A Reject in the Hands of the Master

Posted on February 17, 2020 by drgause@agause.com

For over 50 years, one after another rejected the material developers had provided and abandoned the project. Each claimed it was poor quality, flawed, full of cracks, and damaged from previous efforts. Then came a young artist. In the scrapyard, he examined a piece of leftover stone from a long-running decorative project. In this rejected block of marble, Michelangelo saw a figure. The next day he began extracting the statue of David chipping away everything that didn’t belong. Today, artists consider it “one of art history’s major masterpieces”, “the most renowned sculptures in the world”, and “the most recognizable statues in the entire world of art”. After years of rejection, in the hands of a master, this piece of marble became “the masterpiece of Renaissance”.

This is what a man accomplished. Think of what God can do with us. For we are God’s workmanship (Eph 2:10). It doesn’t matter who has rejected us or for how long. Yes, we are flawed and poor quality in the eyes of the world. But God sees in us a masterpiece. Through Christ, He understands rejection. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all-all but the sin (Heb 4:15 MSG) Jesus prepared His disciples for what would happen to Him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed (Mk 8:31).

Later He told them, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone (Mat 21:42). The world rejected Him; the Father made Him the chief cornerstone of the Church. A cornerstone in ancient construction served as the foundation and standard upon which builders constructed the structure. The building would conform to the angles and size of the cornerstone. If removed, the building would collapse. Christ is the cornerstone of the building of believers. Without Him, everything will collapse.

Isaiah in chapter 53 prophesied what Jesus would experience for us and in our place. Verse 3 says, He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. One aspect of Bible study goes beyond merely reading. Stop and imagine yourself experiencing what the writer is describing. Get into the mind of the character. From this verse, think of how you feel when people reject you? The word for rejection means to disapprove or declare useless because after testing you didn’t meet their specifications. Jesus didn’t meet the standards the elders and the chief priests and the scribes had for the Messiah. If that were you, what would your emotions be and how would it affect your self-image? Rejections for us can begin on the playground when no one will choose you to play baseball. Friends reject us. Spouses, family, and employers join the list because we don’t meet their expectations.

Rejection hurts, but Jesus identifies with us and understands. If rejection weren’t painful enough Isaiah adds, He would be despised. Rejection means others refuse to accept Jesus. Despised intensifies rejection to the point others regarded Him with contempt and scorn. The religious rulers not only rejected Him and His teaching, they hated Him. Imagine or remember how you felt when someone despised you. The Message Bible captures the pain He experienced. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum (v3). Why did Jesus do this? So, He could sympathize with our weaknesses and we can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:15, 16).

Maybe others have discarded you to the scrap yard. One after another people reject you as useless because you don’t meet their expectations. When others see you, they turn and walk in another direction. Yet, remember this, God never looks away. Maybe you have given up and see yourself as leftover junk. He sees what He needs to clip away that doesn’t belong.  As a woodcarver, some of the best items I have carved came from wood on a scrap pile or laying in the woods rotting. Some of my best students were looked at as hopeless. Others saw an ugly flower bud, but I saw in them a beautiful rose that needed help to blossom. One difference we have that a block of marble doesn’t; we have a free will to choose. The Master is looking down on rejected people waiting for them to make a choice and allow the Holy Spirit to begin work and bring out a masterpiece. A block of rejected marble in the hands of the master became the world’s greatest sculpture; Jesus, the most rejected man in history by His peers, the nation, and the world He had created became the chief cornerstone. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him (Jn 1:11 NLT).

Sustaining Word for the Week: Are you a reject? What will you become in the Hands of the Master? He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Eph 3:10 NIV).

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A Genuine Disciple

Posted on February 10, 2020 by drgause@agause.com

A high-school friend was torn between his family’s religious beliefs. His dad had been an avowed atheist since college. Yet his mom lived a devoted Christian life. He settled on calling himself an agnostic. This classmate became a respected medical doctor. Even though he still professed he was an agnostic, he told me he decided to attend church because it was good for his public image. Sad, but Jesus encountered those with this dishonest way of life. Nineteen times He called people hypocrites describing non-believers, pretending they were righteous and holy to be seen by men. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men (Matt 25:3). In particular, He condemned the Pharisees and Scribes for being hypocrites. They blew trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of generosity; they prayed in public places so that people could see them; and put on gloomy faces when they fasted so others would notice. Almost none of them accepted Jesus as the Messiah.

The Barna Group conducted an extensive research project asking non-Christians why they rejected Christianity; 85% responded that it was because the church was full of hypocrites. Several issues exist with this as an excuse. First, people who use this pretext don’t know the biblical meaning of the term ‘hypocrite’. They don’t understand what the church is about or comprehend the distinction between a hypocrite and a genuine disciple. The contemporary definition of a hypocrite and the Biblical meaning aren’t the same. Skeptics try to impose twenty-first century definitions on words in the Bible. The simplest biblical interpretation of hypocrisy is a religious performance to impress people. It is a non-believer pretending to live a virtuous and moral life in public without a change of their heart. Becoming a genuine disciple begins in the heart. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. (Mat 15:8 NIV). 

When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are born again, and He gives us a new spiritual heart. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Co 5:17). Jesus enrolls us in His school of discipleship, which means we become learners and will learn for the rest of lives. Graduation takes place in the final phase of salvation we call glorification. Then our perfecting will be complete. The dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1Co 15:52).  My students in Bible college sought to make perfect grades but often failed to reach their goal. That didn’t disqualify them as students; they kept trying. Born-again believers are disciples striving for perfection. We don’t consistently reach that goal.

John gave the process to follow after we fail. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1Jn 1:9). It doesn’t say confess our sins then chastise ourselves for several weeks attempting to add to Jesus’ finished work. No, after we confess our sin and He forgives us, we are to get up and continue striving for Christlikeness. That does not make the individual a hypocrite when he or she accepts God’s forgiveness and keeps going. A hypocrite is not a person who commits sin on occasions, but they practice sins on a routine basis and continue pretending they are perfect. A hypocrite has a terminal heart condition that requires a heart transplant. A genuine disciple who has a new heart may have a 24-hour bug but takes his medicine [i.e. repentance] and will try again tomorrow.

The church is supposed to be a hospital for spiritually sick people, not a gallery of perfect men and women. Those that use the excuse the church is filled with hypocrites must never go to the doctor or hospital because it is full of sick people. The church is a gathering of imperfect disciples seeking to become more perfect in their walk with Christ by learning, encouraging each other, and worshipping God who has accepted them.

Those who accuse true disciples with hypocrisy are the real hypocrites. They try to deflect attention from their own brokenness by pointing out a genuine disciple’s failure not understanding God has forgiven the disciple’s failure. Note other characteristics. A hypocrite is more concerned with correcting others than themselves. They are judgmental. Jesus is referring to hypocrites when teaching about judging others. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Mat 7:3, 5). A hypocrite overlooks all the righteous acts the person they are condemning has done. They should consider Peter who failed by cursing and vowing three times he did not know Jesus. Yet, fifty days later God anointed him to preach and 3000 came to Christ.

Are there hypocrites in the church? Yes, but the majority are genuine disciples. Most hypocrites are outside looking in.

Sustaining Word for the Week: Have you received Christ and become a genuine disciple? If you have been accused of being a hypocrite, rest in Christ’s finished work and keep going.

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Keeping in Step

Posted on February 3, 2020 by drgause@agause.com

On paper, it looks so simple. Enoch and Noah did it. They had only limited knowledge of the Lord—no Bible, no Gospels, no letters from Paul, no Psalms. In fact, they didn’t have the Law or Ten Commandments. Neither possessed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as believers today. The world around Noah had become so corrupt and violent the Lord told him, I am about to destroy them with the earth (Gen 6:13). Both men despite all that happened around them, walked with God. Enoch walked with God (5:22); Noah walked with God (6:9). The Bible uses the word ‘walk’ in the literal sense with the basic idea of movement, moving around with one’s feet. However, scripture more often applies it metaphorically. It refers to the way individuals live or conduct their life; it means to follow a certain course of life or to conduct oneself in a certain way. In the New Testament writers, many times employed the present tense to indicate a continual mode of conduct or behavior and not an intermittent surge.

John clearly states the way Christians should conduct their life. The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 Jn 2:6). In other words, walk or conduct your life as Jesus did. Paul adds, walk in a manner worthy of the calling (Eph 4:1); walk in love (5:2). These verses beg the question; how do we walk in this continual mode of behavior? You might be saying, “I’ve tried but failed.” The answer walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Gal 5:16). That is conduct your life by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and by the power He provides for us to live a Christlike life. Ok, that sounds simple, BUT. . .?

The struggle that believers encounter comes from their flesh also referred to as old nature, sinful nature, or old man. Jesus has given us a new nature or new man. Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Rom 8:4). This presents believers with a choice to either walk according to the flesh [the old nature]or according to the Spirit [the new nature] (8:4). Then why are many Christians not walking in their new nature? The Bible gives several reasons but at the top of the list is most often ignorance. The first instruction Paul writes to the Romans was for them to know; knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (6:6). You can be sure Satan does not want us to know and understand this chapter. We can better translate done away with as ‘render powerless’. The old nature is still with us but rendered powerless unless we reconnect it.

The world constantly presents us with three temptations to sin, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life (1 Jn 2:16). The serpent tempted Eve and Adam by these three means and the devil later tempted Jesus in the same manner. Adam and Eve chose to walk in darkness presented by Satan. Jesus chose to walk in the light of the Word. Jesus assured those who follow Him, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts . . .  but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God (Rom 6:12, 13).

Other issues that can hinder our walk with God come from people around us and even churches. Jesus warned the Pharisees and scribes they were walking according to the traditions of the elders. They neglected the commandments of God and held to the traditions of men. People pressure us to conform to their standards, insisting we adapt to social norms. To walk with the Lord requires that we not be conformed to this world. Paul chose an insightful word when he wrote Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25 NIV). Keep in step is a military word meaning, to walk orderly, to advance in rows or ranks. Another temptation is to get ahead of God or to lag behind. At some point, everyone thinks, “God is so slow” or “I’m tired and gonna stay here for a while and catch up later.” Walking with God is a continual step-by-step choice.

Walking with God doesn’t mean we never stumble or fail. Yet, we can rest assured if we fall He will pick us up, brush us off, and help us continue our spiritual journey. For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again (Pro 24:16 NIV). So how do we begin? An ancient Chinese proverb, which remains true today, said, The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Sustaining Word for the Week: The first step, choose to walk in the Spirit. He will guide you and give you the power to take the next step, and the next step, and next . . .

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Don’t Throw out the Good with the Bad

Posted on January 28, 2020 by drgause@agause.com

Power and authority are two topics which are challenging when we seek to establish a biblical understanding and balance. Scripture verifies that God has given spiritual power to believers and delegated authority for building His kingdom. But exactly what does that encompass? What does that mean for one’s daily walk? False teaching abounds about these subjects. Some teach that power and authority allows a believer to decree things over themselves as already done. E.g., someone claims they are healed while at the same time coughing and sneezing. Extremist contend Christians possess divine power to perform miracles, obtain wealth, live in health, and speak a new reality into existence.

Mature Christians who understand the Word, should recognize this as false doctrine and as an abusive distortion of Scripture. At the opposite end of imbalance are Christians who react to the false by ignoring or rejecting the power and authority the Holy Spirit has provided. As the proverbial saying cautions, ‘don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater’. Before looking at how we use our power and authority, we must understand the meaning of these two words.

Despite being similar in English, the Bible uses them as distinct terms. We can best sum up the definition of power with the synonym ‘ability’. Power is the ability to do, to act, or to be strong enough. We can define authority by the words ‘control’ or ‘rule’. It is the legal and formal right to exercise control and the privilege to use their delegated power. These two must work in unison. One without the other is meaningless and brings confusion.

All power and authority comes from a higher power and authority. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . (Mat 28:18). Jesus departing words at His ascension were but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth (Act 1:8). Neither power nor authority become our personal possession for our pleasure. God entrusted us with these and we must use them correctly because He holds us accountable. Jesus tells in the above scriptures their purpose; they are for going, making disciples, and for becoming His witnesses.

Foundational to living a victorious life and sharing the Gospel around the world begins by understanding our position in Christ Jesus. Our position in Christ is our legal standing with God. When we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), He raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:5, 6). The key phase is “in Christ” or “in Him.” Our position in Christ provides the power and authority to do His will. Note the position the Father has given Christ. God raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. . . (Eph 1:21). Believer in Christ are also far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.

Satan remains an intimidating force, but Christ has taken his authority. Through His death Christ has rendered the devil powerless who had the power of death (Heb 2:14). He had disarmed the rulers and authorities (Col 2:15). The devil may attack us and even knock us down but has no authority over us. We have authority to stand and resist him with the assurance he will flee. Resist the devil and he will flee from you [run away] (Jam 4:7). The church has the authority and power to raid Satan’s strongholds.

Scripture provides many references to the believer’s authority over Satan. Note several other areas where Christ gives us power and authority. We have the authority to become His children. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right (authority) to become children of God (Joh 1:12). Believers have the authority to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16). The Holy Spirit has given us powerful weapons: for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (2 Co 10:4). Peter says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3 NIV). In other words, by God’s power we have the power and authority to live godly lives.

Take this as an introduction and challenge to continue studying the power and authority you have in Christ.

Sustaining Word for the Week: The question you must ask, are you using the power and authority you have in Christ in a balanced way to live a victorious life and to spread the Gospel?

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