Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: September 4, 2005
by Dan Trygg
"For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.’" Matthew 16:25-27
"And He said to them, ‘Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.’ 16 And He told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a certain rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, "'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?'" 18 And he said, "'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "‘"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."’" 20 But God said to him, "'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'" 21 So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’" Luke 12:15-21
The events of this past week are a reminder of the uncertainties of life, and the vanity of living only for this earthly existence. The devastation caused by hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and other communities along the Gulf and northward is still beyond calculation, both in the loss of human life and in material goods. It is being touted as the largest natural disaster to ever strike the United States, and will undoubtedly affect us all for a long while. In one night, everything those people in the direct path of this storm owned was wiped out. Those who did not take warning and flee, either perished in the storm and its aftermath, or have been living through a nightmare far beyond what they could ever have imagined. Thousands are dead, and many continue to die as rescue and relief efforts have been so ineffective and have been hampered by the devastation left by the storm.
Certainly, from a Biblical perspective, New Orleans, and the United States in general, have been long overdue for the judgment of God. The Old Testament is full of stories where Israel had departed from following God, and had become a nation that served other Gods, a people who had become immoral, corrupt and unjust. The repeated storyline which you will find there is that a generation grew up who did not personally know God. They took the blessings which He had given to their forefathers for granted, and they did not value either Him or His commandments. They departed from living according to His ways, and sought after sensual pleasure and material prosperity as ends in themselves. They exchanged the glory and delight of knowing God, the One who was the provider of their blessings and protector of their nation, for the hope of immediate gratification and self-advancement. As they departed from a relationship with God, they began to live in disregard of His commands and teachings. They began to live in ways that God had said were an abomination to Him, ways that He had said would incur His judgment. He sent them numerous messengers to warn them of the disastrous judgment that they were storing up for themselves by their behaviors. Eventually, because they disregarded these warnings and continued to live in opposition to Him and His ways, He removed His protection and began to allow them to be raided and defeated by their enemies. Sickness and disease resulting from their sin began to spread throughout the land. Other plagues and natural disasters came upon them, as well, as God judged them for their sin, and attempted to bring them to a place of repentance and returning to Him and His ways, so that He could once again bless and protect them. There are some summary passages that describe these principles pretty directly, if you wish to read them for yourself.- Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; II Kings 17; II Chronicles 36:11-21.
God does not want us to be confused, or to misunderstand, what life is all about, or how it is meant to work. That is why He chose to reveal Himself through the scriptures, so that we could avoid the painful consequences of sin, and we could experience the blessings which come to those who know Him. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. Instead, He wants us to see the reality of what happens when we live in violation of His moral and spiritual order, so that we might turn away from sin and its dread consequences.(Ezk. 18:23-32). God is very patient, and will often put off the judgment to give us time to respond to His warnings (II Pet. 3:9). Unfortunately, we often misinterpret this patience to mean that we can get away with our sin, and turn a deaf ear and a hard heart to God’s messengers. Instead of responding to the kindness of God that is meant to lead us to repentance, we continue on our selfish path storing up a harvest of judgment for the sin we sow (Rom. 2:4-6).
In our study of Matthew, we left off with Jesus’ challenge to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." He spoke of how a disciple needed to live for more than immediate self-gratification. He or she must be willing to give up their self-agenda in order to serve Jesus. If he or she does that, then God will save or preserve that person’s true self. If anyone lives for himself, and tries to fulfill himself according to his own understanding, he will ruin himself. The man or woman who is willing to lose him or herself for Jesus’ sake will find who they truly were meant to be. Then the Master asks the question, "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" These are rhetorical questions. The implied answer is that to lose one’s soul would be the greatest tragedy of all. Nothing is worth that. The proverbial "deal with the Devil" is a fool’s bargain. To sell one’s soul for any temporal thing or experience would be the most incredibly stupid thing imaginable, if we could really see what is what. No one in their right mind would even entertain that. Why? Because our existence is not about the here and now. This present world, and its pleasures, is passing away (I Jn. 2:15-17). Jesus Himself is going to come back as the conquering King, and will recompense every person for what they have done while they were here in this life (cf. II Cor. 5:10).
We are so much more significant than we can possibly imagine. The potential we have for good or evil is huge. Stop and think about it. Satan came to defraud us of our place of dignity and authority on this planet. Why would he bother? What is the point? Nothing better to do? Or, was he purposefully trying to strategically prevent something powerful from happening? There is much we don’t know, but we do know that when Satan rebelled against God, one of the first things he did was to come and lure humankind into sin, and he has spent every day since that time trying to keep us blind to God’s love (II Cor. 4:4), to deceive us and accuse us to ourselves and each other (Rev. 12:9), so that he could keep us from God’s plan, and use us to further his dominion. God, on the other hand, spent thousands of years preparing for the expression of His heart to come to us and be demonstrated before us by the sinless life, redemptive death and victorious resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 5:6-8; Gal. 4:3-7). Since that time, He has spent two thousand more years allowing the cosmic salvation drama to unfold, until nearly all the earth has been exposed to the good news message. Any way you look at it, we are at the center of this cosmic warfare. We matter so much that God Himself is going to hold every one of us accountable for what we do with the life He has given us.
Let me say that again. We are not insignificant accidents of evolution. We are not unimportant, nameless creatures to God, pets or playthings who are to live out our lives foraging around for ourselves, whose purpose is only to mate and have other offspring. No. God says that human beings are destined to judge angels (I Cor. 6:3). People will someday reign with Him as His precious princes and princesses of His Kingdom (Rev. 5:10). We are called to be members of His family, co-heirs with Christ Himself (Rom. 8:14-18). Oh, our lives matter. They matter so much that we will have to give a detailed account for, and receive recompense for, our actions (Psa. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Rom. 2:4-8; Rev. 22:7). In fact, part of what is happening here is preparation for our placement there (Lk. 19:11-27). Great blessings and privilege will come to those who overcome human selfishness, and who choose to live to serve God by making a difference in this world (Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; 21:7). When Jesus returns, He will separate the sheep from the goats. He will be the judge to whom all mankind will answer (Jn. 5:22-24; Acts 10:38-43; 17:26-31). Those who obeyed Him and gave themselves for others will be rewarded. Those who ignored the call of the Spirit and the cry of human need will be sent away to join Satan and his renegade angels in a destiny which was never intended for people (Matt. 25:31-46).
Jesus, the Son of Man, will return. He will come with power and great glory. He will come upon the clouds in a powerful sign which all the nations will see (Dan. 7:13,14; Matt. 24:29-31; 26:64; Rev. 1:7). Before He returns, there will be many calamities and natural disasters. These are likened to birth pangs, which increase in frequency and intensity as the birth approaches (Matt. 24:3-8). The disaster caused by hurricane Katrina is nothing compared to what will happen as that day approaches (cf. Rev. 8:6-9:21). The plagues of the end will be worldwide in their scope. As we have seen in New Orleans, when disaster comes, lawlessness increases, and the love, or goodwill, of people grows cold (Matt. 24:12). Human interaction quickly degenerates to animalistic brutality.
What we also witnessed in the destruction of New Orleans is that people did not make adequate preparation. They did not take seriously the threat that was coming upon them until it was too late. Those who left early may have lost nearly everything, but they escaped with their lives. Had they known what would happen, and really believed it, the women, children, even the old and weak would have made their way out of the path of destruction, even if it meant traveling on foot. Jesus warned us that people will also disregard His words and the signs of the times. They will be taken away by catastrophe in the midst of their everyday pursuits (Lk. 17:26-35). We say we believe, but do we? Does our life show it? Would we respond to the warning of God to flee (Rev. 18:1-4)? Or, would we hang back and perish in the overthrow? What are you doing now? Are you putting off sin, and choosing to serve God, or are you living like those who do not know God?
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