Weary of God?

God looks for people who love, desire and seek Him willingly.  In the book of Isaiah, God pointed out the irony wild animals like owls and jackals (considered unclean under the Law of Moses) honoured Him for water He provided them to drink, but He received less honour from His people whom He redeemed and created to worship Him in spirit and truth.

The LORD, the holy Redeemer of Israel said in Isaiah 43:22-24:  "But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; and you have been weary of Me, O Israel. ²³ You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, nor wearied you with incense. ²⁴ You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities."  God observed people of Israel who had not wearied themselves for the sake of God.  People often embrace weariness to work and obtain their desire, like working long hours to gain wealth or physically exercising to exhaustion to improve health.  For them, the God of their fathers was more traditional than personal and relational.  Rather than wearying themselves in God's service joyfully, they were weary of God.  Obedience to the Law was empty and meaningless without love for Him.  He had not wearied them with demands that were greater than ones freely met for their own ends, and their response was to weary God with their sins and trespasses.

Our government is pleased to receive fees and taxes regardless of our attitudes, yet God looks upon the condition of the heart that gives.  God loves a cheerful giver, and He does not regard the selfish soul that begrudges giving to God who freely gives all things for us to enjoy.  It was ironic God's name would be magnified and great among the heathen and His own people held contempt for Him.  Malachi 1:12-13 says, "But you profane it, in that you say, 'The table of the LORD is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible.' ¹³ You also say, 'Oh, what a weariness!' and you sneer at it," says the LORD of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" says the LORD."  This observation could be made concerning the church:  people are willing to go great distances for Christian fellowship when they are first born again, yet people raised in the church forgo worship at church because it is boring, tiresome or unnecessary.  We offer God scraps rather than our best.

It is a good thing to ask ourselves:  are we willing to weary ourselves for God's sake?  Could it be we are weary of God because our desires are elsewhere?  Galatians 6:9 exhorts us, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."  Our weariness of body and mind can grow from a lack of dependance and reliance upon God for strength, when we take on labours God has not called us to.  Admitting our weariness--even of God and what we know is right to do--is an important step in repenting and turning to God in faith for restoration.  The wisest believer can stumble in sin; the most faithful Christian can grow weary in doing good even though God daily supplies strength.  Our limitations and folly prompt us to turn to God like never before, trusting in His word and wisdom to guide us always.  God always has encouragement for those who know, hear and believe Him.

To all who are weary, there is encouragement and rest in our great God as it is written in Isaiah 40:28-31:  "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. ²⁹ He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. ³⁰  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, ³¹ but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

According to the Spirit

Jesus has done a marvellous thing by the power of the Gospel for all sinners who repent and trust in Him.  As a man raised under Judaism and the Law of Moses, he realised the Law could not save him but only condemn.  It was extremely effective to reveal to self-righteous sinners their sin, yet it gave no reprieve, mercy or hope for the guilty before God or man.

After coming to faith in Jesus Christ, Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."  In the previous chapter Paul provided an example of a woman who was bound by the law to her husband, but if her husband died she was free of that law.  It was considered adultery under the Law of Moses to marry another man while married.  A widow under Law, however, was not be deemed an adulteress to remarry after the passing of her husband because the Law no longer applied to her situation.  Paul began chapter 8 with "therefore" because Christians have been made dead to the Law of Moses by the life of Christ.

The Law of Moses cannot condemn those who have died to it, and that handwriting of ordinances has also been taken out of the way--nailed to the cross and crucified with Christ--never to rise again as the way Christians are to relate to God.  Having been born again by faith in Jesus, we are spiritually regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have a relationship with the living God guided by His love.  Our death to the Law of Moses does not make us lawless, for we are called to be governed by the Gospel to walk in step with Jesus whose words trump the letter of the Law of Moses.  Notice how Paul explains this change concerning who and what we are to submit our lives to in the fear of God:  no longer walking according to our flesh, but according to the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament has many exhortations to "walk worthy" of our calling as children of God, having been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.  Rather than working to uphold the letter of the Law of Moses, we are to obey the call and leading of our LORD Jesus as it is written in Ephesians 4:1-3:  "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  In God's view, how we walk is as critical as what we think, say and do because He looks upon the condition of our hearts.  We are called to judge ourselves and receive correction from the LORD that we should not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:32).  Condemnation means to judge, and it also means to pass sentence.  There are actions that can be condemned and rightly judged as sinful, but we ought not to pass sentence on other Christians as if we are God and know perfectly the hearts of men based on what we can observe.

Since there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, let us choose not to condemn others Jesus Christ died to save.  Who are we to judge another man's servant?  To condemn others is to condemn ourselves!  It is before God people will stand or fall.  Rather than condemning sinners, we ought to make our focus to walk worthy of the calling with which were were called by Jesus with all lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  This is an accurate snapshot of what walking according to the Holy Spirit looks like, a way of living made possible by the Gospel of Jesus.

Word of Their Testimony

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Revelation 12:11

In the sermon this morning, this verse from Revelation 12 stood out to me.  Revelation 12:10 said what happened after Satan was cast down from heaven:  "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down."  The redeemed inhabitants of heaven praised the LORD and rejoiced in God's salvation, strength and kingdom was revealed by permanently excommunicating the accuser of the brethren.  Due to Christ's blood shed on Calvary for sinners, the power of Satan, sin and death is overcome by faith in Jesus.

Those in heaven also overcame Satan "by the word of their testimony."  The Greek word translated "testimony" is "martyrias" which means "witness."  The book of Revelation describes some residing in heaven who were indeed martyred for their faith in previous passages, and this was strong evidence they loved Jesus more than saving their own lives--having been bought with the precious blood of Jesus.  While some people see a martyr's death as an ultimate act of devotion to God, it is only ultimate in that it is the last thing a person can humanly do before their lives end.  In no way do I seek to detract from the courage and fortitude countless Christians have demonstrated in choosing to die for Jesus than to deny Him when their lives were at stake.  The strength and resolve they showed by God's power is commendable, and such sacrifice for Christ's sake ought to be an inspiration for us to live for Jesus every day.

When a witness shares a personal experience with a friend or stranger, testifying of what was seen and heard does not often come with the price of death.  There are places and regimes in the world where witnessing about how Jesus has saved us by the Gospel could potentially put our lives and families at risk.  We ought not be cavalier and foolhardy in our flesh to make waves but humbly led by the Spirit as we follow the example of people who have gone to heaven before us to overcome by the "word of their testimony."  "Word" is "logos," what Jesus is called throughout John 1:1-18, and John affirmed the "Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."  John began Revelation 1:1-2 in this way:  "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw."

In one sense Jesus personifies the word of the testimony of Christians, and our lives are to be living epistles through which God reveals His love, grace, mercy and life to the world (2 Corinthians 3:3).  It is by faith in Jesus Christ we are His witnesses, not merely repeating what the Bible says, but by the evidence of the life of Jesus being lived out in and through us.  When it came time for Jesus to die on the cross, He did not shrink from God's command but set His face like a flint for the joy set before Him.  Paul willingly went to Jerusalem knowing bonds awaited him, yet incarceration was a small thing when he was ready to spend and be fully spent for Christ.  Personal sacrifice for Christ is not reserved for witnesses who face the threat of execution for their faith but for those who live in lands of tolerance and inclusion.  Christians can expect intolerance and exclusion, and considering what Jesus endured we are steeled and encouraged when troubles arise.  Being accepted, included and loved in the kingdom of God is the Gospel message we should boldly share and live out before God--and in full view of others.

Those who have been martyred for Christ's sake are strong witnesses for Him, and every Christian God chooses to preserve alive unto this day has the potential to provide an ongoing witness just as strong by God's grace.  It isn't just those who are killed for Christ's sake who overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, but those who die to themselves daily in following Jesus as His joyful servants wherever He leads.

Resolute in Love

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind."

Romans 14:5

By God's grace He has given Christians liberty to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, to serve and walk in love towards all inside and outside the church.  Though Christians are all united in Christ as one body, every person is unique and has their own perspective, convictions and corresponding actions.  My introduction to Christian liberty came when my friend's mum asserted I was listening to the "devil's music" because I enjoyed listening to a cassette of a metal band purchased from a local Christian bookstore.  After presenting the lyrics to defend myself and band from such slander, she resolutely held her position:  "It's the devil's music.  It has an evil beat."  In that moment I was faced with a temptation other people usher into our lives with different opinions and convictions:  to love her despite our disagreement, or to lose respect for her and brand her an enemy of thrash metal.  Isn't it ironic we can easily be offended that others are offended?

The music we listen to, our style of dress, way of parenting, even the days we celebrate or choose to ignore are all opportunities for us to make choices with the intent to honour Jesus Christ and to show love to others.  We have liberty in Christ to prefer one translation of the Bible over another, but this does not give us the freedom to bash or belittle those who tout their preferred rendering.  One person sees the decoration of a Christmas tree or hanging a wreath as pagan customs and another sees it as a fun family tradition.  Let everyone be fully convinced in their own mind in the way they celebrate Christmas or choose not to celebrate it at all.  What others do should be a little thing by comparison to choosing to live our lives before the LORD by faith in Him.  It speaks to our motivation if our whole point of doing something is because we know it bothers someone else--much to our enjoyment and amusement.  This reeks of flesh.

It occurred to me recently the traditional American celebration of Halloween of dressing up and going to local houses trick-or-treating is no closer connected with paganism than rabbits and eggs are connected with Christ's resurrection celebrated by many on Easter.  There are likely people who frown on dressing up on a certain day (when some kids enjoy "dress up" most days) who have no problem with their child participating in an egg hunt.  Let each be fully convinced in their own mind and not condemn others for having convictions different than their own or when choices of others seem inconsistent.  Because humans tend to extremes, it is possible people who have come out of lifestyles they now recognise as sinful swing far to the opposite to avoid even the appearance of evil.  This was the case with my heavy-metal-hating friend's Christian mum.  She had been a fan of rock music growing up that coaxed her into sinful ways, and those electric guitars took her right back to a place she never wanted to go.  Good on her for not going back and keeping close to Jesus.

Knowing we ought not to condemn our brethren whom God makes to stand and we will all be judged by Christ, Paul wrote in Romans 14:13-14, "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. ¹⁴ I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."  Paul was convinced of something we must grow to learn, that there is nothing unclean of itself.  We have likely many times, like Pharisees before us, imagined something to be unclean of itself when God has given us and others liberty and purity.  It is good not to do things which can stumble, offend or weaken ourselves or a brother--and at the same time it is not loving to cater to legalists by caving to their demands out of fear of man.  Whenever we are compelled to judge a brother due to different convictions, let us first take aim on examining our own hearts and motivation.  God teaches us to gladly forgo our liberties to demonstrate love to others without drawing attention to our sacrifice, seeing Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.  This is the true freedom in Christ--not the freedom to listen to a style of music or dressing up for a party on Halloween--to resolutely love one another as Jesus loves us.