Brother Michael's Devotional

"There is a sin unto death." I John 5:16

We make much of the grace of God and that is how it should be. But there is a danger in emphasizing the grace of God to the exclusion of the judgment of God. We learn from the Bible in I John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." We also learn from John 3:17 that "...God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." So the Word of God most certainly declares God's love toward humanity and His all sufficient grace.

But not only is God a God of love and mercy, but He is also a God of holiness and justice. There is a danger for a child of God who dwells overly long on the grace of God and yet never contemplates His vast Holiness in thinking of God as some old sentimental man winking at the sins of his children. Friend, God will not tolerate his children living in sin. We have the the nation of Israel as an example in the Old Testament. Time after time they would dabble in sin and time after time God would send his judgement. Now God is no respecter of persons. If He would not condone sin committed by the Old Testament saints He will not let you and I get by with playing with sin.

So you and I must be on guard against the deceitfulness of sin and here in lies the great danger of sin. The more you dabble in sin, the harder it becomes to resist and the easier it becomes to sin again up until the point God must move in judgement against us. It is similar to a cow in a fenced in pasture. Once the cow discovers it can jump the fence, it becomes nearly impossible to keep him in. So the farmer, to prevent the cow from jumping out and destroying his crops, is forced to tie a stick around the cow's neck. Once the cow attempts to jump the fence again, the stick will get caught on the fence and break the cow's neck.

But we do not have to end up like our proverbial cow. If we will judge sin in our own lives God will not have to move in in judgement against us. Let us now seriously deal with sin in our lives and turn toward God the giver of true holiness.

"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." I Corinthians 11:31-32

Brother Michael's Devotional

"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;"

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"

"How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,"Ephesians 3:16, 9, 3

Each of us is carrying a burden. All of us are born with the burden of original sin. Lost humanity carries the burden of guilt, the church often carries a heavy load of ministry and the individual saint toils under the weight of there personal vocation. How then are we to bear these burdens?

First, each of us in the body of Christ are given a certain vocation. We are placed in the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit as it has pleased the Father. But where does our strength to function in our vocation come from? We, in and of our selves, have no ability to do anything pleasing to God. So we must "be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." Friend, we need outside help if we are bear the load of our calling and live within the will of God. The Apostle Paul faced this struggle in Romans chapter 7 when he stated, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." The apostle Paul discovered that he was incapable of fulfilling his vocation or living within the will of God by himself but that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

The Body of Christ corporately has also been called to the ministry and to bear a burden. God has called us as a body of believers to proclaim the gospel so that we might "make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery...that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." But this burden can not be carried out by one man alone, it requires the entire body of Christ or the "fellowship of the mystery" to complete this task. Just as a human body can not function to it's full potential when it is missing a member, whether it be an eye, ear or hand, even so the body of Christ can not function to it's full potential when one member, even the most insignificant, is missing.

Lastly, lost humanity is burdened with the guilt of sin and the futile attempt to be reconciled to God. Friend, there is nothing your or I can do to please God because he is already satisfied with the work of the Son. God is well pleased with His Son Jesus Christ, what about you? The only salvation from the burden of sin that all of us are born with is the "mystery of Christ...that the gentiles should be fellowheirs..."

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Brother Michael's Devotional

"And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he many minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazer and Ithamar, Aaron's sons." Exodus 28:1

Here we have the election of the priesthood according to the Mosaic Covenant. But who was it doing the electing? If it had been a modern church, there would have been a pastor search committee established, resumes would have been reviewed and the man with the most letters behind his name would have been called.

Friend, let me be plain. An education from a seminary is good, but a call from God is better. We are not to look to ourselves in an attempt to determine a good leader, we are simply to recognize God's called man, and validate his calling through the ordination. It is God that does the electing, not us.

But what sort of ministers do we need? We have a plethora of books and seminars that are being devoured buy our ministers. We have no end of megachuches, television ministries and mini empires being raised by our ministers. And it seems that everywhere around us we have "men of God" crying against the most vulgar of sin on Sunday only to appear in Monday's paper guilty of the very same act.

What we need are men with blood tipped ears on their face before God seeking a word from God. What we need are men of God with blood tipped thumbs carrying out their God called vocation. And what the Church is in the most desperate need of is God called men with blood tipped toes living their life Monday in light of what they preached Sunday (Leviticus 8). Friend, the reason there is so little power in America's pulpit is not because of the lack of potency of the Word of God, it is because of secret sin in the life of the ministers occupying those pulpits.

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and [before] Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:" I Timothy 6:11-14

Brother Michael's Devotional

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:12-14

We hear much of "Spirit filled churches" and "moving of the Spirit" in modern Christian circles. But how exactly do we identify a Spirit filled assembly? More often then not, when we hear the phrase "Spirit filled church," we hear of miracles, healing or some other outward manifestation. But are these genuine phenomenons of the Spirit or simple showings of the flesh? What exactly is the ministry of the Spirit in this Age of Grace.

We find our answer in John 16. Here we have our Lord speaking to the disciples on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane of his impending departure. The disciples become sorrowful and so our Lord tells that He will not leave them alone but that He will send another, a Comforter, to keep them.

Now what exactly did our Lord say this Comforter would do in lives of the believers? Was He to manifest signs and wonders? Was He sent to heal the sick, and give sight to the blind? Friend, the ministry of the Holy Ghost is to glorify the Person of the Son. If you want to find a Spirit filled Church, find one that exalts the person of Christ.

God can a does heal the sick and move in great experiences in our lives. But it was the will of the Father to send the Holy Spirit to glorify the Son in this Age of Grace. We find in John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me." It is the good pleasure of the Father to draw men to Christ's person and work, and that is were our emphasis should be.

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." John 15:26

Brother Michael's Devotional

"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:24-25

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What is of primary importance in relation to the remission of sins and the work of Christ on the cross? Some may say it is the cleansing of the saint or the salvation of the sinner. But what is of more importance, the holiness of God or the salvation of man?

As to the cleansing of the saint, let us look to 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." As we look at this passage of scripture we see it begins with the confession of sins and ends with the cleansing of the saint. But what is the fulcrum, the hinge of this verse? It is the faithfulness and justness of God. There is a popular notion that a "saint" can live like the world and only has to come to God and ask for forgiveness and God is somehow obligated to forgive the individual. May I say, friend, God is under no obligation to forgive sin on the basis of allowing us to live like the devil. God will never compromise His holiness for the sin of man. God has indeed made a perfect provision for the cleansing of the soiled saint through confession while maintaining His attribute of divine justice as the judge of the universe. But God makes no provision for the sinning reprobate who intends to trample upon the blood of Christ through willful sin.

We see this same principle in Romans 3:25-26. Here the Apostle Paul lays the ground work for the great declaration of the propitiation as "to declare...at this time his (God's) righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Some may be under the impression that God's chief concern in this universe is the salvation of sinners. While it is indeed true that God is deeply concerned with the salvation of man, there is something even greater than man's salvation that God is concerned with, and that is His own righteousness. If man's salvation compromised the holiness of God there would be none that would be saved. What is the first thing that God declares when listing the motivation of the propitiation? Was it the justification of the sinner? No, it is the righteousness of God, that He might first be just, and then after His justice is satisfied He justifies them which believe in Jesus.

Friend, God loves you, and His great motivation in delivering up His only Son was His great love for you. But He will not compromise His holiness with your sin to slip you in the back door of heaven.

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

Brother Michael's Devotional

"The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven," Nehemiah 1:1-4

Have you ever wondered what your calling is? You may wonder what ministry will the Lord place you in. Though a man or woman's calling is a very personal thing there are some definite signs that God gives us to point us in the right direction.

First, let us establish that God has a ministry for all of those in the Body of Christ. We read in I Corinthians 12:7 that "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," (emphasis mine.) Each one of us have unique spiritual gifts and a ministry to edify the Body of Christ. These gifts are not natuaral talents and these ministries are not of our own design, but they are bestowed upon us as it pleases the Holy Ghost. I Corinthians 12:11

Which brings us to the original question, what ministry would God have you or me in? Well let us look to the life of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, after hearing the news of Jerusalem's broken down walls and breached gates, is burdened for the capital city of his people and does what any man of God should do in his situation, pray. After mourning, fasting and praying, Nehemiah, who is King Artaxerxes cupbearer, has a sad countenance and the King asks him why he is sorrowful of heart. Nehamiah bears his heart to Artaxerxes and relates to him the state of Jerusalem and his desire to rebuild it's walls. After this, the King gives Nehamiah letters of conveyance and sends him to rebuild Jerusalem.

Now friend, what is it that God has burdened you heart with. Do you anguish for the lost who daily perish in their sins? Do you lament the lack of sound Bible teaching? Maybe your heart breaks for those bound to convalecent homes or hospitals. Perhaps you have gone to God in prayer for these things. It very well may be that God has placed this burden on your heart, and desires to minister in this need through you. You may balk at this, protesting your inability, but that is exactly the people God uses. Those who have a burden for a certain need, but do have the power to meet them. Go to God now, cast your inadequecy at His feet, and see not what you can do, but what He can do through you.

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen th weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." I Corinthians 1:26-29

Brother Michael's Devotional

"Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance." Ruth 4:5

For whom did Christ die? Did He die for the sins of some men or for all men? Has God set His covenantal love on all men or the elect only? To discover the answers to these questions we must turn to the book of Ruth. Naomi and Elimelech have left Bethlehemjudah, the house of bread and praise, and gone to Moab, God's washpot, during a famine. They have left full but only Naomi will return, and that being empty, having lost her husband, two sons and land. And so Naomi returns, but not alone, Ruth the Moabitess follows Naomi.

After arriving in Bethlehemjudah, Ruth begins to glean in the field of a man called Boaz. After Naomi sees that Boaz is kindly affectionate to Ruth, Naomi attempts to get Boaz to perform the right of kinsman redeemer. Boaz could redeem Ruth, but first he would have to redeem the field that she was bound up with.

Now compare this to Mathew 13:44 where our Lord says "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Here we have a man that finds a treasure in a field and goes and sells all that he has to purchase that field. As the man sold everything to purchase the field even so God gave everything to redeem this world. But why did God redeem the world? Was His heart set on this world? Friend, just as that man's heart was on the treasure and Boaz's heart was on Ruth, so was the Church on the heart and mind of Christ when he hung on the cross to redeem the world. And just as Boaz purchased the field for the love of a bride and the man in our Lord's parable sold all that he had for the joy of a treasure our Lord redeemed this world for the love of a bride He would call out of this world.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25-27

Brother Michael's Devotional

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16

Most likely the first thing that comes to mind when reading this verse is the church and how our Lord was going to call out one living "fold" out of the Jews and Gentiles. But there is something else I would like you to notice. Jesus does not speak any further about the "other sheep." All He let the Jews know is that there were others and it was His business what He did with them.

This brings us to the question of what happens to those around the world that have never had the privilege of hearing the gospel. Do they go to heaven or to hell? There are only a few hints that the Bible gives us as to the answer to this question. We find in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 that "ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." This paints a rather grim picture for those without the Word of God. But then we read in Mark 4:24 "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given." and John 3:19 "And this is condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Here we learn that men are not saved by the amount of light they have but will be judged by it. So we know that the gentile nations had no hope without God but that the more light of the Word of God a people have the greater their condemnation.

Now all of this brings us to the original question, what happens to those who die having never heard the Word of God? There can only be one answer to this question, it is none of our business or God would have told us. We read in Deuteronomy 29:29 that "the secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." Friend, you and I are responsible for the revealed Word of God, but what He has chosen not to reveal to us is none of our business.

But for those things that we must take by faith, we can rest assured that the Judge of the universe will do right.

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Genesis 18:25