Author: Christian Hile

1 Thessalonians 4

Today we are reading and studying the fourth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica. This is where the theme of this letter shifts to the topic of eschatology, or the study of end times. I would be remiss to not talk about the first 8 verses because I think it sets a context that we all can learn from.

In the first eight verses Paul is calling the Thessalonians to purity. Jesus has made us pure by washing, cleansing, justifying, and sanctifying us. We ought to walk in that truth to honor and glorify our father in heaven. We live sexually pure lives not by striving, trying, and attempting, but by dying to ourselves and putting on Christ. God is not keeping you from something by demanding your sexual purity, rather He is giving you more freedom by calling you to live in the parameters He has created for you. God is more concerned about your sanctification than your satisfaction. He did not call you to passions of lust and uncleanness, but to holiness. You are to be set apart. This is important to remember as we move to the next topic in this chapter: the rapture of the Church.

The rapture is the removal of the Church from this earth, before the 7-year tribulation, which will occur in the end-times. Jesus’ return comes in two phases: the first phase is to collect His Church in the air (1 Thess. 4:15-17, 1 Cor. 15:51-54, 2 Thess. 2:6-7) and the second is to wage war at the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21). There are three different approaches to when the rapture will occur. The three stances are pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. God does not appoint us to wrath (1^st Thess. 5:9), therefore I see it hard to imagine any other time for the rapture instead of a pretribulation stance. Additionally, we have OT examples of God sparing the righteous out of the unrighteous like in the story of Lot in Sodom & Gomorrah and Noah with his family on the ark. Additionally, the church is not spoken of from Revelation 4 until chapter 19 when Jesus comes back with the saints (the NT Church). Lastly, God uses other means to spread the Gospel during the tribulation (the two witnesses; 144,000 Jewish people; and an angel in the air). If the church were still around, why would God need these other people/beings to spread His word when He has used the church for over 2,000 years? End times prophecy is all about God waking up Israel along with the rest of the world. The time is near. Get right with God so you are ready for His return. Be wise.

It is His grace that He is still waiting for the fullness of the gentiles to come. There will be a final person who gets saved and then God will rapture His church. Come to Jesus. Be soberminded. Be alert. Be ready for the return.

Psalm 75

The title of this psalm in the NKJV is Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment. In the subtitle we see it’s a song written by Asaph. This is a psalm where not only are Asaph’s words dictated, but the Father’s words are dictated as well in verses 2-5 and 10.

The psalm starts with the people thanking God for His nearness to them. That is so important for us to realize that God is always near to His people. Sometimes we feel like He is far from us and there are two main reasons for this. The first is that He wants your faith to be in Him and His Word, not in your feelings or experiences. The second reason is because you have unrepentant sin in your life that is breaking your fellowship with God, and therefore you don’t feel His presence. Always remember that God is near and is drawing you closer to Him with chords of kindness (Hosea 11:4).

Then immediately in verse 2 God starts to speak. If you want to hear God audibly, read this verse out loud and boom you have heard him audibly. But His message is more important. His message is about his impending judgment of the proud and the wicked. God always chooses the “proper time” for his upright and fair judgment. Sometimes in our minds we think God takes too long to bring justice. Other times we think He is too quick. But God is sovereign, and He always picks the proper time for His judgment. The danger for us humans is we don’t know His timetable. It is dangerous because we often think, “I’m still young, I will deal with my sin later because it’s still fun right now. I will get right with God when I need to raise kids.”  Don’t delay. Humble yourself before God casts His judgment on you.

When God says in verse 5, “Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck”, He is using the imagery of a stubborn ox who doesn’t want to be yoked. God is saying don’t be stubborn with me and resist me. Humble yourself and take my yoke upon you because it is easy and light. The reason Jesus’ yoke is easy is because He is the one on the other side! I love you enough to tell you that there is a final judgment on those who don’t put their faith and trust in Jesus. The result of the Great White Throne Judgment is that all unbelievers are thrown into the lake of fire for eternal judgment which includes separation from God’s goodness (Revelation 20:11-15).

The beauty of verse 10, in this psalm, is that there is hope in the midst of impending judgment. It reads, “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.” God exalts those who are righteous. How can we be righteous? By accepting the gift of salvation. When you repent of your sins and put your trust in Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10, 13), Christ’s righteousness is accounted to you. You are then exalted as a Child of God with a future reward waiting for you in heaven (2 Cor. 5: 9-11). The first step is humility. You need to humble yourself and recognize your sinfulness, and therefore your need for a savior. Jesus is near. Repent of your sins and turn to Him and He will wash you as white as snow.

Psalm 68

This psalm was clearly a song that would have been sung in worship of God during David’s reign. We see in the title that the word “song” was added. In verses 7-10 of this psalm David highlights that God was ever present with Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. In other areas of this psalm we see that God is a father to the fatherless, a defender of the widow, a provider for his people, but most of all he is a fighter for His nation Israel.

Kings flee from YAHWEH because of His greatness and because of what He has done. God is a just God that hates wickedness. He went before His people in battle and was given the name Jehovah Nissi “The LORD is my banner”. Verses 20-21 read, “Our God is the God of salvation; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death. But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.” This verse is dripping with Truth that we can cling to. YAHWEH is a God who delivers his people; He delivers them not only from the physical enemy, but also the spiritual enemy Satan.

In Genesis 3:15, God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden after he deceived Eve and stated, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” God told Satan how his end would come. He gave the entire plot to His redemption story in a single verse in the first book of the Bible. Satan bruised Jesus’ heal on the cross, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head on the third day when He rose from the dead.

Although this psalm is David pleading with God to eliminate Israel’s oppressors, we can now look back and see Jesus all through this psalm. Jesus brought a final victory for mankind against their oppression. We now fight through this life from a stance of victory, not from a stance of defeat. David was still looking for the Messiah, but now the gentiles have access to the promises of God including Salvation because of the battle Jesus won. The Church today does not replace Israel, and God surely has a plan for Israel in the end times, but He has grafted the gentile into His family tree. We know that the God of the Bible fights for both of His beloved, Israel and the Church.

 

Ephesians 1

Paul wrote this letter to the church at Ephesus. Not only did he write this letter to the church at Ephesus, but he discipled their first pastor, Timothy. Paul had a dear relationship with this church as well. He stayed in Ephesus for three years, the longest amount of time that Paul stayed anywhere on his missionary journeys. He is now writing this letter to them during his imprisonment in Rome.

As we read chapter 1 of Ephesians, we see it is dripping with foundational truths of Jesus’ love for you and for me. It is rich in theology and is the cause of much debate in the church today. Some topics we see are eternal security (v. 14), predestination (v. 5,11), and Jesus’ atonement (v. 7). The Bible teaches both predestination and man’s responsibility of free will by putting his/her trust in Christ for salvation. If we simply read verses 11-14 (NLT), we see the tension between God’s adoption of us (before the foundation of the world) and our responsibility to receive the free gift of salvation that he offers us:

“Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”

By reading this text, we see that God both predestined us and gave us the ability to choose him or not. The evidence of our choice is that the Holy Spirit indwells us when we surrender our lives and trust in Chirst. So how do we reconcile these truths? Peter calls believers the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). God the Father is omniscient, and He predestined those who would believe based on His knowing who would put their faith in Him. Now you may ask, how do I know if God predestined me? I heard Pastor Chuck Smith answer this question in a sermon saying something of this sort, “repent of your sins and turn to Christ and boom you were predestined!” God does not call us to reconcile every theological tension in the Bible; He calls us to believe and trust in Him.

I wanted to leave you with three ways God displays His love for you in this one chapter.

1. He Chose You (v. 4-5)
2. He Shed His Blood for You (v. 7)
3. He Sealed you With the Holy Spirit (v. 13-14)

Believer, rest in these three foundational truths that God chose you before the foundation of the world, He hung on a cross so you might be saved, and He sealed you with the Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of your inheritance. Rest in His love.

Galatians 4

The book of Galatians is a letter. When we keep that in mind, we should not be stumbled by the chapters and verses that were placed into this letter. It is a fluid writing and when we go from chapter 3 to chapter 4 and then on to chapter 5, Paul continues speaking about a main point and that is Grace v. the Law.
In chapter 3 Paul is sure to point out that the Law brings a curse on individuals and that we are justified by faith and not by the law. He also states that the Spirit of God came to men not by the law, but by faith. Paul is combatting an issue he has seen crop up in the Galatian church and that is that they are falling back into their old ways.

In chapter 4 Paul makes two declarative statements about the believer in Jesus Christ. First, he states, “we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free” (verse 31). He also states that we are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (verse 7). The only reason one could be called this is by faith, not by following the law because we can never be perfect. James, in his letter, mentions that if we break one part of the law, we are guilty of breaking the whole thing. The reason the Galatians are children of God is because they were given grace on account of their faith.

Paul’s fear is that the Galatians are “turning again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire to be in bondage?” (verse 9). The Galatians had been known by God, experienced His grace and were in danger of referring back to their old ways. I am not one to point fingers at them because how often do we fall back into trusting in our traditions? How often do we forget that our Salvation hangs on what Jesus did on the cross? How often do we want to say that Jesus + something = salvation? Paul could very well be writing the same thing to our church here in the United States.

So, what is the takeaway? The most important thing, when it comes to our Christian doctrine, is that our salvation is by grace alone in faith alone. Jesus + nothing = everything. We don’t add good deeds to our salvation. We don’t add baptism to our salvation. We don’t add confession or penance to our salvation. We stick to Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Now I will add that good works play a role in the believer’s life by means of sanctification, but that is a completely different doctrine. The believer should be baptized and should confess and repent of their sins individually or with another believer. But we must remember that our salvation is by our turning from sin and submission to Jesus.

Psalm 42

Psalm 42 is a classic psalm that has no doubt encouraged believers for thousands of years. This is a psalm people put on their fridge, hang on their walls, or even put on their church bulletins. The beautiful imagery and metaphor of the psalmist’s soul longing for God as a deer longs for water helps us understand foundational truths about God.

The Psalmist was far north of Jerusalem near Mount Hermon (v. 6) and the distance from God was making his soul downcast. To put christianese to these verses, the psalmist was feeling spiritually depressed. To further explain, he may have been feeling like he was in a spiritual dry spell. Not only is the distance causing the psalmist to feel downcast, but he has mockers and scoffers urging him to doubt the presence of his God saying, “Where is this God of yours?” (v. 3, 10). Lastly, in his sorrow he has a memory of how magnificent it was being in close proximity to the Lord and leading people in worship to the very temple where God inhabited.

How does the psalmist respond to his spiritual depression?

First, he questions himself. He searches himself and asks, “Why am I downcast, o my soul?”. Notice he doesn’t just roll over, cave and say, “Oh well. I am downcast and that’s all I’ll ever be”. Sometimes when we search ourselves, we can find the root of what’s causing this spiritual rut. But, this takes effort and a lot of us, myself included, have had times where we don’t want to have to deal with our own thoughts and put the work in to better ourselves. Second, he establishes his hope in the Lord (v. 5,11). This hope is not wishful thinking that things will get better. This hope is a confidence that things will get better because this hope is in a God who is a rock that is immovable. Lastly, the hope he has is evidenced by his action. He will praise the Lord even when he really doesn’t feel like it.

So how do you get out of a spiritual rut when it feels like you’re longing for God but can’t even get a drop of His presence? Crack open your Bible. It’s the same concept as when there is a person who is on a strict workout plan and they still go to the gym even when they are tired and don’t feel like it. The most important time to read your Bible is when you really don’t feel like it. Find your hope in a God who is immovable. Lift your hands in worship when you feel the resistance pulling them down. Please God.

2nd Corinthians 4

Have you ever felt that there is no way you can keep pushing in your own personal ministry? If your answer is yes, you are not alone. 2nd Corinthians is famously known as the letter where Paul defends his ministry to those who were slandering his name and his heavenly work. Sharing Jesus can be difficult when you have a defense you are playing against, this was Paul’s case, but it can also be difficult when you are not seeing the fruit of your work. I am here to encourage you that your value and your success in personal ministry is not based on how many decisions were made for Christ, or how many lives were changed, or how many people you impacted. Your success in sharing the Gospel is doing just that… sharing it. That is what Jesus calls us to do. He does not call us to save peoples souls (He does that work), but He calls us to be obedient when the Holy Spirit tugs our hearts to share the gospel.
In verse 3-4 we read,

“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Sometimes people do not respond to the gospel. It can be discouraging, but your success is in your obedience, not in their response.
Paul said that he was hard-pressed on every side but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Why did he and his ministry team have this perspective? Why did they always find the positive? The answer is in verse 14, “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.” Their hope of heaven shifted their perspective on their current challenges.

Paul finished this section, and chapter, describing his present circumstances simply being a “light affliction” when compared to the glory that they will experience for eternity.

So, what’s the point here. When things are hard in personal ministry. When you are struggling breaking through to someone, when you are being persecuted, when it feels like you are being pressed from all sides, focus on eternity. It will shift your perspective and help you to continue to push through your negative circumstances currently. Don’t be ingenuine and deny that your life is hard. Rather, recognize that your circumstances are hard, and change your outlook by realizing they don’t compare to the blessing of spending eternity with Jesus.

Psalm 35 – Lessons from David

This psalm is a cry for vengeance. David has been slandered, offended, accused, and sinned against and this psalm is one where he is crying out to God to “make even” with his adversaries. The first lesson we see here is that David did not take matters into his own hands.

In our day and age, it is so easy to be accused or offended and immediately we reach for a sword to slash back. Go read any comment threads on Facebook or any other social media platform and you will see people getting vengeance. We need to learn from David and ask the Lord to do it on our behalf and to trust that someday Jesus will make His enemies (which are our enemies as well) His footstool.

Jesus states in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5: 38-39).

The context of this statement is in verbal accusations. Some passivists will use this as an example that people should not defend themselves at all. What this is trying to say is if someone insults you, turn your cheek and let them throw more insults. Don’t repay an insult with an insult. Speak life.
Read verse 13 and 14 again, “’But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.”

David mourned for them, he fasted on their behalf, and he interceded for them in their trials. He didn’t just turn his cheek, but spiritually, David went on offense for his adversaries.

To sum this all up, practically how do we respond when we are accused, shamed, or treated poorly by the world? In some cases, we need to defend ourselves and defend the faith, but in other cases it is better to relent and to actively show our love for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

1 Corinthians 8 (Wednesday June 4th)
To preface this entire post, I want us all to read 1 Cor. 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Be above reproach. Be a man or woman of good reputation because you represent our great God.

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you have had the question okay well what do I do if the Bible doesn’t talk about a certain topic? For example, the Bible doesn’t always give us specific verses on if you can or cannot take in certain media, to smoke, to drink alcohol (the Bible clearly warns against getting drunk Eph. 5:18), and many other hot topics in our culture. So, what do we do?

This passage of scripture was specifically for the Corinthian church. There were many pagans turned Christians in this church. Something that they would have done in their previous worldview was to sacrifice meat to the various idols they worshipped. Then that same meat would be sold in the market. So, the Christians are now asking okay now that we worship Jesus, can we still eat this meat, or should we not eat this meat? Paul’s answer is simple. He says that some people have the knowledge in their heart and mind that all other idols are not true gods, therefore their conscience is not weak when they eat the meat that was offered to these idols. Then there are the people who may have practiced the actual offering before and their conscience is weak towards this practice because it reminds them of idolatry they previously committed.

So, let’s make this more personal. Say you had a sin struggle with getting drunk before you came to Christ for salvation. Now after you are a Christian, you understand that just having a drink is okay, but because you have abused it, your conscience is weak towards even having a drink. Obviously that Christian should not drink because going against their conscience would be sin.

Now, Paul goes back to everyone and clarifies some things.

1. Our freedom should not be a stumbling block for another Christian (v.9).
2. Give up your freedom for the sake of others (v.13).

So, to put this all together, there are some areas where you have freedom to trust your conscience that God created in you and the Spirit He put in you. BUT you should never favor your liberty over your brother and sister in Christ. AND you should be willing (not that you must) to give up your liberty, even though your conscience is not weak, for the sake of someone else.

Psalm 31

This psalm is very applicable to every single person who calls earth their home. You may ask, why are you wording it this way… Well, we live in a fallen world that was cursed back in Genesis 3:17, and not only was the ground cursed then, but sin has abounded in our world. Cancer, greed, heartbreak, covetousness, and every evil (or imperfect) thing is a result of the sin that Adam committed. So let’s study this Psalm and see how one of the greatest earthly kings of Israel handled his anguish.

Just by means of breaking this Psalm into chunks, we see in the first 5 verses David is requesting protection from the LORD. He exclaims truths that God is his rock, his fortress, and that God is faithful. The next three verses, (6-8) David is portraying his trust and faith in God as his protector. God listens and hears the cry of David.
Now, in verses 9-13 David starts to explain some of the symptoms of his life. He explains:
1. His body and soul are withering away
2. Sin has drained his strength
3. He is wasting away from within
4. His enemies are conspiring against him, plotting to take his life.

Through these verses, David explains both internal and external suffering and anguish. He mentions that his sin has drained his strength. In Psalm 51, David asks the Lord to restore to him the joy of his salvation. There are two truths here. The first being that our own sin can cause us suffering and internal anguish. The second truth is that our sin steals the joy that we once had… But God is faithful to forgive you when you come to Him and He is faithful to restore that joy to you.

The external suffering David faced, and that we face today, is often a result of other people sinning against us. We must remember that sin is simply missing the mark of God’s righteousness and holiness.
Now let’s apply this to our own lives.
1. When we sin and face internal anguish, we must keep short accounts with God (James 5:16, 1 John 1:9, Ps. 32:1-5).
2. We must forgive others so we can also be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).
3. We must continuously praise God and seek Him as our refuge and rock (Ps. 31:3,21)