Awe and Reverence Continuously Devoted to God - Purity 1178

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the heavens touching the earth through the awesome power of a lightning strike touching down on the waters off of Hallett Cove in South Australia comes to us from Dave Bond Photography, as Dave shared this scene from the stormy night of October 2nd, on his photography Facebook page to light up Saturday night back on October 7th. Well, it is Saturday, and I share Dave's photo because of its beauty and power to fill us with awe and wonder, and because rain is in the forecast in my neck of the woods. But it is my prayer that all my friends who hear or read this message will recognize the awesome power of God, be humbled by it, obey his commands, and take some time this weekend to thank and worship him. While lightning may have been used as a conduit of God's wrath in the past— Elijah's fire from heaven in 2 Kings 1 is a possibility— it is definitely listed as an accompanying sign of the final chapter of God's future wrath, as it coincides with the sounding of the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:19 and the pouring out of the seventh bowl of God's wrath in in Revelation 16:17-20, which some theorize as simultaneous events of God's judgment on the Day of the Lord, when those who don't stand with God through faith in Jesus Christ will be destroyed as Jesus comes back to reclaim the earth to rule and reign for 1,000 years, as described in Revelation 20:4-6. While the idea of God's wrath and the events of Revelation can be scary, uh, Christians should not be afraid, for they have been forgiven of their transgressions, have peace with God, and are members of his kingdom right now because of Jesus. But at the same time, we should never lose our sense of reverence and respect for the Lord because of his magnificent power. And because of our love and respect for God, we should seek to do his will always. My Morning Bible study today had me in Acts 2, and I was reminded of the reverence and obedience of those who put their faith in Jesus on the day of Pentecost. After the 3,000 heard Peter's message of how Jesus was the promised Messiah whom they had crucified, they were compelled to put their faith in Jesus and repent to be, quote unquote, saved from this perverse generation.

As it says in Acts 2:40.

The text then tells us in Acts 2:41-42, "So then, those who had received his word were baptized, and that day there were added about 3,000 souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer." The thing that struck me to the heart this morning as I read these words is the fact that I know and love many people who would call themselves Christians who have either lost the awe, wonder, and reverence for the Lord and are not continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teachings, fellowship, and prayer, or who may have never had love or reverence for the Lord at all as they have not only not continued in displaying the fruits of Christian discipleship practices, they have steadfastly refuse to partake, to participate in them, or in the clear command to be baptized. Devotion is an act of love, not discipline. So while I of all people understand the great value of grace and our freedom in Christ, I fear that those who claim their freedom as a reason to not devote themselves to the apostles' teachings, fellowship, and prayer, and refuse to be baptized, may discover that their hopes of heaven or claims to God's kingdom will be denied as their wanton disobedience and rebellious spirit will be revealed as the evidence that Jesus never knew them and that they will instead face God's wrath rather than receive His mercy. When I hear supposed Christians say things like, "I don't believe that," or "I don't have to do that," when they are confronted with biblical truth, I, I truly wonder and worry about their eternal destiny and whether they will be saved. But I don't worry too much. I can't believe for them, and I trust that God will do what is right with all of us. He knows who has trusted in Jesus. And while those things, those spiritual practices we should be continually devoted to, can be a wonderful way to express our understanding and love of God. None of them will save us. Doesn't matter if you take the plunge of baptism, read the Bible, go to church, or pray if you don't have genuine faith in Jesus. Our faith is a relationship with God, and while those outward expressions of spirituality could fool our fellow man and possibly ourselves into believing we are united with God, the Lord knows who are His. And who are just going through the motion—

motions.

Uh, when the truth of God is revealed to us and we say yes to Jesus, the Lord invades our minds and hearts with the Holy Spirit, and he drives us to seek and live by God's truth. The realization of our wicked condition prior to Christ and the generous grace and mercy that we've— that has been given to us by God breaks our hearts. And causes us to love God and drives our devotion to follow him in all our ways. That's what happened to the 3,000 who surrendered to the Lordship of Christ on the day of Pentecost, and that is what continues to happen today to those who believe and trust in Jesus. So this weekend, let's remember the Lord and how awesome he is. Let's continue to devote ourselves continuously to prayer knowing the apostles' teaching in the New Testament, and to regular Christian fellowship. MacArthur's commentary states that fellowship literally means partnership or sharing, and that because Christians become partners with Jesus Christ and all other believers, it is their spiritual duty to stimulate one another to righteousness and obedience. So, let me stimulate you. By encouraging you to pursue righteousness and to walk in obedience to God's word, but to also remember to draw close to the Lord in love. For our life in Christ is demonstrated not by regular disciplines, but by a heartfelt, a heartfelt continuous devotion to him. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on bitterness, resentment, and hate. And today's verse is Leviticus 19:16-17. And the Word of God says, you shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord. You shall not hate your fellow countrymen in your heart. You You may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall never— shall not incur sin because of him. Today's verses fall under the 7th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on bitterness, resentment, and hate. And that 7th point is: Hatred is forbidden. Today's verses are clear commands from the Lord that instruct us to be the people He created us to be. By telling us what not to do. We are not to slander. We are not to act against the lives of our neighbors. We are not to hate people in our hearts. Our interior thoughts and emotions matter. And while we are to be loving, we are also called to speak the truth in love, as it is indicated here, that we may surely reprove our neighbor but not incur sin because of him. That's a delicate balance there. I thought the word— I thought the word reprove meant to correct someone, but a quick Google search revealed that while I wasn't necessarily wrong with my definition, the word reprove goes a little beyond just correction, as the words that define reprove provided by Oxford Languages include reprimand, rebuke, scold, chastise, admonish, and berate. Some colorful phrases were also listed for the word reprove that give you a sense of the severity of what the word means. Read someone the riot act, haul over the coals, give someone a talking to or telling off, slap someone's wrist, and let someone have it are all phrases that are listed to tell us what reprove means. And obviously that goes beyond mere correction. And it is no wonder that the Lord warns us to not incur sin because of him. So even though we should be clear in telling people what is true and righteous according to God's word, we have to remember God's word and not become a slanderer, work against someone's life, or hate them in our hearts when we do so. As always, when we consider anger, bitterness, or hatred, when we have to, we have to remember, um, that we too have been wrong in the past and needed to be reproved by God and brought to faith and repentance. We have been forgiven, and if we remember that, we could very well reprove someone without hating or harming them by forgiving them for not knowing what— how wrong they were, because we were wrong once and still are quite often on occasion. So be careful in offering correction. And know that being a hater was not who God created you to be. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Holy Spirit, as today we continue sharing from chapter 31, The Spirit Endowing, and today's section is, uh, is called 9 gifts.

So if you want to know the 9 gifts of the Spirit, I would imagine they might be listed in this today's section.

So, and you'll be able to see that by going to mtforchrist.org and looking at the end of today's blog post. As always, we encourage a life of Christian discipleship where we are continuously devoted to the apostles' teaching, um, to to fellowship and to prayer, and breaking of bread was in there too.

And that, that points to the Lord's Supper and, you know, not maybe a potluck supper or a growth group meal.

Um, it means we're supposed to be together and we're supposed to live together and not be a hater, not be a slanderer, or work against other people's lives. But we are to speak the truth in love and stimulate people to righteousness and obedience. It's a fine balance, you know, and, you know, because you can be ultra-loving and never say anything, which is— I hate to say it, you know, I don't know about being ultra-loving, but I hate to say anything to correct people.

I'm often—

just last night I was sitting at a table with someone who was going on and on and on about their sinful lifestyle. And I didn't speak the truth in love because, quite frankly, I was afraid I would sin because of them.

And, you know, I didn't want to sin. Um, yeah, it's tough, you know, uh, correct someone about their, you know, licentious living. Um, although I don't You know, I would imagine this person would claim they are a Christian. However, everything about them is a life of rebellion against the Lord's will for our lives in terms of human relationships, personal sanctification, worship, you name it. And this is just one person among many that I know in my life that would probably claim Christian, you know, Christian status.

What do you believe in? Although I don't know, um, you know, I assume some people would claim that, but maybe they wouldn't.

Maybe they would admit they don't know. But either way, it's just heartbreaking because I used to, I used to be just as rebellious, just as licentious, just as lost as the people I'm talking about.

So I know, I know, I know what they believe in.

They believe in themselves. They believe in what they want. They believe they'll satisfy the flesh and just be happy in life. They don't consider the things of God seriously, you know. Yeah, we, you know, because people can say they do, but if you, if you have that awe and reverence for, for the Lord and his word. You would shudder if you weren't in a relationship with Jesus.

Um, you know, you don't consider, you know, if you realize that the word of God is true and, you know, all the other options in the world are a lie, all other faith streams and philosophies that go against or don't completely agree with God's word are, you know, a lie.

And we need to stand in the truth.

And at the same time, we are to be, you know, peaceful people. But who— I don't know, if the Holy Spirit puts on— puts it on you to read someone the riot act, read them the riot act. Um, but try not to sin against them.

That's the balance.

Um, I'd rather— I don't know, in some people's life you're gonna, you know, remain in relationship regardless of whether or not you tell them off. Some people you tell off, they'll be gone from your life forever. Other people you'll see on a continuous basis at family gatherings.

So, and again, we are not the Holy Spirit, you know, we can't convict people of sins, although we can speak the truth and maybe the word we speak could, you know, be used by God to change people. So, you know, walk in faith, walk in righteousness, walk in obedience, and try to be loving. And it's not, it's not easy, but, uh, you know, so we— as long as we're not pushing it to be self-righteous, you know, that's when we're— that's when we step into sin.

It's very fine balance, and we're trying to work it out, and we're going to try not to remain silent. And that's why we do a blog. In the podcast to encourage people of the good and wholesome and wonderful life you can discover by just not giving into the flesh, but living in harmony with God.

And, uh, you know, believe me, it's nothing I, I, I, you know, figured out myself.

The Lord had to bring me into his kingdom first and then clean me up in order to get things to where they are now, and to the point where I would even speak, you know, because when I was first saved, I was like, thank you, I'm not going to hell, but I don't dare because of my past, my sins.

I don't dare say anything about faith. Well, that's what the enemy would love for you to do. It's, you know, it's your, your broken testimony is a wonderful testimony for God. That you were once a sinner and now you're saved by grace and now you're a saint, you know, and you might not do everything perfectly, some, like some, you know, historical, you know, saint, but that's just, you know, as much as we talk about the faithful testimony of the saints, including the apostles, you know, they weren't—

they were people just like we were.

And they made mistakes too. Peter is a great example, but he's, you know, he's a great example of faith as well. You know, he denied Christ 3 times, but after that he led the church. And, you know, he wasn't perfect and was rebuked by Paul.

There's your reprimand for, for, you know, acting one way with one group of people and acting another with another group of people.

But, um, you know, so, so it just shows that we're, we're figuring it out and trying to do the best to follow the Lord at all times, no matter what we are. But in the end, we have to stand with Christ, and that's the only way we will stand, with Christ.

So this is a long message. I think we'll just wrap it up. It is the weekend, so let's relax.

And let's pray.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, thank you for giving the love, uh, that you've given us, and for putting that, that love for you in our hearts, um, to cause us to see who you are and recognize your power and your grace and your mercy.

And, um, and for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us in the way we should go.

Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests.

In their walk of faith.

And Lord, I'm not sure what the day holds, but we pray for you to go before us, open our eyes to the things you want us to see.

Uh, let's rest in your glory, and, uh, let us do whatever you would have us do today to best represent you and your kingdom.

Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.