Whose Approval Do You Seek?

Our identity dictates whose approval we seek.  Growing up, I was raised in a home by both my parents.  Because I identified Mark and Darla as my parents and I was their son, when they gave me tasks to perform I needed to ensure the end results met their standards.  I might have thought the bathroom was clean enough, but their approval is what mattered.  If I cleaned a window for half an hour, time spent did not grant me their approval.  Should the glass remain smeared and streaked, it would not be acceptable.  I sought the approval of my parents so I could move on to something fun!

If our identity is in Christ, it is imperative we seek His approval and walk in the way that pleases Him.  History proves God's people often lose sight of their identity in Him.  It is often written of the children of Israel and certainly applies to God's people today, that they did what was right in their own eyes.  Though God brought them out of bondage in Egypt with a mighty hand, it was not long before they wandered from Him.  Jesus has purchased us with His precious blood, but the flesh has a way of forgetting we are not our own.  When we live seeking our own approval or the approval of others, we have lost sight of our identity and much more still.  Consider only some of the implications of living for the approval of anyone but Christ:

• We will fall far short of God's plan and purpose for His glory in our lives.
• We will not experience on earth all we could of Him, and remain devoid of His power.
• Our lives will be marked by dissatisfaction instead of contentment.
• We will be unable to be who God designed us to be.
• It will be impossible for us to accomplish the good works God created us to do.
• We will be hamstrung, paralysed by the opinions of others.
• Our reward in heaven will be significantly diminished and we will suffer loss.
• If you do not seek to do God's will, it may be you have not been born again or saved!

One aspect that marked the life of Christ on earth is He always did the will of the Father who sent Him.  He said in John 5:30, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  As the only begotten of the Father, Jesus identified Himself as God's Son.  He did not seek the approval of men to gain their sympathy or to win their allegiance, but sought the approval of His Father.  Jesus said these sobering words in His teaching to those who followed Him in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  How important it is, therefore, that we would do the will of the Father in heaven, living for His approval alone!  Otherwise, we might disqualify ourselves from the abundant life on earth or in heaven God offers us.  It is by grace we are saved through faith, and not of ourselves.  No man can earn heaven through working for it, but it is God's love that compels us to work.

Whose approval do you seek?  Your life will provide the answer!

Rest for the Weary

"No rest for the weary," goes the cliche.  Now wait a moment, Mr. Cliche maker.  Clearly when coining your phrase you did not consider the words of Jesus when He said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  No amount of physical rest will eliminate weariness or the certainty of future aches and pains.  But rest for the soul!  Life has a way of sucking the "life" right out of us.  When our souls become weary of the drudgery of life, the emptiness of religious activity, the pain of rejection, fear of uncertainty, weighed down with guilt and shame due to our sin, Jesus bids us come to Him.  The life Jesus offers to all who receive Him is abundant for eternity.

The words of Jesus are ironic.  When we think about rest, we likely do not associate it with carrying a yoke.  The yoke Christ speaks of was a piece of wood customised to fit around the necks of oxen and attached to a plow.  It's a huge amount of work, pulling a plow back and forth across a field all day long.  That's why farmers employed oxen to do it!  Jesus does not offer us a sedentary life devoid of labour or responsibility, but He will provide rest for our souls.  He offers us peace that passes understanding on earth and eternal rest in heaven in the presence of the Father with exceeding joy.  God created man to do good works, not seek perpetual leisure.  It is only after we are yoked to Christ in relationship by grace through faith that we can taste and see how wonderful rest for our soul is.

Instead of seeking to secure our earthly future, the wise seek to invest in the eternal realm.  Once we are born again through the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, our aim is to enter into the good works God has prepared for us to do through His power.  Galatians 6:9-10 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."  Life is hard.  Even the bodies and minds of Christians grow weary.  The cure to our weariness is found when we tap into the strength supplied by the Holy Spirit, looking unto Jesus for direction and inspiration.  Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."

When weariness hits, remember to consider Christ.  As a born again Christian, it is His yoke you have volunteered to bear.  He will be with you forever, for He has promised never to leave or forsake you.  The rest He gives is completely unlike the mirage of "rest" found in this world.  Be strong and courageous.  Has He not commanded you?  He will be faithful to do it!

It's Not About You

In our day, the statement "It's not about you" certainly will raise eyebrows and hackles everywhere, both within and without the church.  I suspect this is because I have been raised in a cultural platform which says everything is about me!    In a society that stresses the potential and value of individuals, that I can be whatever I want to be as I follow my heart, even the suggestion that my life is not about me may seem repulsive, offensive, and ignorant.  But the scriptural truth remains undeterred, gleaming ever brighter in a world darkened with humanism.  God created all things for His good pleasure, and we exist by His grace for His glory.  Our existence is all about God.

The greatest joy for a human being created in the image of the Almighty God is to know and serve Him.  Yet when we present the truth of the Gospel, it can be done in a way which emphasises personal benefits and gifts we receive from God more than the worthiness of God Himself.  Many times I have heard heaven described in all its glory revealed through scripture:  streets made of pure gold like glass, custom mansions prepared for the redeemed, the absence of tears, sorrow, pain, sickness, and death, the granting of a glorified body like the risen Jesus Christ, meeting with loved ones, and the joyous unity to be experienced forever.  But heaven is not about you.  All those aforementioned benefits of heaven pale in comparison to being in the presence of God and fulfilling His divine purposes.  Our entrance into heaven was paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.  He should receive all glory and recognition because the will of the Father has been accomplished.  We live, breathe, and have our being on earth by God's grace, and the same will be true in the heavenly realm.  We are intended to live on earth for God, and we will live in heaven for God too!

I have heard people talk about prayer or gifts through the Holy Spirit as a source of power to be tapped into, almost like a government grant of free money just waiting to be snatched up by those who fill out the forms and meet the criterion.  But neither prayer nor spiritual gifts are about you.  Prayer is not a handy way to obtain your every desire, but to accomplish God's will in and through your life.  Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not merely for your edification, but more importantly the glory of God and the edification of the church.  God did not make us the light of the world so we could bask in our own glow, but so we would be a light to all who are in the world so they might come to Him for salvation.  If you think ANY gift of the Holy Spirit is just for you, you are wrong.  The baptism with the Holy Spirit is always associated with increased service and praise unto God.  The gifts and talents provided by God are to be invested for His glory and the good of others.  Of course we too receive great benefits and increase of our faith through the exercise of gifts, but that is not the primary purpose.  All we are and all we possess is by God for God, and we are not our own.

When we realise our life is not about us, what freedom is ours by God's grace!  When we see a group photo in which we are included, our eyes quickly move to find our face.  This is often true when we look into scripture, and this is not a bad thing.  We should seek to discover who we are in Christ and the many blessings and promises He has freely offered to us.  There is so much we are called to enter into now!  But more important than focusing on how a relationship with God or the future promise of heaven will benefit us, we must step back from the photograph and ask:  "Why this glorious assembly?  Whose vision created this seemingly impossible future for me?  How should I be included in a picture with such heavenly glory?"  Let us turn our eyes upon Jesus once more and realise it's not about us.  God deserves all our affections, desires, and praise.  To look forward to the golden streets or the people we will meet in Heaven is to look forward to a gourmet meal because of the extra knives and forks.  On earth Christ is to be our Main Course, and in Heaven He is our Royal Host.  It's all about Him!

Rend Heart, Open Heavens

The prophet cried out to the LORD in Isaiah 64:1-2, "Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence-- ² as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil-- to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!"  Too long had the heavens been like brass - not because of the sins of the nations - but the sin of God's own people (Deut. 28:23).  He acknowledged this in the following verses.  Isaiah 64:6-7 says, "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. ⁷ And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities."  I wonder if we too live in such a day.  Without God's intervention, we have no hope in this world or beyond.

I am reminded of the beautiful picture provided when Noah released the dove from the ark.  God had judged the inhabitants of the world because of their wickedness and only those who were in the ark were left alive.  God rent the heavens with lightning, thunder, and torrential rain.  Genesis 8:6-12 says, "So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. ⁷ Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. ⁸ He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. ⁹ But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. ¹⁰ And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹ Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. ¹² So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore."  Noah sent out the raven, a bird which fed on carrion and considered unclean.  When the Law of Moses was given, doves were an animal deemed acceptable for sacrifice.  None of this is without significance.

Satan is a unclean spirit gone into the world, much like the raven going to and fro throughout the earth.  The dove when it was sent out and later returned because it found no "resting place for the sole of her foot," a picture of the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters.  The second time Noah sent out the dove, she returned carrying an olive branch, signifying the waters had receded from the earth.  It was a picture of peace being restored.  The next time the dove was sent out, she did not return because she found a suitable habitation.  The story of Noah sending out a dove is the first reference to a dove in the Old Testament.

It is very significant that the first mention of a dove in the New Testament is right after Jesus Christ - the Prince of Peace foretold in Isaiah 9:6 - came up out of the water from being baptised.  As a sign to John the Baptist and all around that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah, a voice called out from heaven, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove lighted upon Him.  This event was recorded in all four Gospels (Matt. 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32)  It is written in  John 1:32-34, "And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptises with the Holy Spirit.' ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Not only is Jesus the One who was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure, but Jesus is also the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit and fire.

If that wasn't amazing enough, it gets better.  After Jesus rose from the dead, He breathed on the disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."  Though they had been given the Holy Spirit, He strictly commanded them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were filled with power from on high and said in Acts 1:8:  "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  When the Day of Pentecost had fully come and the disciples (about 120) were praying in one accord in an upper room, a sound of a mighty rushing wind filled the house, tongues of fire appeared above their heads, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  God had rent the heavens and the Spirit had been sent to come upon the disciples of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.  God had done it!  It wasn't because of the righteous efforts of Christians, but the righteousness of Christ imputed to them that the Spirit rested upon them and His power was evidenced through them.  The followers of Christ walked in faith coupled with obedience, and the Holy Spirit was sent in fulfillment of His Word according to His grace.  God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13) and obey Him (Acts 5:32).

It is written in Joel 2:28-32:  "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. ²⁹ And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. ³⁰ "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. ³¹ The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. ³² And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls."  Does your spirit bear witness that the Holy Spirit has regenerated and come upon you?  You need not pray that God rend the heavens, for the Holy Spirit has already been given!  Joel 2:12-14 says, "Now, therefore," says the LORD, "turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." ¹³ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. ¹⁴ Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him-- a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?"

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is not for your sole benefit, but is always connected with service unto the LORD.  Sometimes this baptism or initial filling is called the "second blessing" after conversion, but it is more still.  After we are baptised by the Holy Spirit we need to be filled again and again, leaky vessels that we are.  R.A. Torrey puts it well:  "It is the work of the Holy Spirit to apply to us that which is already ours in Christ.  it is His work to make ours experientially all God has and all God is, until the work is consummated in our being "filled unto all the fulness of God."  This is not the work of a moment, not a day, nor a week, nor a month, nor a year; but the Holy Spirit day by day puts His hand, as it were, into the fullness of God and conveys to us what He has taken therefrom and puts it into us.  Then again He puts His hand into the fullness that there is in God and conveys to us what is taken therefrom, and puts it into us.  This wonderful process goes on day after day and week after week and month after month, and year after year, and never ends until we are "filled unto all the fulness of God." (The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, Torrey, pg. 109)

Has the Holy Spirit found a clean place to set down His foot in your heart?  It is only the blood of the Lamb of God that can wash you clean of sin.  No amount of human effort can make God rend the heavens and come down.  But Jesus Christ has opened a way to heaven for all who humble themselves before Him in repentance, those who rend their hearts before Him in faith.  Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.  With confidence in Christ and the scriptures we have complete assurance that being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit is the Father's will for whosoever believes and asks Him!