Just King

I hate weeds.  Weeds wreak havoc and ruin a beautiful yard if not eliminated.  I made an effort to eliminate some weeds in my yard a few weeks ago by purchasing what I THOUGHT was a chemical which would only kill weeds.  Turns out, after zig zagging around my yard spraying weeds, that I also killed every inch of grass along with the weeds.  Now my yard has several large zig zag patterns of dead weeds . . . and grass.  From this experience I learned that when grass and weeds grow right beside one another, you have to be careful how you go about eliminating weeds in case you destroy the grass as well.

Our world is full of “weeds” (evil people).  Read the news on any given day and we are confronted with the harsh reality of all the evil that exists in the world.  Murder, violence, bullying, stealing, lying, abortion, divorce, . . . these are all examples of evil that happens in our world and in our own lives every day.  With all these weeds of evil growing everywhere, we might struggle at times wondering, “where is God?”, “why does He allow such evil?”, or “is He powerless to do anything about it?”  Be assured, God hates weeds more than we do, and He has plans to get rid of them, just not in the way or in the time frame that you might expect.

READ:  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

God the King is the MAKER and OWNER of this world and He will make sure that everyone receives JUSTICE!  According to Matthew 13:24 and 38 the world in which good and evil exist is “HIS”.  That one little possessive pronoun communicates that God is the maker and therefore the owner of the world that you and I enjoy and live in every day.  At the same time, there is a real enemy that exists in God’s world (the devil), but make no mistake, He is fully in charge of His world and His Kingdom.  How do we make sense of our experience in the world?

God allows GOOD and EVIL to exist TOGETHER beside one another in His world (Mt. 13:25-26, 30, 38) – We should not be surprised at evil in our world.  We should not be shocked when we hear about bad things that happen.  We should not become discouraged when we feel like we are surrounded on all sides by wickedness.  Our King is allowing good and evil would exist side by side in this world.  Matthew 5:45 says God, “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”  The sun and rain God provides which allows good wheat to grow is the same environment which allows evil weeds to grow as well.  The frustrating part is that evil weeds are right next to us and they impact our personal lives.  It is our personal experience with evil that creates within us a desire for justice!  We want someone to eliminate the evil and make things right.  There is good news for all of us who want justice in this world!

In God’s Kingdom, everyone will receive their just PUNISHMENT or REWARD (Mt. 13:30, 39b-43) – There are consequences for everything in life.  When we do what is good, good things happen to us.  When we do what is evil, bad things happen.  The consequence of being a child of the evil one is being gathered outside the Kingdom and thrown into a “fiery furnace.  In a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  The consequence of being a child of the Kingdom is being gathered inside the Kingdom and welcomed into the “barn” of God’s eternal presence.  We may see and experience many injustices in this life that seem to go without consequences, but we can be sure of this, no one who will escape God’s justice.

CONCLUSION
An important question to ask is, “am I wheat or am I a weed?”  Am I a son of the kingdom or a son of the evil one?  Make no mistake, God will eternally punish or reward us depending on which one we are.  Why doesn’t God just eliminate weeds?  2 Peter 3:9 says that God is, “patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”   God isn’t eliminating weeds just yet, because He is patiently waiting to transform them into wheat!  Being transformed from a weed into wheat involves repenting of the evil we have done and putting faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  Is it you God is patiently waiting for to repent?

Kingdom Contradiction

Anthony Webb was a contradiction. "Spud", as he was nicknamed, is a retired professional basketball player who is known for winning the NBA slam dunk contest in 1986.  Despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history at 5’7” tall, “Spud” defeated his 6’8” teammate and defending dunk champion Dominique Wilkins, by soaring nearly 4 feet in the air on each of his dunk attempts.  He defeated Wilkins with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round.  To many, “Spud’s” small stature contradicted the amazing things he was able to do on the basketball court!

The Kingdom of heaven is a contradiction.  On the surface it appears small, unimpressive, unnoticeable, and to many completely invisible.  Jesus Christ, who came to establish God’s Kingdom is a contradiction Himself.  Isaiah 53:2 says about Jesus that, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”  He was born in poverty in a manger in Bethlehem.  He lived a simple life as a carpenter.  His closest companions were fisherman, sinners, and tax collectors.  During His ministry He served the unwanted and outcasts. His life ended suffering the punishment of a criminal on the cross.  There was nothing outwardly impressive about Jesus, and yet, He is undoubtedly the single most influential person in the history of the world.

READ:  Matthew 13:31-32

Just like Jesus, the KINGDOM of GOD produces UNEXPECTED results!  The people of Israel were not expecting an insignificant beginning to the Kingdom of God.  The Jews expected a Messiah to come who would establish a powerful earthly kingdom.  Comparing the Kingdom of heaven to a tiny, insignificant seed would have been a disgrace, bringing confusion and disbelief to Jesus’ listeners.

God’s Kingdom seems SMALL and INSIGNIFICANT (Mt. 13:31-32a) – A single mustard seed is usually about 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter and are colored from yellowish white to black.  It takes hundreds of mustard seeds to weigh a single ounce.  Although the mustard seed is not the smallest seed in existence, it was the smallest seed of all agricultural plants in Israel.  Jesus used the, “smallest of all seeds” to show that God’s Kingdom seems miniscule, hardly noticeable, and unimpressive.  In our culture, characteristics like humility and servanthood are considered small and insignificant.  In God’s Kingdom, these small and insignificant acts possess all the potential God needs to produce unexpected results.  We must have faith and trust in God that He will use these characteristics in our lives to make a big difference in His Kingdom and in eternity.

God’s Kingdom grows into something LARGE and SUBSTANTIAL (Mt. 13:32b) – A tiny mustard seed planted in the ground eventually grows to the height of a small tree approximately 8-12 feet.  Large enough that a bird can make a nest in its branches.  It is miraculous that something so small can turn into something, “larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree.”  In this life, along-side all other cultural ideologies, philosophies, and religions, God’s Kingdom won’t appear impressive, but will eventually be revealed in eternity to be larger and surpass them all.  Don’t be deceived by other cultural ways of life that seem to offer more than the Kingdom of God.  What they have to offer is false and empty of true meaning and significance.  By sowing small seeds of the Kingdom with our lives, God will produce the unexpected results of an enormous spiritual harvest.

CONCLUSION
Jesus Christ is like a mustard seed.  His life may have seemed small and insignificant, but after He died and was buried in the ground, He resurrected and grew to reveal Himself as God.  He is “big enough” to carry our burdens.  He is “big enough” to carry our hurts and pain.  And ultimately, He is “big enough” to carry all of our sin.  Just like the birds can make their home in the branches of a mustard plant, we can make our eternal home in the person of Jesus Christ.  Is Jesus Christ small and insignificant or large and substantial in your life?

Kingdom Valuation

What is it that you treasure?  What is it that is of greatest value to you?  For some of us, what we treasure most is a physical possession (eg video game system, iPod, car, etc).  For others, what we treasure most is a relationship (eg, popularity, boyfriend, girlfriend).  For some, what we treasure most is an activity or accomplishment (eg, football player, band member, etc).  Our culture often dictates what we treasure.  If we don’t value the things that our culture values we are made to feel strange, different, or weird.  This unwanted pressure makes us quick to treasure and value what our culture treasures and values.

And yet, we cannot blame our culture, we treasure or value whatever is most important in our own selfish and sinful hearts.  Imagine a throne in our hearts and whatever or whoever sits on that throne rules and reigns in our life.  Whatever or whoever that is gets the most and the best of our time, money, and attention.  Whether we realize it or not, we choose what or who sits on the throne in our heart.  Because it is extremely important what or who sits on the throne of our heart we must ask, “What does God consider treasure or valuable?”

READ:  Matthew 13:44-46

In this parable, Jesus reveals to us something that is truly worthy of being the highest treasure and of greatest value in our lives.  The KINGDOM of GOD is to be the greatest treasure in our lives!  What is the Kingdom?  When Jesus began His ministry He immediately started talking about a Kingdom.  In Matthew 4:17 Jesus said, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  The Kingdom Jesus is referring to is God’s RULE and REIGN in our lives.  He was talking about Himself sitting on the throne of our hearts, because we have placed Him there, and executing His perfect will.

It was this Kingdom that Jesus was referring to when He taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 5:10 that His, “(Father’s) Kingdom come, and (His) will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus wants us to be a part of His Kingdom culture.  A culture where God’s rule and reign is the highest treasure and the greatest value in EVERY aspect of our daily lives.  How valuable is God’s Kingdom?  What is it worth?

God’s Kingdom is worth EVERYTHING that we possess (Mt. 13:44, 46) – As a teenager my first big purchase was a $300 stereo system.  I was willing to part with a large amount of my hard earned money because I valued music.  It was a tough decision, but I remember thinking it was worth it!  In trying explain to those who were listening to Him about how valuable the Kingdom is, Jesus said it was worth selling, “ALL that (they) had”.  Not some, not most, ALL, EVERYTHING!  According to Jesus (the creator of all that there is to enjoy), there is nothing in this life valuable enough that is worth holding onto if it means losing out on possessing the Kingdom.  We can confidently, and without hesitation, invest everything in the Kingdom of God because it is worth it.  

God’s Kingdom is our source of inexpressible JOY (Mt. 13:44) – What would it mean to hit the “jackpot of joy” in your life?  Being the MVP of the World Series or the Super Bowl?  Being in a relationship with the perfect guy or the perfect girl?  Many of the ways that we might answer that question, what we are really talking about, is happiness and not joy.  Happiness is temporary and joy is eternal.  When God’s Kingdom is our treasure and of greatest value in our lives we experience an unexplainable, unfading, eternal joy that cannot be taken away.  The only way to experience true lasting joy is if God’s Kingdom is our treasure and of greatest value to us.

CONCLUSION

Missionary Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  There is nothing in this life that is worth holding onto if it means missing out on being a part of God’s Kingdom.  According to Jesus Christ, giving up anything and everything this world has to offer in order to possess God’s Kingdom is the richest and most valuable way you can invest your life!  Have you discovered the treasure of God’s Kingdom in your life?  Is God’s Kingdom the most valuable thing that you possess?  

Guarding Our Heart

The new movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is about a team of super heroes who are defending the earth from a highly advanced artificial intelligence named Ultron and his robot armies who are out to exterminate the human race.  In the final climactic scene of the movie, all 8 Avengers are in a united explosive effort to prevent Ultron from accessing a detonator that would release a meteor to earth and destroy humanity.  The Avengers use all their strength and abilities to valiantly defend the source of what would be the destruction of humanity.

We have an enemy who is making every effort to gain access to our heart and destroy us.  1 Peter 5:8 says, “be watchful.  (Our) adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him”.  Satan’s point of attack in our lives is our heart.  If Satan’s target is our heart then what are we supposed to do?

READ: Proverbs 4:23

Since we have an ENEMY who wants to DESTROY us, our heart must be valiantly DEFENDED!  Just like the Avengers put every effort into defending the detonator from their enemy, we must put every effort into defending our heart from our enemy.  The words “keep” and “vigilance” combine to communicate the idea of being a watchman on guard defending a fortress against an enemy.  This is no casual security guard or a mall cop, but a soldier at war. What are some ways Satan tries to access our heart that we must defend?

We must valiantly defend our heart with our EARS (Proverbs 17:4) – Do you remember hearing a cuss word for the first time?  It’s always a bit unnerving when your child comes home from school and tells you about what they “heard” at school whether a cuss word, a crude joke, or a lie.  It’s unnerving because any evil that we hear has the potential of taking root in our heart.  Why?  Because hearing about wickedness and mischief awakens our sin nature.  According to Proverbs 17:4, an evildoer “listens” to wickedness and a liar “gives ear” to a mischievous tongue.  Our sin nature’s ears are “tuned in” to evil.  Our choices of what we allow our ears to hear in music, conversation, and media is one way to defend our hearts from Satan’s attack. When we choose to hit the “mute” button on wickedness and evil the sin nature of our heart is deafened.

We must valiantly defend our heart with our EYES (Ps 101:3) – The word “worthless” means wicked or morally objectionable.  We are bombarded by “worthless” images in our world today.  Our culture gives us unlimited access to graphic violent, crude, sexual, and perverted visual content.  Psalm 101:3 says that we must choose to “blind” ourselves to anything “worthless” by not intentionally putting anything wicked or evil in front of our eyes.  Our choices of what we allow are eyes to look at in magazines, movies, and internet sites is another way to defend our hearts from Satan’s attack.

We must valiantly defend our heart with our MIND (Phil 4:8; 2 Cor. 10:5) – “Get your mind out of the gutter”.  That’s a phrase that we hear when our thinking is evil or wicked.  There are simply thoughts we must not allow to enter or stay in our minds.  Philippians 4:8 provides us with a standard for what we should allow to enter into and stay in our minds, “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellence, or worthy of praise.”  2 Cor. 10:5 tells us what to do with any other wandering thought that enters into our mind, we are to, “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”  Any and every thought that wanders through our mind must captured and brought (or dragged) into the presence of Christ.  It is Christ, then, who makes the decision as to whether the thought is allowed to stay or go.  If a thought is something that Jesus would want us to think about, keep it, if a thought is not something that Jesus would want us to think about, reject it . . . that way it never has a chance to impact our heart!

CONCLUSION
Are we on watch valiantly defending our heart against Satan?  If not, we are like superheroes who sit idly by and do nothing to defend ourselves against the enemy.  Our hearts need guarding.  If we are not watchful with our ears, our eyes, and our minds, Satan WILL enter unhindered and devour our heart and our entire life with it.  It’s time to be watchful, resist him, and guard the most important part of who we are . . . our heart!

God's Word in Our Heart

Rules are important.  There are rules in almost every aspect of life.  Without rules athletic competitions, classrooms, and entire societies would be in constant chaos and disorder.  Rules set the standard for actions and behaviors that are expected and acceptable in any given environment.  There are consequences for not playing by the rules or living according to the law.  God’s Word is the “rule book” for life.  In God’s Word we are given God’s standards of what is right and what is wrong.  Whenever we live according to God’s rules, life works, and whenever we don’t live according to God’s rules, life does not work.

The Old Testament law is made up of hundreds of relational, social, and civil “rules”.  The most well-known of these rules are the 10 commandments.  According to Jewish tradition there are 613 “rules” or commandments in the law including 248 “positive” commandments, things that we are to do, and 365 “negative” commandments, things that we are not to do.  God gave all of these rules that we might know how to live in right relationship with Him and each other.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, 176 individual verses.  Psalm 119 refers to God’s Word 165 times with 8 different words including law (25), testimony (23), way (4), precept (21), statute (22), commandment (23), rule (17), and word (30).  It’s overwhelmingly obvious that Psalm 119 is a poetic prayer of heart desiring God and wanting to be saturated with God’s Word.  A PASSIONATE HEART for God’s Word creates a PASSIONATE HEART for God!  How does our passion for God’s Word inspire our passion for God?

Psalm 119:1-16

A passionate heart for God’s Word PRAISES God (Psalm 119:7) – Whether privately or corporately, praising God is an appropriate response to what we learn about who God is and what He has done through His Word.  The word “praise” means to express gratitude or thanksgiving.  Therefore, to praise God means expressing our gratefulness and thankfulness to God.  As God reveals more of Himself to us through His Word our desire to praise Him will grow.  As God reveals more of what He has done for us through His Word our desire to praise Him will increase.  As God reveals more of how we are to live to us through His Word our desire to praise Him will abound.  Spending time in God’s Word is marked by a life of praise for God!

A passionate heart for God’s Word SEEKS God (Psalm 119:10) – Life is a journey, and rules are like a highly visible, well-lit path that leads us in the right direction.  Going off the path makes the journey hard and dangerous.  Staying on the path makes the journey easy and safe.  A well-marked path is necessary in life in order to keep us from wandering off into the dark wilderness.  Where do we find such a path for the journey of life?   Psalm 119:105 says, “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”.  In the journey of life, God’s Word provides us with an illuminated next step.  When we seek God’s Word we are ultimately seeking God’s guidance, direction, and will for each and every step on the path of our life.

A passionate heart for God’s Word does not SIN against God (Psalm 119:11) – In Matthew 6:45 Jesus said “the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good.”  How do we store an ever increasing amount of good treasure in our hearts?  By filling it up with God’s Word!  When we store God’s Word, His rules, His statutes, His precepts, His laws, His commandments, in our hearts we will produce the fruit of righteousness and eliminate the bad fruit of sin.  The best way to eliminate sin from our life is not to try harder to not sin, but rather to fill our hearts to the point of overflowing with God’s Word!

CONCLUSION
Psalm 119:111 says, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.”  Spending time with God by reading His Word should be one of the greatest joys of our heart.  It is not a joy because we learn new rules to obey or disobey, but because it brings us closer to the One who revealed Himself to us.  Where do we experience joy in life?  Is it in taking all the right turns on the path of life?  Or is it in relating with the One who is walking along the path of life with us?  May our passion for God’s Word ignite a passion for God Himself!

Good in Our Heart

Apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.  There is a wide variety of fruit, and yet they all have one thing in common, they are meant to be enjoyed!  Our families taste buds enjoys strawberries more than any other fruit.  Unlike many foods that our children complain and grumble about, when strawberries are brought to the table everyone makes their excitement known.  God desires for us to bear fruit with our lives for the blessing and enjoyment of others as well.  The fruit of our lives will either leave a sweet or rotten taste in the mouths of others.  What type of fruit is your life producing?

READ: Luke 6:43-45

Although we are all born “bad apples”, it is possible for the fruit of our lives to change. A transformed heart where the Spirit of God dwells has a new supernatural ability to produce good fruit.  With God living inside of us we have a good heart, and a GOOD heart produces GOOD fruit!  Galatians 5:22 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.”  When God dwells inside our hearts, when He is our treasure, our lives will overflow with righteousness that is designed for others to taste and enjoy.  What types of good fruit comes out of our lives as a result of having a good heart?  

READ: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Paul prays that God would establish the Thessalonian’s hearts.  The word “establish” means to cause someone to become stronger in the sense of being more firm or unchanging.  It’s like anchoring a fence post in the ground with cement so that it can’t move.  God is at work establishing our hearts for two specific purposes . . .

A God-established heart produces good WORKS (2 Thes. 2:17) – Most of us are not fans of work.  Work is exhausting, boring, tedious, and hard.  And yet, God create us to work (Gen. 2:15).  One significant purpose of our lives is doing work that not only benefits us but others as well.  Bearing the fruit of good works is hard, and yet, God is the one who gives us the strength to do this work day after day after day.  Titus 3:8, 14 says that we are to, “devote (ourselves) to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people . . . so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful”.  Our lives produce good fruit when we do something that profits someone else. Our lives produce good fruit when do something to helps satisfy a need in someone else’s life.  Such good works require the hard work of self-sacrifice, unselfishness, and humility, but the God who dwells in our heart will give us all the strength and endurance we need to do them and continue doing them!

A God-established heart produces good WORDS (2 Thes. 2:17) – According to James 3:10 our tongue has unlimited potential to bless or curse others. We all know and understand that our words set the tone of our relationships with others.  Bearing the fruit of good words will bring encouragement, inspiration, and joy to those who hear.  Ephesians 4:29 says, “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  In any and every situation we are in, we must be careful to use our words for the purpose of building others up and never tearing them down.  God wants to speak good through you into the lives of others, He can’t do it when our words are rotten.

CONCLUSION
Luke 8:15 says, “as for that in the good soil, they are those who, heart the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”   Those whose hearts have received the word of God, those whom have received a spiritual heart transplant, those in whom the Spirit of God dwells, will bear good fruit with their lives.  It will be natural outgrowth of who we are.  In Christ, we are no longer bad trees who can only bear bad fruit, we are good trees who bear good fruit.  Goodness is one of the marks of a changed life.  And the fruit of a changed life will have a deep impact on the lives of all those around them.  What good godly fruit are you bearing in life that puts your good heart on display?

God Dwells In Our Heart

My wife Marianne and I adopted our daughter Sarah from Guatemala.  Sarah was born to a single mother who did not have the physical or financial stability to raise her.  Her mother gave her up and she was placed in an orphanage called Eagle’s Nest after she was born in Solola, Guatemala.  She lived at Eagle’s Nest for 10 months before we were able to bring her home July of 2008.  Before Sarah was adopted, she was in the vulnerable position of being without the provision and protection of a mother or father.  If we had not pursued and adopted Sarah, she would not have been part of a family and vulnerable to much suffering and difficulty.

READ: Galatians 4:3-7

God dwells inside the hearts of all those who are His ADOPTED children!  Aren’t all human beings God’s children?  The answer is NO!  By sin, we all have chosen to walk out on our Creator’s provision and protection and made ourselves spiritual orphans; helpless, hopeless, and vulnerable to the wrath of God.  Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “(we) were dead in our trespasses and sins, . . . and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  While in such vulnerable circumstances, it was not us who pursued God, it was God who pursued us by sending His Son to redeem us from slavery to sin and adopt us into His family.  What happens to those who have been adopted as God’s children? 

God’s adopted children are given the Holy Spirt by which we are able to call God “FATHER” (Gal. 4:6) – Sarah has been in our home now for 7 years.  During those years she has come to think and know of us as dad and mom.  When she wants to talk to us, tell us something, or get our attention she calls us “mommy” and “daddy”.  Does that make any sense?  Why would she do that?  She thinks of us, looks at us, and calls us father and mother because we pursued her at the most vulnerable moment in her life and adopted her and made her a permanent member of our family.  As a result of our adoption of Sarah, she has a sure place in her heart by which she knows us as her mother and father.  At the moment when we were most vulnerable, God sent His Son Jesus Christ for the purpose of adopting us and making us a permanent member of His family.  As a result of our adoption by God, we are given the Holy Spirit by which we have the supernatural desire and ability to know that God is our Father and we are His children!

God’s adopted children are HEIRS to the same INHERITANCE as His Son Jesus Christ (Gal. 4:7) – Sarah is privileged to the best of everything Marianne and I possess.  She is ours and we will give to her every material and spiritual blessing that we are capable of as parents.  Each and every one of our children, because of their relationship with us as our sons and daughters have special rights to everything that Marianne and I possess.  Whatever inheritance that Marianne and I have to give is reserved for OUR heirs who are OUR children.  Jesus Christ is God’s Son and therefore an heir, and we too, as adopted sons and daughters of God are heirs as well.  Romans 8:17 says, “the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”  According to 1 Peter 1:4 as heirs we have hope in an eternal inheritance that is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept for (us) in heaven!”

CONCLUSION
In Ephesians 3:14-19 Paul prays that, “according to the riches of (God’s) glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . to comprehend . . . what is the breadth and the length and the height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”  When we are adopted, we know we are loved!  When God is our Father, we will have a strong sense inside of us that we are important and valuable, no longer hopeless, helpless, and vulnerable.  Have you accepted God's invitation to adopt you into His family?  Do you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you and that He is your Heavenly Father?  If not, it’s time to put your faith in Jesus Christ and become a child of God!