October 1, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Numbers 29-32

Weekly Memory Verse: Ephesians 2:10

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Job 8:9 (NASB95)
⁹ “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

Psalm 39:4 (NASB95)
⁴ “Lord, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am.

Psalm 119:19 (NASB95)
¹⁹ I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.

1 Peter 1:17 (NASB95)
¹⁷ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; ^[1]

Day six continues the thought from yesterday, “life is a temporary assignment”.  How often do we consider the way that we live on earth?  Our life here is very temporary and very short in comparison to eternity.  In the Old Testament and in the New, we are continually referred to as temporary residents.  How many of us look at ourselves as foreigners on earth? 

It is intriguing when you think about it.  We once belonged to the world, but once we accepted Christ as Savior, our citizenship changed.  Now we are no longer part of the world.  If we become part of the world, we become traitors to God.

James 4:4 (NASB95)
⁴ You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 Peter 2:11 (NASB95)
¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

1 Corinthians 7:31 (NASB95)
³¹ and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. ^[2]

When you consider the ramifications of being an ambassador in a foreign country, the ambassador will not blend with the citizens of that country.  His dress and his demeanor will demonstrate that he is different and a representative for the country of origin.  What has happened with Christians is that we have blended with the world.  We have become so much like the world that they are often surprised to find out that we are Christian.  This would be considered to be a horrible crime for an ambassador.  This is not a new problem, in Ezekiel 23, God reprimanded the Jews for becoming like the world.  They had become so much like the world that they were likened to prostitutes who purposefully sold their souls in order to be abused by the devil.  Israel had abandoned God for worthless idols and for the customs of the land where they were residing.  It was a more comfortable life, one which had a lot more fun than the strict life of following God and being under His law.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NASB95)
²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NASB95)
¹⁸ while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

John 16:33 (NASB95)
³³ “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:20 (NASB95)
²⁰ “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

John 15:18-19 (NASB95)
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. ^[3]

Although we are ambassadors, we are not living in a country that is at peace with the country that we represent.  As a matter of fact, as ambassadors, we are living in a hostile environment that is opposed to the way that we live our lives and against the customs of our country.  Therefore it will make every effort to sabotage our lives and to give us discomfort.  Often Christians get discouraged because they have difficulties in their daily lives.  They can’t understand why they have problems when they are supposed to be serving the King of the universe.  Rick indicates in the book that we are on “temporary assignment” to the earth.  If we were to be serving in the armed forces, we would probably receive hazardous duty pay.  In other words, expect opposition, it is part of the war. 

One good point that Rick brings out on this point is that if God allowed us to become comfortable with the world, then we would not long for something better.  God placed in each one of our hearts the desire to spend eternity with Him. 

2 Corinthians 4:8 (NASB95)
⁸ we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

Hebrews 11:13 (NASB95)
¹³ All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Hebrews 11:16 (NASB95)
¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. ^[4]

When you consider all of the saints of the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, those who followed the Lord paid heavy prices.  The Old Testament prophets were treated very harshly, and were killed for following their convictions about God.  The faith chapter, Hebrews 11, talks about this.   In the New Testament times, Jesus was killed because He stood for righteousness.  If you check out the Foxes Book of Martyrs, you will find that all of the apostles with the exception of John suffered hideous deaths. In short, expect trouble in your life, take the attitude that it is part of following our God.

I want to close with a quote from Rick Warren, “The Purpose Driven Life”, page 51:  “When life gets tough, when you’re overwhelmed with doubt, or when you wonder if living for Christ is worth the effort, remember that you are not home yet.  At death you won’t leave home --- You’ll go home.”

I drew exclusively from the scriptures that Rick had posted in his book today.  The message is a powerful one, I would encourage you to read through the chapter for today and get a more complete version of the story.

Father, as each one of us consider Your word today, place in our hearts a desire to follow a life of holiness, living as ambassadors in a foreign land on temporary assignment.  Refocus our attention so that we can recognize the trouble around us and react to it in Your way.

In Him,

Joe Turner.