Pastor Wingate's Blog
Friday, October 10, 2008
7:46 a.m.
The most vital truth for the believer is the walk with God. Every day should bring us closer to Him. But that is the battle, the daily intrusions to our desire to know Him better. Self keeps getting in the way even in ways we don't dream possible. Recently, I came across a statement by Martyn Lloyd-Jones and it hits the nail on the head. May we think about this statement today when we go about seemingly good things.
"We tend to think of sin as we see it in rags and in the gutters of life. We look at a drunkard, poor fellow, and we say, there is sin. But that is not the essence of sin. To have a real picture and understanding of sin, you must look at some great saint, some unusually devout and devoted man, look at him there on his knees in the very presence of God. Even there self is intruding itself, and the temptation is for him to think about himself, to think pleasantly and pleasurably about himself and to really be worshiping himself rather than God. That, not the other, is the true picture of sin. The other is sin, of course, but there you do not see it at its acme, you do not see it in its essence. Or to put it in another form, if you really want to understand something about the nature of Satan and his activities, the thing is not to go to the dregs or the gutters of life. If you really want to know something about Satan, go away to that wilderness where our Lord spent forty days and forty nights. That's the true picture of Satan, where you see him tempting the very Son of God" (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 2 vols. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 2:22–23).
Friday, September 26, 2008
7:34 a.m.
I had a "bug" in my computer at church and could not get into my blog page. Hopefully that it fixed.
Philippians 3:1 says, "finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." Someone has said that the consummation of all Christian experience is to bring the believer into the place where he has learned how to "rejoice in the Lord." That is the summing up of the Christian life. We have the everyday battles of life and there are times when we feel we cannot go on. But in the end, we are to rejoice in the Lord.
Whatever your day may bring you today, remember when the day is finished, rejoice in the Lord.
Friday, September 19, 2008
7:34 a.m.
Tomorrow night is the Academy auction and much preparation has been done. We appreciate all the effort that has gone into making it a success. Pray for this Lord's day that we have God's blessing.
This Sunday evening is Community Night beginning at 5 on the Acres, There will be activities for the children, games and music for the rest of us, We have some from our neighborhood attending. It should be a great evening.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
8:06 a.m.
"Be kind and tenderhearted or compassionate one to another, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake had forgiven you"(v. 32). Kindness speaks of gentleness in the face of provocation. It reaches out to the unworthy and withholds punishment even when it is deserved. Kindness is daring and dangerous because some mistake it for weakness. It is "the oil that lubricates the machinery of life."
Sometime ago I read this story. "A few years ago a cosmetic company sponsored a promotion in which people were asked to submit pictures & letters about the most beautiful women they knew. Thousands of letters & pictures poured in.
But one particular letter from a young boy captured a lot of attention, & it was shown to the president of the company. From what he wrote it was obvious that the boy was from a broken home, staying with his father, & living in an old & run-down neighborhood. Writing about the woman, he said, 'A beautiful woman lives down the street from me. I visit her every day. She makes me feel like the most important kid in the world. We play checkers & she listens to my problems. She understands me, & when I leave she yells out the door that she's proud of me.' He enclosed her picture & wrote, 'This picture shows you that she is the most beautiful woman.' Intrigued, the president asked to see her picture. His secretary handed him a photograph of a smiling, toothless woman, well-advanced in years, sitting in a wheelchair. Her sparse gray hair was pulled back in a bun, & the wrinkles on her face seemed to fade away beneath the twinkle in her eyes. Smiling, the president said, We can't use this entry. It would show the world that our products aren't necessary to be beautiful."
I think he's right. There's a beauty, an attractiveness that's completely unrelated to physical appearance. There's a kindness, a gentleness, a concern, a love that can be seen & experienced in the lives of those around us.
Tenderheartedness or compassionate comes from a word that means "good intestines" because the ancients thought the intestines and the bowels were the seat of the emotions.
We mean something similar when we speak of a belly laugh. Compassion says, "I will care for you and I will not shut you out." The key to forgiveness is the middle syllable--give. Forgiveness is a gift we give to those who don't deserve it. Note that verse 32 starts with us and ends with God. We are kind, compassionate and forgiving to others because that's how God has treated us.
From God . . . to us . . . to others. We do for others what God has done for us. We have been forgiven, we know what it is like. Now do the same for others. We are not left to wonder what it means to forgive those who have hurt us. You cannot understand God's love unless you go to the cross. You cannot understand the cross unless you see in it God's love. His death became a sacrifice that was a sweet aroma to the Father (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Thursday, September 4, 2008
7:55 a.m.
Jesus told the disciples to lift up their eyes and look, the fields are ready for harvest. He said to go and don't wait. Take the gospel. The Holy Spirit gives us power to go throughout the 231 nations of the world and the 18,800 ethnic groups on the planet to offensively take the gospel to people who are yet to receive Christ as their Savior. Do you understand that? There are nearly 19000 different cultures in this world. What works in one very well may not work in another. So there is adjusting to be done, not on the part of the people but on the part of the goer. But to do so, we must have the proper motivation.
We must go under God's power not by men's motives. The Holy Spirit fills us with the empowering love of God that constrains us to seek the lost. The Spirit does not bless people who are out to impress others with their public pleasing presentations. The truth that will keep us coming back even when everything seems to be against us is the right motivation.
There have been pastors, Christians workers and missionaries that have gone into service but only for a short time. The reason is they were pumped up by a great, soul stirring message and went under the motives of men. They failed. We must have the power of God.
But what should be our driving force. We must be driven by obedience rather than emotions. The disciples had no use for the Samaritans. Not one of them asked Jesus what the conversation with the Samaritan woman was about, they just marveled that He spoke with her.
Be obedient to what God what of us. The Holy Spirit uses people who are obedient to do evangelism consistently rather than those who only do it when they feel like it. The Holy Spirit helps Christians think objectively about the best goals, strategies and methods that will win the most people to faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit does not bless Christians who are subjectively allowing their fears, prejudices and anger to hinder them from reaching out to those in need of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
7:48 a.m.
Jesus said, "The fields are white for harvest." He was talking about men and women who need to be reached for his kingdom. In our auditorium we have flags on the walls for our missions conference. The flags represent countries where we have missionaries doing harvest.
But I wonder if we are like the disciples. Those men who had been with Jesus went into Sychar to buy bread because they were hungry. They didn't see the harvest at all. These men who knew so much missed the harvest altogether because they weren't looking for it. All they could see was bread for their tummies. Nothing else mattered. They went to Sychar and came back with bread. They got their bread and went back to their business.
If you go out to eat today, what will you see? When you go to the store this week, what will you see? When you go to work tomorrow, what will you see?
In life you go after what you can see. If bread is what you see, then that's what you're going to go after.
If money is what you see, that's what you're going to go after.
If career advancement is what you see, then that's what you're going to go after.
If climbing the ladder is what you see, then that's what you are going to go after.
But if you see the harvest of men and women ready to come to Jesus, then that is what you are going to go after. It is a rule of life: What you see is what you pursue.
This woman runs into town, she knows the harvest and brings them to Jesus. This woman had just been with Jesus and saw Him as Savior. She didn't understand all that had taken place in her life; she just knew He was different. But notice what she did.
She went into town and didn't try to get into a deep theological discussion but she brought them to her means of grace. You may not know all the answers, none of us do, but we can help. Just tell someone what Jesus can do and get help if you need it. Just come and see.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
8:06 a.m.
Central Illinois is farmland. The farmers plant then wait. Harvest comes and that most important. Farmers don't plan vacations during harvest; they know when they are going to get into the fields and the time involved.
Jesus said to his disciples that day when the woman at the well was returning from town bring people to hear Him, "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already for harvest."
At first the disciples were baffled. Their minds were moving on a lower track. They thought Jesus was talking about crops of grain—like corn or wheat. At first they couldn't make the connection. They didn't see that when Jesus was talking about the harvest he was talking about a harvest of men coming into the kingdom of God.
Get the picture. The world is like a giant harvest field and the cities and town of the world are filled with men and women who need to be harvested for the kingdom.
As the white-turbaned men of Sychar come closer and closer, the message sinks in. Don't say, "Four months and then the harvest comes." Open your eyes! The harvest is walking up the road. The fields of humanity are ripe to be harvested. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. Not next year. But today! Right here! Right now!
The point is when the harvest comes, you've got to get busy. When the harvest comes, if you're doing something else, you've got to put that something else aside. Nothing else matters at that point. Nothing else is as urgent, as necessary, as getting to the harvest fields while they are white for harvest. Why? Because harvest time doesn't last forever. Jesus said, "The fields are white for harvest." He was talking about men and women who need to be reached for his kingdom.
This is the harvest season, are you on vacation?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
7:44 a.m.
Philippians 1:6 assures that the "good work" of salvation which God has begun in us will be completed until the day of Jesus Christ. When Paul says that he is confident of these things, he uses a very strong Greek word that really means "fully persuaded" or "absolutely certain." It means to have no doubt whatsoever about the outcome. But this makes sense when you understand that salvation is God's work from start to finish. After all, all of us as humans leave some things undone in life. Just take a look in your closet or your drawer or your garage (or the files of your computer) and you will find ample evidence of unfinished business. We start our projects with great enthusiasm only to lay them aside because of time pressure, conflicting commitments, financial difficulty or other problems that confront us. Sometimes we come back and finish those projects later, but often years pass and the dreams of yesterday slowly fade into distant memories.
Not so with God. He finishes what he starts. When God determines to save a person, he saves them. Period. Consider the "Golden Chain" of salvation in Romans 8:29-30. Paul expresses the five links of the chain this way: Foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified.
The first two refer to God's decision to save those who trust in Christ, the second two terms refer to God's activity in actually saving those whom he has chosen. But the last phrase "glorified"-refers to what happens when God's children finally get to heaven.
When we stand before the Lord in resurrection bodies, free from sin forever, we will be in a glorified state. But how is it that Paul can express this truth about our future glorification in the past tense? The answer is simple. Paul says it in the past tense because it is so certain of fulfillment that it is as if it had already happened. You might say that with God the work is already done. Since he lives outside space and time, the past, present and the future are all the same to him. While we're living on earth, from God's point of view we're already in heaven. From our point of view, that's impossible, but from God's standpoint our glorification in heaven is an accomplished fact.
So we may be sure of our salvation because when God starts to save someone, he doesn't give up halfway through the process. He saves them completely and eternally.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
8:43 a.m.
It would be difficult to find a subject about which believers are more deeply divided. To the question, "Can I lose my salvation?"
I should say frankly that Calvary Baptist Church offers a clear answer to this question. We stand with those who believe that a true Christian-meaning one who has trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and been regenerated by God's Spirit-can never lose his salvation and will inevitably go to heaven. This doctrine goes by several terms:
Eternal Security
Once Saved, Always Saved
Perseverance of the Saints
And I suppose that the problem comes with the word "inevitably." It's difficult for us who live in a very uncertain world to believe that anyone can be that certain of heaven. How can you be sure? Does this teaching not invite pride and even possible spiritual laziness? Is not this doctrine damnable (as some have suggested) because it encourages believers to sin since they have nothing to lose? These are fair questions we will try to address in this message.
I would like to suggest two main reasons why people think you can lose your salvation.
First, they point to certain scripture passages that contain severe warnings of judgment to Christians. This is not an idle point because the New Testament does indeed contain passages that could be interpreted as losing your salvation.
Second, they also point to professing Christians who fall away from their faith or turn from holiness to live in continued sin. I would be the first to admit that this is a serious problem in every congregation.
All of us know cases of apparently born-again believers who either drifted away from the church or fell into outright sin. Some repent and return, but others do not. What shall we say about them? Have they lost their salvation? Did they ever have it in the first place? If you become a Christian early in your life and then stray will you still go to heaven? If someone accepts Christ when they are young and don't follow Christ, when they die do they go to heaven? If you're saved once, are you always saved? For the rest of your life? Even if you don't want to be? I dealt with a lady who told me that many years ago.
This is a question of supreme importance because it leads directly to the whole question of Christian assurance. Can anyone know with certainty that they are going to heaven when they die? Let me make that more precise. Is it possible to be 100% certain, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that no matter what happens to you in the future, you are going to heaven when you die? If you can lose your salvation-even theoretically-then the answer must be no. You can hope for heaven, you can believe in heaven, you can do your best to get there, but in the end you can never be sure.
"I'm as sure of heaven as if I'd already been there 10,000 years." Can a Christian really say that? Or it is just wishful thinking?
Let me give you an answer to the question that I heard many years ago, Can I lose my salvation? The answer is simple: It depends on who saved you.
If God saved you, you can't lose it because it depends on God.
If you saved yourself, you can lose it because it depends on you.
Your salvation is eternally secure if God did the saving. But if you think that salvation is a cooperative venture between yourself and God-where you do a part and he does a part-then you're in big trouble because anything you start, you could mess up somewhere along the way. But if God started it, he'll also finish it.
Friday, August 22, 2008
7:57 a.m.
How successful are you? I mean as a believer, how successful are you? I encourage you to get plugged into a ministry, to get in shape for service, to get prepared to do your work of ministry. Why? So that the Body of Christ may be built up as you grow up to become more and more like Jesus Christ.
That is God's plan for you. God wants you to be involved in your local church because He wants to grow all baby Christians into mature Christians. Babies are cute, babies are wonderful, babies are beautiful, but nobody wants to remain a baby forever. It wouldn't be healthy.
That's why God's plan for a healthy church is to grow baby Christians into mature Christians. God stimulates us to grow through the process of giving each one of us a ministry, a ministry that forces us to learn and stretch and grow up.
It's a good plan. Our Heavenly Father thought it up. It's God's healthy plan for a healthy church. So we must ask ourselves are we successful? But to be more precise are you successful?
To say that God has not called us to be successful but to be faithful is an error. God expects us to be successful – so let me give you the correct way of saying it, God has called us to be successful by being faithful. How does God measure our success today? By our faithfulness to the work He has left us to do, and whether or not we are faithful in doing our part will determine whether or not He is receiving honor and glory and pleasure from who and what we are.