Bread of Revival

When praying about revival this morning, an Old Testament passage popped into my mind.  It concerned the Egyptian servant David and his men found near death in a field whilst pursuing the band who plundered and burned Ziklag.  The men mourned the loss of their wives and children taken captive by the Amalekite raiders.  After David inquired of God, He bid them to pursue and overtake their enemy and they would recover all.

As David and his 400 men pursued the troop, we read in 1 Samuel 30:11-12, "Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. ¹² And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights."  The KJV describes the effect of eating and drinking in this way:  "...and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him."  In other words, eating bread and drinking water revived the man.  The cake of figs and clusters of raisins caused the man's strength to come back to him.  Without adequate food the strength of the Egyptian waned, and what is true in the physical realm in this case is true spiritually.  Feeding on the Word of God has the capacity to revive our weary souls.

I remember a t-shirt in the 80's which read something like, "7 days without reading the Bible makes one weak."  This is certainly true and the sentiment is appreciated by lovers of puns, yet we must do more than read the Bible like we would other books.  We must come to the scripture empty and hungry, expecting to receive something from the LORD.  Our souls must be engaged with this spiritually discerned book with the intent to obey, and this is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Even as the Egyptian was too weak to help himself, so we need to submit to God's power to nourish us.  Genuine revival cannot happen without God, prayer, and the Word of God.  Only God has the words of life and can raise the dead to life.

An additional principle on this theme can be gleaned from the passage.  Once the Egyptian's strength returned to him, he agreed to lead David and his men to his former master under one condition.  His master had abandoned him and left him to die due to illness, and he said in 1 Samuel 30:15, "...Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop."  This Egyptian had been treated as expendable once and valued his life.  As bad as death would be for David to deliver him to his previous master!  When our spirits are revived, we ought to use our newfound strength to shift our allegiances from the old life to a new one.  Having been delivered from a sinful malaise, those who are quickened by the Holy Spirit will despise and avoid the old life devoid of love or compassion which held us in bondage.

The first thing mentioned the man was given to eat was bread, and this is suggestive.  It reminds me how Jesus Christ is the Living Bread come down from heaven, the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us.  Those who partake of Him by faith will live forever!  After eating bread the Egyptian was given water to drink, and Jesus is the One who sends the Holy Spirit as Living Water which refreshes our souls.  Instead of skimming the scriptures, how important it is to be immersed in them.  What we read we also should put into practice.  It's amazing how we become alive to the scriptures when we do this!  Praise God for the richness of His Word and the soul-sustaining truth provided therein.  Feeling weak?  Open the scriptures with a hungry heart and receive all God says.

Meekness of Wisdom

"Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. ¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom."

James 3:11-13

God's wisdom is in utter contrast to the wisdom of the world.  We are naturally devoid of God's wisdom, and having been born again through faith in Christ we can walk in God's wisdom.  The truth is our attitudes and choices do not always line up with the wisdom revealed in Jesus Christ.  Just like a fig tree bears figs and a fresh spring provides fresh water, the wisdom of God is marked by meekness.  There ought to be agreement between our words and deeds according to God's standard of righteousness.

A fellow believer pointed out this connection to me this morning, that good conduct reveals our works are "done in the meekness of wisdom."  God's wisdom appears foolish to men.  Jesus came with all authority in heaven and earth and He willingly humbled Himself, made Himself of no reputation, and was the servant of all.  He is Wisdom for us from God (1 Cor. 1:30), and He was revealed in meekness.  He was not boastful, arrogant, or threaten His enemies but prayed for them and served them.  He did not raise His voice on the streets to attract followers or likes.  He was content to do the will of the Father without fanfare or recognition.  Even His brothers criticised Jesus in this area, how He seemed reluctant to reveal Himself to the world or garner attention (John 7:1-13).  This wisdom is demonstrated in meekness by faith in God - something the world perceives as weak and useless.

If we were unsure of the difference between the wisdom of God and man, James provides details in the following verses.  James 3:14-17 says, "But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."  The wisdom of the world says we need to look out for self, promote self, and protect self.  When we feel our needs are going unmet or our efforts have not been recognised, envy and self-seeking move us to assert ourselves rather than trust God.  The wisdom of man says it is fine to lie as long as I benefit and no harm is done to others.  Satan is the father of lies, and this kind of "wisdom" is evil and comes from him.

God's wisdom stands in stark contrast to this and is described as "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality and without hypocrisy."  This is a very good working description of "the meekness of wisdom."  Instead of being fuelled by selfish ambition or envy, wisdom from God exudes grace and compassion towards others.  It is pure and righteous, without favouritism or hypocrisy.  There should be agreement between the way we are thinking, feeling, and acting.  The world angles for personal advantage, recognition, and reward, yet the wisdom of God bring rest and comfort to our hearts because we realise God is sovereign and in control.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and God's wisdom is demonstrated in meekness because we know God who is the Almighty, a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Sanctified and Useful

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." ²⁰ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honour and some for dishonour. ²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

2 Timothy 2:19-21

It's safe to say since immigrating to Australia I drink a lot more tea and coffee than I did previously.  It may be my imagination, but it seems the amount of mugs we store in the cupboard has proportionately grown as well!  Laura and I enjoy and have grown accustomed to welcome visitors into our home with the familiar question:  "Tea or coffee?"  Not everyone drinks tea or coffee of course, but it is a hospitable and often appreciated offer.

When I read this passage in preparation for an upcoming Bible study, an illustration popped into my head.  Paul had exhorted Timothy to avoid foolish debates, vain babblings, and later would tell him to flee fornication.  In context these are some of the sins which Timothy needed to ensure were not part of his life to be useful in God's hands.  For those who drink tea or coffee, we might have a cupboard full of mugs but we typically have our preferred ones.  My preferred mug at the moment is a magenta mug Laura gave me to commemorate our wedding anniversary with pink flamingos and hearts.  Having just finished a coffee, this is what it looks like right now.

I took a picture of the mug in its used and dirty state as an illustration.  If I received a visitor into my house, I would not offer them a hot beverage in a mug with coffee scum caked on it.  I would put this mug in the sink, switch on the kettle, and pull a clean mug out of the cupboard to prepare the tea or coffee.  Paul said in a great house there are many vessels composed of various materials for different uses.  The master of the house would know which vessels were his and their proper function.  If Timothy wanted to be a vessel of honour, "sanctified and useful for the Master," his life would need to be cleansed of sin.

You might say, "Wait a second.  God does the cleansing of our sin for us, right?"  This is true.  When we are born again and made a new creation, our sins are atoned for and we are forgiven.  But like my favourite mug is dirty after use, even Christians can sin after being born again and wilfully continue in it.  Should my mug be dirty when guests arrive, it cannot be a vessel of honour and profitable for use.  An vessel which honours the Master is a clean one.  To offer tea in a filthy mug would bring dishonour on me!  The exhortation is when we realise we are in sin we must repent, put away the sin, and thus sanctify ourselves.  A mug has no power of its own to be clean or dirty, and we must choose to put sin far from our lives so we might be set apart and ready for God's use.  A child of God in sin is still God's child, even like my mug in an unclean state is still mine and favoured.  When it comes to being used profitably however, only a clean mug will do.

You've probably found mugs which were left behind by the user which after awhile began to grow mould and smell horrible.  That is just a hint of the revolting nature of sin which can grow in our hearts when we practice sin without repentance.  Our usefulness by God will be negatively and dramatically affected until we are cleansed.  Once we humble ourselves and submit to God's cleansing in repentance, we are compared to a clean vessel "prepared for every good work."  I don't know any sane person who would prefer to be a vessel of dishonour, one over whom God wrinkles His nose and sets aside until the person choose to be cleansed inside and out.  Let us be those who are cleansed from sin and graciously sanctified for the use of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Only then will we realise our purpose as useful vessels in God's hands for His glory. 

Life is All About God

One of the biggest challenges we face in following Jesus is shifting our focus off self and to God.  We are naturally the central figure in every situation because we view life from our own eyes.  If we are having a "good" day we are happy; if our expectations have been dashed we feel down.  This propensity to colour reality according to our own feelings or circumstances is done without a thought.  As we follow Christ we don't often recognise it, but life is pretty much all about me.  Let me explain what I mean.

If I find myself in a trial, I might imagine God "must be trying to teach me something."  Therefore it falls to me to learn the lesson quickly so the painful ordeal can be brought to an end, and this assumes I am capable of teaching myself by concerted effort.  This personal struggle often results in frustration and disillusionment because we think ourselves capable of doing God's work ourselves and we find ourselves in the dark.  Our minds become so clogged with judgments and doubts we don't know what to do.  When we are sick we wonder if we have sinned in some way or are under spiritual attack.  Again, we remain the central figure in our drama.  We perceive we are being negatively affected, so it falls to us to figure it all out, do something, or stop doing something to end the madness.  Does this sound familiar?

Last night I was reading from the book of Job and I was struck at the depths of his suffering.  Who but Jesus Christ suffered as this man, and he did not even have the comfort of the scriptures or the promise of the Holy Spirit we have today!  He was an upright man who feared God, and in the midst of great loss, spiritual attack, physical pain, and emotional torment he did not waver in his belief.  But he asked probing questions about the nature of his suffering and demanded an explanation from anyone to justify it.  He defended himself from friends who accused him, falsely asserting his sin was the reason for his tragic circumstances.  In his suffering, Job was central:  he lamented the day of his birth, wished he had died in the womb, and that he had never lived to see such dark days.  He was the main subject in his suffering as he scraped his boils with a shard of pottery.

In the end, however, Job's suffering had very little to do about Job:  it was an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to Job, to His friends, and to us.  Instead of answering Job's questions with dot-point explanations, God asked Job many questions of His own.  This divine revelation made all of Job's pains, questions, and personal wranglings insignificant.  God ensured the end of Job was twice as blessed as the beginning - not because Job "learned the lesson" - but because God is compassionate and merciful.  See what insight is brought to the subject in James 5:10-11:  "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹ Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."  Job persevered in faith, but it was never about Job at all.  The end of Job was intended to reveal the compassion and mercy of God given to all who keep trusting God despite pain.  Job is a major player in the book of Job, but it is a book which primarily illustrates the compassion and mercy of God.

What a wondrous revelation, that it does not fall to us to earn God's approval or blessing.  We learn slow but God is patient and compassionate.  God is to remain our central focus as we patiently trust in Him.  Some might ask, "Why would a compassionate or merciful God allow anyone to suffer so?"  God allows suffering to work for our good and the salvation of others.  Consider the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and the salvation which has come to countless sinners.  The life of Job provides tangible proof of God's sovereign power, gracious blessing, compassion, and glorious rewards for all who endure not only in this life, but in the one to come.  I have been profoundly blessed by Job and how God dealt with him, and may it be God would be so glorified through His dealings with me.  In Christ our lives are God's own, having purchased us with the blood of Jesus.  Life isn't about you or me but all about Him!