Don't Fall for Formulas

Human beings naturally seek to benefit ourselves.  We are interested in results.  If we notice someone has lost weight or is packing on muscle, we are keen to know how.  There is often a formulaic approach to action we take or the method we choose because we hope it will work for us as it has worked for others.  Personal trainers and nutritionists are employed to aid us in our struggle for fitness.  Conferences are attended to learn from professionals how to maximise our net worth.  Routine is embraced so we too might have the benefits others boast of.  We read books based on the recommendation of friends and take advice from total strangers who post videos or blogs on the internet to help our cause.  We imagine there must be a formula to obtain our desired end:  if I do the right things, I can have the results I want.

We can do the same thing when it comes to Christian ministry.  A true principle of scripture can be distorted into a self-centred formula.  Let me preface my observations by saying not all people do this.  My aim is to suggest there is a danger we could do this and possibly we currently do this without even recognising it.  I know it can be done because I have done it, and may God continue to purify my motives.  As we see God in truth - His holiness, righteousness, goodness, grace, and love - in the light of His reality we begin to see we are rotten to the core.  We have prayed selfishly.  We wanted glory and recognition for ourselves instead of offering God sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.  We have played the hypocrite, saying, "Yes LORD, but let me first..."

It's exciting to read about the Holy Spirit moving through people in the the book of Acts.  After the Holy Spirit came upon the believers on Pentecost, their lives were transformed for the better.  Through their witness the world was turned upside down and many came to faith in Jesus.  What boldness and power they displayed as those believers proclaimed Christ and followed Him rejoicing in the face of trials and persecution.  There was unity, generosity, gladness, and thousands were added to the church in a day.  But this was no passing fad as the last sentence of Acts 2:47 says:  "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."  That sounds pretty good, right?  What genuine follower of Jesus Christ doesn't desire to see people come to faith in Jesus?  Then we start looking around and realise in our gatherings there aren't people being saved.  Our evangelism efforts seem to lack results.  Hopefully this makes us do some soul searching.  But most of the time it is easier to point out faults in others or try to find a formula which will give us this result.

It is possible some have found their "formula" in a statement which occurs earlier in Acts 2:42:  "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."  We are always looking for something to do so we might benefit.  We can think, "It worked for the early church, and this should work for us.  If we follow the Acts 2:42 pattern as a lifestyle, we will have the same good results - that the LORD would add daily to the church those who are being saved."  Now this is certainly a good pattern of life.  But the LORD adding daily to the church was not the effect of continuing in doctrine, fellowship, communion (koinonia), or prayers:  it was by the grace of God for His glory.  This pattern of fellowship was the effect - not of a four-step plan - but because of the indwelling Holy Spirit in God's people.  The Holy Spirit was the cause of spiritual regeneration in believers and He consequently empowered them to live for God in a fallen world.  It would be a good thing to see Acts 2:42 in a church because it is evidence of the Holy Spirit moving in God's people - not as a program or a formula for "church growth."

The same mistake can be made concerning those who met together in one accord on the Day of Pentecost.  We can gather groups together, hoping for the Spirit to manifest Himself in power.  We want tongues of fire; we want to feel the place shaken!  But remember, the disciples tarried in Jerusalem in obedience to the direct command of Christ.  It wasn't their idea or plan.  There was no formula besides simple obedience to God and submission to His will.  We can push the prime button on our lawn mowers and pull the rope to start the engine until our hands blister, but without fuel the engine will never start.  The living sacrifice of a believer purified in the blood of Jesus is the only acceptable fuel.  Without the Holy Spirit the work will never be done.  Reading the Bible more and praying more will never aid you in achieving your plans but are means to God's ends.  These disciplines can be evidence of the Spirit within you or they can be empty exercises.  Spiritually we are like pneumatic tools which need the power of the Spirit (pneuma) to function and accomplish any purpose for which we are designed.  One soul in submission to God is of greater use for His kingdom than all the formulas or programs man can muster.

Don't fall for formulas.  It is only in the full surrender of a life before God, a soul who falls before God in humble faith and obedience, who will receive and in reality experience the abundant life God has provided for all who seek Him.

To Know War

"Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan [2] (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it)..."

Judges 3:1-2

Last night at Calvary Chapel Santee the message began with these verses.  They immediately had an impact on me:  God wants His people to know how to fight, how to bravely contend.  God did not want His people ignorant of war when there was a war to be fought.  Though God promised to fight battles for His people, His people who were oppressed and subdued before their enemies needed to learn to fight.  God wanted His people to have practical experience of war and be good at it, to be courageous in battle, men who would surrender only to Him.

As Christians we are taught we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, rulers of wickedness in heavenly places.  Some of us have never known war in the sense of hand-to-hand conflict, but God will see to it there remains a potential for bondage in our lives.  We are victorious through Christ and He is our peace, but God wants us to be a people who have done battle with our flesh and overcome by His grace.  He wants people who can follow His orders, who can suffer hardship without growing faint, and those who are willing to toil night and day for freedom.

You might ask, "If God has the victory and He will fight our battles, why should we know war?  What is the point of us being experienced in battle?"  Verse 4 tells us why God allowed many nations who opposed His people to remain in the land:  "And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses."  So why does God allow conflict, even oppressive circumstances in our lives?  God uses these "enemies" to become blessings, opportunities for growth and maturity embraced through obedience and faith in God.

So what do you know of war?  Let us relish the lessons God teaches us so our hands might be made strong to fight, to go out and come in before our King and Saviour Jesus Christ.  When we walk in His strength our power will not be diminished, nor will we be weak or weary.

Clean Those Gutters!

In Sydney the chill of winter is in the air.  The trees in my front yard have changed colours and been dropping in abundance.  During recent downpours there were times when I noticed the gutters overflowed.  After the storm was over, I could see from the ground how the storm had heaped golden and rusty leaves above the edge of the gutters.  So last weekend I grabbed a ladder, a bucket, and a garden shovel to clear the gutters.  This simple chore provided a useful object lesson from the LORD as well as free-flowing guttering.

I don't know about you, but when it comes to cleaning gutters I typically grab the big stuff and call it good.  But this time I decided a more thorough clean was warranted because it had been months since I had cleared them.  I found dry leaves on top and black, rotting leaves underneath.  Once the leaves have compacted into the gutter they act as a filter which traps sediment.  As I used my hands and the shovel to scrape out the leaves, I even found bugs in the filth.  Then I did something I never bothered to do before:  grab the hose and actually wash the mud away.  This allowed me to check the fall of the gutters and ensure optimum performance.

As I filled the gutters with water, I noticed a low spot which collected dirt.  I was surprised how much spraying it took to wash the mud away.  Then the LORD impressed something upon me.  When it comes to repentance, typically I (and I imagine others too) do the equivalent of grabbing a few handfuls of leaves out of the gutters of our minds and hearts and call it good.  We focus on what can be easily seen and don't bother to wash them down completely because hey, more leaves are going to fall, right?  Partial cleaning looks good from the ground, but the rotten leaves can still impede the flow of water and choke the downspout to a muddy trickle.  Rain which falls pure is quickly fouled, soaks the eaves, and leads to dry rot because it has not found the designed outlet.

In the life of a Christian, the pure rain is a picture of the Holy Spirit.  The gutter represents our hearts and minds.  The water which flows out the downspout is a picture of our words, deeds, attitude, and lifestyle.  The leaves and sediment are pollutants, sins which prevent the clean, unimpeded flow of the Holy Spirit through our lives.  Partial repentance hinders practical cleansing because the rotten leaves and sediment remains packed tight.  The lesson God showed me is it is not enough to deal with the symptoms of sin when we have not repented of the underlying sins in our hearts and minds.  Today can be the day of salvation and revival for us, but if we do not repent and have a complete clean our downpipe will remain a muddy trickle instead of a clean torrent of Living Water.

Psalm 24:3-5 reads, "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵ He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."  The Holy Spirit floods our hearts when we are born again after we repent and trust in Jesus.  Because the leaves continue to fall we need to take the maintenance of our hearts and minds seriously.  The flow of the Spirit will show us where our hearts are out of alignment with God's Word and will.  Only those who have clean hands and a pure heart will receive all the blessings God has provided by His grace.  Those who have been washed with the blood of the Lamb should have sanctified lives which reflect His purity.  I have heard people say we need to "keep short accounts with God," and in a sense this means "Keep your gutters clean!"

Humbling The Proud

Only God can change the hearts of people, but that doesn't stop people from trying.  Some feel it is their hilarious duty to fire verbal barbs at others and after potentially embarrassing or wounding their target they say with a smile, "I was only joking!' or "Just keeping you humble!"  I have learned there are only two who are capable to humble me:  God and myself.  The scriptures say that God casts down the proud and gives grace to the humble.  It also says to believers, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the LORD, and He shall lift you up." (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:5-7)  For any who take it upon yourself the task of keeping others humble, good luck.  All the luck in the world will do you no good.  You will discover your most vigilant efforts are futile and in doing so you trespass on God's sovereign territory.

The other night I finished reading the book of Job.  It was something God said towards the end of the book which made me consider again the idea of humbling others.  In God's address to Job, He bombarded him with questions he could not answer.  He also challenged him to do things which are impossible for men.  He said in Job 40:11-14, "Disperse the rage of your wrath; look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. ¹² Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; tread down the wicked in their place. ¹³ Hide them in the dust together, bind their faces in hidden darkness. ¹⁴ Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you."  Did you catch that?  God said, "Job, if you are able to humble the proud, you are able to save yourself."  Obviously Job was unable to save himself from his horrendous circumstances because there he sat in pain:  crying out to God in agony, scraping his diseased skin with a potsherd, lamenting the loss of his children, and arguing with his so-called friends.  Job knew without the favour of God he was doomed forever, and that is why he offered sacrifices not only for himself but for his children too.  God's words make it crystal clear:  the one who is able to humble the proud is also able to save himself.

Speaking for myself, I (like Job!) cannot save myself from sin, death, or hell.  Based on God's Word since I cannot save myself I obviously cannot humble the proud.  No amount of public humiliation or snide comments directed at me or towards others can accomplish this.  All human beings face the challenge of dealing with self:  selfishness, preoccupation with self, self-pity, and self-exaltation.  Only by being born again through faith in Jesus can we truly have victory over self and live in the way which pleases God.  If I can't save myself, I shouldn't take it upon myself to humble others.  I am called to humble myself, and with God's help I can.