Tag: struggles

How Long? When God is Pleased

January 25th, 2018
Galatians 1:15 – But when God … was pleased

… who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace …

The Call of God …

The Plan of God …

The Timing of God …

The Provision of God …

… are all OF GOD

When we are facing uncertainty, adversity, persecution, dire circumstance, we often ask, ” How long, Lord?”

The insinuation is that we know what is best. It is a feeling that we are being wronged and we are calling God to account for the “injustice” of allowing this injustice in our lives to go unchecked. Well, here is a different angle on the question, “how long?”. Do we really want to open the floor for the “how long?” question? If you do a casual search of scripture for the phrase, “how long” you will find that God often asks his people the same question.
- “how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?”
- “how long will you refuse to keep my commands and instructions?”
- “how long will these people despise me?”
- “how long will they not trust me?”
- “how long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord … gave you?”
- “how long … will my honor be insulted?”
- “how long will you love what is worthless and pursue a lie?”
Do we really want to get into a “how long?” contest with God? The difference between us and God is perspective, knowledge, and wisdom. God sees it all complete. We see it myopically through darkened and damaged lenses. God has full knowledge of every aspect. We have limited knowledge. God has the wisdom to know exactly what to do with the knowledge he has. We aren’t as wise as we think we are, as is evident when we keep doing what we have been doing, and wonder why we keep getting what we have been getting.

Listen, there is nothing wrong with asking God, “how long?”, or “is it time?”. But, we need to ask in trust and perspective, and with our hearts set on God, our lives given sacrificially to God, regardless of if God’s timetable matches ours.

I am mindful of a comparison of perspectives. The disciples, on multiple occasions, asked, “Lord, will you establish your kingdom now?”. What were they asking? “How long, Lord, do we have to put up with our circumstances, persecution, adversity, and uncertainty.” The problem was that they were asking selfishly, “will you do what we want?”, “will you give us seats of honor?”. What’s the comparison? In Revelation 6, in Heaven, the 5th seal was opened and we see souls under the altar crying out, “Lord … how long until you judge … and avenge our blood?” THIS is the ONLY way to ask this question. They don’t ask IF, but just, WHEN. So often our question is calling into account the goodness of God, or the justice of God, but not here.

First, notice the LOCATION, they are under the altar, IN Heaven. Then notice the POSTURE of the question, they have been slaughtered because of the word of God, and their testimony given. These petitions came from people who have sold all, and sacrificed all, for the Lord they serve. They are not asking for deliverance but for vengeance and justice. They have willingly given their all and been poured out on the altar of God. And then notice the UNDERSTANDING of their request, “Lord, the one who is Holy and True, how long …” The understanding is that before I ask … “I KNOW you are Right, Just, Faithful, and Good. So, if your timetable doesn’t match mine, I am OK with that, but just wondering, how long.” Then notice the EXPECTATION that God will judge, and avenge. It is not if, but when.

When? What difference does it make? What are we to do in the meantime? Back to Acts 1:6, post-resurrection, they still ask Jesus, “How long?” They ask, “Is it now that you are restoring the Kingdom of Israel.” Wait, what? The “Kingdom of ISRAEL”? That was their concern? No. Our concern should be for the Kingdom of God and of his Christ. That is what matters, not MY kingdom, my circumstances, my discomfort. And Jesus says, in Acts 1:7-8, “It is NOT for YOU to know times or periods that the Father has SET by his own AUTHORITY. But YOU will receive POWER … you will be my WITNESSES …” God hasn’t put us on the timing committee. God hasn’t guaranteed us earthly honor. But Christ, has promised and given us the Power of the Holy Spirit, the One who empowered the Resurrection, it is FOR US who believe. And Christ has given us the command to pour out ourselves as witnesses to the ends of the earth.

For Us … Power and Witness

For God … Authority to set the times and seasons. Why? Because he is Holy and True, Faithful and Just, Good and GREAT!

We need to take care of our stuff and let God do the God stuff.

So, When?

When God is “Pleased” (Gal 1:15) – eudokeo = take delight, well pleased, approve, consent to, choose.

My “when”, will be IF and When it pleases, delights God to choose to order the universe to bring about his will. So, in the meantime, I have to work to do what could result in my life poured out under the altar.

Final perspective … Galatians 1:10 am i trying to persuade people, or God? Am i striving to please people? (me included) If I am trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ.”

But I AM of Christ and HIS pleasure is what I seek.
The Real Struggle

October 6th, 2015

Romans 5:12 (NIV84)
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

When Adam surrendered to Eve’s suggestion of the forbidden fruit, after Eve surrendered to the suggestion of the serpent … the struggle with sin began.
But what was the “Real Struggle”? I once had a man, well meaning, come into my office in St. Louis and say “Pastor, you don’t preach about ‘sin’ enough.” I looked at him in disbelief and asked what he meant. He repeated his desire again for me to speak more about ‘sin’. Well, I manuscript all of my messages and I was preaching through the book of Romans. So, I pulled out my previous few messages and referred to some things about sin and pointed to a section and said “that’s sin”, and another section and said “that’s sin”. But he said, “no, ‘sin’, like lying and immorality, and murder, and abortion …” and he just had a long list. I redirected and said “Oh, I thought you were talking about sin.” (He looked confused) And I continued, “you are talking about sins”, and he said “yeah, ‘sin’”.
And there is often the problem. We don’t focus on the Real Struggle. When Adam and Eve sinned, they opened the door to sin. The world wasn’t full of all the evil ‘sins’ we know today, nor even the ‘less than evil’ sins. I don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in the world before that fateful day, but there was NO sin, and so no sins. So that day when they sinned, the issue was and remains, who will be ‘god’? Oswald Chambers in my utmost for his highest says “the disposition is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the dispostion of self-realization – I am my own god.”
You see before that act, there was only The Lord as God. The very thought that we could even do differently than he had instructed had not entered into our consciousness. But the Serpent planted a seed of doubt and possibility that we could be god. satan always called into question the goodness of God and the Word of God. He said to Eve “Did God say that you couldn’t eat from any tree.” “No just this one tree, if we eat IT we will die” … But satan countered “you won’t die, you will become like god.” And there it was. The ONLY act at his point that was possible to be called sin, was the act of taking up the role of determining right and wrong, taking up the role of lord, and deciding for myself what I will do.
So, both Adam and Eve, instead of putting to death that thought, they gave it life and found “yes, I CAN become my own lord, i can be my own god.” But Oh the consequences when we take that road.
So it is for us the daily struggle, the Real Struggle is not with actions that we call sins, but it is an attitude of rebellion or an attitude that acquiesces, that is accepts, even reluctantly, the rule of Jehovah God as Lord.
It is as I am crucified with Christ that I no longer live, but Christ lives in me … then and only then, I find that the life I live is lived by faith in the goodness of the Song of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
It is in coming after him (Luke 9:23) in denial to self,to the way that I want to go, that I take up the cross and follow him. Taking up the cross is not about suffering and sacrifice, though that often comes with it. No, taking up the cross is about surrendering to HIS will, HIS way, HIS plan, HIS purpose.
The Real Struggle is in putting my hand to the plow and not looking back (Luke 9:62)
Eve and then Adam followed their own desire instead of the will of God and so the Real Struggle allowed every other sinful action to enter the real of possibility in life. Praise Go that He didn’t leave us to the consequence of that one sin though.
Romans 5:18–21 (NIV84)
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

the Real Struggle, moment by moment is about Lordship, who will be God?
It is about surrender
It is about the salute to the higher rank and authority
It is doing an “about face” to follow the plan of God

When once that decision is made, when that conflict is settled, obedience leads to life and peace with God.
Peace with God over lordship, leads to victory over the sins that so easily entangle us

Tag: struggles

How Long? When God is Pleased

The Real Struggle