Jesus Archives - regeneratis

Work Out What God Works In: MT e66

When I was much younger there were occasional summers that we as a family would go to Curie Beach in NC. One very clear memory is my mother would always get me a new plastic bucket and shovel to use on the beach.

But there was one condition, I could not use it until we got to the beach. I had other plastic shovels that were older but why use them if the brand new one was right here.

I had ants in my pants every time. I could not wait to use that new bucket and shovel.

Then finally, we would get to the destination, and I would be able to work with my new tools. I could dig and rake until my heart was content.

Philippians 2:12-13 it says, “As you have obeyed . . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

When it says, work out your salvation, does it mean that we are to work to gain our righteousness? Is Scripture saying here that God does His part and we do our part?

The short answer is no.

We are saved by grace through God’s loving kindness and mercy. Grace means gift. You do not work for a gift.

In the process of being saved God changes us. It is a miraculous change of heart.

Just like the younger me with my beach toys, just itching to get busy. This is the same picture for the believer. We are excited to get busy with our new tools that God has given us.

We are not working to gain righteousness but because we are righteous.

Believers are WORKING OUT what God has WORKED IN us. (repeat)

This is the ongoing desire for every believer. Keep working out what God is working in.

Why . . .because it is for His good purpose. Our Lord always gets the glory. That is why I say:

S.D.G.

Living Bread: MT e65

When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” what exactly did that mean?

This is where we were Thursday. We discussed then that When Jesus said this, the people listening to Jesus would have definitely remembered a couple of encounters that Moses had. Aside from them remembering Moses, what did Jesus mean?

Have you ever noticed ALL the places and things that we have in our culture that surround food?

We have cookbooks by the tens of thousands. There are countless cooking channels on YouTube. Television shows not just about cooking but also about visiting delicious restaurants and even shows that are about finding the best chefs. And this is just the beginning.

We love food. It is great for holidays; it is great for special occasions and memories. Even Christ himself, before he was crucified wanted to share one last meal with his disciples.

Midst all this food, cookbooks, cooking shows and places to eat, there is something more important. It is God’s very word.

What Jesus was teaching when he said, I am the bread of life is that just as food keeps us alive and keeps us nourished, we need more than this. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

This is LIFE! Life that ordinary food, regardless of how delicious, can’t provide.

Food indeed does provide sustenance for living life. But it is in Jesus we don’t just live, we have ever lasting life. That is why partaking of the bread of life is by far our most important need.

Jesus is the bread from heaven. Bread that gives us eternal life.

S.D.G.

Good Foundations & Turbulent Times: MT e56

What did Jesus think about how important His teachings were?

He who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The comparison here is your life is a house. Jesus words are a solid foundation on which to build your house.

Why is this important? “When the rains come ( and they will ) and the streams rise ( and they do ) and the winds blow and beat on the house, (It happens ) it did not fall because its foundation was on a rock.

Good foundations withstand turbulent times.

On Monday, I had referenced some foundation work which needed to be done on my office. Have no doubt, the problem could have been ignored.

Rather than spending the time to fix the foundation issue I could have gone to play disc golf, watched some college football or anything other than fix the problem. I could have kicked that can down the road for weeks or even months.

The result of indefinite delaying the fixing this problem would have been disastrous. It would eventually be the end of this building. That is the importance of a foundation.

Knowing about the importance of foundations is not enough

Likewise, hearing Jesus’ teachings is not enough.

He who HEARS & DOES THEM is like a wise person . . . building on a solid foundation.

Building your life on the foundation of Christ is It is being righteous in your thought life, being righteous in how you handle anger, being righteous in self-control. This is a solid foundation in Christ. Even more it is honoring God, the Creator, with your life.

Jesus is a Solid Foundation

S.D.G.

The Light of Life: MT e53

The book of John begins, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Through time I have focused so much on the first three verses of this passage, which are fascinating that I have missed the significance of that last sentence in verse 5.

The light sines in the darkness, that is Jesus, He is the light. But the darkness has not overcome it.

Have you ever noticed that at night time, when all the lights are turned off and you are going to sleep that the smallest little light cannot go undetected? It can be like the littlest of lights on a wall adapter or charger of some sort.

You do not notice in the day. But when there is no light, it can become very bright. If you happen to have a digital clock, the light it emits in the day is dim. But at night, it can shine like Times Square on New Year’s eve.

These are small lights. John 1 is talking about the Word. This Word is creator. This Word is God. This Word is eternally in the past and eternally in the future. This Word gave life to humanity. It said to humanity, breathe and it did.

This Word is light. It is not the little green light on your Chromebook charger. This Word is a light that changes a life. Complete change.

This light can cast off the dark world. Anything and everything in you that is dark, it can be eradicated with this Light. I want you to know this light. Oh how your life will change when you know this light.

S.D.G.

Served Twice: MT e42

“For I have given you an example, that you should do just as I have done to you.” John 13:15

Last time the thought surrounded this passage of Jesus washing feet and how serving can be inconvenient. When considering everything that Jesus was about to face I would have failed here. I would have demanded service. “Come on guys!”

This was a defining moment of the inconvenience of serving.

The reason I would fail is because If I was in Jesus place, my focus would be on me and what I am about to do and what I am about to endure.

There is no doubt what Jesus was about to face was on his mind but he did not allow that to get in the way.

Rather, he looked at the larger picture and saw a teachable moment. He served twice here. Once by washing feet: this was filling an immediate need. The second time by teaching. “I have given you an example, now go and do what I have done for you.”

The reality here is that you and I can be so wrapped up in ourselves, in our lives, that we miss these wonderful opportunities to add to the serving we are already doing.

To be clear, this is not a pastor sharing that we need to dig deeper and try harder. This is a pastor who wants to lead by praying, “Lord, by Your Spirit, open my eyes and soften my heart so I can serve better.”

Suffering Servant: MT episode 30

John 13:1-20 is a passage upon which I encourage you to read and meditate this week. This will be a passage we will observe today and this coming Thursday.

We find Jesus on the night that he was betrayed and abandoned sharing a meal with the disciples who were the very people that would betray and abandon him. Ordinarily there was a designated servant who would wash the feet.

They did not sit at tables in chairs as we do in our culture, they reclined at table. In this position, someone’s feet would inevitably be in the face of someone else.

Very common was open toe sandal type shoes combined with dirt streets the feet would get filthy. With that explanation, maybe you can understand better why the washing of feet at mealtimes was so important.

Yet, there was no one to wash feet. There was no servant. . . until Jesus became one.

He rose from the table, removed his outer garment, wrapped a towel around his waist and began washing the disciples’ feet.

No outer garment and a towel wrapped around the waist was identifying act of a servant. If you were to walk into a room the servant would be easily identified for, he would not have an outer garment and have a towel wrapped around his waist.

Jesus knows what is coming in the next few hours. He knows He will be abandoned by all, even, ultimately, by the Father.

He knows the scourging that will take place. He knows the betrayal and the denials. Of all the people in that room, he should have been at the top of the list of being served, not doing the serving.

But Jesus came into this world and Isaiah described him as the suffering servant. He came to serve. Dressed in human likeness he became obedient, to death, even death on a cross. Serving those who believe.

We will return to this passage Thursday and see yet one other significant thing that happened in this setting.

Until then, S.D.G.

Small & Weak: MT episode 28

When you think of Samson, what comes to mind? To be clear, I am referring to Samson, from the book of Judges, who had incredible strength.

After he was born, no razor was to touch his head. His strength would be tied to that vow. If he did not cut his hair, he would remain strong and be used by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

And Samson did mighty things (he also did some very unwise unmighty things as well.). But the promise of God remained true. Samson was beyond strong.

He killed a lion with his bare hands. By himself, he defeated 1,000 Philistines in battle. He even lifted and removed the city gate of Gaza.

He carried these gates on his shoulders. In Scripture, the weight of these gates is not provided but experts who know archaeology have a range of what they would weigh. That range is between 1,000 and 8,000 pounds.

So, when I ask you to close your eyes and think of Samson, what kind of image comes to mind? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Incredible Hulk? Adre “anybody want a peanut” the Giant?

The Bible does not tell us, but I have an idea. I don’t think he was big at all. I think he looked like a regular man. If pressed, I might even go the other way and think he looked more like a squirrely and skinny little man like Barny Fife.

His enemies could not figure out from where he got his strength. If he looked like Hulk Hogan, it is possible they would not wander. They could look and say, “Well, he is a big strong man.”

His strength came from God. Which is the strength of us all. It is all I have.

God has used weak, frail and small men and women all throughout time. It is how little boy David could defeat the 9-foot-tall Goliath.

He does the same today. “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

The treasure to which Paul refers is Jesus.

You and I are weak without our Lord. When it comes to Spiritual matters, we are unable even to carry a five-gallon bucket of fertilizer. The surpassing power belongs to God and this God will do great things in small, weak, squirrely men and women. This is glorious!

S.D.G.

Nothing to Fear: MT episode 25

“I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” We have been hovering over that phrase for a few visits. Let us consider that phrase right after this which says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:9)

So this verse begins with God’s Spirit given to us. The moment you became a believer, God placed His Spirit in you (John 3:1-15). It is a supernatural act of mercy. This Spirit is the causing agent in our ability to love God, love His law and helps us control our rebellious flesh. (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Jeremiah 31:31)

But what about this statement “God gave us a spirit not to fear?” There are several times where we are instructed/commanded to fear the Lord. That it is the right thing to do. Yet here, the opposite. Consider these passages:

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Proverbs 28:14 “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,”

Philippians 2:12 “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

These are just a small sampling of many passages which seem to promote that a fear in relation to God is a good thing. How do we justify Those passages with earlier words that we should not fear?

In Scripture interpretation it is important to consider the location. On the one hand we must fear the Lord in relation to honor and respect His authority as Lord and Creator. We honor Him and His word. Yet on the other hand, as believers who are in Christ, we do not fear our eternal state.

There is a same thought in Romans 8:15 that we have received the Holy Spirit adopted into God’s family, “by whom we cry Abba! Father!” (That is Father 2x) “God gave us not a Spirit of fear” because Christ is our Lord. Our eternal state is safe in Him. There is nothing to fear in Christ.

S.D.G.

A Hero in God’s Hand: MT episode #21

While reading through any Biblical story it is quite easy to place ourselves as the hero. We like the little boy David who killed Goliath. Let me be that little boy who went and found five stones and with no fear, faced the giant.

In the study of the first chapter in Ruth it is so easy to look negatively at Orpah, who after weighing the options, said to herself maybe sticking with Naomi is not in my best interest. The preference is to be Ruth. It takes courage to be Ruth.

Her statement “Where you go, I will go, where you stay, I will stay . . .may nothing but death separate you and me.” That is a movie line. That is a best-selling theme right there. I want to be that.

But in the moment, on my own strength, I fail. I’m not the hero. I am more like faithless Peter than faithful Ruth.

The lesson throughout Scripture is the greatness our sin BUT the greaterness of Jesus. The truth sometimes stings. As much as I want to be Ruth and David, when real life faces me, I am more like Orpah and Peter.

Here lies the beautiful paradox – let me repeat that: this is The Beautiful Paradox. You and I, on our own, are more like the denying Peter. But when, IN CHRIST, we grasp that truth – we become more heroic like Ruth and David.

How? Because our God is a great God. He is a God who in a few weeks took the denying faithless Peter to the proclaiming faithful Peter of Pentecost. He is a God who works in small weak men and women all the time. He is the God that turns small, weak men and women into David and Ruth’s.

We can do great things because our God is great. You and I bring nothing to the table but trouble. When there is submission to that, when there is understanding of what God’s strength can do, is when we begin to be powerful in His hands FOR HIS GLORY.

S.D.G.

The Sunday Message: Hebrews 2:5-9

There are some minor and occasional audio issues in this presentation. We do apologize and we are working to correct the issue for future sermons. Thank you.

⁵For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?
⁷You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
    you have crowned him with glory and honor,
⁸    putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:5-9