Adapt or Die...

The world as a whole looks for opportunities to find benefit from any given situation as sin takes a hold of men’s wills. Our carnal nature’s far stronger than the mind’s will. The law informs the mind what is right from wrong and yet even with that knowledge we still cannot do what is right! - The Apostle Paul had this to say about it; “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness.” (Romans 7:7-8) 

Do you recall the story of the scorpion and the frog? “…halfway across the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp sting in his back and, out of the corner of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his stinger from the frog's back. A deadening numbness began to creep into his limbs. "You fool!" croaked the frog, "Now we shall both die! Why on earth did you do that?" The scorpion shrugged, and did a little jig on the drowning’s frog's back." I could not help myself. It is my nature." Then they both sank into the muddy waters of the swiftly flowing river. Self-destruction - "It’s my Nature", said the Scorpion…”

We are so self-centred, that we all seem engulfed in our own things and if it does not put us out, only then we will consider giving to those in need.  

A man works so that his family may eat, not to put bread on his neighbour’s table. “Adapt or die” seems to be the slogan of the day for so many. Life and the pressures of it seem to cry “now”! And yet we are hard pressed with such negativity at times; the pressures of life most certainly an enemy of the cross and as a matter of fact an overarching enemy for so many; in fact it is exactly the pressures of life that will cause “the love of many to wax cold”! Pressures of life will strain relationships for those who are overtaken by it. Our carnal natures will always choose self above others! Without Christ’s Spirit it will be an impossible task to change our habit in this area of our lives. Sin is far stronger than our wills! “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19)

Therefore without the “Spirit of Christ”, without a born again spiritual existence it will be impossible to achieve a genuine laying down of one’s life, there may be a will to want to do it but we will never achieve it.   

I now address the Christian; in order for us to achieve the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives we need to be surrounded by like-minded people; “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25) – The harder life becomes the more we must make it our endeavour to meet with Christians so that we may encourage one another to press on in our hope, eternal life and to ever be with our Lord and Saviour is our ultimate goal. We must Share one another’s burden, we are our brother’s keeper!

 

When we learn to use the “pressures of life” to our advantage it will be well with our souls! How so? Firstly we must look to others to find inspiration and who better to look to than our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. This was His experience; “And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."” (Luke 9:58) – What I find very interesting here is the evidence of men’s hearts; we always have an excuse for not doing something; “To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."” (Luke 9:59-60)

The Bible teaches us that when we are weak we are in fact strong; Irony personified! And yet what does this actually mean and how can we use it to our advantage? What must we do to hear God’s voice in our lives? We must listen! How do we listen, He will not speak as it were with an audible voice as in times past. That was something He chose to do a very long time ago. He now speaks to us through His Son, who is the WORD of God. We will hear his voice when we explore the scriptures, or someone else explores them for us. Sitting under ministry when the bible is used to exposit a text, or when we in our quite time read and study the scriptures. This is the only true test to hearing correct coaching. When someone says God spoke to me we must ask the question, “How did He speak to you?”

Here is some doctrine to back up my train of thought; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) - In other words in the Old Testament God spoke to men through prophets, He used them to reveal his will for men. Moses a man chosen by God and appointed by God was used to free the Israelites from Egypt. He used an audible voice when instructing Moses and used many signs and wonders to prove His power to them. Ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea and the tumbling down of the walls of Jericho. It was such an amazing manifestation of God’s power that those who witnessed it had no doubt that God was behind it all! “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: with him I will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.” (Numbers 12:6-8)

However in this dispensation under the New Testament, these “last day” as they are called by the writer of Hebrews, the gospel’s special consideration! It is the final finishing revelation from God for his creation. It is complete and it is final, nothing is to be added or taken from it. The cannon of scripture has now been settled and sealed! The New Testament is the final revelation which God has given us by His Son. It is the most excellent message that has and ever will be sent into the world. Far above all that has gone before, God has appointed Him heir of all things. And more than that because He walked upon the earth as a man and suffered as a man He learnt to experience the frailty of the flesh, so that He is now touched with the feeling of our infirmities; “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Finding grace in time of need will be an almost impossible plight without the help of our brothers, we need one another and the only way we will be able to encourage each other is if we have fellowship one with another. Fellowship is the vehicle that will help get us home! We must learn to spend more time with brothers in Christ! The day is just over the horizon where many will retract from fellowship; let all who name the name of Christ, run to it!

Signing off

Tyrone

"The Shaking"

“The shaking” has begun and yet we have heard this phrase from many a pulpit in years gone by. Does that mean that those who made such bold statements were entirely wrong? I do not believe so! For many years now we have seen how sin and the acceptance of it in certain areas of society have been on the increase. Hollywood the forerunners of acceptance; same sex marriages now something of the norm; even some churches supporting these sexual unions! Men married to men and woman to woman, back in the eighties this would most certainly have been frowned upon. Tolerance the order of the day, regardless of the instruction from God’s decree, the Bible!

Let me make it very clear from the outset, that I am not against any one particular sin, sin as a whole is the enemy of the cross, and if I pretended that I was immune to it I would be nothing more than a foolish imbecile. We all have been tainted by sin in one form or another. This is why God needed to send His Son to save us from ourselves. Nevertheless all sin is the enemy of the cross; “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) – However when society begins to tolerate certain sins as the norm, we must sit up and take note of where we find ourselves.

With that consideration and with the other warning we see in scripture; “And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:4-8)

God has equipped woman with a safety devise prior to birth, “birth pangs” are the sign for her to make ready. She would not want to be caught off guard. In the same manner these tell-signs are for the Christian to sit up and take note and not to be caught off guard. It is our Father’s way of warning us of what is to come, to make ready and then to be conditioned to face whatever may follow.

What will follow these signs? There will be far less tolerance for the gospel, in fact it will eventually become the enemy for so many! But we have been informed and the Christian must be prepared.  Non-involvement will no longer cut it!  The opposition will become so intense that even families will sadly be split.  Some believe that as Christians we will not have to endure this hardship, I am not convinced! Either way it would be far better to condition the mind for what we as South Africans and Christians through the world might need to endure so that we are not caught by surprise. What could happen? “"But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”” (Mark 13:9-13)

This topic in itself is not a popular message but we would be very foolish to turn a blind eye. Who in their right mind would reject a parachute regardless of its weight and uncomfortableness if we knew for certain that the plane we were in was about to crash? May God salve so that we may see, let us find ourselves associating with the five wise virgins and not the foolish! “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2Timothy 3:16-17) 

Signing off

Tyrone

   

Fear Not!

What is fear? Fear is something we have all experienced, it is a God given emotion that instinctively helps to keep one from danger. It is not a feeling easily fabricated. In hindsight if we look back on our lives there should be some vivid memories of fear somewhere along life’s journey. I recall being a young boy of about ten years old when I ventured into a storm water drain and crawled from the one side of the road to the other, the space was so confined that I almost froze believing that I would not get out on the other side. The sudden surge of fear was frightening, “what if I got stuck in here, would I die”? I could not turn around, and yet I can still intensely remember the panic, ultimately it was fear that drove me to keep my eyes fixed on the sunlight that was visible on the other side of the other manhole. It seemed a bridge too far, had I bitten off more than I could chew? Instinctively I began to worm my way to the other side through the tight fit of the concrete pipes, there was no other choice! When I eventually arrived there was such relief! That incident still has a bearing on my life today, I am still claustrophobic! And I have never been near another drain pipe!

My consideration this morning is simply this… Should fear play a role in a believer’s life?

There is much to deliberate on the subject, but once we strip it all down, in my opinion the short answer would have to be certainly not the way most understand the meaning of fear! God said to Abraham, “Fear Not!” Why was he given this instruction? Because God was with him, and He was looking out for Abraham! Although he faced many dangers along his journey!

I must be careful not to only explore one side of the deliberation; we can obviously be foolish in our decisions, just as I was so many years ago, we can thoughtlessly create our own fear; or rather get ourselves into a predicament that will help engage the emotion of fear. But the reality of eminent fear when we walk in obedience to the call that God has placed on the believers life is what I am interested in. The answer to my original question must be an emphatic “No”. We should never allow fear to govern!

David a prime example of how we as Christians ort to conduct ourselves in this area of our lives; remember Goliath! A giant warrior that all of Israel feared, even king Saul was no match for him! “And the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” (1Samuel 17:10-11) – Fear with all the emotion attached to it was rife throughout Israel!  However, this then was David’s response to Goliath the giant; “And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"” (1Samuel 17:26)  - There was absolutely no fear in David’s estimation about this enemy of God; size, weight, weapons nor all his scalps had any bearing on David’s reasoning. Although all of Israel was emotionally charged with fear, David was not! Faith will alleviate fear! Call it a vaccination if you will, just the right amount of faith applied to any given situation and fear will be neutralised. This is what I seek, faith toward my God! Help me actualise this realisation like never before I pray in earnest and with anticipation! Lord Jesus be merciful I pray!

Faith most certainly will drive away all fears that oppose the will of God! “The Law” taught those who opposed it to fear God. We needn’t look far to prove this as we page through the Old Testament. But Love casts out all fear! “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” (1John 4:18-19)

Did those Christians of old fear? Not the ones who walked in obedience, in fact some even were sawn in half! “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:37-38)   

This is what the Apostle Peter has to say; “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1Peter 2:16-17)   

My conclusion then… when we walk in obedience to the will of God in our lives, we have absolutely no reason to fear; however when we are in need of discipline, when we ignore the call of God in our lives, we will most certainly be privy to fear, if not, best we check our birth certificates. But as for the enemies of the cross we needn’t fear, the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered all, even the last of enemies, death, was no match for Him! God raised Him from the dead and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heavenly making intersection for those who believe. Praise His name!

Signing off

Tyrone

Not long now...

(Romans 8:22) “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

In the still of the morning sounds are a lot clearer to ones ear, there seems to be a distinct clarity to the varying noises that filter through the air, all one needs to do is listen. Birds chirp, a motorbike roars not far away and there is a constant hum of motor vehicle activity. But there are other grunts that cannot noticeably be heard and yet they are as real as the rising of the sun! All we need to do is put our ear to the ground and listen. It is faint at first but once we call upon our God to heighten the sensitivity of our ears it will become clear that the creation is starting to groan like never before! Many years ago man fell under a curse, the profanity of sin taking its toll on all. But we who now believe is the redemption of God and His promise fulfilled in and through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who are the first fruits of His master plan. The creature now eagerly awaits the manifestation of the sons of God! The children of God will soon appear in the colours of God! When will this happen? I cannot, nor can anyone else be certain of the date, but the signs of the time are causing a rumble across the planet, God is beginning to stir like never before and that day will soon arrive that we can, of a certainty, be optimistic about!

A day is coming in the not too distant future where the trumpet of God will sound and in the “twinkling of an eye” those who are found faithful to His call will be caught up in the air to ever be with Him, with His promise fulfilled. We will rule and reign with our God with righteousness foreign to the world as it thinks it understands what is pure and holy. There will be no fraud, or backhands reaping unjust rewards for the few, our God will rule in righteousness and with a rod of iron! And eventually the lion will lay down with the lamb! All the profanity and smut that now adhere to the world as we know it shall be done away with and then when those that have suffered with Christ upon earth shall also reign with him upon the earth. The whole creation looks and longs for this day to arrive. Can you hear it stir?

Be of good cheer you saints of God, our God is no slack concerning His promises as is the manner of some. He will eventually bring this promise to fruition! How I long for that day, but until then we must all fight the good fight of faith with the intent that it will lead us home; into eternal life and the culmination of this marvellous promise of God! This our hope must burn bright as frontlets between our eyes. What a marvellous hope the Christian has!

My heart is saddened in a sense for the unbeliever, living in a world of justice as it seems right in their own eyes. Unrighteous judgment on display! Everyone with an opinion and yet that estimation comes from a foundation of sin. How on earth will it ever be righteous? It will always have chinks in its reasoning. But OUR GOD who is righteous will judge with a righteous rod of iron, praise His name! And to think that we will be a part of that process blows my mind. God in His manifold wisdom works out His master plan with sinful, fallen human beings. Obviously we are now no longer categorised as “sinners” even though sin plays its role in our lives on a daily basis. The ultimate price has been paid; God’s very own Son had to die to forgive us of even our future sins. God’s brilliance on display! Time unable to bind the hands of my brilliant Father! This however should not confuse us into thinking that we now have licence to act worse than we once did. God forbid! I too have fallen into this snare, which in time past has caused great suffering and I still bear the marks in my body. Nevertheless, He who has begun a good work, even if through severe discipline, will end that which He starts. Who can stop our God from achieving anything He sets His mind too? NOTHING SEEN OR UNSEEN is any match for the ever true and wise God; He is the great I AM! He is number One and He is my Father, He is my God and He will apply the chastisement needed to get me home. Thank you Father God! One may ask who in their right minds would ever welcome discipline, only those who have understood the mercies behind the discipline. I am truly thankful for God’s chastisement as it is a gracious manifestation of his love.

With that said, let us also remember to pay careful attention to God’s instruction as it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God! If we need to find repentance in any area of our lives; that nagging sin we so often want to sweep under the carpet and cast a blind eye as if it isn’t really that serious. Let us remember that it is preciously that sin which caused the dead and suffering of our Lord and Saviour! We must learn to pay careful attention to it!

Whatever suffering we will face in this life will most certainly not be worthy of our consideration when we get to heaven and we see our Lord and Saviour face to face, it will be worth it all!

Signing off

Tyrone

Love on display!

Considering life on earth and the short time we all have. My mind never seems to exhaust this thought! Why, why, WHY do I grow so weary of the “trial of life”? It is so foreign to the heart of thankfulness and yet I am eternally thankful for what Christ has done for me. How I long for the day when God will say enough and I will be caught up into the air to ever be with Him and all His heavenly hosts! WE all need the resolve of our suffering King, just a little longer and it will all be over! I wonder was this what motivated the man Jesus Christ? We may all be quick to say that He had seen heaven as He came from Heaven. But that would certainly be a swayed perception, we know that He loved us because of His action; he willingly died for those whom God called from before the foundation of the world! It is imperative to learn from our Master’s example; “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” (1John 3:16)  - The test of true love is not in word but proved through our actions, it is easy to say we love someone but another thing altogether to show our love with our exploits. How do we know of a certainty that we walk in love? “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?” (1John 3:17) – We (I) must learn this valuable lesson, I must learn to take this to the next level, may God help me, may I seek His face and search out the riches of His mercies and learn to put others before myself, please pray for me in this area of my life! No matter what we have been given we must learn to share what we have, whether we suffer lack or whether we have an abundance, we must all learn to put our brothers need before our own wants! “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1Jonn 3:18) – The lesson the Apostle John wants us to embrace is for us to find reassurance, that we belong to God and that we are known by Him. It is one thing to claim we know God but totally another aspect when we are known of an assurance by HIM!  - “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;” (1John 3:19)

I remember when newly saved, signing a song, “If you want joy, real joy wonderful joy let Jesus come into your heart.” As real as that was, I believe the lesson that John now teaches, is this; “if you want joy, real joy, be quick to find reasons to help your brothers who are in need”. We instinctively look for reasons not to help! May God help us!

Here is a truth that the Lord Jesus taught; “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Act 20:35)

The snare of life always looking to lead us down the wrong road, may we all learn to trust our God and believe Him, helping to re-right that which society and sin has robbed from us. Our God will supply all our need! However, we must follow His instruction along the way! When we ignore it, it is to our own peril!

Help me Father to help those who are in need, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

"I will remember them no more!"

God’s gift to the poet empowers them to pen words with such apparent ease, their ability to lure the reader into a mystical place as they drift away into a foreign land. The imagination an amazing trait!  Like the taste of honey found in a rock, or terrifying beyond despair or at times pleasing to the mind’s eye. And yet how often do we overlook the source of everything brilliant, may God forgive us for such volatility! To the only wise God be glory in times past, presently and into the realms of eternity be glory now and forevermore. Our God the author and the finisher of our faith! This does not only mean He wrote the book, plotted the scenes to our individual lives but He will also ensure that it plays out in accordance to His will. He will finish each and every chapter! As we flip through the various chapters of the book of our lives, we engulf so many different memories and instinctively we are drawn to the happier moments, but sadly the disappointing events also constantly nag away. Did you know although we remember so many of the bad endeavors to our lives, God with the capacity to forget, will forget them! How He adopts this wonderful trait, I find my mind void of an answer! But we are told why He chooses to forget! All because of the greatest sacrifice ever performed on behalf of sinful man, the sacrificed of the Lamb, Jesus Christ slain for the sin of man! “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."” (Jeremiah 31:34)

God has presented such a magnificent invitation to all; the message has gone out to the whole world! Some may say what about the Inca, the bushman or the man in a remote part of the world? Some will always look to avoid their own reality, what has that to do with you; have you heard the message of the gospel? If so, then you are without excuse! As for the bushman, they have most certainly heard the proclamation of the gospel; in fact I sit with a hunting bow that a bushman, a brother in Christ primed for me. He is my brother in Christ! I have fond memories of sitting with an interpreter looking into the hard lines of the man’s face and yet softness in his gaze that God alone accomplishes. The Gospel has gone out to the four corners of the earth! I tell you on the authority of God’s Word that the end is near; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Whose sin will the Lord remember no more? Those who are covered by the blood of the Lamb! What about those who have heard the gospel and have remained indignant to the message? The answer is an obvious one; “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14) – What will you choose: forgiveness, or will you remain obstinate?

The offer has gone out to all…

I love my Lord; He has flung the horse, the rider of sin into to the sea of His forgetfulness, praise the glorious name of Jesus Christ my redeemer and my eternal King!

Signing off

Tyrone