Say “NO”, so they may know..!!

Let’s read Genesis 39:9b, Daniel 3:16-18 & Matthew 4: 8-11 in tandem

Joseph said to Potiphar’s Wife - “….How then could I do such a wicked thing and SIN AGAINST GOD?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that WE WILL NEVER SERVE YOUR gods OR WORSHIP THE GOLD STATUE YOU HAVE SET UP.”

“….the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The former Prime Minister of UK Tony Blair once said this – “The art of leadership is saying NO, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.” This is true not only in leadership but also in any relationship. The mark of a true disciple of Christ is to have the unshaken willingness to say “NO” to sin, no matter how attractive or compulsive it may present itself to be. 

Joseph had everything going in his favour (read Genesis 39) till he faced a tricky challenge that demanded great levels of self-control to overcome sin. He was quick to respond, and respond the right way. He said “NO” being aware of the fact that he could lose everything he had, including his job. Although he did lose his job and spent a brief time in prison, the Lord was with him and gave him success in whatever he did and restored his good reputation.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (read Daniel 3) said “NO” to a man who was more powerful in stature than the likes of today’s Obamas. Eventually, King Nebuchadnezzar himself testified “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Jesus said “NO” to Satan and “YES” to His heavenly father AND SERVED HIM ONLY all the days of His earthly life. “Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honoured him far beyond anyone or anything” (Philippians 2:9MSG)

Are you ready to say “NO” to sin….ALWAYS..??

“CHRISTian” or “CHRISTfan”

Let’s read Matthew 14:20, 21 & Luke 14:26-30 in tandem

“They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children”

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

In Matthew chapter 14(v13-21), we read about the famous incident of “Jesus feeding the five thousand”. However, at the end of this passage (v21) we notice that “..The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children”. Hence, the actual number of those who ate may have possibly been anywhere between eight thousand to ten thousand. 

This is just one of the many instances when multitudes of people “followed” Jesus and “admired” Him for His compassionate personality, His mesmerising miracles and His comforting & uplifting sermons. Most of them were just “admirers” or “fans” of Jesus. But only a few, very few chose to be His disciples…!!

Even today “Jesus Christ” is being treated like any another celebrity by millions of people (including name-sake christians) around the world. They are nothing more than “emotional admirers”. They are not “CHRISTians”; they are just “fans” of Christ. The word “CHRISTIAN” means not just to be a “follower of Christ” but much more than that; it means to be “Christ-like”, to be “a reflection of Christ”, to be “an ambassador for Christ”.

Local/National or International celebrities around the world from any field (sports, entertainment, politics etc) do not expect you to first sit down and estimate the cost of being their follower. That is because they have a hunger for “admiration” and “fan-following”. But, Jesus says “..whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”. 

Jesus Christ came down to this world not to make mere “admirers” or “fans”; He came to make DISCIPLES who surrender their all to Him and for Him…!!

Did you ever sit down and estimate the cost of being a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ..??

GRACE and TRUTH – the awesome twosome..!!

Let’s read John 1: 14, 16-18; 2 Corinthians 12:9 & John 8:32 in tandem

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of GRACE and TRUTH. Out of his fullness we have all received GRACE in place of GRACE already given. For the law was given through Moses; GRACE and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known”

..he said to me, “My GRACE is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

“..you will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH will set you free.”

THE WORD, which is THE TRUTH, became a man. For this TRUTH-filled man to dwell in this sinful world and yet be sinless, He needed GRACE in its totality. And He sure was given GRACE (by the Father) to the fullest of proportion, because He chose to be the humblest of all…!

Satan is full of SIN because he is the epitome of PRIDE & CURSE. Jesus Christ is devoid of SIN because He is the epitome of HUMBLENESS & GRACE (read Philippians 2: 5-11 & James 4:6).

The LAW can be compared to a dog-leash which tried to pull man in the right direction but a resistance to this pull led to punishment and guilt. But, something more than The Law has been given to us through Jesus Christ. The TRUTH (The Word) sets us free from the obligatory force of Law . And GRACE empowers us to move in the right direction voluntarily & cheerfully.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7: 21-25a  “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;  but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Seek the all-powerful TRUTH (The Word) through faith and diligence to know Him; receive the all-sufficient GRACE through meekness and humility to live Him…!!

SHREWD AS A SNAKE; INNOCENT AS A DOVE…!!

Let’s read Proverbs 10:8 & Matthew 10: 16-20 in tandem

“The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin”

Jesus said - “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”

It is hard to find a true Christian whose favourite animal is the “snake”. This is because a true Christian would know that God had actually cursed the serpent (large snake) at the very beginning (read Gen 3:14). 

Then why is Jesus telling his disciples to be ..as shrewd as snakes…?

Being “SHREWD” means to have sharp powers of judgement. “ASTUTE” is another word for “SHREWD”, which means - having an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage.

 

So, does Jesus want His disciples to imitate Satan? Absolutely not! We are to be imitators of God (read Ephesians 5:1 NLT), not of Satan. Just being “shrewd” is a SIN, which is why Jesus did not stop His exhortation there; He continued to say that we are to be INNOCENT as doves at the same time..! Jesus showed in and through His life that these two (shrewdness and innocence) characteristics can be co-inhabited if they are correctly balanced by the wisdom of God. A classic example of Jesus being “Shrewd” (clever) and “Innocent” (harmless) at the same time is the incident of the Woman Caught in Adultery (read John 8:1-11).

A Christian’s primary function is to be a witness of Christ. Being a witness is not a cakewalk. It requires wisdom, humbleness and most importantly love. As witnesses of Christ you and I may be “arrested” (cornered) at times by unbelieving gentiles (non-christians) or half-believing hypocrites (fake-christians). If you and I are true disciples of Jesus Christ, we need not worry about what to say or how to say it. The indwelling Holy Spirit will reply on our behalf, uttering the right words in the right way. All we have to do is let the Holy Spirit use our tongue as a tool to express Himself..!!

Be WISE in heart and not just in mind; be Christ-like and not spiritually blind..!

GOD – the explorer of hearts..!!

Let’s read Psalm 139: 1, 2(CEV) & Proverbs 3: 5-7(CEV)

“You have looked deep into my heart, Lord, and you know all about me. You know when I am resting or when I am working, and from heaven you discover my thoughts”

“With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow. Don’t ever think that you are wise enough, but respect the Lord and stay away from evil”

Over the years, NASA has launched a series of “Explorer” spacecrafts into the space, mainly for exploration, observation & to gather information etc.  These spacecrafts or artificial satellites are sent as deep (out) into the space as possible to “know the unknown”.

While man endeavours to gaze higher and higher from his point of origin – the earth, God has since creation been looking deeper and deeper into the point of origin of all corruption and wickedness – the heart. While man needs spacecrafts or artificial satellites to explore the “unknown”, God does not need any “equipment” for His exploration; He looks deep into your heart straight down from Heaven…!

God knows EVERYTHING about you. He knows your every move. He knows that you are reading this message right now. He knows all of your thoughts and all of your subsequent attitudes & actions. 

God’s certification of your character is based on the status of your heart and not that of your mind. You can use all the knowledge & understanding you have to be “righteous” and “acceptable” in the sight of men, but to be certified as “righteous” in the sight of God you need to be pure and faith-filled in your heart. 

“Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. The Scriptures say, “God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him.” (Romans 4: 1-3CEV)

Hence, don’t ever fool yourself by thinking that you are wise enough to lead a “balanced” & “acceptable” life by using your own understanding. “Always let Him lead you...”

Never forget that God’s spacecraft (His sight) is "exploring" your heart ALWAYS..!!