You're Either for God, or You're Against Him

 John 8:39-47

"Our father is Abraham!" they answered.

"If you were Abraham's children," Jesus told them, "you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard at the side of God.  Abraham did not do this.  You are doing the works of your fathers."

"We were not born of sexual immorality!" they said.  "We have one Father: God."

Jesus replied, "If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here.  Indeed, I have not come on my own, but he sent me.  

Why do you not understand my message?  It is because you are not able to listen to my word.  You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to do your father's desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning and did not remain standing in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he lies, he speaks from what is his, because he is a liar and the father of lying.  But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me.  Who of you can convict me of sin?  If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?  Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says.  The reason you do not listen is that you do not belong to God."

Jesus is very clear with the Pharisees here.  If you are fighting against his Son and everything he is teaching, you don't belong to God.  The Pharisees try to justify themselves by claiming their blood relationship to Abraham.  They were biological children of Abraham.  Their problem was that they thought this was enough to save them and make them right with God.  They had missed the point.

Abraham was saved by faith.  He trusted God's promise to send the Savior through his son Isaac. "Abram believed in the LORD, and the LORD credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)  Abraham's obedience to God's commands was a result of his faith.  His obedience is not what saved him.  This is what the Pharisees were missing.  They thought Abraham was saved because of his obedience to God's commands.  That is how they were trying to be saved.  By their own actions.  By their obedience to the law of Moses (and some they had added themselves).

Sadly, this is still going on today.  There are groups who claim to be Christian, but everything they do and stand for is violently opposed to what God's Word teaches.  Some claim to be Christian, but they embrace and promote homosexuality.  Some try to look Christian, but they militantly threaten violence and lawlessness.  These are acts of rebellion against God, not faithful obedience to him.

Jesus gives us the way to measure whether or not a group of people are following God and doing his will: "If you were Abraham's children," Jesus told them, "you would do the works of Abraham."

If a group or organization is truly Christian they will submit to God's commands.  Even when it means submitting to oppressive authorities.  No where in the Bible does God command us to fight for our own rights.  He doesn't even give us permission to do this.  Instead he says, "It is mine to avenge, I will repay." (Deuteronomy 32:35)  And also, "Everyone must submit to the governing authorities.  For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God.  Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God's institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves." (Romans 13:1-2)

If you are going to ally yourself with a group or organization, you had better understand exactly what they stand for.  You are either with God, or you are against him.  If you support a group that is against God by their words, beliefs, and actions, then you have set yourself against God.  By siding with God's enemies you are rebelling against God.  God does not command us to fight for social issues, or social "justice", or even to make sure everyone is happy.  He has given us just two commands:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

If you are not doing both of these to the best of your ability, you are fighting against God.  If any group you support is willfully attacking these commands, you have yoked yourself to children of the Devil.  You have set yourself against God by your association with those who hate him.  Don't get caught up in Satan's lies.  Don't get caught up in fighting for what you think is your right, or what you think is owed to you.   Instead submit to the Lord, and trust that he will work everything out for the good of those who love him.  Nowhere in God's Word does he promise us an easy, peaceful life.

The only true peace comes from Jesus.  It is faith in Jesus that brings peace, knowing that one day we will be with him in heaven.  It is because Jesus perfectly submitted to the governing authorities that we are saved.  If he would have fought for his rights, he would not have gone to the cross to pay for all of our sins.  Thankfully, Jesus has paid for our sins of selfish rebellion by his perfect obedience to the Father's plan.

Jesus has shown us all how to honor and obey all the authorities God has established in our lives.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Live Beyond Reproach

Listen to this Article 

Genesis 14:22-24

Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you cannot say, 'I have made Abram rich.'  I will take nothing except that which the young men have eaten and the share belonging to the men who went with me, namely, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.  Let them take their share."

Abram is demonstrating a key leadership principle here.  "Live beyond reproach," or "Avoid even the illusion of sin."  What Abram is doing here is making sure that no one can make any claims against him at some future date.  He isn't going to take any of the spoils of his military victory so that the king of Sodom can't make any claims against him in the future.  There won't be a time later when the king of Sodom can take credit for making Abram rich.  Abram is very intentional about making sure that the only one who can lay claim to his blessings is God.

There are several lessons here for leaders today.  As a powerful leader in this region, Abram knew that anything that he took from this battle could be leveraged against him at some future date.  The kings of Sodom could have used this to try to create the illusion of alliance between Abram and themselves.  Abram wanted to make it clear there that there was no alliance between them.  They were not in fellowship.  Abram was simply fighting for his nephew, Lot, and his family.  What we know of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram did not want to create the perception that he agreed with what was going on in those cities.

Here's another application for today's leaders.  Don't put yourself in a position where someone can make an accusation about you.  It should go without saying to stay clear of situations where you could be tempted to sin, but don't even put yourself in a position where someone can make an accusation against you.  One of the biggest areas to guard yourself against is sexual misconduct, both real and perceived.

Here are a few general rules to keep yourself from these temptations and accusations:

• Never ride alone in an elevator with a person of the opposite sex who is not your spouse.
• Never have a closed door, 1-on-1 meeting with a child or a person of the opposite sex.
• Do not attend events where you know sinful activity will be happening.
• Guard your close associations.  Be mindful of who you allow into your inner circle.
• When traveling, never allow yourself to be alone in a hotel room with a person of the opposite sex.
• Avoid swimming pools and hot tubs when children or a person of the opposite sex are utilizing them.

These guidelines must be applied with some common sense, but it is important to be thinking of these things as you go through your life.  If you are a leader, people are watching.  If you are a leader, you are responsible for other people.  You will face enough temptations in life; don't willingly or thoughtlessly put yourself in a position to be tempted to sin or be accused of sin.  You have a responsibility to the people you are leading.

A leader must sacrifice his personal ease and desires for the sake of the community that he has been trusted with.  Sometimes it is really inconvenient to do the right thing.  The leader does the right thing anyways.  Sometimes you have to give up something that you really like to avoid temptation.  A leader gives it up anyways.  As leaders, we are responsible for other people.  We must not give them permission to sin by our thoughtless or sinful actions.

Godly leaders store up their treasures in heaven and live beyond reproach.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

God Loves Us, Even When We Sin

Genesis 28:15

Now, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back again into this land.  Indeed, I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you."

God loved Jacob.  Even though he had just deceived his father and brother to steal Isaac's blessing and Esau's birthright, God still promised to bless him.  God's plan was to fulfill his promise to Abraham through Jacob.  Jacob was blessed because he was chosen by God.

Like Jacob, we have all failed to trust God's plan at different times in our lives.  Our times of selfishness may not have resulted in such animosity as Jacob's, his brother plotted to kill him, but they certainly have damaged relationships.  Especially our relationship with God.

Thankfully, like Jacob God has forgiven us all of our sins.  Even the sin of selfishness.  Jesus perfectly obeyed God's plan in our place, because he knew that we can't.  We are forgiven because of Jesus.  God has chosen us to be his own redeemed children.  We can let go of all of our sins and stop running from him.  He loves us.  He has sent his Son to die for us.

All of your sins have been forgiven!

God bless

Jason Fredrick

What Will Your Legacy Be?

What's your family's legacy?  Have you ever thought about it?

Most people don't.  Most people don't give it a second thought.

If you died today, what would your legacy be?  How would you be remembered?  Would you be remembered?

The Scripture text that we are looking at today is Genesis 25:19-34 and Genesis 27:1-40.  

This is the account of the birth of Jacob and Esau, and then Jacob stealing the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau.

If Esau had been able to carry out his plan to kill his brother, this would be Jacob's legacy.  He would only be remembered as a deceiver and a cheat.  This is what happens when we don't trust God's plan for our life, and we try to take matters into our own hands.  We end up hurting people with our self-serving attitudes and actions.

In this account God had already told Rebekah, Jacob's mother, that He favored Jacob.  He had told her that "the older will serve the younger". (Gen. 25:23)  God already had it worked out that the Savior would come from Jacob's line.  Jacob would be blessed.  Yet even with that promise, Jacob stole Esau's birthright; and then Rebekah plotted to have Jacob steal Isaac's blessing.  The blessing that he was going to give to Esau.

This is quite the family mess.  Esau gets so angry that he actually plots to kill his brother.  Do you have any messy situations like that in your family?  Interestingly, if you do it probably centers around the same type of situation: Family inheritance.  

Sadly many families are torn apart when the parents die and it comes time to settle the estate.  Even when there is a will that spells out clearly who gets what, there is still hurt feelings and animosity between family members.  It's sad how many families fall apart after mom and dad die.

Thankfully, this doesn't have to be your legacy, or your family's legacy.  You can choose instead to love and serve your family.  Jacob could have made much better decisions when it came to how he treated his brother.  Jacob could have trusted God's plan and patiently waited for it to be revealed.

Don't take this too far.  It is not our job to try to guess God's plan for every detail of our life.  It is our job to use the intelligence and logic that he's given us to figure out how best to serve him.  As long as what we want for our life isn't sinful, and we don't have to sin to get it- then go for it.  Ultimately, the best question to ask when trying to figure out your path in life is:  How can I best serve Jesus?

That question will guide you in every decision you have to make.  If you make the mission of your life to serve Jesus to the very best of your ability you won't go wrong.  You may have to course correct from time to time, but you won't fall into the same trap as Jacob.  This question will help keep you from hurting other people for the sake of your own gain.  Staying focused on Jesus will help you from being too focused on yourself.

That is how you build a meaningful legacy.

God bless

Jason Fredrick