The Pursuit of the Heart

A theme often repeated throughout scripture is people who spoke the truth were ignored.  God sent many prophets to warn His people of coming judgment for their sin, yet many who heard the truth did not engage with it.  We might assume all who heard God's Word were scorners or mockers, but a passage in Ezekiel shows this is not always the case.  People flocked to hear the prophet Ezekiel share and complimented his discourse and delivery, but God's words did not actually impact their faith or practices.  They listed to Ezekiel because it pleased and profited them in some way, but not with intent to please God.

Ezekiel 33:31-33 reads, "So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. ³³ And when this comes to pass--surely it will come--then they will know that a prophet has been among them."  God had remarkable insight into the hearts of people and discerned the motives behind their words and deeds.  We look on the outside, but God looks at the heart.  It is always sad for a preacher to see people drowsy during a message, nodding off whilst fighting sleep.  He is glad to see people bright and energetic, taking notes, and later even rehearsing aspects of the message for further discussion.

Ezekiel's hearers were the second kind, attentive like a music lover enjoying his favourite band live.  They were compared to a man whose foot tapped in rhythm and quietly sang along with words he memorised.  He owned every album, recognised the melodies, and even knew the backstory behind the lyrics of particular tunes.  But just like listening to music cannot fundamentally change a person, hearing the word of God made no impact without faith and obedience.  This is really challenging for me to consider:  when I read or hear God's Word do I take action to heed and obey it?  Or am I only pursuing my own gain?  Some people like rap or metal, others folk music or country:  do I enjoy being taught the scripture because it is a personal preference or because I want to honour God and be transformed?

Jesus spoke of the wise and foolish who heard His words.  Both wise and foolish heard His words, but the wise were those who ordered their lives in obedience to them.  Rather than being a pastor who wonders if his hearers obey the Word of God, I need to realise my natural tendency is to be a hearer but not a doer.  Ezekiel had no control over the kind of listeners who assembled, but he was responsible before God to be both a hearer and doer of God's Word, to not just "show much love" with words but to love God and people from the heart.  I am not responsible for the responses of other people, and ensuring my response to God's Word in humility, repentance, and obedience is key.  When an instrument is out of tune it is not pleasing to the discerning ear of the musician or audience, and if we hear God's Word yet do not change accordingly our lives resemble a clanging cymbal out of time.

James 1:19-25 says, "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."  Hearing is important, but hearing without doing brings self-deception.  As we behold Christ, let us take steps to live in the way that pleases Him.  The meek will receive the implanted Word and walk in it, whilst those who only seek a blessing for themselves will find it strangely elusive.  If we will pursue Jesus in faith, may we in meekness trust and obey Him.

Prosperity and Adversity

"Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked? ¹⁴ In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him."

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

Written by the wisest king who ever ruled, Solomon affirmed the sovereignty and goodness of God.  God allows the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, and He allows situations we view as good and bad.  Though God's ways are higher than ours, He can be known by all as the loving, compassionate, gracious, and awesome God He is.  Knowing He is in everything and can redeem it for our good changes the way we view prosperity and adversity, for He has appointed one as well as the other.

It is erroneous to assume "bad" things which happen are of the devil, and that good things are the product of our deserving them.  God created our bodies to feel physical pain, and pain serves a useful, practical purpose.  In a similar way trials work for our good, to strengthen our faith and turn our eyes towards God in renewed hope.  When his wife urged him to curse God and die in pain and sorrow, the response of Job is recorded in Job 2:10:  "Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"  The things men or even Satan meant for evil God can use for good.

During the reign of King Solomon the nation of Israel enjoyed prosperity and peace to a degree previously unknown.  After Solomon's death, however, the nation was suddenly divided when the northern kingdom rebelled against the rule of Rehoboam, his son.  When Rehoboam amassed an army to fight against the northern kingdom which had crowned Jeroboam king to reclaim it, God revealed through the man of God what He had previously said:  "This thing is from me."  Knowing the division was from God prompted Rehoboam to accept what he once previously fought against.  The situation was from God, and God was for him.  The wise find cause for rejoicing in God regardless of circumstances, for God is worthy to be praised and our hope, life, and peace is in Him.

The God who divided Israel into northern and southern kingdoms would purify His people through many trials and difficulties:  the northern kingdom would collapse and fall, Jerusalem's walls would be breached, the Temple broken apart and plundered, and God's people would be brought into captivity in Babylon.  But the God who kills also makes alive, and true to His promise God delivered His people from bondage and caused them to return to the land of their fathers and be restored.  No longer would they be entrenched in idolatry as before but would worship the God of their fathers.  God at times employs temporary adversity to prepare the way for enduring prosperity.  Prosperity and adversity come from the LORD, and all who trust in Him find rest for their souls.

The Heart of Jesus

I have been reading through A.W. Tozer's A Cloud by Day, a Fire by Night, a short compilation of selected sermons by James L. Snyder.  Tozer enjoyed poetry and hymns, and last night I read a poem by Oswald J. Smith titled "Deeper and Deeper" on page 107:

Into the heart of Jesus

Deeper and deeper I go,

Seeking to know the reason

Why He should love me so,

Why He should stoop to lift me

Up from the miry clay,

Saving my soul, making me whole,

Though I had wandered away.

The key to appreciating the sentiments of this poem are found in the first line:  it is Jesus we are to seek as we relish His grace and love.  It does us no good to look to ourselves to see why we are worthy of God's compassion, deliverance, and salvation because in our flesh no good thing dwells.  The world looks at Jesus through many lenses of unbelief, seeing no beauty in the One crucified on Calvary.  But those who have received His love and redemption through faith in Jesus look upon Him with wonder:  how good He must be to love the unlovable!  What humility and meekness is revealed in our LORD through His sacrifice; what generosity in His gifts and promises.  That He would pursue us when we wandered and wilfully disobeyed!

In Christ there is an endless layering of His glory with each new revelation.  His goodness is infinite and enduring forever, and of His love there is no end.  The answer to the question of why Jesus loves us so is found in Him alone and all His glorious attributes.  Every day we can be surprised and overwhelmed with the grace of God, for though He is God He picked us fallen sinners from the mire to be His chosen, His beloved.  We weren't just a "project" for Him to work on to feel good about Himself, but because He is good Jesus cares for everyone with all His heart.  He loves us because He is good, not due to our goodness.

Praise the LORD for making Himself known to us, having drawn us to Himself with cords of love!  Jesus has sought us out, called our names, stopped and stooped to lift us up, and saved us by His grace.  When the priest and Levite saw the man left for dead in the parable, they walked to the other side of the road.  The holiness and sanctification of Jesus is infinitely greater than mere man, yet He came to us when we were dead in sins and broken, healing and restoring us at His own expense.  God's love isn't content to be concealed or at a distance but draws near by grace.  Isn't it beautiful who Jesus is and all He has done?

Embracing Humility

In all seasons of life God provides opportunities to walk in humility before Him.  Today I saw a video of a young teen playing baseball who hits home runs with ease.  That was always a dream of mine in Little League:  to hit a home run over the fence.  Though a proficient player and coming close several times, it was a goal I was never able to achieve.  I bounced balls off the fence, but never hit one out.

A high degree of skill or below-average ability in sport both have ways of exposing pride and our need for repentance and humility.  The trouble about being good at something is we begin to have high expectations of ourselves we never had when first starting out.  As my bowling average rose with practice, so did my expectations of better scores.  Games I would have been pleased with years before when I was just "having fun" became a source of frustration.  But it wasn't 10-pin bowling, my team, my poor technique, or the score which was the problem:  the issue was pride in my heart.  Navigating failure in technique or execution of fundamentals is not nearly as challenging as addressing the pride prior success can bring.

In the heat of the moment it is easy to lose my composure, but the conviction of the Holy Spirit and even gentle rebuke by others has helped me regain proper perspective.  I am glad to have the insights afforded by God's grace to King Nebuchadnezzar after his seven years of madness in Daniel 4:37:  "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down."  After proud Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, God restored him to rule once again as king.  The greatest men ultimately will be humbled before our glorious God, but better to humble ourselves before Him voluntarily.  God is able to humble kings, sportsmen, intellectuals, celebrities, and the average Joe without difficulty, and we are blessed to embrace it.

Failure to perform well at sport up to our expectations is a humbling experience, and whenever we are humbled it is good.  The flesh resists and resents this treatment which can take far more than seven years, but it bears eternal fruit that is pleasing and acceptable to God.  We would be pleased with a perfect game in bowling or by hitting a grand slam to win the baseball game, but God is pleased when we humble ourselves before Him win or lose, thankful and grateful for the chance to play a game, enjoy being part of a team, and doing our best.