I've recently started a new routine of Bible reading in the evenings inspired by something I read in a George Mueller biography. He said that he had read through the Bible 200 times, and 100 of those times he read on his knees. Now there was a man who was thoroughly convinced of the truth of God's Word, the importance of seeking to hear God's voice and obtain answers to prayer through reading, and the correct attitude of the heart in approaching God in humility. So many times we ask God for direction and wisdom, but how often do we actively seek the answer in God's Word? Now it's your turn to be inspired by the Holy Spirit to do just that!
During my reading last night, I was struck with a statement by the heavenly visitors when the LORD appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. Upon seeing these who had the appearance of men, Abraham ran to meet them and bowed himself to the ground. Genesis 18:3-5 records the conversation: "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
After Abraham offers his hospitality, his guests graciously accepted. He was not to leave anything undone which he had said. He was to have water brought so their feet could be washed. They were then to rest comfortably under the tree. Then Abraham would supply some bread (and later meat in abundance) so they would be satisfied. Their answer was simply, "Do as you have said." These words remind me of Mary's exhortation concerning the directives of Christ in John 2:5: "Whatever He says to you, do it."
As Christians we are taught from scripture that God always keeps His Word, for lying lips are an abomination to Him. Everything He has said He will do. But we must examine ourselves with the rigorous scrutiny with the same words God spoke to Abraham: "Do as you have said." When I read those words last night, I was immediately convicted. Had I done what I had said? I committed to reading the Bible immediately after putting the boys to bed, but yesterday decided to watch the cricket for an extra half hour before reading my portion. In His gentle but stern way God said clearly to me, "Do as you have said." The Father didn't have to tell me specifically what He was referring to, because the Holy Spirit prompted me to know immediately what He meant. That's the way God speaks: through His Word, straight to our softened hearts by means of the indwelling Spirit.
Dear Christian, you expect God to keep His Word to you: have you kept your word to Him? The same standard applies to both God and man, for God's standard is righteous and true. What He says to you do it, and do as you have said. There is joy and peace in keeping His commandments.
19 February 2012
16 February 2012
God Gives More Grace
Early in his life as a Pharisee, Saul thought he was doing a great work for God by fiercely persecuting the church. It was only after Jesus confronted him on the road heading to Damascus that Saul saw that in persecuting Christ and His followers he was persecuting God Himself. Saul was later converted as a follower of Jesus, baptised, filled with the Holy Spirit, and became widely known as Paul. The same fire and tenacity was there, but Paul had been tempered and honed by Jesus Christ. Never again did Paul go on a fleshly rampage or crusade against evil. Instead he was led and empowered by the Holy Spirit and his words were seasoned with love and grace.
The same ill which affected young Saul as a Pharisee ironically afflicts many professing followers of Jesus to this day. In trying to make a strong stand for Jesus they do much damage to the cause of Christ. I'm sure you've seen the websites with animated flames, the screen filled with wordy articles in all caps screaming at "non-believers," all with a sense of smug self-righteousness. The presentation spoils the message. The words well-meaning people type very well may be true in an academic sense, but if they are not written motivated by love for God and compassion for the lost they are all wrong. Some people write as if their blood is boiling with rage instead of having cheeks moistened with tears of sympathy for those who are blind, lost, and dead in transgressions and sins. James and John suggested to Jesus that they call down fire on unbelievers to teach them a lesson. Luke 9:55-56 reads, "But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village."
As Christians we should contend for the truth of scripture and the veracity of the Gospel, but we are not called to be contentious. Many do not share Christ as they should, but this does not give us license to be rude, condescending, and hateful. We would do well to obey the exhortation of Christ when He faced those who were self-righteous in Matthew 15:14: "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." When you consider the life of Jesus, you will find that He never entertained dishonest questions. If someone was testing Him, Jesus would never answer those questions directly with doctrine. He did not debate views or doctrine that people wanted to fight over. Yet if someone was ignorant and desired God's wisdom, Jesus took the time to explain.
For those Christians who feed on debate and love to throw punches, seek God for a spirit of meekness and gentleness. In the long list of sins Paul mentions in Romans 1:29, one of them might come as a surprise: "...Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers..." Tucked between murder and deceit, we find the word "debate" in the KJV, "strife" in the NKJV. Wrangling and quarreling have no place in the body of Christ, and that is not the way Jesus won souls for the kingdom of God. Love God, love people, and share the truth of God's Word. We do not need to condemn people, for they are condemned by their sins already - just like me and everyone else! If they want to fight and debate over it, let them alone. Go to the next village. But we should not let them alone without interceding for them in prayer with moistened eyes and a heavy heart. We should have the heart of David, who fasted and prayed for days that his dying child would live. Who knows if God might be gracious and turn that soul to repentance and eternal life?
The same ill which affected young Saul as a Pharisee ironically afflicts many professing followers of Jesus to this day. In trying to make a strong stand for Jesus they do much damage to the cause of Christ. I'm sure you've seen the websites with animated flames, the screen filled with wordy articles in all caps screaming at "non-believers," all with a sense of smug self-righteousness. The presentation spoils the message. The words well-meaning people type very well may be true in an academic sense, but if they are not written motivated by love for God and compassion for the lost they are all wrong. Some people write as if their blood is boiling with rage instead of having cheeks moistened with tears of sympathy for those who are blind, lost, and dead in transgressions and sins. James and John suggested to Jesus that they call down fire on unbelievers to teach them a lesson. Luke 9:55-56 reads, "But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village."
As Christians we should contend for the truth of scripture and the veracity of the Gospel, but we are not called to be contentious. Many do not share Christ as they should, but this does not give us license to be rude, condescending, and hateful. We would do well to obey the exhortation of Christ when He faced those who were self-righteous in Matthew 15:14: "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." When you consider the life of Jesus, you will find that He never entertained dishonest questions. If someone was testing Him, Jesus would never answer those questions directly with doctrine. He did not debate views or doctrine that people wanted to fight over. Yet if someone was ignorant and desired God's wisdom, Jesus took the time to explain.
For those Christians who feed on debate and love to throw punches, seek God for a spirit of meekness and gentleness. In the long list of sins Paul mentions in Romans 1:29, one of them might come as a surprise: "...Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers..." Tucked between murder and deceit, we find the word "debate" in the KJV, "strife" in the NKJV. Wrangling and quarreling have no place in the body of Christ, and that is not the way Jesus won souls for the kingdom of God. Love God, love people, and share the truth of God's Word. We do not need to condemn people, for they are condemned by their sins already - just like me and everyone else! If they want to fight and debate over it, let them alone. Go to the next village. But we should not let them alone without interceding for them in prayer with moistened eyes and a heavy heart. We should have the heart of David, who fasted and prayed for days that his dying child would live. Who knows if God might be gracious and turn that soul to repentance and eternal life?
14 February 2012
When Liberty Kills
Information and knowledge becomes more widespread and easily accessible with each passing moment. For those who think the ills of mankind reside in ignorance, this is an indictment against them. Though information is readily available, people still face the same problems which have plagued them from the beginning. Man knows the truth but lives in conscious opposition to it, convinced that the truth does not apply in his unique case. He lives in denial of God's existence, embraces subjective relativism to avoid guilt, and lives as if he is a god. Generation after generation impales itself upon lust, greed, power, and pleasure, always learning but never receiving the truth of the Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death.
This tragic saga is not only perpetuated by those who reject God and His righteous commands. Through the prophet Hosea God lamented, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6) Even though God had provided His Law and priests, Levites, and prophets to instruct His people in how to keep it, the people remained without knowledge. The people excelled at keeping ordinances and the minutiae of the oral commands made by men, but they missed the main point. The Law was intended to reveal the righteous character of God and display man's inability to be holy through external means. Paul explains in the New Testament that the Law is a schoolmaster which leads us to Christ. Galatians 3:24-25 says, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." Faith in Christ brings forgiveness and freedom from sin. We are freed from keeping the letter of the Mosaic Law because we are now governed by the law of liberty through the leading of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. We are free from the penalty of breaking the Law because Jesus has met the righteous requirements through His sacrifice.
The Mosaic Law governed a man's external actions, but now the Holy Spirit holds us to God's holy standard from within. Through Him we have both the will and ability to live a life fully pleasing unto God not according to the letter, but according to the Spirit. In the book written to the Galatians, Paul marveled how the people received Christ by faith but quickly went back under the Law. They fell into the trap of thinking a man is righteous by what he does, not by who he is in relation to Jesus Christ through faith. The opposite error Paul sought to correct in his letters to the churches in Rome and Corinth. People were using the grace and forgiveness of God as an excuse to pursue sin. People rejoiced in the "liberty" they had in Christ, misunderstanding what this "liberty" actually means. Liberty is both what God has saved us from and what He has saved us for: He has liberated us from the oppressive bondage of sin and death, and has liberated us to serve and glorify Him forever.
This misunderstanding of what liberty is and what it is not remains a massive issue in the church today. How many Christians have been shipwrecked through the exercise of what they thought or claimed as liberty, but in reality was a retreat back into bondage! Liberty is not freedom to placate and satisfy the flesh, but the opportunity to honour God through godly action. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:9, "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak." It is understood that Christians ought to also beware that this liberty of ours can be a stumbling block to ourselves - because we too are weak! It is only through God we are strong. God did not grant us liberty so we can justify ourselves from the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, having graciously pulled us like helpless sheep from the teeth of Satan, sin, and Hell. How foolish and ridiculous it would seem if us sheep, having been spared a horrible end and given exceedingly great and precious promises through Christ by faith, used our remaining time on earth to flee from the Shepherd and seek shelter in a dark pit - perhaps the same dark pit we used to frequent before we were saved. What kind of liberty is this? The mind is of such a one is still enslaved in old ways of thinking. Proverbs 26:11 reads, "As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Foolishness in the Bible is directly related to wickedness. It is the fool who says in his heart, "There is no God." (Ps. 14:1) To atheists and Christians alike Solomon says in Proverbs 1:22: "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge." Fools hate knowledge, and it is because of the lack of knowledge God's people perish.
Let us not be foolish, but wise concerning what liberty actually is. If my exercise of liberty is not bringing honour to God or is a justification from the Holy Spirit's conviction, I willingly return to bondage. Psalm 10:4 states, "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." I find this verse very convicting. The righteous must seek God, and God should be in all my thoughts. I confess to you that I am righteous only through faith in Christ, for in my flesh no good thing dwells. It is my hearts desire that God would be in all my thoughts, and I have much room to grow! Let us follow the command of Christ: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us. I find I am not able to do this, but God has liberated my heart, mind, and body to both will and do His good pleasure by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Praise Him!
This tragic saga is not only perpetuated by those who reject God and His righteous commands. Through the prophet Hosea God lamented, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6) Even though God had provided His Law and priests, Levites, and prophets to instruct His people in how to keep it, the people remained without knowledge. The people excelled at keeping ordinances and the minutiae of the oral commands made by men, but they missed the main point. The Law was intended to reveal the righteous character of God and display man's inability to be holy through external means. Paul explains in the New Testament that the Law is a schoolmaster which leads us to Christ. Galatians 3:24-25 says, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." Faith in Christ brings forgiveness and freedom from sin. We are freed from keeping the letter of the Mosaic Law because we are now governed by the law of liberty through the leading of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. We are free from the penalty of breaking the Law because Jesus has met the righteous requirements through His sacrifice.
The Mosaic Law governed a man's external actions, but now the Holy Spirit holds us to God's holy standard from within. Through Him we have both the will and ability to live a life fully pleasing unto God not according to the letter, but according to the Spirit. In the book written to the Galatians, Paul marveled how the people received Christ by faith but quickly went back under the Law. They fell into the trap of thinking a man is righteous by what he does, not by who he is in relation to Jesus Christ through faith. The opposite error Paul sought to correct in his letters to the churches in Rome and Corinth. People were using the grace and forgiveness of God as an excuse to pursue sin. People rejoiced in the "liberty" they had in Christ, misunderstanding what this "liberty" actually means. Liberty is both what God has saved us from and what He has saved us for: He has liberated us from the oppressive bondage of sin and death, and has liberated us to serve and glorify Him forever.
This misunderstanding of what liberty is and what it is not remains a massive issue in the church today. How many Christians have been shipwrecked through the exercise of what they thought or claimed as liberty, but in reality was a retreat back into bondage! Liberty is not freedom to placate and satisfy the flesh, but the opportunity to honour God through godly action. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:9, "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak." It is understood that Christians ought to also beware that this liberty of ours can be a stumbling block to ourselves - because we too are weak! It is only through God we are strong. God did not grant us liberty so we can justify ourselves from the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, having graciously pulled us like helpless sheep from the teeth of Satan, sin, and Hell. How foolish and ridiculous it would seem if us sheep, having been spared a horrible end and given exceedingly great and precious promises through Christ by faith, used our remaining time on earth to flee from the Shepherd and seek shelter in a dark pit - perhaps the same dark pit we used to frequent before we were saved. What kind of liberty is this? The mind is of such a one is still enslaved in old ways of thinking. Proverbs 26:11 reads, "As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Foolishness in the Bible is directly related to wickedness. It is the fool who says in his heart, "There is no God." (Ps. 14:1) To atheists and Christians alike Solomon says in Proverbs 1:22: "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge." Fools hate knowledge, and it is because of the lack of knowledge God's people perish.
Let us not be foolish, but wise concerning what liberty actually is. If my exercise of liberty is not bringing honour to God or is a justification from the Holy Spirit's conviction, I willingly return to bondage. Psalm 10:4 states, "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." I find this verse very convicting. The righteous must seek God, and God should be in all my thoughts. I confess to you that I am righteous only through faith in Christ, for in my flesh no good thing dwells. It is my hearts desire that God would be in all my thoughts, and I have much room to grow! Let us follow the command of Christ: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us. I find I am not able to do this, but God has liberated my heart, mind, and body to both will and do His good pleasure by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Praise Him!
13 February 2012
Unbelieving Believers
In the church today we find an undeniable, brutal irony: believers filled with unbelief. Christians are often termed "believers," so this claim might at first seem surprising. But we don't have to look beyond ourselves to know with certainty that we too can beset with this sin. Do you see unbelief in God and His Word as a sin? It is among one of the worst faith-killing, power-sapping, glory of God-robbing sins a man can cultivate. To add to the danger, there is no sin more easily justified by our flesh than unbelief. We can be full of unbelief but perceive ourselves as strong, unwavering believers.
Familiarity with God's Word ironically provides an impetus to unbelief. We assume that because we can repeat verses verbatim we have in belief appropriated all God has granted us by grace. Through much hearing we become dull and senseless, finding more interest in reading the commentary in our study Bibles than by listening carefully for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we read the naked Word of God. Did you realize this is a primary purpose of the Holy Spirit being sent? 1 Corinthians 2:12 reads, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." As we read the inspired Word of God, the Holy Spirit enables us to believe and appropriate what God has freely given us. We are trained to look to the scriptures for assurance concerning forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation, but we can look for feelings as confirmation when speaking about baptism with the Holy Spirit and physical healing. This ought not to be!
As I considered the unbelief in the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it struck me that it was not only Thomas who had to see to believe: every single one of them was full of unbelief of Christ's resurrection until Jesus revealed Himself to them. They all had to see before they believed. John needed to see the empty tomb, Thomas had to place his fingers in the prints of the nails, Mary Magdalene needed Jesus to say "Mary!," and the disciples on the road to Emmaus needed their eyes to be opened as Christ took bread and broke it while giving thanks. The fact is, we all need God to personally reveal Himself to us before we can see our unbelief, confess it as sin, and believe Him.
My familiarity caused me to miss the message of this insightful verse for many years. 1 John 5:13 in the KJV at first may seem redundant, but it points out the believer's need to believe: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." John was writing to people who already believed on the name of the Son of God. The purpose for him writing was so people would know they have eternal life, and that they would believe on the name of the Son of God. John saw there was unbelief among believers! People were building on the foundation of Christ, but they were also filled with doubts. It is possible to build a rickety building on a sure foundation. If we harbour unbelief, we give place to the devil. James 1:6-8 reads, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When you look at your Christian walk, is it marked by stability or instability? Is your life better personified as a lighthouse firmly established upon a rock illuminating the way of salvation through Christ, or as a darkened ship being tossed about on waves, subject to the mercy of the tide? You do well to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ - hearing His Words, believing, and doing them - but if you build in unbelief spiritual and emotional instability will be the result. When you read the Word of God, do you believe it is absolutely true without fail, even if your experience seems to say otherwise? Some people take the wide, broad path of standing in judgment to explain away why your desired ends have not been met: "You obviously don't have the faith." It is not a question of faith, but more the issue of unbelief. 1 John 5:14-15 boldly proclaims, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
We can be confident that if we ask anything according to God's revealed will, He hears us. If He hears us, we know we have the petition we have asked. It may be that you have faithfully prayed 30 years for God's will in a situation and still you have not seen the end you desire. Does that mean that God's Word is wrong? No! Trust Him and continue to pray according to His will, thanking Him in advance for answering your prayer. Leave the timing and way to God. God in a way is like a taxi driver. He has revealed His plan to bring us and others to a particular end for His glory with sanctification, yet we are filled with doubts because He is taking a route unfamiliar to us. We complain about His driving, thinking He is taking us the longer way at our great expense. We want Him to take us by supersonic jet and He is content to let us walk through a desert. Confess your unbelief and follow Christ in faith. He will be true to His Word, and we are assured of His love, grace, and faithfulness.
[This Sunday at Calvary Chapel Sydney I preached on the subject of "Unbelieving Believers" from the second half of Mark 16. If you are interested to read them, the sermon notes can be found here. Please comment on what God is teaching you so we can all learn and grow!]
Familiarity with God's Word ironically provides an impetus to unbelief. We assume that because we can repeat verses verbatim we have in belief appropriated all God has granted us by grace. Through much hearing we become dull and senseless, finding more interest in reading the commentary in our study Bibles than by listening carefully for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we read the naked Word of God. Did you realize this is a primary purpose of the Holy Spirit being sent? 1 Corinthians 2:12 reads, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." As we read the inspired Word of God, the Holy Spirit enables us to believe and appropriate what God has freely given us. We are trained to look to the scriptures for assurance concerning forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation, but we can look for feelings as confirmation when speaking about baptism with the Holy Spirit and physical healing. This ought not to be!
As I considered the unbelief in the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it struck me that it was not only Thomas who had to see to believe: every single one of them was full of unbelief of Christ's resurrection until Jesus revealed Himself to them. They all had to see before they believed. John needed to see the empty tomb, Thomas had to place his fingers in the prints of the nails, Mary Magdalene needed Jesus to say "Mary!," and the disciples on the road to Emmaus needed their eyes to be opened as Christ took bread and broke it while giving thanks. The fact is, we all need God to personally reveal Himself to us before we can see our unbelief, confess it as sin, and believe Him.
My familiarity caused me to miss the message of this insightful verse for many years. 1 John 5:13 in the KJV at first may seem redundant, but it points out the believer's need to believe: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." John was writing to people who already believed on the name of the Son of God. The purpose for him writing was so people would know they have eternal life, and that they would believe on the name of the Son of God. John saw there was unbelief among believers! People were building on the foundation of Christ, but they were also filled with doubts. It is possible to build a rickety building on a sure foundation. If we harbour unbelief, we give place to the devil. James 1:6-8 reads, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When you look at your Christian walk, is it marked by stability or instability? Is your life better personified as a lighthouse firmly established upon a rock illuminating the way of salvation through Christ, or as a darkened ship being tossed about on waves, subject to the mercy of the tide? You do well to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ - hearing His Words, believing, and doing them - but if you build in unbelief spiritual and emotional instability will be the result. When you read the Word of God, do you believe it is absolutely true without fail, even if your experience seems to say otherwise? Some people take the wide, broad path of standing in judgment to explain away why your desired ends have not been met: "You obviously don't have the faith." It is not a question of faith, but more the issue of unbelief. 1 John 5:14-15 boldly proclaims, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
We can be confident that if we ask anything according to God's revealed will, He hears us. If He hears us, we know we have the petition we have asked. It may be that you have faithfully prayed 30 years for God's will in a situation and still you have not seen the end you desire. Does that mean that God's Word is wrong? No! Trust Him and continue to pray according to His will, thanking Him in advance for answering your prayer. Leave the timing and way to God. God in a way is like a taxi driver. He has revealed His plan to bring us and others to a particular end for His glory with sanctification, yet we are filled with doubts because He is taking a route unfamiliar to us. We complain about His driving, thinking He is taking us the longer way at our great expense. We want Him to take us by supersonic jet and He is content to let us walk through a desert. Confess your unbelief and follow Christ in faith. He will be true to His Word, and we are assured of His love, grace, and faithfulness.
[This Sunday at Calvary Chapel Sydney I preached on the subject of "Unbelieving Believers" from the second half of Mark 16. If you are interested to read them, the sermon notes can be found here. Please comment on what God is teaching you so we can all learn and grow!]
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