From the Blog
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Do the Work
Whenever God calls his people to something significant, there are always questions like, "Does God really want to use someone like me?" or "What difference could my contribution make?" or "What if I don't know what part I'm supposed to play?"
Here's a more powerful question, though: "What if God has entrusted something to me that He intends to use to change someone else's life?"
We may never know this side of heaven how God uses our faithful participation to change someone's eternity! Today, we're continuing our series It's Time to Finish with a message entitled "Do the Work.” We're returning to the book of Zechariah, where God's people had been called to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. -
Be Strong
Here's what we all need to remember: God doesn't call us to accomplish His work in our own strength. We may have limited resources, limited energy, and limited ability. But our God is unlimited in His power! The question isn't whether we're strong enough to finish. The question is whether we're depending on the One who is. That's exactly the encouragement God gave to the prophet Zechariah for His people.
In the book of Zechariah, the Lord gave the prophet a word to strengthen Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, to lead the returning exiles in finishing the rebuilding of the temple. We can be strengthened in the Lord to finish the work He has called us to do. -
Our Strength in Christ
Paul is writing from Roman imprisonment. Yet he doesn't pray for the prison doors to open. He prays for the believers' hearts to be strengthened! Why? Because he knows that the Christian life requires a power greater than anything we possess in on our own.
Yet sometimes, we slip back into thinking of the Christian life as a list of things we must do. Pray more. Read our Bibles more. Be more loving. Be more patient. Share our faith more. And while these are all good things, we soon discover that knowing what we ought to do doesn't give us the power to do it.
This is where the gospel continues to matter for us. The gospel isn’t merely the entry point for the Christian life. It's the sustaining message for living the Christian life. It’s the promise that God will finish what He started in us.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he prayed that believers would be strengthened by God’s power in Christ Jesus. -
Our Mission in Christ
Have you ever become discouraged while doing something you believed God had called you to do? Maybe you've prayed for a lost family member or friend for years, but they still haven't trusted Christ. Maybe you've invested your time in discipling someone, only to watch them turn away from the faith. Perhaps you've served faithfully in a ministry, but the results haven't matched your expectations. Or maybe you've faced criticism, rejection, or opposition because of your commitment to Christ.
We know that Jesus has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. We know that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. And we know that He has promised to be with us always.
Yet sometimes, despite our obedience, we experience suffering and setbacks. Instead of seeing people come to Christ, we experience rejection. Instead of seeing spiritual growth, we see people fall away. Instead of experiencing encouragement, we face discouragement. And if we're not careful, we can begin to lose heart.
How do we keep from losing heart when following Christ and fulfilling His mission becomes difficult? That's the very concern Paul addresses in Ephesians 3. And his answer isn't simply to try harder or work longer. Instead, he reminds us of the glorious mission God is accomplishing through Christ and His church. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he encouraged believers not to lose heart over his suffering by reminding them of his mission in Christ. -
Our Peace in Christ
We live in a world that longs for peace, yet seems unable to find it. Nations are at war. Families are divided. Friendships are broken. Even in our own hearts, we struggle with anxiety, guilt, and unrest. We want peace in our world, peace in our relationships, and peace within ourselves.
Yet, no matter how hard we try, lasting peace seems just beyond our reach.
Why is peace so difficult to find? The Bible tells us that our greatest problem is not political, relational, or emotional. It's spiritual. Sin has separated us from God, and that separation has affected every other relationship in our lives. We cannot have true and lasting peace until we first have peace with God. And that's a peace we cannot achieve through our own efforts. We need a Savior.
That's the good news of today's passage. Paul reminds us that Jesus didn't merely come to teach us how to find peace. Paul doesn't say that Christ merely gives us peace, although He certainly does. He says that Christ IS our peace! That's a powerful distinction. Peace isn't merely the absence of conflict. It's the presence of Christ!
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he called the Gentile believers to remember how Christ had brought them from separation to reconciliation with God and His people. -
Our Transformation in Christ
Most people think of themselves as basically good people who need a little improvement. We may admit that we have some bad habits, some weaknesses, some things we need to work on. So we imagine Christianity as God helping us become a better version of ourselves.
But that is not how the Bible describes our condition apart from Christ. Paul doesn’t say we were spiritually sick and needed medicine. He doesn’t say we were spiritually weak and needed strength. He says we were dead and needed life. The gospel is not about self-improvement. It is about resurrection.
That means none of us can boast. If there has been any real transformation in our lives, the glory belongs to God. We were dead, but God made us alive, enslaved to sin, but God saved us by grace. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught believers how God had transformed their lives from death to life in Christ Jesus. -
Our Enlightenment in Christ
Last week, we looked at Paul’s greeting and his opening praise to God for the blessings believers have in Christ. Now this week, we’ll be looking at Ephesians 1:15-23 and Paul’s prayer that believers would be enlightened to know the reality that these blessings are already theirs in Christ Jesus.
Many Christians live as though we are spiritually impoverished because we don't understand the riches that already belong to us in Christ. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he prayed that God would enlighten the eyes of their hearts so that they might know what belonged to them in Christ. -
Our Blessings in Christ
Every one of us has to answer one of the most basic questions of life: “Who am I?” And how we answer that question shapes almost everything else about us.
Again and again in these opening verses we encounter the words: “in Christ.” Paul wants believers to understand that our deepest identity is not something we achieve through our performance, inherit from our family, or discover by searching our feelings. Our identity is something we receive by grace because of our union with Jesus Christ.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he opens up his letter by praising God that He has given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places to believers in Christ. We can praise God for the spiritual blessings He has given us in Christ. -
The Ultimate Kingdom
For four weeks now we have explored His Kingdom as being one we must be Receptive to, as being a Patient Kingdom, as being Unstoppable, and indeed Priceless. Today, we will see that His Kingdom is Ultimate, bringing every person to an ultimate and final response.
It's easy to hear these parables, nod along, and then move on without allowing what we've heard to change how we live. Today, we will see that Jesus asked the disciples, "Have you understood all these things?" and they simply said, "Yes." But understanding these parables and rightly responding to them are two different things.
As we conclude our parables series, I pray that you may hear and obey the words of our Lord Jesus today, who calls us to take action with what we’ve received. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13, Jesus finished His parables about the Kingdom of Heaven with a conclusion that demanded a response. -
The Unstoppable Kingdom
Jesus spoke about the kingdom in ways that created a surprising tension. He said the kingdom was “at hand,” or had drawn near. He said it had “come upon” them. He said it was “in their midst.” Yet He also taught His disciples to keep praying, “Your kingdom come.”
So the kingdom was near. It was present. It was already breaking into the world through the King. And yet, in another sense, it was still coming. The great surprise was not whether God’s kingdom would come, but how it would come.
We tend to trust what is big, visible, immediate, and measurable. So when the gospel seems small in comparison to the powers of this world, when the culture seems increasingly resistant to Christ, or when the work of God appears to be slow and hidden, we can begin to wonder whether His kingdom is really advancing. But Jesus warned us not to worry about small beginnings and little influence. The kingdom may begin like a mustard seed and work like leaven, but what God has purposed through His Son cannot be stopped.
In Matthew 13:31–35, Jesus taught two parables revealing the surprising manner in which the kingdom of heaven enters and advances in the world.