The Death of an Old Man

Tuesday, September 25, 2012, my Granddad went home to be with the Lord.

That very same day 10 years ago (2002), I came to know the Lord.

I was given the great honor of preaching both his funeral this past weekend & my Grandmother's (his wife) three-and-a-half months ago.

When I realized the significance of this date (September 25th) in my life, my heart was stirred to write this poem, which I read at his funeral. In addition to the work the Lord had done in my Granddad's life, and in my own, there were three specific Scriptures that played a role in the inspiration of my writing. I have listed them at the bottom. The poem is titled, "The Death of an Old Man."

The Death of an Old Man 

There were two deaths that occurred on September twenty-fifth,
One life marked with grace, the other marred with filth.

One was in our present day, that’s why you all are here,
The other was some time ago, to be exact, 10 years.

One a husband & a father who had established his own home,
The other, these things, he hoped, he would one day become.

And as the first one passes on, a lineage he’s left behind
To the other, who 10 years ago, received sight when he was blind.

This present death is mourned today because of the life he lived,
The former death was celebrated: brought to life for he believed!

This present death is temporary, for you see one day he’ll rise,
The former death was eternal, for on the cross he fixed his eyes!

This lineage left to be received was rooted in the Word,
And in due time the Lord did move, and the first death finally occurred.

Now in this present death, we all look with saddened hearts,
For we’ll miss the man who lived so long ‘til his time came to depart.

But this man who’s gone would not return, if you were to ask him,
For He’s with the Lord, rejoicing now, as he worships God in heaven!

But what of the man who died before, the one a decade past?
He’s standing here before you now, “Alive!” he shouts, “at last!”

How does this paradox work, this death that leads to life?
It works when you believe in Christ, who gives eternal life.

This belief, this lineage, that is passed down to generations,
Involves repentance, faith, and eternal life. And now you must answer these questions:

Where will you fix your eyes? What will your faith be in?
I pray it be in Jesus Christ, who alone died for your sin.

In Christ alone our hope is found for life that follows death,
And in Christ alone new life is found, preceded by a death.

“I have been crucified with Christ!” My sins, he has atoned,
“The old (man) has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

It’s in the death of the old man that new life is truly found,
So both these men have now moved on, both are heaven-bound.

For both these men believed in Christ, Who took away their sins,
“Will you believe in Jesus too?” Is the only question that remains.

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Written by Jonathan W. Mansur on 9/26/12
For Granddad’s funeral on 9/29/12
In memory of Dr. Harl D. Mansur, Jr. (Feb 16, 1916—Sept 25, 2012)

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"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." (Romans 6:6 ESV)

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

An atheist, a skeptic, & a 6-year old walk into a church...

So a lot has happened in the recent weeks. I apologize to the few of you who read this if you were just waiting anxiously by your computer for weekly updates that didn't occur. This post is a quick recap of what's been going on in my life during the last few weeks of summer-time in Student Ministry.

First a confession: I'm somewhat of a skeptic. Sadly, I tend to doubt the movement of the Holy Spirit. I get wrapped up in my own mind and how I think/see theology functioning. It's quite arrogant, I know. I often forget, especially when I'm at Youth Camps and VBS-es, what Jesus said in John chapter 3:

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8 ESV)

I try to anticipate the wind - but I'm not a spiritual meteorologist.

I know the Spirit moves when the Word is faithfully preached. But the Word can be preached and the Gospel clearly proclaimed to thousands (as I saw at a youth camp in late July), yet not every lost person there will respond in faith. How is that? According to Jesus, all we can do is hear the sound of the Spirit - i.e. see it's effects - but we have no idea exactly what He will do because "the wind blows where it wishes."

There were two times this summer that I saw the Spirit move in a way my skepticism doubted.

One was at VBS. Confession #2 - VBS is not my favorite week out of the year. However, we are able to reach children and families that we normally do not see. And, because I support our Children's Ministry and want to serve our church, I asked the most dangerous question you could ever ask a Children's Minister:

Where do you need me to help?

Lo & behold, I ended up wearing a "biblical" costume for 5 straight days and told Bible stories from the first person perspective of Daniel. Yes, from the book so named in the Bible.

With my skepticism looming, I decided to put my pride aside and go on in obedience to what I knew God wanted me to do. In the days that followed, I saw hard hearts being broken down and "punk" kids beginning to listen to the Word as I shared the stories. I was able to play a part in the lives of children, 4 of whom eventually were baptized in the Sundays that followed.

I spent the following week preaching for a friend's church at a camp in Oklahoma. On the first day I met a student who happened to be an atheist. He had been attending the Youth Group for a while, curious about Christianity as a philosophy.

During my sermon on Tuesday I mentioned that some of the students would come to know God this week because their grandma's have been praying for them for years. It was just a spur of the moment, non-scripted comment in the middle of the sermon.

During the day on Wednesday, the Youth Minister had about an hour conversation with this student. He said it was the worse job of witnessing he had ever done (and this guy is a great evangelist). Wednesday night, however, this student went forward because he wanted to know how to be saved. The gospel was preached, and the Spirit regenerated this student immediately.

He read his Bible for the first time the next day as a believer. Thursday night he shared what God had taught him. I had only known him for a few days and could tell a difference in this student. Then, as the Youth Minister was sharing about this student's journey to the rest of the group, he mentioned that his grandmother had been praying for him for the past three years that he would be saved.

My comment about praying grandma's in the sermon Tuesday honestly came more from a humor standpoint than a reality in my heart. However, the Spirit moves where He wishes and "So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

With all three persons mentioned in the title - the atheist, the 6-year old, and the skeptic - God used His Word and His Spirit to soften hard hearts and respond to Him in faith. Two of which were to salvation, one was to a remembrance of what new life in Christ was like.

Are you watching for where the Spirit moves in your life? It's easy to think we have it all figured out. It's even easier to doubt that God still moves.

But the Spirit does whatever he wishes - we just need to be looking for it and respond when He does.

Thursday's Thought: Tell me what YOU Think

So this week I'm at youth camp with the students from my church. Therefore, quick blog post.

This Thursday will be about your thoughts. I want to hear what YOU think about this statement our camp pastor made this week:

"The definition of a disciple is a follower of Jesus who hears God and obeys God. Christian has now just become an adjective we tack on to things: Christian movie, Christian radio, etc."

Thoughts?

Thursday's Thought: Was Christ Capable of Sinning?

Heavy topic, I know. One that people disagree on too (and have for centuries within the church). I'm posting this because I had to answer this question for a good friend (who dropped this question on me at 7:45 a.m. earlier this week ... I needed more coffee before I could answer). Anyway, here was my response.

Temptation is primarily an issue of obedience & trust. We are tempted to disobey, and thus distrust, the Father at His Word. That was what happened in the Garden & what happened in the Wilderness – both for Israel & Jesus. Of these three instances, Jesus alone fully obeyed – therefore, He did not sin.

This fact is undeniable in Scripture:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

Yet what is also undeniable is that Jesus was tempted (Heb 4:15). If God cannot be tempted, and Jesus is God, but Jesus is also fully-human … could Christ have sinned?

This has been debated for centuries within the church. One thing to note first is that although Christ fully identifies with our humanity, having faced temptations, to say that He “could have sinned” would be to completely deny his Divine Nature. To do so destroys the entire gospel, and thus Christianity. Danny Akin wrote, “If Christ could have sinned, then his human will would have been stronger than the divine will” (A Theology for the Church, 517). I would suggest Christ could not have sinned … and because of this he more fully identifies with our humanity.

Remember, temptation has to do with obedience to God & trust in God.

This was true for Christ in his temptation in the wilderness:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-4 ESV)

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” (Luke 4:1-4 ESV)

Here we can see Christ’s humanity and Divinity colliding. Christ, as a human, was hungry, tempted, and full of the Spirit. Christ is also the divine Son of God (the devil knows the answer to the question, “If you are the Son of God.” It is better understood, “Since you are the Son of God.”) The temptation for Jesus was not just to eat (appealing to His human body and needs), but to access His divine powers for His own benefit.

The devil said, “Hey Son of God…” But Jesus responded, “This is how man does it – trusting in God and obeying God.”

Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness for the purpose of being tempted by the devil. The devil is appealing to Christ’s humanity by tempting him to eat. Yet God’s purpose was to show Jesus (and us) that man doesn’t live on bread alone but on the Words of God. Meaning, man, despite any physical temptation, or “easy way out,” is to trust in God & obey His commands.

This particular temptation regarding bread – as well as the other two; testing God & gaining all the kingdoms of the world – tempted Jesus to exercise divine power and authority apart from God’s will and plan for Him to suffer.

Jesus will have all the kingdoms one day. He is the King of kings. But he had to live an obedient life for us & suffer the wrath of God for us first.

The temptation for Christ was to disobey & distrust God. “Satan could tempt Jesus to sin. The Spirit would test him for the purpose of proving his character” (Akin, A Theology for the Church, 516). His character is proven in his obedience (and dependence on the Spirit).

This was the temptation (& test) for Israel (the text Jesus quotes):

“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do (obey God), that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not (trust in God—b/c of what He’s done). And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.” (Deuteronomy 8:1-5 ESV)

Is it not the same for us?

Sin, for us, is the easy thing to do – it appeases our human nature, appetite, and desires of the “flesh.” Wayne Grudem writes, “The temptation was to use his divine power to “cheat” a bit on the requirements and make obedience somewhat easier. But Jesus, unlike Adam and Eve, refused to eat what appeared to be good and necessary for him, choosing rather to obey the command of his heavenly Father. … Jesus rejected the apparently easy path and chose the path of obedience that led to the cross.” (Systematic Theology, 536) As a result of Christ’s obedience, we are given his divine power (the Holy Spirit) to help us with our obedience and trust:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

Promises involve trusting God. Godliness, partaking in the divine nature, and escaping corruption in the world involve obedience to God from that trust in God.

Christ’s divine nature was like a “back-stop” preventing him from sinning. But he overcame the temptation in his humanity by relying on the Holy Spirit rather than His own divine nature as the Son of God. Therefore, Christ could not have sinned, because He is God. But he overcame sin, not by His own God-ness, but by being “full of the Spirit” (Luke 4:1); by trusting God and obeying God – no matter the path it took him (ultimately to the cross).

The question then is, “If Christ could not have sinned, were his temptations real?” Grudem plays out some great logic on this that I believe helps us understand this debacle as well as helps us see how Christ truly relates to our humanity by his not sinning:

“Were the temptations real then? Many theologians have pointed out that only he who successfully resists at temptation to the end most fully feels the force of that temptation. Just as a champion weightlifter who successfully lifts and holds over head the heaviest weight in the contest feels the force of it more fully than one who attempts to lift it and drops it, so any Christian who has successfully faced a temptation to the end knows that that is far more difficult than giving in to it at once. So it was with Jesus: every temptation he faced, he faced to the end, and triumphed over it. The temptations were real, even though he did not give in to them. In fact, they were most real because he did not give in to them.” (Systematic Theology, 539).

Christ, having overcome temptation, fully understands the weight of it. Therefore, he most identifies with out humanity, because he felt the same as we were, yet was without sin. Praise be to God that, “Although [Jesus] was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8 ESV). Praise be to God that He did so “for our sake.”

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

Thursday's Thought: Whistle While You Work

He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 ESV)

In light of the new "Snow White" movies, I figured I would title this post, "Whistle While You Work" (although I don't think the Huntsmen - a.k.a Thor - is much for whistling a catchy tune). However, I often find myself just whistling without much work getting done.

I have been reminded recently by the Lord - both in His Word and through my wife - to just "get to work" on what needs to be done. My tendency is to wait for just the right moment to dive into what I know God has called me to do - or even to begin working hard. 

I "function well" under pressure, so I procrastinate. Despite my "ability" to get the job done at the last minute, this is no excuse for my procrastination. Even in writing papers for school I spend a lot of time "observing the wind" as I peruse through page after page, often reading things that aren't necessarily pertaining to the topic of my paper. Thus, "sowing" any words on the page becomes more and more delayed. I guess that makes me a "lazy-nerd" - gaining knowledge with nothing to show for it.

But Proverbs would call me a "sluggard" rather than a nerd:

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8 ESV)

Notice the ant makes preparation without any prompting. How many of us - myself definitely included - require persistent prodding before we put our hands to the plow? This results in nothing. Did you hear that (Jonathan) ... NOTHING! Look again at Ecclesiastes 11:4,

... and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Not only does nothing get planted, but no fruit is reaped at harvest time. Staring at the clouds - or your computer screen, your books, your math homework, that thing to write, that project to accomplish, that job to apply for, that task that falls under "All other duties as assigned" in your job description that you really wish you didn't have to do - whatever it is that you (and I) sit, stare at, and contemplate doing WITHOUT EVER DOING IT leads to NOTHING in return, no matter how much we crave it. 

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Proverbs 13:4 ESV)

So if the diligent are well supplied - how do we change our ways? Where does "diligence" come from? Two things in Scripture can help save us sluggards: The proper mindset, and the proper motivation.

The proper mindset: God created, commands, and ordains work.

In Genesis 1, God blessed the man and woman and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over" all the living things on the earth (Genesis 1:28). Zooming in on the creation of Adam & Eve, before Eve ever entered the picture, God "took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). That's a two-fold purpose innate in our beings from creation - BEFORE THE FALL - "to work and to keep" what God has assigned to us. 

Therefore, before sin entered the world, God created, commanded, and ordained ... (here it comes) ... WORK.

A result of sin is that work is now difficult:

...in pain you shall eat of it (the fruit of your work) all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19 ESV).

Right now, we sluggards are thinking, "Duh! This is why I stare at the clouds! Because I don't like sweat, thorns, or thistles!" Thus comes the second thing Scripture tells us about work.

The proper motivation: fearing the Lord & working for the Lord

When we sluggards lack motivation for work, we try to find the reason that will make sense of why we have to work. We focus on the paycheck, the finished product, the pat on the back, the promotion, the grade ... or even fearing the consequences that may come if we don't work. These goals, and this fear even, are far too small.

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:22-24 ESV)

FEARING THE LORD

One day, all of us will give an account of our entire lives before God. Let the weight of that sink into your soul for a minute. Yes, God even cares about how you do your work - whether it's self-employed, unemployed, stay at home mom, student, etc. - God cares.

So rather than living for an earthly paycheck, let the fear of the Lord motivate you. Work hard, knowing that Christ will both reward and judge our work one day. But does that mean we get a "heavenly paycheck?" Are we working for salvation? BY NO MEANS! (as Paul says).

WORKING FOR THE LORD

Did you catch that at the end of Colossians 3:24? Your job, your grades, your projects, your parenting, etc. is not "for" your personal well-being, a paycheck, a pat on the back, a promotion - because in your work "Your are serving the Lord Christ."

God Himself has established where you would live and what kind of work you would do and who you would work with & under. He has done this so that people would seek out & find their way to Him.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26-27 ESV)

Paul says in Ephesians 1 that the Holy Spirit is the promise of our inheritance in the Lord (to those who believe). Therefore, God literally is "not far from each one of us" in our workplaces because His Spirit resides in you (if you're a beleiver).

Your work - whatever field it is in - is the will of God. Glorify Him in your work and make Him known to those you work with & under. 

Many are seeking, trying to feel their way toward God - help them find Him.

If we could grasp this mindset and motivation for our work, we might actually take our heads out of the clouds and reap some fruit at the harvest. It's only in Christ that we can enjoy our labor all the days of our life ... and actually whistle while we work.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

... whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

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