No Peacocks in Heaven

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . .”

MATTHEW 5:3

 

PONDER THIS

When you come to Jesus Christ, you do not strut into His presence. The very word for “poor” comes from a root word which means, “to cringe, to cower, and to shrink back.” There are no peacocks in Heaven. Jesus said blessed is the person who is totally, completely, devastatingly bankrupt to the point of being reduced to being a beggar. And when that person comes to God he or she must say, “In my hand, no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling.”[1] That's where it begins. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Some people will agree they aren’t perfect. But they also believe they aren’t as bad as some other people. And I say, dear friend, you are not yet bankrupt. You've never seen yourself and discovered that the Bible says even your righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of a righteous and holy God (Isaiah 64:6). Take your sin seriously. You cannot minimize sin if you want a relationship with a holy God.

When was the last time you considered the depth of your brokenness and sin? Why do we tend to avoid this?

What is the sin you struggle to accept God’s forgiveness 

PRACTICE THIS

Confess your sin to God honestly, remembering that He is our only hope for peace.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Bible Study

Isaiah 42:1-4

    [1] Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

        my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

    I have put my Spirit upon him;

        he will bring forth justice to the nations. 

    [2] He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

        or make it heard in the street; 

    [3] a bruised reed he will not break,

        and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

        he will faithfully bring forth justice. 

    [4] He will not grow faint or be discouraged

        till he has established justice in the earth;

        and the coastlands wait for his law.

Isaiah 43:10-11

    [10] “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

        “and my servant whom I have chosen,

    that you may know and believe me

        and understand that I am he.

    Before me no god was formed,

        nor shall there be any after me. 

    [11] I, I am the LORD,

        and besides me there is no savior.

Acts 3:26

[26] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Philippians 2:5-8

[5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The Lion and the Lamb

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (Matthew 12:18–21, quoting Isaiah 42)

The Father’s very soul exults with joy over the servant-like meekness and compassion of his Son.

When a reed is bent and about to break, the Servant will tenderly hold it upright until it heals. When a wick is smoldering and has scarcely any heat left, the Servant will not pinch it off, but cup his hand and blow gently until it burns again.

Thus the Father cries, “Behold, my Servant in whom my soul delights!” The worth and beauty of the Son come not just from his majesty, nor just from his meekness, but from the way these mingle in perfect proportion.

When the angel cries out in Revelation 5:2, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” the answer comes back, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5).

God loves the strength of the Lion of Judah. This is why he is worthy in God’s eyes to open the scrolls of history and unfold the last days.

But the picture is not complete. How did the Lion conquer? The next verse describes his appearance: “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Jesus is worthy of the Father’s delight not only as the Lion of Judah, but also as the slain Lamb.

This is the peculiar glory of Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son — the stunning mingling of majesty and meekness.

John Piper 

The Price and the Power of Forgiveness

“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” MATTHEW 18:21-22

 

PONDER THIS

When God forgives, He does something for me. Then He does something through me: He teaches me to forgive others. When God forgave you, do you think it was painless and easy? It cost Jesus greatly, but He paid the price for the joy that was set before Him. He said, “It’s worth it. I will shed my blood for the joy of seeing Adrian Rogers saved.” Forgiveness costs, but it is worth the price.

You may say, “Alright, Pastor, that was Jesus, but I don’t have what it takes. If you knew that man who hurt my daughter, if you knew the way my husband squandered everything we have and is running around with another woman, if you knew what my boss did to me, you wouldn’t stand up there and say to forgive. I can’t do it.” And you’re right; in your own power that is impossible. But we are never asked to practice forgiveness alone. You forgive with the help of God at work in you. He equips you to forgive, even when it is the last thing on your mind.

When has forgiveness felt impossible to you? When has a relationship felt irreconcilable? How might God work where people cannot?

What are some ways God equips you and helps you to forgive?

PRACTICE THIS

Praise God for forgiving you even though it was challenging and costly. Ask Him to help you with the people you are struggling to forgive.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Bible Study

 

Colossians 3:13

[13] bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Luke 6:37

[37] “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Ephesians 4:32

[32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 11:25

[25] And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Church Growth God’s Way

It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (Romans 9:8)

Picture the Old Testament Abraham as a pastor. The Lord says, “I will bless you and prosper your ministry.” But the church is barren and bears no children.

What does Abraham do? He begins to despair of supernatural intervention. He is getting old. His wife remains barren. So he decides to bring about God’s promised son without supernatural intervention. He has sex with Hagar his wife’s handmaid (Genesis 16:4). However, the result is not a “child of the promise,” but a “child of the flesh,” Ishmael.

God stuns Abraham by saying, “I will give you a son by her [your wife Sarah]” (Genesis 17:16). So Abraham cries out to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” (Genesis 17:18). He wants the work of his own natural, human effort to be the fulfillment of God’s promise. But God says, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son” (Genesis 17:19).

But Sarah is 90 years old. She has been barren all her life, and she has already passed through menopause (Genesis 18:11). Abraham is 100. The only hope for a child of promise is stunning, supernatural intervention.

That is what it means to be a “child of the promise” — to be born “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). The only children that count for children of God in this world are supernaturally begotten children of promise. In Galatians 4:28 Paul says, “You [Christians], like Isaac, are children of promise.” You are “born according to the Spirit,” not according to the flesh (Galatians 4:29).

Think of Abraham as a pastor again. His church is not growing the way he believes God promised. He is weary of waiting for supernatural intervention. He turns to the “Hagar” of mere human devices, and decides he can “attract people” without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

However, it will not be a church of Isaacs, but Ishmaelites — children of the flesh, not children of God. God save us from this kind of fatal success. By all means work. But always look to the Lord for the decisive, supernatural work. “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31).

John Piper 

Forgiveness is Not Politeness

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  MATTHEW 6:14-15

 

PONDER THIS

Pride often gets in the way of forgiveness. You say, “Don’t worry about it. It’s alright. It doesn’t matter.” That is not forgiveness. You know what causes you to say that? Your pride. It did matter. You were hurt. But you don’t want the other person to know you’ve been hurt.

Forgiveness is not politeness. It is not saying it really didn’t matter. When you come to God for forgiveness, do you think God says, “Oh, don’t worry about it”? No. Forgiveness is not politeness. Forgiveness is not merely accepting an apology, and forgiveness is not forgetting.

Forgetting is never the means of forgiveness. It is the result of forgiveness. God forgets our sins only because they have been forgiven. When you forgive, forgive freely, not after others paid the price. Seek them out to forgive them. Forgive fully as you have been forgiven.

When have you tried to ignore or avoid an issue rather than work through forgiveness?

Why is complete forgiveness so challenging? How do you typically respond outside of forgiveness?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider a conflict you have not dealt with or tried to forget about and move toward the person with forgiveness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers