Verses that are two sides of the same coin

I have been thinking about two Bible verses that are related to each other, or as I titled the blog today: verses that are two sides of the same coin.  Never in my life have I identified so deeply with these two companion verses like I do at this season of my life.  The first verse is what Jesus said in John 15:5; “I am the vine; you are the branches.  He who abides in Me and I in Him bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.”

Some have balked at Jesus’ statement that without Him we are not able to do anything.  But stop and ponder this with me.  Jesus Christ is, as the Bible puts it, “in very nature God” (Philippians 2:5; NIV).  We are told in Colossians 1 that “all things were created through Him [Jesus] and for Him.” Jesus is the reason that you have breath in your lungs, and a heart that is beating.  The Bible says every time we wake up from the night’s sleep, it was God Himself who preserved us (Psalm 4:8).  The ultimate in irony is that a person can use their tongue to curse God and they are only able to do it because He has granted them life in the first place.  Jesus Christ has sustained you and me to this very day.  It’s true: without Jesus, we really can “do nothing.”

The other side of the coin for this subject matter is another phenomenal verse.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13; NKJV).  Right off the bat, I have to say that this verse has been misunderstood and misapplied over the years.  Well-meaning individuals have taken this verse out of its context and, in doing so, presented it in an erroneous way.  For example, I know of someone who quoted this verse to prove that she was going to have success with her business venture.  That’s not what the verse means.

 

You have to keep this verse in its context.  Philippians 4:12 says, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  [Verse 13] I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (ESV).  This verse is not saying, “If you can dream it, you can do it, because Christ will give you the strength to accomplish it.”  What it is saying is, “Whatever my lot in life happens to be, I can face it through the empowering of Jesus Christ.”  One version renders it, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.”  The Amplified Bible is also helpful: “I can do all things (which He has called me to do) through Him who strengthens and empowers me (to fulfill His purpose).”

In conclusion, let me share that the other day at church, we sang the song “Breathe” that has this song lyric in it: “I’m desperate for You and I’m lost without You.”  These words express the cry of my heart.  Without God, I am hopeless, helpless, and lost.  Without Him, I can do nothing.  But with Him, I know that whatever comes my way, I can face it with confidence and courage.  Not because of anything I have in and of myself, but because of the strength and power of Jesus Christ.  “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6; ESV).

Kevin

Like father, like son?

Last time, I shared a voice from the past with you.  Even though it was a sermon from 1997, Pastor Rick Ferguson had some timely truth for us.  Today, I want to dovetail off of one point that was made.  He mentioned that men are impacted by the godliness –or lack thereof – of their father.  It’s true. I thank God for the godly influence of my own parents; this is an incredible gift from Him that I don’t take for granted.  But, the truth is, there comes a point when the child must choose whether or not they want the faith of their parents for himself (or herself).  For instance, I think of how my dad, at a young age, chose to make Jesus his Lord and Savior rather than banking on the faith of his Christian parents.
 

I don’t know why this notion has been laid so heavily on my heart of late, but it has been, so let me just say this definitively: if you want to go to Heaven in your after-life, you cannot do so by relying on the righteousness of a godly parent, grandparent, Aunt/Uncle, and so on; you have to choose to put your faith in Jesus and His shed blood for your sin on the cross of Calvary.  You don’t enter Heaven’s gates by grabbing on to the coat tail of your devout father.  It simply doesn’t work that way. 

Conversely, if the influence and example of your parents has been anything but holy, understand that God may be asking you to be the trailblazer in your family.  He wants you to choose to follow, love, serve, and accept Him, no matter what your family has previously done.  The Bible says, “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.  The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20; ESV).  Amen belongs here!

If we are truly honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we are a sinner in need of a Savior.  The Bible says, “There is no one who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46; NKJV).  Proverbs 20:9 asks, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”  Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God.”  But God, in His great love, decided to bridge that separation or gap.  Isaiah 53:6 reads, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray…and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Jesus Christ, the One who is fully God and fully man, paid the price of your sin – and mine – on the cross. 

Adrian Rogers once said, “At the cross, sin was not overlooked.  Sin was atoned and paid for.  God’s greatest righteousness confronted man’s greatest wickedness, and righteousness won!”  Acts 10:43 states, “Everyone who believes in Him [Jesus] receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”  You can have a right relationship with God, through Jesus Christ; I pray that, if you’ve never commenced your relationship with the Lord that today would be your day.

Kevin

Applicable words from yesteryear

20 years ago today – 8/10/97 – Dr. Rick Ferguson delivered a powerful sermon entitled “Men Behaving Godly”.  After hearing it again recently, I was blown away by how relevant it is for us in 2017.  Frankly, I wish I could transcribe the entire sermon and share it with you, but I’ll just give you some highlights.

In the opening section, Pastor Rick said, “Being male today is not very popular or politically correct…in fact, there are some in our culture today who tell us that being a man is something to be ashamed of; that is a congenital condition that needs to be modified or corrected.  Husbands and fathers are not really important, we are told by some elements of society today.  There is a demonic conspiracy of immense proportions to neutralize the role of men in family, church, and society.  The politically correct thing to do is to be anti-male, and to be gender neutral today.  You understand that, don’t you?"

 

It is specifically the content in the last paragraph that I found so relevant and applicable for our world today.  Rick’s analysis of anti-manhood was true then, and it has only become more widespread 20 years later.  Is it a popular subject matter?  Is it easy for me to bring up now?  Of course not.  But Pastor Rick sounded an alarm 20 years ago, and even though he has been in Heaven for 15 of those years, that alarm still blares loudly today.

Rick went on to say, “I want to suggest that you, first of all, acknowledge the power of your influence, gentlemen…As a husband, you have a powerful influence on your wife.  I’m telling you, your wife’s happiness and emotional security rests almost entirely on you.  I believe that's what the Bible means when it says ‘the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church’ [Ephesians 5:23].  To be the ‘head of your wife’ does not mean that you are her boss, that you are her taskmaster, [or] that you are to rule over her like a tyrant.  To be ‘the head of your wife’ means you have the responsibility for her long-term wellbeing.”

“We must never forget that we are to love our wives ‘as Christ loved the church’ [Ephesians 5:25].”  Incidentally, let me throw in my two cents worth here. Ephesians 5:25 in its entirety reads, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her.”  Jesus literally gave His life for His bride.  Therefore, a husband should be willing to die for his wife, if necessary.

“And then for you fathers,” Pastor Rick continued, “You have a powerful influence on your children…I challenge you, read your Bibles, particularly in the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, see how often you find [men that] followed the pattern or the example of the fathers.  For instance, 2 Chronicles 17, the Bible says in verse 3, Jehoshaphat ‘walked in the ways of his father David, and sought not Baal.’  He followed the example of a godly father.  2 Chronicles 26:4: Uzziah ‘did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.’

“You can find others who followed the example of godless fathers and wicked men.  1 Kings 22, verse 52, Ahaziah ‘did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in ways of his father’, Ahab.  Jeremiah 9:14 says, ‘They walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baal, as their fathers taught them.’ “Some of you fellows need a wake-up call today.  Because the way you’re conducting your life has a domino effect beyond your life, to the next generation, to the next generation.  I wish you men could be a pastor for just one week, one day, one hour, and see…how men and women are affected by the godlessness or godliness of their fathers.”

As I conclude, I want you to understand that I am acutely aware that we have covered some difficult subjects today.  You don’t post a blog like this one thoughtlessly, believe me.  To be candid, I have felt the weight of this blog content bear down heavily on my shoulders.  I struggled with whether I should throw in some jokes or something to make this a little less intense.  But, beloved readers, truth is truth, even if it is hard truth.  I just pray that the Lord would give us men ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts inspired to step up and obey God.

Kevin