“Future Focus Present Faithfulness” Pt 4
Review
Contemplating our future heavenly existence greatly affects our present service. Scripture requires us to maintain a clear heavenly focus in order to manage a consistent earthly walk.
We enter and keep running this present grueling race of faith with joy and endurance by fixing our eyes on Jesus and maintaining an eternal focus.
Using another image…
We join the Lord’s army and give every battle every ounce of energy we have by keeping a focus on the end to the war and our love for our new country. We focus on the thought of how the battle we engage today vitally relates to the victory we enjoy tomorrow.
The key to managing the junk of this present world lies in the ability to keep our thoughts connected to the promises of a new world. Knowing that how we live in this age strategically impacts life in the next, enables us to get in the race, stay in the race and play by the rules.
Paul encouraged a young pastor regarding genuine commitment. 2 Timothy 2:1-7
Suffering goes with the territory. Sacrifice for the commander is expected. Playing by the rules is required in order to win the prize. Endurance and hard work reap rewards. A future focus appears all through Scripture as a motivation for the present fight. The responses connected to the revelation of God's future promises can be summarized into three main areas.
1. Inspires faithful diligent service
God gifts every believer to engage in service to the kingdom and our fellow followers of Christ.
He expects every believer to employ their gifts for the growth of the body.
1 Peter 4:10-11
As each one offers themselves to kingdom purposes the body of Christ matures and grows.
Ephesians 4:15-16
The day will come when we will answer to God how we used the capabilities He gave us.
There will be a day of rewards. God will reward the faithful actions of His servants not their good intentions. He will evaluate and reward according to the measure of faith He gave.
To whom much was given, much will be required. We must not measure ourselves against others either positively or negatively. Just because we do more than someone else does not necessarily mean God is pleased with our level of service. He may have asked us to do and gifted us to do much more but we felt content because we compared ourselves with someone else rather than what God actually asked us to do.
On the other hand, just because we are not accomplishing as much as someone else is doing does not mean we have not pleased God for doing all that He gifted and assigned us to do. A faithful servant does beyond the bare requirements. A faithful servant serves to the best of his ability. He gives his all for the Master. Once this age comes to a close, the opportunity to invest in the future will be over. In light of the future implications of our present service, I urge you to continually consider your level of service to the kingdom; time, resources, energy, relationships, commitment.
2. Encourages continued endurance in our present service
Such continual committed service is hard. Paul said this about the rigors of ministry.
Colossians 1:28-29; 2:1-3
Scripture urges us to endure, not to become weary in well doing, keep pure, stay diligent, walk worthy, serve well, and faint not in this present world in light of its connection to the life to come. Future reward depends on present faithfulness and endurance to the end.
Hebrews 6:10-12 James 1:12
3. Promotes holy living
A healthy future focus also promotes present holy living. God rewards not only the faithful but the pure; the holy; the obedient; the righteous. God’s future rewards relate to being as much as doing. In fact, the doing without the being negates the doing. Not only will actions be taken into consideration but the motives associated with the actions. Consider those Jesus addressed in the Sermon on the Mount.
He addressed the reward for prayer. Those who prayed to be seen and admired by men would receive reward only from men. Those who prayed in secret would be openly rewarded by God.
The same applied to giving and fasting. God will take motives into account at reward time.
1 Corinthians 4:5
No excuses. No justification. Full disclosure. Full accountability. Such future scrutiny ought to motivate present purity. Most every extended passage dealing with future events also contains a strong exhortation to holy living in the present. What sort of people ought we to be today in light of tomorrow’s events? Holy, blameless, spotless! 2 Peter 3:10-18
God recorded future happenings to motivate present holiness. His prophetic revelation was intended to motivate our present behavior. A clear understanding of our future accountability motivates our present holy living. Knowing that we will one day give account to God Himself should motivate a careful consideration of our present life. If we were truly serious about holy living, we would invite God’s scrutiny of our life on a continual basis. The cry of our heart would be the same cry that David demonstrated. Psalms 139:23-24
Three basic motivations to walk holy should continually direct our life.
One, understand what Christ has done for us already.
Two, understand what Christ has promised to do in the future.
Three, understand that God disciplines those He loves.
That discipline may be instruction on how live.
It may be corrective on how to live better.
It may be reproof for failure to do live according to His standard.
God is doing everything he can to prepare us for our future existence with Him. Hebrews calls it His holiness training program. He disciplines us; trains us that we may share His Holiness. When we live in Holiness, only then will we live in happiness and joy. We think happiness has to do with doing whatever we want. True happiness comes from doing his will. Philip 2:12-13
He did not say we work for our salvation but we work out our salvation by daily obedience. We demonstrate that there has truly been a transforming work in our life by how we live. God continually works in us to transform the desires of our heart and the work of our hands.
Not only does he want us to will His good pleasure as our ultimate purpose for living, he wants us to actually do it. Hebrews 12 recorded three specific goals to consider as a church family.
As we enter this New Year I want to again draw our thoughts to the primary purpose for which God leaves us alive.
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
He instructs us to…
• Promote healing among the body.
• Pursue peace in our relationships with one another.
• Pursue holiness in our relationship with God.
These purposes correspond to the official purposes of our church.
Cultivate relationship with God
Pursue meaningful connection with people
Restore righteous living by resisting evil
Speaking the words of Christ.
Working the works of Christ.
Walking the walk of Christ.
So we may please God and impact our world for Christ.
God also listed three things that hinder the promotion of healing and the pursuit of peace and holiness. Hebrews 12:12-17
Seeing to it that no one comes short of God’s grace.
Seeing to it that no root of bitterness take root and defile many.
Seeing to it that no one fall prey to the grip of temporal values. These things prevent healing of wounds, peace among men and holiness before God. These three issues affect both our relationship with people and with God.
a) Promote Healing among the body
Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
The assumption of the writer is that in the race of life and the battle of the kingdoms there will be injuries and even casualties. He assumes that we will not always act like Christ. He even pointed out their apathetic and indifferent attitude toward resisting sin. He exposed their resistance to God’s training and discipline. They had a deficient understanding of God’s holiness training. Life in this fallen world inflicts wounds. People become paralyzed.
The implication of “weak hands” and “feeble limbs” is that of an inability to function as desired or designed. There were those who were not running the race. There were those who had not endured. There were those who were not laying aside every sin and encumbrance. There were those who were entangled in sin. The point is, the body must pursue healing of the body.
We need all the body parts. We need every soldier. We cannot afford to amputate or surgically remove malfunctioning parts. We must pursue healing and restoration for paralyzed members.
Both words used here are perfect passive participles. It describes a condition that happened to them at a point in time and still affected them. Passive indicates an action done TO them.
“the hands having become weak” This is a word that means to hang down. Basically they are hands that have been incapacitated and now unable to function.
The second word paints a very similar picture. “the limbs having become feeble ?????????” It means to loosen beside, to be paralyzed. Again incapacitated and unable to function.
Even though the reference is to the physical body, it has soul and spirit implication and application. It may be mental incapacitation, physical, emotional, spiritual, social, vocational, financial, marital, family, children or grand children.
Something happened to incapacitate these believers so that they could no longer function.
They got this way passively. Something made them this way. It may be sin, circumstances, life in a fallen world, Satan, demonic attack, persecution, even God’s discipline. My guess it had something to do with the three things mentioned later. The point is, they are wounded and need healing. We have wounded here today. We put on a game face but many are what I call “the walking wounded.” We may still function but one arm is paralyzed and a leg no longer works.
We need believers at full capacity. The time is getting shorter. This church body needs to engage our community for Christ. We need to become healthy.
The passage calls for two actions.
First, “restore” the wounded.
This word continues the “incapacitated limb” picture. It means to set straight; like setting a broken bone. The writer used the point time action verb. Do it now. Take action to restore the incapacitated. Deal with depression, discouragement, disillusionment, fear, guilt, anger, faulty thinking, inability to pray or draw near to God, spiritual warfare confrontation and prayer.
It may require addressing past wounds and those who wounded. Perhaps deal with practical issues. Financial counseling, physical fatigue, family intervention. Do what it takes to address the current injury and incapacitation and facilitate the healing process. Get them healthy and ready to return to the battle.
Second, make straight paths to walk on.
This addresses whatever may interfere with the healing process. Perhaps to address what caused the injury in the first place. Lifestyle change, truth encounter, obedience, sin factors, trust factors, pride factors. This is an effort to avoid the potholes, detours, wandering that may re-injure the wound. It is a reinforcement of Biblical thinking and the spiritual disciplines that restore strength. It involves establishing new patterns of living that facilitate spiritual growth.
Whose healing ministry is this? It is the responsibility of the whole body.
Especially those who are spiritually strong. Galatians 6:1-3 1 John 5:16 James 5:13-20
God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Today we may have a case of the wounded healing the wounded. That’s generally how it works. My strength strengthens your weakness. Your strength strengthens my weakness.
I ask you to do two things today.
1 – Admit your need and willingness to be healed.
2 – Affirm your willingness to be a healer in the life of someone else.
