Decreasing and Growing

Filled with the Holy Spirit, John the Baptist was a man who demonstrated humility.  He was a man who had understanding of God's calling and purpose in his life, one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the LORD Jesus Christ.  His sanctified life in the fear of God led people to follow him, and he was faithful to lead his disciples to follow Jesus.  John embraced turnover in his ministry, for as he said to his disciples who were concerned about the notoriety, attention and followers Jesus had that seemed to detract from John's efforts:  "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)  John knew his ministry was to point people to Jesus so they might follow him instead, and he was content to continue baptising people to proclaim Jesus as the One who baptises with the Holy Spirit and fire.

As a parent, it is good to know our children are gifts from God we are called to love, provide for, guide in godliness by example and faithfully discipline.  When we have fulfilled our role as parents, knowing our children are on loan because they are really God's, we are able to better embrace the changing seasons when kids grow into adults and have their own families.  A bow is meant to shoot arrows, and children are not to be permanently attached to their parent's string.  They must go out from us in due time, and we can delight in the new seasons God brings of marriage, grandchildren and friendship--even when we are parted over a long distance or space of time.  Since our rejoicing is in the LORD who gives all good things, we can be glad in future seasons God has in store for us.  They will be different than when our kids were little but are beautiful in their own way, enriched by time with the LORD and one another.

Growing pains are not just for the young but are also experienced as we grow older and face changes and challenges from advancing seasons of life, work and ministry.  A time comes when we cannot physically do what we used to enjoy doing in the past.  It can be hard for people who are used to doing everything to need to rely on others for help.  It is easy to lose a sense of purpose when we cannot contribute in ways we have in the past.  Just recently I decided that when the day came people no longer wanted me as speaker at a youth camp I would embrace it--despite feelings of rejection that come with being overlooked, to be a last resort rather than first preference.  Like I have outgrown suits, sometimes we do not fit into a role we still feel comfortable in.  By God's grace we can embrace roles we find very uncomfortable, strengthened and encouraged that the LORD has set before us an open door.  These opportunities, even when they aren't our idea or preference, are wonderful reminders God has more for us to do.  This exercise of faith to honour Jesus over ourselves brings spiritual growth.

I was reminded during study of the words Jesus spoke to the church in Philadelphia, that He had set before them an open door none could shut.  The God of patience and comfort is the God who sets before us an open door, and we enter that door by faith in Him who is the Door.  Sometimes we do not recognise or even perceive the open door because of hindrances that can distract us from God's goodness and sovereignty.  A severe illness or our advancing age may close doors to us, but know as long as we live Jesus has set before us an open door.  Even on a sickbed we are not without ability to serve the LORD in meaningful ways by praying and praising Him for His goodness.  Strip away from me the roles as pastor, camp speaker, husband and dad, and the LORD remains as worthy of worship and thanksgiving as ever.  In heaven I will be none of those things, and yet God is pleased to welcome me into His presence as His son right now.  In a world that makes increase an idol, let us be those who are joyfully willing to decrease so Jesus Christ may increase.  Whenever we notice a decrease in our ability, know and praise the LORD in our weakness God's strength is made perfect and thus He can increase--despite our lack of production.

Submission and Surrender

When it comes to surrender, not all surrendering is the same.  There is a surrender that is forced upon others by brute force.  A proud fighter taps out because he is losing consciousness while in a choke hold, and a nation surrenders during war when it is clear surrender is necessary for their survival.  There remains animosity and the desire to fight on, but it simply isn't possible.  There is another version of surrender, when someone is so beaten down and detached they simply do not care what happens.  The duration of the fight and inability to overcome leads to surrender that gives up from utter hopelessness.

These kinds of surrender motivated by circumstances out of our control and hopelessness are of little value in the Christian life because it is not according to faith in God as revealed in Scripture.  When we sing, "I surrender all" it ought to be a surrender that is glad submission, a joyful resignation of ourselves and situation into the hands of God who is good.  There is no gritted teeth in this surrender, no fury or frustration, for faith in God brings an expectation of hope of God's goodness even in the midst of trouble.  David sang in Psalm 27:13-14, "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!"

Whilst we can be guilty of singing lies in church when our lives do not match our songs of praise and worship, David was a man of integrity who lived a life of surrender before God.  When confronted with his sin, David repented and worshipped the LORD.  Even after his son Absalom betrayed him and made a rebellious play for the throne, by faith in God David vacated Jerusalem rather than shed blood.  Rather than fighting to defend his rights as God's anointed or carrying the Ark of the Covenant out of Jerusalem, David cast his life and future reign on the LORD in surrender to His will.  2 Samuel 15:25-26 reads, "Then the king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. ²⁶ But if He says thus: 'I have no delight in you,' here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him."  See how personal David's surrender was to entrust himself into the hands of the LORD, for despite Absalom's coup he knew God reigned on high.

The resignation of David to God's grace is different than that shown by the high priest Eli after being confronted by a man of God and the revelation God gave to Samuel as a child concerning Eli's sons he knew were wicked and for doing nothing to restrain them.  Eli affirmed the word of the LORD in 1 Samuel 3:18 by saying, “It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”  The problem was Eli's resignation to God's will was to remain in sin rather than repent and take action against his erring sons who led Israel to sin. Eli demanded to hear God's revelation with an oath, yet he was firmly and helplessly resolved to remain in sin and shirk his God-given duty.  A godly surrender is one that is in submission and agreement with God, falling upon His mercy while doing all we can to please Him.  This is the heart we see in David, and the kind of surrender God desires to be in all God's people.  Unless our surrender is joyful submission before the LORD, it is of little worth indeed.

Warning Signs and Red Flags

I remember driving up a mountain road and noticed warning signs of something being wrong with our car.  Suddenly my wife and I commented on a sweet smell, like syrup on pancakes.  Then I saw water pooling around the front edge of the bonnet that slowly reached like long fingers towards the windscreen.  As I saw the temperature gauge quickly begin to soar, it was evident our radiator had sprung a leak, and we were losing coolant fast.  Thankfully because I recognised the warning signs of mechanical failure, I was able to pull over and have the vehicle towed and organise the repair without additional damage.

Many times it is not until after something goes catastrophically wrong that we realise we missed some warning signs.  Many of us have shrugged off or explained away warnings signs as irrelevant which would have been red flags to the observant.  Absalom, David's son, had many red flags that preceded his rise to power by usurping his father's kingdom.  He was highly praised for his handsome appearance, but what took place in his heart and mind was proud, selfish and sinful.  He lack of fitness for being king was seen with how he handled conflicts long before he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Absalom arranged the execution of his half-brother Amnon after he raped his sister, Tamar.  Rather than going through the proper channels of justice, he waited two years to lure his brother to a celebration where he gave the order to kill Amnon after he had been drinking.  Absalom knew he had done wrong, and thus he fled to Geshur where he remained for three years.  At the king's command Joab brought Absalom back home to Israel.  When Joab did not respond to two messages sent by Absalom, Absalom commanded his servants to burn Joab's field of barley.  This was no harmless prank, and it certainly achieved Absalom's desire when Joab came to confront him.  Absalom felt perfectly justified in doing what he did because it accomplished his designs he was entitled to.  He felt his time was being wasted, and he was the one who mattered most.

The plot to slay his brother and the smoke that rose from Joab's field of barley were red flags about the  sinful character of the man who went on to seduce the people of Israel, undermine his father's authority, and resulted in declaring himself king.  His brief "reign" was marked by adultery, spies and a bloody battle that ended with his death.  Had he remained on the throne, it is likely the nation of Israel would have suffered much more of the same at the hands of this cruel, brutal tyrant who was highly praised of everyone for his handsome looks.  May God open our eyes to warning signs and make them red flags we do not ignore and charge past--especially when it comes to choosing people for leadership roles.  Absalom's treacherous and narcissistic path to power would be the same way he exercised that power:  for his own personal gain at the expense of everyone else.

Proverbs 20:9-11 says, "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"? ¹⁰ Diverse weights and diverse measures, they are both alike, an abomination to the LORD. ¹¹ Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right."  No man is able to cleanse and purify their hearts from sin, for only God can do this.  He knows what is right and wrong, and Absalom was a man of diverse weights and measures:  he appeared as an upright man who cared for others, yet he really only cared for himself.  Good quality of character can be observed in a child, and Absalom's deeds showed who he was as a man.  Heeding warning signs and investigating further is the key to making important decisions that take God's word and wisdom into account.  As children of God, let us be those who take God's warnings to heart and do what is right.

The Baptisms of Jesus

During Bible study last night, we spoke about Noah releasing birds from the ark after the flood to see if the waters had abated from the earth.  After the tops of the mountains were seen from his window for 40 days, Noah sent out a raven and a dove.  Genesis 8:9 reads, "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."  Noah waited seven days and then released the dove again, and this time she returned carrying an olive leaf in her beak.  Seven days later he sent out the dove again, and that was the last Noah saw her because she did not return.

One way Jesus was identified as the Messiah to Israel and the world was when John baptised Jesus.  He said this was one reason the prophet John baptised people in water in John 1:31-33:  "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." ³² 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 baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'"  After Jesus was baptised the Holy Spirit descended and remained on Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of God declared from heaven Jesus was His beloved Son, and in Him God was well-pleased.  John the Apostle (who wrote the Gospel of John) affirmed himself to be an eyewitness in John 1:34, "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

John the Baptist addressed those who came to see John in wilderness of Christ's baptism that was mightier than baptism in water in Matthew 3:11-12:  "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  John showed Jesus was infinitely greater than he--though he was the greatest prophet among men--because Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  By faith in Jesus believers are spiritually regenerated, having repented of sin, and are born again by the Holy Spirit who takes up residence within each Christian.  Jesus also will baptise with fire, and this speaks of eternal judgment.  John explained how Jesus will gather to Himself all who trusted in Him, and all who reject Him will be burned in the unquenchable fires of hell forever.

God holds accountable all who have heard of Jesus to believe in Him or to reject Him.  As human beings who have personal preferences, we like to keep all options available to us.  We can resent the lack of options with the narrow way Jesus provides to go to heaven and that all other paths lead to eternal damnation.  Jesus asked the chief priests and elders in Matthew 21:25-27:  "The baptism of John--where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' ²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." ²⁷ So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  The simple question Jesus asked threw the religious rulers into a quandary.  They realised if they took a clear position they would incriminate themselves, so they pleaded ignorance.  Jesus wisely exposed their hypocrisy and refused to answer their question concerning His authority, for they would not believe Him even though He spoke the truth.

After Christ's death and resurrection, Matthew 28:17-20 details an interaction of Jesus with His disciples:  "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."  Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth, and He alone has the power to baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Even genuine disciples can have doubts, but God's word puts it plainly beyond doubt that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.  Those who receive Him by faith and are born again will gathered to Him in glory forever, and those who reject Him or claim ignorance will be gathered together to be burned with unquenchable fire.  Praise the LORD He has made a way of salvation through faith in Jesus, and what a privilege it is to worship and serve the KING OF KINGS who baptises us with the Holy Spirit.