HOW RICH ARE WE?

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”   2 Corinthians 8: 9

Jesus possessed the riches of deity with the Father in heaven, left it all, gave it all up, came to earth, became a human being, in order to make believers rich.   Now, not necessary materially rich, but rich in all the blessings of salvation: forgiveness of sins, joy, peace, eternal life.  Peter wrote of it like this, “..into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you.”  I Peter 1:4

The most beautiful description of this is penned by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:6-11 “who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  

A story is told of a Persian monarch who reigned in great splendor and wealth.  Yet his concern for the common people frequently drove him to dress as a poor man, leave the palace, and mingle with the lowliest of his subjects.
One day he visited a fireman, whose job was to heat the water in the bathhouse.  Dressed in tattered clothes, the king decended a long flight of steps down to the tiny cellar where the fireman sat on a pile of ashes, tending the fire.  The ruler sat beside him, and the two men began to talk.  At lunch time, the fireman shared his humble meal of coarse bread and water with his guest.  Eventually, the king left, but he returned again and again, his heart filled with sympathy for the lonely man.  The fireman opened his heart to his kind, compassionate friend, who gave him wise counsel.
Finally, the ruler could not bear to keep up the pretense any longer and decided to reveal his true identity to his friend.  He then asked the poor fireman to name a gift he could give him.  To his surprise, the man said nothing, but merely sat looking at him with love and wonder.  Thinking he had not understood him, the king offered to make the fireman rich, elevate him to the nobility or make him ruler over a city,  But he replied, “Yes, my lord, I understood you. But leaving your palace to sit here with me, partake of my humble food, and listen to the troubles of my heart – even you could give me no more precious gift than that.  You may have given rich gifts to others, but to me you gave yourself.  I only ask that you never withdraw your friendship from me.

This parable illustrates the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, heaven’s King who left His glorious throne to become the friend of sinners.  The wealth of God in Jesus belongs to every devoted follower of Jesus.  That is how rich we are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THREE CRUCIAL QUESTIONS

There are many questions which all of us face in this life.  Some do not matter, they are not that important. However, there are questions which must be faced and answered.  These questioned were given to me by my friend Chuck Shumann of Louisville, Kentucky.   I have enlarged on them.   How do they grab you?

First, the question that everyone will answer…“Who do you say that I am?”  This is the question that Jesus asked His disciples.  They first gave Him the speculations of the people of the day.
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you?  Who do you say I am?”   The answer is heaven sent through Peter, “You are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of the living God.”  Matthew 16:15-16
Everyone is confronted with this question, who is Jesus?   “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.”  Philippians 2:10-11
You will either answer it willingly, lovingly or you will be forced to answer it in the Judgment.

The second question is one that has never been answered…”Why?  What crime has He committed?”  This is the question which governor Pilate asked the crowd that cried out for Jesus to be crucified.   Matthew 27:23    The crowd had no answer but just wanted this man Jesus out of their sight and mind, kill Him.
The crowd then, and all of us now, cannot answer this question because Jesus committed no crime.  Truth of the matter is Jesus committed no evil.  No charge of evil can be laid against Him. He was perfect,  He was and is the Son of God.  This is why He is our perfect example and our sacrifice.
“Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the  source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”  Hebrews 5:9
You can find evil in all of us but none is to be found in Jesus.

The third question is one that no one has the answer.  “When will Jesus return?”  After Jesus’ resurrection, He ascended back to heaven, as He left God’s messengers told His disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”  Acts 1:11
I Thessalonians 5:1: “Now brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,  for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
When will Jesus return?  “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  Mattthew 24:36
We need the Scout’s motto, “Be Prepared.”  We must be ready any time and all the time.

The Christian has the right answer to every one of these crucial questions.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

THE LORD’S PRAYER…17^th chapter of the Gospel of John

This is one of the most precious chapters in the Gospel of John.  Here the Incarnate Son pours out His divine heart in prayer.  This is truly the Lord’s Prayer. The prayer in Luke chapter 11 commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” is not His prayer but one He taught the disciples to teach them how to pray.  Jesus prayed often but here in the 17^th chapter of John we have the fullest content of one of His prayers.

Verses 1 – 5….    Jesus prayed for Himself
Verses 6 – 19…   Jesus prayed for the Apostles
Verses 20 – 26…Jesus prayed for future believers

l. Jesus prayed for Himself in order that He might bring glory to the Father, God.
   Never wrong in praying for self as long as it is to bring glory to God.

2. Jesus prayed for the Apostles to whom He had given God’s Word.
   The word communicated by the Apostles is the means for producing faith and making believers. Jesus states clearly that the means for people to believe in Him is “through their Word.”

3. Jesus prayed for future believers.  He prayed for US.
   He prayed that believers be ONE just like God and Jesus are ONE. This rules out the idea that they are one person.  It has to mean oneness of purpose and of work.
The oneness of believers is anchored in being one in God and Christ.  The bases of our unity is not in each other but in God and Christ.  If you be united to Christ and I be united to Christ, we are united to each other.  That is Christian unity.

The purpose for such unity is to cause the non-Christian to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, God’s unique Son.  The divided condition of Christians causes disbelief.  The world will be WON when they see that the Christians are ONE.  Most certainly the unity of believers is one of the things with which God is most concerned.

Our plea to a divided religious world is to be one in Christ.  This will be accomplished through a return to the Word of God.  The Bible only makes Christians only.

  ‘”Prayer is so simple, it is quietly opening a door
and slipping into the very presence of God.
There in the stillness to listen to His voice.
Perhaps to petition, or only to listen, it matters not,
just to be there in His presence is prayer.”

 

 

“NO RESERVE – NO RETREAT – NO REGRETS”

Our son, Dan, preaching Sunday morning spoke of the life of William Borden.  It made me think of my days, when home from college during the summer, I worked at Borden Dairy in Owosso, Michigan delivering milk. This got my attention.  I think that William Whiting Borden was grandson of Gail Borden, Jr. the founder of Borden Dairy.

In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden family fortune, he received as a high school graduation present, a trip around the world.  As he traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the world’s hurting people.  Finally, Bill Borden wrote home about his “desire to be a missionary.”  Many expressed belief that he was “throwing himself away as a missionary.”

Borden graduated from Yale University in 1909 and later from Princeton Theological Seminary.  During his college years, he made an entry in his personal journal that defined what his classmates were seeing in him. That entry said simply, “Say ‘no’ to self and ‘yes’ to Jesus every time.”  When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis.  Within a month, 25 year old William Borden was dead, April 9, 1913.

When the news of his death was cabled back to the U.S., the story was carried by nearly every American newspaper.  “A wave of sorrow went round the world…Borden not only gave away his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it seemed a privilege rather than a sacifice” wrote Mary Taylor in her biography of him.

After his death, Borden’s Bible was found and given to his parents. In it they found in one place the words, “NO RESERVE” and a date placing the note shortly after he renounced his fortune in favor of missions.  At a later point, he had written “NO RETREAT” dated shortly after his father told him that he would never let him work in the company ever again.  Shortly before he died in Egypt, he added the phrase “NO REGRETS.”

The only explanation for such a life as William Whiting Borden is what the Apostle Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”     He forsook all and followed Jesus.