BE STRONG!

I've always wanted to be strong. My heros growing up always were! He-Man, Hulk Hogan, Spider-Man... strong guys, for sure. Now that I am a lot older and a little more mature, I still want to be strong, but a different kind of strong. I want to be strong in the Lord. 

How about you? If I asked you how you want your Christian walk, how would you answer? Probably not something like, “I really don’t want to experience too much of the Holy Spirit at work in me. Just want to struggle with anxiety, temptation, and doubt the rest of my days here on the earth…” Of course not! You and I would say we want to be strong!

But then what if I asked, how is your walk? Are you walking strong? If you are, thank the Lord! If you are not, thank the Lord, because He has what you need!

There is a monumental task ahead of us at Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh. As the church is referred to as a body, each of us must be doing what the Holy Spirit empowers us to do. Our goal is not to squeak by, barely get the job done. We want to hit our launch strong. Each of us strong in the Lord, all of us strong in the Lord together. But how do I get strong?

God’s word has the answer! 2 Timothy 2:1 says, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus…”

This was written by the apostle Paul to young pastor Timothy. Timothy was to "be strong". The Greek verb endunamo[ma]o, which is stated as a present passive imperative, could be translated "keep on being empowered." Timothy was not to be strong in his own strength but in God's. He was to receive God's power and allow it to flow through him.

Feeling like you need strength? You can’t muster it up on your own, God is the source of strength! Jesus stated the same in John 15:5 when He said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

It's the grace of God that empowers believers. What is grace? Grace is God giving to us what He requires from us. Let that sink in. God requires holiness from us. We don’t have it. So in His grace, through the finished work of Jesus Christ, He gives it to us! He requires righteousness, obedience, perfection… we don’t have it, so God gives it to us! And strength is the same. We are all weak, but the Lord wants us to be strong. So in His grace, He gives us strength.

It's God's grace that enables us to serve God. God's will is accomplished "'not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6). That's the kind of grace Paul spoke of here in 2 Timothy 2:1.

But Paul doesn’t leave it undefined. He illustrates what strength in the believer looks like using 4 pictures: the teacher, the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer (verses 2--6).

We are going to be looking at these 4 pictures over our next several Core Group meetings, and we would love to have you join us! We will be giving an update as to when and where these will be held in July, so be watching this site! You can also e-mail me at jmiller@harvestpittsburghnorth.org for more info. I would love to talk with you about the exciting things ahead.

Need strength? God has it all, and He gives it out! Join us! 

p.s. - by himself = not strong

A Life and Death Decision

Jesus Christ does not turn bad people into good people, He turns dead people into alive people.

The Bible tells us we are dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1). Not just wrong in our sin, not just evil in our sin…dead. Our problem is so much deeper than being people who make mistakes. We are spiritually dead and separated from God. And leaving the earth in that state puts us in a place of being eternally separated from God.

The Bible uses other words to describe our condition.

Not only are we dead, we are weak, or helpless (Isaiah 64:6). We can’t even do anything about our condition. No doctor, no medicine, no surgery, no seminar, no religious activity can fix it. This flies in the face of everything we want to believe. We want to think that we have the ability to fix ourselves. Dead people can’t fix anything.

We are also ungodly, or lawbreakers (1 John 3:4). This is bigger than jaywalking or littering. This is violating the holy standard of a Holy God! “I am not that bad! I know people much worse than me.” God isn’t comparing you to them. He compares you to His standard, which is holy perfection.

We are also, by nature, God’s enemy (Romans 8:7). Let that one sink in! I wouldn’t want my neighbor to be my enemy, he could do some harm. I wouldn’t want a Navy Seal to be my enemy, he could do even more harm! But the Almighty God of the universe…! That is the last thing I would want, but by nature, we are enemies of God!

And this is what makes the Gospel of Jesus Christ so glorious. Through Jesus Christ and Him alone, God turned all this around.

Read Romans 5:6-11, notice I highlighted the words I just mentioned, and I also highlighted what we have become through Christ.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We were helpless, but God provided the power in Christ, and in Him we are strong (Colossians 1:11).

We were sinners, but God provided the substitute in Christ, and in Him we are righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We were God’s enemy, but He provided restoration in Christ, and in Him we are friends of God (James 2:23).

We were dead, but God provided life through Christ (Romans 6:5).

What side of the cross are you on? Have you cried out to God for the restoration that He offers freely through Christ, believing in what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead?

Do you want to remain a dead, helpless, sinning enemy of God, or become an alive, strong, righteous friend of God?

A choice must be made. It is literally a matter of life and death.

God Has a Goal for You

You have some goals for your life?

I always have. I had some personal goals in my life as a young man, and being a pastor was never one of them. But when I came to Christ at age 20, my goals all died. My singular goal became to tell everyone about the awesome grace of God, out of gratitude for what He has done through Christ. But that is not even God’s ultimate goal for me.

Then when we had children, we had some goals for them! I thought my kids were going to play for the Steelers, Penguins, and/or Pirates, while becoming the greatest evangelists in history. But that is not even God’s ultimate goal for them. I don’t even know if God is a Penguins fan, but I know He isn’t a Flyers fan. (Just kidding, my Philadelphia brothers!)

What are your goals? Land the dream job? Have the perfect house and the perfect average 2.5 kids, with the perfect dog? Is it just living a happy and quiet life? All good things, but that’s not even God’s ultimate goal for you.

God has a goal for you. And it may not be exactly what you think it is.

God has made it clear in His Word what His goal is for every follower of Christ. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

This is known as sanctification. When Christ is living in you, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He is changing you. Just as a baby, new physical life, grows and matures, the believer, new spiritual life, grows and matures. 

But it's not a process of "getting more of Christ". We are made perfect in Him. It is discovering who we are in Him, and as a result, we get less of us!

It is as if you come to God as a hunk of marble, and He lovingly takes out His hammer and chisel and is chipping off every part of you that does not look like His Son. The image is already in there, but the Lord loves us too much to let us remain as we were when He found us!

This process can be painful, and sometimes it is during the most painful circumstances of life that God is doing the most work in us.

Whatever you are going through today, God has a goal, a purpose. Sometimes we want to throw our hands up and say, ”Why?!” The answer is always the same. God is working on you to make you the person he wants you to be - conformed into the image of His Son. That’s why the previous verse (Romans 8:28) says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

It’s all going to be good, because His purpose is glorious: to be conformed into the image of His Son!

p.s. - Getting “chiseled” isn’t about an abdominal exercise program.

A Huge Complaint Part II: Done Complaining

How do we stop the complaining? The last blog left you with:

The Apostle Paul wrote: Do ALL things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world… (Philippians 2:14-15)

The Bible teaches us that we are to replace sinful habits with Godly habits. So you don’t just stop complaining, you replace it with thankfulness. How do I do that?

Answer: You need to absorb yourself in the Gospel. Not just have the Family Bible on the table. Not just a verse a day.Absorbed in the Gospel. Reading, memorizing, mediating, making it your focus throughout your day. Talking about it, teaching it, praying through it all. Absorbed in the Gospel.

The more you are absorbed in the Gospel, the more grateful you will naturally be, in any circumstance. What does that have to do with anything?

Let me explain. The time-tested standard on whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist is the 50% capacity drinking reservoir. You may know it as the cup that is half full. Or half empty.

Did you know God has a cup? The Bible is full of descriptions of the cup of God’s wrath. Here are a few examples:

Jeremiah 25:15 - Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it…”

Habakkuk 2:16 - You will have your fill of shame instead of glory. Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD's right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!

Revelation 14:10 - (speaking of sinners who have rejected God) he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

The truth is what I deserve from God is a full cup… of His wrath. This cup would be mine if I was given what I deserve. So if God gave me an empty cup, that would be cause enough for infinite gratitude! But what if God gave me a cup with just one drop of blessing - I would be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God. Not getting any wrath, but instead a drop of blessing!

Look at the verses that describe the cup that God has given to His people.

Psalm 116:12-13 - What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD...

Psalm 23:5 - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

A cup of salvation? A cup of grace that overflows? What else is in this cup?

Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…

In Christ, God has given, not a cup of wrath, not even an empty cup… but instead a cup of every spiritual blessing!

Any circumstance we are in is infinite improvement on the hell we deserve.

Wherever you find yourself, first be grateful for the wrath you are not receiving and will never receive because of Jesus Christ. Second, be grateful for the blessings you are given instead, look at them against the backdrop of wrath you deserve .

This 2 layered gratitude disposes my heart to give thanks in all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The Gospel intensifies our gratitude, glorifies God, contributes to a peace of mind

Philippians 4:6-7 - do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

p.s. - Eternally grateful for the cup he was given.