Congress, electoral college, fear and the call the repent

 Reading This Is the Life!: Enjoying the Blessings and Privileges of Faith in Christ

My favorite author, Warren Wiersbe, links Job 23:10, 1 Peter 4:12-13, 3:10; Tested, refined as gold, partake in Christ suffering, exceeding joy and in my mind I continued the linking: Hebrews 12:1-3, in light of Faith (Heb 11),

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The relevance to me is yesterday, our nation went into lockdown over a conspiracy theory that elections are not the people's will. Some Trump supporters want to overthrow the government and think that will preserve democracy. I had to flip through Fox and CNN to hear each senator speak on the topic and finally went to CSPAN, where I could listen to each side and not the pundits. Seems like our world is going crazy sometimes. 

In prayer and Bible study this morning, I realized that we live in a time where our natural instinct to lie is on steroids. Genesis 20:1-2 shows a truth about people; We go somewhere people don't know us and lie about our situation. The lie is generally partly true or previously true, but it's a defense mechanism that never works because God intervenes (Gen 20:3-7). God reveals the truth to people that help guide believers onto a righteous path, yet God's people are often slow to follow and defend themselves with wrong thinking (Gen 20:13). 

All of this brought me back to Romans 1:18-32, Diagnostics of depraved psychology and consequences. We must remember this letter to the church and have that see our current national reality:

 - We are in a time of massive adultery. Jesus in Matthew 5:28 said, "anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." and "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. (Matthew 15:19)"

 - We are in a time of massive murder of innocents. Good resource openbible.info/topics/abortion brought me to Acts 15:28-29, "For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

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Peace when life goes from hard to harder

 Had a wonderful Christmas and birthday this year. Watched Christmas at CornerStone AZ. Love how the pastor describes sin as breaking the heart of God. He contrasts the world's definition of peace as being the absence of difficulty to being the presence of God with us. Great preaching:

"For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:37

Peace is a person, like bringing first to pick a team member and getting LeBron James. 

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23

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See suffering from a Biblical perspective

Setbacks are part of life, but in this we experience Romans 8:28. Setbacks are a setup to advance the Gospel, we can see God at work. Focus on what God is doing not on what we think he should be doing.
- beware of shallow teaching of a pain free life

"All things for good" is like ingredients of a cake, individual ingredients aren't good but together it's wonderful. When we come together in fellowship we can help others bring "ingredients" together as well help things "stir" and "fully bake"

Paul's life was full of setbacks, yet he wrote, taught, and lived a life of power.

Philippians 1:12-14
Setbacks like false imprisonment, can actually serve to further advance the Gospel and encourage others. Philippians is not a letter about "how to survive in prison" - he didn't "write his Congress person"

He didn't focus on prison but rather community of prayer and God's provision of the Spirit.

"for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."
Philippians 1:19 NIV

Some suffering is corrective Proverbs 3, Hebrews 12
- 1 Peter 1:6-7, suffering is a test to see what our faith is made of. Like a teabag, you don't know what's in it until it's put in hot water.

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Suffering in Christ, with Holy Spirit brings unfathomable hope (Romans 8:17-30)

Romans 8:17-30

AIM: The Gospel promise is available to everyone who believes

One of the most treasured scriptures is Romans 8:28 "God works all things for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose." This is consistently seen throughout the Bible. God sees our affliction (2 Samuel 16:12,22), belief is a sign of being called (Acts 13:48, Eph 2:8-10), God calls us through his love demonstrated in Christ (John 3:16, Romans 1:7) yet not all accept the gift of God and suffer condemnation instead of justification (John 3:17-21, Romans 8:30). Notice the tension between "those who love him" and "have been called".

God's call is good for everyone (John 3:16) and irrevocable (Romans 11:29) the only sin left that is unforgivable (eternal) is to not accept the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32, Mark 3:29). Accepting the Holy Spirit is to trust God with your life, receiving His work in you. Accepting God's call to receive Jesus (John 1:12) is not about saying the right thing (Matthew 7:21) it's about being transformed by the Spirit inside out (John 3:3, Romans 12:1-3).

Being transformed by the Holy Spirit will be evident to you (Romans 8:16, Galatians 5:22-23) and others because of your persevering faith and hope (1 Cor 13:13), peace (Matthew 5:9, 1 Peter 4:7-11) and love like Christ (John 13:34-35) from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22), that you demonstrate to children (Mark 9:36-37) and people in need in our everyday life (Matthew 25:39-40).

People are called by God through us (Matthew 10:40, Luke 10:16) through Christ, through the Father (John 13:20). Even so, in this world, we still suffer but our hope is in the resurrection, eternal life, the promise of God through Jesus Christ and that's the essence of Romans 8:17-30, let's have a deeper look.

A) Family of God and the world suffer together with hope of restoration by God
17) children, heirs of God with Christ, share Christ sufferings then also in glory
Application: God precedes all who follow his way
18) present suffering not comparable to future glory
Application: seek first the kingdom of heaven
19) creation waits for God's children to be revealed
20) creation subjected to frustration by God, Adam's consequence (Gen 3:17-19, Gen 5:29) in hope
21) creation would be liberated from the bondage of decay, into freedom and glory of children of God

B) We groan, eagerly waiting for redemption of our bodies
22) whole creation groaning pains of childbirth
23) we (with Spirit) groan inwardly, eagerly wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies
24) For this hope, saved hope that is seen is no hope at all
25) but hope for what we don't have, wait patiently
Application: Hope is the architect, has the blueprint. Faith is the worker, Love is the executive (joyful toons 1 Cor 13:13)

C) The Holy Spirit helps us in ways we can't understand (unfathomable hope)
26) Same way, Spirit helps in our weakness, we don't know what to pray, He intercedes wordless groans
 - Application: His yoke is easy and his burden is light - see, feel, trust
27) He who searches our hearts knows mind of Spirit who intercedes accordance with God's will
 - Psalm 139:23-24, search me God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Application: When we give ourselves fully to God, he guides us in the way of everlasting.
28) WE KNOW that in all things Gods works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
29) God foreknew, predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son
30) predestined, called, justified and glorified
Application: The Gospel promise

Prayer: Lord help me to live today according to your will to love others as you have first loved me.

Geysers, planters and pruners: How people are born into and matured in the Faith

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Is God Really Good

"Is God Really Good?" - Psalm 73 - Troy Dobbs

Watch • Listen •  Outline

Pain suffering illness 

 - heartbreak in general 

Marriage, call our mentee couple 

Psalm 73

until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

Psalms 73:17 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.17.ESV

Worship and prayer changes everything in our lives.

 - worship reveals reality 

 - 

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.

Psalms 73:21‭-‬22 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.21-22.ESV

When we worship God, we understand our own faults before God. 

 - if while you give your offering it comes to mind someone has something against you. Drop it and go make it right.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

Psalms 73:23 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.23.ESV

God holds us through our questions

 - come together in corporate worship, hear the truth. He doesn't leave us.

 - we don't his hand. He holds ours. Like us with children. Protection, caring 

 

He councils us through our pain

 - not abandoned 

 - gift of Himself

****Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Psalms 73:25 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.25.ESV

People in relationship with God have the best of both worlds 

Phil 1:21, live and die, all gain

****My flesh and my heart may fail, BUT GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalms 73:26 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.26.ESV

Titus 3:4, But...

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

Titus 3:4‭-‬6 ESV

http://bible.com/59/tit.3.4-6.ESV

Good is being perfect, finished, whole, complete. Genesis 1...

Good is abundance, it wasn't good to be alone... Adam said, it's good!

Good is morally right, Psalm 25:8, 

Is God Good? Take it out of our context, to God's word. Is he perfect, abundant, morally right? God can do nothing other than the best. God is always good without fluctuating. 

Hope in God, not a job.

He councils us, doesn't freeze us out. 

*****But for me, it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Psalms 73:28 ESV

http://bible.com/59/psa.73.28.ESV

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.....My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13‭-‬16‭, ‬19‭-‬20 ESV

http://bible.com/59/jas.5.13-20.ESV

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Why does God allow pain and suffering in the world?

On my way home from work I was listening to a TED talk from Billy Graham from 1998 (which is excellent - we would do well to take his example of talking about our faith with folks outside the church). Traffic was bad so there was time for another video and it really bothered me. The topic was "how could God Almighty allow a tsunami to happen (Tom Honey)". An explanation exists but his point was a kind, gentle understanding sympathy was more appropriate than a Bible backed explanation. Having experience hardships in life, to me past personal tragedy and pain was God showing me his hand to grab onto.

John 16:33 - Jesus told us we'd have pain in this life, Hebrews 2:17-18 affirms Jesus suffered like us and Revelation 21:4 and Romans 8:18 gives us hope for heaven.

On this side of heaven we see it dimly, we don't have all the details (1 Corinthians 13:12), but we've been given the big picture that God created a beautiful world for us (Genesis 1:31-2:24) but mankind had fallen (Genesis 3:1-24).

Romans 3:23 affirms what we witness in life, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and Romans 8:22 affirms what we see in earthquakes and natural decay of Uranium and dying stars in the galaxies. "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

As Christians, having trusted Jesus for salvation we have the promise in Romans 8:28, that "we know God causes everything to work together for the good of those who live God and are called according to his purpose" - We see this played out in the life of Joseph in Genesis, he affirms this truth after a life of confusion, hurt, betrayal, imprisonment, mistreatment and injustice. He says in Genesis 50:20, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

As Christians, having a personal relationship with God, through Jesus the son of God we also know as 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," and Romans 8:18 says our current suffering is not worth comparing to glory we will know in heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:9 affirms Isaiah 64:4 that no eye has seen, no ear has heard nor heart and mind imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. We do get a glimpse of heaven in Revelation 20:11-22:21

I understand that some people can be turned off by hearing speaking Biblical truth in the midst of tragety but for others it's the life saving power of God. My hope is that your faith will be in giving the life giving Word of God to people suffering around you.

Helpful Resources:
John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 13:12;Genesis 1:31; Romans 3:23; 8:22,28;Genesis 50:20; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 John 5:13;
Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?
When We Suffer: A Biblical Perspective on Chronic Pain and Illness

Revelation study on Heaven
(20:11-21:8) God abolishes sin and death, creating a new heaven and earth
(21:9-22:5) Christ's bride shown as a beautiful city of God
(22:6-21) Everything revealed to John says REPENT! Jesus is coming soon!

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/seven.amazing.ted.talks.by.christians/47552.htm

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