Jesus Christ the Conqueror

I want to examine one aspect of Jesus Christ: Christ as the Conqueror. To see this, let us look at Romans 8. Since the passage is so long, you can read it here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208%20&version=NASB

Make sure to read it first and, after doing so, you can see how powerful of a position we are in as Christians! Christ has so much tremendous power, we cannot even comprehend it. Let's examine what Jesus gives us by His position as a Conqueror.

What Did Jesus Conquer?

1. Death

1 Corinthians 15:54:57, "54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. ⁵⁵"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jesus conquered death. He removed the sting and power of death: sin and the Law respectively. The Law is what gives sin power. Sin having power gives rise to death (Ezekiel 18:20). The Law (meaning the Mosiac Law) gives sin power because it acts like a mirror. Without law, there is nothing to say sin is sin. How can sin be sin if there is nothing that LABELS it as sin. Paul explains this in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 3:22-23, "²²But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed."

Paul says the law keeps us under custody. We were shut out from the faith because of the Law. Why? The Law is what makes our sin, sin. It calls it out, gives it a name, and more importantly requires a punishment. Death. Without Jesus to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17), we would still be sacrificing animals to atone for our sins.

It took the death of GOD (the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, eternal CREATOR of the universe and Heaven) to pay for our sin (1 John 2:2). That should tell you something about both mankind's sinfulness and God's love for us (Romans 5:6, Romans 5:8-21).

2. Separation from His Love

Romans 8:35-37:

^"35Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶Just as it is written,
"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."

³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."

Jesus defeats separation from His love! That's an odd concept to wrap our mind around, but think about it. Paul says in verse 35 "will these things separate us from God's love?" and in verse 36 "are we going to be like what God talked about in the Law and Prophets [Old Testament]?" and resolutely in verse 37 "NO! Jesus is so powerful that we overwhelmingly conquer the things that you think will separate you from His love."

3. Life's Troubles

Don't take the title to mean God promises we will never have distress (to the contrary He promises we WILL have tribulation--John 16:33). In the above verse Paul is also saying that we as Christians conquer tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and/or sword! All these things Jesus has overwhelmingly conquered.

How Powerful is the Conqueror?

Romans 8:37-39, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Paul continues his passage in Romans 8 by saying he was convinced nothing in existence (for God has created everything--Colossians 1:16) could separate us from the Love of God. Jesus is THAT powerful. Absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion

Do you feel worried about life? Are you ever afraid of what might or could happen? Do not fear! Jesus Christ the almighty conqueror is at your side! If you don't have Jesus in your life I pray you accept Him as Savior by following John 3:16. Believe (better stated trust) Jesus with your life. He died for you (1 John 2:2) and wants to save you (1 Timothy 3:3-4). All you have to do is:

1. Realize and confess you're a sinner (meaning you commit acts that are wrong in God's eyes. If you've ever done anything wrong, you've sinned. See Ezekiel 18:20, Romans 3:23)

2. Only Jesus Christ can fix that (1 John 2:2)

3. Believe that He is the Son of God who died on the Cross for your sins (1 Peter 3:18) and was brought back to life (resurrected) by God the Father (Acts 13:29-32).

4. Trust Him as your savior (John 3:16)

Once you do that and tell it to God you are saved by His grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), given the Holy Spirit and sealed with Him forever (Ephesians 1:13-14 and Ephesians 4:30), and are a Child of God forever (Romans 8:29-31 with R0mans 11:29). God is good!! Buy a Bible and start reading it everyday, pray to God everyday, get in a good, Bible based Church, and tell others about what you've just experienced!

If you have questions about salvation, please do not hesitate to contact me at rrproclaim@gmail.com.

God bless,

Robert A. Rowlett

Friends - Many or Few?

I want to look at a few passages of Scripture and answer the question: "Should I have a lot of friends or only a few?" By the end of this study, I believe the answer is a few, close friends.

What are Friends For?

Before we look at many vs. few friends, it's useful to see what God says about what friends are for. According to God, friends fulfill the following:

1. Love

Proverbs 17:17, "A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity."

God says that a friend is there to love you. Friends are there to be alongside you and love you when no one else will. When you're feeling down, feeling worthless, feeling totally and completely hated by the world, the friend is there to give you the love no one else will.

2. Rebuke

Proverbs 27:5-6, "⁵Better is open rebuke Than love that is concealed. ⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy."

Friends are there to make sure we stay in line with God. They are there to protect us and edify us. If we make a mistake, they are there to graciously point it out. God says it's better to continually barraged by your friend than it is to be kissed by your enemy. One, though appearing bad, is good for you while the other appears good, but is actually bad for you.

3. Counsel

Proverbs 27:9, "Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend."

Friends are here to give us advice. They offer different perspectives on issues and problems. They offer wisdom and insight. Notice something else about this passage. It says "so a man's counsel is sweet to his friend." All singular words. It doesn't say "so a counsel's advice is to one of it's constituents." This is not to say that groups of friends cannot advise you, but that job is fulfilled by something else: the Church. A single friend (usually) will know you very well. As such they can offer advice they know is specific to you and your situation.

4. Help in Time of Distress

Proverbs 27:10, "Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, And do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away."

Friends can step in for absent family members in times of distress. Sometimes it's a good alternative to go to a close friend in a time of trouble than to a family member--especially if the family member is not available. Friends have one thing family sometimes cannot provide: nearness. Your friends come mostly from your surrounding community. This being the case, they are readily accessible if something goes wrong in your life. In addition, as Christians, they can offer prayer for you.

5. Mutual Betterment

Proverbs 27:17, "Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another."

Friends are here so that we can use one another to mutually improve ourselves. One of you is a little too soft spoken and the other is a little too abrasive? Use one another to work out the other's faults. Edification is a very integral part of friendship.

Which is Better? Many Friends or Few Friends?

Proverbs 18:24, "A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

This is the pivotal verse I want to study for a moment. God is very clear: if you have too many friends, you come to ruin. In addition, there is "a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Notice it says "friend" and not "friends."

Why would it be that too many friends leads to ruin?

1. Too Much Pressure

If you have too many friends (not "many", but "too many") there is constant pressure from one friend and then the other. It will eventually overwhelm you because somewhere down the road one friend's request or advice is going to rub against another's.

2. Distracts from God

If you have too many friends, you cannot stay focused on God. Friends are there to love and edify, but ultimately God is the best advice giver. He knows what's going to happen and when and why it will happen. He is the best source of information out there. Muddying that up with the voices of too many friends crowds out God's voice till you cannot hear it. It's better to stay back and have a balanced number of friends.

What Does Few Friends Give Me?

Having a few close friends (besides Jesus Christ of course), as stated above has many benefits. There is one or two people who can:

1. Give you advice

2. Comfort you

3. Sharpen you

4. Love you

5. Help you

6. Pray for you

7. Rebuke you

Friends are a good thing! But too many people doing those things to you at once can prove the old adage true, that too much of anything (even a good thing) is bad.

Conclusion

I would challenge you to reexamine your circle of friends. Would you say you have a large number of friends or just a few? Would you say you have a friend that "sticks closer that a brother" or so many friends sticking to you that you can't move? I would hope that this is not true of you and even if it is that you would avoid the trap of too many friends and draw yourself back to your closest, most edifying friends.

God bless,

Robert

Enduring Times of Distress

Today I want to examine Psalm 77 to see how we should respond to trying times in our lives. I believe this Psalm illustrates a framework through which we can overcome distresses in our lives.

Here is the entire passage:

Psalm 77

^"1My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out †without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
⁴You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
⁶I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
⁷Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed."
¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron."

† Lit and did not grow numb

This Psalm is written by Asaph, whose character isn't very well known. David and the commanders of the Army said that his and Herman's sons were those "who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals" (1 Chronicles 25:1-2). He wrote Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83.

Stage One: Fear and Confusion

In Psalm 77, Asaph is obviously describing a very difficult time in his life. For some reason, God doesn't appear to be responding to his supplication and prayer. Verses 1-9 lay out the problems Asaph has in his present distress.

Within those verses, 1-5 almost show somewhat of a battle in Asaph's mind/heart. Verse 1 says God will hear him when his voice rises to Him, but then later in verse 3 Asaph says "³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;". So on the one hand he says God will hear him, but on the other something about God disturbs Asaph. Asaph says in verse 4 that he is so troubled he cannot speak. All in all, we have a man who does trust God, but yet is obviously immersed in a very unpleasant situation.

Verses 6-10 hit me the hardest. Here God uses a wonderful speech pattern of question asking.

Psalm 77:6-10

"⁶I will remember my song in the night;

I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:

⁷Will the Lord reject forever?

And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,

That the right hand of the Most High has changed.""

Asaph thinks about these questions. Mulling them over. Have you ever asked any of these? Have you been to a point in your life where you are crying out to God saying "How long are you going to forget about me? Do you care? Have you stopped loving me? Are you mad at me!?"? I know I have and as sinners it's easy to feel this way. Since we aren't God and can't see all of history unfold before a millisecond of it has passed, we naturally feel a sense of insecurity and wonderment at God's apparent lack of sympathy and aid when we're facing a seemingly unending distress.

This is stage one: Fear and Confusion. In distress we are always afraid of what's going to happen then we wonder why it's happening. The natural (yet somewhat comical) response is "but I'm a Christian! I have GOD with me! I shouldn't be in troubles like this!" I contrast this with 1 Peter 4:12-14:

"¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;

¹³but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

If God is testing you, don't be surprised if it hurts. It sometimes takes pain to move us forward. It forces us to draw near to the only thing we as *Christians* have: God. Anything that pushes us closer to God and His Word is a very good thing--even pain.

Stage Two: Trusting God

The whole tone of the Psalm changes starting in verse 11. Here we see several ways that Asaph takes comfort in God. The following are what I believe are the steps to enduring a distress until it ends.

1. Remembering God's Previous Answers/Triumphs

Psalm 77:11-12

"¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds."

Starting with verse 11, Asaph takes a new approach to his distress. He starts with remembering God's past deeds and wonders of old. Such stories could be of God's deliverance of Noah, He leadership of Abraham, His formation of Israel. Asaph chooses to remember what God did do instead of thinking about what (he thinks) God hasn't done. Verse 12 says Asaph meditates on God's works and muses (which is defined as being absorbed in thought) about God's deeds.

This remembering of past actions is echoed back in verses 16-20, where Asaph talks of God's power and also mentions His deliverance of Israel from Egypt through Moses and Aaron.

Thinking about His past wonders and being absorbed in thought about God is always a help in time of distress. It reminds us of God's faithfulness and that He will come through at some point.

2. Reflecting About the Nature God

Psalm 77:13-14

"¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples."

God is God put simply. Asaph says "what God out there is great like ours?" Most likely Asaph is referring to idols. Pieces of wood or metal. How does a piece of wood compare to the God who created the wood AND created the man who could fashion that wood? It can't. He is all powerful and works wonder. Also, He has shown His strength through example to the peoples of the earth. (vs. 14).

3. Remember that God Redeems Powerfully

Psalm 77:15

"¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah."

Asaph says that God through His power redeemed His people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Verses 16-20 are an illustration of this power as God parted the Red Sea for Israel as they were being delivered from Egypt:

Psalm 77:16-20

"¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron."

God dealt powerfully with Israel. He redeemed them from Egypt through an amazing show of power: parting a Sea! Moving thousands of gallons of water out of the way to allow Israel to walk across dry land to safety and deliverance on the other side. Simultaneously he wiped out the Egyptian army, thus destroying their previous captors. Verse 20 says God led His people "like a flock"--a Loving Protector that kept those that were too weak to defend themselves safe. When someone like this is on our side, what do we have to fear (see also Romans 8:31).

Although it is wonderful that God can help us and that we can take comfort in Him, there is one fatal mistake people make.

Sin: Short Circuits Prayer

Consider another Psalm.

Psalm 66:18

"¹⁸If I †regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;"

† Or had regarded

If I regard wickedness, or cherish it, the LORD will not hear. Plain and simple: willful sin short circuits prayer. Be careful to not make the mistake of thinking you are not to blame for the distress you find yourself in. Your first step before doing any of the above is to make sure that you're not the cause of the problem in the first place. If you have sinned, confess the sin (1 John 1:9), repent of it (which means to change your mind about it and cease doing it, see Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15) and ask God to forgive your for it.

Conclusion

Like many believers, we find ourselves in difficult and trying situations. However, as seen here in Asaph's struggles, God does comfort and will follow through on His word. We just have to trust Him.

God bless,

Robert A. Rowlett