to cast out His people, for we know that if any man comes to Jesus he, “will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). He is, however, saying that the believer that has no flavoring is of no use to the world. His descriptions of us are in context of how much we affect the world. In verse 14, we are the light, “of the world”. In verse 15 we are a candlestick that “gives light unto all that are in the house”. In verse 16 we are to let our light shine in a way so that the world may glorify God. All of these descriptions are told to show how we are to make a difference to those around us.

One of the chief characteristics of flavorful salt is the effect that it has on those who consume it. When you eat something salty, you need something to drink in order to remove the taste from your mouth. The saltier that a food is, the more that your body demands something to drink. If believers are to be salt with lots of savour, then we are to be a great force in the lives of those whom we meet.

Our passion for life, our joy during adversity and our love against all odds should make the world around us thirsty for a taste of what we have. Believers should live in such a way that it makes sinners want to be near them, for their infectious spirit. Too often, many Christians look so sour and miserable that people of the world would not only never want to live like them, they don’t even want to be around them. Some Christians think that this is holy and a sign that they are doing something right, but Jesus basically says, “If you aren’t making a sinner thirsty once in a while, what good are you?”

Perhaps many believers feel that they are being trampled under the foot of men because they really are. If you are not causing them to want the Jesus that you have then you are probably turning them off to the Jesus that you have. Their attacks will come quick and steady and much of our Christianity then gets reduced to “attack and defend”. We go after all of those who sin and rebel and who we disagree with doctrinally, and then we hedge up our spiritual defenses and fast and pray all of the “demons of opposition” away.

Believer, you have the greatest gift inside of you that the world could ever want. Let the Jesus of the Bible show up in your every word and deed. Minister grace to the ears of your co-workers. Let your family see Christ’s love and mercy in action. You will marvel as you see those around you turn interested in this same Jesus, and when they find themselves thirsty, give them the water of life freely.

Go be salty, saint!