From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Promise of Jesus’ Return – Part 3

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels.”
                                        (Matthew 16:27a)

For those of us who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, His return in glory is a comforting and thrilling promise that fills us with great hope and anticipation. Like the saints under the heavenly altar (Revelation 6:9-10), we wonder how long the Lord will allow the world to go its sinful way before intervening in sovereign power and bringing righteousness, equity, and justice to the world. We wonder with the psalmist, How long, O God, will the adversary revile, and the enemy spurn Your name forever?” (Psalm 74:10).

At this point in Jesus’ ministry the disciples especially needed a word of hope from their Lord. He had just told them of His impending suffering and death and of the demanding conditions of true discipleship, of taking up one’s cross, and of giving up one’s own life in order to save it (Matthew 16:21-25). Perhaps for the first time it was becoming clear to them that the way of Christ is the way of self-denial, sacrifice, rejection, persecution, and quite possibly, martyrdom. It was beginning to dawn on them that the way of Christ is the way of willing obedience at any price. They were learning that a disciple says no to ease, comfort, money, and pleasure and says yes to pain, struggle, persecution, and spiritual warfare for His sake.

Ask Yourself:
Identify those things that you are more than ready to give up to the “eraser” of Christ’s coming, as well as those things that keep you more attached to this world than you should be. Ask Him to help you maintain a healthy and holy desire for His return.

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Promise of Jesus’ Return – Part 2

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels.”
                                        (Matthew 16:27a)

In Scripture, the word for “glory” is often used to represent the totality of God’s nature, character, and attributes. When He came to earth as a man, His deity was hidden (Philippians 2:6-8), and there was nothing in his human appearance to mark Him as being different from other men (Isaiah 53:2). That very fact made it difficult for many Jews to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, whose divine power and glory they thought would be immediately manifest. But that was not God’s plan.

When Moses asked God, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” the Lord replied, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion” (Exodus 33:18-19). To witness God’s attributes is to have a glimpse of His glory, all that the fullness of His name implies.

The message that the Messiah would come in glory was not new. It was perhaps the messianic truth with which the Jews of that day were most familiar. Jesus now affirmed and gave a more complete perspective to that truth.

Ask Yourself:
Why do we have a desire to experience “glory”? Even those who won’t turn their hearts to receive God’s mercy and grace, who don’t value or believe in the glory of God, seek this transcendence in other ways. What does that tell us about the true need of mankind?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Promise of Jesus’ Return – Part 1

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels.”                                             (Matthew 16:27a)

One of the highlights of Jesus’ ministry on earth is found in Matthew 16:27-17:6. It looks ahead to His return to earth in exaltation and glory, when all His enemies will be placed under His feet and He will establish the long-hoped-for eternal kingdom.

At the time Jesus spoke to the disciples about His return, they were in desperate need of encouragement. Recently they had heard much of pain but little of gain, much of suffering but little of glory, and much of the cross but little of the crown. So, Jesus assured them that He was indeed the Son of Man who would “come in the glory of His Father with His” thousands upon thousands of holy angels to receive the kingdom and execute judgment.

Here was Jesus’ first specific revelation to His disciples of His second coming. After just telling them that He was God in human flesh, that He was the promised Messiah, that He would build a kingdom that nothing could hinder or destroy — but that He first had to be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead — He now informed them that He will one day return in great glory and righteous judgment to establish His throne.

Ask Yourself:
“The glory of the Father with His angels” may not be a sight with which you can do justice in your imagination. But spend a few moments trying to sense the majesty and drama of this coming event. How could meditating on this reality help you do real justice to this day?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Parousia

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”     (Matthew 16:27)

Parousia is a noun form of the Greek verb behind “to come” and is often used to refer to Christ’s second coming. A day of judgment is coming. Jesus reminded the disciples and the crowds that He will return with His angels and “repay every man according to his deeds.” He will raise “those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life” and “those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29).

This general truth had been complained long before by the psalmist, “You recompense a man according to his work” (Psalm 62:12). It was also echoed by Paul in his letter to the church at Rome: “Each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Those whose works are pleasing to the Lord are those who, by God’s sovereign grace and power, have trusted in Christ as Savior & Lord, while denying self, taking up their crosses, and following Him. They will receive everlasting life and the blessings of heaven. Those whose works are rejected by the Lord are those who put their hope and trust in the worldly things of this life. They will receive eternal damnation and all the torments of hell.

Ask Yourself:
When was the last time that, coming to the end of a day, you felt really good about the way you had honored Christ, submitted to His leadership, and availed yourself of His victory over sin? What are the main obstacles that keep you from feeling that way more often?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Paradox of Discipleship – Part 2

“Whoever wishes to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”         (Matthew 16:25)

The story is told of a plantation slave in the old South who was always happy and singing. No matter what happened to him, his joy was always great. One day his master asked him, “What makes you so happy?” The slave replied, “I love the Lord Jesus Christ. He has forgiven my sin and put a song in my heart.”
“Well, how do I get what you have?” his master asked him. “Go and put on your Sunday suit, then come down here and work in the mud with us and you can have it,”came the reply. “I would never do that,” the owner retorted indignantly as he rode off in a huff.
Some weeks later, the master asked the same question and was given the same answer. A few weeks later, he came back a third time and said, “Now be straight with me. What do I have to do to have what you have?” “Just what I’ve told you the other times,” answered the slave. In desperation, the owner said, “All right, I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to do it now,” the slave said. “You only had to be willing.”

A disciple doesn’t have to be a martyr, but he must be willing to be a martyr if faithfulness to Christ demands it.

Ask Yourself:
What are you willing to do and to be for the sake  of your Lord? Is there anything you simply are not ready to part with or give up in order to walk in unfettered faithfulness with Him? Why is Jesus so insistent on having your full allegiance? Why is this not asking too much of you?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Paradox of Discipleship – Part 1

“Whoever wishes to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
                                    (Matthew 16:25-26)

This is a simple truth: whoever lives only to save his earthly, physical life will lose his opportunity for eternal life. But, whoever is willing to give it up to suffer and die, if necessary, for Christ’s sake will find eternal life.

The true disciple is willing to pay whatever price faithfulness to the Lord requires. He will be willing to abandon his safety, personal resources, health, friends, job, and even his life for Christ.

Jesus reinforced the paradox by adding, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Jesus was saying, “Of what lasting benefit would it be to somehow possess the whole world if in gaining it you forfeited your soul?”

“Or,” Jesus continued, “What could possibly be worth having during this lifetime, if to gain it you would have to exchange your soul?” To gain every possession possible in this world and yet be without Christ is to be bankrupt forever. But to abandon everything for the sake of Christ is to be rich forever.

Ask Yourself:
What do those who lose themselves to sin and self-serving behaviors really hope to gain from their so-called freedom? What do they expect to receive and enjoy in return? What have you learned (and lost) from directing your own energies toward fleshly habits?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
The Disciple’s Loyal Obedience

Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”     (Matthew 16:24)

Only after a person denies himself and takes up his cross, Jesus said, is he prepared to “follow Me.” True discipleship is submission to the lordship of Christ. The apostle John wrote, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

Paul calls salvation the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26). Peter describes God’s sovereign saving work in a life as “the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:2). Obviously, obedience is an integral feature in salvation and is as characteristic of a believer as is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the sacrificial saving work of the Son. The Holy Spirit is given only to those who obey God (Acts 5:32), and since every believer has the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), every believer is also characterized by obedience to God as a pattern of life.

As Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26).

Ask Yourself:
Why would someone try to separate personal holiness from personal faith, insisting that an individual’s consistency (or inconsistency) in godliness cannot be used as a gauge of their Christian testimony? What else can it say when a person rebels against His lordship?

From the desk of Pastor Ben
Taking Up the Cross – Part 2

Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”     (Matthew 16:24)

What does it mean to become a disciple of Jesus Christ? It means you want to come to the end of yourself and your sin so much that you long for Christ and His righteousness, making absolutely any sacrifice for Him. The extent to which sacrifice results in suffering and persecution varies from believer to believer, from time to time, and from place to place. Not all the apostles were martyred, but all of them were willing to be martyred. Not every disciple is called on to be martyred, but every disciple is commanded to be willing to be martyred.

The cross represents the suffering that is ours because of our relationship to Christ. As Jesus moved unwaveringly toward Jerusalem, His place of execution, He had already taken up His cross and was beginning to bear on His back the sins of all who would believe. And millions of disciples, each with their own cross, have since borne reproach with Him.

Christ does not call you to Himself to make your life easy and prosperous, but to make you holy and productive. Willingness to take up your cross is what marks you as a true disciple.

Ask Yourself:
How has Christ called you to bear reproach for His name? What has your allegiance to Him cost you, whether in relationships, in hardship, in reputation, or in some other area of sacrifice? How can you become more steadfast and sure in honoring Him at any price?

From the desk of Pastor Ben

Taking Up the Cross

Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”     (Matthew 16:24)

A true disciple will not only deny himself, but also take up his cross. To take up your cross does not refer to gaining some mystical, elite level of spiritual life. Nor does it refer to experiencing trials and hardships common to all people. To take up your cross is simply to be willing to pay any price for Christ’s sake, even if that means enduring shame, reproach, persecution, or martyrdom.

In Jesus’ day the cross was the instrument of execution reserved for Rome’s worst enemies. It symbolized the torture and death that awaited those who dared raise a hand against Roman authority.

So when the disciples and the crowd heard Jesus speak of taking up the cross, they pictured a poor, condemned soul walking along the road carrying the instrument of his execution on his back. A man who took up his cross began his death march.

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be willing to start on a death march in His service — to be willing to suffer the indignities, pain, and even death of a condemned criminal.

And why would you do that? It is your opportunity to share in the sufferings of the One who suffered the most to save you.

Ask Yourself:
What needs to be offered up to death in your heart today? What has been taking far too much of your time, focus, and attention, distracting you from pure and wholehearted devotion to Christ? How far must it drag you down before you realize it can do nothing else?