How to Know The Call of The Apostles And Disciples

The Voices of the Apostles and Disciples

2^nd Corinthians 6:1-13

The Testimony of the Apostles and Disciples:

¹We then, as workers together with him (disciples), beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. ²(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) ³Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

⁴But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ⁵In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; ⁶By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, ⁷By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; ¹⁰As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

¹¹O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. ¹²Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. ¹³Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.

Introduction:

Last week we addressed the first four verses. We saw this whole passage as the voice of the Apostles and all true disciples at the time. They all were experiencing the Cost of Discipleship.

The Cost of Discipleship varies by location and time. Prior to 1947, one might not have faced punishment in what is now Pakistan, for preaching Christ publicly. Why?

Centuries of Colonial History

Because for centuries, Britain had ruled all of India as a colonial tributary, and the Church of England was still present, along with the Roman Catholics. So, many people of India had at least nominally embraced “Christendom” in the form of either Romanism or Anglicanism. Whether they actually knew the Lord, or were disciples, is hard to say: Their entire families took on the name of “Christian,” whether it was a genuine relationship with Jesus or just a religious preference.

But, ever since the mid-1800s, Britain had been gradually losing control of India, and after WWII, Britain made the decision to “Partition” India into two sovereign states, the “Dominion of Pakistan,” and the “Union of India.” The result was a bloodbath. Muslims slaughtered millions of Hindus, and many survivors fled the country permanently. But most could not. And those who survived and remained became a persecuted minority within what had been their own country.

The Result for Disciples in Pakistan

But a largely Hindu nation called “India,” and a supposedly entirely Muslim nation called “Pakistan” are the long-run Geopolitical result. And in that nation of Pakistan, even today, it is a dangerous place for followers of Jesus. In many other nations, it is also dangerous to stand for Jesus. It is dangerous to shine a light: Dangerous to sound the alarm of the Gospel! Disciples are in serious danger, there.

We pray for the disciples in Pakistan, who are risking their lives to teach Christian Discipleship. They are faithfully practicing it themselves, and we are deeply aware of the risk, and the potential cost.. Reading these verses in 2^nd Corinthians 6:1-13, we have a more “distant” view. But we still have still a real sense of the potential “Cost of Discipleship” in this fallen world.

How Should Such Knowledge Affect Us, As Disciples?

The Hebrew believers knew about the Cost: The danger in being a disciple. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews addressed the Cost of Active Faith, in Hebrews 11:35-40.

“³⁵Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: ³⁶And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; ³⁸(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. ³⁹And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: ⁴⁰God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

We read of these disciples who lived horrible lives and died horrible deaths. And it troubles us to know the reality. They did not have some sort of “happy ending” appear. to “let them out of the trial.” They endured the trial, and they died in it!

But tin Chapter 12, He tells us how we ought to respond to this knowledge: The challenge to be Disciples.

How Should We Respond As Disciples? (Hebrews 12:1-4)

“¹ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. ⁴Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”

The witnesses are not “watching you.” They are testifying TO you: Bearing witness TO you, just as Paul testified to the Corinthian believers, and just as the disciples in Kenya and in Pakistan are testifying to all of us, today. They are witnesses to the Glory and Power of God, and they testify to us week by week, showing us the result of God’s Word in that hostile environment.

**Consider: How Do Weeds Respond?**

Oddly enough, if I consider how weeds respond to their environment, I can see that (because we don’t irrigate) the weed seeds in our hard-packed, crushed-rock driveway get exactly the same amount of rain as the weeds out in the grass we keep calling a “lawn.”

But, the weeds in the driveway have a great deal harder time growing, as they can only get a few roots down through the rock into the soil below. The roots have to go very deep to find reliable water and nutrients. So, the stunted plants mature at only 2-3 inches in height. Their stunted leaves are very small, along with that short little flower stem. But that stem bears a blossom, and that blossom goes to seed, and the wind scatters those seeds, to start new plants…exactly the same as the taller weeds do, in our neglected lawn.

The weeds in the lawn grow to 18-24 inches in height, and some of their flower stems branch out and bear more than one flower: The flowers themselves are larger and bear more seeds. And the wind also scatters their seeds. And their seeds go further, because they launched from a higher elevation.

But, Why the Differences?

Why do they grow taller? Because they have better soil, and an easy life. Why do they have multiple blooms on their stems? For the same reason: They are blessed with an easier life! Why do they bear more seeds, and thus, more fruit? It is for the same reason again!

But in the Body of Christ, at large, we see that the persecuted churches, growing in the most difficult and the most dangerous environments often display the deepest faith (think “deeper roots”) and they spread rapidly, in spite of the difficulty and danger.

We have a relatively easy, safe life with far more resources, and very little real opposition. Does it not follow that, as disciples, we should bear more “fruit,” and that our “seed” ought to be scattering and finding root everywhere? Give that some thought! Why is it that weeds will follow the correct pattern, while we, as believers, tend to just “coast?”

Consider the Salmon!

We see the same pattern in salmon: The ones who are willing to focus their lives on swimming upstream will overcome all obstacles, or die trying. They risk their lives to get to the specific gravel beds they seek. Those who succeed will spawn, and produce hundreds of baby salmon just like them. Any fish choosing to do otherwise removes itself from the gene pool by that choice. (To my knowledge, no salmon ever chooses to take the easy way.)

But! You may protest that: “Salmon do not have a completely free will: They only do what their instinct demands that they do!”

Aha! And therein lies the problem! You and I DO have a free will! God called us to Himself, and we responded by our own will, though originally, our only motive may have been “to flee from the wrath to come.” Since then, we have read and believed His Word: Again, by choice.

And, according to Romans 12:1 He calls us, daily, to serve Him as our reasonable service of Worship. He calls us to voluntarily offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, to serve at HIS will, not ours. But He always leaves us the option to say, “No, I would rather serve myself!” And, when we do so, the consequences of that choice are that we have no fellowship with Him. (Fellowship implies Partnership.) And, it means we do not join Him as “workers together with Him.”

Also, although God has “laid the foundation of Christ” in our lives, (By Grace, through Faith) the layers we add to that foundation during the time when we are “off, doing our own thing,” are “wood, hay, and stubble.” Human works without God’s blessing have no eternal value!

So, How Can We Change?

Like the weed-seeds, we may find ourselves in a rocky place. We may bemoan how we got there, and we may suffer remorse for all the bad decisions that brought us to this point. But, regardless of how we arrived here, we now have the same choice as the weed-seeds: Take root and grow where God has planted you, or don’t. In the plant’s experience, it means “Grow here or die!”

In our case, it may only mean, “Blossom and bear fruit where you are, or continue to waste the opportunities God offers you!” You may look around and feel that “But the land is so barren around me: There is no hope!”

Remember, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, God told Israel, “Stay put, and obey Me, and that I will bless you!” They rebelled and ran off to Egypt, in Jeremiah 42:19-43:7. And they suffered the consequences of disobedience: No blessing, no sustenance, and no safety!

But, What Are the Consequences of Commitment?

Most of you would agree that when you began to try to seriously walk with Jesus, your life got harder, not easier. You entered into the spiritual warfare of the Christian Life, and discovered that the Enemy was actually YOUR enemy!

Could the apostles and early disciples have decided against suffering the Consequences of Commitment? Sure! And some did! Demas began as a co-worker with Paul. He was valuable in the work. (See Colossians 4:14, and Philemon 24. Paul included him as part of his team!)

But later, Demas decided it was costing him more than he was willing to give, to serve as an Ambassador of Christ. So, the last thing we hear of him, is in 2^nd Timothy 4:10. “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.”

What a sad epitaph for one who began strong, but who ultimately “sold out cheap.” He wanted what the World offered, and he finally took the bait! Balaam did the same thing: He was a genuine prophet of God, but he sold out and, today, he is only remembered for his failure.

Don’t sell out! Make your walk with Jesus the core value in your life, and offer yourself to Him to be used as He chooses. That is the kind of choice God will honor and bless.

Lord Jesus, clear our minds, and let us see clearly the choices before us. Help us to make decisions that honor You and which draw us into a deeper relationship with You.

January 11, 2021March 21, 2021

Responding to Present Trials:

How Should We Respond to Present Trials?

1st Peter 3:13-20; 2^nd Samuel 18:19-33

¹³And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

Introduction

As a general principle, people who do good things in their human relationships are also treated well by their fellow-humans. We are seen as “harmless,” and “usually beneficial.” So we are treated fairly well, as a rule. But there will always be an undercurrent of evil in the human race, and those who are enemies of God by nature will eventually become enemies of God by choice, and, because they can’t attack Him personally, will choose to attack His children and servants.

I don’t make a practice of preaching on current events, but I would like to observe that, while the whole country, (and much of the world with it) is deeply frightened by current events, this is obviously “pretty small stuff” compared to some of the horrors that have happened in years gone by: In the centuries past there have been plagues that wiped out whole populations. There have been dictators and emperors who murdered people literally by the millions. In our own times (including that of our parents and grandparents) over 100 million, worldwide, have died under the various communist regimes…and it isn’t over!

Those of us who see the current events as leading into more of those horrific days, are rightfully afraid of what is to come. But we must remember that believers have faced the same sort of things since the beginning. In Psalm 116:15, God says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” We are not abandoned, nor are we ignored. We know that believers are expected to suffer for Jesus. Philippians 1:29 clearlysays, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Our problem is just that we have enjoyed a season of relative peace, and we have hoped that it would continue. There is nothing “wrong” with that hope: We just have to remember that, eventually, the peace will fail. Human-sourced peace will always fail!

In Habakkuk 3:17-19, the prophet Habakkuk showed us how to respond to the destruction of our nation. In Job 1:20-22, Job showed us how to respond to the loss of all we hold dear, including all our belongings and even our loved ones. In Daniel 3:16-18, Daniel’s three friends showed us how to face death, with faith and courage…but they were spared! In the seventh chapter of Acts, Stephen made it even more plain; and he was not spared: neither were most of the prophets, nor most of the apostles. As far as we know, virtually all the Old Testament prophets who were sent to Israel were eventually killed by the people they came to serve. And with the possible exception of John, history tells us that probably all the apostles were killed because of their faith and their testimony.

How Should We Respond?

¹⁴But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; ¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: ¹⁶Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. ¹⁷For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

Since suffering is virtually inevitable, as a general rule, we need to see what Peter says to do about it. (By the way, tradition holds that Peter was eventually crucified…so he wasn’t talking “theory!”) He says that we are to put Jesus first: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” (The word “sanctify” literally means “set apart” as special, in some regard…for a special purpose…but it carries the idea of “making holy.”) God is already utterly holy: how am I to “sanctify” Him in my heart? I am to recognize that He is of first importance: above all else, He is to be honored. And the result is that I will deliberately prepare myself to give honest, clear, humble, and loving testimony to His Grace and His salvation.

Will that cause people to treat us well? Absolutely not! It will intensify the hatred of those who hate Jesus, and focus their wrath on us! (Just as it did Peter and the other apostles and prophets. John the Baptist was beheaded before his 33^rd birthday, because he spoke for God!) But it will have the reverse effect on those who are willing to hear the message of salvation. The Philippian jailer believed, partly because of the earthquake, obviously, but that was only the “exclamation point” on the testimony of Paul and Silas. They had already preached Christ in the town of Philippi. They had been savagely beaten, without trial, as a result, and, while chained in the prison, still bleeding from the beatings, they were praising God and singing hymns at midnight! Everyone in the prison could hear them! And then the earthquake struck. The Jailer believed the Gospel as a direct result of their response to sufferings.

How we respond is determined by who we really are inside:

J. Vernon McGee liked to tell about something he had repeatedly experienced as a child: he was often tasked with feeding the livestock at night, and so he entered the barn with a lantern, in the darkness. When the light of the lantern dispelled the darkness in the barn, two things happened simultaneously: the rats scavenging the barn floor for food ran for cover, knowing that the light was from their enemy, and would reveal them to their enemy. But at the same time, the birds roosting in the rafters mistook the lantern light for sunrise and began to sing, because they thought it was morning! Different people respond differently to the light of the Gospel as well. And, in another appropriate metaphor: if we place a slab of soft potter’s clay out in the sun, along with a similar slab of hard beeswax, the clay will respond to the heat of the sunlight by becoming harder and harder, while the wax will become softer and softer. In both metaphors, the stimulus was the same but the responses were opposite. The nature of the recipient determines the response to the light. Jesus said, “…this is the condemnation, that light is come into the World and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Does that mean that we should only share the Gospel with those who already believe it? Of course, that is a ridiculous question: those who have not heard of Jesus are the primary target audience, which is precisely why we support missionaries who go where the Gospel has not gone before. Romans 15:20 says, “Yea, so have I strived, to preach the Gospel not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.” That was Paul’s goal!

But we do need to realize that there will be a cost for obedience: I have known people to be fired from a job, simply because it became known that they were a Christian. I know others who were persecuted and driven out of jobs because they shared the Gospel with others. In my own case, the persecution was quite mild: I was simply seldom invited to any sort of gathering, and not included in groups of friends. That doesn’t feel very good, but it hardly compares with real persecution. There may come a time, possibly even relatively soon, when it will be very costly indeed to call upon the Name of Jesus.

But we are to prepare our hearts in advance, as taught by Stephen, Daniel, Peter, and others, and joyfully expect to share the Gospel in word and deed.

How should we Share the Gospel?

¹⁸For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ¹⁹By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; ²⁰Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

There is an odd passage here: Peter transitions from our preparation to share, to talking about the suffering of Jesus, to the souls of them who died in the Flood! (Say what?) We don’t want to miss the main point here: Jesus lived His entire life out under the Law, but also, entirely under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit! Jesus refused to use His prerogatives as God, to benefit Himself. (Yes, He could have turned the rocks into food, if He chose to do so. But He was committed to dependency upon the Father, not His own ability.) So, under the control and direction of the Holy Spirit, He endured the privations of life as a poor man in a poor country with poor hygiene and limited diet… and to being physically abused by those He came to save.

How did He do it? He was put to death in the flesh, but “quickened” (made alive) by the Spirit, the same Spirit by which he went and preached to the spirits (now) in prison.

I am aware that some versions of the scripture have done a little “interpreting,” in attempt to make the passage easier to understand. But there is a danger in so doing. We need to ask several questions:

What “Spirit” is spoken of here? (I will take it to be the Holy Spirit.)
1. Is that the same Spirit mentioned in 1^st Peter 1:11? (“The Spirit of Christ?”
When did the preaching occur?
1. If Jesus went and preached in Hades, as many believe, why would he only preach to a select group of Old Testament Sinners? If He was offering a “post-mortem” opportunity for repentance and faith, why only to that group? And, if He offered such a thing at all, wouldn’t that contradict Hebrews 9:27? Why would that group alone get a “second chance?” Or, if He was only “proclaiming victory,” as some suppose, why only to those individuals? (And, what would be the point?)
1. Since it was “by the same Spirit” who is also called “The Spirit of Christ which was IN them,” in 1^st Peter 1:11, doesn’t it follow that it was by that Spirit He preached, and that it was during their lifetimes, just as it is for every other sinner in history? So when did they hear? It was while the Ark was being built! That is why they were called “disobedient!” They heard, and they rebelled!
1. Who physically did the preaching? 2^nd Peter 2:5 says that Noah was the preacher. The Spirit of Christ, which was in him was how the preaching occurred. And while the ark was being built, is when the preaching occurred.
In that case, the “Where”question has also been answered: Jesus preached in the person of Noah, by the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of Christ) where Noah was, on the only continent that existed before the Flood, while the Ark was being built…for 120 years!

So, what we are being told, here, is that just as Jesus preached through Noah, He wants to preach through us. And the results could be good, bad or indifferent. But that is how we are to share the Gospel. Jesus wants to speak through us by the Holy Spirit.

How Should We Prepare?

There are at least three levels of preparation we might consider:

Spiritual preparation: Is Jesus really “first in your heart?” Am I really “sanctifying the Lord God in my heart,” as I am commanded to do?
Mental preparation: Do I actually “know the message” well enough to “be a messenger?” This is one part of being “ready always, to give an answer.” It may require some study, some reading, some planning, and some memorization, so that when the opportunity arises, you have the facts at your disposal, and are not left fumbling, saying, “Well, I know it says in there, somewhere….”
Emotional preparation—preparing the Heart, or the Will: There was an example given, in 2^nd Samuel 18:19-33, when David’s son, Absalom was killed. (Read it!) The messenger Ahimaaz was a very fast runner, and desperately wanted to be “the one chosen” to go with the message. But another runner, Cushi, was chosen, because Commander Joab knew there was a very good chance that the messenger would bear the wrath of the King, and be executed, when it was told that Absalom had been killed.

But Ahimaaz wanted to go anyway, and he begged until Joab finally said, “Go!” So, Ahimaaz took off, found a short-cut, and, in fact, he outran the chosen messenger (Cushi) and arrived first. But, evidently, he had been “doing some thinking” on the way, and was afraid to give the true message. So he said, “There was a great tumult, but I couldn’t see what happened.” (It was a flat-out lie! He knew exactly what had happened.)

So King David told Ahimaaz to stand aside, as Cushi, the chosen messenger arrived just behind him. Cushi was both faithful and wise, and he told the truth, but gave the message sadly, in inoffensive terms. The result was that king was in grief, but, as far as we know, he did not punish the messenger. But what we need to see is that Cushi, the faithful messenger, fully expected the possibility of suffering, and he faithfully gave the message in spite of the danger. The unfaithful messenger, Ahimaaz, feared the consequences and refused to take the chance. He knew full well what the message was, but he chose to pretend he didn’t know. He chose personal safety over honoring God.

Choices

So, it seems we have some choices to make, too, in terms of our “current events:”

We have to choose what master we will serve.
We have to choose what message we will deliver.
We have to choose what values we will embrace as primary in our lives.
We have to choose what source we will trust, to find Peace and Joy.

The first seems an easy choice: all of us have already chosen to serve the King of kings! But: do our thoughts, attitudes and actions reflect that choice? Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” And also, “These things I have spoken unto you that in Me ye might have Peace. In the World, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the World.” If He is my Master, doesn’t it require that I obey those commands, as well? Set aside my fears, and experience the Peace of God? I don’t know about you, but I find that a pretty challenging assignment!
The second requires some thought: the Gospel is defined as “the Good News of Jesus’s death for our sins, His burial, and His resurrection, which, being believed in, is the power of God to save sinners.” (1^st Corinthians 15:3, 4; Romans 1:16) Is that the message you are sharing? Or is it “You would be happier with Jesus!” or “You would like our church!” or something else, still? The message we were assigned to carry has not changed throughout history. We are either willing to carry that message and faithfully deliver it, or we are not. But the message remains the same!

The third requires a little more self-awareness: Yes, I am grieved at the circumstances in our nation (So was Habakkuk, in his!)— But is “my country” or “my politics,” etc., my primary value, or are the Message of Christ, and Rejoicing in the Person of Christ, and honoring God through faithfulness to Christ the most important things to me? Only you can examine your own heart before the Lord and give an answer to that question.

The fourth choice is very “Black and White:” Will I turn to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, our Redeemer, and the Captain of our Salvation, to find Peace and Joy? Or— will I not? Moment by moment, this is a choice: I am either choosing to keep my eyes on Jesus, or I am looking somewhere else. That’s it!

Those are the choices we all have to make. We can’t always change our circumstances, but we can change the way we respond to them.

Lord Jesus, help us to be conscious of the choices before us and to make wise, Godly choices with our time, our affections and our values. Let us keep you constantly before our eyes as our leader, Teacher, and Lord. Fill us with your Spirit, and allow us to serve.