Joel Phillips – Page 26

Two-a-days Heaven

Every August football teams all over our nation begin their preseason training. There is one week during this time called “hell week.” During hell week players come in for practice two times a day (aka two-a-days). This brutal training, along with all other preparation, is motivated by the hope of having a winning season.

But there is a season approaching that is unlike any other.

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Mt 24:44)

Some people are really good at planning and preparing. But, have you ever thought about how prepared you are for the Lord’s return? While no one knows the hour of the Lord’s return, God’s people should be able to know the season of the His return. With the current events happening in the world, especially in Israel, many of us are wondering if this could be the season.

An old song says:

There’s a great day coming, a great day coming…
Are you ready for that day to come?

That’s an important question we should be asking ourselves. Are we ready for that day? But just working harder isn’t the answer. Jesus Christ has already done the real work. Getting ready for God to come either by His spirit, or in reality, is accomplished in three ways:

1. Awareness of the how quickly it’s going to happen

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11)

2. A willingness to stand in faith

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb. 6:11-12)

3. Being motivated from a passion for God

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God…And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1, 3)

Dead Faith

Martin Luther, progenitor of the Reformation, brought us the understanding of how the Christian is saved, justified, and declared righteous by faith alone in Jesus Christ. It was his insight to primarily Paul’s writings that introduced us to the power of grace and how it triumphs over works.

But James wrote,

If your faith does not have works, it’s dead.
(James 2:17)

This seems to be contradictory. Are we saved by faith alone apart from works, or does faith that saves necessitate some kind of works? This question is why Luther had a hard time reconciling Paul’s epistles and James’ one epistle. Here’s what he wrote:

“In a word St. John’s Gospel and his first epistle, St. Paul’s epistles, especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s first epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and salvatory for you to know, even if you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.”
(Preface to the New Testament, 1522)

Although this statement was later removed from subsequent editions (never formerly retracted however), Luther always held doubts about the canonicity of the Epistle of James. So it’s important for us to consider exactly what James is talking about.

There are two aspects of faith. Faith that brings us to salvation, and faith that results in corresponding actions. Abraham believed God (that is all) “and it was accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). But it wasn’t until Abraham obeyed God and took his son Isaac up to offer him as a sacrifice that God said,

“Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son.”
(Genesis 22:12, NIV)

God had already declared Abraham righteous and had made a covenant with him, but it wasn’t until he acted in faith upon God’s instructions that God said, “now I know.” This is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to when we read, “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). It was the sacrifice of Christ that pleased God as a payment for our sins (Is. 53:10; Rom. 3:24-25), but it is our stepping out in faith that also pleases God.

James tells is that our faith is dead unless it is active. Faith that saves should result in faith that acts. Faith should cause us to act upon what we believe prior to what we see. Faith operates with confidence that what God has said is true even though what is currently seen is contradictory.

Faith not only gives us the hope of heaven one day, but it brings the power of heaven here today.

He Loved Telling People Why He Fed the Seagulls

At the top of my legal pad I wrote: The most important factor in our testimony is thankfulness. Those words brought to my mind a story I read a few years ago.

It was thankfulness that prompted an old man to visit a pier in Florida for a very special reason. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket.

Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean. Then for nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts.

But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them, and a miracle occurred.

Captain Rickenbacker loved to tell people why he was so thankful for seagulls:

Stranded in a raft, we read from the Bible and then prayed, and then sang a hymn. The heat was oppressive. I pulled my hat down to keep out some of the glare, and dozed off. Then something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull! No one said a word, but I could see the expression on the men’s faces. That gull meant food if I could catch it, and I did!

And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. Captain Rickenbacker never forgot.

I pray we would never forget the great sacrifice that was made for us through Jesus Christ. And that we would not only express our thanks to God, but to love telling others why we are so thankful.

This is what a big chunk of my heart looks like. Go there and you’ll know why. (at República De Luque!)

I love them. I’m proud of them. They rock! #regen2k14 #regenitup2 #paraguay (at Mariscal Lopez Shopping)

@nissarosales pouring her heart out at #juvenil2014 #southamerica #regen2k14 #regenitup2 @thecenterchurch

Examples

One of the greatest needs for all people, especially for young people, is to have someone to model our lives after. We need people who will speak into our lives and teach us the ways of the Lord.

To older, experienced people, it is a call to take someone under their wing. To the younger ones it is a call to not reject the wisdom of our elders. The psalmist declares,

O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. (Psalm 71:17–18)

Throughout the bible God has given us examples of what to do, and what not to do. In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul uses the first generation of Israelites during the Exodus as an example what God does not want us to do. They had allowed sin to enter their lives that displeased Him, and as a result heir hearts became hardened and God allowed them to die in the wilderness having never entered into the Promised Land.

Ever heard someone say, “Do what I say, not what I do”? It’s a stupid thing to say, but it’s actually an incredibly accurate statement. All of us are some type of example to someone by both what we do and say.

God did not create you to be alone. He deposited skills, knowledge, and talents in someone out there who is sent to be an example to you, teach you and encourage you, and then in turn you become able to do it for someone else.

Singing Welder

A multi-story office building is being built. It’s a job being done by men who not only take pride in their work, but also in being men. Strong and capable.

One afternoon the job site went silent, except for the sound of one of the welders doing something he had never done before—sing.

Everyone was looking at him and he could feel it, but he didn’t give in to the fear. He kept singing. One guy said, “Hey check him out,” then quipped, “he’s regular Pavarotti!” Everyone laughed.

What they didn’t know was that this welder was singing in spite of some very scary news. Just that week his wife’s doctor had told them that her kidneys were failing. This strong capable man felt helpless and powerless.

But this welder knew something that was more powerful than any bad report from a doctor, or any other source. He knew what he was singing, who he was singing about, and who he was singing to, made all the difference in the world.

The bible calls it a new song.

A new song can be sang in the best of times, or worst. It is a song that rises from within and is empowered by a fresh realization of who God is and what he’s capable of doing.

Like anything new, a new song is not something that comes easy or is comfortable. The first time you sing a song of praise and thanks to God that is birthed from something incredibly good or bad can be scary, but that is when the real power of praise is released. Praising God establishes God’s victory and pushes back darkness. It can even shut a job site down, but keep singing!

Knowing God’s Will

Some people approach God’s will as a mystery. God’s will is out there somewhere in a spiritual haze that they feel unworthy to approach. They hope it will become clearer, however God’s will is more of a pipedream than something attainable.

But God’s will is not a mystery.

Most of us believe that God wants to bless his people (Deut. 28:8). But his blessing is inextricably linked to his will. In order for God to bless his people (which he wants to do) they have to be in his will. He cannot bless what is outside of his will (read sin and disobedience). Therefore, if it is God’s desire to bless his people, and his blessing is predicated on his will, his will is knowable!

Paul’s words in Ephesians tell us this exact thing,

10 And find out what pleases the Lord…17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:10, 17, NIV)

There are things that we can do that displease the Lord; likewise there are things we can do that are pleasing to the Lord. And we are told that we can find out what those things are, and understand what the will of the Lord is. Why would we be told these things if it weren’t possible?

It isn’t wrong to wonder what God’s will is for you, or for a given situation. It isn’t wrong to even ask someone to pray for you toward that end. But remember that God wants you to find out what his will is more than anyone so his purposes and blessings can be lived out in your life. The key is to live in a way that pleases him…and he’ll even help you with that.

Thanks dad…

In January of 2013 my dad passed away, but not his memory, nor the things he taught me. Two years ago on Father’s Day he spoke one of his last messages. It was unforgettable.

Because he had been sick for awhile, it was awesome that my dad was able bodied enough to come and minister to us. The insight he had to God’s Word has been life-changing for me, and for many others.

When I was about eight years old my dad was preaching on a Sunday morning. All of the sudden he stopped and said,

“The Holy Spirit is here. I feel God’s presence.”

As people began praising the Lord in response, my eyes and head were turning every which way. I was looking up and down, forward and back in the Sanctuary. So convinced by what my dad said, and how he said it, that I was certain one would be able to see God somewhere in the room.

It wasn’t uncommon for dad to stop in the middle of his sermon and say something like,

“Don’t you feel like giving God praise right now?”

Then people would begin to speak out their thanks and love for the Lord. I can recall the first time I did that. I told Jesus I loved Him and felt Him warmly embrace me with His love. It was life changing.

Dad has taught us over the years many things about God’s Word and our faith, but he has also taught us about the heart of God. It’s in the spontaneous moments of stopping everything that dad showed us the simplicity of experiencing God’s presence. It’s something we need to do more of.

Thanks dad…see you soon

All posts by : Joel Phillips