Category Archives: Discipleship (the Costs)

Something to Consider from Luke 17

Discipleship (the Costs), Submissive to God’s Will

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”     (Luke 17:6)

Have you ever prayed for something … fervently … for a long time … and asked others to pray with you, those you knew to be “prayer warriors” … and God said, “No”?  Have you ever tried to go through a door you were trying to pray your way through … and God shut it?

I have.  Claiming verses like Luke 17:6, I told myself, “Nothing is impossible for God.”  So I said to my “mulberry tree,” “Be uprooted and be planted in the sea.”  But it did not move an inch.  The One Who so easily could have said “Yes, I will move this tree” … the all-powerful One Who made heaven and earth … He said, “No, I will not move this tree.”

He did not say, “No, not yet.”  He said, “No, not ever.”  And when He did, it felt like “NO!”  For two long years I asked almighty God to do something; and when His answer came, it did not feel like a door being gently closed in front of me.  No, it felt more like a slam-lock.  He slam-locked the door I was trying to go through; and it smashed my nose and crushed my toes.  His answer hurt; and what made matters worse was that I did not see it coming.  I was fully expecting a “Yes”! … but that’s not what I got.  And while others counseled me as to what my Plan B should be, I was still reeling, trying to figure out why my Plan A had not worked out.

At first, I was stunned … then angry … then embittered … then disillusioned toward the One Who – in love – sent His Son to die for me.  I was only two years old in the Lord, and I had no idea what was going on.  My heavenly Father (seemed to have) let me down.  He (seemed to have) reneged on His promise.  After all, my faith was at least the size of a mustard seed.  And if not mine, certainly all those prayer warriors’ faith was.  I felt abandoned and confused.  All my other friends … well, their lives seemed to be progressing quite nicely, the way they wanted them to.  But my life?  It was going nowhere.  On one occasion, when others around me were praying, I did not even bow my head.  What good was that going to do!

It took me two full years to recover from that “No.”  It took even longer for me to understand why a believer, having the faith the size of “a mustard seed,” can say to a “mulberry tree,” “Be uprooted and be planted in the sea” … but nothing happens.  I had been taught (correctly) that even a small amount of faith in a great God can move mountains.  And that is what I had … a small amount of faith in a great God.  Why then was my request withheld from me?  What was I missing?

What I was missing was the context in which this promise is found.  Luke 17:6 is found in the context of a series of commands … commands impossible to obey apart from the power of God.

Be on your guard!  If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”  (Luke 17:3-4)

These particular commands (to respond rightly to a brother’s sins) are – as all of God’s commands are – impossible to perform in our own strength.  It takes a miracle to obey the moral will of God; and He wants us to know that.  Most certainly, the disciples did.  That is why their immediate response to verses 3 and 4 was verse 5:  “Increase our faith!”  They knew that God’s expectation of them was beyond their reach.  The bar was too high.  To obey the Lord demanded a power they did not have.  The fact is

Only God has the power to obey God

… which brings us back to the promise of Luke 17:6:

“Even if you have only a small amount of faith, if you pray for what you need to obey God’s will, your prayers will be granted.  You can expect Him to say ‘Yes’ to your request … guaranteed.”

Most certainly, what I was asking for … fervently … for two years … with the help of others … was not inappropriate.  I was not praying for something immoral.  As directed by the Scriptures, I was “letting my requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

But my request had nothing to do with what my life needed to be conformed to the image of God’s Son to the glory of the Father.  Truly, God has the power to give His children anything they want.  But He also has the love and wisdom to give only what is best for them.  And what is best for them – and for Him – is, first and foremost, our obedience to His will.

That is why prayer for the wisdom and motivation and power to do His will is the request God promises to say “Yes” to.  It is the “mulberry tree” He promises to move.

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.  (1st John 5:14-15)

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Something to Consider From Luke 16

Denial of One’s Will, Discipleship (the Costs)

Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.  And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table ….  Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.  And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.”  But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.”

And he said, “Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”  But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.”  But he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!”  But he said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.”  (Luke 16:19-25, 27-31)

This passage is not a parable.  It does not have the “markings” of a parable.  It does not use common, daily life (known to the audience) to teach eternal, spiritual realities (unknown to the audience).  Furthermore, proper names are used (Abraham and Lazarus), something absent from parables.  No, what Jesus is presenting here is an actual historical event, something that happened to two real people … who lived during a real period of time … in a real place.

What should immediately catch our attention is what is on this rich man’s mind after he dies … and what is not.  Did you notice?  Not one thought, not one word, is given to his investment portfolio.  For the first time in his life, the temporal had finally taken a back seat to the eternal.  Not once does this man bring up what had captured his heart while on earth.

Instead, the salvation of his five brothers is the one thing that consumes this man’s heart.

The most impassioned plea for the Gospel to go forth to others – recorded in all of Scripture – came from a man in Hades.

Dear friends, I really doubt that Cornelius Vanderbilt is wondering right now what happened to his wealth.  Or J. P. Morgan.  Or John D. Rockefeller.  Or Henry Ford.  Or Andrew Carnegie.  According to this passage, when these men lost consciousness on the day of their death, they awoke to find themselves in their eternal home.  Whether in Paradise or in Hades, these former billionaires are fully conscious of their present situation. What thoughts do you think filled their minds on the day they died?  And what do you think they are thinking about right now … and will be thinking about 10,000 years from now?

I’m not a betting man; but if I were, I’d bet a year’s salary that the status of their wealth hasn’t crossed their minds once.  Probably, the one thought that does fill their minds – and will forever fill their minds – is this:  “To what did I give my life?”  “For Whom did I live?”  Whether in eternal glory or in eternal torment, they’ve got a lot of time to think about that … and will be thinking about it long after their stocks and bonds have turned to dust and their mansions have collapsed into rubble.  No matter where these billionaires are, what they are focused on right now is this:  the eternal consequence of the lives they lived on earth.

So, to what are we giving our lives?  If to the Kingdom of the eternal One, immortal, invisible, the only true God, then we are in the company of the wise.  But if to anything less, then we are in the company of fools.

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Something to Consider From Luke 14

Denial of One’s Will, Discipleship (the Costs)

Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “… Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”  (Luke 14:27)

The Lord does not make it easy for someone to be His disciple.  When He declared the high cost of following Him, He did so plainly; and He did not pull His punches.  He raised the bar far above what most churches today expect of their membership; and He will never lower that bar to turn the Christian life into something that is merely comfortable and fun.  To the contrary, He made several bold demands that would discourage the half-hearted from continuing:

If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  (Luke 14:26)

So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.  (Luke 14:33)

These requirements are not to those who are half-in and half-out but to those who are fully in.  He does not give His followers the right to retain certain privileges and make certain demands.  Far from making it easy for them to “sign up” on the dotted line, He calls upon each of us to make a careful assessment before declaring our willingness to follow:

For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.”

Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  (Luke 14:28-32)

In counting the cost of discipleship, Jesus tells us to evaluate whether or not we “have enough” of something to fulfill our commitment.  But what exactly are we to have “enough” of?  What is it going to take to follow Jesus?  Because whatever it is, we can be sure that it is not man-made.

  • Motivated by the Holy Spirit, we are to have a strong resolve to be holy and pure … to obey the will of the Father, come what may.  (And in doing so, our joy is made full.)
  • Empowered by our faithful God, we are to have the spiritual grit of perseverance to remain true to Christ, even when every fiber of our being tells us to throw in the towel.  (And in doing so, our endurance is tempered.)
  • Fortified by the Word of God, we are to have an immovable steadfastness to face the relentless onslaughts of an evil that is coming at us from three different angles (the world, the flesh and Satan).  (And in doing so, our claim of Christ’s victory is vindicated.)
  • Strengthened by our trustworthy God, we are to have a tenacious faith to cling to Christ when our situation is painful and does not make any sense … and (especially) when times are joyful and prosperous.  (And in doing so, our confidence is made unshakeable.)

This is the “stuff” that makes up the “enough” Jesus demands of His disciples.  This is the weight – and joy – of the cross our Master expects His followers to carry.

But this is not the focus of many of today’s churches (at least the ones in North America and Western Europe).  The emphasis in our churches is something far inferior to Christ’s demands.  Instead of being willing to turn large crowds away by presenting the high-price of discipleship,

the push of today’s leadership is to attract large numbers of excitable crowds

with extravagant programs … and a flurry of activities … and performing (applause-receiving) bands and choirs … and plush, multi-million dollar complexes … and high-tech presentations.

As a result many believers today are left with the impression that their involvement in all of this “stuff” is what it’s all about … that this “I-want-to-feel-good-without-making-a-commitment” is what “following Christ” looks like.  But this is not what “following Christ” looks like.  A believing community whose one, all-consuming passion to be holy and faithful and submissive to the Father’s will has been largely replaced by a Church that expects to be entertained.  As a result, we have diluted the call to “carry our cross” with something superficial … something impotent … something one mile wide but one inch deep … something that is shiny and glossy and tinsel-like.

This is what today’s so-called “seekers” are looking for; and as a result, it is what much of today’s leadership is giving them.  But where can we find such a vision for the Church in the words of Christ or in the writings of the Apostles or in the historical record of the early church?  No, this emphasis is foreign to what Christ expects in a follower and in a local church.

What was – and is – His expectation is men and women who mean business with Him … who are dead serious about yielding their wills to the will of the Father, no matter what sacrifices and trials and persecutions and temptations and oppressions they encounter.  Theirs is an unquenchable hunger and thirst “to know (Christ) and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death in order (to) attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).  Those who commit themselves to this daily death-to-self will gladly lay aside the shallowness of today’s hoopla to savor the deep, deep joy of their Master, the One with Whom they are crucified and the One to Whom they cling.

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Something to Consider From Luke 9

Denial of One’s Will, Discipleship (the Costs)

And He was saying to them all, “… Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”  (Luke 9:23-24)

Others May, But You Cannot

If the Spirit of God has brought you to the resolve to be really like Jesus, He will draw you to a life of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience, that you will not be able to follow other people or measure yourself by other Christians.  And in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans; but you cannot do it.  And if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their success, of their writings; but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing.  And if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money or may have a legacy left to them.  But (it) is likely God will keep you poor because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the satisfaction of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward and keep you hidden in obscurity because He wants you to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory which can only be produced in the shadows.  He may let others be great but keep you small.  He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it; but He will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing.  And then to make your work still more precious, He may let others get the credit for the work which you have done and, thus, make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you with a jealous love and will rebuke you for little words and feelings, or for wasting your time which other Christians never seem distressed over.  So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own.

He may not explain to you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.  But if you absolutely sell yourself to be His … slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the inner circle.

Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the right of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes in ways that He does not seem to use with others.  Now, when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over the Holy Spirit’s peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven.

Written by G. D. Watson (1845-1924), a Wesleyan Methodist minister, evangelist and missionary.

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Something to Consider From Luke 9 (Part I)

Denial of One’s Will, Discipleship (the Costs)

And they [a large crowd that had just witnessed Jesus cast out a demon] were all amazed at the greatness of God.  But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “… the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”  (Luke 9:43-44)

Have you ever noticed that it is just as easy to jump off a “bandwagon” as it is to jump on one?  No matter how exciting the movement or how large the crowd, enthusiasm often gives way to desertion as the novelty of the latest trend wears off and the reality of its cost sinks in.

This was true about the crowds that followed Jesus.  As long as He provided them with a free meal plan and health care program, they flocked around Him with enthusiasm.  But when He began to speak to them about the demands of discipleship, those same people stopped “marveling at all He was doing,” and their numbers began to thin … considerably.

Simply put, to follow Jesus is to obey Jesus.  That is what a disciple is:  one who does what his Master commands him.  He is resolved to abandon his own self-interests to fulfill the will of God.  And though the life of a Christ-follower is a blessed journey, it is not downhill.

If anyone wishes to come after Me (Jesus), he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.  (Luke 9:23-24)

In Luke 9 we find Jesus walking toward the Cross that awaited Him in Jerusalem.  Along the way, He was approached by three individuals who said they wanted to follow Him.  Jesus gave it to them straight:  “Before you decide to follow Me, you need to know what you’re getting into.  You need to ‘count the cost.’  Because what I am calling you to do is to come and die with Me.”

You and I would do well to carefully consider what He meant.

The Realities of Discipleship – Part I

(1) “Hardships are to be expected.”

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”  And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Luke 9:57-58)

We should let that sink in for a minute.  “Even animals have homes.  But I don’t.  And if you follow Me, do not expect a lifestyle of ease.”

There is something very radical within the soul of a disciple.  While others are grabbing for all the goods and comforts of life, an entirely different craving has grabbed hold of the Christ-follower.  His all-consuming passion is to obey the will of his Master … a pull that has so captured his heart that his former desire to have all this world has to offer has faded, even down to its bare necessities.  This is more than a mere willingness to sacrifice.  It is a heart-guided resolve to de-clutter one’s life in order to be fully given to the cause of Christ Jesus.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Matthew 6:19-21)

This is the reality of discipleship:

One cannot follow Jesus and pursue a life of self-centered ease at the same time.

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Something to Consider From Luke 9 (Part II)

Denial of One’s Will, Discipleship (the Costs)

The Realities of Discipleship – Part II

(2) “Most of the affairs of life must be given to others.”

And He said to another, “Follow Me.”  But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”  But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-60)

We should consider the nature of this man’s request.  He was not asking to be excused from following Christ until he returned from a family vacation.  He was asking for permission to make arrangements for his father’s funeral.  Afterwards, he would follow Jesus.  This was no small responsibility this man believed was his to fulfill!  And no doubt, others did too.  But notice Jesus’ response:

“Let those who are spiritually dead bury those who are physically dead.”

That is, “As much as possible, let those who are of the world oversee the affairs of the world.  But as for you, devote your attention to the Great Commission.”

When one follows Jesus, he is going to find himself removed from what everyone else is busy doing.  Rather than giving himself to the many temporal affairs of a dead world, he is to offer all that he is and all that he has to advance the eternal affairs of Christ.

We are not told what this man chose to do.  But we can imagine what would have happened if he gave the oversight of his father’s burial to his “spiritually dead” relatives and followed Jesus.  No doubt, he would have been marked for life as the one who “abandoned his father.”  Nevertheless, this is the reality of discipleship:

One cannot follow Jesus and busy himself with this world’s affairs at the same time.

(3) “Allegiance to Christ takes priority over family relationships.”

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”  But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:61-62)

Jesus demands total devotion of His followers, even over one’s oldest, most cherished relationships, his family.  Even these bonds should not distract the disciple away from the will of his Master.  Yet tragically, it is not uncommon for a believer to allow the will of a family member to turn him away from the will of Christ:

  • “We were not able to worship with the church last Sunday because our family from out-of-town was visiting with us … and they did not want to worship our Redeemer.”
  • “We did not go to the mission field because our parents / in-laws did not want us to take their grandchildren away from them.”

Jesus, however, demands preeminence, over children … over grandchildren … even over Mom and Dad.

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  (Matthew 10:37-38)

This is the reality of discipleship:

One cannot follow Jesus and view his family as his supreme priority at the same time.

Let there be no deception among those who claim to be Christ’s disciples:  No man has two hearts … only one.  Therefore, no man can have two all-consuming passions … only one.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  (Matthew 6:24)

This is the reality of discipleship.  It is a lifestyle that demands nothing less than one’s death to self interests.  It requires one to let go of what everyone else is grabbing for in order to cling to the will of the Father.  It is the daily life of an undivided allegiance.

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Something to Consider From Luke 8

Discipleship (the Costs), Submissive to God’s Will, Uncategorised

Bible study is risky business.  It demands a response.  Bible knowledge will produce either a joyous reward or a grievous loss depending on whether we are doers of God’s Word or mere hearers.  That is why we should

“Take care how (we) listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”  (Luke 8:18)

  • That is, “whoever has” a living faith …
  • that motivates him to obey the Truth he knows,
  • the Spirit of God will increase his capacity…
  • to understand and apply even more of His Word.

Because he is a faithful steward of the Truth he knows, the divine Author of that Truth can trust him with more.

  • But “whoever does not have” this living faith …
  • that motivates obedience,
  • God will gradually remove his capacity …
  • to understand the Scriptures.

He will become “dull of hearing.” (Hebrews 5:11)  Because he is an unfaithful steward of the Truth he knows, he cannot be trusted with more.

Bible study is risky business because it makes the reader liable.  What he learns, he is responsible for.

So yes, it is highly important that you and I are in God’s Word.  But the bottom-line question is this:

Is God’s Word in me?  What am I doing with the Truth I already know?

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Something to Consider From Luke 6

Discipleship (the Costs), Submissive to God’s Will

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.  And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles ….  (Luke 6:12-13)

If you are a member of a local church, what did you have to do to become one? Some churches do not even have a membership.  But most do; and those that do usually expect the person to know the answers to some questions … then (perhaps) to be baptized or participate in a certain ceremony … and then, to be officially recognized by the leadership as a member of the church.

I have found that having my name added to a church roll has never been all that difficult.  Of course, to be an active member requires a certain investment of time and effort and money.  But not once has church leadership ever placed upon me their expectation to

“know the power of (Christ’s) resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings …”

In fact, I don’t think I have ever been challenged by a youth leader or an elder or a deacon to

“… (be) conformed to (Jesus’) death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  (Philippians 3:10-11)

But Christ has.  He has issued that challenge.  When the Master says “Follow Me,“ He is not merely inviting us to sing in the choir or serve on the Finance Committee or place 10% of our income in an offering plate.  There is more to this summons than “Be active in your local church.”  He is calling us to crucify, to kill, to put to death – daily – our own self-centered ambitions that we might submit our lives to the will of the Father.  To be a Christ-follower means a lot more than being willing to die for Him.  It means dying to self, allowing ourselves to be pierced through … every day … with the nails of His will for our life.

Luke chapter 6 gives us a snapshot of this powerful, painful, joyful, costly relationship with Christ Jesus.  Here, the Master describes the character of His disciple as one

  • who is aware of his own spiritual impoverishment. Knowing that he is “poor” in righteousness, he clings to the mercy of God (vs. 20, see Luke 18:13)
  • who craves the righteousness of God, available only through faith in Christ (vs. 21, see Philippians 3:7-9)
  • who grieves over his sins [seeking to turn his back on them] (vs. 21)
  • who is persecuted by the worldly because of his holy relationship with Christ (vs. 22-23)

We are also told that the Master expects the service of His disciple to be sacrificial, treating others as he would want them to treat him (vs. 31)

  • providing what is in the best interest of others, even his enemies (vss. 27-28, 30, 32, 35)
  • forgiving those who have wronged him [leaving justice in the hands of God] (vs. 29-30, 37, see Romans 12:19)
  • meeting the needs of others [who cannot meet their own needs and, therefore, will not be able to repay him] (vss. 30, 33-35, 38)
  • showing kindness and mercy to those who are ungrateful and wicked (vss. 35-36)

Being a dedicated church member is one thing.  (And it is a good thing.)  But being a dead-serious disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is something more.  There is a price to pay; and the price is high.  To follow Jesus, one must execute his own self-centered interests and submit his will to the will of his Master.  When Jesus calls someone to be His disciple, the weight of that summons is nothing less than this:

“Come and die with Me.”

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Something to Consider From Luke 2

Discipleship (the Costs), Living in View of Eternity

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, and the glory of Your people Israel.”  (Luke 2:25-32)

And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.  She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.  At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.  (Luke 2:36-38)

When Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the Temple “to present Him to the LORD,” there were at least a couple of people there prepared for His arrival.

Simeon was one who had been “looking for the consolation of Israel”; that is, he was looking for the Appearing of the Messiah.  That he would see the “Hope of Israel” was a promise he had been given by the Spirit of God.  And on that day, he held this Promise in his arms.

There were also some in the Temple area “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem,” including an elderly woman named Anna.  On that day this prophetess was able to tell the others that their Redeemer had just arrived.

Both these individuals were spiritually prepared to discern His Presence when Joseph and Mary brought Him to the Temple.  More than likely, however, neither Simeon nor Anna was aware that their long-awaited Messiah would arrive on the world scene twice.  As far as they knew, His birth to these two godly peasants was the one – and only – time He would come.

You and I, however, have an advantage over these two saints.  The New Testament has given us a fuller understanding of the Old Testament prophecies.  We can clearly see that the Redeemer would come twice:  the first time to serve as God’s Payment for the sins of man; and the second time (a) to complete the believers’ deliverance from the tyranny of their enemies (both physical and spiritual) and (b) to deliver creation from the tyranny of the curse that lay upon it (Romans 8:19-22).

… so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.  (Hebrews 9:28)

It is not unreasonable to think that the saints of today could represent the last generation of the Church Age.  Indeed, to ignore that possibility would be less than wise.

Be on the alert, for you do not know the day nor the hour (Matthew 25:13) …

So, are we like Simeon and Anna?  Are we “eagerly awaiting” the re-Appearing of Jesus Christ?  Or will His arrival catch us off guard, like “a thief in the night” … sudden … unexpected … costly?  Very costly.  The Word of God gives us a “sure-fire way” of knowing whether we are preparing ourselves for this Event or not:

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  (1st John 3:2-3)

Beloved friends, it is a wise thing to do, to ready ourselves for the Return of Christ.  Because the next time He appears upon the world stage, He will not be wearing a crown of thorns.

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The “Spiritual Grit” of Faithfulness

Discipleship (the Costs), Persevering through Adversity

They tell you in seminary that, after you preach on Sunday, you should wash your car on Monday … or cut the grass … or paint something.  That is, the Bible teacher needs to do something on Monday from which he can see an immediate result. That’s because the Word of God often does not have an immediate (observable) effect on the audience.  In fact, your pastor will never see the full impact his ministry is having in the lives of others … at least on this side of the resurrection.  And so, to encourage himself, he needs to do something with his hands.  Perhaps mowing the yard has prevented a lot of pastors from throwing in the towel.

I don’t think I have ever met an effective servant of God that has not struggled with this issue.  They have given their very best to the ministry to which God has called them.  But as far as they can tell, they are having little impact in the lives of those they serve.

“Am I really doing any good?  I don’t see much fruit.”

One day I said that to a friend of mine; and he hit me square between the eyes with a “question” I needed to hear:

How much fruit do you need to SEE before you can be faithful to your calling?

The answer, of course, is “None.”  That’s because faithfulness has nothing to do with results.  It has to do with one doggedly remaining in (what seems to be) a stagnated situation because he knows that is where his Master wants him to be … and that’s the ONLY reason he stays.

Dear friends, a day is coming when every reborn Christ-follower will bow before the Judgment Seat of God.  And on that day the quality of our stewardship is going to be evaluated.  No doubt, we all want to hear our Master say,

Well done, good and faithful servant!

But if that is what we want to hear, there is something we need to come to grips with. We need to clearly understand what it’s going to take for us to become that kind of servant.

The fact is, some things can only be forged on an anvil.  Faithfulness is one of them. This trait does not come quickly, nor does it come easily.  Indeed, for faithfulness to be dyed into the fabric of one’s soul, he must be put in situations that tempt him to give up … to quit … to stop trying to be and do what Christ has given him to be and do.  It is at this point – and only at this point – that faithfulness can be cultivated: when the servant of God, tempted to throw in the towel, keeps going.  Not because of the fruit he sees but because of the Calling laid upon his life.

This is the spiritual grit of a faithful servant:  the conviction of his Calling

And so, during these “flat” periods of anguish and confusion when we are tempted to give up, let us be fully convinced of what is taking place in our lives:

The Father is cultivating our faithfulness by stretching our endurance.

To be aware of that fact goes a long way in understanding why troubles … and weariness … and circumstances that don’t make any sense are so vital to one’s ministry.  It explains why God (seems to be) so slow and so silent and so aloof at times.  This is the reality of faithful stewardship.

And at his finish line, he will hear his Master say,

Well done good and faithful slave!

And he will savor that praise throughout eternity.

And eternity is a long, long time.

 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.  (1st Corinthians 15:58)

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  (Galatians 6:9)

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