God's Strength Made Complete

Confidence in the goodness of God and His sovereignty is a key factor in us experiencing the rest and abundant life graciously offered by Jesus Christ.  Paul expressed great confidence all Christians ought to have in Romans 8:28:  "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  Because God is almighty, a Redeemer and faithful, we are assured on the basis of His glorious deity His good purposes can be furthered in what we can only see as bad circumstances in this life.

Since God has revealed Himself to us in truth, having provided His Word and the Holy Spirit, we know one of His purposes is our sanctification:  for us to be set apart for Him and submit to being made more like Him continually in thought, word and deed.  Another purpose God has in saving us and adopting us into His family by the Gospel is to make us spiritually fruitful.  We have been created for the purpose of bringing glory to God, and Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:8, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."  Our LORD is not content with foliage or occasional fruit but that we would bear much fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.

In light of these things, I have arrived at conclusions I am convinced of and need to continue processing personally.  The very situation I see as bad and want God to change for the better is the very situation God can use to change me for the better.  The other person I want God to change is the person God can use to sanctify me further.  The conditions I suffer and pray for God to take from me can be used by God to make me more fruitful for His glory.  The process of sanctification God employs is gentle, timely (though it will take the remainder of our lives on earth) and perfectly weighted to accomplish His refining purposes--even when I shrink from His pruning shears or the heat of the crucible of affliction that refines believers as gold.

Knowing this to be true, we can arrive at the conclusion Paul did after God rejected his request for the LORD to stop and silence the messenger of Satan who buffeted him.  Made courageous by faith in the living, good God, Paul shared in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:  "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  In all our infirmities, God's strength is made perfect or complete in us by God's grace.  Our infirmities, diseases, disasters, pressures, and needs are made for us a potential delight, for in Christ we can enjoy His strength accomplishing in and through our lives incredible good we could never experience alone.

Strengthened Hearts

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Galatians 6:9

In preparing to preach on this passage, it occurred to me how the concept of sowing and reaping has been hijacked by some to convey a distorted, unbiblical teaching:  we can get what we want if we do our part.  I have heard some preachers urge their hearers to make a vow or donate money motivated by paying off bills and becoming more wealthy and prosperous.  Such seem to forget that what is reaped is different than the seed.  Money given to a church or ministry is no guarantee of money multiplying, but when it is done by obedience to God will result in bearing the spiritual fruit God intends--something priceless that money cannot buy.

The passage found in Hosea 10:12 shows what we sow differs from what is reaped:  "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."  As children of God who have received God's word (which is compared to good seed in the Parable of the Sower), evidence that it has taken root in our hearts is that we believe it and seek to honour God by obedience to it.  We cannot say exactly how God will cause His word to be fruitful in our lives or in the lives of others, but we can know the living God who speaks is always at work to accomplish His good, refining and redemptive purposes.

Paul is not advocating a works-based relationship with God to earn passage to heaven or a kind of spiritual karma that gives us what we deserve or withholds what we have not rightly earned.  This would be a curse that would doom us all, for God's goodness His people receive is all by the riches of His grace.  Paul utilised the natural process of sowing and reaping to illustrate the very real consequences of sowing to the flesh or sowing to the Spirit.  Investing our efforts to satisfy sinful desires in our flesh will lead to ruin, whilst sowing to the Spirit by waiting on the LORD and obeying His word leads to abundant life in Christ.

It is wonderful to realise all we have to sow and whatever we reap is all by the grace of God and for His glory.  Sowing seed does not break the farmer's heart as if he is losing something precious because he looks toward the gain that will be enjoyed in the season of harvest.  If we treasure the LORD over what He has given us, we will be encouraged to present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him with all we have.  May our hearts join with the psalmist whose confidence was in the living God in Psalm 73:24-26:  "You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  When we consider God, all He has done and promised, combined with His presence within us, our hearts are strengthened to persevere until He calls us home.

Word Like a Hammer

"Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"

Jeremiah 23:29

This verse follows on from God saying through the prophet, "What is the chaff to the wheat?"  The chaff is a thin, papery coating that is distinct from the edible wheat that can be planted and produce more grain.  God followed on to ask, "Is not My word like a fire?"  There was a statute in Israel that all spoil obtained from enemies was to be purified by fire if it could endure fire.  Dreams and prophesies were thus tested and approved by the absolute truth of God's word He had spoken.  God's word would consume the chaff of lies and deceit and reveal the living word God spoke through His faithful ministers that would bear much fruit.  As it is written in Psalm 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

God then likened His word to a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.  A hammer wielded by a worker is able to accomplish what is impossible with bare hands.  Sometimes a hammer is used to pulverise rocks, and this morning I used a roto hammer to separate bricks from concrete.  While power tools did not exist when the prophet Jeremiah spoke these words, God's word remains true and relevant to this day.  Not only does God's word have the power to break hard hearts, it can make an accurate impact on our hearts and minds.  In the context of distinguishing faith in God from unbelief, Hebrews 4:12 says:  "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

For a hammer to be useful, it needs to be accurately swung.  While separating concrete bedding from pavers, it was important to place the chisel bit in the correct location to create cleavage between the different materials.  It is important we do not use the Bible as a hammer to bash people, but that we humbly allow the Holy Spirit to administer the impact of God's word where it is best needed.  Because we cannot know people's hearts (or perfectly discern our own thoughts and motivations) we are called to exercise faith God is able to safely use all His word in a refining, purifying and constructive way.

Jesus said in John 16:12-14, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."  Our call is to trust God by obeying His word and to leave all the "hammering" on others to God.  Not only does God always and only speak the truth, but God is perfectly accurate to accomplish His purposes by the redemptive work of His word in our hearts.  His word is able to make quicker work in the minds and lives of His humble children than a roto hammer through concrete bedding.

A Different Kind

Without God's grace, humanity would remain in a perpetual decline.  While we observe many sons walking in the sinful ways of their fathers or departing from the living God their fathers faithfully served, there are many occasions when the son of a wicked king did what was right in God's sight.  I think of Jeroboam who made all Israel sin through idolatry and yet he had a young son God revealed "...in him there is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam." (1 Kings 14:13)  In all the house of Jeroboam, one boy who would have been the most naturally impressionable and influenced by his father instead had a heart that was inclined to the LORD God of Israel.

King Saul and his son Jonathan also provide a stark contrast.  While Saul began his reign with humility and faith in God, in a short time he was lifted up with pride and disobeyed the LORD's commands.  Just this morning I read of what happened as Jonathan and his armourbearer drew near to a Philistine garrison.  Jonathan suggested they show themselves to the Philistines, and if they were invited to advance up the steep hill it was a sign the LORD had delivered them into their hands.  After they put their plan into motion, 1 Samuel 14:12 tells us:  "Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armorbearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel."  I am struck by the faith and humility of Jonathan, for he saw the victory the LORD gave them as already complete.  It was a victory for God and Israel, and Jonathan gave all honour to Him.

Jonathan did not learn this from his father, King Saul.  Rather than seeking the LORD for guidance before battle, Saul sought out valiant men to add to his fighting force.  Saul was very self-centred in broadcasting his victories (even when he did not fight), and his focus remained on himself and his enemies--not God and the nation.  Later in the passage 1 Samuel 14:24 illustrates the point:  "And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food."  Rather than blessing the LORD and the people who bravely fought for Saul, he placed a curse upon them if they ate food before "I have taken vengeance on my enemies."  He did not mention God, express confidence the battle was the LORD's, exhort the people to take courage in the LORD, or lead by brave example.

While Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree surrounded by his valiant men, Jonathan was valiant in faith and humility before God by advancing upon a Philistine garrison by faith in God.  I have heard it said an apple does not fall far from the tree, but it is clear Jonathan was of a different kind than his father.  Jonathan's actions illustrates the power and grace of God to guide a person to embrace a life of faith in God they have not observed in others close to them, and it is a blessing to know God is in no way limited by the selfish, proud or faithless people to raise up from their children people who fear and trust Him.  A selfish father can raise a selfless child when that child has God as his Father by faith.  There's always hope for transformation when God is involved, for He is able to stop the downward spiral of humanity and helps us embark on God's upward call by faith in Jesus.