Day #220: I Timothy 3:1

Background:
Continuing his instructions on how the church should conduct itself, Paul turned to the crucial matter of leadership qualifications. He wanted to encourage respect for the congregation’s leaders, so he cited what was apparently a familiar maxim and commended it as a sound one. Two implications emerge: First it is valid to aspire to church leadership, and second, church leadership is a noble task. The term overseer (episkopos), sometimes translated “bishop,” is only one of several words used in the New Testament to describe church leaders. “Elders” (presbyteroi) is by far the most common. Other terms such as “rulers” (proistamenoi, Rom. 12:8; 1 Thes. 5:12), “leaders” (hēgoumenois, Heb. 13:17) and “pastors” (poimenas, Eph. 4:11) are also used. Though each of these terms may describe a different facet of leadership, they all seem to be used interchangeably in the New Testament to designate the same office. This office is different from that of deacons.

So What? (What will I do with what I read today?)

The Apostle Paul commends those who aspire to be elders. Paul is talking about ambition. Many believers cringe when they here that word, ambition. It makes us sound selfish and conceited. In fact Paul mentions ambition in another one of his letters.

Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

Paul tells us to do nothing out of selfish ambition. If your desire to eventually become an elder is for personal gain or recognition then you have it all wrong. Paul describes the role of an elder as a “noble task”. It is good to look to your elders, your pastors, and aspire to be like them because they are performing a noble task. Listen to what Hebrews says,

Hebrews 13:7 (NIV)
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

The author of Hebrews tells us to imitate their faith. It is a good thing to aspire to become an elder because if any us want that, we have to grow and mature. Our relationship with Christ must flourish. If everyone in the church aspired to become an elder we would have a church hungry for growth. People immersed in the word, faithful in prayer and tithing. We would have people serving in children’s ministry, student ministry, men’s or women’s ministry. You name the ministry and people would be plugged into serve. Over the next couple of days we are going to define the roles and qualifications of elders and deacons but the challenge for all that read this blog today, if you aspire to be an elders are you willing to pay the price. To obey God’s Word. To faithfully read, pray, serve and tithe.

Make It Happen!
This is Pastor Matt. I will be writing the blog this week.

Day #219: 1 Peter 1:23-25

BACKGROUND:

Peter gave another reason to love others: Believers have a common ground in Christ. We have all been born again; we are sinners saved by grace. Our new life did not come from our earthly parents; that life will one day end in death. Our new life will last forever because it was given to us by the eternal, living word of God. God’s word lives and endures forever, because God who gave it lives and endures from eternity past to eternity future. The powerful, living word of God himself, recorded in Scripture, brings new life to believers; the eternal word of God himself assures the permanence of that new life. It is only through hearing and/or reading these words that people can find eternal life, for the Scriptures tell the gospel message and make the way of salvation clear to those who seek it.

Quoting the prophet, Isaiah 40:6-8, Peter reminded believers that everything in this life—possessions, accomplishments, people—will eventually fade away and disappear. As the grass and wildflowers bloom for a season then wither and fall, so all of this life is transitory in nature; it will pass away. Only the word of the Lord will last forever. Peter’s readers would face suffering and persecution, but that would be only temporary. The word of the Lord was the Good News that had been preached to them. That Good News is good for eternity.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

What kind of person is God looking for?
#6. GOD IS LOOKING FOR LOVING PEOPLE

This is the number one trait of the New Testament Christians. “See how they love one another.” 1 John 4:7-8 (Living Bible) “Let us practice loving each other. For love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God and that they are getting to know Him better. But if a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows He doesn’t know God. For God is love.”

People today are looking for love. Streisand sang it, “What the world needs now, is love sweet love.” I know where they can get it. The Beetles used to sing, “All the lonely people where do they all come from. All the lonely people where do they all belong.” When I stand out and hug people on the patio I often wonder, How long does that hug have to last for that person? For some people that’s the only physical contact they get all week. I’ve often thought of going into full time Christian hugging. It would be a legitimate ministry. We’ve lost the element of love when we get too busy. I may do 120 Bible studies and I may memorize entire books of the Bible. And I may know how to defend my faith and win people to Christ. And I may know all kinds of great theological truths but if I have not love I am as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.

Do you really love people? Do you love people the way that Jesus loves people? That is the basis for ministry. Somebody has said, “Sympathy is when you say, ‘I’m sorry you hurt.’ Empathy is when you say, ‘I hurt with you.’ But compassion is ‘I’ll do anything I can to stop your hurt.’” If you study the life of Christ it says “He was filled with compassion.” He said, “I’ll do anything I can to stop your hurt even if it means going to the cross. He was moved with compassion.

It’s interesting to me that in Matthew 25 the one thing that we’re going to be judged for at that judgment is how we treated other people. “I was sick and in prison and you visited Me. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was hungry and you fed Me. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink.” How we treated other people. That’s one of those eternal values.

It’s so much easier to tell a person what to do than to stand with them in their pain and love them. Love them into the family of God. But the language of love always works.

Many years ago, Fulton Sheen, the Catholic bishop, visited a leprosy colony in Africa. As he was walking around there was this leper lying on the ground who not only had leprosy but also a number of other skin diseases. His body was open sores all over. Fulton Sheen leaned over to talk to the man. He was wearing a crucifix and, as he did, the chain came unlatched and his cross fell into one of the open sores. Fulton Sheen said, “I was revolted and stepped back in horror.” Then he said, “Then all of a sudden I was just filled with compassion for this man. I reached into the sore and took up the cross.”

That is the whole business of Christianity. Healing broken messed up lives where people are bleeding and hurting and dying and their lives are messed up and they’re like sheep without a shepherd and they’re confused. What God needs you to do is go out into the sores of life, out into the marketplace and take up the cross. And you do that by love. And God uses people who love.

If I gave everything I have to the poor and were burned alive for preaching the Gospel but didn’t love others it would be of no value whatsoever.

Day #218: 1 Peter 1:22

BACKGROUND:

This is one of the strongest statements on brotherly love in the New Testament, for it virtually makes brotherly love the goal of our conversion. Peter expected that growth in purity and holiness would result in deeper love among Christians—not merely outward appearance or profession, but sincere love for Christian brothers and sisters. Despite our differences and disagreements, we can have sincere love for one another, and as we grow in holiness, we can learn to love each other intensely because of the Holy Spirit within us.

Such love is not possible in the world at large, for it doesn’t understand the love that results when people are cleansed from their sins and have accepted the truth of the Good News. This experience brings together even very different believers on the common ground of forgiveness in Christ and requires them to love one another as Christ loved them (John 13:34-35).


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

What kind of person is God looking for?
#5. GOD IS LOOKING FOR PERSISTENT PEOPLE

People that He can use in a tremendous way that never give up. They don’t get discouraged. They’re diligent, persistent, determined. They hang on. Paul says, I press on. I don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”

The Bible’s got a lot of examples of guys who had tremendous promise but copped out. Paul talks about Demus in 2 Timothy. He said “He has forsaken me having loved the world.” He started off right but he flamed out. John Mark started out right. He was going with Paul and Barnabus but he copped out. Later he got back on the right road. God uses people who don’t give up and who are persistent.

D. L. Moody said, “I’ve never known God to use a discouraged person.” When you’re being discouraged it’s because you’re choosing to be discouraged. You’re looking at the problem, rather than looking at the Lord. You’ve heard me say before, you don’t determine a person’s greatness by his talent or wealth but what it takes to discourage him. God will never put more on you than He puts in you to bear it up. So you trust Him. Sometimes you can put more on yourself.

Paul’s secret of usefulness was that nothing could discourage him. God uses people who are persistent. “We are pressed on every side by troubles but are not crushed or broken. We’re perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down but God never abandons us. We are knocked down but we get up again and keep going.” That’s why Paul was a great person. He just kept on keeping on.

What does it take to discourage you? One little word of criticism and you’re ready to give up? I read a study that said the average pastor leaves the church because of five people. If I left every time I got criticized…... I'd have run out of churches to pastor. You have to say, “Lord, give me a tough skin and a tender heart” It’s important to have both. If you’re going to be a leader, if you’re going to be a minister, if you’re going to serve Jesus Christ, if you're going to be a person that God uses - you need a tough skin and a tender heart. It’s hard to keep that balance, but you need them both. You cannot live your life for the approval of other people.

God says, I’m looking for persistent people. Christians should never let troubles get them down except down on their knees. A great person is just an ordinary person who has an extraordinary amount of determination. Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.”

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #217: 1 Peter 1:17-21

BACKGROUND:


When God judges, he has no favorites. Just as these believers constantly called on God for help because they knew he loved them, they should also be careful how they lived: Live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. Reverent fear is not the fear of a slave for a ruthless master, but the healthy and fervent respect of a believer for the all-powerful God.

In Old Testament times, a person’s debts could result in that person’s being sold as a slave. The next of kin could ransom the slave (buy his or her freedom), a transaction involving money or valuables of some kind. However, silver and gold can do nothing to change anyone’s spiritual condition. No amount of money can buy our salvation. It has to be done God’s way, not with money, but with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. That God paid a ransom to save us means that he paid the price to set sinners free from slavery to sin. Christ paid the debt we owed for violating the righteous demands of the law. Christ purchased our freedom, and it cost him his own life. Only the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross was effective atonement for our sins. The Old Testament saints sacrificed lambs in order to atone for their sins, but New Testament believers have had their sins covered by the blood of the sinless Savior.


Christ’s sacrifice for the world’s sins was not an afterthought, not something God decided to do when the world spun out of control. This plan was set in motion by the all-knowing, eternal God long before the world began. In eternity past, God chose his people and planned that Christ would redeem them. Christ has always existed with God (John 1:1), but had been sent to the earth for all to see. The redemption God accomplished for believers through Christ—not understood even by the prophets who wrote about them —should cause us to be even more concerned to live according to his high moral standards. Peter’s words, he did this for you, provided an intensely personal note, encouraging his readers that Christ’s coming and the entire plan of salvation are for individual believers, loved and chosen by God.

It is through Christ that believers have come to trust in God. The fact that God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory is the foundation for our faith and hope for two reasons: (1) through Christ’s resurrection and glorification, God openly declares that he has accepted Christ as our righteous substitute, thereby giving us access to God; (2) through Christ’s resurrection and glorification, believers can receive power from the Holy Spirit. The power that resurrected and glorified Christ is the same power that enables us to believe. Because Christ ransomed us, we must no longer fear God and face his judgment; instead, we set our faith and hope confidently in God, trusting in the one who planned our salvation from eternity past. As God raised Christ from the dead, we believe and expect that he will also raise us.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read?)

What kind or person is God looking for?
#4. GOD IS LOOKING FOR FORESIGHTED PEOPLE.

That means people who not only believe but they look toward the future. God is doing what you expect in your life and He’s doing what you have your eyes on. God says, I want to use people who have their eyes on eternity, having eternal values. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above not on things that are on the earth.” Living Bible: “Let heaven fills your thoughts. Don’t spend your time worrying about things down here.”

Some people say, “He’s so heavenly minded he’s no earthly good.” That can be true, but I also know people who are so earthly minded they’re no heavenly good. Have your values right. Take the long look. Have perspective. Live your life in light of eternity. I think the message that needs to be heard today by the Christian church Is there is more to life than just here and now. Most people are only interested in what Christ can do for them here and now. There is more to it than just here and now. If we’d just wake up to that! “Set your affections on things above. Lay not up for yourselves treasure on earth.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,“Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.”

That last sentence tells us exactly why Jesus was able to go to the cross. It says He had a greater perspective. He looked for the joy set before Him. He looked beyond the cross and could see the glory on the other side. So He went through the problem because He had perspective. He was foresighted.

The tragedy is that most Christians are spending all their time and all their money and all their energy and all their effort on things that are going to burn up at the judgment. They’re not going to last. Cars, stereos, nice clothes, vacation homes,etc.. aren’t bad but I’ve seen so many times people put on the shelf because they become preoccupied with the present. I hope you’ll take seriously about figuring out what is going to last. God’s word is going to last. “Heaven and earth shall pass away but My word shall never pass away.” We build our lives on God’s word. The Bible tells us that Faith, hope, and love are going to last so we build our lives on faith, hope and love. We know people are going to last one of two places – heaven or hell. Where I spend my time now may determine where they spend their eternity. We know that prayer is going to last. Revelation 5:8 says that the prayers of saints are stored up in vials in heaven. The Bible says God hears the prayers. There are prayers being answered today that were prayed 100 years ago.

God is looking for people who have their priorities right. They’re foresighted and they seek first the kingdom of God. I really believe that Jesus, since He was perfect, never wasted a second. He knew when to relax. He knew when to have fun. He knew when to be serious. He was perfectly balanced. He knew when to be intense. He knew when to lighten up. When Jesus was twelve years old, His first recorded statement is, “I must be about My Father’s business.” I don’t know many twelve year olds who have figured out their life purpose. But at twelve years old He said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” When He dies on the cross the next to the last words are “It is finished.” Not “I’m finished” but “It is finished.” What? The Father’s business. Bookends on His life. That’s what I call a successful life. He was looking farsighted. He had a clear purpose. Some things are not necessarily wrong, they’re just not necessary. We need to know what matters.

Day #216: 1 Peter 1:13-16

BACKGROUND:

Because the prophets had foretold the great privileges of the gospel and, with even the angels, long to understand them better, believers should show the same kind of earnest and alert concern regarding the way they live.

To lead holy lives in an evil world, the believers would need a new mind-set. They also needed to monitor and restrain their sexual and material desires, anger, and words. Exercise self-control is also translated “discipline yourselves.” Peter wanted the believers to remember that as they lived in the world, they needed to keep full possession of their minds and bodies so as not to be enticed away from God.

Peter begins a series of moral commands that stretch throughout the rest of his letter. In a few words, Peter explained how believers can reflect God’s character and priorities and follow God’s commands. As they look forward to the special blessings that will come, they will be encouraged to change their mind-sets to be in line with God’s plans for them, to change their lifestyles to glorify God, and to persevere during difficulties and persecutions.

All believers are God’s children. As such, we are to obey God. Believers ought not live in the same manner that they lived before they were saved. At that time, they didn’t know any better, but now they should not slip back into their old ways of doing evil. The evil desires still exist, but believers have a new goal for their lives. They must break with the past and depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to help them overcome evil desires and obey God.


Believers should be set apart and different because of God’s qualities in their lives. Our focus and priorities must be his. We have already been declared holy because of our faith in Christ, but we must work out that divine family likeness in our day-by-day walk, behavior, and conduct. We cannot become holy on our own, but God gives us his Holy Spirit to help us. We will not achieve perfect holiness in this life; Peter’s words mean that all parts of our lives and character should be in the process of becoming conformed, both inwardly and outwardly, to God’s holy standards.



SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

What kind of people is God looking for today?
#3. GOD IS LOOKING FOR BELIEVING PEOPLE

People of faith. People who believe God’s word and they act on it. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Romans 14:23 says, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” So obviously God uses people of faith.

What have you done so far this week that didn’t require faith? I did a lot. And the Bible says whatever is not of faith is sin. If you don’t do it in faith, it’s wrong. God is looking for people who believe Him. We limit God so much by our unbelief. Most of us have a faith that tries God rather than trusts God. You’ve never really believed God until you’ve attempted something in your life and ministry that can’t be done in the power of the flesh.

What is it that is about your life or ministry or marriage or family that cannot be explained except “God did it!” The way you live by faith is that you take risks. You step out on a limb. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat if Christ is your captain. Step out and do things that you think, “There’s no way I can do this.”

William Carey, the first modern mission, his famous motto was “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.” Expect and attempt. God doesn’t sponsor flops. He knew he had a big God. He believed in a big God and he said, “I let the size of my God determine the size of my goal.” God’s given us tremendous power but we limit Him so much.

What are you believing God for in your life? Your ministry? Youir marriage? You kids? Your church? What are you believing God to do in your family in the next six months? What are you believing God to do in your finances? He does what you expect Him to do. “According to your faith it will be done unto you.” God looks for believing people.God uses believing people.

Day #215: 1 Peter 1:10-12

BACKGROUND:

This salvation, now so clear to those who believe, had been a mystery to the Old Testament prophets who wrote about it through the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ, but wanted to know more about it. The prophets were amazed by the prophecies God gave them. They had many questions, and they wondered what was meant by Christ’s suffering. Peter was saying, “How can you be discouraged? Don’t you realize that you have seen the fulfillment of all the prophets’ yearning?” Jesus once said to his listeners, “Many prophets and godly people have longed to see and hear what you have seen and heard, but they could not” (Matthew 13:17).

The believers of Peter’s day (as well as believers today) had the privilege of understanding the prophets’ writings better than the prophets themselves had understood them. All of those prophets’ predictions regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ had been completely fulfilled. Other prophecies concerning the end times are being or are yet to be fulfilled.

The Spirit revealed to the prophets that the prophecies would not happen during their lifetime. The prophets had the great honor of having Christ’s Spirit speak through them, but the privileges of our understanding are even greater and should move us to an even deeper commitment to Christ.

All the experiences regarding the coming salvation that the prophets had so wanted to see and hear have now been announced by those who preached the Good News. As the Spirit inspired the prophets, so he inspired the apostles and missionaries in the first century. This is all so wonderful that even the angels are watching these events unfold. Angels are spiritual beings created by God who help carry out his work on earth. Just as the prophets could not understand or experience the coming salvation and grace because it would occur after their lifetimes, neither can the angels understand or experience it because they are spiritual beings who do not need the blood of Christ to save them.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)

What kind of people is God looking for so He can use?
#2. GOD IS LOOKING FOR SURRENDERED PEOPLE.

Richard Baxter said “A surrendered life in the hands of a holy God is a fearful thing.” God is looking for surrendered or submissive people. The Bible word for “surrender” when we surrender our total selves to God is the word is the word “broken” or “brokenness”. God uses broken things, broken vessels because that represents something totally surrendered to God. It was a divine principle.

When Jesus fed the 5000 it says He took the bread, He broke it, He blessed it and then He used it. That is a divine principle that we see all through scripture. God takes us, He breaks us, He blesses us and then He uses us. So the principle of brokenness is the principle of total surrender to God, where we say, “God, whatever You want, that’s what I want to do with my life. Whatever you want me to do.” In Psalm 51:17 David says, ”It is a broken spirit You want, remorse and repentance. A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not ignore.” Jeremiah 4:3 says, “Plow up the hardness of your heart otherwise the good seed will be wasted among the thorns.” God uses broken things.

The story of Gideon in the Old Testament, God said, “I want 300 of you to go out against 450,000 enemies,” – not very good odds. He said, “Surround the camp and take three items for warfare – a trumpet, a lit torch, and a clay pot to go over the torch to hide the fire.” They went out and surrounded the camp at night. When God said Go! they blew the trumpets, they broke the pots, the light shown out and caused mass confusion among the enemy. They began killing off themselves and God gave a tremendous victory to Gideon and his band of 300.

What would have happened if the pots had not been broken? There would have been no victory. But when the pots were broken the light shown out. Then they got victory.

When our lives are broken before the Lord, the light is able to shine out in our lives. Light, when it’s broken, fractured, makes a many-colored rainbow. That’s what happens in our lives. Our lives take on new meaning and new color and new vitality when we are fully surrendered to God.

Jesus is the supreme example of this. Luke 22:42 says, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. But not My will but Your’s be done.” When Jesus looked at the cup, He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the New Testament, “cup” always represents suffering. The cup of suffering. When Jesus looked into that cup, He saw every sin ever committed – that I ever committed, will ever commit, every sin you’ve ever committed. He saw every income tax cheated on, every adultery, every dishonesty, every lie, every murder, every rape. He looks at that and realizes that He’s going to take the blame for all those things on His life. He looks into that cup of suffering and says, “Father, if it is possible take this cup away from Me. But nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done.” That’s surrender. That’s total submission.

I want to say to you that God cannot use you to your fullest extent until you come to your own personal Gethsemane. You come to the point in your life where you say, “Father, not my will, not my ambition, not my desire, but Thine be done.” When you do that, God will do all kinds of amazing things in your life. When we’re broken of our self-will and our self-dependency, David said “A broken and contrite heart, You God will not ignore.”

What do we need a broken heart for? We need a broken heart over what’s happening in the world. Bob Pierce, who founded World Vision, used to say, “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” We need to be broken over a lost and dying world.


This point of total surrender, this Gethsemane that I’m saying you need to come to, usually requires a crisis. You find Peter after his denial “Lord, I’ll never deny You!” and goes out and denies Christ three times before the rooster crows that morning. You find David after he has committed adultery with Bathsheba, a broken man, falling flat on his face before the Lord.

You see Samson after he’d finally given into the temptation, his hair is cut off, he’s a broken man strung between two pillars. Yet Samson’s greatest victory came after his brokenness. You wrestle with God the way Jacob did. The Bible says that Jacob wrestled with an angel all night and the Lord touched his hip, his thigh, and weakened it. And it says that for the rest of his life, Jacob walked with a limp after that. Why? In the first place, your thigh muscle is the strongest muscle in your body, the biggest and the strongest. God touched Jacob at his point of strength and made him weak there, so that the rest of his life he would walk with a limp. When you’ve gone through Gethsemane you’ll never walk the same again after that. You just aren’t the same.

God is looking for surrendered people. Will you be one of those people? I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

Day #214: 1 Peter 1:3-9

BACKGROUND:

Even as these believers faced persecution, they could remember God’s grace and continue to live as God desired.

Peter explained that, in spite of persecution and even violent death, God, in his mighty power, will protect them. The word translated protect is a military term used to refer to a garrison within a city (see also 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Jude 1:24). It’s an inner area of protection. No matter how the world persecuted or killed believers’ bodies, God was guarding their souls. Peter gave a double-locked security for believers.

First, the inheritance is protected (1:4); second, the believers are protected to receive that inheritance because they were trusting him. Believers have already received salvation through their acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior, but the fullness of that salvation, its complete rewards and blessings, will be revealed on the last day—that is, the judgment day of Christ. What has started will be fully disclosed when he returns.

Because of the promises of the inheritance, believers can be truly glad—referring to deep, spiritual joy. This type of rejoicing remains, unhindered and unchanged by what happens in this present life. Believers would have to endure many trials. When Peter wrote of trials, he meant the response of an unbelieving world to people of faith. Christians became the target of persecution for four main reasons: (1) They refused to worship the emperor as a god and thus were viewed as atheists and traitors. (2) They refused to worship at pagan temples, so business for these moneymaking enterprises dropped wherever Christianity took hold. (3) They didn’t support the Roman ideals of self, power, and conquest, and the Romans scorned the Christian ideal of self-sacrificing service. (4) They exposed and rejected the horrible immorality of pagan culture.

Grief and suffering do not happen without cause or reason. While it may never be clear to us, God must be trusted to carry out his purposes, even in times of trial. All believers face such trials when they let their lights shine into the darkness. We must accept trials as part of the refining process that burns away impurities and prepares us to meet Christ. Trials teach us patience (Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-3) and help us grow to be the people God wants. In comparison to the wonderful joy ahead, the trials last only for a while. Because of this they could rejoice, even as they suffered grief.

While God may have different purposes in the trials that face his people, one overriding result of all trials is clear: they test people’s faith, showing that it is strong and pure. To God, believers’ faith is more precious than mere gold, the most valuable and durable substance of the time.


How do trials prove the strength and purity of one’s faith? A person living a comfortable life may find it very easy to be a believer. But to keep one’s faith in the face of ridicule, slander, persecution, or even death proves the true value of that faith. Such faith results in praise and glory and honor bestowed upon the believers by God himself when Jesus Christ returns (is revealed) to judge the world and take believers home.

We, like Peter’s audience, have not ever seen Christ in the flesh, but one day our faith will be rewarded when Christ returns to take us home. On that day and for eternity, we shall see him face-to-face (Revelation 22:3-5). Until then, we live by faith, with hope and joy. This ought to give us glorious, inexpressible joy.



SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

What kind of people is God looking for?
#1. GOD IS LOOKING FOR HOLY PEOPLE.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men, to be holy for without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” That’s pretty clear. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. And this is sadly lacking today in our lives, this emphasis on holy living. God said, “Be ye holy even as I am holy.”

When the Holy Spirit comes into your life and fills you, what’s the primary characteristic? Some people would say you’d speak in tongues. No. Some people would say you’d feel a certain way. No. Some people would say when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit you have additional power. All of these things could be true but that’s not the primary characteristic.

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you want to be holy. That’s the major difference. You want to be holy. You want to be like God. If you’re going to be like God, if you’re going to be like Christ, you’ve got to learn to be holy.

What does it mean to be holy? Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord and who may stand in His holy place?He who has clean hands and a pure heart who does not lift up his soul unto an idol nor swear by what is false. He will receive the blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his savior.”

What he’s saying here is these are the characteristics of a person who gets blessed by God. Who gets to be that holy person? Who gets the blessing? He says there are four characteristics of holiness. If I were to ask you, “How many of you would like to receive the blessing of the Lord?” You’d all raise your hand. How do you have the blessing of the Lord? Four things:

You’ve got to have clean hands. Clean hands simply mean a clear conscious. I taught once on about tabernacle -as you go into the court, the first thing you do is wash your hands in the brazer laver, the brass washbasin. This symbolized the cleansing. The starting point to living a holy life is we must live a cleansed life. Does that mean perfect? No, because none of us are perfect. What it means is to keep short accounts with God.

1 John 1:9 says,“If we confess our sins He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So when I sin, I just say, “God, I was wrong. I confess it.” I keep short accounts with God, clean hands, a clear conscious. There is no power without a clear conscious. I saw a sign at a gas station that said, “A clean engine produces more power.” That’s true in your life too. So we must have clean hands.

The second thing we need is a pure heart. This is talking about motives, integrity. Clean hands means a clear conscious. Pure heart means integrity. Pure motives. God can do tremendous things through the person who doesn’t care who gets the credit. So we keep our motives pure before the Lord. We talk to Him in the private moments, not in front of other people, but in the private moments we say, “God, examine my heart and clear out the dross and make my motives pure before You.” There’s a verse in the King James, Jeremiah 48:10, it says, “Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully.” That means with mixed motives.

The third thing it says regarding holiness: “Does not life up his soul to an idol.” He’s talking about humility. Humility is the third characteristic of holiness. Pride goes before destruction. There is no sin God judges faster than the sin of pride. Pride was the sin that kicked Satan out of heaven. Pride was the sin that caused Pharaoh to loose his nation. Pride was the sin that Herod was stricken and died on the spot. So we have to be aware of the power of pride in our lives. The Bible says, “Before honor is humility.”

The fourth thing: “Nor swear by what is false.” Honesty. Even greater than that he’s talking about having right words, having holy language. We watch what we say. Psalm 39:1 says, “I said, I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin. I will put a muzzle on my mouth.” I’ve needed a muzzle on my mouth sometimes! One of the greatest areas where we sin is in talking too much. We don’t watch our words.

Did you know you loose spiritual power by talkativeness? It’s like a steam engine. If a steam engine is always letting off steam through the whistle, it builds up no power and it has nothing to move with. But if it stores up that steam, when it lets it loose it moves an engine. I remember my grandmother on my mom’s side never did talk a whole lot but when she talked, like E. F. Hutton, everybody listened. When she spoke, she had thought what she was going to say. The Bible says we’ll give an account for every idle word. The Bible says, “In the multitude of words there is sin.” Someone said some Christians are like old shoes: they’re all worn out except the tongue. I think we need to ask ourselves, “God, where do I need to watch my words?” Do I tend to share angry words? Sarcastic words? Put down words?

So to be holy we clear our conscious, we purify our motives, we live with integrity, we live in humility and we live in honesty watching our words. That’s what it means to be holy. And God uses holy people.

Ponder these things in your heart today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.