Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Revelation 2:4 KJV
Revelation 2:1-7
A man passionately in love with Jesus will labor for the Lord with an untiring zeal. He will endure hardship and tribulation for the sake of Christ with joy. He will carefully guard the truth, and contend for the faith, lest the name of Christ be reproached, and His glorious gospel misrepresented. All of this flows from his love for Christ, as love will constrain a man to do great things for the sake of another.
There is a subtle danger however. After a lifetime of tireless work for the Lord, a man may find to his sorrow, that his passion for Christ has departed. He has tirelessly endured labors and hardships, he still earnestly stands for truth, he has fearlessly warned others of false teachers and doctrines, but these things, now, are the things he loves, in place of Christ.
Showing posts with label sorrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sorrow. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Lessons From David's Sin.
It is a grievous thing when a child of God allows sin in his or her life. This is what happened to King David, when he committed adultery, and murder, in taking the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
We are shown three things that made David's sin so offensive to God.
1. He despised the word of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:9).
God Had been generous to David, and if that had not been enough, He would have given him even more (2 Samuel 12:7-8). By striking down Uriah, and taking his wife, David showed that he despised the word of the Lord. To despise something is to count it as nothing; it does not mean anything to you, it is unimportant. One who despises the word of the Lord does not regard it as important enough to listen to or obey. Can you imagine saying to God, "I despise your word. I do not care about it, and I will not obey it." Sounds shocking, and most of us would not dare say it to God, but when we knowingly disobey the word of the Lord, we are saying this by our actions. In our hearts, we despise the word of the Lord.
2. David despised the Lord (2 Samuel 12:10).
Not only did David show contempt for the word of the Lord, he also showed contempt for God, who gave that word. In disobeying the command of God, David showed that he despised God within his heart. To disregard the commands of God, is to disregard God who gave those commands. Once again, we would never dare to tell God that we despise Him, but our actions speak loudly, betraying the true state of our hearts. It is nothing but arrogant pride to rise up in disobedience to God. We are placing ourselves above Him when we do this.
3. His sin gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:14).
When the enemies of Christ see professed Christians living in sin, they take occasion to mock and scorn Christianity. It is a grievous thing to bring reproach to Jesus in this way. The world looks at lukewarm Christianity with contempt. They want nothing of a gospel that leaves its followers looking just like the rest of the world. They think to themselves that they are really not any different than the Christianity that they see, so why do they need it? Who can tell the damage that has been done by Christians falling into public sin; and much worse, persisting in it, without a genuine confession, and forsaking it.
The writer of Hebrews warns us that under the new covenant we are held to a much higher standard (Hebrews 10:26-31). Notice that when we as Christians fall into unrepentant sin, we
1. Trample underfoot the Son of God.
2. Regard as unclean the blood of the covenant, by which we are sanctified.
3. We insult the Spirit of grace.
Once again, we would never say that Jesus means nothing to us, or that His blood was unclean. We would never purposely insult the Holy Spirit, or make a mockery of the grace of God, but when we deliberately sin, this is what we are doing!
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), but like David, we too can find grace. However, damage has been done to the cause of Christ. Others have seen, and now have an opportunity to mock God because of our sin. Let's learn from this unfortunate event in the life of David, and strive to live a life that brings glory and honor to the Savior who gave Himself for us.
We are shown three things that made David's sin so offensive to God.
1. He despised the word of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:9).
God Had been generous to David, and if that had not been enough, He would have given him even more (2 Samuel 12:7-8). By striking down Uriah, and taking his wife, David showed that he despised the word of the Lord. To despise something is to count it as nothing; it does not mean anything to you, it is unimportant. One who despises the word of the Lord does not regard it as important enough to listen to or obey. Can you imagine saying to God, "I despise your word. I do not care about it, and I will not obey it." Sounds shocking, and most of us would not dare say it to God, but when we knowingly disobey the word of the Lord, we are saying this by our actions. In our hearts, we despise the word of the Lord.
2. David despised the Lord (2 Samuel 12:10).
Not only did David show contempt for the word of the Lord, he also showed contempt for God, who gave that word. In disobeying the command of God, David showed that he despised God within his heart. To disregard the commands of God, is to disregard God who gave those commands. Once again, we would never dare to tell God that we despise Him, but our actions speak loudly, betraying the true state of our hearts. It is nothing but arrogant pride to rise up in disobedience to God. We are placing ourselves above Him when we do this.
3. His sin gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:14).
When the enemies of Christ see professed Christians living in sin, they take occasion to mock and scorn Christianity. It is a grievous thing to bring reproach to Jesus in this way. The world looks at lukewarm Christianity with contempt. They want nothing of a gospel that leaves its followers looking just like the rest of the world. They think to themselves that they are really not any different than the Christianity that they see, so why do they need it? Who can tell the damage that has been done by Christians falling into public sin; and much worse, persisting in it, without a genuine confession, and forsaking it.
The writer of Hebrews warns us that under the new covenant we are held to a much higher standard (Hebrews 10:26-31). Notice that when we as Christians fall into unrepentant sin, we
1. Trample underfoot the Son of God.
2. Regard as unclean the blood of the covenant, by which we are sanctified.
3. We insult the Spirit of grace.
Once again, we would never say that Jesus means nothing to us, or that His blood was unclean. We would never purposely insult the Holy Spirit, or make a mockery of the grace of God, but when we deliberately sin, this is what we are doing!
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), but like David, we too can find grace. However, damage has been done to the cause of Christ. Others have seen, and now have an opportunity to mock God because of our sin. Let's learn from this unfortunate event in the life of David, and strive to live a life that brings glory and honor to the Savior who gave Himself for us.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Conviction of Sin.
How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!
How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
for day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I aknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Psalm 32:1-6 NASB
The bible records this event in the life of David, to show us the great folly of concealing our sin from God. We may think we can get away with sin, we may think that no one sees, or knows about what we have done, but God sees and knows.
God desires that we would confess our sin and forsake it. He desires to forgive us, and for us to be reconciled to Him. However, we must be brought to a place of brokeness so that we will truly, and humbly repent, and cast ourselves on His mercy (Psalm 51:17).
This is what the conviction of sin does in the life of one who has sinned against God. This conviction is initiated by God, as the means of getting our attention, to the fact of our great guilt in His sight. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11).
There is no peace to one who is experiencing the heavy hand of God. Your heart is filled with turmoil and dread. You agonize over your guilt. Carrying the guilt of sin over time will affect your body. Your very bones will ache. You will be consumed by guilt, you will waste away.
As David found however, if one freely confesses his sin to the Lord, God will forgive. There is no need to carry our load of sin. It is impossible to conceal. God uses conviction to drive us to Him. As this Psalm states, it is a blessing to have one's sin forgiven, to be free from the load of guilt. It is a blessed person who now has peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 8:1).
Sadly, a great number of professed Christians fall into sin that they try to conceal. They go on as if nothing was wrong in their lives, but they are carrying a load of sin that is consuming them. their experience is similar to that of David as recorded in this Psalm.
If this is you, why not confess it to God? Why not run to Him in godly sorrow, and forsake it? He will abundantly pardon the one who comes to Him in truth (1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:1-19; Rev 3:19-20).
How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
for day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I aknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Psalm 32:1-6 NASB
The bible records this event in the life of David, to show us the great folly of concealing our sin from God. We may think we can get away with sin, we may think that no one sees, or knows about what we have done, but God sees and knows.
God desires that we would confess our sin and forsake it. He desires to forgive us, and for us to be reconciled to Him. However, we must be brought to a place of brokeness so that we will truly, and humbly repent, and cast ourselves on His mercy (Psalm 51:17).
This is what the conviction of sin does in the life of one who has sinned against God. This conviction is initiated by God, as the means of getting our attention, to the fact of our great guilt in His sight. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11).
There is no peace to one who is experiencing the heavy hand of God. Your heart is filled with turmoil and dread. You agonize over your guilt. Carrying the guilt of sin over time will affect your body. Your very bones will ache. You will be consumed by guilt, you will waste away.
As David found however, if one freely confesses his sin to the Lord, God will forgive. There is no need to carry our load of sin. It is impossible to conceal. God uses conviction to drive us to Him. As this Psalm states, it is a blessing to have one's sin forgiven, to be free from the load of guilt. It is a blessed person who now has peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 8:1).
Sadly, a great number of professed Christians fall into sin that they try to conceal. They go on as if nothing was wrong in their lives, but they are carrying a load of sin that is consuming them. their experience is similar to that of David as recorded in this Psalm.
If this is you, why not confess it to God? Why not run to Him in godly sorrow, and forsake it? He will abundantly pardon the one who comes to Him in truth (1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:1-19; Rev 3:19-20).
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
When Will We Pray?
I read in the news today of a ten year old boy who beat a ninety year old woman to death in a fit of rage. This just happened in Pennsylvania.
This is a shocking reflection of the moral decay that has permeated every area of this nation we live in. We have chaos everywhere we turn nowadays.
Race riots, injustice, violence, drugs, theft, murder, lack of respect, abortion, pornography, broken marriages, no marriages, and gay marriages, to name a few.
Tragically this nation is on a collision course with judgment unless someone gets down on their knees in brokenhearted sorrow and cries out to God on it's behalf.
However, who will do this? Sadly much of the professing Christian church mirrors the world around it. We are accepting the same sinful lifestyles in the church that we see in the world. The church has become a place of blind tolerance, where people are made to feel safe and comfortable in their sins rather than a place where Holy Ghost conviction changes lives. Holiness has been abandoned for happiness. Like the church in Corinth, we too have become arrogant in our refusal to deal with the sin in our midst (1 Cor 5:1-2).
If we would desire to see this nation brought back from the brink of ruin, if we would desire to see real biblical Christianity lived out in the lives of those who claim to follow Jesus, we must get on our knees in godly sorrow. Judgment begins with us who call ourselves Christians (1 Peter 4:17). The Lord God calls out to His people to humble themselves and pray, to seek His face and repent from their evil ways (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Church, it is time that we hear the cry of Joel to consecrate a solemn assembly, to call for fasting and weeping as we humbly seek the face of God on behalf of His backslidden people (Joel 1:14-15, 2:1, 12-13, 15-17).
We must cry out to God like Daniel as He confessed the sins of his people before the God that they had spurned (Daniel 9:2-19).
God is a merciful God who hears the prayers of His people as they humble themselves before Him. He forgives and heals those who turn from the sins in their own lives. He will hear their cries for their loved ones, their communities, and their nation, but let them deal with their own sins first.
Church, we must wake up and heed the warnings we see around us before it is too late! When will we humble ourselves and seek the face of God in desperation? What will it take to get us off of our recliners and on our knees on our behalf, and on the behalf of a lost nation?
It is time to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6-7), and to call upon Him while He is near.
This is a shocking reflection of the moral decay that has permeated every area of this nation we live in. We have chaos everywhere we turn nowadays.
Race riots, injustice, violence, drugs, theft, murder, lack of respect, abortion, pornography, broken marriages, no marriages, and gay marriages, to name a few.
Tragically this nation is on a collision course with judgment unless someone gets down on their knees in brokenhearted sorrow and cries out to God on it's behalf.
However, who will do this? Sadly much of the professing Christian church mirrors the world around it. We are accepting the same sinful lifestyles in the church that we see in the world. The church has become a place of blind tolerance, where people are made to feel safe and comfortable in their sins rather than a place where Holy Ghost conviction changes lives. Holiness has been abandoned for happiness. Like the church in Corinth, we too have become arrogant in our refusal to deal with the sin in our midst (1 Cor 5:1-2).
If we would desire to see this nation brought back from the brink of ruin, if we would desire to see real biblical Christianity lived out in the lives of those who claim to follow Jesus, we must get on our knees in godly sorrow. Judgment begins with us who call ourselves Christians (1 Peter 4:17). The Lord God calls out to His people to humble themselves and pray, to seek His face and repent from their evil ways (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Church, it is time that we hear the cry of Joel to consecrate a solemn assembly, to call for fasting and weeping as we humbly seek the face of God on behalf of His backslidden people (Joel 1:14-15, 2:1, 12-13, 15-17).
We must cry out to God like Daniel as He confessed the sins of his people before the God that they had spurned (Daniel 9:2-19).
God is a merciful God who hears the prayers of His people as they humble themselves before Him. He forgives and heals those who turn from the sins in their own lives. He will hear their cries for their loved ones, their communities, and their nation, but let them deal with their own sins first.
Church, we must wake up and heed the warnings we see around us before it is too late! When will we humble ourselves and seek the face of God in desperation? What will it take to get us off of our recliners and on our knees on our behalf, and on the behalf of a lost nation?
It is time to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6-7), and to call upon Him while He is near.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Contending for the Faith: Repentance.
Contending for the Faith: Repentance.: Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here He stayed and many people cam...
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Godly Sorrow.
What is our reaction to all the sin we see around us? Does it bother us to see the world overrun by gross wickedness, or have we grown insensitive to the moral filth around us?
The Psalmist wept tears because people did not keep God's law (Psalm 119:136). He was grieved in his heart because God was being dishonored, His holy name and character were being blasphemed by those who disobeyed Him.
Sin, especially that tolerated by those who profess to know Christ, brings a grievous reproach to our Savior. We should shed the same tears as we see many in the church fall into sin and error. We should weep over the barren condition of so many who once stood so strong for the Lord, but now have fallen away. We should weep like the son's of Korah, when the world says to us "Where is your God?" (Psalm 42:3).
Daniel gives us a wonderful example of one who grieved over the fallen condition of God's chosen people (Daniel 9:1-20). He recognized that they were in captivity for their sin, but that God promised to release them. Read this prayer of repentance. Daniel did not pray "poor us, forgive and let us go!" He prayed "Shame belongs to us, You are righteous and just in all that has befallen us. Forgive for your sake! We are called by Your name!" He recognized that the world looked at them in captivity, for their sin, and that reproach fell upon God!
A sin tolerating form of Christianity brings reproach to the name of the Holy God. Where are our tears?
The Psalmist wept tears because people did not keep God's law (Psalm 119:136). He was grieved in his heart because God was being dishonored, His holy name and character were being blasphemed by those who disobeyed Him.
Sin, especially that tolerated by those who profess to know Christ, brings a grievous reproach to our Savior. We should shed the same tears as we see many in the church fall into sin and error. We should weep over the barren condition of so many who once stood so strong for the Lord, but now have fallen away. We should weep like the son's of Korah, when the world says to us "Where is your God?" (Psalm 42:3).
Daniel gives us a wonderful example of one who grieved over the fallen condition of God's chosen people (Daniel 9:1-20). He recognized that they were in captivity for their sin, but that God promised to release them. Read this prayer of repentance. Daniel did not pray "poor us, forgive and let us go!" He prayed "Shame belongs to us, You are righteous and just in all that has befallen us. Forgive for your sake! We are called by Your name!" He recognized that the world looked at them in captivity, for their sin, and that reproach fell upon God!
A sin tolerating form of Christianity brings reproach to the name of the Holy God. Where are our tears?
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