Ministry After COVID-19: Back to the Future

From every indication that I see, churches are responding well to the current COVID-19 virus situation. But, what comes next?

Nearly 40 years ago, author John Naisbitt wrote his book “Megatrends” which predicted a future society that was both “high-tech” and “high-touch.” In other words, a society that took advantage of emerging technology and which was also highly relational.

In many ways Naisbitt was right, although our society has drifted more into the realm of “high-tech” and somewhat away from the realm of “high-touch.” During this drift, our churches have remained highly relational, and we have been somewhat out of step with society. That’s not necessarily bad, since the church of God is supposed to be different than the world in the same way light is different than darkness.

With the need to maintain “social distance” due to the COVID-19 situation, the vast majority of our churches have learned how to leverage technology to continue to minister. This is a good thing because, like Paul used Roman roads, the Roman mail system, and sailed in sea lanes protected by Roman might to do his ministry, we also can take advantage of the technology of our day to do our ministry.

In the past week I have spoken with dozens of pastors and other church leaders across the county where I minister. Many churches who have never attempted to use social media to broadcast their services and Bibles studies are doing this very successfully and many have learned that, while doing this takes work (maybe even more work than holding regular services), they have found that using technology isn’t nearly as difficult as they once thought.

While our churches are using technology, they are also using more personal means of ministry. I know that pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers, and other church leaders are keeping in touch with the families in their church by an old-fashioned, but still useful technology: the telephone! I am doing the same as well as using the postal system.

I want to encourage churches to keep ministry “high-tech” when the crisis has passed. God is using this time to push us into using 21st Century methods to do ministry in the 21st Century. We are learning these techniques are particularly encouraging for our older, home-bound population.

At the same time, I believe that when the “social distancing” restrictions are over, people will be able to express a thirst for social interaction that is building up during the COVID-19 response. We are have many decades of experience at “high-touch” ministry; let’s be prepared to leverage that experience when life become more normal.

“High-touch” and “high-tech” are two sides of the same coin! Let’s use them both as we serve God in the weeks to come!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Life in the Spirit from Romans 8

Today I am commenting on Romans 8:5-17, which reads:

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye hav not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Some people have a critical spirit.  One salesman got so fed up he quit and joined the police.  When asked about his new job, he said: “I like it: the pay is good, the hours aren't bad, and best of all, the customer is always wrong!”

There are many different spirits alive in this world today: the spirit of this world, the spirit of evil, and the Spirit of God. We, of course, need to live by the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity who is God's presence on the earth today.  He guides us, empowers us and directs us.  In our text today, we learn that we may ignore the Holy Spirit, but we do so to our detriment.

LET'S LOOK AT LIFE WITHOUT THE SPIRIT:

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (V.V. 5-8)

The world has been categorized in many ways: Jews and Gentiles; Muslims and Infidels; developed countries and developing countries, rich people and poor people.

In these verses, Paul gives us a new way to view the world. For him there are just two types of people:

• There are Christians with the in-filling of the Holy Spirit.

• There are non-Christians without the Holy Spirit.

In verses 5-8, Paul contrasts these two types of people: some are in the flesh, and some are in the Spirit (V.5). Some are dead, while others are alive (V.6). Some are at war with God and some are at peace with God (V.V. 6 & 7). Some are self pleasing while some are God pleasing (V. 8).

Paul gives us a digital choice here: you are either alive with God’s Spirit or dead without Him. Zombie Christians who are saved but who don’t possess the Spirit of God cannot exist. To be a Christian means you have the the Spirit of God. If you don’t have the Spirit you are not alive in Christ. It is that simple and also that profound!

LET'S LOOK AT LIFE WITH THE SPIRIT:

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (V.V. 9-13)

Jesus gave us some crucial promises before he ascended. He said He would never leave us (Matthew 28:20) and that He'd send us the Comforter.  The wording here is very specific, and Paul could not have made it more clear: if you are in the Christ, you have the Holy Spirit in your life. That should be very comforting to us, because that is exactly what God had in mind all along.

When my son was young and we lived in a two-story house, when it came time to put him to bed we would go back downstairs and continue resting and relaxing for the evening. One thing that we always did however, was to assure him that we were just downstairs and if he ever needed us all he had to do was call to us. The same thing is true for us in the Holy Spirit when we have a need we can call upon Him and He will be there with us because He's never left us and he will never forsake us.

So, what does the Holy Spirit do for us? First, He allows us to please God via imputed righteousness. We know that without outside help our lives are spiritually bankrupt. We bring nothing but our sin to our relationship to God, but the Holy Spirit brings us life through the righteousness of God given to us.

Second, He also gives us power over our mortal bodies. We know that the “spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,”  and so we need help to exert self-control and to subdue our flesh. The desires of the flesh are good and natural, but like the rest of God’s creation, our natural desires no longer work the way God intended them to work. We need to access God’s power to keep them in balance and the Holy Spirit helps us maintain that balance.

We all know that life can be hard to handle. One wag said that, “Life is like jello; if you grab it on one side, it oozes out the other.”  Another person, a young mother, said, “Babies are like life; it would really help if both had a handle to grab.” The Holy Spirit gives us a handle on life!

LET'S LOOK AT LIFE POSSESSED BY THE SPIRIT:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye hav not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (V.V. 14-17)

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman; He offers great power and success and He will try to persuade us, but He will not force us! God wants us to willingly allow the Spirit to empower us to be what we cannot be in our own power, but He will not make us. He will not take away our ability to decide. Like the Internet, the Holy Spirit offers us great resources but we must access those resources to benefit from them. Pastoral counselors have learned that, as much as they want to help their clients and as many resources as they may offer them, their clients must have a desire to change before any progress can be made in the counseling process.

Many people are experiencing defeat in their lives; Jesus is their Savior, but He is not their Lord. They have discovered that their flesh is weak and they have caught the “I can’t do it” mentality. They are correct; we can't, but God can!

When we are in Christ we are the adopted Children of God. God has no grandchildren, nor any step children, which means that  we are fellow heirs along with Christ! It is true that we may suffer with Christ, but it is also true that we will be blessed like Him. To realize this, however, we must allow the Holy Spirit to possess us: mind, body, and soul!

CONCLUSION:

If a person needs a heart transplant and they refuse to have it, then they cannot benefit from a new heart! Likewise, a heart transplant does little good if we continue to abuse our body. In spiritual terms then, for Christians, we must give ourselves over to the Lordship of Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to have His own way! If we do that we then can experience the power and blessing in our lives that the Lord wants to give us

In this passage we've seen life without the Spirit, life with the Spirit, and life possessed by the Spirit.  Where is your life today?  Where would you like it to be? It can be there if you only bow your knee and accept the Grace proffered by God!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

The Crook from Psalm 23

Today I am commenting on the 23rd Psalm, which reads:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalm 23 is certainly one of the best known passages of Holy Scripture and it has been called part of “The Holy Trilogy in Psalms”:

The Cross: Psalm 22

The Crook: Psalm 23

The Crown: Psalm 24

Each of these are Messianic Psalms; they tell of Christ and His life and work.  They are thought to be Messianic by the nature of their content, or because the New Testament writers referred to them to teach about Christ.  The 23rd Psalm fits both of these criteria. It portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd and it tells about His love for his flock

The Shepherd Cares for Us:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”

Our Lord is called a Shepherd here; He is like a human shepherd, only better than any we know. He cares for His people, the sheep of His pasture. The fact He is MY Shepherd gives a personal dimension that makes Him different than any other religious figure or even any celebrity

It is a common thing for a person to meet a celebrity whom they have adored for years only to find that celebrity is not interested in them at all. This can be a very discouraging and even an emotionally crushing event. But for us, our Shepherd is not like that at all. He cares for us individually.

Because our Shepherd cares for us, He will not allow us to want. He loves us and He has the power to provide for us. Therefore, He will provide for us; we will not lack in Him!

The Shepherd Feeds Us:

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

The most basic need of a flock is to be fed.  David wrote this Psalm during the days of the open range. There were no fences; there was no bailing of hay. The shepherd had to find His sheep green pastures. In the same way, God provided manna to Israel and Jesus fed the 5,000. But these are examples of physical food. Jesus has something even better for His flock!

Jesus feeds His sheep with His Word: The Word of God is the bread of life; it tells us how to live and why to live. It tells us how to live with God and man and with ourselves. We need to feed on His Word regularly.

It is common knowledge that people should eat regularly for good health. The same is true for the study of God’s Word. We also need to remember that worship is not the same as Bible study.  In worship you give honor to God, but in Bible study you get fed by Him!

The Shepherd Leads Us:

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

Once we are fed we need exercise. Too often we live to eat rather than eating to live!

Our Shepherd gives us food to enjoy, but He also wants to give us strength. If we eat abundantly without equally abundant exercise we will become obese and sick. Spiritually, this is also true. Not only do we need to be fed God’s Word, but we also need to exercise our faith!

As we exercise our faith, Christ leads us into restoration. He leads us into a place of calmness and contentment. He rebuilds our souls and gives us spiritual health.  He does this time and time again. Like ships need to be dry docked for up-keep and repairs so that they can navigate rough waters, so do we need to be led to a place of restoration.

Ships, of course, are not built just to stay in port. They are intended to sail the seas. In the same way,  Christ also leads us out into the world to the paths of righteousness. This means living a righteous way of life and doing the things we are called by God to do. These exertions can be spiritually challenging and draining, so we must draw on our spiritual fatness in service to God.

Some of the most challenging training provided by the U.S. Army is the nine-week Ranger School conducted at Fort Benning, GA. In this physically and mentally draining course, soldiers often lose dozens of pounds, so they are encouraged to report for the course at or near their maximum allowable weight for their height. They prepare for the difficult training ahead by feeding on healthy, nutritious food. God’s Word is the spiritual equivalent for His flock!

The Shepherd Protects Us:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

This world is a dangerous place, it is broken and sinful and it does not work as intended. People are sinful and do wrong things, but also sometimes accidents just happen. For example, a large flatbed truck with a huge bulldozer couldn’t negotiate a sharp turn and smashed into a house. The owner was relaxing in his living room when when he was crushed by the truck!

Sheep need protection. They have no natural weapons and they lack the natural guile of their goat cousins. They are hapless, helpless, and hopeless, as are we! Being compared to sheep is not really a compliment!

The good news is that our Shepherd provides the protection we need. This is an integral part of a shepherd’s role. The crook is used to guide the sheep but also to defend them from predators. Christ protects us both here and in eternity, and we can trust Him with our past, our present, and our future! As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12:

“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

The Shepherd Celebrates with Us:

“ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

Jesus wants us to celebrate Him and with Him. The words used here imply a tremendous party.
There is a table full of food. There is drink to overflowing. There is perfume and party attire. This is like a Jewish wedding feast and it foreshadows the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which we will celebrate in Heaven.

But there is something strange about this party; it takes place in front of the enemy! Usually, when confronted by the enemy, you don’t party. If you do, you will be caught out and defeated.
In fact, during the Civil War, one of the key battles in Atlanta campaign began when Confederate officers were at a party. It did not end well for their regiments!

When the wolf is at the door you don’t sit down for supper, so this shows the overwhelming power of our Shepherd: He can eat and celebrate AND protect His sheep at the same time. This is effortless for Him!

The Shepherd Brings Us Home:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

To be homeless is a terrible thing. You have no place to rest or sleep. You have no place to find friends and have community. You have no secure place for your possessions, which is why homeless people will often be found wearing several layers of clothes even in the summer time. Homeless people are like cut flowers; they have no roots to sustain and nurture them.

Christian’s know that the world is not our ultimate home. In fact, we are on a journey here on this world that will not really end until we see our Shepherd face to face.  The good news for us is that He has provided us a home!  In fact, He has given us two homes!

Christ went ahead of us to make a place for us in heaven. Until we meet Him in the air, the church has remained behind to create a place for us here on Earth. So, in the end it does not matter: either here or in heaven we can share the joys of God’s house.

Conclusion:

We often forget that the early church had a Bible which consisted of what we now call the Old Testament. They did not need a written New Testament in the first few years of God’s church because they had access to the eyewitnesses to Jesus. They had the testimony from the Old Testament which foretold the coming of the Messiah, the prophecies of which they knew applied to Jesus. The 23rd Psalm is part of that Bible that the early church used for discipleship, devotion, and worship.

In Psalm 22, David told of his vision of the Christ.  For us, this was a look into the past to remind us of what Christ did for us.  Today, as we looked at the 23rd Psalm, we see what God is doing for us now through Christ. If we would look forward to Psalm 24, we would see what God will do for us in the future through Jesus.

Psalm 23 is a vision of our true hope. The God of all the universe cares for us and He provides for us. Today He is calling us to allow him to be Our Shepherd, both now and in the future! Won’t you enter into the sheepfold?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Showers of Blessings from Romans 5

Today I am commenting on Romans 5:1-11, which reads:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

At my first pastorate, when it was dry, the music leader would mention this fact and then lead us in singing the old hymn “Showers of Blessings.’ Unfortunately, the song has nothing to do with weather, but God's spiritual blessings which he gives us!

We often concentrate on the do's and don'ts of our faith, but in our text today, Paul wants us to visualize a Niagara Falls of the blessings of God pouring over our lives.  Let's look at some of these blessings:

We are Blessed with Access to God:

To use multiple-user computers, you must log-in. You must have an account, a user name and a password and without an account and a password,  you have no access. However, with the right user name and password, you have access to the information contained within. With the right access code, you can gain total control of a machine which is the aim and intent of hackers.

In business, access is vital. This includes access to information, markets, and key people. That’s why Commodore Matthew Perry’s mission to Japan in the 1850’s was so important. Until then, Japan was a hermit kingdom with markets closed to the outside world. Commodore Perry’s mission allowed outside access to those markets.

The vital nature of access means that secretaries are often the most important contacts in a business because they are gatekeepers to the boss. Access is also the reason that private men's clubs and male-only country clubs are virtually outlawed today; these denied access to women in business to the contacts they needed because without access, business is crippled.

Spiritually,  access to God is also vital.

We need access to His power, wisdom, mercy, and grace.

Paul reminds us in this passage of the great news that we have access to these things through Christ!

We are Blessed by being Disciplined:

One of the primary roles of a parent is teacher.

Children learn most of their knowledge before age 5. Parents teach their children to walk, talk, dress and to have manners. In modern life, parents are responsible for their own children, not others'.

God only disciplines his own children. Look at what Hebrews 12: 6-11 says about this:

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? if you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

What does the writer of Hebrews tell us? If we are God's He disciplines us. If we aren't, He lets Satan have his way.

So there are good reasons why we sometimes have bad days. If we are in sin God is correcting us. If we aren't sinning, He is planning to bless us somehow. This is like how in the  Army push-ups are used to correct a Soldier’s mistake as punishment, but they also used as a part of a health-producing regime of physical training.  We also know that green wood must be weathered before it can be used for building.

God blesses us when He disciplines us.

We are Blessed with the Love of God:

What helps a child through their fears? The love of parents which is shown by hugs and kisses, their comforting presence, their conversing with the child. We found out with our son, our first born child, that there is no substitute for a parent's love:

Our son was not a good sleeper, and when he awoke in the middle of the night he wanted one of his parents to come to him. We tried to find a substitute by placing stuffed toys and other soft, comforting items in his crib, but that didn’t work. He wanted his mama or his daddy, and nothing else would do.

We are God’s children and we are comforted best by God our Father.

He shows His love by His actions (dying for us).

He shows his love by teaching us love.

He shows his love by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

He shows his love by conversing with us in prayer.

He shows his love by doing for us what we couldn't do for ourselves.

During the time I was pastor of my first full-time church I met a couple in which the wife was an invalid with a chronic debilitating disease. Her husband loved her intensely and took care of her 24 hours a day. This took a terrible toll on his own health, but he ignored his needs and took care of his beloved wife. He actually died several years before she did due to his exertions and his concern for her. This is the kind of love that God has for His beloved church!

We are Blessed with Reconciliation:

What is Reconciliation?

It is restoring a relationship after an estrangement. It often involves one or more people repenting to restore fellowship. It also can include making restitution for past offenses.

Paul was glad to remind us that we are reconciled to God by His actions on our behalf. We were at fault and should have made amends, but could not, so God made amends for us.

Now that we are in the right relationship with God, we also have been given a ministry of reconciliation. Like Abraham was blessed by God, we also are blessed by God. Like Abraham was given the task of being a blessing to the world, we are to be a blessing to the world, as Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, which reads,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Conclusion:

Back when my worship leader was directing us in "Showers of Blessings" it was a dry year. As I write this, the State of Alabama is having one of its wettest years on record. I have often joked this year that all those folks who are praying for rain can stop!

Spiritually, when we are in Christ we receive showers upon showers of blessings, but we dare not keep them all for our selves. Instead of being the Dead Sea, where the waters pool and then evaporate, we need to be the River Jordan, bringing life to all who live near us.

We have been deluged with blessings from God! Let us show honor to Him by becoming a blessing to others!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Hero Worship from Romans 4

Today I am commenting on Romans 4:1-25, which reads:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 

“Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven; whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”  

Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 

And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 

For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” 

He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 

The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Humans love to worship their heroes.

I remember very clearly an incident that took place when I was returning by an airplane from a denominational meeting. I boarded the plane and sat in my seat and noticed that in front of me a few rows sat a prominent denominational personality. I knew about this gentleman but I did not know him and so I remained where I was.

What I found very interesting was that as pastors leaving this denominational meeting were boarding the plane many of them made a special effort to shake the gentleman’s hand and to recognize him for the personality that he was. I don't suppose there is anything particularly wrong with that, but it does go to show that even pastors can sometimes succumb to hero worship.

The Jewish people of the Bible also indulged in hero worship.  Along with Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, one of their biggest heroes was Abraham.  Abraham was the human founder of the Jewish faith, and thus the Christian faith.  If the foundation he laid was that of works, then we must work to gain our salvation.  If the foundation was the grace of God, then we gain our salvation via grace.  Let us investigate this:

Abraham was Blessed by God:

On their face God's promises sound a lot like those made by politicians today. Abraham would become a great nation and he would gain a great name and he would be a means of blessing and cursing. It sounds so much like those politicians that talk about cutting taxes increasing benefits and reducing the national debt all at the same time. However, we must recognize that God is not a human politician.

Unlike many politicians God actually delivered on His promises. We see that nothing is too hard for God and what we find is that there are Jews in every nation on earth. We also find that modern Israel is an advanced nation with many advanced features to their culture and to their economy. Abraham is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It's easy to see that God really did deliver on his promises to Abraham.

So, what did God require of His constituency? Merely to vote yes. To believe in God's promises and to trust them and to accept God as the governor of life.

What was the source of God's favor? Was it grace or was it works? This is a bit like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg? We need to investigate further.

Abraham was Justified by Grace:

Paul did not believe in straddling fences. For him, it was going to be our works or our grace, but it was not going to be both! It has been said that not to choose is making a choice and Paul does not give us that option.

From Paul's perspective it's like being a little pregnant or a little dead. These things are very digital, either you are pregnant, or you aren't. Either you are dead, or you aren't. And either you are saved by works or by grace.

What we see here is that God gives us a clear choice: be judged by our works or by His grace.

What we know is that our works will fail. The Scriptures tell us that none are righteous no, not one. The Scriptures tell us that our righteousness is as filthy rags before God. On the other hand, God's grace is sufficient; it will never fail us! Which would a rational person then choose?

We must grasp the depths of forgiveness by God's grace. All our sin past, present, and future is forgiven by His grace and we will receive mercy to help us live through the human consequences of our sin.  The eternal penalty of sin is repealed. 

Imagine if you owned a toxic waste dump and you were required to clean it up and to restore the property as if no human had ever been there. This is nearly impossible for the federal government with all the financial and other resources that it has available to it. It is completely impossible for an individual or small business to undertake and complete that kind of remediation process. Well, our lives were turned into a toxic waste dump by our sin. Our ability to clean up our lives is even less than our ability to clean up a toxic waste dump. Only by the power and grace of God can our lives be made clean, and our sin forgiven.

Abraham was Saved by Faith:

Abraham believed God. Now it is easy for us to think oh, Abraham believed God; that's nice. But we must understand what the word “believe” means in this context.

To believe the way that Abraham believed means to trust and rely upon without reservation. It means to have no fallback position and no plans in reserve. He was all in all the time with God and he had reserved no other options for himself

Thinking of time, we must understand that he did this before circumcision, before any establishment of the Jewish law, and he really did it even before God fulfilled his promises to him.  Four decades after God had told him he would become a great nation he and his wife Sarah had had no children. Yet, he still believed God. Yet, he still trusted God. Yet, he still obeyed God.

His obedience is how he showed his faith. We show our faith by our works but what we must understand is that works follow faith. Faith is the locomotive of the train and works are the cars.

God responded to Abraham’s faith and trust by imputing righteousness to him. This does not mean that Abraham was righteous in himself. We know that Abraham made mistakes and yes, Abraham at times became fearful and apprehensive. Yet he never stopped trusting God and therefore God's righteousness was placed upon him due to his faith.

Abraham’s faith was like that of the man who was afraid to fly. When he was met at the arrival airport by his friend he was asked “I thought you were afraid to fly. How could you make this flight?” Whereupon the man replied, “I didn't put all my weight on the seat!”

Now truthfully, we know that he put his entire weight on the plane, and whether he was afraid or not was not important. What was important was what he did, and what he did was that he trusted the plane by getting on it and flying to his friend’s location. The same is true of us. We may be afraid, we may have apprehension, we may sometimes waiver, but in the end, we find our God is trustworthy and what we commit to Him He will keep until the end.

Conclusion:

No doubt we're all familiar with the phrase, “Live by the sword and die by the sword.” We all have to live by the rules even Abraham.

Abraham had to decide, would he live by works or by faith? If Salvation is through works, then that is what Abraham had to do and that is what we must do. But if Salvation is through faith then that is the road that Abraham had to take and that we must take also.

In this passage Paul clearly asserts that Salvation is by grace through faith. Like other parts of scripture what Paul teaches here is reinforced by other passages including Ephesians 2:8-9 which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

So, the bottom line of my comments today is that Abraham was not really a hero. He was just a man who had faith in God. We can be just as heroic as Abraham by expressing that same faith in our lives. Like Abraham we must live by the rules. Do we want to rely on our works or on our faith in God's grace? Which decision have you made?

The Master of Temptation from Matthew 4

Today I am commenting on Matthew 4:1-11, which reads:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you,  and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Temptation is something we all face, and we usually face it daily.  Temptation is so common that we use it to sell products.  Remember the potato chip commercial that says “You can’t eat just one!”

We even use temptation to market our entertainment acts.  A mild example of this is the singing group “The Temptations.”

Leave it to the late Christian comedian Jerry Clower to come up with the most unusual example of temptation.  He said that one day he went by his uncle’s farm and saw a hog out in the field with a wooden leg. He stopped and asked his uncle about the pig.

Jerry’s uncle told him, “That pig is like a member of our family.  When our house burned down, he rushed in to save my grandmother.  When our little girl was drowning in the creek, he jumped in and saved her.  He’s just like a member of our family.”

Jerry asked, “Why does he have a wooden leg?”

His uncle replied, “Son, when you have an animal of that quality, you eat him only one ham at a time!”

While we can use temptation to sell products, and while we can make light of it, the truth is that temptation is a serious problem that we all face.  The very fact that we resort to it so much for our own purposes shows us that temptation is powerful and that we often fall prey to it. 

We are tempted to sin in many ways, and none of us in our own power can resist temptation.  There is a Master of Temptation, however and we will see that Master at work today. He will show us the way out of temptation and if we follow Him and His example we will be able ourselves to resist more effectively.

The Identity of the Tempter:

Everything except God has an origin and we know that good things come from God. Jesus said that good and bad cannot come from the same source. God can no more do an evil thing than can the shade of black become white. It will never happen. Evil also has an origin; it originated with Satan, and so did temptation. Knowing where temptation comes from helps us learn its purpose.

Satan was Lucifer; He was the beautiful “Day Star” of Heaven. He was the archangel, the  most privileged servant of God who played beautiful music to glorify God. Sadly for all concerned, he became proud and so he rebelled against God. Because of this he was banished from heaven.

Now, in his bitterness and anger, Satan wants to cause pain. Satan’s response to this conflict was to become bitter and he wants his revenge against God and to hurt Him. He wants to hurt God through  turning God's highest creation, humankind, away from Him.  His main tool for this desperate and dastardly plot is temptation.

His main tactic is not control or possession, but temptation. This is why the Bible calls him a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is a roaring lion because he is defeated and toothless, and he’s trying to scare people into siding with him against God. Like many dogs, his bark is worse than his bite; but he can entice or scare God's people into sin, then he can hurt God. And that's his real intent!

The Opportunity for the Tempter:

Why did Satan decide to tempt Jesus at this time? Was it because Jesus was in a weakened situation?Was he kicking someone when they were down? No!

In fact Jesus was in a spiritually strong condition. He had just been baptized and heard His Father’s approval. He was completing a fast and the purpose of a fast is to grow closer to God. Jesus may have been closer to God later in His life and ministry, but I would argue that He had never yet been so close to God as when He was in the midst of this fast.

In fact, in Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting is tough, physically, but it is revitalizing, spiritually!

Satan likes to try to play hardball because he wants to be just like God. He wants to show his power and all through Bible he attacks people during/after spiritual highs:

Adam and Eve in the garden
Noah after the flood
David after the covenant from God
Elijah after Mount Carmel
Paul and Silas during a powerful ministry in Philippi

And Jesus after His baptism and affirmation of God from Heaven.

So, we need to be aware of this trend, this tactic. When things are going well we need to guard our hearts. Satan wants to score as many points as possible by knocking off a successful person, family, or church.

The Methods of the Tempter:

From this passage we can see some of the techniques that Satan uses. These are probably not inclusive of all his wiles, but they do seem to attack three basic motivations in our lives.

First, we see that Satan appeals to the flesh.  I call this the "Temptation to Greed."

We live in a world that is fascinated by physical possessions. As one pastor friend put it, "People try to get all that they can, put it in a can, put a lid on the can, and then sit on the lid!"This temptation makes our flesh our God and it denies that God is sufficient to care for our physical needs.

Next we see that Satan appeals to our vanity. I call this the "Temptation to Gaudiness."

People have always seemed to crave fame and notoriety, and this especially is true today when we create stars of people who have never achieved anything but a mastery of manipulating social media. People want to be known, they just don't want to put in the effort to be known for something they have actually accomplished!

Finally, we see that Satan appeals to our spirit of rebellion. I call this the "Temptation of Glory."

We, like Satan, want to think we are "large and in charge," but there is only one Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God of the universe. When Frank Sinatra sang about doing things "my way" he is singing the theme song of this temptation, the temptation to place our selves on the throne of our life and not Almighty God.

Again, Satan may use many other techniques than the ones he tried with Jesus, and we must stay on the alert for his manipulations and deceptions. Satan is the chief of liars and we can never trust him!

The Defeat of the Tempter:

Satan tried to play hardball with Jesus. He was going head to head, and hand to hand with God, and while he is powerful, his strength pales in comparison with God's. In fact, the contest wasn't even close. Jesus brushed away Satan with little effort, the way we might brush away a fly or a piece of lint on our jacket.

The results of this contest present us with some important lessons: 

1. Jesus had a relationship with His Father from His childhood.
2. Jesus’ relationship with His Father continued into adulthood.
3. Jesus’ relationship with His Father was fresh and renewed.
4. Jesus made wise use of God’s Word in defeating Satan.
5. We can take advantage of these principles as well and if we do, we too can have victory.

Consider what Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says, 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

We need to remember, that while Satan is a cruel liar, God showed His true nature in that passage of Scripture and in Matthew 4:

He gives us help to escape the tempter.

He nurtures us and cares for us.

Jesus showed us the way to use Scripture to overpower the tempter.

Conclusion:

In our text for today, we have seen how Jesus took Satan's best shot and walked away unscathed. He is truly the Master of Temptation, and if we let Him be our Master, then we can master temptation as well. If we turn to Him in times of testing, He will help us and, like Him, we can be victorious.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Eyewitnesses from 2 Peter 1

Today I am commenting on 2 Peter 1:16-21, which reads:


For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Often,  when a preacher has made a statement in a sermon, and he wants to see if the congregation is still engaged with him, he'll ask,"Can I get a witness?" For the early church, "Can I get a witness?" was more than just a throwaway line from a preacher. It was central to their ministry in, and out of, the church.

Even the newest church member among us will have heard of Acts 1:8, which tells us, ". . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The early church was determined to follow this command of Jesus and be witnesses for Him throughout the known world.

Peter, of course, was one of the Apostles and he, too, was a witness of and for Jesus as he describes in our focal passage for today.

Witness:

The earliest Christians were Jews and their Bible was the Old Testament. They did not set out to write a new Bible because they believed that the Old Testament contained an abundant amount of prophecies and other passages that proved that Jesus was the Messiah. Their desire was simply to follow God's command to be a witness for Christ in the world.

They did not need to write a new Bible because they had been trained all of their lives to follow the Old Testament Law and Prophets. They knew Deuteronomy 19:15, which directed that,  "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." The early church had far more than two or three witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ!

The early church had the testimony of the eleven Apostles, plus the testimony of the seventy that Jesus had sent out two by two. They had the testimony of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, as well as that of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus. They also had the testimony of the disciples who were on the Emmaus Road, as well as that of Paul who met Jesus on the Road to Damascus.

If a preacher asked, "Can I get a witness?" in a meeting of the early church, he'd get all the witnesses he could stand! That's actually a good thing for us, today, also. As Peter said, our faith is not based on myths, but on the testimony of hundreds and even thousands of eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of our Lord.

Word:

Of course, we no longer have any living eyewitnesses of Christ, and we haven't had any for many centuries now, but we still have their testimonies about Him. Blessedly for us, the early church decided that they needed to record these testimonies for future generations, and so they collected the four Gospels along with the epistles of Paul and Peter, as well as those of John and some others, and created what we now know as the New Testament.

The creation of the New Testament canon did not begin soon after the ascension of Christ, because, as I noted above, they had the actual witnesses themselves who could attest to the facts of what had gone before. At a certain point, however, these witnesses began to die, and the church became concerned that their testimonies would become lost, and, led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, they recorded the New Testament as we know it today.

While we know that the personal witness of a follower of Christ is powerful and God has used such testimonies to covert untold number of people, the written Word is also powerful. I, personally, met a former Muslim man in West Africa who was converted to Christ by reading the New Testament. He had heard all of his life about the Injil, which is the Arabic name for the Gospels, but he had never read them. He searched for a copy, and in reading the Gospels was converted to Christ! He only met with a Christian after he had decided to follow Christ!

Will:

Of course, the fact that Christian witness moved from personal, verbal testimony to also include the written text of the New Testament was not a surprise to God. In fact, far from being a surprise, it was a part of His plan all along. It was not human will which decided that a written testimony was needed, but it was the will of God as His people, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded His Word for the generations to come.

When we reflect upon the will of God for His Word, we should also consider what Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, which says:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

From Paul's mentoring of Timothy we see that not only is God's Word a key to evangelism and conversion, but it is vital also for equipping and discipleship. As Christians read and study the Bible, they are better equipped to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, which makes their testimony to unbelievers even more persuasive and powerful.

Clearly, it is God's will that we witness in all forms possible,  in word (both written and spoken) as well as in deed and in attitude.

Conclusion:

Acts 1:8 is not only a command but a prophecy. We will be His witnesses, but the open question is, will we be good witnesses, indifferent witnesses, or bad witnesses?

Clearly, the will of God is that we would use His Word to be good witnesses for Him. By knowing and internalizing the Scriptures,  we are empowered and equipped to do the basic ministry that all Christians are called to do: be good witnesses for Christ in all parts of our lives and in all ways that we represent Him.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt