Category: devotional

In America, we do not know much about persecution. We may read the voice of the Martyrs newsletter or listen to testimonies of persecuted Christians, but we do not have a great deal of personal experience. In fact, for us, when things go against us, we tend to gripe like crazy.

 

It is wise, however, for us to learn from others who have been through something worse than we have. So, I want us to consider how one New Testament church responded to a set of hardships.

 

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8 about the actions of the Macedonians in the face of hardships. We know that these Christians had joy in the Lord. But they faced a severe test of affliction—and if Paul calls affliction “severe,” it was severe. The Macedonians also faced extreme poverty.

 

Now, stop and think. If you are a believer, really consider this. What would you do if you faced a severe test of affliction combined with extreme poverty? What would happen to your joy in Christ? Would you go inward? Would you tell others to leave you alone because you have suffered enough?

 

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints

 

What was the outcome of the combination of joy in Christ with affliction and poverty? The Macedonians responded with an abundance of generosity. You see, there were other Christians who were also suffering. These poor and persecuted Macedonians begged Paul to let them give a little something to try to help those in need. The Macedonians were themselves in need, but they pleaded to be allowed to help others.

 

That, my friends, is what poor and persecuted Christians do. Those who truly know Jesus, who truly have the joy of the Lord, do not go inward when we hurt. Instead, resting on the joy of the Lord, believers in Christ continue to give of themselves for the good of others in the church. We do not hide. We do not close up our walls. We love each other and keep on giving to each other even when it seems that all we have has been taken from us.

 

May we Christians in America have the kind of joy in Christ and heart for God we see in the Macedonians of 2 Corinthians 8. May we have joy that overflows in love and generosity. May we not go into our shells when we hurt. May we instead glorify Christ and find joy in his glory as we give our very lives for the cause of Christ.

In general, I try to tell our people to be nice. I often say that we, as the people of God, must not mock, make fun of, or be harsh toward those with whom we disagree. And, in general, I believe I’m correct.

 

However, not every example in Scripture of the dealings of men of God with those who oppose God is nice and friendly. In fact, there are some that are downright sarcastic. There are some instances in which biting humor and mockery are part of the words of men of God to show the folly of idolatry.

 

Remember the story of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel? There 1 prophet of God faced off against 450 prophets of Baal. The challenge was simple: first one to get his deity to send fire down from heaven wins. Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first. They danced, chanted, and even cut themselves to try to get their false god to answer. Baal did not answer, because he is no god.

 

Look at how Elijah then mocked the prophets of Baal. This is actually pretty funny.

 

1 Kings 18:27 – And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”

 

This is not nice. Elijah points out that their repeated chanting is not reaching Baal. Then he offers four alternatives. Perhaps Baal is really thinking about something hard, and so he cannot answer. Or, (my personal favorite) perhaps he is on the toilet and cannot be disturbed. Or perhaps he is away on a journey and has not made it back yet. Or perhaps he’s taking a nap and you guys need to yell even louder to wake him up.

 

What do we do with a story like this? First, I have to personally pull back my sweeping statement about always being nice.

There are some situations in which the people of God are not called to look at the ways of the world and pretend they are logical, sensible, acceptable alternatives. Sometimes people may actually cross the line into the ridiculous, and we should not pretend they have remained with the sane.

 

But, I would also encourage us to be very careful with the use of sarcasm. Like righteous anger, righteous sarcasm may exist. However, it is far more likely that you and I will go to sarcasm too soon or cross the line into cruelty at a time when it is not at all righteous. We need to be very cautious as we speak and as we joke. It is far too easy to let our humor feed our pride, to let our joking mask our gossip, to let our laughter accompany our grumbling complaints. It is far too easy for us to hurt others in a way that does lasting damage when we think we are funny.

 

So, I cannot say that sarcasm is inappropriate. But be really sure you know what you are doing. Be really sure that your motives are not dishonorable to the Lord. Use humor, when appropriate, to point out the ridiculousness of certain things that dishonor the Lord. But as you do so, be wise and careful not to begin to feed your own pride and selfishness.

Some readings that I work through have such simple and clear applications that I cannot imagine missing them. Others are more difficult. Some daily studies tell me exactly what to do, exactly what behavior to avoid, and exactly what will please the Lord. Others, well, they require a lot more thought.

 

In my reading through 2 Corinthians 6, I find myself looking at a familiar passage, one with a traditional application. Yet, as I look, and as I agree with the traditional application, I recognize that there is much more present.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.”

 

Let’s start with the common use of this passage. Many preachers over the years have used verse 14 as a prooftext for forbidding believers from marrying unbelievers. Do not be unequally yoked together with somebody who does not share your faith in Christ. That, of course, is a fair application of that text. This is not some sort of harsh restriction made up by God to keep people from loving whom they want, but a protection against uniting with someone whose life has a decidedly different focus than to follow Christ. Christians should not intentionally marry outside of the faith. To do so is to sin against the Lord and to set yourself up for a very painful future. Even if we find that sometimes the unbelieving spouse will come to Christ, the believer who willingly chooses to violate this principle is not honoring the Lord.

 

But marriage is not the primary point that Paul is making. Looking at the verse in context, Paul is talking to people who live in Corinth, who are surrounded by temples and idolatry. Paul is writing to people who must battle the temptation to return to their old practices, practices which violate multiple principles from the Lord.

 

In that context, Paul tells the Corinthians not to yoke themselves together with the unbelievers of the city. The Corinthian Christians are not to so tie themselves to their idolatrous neighbors that there is no distinction. Christ has no fellowship with idols. God’s temple must have nothing to do with the temples of idols. And since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, our lives must not unite us with the pagan worship of the world around us.

 

In Corinth, the application would have to do with a call to separate one’s self from the common community of Corinth so as to also be separate from the idolatry and the evil practices taking place in the temple. Christians would have to make personal choices that would cut them off from lucrative businesses and social success. Christians would have to say no to opportunities of advancement in the community, because to do so would require yoking themselves together with the idols of the city.

 

But how do we apply this today? This is where I have more questions than answers. Our society is not as overtly religious as was Corinth. Getting a job or being elected to public office in the U.S. is not socially tied to making some sort of false religious offering. Or is it?

 

We as believers must examine our lives to see where we, in order to function in our society, compromise our faith for the sake of participation. No, there is not a temple where we must go and bow to fit in. But the religion of the day looks different. The religion of our nation does not have the same type of worship as was present in Corinth. The religion of our day shows itself as a worship of pleasure, an intentional godlessness, a secular humanism, an aggressive atheism. Today’s religion is hedonistic, seeking personal pleasure as the highest good. Today’s religion is a worship of self, allowing every individual to decide to accept or reject anything as truth for them.

 

Given this undefined religion of today, what would it look like for a Christian to be unequally yoked together with it? That is a question that I think will look different for all of us. And it is a question that will be asked in every area of life. What jobs can a Christian not do because to do them ties us to the world in a dangerous way? What entertainment must we not take in because of how it will unite us with the religion of the day? Whom can we not marry because they are part of the religion of the world? Where should we not go? With whom can we not partner, even for a good cause?

 

These questions are hard. To some, they are fundamentalist and threaten legalism. But the commands of God are real. We must not be united with the religion of our world, a mindset and faith that denies the Lord, turns its back on Jesus, and makes man and not God the ultimate authority. We must be a people who are willing to lose social status in order to follow the God we serve. WE must be a people who are willing to let some opportunities pass us by in order to obey the Lord’s commands. We must be a people who gather in our churches for the glory of God without making those gatherings look like the religion of man. We must be people who are willing to change in order not to be yoked together with a belief system that opposes the things of the Lord.

 

At the same time, how are we to engage the world around us? We are not to be hermits. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to take the message of the love and grace of Jesus to the nations. We are to change the world in a variety of ways. And so we must think well, pray hard, make God our priority, and ask the many questions with honesty as we strive to live to the glory of the Lord.

One of the unfortunately bad raps that are often given to people from a reformed or Calvinistic church is the false belief that those who believe in sovereign election do not call for people to respond to the gospel. This, of course, is a caricature. While there are some who may hide behind their doctrine to refuse to obey the commands of the Lord or to follow the example of his disciples, genuine Calvinists will most certainly share the gospel. It is only hyper-Calvinists, those who believe it is wrong to share the gospel with others who have not shown signs of being chosen by God, who avoid sharing the gospel. And any biblical Christian will reject hyper-Calvinism out of hand. But the reformed, genuine Calvinists, will always be ready to share the gospel and give a reason for the hope within them just as God commanded us in 1 Peter 3:15.

 

No matter what you believe about sovereign election, you must not ignore the commands of Scripture and the example of the apostles.

 

2 Corinthians 5:20 – Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

 

Notice what Paul wrote here. He implores people to be reconciled to God. Paul, who said in the previous chapter, “We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Cor 4:2), also says that he passionately calls on others to turn from their sins so that they can be made right with the Lord.

 

What must we learn? A commitment to Scripture, to sound doctrine, to the word of God and his way of ministry necessarily includes genuine appeal to others to be saved. If you are a Calvinist, you believe that you agree with Paul in his understanding of election. But Paul’s understanding of election still led him to implore the people of Corinth to be reconciled to God. Therefore, a biblical view of election most definitely includes a sincere call for others to be saved.

 

Christians, do not, no matter what your doctrine, stop calling people to respond to Jesus. No, never use tricks or gimmicks. Never twist Scripture. Never hide the truth of the gospel including the call to repent and to the Lordship of Christ. Never hide the hardships of the faith. But also do not hide the horror of the judgment of God. Do not hide the beauty of heaven. Do not hide the stunning love of Jesus.

 

Do not, whatever you do, refuse to call people to be reconciled to God. Tell people that they need a Savior. Tell them that, by God’s grace through faith and repentance, they must be saved. Ask them to commit their lives to Christ and find mercy. Tell them not to wait, because they do not know that they will have another chance. This is consistent with Paul’s practice.

 

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 – 1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

 

How does this fit with a belief in sovereign election? For the biblical Calvinist, it is a great comfort. As we share the gospel with people, we also understand that the salvation of others is not based on our ability to persuade. My own personal cleverness or salesmanship has nothing to do with a person’s eternity. I am simply called to be honest, to make an honest appeal, and to leave the results to the Lord.

We live in a world full of sales pitches. Article headlines are designed as click-bait, promising radical stories that they seldom deliver. Fishing email scams seek out our personal information. Phone calls from companies pretend to know who we are and offer us prizes if we will just press 1 to be connected to an operator.

 

I get very tired of the scams. I get tired of the tricks. I get tired of the false promises of salesmen who promise the moon but who have nothing special to give.

 

But what I tire of most is the use of sales pitches and gimmicks when it comes to the Christian faith. There are certainly some out there who use the tricks of the sales and marketing industry on the one hand or even the tricks of the email scammers on the other to try to bait and switch people into the kingdom of God. But these are not ways to honor the Lord.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I certainly want to see people saved. But I am unwilling to use underhanded methods to trick people into the kingdom. I want to see people come to Christ, but there is no call for becoming anything less than honest with people.

 

Paul saw this too.

 

2 Corinthians 4:1-3 – 1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

 

Paul used no cunning, no tampering with the word of God. He did not design his ministry around the latest marketing research. Nor did he try to disguise the church as something else. Instead, his ministry was devoted to a straight forward declaration of the truth of the word of God. Paul ministered by honest proclamation.

 

I pray that my ministry will be the same as Paul’s, even if that means we never serve in a mega-church. I desire to be faithful and honest. I deeply desire that, at the end of my life on earth, people who knew me would say that I handled the word of God honestly and faithfully. I want to see people saved. I want to see Christians grow. But I do not have any desire to use tricks, gimmicks, or sales pitches to make that happen. The Lord is honored most, I believe, when his word and his Holy Spirit do the work.

 

Later in the same chapter, Paul will say that we hold the treasure of the gospel ministry in jars of clay. None of us who are faithful to the word are any more than clay pots with the word of God inside. That is the ministry that honors the Lord. That is the ministry I desire to see grow. I’m OK with being ordinary. But I want to be ordinary and faithful to the word.

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king of the nation of Israel, all 12 tribes. But the kingdom would divide not long after the young king took the throne. In the failure of Rehoboam, there is something for us to learn about leading people.

 

Now, let me say from the outset that this passage is not primarily intended to be a lesson on leadership. I get that. This passage is here to show us how God fulfilled his words to divide the nation of Israel into two kingdoms because of the rebellion of Solomon. King Solomon disobeyed God’s commands not to marry women from other nations whose religions would lead him away from the Lord. Solomon, because of his attachment to these women, brought their idolatry into the land of Israel. This is why the kingdom was divided. (It would also make a great passage about why we do not intentionally marry someone who is not committed to Christ if we are believers.)

 

When Rehoboam took charge of the kingdom, his subjects were weary. They had worked under Solomon to build the temple of God and Solomon’s palace. He had arranged them into labor groups to help build and secure the kingdom. But the people had worked hard with little relief from the burden.

 

So, when Rehoboam took over, the people approached him with a request. They wanted him to lighten their load. They let him know that, would he give them a little more rest, they would be able to serve him better.

 

What should the young king do? What would a good leader do? Rehoboam asked counsel, a good idea. He asked two groups for their advice. The older counselors told Rehoboam that, if he lightened the workload, the people would love him and be faithful to him. The younger counselors told Rehoboam to crack the whip and make their workload even harder to show them who is boss.

 

1 Kings 12:14  – he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

 

And we see how Rehoboam responded. He let the people know that there will be no breaks. They will serve him or else. And, if you follow the story, you will see that the next thing that happens is that 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel leave Rehoboam and form the northern kingdom.

 

AS I said, this is about God’s plan for Israel. But we can learn something about leading others in the process. Bad leaders try to squeeze every last ounce of work out of people until they are wrung dry. Then they berate their followers for their fatigue, cast them aside, and look for new people to use. This is what Rehoboam was doing, and it was disastrous for him. And this is what many people who are in positions of leadership in the church do to their own detriment.

 

Have you served in such a church? Have you ever served under a pastor who only piles on the work? Have you ever found yourself just plain tired and wishing that the church, for a season, could give you a little time of rest and refreshing? That is a hard place to be.

 

Are you a leader in the church? How do you treat those you are trying to motivate? Do you concern yourself with their fatigue? Do you invest in your followers and insure that they take down-time? Or are you only worried about getting every last little bit of work out of them before they finally give up on you and the ministry?

 

Friends, may we lead with greater love and greater wisdom than Rehoboam. May we invest in our best so that they can continue to be solid and helpful leaders. May we not tire them to the point of burn out. May we not drain people dry and cast them aside. May we instead find, as the older counselors told Rehoboam, that there is growth and life in giving people relief. May we see that the work matters, for sure, but that the work will not get done at the hands of people who are scraping the bottom of their physical and emotional and spiritual barrel just to show up. May we love others by refreshing their souls long before we dry them out.

When Roman soldiers won a dramatic victory, they were sometimes permitted a special celebration called a triumph. This was a sort of military parade in which the soldiers would march into Rome, rejoicing in their victory while leading their captives in humiliation.

 

One thing that some have pointed out is that a triumph had a particular smell. There was a scent to the parade. Perfumes and flowers would be lavishly put to use in order to make the triumph an experience of sight, sound, and smell.

 

That fact needs to be in our minds as we see the passage below where Paul talks about God leading his followers in triumph.

 

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

 

God leads us in triumph. He marches us through the world. We are his captives and his honored children. We are his slaves and his family. We are both rejoicing in victory and the ones who have surrendered our lives to his cause.

 

And there is a smell. The scent of a triumph goes with us as we march. But the question is, how will it be received? To some, the scent of salvation by grace through faith in Christ is glorious. To some that scent is like the finest perfumes or most lavish flowers. It is a good smell of life. It is the smell of freedom and forgiveness.

 

To others, however, the smell of the gospel is distasteful. To those whose hearts have not been made alive in Christ, the concept of the gospel is ugly. The idea of surrender to God is pure humiliation. To some it is loathsome to be called to bow, to worship, and to yield our lives to the will of the Lord.

 

So, consider how the gospel smells to you. Do you smell life? Do you smell death? Do you love the idea of being welcomed into the family of God and becoming part of his holy nation? Or, does the whole concept turn your stomach? In truth, you will eventually be on one side or another. You will eventually move to love or hate the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I would tell you, as one in the ranks of those being marched through this world in Christ, that it is far better to be forgiven by Christ than to be opposed to him. There is life in Christ. There is mercy from God in Christ. But against him, there is a terrifying future. Bow to Jesus and follow him in life. Surrender to the Savior, as he will have mercy on all who believe in him and who come under his lordship.

I’m a big fan of 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and 9 Marks Ministries. In that book that has become a movement, we see a set of biblical principles for how churches are supposed to function so as to honor Christ by following Scripture.

 

One of the things that this movement brings back to the life of the church is a faithful commitment to biblical church discipline. I’d guess that, if you have paid much attention, you have seen that certain churches  have, over the past few years, become strongly committed to church discipline, and in general this has been good. A local church body must not be willing to turn a blind eye to members in active and unrepentant sin.

 

But, I fear that, in some cases, all we ever hear about is the accusation or the excommunication part of discipline. Thankfully, these are not all that the Lord gave us. The whole point of church discipline is to honor God as we call our fellow believers to turn from sin and be restored.

 

Consider as an example one of the people caught in unrepentant sin in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians, Paul clearly calls on the church to remove a man from the fellowship because he is boldly and blatantly violating the word of God. Paul was right. But we cannot limit ourselves to 1 Corinthians discipline without also looking at 2 Corinthians. 

 

2 Corinthians 2:6-8 – 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

 

We do not know if this is the same person who was put out of the church in 1 Corinthians, or if this is another situation from the letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians which we do not have. But that fact really is not relevant. What is relevant is the fact that Paul is clearly speaking of a person who has been disciplined by the local body and who has repented. Somebody has been put out of the fellowship, is genuinely remorseful, and is still on the outside. And Paul makes it super clear that, the moment this person repented, he should have been welcomed back into the fellowship.

 

A part of discipline that is often overlooked is restoration. When a person turns from their sin, they should be welcomed back into fellowship. That welcome should be as formal as was the discipline. Were they only conversing with a few people before they turned from their sin? Then those few people should restore the repentant brother. Did they go through the formal and public process? Then they should be formally and publicly restored.

 

I fear that sometimes Only Matthew 18 is in our minds when we talk about church discipline. But we must have a grasp of this kind of restoration present here in 2 Corinthians. We must be quick to desire restoration as Paul writes in Galatians 6. Church discipline, honestly, is simple discipleship. We work together to call each other back from dangerous life choices and actions. The only time discipline really needs to go formal or go public is when a person flat refuses to hear the word of God and acknowledge God’s authority over their lives. Then the discipline, in so many ways, is simply the church sorrowfully and prayerfully declaring that they can no longer vouch for the idea that this person is genuinely a believer. But, once the person genuinely repents, the local church can also say that they can, once more, acknowledge that this person is one of us, a sinner saved by the grace of Christ.

 

How do we know the will of God? Upon what should we base decisions about where to go or what ministry to undertake? How do we figure out when to start a ministry or when to end it?

 

As Paul wraps up the letter we call 1 Corinthians, he offers some final instructions and greetings. In that section that so many of us skim over, there are a couple of fascinating descriptions of what was presently going on with Paul and his associates as they made decisions about where to go and when. And, if we watch them, we will see that the way things were done in Paul’s day, 1^st century Christianity long before the canon of Scripture was closed, is not exactly what we might expect.

 

Why do I call this different? Consider what you would expect. Most of us grew up expecting that, if a decision had to be made, the people would simply pray about it, hear from God, and follow that leading. Surely this model of decision-making would be what Paul would follow. If we go by the model of decision-making popularized by Henry Blackaby and his book Experiencing God, the decisions would be made based on prayer, circumstances, and the counsel of other believers. (Blackaby also includes the Bible in his list of ways that God speaks to us, but the Scriptures were not yet finished at this point in the life of the early church.) But, in fact, it does not seem that we see evidence of discernment following that model.

 

1 Corinthians 16:8-9 – 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

 

First, note how Paul decided to stay in Ephesus. He says that a wide door for effective ministry had opened for him. That certainly sounds like circumstances and ministry opportunity—going where God is at work—is behind his decision. But, on the other hand, we also see that many adversaries have arisen against Paul there. The mobilization of adversaries would be what many people see as circumstances telling them to close up shop. But in this case, Paul wanted to stay, he wanted to finish the work, and he was willing to endure the hardships. But Paul does not tell us that God told him to stay there or that the effective ministry would be in any way easy or supernaturally successful.

 

In fact, a study of the church in Ephesus throughout the coming years shows us that this congregation was repeatedly led by some of the biggest names in early Christianity including Paul, Timothy, and John. But, by Revelation 2:1-7 (which at its latest was written in A.D. 95), Jesus is sending a note to the church warning them to return to their first love which they have forsaken. And Jesus warns that if they do not repent, he will remove their church from existence.

 

1 Corinthians 16:12 – Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

 

Interestingly, Paul wanted to send Apollos to Corinth. He believed that this strong and passionate preacher would have a positive impact on the easily excited and dangerously corruptible church there. But Apollos did not go. Why? It was not a divine revelation that kept Apollos at home. And, it is fascinating that Apollos’ choice not to go right now flies in the face of a request made by Paul, who clearly asked this favor, but did not order it with apostolic authority. No, it seems that Apollos simply was unwilling to go at present, but he said he would go later.

 

How did these men who loved God make these choices? From the words we have, it seems that they did not rely on any sort of mystical means or extra-biblical revelation. Instead, these men, who were certainly devoted to the Lord and to prayer, made their choices as to what to do based on something that appears more simple.

 

For sure, the decisions of these men would have been bound by Scripture. God’s word is how God speaks to us—we all agree on that. Any decision that would violate Scripture would be out-of-bounds. Any decision that refused to obey a clearly given command in Scripture would also be unacceptable. But, though God commanded the spread of the gospel, he did not tell individual followers of Jesus, at least in this case, whether to stay in Ephesus or go to Corinth.

 

Circumstances do not appear to have played a particularly determining role here. Paul had both opportunity and adversaries. But the Corinthians had clear need. God was at work in Ephesus and in Corinth. The Spiritual gifting of the Corinthians shows that the Spirit of God was moving in their midst while the corruption in the body showed how greatly they needed a stable teacher to straighten them out. But neither Paul nor Apollos was headed their direction right away. Only Timothy, a young man with a reputation for timidity was planning to pass through.

 

Neither can we assume that the decision was made based on the counsel of other believers. Paul, in Acts, was known to go places against the advice of others. Apollos was counseled by Paul to go now to Corinth and did not want to do so.

 

What then? Are these guys missing the will of God? No, I do not think so. But they did not use mystical means to determine what to do. Instead, they obeyed Scripture, they prayed, they weighed circumstances, they trusted the Lord, and then they did what their hearts desired. No voice from heaven came to any of them. They just loved God, participated in proper spiritual practices as believers, and went where seemed best to them. They discerned the will of God based on obedience to Scripture and the desires of their hearts.

 

  Without question, the Holy Spirit of God was at work in the lives of Paul and Apollos to direct them where the Lord wanted them. We cannot doubt that God moves quietly in the lives of his servants to place them where he wants them. What we do not see, however, is any claim on the part of either man that God specifically told either of them which town to go to. Paul saw an opportunity he did not want to give up. Apollos simply did not want to go right now. But neither verse of this passage says to us that God ‘said” to either man not to go. They exercised a personal, Christian freedom not to go to Corinth right now.

 

How should this impact us? I actually think it is comforting and freeing. The Lord moves his people without requiring them to claim a word from him. So long as we are loving the Lord in our lives, praying and obeying his word, we will be free to make choices. And, if we trust the sovereignty of God, we can know that we need not fear that our choices made in good faith and in line with Scripture will ever do any harm to the ultimate plan of God. So, we love God. We pray. We study Scripture. We pay attention to godly counsel. But, at the end of the day, as we delight in the Lord, we expect that he will give our hearts desires that will honor his name and fulfill his secret plans. (c.f. Psa. 37:4; deu. 29:29).

In the Psalms, we often see a person in real, emotional pain. There is fear. There is sorrow. There is disappointment. God does not hide from us the full spectrum of human emotions, even those which lead us into despair.

Look at the words of the psalmist who is in genuine pain.

 

Psalm 77:1-3

 

1 I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul refuses to be comforted.

3 When I remember God, I moan;

when I meditate, my spirit faints.

Selah

 

Moaning, tears, fainting spirit, all these are symptoms of a deep and real sorrow. The Psalmist weeps and is not comforted. He cries to God, and does not find in his prayer the comfort he desires.

 

What will the psalmist do? His prayers do not feel answered. He wants God to take away the pain and the Lord does not do so. Where will he find hope?

 

Psalm 77:5-6

 

5 I consider the days of old,

the years long ago.

6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

 

The psalmist wanted to remember the joy he had before. Though his pain was not going away with a simple time of present prayer, he sent his memory in search of past joy. He looked back to a time when he had the confidence in God he wants now. He looked  bac even to see where God had been faithful in the past.

 

Psalm 77:10-15

 

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,

to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12 I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

13 Your way, O God, is holy.

What god is great like our God?

14 You are the God who works wonders;

you have made known your might among the peoples.

15 You with your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

 

So the hurting psalmist remembered the deeds of the Lord in the past. He looked back over Scripture to find what God had done to prove his faithfulness, his mercy, and his justice. He remembered from Old Testament stories how the Lord had delivered Israel from dangers. He remembered the power, holiness, and faithfulness of God. And in that memory, the psalmist found renewed confidence for his own situation.

 

The Psalm ends with the psalmist specifically remembering the Exodus. The Lord showed his great power over the powers of the world when he led his people out of Egypt. Even the waters moved aside at the command of the Lord. God shoed himself greater than any trouble Israel ever faced.

 

And so the Psalmist found comfort. He was comforted in the knowledge that the God who parted the Red Sea is the same God he was counting on for help. Even though his circumstances had not changed, the psalmist found hope in the power and perfection of the Lord. God has been faithful in the past. He has proved himself worthy of praise. He will not fail in the present.

 

For you and me, this Psalm should be instructive. WE will hurt. From time to time, we may despair of ever finding joy again. People go through very hard times. But the answer is not to give up. Yes, we pray. Sometimes praying is too hard. Sometimes the night is too long. So then what? Remember. Remember the faithfulness of God. Remember the mighty works of the Lord. Remember the ways in which God has already proved his goodness. The Lord does not have to give us what we want in the here and now to remind us that he is always faithful, always holy, always right, always present, always powerful, and always going to do what is perfect.