eternal

Praise the LORD!

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1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 146:1-10 ESV

The last five psalms are anonymous and form the final Hallel (praise) section of the Psalter. Due to the similarity of their content, they were likely written by the same author. Each begins with the same call to action: “Praise the LORD.” This imperative statement is not intended as a suggestion, but as a command to give Yahweh all the dignity, honor, worship, and praise He rightly deserves. The psalmist calls for wholehearted worship on the part of the people of God, and he sets the tone by declaring his sold-out allegiance to the Almighty.

I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. – Psalm 146:2 ESV

His statement of devotion to Yahweh is reminiscent of the address Joshua gave to the Israelites near the end of his life. Ever since the death of Moses, Joshua had served as the God-appointed leader of the Israelites, helping them cross the Jordan River and begin their conquest of the land of Canaan. Over the years, Joshua led the Israelites in their effort to conquer the inhabitants of the land so they could take possession of the inheritance promised to them by Yahweh. They had fought and won many battles, and successfully occupied a large portion of Canaan, but Yahweh reminded them that He had been behind it all.

“It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.” – Joshua 24:12-13 NLT

Despite his leadership role, Joshua knew that he had been little more than an instrument in Yahweh’s hands. He had led the people into battle, but the victories had been the LORD’s doing. So, Joshua commanded the Israelites to show their gratitude to Yahweh by treating Him with honor and unadulterated reverence.

“So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14-15 NLT

Like the psalmist, Joshua tried to spur the people’s obedience by using himself as an example. He declared his intention to live out his final days in total submission to and reliance upon Yahweh, and he committed his family to follow his lead.

Joshua warned the Israelites about the dangers of idolatry because he knew their history of spiritual infidelity. He had been there when Aaron made the golden calf in the wilderness, and he had witnessed the people’s response to this false god they had crafted from the plunder taken from the Egyptians.

The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. – Exodus 34:6 NLT

Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and given them victory over their enemies, but they gave their allegiance to a nonexistent god they had made with their own hands.

The psalmist stressed a different problem facing his peers. He was less concerned about idolatry and the worship of false gods than their tendency to worship men.

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
    there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
    and all their plans die with them. – Psalm 146:3-4 NLT

While idolatry continued to be a problem for the Israelites throughout their existence as a nation, their real struggle was the worship of men. Ever since the day they rejected Samuel’s leadership and demanded, “Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT), the people of Israel had exhibited a preference for human kings over the King of kings. Yahweh would repeatedly warn them about their tendency to replace His authority with that of mere men.

This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.” – Jeremiah 17:5-6 NLT

The psalmist knew his people well and wanted them to think twice about putting their trust in powerful men who could never measure up to Yahweh’s standards. As far as the psalmist was concerned, there was no comparison between mortal men and the infinite, all-powerful God of the universe.

He made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them.
    He keeps every promise forever.
He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
   The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down.
    The LORD loves the godly.
The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
    He cares for the orphans and widows,
    but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. – Psalm 146:6-9 NLT

No man could ever hope to compete with Yahweh. No king who ever lived could claim to hold a candle to Yahweh’s glory and greatness. The anonymous author of Psalm 2 exposed the futility of earthly kings trying to oppose the one true King.

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the LORD
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The LORD scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury. – Psalm 2:1-5 NLT

The prophet Isaiah declared Yahweh’s superiority and supremacy over all mankind.

God sits above the circle of the earth.
    The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
    and makes his tent from them.
He judges the great people of the world
    and brings them all to nothing. – Isaiah 40:22-23 NLT

In Isaiah’s estimation, the worship of men was unwarranted and a waste of time. They would always be poor substitutes for Yahweh because they couldn’t measure up to His glorious standards. Even Yahweh declared Himself to be incomparable and irreplaceable.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. – Isaiah 40:25 NLT

The psalmist understood that Yahweh’s immensity and eternality set Him apart from all false gods and every man with god-like aspirations. He deserved man’s praise because He was praiseworthy. Yahweh wasn’t a figment of man’s fertile imagination and had not been formed by human hands. He was the maker of “heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” (Psalm 146:6 NLT). Yahweh is the uncreated Creator of the universe who has no beginning and end. He is eternal and all-powerful. He is holy and wholly righteous. He is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV). With those thoughts in mind, the psalmist closes his song in the same way he opened it, with a call to praise the eternal, always-present, forever faithful God.

The LORD will reign forever.
    He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 146:10 NLT

Father, I must confess that I do not always recognize and honor Your greatness. I say I believe in it but, far too often, my actions and attitudes reflect something altogether different. I don’t praise You enough. I fail to trust You fully. I tend to put my hope in men, even in myself, rather than trusting in Your proven track record of greatness and goodness. While I could easily deny any worship of false gods, I know it would be a lie. My idols are far more subtle than those of the Israelites, but they are idols all the same. Anything I turn to instead of You is a false god that will always provide false hope. No man or human institution can replace you. No idealogy, political party, or human leader can replace You or hope to compete with You. Yet, it is so easy to put my trust in those things that will always prove untrustworthy. Help me to heed the psalmist’s call and learn to praise You for who You are and all that You have done. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Lay Up Treasures In Heaven

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19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

Just a few verses earlier, Matthew records Jesus saying, “Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:8 NLT). Later in this same sermon, Jesus states, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT). 

But what was the real point behind these messages concerning earthly things and the Kingdom of God? What was Jesus trying to tell His unbelieving audience? They were attracted by His miracles and message. Some were intrigued by the rumors that He might be the long-awaited Messiah. But even that remote possibility conjured up images of a conquering king who would restore Israel’s fortunes and return the nation to prosperity. After centuries of occupation by foreign powers, the Israelites focused on prophetic passages that promised a conquering king who would be like David reincarnated.

“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Ezekiel 37:24-27 NLT

“For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety.” – Jeremiah 23:5-6 NLT

For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
    will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
    for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will make this happen! – Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

So, when John the Baptist appeared on the scene declaring, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2 ESV), the Jews had one thing in mind: The Messiah had finally arrived. That idea produced a variety of expectations among the impoverished and oppressed people of Israel. If Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies, then He would right all wrongs by overthrowing the Romans and blessing God’s chosen people with peace, prosperity, and a permanent place in His earthly kingdom. 

But in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus surprised His audience by telling them to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20 ESV). If His arrival marked the coming of the Kingdom, why did He tell tell His listeners to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)?

Earlier in His sermon, He shocked the gathered crowd by telling them the Kingdom they sought belonged to the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) and the persecuted (Matthew 6:10). None of this made sense. His words were confusing and contradictory. But as Jesus later told the Roman governor, Pilate, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom…my Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 NLT).

What the Jews failed to understand was that Jesus was the fulfillment of all the prophetic passages concerning the Messiah. He was the King they had long dreamed about and He would establish His Kingdom on earth, but it would be according to God’s perfect plan and in keeping with His timeline. Jesus had come to bring about a revolution but not according to their expectations. He later revealed the nature of His revolution by quoting from the prophet Micah.

“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

‘I have come to set a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
   Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” – Matthew 10:34-37 NLT

For Jesus, it was about priorities. It was about the temporal versus the eternal. That seems to be the primary focus of His teaching in this passage. The Kingdom He came to bring was a spiritual one that was not of this world. There would be no coronation, palatial royal residence, or golden crown to place on His head. The only indications of His Kingship would be a crown of thorns and a hastily crafted sign that read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37 ESV).

The entire Sermon on the Mount was intended to reorient the minds of His audience. When He began His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly echoed the words of John the Baptist, stating, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17 ESV). That word “repent” is metanoeō in Greek and it carries the idea of changing one’s mind. It has less to do with behavior modification than a drastically altered mindset. Jesus wanted the Jews to rethink everything they thought about God, the Messiah, salvation, righteousness, the coming Kingdom, and the blessings it would bring. That is why He repeatedly called them to take their minds off earthly things and focus on what really mattered.

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. – Luke 12:31-34 ESV

He has just warned His audience about the leaven of the Pharisees. These were men who placed a high priority on the here-and-now. They live for the immediate reward of men’s praise. Jesus compared them to hypokrisis – actors in a play whose sole job is to convince their audience that they are someone other than who they truly are. Jesus addressed this kind of lifestyle in His Sermon on the Mount.

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 6:1 NLT

Jesus went on to describe how these kinds of people were more obsessed with the praise of men than they were with pleasing God, and He warned His audience to avoid emulating their ways.

“When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:2 NLT

The Pharisees had perfected their outward behavior to such a degree that they guaranteed themselves a heavy dose of reverence and respect from the common people. They were viewed as spiritual rock stars who displayed an unprecedented degree of religious zeal and discipline. But Jesus saw through their all their pretense and warned that their obsessive-compulsive desire for the temporal praise of men would eventually prevent them from experiencing the eternal reward of God. And Jesus continued to drive home the seriousness of this message.

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:5 NLT

“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:16 NLT

Temporal recognition in place of eternal rewards. That doesn’t sound like a particularly equitable exchange and yet, that is the danger we all face if we are not careful. That’s why Jesus repeatedly exhorted His listeners to seek the eternal reward that only God can give. He stressed the fact that men can thrill us with their words of praise or frighten us with their threats of death, but their power over us is limited.

“…don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that.” – Luke 12:4 NLT

They are temporal creatures with a temporary capacity to either praise our life or take it from us. But Jesus warned, “Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell” (Luke 12:5 NLT). God not only has the power to reward, but He also possessed the authority to condemn – for eternity.

But all of Jesus’ words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Luke indicates that someone in the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me” (Luke 12:13 NLT). It is immediately clear that this individual’s focus was on the here-and-now, not the hereafter. This person was thinking about the immediate gratification that an earthy inheritance would bring: Land, money, and temporal treasures that had once belonged to his earthly father. 

But Jesus responded in frustration, revealing that this man had brought his selfish request to the wrong judge. Jesus had not come to earth to settle disputes over earthly inheritances. He had come to provide sinful men and women with the eternal reward of justification before God Almighty. And He has just finished telling the crowd about a much greater reward that awaited them in eternity.

“…everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.” – Luke 12:8 NLT

This man wanted Jesus to acknowledge the validity of his claim on the family inheritance. But Jesus was asking him to acknowledge His claim to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Yet this individual had his eyes focused on the wrong things. He saw Jesus as some kind of arbitrator who could help settle his petty dispute with his brother but failed to recognize Jesus as the mediator between God and man. And Jesus pointed out the flawed focus of this man’s thinking.

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” – Luke 12:15 NLT

This man was demanding that Jesus help him get what he believed to be rightfully his. But Jesus wanted him to know that nothing on this earth was worth having if it took precedence over Him. And this was not the first time that Jesus had warned about avoiding a fixation on present comforts over future rewards.

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:35-38 NLT

And this man’s request led Jesus to tell a short, but powerful parable about a rich man who allowed greed and an obsession with earthly rewards to blind him to the temporal nature of life and the reality of eternity. And Jesus summarized the sad state of the character in His parable by stating, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21 NLT).

And Luke indicates that Jesus used this entire exchange as an opportunity to instruct His 12 disciples on the necessity of proper priorities. Unlike the man who wanted Jesus to help him get his hands on his inheritance, the disciples were to avoid wasting their time worrying about food and clothing. They had more important things to do, and they needed to understand that “life is more than food, and your body more than clothing” (Luke 12:23 NLT). In a world where success was measured by the outward trappings of materialism, the disciples were being instructed to focus on those things that matter for eternity.

The eternal was to take precedence over the temporal. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that their focus needed to be on the Kingdom to come, not the kingdom they had hoped for. God was going to meet their greatest need; He would provide them with eternal life and unending fellowship with Him. It would be made possible through His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross. And if God was ready, willing, and able to secure their greatest need, why in the world would they waste time worrying about food and clothing? This is why Jesus told them, “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32 NLT).

The Kingdom was the goal,  and if the disciples learned to live with their eyes on the prize, the things of this world would play a far less significant role in their lives. That is why Jesus told them, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34 NLT).

This was the central focus of His gospel message. He was the King who had come to inaugurate the coming Kingdom. He was the eternal one who had entered into time and space, taking on human flesh and living among men so that He might offer Himself as the atonement for the sins of humanity. He didn’t come to offer men their best life now in the here-and-now, but abundant life in the hereafter. That’s why He strongly encouraged His followers to set their sights on things to come. They were to make the future reward of the Father their highest priority.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Unworthy, Yet Rewarded Servants

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7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” – Luke 17:7-10 ESV

These verses, if taken out of their context, will leave the reader scratching their head in confusion. Yet, it almost appears as if they have no context. Even when read as part of the overall narrative of chapters 14-17, they can still come across as shocking in tone and perplexing in terms of their meaning. The disciples have just asked Jesus to increase their faith. But He informed them that their problem was not the size of their faith, but the source of their power. They were thinking that it all revolved around them. With more faith, they believed they could accomplish more good works for God. And this mindset was not far from the attitude of the Pharisees, who believed their right standing with God was based on all that they had done for Him. They viewed themselves as faithful sons of God who diligently observed all of His laws and, therefore, deserved His blessings.

Throughout these four chapters, Luke has been faithfully chronicling Jesus’ ongoing lessons regarding the self-righteous and self-promoting mindset of the religious leaders of Israel. They were glory-seeking grand-standers who loved to parade their superior spirituality in front of the common people. They lived for the praise of men and were obsessed with social status and material gain. Luke described these icons of moral virtue as “lovers of money” (16:14 ESV). And Jesus accused them of caring more about the approval of men than the righteous appraisal of God.

“You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.” – Luke 16:15 NLT

They lived with their eyes focused solely on the rewards of this life. And those rewards took the form of praise, respectability, power, and prominence. Their lives were a living example of Jesus’ words in His sermon on the mount.

“Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 6:1 NLT

Jesus went on to say that those who “toot their own horns,“ calling attention to their acts of charity, will receive the reward of human praise, but will end up forfeiting their eternal reward. Jesus made it clear that His followers were to give without seeking a pat on the back or any other kind of earthly recognition.

“Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:4 NLT

And Jesus continued to reiterate this seemingly aberrant admonition.

“…when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6 NLT

“…when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:17-18 NLT

The Pharisees lived for earthly, temporal rewards. Their focus was on the here-and-now, and they expected to receive divine compensation for all their tithing, praying, and obeying. And Jesus knew that even His disciples had a difficult time accepting the idea of delayed gratification. They had each made the decision to follow Jesus, hoping that He might be the long-awaited Messiah. And they were eagerly anticipating the day when He would set up His kingdom on earth and reward them with places of prominence and power in His royal administration. They continued to maintain that hope right up to the literal end. In fact, after His resurrection, Jesus gathered His disciples together on a hillside to give them one last set of instructions before He returned to His Father’s side in heaven. But even at that momentous occasion, they couldn’t stop thinking about the one thing they desired more than anything else.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” – Acts 1:6 NLT

They were still waiting for Jesus to set up His kingdom on earth. This question expresses their collective hope that Jesus was finally going to do what they had been longing for Him to do all along: Re-establish Israel as a major force in that region of the world. They were longing to see Israel regain its former glory and power. And Jesus assured them that they would receive power, but not in the form they were expecting.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 6:8 NLT

They would receive a power far greater than anything they could have ever imagined or conceived, and it would be the key to their future success as the apostles of Jesus.

So, as we come to verses 7-10 of Luke 17, it is important that we keep all of this in mind, because Jesus is dealing with the expectation of rewards. Look closely at the question He poses:

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’?” – Luke 17:7 NLT

This question was meant to be rhetorical. The answer is obvious. No servant or slave would ever expect to be rewarded with a seat at his master’s table just for doing his job. The very idea posed by this question was meant to be preposterous. No servant in his right mind would ever dream of being offered a place at his master’s table. Even if extended the invitation, he would likely refuse it, solely out of humility and an understanding of his own unworthiness.

Jesus answers His own question by describing what everyone knew would be the right and expected response of the master: “Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later” (Luke 17:8 NLT). The servant’s work was far from done. He may have completed his tasks in the field and among the flocks, but that did not mean he deserved a reward. And no servant would have expected one. His job was to serve his master. His needs came second. His reward, if any, would not come until his work was completed to the master’s satisfaction.

Then Jesus asks another rhetorical question: “And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do?” (Luke 17:9 NLT). Once again, no servant would have expected a thank you, let alone a word of praise or commendation. That would have been ridiculous. And Jesus affirms this when He answers His own question: “Of course not” (Luke 17:9 NLT).

But, just so His disciples don’t miss the point, Jesus clarifies it for them.

“In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’” – Luke 17:10 NLT

Unlike the Pharisees, the disciples of Jesus were to obey, not for the sake of reward, but out of respect for their Master.  During His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly expressed His own willingness to fulfill His God-ordained role as the servant of God the Father.

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” – John 4:34 ESV

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” – John 8:38-39 ESV

“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” – Matthew 20:28 ESV

Jesus was asking nothing of His disciples that He was not willing to do Himself. And the apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus fulfilled His servant role all the way to the end.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
    he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:6-11 NLT

The religious leaders of Israel wrongly viewed themselves as somehow deserving of God’s rewards. They would have never considered themselves to be “unworthy servants.”  But that is exactly how Jesus expects His disciples to see themselves. And the apostle Paul would reinforce this humble mindset when he wrote to the arrogant and puffed-up believers in Corinth.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Seek the Kingdom

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13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. – Luke 12:13-34 ESV

The temporal versus the eternal. That seems to be the primary focus of Jesus’ teaching in this passage. He has just warned His audience about the leaven of the Pharisees. These were men who placed a high priority on the here-and-now. They live for the immediate reward of men’s praise. Jesus compared them to hypokrisis – actors in a play whose sole job is to convince their audience that they are someone other than who they truly are. Jesus addressed this kind of lifestyle in His sermon on the mount.

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 6:1 NLT

Jesus went on to describe how these kinds of people were more obsessed with the praise of men than they were with pleasing God, and He warned His audience to avoid emulating their ways.

“When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:2 NLT

The Pharisees had perfected their outward behavior to such a degree that they guaranteed themselves a heavy dose of reverence and respect from the common people. They were viewed as spiritual rock stars who displayed an unprecedented degree of religious zeal and discipline. But Jesus saw through their all their pretense and warned that their obsessive-compulsive desire for the temporal praise of men would eventually prevent them from experiencing the eternal reward of God. And Jesus continued to drive home the seriousness of this message.

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:5 NLT

“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.” – Matthew 6:16 NLT

Temporal recognition in place of eternal rewards. That doesn’t sound like a particularly equitable exchange and yet, that is the danger we all face if we are not careful. That’s why Jesus repeatedly exhorted His listeners to seek the eternal reward that only God can give. Jesus stressed the fact that men can thrill us with their words of praise or frighten us with their threats of death. But their power over us is limited.

“…don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that.” – Luke 12:4 NLT

They are temporal creatures with a temporary capacity to either praise our life or take it from us. But Jesus warned, “Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell” (Luke 12:5 NLT). God not only has the power to reward, but He also possessed the authority to condemn – for eternity.

But all of Jesus’ words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Luke indicates that someone in the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me” (Luke 12:13 NLT). It is immediately clear that this individual’s focus was on the here-and-now, not the hereafter. This person was thinking about the immediate gratification that an earthy inheritance would bring: The land, money, and temporal treasures that had once belonged to his earthly father. 

But Jesus responded in frustration, revealing that this man had brought his selfish request to the wrong judge. Jesus had not come to earth to settle disputes over earthly inheritances. He had come to provide sinful men and women with the eternal reward of justification before God Almighty. And He has just finished telling the crowd about a much greater reward that awaited them in eternity.

“…everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.” – Luke 12:8 NLT

This man wanted Jesus to acknowledge the validity of his claim on the family inheritance. But Jesus was asking him to acknowledge His claim to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Yet this individual had his eyes focused on the wrong things. He saw Jesus as some kind of arbitrator who could help settle his petty dispute with his brother but failed to recognize Jesus as the mediator between God and man. And Jesus pointed out the flawed focus of this man’s thinking.

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” – Luke 12:15 NLT

This man was demanding that Jesus help him get what he believed to be rightfully his to have. But Jesus wanted him to know that nothing on this earth was worth having if it took precedence over Him. And this was not the first time that Jesus had warned about avoiding a fixation on present comforts over future rewards.

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:35-38 NLT

And this man’s request led Jesus to tell a short, but powerful parable about a rich man who allowed greed and an obsession with earthly rewards to blind him to the temporal nature of life and the reality of eternity. And Jesus summarized the sad state of the character in His parable by stating, “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21 NLT).

And Luke indicates that Jesus used this entire exchange as an opportunity to instruct His 12 disciples on the necessity of proper priorities. Unlike the man who wanted Jesus to help him get his hands on his inheritance, the disciples were to avoid wasting their time worrying about food and clothing. They had more important things to do. And they needed to understand that “life is more than food, and your body more than clothing” (Luke 12:23 NLT). In a world where success was measured by the outward trappings of materialism, the disciples were being instructed to focus on those things that matter for eternity.

“…don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.” – Luke 12:30-31 NLT

The eternal was to take precedence over the temporal. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that their focus needed to be on the kingdom to come, not the kingdom they were hoping He was going to establish on the earth. God was going to meet their greatest need. He was going to provide them with eternal life which would feature unending fellowship with Him, all to be made possible through His Son’s sacrificial death on the cross. And if God was ready, willing, and able to secure their greatest need, why in the world would they waste time worrying about food and clothing? This is why Jesus told them, “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32 NLT).

The Kingdom was the goal. And if the disciples learned to live with their eyes on the prize, the things of this world would play a far less significant role in their lives. And Jesus repeated the admonition He had delivered all the way back in His sermon on the mount. “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34 NLT).

This was the central focus of His gospel message. He was the King who had come to inaugurate the coming Kingdom. Jesus was the eternal one who had entered into time and space, taking on human flesh and living among men so that He might offer Himself as the atonement for the sins of humanity. He didn’t come to offer men their best life now in the here-and-now, but abundant life in the hereafter. And that’s why He strongly encouraged His followers to set their sights on things to come. They were to make the future reward of the Father their highest priority.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Divided Allegiance

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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – Matthew 6:19-24 ESV

The kingdom life is an other-worldly life. In other words, the kind of life Jesus is describing is not natural to this world. It is marked by…

…heavenly values, not earthly ones

…an eternal perspective, not a temporal one

For the average Jew, material prosperity was viewed as a sign of God’s blessing. Affluence was proof of God’s approval. To have much was to be loved much by God. But in this section of His sermon, Jesus refutes that mindset.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures in earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19, 20, 21 ESV

Jesus is attempting to shift the focus of His audience from earth to heaven. He is promoting an eternal mindset over a temporal one. Jesus knew that His fellow Jews were predisposed toward a life focused on the here-and-now. Their desires were driven by the temporal pleasures this world offers. Even King Solomon, the son of David, shared their propensity for earthly pleasures and treasures.

I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. – Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 NLT

Solomon sadly concluded that It was all meaningless in the end because you can’t take it with you. None of it was capable of delivering what it promised. And Jesus told a parable with a similar lesson:

“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” – Luke 12:15-21 NLT

A right relationship with God for eternity versus a rich lifestyle that ends in death. The problem is not with the temporal things themselves, but with the affections we have for them. And Paul provides us with some insight into how we should refocus our attention on those things that truly matter.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. – Colossians 3:1-4 NLT

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NLT

Money and materialism are not the cause of our problem. It is our inordinate love of them that causes us so much pain and sorrow.

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. – 1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT

The treasures of this earth offer short-term returns on our investment in them. They are temporal, not eternal. Instead, we are to treasure that which is lasting. And we are to set our eyes on the things of God. Which is what Jesus reveals in verse 22:

Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. – vs 22

The word “healthy” in Greek is haplous (hah-ploos), and it means “single, whole, singleness of purpose, undivided loyalty.” Jesus is saying that your eye, like a lamp, is to have a single purpose. The one who is approved by God is to have unswerving loyalty to God’s kingdom purposes. Jesus is talking about heart fidelity toward God. The good eye is the one fixed on God, unwavering in its gaze, and constant in its focus. We should not suffer from a “wandering eye.” An eye that has a single focus will have a single byproduct: Light (purity).

…but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. – vs 23

The word “bad” in Greek is ponēros (pah-ney-rahs), and it means “bad, blind, or wicked.” Jesus is referring to spiritual blindness or an inability to focus on the right things. It results in darkness (a void of God’s precepts). A dim light is a light without focus or purpose. It results in darkness. The one who is approved by God will live a life of single-mindedness. Consider the following Old Testament passages regarding the one with a “bad eye.”

A stingy man [a man whose eye is evil] hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. – Proverbs 28:22 ESV

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; [a man whose eye is evil] do not desire his delicacies. – Proverbs 23:6 ESV

Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, “The seventh year, the year of release is near,” and your eye look grudgingly [be evil] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. – Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV

In verse 25, Jesus sums up this part of his message with a warning about duplicity or divided allegiance.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – Matthew 6:24 ESV

This is about loyalty. It forces us to ask the question, “What do we love most, the things of this earth or the kingdom of God?” During trials, our true allegiances get revealed. When we face the potential loss of those things we love dearly, our true affections get exposed.

You can’t serve the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this earth equally. That’s why Jesus calls us to have an eternal perspective. When we love the things of this world, it becomes obvious, and our love shows up in the form of anxiety. Worry is a common malady to all men, regardless of income level or social status. We worry about not having enough or losing what we already have. Five times in 10 verses, Jesus uses the word “anxious,” and He ties it to temporal, earthly things:

  • Life
  • Food and drink
  • The body
  • Clothes
  • The future (on earth)

In contrast, Jesus reminds us that those who are approved by God trust Him for all of the following things:

  • Life
  • Food and drink
  • Our bodies
  • Our clothes
  • The future

We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Our allegiance is to be undivided – focusing on Him and Him alone. God knows what we need, and He can provide for those needs. But notice Jesus’ emphasis on NEEDS and not wants. We have a tendency to turn wants into needs. It is not enough to be clothed – we want to be richly clothed. It is not enough to be fed – we want to be well fed. It is not enough to have health – want to be immune to all illnesses. It is not enough to have life – we have to have abundant life (on our terms). So we want, and we worry. But when we make the things of this earth our focus, the desire for them produces unwarranted worry and unnecessary anxiety.

Consider these two reminders about worry, one from the lips of Jesus and the other from the pens of Peter and Paul.

The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. – Matthew 13:22 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. – 1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT

Worldly pleasures and treasures produce divided allegiance and result in worry and stress. But when we make God our focus and the treasures He has laid up for us our greatest desire, we will be truly blessed and find that there is no reason for worry. Our God will meet all our needs, both now and for eternity.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

His Righteousness Draws Near

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1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
    and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
    that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
    her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4 “Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
    O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, I am he who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    who stretched out the heavens
    and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord of hosts is his name.” – Isaiah 51:1-15 ESV

Three times in the first eight verses, God calls on His people to hear what He has to say. But He specifically addresses the small remnant made up of those who remained faithful to Him – those who still knew and pursued righteousness.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord.” – Isaiah 51:1 ESV

“Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation.” – Isaiah 51:4 ESV

“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people in whose heart is my law.” – Isaiah 51:7 ESV

And God explains why the should listen to Him. First of all, He is the one who made them. He called one man, Abraham,  and from him created a great nation. Then God blessed them, providing them with Zion, the mountain on which Jerusalem sat and from which David reigned. Secondly, they should listen to Him because He is the Creator-God, the maker of all things. He is powerful and fully capable of sending His salvation to rescue them. And that same power He used to create the universe will be used to destroy all the He made. It all will be part of His redemptive plan for His creation. Finally, God explains that they should listen to whata He has to say because He is not yet done. They have no reason to fear man because God is on their side and He has an infallible plan of salvation already in place. He assures them, “my righteousness will last forever” (Isaiah 51:8 ESV).

That small, but faithful remnant of those who still believed in and waited on God, were being encouraged to keep their eyes focused on Him. Even though things looked bleak and the prospects for Judah were anything but good, God was faithful. They were His chosen people and He had promised to protect and provide for them. But He had also promised to punish them if they refused to obey Him. They were going to suffer at the hands of the Babylonians, but God would restore them. He would return them to the land and, while they would be small in number, He would once again bless them and multiply them. All in keeping with His promise to Abraham.

Their greatest danger would not be the Babylonians, but their tendency to look at their temporary circumstances and draw the wrong conclusions. Once they found themselves in captivity in Babylon, even the faithful would be tempted to question God’s covenant promises. But God tells them to see things from His perspective.

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner.” – Isaiah 51:6 ESV

The apostle Peter warned of this coming day.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. – 2 Peter 3:10-13 NLT

Isaiah prophesied about this coming day of judgment. He described the future destruction of the earth and heavens in chapter 24.

The earth mourns and dries up,
    and the land wastes away and withers.
    Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
    for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
    and broken his everlasting covenant.
Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
    Its people must pay the price for their sin. – Isaiah 24:4-6 NLT

Then the glory of the moon will wane,
    and the brightness of the sun will fade. – Isaiah 24:23 NLT

The things we can see with our eyes are temporary in nature. They are not meant to last. Even our circumstances are fluid, constantly changing from the pleasant to the painful, from moments of joy to seasons of sorrow. But God is eternal and so is His plan for His people. That is why they were to focus their attention on Him and not their immediate surroundings and circumstances. And again, Isaiah has already addressed this issue with the people of Judah.

“Shout that people are like the grass.
    Their beauty fades as quickly
    as the flowers in a field.
The grass withers and the flowers fade
    beneath the breath of the Lord.
    And so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
    but the word of our God stands forever.” – Isaiah 40:6-8 NLT

But verse nine reveals that even the faithful remnant were wondering if God had fallen asleep at the wheel. They were busy looking at their circumstances and questioning whether God had dosed off. So, they called on Him to awake.

Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength!
    Flex your mighty right arm!
Rouse yourself as in the days of old
    when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile. – Isaiah 51:9 NLT

These righteous ones still believed God could save them. Their faith, while small, was focused on the right thing: God Almighty. They weren’t calling on the Assyrians or Egypt to be their saviors. In fact, they remind God of when He defeated Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea. They knew that God could save and they express their confidence in His saving power.

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness. – Isaiah 51:11 NLT

This is an amazing expression of faith in the midst of uncertainty and overwhelming signs of pending doom. Their words convey their belief in the faithfulness of God and His power to deliver, no matter how bad the circumstances may appear.

Yet, God seems to know that they still harbored doubts. He was aware that their bold-sounding words of faith were accompanied by unexpressed thoughts of fear. They were wrestling with questions about what was going to happen when the Babylonians showed up on the scene in overwhelming strength and numbers. So, God asks them, “So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear?” (Isaiah 51:12 NLT). “Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?” (Isaiah 51:13 NLT). Faith and fear make lousy playmates. They don’t go well together. Fear is horizontally focused and fixated on the temporal, while faith is vertically focused and centered on the eternal. As the author of Hebrews put it:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1 ESV

And the apostle Paul put the same thought in his own words.

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. – 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

God was revealing to the faithful remnant in Judah that He had plans for them that they could not see. They were blind to the salvation strategy He had in place for them. And, while they might find themselves oblivious to His plans, they could rely upon His character. He was their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar.
    My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Isaiah 51:15 NLT

The seeming reality of our circumstances is nothing when compared to the unquestionable actuality of God’s matchless power and unwavering faithfulness.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Time & Eternity.

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1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 ESV

In just eight short verses, Solomon uses a single word 29 times, and that word is “time.” He uses the Hebrew word, ’eth. In 257 out of the nearly 300 instances that Hebrew word is found in the King James Bible, it is translated as “time.” And it seems that Solomon is using this particular word to drive home a contrast between life as we know it on this temporal plane, and the timeless dimension of eternity. Solomon’s dilemma, like every other human being who has ever lived, is that he is restricted in his ability to discern anything beyond what he can see. He makes the very astute observation that God “has put eternity into man’s heart.” In other words, we have an innate awareness that there is something beyond this life, but we can’t perceive it. As Solomon puts it, man “cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” The New Living Translation puts it this way: “people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” We are temporal creatures, living our temporary lives on this earth, hamstrung by the limitations of our human senses and incapable of seeing what lies beyond the day of our last breath.

It is important that we keep in mind that Solomon, writing this book sometime near the end of his life, has veered from the course established for him by God. He has surrounded himself with wealth, women, possessions, and pleasures of all kinds. He has set up idols to false gods all over the kingdom, and allowed himself to be distracted from his faithfulness to the one true God. His ability to see things from a godly perspective has been harmed and hindered by his love affair with material things, worldly pleasures, and man-made replacements for God. His world view has become influenced by the secular rather than the sacred. So, 29 times in these verses, he speaks of life in terms of time. And he does so by providing 14 stark contrasts that portray life as seen from his limited human perspective. Life lived on this earthly plane and viewed from a human perspective is nothing more than a series of polar extremes. The hope and joy of birth is contrasted with the sadness and seeming finality of death. Planting culminates with harvesting, and you begin the cycle again. Killing is an inevitable reality in life, and starkly at odds with the need for healing. There are times when tearing down follows a season of building up. Why? Because nothing in this life truly lasts. Weeping and laughter, as disparate and dissimilar as they are, share a strange coexistence, equally impacting the lives of men for good or bad. These various actions are relegated to time. They are aspects of human existence that, without a God-focused perspective, create a dissonance in the heart of man that can’t be understand or explained. They present, in just another form, the cyclical, repetitive and meaningless nature of life lived devoid of an eternal perspective.

Solomon acknowledges that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” There are those moments in life when we can enjoy the birth of a baby, the joy of laughter and dancing, the blessings of the harvest, the experience of loving and being loved, and the presence of peace in our lives and world. But that doesn’t keep him from asking the question: “What gain has the worker from his toil?” In other words, what benefit does a man enjoy from all the effort and energy he puts into his life? Whether he likes it or not, there will come a time when he has to replace the harvest he reaped by sowing again. He may one day be forced to watch the death of the child whose birth he witnessed. He will experience the pain that comes when love turns to hate and gain turns to loss. And Solomon describes it as “the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with” (Ecclesiastes 3:10 ESV). So, according to Solomon and based on his secular-based viewpoint, the best outcome human beings can hope for is “to be joyful and to do good as long as they live” (Ecclesiastes 3:12 ESV). As far as Solomon can tell, the most logical response, in light of the inevitability and futility of life, is that “everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil.” Why? Because “this is God’s gift to man.” What Solomon really seems to be saying is that if anyone can experience any semblance of joy and pleasure in the midst of all the meaninglessness of life, they should consider it a gift from God, and enjoy it while they can.

And Solomon reveals the pessimistic nature of his worldview by stating, “whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14 ESV). While this speaks of God’s sovereignty and providential control over all things, Solomon seems to be saying it with less than a positive point of view. He doesn’t exude a spirit of peace and solace with this statement, but a sort of hopeless resignation. He further qualifies his view by saying, “That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away” (Ecclesiastes 3:15 ESV). Here is yet another reference to to the cyclical, repetitive, and futile essence of life lived under the sun. No sense of eternity. No expression of hope in what is to come. It is almost as if Solomon is painting God as some kind of cosmic puppet master in the sky who toys with man, determining his destiny, and relegating him to a hopeless existence featuring equal parts toil and trouble and joy and pleasure.

But Solomon had a warped perspective. He had lost his ability to see life through the lens of God’s love and faithfulness. His abandonment of the eternal God had left him with nothing but a temporal view of life. He had become blinded to the sovereign will of God that is always accompanied by the loving mercy of God. His sense of purposelessness was the direct byproduct of his lack of faithfulness. God was not the one who had changed. God was not the one who had moved. Solomon’s loss of hope was due to his loss of trust in God.

 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Folly of What Is Fading.

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And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. – 1 John 2:17 ESV

This world is temporary and transient. But for most of us, it has become our only perception of what is real. Here in this world we can see, touch, smell and experience what appears to be reality. We can enjoy a good meal, watch a beautiful sunset, feel the love of another human being, and experience a thousand other moments of legitimate joy and pleasure. And there is nothing wrong with any of those things, until we allow them to replace or distract us from what is truly real. John’s whole point in this passage has been to warn believers of the danger of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride we get from our possessions or positions. When we turn to those things in order to find our sense of worth and value or to feed our need for self-importance and self-indulgence, we have lost sight of reality. Those things we lust after, long for, and find satisfaction in are temporary and not timeless. John says they are fading away. Not only that, he indicates that our desire for them should be diminishing as well. As believers, we should have a growing sense of eternity, that our destiny is out ahead of us. This world is not our true home. We truly are just passing through on our way to somewhere else.

The writer of Hebrews spoke of this very attitude when he wrote about the saints of the Old Testament. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV). Abraham never got to live in a city with foundations – on this earth. But he does now. His faith was in something he couldn’t see. He trusted the promises of God in spite of the fact that those promises so often appeared to be unfulfilled. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV). Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Abel, Isaac, and Jacob – they all lived by faith, setting their hopes on things they could not see. “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).

The danger we all face is to confuse our present circumstances with future reality. Nothing here lasts. New cars become old ones. They lose their value as soon as you drive them off the lot. New outfits become outdated in no time at all. New homes slowly fall apart. New toys lose their novelty and appeal. Even the bodies we live in are growing old and giving out on us. But Paul would remind us that these bodies are indeed temporary. They are not built to last. But we are. We are eternal creatures. Our souls are eternal and not temporary. Paul refers to these bodies as tents – much like what Abraham lived in. They are not our permanent home. “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT). We are to live in this world with a sense of expectation in what is to come. Like Abraham, we are to see ourselves as temporary residents here. Our home is elsewhere. “So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9 NLT).

Our goal is to please Him. That is exactly John’s point when he says, “whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17 ESV). We are to live in this world with a determination to do what is pleasing to God, not ourselves. We are eternal creatures. We have an eternal destiny. This world is fading along with its desires. Which is why Paul warns us to live our time here wisely and carefully, with a full awareness that how we live our life in the here and now directly is directly tied to our view of the hereafter. “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT).

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Genesis 27-28, Matthew 14

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The Flesh Versus the Spirit.

Genesis 27, Matthew 14

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.  – Genesis 28:15 ESV

The entire Bible is a picture of God working in the midst of and, in most cases, in spite of man. So far we have seen even those who had been chosen by God and given the promises of God, acting as sometimes unwilling and unhelpful participants in God’s plan. That pattern continues in chapters 27 and 28 as we read about Jacob’s deception of his father in order to receive a blessing from him. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, plays a major role in Jacob’s decision, encouraging him to deceive his father in order to cheat his brother out of his blessing. We see in this story a cast of characters controlled by their senses. The physical and sensual play a major role in all that happens. Isaac is physically old and suffering from the effects of his dying body. Yet he is driven by a desire for food and sends out his son, Esau, to kill some game and prepare him his favorite stew. Rebekah, driven by a desire to see her favorite son, Jacob, receive the blessing, allows her sin nature to control her decision making. She concocts a plan to involve Jacob in an elaborate ruse, designed to deceive her own husband and cheat her own son, Esau. Her sinful passions, while probably well-intentioned, are vividly on display in this story. Jacob, a willing pawn in his mother’s hands, allows his lust for more – a blessing AND the birthright – to drive his actions. Esau, once he discovered what had been done to him, is driven by revenge and an unbearable desire to be blessed by his father. His disappointment will drive him to seek the death of his own twin brother.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Yet, in spite of all the sinful passions the permeate these two chapters, God is in control. His will is being done – in spite of the motley cast of characters that make up this story. God does not condone Rebekah’s scheming and Jacob’s willful deceitfulness. But He uses their sinful actions to accomplish His divine will. What they meant for evil, God will use for good.

And yet, there is both pain and punishment involved in the actions of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau. Jacob, while blessed, will have to run for his life. His actions drive a wedge between he and his brother. He is forced to leave home and take up residence with his uncle. As a result, his self-imposed exile will ensure that he never sees his mother and father again. He will live in fear of his brother, Esau, for years. Rebekah will live out the rest of her life knowing her favorite son had received the blessing, but never getting to hold him in her arms again. There are always consequences to our sins, but God is always accomplishing His will in spite of them. He did not abandon His promise because of Jacob’s actions. He remained faithful to His word, regardless of the unfaithfulness and unrighteousness of those through whom He was going to fulfill his word.  Even after all Jacob had done, God reaffirmed His covenant promise to him. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15 ESV). Regardless of Jacob’s actions, God was promising to remain with him and to someday restore him to the land. You see this pattern all throughout the lives of the people of Israel. One day they would find themselves living in exile in Egypt, and God would faithfully restore them to the land. Generations later, they would find themselves living in exile in Babylon and, once again, God would faithfully restore them to the land. Years later, the people would find themselves living in spiritual exile in the land, and God would send His Son in an effort to restore them to a right relationship with Him. God has been and always will be faithful to His word. He is the covenant-keeping God.

What does this passage reveal about man?

At heart, we are all schemers and deceivers. We are driven by our senses and controlled by our passions. The physical world is the greatest barrier to our spiritual development. Our lust for more of what this world has to offer make it difficult for us to enjoy all the spiritual blessings God has promised. You see in the story of Jacob, the ease at which our passions for the physical can easily overshadow our faith in the promises of God. The enemy is always at work behind the scenes tempting us to doubt God and trust in that which we can see, hold, feel, touch, and taste. And yet, the majority of the blessings of God are spiritual in nature. They are eternal, not temporal. If you think about the gifts of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – they are all spiritual in nature. And yet, they have physical implications. They show up in the physical world, but are made possible only by the Spirit of God. Any attempt to manufacture them in the flesh always fails. No one can make themselves more patient. You can fake love, but you can’t make the real thing. The physical and spiritual are always at odds in our lives. That why Paul wrote, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:16-17 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I have to constantly remind myself that God’s divine plan for mankind is far greater and more important than my self-centered plans for myself. He is going to accomplish what He has promised to Abraham. He will fulfill His promises to Isaac and Jacob. He will follow through on all His commitments to the people of Israel. He will come through on all He has promised for the body of Christ. And He will complete what He has begun in my life. My petty passions and selfish desires for the physical things of this earth do not thwart God or harm His plan, but they do make my life more difficult. I can choose to do it His way or my way, but irregardless, God will always have His way. Jacob made his life far more difficult than it had to be. His life would not be an easy one. But God would still accomplish His will through him – in most cases, in spite of him. It would be far more pleasant to live in obedience to God and enjoy His blessings, than to resist Him or attempt to somehow “help” Him and have to suffer the consequences of my sin.

I can’t help but think about Peter in the story found in Matthew 14. He and the rest of the disciples of Jesus are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the night, experiencing strong waves and winds. They see Jesus walking on the water toward them in the midst of the storm and Peter begs Jesus to command that he be able to walk on the water too. Jesus simply said, “Come!” And Peter did. But then he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to focus on the wind and the waves. He became overwhelmed with the physical and lost sight of the spiritual. His ability to walk on water was a miracle. It was supernatural and impossible, but Peter became obsessed once again with the natural, and he sank like a rock. But Jesus was there. He rescued Peter, lifting him out of the water and placing him back in the boat. But Jesus’ words still ring true today.  “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:28 ESV). The life of the believer is to be one of faith. It is to be lived by faith, not sight. It is to be based on the spiritual, not the physical. With God, nothing is impossible. But it is so easy to let the physical realm rob us of the spiritual reality of the promises and power of God in our lives.

Father, I want to trust You more and lean less and less on the things of this world. I want to be spiritually-motivated, not earthly-minded. I want to trust You more and the things of this earth less. I want to develop an internal, rather than a temporal, perspective. Forgive me for my doubt. Help my unbelief. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

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Dead or Alive – Please God.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. – 2 Corinthians 5:9 NLT

What’s your goal in life? To be successful? Make a million dollars? Reach retirement? Graduate from college? Get married? Own a big home? Drive a fancy car? Have kids? See the world? Change the world?

As believers, we’re to have a different perspective about life on this planet and what we expect to get out of it. We are eternal creatures living in a temporary environment that is nowhere near what God intended it to be when He created it. This place can be beautiful, even breathtaking at times, but it is fallen and marred by the effects of sin. Human beings have the capacity for good, but are more prone to sin and selfishness, perpetrating all kinds of evil on one another. And yet, we find ourselves, like everyone else, living as if life on this planet is all there is. We fear death and so we try to cram as much living as we can in the days we have. We try to prolong life and extend our time here on earth, hoping to buy ourselves a bit more time to enjoy what we’ve got or get our hands on what we’ve missed out on.

But Paul had a different perspective. He longed to be with God, because he knew that what God had in store for him in eternity was far better than anything he could ever experience here on earth. Paul didn’t have a death wish. He wasn’t in a hurry to die, but he knew that his life here was temporary and a poor substitute for what was to come. And that eternal perspective led Paul to have a different goal in life. As long as he lived on this earth, he was going to seek to please God. His temporary, earthly life was an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of God’s mission and glory in the world. Rather than live for himself, Paul chose to live for God. Rather than trying to build his own kingdom on earth, Paul chose to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Because Paul knew that all that he accomplished on this earth was going to one day be judged by Christ at the Bema Seat. He understood that his life as a believer was going to be held to a different set of standards. The Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ is a real event that will take place after Christ returns for his bride, the Church. Every believer will stand before Christ and will have his works judged by Christ – all those things he or she has done in their life since becoming a believer. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB). The judgment spoken of here has nothing to do with salvation. This will not be a judgment to determine who gets into heaven, because as believers, we will all spend eternity with Christ. But He will judge our works. He will determine the relative value of what we have done since becoming believers. The criteria for judgment will be the worth or worthlessness of our works. This is not about punishment, but rewards. There will be rewards for those things we did in this life that helped extend God’s Kingdom and accomplish His will on earth. Those things that we have done that were selfish, self-centered, and ended up building our own little kingdom will not be rewarded. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul had told them about this coming day of judgment. “Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT).

The realization of rewards should motivate us to live differently in this life. It should cause us to recognize that all those things we invest so much time and energy in that are for our own pleasure or personal satisfaction, will be worth nothing when we stand before the Lord. They will be wood, hay and stubble. That is why Paul lived to please God. He wanted his entire life to be comprised of gold, silver and jewels – those things that would be judged by Christ as worthwhile and worthy or reward. But it all begins with an eternal perspective. We have to understand that this life is temporary and only a fleeting moment when compared to the eternity we will spend with Christ. Even these bodies are temporary, growing older with every passing moment, which is why God is going to provide us with new bodies, heavenly bodies, designed to last an eternity. None of us know how long we have to live. But as believers, we should know that as long as we do live, we should make it our goal to please God in all that we do. We should live in such a way that our lives are “a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable” (Romans 12:1 NLT).

Father, I focus way too much on this life. I worry far too much about getting out of this life all that I can – and mostly just for me. But I am to set my sights on eternity. I am to focus on Your Kingdom, not mine. I am to live here, but with my attention focused THERE. Show me how to live to please You. I want to make it my goal to please You in all that I do in the time that I have left here. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org