Teague Bible Church

BIRDS OF THE AIR                  ( Porch video  5/3/2020)

Matthew 6:25-27 ” For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

You probably think about such things a lot. We all desire some kind of predictability in our life. So far, so good. It does not take long, though, until that good desire becomes toxic and ruins the joy we should be experiencing.

At 28 I packed up everything I had and moved me and the family to the Northwest, in the spring of 1983. After about a year I wondered if I had made a mistake. I knew I was supposed to be there, but as in all things, faith works in the arena of doubt. I am in my study one day and saw this robin digging out a worm. I thought of this passage and made a few observations.

1. That bird is totally dependent upon what he finds on the ground.

If he looks in the wrong place, or eats the wrong things, or is not careful of attacks from above and below, he will not make it. He seemed so helpless there. I felt so helpless, there, in that moment, in that place. I still “feel” helpless an unattended to, at times. It is only a feeling.

2. I made another observation. Have you ever seen a lazy bird?

 I mean one that hangs out on street corners, drinking a beer, pack of cigs rolled up on the sleeve of his James Dean t-shirt? Me neither. They seek and they find, yet, totally dependent on what God has provided.

Don’t be lazy!

But don’t think it is all up to you either!

Reality of faith: It is supposed to feel a little, ” Iffy.”

That is how it is for us and it is a wonderful thing. If you do not think that it is a wonderful thing, go read about yourself in Deuteronomy 8. I will wait. Ok, you are back. Do you see why it must be this way?

3. I made another observation. Under my breath, I said to myself that day, “I cannot do this ; this is too much!” I expected some kind of correction from the Lord, but I get comfort instead.

So how does that work? I don’t really know. Don’t care to get a lesson on the subject. Don’t need it “explained- to- death” to me. I just know, by a long experience now, that He is faithful.

If I want to “feel like” I am off- balanced all the time, and barely surviving, I can. But the truth is much different than my immediate feelings.

4. On that day with that robin, noticing that he was doing exactly what he should be doing, I pondered, and then ask myself, “Am I doing what I should be doing?” And if I am doing all I can to understand and fulfill the will of God for my life; and if so, why do I add the misery of fear to my life?

I read the verses again, asking a question, about me, at the end of every verse;

 “Lord, are you really going to take care of me?”

     “Do you really love me?”

      ” Am I trying to feel in control because I think I have a

            better plan for me than You have?” Is that my source of fear?    

5. And then I thought to myself, “Things probably would go better if I were more perfect than I am right now; or if I were in a different place; or maybe I will never be good enough to serve the Lord.” Realizing there is no such thing as thinking “unto yourself,” ( the Lord hears it all and wants to be part of the secret thought life we have), I said, ” Thank you Lord for hearing every thought I have!”

6. At that moment I realized that the Lord, (knowing it all, every thought,) is not a threat, but a comfort. Didn’t a man in Scripture say to Jesus, “Help my unbelief?” I bet we could get all the help we needed in such moments.

You don’t get zapped for being dead- on honest with God; with a view to seeking Him completely and obeying Him.

Your highest goal is to seek to know Him and obey, and glorify Him, right?

He just wants the real you to meet the real Lord of all, time and time again. In those exchanges you begin to change. The question then is not, “when will God show up?” The real question is, “When will the real me show up to talk to God?”

So finally, after all the self-inflicted torment, do you desire to finally obey Him?

FINAL:  I do not have words to express how great I felt when I left the office that day. I also was assured that I would be “cycled-through” many more experiences in the future. I actually looked forward to the next one. Then when it did come, I fell about the place, all is lost! But this time it was not quite the same. A bit more hope each time and certainly peace. That robins got nothing on me!

Well my hope for you is that you have such encounters, and you stay long enough in that pocket of struggle to come out the other side at peace, and stronger in the Lord. He cares deeply; and He cares about those “secret” thoughts. Through all of that, He is not ashamed to call you and me His own.

How great is that God? No wonder a believer thinks about His Lord night and day!   

JWP

And Not Only This! Two Ginsu Knives!

“And not only this, but we exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

In most every info commercial they sweeten the deal by saying, “But wait, not only this,   you get not one, but two Ginsu knives, simply pay extra shipping and handling!”

Paul is feeling the same way about the training we go through.

 In the commercial it is really a rip-off because to get that second knife “for free” you have to pay an extra shipping and handling fee, which is exorbitant !

Why can Paul say , “Not only this!” when talking about trials?

1.  Because we dynamically change the world around us, after trials, so Christ is CLEARLY seen in us, right here, right now! No other way to shine out except through trials.

2. Because we need preparation for our new home in heaven someday.

As with the info commercial, this “bargain” of trials sounds too good to be true.

 In truth, Paul’s “offer” is far better than anything this world can give.

God’s offer is far better than one is able to explain.

There is much more going here than just a choice between temporary blessings of fame and fortune and ideal conditions, verses eternal blessings later.

This passage is about a present tense, current reality!

Note that daily hope is instilled deeper through trial!

Hope is in you because of the Holy Spirit living in you since you accepted God’s free gift of eternal life.

Yet the hope is not fully actualized until you submit to training; and follow through with the training.

To sign up for any kind of training you commit to stay for all of it. Too many live to escape their trials. Too many try to escape their commitments once the going gets tough or dull. When you do that, you get weaker and weaker, and quite frankly, become miserable to be around!

The only solution is to get stronger.

Ex. Men’s Study–  I was in a men’s Bible study and was so excited than 14 men signed up to come.

 I was very new at ministry. Many there were almost demanding that we do this good thing ASAP!

With that great a start I was looking for deep levels of dedication.

 But like the old saying, “After all is said and done; more is said than done,”   the reality set in.

The leader of the study said we would get to the deeper subjects in a few weeks. I said that we need to do it now. I was wrong. He also said we would end up with about 6 guys, maybe. I said he was a great teacher, and ask questions, and got everybody involved, so there is no way we would go down, but only up! I also noticed he was hopeful but not overly excited at that particular time.

I said there is no way we would drop to 6! After two weeks a few came late; then later some left early; then later we were down to 5. The teacher was right and I was wrong. The beautiful thing was he was not discouraged at all. He knew the battle. He knew the reality. And he lived in the blessings of God all the time! He stayed faithful no matter what the others did. Those 5 are still being blessed today because of that study that became a milestone adventure for each one of us!

I believe the metaphor of being, “On the mountain top,” or, “Down in the valley,” is a poor one to use in describing the daily Christian life. For some Americans, it implies that God is giving us health and wealth and worldly comforts; that is what we think the “mountain” is. Therefore the “valley” must be because we have done something wrong or maybe we just can’t see the plan. Wrong about the mountain; wrong about the valley.

Ex. “So far and no further” – I knew a man who was lovingly being put through the training program of Romans 5: 3-5 and he said the oddest thing to me.

“When will my life get back to normal?” I explained that there is no such thing as life being normal for the Christian. There is no, “set it; and forget it.” There is no “cruise control,” in the Christian life but there is satisfying rest and peace along the way.

All false props in the life of a believer must fail, so the real life of Christ can shine out through the new nature in us!

The man I mentioned was being honored though these controlled trials, but he mistakenly assumed something was wrong. He rejected his training; he was set back years in his maturity in Christ. He said he wanted to have Christ, but he also wanted to be successful in the eyes of the world, by worldly standards.

I ask if he though Paul was successful?

First  I read  I Cor. 4:6-16  to him. In every earthly way, Paul lost the look of success. To the world he looked like a fool!  On the other hand, he gained a soul-satisfying adventure!

READ  1 Cor. 4:6-16

I am finding too many who think this way; that if you do it just right, you will always have things go your way. If not on the mountaintop, then never far from the foothills! A better picture is to see life as two rails of a railroad track. Left foot on one track and the right foot on the other track.

 Always something good going on to give God praise for, and always something going on not so good. But all things, good or bad,  working for the good plan of being life Christ. Romans 8:28-29

But when you tell people that, they believe you are demonstrating a subtraction problem for them. That the “bad” things subtract from the “good” things and leave you with about “half” of what you could have had. Under God’s control, you learn much more from the bad, than the mountain top things; but praise God for every mountaintop, or good track.

What would you do if you were not afraid anymore? Losing fear comes through trials. That only comes through trials.

What if the next drama in your life was not as exhausting? That only comes from what you did right during the last trial.

What if you could deeply sense that your strength was increasing?

Hey, you could throw away your t-shirt that says, “I am so disappointed; and particularly disappointed in you!”

What if peace and joy and hope were not mere words but your daily reality?

Some of the power of the future kingdom operates in present time. But it operates for those who stand firm in the test; and even look forward to the next test. Now that is addition; not subtraction.

Ex. Iron man–  Had a young mom in our church who had seen the movie, “Iron Man.” She told me that it was a great mom- movie. I told her I did not see a way in the world that such an action movie could be a mom- movie. She said, “Oh yea it was! When he stepped out of that cave, after all that abuse, and lit up his blow torch and said, ’My turn!’, and mowed those guys down, yea, I say that every Monday morning before I start my day, and God sees me through time and again. I know a test when I see one.”

Don’t get scared now; it is, “your turn.” Do you know a test when you see one?

What if you blow it and fail? You get to do it again, and again, then the fear leaves. You learn to only fear God’s opinion and not the world’s opinions. Those worldly opinions will change like the wind. God is the only one thinking about you all the time. Thinking maybe this time you will get the lesson.

James 1: 2-4 “ 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.”

I Peter 1:3-8 “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.