Guard The Word

Guard the Word

By Pastor Russell Henderson

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me--a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me--even Phygelus and Hermogenes.

[2Timothy 1:13-15 NLT]

One of the most dangerous statements someone could ever make is “That will never happen to me” or “I will never fall into that sin”.  It is usually said the person who makes those statements is one step away from falling into that very thing.  In 2 Timothy 1:15 (above) Paul mentions two people, Phygelus and Hermogenes, who were apparently at one time faithful followers of Christ and assistants to Paul.  Paul mentions how they have now deserted him.  Whether they completely backslid or not is unclear, but it seems that they ceased to be the faithful servants that they once had been.

Paul gives Timothy some instruction on how not to fall away as they had, and it is found in the two preceding verses.  He told Timothy to “hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me” and to “carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.  The teaching and the truth to which Paul is referring is the word of God.

How was Timothy supposed to stay strong in his new role as pastor of the Ephesian church?  How is anyone supposed to stay strong in this crazy, sinful world?  We have to hold on to the word of God and guard it with our lives.  The Greek word for “hold” means to cling tight to something and don’t ever let it go.  When a bride and groom recite their wedding vows, they will usually say something like this, “I,  ________, take you, ______, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.”  The first part of that vow says, “I am taking you as my spouse forever.  No matter what comes, I am not going to let you go.”

That’s the way we have to be with the word of God.  We’ve got to have a resolve that says,  “I am not going stop trusting God even though I can hardly stand.  I’m not going to give up on His word.”  Friends, we’ve got to remember every day that God’s word never fails.  It is always true.  The promises that were made thousands of years ago are still very valid for you today.  Will there be hard times?  Oh, yes.  Will there be times that we are tempted to give up?  Most certainly.  But we’ve got to learn to guard that word.  Keep it hidden in your heart.  Hide God’s word in your heart so that you will not fall into sin. (Psalm 119:11   How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. (Psalm 119:9)

Friends, the word of God is your best friend.  It is your only means of survival in this crazy, messed up world.  Guard that word, don’t ever take your eyes off of it.  When it gets hard that’s when you have to rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit.  But know this, the word of God is a firm foundation.  As long as you are planted on the word, you will never fall.

Rekindle the Flame

Rekindle the Flame

by Pastor Russell Henderson

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

 [2Timothy 1:6 NKJV]

Timothy was a young pastor at the church of Ephesus.  Paul had planted this church on one of his missionary journeys and later sent Timothy, one of his students, to go and lead it.  Ephesus was not a perfect church.  There was some false teaching and false worship that Timothy had to deal with as well as removing unqualified leaders and elders and installing new ones.

It also seems from some of Paul’s teaching and encouragement to him that he was not a boisterous, outspoken type of person.  He might have even been considered somewhat of an introvert.  But Paul noticed something special in Timothy.  In 2 Timothy 1:5 Paul recognizes his faith as being sincere.  In other words it was pure.  There was no deception in his life of faith.  He loved God and was willing to serve in whatever capacity he could.  God can use someone with sincere faith.

This brings us to verse 6 above.  Timothy apparently went through some sort of ordination ceremony where the elders of the church laid hands on him, prayed for him, and commissioned him into ministry.  (We can also see this in 1 Timothy 4:14).  It was also during this ceremony that Timothy was imparted with a new spiritual gift that he needed to help him in his ministry. 

It seems that Timothy might have been feeling overwhelmed in his new position.  He worried about people taking him seriously because he was younger than most of them.  He dealt with fear and timidity.  He might have even been tempted to revert back into his introverted shell.  But Paul encouraged him to “stir up the gift”.  The Greek word for “stir up” is anazōpyreō.  It is a combination of three words:  ana means up or again, zoon means alive, living, or beast (animal), pyr means fire.  When you combine zoon and pyr you get a word that describes a living, burning fire--not just some smoldering ashes.  Imagine a college pep rally with the biggest bonfire you have ever seen.  Also think of a wild animal that has been caged, but is suddenly released.  Hopefully that paints the picture for you. 

Ana means “up” or “again”.  It means to take that living fire that might be diminishing and add some more wood.  As a matter of fact, go ahead and add some gasoline to it.  If the fire is going out, stir it up.  Add wood and fuel to get it going again.  If the fire is still burning, take it up a notch.  Make it even bigger.  I’m reminded of one of John Wesley’s famous quotes,  “Light yourself on fire,….and people will come to watch you burn.”

When you were filled with the Holy Spirit, there was a living fire placed inside of you.  It was never meant to be contained, but it was meant to be let out.  Maybe at one time your fire was burning hot and bright, and lately you’ve noticed more smoke than fire.  Take encouragement from Paul’s words.  Stir up that fire once again.  Don’t contain it.  Don’t let it die.  Be refilled with the fuel of the Holy Spirit and let your fire out so that it can grow and spread.

Activate Your Faith

Activate Your Faith

By Pastor Russell Henderson

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

[James 1:22 NIV]

Last week we examined the danger of only listening to the word and not being obedient.  Jesus called that type of man foolish.  Proverbs calls the same man stupid.   Either way it is very clear that faith without action is useless.  The Christian faith was always intended to be active.  It was never meant to be idle and passive. 

The last part of the verse above says, “Do what it says”.  That word do is an action word that means:  to perform, execute, accomplish, or exert.  The Greek word is poiētēs.  It is where we get our word poet, or poem.  A poem is art, and art is something that is created.  Art doesn’t happen in the mind.  It starts in the mind, but it is not complete until it is visibly or audibly created.  Picasso did not become a great painter by imagining.  He became a great painter when he put brush to canvas.  Mozart did not become a great composer until he notated every note onto paper and then performed it.  When you look at all of these definitions, it is clear that God intends us to be active if we are going to be pleasing in our faith.

Acts 17:28 tells us, “For in him we live and move and have our being….We are his offspring.”   Now look at Ephesians 2:10. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  The Greek word for handiwork is a variation of the same word for do (poem).  So, we could reword this and say we are God’s poem.  You and I are His masterpiece, His opus, His pride and joy.   Why?  Because he put all of His creative power into creating us – you and me.  So according to Acts 17:28, because we are children of God we, therefore, must move in Him.   We must be active in our faith.

So what should we be doing to put our faith to work?  Let’s start with Jesus.  Jesus commands us to Love.  Love God, love others and love ourselves.  James tells us that true religion, the kind that pleases God, is to look after orphans and widows.  He also instructs us to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world.   Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 to flee from greed, false teaching, and vain arguments and pursue righteousness and the things of God.  He also instructed him to fight the good fight and take hold of eternal life.  Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 5 to humble ourselves and resist the devil.

Notice all of these instructions are calls to action.  None of them said, “Well, just sit.  Don’t do anything.  God will take care of everything.”  While it is true that sometimes we need to be still and trust God, there are other things we should be doing while we wait on the Lord:  things like encouraging, serving, and telling others the good news.   Scripture tells us that Abraham was not considered righteous for hearing God’s word, but for obeying it.  When God called Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, he didn’t hesitate.  He immediately went and put his faith to action.  Then he was called God’s friend. 

Take it from me.  Action is hard.  It’s much easier to sit and believe, and it’s hard to take our faith and walk it out.  But that is the type of faith that pleases God, and until we put our faith to action we are like the foolish man who had a great fall.  So choose today to be like the wise man.  Activate your faith and experience the genuine blessings of God. 

Wise vs. Foolish

Wise vs. Foolish

By Pastor Russell Henderson

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

[James 1:22-24 NIV]

This passage is quickly becoming one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  James has some very interesting things to say about a person who only hears the word versus a person who follows up his hearing with action.  Notice how he describes a “hearer only” person:  “[He] is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and….immediately forgets what he looks like”.  If I were to label that person in today’s language I would call him D-U-M-B.  Oh, but don’t be so quick to criticize me.  Look at what Jesus had to say about the same man.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

 [Matthew 7:26-27 NIV]

Jesus called the same type of person foolish.  The Greek word for “foolish” is moros.  It’s where we get our English word “moron”.  We could never imagine Jesus calling someone a moron, but that’s exactly what he did.  You see the foolish person does things his own way.  He hears the instructions, but he is so caught up in his own arrogance and pride that he feels he can do it better.

The foolish man in Jesus’ parable above said, “What difference does it make if I build on the rock or on the sand?  I’ll reinforce the walls.  I’ll give it a strong roof.  Nothing will be able to harm my house.”  But Jesus said that his house fell with a great crash.  It didn’t just fall; it was completely destroyed.  All of this because he refused to listen to instruction.

Proverbs 12:1b says it this way, “…He who hates correction is stupid.” The bible is full of very harsh language toward the person who refuses to put the word of God into action.  If you read Jesus’ teachings further, many of his parables deal with foolish people.  And unfortunately the fate of these people is always spiritual death, in other words – Hell.

Jesus asked the question in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”  Jesus was actually saying, “If you are not going to be obedient to my word, you are mistaken if you think that I’m the Lord of your life.”  Now go back to James 1:22.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  This deception that James is referring to is that many people think they are in a right relationship with the Lord just because they go to church, watch Christian TV or read the bible.  But these passages make it clear that your salvation is not complete unless you are actively putting God’s word into practice.

There is good news, however.  Jesus also talked about the person who hears the word and does what it says.  He calls that person wise, and Jesus always equates wisdom with salvation.  The wise person is stable; he will not fall when the storm is raging.  His faith is sure and solid.  The wise person can be confident in his salvation. He can be sure that God’s hand of blessing is upon him.  That person is bearing fruit, and God always blesses fruit bearers.

So, choose today who you will be.  Will you be foolish – not being obedient to the word of God?  Or will you be wise and obedient – bearing much fruit?