September 25, 2006 – Maranatha – Awaiting Christ's Return

Reading: John 3:1-21

Today’s verse:

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

Let’s say your twin daughters both run away from home to sow their wild oats. You discover where they are living and send your son, their brother, to talk some sense into them. Here you’ve created a beautiful home for them, complete with love and care. But now they have chosen to go against your wishes to live a life of sin and rebellion. If they knew you would have approved of their sin, they would not have run away. But they knew how you felt, thus their actions.

Your daughters no longer live in the comfort of your home nor are they protected by you. They are on their own. Your son begs the twins to turn from their wicked ways and to come home with him. He is able to reach one sister but the other is adamant. There’s nothing her brother can say – she does not want to return.

You rejoice greatly because one of your daughters has come home. However, you are heartbroken because the other daughter has chosen to stay in her sin. You do not love her any less but you are grieved beyond what words can say. She has chosen to sever the fellowship between you.

Can you now imagine how God feels? His creation, Adam and Eve, chose to sin. They did not realize that their sin brought the consequences of a broken relationship. Because God knows the future, He realizes that they will never be able to keep the Law. It grieves God that fellowship is broken so He makes a plan to send His Son. The Law requires that blood be shed for the remission of sins.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

Because God is holy and cannot break the Law He created, He sends His Son (the Perfect Lamb) to shed HIS own blood for all man kind’s sin. What a beautiful picture. How much God loves us. God’s initial design was not to condemn the world. But because of the world’s sin, He sent His Son so that the world could be saved and fellowship could be restored.

Dear God…
Please help thou my unbelief.
Increase my mustard seed faith.
Open my eyes that I may see
The Gift Thou has sent my way!

Prov.17:28, “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”

There are not too many verses in Scriptures which say that the fool can actually do something “right”! This is one verse that says even a fool can do something right – and it has to do with keeping his mouth shut! Even the “spiritual” christian struggles with holding his tongue.

The Book of James has four verses dedicated to man holding his tongue:

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. (Jam 1:26)Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! (Jam 3:5)

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (Jam 3:6)

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (Jam 3:8)

I know that we have all heard the verses on holding one’s tongue. We have also heard many messages on the same topic. But if the fool can be counted wise when he holds his tongue, how much more the believer? What testimony do we have if we witness to someone and that same person hears gossip or cursing coming out of the same mouth that witnessed to him?

The believer has the ability to conquer the tongue. We have the Holy Spirit residing within us. It is His fruit that we display. If we would be displaying His fruit, we would not have the need to be bridling our tongue.

The believer who has fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance would not be struggling with his tongue. The believer would not be struggling with blessing God in one breath and then cursing someone in the next breath. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. (Jam 3:10)

Do not be a wise fool but we a wise christian who displays the fruit of the Spirit. It is accounted unto this fool that he is wise for holding his tongue. All the more responsibility do we have as believers to hold our own tongues.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col 3:16)

Dear God…
May my words be a blessing to those
Who are filled with dismay and strife
Let my words encourage the weak
And lead them to the Fountain of Life