BOAST IN JESUS CHRIST

“…I will not boast of anything,

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom.” –“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, by Stuart Townend.

Anyone with any manners knows that it is forbidden to boast about your achievements. (Proverbs 12:23) It’s like that advice your Mom and Dad gave you to be a good winner and to never be a “sore loser”; it’s just not done. But do we really think about the snare that boasting can set for us--the possibility of pride--which goes before a fall? God has no choice but to push down the proud, but He lifts up the humble.

However, it is okay, I’ve been taught, to “toot your own horn” from time to time; even Paul did so when he named his own accomplishments in 2 Corinthians 11:16—12:10.  Paul states that self-confidence, however, is contrary to the work of the Spirit in our lives, and that he should be received as a fool if he does such things. He leads us back to the work of the cross in this passage.  He decides here to go ahead and boast as the foolish do, and asks the reader to “humor him” in this. After all, in 12:6, he states, “I would be speaking the truth”, and this would excuse him from being called a fool. He goes into an explanation of all that he has suffered for the Lord in spite of his Nationality, Race, and Stature to which he was born and has achieved. He glorifies Jesus in that he boasts in his infirmities, not in his accomplishments. Because of his belief in what he was doing and in whom he believed, of this Paul boasted.

Paul was being questioned by false teachers of the time as to his credentials, and did not enjoy establishing his authority; rather, he wanted to get himself out of the picture and glorify God for all that He had done for him in the area of his personal belief.

The revelation knowledge that Paul received “In the third heaven” warranted God’s affliction of him in his flesh with a certain “thorn”, and today is not known what exactly that thorn was. This to guard against conceit on his part because of the great honor and privilege God had bestowed upon him.

So what am I trying to say? Apparently this is a deep principle of Christian faith, this humility and lack of foolish pride—one we hear about more often than not. And this is not some command or request that God has made optional. It’s like the man with the prop plane going through a Christian checklist: humility? Check. ‘Basic gear for the pilgrim’s progress.  

In Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the lord says:

‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight’, declares the Lord.”

What should be our glory? Jesus Christ and Him crucified! Every day in every way I am reminded of the wondrous work of the cross, how God made us joint heirs with Christ and how we share in the fellowship of His sufferings.

The accuser will come and charge me with pride, arrogance, self-satisfaction, but I just sit and let the wind keep blowing. I don’t think you know how he taunts me with that. Maybe in another life, devil.  Maybe during the dark ages. Nothing I do will ever endure except for the Power of Jesus Christ. So what if my calling is without repentance? Someone said that the very thing that I was called to do can be done by another person, should I choose to disobey. Boasting is a kind of disobedience, too, according to Jeremiah 29:23-24. We have no way of knowing if another person can do that for which God has called you as well as you can.

Also it is noteworthy that God alone can know your and my heart: what is truly lurking there in areas of “boasts” that men or dark angels may accuse us of. I submit that some of us don’t even know ourselves where we stand in that area. God alone can test the true intents of the heart, and He will judge us all according to what we have done.

In order to get to know, understand the Lord, we must be immersed in his Word as much as is humanly possible. Amen? And to seek His face in our prayer life is another excellent way to have that intimacy that He so desires from each and every one of us. “You will seek me and find me when you seek Me with all your heart” – Jeremiah 29:13

Too many of us have gone to the altar and not totally surrendered to Christ. There are areas of our lives that need His healing touch, areas that we alone can share with Him, if we only let Him in to heal those areas. Sometimes we have been put down and ostracized and this has given us “false pride”, which is really just insecurity in disguise.  

Kindness, justice, and righteousness…These are the traits that one song cries out to possess: “I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus”. God will not let any cause be unanswered and He will see to it that justice is served—so much more expediently than that which man can do! How many of you are waiting patiently for the return of Jesus Christ? He will rule and reign for a thousand years! And He will do so in righteousness (right standing—there will be no debate as to the fairness and righteousness of Christ).

2 Corinthians 4:4

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

One of the men of the Home remarked to his knowledge of this just today, as we were driving home. Oh, how great it will be for us when that old serpent is thrown into the lake of fire and we no longer live with the depression, deception, and worry of this world!

But even though the god of this world has power to blind unbelievers, greater is God the Father than him any day! Amen? God can do anything when it comes to conviction and drawing the unbeliever to Himself. All those who refuse to believe cannot understand the message of the Gospel. They reject Christ and prefer their own pursuits, unknowingly making Satan their god.

Revelation 12:9 states, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” This devil, as we call him, is very real and he hates God and he attacks us all, not only non-believers, but all the world is terrorized by his ways. The name, “SATAN” means “accuser”, and this he does, accuse the brethren before God’s throne, trying to hinder God’s work. But he cannot do anything that God does not allow. EVERY knee shall bow, and every tongue confess….However, Satan does like to pursue those who are vulnerable and spiritually weak, and actively seeks those whom he can attack, not because he hates us so much as he hates God. He is the one really responsible for the darkness and deception that encircles the world.

If we were to boast in our wisdom, we would have to give God all the Glory, Honor, and praise for that wisdom. Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” In order to know wisdom, we must first have reverence for the Lord. I saw that statement on a bulletin in a little California church in the Mojave years ago. To reverence and to give place to God in all our lives, acknowledging Him in all that we do, is really the beginning of wisdom, wouldn’t you agree? If there’s wisdom on your lips, chances are that God has already spoken it to your mind and heart before it ever escaped your mouth!  Right knowledge comes from the Creator of all things, the One who knows how everything “ticks”.  Getting to know Him is far from foolish, it is the most important thing you can do in life. Because He gives you the increase, the provision, the insight, the peace. He is able and willing to accomplish whatever our concerns may be today, amen? His knowledge of us, for instance, is extensive, beyond even our knowing! His complete understanding of all things is mind-boggling, and His power is awesome, don’t you think? God is the foundation of right knowledge when all the world seems to be enacting, at best, guesswork in areas of values.

What was the source of David’s inspiration? God’s Words! This passage proves my premise that the wisdom that pours from our lips came from God: (2 Samuel 23:2) “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.” This also instructs us to speak the word.  Pray the word, and live the word.

The written Word of God is not just some history book with poetic and entertaining passages. It is not to be read like a newspaper or a magazine, but should be treated with reverence as the Word of God. In 2 Peter 1:21, the scripture says, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” David was also inspired to write much of the Old Testament through the Holy Spirit.

Another source of David’s prolific writing was the anointing oil poured over David’s head, for it was symbolic of holiness. It was used to set people apart for God’s Holy Service. He was anointed in 1 Samuel 16:13, which states, “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. 

In order to try to alter the course of events that Jeremiah had been instructed by God to write on a sacred scroll, Jehoiakim, son of Josiah king of Judah had the scroll burned. Jeremiah 36:30-31 recounts what would happen to that king and God declared that He would bring upon Jerusalem and the king all that He had promised in the original scroll…as well as an order to re-write all the words of the first scroll!

Why did many followers of Jesus Christ leave a permanent record of his life and teachings and the work of His apostles? In John 20:30-31, he states, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

“For, all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”—1 Peter 1:24-25 The Word of God is meant to last FOREVER…that means throughout all eternity.