Return to Jesus!

I read a discourse to working men called "The Great Strike" by W.R. Bradlaugh who spoke of a young woman who had been a prodigal.  After making a decision to follow Jesus Christ as LORD she returned home at midnight and was surprised to find the door unlocked.  She found her mother praying for her.  After an embrace she expressed her surprise the door was unfastened.  "That has never been fastened since you went away," the mother said.  "I knew you would return, and it should never be said my child came home and could not get in."  Bradlaugh used this to preface the following heartfelt message for doubters, infidels, and those who have departed from Christ:

That is just how our Heavenly Father acts.  He neither slumbereth nor sleepeth.  He is ever ready to receive the wanderer.  Friend, sin has separated you from a father's love and a father's care.  But though you have wandered from God, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has gone after you, and tonight He is here seeking to save and inviting you to come.  Pardon has been purchased.  Salvation is free.  The blood of Christ has been the price paid.  The ransom price has been accepted.  And now let me bid you in the Saviour's name return to the Father.  Is there a poor degraded drunkard here, a lost and fallen sister, a scoffer, a Sabbath-breaker?  If so, I say, arise, and go to your Father while the door is open.  Go at once.  Go direct from the fields of sin and the swine-troughs of Satan to your Father's home.  Go just as you are.  No father ever welcomed back a returning prodigal as God welcomes the returning sinner.  Desponding one, degraded one, God sends a special message to you; He invites, He entreats, He beseeches you to return.  Return, and experience His compassion now.  Return, and receive His forgiveness now.  Return, and prove the greatness of His love.  Return, and taste the sweetness of being reconciled to God.  Return, and heaven and earth shall rejoice over thee.  Soon the Bridegroom will come, and the door will then be shut, never again to be opened.  Saints will be shut in, sinners will be shut out.  Enter the door, for death approaches, and you may at any moment be cut down.  Enter the open door now, for if you perish you will only have yourself to blame.  Enter now, for tomorrow may be too late, and when the door is shut opportunity, mercy, and hope will have fled forever, and your doom will be sealed.  There are angels lingering here to carry back the news.  What is it to be?  Are they on swift wings to bear the glad news that a sinner has repented, which shall cause the angelic throng to strike their harps and make the heavens ring with songs of joy over the lost one's return?  Or are they on heavy wings to mount upward, stand before the most High, and, veiling their faces with their snowy pinions, declare that you, sinner, have been invited to the feast, and would not come?  --that you were told of the love of God, but you despised it?  --that you were pointed to the Saviour, but in your unbelief you trampled on His blood, saying in your heart you would stifle conviction, resist the Holy Spirit, and become your own destroyer?  Which is it to be?  (Moody, Dwight Lyman. Men of the Bible. Bible Institute Colportage Assn., 1898. pages 149-150)

The Manifestation of Christ's Life

"We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

This was a description of the Christian life by the apostle Paul, one who suffered according to the will of God.  But where suffering abounded, consolation from God was greater still.  It was God who enabled Paul to endure and He is faithful to help us as well.

Paul was pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.  Blows were landed physically and spiritually upon him yet he was not crushed, did not despair, was not forsaken or destroyed.  It could be said he was upheld and sustained, encouraged by hope in God, experienced God's presence, and was delivered.  The victory obtained through Christ's death and resurrection were manifested in Paul and other Christians in the face of fierce opposition and uncertainty.

The crazy thing is Paul and the believers in the early church did not go into survival mode due to satanic assault and persecution but thrived due to the life of Jesus Christ in them.  The Holy Spirit provided help and comfort they needed to persevere and overcome insurmountable foes in the physical and spiritual realms.  The fruitfulness borne in the lives of God's people was the equivalent of grape vines being fruitful in the midst of a fire or olive trees bearing fruit in a torrential flood.  This power and wisdom for ministry in Jesus has been transferred to His faithful disciples to this day.

The life of Jesus is manifested in our bodies when we are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, and struck down but not destroyed.  We may hope following Jesus means we will not be hard pressed, confused, attacked, or depressed, yet this is hardly the case.  God allows all these things and more so we might know Him through the fellowship of His suffering and so His life might be manifested to us and through us.

Made Holy and Acceptable

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

Romans 12:1

Over the past few days I enjoyed a getaway with a delightful group of men in Newcastle.  During that time we studied through portions of the Bible and this was one of the first passages we read.  As we discussed this verse, I was struck with the implications of what it means to be an acceptable sacrifice to God.

Those of us who love and desire to please God have an interest in what we can do to make efforts to demonstrate this.  Whilst this verse is a directive to do, it is largely overshadowed by what God has already done.  Understanding this fills us with gratitude, thanks, and humility at the grace and mercy of God that enables us to be in any way acceptable before Him as a living sacrifice or servant.  We are brethren of Christ and children of God by the mercies of God, and no amount of our good deeds can earn this privileged standing.

Under the Law of Moses, animal sacrifices for sin made unto God were to be without blemish.  It was important the animals brought for sacrifice were not sick or blind, without wounds, deformities and birth defects.  Because of our sin (before and after being born again through faith in Jesus) not one of us is acceptable to God due to our efforts or merit.  Yet by the grace of God each one of us has been selected out of all the people of the world to be a living sacrifice God is pleased to accept.  Jesus has called and chosen us, and we are called to reverently present ourselves before Him.

I spent a good deal of my life trying to be holy and acceptable to God, foolishly imagining this to be something I could do myself.  Because of the work Jesus has done we are presentable, holy, and acceptable.  I am called to give my body of death and Jesus provides new life; I offer Him my sin, worries, and fleshly desires in repentance and He supplies forgiveness and cleansing.  Because Jesus works in us both to will and do God's good pleasure this verse is not really about what I do at all but what He has done in choosing and electing me to His family by grace.

Isn't giving ourselves to God the reasonable response since our life is in Him?  What mercy, love, and grace God has shown us!  We can never repay Him, and it would be foolish to try.  All we can do is praise and worship God for who He is and all He has done in transforming us and obediently walk in the good, perfect, and acceptable will of God.

No Longer Dumb

I was privileged over the last week to speak to kids about Jesus Christ, some of whom admittedly had never heard anything about Him.  It was fun to focus on the life of Christ and His amazing deeds which revealed He was indeed the Son of God sent as a Saviour.  While camp is a great opportunity to be intentional about speaking of Jesus, it is good for us to approach every day with the same focus.

D.L. Moody wrote about the great zeal of the blind man healed by Jesus.  He could have remained silent because of the opposition and pressure of the Jewish religious leaders, but his boldness and courage rivalled that of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin after being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Moody points out the fault of silence among those who have had their eyes opened by Christ, a fault I have been guilty of myself:

It is a very sad thing that so many of God's children are dumb; yet it is true.  Parents would think it is a great calamity to have their children born dumb; they would mourn over it, and weep; and well they might; but did you ever think of the many dumb children God has? The churches are full of them; they never speak for Christ.  They can talk about politics, art, and science; they can speak well enough and fast enough about the fashions of the day; but they have no voice for the son of God.

Dear friend, if He is your Savior, confess Him.  Every follower of Jesus should bear testimony for Him.  How many opportunities each one has in society and in business to speak a word for Jesus Christ!  How many opportunities occur daily wherein every Christian might be "instant in season and out of season" in pleading for Jesus!  In so doing we receive blessing for ourselves, and also become a means of blessing to others. (Moody, Dwight Lyman. Men of the Bible. Bible Institute Colportage Assn., 1898. pages 101-102)

It was a notable miracle done by Peter in the name of Jesus Christ when he healed the lame man by the Beautiful Gate, but just as miraculous (though easily overlooked) is the transformation the Holy Spirit did in the life of Peter and John.  After the death of Jesus the disciples cowered behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, but after being filled with the Holy Spirit Peter and John spoke boldly before the very men responsible for killing Jesus.  The boldness to speak of Jesus was not lost on the Pharisees in Acts 4:13:  "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realised that they had been with Jesus."

May believers have the testimony of the man once blind who was enabled by Jesus to see, that we were once afraid but have been made bold to testify of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  By His grace we are no longer dumb, having been given the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Don't Stop at the Sign

At Camp Kedron this week we are discussing the amazing things Jesus taught and His mighty deeds.  The miracles Jesus did weren’t an end in themselves but were signs which pointed people to Him being the Messiah:  the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the promised Saviour.  John 20:30-31 is a foundational verse for the talks:  “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

It would be a silly thing to stop in wonder at a sign but not continue to the intended destination.  The purpose of signs is to give direction, to point to something more important than itself.  Can you imagine going to Disneyland and stopping at the sign out front in the carpark?  It would do little good to follow directions to a house and stop at the street sign or at the letterbox with the number on it and imagine there was no need to go further.  The idea is to follow the directions to the correct street, continue past the letterbox, and go beyond the door into the home.  Spending all day at the sign outside Disneyland would save money, but any who did so would fall far short of experiencing the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

A lot of people see Jesus as a brilliant teacher or even a curious miracle worker but have gone no further and missed the point.  As believers it is good to acknowledge the miraculous signs Jesus did but not hijack them to support the emphasis of healing, deliverance, or social justice ends.  Jesus healed all who came to Him because He has power and authority over all diseases and spirits.  If any had proved too difficult for Him, then we would rightly question His ability to forgive sins, heal body and mind, or save.  He did not heal to suggest people of faith should never experience sickness, suffer, or to seek medical help is a faithless denial of Him.  These healings were signs pointing to His identity as the Son of God, the Saviour sent by the Father to seek and save the lost.  Stopping at the sign—making the sign the end in itself—is to fall short of the primary purpose they were graciously provided.

God desires people would know Him, come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved from hell and experience the abundant life He provides.  He demonstrated great compassion, love, and power through more signs and miracles than could be written to the end lost sinners would have life in His name.  It is likely those healed from their diseases at some point suffered another severe malady down the track, and those physically raised from the dead eventually went the way of the earth.  But those who were born again, forgiven of their sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ were saved for eternity!  Don’t stop at the sign:  keep going to fulfill their purpose in knowing Christ as LORD and Saviour.

Destructive Peace

This morning I was struck by a verse in Daniel concerning the future anti-christ who will deceive many by a means which seems counter-intuitive.  And this is the grave deception, that peace and widespread prosperity is a Trojan horse of destruction.  Daniel 8:25 says, “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.”  This passage reminded me the peace offered by the world leads to destruction, and it is nothing like the peace Jesus gives.

When the children of Dan sought to expand their lands by conquering territory, they took note of the people of Laish.  Their manner of living was quiet and secure, for peace caused them to be complacent, soft target.  They did not have any fortifications or defences because they sensed no scheme or attack.  Judges 18:27 said the men of Dan consequently “…went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.”  This is a good example of how peace and absence of obvious threats works to the ruin of nations and people.

Jesus spoke of a rich man whose fields produced bountifully—more than he could store in his barns.  He thought to himself, “I know what I will do!  I will tear down my barns, build bigger ones, and be set for life.  I can take my ease and retire in luxury.”  Luke 12:20-21 tells us the response of God from the man who believed he had security in his wealth:  “But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  A peaceful, prosperous season led to confidence in earthly riches and was more of a curse than a blessing.

In John 14:27 Jesus told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  In addition to promising to send the Holy Spirit to comfort and help, He acknowledged His followers would be hated and persecuted.  God’s people would be put out of synagogues and even killed for their faithfulness to Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  They weren’t to be unsettled or dismayed by this certain conflict, for the Prince of Peace (and princes) Jesus has given us peace free from trouble and fear.  It is peace tried in the furnace of affliction and trial which refines us and our faith as gold.  Enduring peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives in us because we abide in Jesus Christ who is our life.

The peace the world gives leads to destruction, but the peace Jesus gives destroys all fear and provides rest for the weary in all seasons of life.

Sacrifices of Our Lips

“O Israel, return to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; 2 take words with you, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, "Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.”

Hosea 14:1-2

I have been reading through the book of Hosea in preparation to teach it.  It is full of hard sayings because it was spoken to people hard of heart.  Because they refused to repent of their sin, severe judgment was coming from God.  God is longsuffering and patient, but the sin of Israel demanded a response of the righteous Judge of all the earth.

Israel was completely lost without hope because they forsook the LORD and went after idols.  They looked for aid from other nations who could not heal or help them.  At the same time there was hope for bent and backsliding Israel—if they would return to God and repent.  The prophet urged the people to return to the LORD their God and ask for His forgiveness.  They had sinned, but there was forgiveness and acceptance by God’s grace.

The King James Version contains an allusion to repentance from idolatry in verse 2:  “Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.”  King Jeroboam caused Israel to sin when he set up calves in Bethel and Dan.  Hosea 13:2 describes the practice in Israel when offering sacrifices to “kiss the calves.”  Instead of using their lips to kiss idols, they were urged to offer sacrifices of their lips in confessing and acknowledging their sin and to ask for forgiveness in repentance.

Confession of sin and repentance before our holy God is always in season for sinners.  Praising God when we are in unrepentant sin is abominable before God, yet confession and repentance from a contrite heart is sweet music to His ears.  We know God is gracious, but let us ask Him to receive us graciously.  Let us never approach God with a sense of entitlement because of our service or sacrifice:  should God receive us it is all of grace.  Praise God He receives and rejoices in the sacrifices of our lips.

The Most High Rules

God is willing to go to great lengths to reveal wisdom to us personally.  We are naturally senseless concerning God's wisdom, and we think all we need is for Him to say the word and it will make sense and be agreeable to us.  The fact we assume this to be true shows how blind we can be.  How many times have we been told the truth and pushed back against it because we could?  When there was nothing at stake but our pride we have resisted plain facts because we hate being wrong.

The life of King Nebuchadnezzar provides a useful example of how God is gracious and willing to go to great pains to instruct us.  Ironically Nebuchadnezzar was deprived of his sanity for 7 years, becoming in his mind as senseless as a wild beast, incapable of speech or understanding.  God warned the king of Babylon concerning his future in a troubling dream, and God also provided Daniel to interpret it for him.  God's purposes in removing the king from his throne for 7 years was also explained:  so the king would learn God rules over all and gives authority to whom He will.  It seemed Daniel saw the fulfilment of the dream as inevitable, but exhorted Nebuchadnezzar to put off his sins, walk righteously, and be merciful to the poor so a period of tranquillity would be prolonged.

A year after this divine revelation, the warning God gave was far from Nebuchadnezzar's mind as he proudly looked upon wealth and splendour of his kingdom.  Daniel 4:30-32 states, "The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty?" ³¹ While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! ³² And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses."  Nebuchadnezzar had been judged by words from his own mouth, and God spoke words of judgment.  For 7 years the proud king would be humbled without human dignity, yet this long season of ignorance would lead to understanding which would save his soul.

When God graciously restored King Nebuchadnezzar to the throne after 7 years, no longer do we read of him boasting in himself but praising and glorifying God.  Looking at the good results of God's patient (and to us unorthodox) plans, what fault can be found in the wonders God does?  We hope for change to occur quickly and painlessly as possible, but that is the self-confident part of us which resists all change.  Because God loves us He corrects us, and though a refining season be long and distasteful God is a Redeemer and His purposes will be accomplished.  We think we can positively change in a moment or in days, but considering examples from scripture we can affirm years and decades are often employed to this end.  This proves how patient and longsuffering God is with us.  Instead of wiping us from the earth in His displeasure, He slowly and surely sanctifies.

Swift to Listen

"He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him."

Proverbs 18:13

"Think before you speak," my dad used to say.  "You have two ears but only one mouth so you should listen twice as much as you speak."  There is great practical wisdom in these sayings.  Solomon warned his son of the folly of answering a matter before he hears it.  When people came before King Solomon for judgment, he needed to listen to both sides and also consult God's Word before a decision could be made.  We are satisfied to have knowledge and to share it, but if we answer without first listening it is folly and shame to us.

Jesus provides a great example for us in His first public interaction with the scribes and Pharisees.  After Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem assuming He was with them, Jesus at 12 years of age remained in the Temple and conversed with the greatest elders and scholars in the land.  Luke 2:46-47 reads, "Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers."  Jesus is a unique case because He not only was the author of the Law but also knew perfectly the hearts and thoughts of men.  Though armed with such knowledge Jesus listened first and then asked questions.  I can be guilty of thinking I know where people are coming from before I bother to ask.

In the ancient tradition Jesus assumed the position of a teacher because He sat down.  He was surrounded by doctors, lawyers, and scribes who were astonished at His understanding and answers.  Instead of lecturing or trotting out arguments before those who gathered, Jesus listened.  How instructive Christ's wisdom in listening first is for us!  Questions and statements posed were met with questions from Jesus which revealed a depth of understanding which amazed those who stood around.  When we are asked a question, let us be mindful to ask questions before we rush to an answer.  We can answer a question correctly but miss the point of why the question was asked in the first place, aiming for heads and not hearts.

Better than providing our answer to a question, let us ask ourselves:  how and what has God spoken on the matter?  Are there biblical examples to consider?  The fool does not consider God in his thoughts, and for children of God to ignore what He has spoken is frankly shameful.  James 1:19-20 puts it like this:  "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."  Too often we mix up the order entirely and are quick to wrath, thus rush to speak, and do not listen at all.  Praise the LORD He leads us in wisdom and provides additional opportunities to obey Him in the future.