Steve DeWitt 12/1/23 Steve DeWitt 12/1/23

Glory in the Manger

Like anything that involves a baby, the focus here isn’t the angels, the shepherds, even Mary and Joseph; all our attention should be on this baby.

“And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.” (Luke 2:16–17)….

By Steve DeWitt

Like anything that involves a baby, the focus here isn’t the angels, the shepherds, even Mary and Joseph; all our attention should be on this baby.

“And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.” (Luke 2:16–17)

We are told surprisingly little. No height or weight given. No color of eyes or hair. We know Mary and Joseph are there. That’s to be expected. Parents of newborns, especially firstborns, are very attentive to the child. Other than that, all we have is his crib; a manger. As you may know, this was a feeding trough for animals. It was not exactly the most hygienically clean spot for a baby. For how many years had this feeding trough had the rather gross experience of feeding animals?

When we go to the orchard or petting zoo, my girls want to feed the goats or whatever. One second after they’re done, we are slathering on the anti-bacterial soap. We use words like “icky” to describe the licking tongues of goats and cows. There, in that icky place, lay the Creator of the universe. The Lord of glory. In that icky place,

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3)
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15–17)

Did the shepherds adequately realize who he was? They couldn’t, and he is far greater than we begin to realize too. But the little they did understand produced praise and glory to God that made its way into Scripture and has been talked about now for 2,000 years.

Isn’t this the marvel of Christmas? That one so glorious, powerful—the infinite God—is now in creation, in human flesh, and of all places on earth, in a goat-feeding manger? We humans can’t grasp such glory in a normal looking baby. Before Jesus, artists’ rendering of Roman or Greek gods would include a halo over their head. This signified glory or deity. Wrongly of course, but artists and painters for centuries used that same technique over the head of Jesus even as a baby. At his birth, the only glory light was out in the fields when the angels appeared. Do you know what Jesus looked like in that manger? He looked like a normal baby. There was no glory light filling the stable. There was no halo over his head. And yes, despite what the song says, he cried. He needed a diaper. He was as normal as normal could be.

AND he was simultaneously upholding the galaxies by his power and might.

We are more comfortable with that in the adult Jesus because we see him silencing the storm and raising the dead. But the baby Jesus was every bit as much omnipotent God as the Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb.

Here is the true glory in the manger. Not a light show. Not a song. Not angels. Not shepherds. The glory in the manger was WHO he is.

“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see/ Hail the incarnate deity.”[1]

The One who deserved glory in the highest had taken the position of the lowest. The angels say, Glory to God in the highest. When we understand Christmas we sing, Glory to God in the lowest.[2] And down in that place of humility Jesus brings hope to humanity. Who is lower and weaker than a baby in a feeding trough?

Where are you? What’s your place? What’s your social standing? We have people across the spectrum, the rich and poor, the influential and the not, the high and mighty and the low and not so mighty. Why did Jesus start in the lowest place? Invite the shepherds? Cry his first cry in such a humble and forgettable place? Place his precious head on the hay of horses? So that none of us need question if Jesus came for me.

There’s no light. No angels. No song. No trumpets. No throne. No sea of glass. No seraphim chanting Holy, Holy, Holy. None of the accoutrements to Jesus’ true identity.

But there was divine glory in that manger. Cloaked in a baby. Hidden from human eyes. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Friend, today, do you see his glory? Can you believe in his mission? Can you trust in his eventual death on the cross for our sins? Is he your Savior?

Last Sunday I met a man whose wife had prayed for him for many, many years. God had touched his heart and he came and shared with me that now he is a Christian. I smiled and said, “your first Christmas as a Christian.” What a joy. The first Christmas seeing glory in the manger.

For many of us, it’s not our first Christmas. What should we do? Take our cues from the first Christmas. The angels? Adoration. The Shepherds? Amazement. Mary? Treasured these things. Adoration. Amazement. And a sense of wonder and glory that treasures Jesus’ birth as true glory in the manger.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include Bethel’s website address (www.bethelweb.org) on the copied resource.

[1] Charles Wesley, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” 1739.

[2] See Glen Scrivener, “Glory to God in the Highest,” www.thegospelcoalition.org, December 11, 2019.

© 2023 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, Founder and Teaching Pastor for the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is also the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.

Pete Campbell 4/10/23 Pete Campbell 4/10/23

You cannot break the Ten Commandments—they will break you

By Pete Campbell

Most are familiar with Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 version of The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. But few have probably seen DeMille's first take on this Biblical story. It is wholly unique compared to all the various takes on the Exodus that Hollywood has produced over the years.

The early 1920's was ripe with salacious scandals coming out of L.A. as this new form of entertainment was only getting its legs. Rampant drug use, promiscuous relationships, and even shocking headlines of movie stars committing murder both captivated and horrified the public. The influence of these picture shows and the people creating them were seen to be eroding the very foundations of the Judeo-Christian values that were held dear. Even more to the point the Box Office was suffering. Hollywood was in crisis, and they needed to appeal to the taste of their consumers.

In 1923 there were many films released with Biblical themes, but the one that stood out from the crowd was DeMille's The Ten Commandments starring Richard Dix, Rod La Rocque, and Leatrice Joy. To this day, this silent film has a special place in the hearts of film historians, as DeMille took over a large section of the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in California and built full scale sets for the scenes in Egypt. It was larger than anything that had been done up to that point and single handedly created the “epic” film genre.

DeMille attempted to speak directly to the issues of the day. From the opening slide that reads:

The film is two fold. The first quarter of the movie tells a very abbreviated version of the story of Moses and his leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. The menacing Pharaoh played by Charles de Rochefort, is terrifying in a way that only a silent film can truly express. His grief at the loss of his son and his anger
and desire for revenge is palpable. Moses, played by Theodore Roberts, is stern and unmovable in his portrayal. His task is clear; God has sent him to free his people.
One thing that stands out more than anything is that the viewer would need to be somewhat familiar with the Biblical story to truly follow what's going on. But DeMille is wanting to get to Sinai as fast as possible, because that is the point of this film. The Ten Commandments. “They are not just laws – they are the LAW.”

While Moses is on the mountain, of course, the Hebrews become tired of waiting and the Golden Calf is made. Moses returns carrying the tablets and in anger throws them down. The scene erupts and dissolves away, and we find ourselves in the kitchen of the home of Mrs. McTavish and her two adult sons. She is reading the Bible to them.

John and Danny are the McTavish brothers. John is the good son who wants to follow the Word, and Danny is drawn to the things of this world. Though this film was made a hundred years ago, it is shockingly familiar to someone watching in 2023. The characters are real; the passive aggressive overbearing mother who wants nothing more than her sons to follow Christ, but by her own actions pushes Danny away. “Mother you carry that Cross but you use it as a whip.”

The two boys fall in love with the same woman, Mary Leigh, which son she chooses affects the fate of what is to come. “We'll break all ten of your old Commandments, and we'll finish rich and powerful – with the world at our feet. You'll keep your Ten Commandments and finish just where you are – a poor carpenter.” With that Danny leaves his Mother and Brother behind.
The film takes a dark turn as we see, Danny lives his life recklessly and without any morals, breaking all of God's Commandments and reaps the consequences. But, as he will find out you cannot break the Ten Commandments—they will break you

If you would like to explore Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 classic you can view it online.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uU9qeFFQ90

For the collector a DVD copy can be found here.
https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Commandments-1923-Anniversary-presents/dp/B07VBH68VF/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+ten+commandments+1923+dvd&qid=1680815372&sprefix=The+Ten+Commandments+1923%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-2

To watch DeMille's 1956 remake with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner
https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Commandments-Blu-ray-James-Coburn/dp/B071WRLQNH/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1680829248&sr=8-2

Steve DeWitt 1/2/23 Steve DeWitt 1/2/23

Overcome Sexual Temptation with Beauty

By Steve DeWitt

Click the picture to listen to Part 1 of the two part message by Pastor Steve.

As a pastor and author, I have done a number of radio interviews over the years, but one in particular caught me off guard.

I had written a book on the beauty of God — in creation, in Christ, in worship, in everything. After it came out, I did several interviews about the book. One was live on a radio station in Los Angeles. I was ready. I had done these before. I had my notes in front of me. The radio host introduced me and said, “This pastor in Indiana is going to help us all deal with sexual temptation! Friend, what do you have to tell us?”

I stammered. What? I was prepared to talk about the beauty of God, not sexual temptation. I mumbled some answers as best as I could remember from a recent sermon on temptation, and was glad when the interview was over.

As caught off guard as I was in the moment, though, are these two subjects mutually exclusive? Is the beauty of God, which is all around us at all times, really a separate conversation from sexual purity? Or is God’s beauty actually an overlooked weapon in our struggle against temptation? It is — and the weapon is often hiding in plain sight.

What Is God’s Beauty?

We are so accustomed to associating beauty with the physical world that defining the beauty of God can feel impossible.

God’s beauty is the sum of all his perfections. It brings together the balance, symmetry, and infinity of the triune Godhead. As his every attribute is perfect, when taken together as a divine whole, he is resplendent in all his beauty — like a flower is beautiful, but a bouquet is more beautiful as each flower contributes to the total loveliness. God’s character is the effulgent radiance and fullness of divine perfection.

We come closer to the meaning of beauty with the glory of God. God’s glory is first his infinite worth. This worth is appraised by the Father, Son, and Spirit in and with infinite delight in each other. What does self-assessed divine joy look like? The Bible calls the visible expression of infinite worth “glory.” God’s glory is the light of divine delight. It is the brilliant, emanating expression of God’s infinite delight in being God.

“Sex is meant to be deeply theological and doxological. When it is, it’s better.”

God’s beauty is the theological description of this aesthetic reality. It summarizes God as the most worthy and desirable allurement of all. He alone ultimately satisfies the longings of our heart, body, and soul. The weight of his glory and the perfection of his being charm and enchant humans who were made to desire him with such completeness that the Bible calls it worship.

Lust for Ugly

Romans 1 explains that humans were made to worship God in his beauty. Tragically, sin has twisted our hearts and perverted our worship. We are tempted to seek divine satisfaction in non-divine realities — even realities designed by God to remind us of him. Creation’s beauty and aesthetic pleasures are meant to take us upstream to the source, with honor and thanksgiving (Romans 1:21).

Sexual desire fits this worship paradigm. It is a powerful allurement and pleasure — so powerful that it is certainly the most historically deified human experience. However, when separated from its purpose — to lead us to enjoy God more through it — the allurements entice us toward fulfillment outside God’s will: pornography (nakedness without covenant), masturbation (sexual fulfillment without a spouse), fornication (intercourse without covenant), adultery (covenant-breaking sexuality), and many other sexual expressions.

So, is it possible to weaponize God’s beauty in our battle with sexual sin?

Stoke a Revulsion to Ugly

In the above examples, our sinful flesh generates strong desires for illicit sexual fulfillment. In each case, what our flesh craves is not sexually beautiful in God’s eyes. To God, sex outside the marital bed is ugly. In salvation, God regenerates holy desires in us, if only in part. Our new heart has a capacity to desire what pleases God, including God’s created purposes for human sexuality.

One biblical way to fight sexual temptation is to internally stoke a strong revulsion to where this temptation would lead. Proverbs in particular urges us during temptation to see the pain and sorrow that acting on this desire would create.

The lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol. (Proverbs 5:3–5)
He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. (Proverbs 6:32)

Almost every pastor knows the weeping sorrow of a spouse who has sexually sinned. The shock and pain on the face of the wife or husband who was sinned against should be captured and put on interstate billboards next to titillating adult-entertainment advertisements.

Pornography Undermines Pleasure

When the consequences of sexual sin bear their bitter fruit, the liaison that created the pain is no longer seen as desirable or beautiful. It is seen for what it is and what it was, despite the moments of pleasure: ethically ugly and consequentially hideous.

Our church’s counseling ministry regularly deals with husbands whose past pornographic lifestyle is psychologically impeding their present ability to sexually perform. In a great irony, pornography often creates erectile dysfunction. The pornographic experience that promises sexual fulfillment hinders the very fulfillment sex intends. Click by click, men are sexually castrating and emasculating themselves.

No matter how beautiful, when seen from the perspective of God’s beauty and beautiful design, these digital Bathshebas are Jezebels. In the end, sexual temptation gives the opposite of what it promises — hunger and longing, not gratification. Rather than immersing ourselves in beauty, we are bonded to the ugly, the degrading, the hollowing and emptying. Training ourselves to perceive the ugly in seductive beauty is a strong help.

Christian Sex Is the Best Sex

In a famous sermon titled “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection,” Thomas Chalmers captures the essence of this truth:

The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil.

“Holy desire for God’s pleasure helps extinguish the unholy desire of sexual temptation.”

When God’s Spirit opens our eyes to the glory of God in the face of Jesus, we perceive a deeper and greater beauty. In the terms of Romans 1, we can worship by giving God honor and thanksgiving through holy sexual fulfillment. This doesn’t mean that after marital intimacy we must sing the “Hallelujah” chorus. But we don’t practice atheistic sex either. Sex is meant to be deeply theological and doxological. When it is, it’s better. Christians should have the best sex lives because all pleasures God created are intended to consummate in worship.

When sex consummates in worship, it brings spiritual meaning to the physical experience. It places sex in its proper place in God’s story and universe. As Hebrews exhorts us, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4).

I didn’t get married until I was 44. Celibacy also honors the marriage bed. It protects sex by reserving sex, which reflects a truly high view of sex and of God. As a man who has been there, I can say that sexual purity within God’s will is its own act of worship, and we should celebrate the high calling single Christians have.

Lust Limits Pleasure and Intimacy

When I was a pastoral intern, our senior pastor required me to read a past article in Leadership Journal magazine. It was written anonymously by a pastor and conference speaker whose life was engulfed in sexual lust. Though he vividly describes how the quicksand of sexual lust overwhelmed him, he writes the article after having achieved substantial freedom. What got him out of the quicksand? He read Francois Mauriac’s “What I believe.”

Mauriac argues that the beatitude “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8) highlights the condition for a higher love, a possession superior to all possessions: God himself. The anonymous author writes,

The thought hit me like a bell rung in a dark, silent hall. So far none of the scary negative arguments against lust had succeeded in keeping me from it. But here was a description of what I was missing by continuing to harbor lust. I was limiting my own intimacy with God. The love he offers is so transcendent and possessing that it requires our faculties to be purified and cleansed before we can experience or can possibly contain all of it. Could he, in fact, substitute another thirst and another hunger for the one I had never filled? Would living water somehow quench lust? That was the gamble of faith.

After years of a dulled conscience and a numb spirit to God, the desire to sense God’s pleasure and purity again shook him. It turned him toward something his soul sensed was better.

Too often we try to deal with sexual temptation with mere denial. While there is an element of abstention in the pursuit of holiness, denial of a lesser pleasure for the sake of a greater pleasure is the Christian’s best weapon. When captured by sexual desire outside God’s will, proactively consider how great purity of conscience truly is. Bring to mind the damning consequences of acting on the desire. Overcome impurity with the beauty of God’s purity and his pleasure in ours. Holy desire for God’s pleasure helps extinguish the unholy desire of sexual temptation.

Sex is about worship, and successfully overcoming sexual temptation requires an eye for supreme, divine, sublime beauty.

Originally Published August 21, 2021 at Desiring God: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/overcome-sexual-temptation-with-beauty

Steve DeWitt 2/7/22 Steve DeWitt 2/7/22

Killing Sin by the Spirit

By Steve DeWitt

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13 ESV)

The key phrase here is, “put to death the deeds of the body.” The Greek word for put to death is used 11 times in the New Testament, 9 for actually killing people.[1] One example is Stephen, the first martyr, who was put to death. Same word. This is not a nice word. This is a bloody word. A word of execution. It simply means, kill it. Legalism says, stop it. Romans says, kill it. This requires a posture toward sin that is much more like an assassin. Ruthless. Cold, hard hatred of sin.

Jesus said the same when he said, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” (Matthew 5:30) It is not physical dismemberment, but a spiritual dismemberment that sees sin as leading to death. It is an abuse of grace that makes us OK with sin thinking, I’m going to heaven anyway. That is an incredibly dangerous posture toward sin and calls into question if we truly understand Jesus shedding his blood for that sin.

We should think of sin like cancer patients think of their cancer. The fighter-types hate cancer. What if you talked with someone after a bout of cancer and they said,

I miss my cancer. Oh, I remember when I had lots of cancer. Such freedom I felt. Those were the days. Wow, the cancer parties were incredible! Many of my entertainment choices celebrate cancer. I remember driving for my chemo treatments—those were great days. If only I could have another chemo day. Cancer made me so happy.

When you talk with cancer patients, they’ll tell you the only way to beat cancer is to declare war on your cancer. When you see a bald woman wearing a wig, or a scarf on her head, respect her; she went to war. You must kill those cancer cells. How many of them? All of them. You hate it. You are willing to deal ruthlessly with it. Change your diet. Change your lifestyle. Stop your smoking. Whatever. You will shoot chemicals and radiation in your body to kill cancer. The courage in those cancer wards comes from people who don’t want to die, they want to live!

Romans 8:13 says, hate your sin. Hate it. See it as creating death in you. Don’t coddle it. Don’t ignore it. Go to war with your sin. You can’t defeat cancer by loving cancer and you can’t overcome sin and temptation by loving your sin. There is an old word that describes going to war and killing sin. Mortify it. When you see that word, it means, kill zone. DEFCON 1. Going nuclear. Annihilation. Is this the posture of your heart toward your sin?

© 2022 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 11/9/21 Steve DeWitt 11/9/21

Multiply Thyself

By Steve DeWitt

Timothy’s mother was Jewish, his father was a Greek. Immediately, Timothy looks like an unlikely candidate for someone to multiply into. First, his parents’ marriage was outside Old Testament law. In that day, to minister the gospel to Jews meant that you had to be in basic compliance with Old Testament law. Timothy had not been circumcised and the fact that he had a Greek father was common knowledge. Further, he was the son of a woman who married a Gentile.

By Steve DeWitt

““Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” (Acts 16:1-3 ESV)

It would have been easy for Paul to say, Too much baggage. I’ll pass and look for someone more perfect. He didn’t – for the same reason that Samuel had to pass on all David’s brothers and learn that God looks at the heart. Paul was a multiplier and multipliers can see past the exterior to the heart. How did Paul multiply himself in Timothy?

Instruction

Paul taught Timothy. As they walked and travelled, he taught him. There’s no better example of this than the letters we call 1 and 2 Timothy. They are filled with practical pastoral exhortations. Do this. Don’t do that. Remember this. Don’t forget that. There was no doubt who the teacher was and who the student was.

By the way, this says a lot about Timothy. To be a Timothy you have to have a learner’s spirit and he did this with a man whose weaknesses he knew all too well by living with him. Yet, Timothy was a learner. An apprentice. Multiplication requires teachers with a willingness to share and students with a willingness to learn.

This is an interesting concept, but I don’t know what my part is in this. Every one of us ought to be a multiplier. Think of all the opportunities you have. Men, if you are a husband, talk to other men who are about to become husbands. Help them understand all the blessings of welcoming a woman into their life. I’m all ears right now. Or how about teaching the younger men about what it means to be a man? Is that needed in our culture today? How are young men going to learn to be masculine, spiritual men? As J.C. Ryle says in his book, Thoughts to Young Men, “Young men become mature men by standing next to them.”

And ladies, the same goes for you. Older women should be teaching the younger women. That’s another biblical principle. There’s a Barnabas kind of spirit in a church that is healthy where I am willingly looking for opportunities and people to bless. It’s not like “Hey, I’m Paul, you want to be my Timothy?” Don’t do that. Just be yourself and build relationships with people where you can possibly invest in them.

Opportunities

As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. (Acts 16:4ff.)

I wouldn’t make too much of a pronoun but notice that it says, they delivered to them the decisions. No doubt Paul took the lead. But “they” hints at this point. Timothy was given opportunities to do ministry. How do Timothys become Pauls? By watching and learning and having opportunities to serve under the watchful eye of the multiplier. Can you hear Paul and Timothy debriefing? Timothy says, “How did you think I conducted myself in Lystra?” (learner’s spirit) Paul says, “Well, I think….”

A huge part of multiplying ourselves is giving others opportunity. Clearly, there was a period of time where they served together. They ministered together in Galatia, Mysia, Troas, Phillippi and Berea. (Acts 16-17) Then they get to Athens and here’s a key moment: Paul sends Timothy on his own to Thessalonica. Now Timothy was flying solo on a project. Later they were together again, but Timothy continues to take on more responsibility. Later he would be in Corinth and Ephesus and he was sent into Macedonia. You don’t need to know the geography; what do you hear? Paul brought him along with increased opportunity and responsibility.

Affirmation

My true child in the faith. (1 Timothy 1:2)
My beloved child. (2 Timothy 1:2)
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. (2 Timothy 1:3)

Timothy knew that in Paul he had someone who was totally for him. The language here may make some of us men a little uncomfortable. I think this is the most important part of multiplication and one we have to get right. There is a reason the Son of Encouragement, Barnabas, goes down as one of the great multipliers. Encouragement and personal affirmation of love is what ultimately does the multiplying. We all know this. When we think of the people who have made the most positive difference in our lives, not one of them failed to encourage us and make it clear that they believed in us.

Healthy churches multiply themselves and healthy Christians do as well. God has called all of us to make disciples, to multiply what we have received from Christ through the gospel by the Spirit into others. This will happen as we identify our Timothys, instruct them, give them opportunities, and affirm to them that we love them.

© 2021 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 11/9/21 Steve DeWitt 11/9/21

The Spirit Empowers us for Gospel Witness

By Steve DeWitt

Jesus’ disciples were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost. (Acts 2:4) Peter was filled with the Spirit in his response to the Jewish leaders. (Acts 4:8) In Acts 4:31, after prayer, the disciples were filled with the Spirit and emboldened in their witness, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” And Paul was filled with the Spirit prior to speaking against Sergius. (Acts 13:9)

By Steve DeWitt

Jesus’ disciples were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost. (Acts 2:4)

Peter was filled with the Spirit in his response to the Jewish leaders. (Acts 4:8) In Acts 4:31, after prayer, the disciples were filled with the Spirit and emboldened in their witness, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” And Paul was filled with the Spirit prior to speaking against Sergius. (Acts 13:9)

In each case, it describes empowerment by the Spirit as the “filling of the Spirit.” This is an often misunderstood term because it sounds like we are getting more of the Spirit somehow, like we are a jar and he is “filling” it.

The idea of the Greek word is completeness (πληρου̂σθε). “To be full with nothing left; to have something entirely.” “Fill” would seem to indicate that when we are filled that we have more of the Holy Spirit than when we are not filled. Or that we can be half full or three quarters full. The Holy Spirit is not a liquid; he is a person. Filling doesn’t mean that he gives us more of himself or that we have more of the Spirit. If we are a Christian, we have all of the Spirit. He indwells us at the moment of our regeneration. The issue with filling is not how much of him do we have, but how much of us does he have?

How can we be “filled” so that we can be empowered? As we surrender our natural fears of men and their opinions to God’s will, our will becomes increasingly aligned with God’s will and the Spirit enables us to speak or love in ways that our natural selves could not do. It is supernatural in the sense that the Spirit is enabling and blessing the service of a sinner. His presence in us means that power is always available. The more we seek God’s purposes to be accomplished and the more his mission values shape our desires, the more control the Spirit exerts in us and the more control he exerts, the more power and blessing he produces.

“The Christian’s life in all its aspects – intellectual and ethical, devotion and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregations at all.” (JI Packer)

Presence and power. His presence in us means his power through us; filling is not a one-time thing but rather an ongoing pursuit. I try and pray regularly for the Holy Spirit to fill me. I want that and I need that. I have his presence. I need his power. All Christians do.

Steve DeWitt 10/21/21 Steve DeWitt 10/21/21

How to Create a Kingdom Culture in Your Home

By Steve DeWitt

Talking to our family members happens naturally. Having spiritual content to those conversations doesn’t. God knew this and made it a command in Israel. We can talk about the weather all we want, but bring up something spiritual and you get…crickets. Kingdom culture requires kingdom conversations. Not only is it an opportunity to teach our children, but the conversation itself elevates the culture of the home toward the things of God.

How often do you talk about spiritual things? Talk about what God’s doing in your life or our church? How often did you talk about it this past week?

By Steve DeWitt

Talk about the King (spiritual conversations)

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ESV)

How often do you talk about spiritual things? Talk about what God’s doing in your life or our church? How often did you talk about it this past week?

Use The Deuteronomy Drip Principle. Most of us don’t feel qualified to carry on an hour-long conversation on justification or missions in Africa. What Deuteronomy encourages is the drip principle. Drip. Drip. Drip. Everywhere you go, whenever possible, drip spiritual content into your daily conversations. Pray. Make God and God-talk as easy and normal as Cubs fans talk about the Cubs, and even more. Regularly asking each other questions that get to spiritual conversation is important. Here are some examples:

Has God been teaching you anything new lately?
What is one thing you prayed about today?
What do you hope to do or learn this year?
How did you help someone today, and how did someone help you?
What’s the biggest thing you are trusting God for right now?[1]
What was your takeaway from the Sunday sermon?

Get the ball rolling with each other by asking questions that take everyday conversations into spiritual categories.

Here’s another Old Testament tip: have spiritual mementos around the house and make them legendary. “And he said to the people of Israel, ‘When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’” (Joshua 4:21-22)

Let me give you an example of this. I have had a large, flat, smooth rock in my home office for many years. One day, Kiralee comes in and she says, “What’s this rock for?” I said, “Well, sweetheart, some years ago, Daddy was very, very discouraged and was questioning lots of things in his life. And I was walking along Lake Michigan and I saw this very smooth stone and I picked it up and the thought came to me, how did this stone get so smooth? For thousands of years there were many, many collisions and it made the stone really smooth and I thought, that’s what God is doing in this trial in my life right now. So I kept the rock, sweetheart.”

She loves this rock. In fact, yesterday I said, “Sweetheart, can you go get Daddy’s stone?” (She keeps it in her bedroom now.) And she said, “Maybe when you’re done, I can borrow it again?” She probably asks me every other day, “What does the stone mean?”

So in your home have things around that act as prompters of truth like a picture of you getting baptized or a picture of someone who discipled you on the fridge or things that prompt you to say, “Sweetheart, Daddy was a sinner but he came to Jesus and he is so glad that he did.” You want to make Jesus the central reference point of your home. Does everybody in your home know how you became a Christian? How God has worked in your life and whom he used to do it? Make God’s work in your life legendary. It makes Jesus the hero of your story and home.

Steve DeWitt 9/26/21 Steve DeWitt 9/26/21

Is Grace Permission to Sin?

By Steve DeWitt

There is a word used to describe people who take the position that the Christian has no responsibility to obedience yet remains under the grace of God.

Antinomian = Anti (No) Nomos (Law)

Nobody thinks they are antinomian. There are no antinomian societies. Nobody introduces themselves as an antinomian: Hi, I’m Bob, I’m an antinomian. Everybody presents themselves as champions of grace. Their books have grace in the name. They sing Amazing Grace with gusto. The issue is whether obedience or sanctification are necessary byproducts of genuine saving faith….

By Steve DeWitt

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:1-2

This is my summary of the question, “are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1) Paul is not making this question up. It was either the active approach of Christians in the early church or the charge against Paul for preaching salvation by grace through faith. Probably both.

There is a word used to describe people who take the position that the Christian has no responsibility to obedience yet remains under the grace of God.

Antinomian = Anti (No) Nomos (Law)

A few years ago, we did a series on The Ten Commandments. We talked about the role of the law of God in the life of the believer. We said it is a muzzle, a mirror, and a map. God’s law restrains sin in this world through conscience, like a muzzle. It is a mirror that shows our sin. It is a map to guide us in how to live in a manner pleasing to God.

It is this third role, primarily, that antinomians dismiss. What’s the need and what’s the point? Is grace grace or not? Paul couldn’t say it any stronger than he did. See his response.

“By no means!” (Romans 6:2) Paul uses this phrase 14 times in his letters and it is reserved for his strongest outrage.[1] Its sense is, never, never, never! I remember professors in seminary talking about this little phrase with amazement at how strong it is. Paul wants to make it clear that God’s grace is NOT permission to sin. He follows with the question, “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2)

The “we” refers to Christians. We died to sin. What’s that? How exactly did we die to sin? And aren’t we all nervous reading that knowing that, we continue to sin? How can I die to something that seems to still be present in my life?

We Died to Our Sin When Jesus Died for Our Sin

Think with me brothers and sisters. When Jesus died on the cross, he died as a substitute. For who? Us. What exactly did Jesus die for? He died for the moral guilt of our sin and paid the moral price for our redemption. All of this relates to sin and our moral and spiritual failure to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Our falling short of God’s glory. Romans 3:23. Our rebellion against God.

Most Christians say, I get it. He died for my sin. But what many people don’t get is that when Christ died for our sin we died to our sin. We died to sin as our master. We died to sin as the leading power and purpose of our life. Now Paul’s question makes sense: how can we who died to King Sin go on living with King Sin as our master? “It is not the literal impossibility of sin in believers which Paul is declaring, but the moral incongruity of it.” (John Stott)[2]

I often get the question, so what’s it like being married? By this they think that because I was a bachelor for so long that getting married was a big change. Indeed, it was. What if I said, nothing’s really changed? I sleep and get up when I want. I golf when I want. I’m away from home whenever I want. I spend my time and money in whatever way I want. I watch the TV shows I want when I want. So, nothing’s really changed.

And they’re going to respond, Did you really get married or just pretend to? Because I was at the wedding and I thought you actually did get married, but it sure doesn’t look like you did. Friends, sin is a kingdom. Sin is a Darth Lord. Sin is a Caesar to whom sinners bow. If Christ is our Savior, then can we live as if Darth Sin is our Lord?

Me genetoi. Never! Never! Never!

[1] Colin G. Kruse, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, p. 259.

[2] John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World, p. 169.

Steve DeWitt 1/4/21 Steve DeWitt 1/4/21

The Justified Marriage

By Steve DeWitt

Justification means I’m forgiven for far worse than anything my spouse can do

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:21–25 ESV)

Justification is God’s eternal judgment over a sinner declaring them completely and wholly righteous with the promise to treat us forever fully righteous. Within this are basic constructs in Romans 3:10, “None is righteous, no, not one.” All human beings are sinners. We are declared righteous by faith in Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross and are forgiven all our sins apart from obeying the law of God. This is an act of God’s love for us and toward us.

Justification is ours without any personally contributing righteousness on our part. All we contribute is our sin. Everything is God’s saving initiative which the Bible calls grace. Grace is God giving us not only what we don’t deserve but the complete opposite of what we do deserve.

So, justification is undeserved righteousness, undeserved love, undeserved grace, and the undeserved and unearned promise of grace toward our sins forever. We might say it this way: God promises to love us for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and death won’t part us from his love because we live forever in his love.

There is the reality. Not the reflection. The reality. A marriage will succeed to the extent that both spouses intentionally seek to reflect that reality.

Justification is the basis for God’s forgiveness of our sins. Jesus’ righteous death on our behalf allows God to forgive our sins while maintaining perfect justice. To be a Christian is to be a recipient of overwhelming forgiveness.

A justified marriage is really good at forgiveness.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7, NIV)

This past summer, Jennifer and I were on a tour with Dr. Erwin Lutzer from Moody Church. We were on a tour bus and Dr. Lutzer and his wife were taking questions. They have been married like around a thousand years. Someone asked, “What is the key to a good marriage?” Dr. Lutzer’s wife, Rebecca, answered over the bus sound system, “You have to be really good at forgiving each other.” Be really good at forgiveness? It’s more important than financial stability. More important that sexual prowess. A more important character quality than perhaps anything else, is being good at forgiving.

I rarely hear that from single people who are looking for a spouse. What are you looking for in a spouse? The normal list comes out: attractive, funny, drives a truck, etc. I have never heard anyone say, I’m looking for somebody really good at forgiving. Yet, think of what that Christian quality implies.

This is somebody who loves the gospel enough to live it out enough to absorb the daily slights and offenses and the big deal wrongs and cover them with gospel grace. What a wonderful spouse to be married to! What a wonderful spouse to be! Where does this Christian virtue come from? Ephesians 4:32, forgive others as God has forgiven you. Jesus tells the parable in Matthew 18 of the man who was forgiven the billion-dollar debt by the king and then walks out and chokes a man who owes him $10. The point? The big forgive was God’s forgiveness of my sin. My pile of sin against God is far greater than anything my spouse can do against me.

Husband, are you good at forgiving? Are you able to move on from conflict? Wife, would your husband say one of your top five qualities is that you are quick to forgive? If not, let’s ask, why not? Are we building our marriage on the paradigm of Christ’s love and grace to us? Really, if you aren’t good at forgiving it means you are actually good at damaging marital qualities: resentment, holding a grudge, keeping score, and a host of other vices that end up making both of you very unhappy. Have you forgotten how God justified you?

Think of this future moment with me. A Christian married couple. Not a good marriage. He failed to lead and love. She failed to respect. Whatever. Think of the coming moment in heaven when the Christian husband and wife see the glory of God. While no longer married as there is no marriage in eternity, they personally see and possibly touch Jesus and the scars in his hands. They see and feel the power of God’s love. Perhaps they glimpse hell while experiencing heaven. I hope there is not a moment coming for you and your spouse when you will turn to one another and say, “I had no idea how much God forgave me. During our whole marriage, I was so, so wrong. I’m overwhelmed with regret.” Think of that couple reflecting on the marriage they could have had if only they would have appropriated into the way they treat each other the way God had treated them.

Do you want to be that couple? Waste your marital life only to discover in glory what could have been? God’s will for every marriage is the sweet communion like Jesus and the church. When a husband and wife turn their focus from their spouse’s sin to the amazing grace of God toward their own sin, now the spouse’s sin doesn’t seem so big. Certainly not too big to cover with love. To forgive. Any true Christian spouse should be really good at forgiving and moving on. “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13 ESV).

Marriage is nakedness in many ways. There’s no hiding marital ache and this is why that reality is a blessing. It forces our noses in our problems and we share the bed every night with the source of the conflict. There’s no escape and that’s a good thing. Will my marriage by justified or not? If so, it’s because we live daily with the awareness that God has forgiven me way more than I’ll ever have to forgive my spouse.

Steve DeWitt 1/4/21 Steve DeWitt 1/4/21

Family Math: Division

By Steve DeWitt

The Stages of Peacemaking

Bear with it

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13 ESV)

What do we bear with for the sake of peace? The little daily annoyances, personality traits, and preference matters. They don’t rise to the level of calling for a peace summit. When we make a big stink out of an insignificant thing we come across as petty, which only makes actual peace harder. What should we do with the non-sin idiosyncrasies everybody has? Do to others as you would have them do to you. Do you want peace summit level inquisition about your quirks? Every single person has qualities that require the people around them to simply bear with them. Bearing in love is good, especially when people bear with us.

Sometimes in conflict or disagreement, this requires us to just agree to disagree. Bear with their opinion or preference. It’s a broken world. We don’t all agree. Let’s go on for Jesus.

Cover it

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Now we are on the level of actual sin or more serious offense. Wrongs done to us. If we have to confront and reconcile every sin we notice in anyone, we will be full-time sin inspectors. Yet Jesus said if we want to be inspecting sin full-time, we should inspect our own sin full-time.

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)

I have called this stretchy love; the kind of love that stretches and can cover in the sense that it has a posture of grace toward the failures of others. God is gracious toward my sin. When I see a selfish spirit in a family member, OK, my posture toward that sin is to cover it with grace and leave it to God. This calls us to be slow to anger. Slow to annoyance.

When should I cover it and when should I confront it? Is this offense hindering our relationship? Am I able to place it in a mental category where I’m free to love and share with this person? If not, then it calls for the next step in peacemaking.

Confront it

This is active peacemaking. Passive aggressiveness kicks in and our instinct is to withdraw when what we really need to do is engage. Time doesn’t allow an exposition of Matthew 18 and what Jesus says. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15)

We unfortunately see that as a church discipline text when 99% of the time it’s a guide to peacemaking in relationships. Go to the person and point out the fault. Obviously, this is not permission to be obnoxious or holier than thou. We go to make peace. Peacemaking is both an attitude and an action. We go to reconcile the relationship by reconciling the offense.

This requires winsomeness and wisdom, but don’t let that keep you from doing it. We all should realize that when someone comes to us to be a peacemaker they are showing how important our relationship is. Passive aggressive demeans the value by being unwilling to do the hard work peace requires.

If this is relational conflict, it’s rare that one person bears 100% of the fault. In reconciling, own up and confess your part, even if it’s only 1% contribution. Confess the 1% before talking about their 99%. It makes it safer for the other person to own their percentage.

Tone and timing are hugely helpful. I know this is your wedding day, but can we talk about the swirly you gave me in 3rd grade? That’s an example in the extreme. The goal is to win them back. To restore relational warmth. When and how we say what we say is so important. Pray and ask God to help you. Let’s not ignore the role of prayer in reconciliation.

Choose to not remember it/hold it against

This is the final step. What does it mean to reconcile and forgive? I wish we could eliminate “forgive and forget” from our vernacular. That’s helpful as it insinuates moving on, which is a great quality to have. However, God doesn’t forget our sins. He is all-knowing. What does God do? He chooses not to remember them. He chooses not to hold them against us anymore.

When we say, I forgive you, we are saying three things:

I will not hold this against you anymore
I will not hold it against you to others
I will not hold it against you in my heart anymore.

To get to this, we have to frame this as forgiveness, not just “I’m sorry.” Peacemaking requires the offending party to ask, “Will you forgive me?” and the offended party to express, “I do forgive you.” Now the stinger is out, and healing can begin.

Things happen that you’ll never technically forget. What can happen is, over time, I choose daily not to dwell on it against you. Eventually, it’s not the first thing or the second thing I think about when I see you or think about you. The negative can be replaced with the positive. That’s a great key to overcoming offenses—consciously remind yourself of positive experiences and positive qualities the person has. This creates gratitude and eventually appreciation for the person.

Too many times conflict is viewed as something that will always define the relationship. I’ll never get over this. This will always be a thing between us. Hear me. Only if you choose to. The gospel applied horizontally allows for the worst offenses to be forgiven and peace to be restored.

Here it is winter in Northwest Indiana. Potholes are appearing everywhere. What’s the difference between a pothole and the Grand Canyon? In Northwest Indiana, not that much. Actually, the answer is obvious. Both are holes. One you drive over and you go on. The other you drive into and you never get out.

By God’s grace, conflict in families can be potholes; bumps in the road if we follow these biblical principles of peacemaking. Are you a peace-faker or a peacemaker? Remember, you’re a sinner in a family of sinners. Keep the bar of expectation realistic and see others through the lens of the gospel. Christian, it is the lens of grace and peace through which God has promised to look at you forever.

Steve DeWitt 12/7/20 Steve DeWitt 12/7/20

Advent Reading Guide - To You, From Above

By Bethel Church

To You, From Above

It’s hard to think of Christmas without thinking of gifts. If you close your eyes and think back to your earliest memories of Christmas, perhaps there’s a tree, some family, a hazy detail of food. Most likely, though, you can remember clear as day the feeling of excitement when you discovered a gift had your name on it.

By Bethel Church

DOWNLOAD YOUR ADVENT READING GUIDE FOR FREE HERE

To You, From Above

We call this feeling, “nostalgia.” It’s the feeling we have when we recall fond memories of past moments in life. Strangely, nostalgia was first observed and named by an army doctor in the 17th century who noticed troops unable to function because they were yearning for the comforts of home. Using two Greek words, nostos (to return home) and algos (pain), he dubbed their condition nostalgia: the longing to go back home.

It’s fitting that our memories of Christmas are classified as nostalgia. Because of all the gifts that we consider at Christmas, the gift of Jesus Christ is the only gift that has the power to bring us to our true home. Embedded within our memories of the season is a longing for this gift that brings us home. Jesus is the gift that moves us. The prophets in the Old Testament foretold the coming Messiah who would move God’s people back home. The Psalms celebrate the God who comes down to earth. The Gospels record the miraculous truth that God wrapped himself in flesh, lived among us, and died on a Roman cross so that we might be moved from death to life, from darkness to light, from blindness to sight, and from guilt to freedom. Of course, the ultimate movement that the gift of Jesus offers us is the movement from earth to glory. Jesus came from heaven to earth, so that we might one day be with him in glory. We can move from death to life only because he came from heaven to earth. To us, from above.

May you cherish the wonder of God born to us this season,

The Pastors of Bethel Church

Download the Advent Reading Guide Here

© 2020 by Bethel Church. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 12/3/20 Steve DeWitt 12/3/20

Money, a Little Man, and Jesus

By Steve DeWitt

If Christ was already supreme in eternity past, what did his actions for us do to magnify his supremacy?

By Steve DeWitt

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. (Luke 19:1-3 ESV)

Here is the infamous Zacchaeus. Luke includes three details about him. First, he was a chief tax collector. This is important to the story. The Romans financed their empire through a vast network of taxes which required there to be local employees of Rome who collected those taxes; the Roman IRS. The rules were loose regarding what the tax collectors could exact and this led to such widespread corruption that tax collectors were considered the very bottom of the social barrel. They were essentially thieves and traitors. Why? They worked directly for imperial Rome. They took money from the Jews to give to the Romans.

Second, tax collectors became personally very wealthy as they played favorites, worked deals under the table, could punish whomever they liked, and skimmed money off the top. All of the taxes were collected through three hubs in Israel: Capernaum, Jerusalem, and Jericho. Presumably, nearly one-third of all the taxes collected in the whole nation passed through Zacchaeus’ fingers. Think Jon Gotti or Tony Soprano. He was the head of the cartel and he didn’t get to his position because of his perfect Sunday school attendance. Zacchaeus was ambitious, greedy, corrupt, and a traitor to his own people.

The last detail that Luke adds is his height. He was small in stature; vertically challenged. When there is a huge crowd on a flat surface, you can’t see. Zacchaeus didn’t become the head of the tax cartel without being a resourceful guy.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. (Verses 4-6)

There is so much raw human experience here. We don’t know Zacchaeus’ spiritual background. He was a Jew, so presumably he was raised in proper Jewish teachings. Yet, he was clearly a fraud and a thief. However, John the Baptist ministered near Jericho and he may have heard him preach. He may have heard of Jesus’ miracles. Clearly, there was a spiritual curiosity or stirring in his heart. We see it in his actions. He wanted to see Jesus. He “ran” ahead. That’s not the kind of dignified action of a wealthy aristocrat. He “climbs a tree.” I am going to guess all of us have climbed a tree in our lives. Do you see a lot of adults up in trees? No. I don’t think it’s too hard to understand this man’s personal pain.

Long ago he sold his soul to power and money. His greed was greater than his patriotism and greater than his moral sensibilities. The temptation to financial gain was so powerful to him that he gave up his standing as a Jew and a citizen, and he probably lost his family and friends. Who brings cookies or hangs out at the tax collector’s house? Yet he was very wealthy and powerful. So think big house, lots of money, no friends, lonely. And as we all know, money doesn’t buy you happiness.

So for a man like this, he may be thinking, “Who cares if I run? Who cares if I climb a tree? The Jerichonians hate my guys anyway so why put on airs?” But he wanted very much to see Jesus.

The text says that Jesus walks by that sycamore tree, looks up, and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for I must stay at your house today.” (Verse 5) The emphasis of the Greek word “must” is surprisingly strong. He’s not saying, “I’d like to,” he’s saying, “I have to.” It’s as if Jesus wasn’t passing through Jericho randomly but actually went to Jericho to meet the chief tax collector and to stay at his house.

Zacchaeus is overjoyed. I wonder how long it had been since anyone wanted to come to his house. Yet, this Jesus who everyone was talking about and seeking an audience with, wants to spend time with Zacchaeus. He received Jesus “joyfully.”

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Verse 7)

This is important to Luke’s purpose in telling the story. The crowd understands the significance of this. Zacchaeus is a notorious man and criminal in their eyes. He was the worst sinner in town. Yet, of all the people crowding around him, Jesus chooses the traitor in the tree as the person he wants to be with. Jesus will say why in a moment.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Verses 8-10)

Zacchaeus’ words are shocking. First he stands. There is a formality here. An official statement. Zacchaeus has something to get off his chest. He confesses his sin and makes two vows as signs of his repentance. First, he gives to the poor half of everything he has. Remember, Zacchaeus was a man who had a lot. This was no small commitment. Secondly, he says, “If I have defrauded…,” presumably he had defrauded many. He will pay it back times four. The law only required restitution plus 20%. Zacchaeus goes way beyond the law. Amazing what grace does with rules.

Jesus’ response is to declare that Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham, meaning he was a true son of faith. Then adds this, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Zacchaeus is held as an example of the kind of person Jesus came to save—a sinner who knows he is a sinner—not a person who is righteous in his own eyes, or looks down on sinners like the crowd did. Rather, Jesus came for the broken and spiritually shattered. I wonder how many years and how many nights Zacchaeus, in the privacy of his home, had cried out, “Is this all there is? I am rich! I am powerful! But I am so empty.” The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, meaning those who know their lostness and their need. Zacchaeus did.

How about you today? Can you resonate with ambitious Zacchaeus? And yet, the whole thing feels so empty. There must be something more! Would you climb a tree to maybe find what your soul is longing for?

Don’t misread this to say gifts to the poor and restitution save us. Salvation is entirely by faith in Jesus. Zacchaeus wasn’t saved because he made financial restitution any more than he was saved because he climbed the tree. Salvation came to Zacchaeus’ house because Jesus came to Zacchaeus’ heart. Like so many others who met Jesus, Zacchaeus was convinced that this man was utterly unique. He was the Messiah. God’s Savior to the world. Zacchaeus believed.

The power in this story is the effect this new relationship with Jesus had on Zacchaeus. Money had always been the real god of his life. To get it, he gave up friends, family, morals, and self-respect. Money was his obsession.

Does that sound familiar? Any echo in your own story? Of all the idols and gods in our culture, money reigns supreme. Not that it’s money itself. The Bible says money is neutral, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. (1 Timothy 6:10) For a sinner, money is so easy to love. It provides what we want. Security. Self-worth. A sense of superiority over others. Self-reliance. Zacchaeus would fit well in the American way of life. Ambitious. Materialistic. Craving money and status. While money is neutral, where money sits in our priorities reveals just who is our god. Jesus put it this way, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

There is only one throne in the human heart. Something or somebody has to reign. His whole life, money reigned on the throne of Zacchaeus’ heart. Until one day, when Jesus came into town. What happened that day in Zacchaeus’ heart was a spiritual revolution. Money had always been his king and god. But Jesus reached out to him. Went to his house. Spoke with him about his spiritual condition. And his words and life were so transformational and wonderful, how could he live for money anymore? With eyes of faith and by the power of God through Jesus in his heart, money was out and Jesus became his treasure, his worship, his Savior, and God.

How do we know that? Look at what happens to the old idol money. He uses it to right past wrongs and he freely gives it away to meet the needs of others.

“Half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) When greedy people become generous, something radical has happened. When drug abusers throw their drugs away and sexual idolaters throw their porn away and tax collectors give back money, something radical has happened. When a new affection takes over, the old idol becomes disposable.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 11/30/20 Steve DeWitt 11/30/20

On Mission with (My) Money

By Steve DeWitt

If Christ was already supreme in eternity past, what did his actions for us do to magnify his supremacy?

By Steve DeWitt

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

This is part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. His sermon begins in chapter 5 and goes through chapter 7 and addresses so many of the misperceptions of genuine faith at that time. The people were probably bewildered because it’s almost like Jesus is playing “the opposite game” with them. He is teaching the opposite of most of what they were taught at the time: they believed the act of adultery was wrong, but not the thoughts. They thought you must love your neighbor, but not your enemy. And here was a big one: material wealth and accumulation was a sign of God’s blessing. You may recall Jesus befuddling the disciples when he said it was hard for a rich man to be saved. They had been taught the rich were “in” as their riches were a sign of God’s acceptance. So the culture was materialistically oriented as a sign of God’s blessing. It’s kind of a first century version of the present health and wealth heresy taught on TV today. The more they had, the more they accumulated, the more they thought they had divine blessing.

Jesus here says the opposite. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. This may seem kind of harsh or monkish to us Americans where keeping up with the Joneses is a national obsession. Jesus, why are you raining on our party? We live in the richest country in the history of the world! Why can’t we have heaven and earth too? Jesus says, because having earth is a mirage.

Every Material/Financial Resource I Have/Keep is Fleeting/Passing Away

“…where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19)

Jesus’ financial advice here is as relevant as ever. Money and investments and capital assets are all subject to risk. He says moth and rust destroy. We call this depreciation. The house breaks down. The valued car gets old. Everything new and shiny eventually gets old and rusty. If it doesn’t change, our perspective about it does.

I remember when the first iPhones came out. There was so much buzz about them and those who had one thought it was the coolest thing ever. People would ask to see it and hold it. To have a smartphone meant you were a smart person and really hip…until the iPhone 5 came out. The same person who just a day before the iPhone 5 release said, “This iPhone 4 is so cool!” the day the iPhone 5 came out, looked at his iPhone 4 and thought, This is a piece of junk! Did the iPhone 4 change in 24 hours? No. What changed? I did.

The cars, the house, the clothes, the status symbols we value are constantly changing. The moth of decay and the rust of time show that what I have and value is in a perpetual state of depreciation.

On top of that, thieves break in and steal. My possessions are constantly at risk. The government is constantly taxing it. The unscrupulous investment manager mismanages it. Other forms of loss can take it at any time. Houses flood and stocks tumble.

So in just a few words, Jesus describes the futility of hoarding and accumulating money and the things money can buy. All of it is constantly at risk. Proverbs says it can sprout wings and suddenly fly away (Proverbs 23:5). Laying up treasures on earth and living for them is incredibly short-sighted. The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man gives the ultimate reason—death comes to all of us and then what comes of all our earthly treasures?

We could spend some time on what a “laying up treasures on earth” lifestyle would look like. What do you think? Let me take a stab at it. Meaning and happiness would be generally derived from how things are going financially. Everything would be monetized and prioritized based on whether or not it increases my financial status. People who help me get there, I love. People or activities or ministries that don’t, I avoid. Since self-worth is financial, I resent or envy those with more money, bigger houses, or nicer cars than me and especially so if I think they think they are worth more than me. Family is inconvenient and children are liabilities. And don’t even talk to me about a building program at the church…. Am I close? That sounds like a real quality disciple of Jesus, doesn’t it?

This is why we have to see that Jesus loves us enough to point us from a life lived for the superficial to a life of eternal meaning and impact.

Every Material/Financial Resource I Give is Mine Forever

This sounds a little like an oxymoron. What I keep I lose but what I give I keep? Exactly. That’s the way it works. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

In verses 25-34, he goes on to address the central issue that keeps us from living and giving for eternity—trust. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25) He points out the birds and the flowers which don’t sow or harvest yet have all they need because God provides it. When our trust is in God, it frees us from fear and frees us to “seek first the kingdom of God.” (verse 33) Jesus says, Lay up treasures in heaven. What are these?

Eternal Treasure = God’s rewards to us individually for our faithful service and sacrificial giving to Him.

This is why Jesus adds this, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (verse 21) Money is spiritual. What we do with it is a greater spiritual indicator than anything else—more than preaching, evangelism, Bible study, etc. Money and what we do with our money is so spiritual that Jesus indexes our hearts and spiritual condition to how we handle it. That’s strong and it may be uncomfortable for us, but realize that it was uncomfortable in that culture too. Our issue is that we try to separate what we do with our money from our spirituality. So I can think I am doing really well spiritually, sing the songs about Jesus as Lord, be in my small group, regularly attend church, be viewed as a devout Christian and quietly NOT invest in any substantive way in God’s work. How we handle our money smokes out the spiritual pretenders and posers. When God has our hearts, he has our pocketbooks as well.

This is why it’s so helpful. I can’t see my heart but I can see my checking account; it provides me with one objective, measurable indicator of what I really love. That’s why Jesus talked about money more than heaven and hell combined. Think through your balance statement, what does it indicate?

Was this not the point of the widow and her two mites (Luke 21)? Jesus was at the temple and watching the rich drop their heavy bags of gold into the giving boxes. Boom. BOOM. Wow! Big gift! Then he sees a widow and, as God, he knows her total net worth is two mites—less than a cent. And she drops those two small coins in. Plink. Plink. He calls the disciples over and says, “Did you see that? She gave more than anyone else.”

“Jesus, your math is off….”

“No, your math is off. I know what she has and she gave more than anyone else.” Her heart and her faith showed in her generosity.

Over the years, as I have spoken on money, it seems to me that there are generally two kinds of responses. People are either upset about it or are humbled by it. I can talk about almost anything else and it is warmly received. But people weird out about money and I have to think that the reason is that we love it so much. We don’t want it connected to our faith.

“Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man’s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index of a man’s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man’s character and how he handles money.” (Richard Halverson)

Take a look at your emotions even as you read this. What do your feelings possibly reveal about how important money and the keeping of it are to you?

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt is senior pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, a host of the media/radio ministry The Journey, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two girls.

Steve DeWitt 11/15/20 Steve DeWitt 11/15/20

The Foolish Rich Man

By Steve DeWitt

In Luke 12:13-21 we see a familiar and contemporary struggle – a family fighting over inheritance money. My extended family has had a drama like this. Maybe you can relate.

“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

By Steve DeWitt

In Luke 12:13-21 we see a familiar and contemporary struggle – a family fighting over inheritance money. My extended family has had a drama like this. Maybe you can relate.

In this parable, Jesus describes a man who is living the American dream. He has had a windfall crop; so much grain that he doesn’t know what to do with it all. In our world, our company is bought out and we get a windfall. A stock we own goes through the roof. The point is that here is a man who suddenly is rich toward earth. Notice what he’s thinking and what he’s not thinking. He’s not thinking, What good can I do with this? Who can I help? How can I give back to God? His only thoughts are for himself. Eat, drink, be merry. Relax. Retire. Just sit back and count my money. He’s living the American dream.

But wait – there’s something he doesn’t see. He doesn’t realize that that very night is his last. Now what happens to all that money? Does he take it with him? What is it worth now?

Jesus calls him a fool, but realize why. It’s not because he was rich. The Bible never condemns the accumulation of wealth or financial success. It does condemn living for it and being foolish with it, which in this parable, is his failure to understand what real worth is. Death reveals the stupidity of his life.

Is anyone out there being stupid? Is there anyone out there who Jesus would point to and call a fool? Is anyone out there assessing things like the rich man, living so foolishly merely for the here and now? “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20)

The answer to that question is, NOT his. It seems about every week there is some successful person in our culture who dies. This week it’s Hall of Famer Gary Carter. Last week it was Whitney Houston. Steve Appleton of Micron Tech died in a plane crash…Etta James…Joe Paterno. Every week someone rich and famous dies. Remember I said that for whomever it is this week.

What do you think about when you hear it? I often think about what the death moment is like for someone who has lived in luxury and fame. What is it like to go from that to being face to face with God? To be suddenly ushered into an eternal destiny? Eternal life or death? Heaven or hell? To look at your life from the perspective of eternity and what could have been. As Ryle said, “Hell is truth discovered too late.” How many millions must there be in eternity thinking, “What a fool I was!”?

May I ask you, are you laying up treasure in heaven? Are you rich toward God?

To hear the message of this excerpt in its entirety,

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 11/4/20 Steve DeWitt 11/4/20

The Eighth Command: The Generous Life

By Steve DeWitt

The Generosity of God Seen in Salvation

“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15 ESV)

The gospel is the exact opposite of stealing. Not only does God not steal, he gives to the undeserving. Jesus gave by emptying himself of the glorious privileges that were his as God. This includes his humiliation in becoming human. Not only did God become one of us, but he gave his very life for us. Romans 8:32 says, “[God] did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.”

By Steve DeWitt

The Generosity of God Seen in Salvation

“You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15 ESV)

The generosity of God is most evident to us in salvation:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:4-8)

Both of these emphasize the generosity of God to us through Jesus. The gospel is the exact opposite of stealing. Not only does God not steal, he gives to the undeserving. Jesus gave by emptying himself of the glorious privileges that were his as God. This includes his humiliation in becoming human. Not only did God become one of us, but he gave his very life for us. Romans 8:32 says, “[God] did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.”

The picture at Golgotha is so very poignant to the eighth command. There were three crucified on crosses. The one in the middle was Jesus. What crime had those on this right and left committed? They were thieves. We don’t know what they took but they must have defrauded in a substantial way to be sentenced to death for doing so. On the right, was a thief; a taker. On the left was a thief; a taker. In the middle is the one who created everything and owns everything, yet on the middle cross is the greatest giver of all time. Two takers and one giver.

This is love. Hate robs and steals. Love is not simply the absence of taking but the presence of self-giving. Remember, every negative command has a corresponding positive one. When is a thief no longer a thief? “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28 NIV)

When is a thief no longer a thief? Not simply when he doesn’t shoplift or cheat on his taxes but when the taker becomes a giver. Not only does he stop taking what others have, but he isn’t selfish with what he does have. In this we reflect the very character of God, not as a taker but as a giver.

We are all thieves and robbers. We rob God of his glory every day. We take. We scheme. We rob God of his right as our Creator to rule our lives. We live for money and things and lie and cheat to get them. We steal from him in some way every day. Yet in the midst of our stealing from him, he gives grace to us. He gives and he gives and he gives. Thieves can be saved if they will believe and turn from their sin. Exhibit A is the thief on the cross:

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’” (Luke 23:39-43 ESV)

The eighth command, like all the others, condemns us. But thieves can be saved by the lavish generosity of our self-giving God in Christ, if you will believe. Beware: God turns takers into givers.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 9/8/20 Steve DeWitt 9/8/20

The Supremacy of Christ

By Steve DeWitt

If Christ was already supreme in eternity past, what did his actions for us do to magnify his supremacy?

By Steve DeWitt

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:15–20 ESV).

Why Was This Necessary?

If Christ was already supreme in eternity past, what did his actions for us do to magnify his supremacy?

Whenever we talk about the Trinity, many people check out and say, I can’t understand it all so I don’t want to think about it. Yet we don’t do that with other things. We don’t look at the ocean and say, because I can’t see all of it, I won’t enjoy any of it. Or if I can’t see all the sky I won’t enjoy the sunset. Can we understand all the mysteries of the Trinity or trinitarian purposes? No. But there is so much that we can see, and it is beautiful. Here is one dimension God allows us to see and understand.

What was pre-incarnation like for Christ? Glory. Infinite glory emanating from him. His character was absolutely perfect in every way. However, Christ had glories or attributes to his character that were known only to the Father and had never had an opportunity to be expressed or worshiped.

The depth of his love had never been displayed as there had never been enemies to love
The extent of his obedience had never been known because there was no context where he chose to suffer in his obedience.
His power and creative imagination had not had an opportunity to be seen like a master painter without a canvas or brush
His mercy – there were never people who deserved one thing and got another
His compassion for the pain and suffering of others
His wisdom and teaching
His capacity for friendship and relationship even with those infinitely less than he

“So that in everything he might have the supremacy” (v. 18 NIV). So why was all of this necessary? Why all of creation and all of salvation and the saga of the billions of people who have ever lived and all the triumphs and tragedies of human history? Why was all this done? So that the Son would be glorified in all of his perfections and for all his glorious beauty.

So, God the Father (verse 9), acting according to the mystery of his will, purposed in Christ to display the “firstness” of Christ, his preeminence. His supremacy.

This means Christ isn’t worth more on the other side of his resurrection or even after his second coming; he had always been the infinitely valuable Son of God. But his worth and glory was now displayed in a new and beautiful way for which he can be praised.

It’s like The Antique Road Show. You’ve seen this. People bring something that’s been laying around in their attic. They dust it off and clean it up. They shine the spotlights on it, and they get the experts there and they examine the detail of the painting or embroidery and they declare, “This piece is worth $30,000!” Everybody oohs and aahs and heads for their attic to see what might be up there.

Was that antique worth more after the appraisal? No. It was already valuable in the attic. For years that thing had sat in their attic and been valuable. It wasn’t suddenly more valuable when the appraiser declares its worth than it was a few hours before in the attic. It’s just that now it is on display before the world as being a treasure.

The incarnation was God bringing the Son out of the attic. His miracles and teaching and life were the Father fixing his lights on the Son. And the cross was God dusting off the Son and showing him to the world for how beautiful he had always been. To be admired and seen in all of his glory. And now we ooh and ahh at him. And all of it was done for the praise of his glory, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

To hear the message of this excerpt in its entirety, click here

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 7/4/20 Steve DeWitt 7/4/20

Freedom and Life in the Holy Spirit

By Steve DeWitt

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 ESV)

Here are two motivations with two very different results. The flesh leads to death. Yes, physical death, but even in life the flesh-led life is a kind of dying. Death is separation and distortion of who we were made to be. Sin takes us further and further from God’s good purposes and blessings. Sin is a long path away from God.

By Steve DeWitt

Freedom and Life in the Holy Spirit

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 ESV)

I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures of aging rock stars. They don’t look good. Drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll hollow out your life. The local paper posts pictures of recent arrests. Theft, domestic violence, drugs, etc. The people in those photos look terrible. Why? Sin is a journey further and further from ourselves made in the image of God.

But the Spirit-led life is the opposite. It draws us closer to God. It renews our humanity. It resurrects us to who we were made to be and directs our lives in the direction of spiritual priorities.

Paul isn’t exhorting Christians to live by the Spirit (although he does elsewhere). What he is saying in Romans 8 is that true Christians do. Why? We’ve been set free by God. We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God is actively doing a work in our lives. He set us free in justification and he is in the process of setting us free from all the sinful ways of thinking and living. As Stott points out, “Thus God justifies us through his Son and sanctifies us through his Spirit.”[1]

This new life is by the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, we can neither understand the gospel nor live it out. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

The story is told of famous British politicians William Wilberforce and William Pitt. In the decades following the American Revolution, they were close friends. It was quite a power friendship as today both have statues in their honor in Westminster Abbey. Pitt was Prime Minister of Britain at age 24. Wilberforce was a devoted Christian. Pitt was a cultural Christian. Wilberforce had a preacher he desperately wanted Pitt to hear. Pitt finally went with him. The whole sermon Wilberforce basked in the truth. When it was done, Pitt said to Wilberforce, “You know Wilberforce, I had not the slightest idea what that man has been talking about.”

Perhaps you are William Pitt today. None of this makes any sense. It certainly doesn’t thrill you nor does it interest you. Why? Has God the Holy Spirit taken a hold of the core of your life? Is your life separation from God or movement toward God? Death or life and peace?

Without the Holy Spirit, the gospel doesn’t do anything.

A few weeks ago, on one of these really cold nights, Jennifer called me. She was by the mall on Highway 30. She said, “The van’s battery is dead. It won’t turn over at all.” OK. I said, “We have jumper cables in the van, could anyone give you a jump?” A couple was walking past, and she asked them to help. They said yes. She called me back, “It still isn’t working.” OK. I gathered the daughters and we headed up there confident. No problem. I’m the husband. I got this. I pulled our car up, hooked up the cables. Nothing. We let it charge. It’s getting dark. Still nothing. Did I mention it was cold out? I said, “I think we need to go to AutoZone and get a new battery.” So, we did.

The manager said, “Before you buy a new battery, how about I look at it?” Now that’s customer service. I’m now a big fan of AutoZone on Highway 30. He drove over and hooked up the cables. Gave it a try. Nothing. Dead. He took our battery out and we went back to the store. Their computers were down, and they said, “You have to pay cash.” Who has $130 cash on them? Not us. What do you do? I called an elder in our church who brought the money up. Bought the new battery. The manager went with us back to our van. Hooked it up. Guess what happened? It immediately turned over and started.

I was so moved by the manager’s help I offered him some of the elder’s money as a thank you. He declined. So, let’s all do business with AutoZone on 30 by the mall. Great people.

What’s the point? The unbeliever is the van with a dead battery. All our attempts to make it work couldn’t make it work. You can have Billy Graham on the TV 24/7, put verses up all around the house, and keep the car radio on Moody. The battery is totally dead. Humans can’t jump start the dead human heart.

But God can. How did God set us free? He didn’t try to resuscitate our old nature. He didn’t try to energize our flesh and make it go. That’s why William Pitt had no idea what the preacher was talking about and explains why you may have no idea what I am talking about.

What’s needed? You need a new battery. You need a new heart. You need what only God can give you. You need the Holy Spirit who gives life and brings peace. Repent of your sin and trust in Jesus. When you do, you get a new battery. The core of our lives is directionally changed from flesh and self and sin toward God and truly a whole new life. Where are you today?

You may say, I’m really not sure. Galatians is another letter by Paul which helpfully shows the difference between a life directionally led by the flesh and a life directionally led by the Spirit.

Get this, Paul is not urging unbelievers to try and show these fruits in their lives. It won’t happen! It would be like me urging my van to start with a dead battery.

This passage is both an explanation and an exhortation for sinners to turn in faith to Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. The net effect is a Spirit-led life whose ongoing reality is life and peace.

“Deliverance from the tyranny of sin, effected through the atoning work of Christ, as an experienced ongoing reality, is the work of the indwelling, life-giving Spirit.”[2] (Gordon Fee)

Freedom. Freedom not to sin. Freedom not to live motivated by sin but by Spirit. One kills. The other gives life. One empties my humanity. The other restores and renews. Indwelling sin or indwelling Spirit? Which is the controlling principle of your life?

[1] John Stott, The Message of Romans, p. 219.

[2] Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, p. 528.

To hear the message of this excerpt in its entirety, click here

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 6/3/20 Steve DeWitt 6/3/20

When We’ve Been Wronged

By Steve DeWitt

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17–21 ESV).

“Heap burning coals on their head.” It is debated what this means, but in context it must mean that kindness instead of vengeance exposes the other person’s hatred even more starkly. This may lead them to shame or remorse and even reconciliation.

By Steve DeWitt

Don’t Seek Vengeance; Do be Kind to Your Enemy

Two quick examples. I have counseled brokenhearted women whose boyfriend broke up with them to be nothing but kind. If instead she turns into a crazy woman and chooses to slander him to anyone who will listen, sends him hate texts, and threatens to sue him, he lays in bed and thinks, I made the greatest decision of my life. If she is kind to him, kind to his mother, and thanks him for the time they had together, he lays in bed every night and thinks, I have made the worst decision of my life. Burning coals.

I have a dear friend who had a key staff member that totally stabbed him in the back. They had a major falling out. It wasn’t pretty. Sometime later my friend took his family to a nice restaurant in the area. A little later this former staff member came in with his family and sat in another part of the same restaurant. My friend finished his meal. He paid for his meal and also quietly paid for the former staff member’s meal and left. What did that former staff member think as he realized the generous kindness from his detractor?

That is the power of loving our enemies. And isn’t this how God has treated us? Before you say, it’s wrong to not repay evil for evil, was God wrong when he loved us, his enemies? Was God weak when he gave Jesus hell instead of us? Our whole faith is built on God NOT repaying evil for evil. Instead, he met our spiritual hunger with the gospel of Jesus. He quenched our spiritual thirst with eternal water of eternal life.

How did God overcome evil? He overcame evil with the infinite good of his sovereign grace and sovereign love given freely to us by faith in Jesus.

What situation might God be calling you to apply this to this week? Who has wronged you that you could extend kindness to? Why don’t you pray about that and ask God what he would have you do?

To hear the message of this excerpt in its entirety, click here

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 5/18/20 Steve DeWitt 5/18/20

Loneliness Has Been My Faithful Friend

By Steve DeWitt

While most will remember this year for a virus, many also will remember the emotional pandemic of isolation and social distancing. The effect in the human heart is an emotion we call loneliness. In one recent survey, 44 percent of respondents said they are now lonelier than they’ve ever been. With all the closures, cancellations, and stay-home orders, it’s no wonder why.

By Steve DeWitt

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Nine years ago, I was in my early forties, and still single. As a senior pastor in a large church, my life was a swirl of people. And yet I went home to a quiet house every night. I was not only lonely in a crowd, but lonely while pastoring a crowd. At the time, I wrote an article about what years of unwanted loneliness were teaching me about God. I heard from many readers who resonated with my experience. One reader was a single woman in Kansas City. We had mutual friends who had sent her the article. A year later, we married.

This past decade has allowed me to consider loneliness more through my long-term singleness, but now also through my years of marriage and parenting. Am I still lonely? Yes, and I’m glad that I am.

Glad to Be Lonely

You’re glad you still feel lonely? Yes. What a relief to find I am made for much more than a wife and children. This may seem like inverted thinking, but then again Jesus often does that when he teaches, inverting our normal human perspective. Growing in our faith is largely the art of renewing and re-forming life, values, and experiences as God intended them.

This brings us to the pandemic of human loneliness. Clearly, loneliness is a result of sin. Adam and Eve were made for perfect harmony with God and each other. Sin brought alienation from both. When God asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), what Adam sensed inside was a painful chasm and response: “God, where are you?” Like him, we often don’t know just how much we have till it’s gone. Adam felt a painful surge of vertical emotional emptiness; harmony with God was gone. The Adam and Eve marital blame game quickly revealed horizontal harmony had also vanished (Genesis 3:12–13).

Sin created loneliness, but we must realize loneliness itself isn’t a sin. In fact, loneliness can be a divine grace. Rightly understood, it can be both our friend and our guide.

Valley of Loneliness

Wisdom requires us to view loneliness inversely and respond to it rightly. For the couple of decades I lived alone, my loneliness seemed not like a friend, but like an enemy. It served to remind me of my past failures in relationships — relationships I had assumed would take this painful feeling away. Therein lies the lurking danger of loneliness: if it’s not your friend, it is likely a destructive adversary in your life. We all know people whose self-isolation is their coping mechanism for either the absence of relationships or the agony of relationships (Proverbs 18:1). For them, loneliness becomes a kind of canyon to live in instead of a valley to walk through.

While loneliness is easy to see in society’s recluses, most of us live in a general relational malaise hoping someone comes to take our loneliness away. To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, most people live lives of quiet desperation. With this pandemic, the quiet desperation in most homes is an even more lonely desperation.

How to Receive Loneliness

Loneliness is part of the inner architecture of our image-bearing. It acts like sensors in our car to tell us when something is missing — oil in the engine or air in the tires. We were made for God and for community with each other.

In this fallen creation, no human relationship will satisfy that longing fully. Our ability to be satisfied in God fully is impossible as well. Because of indwelling sin, our salvation is incomplete as we await glorified bodies and the fullness of joy in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11; 21:1). Till then, no matter our marital status, our circle of friends, our closeness with children and grandchildren, we will always be somehow lonely. My appeal as someone who has lived a long time both single and married, without children and with them, with a healthy church community and dear friends, is to see loneliness in this life as a kind of gift from God.

As hunger urges us to eat and thirst drives us to drink, loneliness presses us to a deeper and more authentic relationship with God and others. It drives us out of the gravitational pull of self-living toward relational self-giving. Rather than resenting loneliness, it will bless us if we see it as a God-placed incentive for human flourishing (Acts 20:35).

If I could talk to my old single self enduring another holiday alone at home, I would say, “You are putting too much hope in what a wife and family can provide.” I’m happily married. I love being a dad. But when we think our longings will be met if we only had this person or that relationship, we will respond to loneliness with destructive isolation and disappointment.

Let Pain Motivate You

Loneliness hurts. God embedded prickly reminders of how wonderful harmony with God and others is. The pain is a measure of the loss. Not all pain is bad. When I work out, the pain tells me I’m doing something good for me. It’s good pain. Loneliness can be good pain if I construe it rightly. What does that look like?

Loneliness creates internal energy. I can use that energy to brood in or resent my loneliness. Or I can take that energy and intentionally reach out with it. This requires discipline and self-control as my flesh urges self-destructive responses. Christians are blessed, by union with Christ and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to resist the flesh’s desire to weaponize loneliness (Romans 6:4; Galatians 5:16–17).

We really can make loneliness a weapon for positive change in our lives.

Turn Loneliness into Expectation

Over many years of singleness, I would secretly assume that I felt this internal pain because I was alone. I eventually realized there is often a big difference between being alone and being lonely.

Alone is the mathematical reality of one with no plus. When you are alone and lonely, it is easy to believe that a spouse, or family, or church family will drive loneliness away. My experience, however, echoes Scripture’s teaching that 1 + 1 ≠ the absence of loneliness. The common graces of marriage, family, sex, and children are very helpful in the daily struggle. Yet even the best moments of marriage and parenting and friendship always lack something; the moment of harmony passes too quickly. The warm feelings of care slip away. Human relationships ebb and flow. Even at their best, we sense that something is missing.

For this, we should rejoice. We should be glad to realize that the best of this life leaves us wanting something more, longer, and better. As wonderful as these earthly gifts are, the fact that they don’t satisfy makes God’s promises to fully satisfy us forever even more astounding. It means our joy in him and each other will be better, deeper, and yes, happier (Philippians 1:23). Every loneliness on earth is an internal confirmation that our greatest relational joys lie ahead of us. Absence should make the heart look forward.

This doesn’t blunt the pain of loneliness, but it does assure us that this pain is part of the fleeting and temporary world that is passing away (1 Peter 1:24–25). Our future is completely free of loneliness and filled with relational fullness far beyond what we can imagine. The next time loneliness shows up, thank God that your loneliness powerfully reminds you of the glory of what lies ahead for you with him.

This article by Steve DeWitt was originally published on desiringgod.org on May 17, 2020

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include The Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

Steve DeWitt 5/11/20 Steve DeWitt 5/11/20

The Key to Spiritual Gifts: Use Them!

By Steve DeWitt

Christian, hear this, you have at least one Spirit-granted, God-empowered gifting. God’s gifts are God’s call, which means he has a purpose for every one of us. This means every member of the church is critically important and the diversity of gifts tells us that no one person is too important. Pastor Steve, then what should I do?

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:6, emphasis added)

By Steve DeWitt

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:3–8 ESV)

The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts is Blessing and Serving Others in the Church

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

“To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12)

1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that incredible spiritual giftedness without love means nothing. Even if I have oratory equal to the ability of angels or if I cast out demons or move mountains, if I don’t have agape love as a quality in my character, I gain nothing. Love is the quintessential Christian quality. So, don’t be too impressed by spiritual gifts you see in others; that gift was given to them by the Holy Spirit. Be impressed by love, joy, and peace and strive to make this part of your life as well.

Here is an incredible truth:

Every Christian has a Spiritual Gift or Several Spiritual Gifts

You may be thinking, I must have been at the end of the line and God ran out of gifts because I don’t think I have one. Not only do you have one, you likely have several. When you think about it, it’s incredibly exciting. God is actively empowering his people to fulfill his mission and giving us the enablements we need.

So Christian, hear this, you have at least one Spirit-granted, God-empowered gifting. God’s gifts are God’s call, which means he has a purpose for every one of us. This means every member of the church is critically important and the diversity of gifts tells us that no one person is too important. Pastor Steve, then what should I do?

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” (Romans 12:6, emphasis added)

The emphasis in Scripture is surprisingly not on how to discover your spiritual gift, but on the necessity of using your spiritual gift. Why would that be?

In days gone by, discovering your spiritual gift was a bigger deal in local churches. There were spiritual gift surveys and lots of emphasis on finding your spiritual gift. Yet, the Bible gives no guidelines on how to do so. It just urges us to use them.

I take from this that discovering your spiritual gift is a lot like many things in life—you figure it out as you go. Author Kevin DeYoung summarizes this with his book title, Just Do Something!As we do something, as we serve, as we try this and that, there will be some categories we are drawn to. Areas where our service seems effective. Other church members will notice and tell you, that was great! Wow, you’re really good at that!

Do something. Get the wagon moving and let God steer it. As God blesses, take that as the yellow brick road. It likely will bless you in doing it, but don’t take your personal enjoyment of it as a key indicator. I’ve had too many church members strangely enjoy things they are not good at. Spiritual gifts bless, equip, and sustain others.

One final word here because some of you may feel motivated but still unsure of a direction to serve. This might give you some indication of your gifting. Here we are in this extraordinary time of quarantine. What about the community life of our church are you missing the most? I can’t wait to get back to _____________. What you are missing might be your gifting.

What are you doing the most these days? Think in spiritual categories. Eating Cheetos is not a spiritual gift. What has emerged in you through all this? How are you serving others? For some it’s words and speech. You are calling people. Praying with people. Writing notes of encouragement. Blogging. You are serving with words. Others, you haven’t called and prayed with anyone, but you’ve organized meals down the whole block. You’ve mowed the old lady’s lawn next door and came home with a smile on your face. In times of crisis, our giftings can shine through.

As you serve, your gifts will become evident. If you wait to do anything until you know how God has gifted you, you will wait a long, long time.

© 2020 by Steve DeWitt. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include the Journey (theJourney.fm) or Bethel Church (www.bethelweb.org) website address on the copied resource.

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