2 Corinthians 13:5-9
I have heard news commentators and writers talk about how recent events have caused them to stop and reflect on life. Many have suggested that they have looked at their priorities to see if they have had them out of order. Many of us probably could admit that our priorities often get out of order. Last week in our study of “Facing Forever” one of the reasons we are not willing to face our own mortality is because of the busyness in our life. We fill our life with activity and noise so that we don’t have to face the fact that someday we might die. But it seems as if things have now changed. People are looking at their lives and priorities. I think we all are.
Monday evening after consistory I thought I would listen to what David Letterman had to say about his beloved New York. I sometimes watch him on Friday evenings and he has a way of making fun of everyone but Monday was different. There was very little humor as he expressed his outrage and tried to understand what had taken place. Dan Rather was his guest and several times was overcome by emotion. Three times the conversation had to stop and Dan had to gather his emotions. I believe that it was a demonstration of how difficult this event has been for people, especially for those who have had to live it for the past week. Those who are struggling to understand all that has taken place.
Many have asked how God could allow such a thing to happen in this nation? But what we have a tendency to forget is that evil is real and it can cause people to do the unthinkable to one another. When Christ is vacant from our life there is no telling how evil humans can become to one another. There is a vacuum in every person’s heart and we have the freewill to fill that vacuum with good or evil. If Christ is not present in our life, there is no stopping of evil. Evil has the power to over take our lives and the way we live. Even very religious people can have evil fill their lives because without Jesus evil has an open door to a person’s heart.
Even in our own country people of Islamic faith have had to live in fear because of people who have bombed their mosques or rammed the place of worship with their cars. There have been people who have become so angry they ready to kill the first person they see who has a middle-eastern accent or who dresses in a non-western style of clothing. There are others who are wondering why the United States Military hasn’t started to blow up countries like an out of control animal. People have not shown patience with our leaders who are trying to make sure that we do not loose the war in the first few days. As our president has said this is not going to be over in a short time and we had better be sure that we are ready to be in this for the long haul. Therefore, as Christians we need to approach this war not will a heart filled with evil but with a heart of Christ.
Evil is a very dangerous thing and to say that what is going on in this world is not a spiritual battle is wrong. We are living in a time when many spiritual things are happening and it becomes important for us to see who is going to win us over? Through this time of testing is Christ being more rooted in our spirit or is evil being given a great place of prominence? We need to examine our hearts and our lives because if there ever was a time to have our lives prepared for eternity it is today. We do not know what might happen to us but we had better know what will happen to us when our earthly life comes to an end.
Many of our religious leaders have called us to repentance. I heard Dr. Schuller say that there needs to be true repentance. Not only asking God to forgive us but a real change in our heart and our actions. If we do not truly change our hearts will then be open to an invasion of that which is evil.
Paul writes in verse 5 of today’s text, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless of course, you fail the test.” I like the way Eugene Peterson translates this text in the Message. “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, no more hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.”
Paul seems to be telling us that this is something no one can do for us but it is something we have to do for ourselves. We do not go to a Spiritual Doctor for the examination but this is a self-examination in which Jesus Christ helps to look closely at our life. We have to see what is taking root in our heart and whether Jesus Christ is living in our heart or evil? If Jesus Christ is living there certain things will begin to happen in our life but if evil is there, we will begin to show more and more to the world what evil looks like.
The first key point that is important is a solid faith in Jesus Christ. There is no way any of us will be able to survive in this life without a solid base in our life and that comes through Jesus Christ. People, material things and government fail us in life. People fail. There were those who left for work as firemen and policemen on Tuesday, September 11 and when they left they promised their children and spouses that they would be careful and would be home that night. They were unable to fulfill their promises. People fail. Business fails. Many airlines are struggling because of being shut down for several days and the fact that many people are afraid to fly right now. Some are thinking that they will not be able to recover. The markets are still on shaking ground causing our economy to struggle. Governments fail. We may have the strongest military in the world and one of the best intelligence agencies but that did not prevent people from hijacking jets and using them as missiles.
There is only one person who cannot fail and that is Jesus Christ. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 27, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set my high upon a rock…Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me…Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. There is only one who is able to deliver us from evil and from death and that is God. There is nothing else in the entire world. Paul tells us in Romans 8, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us.” There is only one means by which we can live a life of grace and live in power of God’s presence and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
We are able to test our faith when trials come. It is during those times that we either believes that God is sovereign and all-powerful or else we try to do everything in our own power to save ourselves. Whenever we rely on others or ourselves we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. We are all going to need Jesus Christ when that time comes for us to be delivered from death. If we are unable to have faith that Jesus can deliver us from the small things in life, how can we trust that Jesus can deliver us from our greatest test that comes at the time of death?
Charles Swindoll suggests that we all take a long look at our life by standing in front of the full-length mirror of memory. It is important for us to look where God has been faithful in the past and he has helped us through some rather difficult circumstances. Think back of the prayers that he answered and in some of the ways in which you have had to trust in him because there was no one else. Are we able to think of the times that God alone delivered you from a difficult situation? When that occurred did you praise him and thank him? Paul tells us in Philippians 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” It is those situations that should help our faith to increase. It is those situations that help us to know that we can trust Jesus Christ in any and all situations.
If you are going to purchase a new car and you know that you will probably being using that car for the next 5 to 7 years, you give it a test ride. You want to make sure that the car is just right for you and it will provide for your needs in the years ahead. You are making a large investment. It has taken many hours of work to pay for that car so you want it to be the right one. Does Jesus fulfill your needs in life? Have you tested your faith in him to the point that you know that in all situations he is going to be there for you?
Not only is it important for us to test to see if we have faith in Jesus but it is also important to test to see if Jesus is living inside of us. Everything in life including our character and our outlook on life depends on whether Jesus is living in us. If we have never allowed Jesus to enter our life, then it will be impossible for us to have faith in him. As Paul writes in this text there needs to be first hand evidence that Jesus is in our life.
In Ephesians 1:4-5, we read these words: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” How do you know if you are this adopted son or daughter of Jesus Christ? You know by your desire to truly be like Jesus Christ. What motivates you in your everyday life, is it because of your faith in Jesus or some other reason? I hope that what we do in life is motivate by our love for Jesus.
Some people are claim to be Christians because they fear Hell and they think that if they belong to a church they are pretty safe. Religion will never save a person from Hell only a relationship with Jesus Christ can do that. The only legitimate reason for being in relationship with Jesus is because we are his children. We don’t follow Jesus because he is the focus of our religion but rather we follow Jesus because we love him as his children.
Our love for Jesus then causes us to become more and more like him in our daily life. Jesus effects the way we think and how we react to the testing and trials that come in life. All of us were angry and shocked with what happened in New York and Washington but if our first response was to send nuclear warheads to the Middle East we had better questioned our relationship with Jesus Christ. If our first response was to pray for God’s deliverance and God’s intervention then we know that Jesus is living in our heart. If our hearts were leading us to pray for the victims, their families, the rescuers and all those involved, it shows that there is a legitimate faith in Jesus Christ.
When a child is in trouble the first person he or she will cry out to is his or her parent. A person who has faith in Jesus Christ will always call out to him first of all. Jesus is never our last resort but always the first. The reason we call out to Jesus is because of his love and goodness. One does not call out to evil to defeat evil but one calls out to the one who brings about love and goodness.
John tells in I John 2 “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” If we have faith in Jesus Christ, we will then be living as Jesus lived on this earth. If Jesus is living in our heart there will be no room for evil but only good. John tells us in verses 3 through 5, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.” There is no way around it. Those who have Jesus Christ in their heart must also have the love of Jesus. Jesus commands are clear that we are to love both God and our neighbor.
But you may be asking does that mean that as Christians we are not to defend our nation or are we not suppose to go to war? There have been many times when God’s people have had to go to battle to defend the rights of freedom. There have been many times that God’s people were called to stop that which was evil. They did it not because of their hate for the enemy but for their disdain for what is evil.
Many have wondered why terrorists have so much hate? It is because of being overwhelmed by evil in their life. Evil is their God not Jesus Christ. They may be religious but they cannot serve the true God because God never plants evil in the hearts of his people. I was told this week that when Travis Sybesma was going to rangers’ school the rangers’ favorite song was Shine Jesus Shine. These men and women were being trained to do combat with the enemy. They may be asked to put their life on the line to stop evil. Do you think that Jesus is living in them and that their faith is real? Of course Jesus is living in them and their faith is real but there are times when as Christians we must go into battle to stop evil. Jesus died in order to defeat evil. There are times we may be asked to place our lives on the line to stop evil.
We must have faith in Jesus Christ and we must allow Jesus Christ to live in us, but Paul does not end the text there. The question then is asked what do we do if we do not pass the test? I like the way Eugene Peterson translates this text. If you fail the test, then do something about it.
There is only one way in, which you and I can prepare for eternity and that, is by asking Jesus into our heart. It will not come through joining a church or by doing righteous acts. It can only take place if we are willing to ask God to forgive us of our sin and then give Jesus first place in our life. This has to be our number one priority in life.
Those of you who have the “Facing Forever” workbook might recognize what I am about to say because it is found in the book but these are important. If you invite Jesus into your heart this is what will happen. Christ is now in your life. In Galatians 2:20 we read these words, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
Christ’s power is in your life: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Your sins are forgiven: Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Finally you became a permanent part of God’s kingdom: Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.
Don’t put off your relationship with Jesus another day but make it your number 1 priority in life. Amen.
