How natural it is for us to value the gift over the giver! When speaking about miraculous healings performed by Jesus Christ or Holy Spirit-filled disciples, we can miss the point of the exercise of spiritual power. The healing of the body was not the end but a means: a means to demonstrate the power of God so He might be glorified. People can fall into the trap of seeing the exercise of spiritual power as the end, rather than the glory of God.
When we focus on a spiritual gift as an end in itself, we miss the purpose God has in giving and the exercise of the gift. We are like babies who chew on extension cords, not even comprehending there is power flowing between our gums for a better purpose than our teething. When Jesus healed a blind man, His disciples asked "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" John 9:3 says, "Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." The man was a sinner just like anyone else. His blindness was not a punishment from God for sin in his family. He was born blind so the works of God should be revealed in him. Healing was a tool Jesus used to prove His redemptive power, divinity, and truth. It would be a grave mistake to think Jesus just went around healing people without teaching and preaching. Healing was coupled with the preaching of God's Word. If someone is healed without explanation, the man who did the healing will be honoured. Jesus did not come to honour Himself, but to glorify His Father in heaven.
The scriptures connect teaching, preaching, and healing. Matthew 9:35 reads, "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matt. 4:23 also) What better way to illustrate the power of the Gospel then through healing people? We see this connection when Peter through the name of Jesus healed the lame man begging at the temple. After the lame man went into the temple walking, leaping, and praising God, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered. Seeing the crowd, Peter addressed them concerning the means of this man's miraculous healing in Acts 3:12-15: "So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
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The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
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But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
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and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."
My favourite verse to show this critical connection is contained in the disciples' prayer after being threatened for preaching in Christ's name. Acts 4:29-31 reads, "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
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by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
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And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." Peter, John, and the disciples did not pray for the gift of healing because there were a lot of sick people around. God has compassion on the sick, don't misunderstand. But did you see the reason why Peter and the disciples prayed that healings, signs, and wonders would be done through Jesus? So they with boldness would speak forth God's Word! I say this is not a primary reason why people want to be healed or see people healed today - that the Word of God would go out with power or that God would be glorified. Our motives can be far less biblical and even blatantly selfish. The disciples were described not as going around healing people - though they certainly did - but that they spoke the Word of God with boldness. God answered their prayer!
God has the power to heal, and it is His will to do so. When we walk in faith by the Holy Spirit, guided by scriptural motives, desiring God's glory and the promotion of His Word, we will see healing according to His perfect will. Let's make sure we do not take healing out of the context of scripture and consider God's deep purposes for spiritual gifts. More than simply alleviating symptoms or improving our lives, healing is a scriptural way to create an attentive audience for the Gospel. May we with all boldness speak forth God's word as God stretches out His hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of God's holy servant Jesus - not for our enjoyment, convenience, amazement, or honour, but the glory of God.
31 March 2014
29 March 2014
Lay Aside Weights
I was listening to a Calvary Chapel Radio app and heard pastor Brian Broderson speaking. As he recited a verse with which I was familiar, the LORD illuminated it in a fresh way. Hebrews 12 begins, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
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looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
This verse illustrates the purpose and intentionality of the Christian walk. It is not simply a life of sin avoidance, but of running the race set before each one of us just as Jesus did. He endured, and since the Holy Spirit has regenerated and filled Christ's followers, we can persevere to the end. If we skim through the passage, we might think the writer of Hebrews is referring to sin as weights. But that is not what is being said. A distinction is being made between weights and sin. Sin is the greatest burden all bear from birth, and we are free from it only through Jesus who bore it for us on the cross. We should lay aside and forsake all sin. There are, however, things in our lives that are not sin but are weights - weights that hinder us in running our race. No one who cares about their time or placement in a gold-medal match would load themselves with weights.
Life can weigh upon both mind and body. God intends that we run unencumbered for His glory as we lay aside sin which ensnares or any weight that drags down. The Holy Spirit and the scriptures allow us to discern what is sin, what is necessary, what is permitted, and what is simply a weight that holds us back from a strong finish. Once those weights are thrown aside, we will be stronger still to do what God has called us to do. Our desire and ability to run only comes from God, and as we rely upon Christ - following His lead - we will not be led astray. Let's not wait until the ship is sinking to throw aside what does not promote our spiritual well-being. We must be vigilant to lay aside sin and weights we tend to accumulate!
This verse illustrates the purpose and intentionality of the Christian walk. It is not simply a life of sin avoidance, but of running the race set before each one of us just as Jesus did. He endured, and since the Holy Spirit has regenerated and filled Christ's followers, we can persevere to the end. If we skim through the passage, we might think the writer of Hebrews is referring to sin as weights. But that is not what is being said. A distinction is being made between weights and sin. Sin is the greatest burden all bear from birth, and we are free from it only through Jesus who bore it for us on the cross. We should lay aside and forsake all sin. There are, however, things in our lives that are not sin but are weights - weights that hinder us in running our race. No one who cares about their time or placement in a gold-medal match would load themselves with weights.
Life can weigh upon both mind and body. God intends that we run unencumbered for His glory as we lay aside sin which ensnares or any weight that drags down. The Holy Spirit and the scriptures allow us to discern what is sin, what is necessary, what is permitted, and what is simply a weight that holds us back from a strong finish. Once those weights are thrown aside, we will be stronger still to do what God has called us to do. Our desire and ability to run only comes from God, and as we rely upon Christ - following His lead - we will not be led astray. Let's not wait until the ship is sinking to throw aside what does not promote our spiritual well-being. We must be vigilant to lay aside sin and weights we tend to accumulate!
27 March 2014
Jesus: Our Sacrifice and Inheritance
I love when God opens my eyes to catch glimpses of His plan in the Bible. Through Old Testament prophets God spoke of a Messiah who would save His people from their sin. The New Testament begins with the Gospels by hailing Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of this divine promise. Because He came in humility cloaked in humanity, He was rejected by the very people He came to save. The Jews were looking for one who would rule the nations with a rod of iron, yet that fulfillment is still to come when Jesus is revealed to the world the second time. Jesus came as a servant of all, and died to set sinners free. Jesus rose glorified three days later, proving He is exactly who He claimed to be, a message harmonised with the angels who announced his birth to disciples who followed Him in faith. He is Immanuel - God made flesh - our Peace, my LORD and my God.
In the opening chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John addresses the letter to seven churches in Asia. He does not claim to be the source of this revelation, but Revelation 1:5-6 says his words are "...from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." John praises Jesus for His redeeming sacrifice and atonement through His blood. He proclaims the position before God of all genuine disciples of Jesus, having been made "kings and priests" before God.
This knowledge provides a beautiful picture of the believer's calling and service throughout scripture. As a Christian, knowing Christ has made me a priest unto God, there is a wealth of understanding and personal application in the Old Testament to consider. Priests under the old covenant were of the tribe of Levi and specifically of the line of Aaron, the first High Priest. Hebrews chapters 7-10 goes into great detail how Christ is a better High Priest than any man, for He did not enter the Holiest place with the blood of animal sacrifices, but through His precious blood. Hebrews 9:24-26 says, "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
Having established that Christians are made priests through the priesthood of Jesus Christ by His grace, I noticed a lovely picture in the book of Joshua. Joshua 13:14 says, "Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as He said to them." The end of the chapter concludes with Joshua 13:33: "But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as He had said to them." Is this a contradiction? Verse 14 says the inheritance of the Levites were the sacrifices they were privileged and commanded to partake of, but verse 33 says the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance! It is not one or the other, but both! This points to Jesus Christ as being the sacrifice we partake of by faith, and that He is our inheritance. It is not an inheritance to be received only after the death of the body, for the Holy Spirit even now is the down-payment of our inheritance Who dwells inside all who are born again (Eph. 1:10-14).
What God has promised to do He has done. As certain as the historical account of the Bible is true, all that we read yet to take place will one day be fulfilled. Since Christ has made us kings and priests unto God, let us boldly lay hold of our inheritance and walk in this knowledge. Naboth refused the request of king Ahab to sell land given him by God as an inheritance, and it ended up costing him his life. May our lives, purchased by God as HIS inheritance, be used for His glory as we stand steadfast in faith.
In the opening chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John addresses the letter to seven churches in Asia. He does not claim to be the source of this revelation, but Revelation 1:5-6 says his words are "...from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." John praises Jesus for His redeeming sacrifice and atonement through His blood. He proclaims the position before God of all genuine disciples of Jesus, having been made "kings and priests" before God.
This knowledge provides a beautiful picture of the believer's calling and service throughout scripture. As a Christian, knowing Christ has made me a priest unto God, there is a wealth of understanding and personal application in the Old Testament to consider. Priests under the old covenant were of the tribe of Levi and specifically of the line of Aaron, the first High Priest. Hebrews chapters 7-10 goes into great detail how Christ is a better High Priest than any man, for He did not enter the Holiest place with the blood of animal sacrifices, but through His precious blood. Hebrews 9:24-26 says, "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
Having established that Christians are made priests through the priesthood of Jesus Christ by His grace, I noticed a lovely picture in the book of Joshua. Joshua 13:14 says, "Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as He said to them." The end of the chapter concludes with Joshua 13:33: "But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as He had said to them." Is this a contradiction? Verse 14 says the inheritance of the Levites were the sacrifices they were privileged and commanded to partake of, but verse 33 says the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance! It is not one or the other, but both! This points to Jesus Christ as being the sacrifice we partake of by faith, and that He is our inheritance. It is not an inheritance to be received only after the death of the body, for the Holy Spirit even now is the down-payment of our inheritance Who dwells inside all who are born again (Eph. 1:10-14).
What God has promised to do He has done. As certain as the historical account of the Bible is true, all that we read yet to take place will one day be fulfilled. Since Christ has made us kings and priests unto God, let us boldly lay hold of our inheritance and walk in this knowledge. Naboth refused the request of king Ahab to sell land given him by God as an inheritance, and it ended up costing him his life. May our lives, purchased by God as HIS inheritance, be used for His glory as we stand steadfast in faith.
25 March 2014
Can You Stand?
We are in a spiritually healthy place when our thoughts, words, and deeds are moved by faith in Jesus Christ. In this day of relativism and theological revision, it is imperative Christians ground themselves in the Word of God to know truth from error. Error is not always obvious and requires discernment through the Holy Spirit. As someone who believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God to be taken literally whenever possible, the scriptures form my theology. Even though God and His Word have not changed, I have changed over the years. My understanding has expanded as I have worked to put the scriptures into practice by faith. After being justified by faith in Christ, the sanctification process has been embraced in varying degrees in my life. This means change, a transforming work of being moulded more into the image of Jesus. This means a change of heart, mind, and life for the better!
I cannot stress the importance of living our lives according to scripture. Our theology must come from the Bible, not from worship songs. There is a song that God has used to minister to my heart by Matt Maher called, "Lord I Need You." It well illustrates the cry of my own heart, the recognision of my complete inability to do anything without God. At the risk of sounding pedantic, there is one phrase in the song that has never set well with me. It goes, "Teach my song to rise to you when temptation comes my way, and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you. Jesus you're my hope and stay." In Christ we find the strength and power to overcome all temptation, for He was tempted in every way yet remained without sin. Sin becomes a temptation because of the wickedness in our own hearts (James 1:13-15). The part where I take issue is with the phrase, "...and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you." I have been thinking: is this good theology? I believe I understand what the artist is trying to convey, but I cannot see how it is biblical.
Because I am a flawed human being still in the process of sanctification, falling is more than a likelihood: it is a certainty. As I have heard a wise man say, we are all only one bad decision away from a fall. In a physical sense, people skilled in balance and walking fall all the time: a high heel failed, ice underfoot, because of advancing age, loss of balance from kicking something, or being pushed over! We will fall. I get that. But the song implies there are times when we "cannot stand" when temptation comes. In our flesh this is true. However, the scriptures command us to stand with the assurance God has provided all the strength for us to stand no matter the circumstances. It is written in Ephesians 6:10-15: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace..." Christians are told we can stand in the evil day and withstand even the direct assault of Satan himself because it is in God's strength we stand. Is anything too hard for God? We are to put on the whole armour of God with our feet firmly fixed upon Jesus Christ the Chief Cornerstone. From this spiritual vantage point, when we walk according to faith in Christ we cannot be moved. We can always stand.
In one sense, God never commands us to do what we cannot do. But here is a paradox: not one thing God commands us can we do in our flesh. We cannot love others, humble ourselves, or truly forgive from the heart in our unregenerate state. We cannot stand when we have given place to sin or choose not to walk in faith. But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. No man can stand on his own, but in Christ Christians can and will stand. Perhaps the line would align better with the scriptures to say, "...And I'll stand because I trust in you. Jesus you're my hope and stay." I am so grateful for the truth of God's Word, and for the love God has revealed to all through it. May we all stand strong in the LORD and in the power of His might!
I cannot stress the importance of living our lives according to scripture. Our theology must come from the Bible, not from worship songs. There is a song that God has used to minister to my heart by Matt Maher called, "Lord I Need You." It well illustrates the cry of my own heart, the recognision of my complete inability to do anything without God. At the risk of sounding pedantic, there is one phrase in the song that has never set well with me. It goes, "Teach my song to rise to you when temptation comes my way, and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you. Jesus you're my hope and stay." In Christ we find the strength and power to overcome all temptation, for He was tempted in every way yet remained without sin. Sin becomes a temptation because of the wickedness in our own hearts (James 1:13-15). The part where I take issue is with the phrase, "...and when I cannot stand I'll fall on you." I have been thinking: is this good theology? I believe I understand what the artist is trying to convey, but I cannot see how it is biblical.
Because I am a flawed human being still in the process of sanctification, falling is more than a likelihood: it is a certainty. As I have heard a wise man say, we are all only one bad decision away from a fall. In a physical sense, people skilled in balance and walking fall all the time: a high heel failed, ice underfoot, because of advancing age, loss of balance from kicking something, or being pushed over! We will fall. I get that. But the song implies there are times when we "cannot stand" when temptation comes. In our flesh this is true. However, the scriptures command us to stand with the assurance God has provided all the strength for us to stand no matter the circumstances. It is written in Ephesians 6:10-15: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace..." Christians are told we can stand in the evil day and withstand even the direct assault of Satan himself because it is in God's strength we stand. Is anything too hard for God? We are to put on the whole armour of God with our feet firmly fixed upon Jesus Christ the Chief Cornerstone. From this spiritual vantage point, when we walk according to faith in Christ we cannot be moved. We can always stand.
In one sense, God never commands us to do what we cannot do. But here is a paradox: not one thing God commands us can we do in our flesh. We cannot love others, humble ourselves, or truly forgive from the heart in our unregenerate state. We cannot stand when we have given place to sin or choose not to walk in faith. But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. No man can stand on his own, but in Christ Christians can and will stand. Perhaps the line would align better with the scriptures to say, "...And I'll stand because I trust in you. Jesus you're my hope and stay." I am so grateful for the truth of God's Word, and for the love God has revealed to all through it. May we all stand strong in the LORD and in the power of His might!
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