Community - Receiving What
God Has Given – Lent with Bonhoeffer Day 23– Purity 996
Purity 996 03/21/2023 Purity 996 Podcast
Purity 996 on YouTube: Coming Soon!
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the sun shining through the tree and
over the narrow stretch of land that borders my property “down by The River”
comes to us from yours truly as I had the presence of mind to peak around the
corner to check out the view from my back yard on the first day of Spring 2023,
yesterday. I not only was blessed in the
moment when I decided to “go there”, I was also reminded of just how much God
has blessed me with this little house and of the amazing the journey I went
through to get here. My house and the
property on the side of State Route 9J in Stuyvesant truly is a gift that keeps
on giving but I have to remember that I have it, I have received it, I continue
to live in it, and, as long as the Lord
is willing, I will have it tomorrow and for many days in the future. But I can’t appreciate it yesterday, or
tomorrow, I can only appreciate the gifts God has given me today.
Well, it is Tuesday, and I am happy to report that I
successfully encouraged another man through the Steps to Freedom in Christ last
night and was blessed to see the Lord work in his life as he confessed and repented
of sins of the past, released bitterness through forgiveness, and took back any
ground given to the enemy through sin, pride, rebellion, or generational curses.
This man’s past was laid at the foot of the cross and now he has the
opportunity to continue in freedom.
What? Isn’t it a done deal when someone goes through
the Steps?
It is, or at least it can be. The work that is done
in the Steps is prayer, renunciation and making a commitment to follow the Lord.
It is “faith work” meaning that it is dependent on faith and its lasting effects
require one to continue in faith.
Just like my house down by the River, we have to believe
that we have received it, that we have it, and that we will walk in a manner
that believes we have it for good and that we will progressively align
ourselves with God’s will in any areas of our lives that still need “work”. And when I say work I have to point out that
any “remaining issues” will also be resolved by faith – the victory we have is
accomplished to a very large degree by simply believing that God has already given
it to us, in believing that even the thing we struggle with “is finished”.
The work of breaking strongholds that remain after a
freedom appointment is faith work, and is accomplished not so much from the
sweat of our brow as much as it is accomplished by the moves of the mind, heart,
and spirit within us. And its also
volitional, we must choose to believe it every day and shape our lives
according to who we are in Christ to reflect the work that the Lord has done in
us.
Just like me deciding to look around the corner of
my house, we must choose to “go there” spiritually – and physically- by
choosing to seek the Lord everywhere we go – through prayer, through Bible
study and reading Christ books, through listening to podcasts and sermons, and
through looking for God in the beauty of His creation. And we must reach out with our heart and
minds to connect with God, relationally. We must not only believe that He is
there, we must know Him, love Him, and ask Him to reveal Himself to us and to
help us.
So if you haven’t had the experiential contact with
the Lord that erases all your doubts of the reality of His presence and love in
your life, reach out and search for Him, seek Him, because when you do that with
all your heart, you will find Him and you will be forever changed. Don’t look to have someone else give Him to
you, finding the Lord and deciding the follow Him is your responsibility and it
depends on your ”faith work”.
Speaking of “faith work” or perhaps “spiritual
effort” (is that a better term?), let’s
put forth some effort to draw close to the Lord by continuing our current
series as we take another step closer to Resurrection Sunday as today is the 24th
day of Lent and the 24th day of our 40 Day Journey with Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.
As a reminder, and as we will say each day of this
journey, we take this path to mark the season of Lent and to draw closer to God
in anticipation of the celebration of Easter, knowing that if we take this
journey of repentance seriously, we will not only see the days and seasons
change, the Lord will use it to change us too.
You can sign up to get this devotional yourself by
going to the Biblegateway link on the blog ((https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/40-Day-Journey-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/today)) .
Day 24
Bonhoeffer writes:
“Every human idealized image that is brought into the Christian
community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be broken up so that
genuine community can survive.
Those who love their dream of a Christian community more
than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian
community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest,
and sacrificial…
Those who dream of this idealized community demand that it
be fulfilled by God, by others, and by themselves. They enter the community of
Christians with their demands, set up their own law, and judge one another and
even God accordingly…
Because God already has laid the only foundation of our
community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus
Christ long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that
life together with other Christians, not as those who make demands, but as
those who thankfully receive.
We thank God for what God has done for us.
We thank God for giving us other Christians who live by
God’s call, forgiveness, and promise.
We do not complain about what God does not give us; rather
we are thankful for what God does give us daily.”
Biblical Wisdom
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every
effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one
body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all
and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6
Questions to Ponder
- What does it mean to love
the “dream of Christian community more than the community itself”?
M.T. Clark: Loving the
dream of Christian community is to hold an ideal of the “perfect Christian
Fellowship” and to allow your expectations to cause you to be discontented with
the reality of what you have at your local church. Hoping for better messages, better worship music,
better facilities, or better friendships are all subtle ways that we can fall
into the trap of creating a religious ideal that won’t be realized and that
will cause you to blame God, your neighbors, or yourself. Instead we should be
content and thankful that we can gather together to worship in community at all,
and enjoy what we do have rather than focusing on what is lacking.
- If “we enter community not
as those who make demands, but as those who thankfully receive,” what
should our attitude and action toward the community be?
M.T. Clark: If “we enter community, without demands, we would
enter into community with an attitude of thankfulness, appreciation,
contentment, and joy. Our actions would be to celebrate our faith with enthusiasm
and to consider serving the community in whatever way we could.
- Is it easier to “complain
about what God does not give us” or to be “thankful for what God does give
us”? Why?
M.T. Clark: Unfortunately, the tendency for the flesh is to
complain about what God has not given us, but it is just as easy to be thankful
for what God does give us as it is to complain.
We will have to be intentional to give thanks and remember to appreciate
what we have, but when we make that choice the fruit that grows in our lives is
joy and peace. And that is a harvest that is worth the mental and spiritual effort
that it takes to receive it. Psalm 23 tells us that “The Lord is my Shepard”
and “I shall not want” – so instead of complaining about the things we don’t have,
let’s remember to thank the Lord for what He has provided, because if we do
that we can experience what it is like to experience the “goodness and mercy
that will follow us all the days of our lives, and to know the joy that comes
from dwelling in the house of the Lord, forever.
Psalm Fragment
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them forever. Psalm 28:7-9
Journal Reflections
- Write about your response to
Bonhoeffer’s ideas about Christian community.
M.T. Clark: Bonhoeffer’s good advice is to appreciate what we
have in our Christian communities: to receive what God has given us and to
thank Him for it. This is to be our
attitude for all the areas of our lives.
- Does reading Bonhoeffer on
Christian community change the way you feel about your faith community?
How? Or why not?
M.T. Clark: Yes it does. Things are not perfect at my church but
there is more things that are good than that are not. So Bonhoeffer’s writings
remind me to thank God for the church that I have found and the people who work
together each week to give us a spiritual home where we can worship.
- Does it suggest any
practical changes in the way you relate to your faith community? If so,
what are they?
M.T. Clark: Yes, the
practical changes that it suggests in the way that I relate to my faith community
is to cease any critical thoughts about the church leadership or staff and to
silence petty complaints about the corporate gathering. It causes me to repent
in dust and ashes over the negative things I have said or thought about my
church and instead to focus on how good a fellowship it is that I am currently
blessed with.
Intercessions
Think about your faith
community and spiritual friends (name them) and thank God for the support you
get from them in living your life of faith.
M.T. Clark:
Lord God,
I pray for and thank you Lord for Pastor Roscoe Lily and all of
the volunteers at Starpoint church for creating an environment in which we can
come together in harmony to worship You and grow in our relationship with You
and with one another. I repent of any
negative thoughts or complaints that I may have harbored since coming into the
fellowship of Starpoint Church and ask that You help me to be content, to be
thankful, and to serve our faith community in ways that will give glory to You,
Lord.
In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer for Today
Lord Jesus, I will
be as important to my spiritual community as my spiritual community is to me.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
(40-Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Copyright © 2007
Augsburg Books, imprint of Augsburg Fortress.)
***As we are being
provided with Bible verses from the 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we
will are taking a break from sharing a verse of the day from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”. We plan on
resuming that normal installment of the blog following Easter.***
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By
ARTHUR W. PINK
CHAPTER TEN
OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD HIS SOVEREIGNTY
What then ought to be our attitude toward the Supreme
Sovereign? We reply,
4. One of deep thankfulness and joy
The heart’s
apprehension of this most blessed truth of the sovereignty of God produces
something far different than a sullen bowing to the inevitable. The philosophy
of this perishing world knows nothing better than to “make the best of a bad
job.” But with the Christian it should be far otherwise. Not only should the
recognition of God’s supremacy beget within us godly fear, implicit obedience,
and entire resignation, but it should cause us to say with the Psalmist, “Bless
the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” Does not
the apostle say, “Giving thanks always
for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Eph. 5:20)? Ah! it is at this point
the state of our souls is so often put to the test. Alas, there is so much
self-will in each of us. When things go as we
wish them we appear to be very grateful to God; but what of those occasions
when things go contrary to our plans and desires?
We take it for
granted when the real Christian takes a train-journey that, upon reaching his
destination, he devoutly returns thanks into God—which, of course, argues that He controls everything; otherwise, we
ought to thank the engine-driver, the stoker, the signalmen, etc. Or, if in
business, at the close of a good week, gratitude is expressed unto the Giver of
every good (temporal) and of every perfect (spiritual) gift—which again, argues
that He directs all customers to your
shop. So far, so good. Such examples occasion no difficulty. But imagine the
opposites. Suppose my train was delayed for hours, did I fret and fume; suppose
another train ran into it and I am injured! Or, suppose I have had a poor week
in business, or that lightning struck my shop and set it on fire, or that
burglars broke in and rifled it, then what: do I see the hand of God in these things?
Take the case of Job
once more. When loss after loss came his way what did he do? Bemoan his “bad
luck”? Curse the robbers? Murmur against God? No; he bowed before Him in
worship. Ah! dear reader, there is no real rest for your poor heart until you
learn to see the hand of God in everything. But for that, faith must be in constant exercise. And what is faith? A blind
credulity? A fatalistic acquiescence? No, far from it. Faith is a resting on
the sure Word of the living God, and therefore says “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28); and therefore
faith will give thanks “always for all things.” Operative faith will “Rejoice
in the Lord alway” (Phil. 4:4).
We turn now to mark
how this recognition of God’s sovereignty which is expressed in godly fear,
implicit obedience, entire resignation, and deep thankfulness and joy was
supremely and perfectly exemplified by the Lord Jesus Christ.
In all things the
Lord Jesus has left us an example that we should follow His steps. But is this
true in connection with the first point made above? Are the words “godly fear”
ever linked with His peerless name?
Remembering that ‘godly fear’ signifies not a servile terror, but rather a
filial subjection and reverence, and remembering too that “the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom,” would it not rather be strange if no mention at
all were made of ‘godly fear’ in connection with the One who was wisdom
incarnate! What a wonderful and precious word is that of Heb. 5:7—“Who in the
days of His flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and having been
heard for His godly fear” (R. V.).
What was it but ‘godly fear’ which
caused the Lord Jesus to be “subject” unto Mary and Joseph in the days of His
childhood? Was it ‘godly fear’—a filial subjection to and reverence for
God—that we see displayed when we read “And He came to Nazareth where He had
been brought up: and, as His custom was,
He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day” (Luke 4:16)? Was it not ‘godly
fear’ which caused the incarnate Son to say, when tempted by Satan to fall down
and worship him, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve”? Was it not ‘godly
fear’ which moved Him to say to the cleansed leper, “Go thy way, shew thyself
to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded” (Matt. 8:4)? But why multiply illustrations?
How perfect was the
obedience that the Lord Jesus offered to God the Father! And in reflecting upon
this let us not lose sight of that wondrous grace which caused Him, who was in
the very form of God, to stoop so low as to take upon Him the form of a Servant and thus be brought into the
place where obedience was becoming. As the perfect Servant He yielded complete
obedience to His Father. How absolute and entire that obedience was we may
learn from the words He “became obedient
unto death, even the death of the Cross” (Phil. 2:8). That this was a
conscious and intelligent obedience is clear from His own language: “Therefore
doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it
down and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received from My Father” (John 10:17, 18).
And what shall we say
of the absolute resignation of the
Son to the Father’s will? what, but, between Them there was entire oneness of
accord. Said He, “For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the
will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38), and how fully He substantiated that
claim all know who have attentively followed His path as marked out in the
Scriptures. Behold Him in Gethsemane! The bitter ‘cup,’ held in the Father’s
hand, is presented to His view. Mark well His attitude. Learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart. Remember that there
in the Garden we see the Word become flesh, a perfect Man. His body is
quivering at every nerve in contemplation of the physical sufferings which
await Him; His holy and sensitive nature is shrinking from the horrible
indignities which shall be heaped upon Him; His heart is breaking at the awful
“reproach” which is before Him; His spirit is greatly troubled as He foresees
the terrible conflict with the Power of Darkness; and above all, and supremely,
His soul is filled with horror at the thought of being separated from God
Himself—thus and there He pours out His soul to the Father, and with strong
crying and tears He sheds, as it were, great drops of blood. And now observe
and listen. Still the beating of thy heart and hearken to the words which fall
from His blessed lips—“Father, if Thou
be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless,
not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke
22:42). Here is submission personified. Here is resignation to the pleasure of
a sovereign God superlatively exemplified. And He has left us an example that
we should follow His steps. He who was God became man, and was tempted in all
points like as we are, sin apart, to show us how to wear our creature
nature!
Above we asked, What
shall we say of Christ’s absolute resignation to the Father’s will? We answer
further, This, that here, as everywhere, He was unique, peerless. In all things
He has the preeminence. In the Lord Jesus there was no rebellious will to be
broken. In His heart there was nothing to be subdued. Was not this one reason
why, in the language of prophecy, He said, “I am a worm, and no man” (Psa.
22:6)—a worm has no power of resistance!
It was because in Him there was no
resistance that He could say, “My meat
is to do the will of Him that sent Me” (John 4:34). Yea, it was because He was
in perfect accord with the Father in all things that He said, “I delight to do Thy will, O God; vea,
Thy law is within My heart” (Psa. 40:8). Note the last clause here and behold His matchless excellency. God has to put His laws into our minds, and write them in our
hearts (see Heb. 8:10), but His law was already
in Christ’s heart!
What a beautiful and
striking illustration of Christ’s thankfulness and joy is found in Matt. 11.
There we behold, first, the failure of the faith of His forerunner (vv. 22,
23). Next, we learn of the discontent of the people: satisfied neither with
Christ’s joyous message, nor with John’s solemn one (vv. 16–20). Third, we have
the non-repentance of those favored cities in which our Lord’s mightiest works
were done (vv. 21–24). And then we read, “At
that time Jesus answered and said, I thank
Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes” (v. 25)! Note the parallel passage in Luke 11 opens by saying,
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in
spirit, and said, I thank Thee,” etc. Ah! here was submission in its purest
form. Here was One by whom the worlds were made, yet, in the days of His
humiliation and in the face of His rejection, thankfully and joyously bowing to
the will of the “Lord of heaven and earth.”
What ought to be our
attitude toward God’s Sovereignty? Finally,[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship
