Godly Exiles Seek The Welfare of the City

There is an idea in many of our American churches that goes something like this, "this world is difficult and I can't wait to go and be with Jesus."  Maybe you've felt that way before.  Maybe you feel like that today.  I'm tired of all the mess going on around me in this life, all the drama, all the problem.  I'm tired of hearing about the fighting over there, the government over here, and everything that is on the news.

But as God's people in this world, we need to have a better grasp on what we are doing here.  Paul did say in Philippians 1:21-22, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell."

On one hand Paul wanted to go and be with Jesus (especially being in prison, being older, and having been through multiple hardships.)  But there was fruitful labor still to accomplish and he knew that this labor would bring about joy, "Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith," (Philippians 1:25).  So what possesses a man to talk like this?  Because Paul understood that we are exiles in this world seeking to bring about Godly joy to as many as possible for God's glory.

When the Israelite people were in exile in Babylon, which was a horrific time in their lives, Jeremiah the prophet wrote them a letter from God.  This is what God had to say to the exiles in Jeremiah 29:4-7:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

What God wanted His people who were in exile to know is this, "yes, you are there in a distant land that isn't home.  But I want you to live in that city in such a way as to shine my light there.  If you seek the benefit of the city where you live, you will become a light for me.  So remember that you have another home that I will bring you to one day, but for now live like that city is your home."  We could look at this passage and hope that the Jewish believers did what God said.  Or we could listen carefully and see that God is talking to us.

In the New Testament, Peter addresses his first letter to "those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."  Now why does He call them exiles?  Isn't that a designation for people who had been captured or were in slavery?

But here is the truth.  We belong to a heavenly kingdom, especially because our King Jesus has said "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."  Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and yet those who serve Him as King do so IN this world.  What do you call members of one kingdom who are "stuck" in another kingdom?  Exiles.

So what are Peter's instructions to the exiles of Jesus' kingdom who find themselves living in a "foreign" land?  Here are just a few of the instructions:

• I Peter 2:1, "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander."
  
  
• I Peter 2:11-12, "Beloved, I urge you as SOJOURNERS and EXILES to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."
  
  
• I Peter 2:15-16, "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."
  
  
• I Peter 3:8-9, "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing."
  
  
• I Peter 4:8, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."
  
  
  
  
• I Peter 4:19, "Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."
  
  

Look at the focus on blessing others, doing good to our oppressors, and living as people who are free.  The church as an exiled people should seek the welfare of the cities we live in, because this is for our welfare and joy.  So my fellow exiles... what are you doing to seek the welfare of the city you live in?

Pray For Evangelists Around the World

Here is an excerpt from a letter from Jerry Thaprom, an evangelist we support from Round Lake Christian Church.

In recent months two major supporting churches have decided to discontinue their supports due to their budgets and this really hurts our ministries especially the Myanmar evangelistic and church planting work.

So my wife I have been contemplating what to do since we can no longer maintain the work in Myanmar with this situation so we have been praying a lot and are waiting for an answer from the Lord. So the good news from you for your continuous prayers and financial support is definitely the answer we have been waiting for.  So we praise the Lord that He has heard our prayers through you.

We have been delegating ten evangelist families to carry the work of evangelism and church planting in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and one in Shan States and another one in north Burma. These evangelists are those we know personally and they are fully dedicated and love the Lord with their hearts and are trustworthy people. The know the language well and Burmese culture so as a result, nearly 500 people have turned to the Lord and were baptized within a period of five years since we have started the work.

These Christians scattered in ten different locations, or communities around Yangon proper, mostly at villages.  These evangelists have been so faithfully carrying the work around the clock.  In recent years unlike before the Burmese people have shown the unusual interest in Christianity because  the Lord has been touching  their stubborn hearts so that they may be saved, and also the political unrest and Buddhism can not offer them any hope. As they are in this situation they observed Christians around them and eventually they wanted to turn to the Lord, and this leads them to Christ. So it is the momentum for Myanmar for us to present to them the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Praise God!  Our giving for the sake of the Gospel bears fruit in the lives of men and women in places we have never seen.  Please pray for Jerry and his wife Boonporn as they continue in the work of the Gospel.  Also pray for these evangelists who are sharing the good news that for God's glory, Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected so we might move from death to life.  

What Is Satan Up to Anyway?

I saw this video earlier this week.  I can't get the tune and words out of my head.  I don't think that we as a church have given enough consideration to the attacks of Satan, especially in his subtle lies.  Check out what Scripture has to say about his work in the CHURCH!

II Corinthians 11:12-15, "And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

Look specifically at who are called the servants of Satan.  Not demons in this verse.  Not the world.  Satan's servants claim to be apostles of Christ!  Satan places his servants in the local church community to spread his lies and masquerade as men and women full of knowledge.  They intimidate and impress with their appearance of having something that everyone else is missing.  They place special demands on the body that only the "real" christians can understand.  These servants of Satan can call themselves preachers, apostles, house church leaders, prophets, misunderstood, devout, and all kinds of other terms. They could be leaders or they may just be a part of the visible community.  Listen to what Paul says to the church at Colossae in Colossians 2:16-19, 23:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. 

How do we spot these servants of Satan?  Well are they connected to the head, that is Christ?  Do they spend more time talking about the fundamental elementary truths of the Gospel or more time giving convincing arguments and visions?  The subtlety of Satan is tremendous.  If we overlook it, we will be duped by it.  Don't ever think that just because someone leads a church, is in a church, or sounds spiritual means that they are.  Examine them thoroughly.  If they don't lead you to the truth of the Gospel, that for God's glory Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected, so we might move from death to life, then they are not from God.  And if they are not from God, they are certainly not neutral.

God's Glory Is His Power, Presence, and Praise

Glory is a strange word.  It has very little real significance in our every day usage.  I do not hear it very often in every day talk, so when I come to the scripture and see it everywhere it creates a conflict for me.  Several years ago in my personal study of John, I realized that Glory was more than an abstract concept, it was vital to understanding what Jesus was all about (John 1:14).  If we do not rightly understand the Glory of God we do not rightly understand Jesus or why He came.

Romans 1:23 informs us that the problem with man is that we have exchanged God's glory for images of man, birds, animals, and creeping things.  So at our core is a Glory problem, or as it is stated in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (fall short = lack).  We do not possess what we should about God, namely His glory.  And our fallen nature stems from this lack of Glory.  But what is this Glory?  Well Romans 1:20 says that His eternal power and divine nature should have been clearly perceived.  Trace the word Glory in the OT and when it refers to God, it was either a display of His power in miraculous ways or a manifestation of His presence to the people.  God's Glory is His power and presence on display!

What makes this even more amazing is that Jesus, called the Glory of God, is also described as being the power and presence of God on display.  Colossians 1:15-20 tells us that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus and that all of Creation came about and is sustained through Him.  Look at Hebrews 1:3, "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."  Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, the imprint of His nature, and upholds the universe by the word of His power!  Glory is Power and Presence on display!

But God's Glory revealed demands acknowledgment.  This is the other use of the word Glory.  We give glory to God when we recognize His Glory.  By glory we mean praise.  In giving praise to God we are not giving Him something that He does not already possess, like a Christmas present.  Rather we are recognizing a truth that already exists.  We are joining with all creation to declare the mighty deeds of God (Psalm 19:1).  In fact, the only saving response to our recognition of the revelation of God's is to give praise to Him (Ephesians 1:11-14).  The Glory of God on display in Jesus moves us to give Glory to Him.