Lessons for Living (Audio)

Just like today, the Christ followers of Paul’s time needed to know that they were being obedient to God’s will. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have easy written access to God’s direction. Fortunately for them, however, they had the apostle Paul. As he and other of the New Testament authors wrote their letters, these provided instruction to the church assemblies of that day. Pastor Mark is reminding us that just as Paul’s various letters were inspired by God and used to bring maturity to the disciples of that day, those same letters will help us mature as well – if we make use of them.

We all know people who have died and we are pretty sure they never made a commitment to follow Jesus. It’s saddening and sobering at the same time. We just never know when our time will be up. The Bible over and over warns us that tomorrow isn’t promised to us, and we shouldn’t expect to be on this earth beyond today. In Pastor Mark’s teaching he tries to make the point that today is the day of salvation. This is why it’s so important that we convey with urgency our friends’ and families’ need to turn to Jesus; nobody knows when their very last chance will come.

Everybody likes to get something for nothing, right? What’s even better, though, is when we work hard and are rewarded for that. Well, God has promised rewards for Christ followers, too. To receive His reward requires that we do work for His kingdom. Pastor Mark reminds us that this reward is not our salvation; we have that already. The reward the apostle Paul refers to in our passage will be a result of our obedience to God, trying to do what He has told us to do. That involves our listening to His words to us and then to trust Him to give us the strength to do the work He’s given us to do.

It’s so wonderful to have the knowledge of being redeemed. Being free from the grip of sin and knowing there’s a better way to live – wonderful!

God has created us with the need to get into a closer relationship with Him. As Pastor Mark is teaching, staying at the beginning of our journey as Christ followers isn’t what God intended. He wants us to grow and mature; it’s the only way to stay out of the clutches of our old way of life. It’s also the only way to be useful to God. We need to reach out and touch others with God’s love so they will have a chance to know Him, too.

When we receive Christ, things are changed, for sure. The weight of guilt has been removed, we become aware of God’s love for us, and our outlook on life changes for the better. What we don’t get told many times is that this new life is just beginning and that we’re going to be challenged to allow God to change us. Pastor Mark is teaching about our need to learn to trust God more and more and in greater ways. We don’t have to guess about the major things because He’s given us direction in the Bible. As we learn to trust and obey, we will know His peace in increasing amounts.

One of the hard things about being a Christ follower is the whole faith thing. God asks us to believe a thing’s happened before we see the evidence of it. That’s the opposite of how the natural man thinks and operates. Pastor Mark is reminding us of this contradiction because it works the same way with hearing direction from God. We have to trust God that He will give us an answer and that whatever the answer is that it will turn out for our best. That’s a really tough attitude to embrace but the rewards of obedience to God far outweigh the fears we might have.

When we consider taking someone’s advice, we usually do so only after evaluating what that person has to say. Are they known for giving good recommendations, or poor ones? In the same way, deciding to trust God should be based on finding out what we can about His character. Pastor Mark, in his teaching, is telling us that we can know God’s character as well as His desire for our lives by reading His communication to us, the Bible. When we do that it becomes clear that He, Who knows everything, knows what’s best for us and wants to show us the path to achieving that goal.

One of the problems we have is that we want to do what we want to do. That began with Adam and Eve and continues to this day. Even after we come to Christ we struggle with wanting our will rather than what God wants us to do. The reason we fail many times when choosing our way, Pastor Mark teaches, is that we don’t have the big picture of our life – God does. God, in His mercy, will allow us to fail until we realize that He knows better than we do. When we trust Him with our lives, really trust Him, He is free to bless us the way He always intended to and we get to be used to advance His kingdom.

If someone told you that God speaks to them, how would you respond? Would you run away? Look at them like they were crazy (and maybe think they were crazy)? Or say, “God speaks to me, too.” Pastor Mark, in his teaching, is illustrating the ways that scripture tells us that God wants to speak to us. God wants to help us navigate our chaotic lives and to give us wisdom in our decision-making. Because He knows the future as well as the best route for us to take, choosing to continue to chart our own course will only lead to further frustration and incomplete living.

We all want to live our lives the best way we can. We generally realize that we don’t have all the answers, although we’d like to find the source of those answers, wherever they are. What’s amazing is that for many of us the repository of solutions and direction sits right in front of us – the Bible. Pastor Mark’s teaching will remind us that God wants us to live successful lives, as He defines success, and that He wants to provide answers for us. The challenge for us is to become humble enough to seek God’s answers, trusting that He knows what’s best for us whether we understand that or not.