What is the True Church Militant?

Lessons from Genesis – 17

“Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19 KJV

When Jesus told His followers to turn the other cheek, what do you suppose He meant? Too often today we don’t even quote that verse. The church militant has begun to think in terms of human instead of divine action. Is our militancy supposed to be against flesh and blood or against principalities and powers of this earthly darkness? If someone who lives under the forces of darkness were to insult my wife, am I supposed to punch him in the nose? Is that militant Christianity? If someone butchers babies in a clinic am I supposed to bomb that clinic or stalk that doctor and kill them? Is that militant Christianity?

This is not a random question. In Genesis 34 we find that Israel’s daughter, Dinah, has been raped by the prince of Shechem. Dinah was the seventh child of Leah and was probably only ten to twelve years old at this time. Her brothers, Simeon and Levi, conspired to get even, or take vengeance, on the people of Shechem and ultimately killed all the males in the city. Forty years later when Jacob is prophesying about the future of his children he had this to say about Simeon and Levi, “They are instruments of cruelty and my soul shall not enter their council nor my honor be united with them.” Since he was a prophet his words were uttered by the Holy Spirit and not just his own views. God was not happy that Dinah’s brothers took vengeance. God has called us to a walk that is hard to follow when our emotions get involved. But even then He is God and wants us to obey Him and glorify Him. That is the true church militant.

Dear Father, Help me remember You when I most want to react as me. Amen. 

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Confidence or Doubt

Lessons from Genesis – 16

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.” Genesis 32:24

Have you ever or are you now facing a profound crisis? First, be not ashamed at having a profound crisis as if God has abandoned you. Jesus said, “In this world you shall have tribulation.” It is common to all men and not one from which Christians are immune. All who preach that believers are supposed to be successful and prosperous are preaching a false doctrine. But now that you are in crisis, what do you do? This was Jacob’s problem. He had stolen his brother’s blessing and his brother has sworn revenge. Now his brother was coming to meet him and he had an army of 400 men with him. That was a crisis.

After sending everyone else away Jacob stayed alone by the brook Jabok. There he was met by a Man. They wrestled all night. That is a long time to be engaged in mortal combat. All night was not a “Now I lay me down to sleep prayer”. All night was the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man.” Does a crisis bring us to effectual fervent prayer or to ineffectual belly-aching? Does it bring us to seek God’s blessing or convince us that God doesn’t care? When morning came the Man said to Jacob, “Your name shall be called Israel, for you have struggled with God and prevailed.” With that the Man blessed him and sent him on his way. Beloved, do we wrestle with God or complain to God? Do we believe He will hear an effectual fervent prayer, or do we doubt His care? Jacob wrestled and was blessed.

Dear Father, You have given us such great promises through prayer that we often ignore. Please renew our prayer life that we might find ourselves greatly renewed in You. Amen. 

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God Remembers When We Forget

Lessons from Genesis – 15

“Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.” Genesis 31:7

The setting for this verse is important. Jacob had cheated his brother from his birthright and had stolen his brother’s blessing. As a consequence he had been exiled from the presence of Isaac, from whom the promises of God would descend, and cast into a pagan land and married pagan wives from a pagan family. He was a lousy husband. There is not much to commend Jacob to anyone. What he does have in his favor is that he is a child of God’s promise. From an earthly perspective his abundant sins would seem to exclude him from God’s care.  But God never forgot Jacob.

Way back in Genesis 28, which is twenty years before Genesis 31, God had said to Jacob, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.”At that point Jacob made a vow to God. From that occasion until Genesis 31 we never hear the name of God from Jacob’s lips. What Jacob forgot, however, God remembered. Notice that God did not pad Jacob’s life with joy and happiness for those twenty years, but He did protect him. More than that, God fulfilled the promise He had made to Jacob twenty years before. As it says in II Corinthians 2, “All the promises of God in Him are yea and amen.” “Him” in this verse is Jesus Christ who was the promised descendant of Jacob. In Christ all the promises of God to us are certain.

Dear Father, Help us not to forget You as Jacob did, but to also always remember that all Your promises are sure in Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

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Are there more wages to sin than death?

Lessons from Genesis – 14

“The wages of sin . . .” Romans 6:23 KJV

We all know the rest of our lead verse today, “The wages of sin is death.” But there are other wages of sin long before death. Genesis teaches us about consequences for the actions of our life and the decisions we make. Adam and Eve decided to disobey God. They didn’t die physically at that point, but they did die spiritually. The process of physical death began and that contains all the maladies of life that accompany aging. They also were expelled from their home and forced to live a hard life of hard work and great frustration. That mankind is a slow learner is seen in the account of Jacob and Esau.

Esau had already sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. But Jacob was not content. Esau still had the promise of their father Abraham waiting for him. Rachel, their mother, wanted that blessing for Jacob instead so she conspired with him to trick Abraham into giving it to Jacob instead of Esau. What was the result? There was a fractured family. Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob had to flee from Esau and that separated him from his mother who lost her most loved son. Jacob lived far away for twenty years and was cheated and tricked by his father-in-law multiple times. He worked day and night and ended up with an unhappy home. Oh, yes, there are wages of sin long before death. But, thanks be to God, there is also forgiveness when we come in confession and repentance to the cross of Christ.

Dear Father, Thank You for the clear teachings that your ways are best and my ways will end in disaster. Forgive me for choosing my selfish way and guide me in Yours. Amen. 

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What is heaven worth?

Lessons from Genesis – 13

“Love not this world, nor the things in this world, for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are not from the Father but from the world.” I John 2:15-16 paraphrase

In Genesis chapter 25 we find a brief few verses (29-34) that set the stage for some of the most dramatic teaching that will appear later in the Scriptures. These verses point out a need, an impetuosity and opportunism. We might shorten it to greed, speed and sorrow. Unfortunately the sorrow doesn’t come until much later and by then it is too late. What was the final cost of this rash act? It cost a nation, a heritage, and heaven. It reveals the true cost of setting our minds on our self and not on God.

God had told Abraham that He would pass the eternal blessing onto Abraham’s son, Isaac. But Isaac had two sons. By nature the elder should have obtained the heritage of the full promises of God. But the Bible says that this elder son, Esau, despised his heritage, the promises of God and sold them for so little as a bowl of stew! Throughout the rest of the Scripture we find Esau (the nation Edom) condemned eternally in no uncertain terms. Jacob, the younger son, though a nasty rascal in his own right, ultimately finds forgiveness and he is eternally blessed. The love of a meal and the loss of heaven is a potent picture of the high cost of loving the things of this world above the things of God.

Dear Father, Strengthen me by Your Spirit to walk in pursuit of Your will and not my own desires. Amen. 

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Thy Will, Not Mine, Be Done

Lessons from Genesis – 12

“O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day.” Genesis 24:12 NKJV

Is God just another name for Santa Claus? Many people think so. False teachers tell their congregations that God has a bag of wealth for them tap into every day. Whatever you want, they say, just ask for it. Use the magic words, “In Jesus Name” and it’s yours. I read a sermon where the invitation was this, “How many of you want to be born again to a life of prosperity?” The Bible has some very harsh warnings for such false teachers. But, does that mean that God doesn’t answer prayer? No, but even Jesus taught that there was more to prayer than just asking for things.

In Genesis 24 we find that Abraham had sent his servant to get a bride for Isaac. The first thing we see about this servant is that he obeyed Abraham and went. A lot of our prayers would be more quickly answered if we were where God wanted us to be when we asked them. The servant was in the place where he was sent and being there he faithfully prayed for God’s blessing. As Paul was going on his second missionary journey he prayed for direction. As he was going, God gave him direction. These prayers were offered up for their Master’s glory, not the selfish ambition of the person praying. This part of Genesis 24 is just a small lesson in a big story, but it is a lesson from Genesis that we should not overlook.

Dear Father, Let the aim of my heart and prayer life be Your glory and not mine. Amen.

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Serving or Sitting

Lessons from Genesis – 11

“I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do.” John 14:12 NKJV

How many of us have ever been hired by an employer so that we could just sit on our hands all day and do nothing? How many players are selected for the team and told they are not expected to train or play? Who would get a sled dog and then have that dog sit on the sled while the owner pulled the sled? Paul told Titus that he was supposed to teach the people in his churches to be zealous for good works. Too many people have come to believe that we are to come to God simply to be served by Him. They hop from church to church trying to find that church that will serve them best. Genesis teaches a different idea.

In Genesis 22 God told Abraham to take his son, his only son Isaac, and go to the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. You see, He told Abraham he was supposed to do something and it wasn’t an easy task. While it was a task unique to Abraham, it illustrates that God calls us to “do” and not to “sit”. We are to be His servants. Jesus told His disciples that they were to be servants. Paul told the Ephesians that “we are His workmanship created unto good works that He foreordained that we should walk in them.” Genesis makes it clear it wasn’t all going to be sugar and spice, it wasn’t going to be all easy sledding; God calls us to serve Him.

Dear Father, Help me remember each day that You have called me to service and to look to You for the strength to do it. Amen.

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