Exhortation Archives - Page 27 of 31

Christ Church Exhortation – The Dirty Trough

Jared Longshore on November 26, 2023

One of the reasons we don’t do greater things for the Lord is because we are too afraid of dirt. You can’t get much of anything done in the world without making a mess. Anyone who has cooked a meal knows this. Anyone who has played a football game knows it, too. There will be pots to clean and counters to wipe in the first instance. In the second, there will be shoulders to pop back into sockets. This is simply how the world works. Proverbs 14:4 says, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: But much increase is by the strength of the ox.”

We are to produce fruit. So don’t be disabled by the mud, the grime, or the trouble that comes while you’re farming. Sure, I can tell you how you can do less laundry. Don’t let your kids do anything. No sweating, no running, no eating of any kind; we can’t afford stains. But abundant crops come by the strength of those little oxen.

There are bumps to doing business: The deal gone bad, the troubled relationship, the stripped-out screw that you’re now going to have to rip out of the drywall, these are all production costs. See them for what they are and laugh at them. The man who can only see the dirty oxen trough is worse than near-sighted; he is blind. He’s doomed to servile fear and despair. But God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound mind.

One of the dirtiest jobs you’ll ever face up to is straightforward, unqualified confession of sin. Why in the world would you go looking for your own muck and then, when you find it, hold it up to the Lord with an apology? You do it because you see beyond this particular ox trough. Get it clean so you can stand up on the other side and produce greater fruit for the Lord.

Jared Longshore – November 26, 2023

CCT Exhortation

Zach Browning on November 19, 2023

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19-20

Jesus continues expounding the meaning and application of the law here in this passage which is in the beginning of the sermon on the mount. He is driving home the point that there are no harmless sins. There is no such thing as a little sin that doesn’t matter. The law not only applies to your actions but applies to your thoughts. A little whining, a little discontent, a lustful thought may seem harmless in the moment, but it has eternal consequence. And the way you act and the way you think both will come across to those who are around you. You are teaching all the time, especially to your family.

But likewise here, Jesus promises real blessing and real reward for those who follow God’s commands all the way down into the minor details. All the way down into your toes.

This goes against what I would call country music Gospel or down-home nominal Christianity. The kind who believes in the good Lord up above, but doesn’t make it into church, that hasn’t been praying like he knows he should. That doesn’t know or work to know much past John 3:16

That is not Christianity. That is a false religion. For true religion, true conversion and true faith has real fruit. The tree is known by its fruit. Real Faith is obedient Faith, real faith is working faith.

But the instruction is not left off here. Yes, obeying God matters in the smallest command, to the very smallest detail. And yet Christianity is not legalism. Why? Well, because you following the rules cannot save you. You can’t be that Holy. The Pharisees strained the gnat, but we would need to strain the amoeba. But that still wouldn’t get us there. The only righteousness that saves is perfect righteousness. Which is only found in Christ.

And that righteousness has been placed upon us in our justification. This gift we have already received by grace. Our duty is to act like it.

Zach Browning – November 19, 2023

Reasonable Sacrifice – CCD Exhortation

Ben Zornes on November 19, 2023

Sacrifice is reasonable (Rom. 12:1). But the mindset of most people is that self-preservation is more reasonable. We think that sparing ourselves difficulty & discomfort is sensible. We’ve built a framework that incentivizes selfishness. From the smorgasbord of the entertainment industry, to the twisting of the medical field to drug and carve and indulge the patient’s imagined vision for themselves, we are a culture consumed with self. But this is unreasonable; like trying to grow a crop of corn by planting popcorn.

Both Moses’ Law and throughout the Psalms we see that thanksgiving is expressed through sacrifice. The sacrificial system was the way in which Israelites demonstrated their gratitude for God’s covenant mercies. The Psalms further revealed the ethical reality that thankfulness is demonstrated by sacrifice (Ps. 116:17).

If we put this together with Paul’s instruction to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice we can see the necessity of the material discomfort of obedience. Thankfulness ought not to be merely in an inwardly felt affection; but rather it is to be manifested in the actions of obedient sacrifice. Preparing a feast, raising children, supporting a ministry financially, caring for aging parents, protecting your nation from invasion, and feeding the impoverished all require your material expense and physical exertion.

If you insist on self-preservation you are insisting on self-ruination. That’s just how God made the world. He made it such that sacrifice reaps glory. Scattering seeds in the soil looks momentarily like wastefulness; but in the harvest those seeds have multiplied. So, in the end, selfishness, in all its forms, is the truly unreasonable ethic. The Lord’s wisdom turns our sensibilities upside down. True reasonableness is to sacrifice yourself. As you celebrate Thanksgiving this week, decide beforehand to not begrudge the physical, financial, and relational sacrifices you must make. Those sacrifices will soon become glories.

Ben Zornes – November 19, 2023

Christ Church Exhortation – Give Thanks When They Hurl Accusations

Jared Longshore on November 19, 2023

Thanksgiving is just on the horizon, so we are counting our many blessings and marking a variety of things to be thankful for. As you number those blessings, I want to remind you of one particular kindness from the Lord for which you should be grateful. That is God’s kindness of having people say all sorts of evil things about you falsely. Ah, you have been slandered. And the bigger the slander, the bigger your Thanksgiving turkey should be.

Jesus tells us that we should be exceedingly glad when this kind of thing happens for our reward is great in heaven, and we are following in the footsteps of the faithful prophets who went before us (Matthew 5:12).

This is a lesson that peace-loving, kind, and faithful Christians like yourselves must take to heart. In the first place, it is one thing to remember this truth when the sun is shining and no one is calling you a misogynistic rape apologist. And it is another thing to remember it when those slander-bullets are actually flying. So store up this truth in your heart so it will be there in the day of battle.

In the second place, you must store up this truth in your heart because you are a kind lot of Christians who, of course, don’t want to be brawlers. That is good. You want to pray for those who have done you the wrong, and that is good, too. But, in case you may be tempted to say, “I just can’t rejoice and be glad given these horrible things that have been said about me or my people,” let me remind you that God is so pleased about people saying nasty false things about you that He has seen fit to increase your heavenly bank account. If God is happy, you should be, too.

Do ensure that this kind of thing doesn’t turn into rejoicing when your enemy falls. You want to give thanks in such a way that God’s favor will continue to rest upon you. But give thanks you must. And that thanksgiving should be exceedingly glad.

Jared Longshore – November 19, 2023

Living Sacrifices – CC Exhortation

Jared Longshore on November 7, 2023

One of the mistakes we make when it comes to our worship is thinking that it is merely an exercise in which we are refilled. We have spent ourselves for Christ and here we are on the day of rest to be repowered by the Spirit in worship. There is truth in the sentiment for “from him, through him, and to him are all things.” So there is a “from him” in worship.

But, Paul says that we “present our bodies as living sacrifices unto God.” And he adds that this is our reasonable service and worship. Worship, then, is a very active endeavor. You are presenting yourself to God, and you are doing so as a sacrifice.

The sacrifices of the Old Testament were quite passive. Their job was to be taken to the altar and killed. But, those sacrifices could never take away sin. Christ was the only sacrifice that could cancel sin entirely. And He was not taken to the slaughter by another but laid down His own life willing.

In the new covenant, we don’t need any more blood sacrifices, for Christ was the once for all time sacrifice who paid for our sin completely.

But, where does that leave us? Aren’t our bodies sacrifices as we worship God? Yes, indeed. But we are not sacrifices for sin. We are living sacrifices. And as we offer up our very selves to God it should be a lively endeavor.

So sing robustly. Pray fervently. Hear the Word attentively. Confess sin diligently. Receive assurance of your forgiveness gladly. Eat and drink at the table with a lively faith.

Be done with dead and dreary words, attitudes, and works. You are very much alive. So alive, you will never truly die. So alive, you can go sacrifice yourself on an altar and go right on living.

Jared Longshore – November 5, 2023