For the past couple of days we looked at the Christian’s desire to be used by God and have a correct understanding of both God and man. The biblical Christian understands the need to confess their sins to God for the purpose of asking forgiveness. But in James 5:16, we are told to confess our sins to one another.
This week’s Q&A with Pastor John Samuel Barnett deals with what that exactly means in the context of the rest of James 5.
https://youtu.be/CFz9DigI2Ic
(2012OCT21 – Q&A-22)
“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.'” (Luke 18:13-14)
For the sake of space only a portion of this passage has been cited (start at verse 9 for greater context). Why is it that the publican is viewed as the justified one?
The publican shows all the qualities of a correct alignment with God’s teaching on Himself as supreme and man as fallen. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Hebrew word for fear like in Psalm 111:10 and the Greek word for fear like in Acts 9:31 mean – fear. Why fear?
Because God is supremely good and man is supremely fallen. God is the the perfect Creator, the perfect Lord, the perfect Judge. He loves perfectly, gets angry perfectly, blesses perfectly, curses perfectly, carries out vengeance perfectly. This perfection is something so far outside our understanding. We know no perfect person and have difficulty relating a comparison. That teacher/politician/parent/celebrity might be really good but they are not perfect.
Contrastly, man is the fallen creation, the hater of God, the rebel. He loves imperfectly, gets angry sinfully, does wrong, fails to do right, unjustly carries out vengeance. The publican knows himself and knows that he has nothing to offer God that would add to Him and knows how imperfect he is standing before the Holy God crying out for mercy.
Today, Pastor John Samuel Barnett shows that God uses struggling and surrendered people like the publican who exhibit a correct understanding of God, of man, and a humble life that God will exhault.
https://youtu.be/phIj8YPdl6s
(From 2014DEC14 – FTF-11 – What God Wants To Do With Spirit-Filled Days, Moms & Children – Lessons From The First Spirit-Filled Family)
“Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
Reading the book of Jeremiah you can appreciate that he writes with his heart on his sleeve. Some have struggled through this book because of how much Jeremiah mirrors their own life and struggle. In this verse, Jeremiah is an example to us in a passive and active way.
Jeremiah passively listened for God to speak. He was given his charge by the Word of the Lord; he was told that he would not lead any person of his day away from destruction; he sat and struggled and prayed by mediating on the words God gave him. But Jeremiah, in the second part of the verse, goes from passive to active. God’s Word caused Him to be still and listen and once received he understand he was called by God’s very name. Called to do what? To go and proclaim God’s Word to others.
Pastor John Samuel Barnett, today, encourages us to be like Jeremiah – always listening and actively seeking to be used by God.
https://youtu.be/A5APNQkHqlU
(From 2014DEC14 – FTF-11 – What God Wants To Do With Spirit-Filled Days, Moms & Children – Lessons From The First Spirit-Filled Family)
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a).
One of the consistent lessons we continue to learn from the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is how much man wants to be outwardly religious but inwardly unchanged. We see it with the judges and kings of Israel, even David and Solomon. We see it with the Pharisees during Jesus’ time. We see it in the church age like the Galatian church.
The consistent message of man is that he enjoys his systems. He enjoys a religion based on cause and effect. Sacrifice X and Y will happen. He enjoys his outcome based processes. Do these three things and then you’ll be one of the chosen. He enjoys denying the need to change the internal man. Do all these things and surely you’ll be one of the sheep of the flock.
But not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord, Lord”, not everyone who offered sacrifice, and not everyone who praised themselves in telling God He was lucky to have them – were to be saved.
God uses and changes the genuine heart that seeks after Him. Not a heart made of stone, but a heart made of flesh. A heart that is inclined to God’s Will and willing to be molded by the Potter.
Pastor John Samuel Barnett encourages us to have a genuine heart that God can see.
https://youtu.be/vH34C7gmTzQ
(From 2014DEC14 – FTF-11 – What God Wants To Do With Spirit-Filled Days, Moms & Children – Lessons From The First Spirit-Filled Family)
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).
In the passage above, Paul is comforting members of the church who have lost loved ones who were believing Christians. The overarching point Paul gives is that we should not be swayed by our circumstances but we should hold fast in our Lord and our God.
We are not to be like the world that has no hope. Those of the world only have wishing and the concept of luck that previous events are done, current issues will subside, that the future holds the answers to being happy and a better status than they have now. But Christians should not be controlled by their circumstances but should find joy in our trials as James tells us. He goes on to say “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:5-6).
As followers of the Holy and Living God let us stop being like the world and talking about how big our trials are. We should, instead, be talking about how big our God is.
That hope is what Pastor John Samuel Barnett talks about in today’s Ministry Moment.
https://youtu.be/ocWJm9-ur6o
(From 2014DEC14 – FTF-11 – What God Wants To Do With Spirit-Filled Days, Moms & Children – Lessons From The First Spirit-Filled Family)
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”. Where is that found? Oh, just in three out of the four Gospels – Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23. God has spoken, in His Word, three times the same thing. Are you listening?
The Christian life exists in a very interesting niche from the rest of the world. The liver of the Christian life recognizes God for who He is – supremely sovereign. As Christians, if we have the correct view of God – a high view of God – we do not struggle when the Bible says “The fear of the YHWH is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; Psalm 111:10). We struggle with how much fear to have. That good fear is having a right view of God – perfectly sovereign, perfectly holy, perfectly just, perfectly almighty. And that fear is having a right view of man – imperfect, sinful, helpless, unable to do good. We can never put ourselves above God let alone judge Him or His Work.
However, and there is the Christian glory in that “however”, God still wants to have a relationship with us. Not only does he justify us and save us from our sins – He doesn’t stop there. He continues to sanctify us and improve upon our walk. Again, we cannot view this as us being better than others and definitely not better than God – it is God who is both the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). And sometimes God making us useful to Him is hard; but the Bible talks about this – “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4). That is the topic of discussion today with Pastor John Samuel Barnett
https://youtu.be/Clf_Ei5yfQk
(From 2014DEC14 – FTF-11 – What God Wants To Do With Spirit-Filled Days, Moms & Children – Lessons From The First Spirit-Filled Family)
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