A Call to Action

For many of us who are disciples of Christ the name Billy Graham is very familiar.  Though in recent years he has shied away from the limelight, his ministry has impacted the lives of many people throughout the world.  At the end of the Second World War, Billy Graham began his ministry of preaching the gospel message to millions, traveling from city to city, country to country.  He spoke of God’s grace and mercy and he called those in attendance to repentance of sin.  The kingdom of God truly expanded and grew through his ministry.

 

What is so special about Billy Graham?  We hear his name and immediately we think of stadiums filled with people, thousands coming forward to receive Christ or rededicate their lives to their Savior.  Just the name Billy Graham brings to mind the sense of man called by God to preach the Word to millions.

What is the difference between Billy Graham and the “normal” disciple of Christ?  Nothing.  Sure, Billy Graham was called to preach to millions.  Sure, Billy Graham was called to travel the world to speak to leaders of countries.  But Billy Graham still sins and is in need of the grace and mercy of God as much as everyone else in the world.  He is still human.

Every disciple of Christ is called to preach to everyone around them, a group which may only consist of a few people.  As disciples we are all called to preach the gospel, whether or name is Joe Smith or Billy Graham.  And in a real sense, every disciple of Christ is called to be a Billy Graham where they live.

Join us this week as we study the words of God through is servant James.  James 5:16-20 is a call for God’s people to action.  No more sitting by idly waiting for something to happen.  We are called to be proactive for the gospel, not just reactive.  What does this call look like?  How can we live out this call?  How can we be encouraged by God’s movement in “larger than life” figures like Billy Graham?

May we be prepared as the Spirit speaks to us and may our hearts be softened to His leading.

The Disciple's Primary Response to Suffering

When going through suffering, whether that suffering is due to outside influence or our own doing, we tend to become distracted.  We focus more on the suffering and pain we are experiencing rather than the lesson we are to learn through the experience.

Those of us who are parents can understand this type of distraction when it comes to disciplining our children.  When a punishment is enforced it is usually the pain and suffering experienced that receives most of the focus from the child.  In the moment, the child is distracted by the punishment instead of focusing on the desired lesson being taught through the discipline.  And for many it is only after the pain and suffering is over that the lesson can be seen.

The same can be said about the disciple of Christ and the suffering experienced in this world.  If we find ourselves in the midst of a trial or suffering, our focus tends to be on ending the pain experienced instead of learning the lesson intended behind the pain.  You see, suffering, whether large or small, will happen in our lives.  Sometimes that suffering is caused by the hand of God while other times suffering is caused by sin in the world and our own hearts. 

God speaks on this subject in James 5:13-15.  It is a passage which speaks of suffering and pain, healing and joy.  But the true reason for God’s words to us in this passage moves beyond the suffering and the joy.

Join us on Sunday morning as we study and discover what God has to say about how the disciple of Jesus Christ is to respond to suffering.  May the Spirit prepare us to hear His Word.

J.C. Ryle: Do You Love Me?

"Do you love Me?" (John 21:16)

"A disposition to love somebody is one of the
commonest feelings which God has implanted in human nature.  Too often, unhappily, people set their affection on unworthy objects.  I want this day to claim a place for Him who alone is worthy of all our hearts' best feelings.  I want men to give some of their love to that divine Person who loved us, and gave Himself for us.  In all their loving I would have them not forget to Love Christ."

J.C. Ryle: The Little Religion of Many Christians

"Of all sights in the church of Christ, I know none more painful to my own eyes, than a Christian contented and satisfied with a little grace, a little repentance, a little faith, a little knowledge, a little charity and a little holiness.  I do beseech and entreat every believing soul that reads this tract not to be that kind of man.  If you have any desires after usefulness, if you have any wishes to promote your Lord's glory, if you have any longings after much inward peace, be not content with a little religion.

"Let us rather seek, every year we live, to make more spiritual progress than we have done, to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus; to grow in humility and self-acquaintance; to grow in spirituality and heavenly-mindedness; to grow in conformity to the image of our Lord.

"Let us beware of leaving our first love like Ephesus, of becoming lukewarm like Laodicea, of tolerating false practices like Pergamos, of tampering with false doctrine like Thyatira, of becoming half dead, ready to die, like Sardis.

"Let us rather covet the best gifts.  Let us aim at eminent holiness.  Let us endeavor to be like Smyrna and Philadelphia.  Let us hold fast what we have already, and continually seek to have more.  Let us labor to be unmistakable Christians.  Let it not be our distinctive character, that we are men of science, or men of literary attainments, or men of the world,  or men of pleasure, or men of business, but 'men of God.'  Let us so live that all may see that to us the things of God are the first things, and the glory of God the first aim in our lives, to follow Christ our grand object in time present, to be with Christ our grand desire in time to come.

"Let us live in this way, and we shall be happy.  Let us live in this way, and we shall do good to the world.  Let us live in this way, and we shall leave good evidence behind us when we are buried.  Let us live in this way, and the Spirit's word to the churches will not have been spoken to us in vain."

J.C. Ryle: The Overcoming Christian

"I fear much for many professing Christians.  I see no sign of fighting in them, much less of victory.  They never strike one stroke on the side of Christ.  They are at peace with His enemies.  They have no quarrel with sin.  I warn you, this is not Christianity.  This is not the way to heaven.

"I often fear much for those who hear the gospel regularly.  I fear, lest you become so familiar with the sound of its doctrines, that insensibly you become dead to its power.  I fear, lest your religion should sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness and corruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real practical fighting on Christ's side is altogether neglected.  Oh, beware of this state of mind. 'Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.'  No victory - no crown!  Fight and overcome! (James 1:22)

"Cheer up, dear brothers and sisters.  Take comfort, I entreat you.  Look at the bright side of your position.  Be encouraged to fight on.  The time is short.  The Lord is at hand.  The night is far spent.  Millions as weak as you have fought the same fight.  Not one of all those millions has been finally led captive by Satan.  Mighty are your enemies, but the Captain of your salvation is mightier still.  His arm, His grace and His Spirit shall hold you up.  Cheer up.  Be not cast down.

"What though you lose a battle or two?  You shall not lose all.  What though you faint sometimes?  You shall not be quite cast down.  What though you fall seven times?  You shall not be destroyed.  Watch against sin, and sin shall not have dominion over you.  Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you.  Come out boldly from the world, and the world shall be obliged to let you go.  You shall find yourselves in the end more than conquerors; you shall 'overcome.'"

Integrity

“A lie has no legs.  It requires other lies to support it.  Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up.  Stretching the truth won’t make it last any longer.  Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind” (Austin O’Malley).

Oaths were an important part of life in Biblical times.  The Old Testament speaks of taking oaths and swearing by God in order to prove to others that the truth was being spoken.  But by Jesus’ time oaths had been corrupted.  James addresses this use of oaths in James 5:12 and places upon the disciple of Jesus Christ the burden of integrity and trustworthiness.

Are you a trustworthy person?  Does your “yes” mean yes and your “no” mean no?  How can you know that others trust you?  What is the danger of making an oath or swearing by the name of God?

May the Spirit speak to each of us this Sunday as we explore the Word of God and may His gospel be ever clearer to us all.

J.C. Ryle: Biblical Examples of Victorious Saints

"This is the road that saints of old have trodden in, and left their record on high.

• "When Moses refused the pleasures of sin in Egypt, and chose affliction with the people of God, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of pleasure.
• "When Micah refused to prophesy smooth things to king Ahab, though he knew he would be persecuted if he spoke the truth, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of ease.
• "When Daniel refused to give up praying, though he knew the den of lions was prepared for him, this was overcoming.  He overcame the fear of death.
• "When Matthew rose from the receipt of custom at our Lord's bidding, left all and followed Him, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of money.
• "When Peter and John stood up boldly before the council and said, 'We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard,' this was overcoming.  They overcame the fear of man.
• When Saul the Pharisee gave up all his prospects of preferment among the Jews, and preached that very Jesus whom he had once persecuted, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of man's praise.

"The same kind of thing which these men did you must also do if you would be saved.  They were men of like passions with yourself, and yet they overcame.  They had as many trials as you can possibly have, and yet they overcame.  They fought.  The wrestled.  They struggled.  You must do the same.

"What was the secret of their victory?  Their faith.  They believed on Jesus and, believing, were made strong.  They believed on Jesus and, believing, were held up.  In all their battles, they kept their eyes on Jesus, and He never left them nor forsook them.  'They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony,' and so may you (Rev. 12:11)."

J.C. Ryle: The True Christian is Victorious

"If you would prove you are born again and going to heaven, you must be a victorious soldier of Christ.  If you would make it clear that you have any title to Christ's precious promises,you must fight the good fight in Christ's cause, and in the fight you must conquer.

"Victory is the only satisfactory evidence that you have a saving religion.  You like good sermons perhaps.  You respect the Bible, and read it occasionally.  You say your prayers night and morning.  You have family prayers, and give to religious societies.  I thank God for this.  It is all very good.  But how goes the battle?  How does the great conflict go on all this time?  Are you overcoming the love of the world and the fear of man?  Are you overcoming the passions, tempers and lusts of your own heart?  Are you resisting the devil and making him flee from you?  How is it in this matter?  You must either rule or serve sin and the devil and the world.  There is no middle course.  You must either conquer or be lost.

"I know well it is a hard battle that you have to fight, and I want you to know it, too.  You must fight the good fight of faith and endure hardships if you would lay hold of eternal life.  You must make up your mind to a daily struggle if you would reach heaven.  There may be short roads to heaven invented by man, but ancient Christianity, the good old way, is the way of the cross, the way of conflict.  Sin, the world and the devil must be actually mortified, resisted and overcome."

These words from J.C. Ryle may on the surface seem very works based when it comes to salvation.  But a closer look reveals that he is speaking of enduring and persevering through the hardships of life until eternity comes upon us.  For it is only the true soldier of Christ who endures to the end.  As the apostle Paul says,

2 Timothy 2:8-13 (ESV) 
⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; ¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; ¹³ if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

J.C. Ryle: The True Christian is a Soldier of Christ

"Every professing Christian is the soldier of Christ.  He is bound by his baptism to fight Christ's battle against sin, the world and the devil.  The man that does not do this breaks his vow.  He is a spiritual defaulter.  He does not fulfill the engagements made for him.  The man that does not do this is practically renouncing his Christianity.  The very fact that he belongs to a church, attends a Christian place of worship, and call himself a Christian, is a public declaration that he desires to be reckoned a soldier of Jesus Christ.

"Armor is provided for the professing Christian, if he will only use it.  'Take unto you,' says Paul to the Ephesians, 'the whole armor of God.'  'Stand, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.'  'Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.'  'Above all, take the shield of faith' (Eph. 6:13-17).  And, not lest, the professing Christian has the best of leaders: Jesus the Captain of salvation, through whom he may be more than conqueror; the best of provisions, the bread and water of life, and the best of pay promised to him, an eternal weight of glory.

"The one point I want to impress upon your soul just now is this, that the true believer is not only a soldier, but a victorious soldier.  He not only professes to fight on Christ's side against sin, the world and the devil, but he does actually fight and overcome.

"Now this is one grand distinguishing mark of true Christians.  Other men, perhaps, like to be numbered in the ranks of Christ's army.  Other men may have lazy wishes and [unhurried] desires after the crown of glory.  But it is the true Christian alone who does the work of a soldier.  He alone fairly meets the enemies of his soul, really fights with them and in that fight overcomes them."

Patience in Suffering

The definition and understanding of suffering will differ greatly from person to person.  One individual will see suffering as physical ailments while another will understand suffering as financial difficulties.  Still others will understand suffering as anything in life that does not go as planned or expected.  Even within the church we hear suffering from the perspective of “my cross to bear.” 

What is suffering?  What does the Word of God have to say about the suffering of the disciple of Jesus Christ?  What is the purpose of suffering?  How should the disciple of Jesus Christ respond to and view suffering?  What does patience in the midst of suffering look like?

We must be warned, though.  This topic is very relevant to our everyday life, but it is also a topic of which we are very wary.  Why?  We may not like the answer God gives us.  For example, someone once asked C.S. Lewis, “Why do the righteous suffer?”  “Why not,” he replied.  “They’re the only ones who can take it.”  That is not quite the answer we expect or want while in the midst of suffering.  But the question naturally arises, how do the righteous, the disciple of Christ “take it”?

As we gather together this week may the Spirit move within our hearts and clarify in our minds the truth of God and His gospel.  And may He prepare us to listen and follow His words on suffering and patience.