Monthly Archive for January, 1998

1 Peter 5:6c

Published on January 31, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

 

that He may exalt you
 
“Exalt” means to lift up. The lifting here is the lifting of revival. God will cause us to rise high spiritually. God places us into an exalted, higher spiritual plane when we humble ourselves before him. 
 
“Exalt” means promote. God will promote us in his plan. This promotion is not human recognition for true promotion must come from God. God promotes those who recognize His sovereignty over their lives. Humility is accepting God’s providential working in our lives.
 
Most of us believe that human recognition by a crowd of people is success. Nothing could be farther from God’s viewpoint. When God exalts us, Madison Avenue can do nothing about it. God elevates us on the basis of His character so only God can promote the believer in this sense. God promotes those who humbly recognize God’s power and sovereignty. 
 
It is encouraging to those under suffering that God will exalt them one day. Humbling ourselves in order to be exalted is a spiritual paradox. If you want to go up, go down. 
 
Lk 14: 11 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
 
in due time
 
“Due time” means primarily due measure, due proportion. Primarily, “due time” carries the idea of due measure, fitness or proportion. The New Testament uses “due time” to signify a season, a period possessed of certain characteristics. 
 
This word for time does not mean time as chronology but time as marked by certain features (1 Th 5:1).   “Time” here deals with quality of time while the other major word for time (chronos) refers to quantity of time. 
 
“In due time” is in God’s time. God will do this in his own good time. When we humble ourselves under his hand, he will engage his help for us in his timing.
 
PRINCIPLE: God promotes those who recognize his sovereign action over their lives.
 
APPLICATION: Ask yourself, “Why have I been a spiritual buck private so long?” God does not promote us for producing so many brownie points with God. He promotes us when we humble ourselves under his mighty hand when he sends trials our way. 
 
If you do not know Christ, in just the right timing God sent his Son to die for your sins.
 
Ro 5: 6 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
 
God’s timing for our salvation centers around our recognition that we violate a holy God. Jesus died for the “ungodly.” Jesus died for those without God. Will you now embrace the death of Christ for your sins? 

 

 

 

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1 Peter 5:6b

Published on January 30, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

 

under the mighty hand of God
 
The word “mighty” refers to manifested power. When God manifests His power by providential movement on our lives, we need to identify what He is doing with us.  
 
The Greek word refers to ruling power or the ability to rule. We get the words “autocratic” and “democratic” from this term [kratos]. Autocratic rule is self-rule. Democratic rule is rule of the people.
 
 “The mighty hand of God” refers to God’s hand upon our destiny. God’s hand is an anthropomorphic (physical manifestation of God) idiom for God’s providence over our lives. Believers need to have a humble attitude about God’s destiny upon our lives (Gen 50:20). There never will be a problem too great for the plan of God.
 
God’s “hand” refers to his providence. We see something of the mighty hand of God in earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Flattened large sections of great cities give evidence of God’s hand. However, this passage is not primarily referring to this kind of power. “Hand” here refers to God’s providence in our personal lives. God does this to do something in our lives. He divinely designs every trial that comes our way for a purpose. 
 
Is 41: 10 “Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” [provision]
 
Who is accountable for the events of our lives? Self will autonomous from God rebels against God’s sovereignty. It is not enough to subject ourselves to fellow Christians (5:5), we need to subject ourselves to God’s sovereign plan for our lives. 
 
Deuteronomy 4: 34 “Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.”
 
Nehemiah 1: 10 “Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.”
 
PRINCIPLE: 
 
God’s providence is upon every believer for his eternal purpose.
 
APPLICATION: 
 
Do you resent providential situations God places in your life? God’s omnipotent “hand” should make us humble. The God who put the stars in their place and rotates the sun on its course, is the God to whom we submit the situations of our lives. He has an eternal plan to everything that he does.
 
God’s hand gets heavy at times as he allows trial to come our way. He waits for some auspicious occasion to let us know that he is still God. We go out of the situation like a whipped dog with our tails dragging behind us. 
 
We refuse to humble ourselves so God humiliates us. We see God’s mighty hand in humbling TV preachers who step outside his will.

 

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1 Peter 5:6

Published on January 29, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

 

Therefore
 
This verse serves as a climax to the challenge to both the leaders and followers of verses one through five. Humility is common to the function of both roles.
 
humble yourselves
The word “humble” primarily signifies low-lying. Allow God to lower your level of autonomy. Often God uses suffering to birth humility in us.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ–who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
The Greek indicates that we are to allow ourselves to be humbled by God [passive voice]. Humility here means to recognize God’s grace. God brings situations into our lives so that we understand that we are finite, not infinite. We are not God. We are at the mercy of His design for us. In His providence, he places events and people into our lives so that we concede our need for Him.
Do you want the grace of God in your life? Humble yourselves.
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Principle:
Humility is recognizing God’s grace and providential care for our lives.
Application:
God will not humble us. Humility is our responsibility. When God directs that we humble ourselves and we then turn around and ask God to humble us, we insult God. If God does humble us, it will not be a pleasant experience (2 Corinthians 12:21).
Humility is not self-effacement. It is not standing round shouldered. Do not confuse humility with asceticism. A humble person can use the first person singular “I.” Humility is an attitude toward God that gives Him the credit for who we are and what we do.
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1 Peter 5:5f

Published on January 28, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’”
 
But gives grace to the humble
 
The negative side of this verse is “God resists the proud.” The positive side is he “gives grace to the humble.” Lack of humility may explain why we do not have enough grace. We are not humble, so we do not get grace.
 
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
 
God gives grace to the humble because the humble person recognizes that everything depends who God is and what He does. The word “gives” means that God keeps on giving grace to the humble person, the person who has no illusions about himself and understands that what he has, he has from God.
Grace is unmerited blessing, God’s provision for us that we do not deserve. A humble person is a good receiver. He willingly confesses his need to receive something from God.
“Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility” (Proverbs 18:12).
Before we can receive honor, we must come to the point of humility. If we never come to the point of humility, we will never come to the point of honor. Samuel speaking to Saul said,
“So Samuel said, ‘When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?’” (1 Samuel 15:17).
Saul magnified himself in his own eyes and we magnify ourselves in our eyes. We generally have an inflated, exaggerated estimation of our ability. Because others do not share that same exaggerated estimation of ourselves, we feel dejected. Our feelings are hurt and we say, “People do not appreciate me.” This is a special occupational hazard with preachers. It goes with the job.
We will get no cooperation from God when it comes to pride. Most of us struggle with pride all our lives. Invariably we are proud about things we have no business being proud about: pride of race, pride of face, pride of grace. The Devil has much to do with pride:
“Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6).
In this context, God gives grace to the congregation who submits to its leadership. If a congregation has no illusions about itself, God will bless it. If we focus our eyes on leadership, we will fall flat on our faces. What do you expect of your pastor? Do you expect him to be someone who never makes a mistake? That is what many people expect. They want a preacher who never sins. Pride resists and rejects the authority of the leadership of the local church. The “humble” person is the person who looks to the grace of God’s provisions.
Pride = God resists
Humble = God recognizes
Principle:
God gives grace to people who recognize their need for God.
Application:
Some people have the idea that being humble is the equivalent of being someone’s doormat. But denying humility is not pretending to be blind to our strong points. There is no humility in disowning that we can do certain things. Similarly, it is not pride to believe that we can do certain things with excellence. Humility has to do with knowing the source of our strength.
If someone says, “Hey, that was a great sermon,” what is the pastor supposed to say, “Yea, that was a great sermon!!” No leader has ever gone without some compliments in his life. It is somewhat phony to say, “Give God the credit, brother!” This may be sincere but rude. However, the worst thing that can happen you is to believe it. When a leader starts believing his clippings, he is in danger of God resisting him. The humble believer has no illusion about himself and no illusions about anyone else except the Lord.
A humble person does not demand respect from others. This person does not need special attention. Maturity comes, not by hammering ourselves, but by recognizing God’s grace in our lives. God is the giver of the good. He demolishes our pride.
God possesses indescribable intelligence. He is all-knowing. He has never had to learn anything because he has always known everything. That is why God is never surprised, astounded or shocked. No one has ever put God in a bind. This God never asks us to do anything unreasonable. God’s commands are his enablements.
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1 Peter 5:5e

Published on January 27, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’
 
 
for God resists
 
The word “resists” is a military term. Secular Greek used “resists” of an army drawn up for battle. Pride calls for God to line up his forces against it. God will draw on his resources against the proud believer. God will set himself as an adversary and block the proud process. 
 
“Resists” means to set against, to stand against. The word comes from the same root as the word “submit.” In other words, “resist” is a play on the word “submit.” “Submit” means to fall in line under. “Resists” means God gets in rank against proud people. God resists those who reject the authority of the leadership of the local church.
 
Paul uses this word “resists” of Peter, the author of this epistle in the book of Galatians,
 
Gal 2: 11 “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed.”
 
the proud
 
 “Proud” comes from two words: above and to appear. The word “proud” means to show above, appear over. He appears above others (Luke 1:51; Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2; Jas. 4:6). He is arrogant, disdainful and proud. He is overweening and ostentatiously proud.
 
This person loves to play king of the mountain gaining the ascendancy over other people. He is arrogant and haughty. He does not recognize that what he has, he has from God. Because of his pride, he does not accept the authority of the leadership of the local church. He is anti-establishment in his sentiment. 
 
The proud person is someone who shows himself above others. He views himself as pre-eminent. He feels he is above others.
 
This person is haughty (Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2). God sets the haughty in opposition to the humble,
 
Ja 4: 6 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’”
 
PRINCIPLE: 
 
God will block proud people who do not submit to the authority of the local church. 
 
APPLICATION:
 
The proud person is the person who cannot accept authority in the local church. God resists those who resist the authority of the local church. If you line up against the pastor, God will line up against you!
 
There is a delayed action fuse on the bomb of pride. When it goes off, we will know it. God opposes the proud not only in his psychological attitude but also in his corresponding behavior. God withstands and opposes the proud. He sets himself against the arrogance of people who do not accept authority in the local church.
 
Pride is the first on a list of things God hates:
Pr 6: 16 “These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
   A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
     And one who sows discord among brethren.”
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1 Peter 5:5d

Published on January 26, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
Read Introduction to 1 Peter

 

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.’”

 

and be clothed

“Be clothed” is not the ordinary expression for clothing oneself. This is the only occurrence of this word in the New Testament. It comes from two words: in and tie with a knot, roll band or towel. It means to “engird yourselves.”
“Clothed” means to tie clothing to oneself with a broad belt. The clothing here is humility. Dress yourself with humility. Gird yourself with humility.
One purpose of a girdle is to control fat from bouncing around and to bring fat under control. Here, we are to bring our minds under control. Humility needs to be bound to oneself because humility does not come to us naturally.
Eventually “clothed” means to coordinate your clothing. “Dress in a coordinated manner.” If a person does this, they turn out to be a human being! This is not talking simply about coordinating our clothes but coordinating our lives with humility. If we dress with our shirt-tails out, we do not coordinate our clothing. God is not talking about tucking in our shirts but gathering humility into our thinking.
Metaphorically, “clothed” may mean to make humility our essential characteristic. Humility, therefore, is to be a decisive mark of Christian conduct.
with humility
Humility means to have lowliness of mind. God wants us to obey God-ordained leadership in the local church. Peace in the church comes from low-mindedness toward God first, then toward each other. This is especially true for the suffering church. God wants the church to regard the coming sufferings as from His sovereign will. We should follow in the footsteps of Him who endured suffering (Hebrews 12:1-12). Leadership can orient the church toward this thinking.”Humility” is primarily that which is low, and does not rise far from the ground, lowly, humble. A humble person is unpretentious.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29).
“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ–who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
This is contrary to our fleshly thinking. We want to be number one but the humble mind recognizes others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3, 8; Colossians 3:12) and God first.
Principle:
A humble person is a person oriented to grace.
Application:
Most people think that humility is some form of self-effacement. “Don’t use the word ‘I’ because that isn’t humble!” Thousands of sentences call for “I” like, “I must go to the game.” Of course, we can neutralize that by adding “God willing!” Some of us think that if a person has poise and good posture that they are proud. Some people believe that if they neglect their appearance they are more humble. Some women do not put on makeup out of concern for humility. Humility has nothing to do with personality characteristics and traits. Overt appearance or mannerisms have nothing to do with humility.
A humble person thinks about God and God’s provisions and focuses on God’s grace. Once a person develops an attitude where he recognizes that all he has, is from God, he can work on any team. He no longer tries to outdo everyone. He stops playing ‘king of the mountain’. He stops catering to his lust for approbation and power.
A person at peace is a powerful person. A coordinated person is a person who knows how to have symmetry between relaxation and tension. Babe Ruth knew how to hold this balance in hitting the baseball. He was not so uptight that he struck out. Some people keep their eyes on other members of the congregation. They wear their feelings on their sleeves. They operate with hypersensitivity. They are uptight all the time.
Humble thinkers operate on grace. A truly humble person recognizes that everything he has, came from God. He acknowledges to grace in everything. He does not operate on antagonism or resentment because he realizes that but for the grace of God go I. No matter what anyone does to us, no matter how unkind, we put it into God’s hands.
Grace recognizes that we can never earn or deserve anything from God. This knocks us off our pseudo high horse. There can be no Christian ’star’. It is painful to watch those who have illusions about themselves. They think they are hot stuff spiritually–that God cannot get along without them and that there is no one else like them in the Christian life. They believe that although people have not recognized them like they have Billy Graham, they are no less great. It may be that someone told them that they were doing a great job in the local church and they have never gotten over it. Rather, they stand around waiting for the bouquets to be handed out. There is no place for that attitude in the Christian life.
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1 Peter 5:5c

Published on January 25, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’”
 
Yes, all of you be submissive to one another
 
Both members of the congregation and leaders are to submit to one another. Can you yield to someone else? Can you concede to someone else’s argument? The Lord Jesus was among other things, a servant,
 
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
 
“Saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done’” (Luke 22:42).
Principle:
God expects Christians to give in to one another.
Application:
Often we expect people to cater to us but are not willing to cater to them. But when we submit to someone else, we want to be a blessing to them. We will go out of our way to help them. We do not expect them to cater to us.
When we operate in this way, we seldom get hurt because we do not expect anything in return. Do you get hurt easily? Perhaps you expect too much from other people and too little from yourself. If you decide to be a blessing to others, God will honor your commitment.
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Romans 12:10).
When you offer your smile and friendship to others but they do not return the favor, recall that a servant demands nothing in return. Therefore, rejection should not bother you and you are protected from hurt.
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Romans 12:16).
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
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1 Peter 5:5b

Published on January 24, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’
 
 
submit yourselves to your elders.
 
“Submit” means to subordinate. The grammar also indicates that “submit” means to “allow” yourselves [passive voice] to be under subordination to the leaders of the local church. Evidently, there were people in Asia Minor churches who did not submit themselves to the authority of their leaders. Peter’s solution to the problem is decisive submission [aorist imperative] to authority. God wants those in subordination to obey the leadership of the church.
 
Peter had already proscribed that Christians as a whole to submit to government (2:13-14), that slaves submit to their masters (2:18) and wives submit to their husbands (3:1). No organization can function without authority. No organization can have two equal heads or leaders without imbibing sever problems. Conflict always comes at the point of crucial decisions. An army cannot have two Major Generals commanding the same division. If the church has two heads, it will have confusion. 
 
PRINCIPLE: 
 
The church cannot function properly without authority.
 
APPLICATION:
 
If you cannot submit to the leadership of the local church, you will make yourself miserable and you will open the possibility of a church split. Submission to “elders” makes for a well-run church. 
 
Suppose that you get a box of chocolate candy for your birthday. You are under stress so you kill the whole box in one sitting. You will have a weight problem eventually. If you have the discipline to eat one piece, you possess authority over yourself [the authority of self-discipline]. Self-discipline is the basis of authority. Discipline is necessary for every area of life. The most consistent athletes are self-disciplined.
 
It is amazing how many people think that the church should operate without authority. “No one has a right to have authority over me in the local church.” Many people revolt against authority in the local church because they are not self-disciplined in the first place and therefore cannot recognize the intrinsic value of authority. 
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1 Peter 5:5

Published on January 23, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

‘God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.’”
 
In the first four verses, Peter addresses his remarks to the leadership of the local church. Now he addresses his remarks to the congregation. There are two different crowds in the opening verses of 1 Peter 5:
1) those that rule over (5:1-4) and
2) the “younger” — all the saints, the rank and file Christians (5:5f).
Turning to the function of the congregation, Peter now makes the point that a congregation cannot function properly without a recognition of authority. This passage is dedicated to those of you who do not believe that the church should have authority in their lives. God sets up principles of authority in all aspects of our lives. In fact, there is little difference between the church and a military organization, a business organization or a successful athletic team in this respect. Before you can have a dynamic church, it must understand authority (1 Thessalonians 5:12; Hebrews 13:7,17).
Likewise you younger people
“Likewise” connects the previous section (5:1-4) with this section. Peter challenges another category of people to responsibility.
Peter sets the words “younger people” in parallelism to “elders” of the first verse with the word “likewise.” By paralleling the words “younger people” to the “elders” of verse one, we understand that “younger” refers to the congregation. As “elders” does not primarily mean older in age but higher in authority, so “younger” does not mean younger in age but lower in authority. “Younger” deals with rank, not age in this context.
While the first four verses talk about leadership, these verses consider people who follow. The Greek word “younger” carries nuances of fresh or new. “Younger” here probably means new converts or those newly under authority of elders. So then, these are people under the authority of the leaders of the congregation.
Principle:
People in any congregation are under the authority of their leaders.
Application:
Excuses that reject the authority of leadership in the church are not valid with the Lord. These excuses include: “I could not get along with the leadership of the church,” “I did not like the pastor,” “I did not feel appreciated by the leadership.”
Many of us do not get involved in the local church because we reject the idea of someone in authority over us. However, authority is essential for advancing the gospel. Leaders establish the goals for advancing the gospel. Members of the congregation must accept those goals to move the church forward. We must get involved. Just because we can’t do everything, it does not mean that we can’t do something.
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1 Peter 5:4c

Published on January 22, 1998 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

 

the crown of glory
 
Pastors will receive an unfading crown of glory for faithfulness to their congregations. A crown of victory was awarded after the Greek athletic games-usually a crown of woven ivy or oak leaves.
 
There are also crowns for other Christians and for other reasons:
for witnessing, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, Philippians 4:1
for faithfulness , 2 Timothy 4:8
for enduring trials, James 1:12
for discipline, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
that does not fade away
“Fades not” primarily signifies something that does not lose its initial pristine character. This word was used of the amaranth flower, a flower that does not fade but retains its brightness and wonderful character. So too the pastor’s crown for faithfulness to his congregation will never fade away. God will make sure that his work is remembered into eternity. This phrase “does not fade away” appears in the first chapter of our inheritance of heaven,
“To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).
Principle:
God rewards pastors eternally for faithfulness to their congregation.
Application:
Is your ambition as a pastor to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ with a crown of glory on your head? Will you stand there bareheaded?
“I finished first but I did not get a first place prize, nor even second place.” It is not a matter of merely finishing the race but it is an issue of how well we ran the race. If we foul another runner on the far turn, Jesus will see it and disqualify us from a victor’s wreath.
In heaven, we will cast our crowns before the Lord. When God gives the signal to throw our crowns down, will we have a crown to throw? We work for them here, we receive them hereafter.
“The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created’” (Revelation 4:10-11).
There are crowns to be won and races to be won. This is not fictional but factual. Every pastor will finish the race but who desires to finish fourth? No one. We must run to get a medal. We will get a medal if we put in a splendid performance. If we are going to turn in a stellar performance, we had better get in shape. If there is anything pastors seem to resist today, it is discipline. We do not want to train; it is too much work. The reason some people play right end on the bench is their lack of discipline.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Some pastors are happy just to make the squad. Do you want to be on the field and involved in the game? To warm the bench is anything but gratifying. Why is it that so many of God’s leaders seem content to ride the bench? They would rather sit there wrapped in a blanket and watch someone else play the game and score the points. Every once in a while they get a little excited and stand up and cheer. Then the blanket falls off feeling a draft, they are concerned only about recovering their blanket.
When we come to the end of life’s short day there will be no further opportunities to live for Christ in time. You had your chance. You had your opportunity. Did you take advantage of it?
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