Down At The Cross

Down at the cross where my Savior died, down where for cleansing from sin I cried, there to my heart was the blood applied; glory to his name.

Glory to his name, Glory to his name: There to my heart was the blood applied; glory to his name

Come to the fountain so rich and sweet, cast thy poor soul at the Savior’s feet; plunge in today and be made complete; glory to his name

Glory to his name, Glory to his name: There to my heart was the blood applied; glory to his name

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Either directly or indirectly, every providence leads to the spiritual good of those who love God. Things work together, as different ingredients in a medicine work in harmony to fulfill the intention. “He works all things together for good,” as some read it. All this we know — know it as certain, from the word of God, from our own experience, and from the experience of all the saints.

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 II Corinthians 4:17 – “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” The prospect of eternal life and happiness keeps them from losing heart. The apostle and his fellow sufferers saw their adversities working toward heaven, as eventually coming to an end (v. 17), and on the basis of this hope they weighed things up rightly in the balance of the sanctuary (Ex 30:13, 24; 38:24 – 26; etc.). They found adversities to be light, and the glory of heaven to be a far more exceeding weight. What the mind guided by the senses was ready to declare heavy and long, faith perceived to be light, short, and momentary. Their faith enabled them to make this right judgment of things (v. 18). Unseen things are eternal; seen things only temporary. By faith we not only discern these things, and the great difference between them, but also take our aim at unseen things.

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 What is the “status” of your relationship with God?” How can I improve that relationship? Ferdinand Magellan was the Spanish explorer who led the first expedition to sail around the world. As he approached the tip of Argentina, in the year 1520, he came to the region he named Tierra del Fuego (land of fire), because there were natives on the shore tending several large fires. But as the great ships passed by the natives, who had surely never seen nor heard of sailing vessels in their lives, they completely ignored the ships as though they did not exist. When Magellan and his crew landed he learned that they had considered the ships unreal, an apparition, because they were so unlike anything they had seen before. How sad it is that the people of earth are trying to discover their place on the planet and find where they fit in the universe, while avoiding the obvious, and refusing to put God in the equation. God is sailing by and they consider it a fantasy. They turn their heads away as they tend to the fires of their own existence. The problem with this is that our civilization is left with an empty and vacuous world void of meaning and purpose. When we avoid God, we miss the reason for our existence. We also miss all that he wants to do for us. We miss the warmth of his love, the completeness of his forgiveness, and thrill of his embrace.  

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 IMPROVING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD 1. Believe God is for you. Believe God is for you. God is not the angry avenger who is peering at earth looking for wayward sinners that he can condemn. He is not looking for the wrong we do. He is looking at us in compassionate love. It is hard to get it through our skulls that God is crazy about us. He is passionate for us. He is longing for us. He is wanting us. He desires us. He is calling us to himself that we might have a relationship with him. Here is what the atheist misses — living with the realization that they are loved by the Creator of the universe. They do not understand that at the heart of the universe is a heart that is throbbing for them. And so, for that matter, do those believers whose idea of Christianity is a list of obligations which we owe to God. There are many who have been poisoned by a toxic religion that has led them to believe that God is hard to please and impossible to satisfy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus says to us what he said to the woman with a shameful life: “Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:11). Jesus says to us what he said to greedy Zacchaeus: “Come down. I want to stay at your house tonight” (Luke 19:5). Jesus says to us what he said to the sinful woman who washed his feet: “Your many sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:47). God is the father of the sinful son who runs out to welcome him home, and not only throws his arms around him, but throws a party as well (Luke 15:20). In the Song of Solomon, the relationship between God and us is compared to two breathless lovers who are full of passion for one another. In the New Testament he calls us his bride. In no other religion of the world do you find a God who is breathlessly in love with the people of the world. The amazing thing about Jesus is the intimate vocabulary he uses when addressing us. He calls us his little children. He said things like, “I no longer call you servants. . . . Instead, I have called you friends” (John 15:15).  

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 IMPROVING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD Believe God is for you. Honesty must be at the center. The foremost quality of people who passionately seek God is honesty. Without honesty we cannot admit that we have been wrong. Without honesty it is not possible to turn from our wrong. We cannot change. Honest people never try to hide. They have given up pretending. They do not make excuses for themselves or engage in justifying their behavior. But they passionately turn their heart toward God. I read about King David whose sins were great, but who turned to God asking him to cleanse his heart. His passion for God is the fire that burns through the book of Psalms. He wrote: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1-2). I read about the woman who pushed through the crowd just so she might touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. I read about the blind men who cried out for Jesus, even when people told them to be quiet. These are the people who came into a relationship with Jesus and had their lives transformed, because they were passionate for God. They found that relationship to be redemptive because they were changed. Their brokenness turned to wholeness. Their weakness became strength. Their failure turned to faithfulness. They learned obedience, not by trying harder, but by loving more. Love came before obedience. Brennan Manning said, “Jesus Christ did not come to make us nicer people with better morals. He came to transform people into better lovers. He came to make brand new people alive with the fire of God.” He reminded us that none of us are as we should be, and we never will be as we should be, so to think that we have to be all that we should be before God loves us is a serious error.  

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 IMPROVING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD Believe God is for you. Honesty must be at the center. Your commitment must be complete. The third thing that we need to understand if our relationship with God is going to be redemptive is: You have to enter into it completely. Have you every been to the beach and watched people in regards to their relationship with the water? Some never leave the beach, they are content to just sit. Others venture out far enough only to get their feet wet. Others are totally into it, swimming and surfing. A lot of people treat a relationship with God like that. They put their hands in, or a toe, but they never really risk taking the plunge and fully entering in. They don’t want to get messy. You are not going to enjoy a relationship with God unless you dive in the whole way. It is pleasant to be by the ocean, but you will never enjoy the ocean until you immerse yourself in it. You will always be watching others enjoy it, but never enjoying it yourself. But sometimes we feel like hiding from God, because we think that if he really knew us, he would not want us. If he only knew the thoughts that go through my mind, he could not love me. If he knew all that is going on deep down inside of me, he would push me away. But that is precisely what he does know. He knows everything we have done. He knows every thought and imagination of our minds. He is aware of all the attitudes and intentions of our hearts, and still is passionately drawn to us. His knowledge of us pierces our souls, reveals our true self and loves us immeasurably. What a wonderful God we serve. This calls for a response on our behalf. We have been loved completely and we need to love completely in return. It is the only adequate response to a God like this. The Bible says, “You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God” (1 Peter 2:2, Msg). The Bible gives this invitation: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).  

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 1. “In Everything” Acts 17:28 – “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” In him we live, and move, and have our being (v. 28). We necessarily and constantly depend on his providence, just as the streams depend on their spring and rays of light depend on the sun. 2. 7. 1. In him we live. Not only are our forfeited lives not destroyed because of his patience and pity; our frail lives are prolonged because of his power, goodness, and fatherly care. If he were to suspend the positive acts of his goodness, we would die by ourselves. In him we move. It is through him as well that our souls move our bodies; just as he is the first cause, so he is also the first mover. 2. 7. 3. In him we have our being; not only did we receive it from him in the beginning, but also we have it in him still; and in him we have our being, this being, that we were and still are of such a noble rank of beings, capable of knowing and enjoying God, and are not thrust into the lowliness of wild animals or the misery of demons.

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 1. “In Everything” Ephesians 5:20 – “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 2. “Give Thanks” Expressed in Words Expressed in Worship Expressed in Prayer Expressed in Obedience

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 3. “For this is the Will of God” It is God’s will that you be Saved II Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Thus, Peter concludes, the Lord is not “slack” concerning His promise. He never stated the exact time in which He would return. It is in the Father’s hands. Not even the angels know the time of His return. God is never late. He is always on time. He is never delayed by outward circumstances or by others. He is always in control. His motive is always love. He so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. And it’s because of His love for the world that Jesus has not yet returned. God’s love is manifested in His longsuffering which denotes patience and forbearance. He is longsuffering toward us because He is not willing for any to “perish but that all should come to repentance” (v. 9). Again, Peter bases his teaching upon the Word of God from the prophets and apostles. Ezekiel recorded the Word of the Lord, “ ‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? ’ says the Lord God,’ and not that he should turn from his ways and live? ’” (Ezek. 18:23). Paul contends God does not desire for any to perish, but wishes for all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). And Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “For God has committed them all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all” (Rom. 11:32). Thus, Peter concludes, the Lord has not returned for one simple reason—it is not yet the Father’s time. And the reason it is not yet the Father’s time is because of His longsuffering. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 3. “For this is the Will of God” It is God’s will that you be Saved It is God’s will that you Serve Galatians 5:13 – “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” r“Through love serve one another” (v. 13). This is what Jesus meant when He said we would save our lives by losing them. If we give our life in love to others we will find it. “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” (v. 15). Here is the losing and finding of life in a person. Marian Preminger……..

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “For this is the Will of God” It is God’s will that you be Saved It is God’s will that you Serve Ephesians 5:17 – “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” The Christian’s duty, and thus the mark of wisdom, is to look for the will of the Lord. In the setting of this epistle, the crisis of the times, with evil rampant and the expectation that the Lord would soon return, it was of crucial importance that Christians keep their senses awake in order to perceive in every situation and on every occasion what God would have them do. That is why we dare not neglect the regular disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, corporate worship, for through these we listen to the Word, we talk with the Lord and with others who are talking and walking with the Lord, and so we clarify His will. Authentic piety depends upon prayer, Scripture study, worship, and sharing as channels of power, revelation, and guidance, but never as ends within themselves. The end is to repeat God’s life in the world—to imitate Him in His outpouring of love, forgiveness, and sacrificial service. This is a distinct mark of the contour of wisdom.

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “For this is the Will of God” “In Christ Jesus” John 15:5 – “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” The fruit of a true disciple is not what they do, but the life of Jesus in them. It is His character reproduced within them and shared with others in love. This cannot come to pass without the disciple abiding in Jesus, making his home in Him as Jesus makes His home in the disciple. His life is shared with the disciples as their life is given to Him. So Jesus can categorically say “without Me you can do nothing” (v. 5). No amount of ingenious planning or restless activities or sponsoring of “spiritual” events on our own can produce this fruit. This is like trying to tie imitation fruit on living branches. In order to fruitfulness, we must abide in Christ, must have union with him by faith. It is the great concern of all Christ's disciples, constantly to keep up dependence upon Christ, and communion with him. True Christians find by experience, that any interruption in the exercise of their faith, causes holy affection to decline, their corruptions to revive, and their comforts to droop

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “For this is the Will of God” “In Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Theodore Parker Ferris was one of the great preachers of this century. After his death, the vestry of the church in Boston honored him by collecting and printing what they believed were the best sermons Dr. Ferris had preached during his thirty years as their pastor. One of the sermons was entitled “When Things Don’t Go Well.” In it he gives us some handles on which to take hold as we seek to cope. (1) “Remember that there is nothing that can happen to you that has not happened to millions of others.” (2) “Remind yourself that as a human being you run the risk of this kind of thing happening.” The human condition is that life is fragile and love makes us vulnerable; we are going to be hurt, but our hurts will pass; some dreams will be shattered while others will come to fruition. (3) “Remember there are people who became great facing what you must now face.” (4) “Say, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to handle this, but I can. I know that from sources of which I am not conscious help will come, not necessarily the help I ask for, but help that I know nothing about right now will rise up in me, will appear suddenly from all sorts of unexpected places

Paul’s Beatitudes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 II Timothy 1:7 – “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” One author rephrases verse 7 as “I’m reminding you to shake the ashes off the God- given fire that’s in you”. There’s no reason to believe that Timothy’s fire had gone out—you can’t rekindle that. But every fire needs repeated stirring and rearranging to keep it burning brightly. Here is a powerful insight into a reason why so many Christians are more like smoldering ashes than dancing fires. How do you rekindle the fire? Make some changes. Do some rearranging. If your devotional life is dull, try some different approaches. If your joy in Christ has cooled, try getting closer to someone else to renew the flame. I find small groups that meet regularly are the most helpful in shaking off the ashes of lethargy and self- pity. Don’t be surprised or alarmed when the flames go down—just shake off some ashes and get some new kindling