THE WAY TO PROMOTION

Man’s way is to promote himself. We seek to climb the ladder-whether it be in a secular job, a social state, even a spiritual ministry. If we have to climb over others to reach a higher state, then so be it. We maximize our successes and minimize our shortcomings. The reality is—it often works!  Yet, no matter how high we climb, someone else will always be above us. No matter how much we possess, someone else will have more. 

Yet, there is nothing wrong with seeking promotion—if we do it God’s way and for His glory. James tells us how. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up,” (James‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬‬). 

He speaks of ABASEMENT, “Humble yourselves.”  We abase ourselves, when we intentionally surrender to the Sovereign God and submit to His will. Now, God can humble us. He can bend us, bow us, even break us. Far better, however, is to choose to humble ourselves. 

James also points to AWARENESS, “in the sight of the Lord.”  Our aim is not to draw the eyes of men to gaze upon us and have their acclaim. It matters not how our fellow humans may judge us. Ultimately, all that matters is what God sees and knows. One day, He will reward us accordingly.  Do not seek celebrity status here, but serve to be crowned hereafter!

Trust in God’s way of ADVANCEMENT, “and He will lift you up.”  A dear mentor of mine, Dale Fisher, told me in the early days of my ministry, “God knows where you are and can get you where He wants you to be.”  The denominational executives may not know your name. Some megachurch may not have you on the radar—and would not even consider your resume. How many of God’s faithful servants labor in obscurity!  

Press on dear one—God will lift you up, in His time and in His manner. Jesus set the pattern and we are to have His mindset. 

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭11‬‬)

This is God’s way of promotion—the way of the cross!

THE SOLUTION TO SLUGGISHNESS

 

Sluggishness is sinfulness. We are commanded, “do not become sluggish,” (Heb. 6:12), which implies three things. First, there is a temptation that we will settle into sluggishness. None of us are immune. Second, we need not surrender to sluggishness. It is a choice and God gives us the power to overcome. Third, there is a solution to sluggishness and it is given in Hebrews 6:10-12. 

The solution to sluggishness is a consideration of OUR FUTURE, “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister,” (v. 10). Satan will whisper, “Your work is in vain. All that effort and what do you have to show for it? Nobody even notices. You need to step back and sit down.”  He is a liar! God is watching and He will reward you for all the weary work and loving labor that you do in ministry to the people of God. Just because you do not receive the recognition you merit or the reward you deserve on earth, does not mean you will not. That is for eternity, so press on!

The solution to sluggishness further calls for a consecration to OUR FAITHFULNESS, “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,” (v. 11). Instead of being indolent, we need to be diligent. Our body belongs to God. Paul spoke of that consecration in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Christ purchased us with His precious blood. He gave His all for us and so now demands we give our all to Him. That is service that is “reasonable.”

Then, the solution to sluggishness requires a concentration with OUR FOCUS, “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises,” (v. 12‬‬). When we are weary and worn, it is easy to become distracted. We lose sight of the eternal treasure and slip into playing with earthly trinkets. There are many who do, yet there are a few who have relentlessly focused on finishing the race well. We are to focus on the faithful and follow in their footsteps. Hebrews 11 will set forth such models for us to imitate in faith and patience. Church history is replete with such stories of those who did not succumb to sluggishness, but strove to success.

Nearly half a century ago, I copied the following poem in my Bible to spur me on lest I become sluggish. 

Don’t Quit
by
Edgar Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
And the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than 
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up 
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worst that
You musn't quit.

MILK, MEAT, AND MATURITY

The writer of Hebrews in chapter five, verses 12-14, chides the congregation for their lack of spiritual growth. The foundational principles ought to have been learned and built upon. When they should have been focused on growing, they were still fixated on grounding. The preacher must consider his audience and feed them appropriately.

Babes need MILK, “you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe,” (v. 12b-13). They would choke on meat. We should always have some infants in the audience. That means the church is engaged in evangelism and new spiritual babes are being birthed into the family of God. The preachers and teachers must consider them and nurture them. Only as they are given milk will they have healthy growth.

Adults need MEAT, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” (v. 14). If the preachers and teachers only offer milk and do not give meat when the believers need it, then their growth will be stunted and they may well seek another local church where meat is offered. There ought always be grown-ups in the congregation, for this means the church is dedicated to discipleship. Solid, substantial Scriptural truths are given to them to chew on as growth is sustained.

Soul nourishment brings MATURITY. Babies are precious, but if they never develop then there is a problem. As that is contrary to the normal physical pattern, it is likewise in the spiritual realm. 

This is evidenced by duplication, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers,” (v. 12a). Children have matured biologically when they can reproduce. They not only have the capacity to do so, but the competency for doing so. Maturing disciples multiply disciples. The taught become teachers. 

It is also manifested in discernment, “that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” (v. 14). The immature are easily led astray. Children are naive and gullible. You have to keep poisons locked away from them or they will consume them. The church may have those prone to drink toxins as if it were truth. Cult members target such. Adults have learned to weigh what is presented to them. There is discernment that detects what is good and they swallow it, but the evil doesn’t pass, “the smell test.” They sniff it, and usually turn from it, but if they taste it they spit it out!

The healthy church family is one where new babies are being birthed and given milk to mature them, and where maturing saints are discipled as they are given meat to multiply them. The church’s preachers and teachers must be mature and model this if they are thus to lead the congregation.

EXPOSITION AND EXHORTATION

As the Word of God is expounded, the people of God are exhorted to stay true to God. The Lord is the only One who can save us and secure us. It is His grace that does so. Yet, He has chosen to use human means as the channel for providing heaven’s might. God uses the power of His Word as it is proclaimed as the seed of salvation that sown in the heart inspires saving faith in those who receive it.  Paul states this in Romans 10:14-17:

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 

Further, the expounded Word is the means whereby God continues to channel sustaining grace into the hearts of believers. By that grace, we endure to the end. So, Hebrews stresses THE ESSENTIALITY OF EXHORTATION. We are called to exhort each other to endure. Those who remain true show true faith. While we are saved by faith alone, saving faith is never alone. Our works are not the root of salvation, but they are the fruit of it. There were Hebrews who had professed faith in Christ as the Messiah, yet a number of them when faced with pressure and persecution were going back to Judaism. By their apostasy they were revealing that while making profession of faith, there was no possession of faith. Abiding with the family of God gives us opportunity to reinforce our faith in God. We need it with regularity. As our body needs to be fed, so does our soul require daily bread. Christ overcame Satan by wielding the Sword of Scripture. In temptation, He responded, “But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’” (Matt. 4‬:‭4‬‬). 

The essentiality of exhortation is due to THE EFFICACY OF EXHORTATION. Perhaps you have heard the term,”Once saved, always saved.”  It is true, if understood as meaning, “IF saved, always saved.”  Where there is regeneration, power is provided to persevere.  Sadly, there are those who had an emotional or intellectual response to the Gospel who never had a volitional commitment to it . When the feelings faded, so did their “faith.”  Or when they seemed to embrace the facts of the Gospel in their mind, it never migrated to their heart. Well, the demons have that kind of belief—absolutely convinced in who Christ is and that He will one day cast them into hell. Yet such “belief” does not convert them, as they remain in their rebellion against God. Saving faith is when we receive Christ as Savior and Lord. We surrender our life to Him—once and for all. The reality of it is seen in that we press on and do not fall away.  In this hostile environment where we walk under the onslaught of the Devil, we need the exhortation that comes from the exposition of the Word to stand tall and stay true. 

That is what I am doing in expounding this Word—exhorting you. It is what I do when we gather as God’s people for worship as we exhort one another by “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”(Eph. 5‬:‭19‬-‭21‬‬). 

Please hear this today and do not harden your heart!

A DIVISIVE DEMEANOR AND DOCTRINAL DEPARTURE

Hatefulness and heresy are partners in crime. The one who deviates from the faith will also potentially divide the flock. Both are deadly viruses that can infect a church until it becomes sick, or even dies! 

These make mountains out of molehills while failing to embrace the fundamentals of the faith. Instead, they take a text out of context and use it as a pretext for some theological novelty they want others to embrace. Such preach that they have received some new insight—often in a “dream,” or “vision.”  What they do is package error as enlightenment. 

Paul brands such arguments as unprofitable and useless and tells us to avoid these erroneous teachings and the evil teachers themselves —unless they repent when confronted. 

To platform such and have prolonged discussions is to elevate the doctrinal deviant to the same status as the true teachers. Immersing your mind in the study of heresy is to contaminate your own thinking. You cannot walk through a coal mine without inhaling some black dust. Do you want to drink just an ounce of chicken manure stirred in your coffee?  

For a period of time, I had a section of books in my library as examples of false teaching, but I have since thrown them away. I never read them, but what if someone saw them, and it piqued their curiosity?  Or after I died, what if someone got hold of them and wondered if I subscribed to those errors as those books were found in my library?  They went where such teaching belongs—in the trash!

At best, the study of false teaching and striving with false teachers is a waste of precious time better spent immersing oneself in the study and of Scripture and proclamation of it. A bank teller can detect counterfeit money, but not because they spend hour after hour studying counterfeiters and their craft. Rather, they handle real currency continually and thus when a forgery comes their way, they spot it right away.

Study the Scriptures. Listen to and learn from faithful men. “New” truth is likely ancient error repackaged.  Don’t waste time sorting through garbage. Toss it and turn to the Truth.

GOD REQUIRES FAITHFULNESS

In Flickering Lamps, the late Henry Blackaby shared these words:

A truth I have based my ministry upon is this: If you are faithful in a little, God will give you more (Matt. 25:21, 23). God will not hold you accountable for what you do not have. But, He will make you answerable for what you did with what He gave you. What is the best way to have more? Be faithful with the little you already have! The key, of course, is faithfulness. 

In the parable of the talents, the master gave one servant five talents, another three talents, and a third servant one talent. The servants with five and three talents immediately invested what they had been given. Investing is risky; it involves uncertainty. Yet those two servants knew their master well. They understood that he despised timidity and expected growth. They invested aggressively and doubled their funds. When they showed their master what they had accomplished with the resources given to them, he declared, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!” (Matt. 25:21). 

The servant who received one talent, however, took the opposite approach. He feared he might lose the only talent he had. What if something unexpected happened? Better to play it safe by burying the talent and doing nothing. His focus was on his fear of loss, rather than on hope of gain. Ironically, in trying to save what he had, he lost it. The master declared: “You evil, lazy slave!” (Matt. 25:26). The little he had was removed from him. The master then declared, “Throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30). 

Every church has at least one talent. The Head of the Church has entrusted something to every congregation. The onus is on us to invest our resources in what matters to the master. At the day of accounting, there will be no rewards for having merely preserved what we have. Instead, the heroes will be those who took what their master gave them and invested it so they could earn the greatest possible return for their King. 

You will never make disciples of all nations if you only attempt what you think you can afford. This doesn’t mean you recklessly invest in every church growth fad that comes along. It does mean you let God set the agenda for your church and then you confidently obey His commands, understanding that God can well-afford to accomplish whatever He leads you to do. The crucial thing is not to attempt what you can afford, but what God can afford. What will Christ find when He returns to your church? (pp. 109-111, Kindle Edition)

FROM FALLOW GROUND TO FERTILE GARDEN

Hosea 10:12 commands, “Break up your fallow ground.”  The first task of the preacher is to plow up the field. The untilled soil will not receive seed and become a fertile garden until the hard ground is broken up. The truth is that some church fields are harder than others. This is what Titus encountered at Crete, and Paul does not minimize the difficulty the young preacher was facing.

But, first the Apostle provides AFFIRMATION, “To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior,” (Titus 1:4). Paul has no reservation that Titus would be up to the task. He was no false teacher, but a true preacher. They might work in a different field, but they shared a common faith. Best of all—heaven’s provision was available to this man of God. There was grace—so that all the resources required would be given. Titus would lack nothing he needed. He also had mercy—even though he might face fierce foes, God would spare him from being overwhelmed by them. Titus could rest in peace—calm even in the eye of a storm. 

The man of God is to practice ORDINATION, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—” (Titus‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬‬). The church will be in disorder unless the preacher sets it in order. That demands leadership. Elders are given that assignment. Every church needs them. A plurality of elders is preferable to share the load and provide accountability to one another. The qualifications are listed, and without such faithful servants, there will be no fruitful soil. 

There will be the need at times for CONFRONTATION, “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,” (Titus‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭13‬‬). Churches will ask for a resume’ from a pastoral candidate—and well they should. But, pastors had best know the bio of the church as well.  Paul is direct concerning the issues of the Cretan congregation. They are described as “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons,” and other than that, Titus should find ministry there a piece of cake! Preaching cannot always be sweet and uplifting. There are times it demands to be stinging and humbling. The sharp spade of Scripture breaks up the fallow ground to receive the seed of the Gospel and yields a fertile garden. 

Now—stop whining and start plowing!