Saturday, August 2, 2014

140803 Reinforcing the Truth



2 Peter 1:12-15 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Nag, nag, nag! Sometimes that’s the way we feel about the sermons we are hearing. Repetition of the same message might sometimes seem boring. But Christian friends, it is important that we know the truth, live by the truth, and share the truth with those around us. There is no new message. The gospel always remains the same! From the very beginning there are those who have come along and tried to pervert the truth. Peter intended that his readers be reminded of the virtues of Christianity until they had them down pat. In his first letter he had said that believers should always be ready to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in us. We need to know the truth and all the Christian qualities well enough that we can share with others at any time.
It is very important that we build our lives on the truth! There are not a lot of choices! There is the truth and there are lies. If you base your life on a lie you will die. If you base your life on the truth you will live. That is the reason we need to study the Bible and listen to teachers and preachers who expound the truth. The world all around us is pouring false messages into our minds. The only way to escape those messages in this world would be to completely isolate yourself. Newspapers, billboards, movies, magazines, and especially the Internet can draw us away from the truth. The more a person turns away from the truth and faith the dimmer their spiritual vision becomes. Peter describes that drift away from truth and faith as becoming “nearsighted”, spiritually. He states that such a person could even come to a point where he would have forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Well, how do we go about reinforcing the truth? We need to begin by…
Abiding in Jesus’ word. If you want to follow along, turn with me to John 15:4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
On a day-to-day basis we need to abide in Christ like a branch abides in the vine. The branch has no life itself. Life comes from the root and stalk of the vine. When the branch becomes separated from the vine it is useless and serves only as kindling wood or waste to be burned. Abiding in Christ through his word allows us to be effective and fruitful. Mylon Lefevre wrote a song about it that was made popular by Elvis Presley. It goes like this:
Without Him I could do nothing, Without Him I’d surely fail; Without Him I would be drifting, Like a ship without a sail.
Jesus, O Jesus, Do you know Him today? Do not turn Him away! O Jesus, O Jesus, Without Him How lost I would be.
Without Him, I would be dying, Without Him I’d be enslaved; Without Him Life would be hopeless — But with Jesus, Thank God I am saved.
Jesus, O Jesus, Do you know Him today? Do not turn Him away! O Jesus, O Jesus, Without Him How lost I would be.
While Jesus was on the earth He Himself said, “I can do nothing on my own.” If you need to check that out read John 5:19-30. As the God – Man, Jesus appears to have been limited in knowledge and ability. He came here to seek and save that which is lost but also to model the life of faith for us. If He, the Son of God, could do nothing on His own, how much more do we humans need direction and knowledge in order to serve Him? In the last days of life on earth Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) Jesus has sent us out into the world with the same source of strength and wisdom that He had. Just as He had to abide in the Father we have to abide in Him in order to reinforce the truth in our life. Without Him — nothing! Let that truth be burned into your brain so that you can be effective and fruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ who gave us spiritual life.
We need to abide in His word and in…
Knowing the truth. We will show that we are His disciples. Turn with me to John 8:31-32.  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Verse 32 is often used, out of its context, for human knowledge. You might find it inscribed on a building or a monument at any secular college or university in the land. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But Jesus wasn’t talking about head knowledge He was talking about our relationship to him. In order for verse 32 to work in our lives we must live by verse 31! “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” is the basis of our knowing the truth and being freed by it. We need to remember that…
Jesus Himself is the truth. Turn with me to John 14:6.  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
You need to know the context of this statement, and I’m sure most of you do. Jesus was in the last days of His ministry on earth and was communicating everything He possibly could to His disciples. He has just told them that they know the way to where He is going. This was confusing to Thomas who replied, “Lord, we do not know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” After that we have Jesus’ statement that I just quoted. Jesus is the truth. We must abide in his word on a daily basis but we are not on our own. Jesus gave the promise that he would always be with us even to the end of the age. When he told his disciples that he was sending them out the same way he was sent the next thing he did was to breathe on them and say, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
There’s a school of thought that will slip into the church and entrench itself that says Jesus left his disciples on earth to finish the job that he had started. That’s just not true! Abiding in Jesus, who is the Truth, and drawing our strengths from him, in the same manner as the branch does the vine, leaves us functioning on earth with the same power that Jesus had. Holy Spirit resided in Jesus from his conception to his crucifixion. When we come to faith in Christ that same Spirit comes to live in us. Just as Jesus could do nothing on His own accord we can do nothing, that really counts, on our own accord.
I’m afraid that much of what happens in the churches today is largely centered on human flesh rather than the Spirit of God! We try to understand what God wants us to do and how He wants us to do it. But most of our efforts are based on our own abilities rather than His ability. Jesus’ disciples could see that they did not have the ability to do the things that needed to be done. And, by the way, none of us have that ability in ourselves either! The living Lord Jesus gave a promise to his disciples that carries over to us today.
There is help to live by the truth. Turn with me to John 14:15-17. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ is first and foremost in reinforcing the truth in our own lives. Loving Jesus is not just a feeling, though it may contain many feelings, it is an act of obedience! Jesus promised that He would give His disciples, and us, another Helper, the Spirit of truth!
Paul told the Corinthians that we were all baptized into one body in one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13) That Spirit empowers the church through spiritual gifts. Those spiritual gifts are for the common good not for glorifying the individual! Everything that God calls us to do, including living by the truth, He empowers us to do. He will not leave us alone. The Helper has been sent into the world and dwells in the heart of every person who has come to faith in Christ. That Spirit serves many functions in the believer for the benefit of the church. Turn with me to John 16:12-15 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Jesus had spent most of three years with these men. That must’ve been an amazing experience for them! They walked with him day by day, observed the miracles that He performed and heard the teachings that He gave. At the same time, there were many things that He wanted to teach them and had not because they were not really ready yet and, as Jesus said, “you cannot bear them now.” So He was sending the Helper who would teach them all the things that they needed to know. The Helper that Jesus talked about would come into their lives convicting of sin and righteousness and judgment. He would guide them into all truth.
We have not been called to live the Christian life in our own strength or abilities! It is God’s plan that the Spirit of truth would live through us. Remember, God never calls us to do something that he doesn’t enable us to do. There are many reasons why the things God calls us to do seem difficult. Isaiah probably stated it better than any other. He said, “the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
Reinforcing the truth is not just “head knowledge”! If we are going to live by the truth and abide in Christ we must also be sure that our sins are forgiven up-to-date! God is able to do anything we need in this world but He will not reward sin! He sends His Spirit to live in us but we are instructed not to quench the Spirit. The word “quench” gives us the idea of putting out a fire. Holy Spirit comes to live in us enabling us to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. But often times we turn away from the Spirit and that is sin. We are also instructed not to grieve the Spirit. Grief is a “love” word!
When we offend another person, and the Holy Spirit is a person, they become angry or insulted if they do not love us. But when we offend a loved one they are grieved!
The Helper that Jesus released into the world must often be grieved by the way we ignore Him. Sin separates us from God’s power but not His presence. Even though the Holy Spirit is in us we act as though He is not. Have you ever been in a group setting with a friend who turns to speak to someone else and completely ignores your presence? It grieves, or offends us, when we are treated that way. It is no less true of our relationship with God. He is always with us yet often completely ignored.
In order to reinforce the truth in our life and allow the fruit of the Spirit to show through, we need to abide in Jesus’ word, recognize that He is the truth and that He came to set us free. We need to seek His help so that we can live out the truth! We need to turn away from sin that separates us from his power. We need to confess our sins to God because He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
We need to live out the truth in our own lives…
And to share the truth. Turn with me to Mark 5:18-20. More than once Jesus instructed people that He had helped not to tell anyone. But what we see here is a little different scene. Jesus and the disciples had crossed over the Lake of Galilee to the east side. When He arrived he was met by a man who was filled with demons. After Jesus cast those demons out into a herd of pigs he was invited to leave by the local people. Now let’s read As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
The man, quite naturally, asked Jesus’ permission to go with Him. After all, who wouldn’t rather be with Jesus then with a group of people who considered a herd of pigs more important? However, Jesus had a greater plan for him. The man who is now healed and converted had the responsibility, just as we do, to go back to his friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for him.
The Holy Spirit comes into our lives to enable us to live out the qualities found in second Peter chapter one by releasing spiritual fruit in our life. We are to apply ourselves to the process of adding to our faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. We do this by abiding in Jesus’ words, recognizing that He is the Truth, and welcoming the Helper! We have a responsibility not just to live out the truth but to share the truth as well. God enables us to live the Christian life. However, sin often separates us from the power of God being released in our midst. The truth is not just an idea it is a lifestyle! While we live we must reinforce the truth in our lives and share it with others. None of us know when we will depart this world so we need to be up-to-date on our confession and forgiveness. Remember, it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment! (Hebrews 9:27b)
Peter had been warned, or informed, that he would soon be “folding his tent” and moving on to his heavenly home. Since he knew for sure that his time was very limited he wanted to be certain that his dear Christian friends knew about the values of the Christian life in such a way that they would be able to share the truth. We are commanded by the Lord Jesus to tell the world about the gospel of Christ. We are to begin at home, go to the neighboring towns, and then reach out to all the world. Peter wrote his letters so that after his departure his Christian friends would be able at any time to recall what he had taught them. Are you living out the truth? Are you reinforcing it daily? Today is the day to begin!
All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

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