The below are notes of a message I presented a few days ago. While it is not normal to post such notes I know that many are hurting and wondering why. Perhaps some encouragement will come from my lesson.
It’s Not About You!
For
Springs of Refreshing Fellowship Church
1932 Gwynn Oak Ave
Woodlawn, MD 21207
Prepared by:
Elder William James Carter, The 1st
25 Oct 2012
© The Christian Perspective
It’s Not About You!
Many Christians today are enduring considerable troubles. Some are being lied to and lied upon. Others are being otherwise mistreated. One song writer said that she had been lied on and cheated, talked about and mistreated. Another declared “troubles in my way, I have to cry sometime. So much trouble, I have to cry some time. I lay awake at night but that’s alright because I know that Jesus will fix it after while.”
But there has been trouble for the people of God long before the advent of modern Christian music. Let’s consider Joseph for a moment. He was a son favoured by his father Jacob. With that Jacob (Israel) made him a coat of many colours. This along with the dreams of Jacob caused considerable jealousy and anger in his brothers. The anger was such that the brothers plotted to kill Joseph.
One brother decided not to kill him but pretend that he was killed. The plot thickened as Joseph was sold into slavery. But the slavery was not to be the end of Joseph. He soon found favour with the Pharaoh and was made head of the entire house. But then there was more trouble as the Pharaoh’s wife sought to ensnare Joseph. But because he would not give in Joseph was lied on and sent to prison.
But once again he was given favour and placed in charge of the jail. Again all had to answer to him but again he was lied to. Again promises were broken and he ended up spending more time in prison than he should have. All the while he was growing in favour and eventually was called in to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh. God was not finished with Joseph because favour was once again restored upon him so that not only was he in charge of the Pharaoh’s house but he was made to be second in command of the entire land answering to no one but the Pharaoh.
The whole time Joseph was going through the trouble being away from his father God was working in and through him to bring about a desired end. God allowed Joseph to be sold and imprisoned because of the promise that God made to Abraham. If Joseph had not been in prison at the time of Pharaoh’s dream then he would not have been in place to interpret which is the reason he was promoted to second in command. This was done as a fulfillment of the dreams of Joseph showing that he would rule over his brothers and rule over his brothers he did.
Even so it was not the whole purpose of God for Joseph to rule over his brothers rather God was looking through the annals of time for when His Son would be manifested to the saving of a people. This is where Genesis 50:20 comes into play:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
This is one of the most misapplied text in Scripture. This text has nothing to do with God working solely for Joseph rather it is evident that God’s intent was to save “much people alive.” The fact of the matter is that Joseph did not go through all that he went through so that God could reward him rather God allowed the trouble so that He could save much people alive. God’s purpose was to maintain His promise to Abraham and had little to do with Joseph. In fact if Joseph had not been there God would have used someone else. The trouble was not about Joseph.
How do we know that the trouble was not about Joseph? It is because of God’s promise not only to Abraham but those promises reiterated to Isaac and Jacob. Even more chapter forty six of Genesis provides a genealogy of the tribes of Israel. Among those tribes is the Tribe of Judah. It is through the Tribe of Judah that God would save many people alive through His Son Jesus. It was through Joseph that God saved a nation which included the Tribe of Judah. Joseph’s trouble was not about him rather it was about saving a people.
Looking back at Genesis 50:20 the word “thought” means: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count[1]. Joseph, speaking to his brothers reminded them that they planned to do him harm. He brought to their attention that the plans they had for him could have cost them their lives especially considering his position. But it was not in the will of God to have them killed rather it was God’s plan to save them alive for a greater plan.
Evil plans were not a matter that only Joseph had to endure. Matthew chapter nine shows that Jesus was onboard a ship traveling to the other side of Capernaum. Upon his arrival a paralyzed man was brought to Him which resulted in Jesus forgiving the man of his sins. But some of the scribes saw this action as blasphemous and Jesus knowing what was going on in their hearts confronted them and then healed the man.
The scribes intended no good for Jesus but the end result of their intended trap was well know by Jesus. Jesus knew that the healing of man would bring glory to God so that others might live. And others did live to glorify God because of the healing. But the evil intent discussed in this chapter serves only as a type of the suffering that Jesus would go through that He could save many people alive.
Such was the entire life of Jesus. He was sent to earth not to glorify Himself but so that the Father would be glorified. There is no more evidence of this than during Christ’s travailing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. As a side note that Gethsemane was really an olive grove. Olive oil is often used to represent the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew what he was about to endure. He had already been ridiculed, lied on and lied about. Some had already tried to stone Him. Yet Jesus had done nothing worthy of any wrong doing. He was suffering because He stood for righteousness but that the suffering was not about Him rather about the One that sent Him. Christ had to die to save many alive.
In order to better understand a brief examination of the life of Jesus must be examined. Certain items are a must when suffering for godly reasons. This is a partial list of items necessary to know when suffering is to save many alive:
ü Must be a Christian-Born Again: John 3:7 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
ü Suffering must be relative to righteous living: II Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
ü Suffering must not be self-inflicted: I Peter 2:19 “ For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.”
ü Desire to please God: I Thessalonians 4:1 “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.”
ü Rejoice in suffering for Christ: I Peter 4:12-19 “12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
[1] Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for chashab (Strong’s 2803)“. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 24 Oct 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
Strongs=H2803&t=KJV >
Sorry about my nephew’s shaky hand in recording this but the message still holds true. There must be introspection geared toward salvation in order to be victorious.
Because the State of Maryland affords the privilege of early voting I was up early this morning and made my way to an early voting site. There were few people there but I did not go to meet people. I have been looking over these past years at the demise of a country and that is wholly against the reason I served in the United States Marine Corps. Even more importantly, today I voted for freedom not so much because of my patriotism, and that is not to be taken lightly, but because I am a child of the Most High God.
A little history might provide some insight as to my decision. You see our founding fathers, even while some were Deists and others not following Christendom at all, saw that our rights and liberties were not an idea of man nor do they come from man. Rather our fathers had the good sense to not that our rights our endowed upon us by our Creator and if our Creator endowed us with those rights then man has no power to remove those rights. It is for this reason that I could not vote against what I stand for rather I chose to vote for freedom.
John 8:36 reads “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” But what is this freedom all about? What is the freedom that the Scripture speaks of that must be lived out not only in our way of life but in the way I voted today. You see, today as I made my way to the polls I was thinking about the vote I was to make. No, I did not consider why I donned a Marine Corps uniform yet freedom was on my mind. This is why today I voted for freedom.
Jesus came and dies on the cross so that we could be free from sin. He also died so that we could be free from oppression. So, today I voted in favour of both. I have to stand by the Scripture in matters of morality so I voted in keeping to God’s Word. It matters not what other preachers may say nor does it matter what others may do. God has set the moral standard and by that standard I will stand. So, I voted today for freedom to celebrate morality God’s way. But my choices did not stop there. More decisions had to be made so I looked toward the decision of oppression
decided I would vote for freedom from oppression. No more do I want to be bound by oppressive regulations which tell me which light bulb I must have or what anything else I must have. No, I want not to live in oppression rather I choose to live free. This is why I, today, made my vote for freedom.
Milton Brunson said it like this; “I am free, praise the Lord I’, free. No longer bound, no more chains holding me. Soul is resting, it’s just another blessing. Praise the Lord, Halleluiah I’m free.” I, like the Hebrew children desire to be free. I do not want to serve God by the mandates of a dictator rather I want to celebrate Jesus at any time and any where my heart desires. I do not want to pretend that right is wrong and that wrong is right instead I choose to walk in the freedom of God’s Word. So, when I walked to the polling place today my heart was fixed and my mind was made up; my choice today was a vote for freedom.
Sorry about my nephew’s shaky hand in recording this but the message still holds true. There must be introspection geared toward salvation in order to be victorious.
These past few days the Baltimore area has been inundated with much noise about Hurricane Sandy which caused some turmoil in the Atlantic Ocean as well as the coast line of the eastern United States. Sandy did considerable damage and even caused some death. But the entire time I made comments that those in the Baltimore area were making much ado about a storm that would have little impact on the Baltimore area. Of course I do not know what I am talking about in that Baltimore did receive a full day’s rain; while not heavy rain it was rain that inundated the area. And the winds, there were there but nothing of any great concern.
Yes, much ado was made of this now downsized storm. Not only did the officials close schools but they stopped all the trains and buses were brought to a halt and the city basically closed down. The fact is that the storm, in the Baltimore area, was more of an inconvenience than anything else. Yes the media and officials made much ado about a storm that had little impact on the area. Now, don’t misunderstand, to some Sandy was devastating, but in Baltimore a little wind, rain and chill was the most of the trouble.
In the same vein for years preachers have been proclaiming the return of Christ. They, myself included, have been making much ado about this return. People have been warned about the impending storm to take place once Christ returns to snatch up His people. Many will heed the warnings while many others will make ado about other insignificant matters. Yet the return of Christ will not be a storm but will cause many types of storms the world over. Spouses will be laying in bed and one will be taken and the other left. Some will be working in the field while some will be taken and others left. Some that drive will be snatched away and the passengers will be left without a driver even while some pilots will leave the captain’s chair empty leaving the co-pilot alone.
The difference is that the coming of Christ will not be hyperbole but events that will have an impact on the world for all eternity. Christ’s return has been preached for over two thousand years and been made light of for just as long. Yet I would argue that ado is to be made about anything then it should be made about this one event; the return of Christ.
This aside is being added a day later than the original post lest anyone think I did not take the storm seriously. I know that many were harmed, some killed and others homeless. My point in the message is not reflective of those suffering from Hurricane Sandy, just an analogy as it appeared to me in the Baltimore area.
The following is an article I wrote for my newsletter The Christian Perspective. It is a type of what goes in in the world. Your coments are appreciated.
The Cell Phone Grasp
It does not take much to see how much the cell phone has changed this nation. It seems that everybody and his brother has one. Even more elementary school children are seen walking the streets with these devises stuck to the sides of their heads. Grandma and Grandpa are seen in the grocery stores with these phones as though they have had these things their entire lives. There are people on television declaring that because of their “free” cell phones they can now call their bosses, doctors and grandchildren. Yet one question has to come to mind. What did they do before these cell phones?
But this is the best of the situation. Take for instance the early twenty-something female. On one arm swings the ever important purse or bag. Tightly clenched in her free hand is a cell phone. The young lady is not merely holding the phone but she is holding onto it as though her life is dependent on the firm grasp of the phone. Yet she is not the only one. If you are driving simply look out the car window to the middle-aged gentleman. It is obvious that the well-groomed individual is a businessman. Still he has one hand firmly on the steering wheel of the sedan while the free hand refuses to relent the phone that does everything except scratch his back. O, but wait! Look at the car on the other side and there is a middle-aged lady following suite as the gentleman.
The point is that people treat their cell phones as though their lives depend upon their grasps. One would think that if that phone were dropped or lost that somehow the earth would stop on its axis or that the world would surly come to an end. But other questions do come to mind when the cell phone grasp is considered. For instance, what would happen if these that grasp the phone would take hold to Jesus with such vigor? How much would Christians impact the world if they grasped strongly the filling of the Holy Spirit? How much would the saints grow if indeed they hide the Word of God in their hearts? And the list of questions can go on and on.
The words in Hebrews 10:23 are “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering…” The interesting term in the verse is “hold fast”. In the Greek this term means in part, “to hold downright, hold in firm grasp, to have in full and secure possession.”[1] With this it is encumbered upon those that call themselves Christians to remove the mantel of appeasement and replace it with the garment of holiness. Holiness means that there is taking possession the truths of God and not relenting to the whims of idiosyncratic notions posed by those that choose to live a double standard. Holding fast the profession of our faith means that the Christian must hold securely what the faith is about without allowing the dictates of secularists to present false ideologies of Christendom.
There is no doubt that cell phones have impacted this present society in a number of ways. But the impact of the faith of Christianity has impacted millions from the birth of the Church. This is the reason the Christian might do well to let loose the cell phone and take full possession of God’s Word. Once this is accomplished the Christian will be able to positively impact those around him while at the same time growing all the more relevant for a dying world. No, there is no need to throw out the cell phone but there is a reason to hide the Word of God in the heart of the Church.
[1] Wesley J. Perschbacher. The New Analytical Greek Lexicon (Peabody: HendricksonPublishers, Inc. 1990)
I find this text in Exodus 30 interesting: 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
Everyone seems to have been required to give the same amount no matter how much they had or did not have. Everyone was required to contribute. I wonder what would happen if we, as a nation, followed this simple godly principle. No, it is not merely a principle rather a mandate.
preachercarter 