“It Tastes Awful. And it Works.”

February 26, 2025.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
-Isaiah 6:1-8 (NIV)

For some reason I’m finding a lot of people are sick with the flu or cold right now.  It shouldn’t be a surprise because we’re in the middle of cold/flu season.  Yes, it’s that time of year again when people are reaching into their medicine cabinet for their favourite/not-so-favourite medicine to combat all their cold/flu symptoms.  I don’t have a favourite per say, but I know what I don’t like: I hate the Buckley’s brand of cold/flu medicine with a passion!  I can’t stand that stuff!  Some of you may really like it, but I don’t and to each their own.  Give me peanut butter and banana on toast over Buckley’s cough and cold medicine!  Some of you already know I don’t like the combination of peanut butter and banana on bread too, so that should tell you something. 

I can’t comment on the effectiveness of Buckley’s, but they have a clear and direct slogan – “It tastes awful.  And it works.”  Every Buckley’s ad says that.  It truly tastes awful and that’s why I stay away from it.  However, the funny thing is I think of that ad and it reminds me of the effect of saving grace on sin.  God’s saving grace works – Through Jesus, saving grace absolutely saves whom God desires to save.  And because I’m now saved, I realize the taste of sin is absolutely awful!  Saving grace works and as an effect, it makes me realize that sin tastes awful (not that grace is awful, but it makes sin taste awful to a redeemed palate).  Sin tastes awful.  And saving grace works.

Moreover and as Christians, we must always reflect upon and check on our current relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  We must always take a pause and think about how distasteful our sinning is as a litmus test on how close we are with Jesus.  As we pursue closer to Jesus Christ, the natural effect of our relationship with him produces a deep disgust of our sinful nature.  As we get closer to Christ’s pure holiness, we recognize more and more just how unholy we are.  Consider Isaiah’s vision when he met God in Isaiah 6.  Isaiah’s immediate reaction upon meeting God was that of being completely unworthy, unholy, etc.  He actually says, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  (Isa. 6:5).  Isaiah was completely mortified and disgusted with his sinful self and the people around him.  His “woe is me” comment even describes a deep sorrow and despair.

Now it doesn’t state it in the text, but I would imagine that Isaiah even fell and bowed down with that reaction.  My wife once asked me, “If Jesus came what would your reaction be?”  I told her that If I absolutely knew it was the real Jesus Christ, I would bow down and have the reaction of Isaiah.”  And until that time comes and when Jesus comes back to fully redeem me, I thank God that he’s not done with me yet and I thank God I’m still reminded of what I was like before Jesus saved me.    The notion of what I was like before meeting Jesus Christ reminds me of how vile and putrid I was at one point, and how much further I need to be sanctified to be more Jesus Christ-like.  It’s like the analogy of the young child version of me loving sour gumballs, and now since my taste is refined as an adult, I question how I could ever love such disgusting, sugary orbs in the first place.  Now placing sour gumballs in my mouth just makes me spit them out upon instinct.  And as we mature in faith and sanctification, our instinctual reaction to sinful behaviour should be the same. 

Sure, I didn’t like who I was and I thank God I’m not that same person anymore, all thanks to the saving blood of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).  Because of the work of Jesus Christ, I realize I’m no longer a sinner, but a saint that sins (new creation).  I no longer live a defeated life, but I live a life in victory and in servitude to Jesus.  And in servitude I get more and more disgusted at myself and more and more I realize I have much more room to grow and to be more sanctified.  In other words, I’m constantly groaning! (Rom. 8:23).  In the case of Isaiah and because God is so holy, why didn’t God kill Isaiah on the spot?  Why didn’t God erase the memory of a life of painful sin from both the ones he caused and the ones others caused upon him?  We may not have all the answers, but the two comments from God should sum-up this encounter: “Your sin is atoned for” and “Whom shall I send?”  For us, our sins are atoned for by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I believe one reason why God doesn’t strike us down at any moment is because he’s asking us, “Whom shall I send?” 

There’s also a third comment I want to highlight in our text: “Here am I.  Send me!”  You see, everyday God doesn’t strike us dead in our tracks for being so unworthy and so unholy in the presence of the utmost holy God that he is, is a chance we get to respond to God with great honour and say, “Here am I.  Send me!”  Send me to the ends of the earth, send me to the nations, send me to my backyard and send me to do God’s work…period!  God gives you the chance NOW to serve him!  Make it count!  Do it unless you’re satisfied with the awful taste of sin, and in which case you feel no urge and no compelling to serve God, because you haven’t met Jesus yet! – Go and tell people of the gospel message.  Go and make disciples.  Go and serve him and only him!

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They May Hate You

February 19, 2025.

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
-John 15:18-27 (NIV)

It’s been a cold, windy and snowy February hasn’t it?  I’ve done a lot of snow shovelling and ice scraping, and I’m getting tired.  I keep watching the news and seeing rumblings of tariffs and disruptions for many regular people.  I’m not seeing real improvements on housing supply, food costs, crime rates, traffic, poverty, etc.  At this point, the last thing I want to deal with are haters.  In this lifetime the problem is, there will always be haters.  If you run to Australia, Bolivia, Congo, Israel, Antartica or anywhere else, you’re still going to face haters.  As a Christian we’d better come to the sobering reality that the world is actively working against Jesus Christ and his followers.  If you’re a Christian, this means the world is full of people that hate you!  Actually the world, the flesh and the devil are all working against you but I’ll save that concept for another time….

Have you ever wondered why some people always give you a hard time?  Have you always wondered why some people are just difficult to engage with when you’ve always treated them with high regard, respect and care?  Here’s the answer: such people hate you because you’re a Christian.  And I don’t have absolute proof, but I believe some of these people have a demon inside of them and they can sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in you.  Not all people against Jesus are demonically possessed, but in theory, many can be at any time.  Is it fair that many people hate you and give you a hard time? Absolutely not, but many people hate you because they hated Jesus first!  This is a great reminder that we don’t belong here in this world.  If we did, then this world wouldn’t give us problems.  Moreover, we’re outsiders to this world!  We’re aliens in the sense that we’re foreigners to this world and sojourners to this world, because our eternal citizenship is with Christ in his eternal kingdom (Phil. 3:20).

The reality is Jesus has convicted the world of sin and has provided the only way out of the consequences of sin (death, Rom. 6:23) through him, but the world and its people do not like to be reminded of living for Jesus Christ.  The analogy I sometimes give is as if though the whole world is at a giant costume party and everyone is having fun with beverages and loud music, just dancing the night away.  Everyone “plays make believe” where they wear masks that distort reality and believe the only importance is to be having fun, feeling good about themselves, enjoying themselves and each other.  Little do they know that the roof of the place is on fire with a raging inferno.  You then show-up at the party, run to the DJ and scratch/screech the record to stop the music.  Next, you grab the DJ’s microphone and yell, “Wake up!  The place is on fire!  You have to stop what you’re doing!  Follow me, let’s get out of here and live!  I’ll take you to the person that will give you safety and take care of you!”  Nobody wants to hear it!  Nobody wants to hear THE TRUTH!  Everyone at the party just wants to have fun, do as they please and they don’t believe what you’re saying.  The music keeps playing and people keep dancing, but the fire grows and curtains partially covering windows are now burning.  Sections of the ceiling collapse and burst in flames.  Everyone hates you for trying to stop all their fun and nobody sees the real and urgent danger but you!  Now do you see why you’re hated?  If you’re a Christian, you’re hated because you carry the word of God (the Truth found in scripture) and have the Holy Spirit in you (1 Cor. 6:19).  You’re hated because you are the direct ambassador for the life-giver and Saviour in Jesus Christ.  You’re hated because nobody wants to hear about the clear and urgent danger.  You’re hated because everyone wants to keep doing as they’ve always done.  You’re hated because nobody wants to change and nobody believes or cares about their actions being wrong.  You’re hated because the world hates the one who sent you – Jesus!

…but do you know the surprising thing to me about our text today?  In verse 25 it says,“They hated me without reason.”  I’m a very logical person and this bothers me.  I need a reason to understand situations.  I suppose the only explanation I can give is that God is complete and perfect order, contrasting Satan and the demons loving everything about disorder and chaos.  Satan, demons and all those against God are all agents of disorder and chaos.  Chaos has no reason or explanation…it simply is!

I hope and pray you never stop being an ambassador for Jesus.  I hope and pray you never stop running to the scene and helping to bring people to life giving safety (to Jesus), even if many don’t want to hear it.  Even if one or two are saved in all that you do, it’s worth it!   Be warned: you may be yelled at, insulted, looked down upon, spit upon, go bankrupt, lose all your friends, lose health, and even lose your lives (in martyrdom) for some of you, but to help bring others to Jesus Christ, it’s all worth it!  Remember, if you’re a Christian you’re an ambassador for Jesus, not for the world! They may hate you, but Jesus loves you!

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Justice or Just Us?

February 12, 2025.

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

-2 Peter 3:8-13 (NIV)

I think I shared a sermon recently when I mentioned at times, I like to watch videos of foolish criminals getting justice.  I recall there used to be a TV show called, “The World’s Dumbest Criminals”.  I can’t count how many times I laughed while watching these video compilations.  I recall seeing a video of a thief attempting to rob a fast-food restaurant but getting stuck in the opening of the drive-thru window.   I also recall a video showing a thief stalking a woman into a gym, only to find out the gym is full of black-belt martial artists that ultimately took down the thief.  These are just a few of these types of videos I watched.  Some of you might already be laughing reading these accounts.

I don’t know about you, but I love the concept of justice, and I want justice applied to criminals and immoral people swiftly.  Maybe I’m the only one, but there are times when I go through situations in life and wish certain people would end-up in jail right away or get punished quickly for some of the wrongs they’ve committed.  Perhaps if we think hard enough and if we’re honest, maybe we all felt that at times.  Surely if we look back at our lives, there are moments when some people really hurt us or we know of stories of people committing very heinous acts of harm upon others.  Let’s be honest here – I already talked to several of our church goers, and I think a lot of people are unhappy about what a certain leader south of the border is doing with trades, resources and tariffs!  And still there are others that would prefer our own provincial or national leaders would “do better”.  I’m guessing a lot of us want instance justice!

The problem I see is this:  do you think you’re any better?  Do you think, “Ohhhh, so and so is not like me and everyone else I know.  How can that person behave that way?  He or she is not like us!  That person is so wicked!”

Honestly, I hope for universal joy, peace and love.  I wish for no more crime, no more pain and no more suffering.  I wish everyone treated each other with the utmost dignity, humbleness, compassion, truth and grace.  And if you’re like me, at times you realize that the only true justice is God’s justice as he defines it, and at times you may realize that if God poured-out his divine justice, every one of us would be obliterated in an instant and immediately!

We’re completely depraved on our own, completely fallen into sin (Rom. 3:23) and none of us is perfect!  In this lifetime, we may never know all the harm that we knowingly or unknowingly have done upon ourselves and others.  In this lifetime, we may never know how many times and to what degree we never glorified our Lord and king!

Thank goodness our sense of justice is not fully Godly justice, because Godly justice is wrapped with Godly love and grace.  I personally think, “Thank goodness God doesn’t unleash his wrath upon me now and I thank God his timing and plan is perfect!”….but know this: God’s reign and justice is not slow, and his patience is not lacking!  When we read our text, I believe God eagerly awaits our repentance and eagerly desires our affection and trust.  And this is all a process!

Moreover, let’s not waste moments and actively and eagerly pursue righteous living!  Let’s continually ask upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change and convict us to be more Jesus Christ-like before it’s too late and before everything is “laid bare” or even “burned up” as some translations say (2 Peter 3:10).  Let’s continue to fix our eyes to our destination when we meet the new heaven and new earth – the place where God’s complete and perfect righteousness dwells.  If we fix our eyes on that and recognize the person beside me is not any better and that we all deserve God’s justice, I think our mindsets will be on the right track for positive and life transforming change! 

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By What Authority? (Part 2)

February 5, 2025.

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

-Acts 19:11-20 (NIV)

It’s amazing how many people are confused about who to follow and what to believe.  More amazing is the Bible is still the best-selling book of all time with an estimated sales of 5-7 billion copies sold and yet still people are confused about the authority of Jesus Christ, his Lordship and salvation only found through him.  When we go through scripture cover to cover and if we’ve ever done any decent research about the accounts and claims made about Jesus, it’s undeniable he is the one and only Son of God, his words are 100% true and he is the Saviour of the World.

Sadly, there has always been con artists, swindlers, deceivers and liars that bamboozle, hoodwink, distort and use chicanery to claim false authority and lordship.  I’m personally always leery of people that promote love without holiness, grace without truth, comfort without self-denial and people that promote personal gain and self-worth.  Satan always wants to deceive, kill and destroy.  Be careful and don’t be fooled by any other gospel or any other supposed “great leader”.  I even put myself out there and don’t even trust me, but trust the real Jesus Christ found in scripture who promotes the gospel message found in him, and not another form of Jesus and not another gospel.

Our text deals with an example of a false authority.  Acts 19 details Paul’s three years in Ephesus.  At the time, Ephesus was famously known for witchcraft and casting spells, and while we’re at it, let’s make this clear: there is no such thing as black magic and white magic - It’s all demonic (Deut. 18:10-12, Lev. 19:31).  Ephesus was so famously known for witchcraft that everyone knew “Ephesian writings” referred to magical spells.  Because the people there in Ephesus were so used to demonic magic and unusual occurrences, I believe God used forms of real miracles in manners that the local Ephesians could relate to.  This would explain the unique miracles using handkerchiefs and aprons in Acts 19:11-12.

 At that time there were known charlatans and people that practiced demonic magic.  Acts 8:9-25 lists someone named “Simon the Sorcerer”.   Some books claim him to possibly be a charlatan.  Whether you believe he had the power of demonic magic or he was indeed a charlatan, in this instance that reference is not my point, though interestingly enough and according to scripture, it lists him as practicing sorcery, not fake sorcery if we read the text plainly and without bias.  Acts 13:6-12 lists another sorcerer named Bar-Jesus.  The only false description we find here is that he was a false prophet, but truly a Jewish sorcerer (once again, we must read the text plainly to get this) ….and now when we get to our primary text in Acts 19:11-20, it mentions a group of other fakes.  The seven sons of Sceva and Sceva (a Jewish chief priest) are mentioned.  They were believed to be fakes since there is no record of a high priest named Sceva.  This is just a reminder that the demons and the Devil know Jesus very well and arguably better than we ever will in this lifetime in some ways, but they do not trust him and love him….and so this demon knew who had the authority of Jesus Christ and who had the Holy Spirit.  These charlatans didn’t have any of that.  The power and authority to cast out demons belonged to Jesus and the apostles and nobody else at the time.  As a result, the demon-possessed man overpowered them.

Now I’m convinced that God can use all circumstances.  He used this bad moment and the examples of fakes and phonies for his glory’s sake, and many ran to the real Jesus Christ and his authority out of great fear of the demonic.  We see proof these people went to the real Jesus because they repented and gave up their magical spells with the way of the Lord spreading and growing in power.  I wish these people remembered Matt. 10:28 that describes fearing God and nobody else, but nonetheless, God still used this moment to save people!

Moral of the story is this: Be careful who you follow and be careful about who has authority and power in your life.  Trust and run to the real Jesus found in scripture and preaching and teaching the real gospel message found in him and only him as Lord and Saviour, and the source of life!

 
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