Godliness & Contentment

9/1/2011.

Godliness & Contentment

1 Tim 6: 6,7 “Now that godliness with contentment is great gain, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain nothing out. “

As we look at this verse, we realise that these following two things 1) Godliness and 2) Contentment seem to be such a rarity. But what is godliness and what is contentment?

Godliness:

How can man become godly or holy? The Bible says man is naturally ungodly and unholy (Gen 6:5, Matt 15:19). And it is impossible for man to become Godly unless God changes him and it is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). It is therefore, impossible for man to change his heart & mind & his ways. When an ungodly person became godly, how does it happen?!! It is the gift of God by His Grace (Eph 2:8, Rom 3:24).

 There are sequence of things that have to take place if one has to become Godly. It doesn’t happen as we wish or think but it only happens when God does. But what is Godliness? Godliness is the process of getting our lives moulded according to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, getting our lives transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to follow in the footsteps of our Lord day by day. As we look at Godliness, we also look at the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22 ) and ‘love’ that stems out ( 1 Cor 13) of having fellowship with God. All the changes in a Godly man’s life are the result of God’s power manifesting in his life. Those changes are automatic results of having a constant fellowship with God. But if anyone wants only ‘changes’, they cannot become godly but if they are godly the changes are obvious (Matt 7:16).  Godliness is a gift of God (2 Pet 1:3,4). Are you godly?

Contentment:

In this day and age of consumerism, contentment is such a rarity!! As somebody says desire is a never ending circle. Man is encouraged to feed on discontentment through advertisement, through media etc. People are in such mad rush of having things!! But the Bible promises that God gives ‘contentment’. But ‘contentment’ will not be given in separation but it has to be coupled with ‘Godliness’. There is no contentment without Godliness. So when can we be content? When we are Godly.

We have brought nothing into this world.

Have we? And we will take nothing out of this world. So what remains with us? Nothing but Godliness and contentment which are gifts of God.

The Deception of Sin

-          We are living in a world which is full of temptations, allurements, trials and tribulations.

-          If we were to ask this question to ourselves, ‘Why are we being tempted?’ or ‘what is the reason behind the temptation?’, how would you answer that?

-          Let us first of all look at what temptation is. Temptation is some kind of force that propels one to break God’s commandments.

-          Where does temptation come from? Or What is the source?  There are two sources.            1) Satan  2) Our Heart. Therefore, we must understand temptation comes from within and without (inside and outside).  Therefore we have an enemy that we have to battle against from within and without (outside). It is understandable that Satan is our enemy but it is shocking to know that our heart (flesh) is also our enemy (Matt 15: 19; Gen 6:5).

-          Satan:  Besides leading people astray, one of the main jobs of Satan is to throw temptations at us all the time (Gen 3:1-6, Matt 4:1-1, Rev 12:9). Unless we are heavily guarded, we cannot withstand Satan’s force.

-          How does  temptation lead us astray? This is what described ever so clearly here. When we are hit by a temptation, you wonder where it’s come from. The origin of temptation can either be Satan or our heart. It comes from nowhere apart from there. Therefore, definitely God is not the author of temptation.

-          What temptation does to us? The reason why we are tempted is because we are carried away in our own thoughts. That is where danger lies, we cannot be carried away, and we must put some restraints on. What can be the best restraint than the word of God that is right there in our hearts? If we don’t do that, 1) we will be drawn away by our desires 2) Enticed 3) the desire is conceived 4) Gives birth to sin 5) Sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death. This is a Chain reaction. We must understand Sin doesn’t happen all of sudden!! This is what we call the ‘Deception of Sin’. Every sin we have given birth to will have brought forth death. We all know what ‘physical death’ is like. What about the kind of ‘Spiritual death’ that is brings forth every time we sin? We will be dead in sins and trespasses, the more we sin, the more we will become dead or insensitive to the spiritual activities. The story doesn’t end there, the more we sin, the more we gather God’s wrath to punish us later on.

-           How come we don’t sense all that is happening within us?  We have all become insensitive to sin, which means that we are used to living sinful lives some much that we do not sense all that is happening within our lives.

-          What is the remedy? 1) Continuous Fellowship with God.

-                                                 2) Kill the thought. ( sow a seed and reap a habit).

-                                                 3) Ask for forgiveness.

-                                                 4) Keep a clean heart.

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Perfect Gift

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

For God so loved the world.

1)      Why should God love the world?

God loved the world because He created it (Gen 2:3). He has special interest to know, see and get involved with the world. It is not compulsory for Him. It wouldn’t have made any difference to His being whether or not he created the world. He would have been there, just like he was there before the creation because He is infinite and timeless.

2)      He loved the world, what kind of love is this?

a)      His love is evident right from the time He created the world by the way He showed mercy on Adam & Eve (Gen 3). God could have destroyed the moment when they committed sin against Him. Instead He provided their descendants a way to come back to His Kingdom, even though they were driven out of His garden, through faith in His Son.

b)      He provided them the skin coats when Adam & Eve were naked. (Gen 3:21)

c)       Out of His love God chose Abraham and blessed His descendants like the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea. (Gen 12)

d)       He loved the ‘primary reason’ for the world to be created, the man.  After all, what is world, without man?

e)      Because He loved the world, He gave His only begotten son.

He gave His only begotten son

1)      He gave His son to the world

What kind of Son is He?

a)      He is begotten not created (John 10:30); He is eternal precious, holy, absolutely just, righteous, sinless, spotless, pure (1 Tim 1:17, Psalm 86:8, Matt 5:48, and Rom 11:33).....

b)      He is God (John 10:30).

What necessitated God to give His son? Although there is nothing that necessitates that God should do anything for people, He sent His son because people fell in sin, which is beyond our comprehension.

Although it is extremely painful for God the Father to send him to the world to be punished, He gave Him away so that

Whoever will believe in Him will not perish .You and I may not be punished eternally in hell. How do we escape punishment? We escape the punishment because he bore the punishment on our behalf on the Calvary. By trusting in Him, we will not ‘perished’

But have everlasting life

What better gift do you want than ‘Everlasting life’ this Christmas?  RBC, Vinukonda.

Divinely Love

12/12/2010.
                Divinely Love (1 Corinthians 13).
If you look at 1 Corinthians 13, ‘Love’ (agape in Greek) is more than a ‘feeling’; more than an ‘action or doing’. In this chapter the Apostle Paul explains what love does to you when you posses it rather than what love is. “In order to act, one must have”.
The Bible says “God is love” (1 John 4:8), if one were to act or live in Godly manner, He would need to have God inside his heart. And if one were to act or live in loving manner, he would need to have ‘God’ not ‘love’!!
Therefore, it is highly important to know that one must have God. In other words one must understand and must be in constant relationship with God through faith & repentance. Then what happens is what the Apostle says in this chapter.
Let us first see what Divine love does not.
1) Love does not make you envious or Jealous.
2) Love does not make you boastful or proud.
3) Love does not make you to be puffed up or arrogant
4) Love does not seek its own (recognition).
5) Love does not make you provoked (irritated.)
6) Love does not make you think evil about others.
7) Love does not make you rejoice over iniquity or Love does not make guiltless when you sin.
Now, let us see what Divine Love does to us when we have it:
1) Love makes us rejoice in truth or the Word.
2) Love enables us to bear all things, even upheavals
3) Love makes us believe in all spiritual things.
4) Love makes us hopeful for all things
5) Love enables us to endure all things.
6) Love makes us suffer long and makes kind.
Therefore, we understand that ‘love’ is not just a fleeting feeling or not even being good; it’s more than giving others a helping hand. It is all about possessing the Lord Jesus Christ (the epitome of love) in your heart, do you have him?
Reformed Baptist Church, VNK.

“Therefore brethren flee from Idolatry.”

‘Idolatry’ has been a problem since the beginning of Adam & Eve’s fall. According to popular belief ‘polytheism’ evolved to become ‘Monotheism’, but the Bible challenges that right in the beginning that ‘God’ created everything. And therefore, it starts with ‘God’ in the Bible. It is interesting to notice that all the nations surrounded ‘Israel’ were ‘Idolaters’. ‘Israel’ was called to worship the true God when everybody was lost in ‘Idolatry’. Has ‘Israel’ lived up to God’s expectations? No. Time and again ‘Israel’ failed to keep God’s commandments which in turn had to pay the price. Should this not become a lesson for us as well?  

           

The very first commandment given to Israelites was ’I am the Lord your God ….,you shall have no other gods before me…shall not make any image or any likeness of anything ….in heaven above…in the earth ..or in the water…..for I the Lord your God is a jealous God..” (Exo 20:2-5)

Having heard, seen and witnessed God’s commandments and His miraculous power, people kept humiliating him by the acts their ‘Idolatry’. (Romans 1: 21- 25).

Coming back to 1^st Corinthians 10:14;

The Apostle reminds them that ’Idolatry’ is dangerous.  Many mighty had fallen thinking that they were God’s own children.

What does ‘idolatry’ does to a person?

1)     It turned the ‘Israelites’ to commit several sins like

a)     Adultery & fornication b) tempting their leader and murmuring against God (1 Cor 10:6-10).

b)     And the reward for doing this was ‘DEATH’. (1 Cor 10:8,Rom 6:23)

And the Apostle reminds the Corinthians not to feel secured or self-confident.

Keeping the dangers that are there by committing the sin of ‘Idolatry’, the Apostle warns the Corinthians to be extra careful.

What is an Idol? An ‘Idol’ is an object of worship; when something or somebody becomes the object of worship, it becomes an ‘Idol’. So it is not just linked with ‘Images’.

What is there right in the centre of your heart becomes your object of worship.

Resisting Temptations and enduring trials (1 Cor10: 13)

                          1st Corinthians 10: 13                                     20/9/2010.

“ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man: God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to, but with temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

First of all , let us know what temptation is?

Temptation (noun) or enticement means an attraction towards evil things or sinful things. But in this context, it is more appropriate to understand the word as ‘test’ or  ‘trial’.

What does temptation do in lives?

It overtakes us; it takes us into its control. Once we succumbed to it, we will become slaves to it. It is sort of a circle that we cannot come out easily.

Life is full of temptations. ‘Temptation’ is not only linked with ‘seduction’ (which is common nowadays) but also means various things.

For ex: you are tempted to be angry, you are tempted to feel like taking revenge, you are tempted to feel jealousy etc.

Now, where does ‘temptation’ come from?

First of all, God is neither the author of evil nor temptation. (James 1: 13)

Our heart is the ultimate source of temptation (Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7: 21)

So we are ultimately responsible when we are tempted, it is our fault; the problem lies within us not with God.

Ex: If we were to assume our heart a television & some ‘temptation’ the remote control, the TV would get switched on immediately when we switch on the ‘remote’. There is an undeniable connection lies in here. It’s not that all that is in this world is bad but it all depends on how we look at things; our ‘point of view’. Sadly, the fact is most of the time, the way we view things in things in things in this world tarnished with sin inside our hearts.

James says ‘temptation’ will turn into ‘sin’ and ‘sin’ will eventually bring forth ‘death’. (James 1:15, Rom 6: 23).

What about tests or trials?

In this context, ‘temptation’ can also mean ‘test and trials’ and that God will not send trials beyond our capacity.

Trials are meant to grow in God spiritually. Suffering is necessary in Christian’s life but it should be God-given not self-inflicted. (James 1: 12)

What is God’s promise?

God will neither tempt us nor will send trials which are beyond our capacity. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

He provides the way to escape.

There is a crown of life for one who endures trials and temptations. (James 1:12)

What is our duty?

We must resist ‘temptation’ and endure ‘trails’.

Let us not be overconfident but may ‘confidence’ in Christ grow day by day.

Let us beware that life is not without temptations or trials.

Father's love on a Prodigal Son like me!! (Luke 15: 11-23)

The Son made his way out of his father's beautiful country into an unkonown one. There, he spent all that he got in "loose living" (RSV), which means he led an exciting and thrilling and adventurous life which was perfectly acceptable with the world. By the way, how many of you think that 'sinful life' is not exciting? Exactly the opposite is the truth, sinful life is always exciting which people always look forward to. It is 'exciting', but it is 'transcinet' just like 'vapour', it is there for a moment and vanishes within no time. But the problem occurs when we do not have strength to resist the so called 'transcinet temptation'. Instead of resisting it, we embrace it because we do not have the strength to fight against it. Eventually the so called 'Transcient Temptation' becomes a 'Permanant Temptation'; unless God gives the strength, we cannot leave it just because it is too sweet to leave. In addition to that, our guilt piles up!! May God be our help to resist the tempatation and to deliver us from evil. The reason for this is because, we have run away from the 'Father', had we been with the him, he would have come to our rescue, now, who is going to bother? who will come to our aid? The fact is no one. Frankly speaking, why should anybody spend a  second for you when you never had time  for anybody in the past? People always do 'tit for tat' but priase God that He never doest that. Remember, Father didn't leave the son, it was his own decision to go away.

The son lost all that he got, and remained there all alone! What a tragedy, all alone by himself!! But that's a good one as God orchestrates all things well in advance. It was God's plan that he should be alone. It is good to be alone. Not many knows what it means to be alone with God. We live in a nation where lonliness is out of question with small houses crammed with people, even though it is not an excuse to be with God, but it is a fact, where there is a will, there is a way. Now, my friend, take a minute and reflect on your life; where are you standing in the light of God? Get away from people and pray to God to be reconciled!! I will come back to the story in my next post, God willing.