Victor Font

Getting on the Fast Track—Part 3

In our last lesson, I alluded to a threefold cord of Christian conduct that God expects of each of us. We talked about walking in fellowship by prayer and reading the word and worshipping together with other believers in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church as being one type of threefold cord that is not easily broken. But I also said, that this isn’t the same threefold cord that God expects of us in Matthew 6. And that if we put the behaviors God expects of us into habitual practice, we’ll grow closer to God than we ever thought possible. In today’s lesson, we’ll examine this threefold cord of Christian conduct from our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 6:1–4 Jesus says, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

There are three points of note pertinent to our conversation in this portion of Scripture. First, notice that Christ expects us to give alms by His use of the word “when.” When means at the given time. It does not mean “if.” It means that God’s expectation is that we will give alms as part of our normal Christian walk. But what are alms anyway?

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (Deluxe Second Edition) defines alms as:

1. anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money, food, or clothing
2. a deed of mercy

Secondly, it’s important to point out that alms are something we give above and beyond the tithes and offerings that we give to our local church. Tithes as you know are the first ten percent of the gross amount of everything we receive. The Bible teaches that the first tenth belongs to God and if we keep if for ourselves, we are stealing from Him (Malachi 3:8-10). Offerings are what we give to the local church to support aspects of ministry that are not covered by the tithe such as missions giving, the benevolent fund, food pantry, special events, etc. Offerings are given above the tithe. Alms are what we do privately apart from the local congregation. Alms are given above all the tithes and offerings we give to the local church. Christ expects us to give alms as well as our tithes and offerings.

Thirdly, God says that when we give our alms, He will reward us openly. That’s a great promise from God and He never fails to keep His promises. The points about His expectation and being rewarded by God for practicing these behaviors are likewise found in the next two passages of Scripture:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.—Matthew 6:5–6, (AV)

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.—Matthew 6:16–18, (AV)

Together, giving, prayer, and fasting are a threefold cord of Christian conduct that cannot easily be broken. When habitually practiced, we will grow closer to God than we ever thought possible. Many Christians are already a giving and praying people. Sadly, fasting as a habitual practice has fallen largely by the wayside. I know of only a small handful of other believers who fast regularly. I don’t know of any church in my local area that practices corporate fasting. I do know of a church in California where the entire congregation fasts together for the first 21 days of every new year. And God blesses that church mightily. In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 4, we’ll explore the Biblical motives for fasting.

Getting on the Fast Track—Part 2

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

For today’s study, I want to focus on the “threefold cord.” In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 1, I mentioned there are three behaviors God expects of us as Christians. We’ll examine these three behaviors in detail in Getting on the Fast Track—Part 3, but for now, let it suffice to know that there are three behaviors or conducts that we are comparing to the threefold cord. Why a threefold cord?

The threefold cord is a symbol of strength. For example, a piece of twine is made up of many pieces of single strands. One thread alone can be easily broken with your bare hands (try it), but when you join that one piece of thread with many pieces of thread you have a strong piece of twine which is not easily broken.

Cut a piece of twine about 12” long and hold it in your hand. It’s limp and just kind of flops around there. Blow on it and it easily moves about. So is the Christian who practices only one of the behaviors we’ll be discussing in Part 3. When adversity blows into their life, they are very easily moved about and often fall away from the Rock of our Salvation.

Cut another piece of twine as you did with the first. Wrap the two pieces around each other. They sort of hold together…weakly! Now shake them around. See what happens? They separate quite easily and fall apart! So does the Christian who practices only two of the behaviors we’ll discuss in Part 3. When Satan shakes up their life because they want to get right with God, they won’t hold together for very long. They will soon fall apart spiritually and become full of guilt and doubt, losing their trust in our all sufficient Savior.

Now cut a third piece of twine as you did with the other two. Braid them together, just as a young woman braids her hair. Try to pull this threefold cord apart between your hands. It’s strong isn’t it? Try shaking it apart? It stays together doesn’t it? For a Christian to walk in the spirit and stay strong for Christ, they must habitually practice the threefold cord of Christian conduct.

In the spirit realm we are by ourselves not very strong, and if we have no prayer life, no fellowship with other believers, do not read the word or abide in Christ we can easily be broken. But, when we walk in fellowship by prayer and reading the word and worshipping together with other believers in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church, we have strength and we cannot be easily broken. When we live in the power of the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are a strong cord that cannot be easily broken. In fact we are stronger, then the strongest piece of rope that can be found, anywhere!^[1]

Knowing who you are in Christ and confessing these truths daily, brings spiritual strength to your life. We can be secure knowing our position in the Lord, not because of what we have done, but because of what He has done for us.^[1]

While this is one threefold cord and an important one at that, it is not the same threefold cord that I’ve been referring to thus far. In our next lesson, Getting on the Fast Track—Part 3, we’ll examine the threefold cord of Christian conduct that Christ clearly expects of us in Matthew 6. If we put these behaviors into practice, not only will we grow stronger as Christians, but they will stretch us, test our faith, and allow us to grow closer to God than we ever thought possible.

^[1]Source: “Fasting” by Jentezen Franklin (Charisma House © Jentezen Franklin 2008, 2010)

Getting on the Fast Track—Part 1

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

Sin, our sin nature, our flesh will be with us until the day we die. We inherited it from Adam when he sinned in the Garden of Eden and it has been passed down to us today through our ancestral line. In fact, at certain times in our life, our sin nature becomes our very best friend. Doesn’t it? The only problem is, this is not what God desires of us. In Galatians 5:16, the Apostle Paul writes, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Walking in the Spirit is not an easy thing to do all the time. If you’ve ever read through the Old Testament, it gives a historical account of how often the children of Israel failed to follow God and chose instead to pursue their own lusts and desires. Time and time again, the Israelites turned from following the Living God to worship idols, sometimes of the most base and heinous sort. And all this despite the fact that God performed some of the most remarkable miracles recorded in Scripture on the Israelites’ behalf. It got so bad for the Israelites that God says in Ezekiel 39:21-23:

And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

Can you really imagine what this verse is saying? God was so angry with the Israelites for their sin that He turned His face from them and handed them over to their enemies for destruction. These are God’s chosen people and the ones whom God had used to bring us and preserve His Holy Word. Now if God can turn His face from His chosen people because of their sin, what makes us think that He wouldn’t do the same to us. Even Paul in 1 Timothy 1:19-20 turned his face from a pair of first century believers who had blasphemed God.

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

We don’t have a greater enemy than Satan. Yet, the world around us would have us believe he doesn’t exist or is just a myth. It’s a big mistake to believe this. And it’s a bigger mistake for anyone who calls himself a Christian to get caught up in presumptuous sins. Presumptuous sins are the sins that people actually plan out. For example, someone with a weakness for alcohol, might wait until no one is around to sneak a few drinks. Or someone with a penchant for pornography will wait until their spouse and family are asleep to begin surfing the net for their latest empty thrill.

Don’t be deceived, God will only be so patient with some people. He will not be mocked. He will turn His face from us if we abandon Him long enough. And in many cases, it could result in the premature death of the believer. 1 Corinthians 11:27–30 discusses the result of taking communion unworthily. In other words, with unconfessed or presumptuous sin in a person’s life.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

The word “sleep” in verse 30 literally means dead. The answer to presumptuous sin is walking in the Spirit. But as I said earlier, walking in the Spirit all the time is not easy. In this series of Bible lessons, we’re going to take a look at three behaviors that God expects of us as Christians that will help us to maintain our walk in the Spirit. In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 2, we’ll examine the strength of the threefold cord.

The Greatest Generation

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

Normandy Cemetary — Image Courtesy of Christophe Libert.

American broadcast journalist Tom Brokaw served as anchor and managing editor of the NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. In 1998, he wrote The Greatest Generation. He coined this term to describe the generation who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and then went on to fight in World War II, as well as those whose productivity within the war’s home front made a decisive material contribution to the war effort.

As we celebrate Memorial Day 2011, I can think of no finer tribute to these heroes who fought for our freedom some 70 years ago than the rousing speech delivered by actor Randolph Scott during the last minute and a half of the 1943 movie Gung Ho:

Men, it may seem too soon to talk of the Makim Island raid as finished when we are seven days from home and Jap warships are closing in on us, but I’ll take that chance. Raiders, you have shown the way. Whatever anyone may do in the days ahead, this was the first offensive action to be carried out. Our victory however has not been without the loss of men who were like brothers to us.

But what of the future for those of us who remain? Our course is clear! It is for us at this moment, with the memory of the sacrifice of our brothers still fresh, to dedicate again our hearts, our minds and our bodies to the great task that lies ahead. We must go further and dedicate ourselves also to the monumental task of assuring that the peace which follows this holocaust will be a just, equitable and conclusive peace. And beyond that, lies a mission of making certain that the social order which we bequeath to our sons and daughters is truly based on freedom, for which these men died.

The sentiments that applied in 1943 still apply today. May our thoughts and prayers be with our veterans who have defended freedom in every war since and for those men and women who today risk and sacrifice their lives so that our future generations can experience the freedom that God has bestowed upon this great land we call home.

Realm of Possibility—Part 3

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

In Matthew 24:32-34, Jesus tells us the parable of the fig tree. He says, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

In part 2 of our study, we learned that the fig tree represents national Israel and that the end time clock started ticking when Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. Today, we’re going to focus on the last sentence of this portion of Scripture, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

The word verily means truly. Whenever you see Christ use the word “verily” in the Bible, you can substitute the word “truly.” Since Christ is God and God cannot lie, we can be absolutely certain that when Jesus says verily, He means it. So this time He is saying (and I paraphrase here), “Truly, before this generation passes all these things I’ve told you about the end times will be fulfilled.”

The key to understanding this verse is to understand what Christ means when he says “This generation.” What is a generation? Many teachers proclaim that a Biblical generation is 40 years long because there are a number of places in Scripture where the word generation is tied to a period of 40 years. And while the word generation is often tied to a period of 40 years, I believe it’s a leap of faith to assume the word generation means 40 years. For example, look at this passage from Numbers 32:13, often used as an illustration of a 40 year generation:

“And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.”

When I read this verse, I understand it to say that the Israelites will wander in the wilderness until all the people who were responsible for kindling the Lord’s anger are dead. To me, it doesn’t say a generation is 40 years long, but what if I’m wrong and a Biblical generation is 40 years long. Let’s apply this measure to Matthew 24:34. We know the end time clock started ticking in 1948. Forty years added to 1948 is 1988. If a Biblical generation is 40 years, then the Rapture occurred in 1988 and the world ended shortly thereafter. Since we’re all still here, 40 years is obviously a wrong number. It doesn’t work in this Scripture passage. So how long is a generation? Let’s keep digging for the truth.

According to the definitions found in the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, the word “generation” in Matthew 24:34 is translated from the Greek word γενεά (pronounced genea). It is the word from which we derive the term “genealogy” in the English language. Strong’s provides four definitions for this word:

fathered, birth, nativity
that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family
1. the several ranks of natural descent, the successive members of a genealogy
2. a race of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits, character.
  1. esp. in a bad sense, a perverse race.
the whole multitude of men living at the same time
an age (i.e. the time ordinarily occupied be each successive generation), a space of 30–33 years.

We already know the fourth definition is not the right one to apply to Matthew 24:34, but what about the others. The first definition doesn’t give us any reasonable way to apply the term generation to a specific timeframe. It doesn’t fit in the context of Matthew 24:34. That leaves us the 2nd and 3rd definitions to contend with.

In Matthew chapter 1, we are given a record of Christ’s genealogy from Abraham to Joseph. This isn’t the Joseph of Genesis, but the Joseph that is the stepfather of Jesus and husband of Mary, the mother of Christ. Here Matthew spells out 3 sets of 14 generational tiers. The first set of 14 generations ends with David. The second set of 14 generations spans the time to the Babylonian deportation. The 3rd set of 14 generations spans the time from the Babylonian captivity to Christ.

The word generation in Matthew 1 is the same word used in Matthew 24:3, genea. In this context the generations are measured by the lifespans of the men mentioned in each generation. Could it be that Christ might be applying the same duration to Matthew 24:34—the lifespan of man? If he is, how long are we talking about?

Psalm 90:10 says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

This verses teaches that the human lifespan is meant to be 70 to 80 years long. This is consistent with today’s actuarial tables. If you go to buy life insurance, the rates are calculated using an actuarial factor of 78 years for a normal healthy adult male. This is consistent with what the Bible teaches. Now I know that people can die at any age, but as an average we should think 70 to 80 years.

Now that we have a better understanding of what Scripture teaches concerning generations and lifespans, let’s play what if. What if Jesus means 70 or 80 years in Matthew 24:34? What if the definition of generation in Matthew 24:34 is Strong’s third meaning, “the whole multitude of men [people] living at the same time,” in this case the time when Israel became a nation. What does that give us in terms of understanding this prophecy?

What it means is that before all the people pass away who were alive on May 14, 1948, any where in the world, the end times will be fulfilled and we shall see the return of Christ. When is that going to be? We don’t know. But in terms of times and seasons, it could mean anytime between now and 2018 or 2028. Does this fall within the realm of possibility? I believe it does. But I also believe that it also falls within the realm of possibility that Christ could return today or tomorrow. Today or tomorrow is still before “this generation passes.” I think that what’s holding our Lord back is the fact that entire world has not yet been evangelized. (Remember Matthew 24:14? “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

The clock is ticking and we need to be ready. Time is short and getting shorter every day. Are you ready to share the Gospel with others?

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.—Proverbs 11:30, (AV)

<= Realm of Possibility—Part 2

Realm of Possibility—Part 2

By Victor Font Leave a Comment

In 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 the Apostle Paul says, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

As pertinent as Paul’s message is, it’s just as significant to note what he doesn’t say in this passage. He doesn’t say that he doesn’t know the times and seasons for the return of Christ. He states that he’s not going to tell the Thessalonians because they don’t have the need to know. This is a far cry different than not knowing. But what it is it that Paul knows that he’s not talking about.

I believe the Bible is full of clues about the end times. Bear with me now. I’m not saying I know when the end will come. I don’t. What I am saying is that I believe the Bible teaches that we are very close to the end times. To illustrate what I mean, Paul likens the destruction of the end times “as travail upon a woman with child.” Women know when they are pregnant. They look forward to the birth of their child, yet despite our greatest medical advances, the due date is never precise when dealing with a natural birth. It’s not until the water breaks that the new mom rushes off to the hospital to have their child.

A parable is a type of analogy. They are stories that use commonplace illustrations to express spiritual concepts. According to Matthew 13:34-35, Christ used parables in abundance in fulfillment of the prophecy found in Psalm, 98:2.

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. —Matthew 13:34–35, (AV)

So what does the parable of the fig tree really mean? Figs were used in the Old testament to represent Israelites. To understand this, let’s look at Jeremiah 24:1-2:

“The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.”

In this portion of Scripture, Jeremiah is having a vision of two baskets of figs. One basket is full of very nice ripe figs, the other very bad figs, rotten to the core. The meaning of the good basket of figs is found in Jeremiah 24:5, “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.”

The meaning of the bad figs is found in Jeremiah 24:8, “And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:”

In both of these verses the Lord is using figs to illustrate different types of people found within the children of Israel. Do you agree? I hope so, because in Hosea 9:10 we see clearly the Bible calls the children of Israel the “firstripe in the fig tree.”

“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved. ”—Hosea 9:10, (AV)

So now we have two places in Scripture where the children of Israel are referred to as figs. But what about the fig tree? I believe the fig tree is national Israel, the home of the figs. Historically, Israel as a national presence faded from existence after the Emperor Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. The area once occupied by the nation of Israel became known as Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Israel once again became an independent nation and recognized as such by the world’s political powers. I believe that when Jesus says, “When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh” means that the end time clock started ticking when Israel became a nation in 1948.

Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight to understand this significant event in the prophetic clock. But interestingly enough, I found documented evidence where Bible believing pastors of days gone by believed that this portion of Scripture meant that Israel would one day again become a nation. I found this documented in The Pulpit Commentary. This is reference material I sometimes use when studying the Bible. As far as I can tell, it was first produce in the 1890’s. Back then the pastors asked the question, “Could this mean that Israel will day become a nation again?” Of course, the answer is yes. It happened in 1948. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

We’ll continue our exegesis of this portion of Scripture in Realm of Possibility—Part 3.

<= Realm of Possibility—Part 1

Realm of Possibility—Part 3 =>