And I saw it no more...

CF family,

I hope/pray you're having a good week.....working AND resting.  As you go about the rest of the week, please consider these wonderful thoughts from Mark 2, John 5 and John 9.  See yourselves as "hungry" and "in need" (Mk 2:25).....see yourself as "an invalid for thirty-eight years" (John 5:5)......see yourselves as "blind from birth" (John 9:1).  BUT then see Jesus as "Lord of the Sabbath" (Mk 2:28) WORKING (John 5:17), "working the works of Him who sent him" (John 9:4).......accomplishing what we couldn't do.  See Him providing for the "hungry" and "needy".  See Him raising the "lame".  See Him giving sight to the "blind", opening the eyes our hearts so that He could become our rest!!

Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Through Christ's Sabbath gleaning and healings He says:

I’ll work so you can feast

I’ll work so you can walk

I’ll work so you can see

I’ll work where you aren't able

I’ll accomplish what you couldn’t

I’ll be…..your rest

If you're laboring and heavy laden with sin.......like Christian of Pilgrim's Progress you're a "poor burdened sinner".......join Christian in his place of deliverance.  "So he ran until he came to a place somewhat elevated.  Upon that place stood a Cross, and below at the bottom there was a Tomb.......just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden came loose from his shoulders and fell off his back.  It began to tumble and continued to do so until it came to the mouth of the Tomb.  It then fell into the Tomb, and I saw it no more."

And.....I saw it no more.  :)

Ben

It would be this sermon

CF family,

Consider these passages:

Gen. 5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

Matt. 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Sunday we considered together One who truly brought us “relief from our work” and from the “painful toil of our hands” in the New and Better Noah, Jesus Christ.   There are no more arks to build…….no more altars…… no more tabernacles…….no more temples…….. no more sacrifices to prepare……no more blood to shed……..no more priests offering day after day after day after day payment for the worshipper’s sin and their own sins………no more efforts to cover or pay for our own sin.  For that work is indeed….FINISHED……completed and accomplished through His cross.  Can you feel that “relief”?  Do your souls “find rest” there?

I can’t remember if there has been a more important sermon in ten years than this last Sunday’s message.  I urge you and even beg you to listen to it if you didn’t.  And know that though it may sound self-serving to say “listen to my sermon” there’s nothing in this request serving me.  In fact, I don’t feel like the delivery was all that great (complete with embarrassing ugly cry)……..it was the CONTENT though that was/is the greatest news we can ever hear or tell.  If I could point to one sermon that best represents the gospel I want to walk in and serve in and rest in, it would be this one.

Please listen.

Ben

Speaking of work....

CF family,

Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the most thorough yet concise passages on the Story of Redemption in our bibles.  Verses 1-3 describe our (Jew AND gentile) desperate situation as children of wrath (as in DUE the wrath of God).  Verse 4 begins with my favorite two words in the bible BUT GOD......and then continues with God's remedy for our desperate situation.  We're made alive together with Christ (His resurrection was/is our resurrection) and not only that......He actually seated us with the Victor!?!? (v. 6).  Verse 7 describes WHY He did all this......SO THAT forevermore He would put His grace on display IN US.  All creation forever and ever would see, in us, visual aids and illustrations and walking, talking billboards of God's grace.  The passage ends with how we are to respond to all this (v. 10).

Now, let me point out to you who the "workers" are in the passage.  In verse 2, Satan is "at work" in the sons of disobedience (that's everyone before or without Christ).  In verses 4-6 God is working.....He made us alive......He raised us up.......He seated us.  These verbs add up to our being called His "workmanship" in v. 10.  (Cool to see how God's "work" undoes, erases, negates Satan's "work")  Lastly, we're doing some work.....or not!  In v. 8-9 it looks like these verbs God does to us, making alive.....raising....seating, are free gifts enjoyed by faith and ARE NOT EARNED THROUGH OUR WORK!!!!  He says salvation is "not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  It's REALLY REALLY REALLY important we see this.  There's no work or effort or hoop you can do or jump through to earn salvation.  It can only be received through faith in Christ.  HOWEVER, there's still work to be done!  Look at verse 10.  Remember we are His "workmanship"........here it says we were created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  In other words, He's made us for good works.......though works had/have nothing to do with our salvation.......they have everything to do with what we're made (or remade through Christ) for.  He's made us for good works SO THAT we would put His work for us and in us on display.  These are the works James was referring to in chapters 1 and 2 of his letter.  These are works that are fruit of salvation.

What good works were you prepared for that you're not doing?  In what ways are you to respond to His gift of salvation that you're not......because you're misunderstanding works maybe?  How are you putting His grace on display in the way you engage others.....in the way you practice your spiritual gifting among God's people......in the way you help others with very real needs in Jesus' name?

We NEED to get works right, CF family.  If we misunderstand them, we may do good things for all the wrong reasons and it profits the Kingdom nada.  Or misunderstanding we may be idle, lethargic, lazy, unresponsive......so nearsighted that we're blind, having forgotten we were cleansed for good works prepared for us to walk in.

I hope you'll study this.  I totally understand and appreciate you're likely inundated with data over the course of the day.....facebook, tweets, email, etc.....but this isn't "data."  This is food.

I love y'all and am entrusting y'all to Him today.

Ben

So....do we work? Or not?

CF family,

I've heard from a number of folks this week already that differentiating between Paul's use of "work" and James' use of "work" was helpful.  It makes all the difference in the world sorting this out.  Consider these words from our favorite feeble disciple and early church member, Peter. 

2 Peter 1:5-10 "For this reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten (spelled correctly this time) that he was cleansed from his former sins.  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." 

Here you see faith.......that's supplemented with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love.  And all of those supplements take "effort" and "diligence".  Peter's "work" here would be more in line with James' use of the word......as fruit of salvation.......describing the life of the justified. 

Another thought tomorrow from Ephesians 2:1-10.....read ahead and pay attention to who's "working" in the passage. 

Have a good Tuesday,

Ben