Month: December 2013

The Product of Godly Sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:11
“For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

Every action has a byproduct that it produces. We often talk about the byproduct without talking about the original action. The action that it takes to get the byproduct is important to obtaining what we want.

The byproduct of godly sorrow is truly plenteous. When a person sins, it is imperative for them to have godly sorrow towards their sin. Godly sorrow is not upset that you have been caught; rather, godly sorrow is upset at yourself that you did wrong. The verse above shows us what happens when a person has godly sorrow.

First, it brings a carefulness about what you do. In other words, godly sorrow doesn’t blame others, but it causes a person to be very careful about getting around whatever caused them to do wrong. For instance, if you have ever been electrocuted, you are always very careful about working around electricity. Likewise, when a person has godly sorrow, they will be very careful about what they do so that they won’t do that same wrong again.

Second, godly sorrow causes a person to want to clear the air. In other words, godly sorrow clears your conscience. Godly sorrow doesn’t try to hide or change the story about their sin, but it causes them to be honest about what they’ve done which produces a clarity of the mind and spirit. You will find that godly sorrow is not only good for the one who did wrong, but it disarms the critics of the one who committed the sin.

Third, godly sorrow causes someone to be upset with themselves. Godly sorrow doesn’t attack the one who caught them, but it causes you to be highly upset that you would commit such a sin. Godly sorrow won’t be indignant with others who caught you, rather it will cause you to be indignant with yourself that you allowed yourself succumb to sin.

Fourth, godly sorrow will cause a person to fear. I’m not saying that you will live in fear, but it gives an honest fear that causes a true estimation of oneself that they are not greater than sin. When a person has godly sorrow they will understand the true ramifications of sin, which will cause a healthy fear of sin.

Fifth, godly sorrow produces a fire and zeal to get revenge with the Devil. When a person has godly sorrow, they are not trying to get revenge with those who caught them, but they want to get revenge with the Devil. In other words, you will find godly sorrow will cause one to get heavily involved in serving the LORD so that they can do more for Christ than what they did for the Devil. You see this in the life of the Apostle Paul who was more zealous for Christ than he was when he tried to kill Christians. Godly sorrow creates a zeal in someone that motivates them to do more for God.

Friend, you must realize that everyone commits sin. When you do, it is important that you respond to it with a godly sorrow. Be careful not to blame others, instead have a godly sorrow. A godly sorrow will help you to be used again by God.

Faith or Foolishness

Faith-or-Foolishnessby: Doug Marco

“Click, click, click…” from the old wooden roller coaster was the most frightening thing I had ever heard that summer day in 1996. There is not a more exciting day to an adolescent than a day at an amusement park. For me, on that day, there wasn’t much amusement. I had dodged all of the attempts of my sisters to get me on a roller coaster; although my winning streak was about to come to an abrupt end. “Come on son, you’re getting on this one”, was the last thing I heard before my heart dropped into my Goodwill sneakers. I could hardly find the line through the watering of my eyes, but Dad guided me to where we needed to go. “Hail Mary full of grace… Our father who art in Heaven…bless this food. Amen.” and every other prayer I could muster came out of my mouth as this extremely short line was getting ever shorter. By this point, I felt like a dog being led to the euthanasia chamber. I even think there might have been a puddle at my feet. When I thought all hope was lost, I sighed one final prayer. It went something like this, “Oh gracious and Heavenly Father, you know I can’t do this! Please, please, please do something, I beg of you!!!” Just moments after whispering those words, God did something completely amazing. See, the sun is super-hot in Texas and my poor, little, 5 foot 85 lb., 15 year old sister didn’t stand a chance. She caught a sudden attack of heat exhaustion and fainted, hitting her head on the concrete walk way. My winning streak continued!

As we rushed her to shade, I knew God had answered my prayer in some awkward way. I had always heard that God works in mysterious ways, but I didn’t know how mysterious till then. After that, the deafening roar and the creaking wood of that giant roller coaster didn’t seem so bad after all, until about three years later when I found myself in the same predicament. Although some of the characters had changed, my paralyzing fear had not. This time, I was with my youth group, and I knew if I chickened out I would be the laughing stock of that activity. It didn’t help that I was a tad nerdy anyway. I prayed for another miracle. I even went as far as to have a bottle of water on hand and one of those carnival stuffed animals to soften the fall of my sister, but to no avail. It wasn’t long before I was strapped into that death trap with my sunburned knuckles turning snow white. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, when I was reminded by the old lady next to me that the ride hadn’t started yet.

“Click, click, click…” and we were on our way. As we reached the top of the first hill, everything got fuzzy, and I’m pretty sure I blacked out for a moment before being slapped in the face with my stomach! The ride roared, swerved, screeched and clacked, I could barely breathe. It seemed that no hope was in sight. The fear I felt, was nothing like I could imagine. I wanted it all to stop!! As I exited the most frightening experience of my life, I began to run as fast as my little legs could take me back to the front of the line to experience it all over again. The fear was still there, but it was suppressed by the joy that I was still alive and I wanted to do it again.

Now you might be saying, “What does this goofy story have to do with the title of this article?” Well, allow me to share my thoughts. This month marks my fifth year living in the ministry completely by faith. I was called to be a missionary at a young age, and I always dreamed of the day I could start my ministry. Well, little did I know that my first experience on a roller coaster would become the rest of my life. I had always heard there was a fine line between faith and foolishness, but after these few years serving God, I can honestly say that line doesn’t exist. I prefer to look at it as I am just foolish enough to live by faith.

When I started deputation, I didn’t take the advice of some who said to wait until I had 10% of my support coming in before going full speed ahead. With less than half of a percent of support coming in, we packed up our little Chevy Malibu and with hardly any room in the back seat for our little boy, we hit the road. Times were seriously rough and full of fear. Our life began to take swerves and spins, and it seemed too hard at times to hold on. There were days I didn’t know how I was going to feed my family or even afford diapers for our baby. Those days came far too often. One day we would be at the very top, and then like a meteor, it seemed we would plummet to the bottom once again. In the midst of all of this fear and woe, God delivered again and again! Although the fear of living by faith seemed overwhelming, the joy of seeing God come through kept us getting in line over and over again. At times I felt I couldn’t breathe and I saw no hope in sight, then my God delivered again! In those five years, our family has been used to help start two independent, nationally pastored, Baptist churches along with sending a portion of God’s Word into twenty-five countries, and seeing over 18,000 people come to Christ. Currently, we are serving in the city of Talisay, on the island of Negros in the Philippines. Here are some things I have learned along the way.

1. You will never live by faith if you can’t hold on. 

The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight. Remember, Heaven doesn’t run off our time zone. Be patient and let God build your faith. Your knuckles might turn white, but hold on! You might be breathless, but hold on! My missions’ teacher and hero taught me that true faith is Forsaking All I Trust Him. Forsake the fears and hold on. Forsake the urge to jump and hold on. Faith is a scary ride, and it is not for the faint of heart. If you have a weak heart, hold on!! God will come through, and soon the joy of answered prayer will have you running to the front of the line for more.

2. Remember that the One Who called you, goes with you. 

Hey Jack, you’re not on this ride alone!! You may have never seen the curve that is up ahead, but thank God, He has. Although it might have been my first trip down the tracks of that roller coaster, it sure wasn’t the cart’s first trip. That sure made it much more comforting and the ride easier to handle. The cart knows when to turn to the left or to the right, just let it do its job and you do yours. Sit still and let God move.

3. Always remember God can do again what He has done before. 

Far too many of us fret and fear even after God has provided. It is almost as if we have forgotten all together that God has been on time, every time! We are making our lives much harder because we lose sight of the blessings God has already provided. Jonah is a perfect example of this type of lifestyle. Jonah had it made, all he had to do was just simply go and do what God had asked him to do. I have no doubt that Jonah had seen the mighty hand of God move in his favor, but Jonah forgot and quickly found his fear through forgetfulness. This brought him a whale of hurt. Jonah was the cause of his whale, and you will be the cause of yours if you exchange those memories of God’s goodness with doubts of his ability to provide your every need.

4. Prayer is the best fear suppressant. 

In all my years of riding roller coasters the fear has never truly faded. In this life of faith, the fear never truly fades either, but it can be suppressed by praying and fasting. While preparing for this article, my family had a need and I did not know how it would be met. I felt that all avenues had been explored to find an answer. As I spent the past few days in prayer, my fear gave way to faith, and like before, God, in some miraculous way that is unfathomable to me, provided yet again! Let God know those things that are causing you to have sleepless nights. Bundle all your burdens and fears and take them to the throne room of Jesus and let Him worry about them.

5. Go through every door God opens for you. 

Our support has never been as high as was suggested, and at times our statement looks as anemic as a starving child somewhere in Africa, but I can honestly say we have walked through every door that God has opened for our ministry. I am a firm believer that at the moment you walk through those doors, God is obligated to take care of you. The moment you hesitate and don’t take that step in faith, His obligation to care for you will also stop. I cannot do for my family what God can do, so I’m better off moving forward as He clears the way.

Some of you like Jonah, are in the belly of the beast and wonder why God has forsaken you. Have you ever considered that it was you that forsook Him? It took Jonah three days too many to come to that conclusion. Next time you read the book of Jonah, you might realize that it is two chapters too long. It should have gone from Jonah chapter 1 verse 1 to Jonah chapter 3 and verse 3. Two chapters of self-inflicted hardship, stress and grief. When it is all said and done, how many extra chapters will be in your book? The rest of the world might think you’re crazy to live by faith. I don’t think I’m crazy; I’m just a fool forsaking all, trusting Him!

Doug Marco
Missionary to Philippines
http://marcofamilytotheworld.com

Order in the Home

1 Corinthians 11:12
“For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.”

“Order in the court!” the judge says as he slams his gavel on the bench. When a court gets unruly or noisy, the judge will declare order in his court. The whole purpose the peace was lost in the court was because those causing disharmony stepped out of their role of authority placed in that court by the law.

One of the greatest reasons marriages are not peaceful is because they’ve stepped out of the order God designed. There is no judge to slam his gavel down in the marriage when they get the order messed up, but many times the disorder comes out in dysfunctional families. God addressed the order of the home in 1 Corinthians 11.

First, Christ is to be the head of the home. Verse 3 says, “…the head of every man is Christ;…” When Christ is not the head of the home, then every other part of the home will fall out of order. Until the husband submits to Christ, then he will find that his wife will have difficulty submitting to him. Men are to be spiritual. Men should not be the unspiritual one’s in the home, but they should be the spiritual leaders. As they submit themselves to Christ, the rest of the family sees his submission and they have an easier time fulfilling their roles.

Second, the husband is to be the head of the woman. Verse 3 says, “…and the head of the woman is the man;…” I know this is not popular in our day, but God designed that the woman follows her husband’s leadership. Ladies who fight against this design are only causing disharmony in their home. If the husband lets the wife run the home, it still will not work properly because it goes against God’s order. It may work to a degree, but it will not work like God intended for the marriage to work.

Third, proper priorities will keep order in the home. We know that Christ is the head of the husband, but God goes further with the wife when He says in verse 9, “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.” God was showing that the wife’s first priority is her husband. In other words, when the husband keeps God as his first priority, and the wife keeps her husband as her first priority in her life, then you will find a peaceful order in the home. The first priority of a man is not his agenda and hobbies, but it is Christ. The man’s priorities are to keep God first, then his wife is his second priority. Men, you must not get these two priorities messed up with anything else. Likewise, a lady must not allow a ministry or job to come before her husband. If anything takes a lady away from caring for her husband, then it becomes wrong.

Finally, proper yielding will keep order in the home. Notice in the verse above that both the husband and wife are to yield to each other. This is an important key to keeping order. Be careful about having to have your own way. Learn to yield to each other’s desires. It’s amazing when the husband and wife yield to each other how peaceful the home becomes.

The order of the home will dictate how peaceful the home will be. You show me a home where the husband and wife understand their roles and keep them, and I will show you a home that is filled with order and peace. When the husband and wife keep their order, then you will find the children will most likely fall into place and keep their proper role. Order in the home always starts at the top.

Purchased to Glorify

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Imagine buying a car and driving it home to show to the family. You’re excited about them seeing this beautiful car and showing them all the bells and whistles of the car. You get the car to your house and invite the family to take a ride with you. As you try to start the car, it won’t start. You’re embarrassed and even a little upset. Finally, the car starts, but as you start to drive, every time you try to turn left it fights you to turn right. You would certainly be upset with the car because you purchased it to do with it what you wanted.

As preposterous as this illustration is, God puts up with this on a daily basis. It says in the verses above that God purchased us. We were not a cheap price for Him to pay. What was the price? He paid for us by sending His own Son to die and pay the price of our sins. Jesus Christ paid for us with His life. Why did He purchase us? He purchased us so that we would glorify Him. Imagine how God must feel when He paid such a price and we don’t come through for why He purchased us. He purchased us to glorify Him, yet we don’t glorify Him. Instead of glorifying God, we glorify ourselves and the world. How is it that God wants us to glorify Him?

First, we are to glorify Him in our body. This means I should use my body to serve Him. Our bodies are not ours to destroy through the vices of this world. For instance, we have no right to destroy our bodies by putting tattoos on them. It’s not your body. You may think you have every right to do with your body what you want, but you don’t. It would be like me going to your house and taking a sharpie pen and drawing a picture on your couch. You would be highly upset if I did this. Yet, that is what people do when they tattoo their bodies.

Friend, your body is to be used to glorify God through service. With whatever health and strength you have, you are to use it to serve Him. By using your body to serve God, you glorify Him with your body. This pleases God, for He purchased you to glorify Him.

Second, we are to glorify Him in our spirit. This means our attitude should be one of which God would be proud. God wants you to have a joyful spirit. He wants your spirit to be one at which people would look and want to be around. God did not purchase you to gripe about what you don’t have. He didn’t purchase you to complain how everyone is treating you. He didn’t purchase you to grumble about serving Him. He purchased you so that your spirit would be glorifying to Him.

Are you fulfilling your purchase price? Think about it, He gave His life to purchase you. Have you glorified Him with your body and spirit to such a degree that He doesn’t feel you are cheating Him? Don’t rob God of His purchase price. Make it your daily goal to glorify God with your body and spirit. Make it your daily goal to make God feel that He made a good investment for the price He paid.