All of us want our church to be a thriving church, but in addition to being a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Jesus-preaching, praying church, we as members of this local body of Christ must be prepared to engage in works of faith and labors of love, while maintaining our patience of hope in Jesus Christ.
When Paul proclaimed peace over the Thessalonians, he did not promise the persecution would end. He was not saying that the culture was suddenly going to embrace them. He was not saying that their external realities were going to change dramatically. He was saying that regardless of what anyone did or said to them, they could remain Christlike. Irrespective of the cost or consequences of living for Christ, they could do it without living in constant fear, anger, or anxiety.
God has not stepped down or relinquished His power and authority to anyone. Therefore, as people with our faith and trust in God, we know that even in this life, God sees us, hears us, and responds to us when we pray. He invites us to cast all our care upon Him because He cares for us (1Pt 5:7). Today, we will look at Psalm 18, which affirms in no uncertain terms that God still hears and answers the prayers of His people.
I don’t always know why things happen as they do, but I know God, and that is what I hold on to. I know He is my help and my blessed hope. I know He has already paid for my victory. I know that nothing I have suffered has been in vain. I know that one day I will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Mt. 25:21). I know that when things get really bad, I can look up, because my deliverer is coming.
Jesus was on the verge of building a megachurch. The multitudes—thousands, perhaps more than ten thousand—were ready to make Him their king. But just when it looked like Jesus was about to fill the pews with hungry bellies, Jesus hit the brakes and said, “I’m not looking for consumer Christians; I’m looking for committed Christians. I’m not looking for bellies to fill; I’m looking for hungry hearts who want more than the world has to offer.”
We need to stand up and speak up for what is right. We need the Holy Spirit to empower us as witnesses of Jesus in a world where a small segment of society, which has been given the megaphone of the media, will try to shout us down. When we come out of an upper room experience after a powerful Sunday morning worship service, we need to go out speaking the wonderful works of God. We need to take it to the streets without fear or intimidation because we have not been given “a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
In response to the cries of the people, God did indeed raise up another judge, and again this was an unlikely candidate. God chose Deborah, who was “a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth.” She “was judging Israel at that time” (v. 4). She is the only judge in the Bible who was also a prophet, and she is the only judge who was a woman. Indeed, in the entire Bible, she is the only woman described as being in a leadership role in Israel.
The world, whose hearts are only on evil continually, can shout, spit, swear, and even commit murder and mayhem on the streets, but they cannot win. Jesus already won the victory two thousand years ago when He crushed the serpent’s head and gave His Church the power to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.
We serve God with our hands by what we do. James warned us not to be hearers of the Word only but to be doers of the Word (1:22). With our hands, we feed the hungry and clothe the naked. With our hands, we touch the people that are sick and need prayer. James said, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (5:14). With our hands, we serve God by ministering to others who need to know that God cares. We are the body of Christ, and as His body, we need to be His hands touching, helping, healing, and holding the wounded souls of this world.
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, is telling us not to dwell on those negative things. Instead, Paul said to let God’s peace guard your hearts and minds. Trust that God is in control. Let the peace that passeth understanding cover your mind and heart. Then, we can use our brain cells for more productive things, like thinking about or dwelling on honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, and praiseworthy things that will lift our spirits and give us a better outlook on life.
