Author Archives: campspringscommunitychurch_mfry1e

May 5, 2024. Hebrews 12:12-17

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WHAT IS LOST CAN’T BE REGAINED. Hebrews 12:12-17. 5/5/2024. #45.

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

1. A choice to respond

                a. After Hebrews speaks of the chastening (training) of the Lord, he speaks of our response to it

                                a1. Like Israel, God can chasten, but we must respond (Genesis 4:1-7)

                                a2. Training is only effectual with cooperation of the one being trained

                b. Must strengthen what is spiritually weak

                                a1. Strengthen (make straight) limp hand and feeble knees

                                a2. Just as the body can become flabby via lack of exercise, so our spiritual lives can

                                       become feeble through lack of commitment to the Lord (Word, prayer, service)

                c. There are areas where we are spiritually lame

                                a1. May be worldliness, inattention to Lord, laziness, carnality, prayerlessness…

                                a2. If we do not strengthen the weak areas,

                                       we will dislocate them, causing permanent disability

                d. We can change before it is too late

2. The fruit of a spiritual life

                a. Hebrews lists several qualities of a spiritual walk

                                a1. Pursuit of peace with all men

                                                b1. Not agreeing with all men

                                                b2. A gentle non-confrontational spirit

                                a2. Pursuit of holiness (being separate)

                                                b1. Purposeful separation from carnal and worldly pursuits

                                                b2. Separated to the devotion to God and spiritual pursuits (not just a side plate as a part time pursuit)

                                a3. Unless one is separated to God, he is unable to see God

                b. Do not want to fall short of the grace of God

                                a1. God has so many blessings for us, but they come through discipline and obedience

                                a2. Those who ignore spiritual life for worldly life lose forever the blessings of grace

3. No redoes

                a. Heb. warns against a root of bitterness

                                a1. A poisonous root leads to poisonous fruit

                                a2. By taking in the world, the entire tree (you) becomes toxic (bitter fruit)

                b. Rejecting the chastening and way of the Lord ruins us

                                a1. Defiles (pollutes, corrupts, contaminates) us by tainting the holy with the unholy

                                a2. Fornicators = those who are sexually defiled and morally stained

                c. Esau is a prime example

                                a1. Esau was profane (outside the temple) = not meaning “blasphemous”, but not concerned about the things of God

                                a2. Esau’s focus was on hunting, marrying local women, manly prowess…

                                a3. He thought so little of his inheritance that he sold it for a pot of soup and morsel of bread

                d. Esau bitterly tried to regain what he had lost = gone

                                a1. Once we spend our lives in useless pursuit it can’t be regained = lost forever

                                a2. Ecclesiastes 12 bitter regret won’t change choices

                                a3. Wood, hay, and stubble are burned up

                e. Only change that can be made in the present

Key passage: Genesis 4:1-7

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Apr 28, 2024. Hebrews 12:5-11

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BOOT CAMP FOR SAINTS. Hebrews 12:5-11. 04/28/2024. #44.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

1. Training

                a. We like the rewards and goodness part of God’s promises, but not the trials and chastening part

                b. We understand the trials of this world which comes from living in a fallen nature

                c. We even understand when God must correct us because of sin

                d. We are not as keen on the chastening of the Lord

                                a1. “Chastening” is not the word for punishment, but the word for training

                                a2. Every child must be trained to know right from wrong, correct from incorrect, and proper from improper

                e. Beyond training in proper behavior, there is training in patience, fortitude, enduring hardship, perseverance, focus, and boldness of conviction

                                a1. These traits can’t be done via instruction alone, but by testing and experience

                                a2. The molding of a soldier or athlete (II Timothy 2) takes much discipline and deprivation

                f. Heb. quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 don’t despise the chastening of the Lord, for every father chastens his son

                                a1. One of the proofs that we are children of God is that God chastens us

                                a2. A father does not chasten someone else’s children, but just his own children

                g. A good father molds his son into a godly honorable person, to show respect, reverence, and reliability

                h. Those who are not chastened are not true sons

                i. At times, discipline seems harsh (Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joseph, Paul, Peter…)

                                a1. This is the only way to achieve holiness

                                a2. A soft Christian is a weak Christian

2. Embrace the chastening

                a. We are told to endure (Eng. word gymnasium) God’s chastening

                                a1. An athletic term = to push self to limit

                                a2. To be spiritually exercised

                b. The discipline of the Lord is to our profit, not for arbitrary general principles or to inflict pain

                c. God knows what discipline we need, even if we think that He is being overly harsh (Job)

                d. To accept trials and hardships is to learn from them and to learn from them is to be effective for God

3. The finish line

                a. Chastening must be viewed from the results

                                a1. Unpleasant and distasteful, but faith requires trust in Lord (Job 13)

                                a2. God will turn the disciplined saint into a praise to His glory (Romans 8:28-39)

                b. For a short time, our trials are very uncomfortable, but for eternity, they yield the joyful peaceable fruit of righteousness (partakers of His holiness)

                c. Reward is not only in what we do, but in being faithful in tribulation and trials along the way

                                a1. We are to be an example of righteous endurance to others as the see Christ work in us

                                a2. It is not the journey that matters, but the destination, making the journey worthwhile

                d. A spiritual saint has been trained and his trust is seen

Key passage: Romans 8:28-3928 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Apr 21, 2024. Hebrews 12:3-4

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ENCOURAGED & ENABLED. Hebrews 12:3-4. 4/21/2024. #43.

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

1. Correct Calculation

                a. The Hebrew Christians looked backward

                                a1. They wanted to bring the Law with them

                                a2. They were dismayed that both Jewish worshippers and pagan Gentiles disdained them

                b. Heb. had given them a list of faithful saints to follow

                                a1. Many were persecuted and some were martyred

                                a2. I Peter 4:12-16 trials and opposition in the life of believers is normal and enabling

                c. Consider (analogizaethe; English word: analogue) = to calculate or sum up

                                a1. Only time this word is used in NT

                                a2. A math term = to come to a right total

                                a3. Compare Jesus with any other path of life and see if He is not greater than any other life

                                                b1. He endured more, accomplished more, and delivers more than all others

                                                b2. He enables us to follow Him

2. Trials and Triumph

                a. Endured (hupomenos = remain under) hostility from sinners

                b. 2 different readings: hostility of sinners opposed against Him or hostility of sinners opposing themselves (opposing Christ against their own benefit)

                c. Even though Christ suffered greatly, He gained more through suffering than by safety

                d. Christ’s endured the hostility

                                a1. Endured = in the perfect tense (continued to endure)

                                a2. Christ didn’t give up until His task was over

                e. Endurance in the Christian faith must be a core value and constant commitment

3. Battered but not beaten

                a. By focusing on Christ’s example, we are told not to become weary (worn out by labor)

                                a1. Not to become fatigued in our souls

                                a2. Galatians 6:9 do not become weary, for you will reap if you do not faint

                                a3. James 5:15 do no weary in sickness

                b. There must be a fortitude of a soldier within us that drives us forward beyond pain, persecution, and pessimism

                                a1. A determination of will to continue forward despite temptation to quit

                                a2. Christ laid out our path through suffering that by example and enabling empowers us

                c. Do not be discouraged (athumeo = to lose passion)

                                a1. Thumos = to heat up (English words: fume, thermos, thermometer, thermal…)

                                a2. To be disheartened or dispirited

                                a3. When you feel drained of all feelings and emotion, one must choose to continue on

                d. Christ is the example of finishing in the midst of extreme opposition and suffering

                e. We have yet to resisted to shedding of blood (giving our lives) for the cause of Christ

                                a1. There are many who have been martyred

                                a2. We have not resisted to the point of giving up our lives (there is more for us to do)

                f. We are not finished striving against sin

                                a1. Striving = struggling (antagonizomai; Eng. word antagonism)

                                a2. Not only is opposition a struggle, but also wrestling against our own sins

                                a3. There are enemies within and without

                                a4. Romans 7 Paul was concerned about wrestling with the sin within him (doing wrong things and failing to do right things)

                g. Even in the midst of discouragement, failures, and setbacks, we continue forward in power of Christ

                h. An unwavering commitment to persevere

Key passage:  I Peter 4:12-1612 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

Apr 14, 2014. Hebrews 12:1-2

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RUN WITH ENDURANCE. Hebrews 12:1-2. 4/14/2024. #42.

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1. A cloud of witnesses

                a. We are encompassed by a cloud of witnesses

                                a1. Can mean “spectators” as in there are many going before us watching us

                                a2. More likely: testimonies of faithful saints preceding us are witnessing (Eng. word martyr) to us by their enduring legacy

                b. Hebrews 11 lists just a few godly people who were used to do great things for God, many dying for it

                c. The witnesses who came before us demonstrate that believers can endure hardship and complete their course well

2. Running the race well

                a. Every serious athlete trains and prepares to compete

                                a1. He uses weights to strengthen his muscles

                                a2. He runs great distances to build endurance

                                a3. He denies his body those things which

                                       might hinder his performance (foods, alcohol, late night carousing…)

                b. Race time is focus time

                                a1. An athlete doesn’t carry weights into the race, but totally focuses on the task to hand

                                a2. Weights and hindrances can be many things

                                                b1. Distractions, doing good works that have little benefit (I Corinthians 6:12)

                                                b2. A distracted church is not effective

                c. 2 TIM. 2:1-7 running the Christian race is an intentional choice to deny self to focus on serving the Lord

                                a1. The Christion life is a marathon; not a sprint

                                a2. A believer must steel himself to endure hardship, rejection, and trials

                d. Our main enemy is our own sins (James 1:12-16)

                                a. Our sins easily ensnare (entrap, entangle) us, preventing us from advancing

                                b. Laying aside literally means to look away from (to not be distracted from main focus)

                                c. So many things can distract us that are not sins of themselves, but can become sins if they keep us from serving God (technology, social media, hobbies, sports, entertainment, laziness, possessions, careers…)

                c. Endurance (hupomenos = to remain under) is used 21 times in Hebrews 11 (patience, longsuffering)

                                a1. Seeking to avoid the difficulties of serving the Lord prevents serving Him at all

                                a2. A true Christian soldier expects to face opposition and difficulties and prepares himself

                                a3. Not being weary in well-doing (Galatians 6:7-9)

                d. The Lord has set forth a race for us to run

                                a1. Each believer has been given gifts, tasks, opportunities, callings, and challenges

                                a2. Faithfulness in our race determines our eternal rewards (II Timothy 2:20-21)

3. Jesus, our example

                a. Jesus is the author (archegon; chief, originator, head, source; Eng. words monarchy, archeology) of our faith

                                a1. Jesus not only made our salvation possible, he set forth how we are to live for him

                                a2. Jesus is both our savior and commander

                b. Jesus is the finisher (teleoton, perfecter, bring to maturity, completer; Eng. word telescope) of faith

                                a1. Jesus brings those things into our lives to bring us to maturity and spirituality

                                a2. The rate of our maturity is up to us

                c. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him

                                a1. The gain was worth the pain

                                a2. Despising (discounting) the humiliation

Key passage: 2 Timothy 2:1-7

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Aug 29, 2021. I Thessalonians 4:1-8

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HOLY LIVING.  I Thessalonians 4:1-8.  08/29/2021.  #8.

I Thessalonians 4:1-8 [New King James Version]

1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

  1. From rejoicing to admonishing
    1. Paul began letter with concern and moved to rejoicing at the positive report that Timothy brought back from church
    1. Paul now moves into topic of holy living, using 2 points:
      1.  Continue growing in the Lord
      1.  Sanctify your body for holiness; not for immorality
    1. Greek society was very promiscuous
      1.  They practically worshiped the body
      1.  Paul spent much time admonishing the Corinthians against sexual immorality
      1.  Greek was an openly sensualized culture
    1. Thessalonica was no different than the rest of Greece
      1.  Paul treats immorality as their #1 vice
      1.  Thessalonica believers had to change from their upbringing and culture
      1.  Paul taught gospel, doctrine, and virtue in 3 weeks
    1. Solution to immorality for believers:
      1.  Sanctification = setting body apart from sin to dedication to Christ alone
      1.  Abstinence from immorality (abstain = apecho in middle voice; literally, to hold oneself from)
        1.  To restrain self from sexual sins
        1.  Hold oneself back from participation
      1.  Seeking to do the will of God
        1.  Holy living is part of God’s will, along with studying Word, witnessing, prayer, worship, and service
        1.  Dedicating self to purpose of pleasing God in all we think and do (I Corinthians 6:12-20)
    1. Paul reminds them that he had taught them about virtue and fidelity (goes against their culture)
  2. Possessing one’s own body
    1. The hardest thing to control is yourself
    1. Possess (obtain, take hold of, procure) one’s own vessel
      1.  To take charge over or command oneself
      1.  To control one’s body (vessel) while navigating through a world of sin, temptation, and allurement
    1. 1 Cor. 3 refusing to succumb to fleshly passions, lustful impulses, and vile thoughts
    1. Paul challenges church to sanctify entire body permanently to the dedication of service to the Lord exclusively
      1.  Living in honor (“with full value” or worth)
      1.  Living counter to the debased culture around you
    1. To engage in immorality is to defraud the person you seduce or are seduced by
      1.  Defrauds family of the seduced
      1.  Defrauds self and Holy Spirit within you (Ephesians 4:30)
    1. Immorality holds one as a slave to sin and lust (tyranny)
  3. Avenger of moral violations
    1. The Lord avenges immorality as a violation of His Law
      1.  Even believers will suffer loss
      1.  God does not ignore or minimize moral violations
    1. Uncleanness = a violation of calling and Christ’s offering
    1. We are called to holiness, so to violate our holy calling is to reject God and grieve the Holy Spirit dwelling in us
      1.  Christ’s sacrifice calls for serious commitment
      1.  Common sin is not excusable behavior
    1. Defrauding self cheats you out of blessing and reward

Key verse: I Corinthians 6:12-20

12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Oct 18, 2020. Philippians 2:1-4

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SINGLE-MINDED SAINTS. Philippians 2:1-4. 10/18/20. #06.

Philippians 2:1-4 [New King James Version]

1 Therefore if there is any [a]consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

  • Concord
    • Paul’s main concern for believers is for their maturity
      • The battle against our own sin nature continues
      • Paul knows that Satan loves division in church
    • Paul states that a new foundation for them has been laid
      • Not only is Christ our example, he is our life
      • There is an intimate relationship with the Lord that transcends mere knowledge or mentoring
    • “If there is any consolation in Christ…”
      • “If” is in 1st class condition = since there is…
      • There IS consolation (compassion, empathy, comfort, solace) in Christ (he consoles us)
      • Christ does comfort us in his love
    • There IS fellowship of the Spirit
      • We both have fellowship with God and with each other via the indwelling work of the Spirit
      • Any saint causing strife within the fellowship grieves the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30)
    • There IS affection and mercy
      • The core fundamental tenor of the church body is to be gracious, forgiving, and merciful
      • Believers are to be tenderhearted toward each other (a striving believer is ungodly)
      • Even when church discipline is needed, correction is to be administered in love for the benefit of the offending party and the body (Matthew 18, II Thessalonians 3, I Chronicles 5)
  • Unity
    • Paul moves from decorum to duty: because we have a relationship with Christ through the Spirit and because the Lord manifests godliness in us, we need to choose to be godly
    • All power to please God is in us, but we must choose to obey and imitate him or to rebel against him (freewill)
    • Paul uses the relationship with the Lord and his teaching to focus their attention on serving one another (Ephesians 5:1-10)
    • Paul lists several aspects which should be found in body:
      • Like-minded = to have the same purpose and goals
        • This does not mean “group think” where everyone always agrees and conforms to group
        • Our goals need to be the goals of Christ
        • Having the same love = bond of care for each other
        • One accord = “having the same spirit” (of grace, tenderness toward one another, cooperation,…)
        • Of one mind = with the same intentions
    • There is no room in the body for selfish pride, envy, or the desire to dominate others in the Body of Christ
    • Paul commands believers to highly regard or esteem others:
      • Humility = to be meek, self-deprecating, deferring
      • Regarding others more highly than self (putting others first; not being self-promoting or apathetic)
  • Charity
    • Paul concludes that we should seek the welfare of others before ourselves
      • We are servants of others
      • We are to actively seek how we can show others Christ through our actions
    • We are our brother’s keeper
      • We are to watch out for others and their best interests
      • We are not to be busybodies (I Peter 4) or interfere in the affairs of others (II Thessalonians 3), but we are to give aid when needed and are to watch for opportunities to do so
    • Being a Christian is a relationship and a lifestyle (full of grace, mercy, compassion, kindness, helpfulness, and love)

Key Verse: Ephesians 5:1-10 [New King James Version]

1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For [a]this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the [b]Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.