Most Church-going believers talk about the victory of the Cross, the resurrection and the ultimate victory of Jesus when He comes again in glory. They hear many sermons concerning these topics from preachers and Pastors in their Local Church. But in reality you will not find many of them speaking about living in personal victory in Christ. Why? Is it because of unbelief? Do they have the right kind of faith which believes the right doctrines, but makes little difference to their daily lives?
John said, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4, 5, NKJV)?
Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
We are born of God and we overcome the world just as Jesus overcame the world. And we overcome the tribulations that are in the world. Therefore if you believe Jesus is the Son of God you can overcome whatever problems confront you. You can be victorious no matter what the world does to you.
Let us consider some areas of personal victory in Christ:
Victory over Opposition
The believer can expect opposition because those of the world live by an entirely different set of values to his own. In fact, Jesus said the Christian is blessed when he meets with opposition, even of an unjust kind:
"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven" (Luke 6:22, 23, NIV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. It certainly takes a man of faith to react by leaping for joy when confronted with such opposition.
Paul, being a man of faith, could sit in prison and write to the Thessalonians telling them to rejoice in the Lord always. He teaches that we are to give thanks in all circumstances, because this is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:16 - 18).
2. Jesus wants us to keep our eyes not on the opposition, but on the Kingdom. We cannot expect understanding, or even justice, from a fallen world. But we know that Jesus has perfect understanding of every predicament in which we can find ourselves. We can be sure that the Lord will always treat us with justice, love and mercy.
3. Jesus emphasizes that our reward will be in heaven (Read also Luke 6:35, 36).
Love your enemies
Jesus tells us to love our enemies and do good to them:
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:27, 28).
Love, do good, bless and pray! What a contrast to the way people usually react to opposition and hatred. The natural reaction is to complain, return the hate, feeling bitter and resentful, demanding revenge and punishment for those who have caused the problem. All such reactions belong to the world and not to God's Kingdom.
Victory through Forgiveness
Life seems full of problems. Some of these may be of our own making. We have disobeyed the Lord and our sin has created difficulties we would not have had otherwise.
Problems are often people and people are often problems. We live in an imperfect world among imperfect people. The sins of others can influence our lives, sometimes in significant and even disastrous ways. By the same token, our sins can have serious repercussions in others' lives especially those who are close to us at home, work or in the Church. Even unbelievers believe that sin is a social disease with social consequences.
Love expressed in forgiveness
Love conquers all. This is the Christian message. Jesus' love on the Cross overcame sin, sickness and even death. He sends His disciples into the world with the message of love.
Peter said, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love overs over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8, NIV).
I believe at the heart of love is forgiveness. You could not know God's love for you without experiencing His forgiveness. It is our Christian duty to extend that forgiveness to others, whoever they may be, regardless of what they have done. This is the heart of the Gospel message!
The message of forgiveness is expressed through the Lord's Prayer:
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matt. 6:12, NIV).
Mercy and forgiveness
Jesus gives us the parable of the unmerciful (unforgiving) servant to reinforce His teaching on mercy and forgiveness (Matt. 18:23 - 35). He tells the story in response to Peter's question as to how often he should forgive his brother. He suggests seven times as being appropriate. But Jesus responded: "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times" (Matt. 18:22) - signifying an infinite number.
As the Lord has had mercy on us, we should live with an attitude towards others of love, forgiveness and mercy.
Victory in Relationships
We are to forgive others. We are also to encourage them and build them up in love. Paul gives clear, practical instruction about relationships:
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another ... Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep...." (Romans 12:9 - 21).
"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).
"Let all that you do be done with love" (1 Cor. 16:14).
If we are to do what Paul said, we shall have victory in our relationships.
God is Love
John said, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).
John further said, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).
Therefore, when Jesus baptized you in His Holy Spirit, He is, in effect baptized you with His love. He flooded your heart and life with His love. If you think you lack such love, ask Jesus to fill you with His Spirit. He promises that everyone who asks receives (Matt. 7:8).
Paul said, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, ..." (Eph. 5:1, 2, NKJV).
This love is a response to God's love for you. If you are an imitator of God you are an imitator of His love. If you walk in love you will love others and merciful to others just as the Lord loves you and merciful to you. This is the relationship that God wants you to have.
Victory over Oppression and Depression
Oppression can take different forms. There are the times when your personal worth and faith seem under attack. The devil wants you to believe you are no-good, a spiritual failure, that God does not want anything to do with you. He might suggest you have failed so miserably even your ultimate salvation is far from certain or secure.
If you listen to the devil you will lose all your confidence before God and then you willl feel trapped by your circumstances. Everything seems hopeless, you feel helpless and the Lord seems far removed from your concerns. Oppression is like a rope with which the devil wants to bind you. In actual fact you should bind him instead of being bound by him.
An extreme form of the state of Oppression cause Depression. The person has believed so many of the devil's lies, and has thus become so negative in his thinking; he no longer knows how to be positive. His eyse are not on the truth of God's Word, but on himself and his feelings. He becomes self-centered with self-pity, and becomes over emotional in his thinking, action and reaction.
Freedom in Christ
You can expect the devil to oppose you, but you do not need to allow him to oppress you, to make you feel that either he or your circumstances are on top of you. Listen to what Jesus Himself said:
"Therefore if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Paul said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1, NIV).
The enemy even tries to oppress you through your Christian activitie. He wants to limit the freedom of the Holy Spirit among God's people, through tradition, conformity and legalism.
The Gospel message is damaged severely by religious prejudice, self-righteousness, denominationalism and judgmental attitued towards other believers.
Be on your guard
One way of discerning the voice of the enemy is to remember the following:
1. The devil accuses you; Jesus does not.
2. He tries to condemn you; Jesus does not.
3. He undermines faith; Jesus gives faith.
4. He diverts your attention on to your problem; the Holy Spirit directs you to Jesus.
5. He blames God; Jesus offers help.
Victory over Temptation
It is not a sin to be tempted. What you do in response to the temptation is what matters.
Paul said, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor. 10:12, 13, NIV).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. In the context, Paul was admonishing the Corinthians not to be proud and arrogant like the children of Israel who tested (tempted) Christ in the wilderness. Even when you are standing firm you need to be on the watch.
2. Whatever temptation you suffer is experienced by many others. The devil plays the same cards again and again, because he knows the weak, vulnerable points at which to attack.
3. God is in control. He will never allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. He does not want you to fall from grace.
4. No matter what the temptation, the Lord will always provide you with an escape route. God loves you and He will not allow the devil to attack you in such a way that you have to yield to his demands.
5. God ensures that you are able to withstand the temptation and you can be victorious.
The devil is the tempter, not God
James said, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, give birth to death" (James 1:13 - 15, NIV).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. God allows the enemy to tempt you because temptation exposes your vulnerable area. You see the ways in which you need to trust God, and be built up in His strength. But God Himself does not tempt you. He wants you to stand firm in faith against temptation.
2. Temptation does not create sin; it smply exposes the sinful desires which exist within you. It exposes the fleshly desire that is in your heart.
3. If you allow evil desires to entice you away from God's purposes, you will inevitably sin.
Your help comes from Jesus
Jesus can help you to overcome temptation
"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb. 2:18, NIV).
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Understanding Regeneration and the Rebirth
The rebirth or the born again experience involved the whole process of regeneration initiated by God and not by man. Whatever action a man takes, is the result of the conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. In other words, regeneration is an act that only God can perform. We are no more able to regenerate ourselves than a blind man is able to see by a sheer act of the will. A blind man can decide to see, but he cannot see unless his eyes are healed.
What is "regeneration"?
Regeneration does not take place in stages. It is instantaneous. It is accomplished by one touch of the Holy Spirit upon our human spirit. It is a sovereign work, a thoroughly effective work accomplished by the immediate power of the omnipotence of God. Only God can bring something out of nothing and life out of death. Only God can quicken the dead human spirit.
The Nelson's Bible dictionary defines "Regeneration" as:
"The spiritual change brought about in a person's life by an act of God. In regeneration a person's sinful nature is changed, and he is enabled to respond to God in faith. The need for regeneration grows out of humanity's sinfulness. It is brought about through God's initiative. God works in the human heart, and the person responds to God through faith. Thus, regeneration is an act of God through the Holy Spirit, resulting in resurrection from sin to a new life in Jesus Christ (Please see 2 Corinthians 5:17)."
By studying the Book of John and the Book of Acts carefully, you will understand that there are four stages of initiation as a result of divine activity of regeneration. These stages of the rebirth are initiated by God and not by man's effort. Taking these four stages of initiation as a whole we have the new-birth or the born again experience. As a result of this, the person becomes a Christian.
In my opinion the term "Born again Christian" should not be used because it is a misnomer or redundancy. The fact is that if one is born agin, then he is a Christian. If he is a Christian then he is born again. There is no such thing as a "non-born again Christian" and no such thing as a "born again non-Christian" - it sounds ridiculous!
The four stages of the new birth
In the Book of Acts after Peter preached his first sermon to the men of Judea and all who dwelled in Jerusalem, they were "cut to the heart" - They were sorrowful.
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Chrsit for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy spirit'" (Acts 2:37, 38, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture contains the four stages of the new birth.
1. Repent - God Himself grants repentance, it is a gift of God. Even though repentance is an act of will, a person can only have the desire to repent if God grants him repentance first.
"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31, NKJV, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "For you know that afterward, when he (Esau) wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears" (Heb. 12:17, emphasis added).
2. Believe - God bestows the gift of faith to a person to believe.
Paul said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of work, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, emphasis added).
Similarly, it is true that to believe is also an act of will, but a person can only believe if God grants him the gift of faith first.
3. Be baptized (Water baptism) - In the act of water baptism, the believer identifies himself with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection.
Paul said, "... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12).
4. Receive the Holy Spirit (Baptism of the Holy Spirit) - God poured out His spirit upon us.
Paul said, "... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5, 6).
The fourth and final stage of the new birth is the process of regeneration, marking the end of the new birth and the beginning of the new life for the Christian. These four stages are called initiation stages of the new birth because at this point the Spirit-filled Christain starts his life of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit in him until the Lord returns for His Bride (Eph. 5:26, 27).
Being born again according to the Words of Jesus Christ
Many Christians claimed to have been born again but most of them failed to understand fully what Jesus said about being born again.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus, by night. The following is John's record of their conversation (John 3:3 - 8):
Verse 3 - "Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), 'Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born agin, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
Verse 4 - "Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'
Verse 5 - "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Verse 7 - "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
Verse 8 - "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everone who is born of the Spirit'" (NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Greek words translated "born again" mean "born from above". Nicodemus could not understand it or he would not ask Jesus the question in Verse 4.
2. According to Jesus, "born again" or "born from above" means "born of water and of the Spirit".
I believe many believers fail to understand how "water" has anything to do with being born again. Even John Wesley did not wish to explain what is meant by "born of water and the Spirit" in his sermon "Marks of the New Birth" (From Forty-four Sermons, Sermon XXXIX). This was what he said:
"We know these privileges are ordinarily related to baptism, which is termed by Jesus in the preceding verse: being born of water and of the Spirit. Now we want to know what these privileges are. Perhaps it is not necessary to give a definition of this because the Scripture gives none".
3. Verse 5 is an expansion of Verse 3. In Verse 3 Jesus stated that one must be born again. In Verse 5 He explained how to be born again. In other words, both Verse 3 and Verse 5 described the born again experience only. Jesus was not talking about the first physical birth. We need to add the word "again" to clarify what Jesus said. This is my paraphrase:
"Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born (again) of water and (born again of ) the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'".
Jesus essentially said that, a person needs the rebirth using water and the Spirit in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God.
Here are two common misinterpretations:
(1) Some Bible teachers make the error in interpretation by assuming that "water and the Spirit" means, "The Word of God and the Holy Spirit". They say water refers to the Word of God. In ohter words, according to them, a person who is born again is born of the Word and born of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that "water" does not speak of the "Word of God" in Scripture. But, the "cleansing effect of water" does speak of the "Word of God" in the process of sanctification!
Paul said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ..." (Eph. 5:25, 26, emphasis added).
Now, if the Word has anything to do with the born again experience, then the Word must be heard or read first. And we know that a person who is not regenerated can never understand the Word of God. The Word of God was written by the Holy Spirit and it needs the Holy Spirit to reveal the things of God to us (2 Tim. 3:16).
(2) Some other Bible teachers also make the error in interpretation by assuming that "born of water and the Spirit" means "born of water and born of the Spirit". This phrase then has two parts. The first part - "born of water", then indicates the physical birth. To these Bible teachers "water" is considered a synonym of "water in the womb". The second part - "born of the Spirit", means the rebirth. But the fact is that "born of water and the Spirit" is one single spiritual event (the rebirth) and has nothing to do with the earlier physical birth! Hence, we must rule out this interpretation.
4. Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, .." means, "The physical birth". And "... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" means the "rebirth" or "second birth". Notice that the rebirth makes a person spiritually alive instead of spiritually dead.
5. Verse 8 - When a person is born again by the Spirit of God, there is no change in him physically and no one can see what is happening to him physically. It is like the wind; one can hear the sound but one cannot tell where the wind comes from and where it goes. The rebirth is not the result of man's power nor man's wisdom. It remains the mystery and the sovereign work of God. But one thing we know - the rebirth is a spiritual and not a physical rebirth. The redemption or salvation of our physical body happens when Jesus comes again:
The writer of Hebrews said, "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28, NKJV).
True Biblical Born again Experience
Based on the expalantion above I think it is reasonable to believe that Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he needs the second birth or the born again experience. The second birth is the spiritual birth with both the physical and spiritual aspects. "Water" refers to the physical act of "water baptism". But, this of itself and by itself cannot bring about the new birth if it is not accompanied by the divine activity (a spiritual act) of the Holy Spirit in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other words, a believer without the both aspects of the born again experience will neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God. He will not be saved with only one aspect of the experience - either only Baptism of the Holy Spirit or only water baptism (please read my earlier message, "One Baptism")
I fail to understand why most Christians, even leaders in the evangelical, pentecostal or charismatic circles, either think Baptism of the Holy Spirit is unnecessary or it is a second experience for those who need power to share the Gospetl to the unbelieving world. Not only this is a blatant deception, but also ignorant of the teaching of Jesus Christ!
Study the Book of Acts and the Epistles carefully you will notice that every one who believed and repented had been baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. When Pentecost had come every one was baptized in the Holy Spirit and on the same day baptized in water. It does not matter which comes first - baptism in water or baptism in the Holy Spirit. Notice that no one ever comes to the Church to get baptized. Why? The answer is simple. The Church is for born again believers and unless they are both baptized in water and the Holy Spirit they are not born again yet! People who cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God cannot enter the door of the church! Can you see how men made a mess of everything?
What is "regeneration"?
Regeneration does not take place in stages. It is instantaneous. It is accomplished by one touch of the Holy Spirit upon our human spirit. It is a sovereign work, a thoroughly effective work accomplished by the immediate power of the omnipotence of God. Only God can bring something out of nothing and life out of death. Only God can quicken the dead human spirit.
The Nelson's Bible dictionary defines "Regeneration" as:
"The spiritual change brought about in a person's life by an act of God. In regeneration a person's sinful nature is changed, and he is enabled to respond to God in faith. The need for regeneration grows out of humanity's sinfulness. It is brought about through God's initiative. God works in the human heart, and the person responds to God through faith. Thus, regeneration is an act of God through the Holy Spirit, resulting in resurrection from sin to a new life in Jesus Christ (Please see 2 Corinthians 5:17)."
By studying the Book of John and the Book of Acts carefully, you will understand that there are four stages of initiation as a result of divine activity of regeneration. These stages of the rebirth are initiated by God and not by man's effort. Taking these four stages of initiation as a whole we have the new-birth or the born again experience. As a result of this, the person becomes a Christian.
In my opinion the term "Born again Christian" should not be used because it is a misnomer or redundancy. The fact is that if one is born agin, then he is a Christian. If he is a Christian then he is born again. There is no such thing as a "non-born again Christian" and no such thing as a "born again non-Christian" - it sounds ridiculous!
The four stages of the new birth
In the Book of Acts after Peter preached his first sermon to the men of Judea and all who dwelled in Jerusalem, they were "cut to the heart" - They were sorrowful.
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Chrsit for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy spirit'" (Acts 2:37, 38, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture contains the four stages of the new birth.
1. Repent - God Himself grants repentance, it is a gift of God. Even though repentance is an act of will, a person can only have the desire to repent if God grants him repentance first.
"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31, NKJV, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "For you know that afterward, when he (Esau) wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears" (Heb. 12:17, emphasis added).
2. Believe - God bestows the gift of faith to a person to believe.
Paul said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of work, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9, emphasis added).
Similarly, it is true that to believe is also an act of will, but a person can only believe if God grants him the gift of faith first.
3. Be baptized (Water baptism) - In the act of water baptism, the believer identifies himself with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection.
Paul said, "... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead" (Col. 2:12).
4. Receive the Holy Spirit (Baptism of the Holy Spirit) - God poured out His spirit upon us.
Paul said, "... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5, 6).
The fourth and final stage of the new birth is the process of regeneration, marking the end of the new birth and the beginning of the new life for the Christian. These four stages are called initiation stages of the new birth because at this point the Spirit-filled Christain starts his life of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit in him until the Lord returns for His Bride (Eph. 5:26, 27).
Being born again according to the Words of Jesus Christ
Many Christians claimed to have been born again but most of them failed to understand fully what Jesus said about being born again.
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus, by night. The following is John's record of their conversation (John 3:3 - 8):
Verse 3 - "Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), 'Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born agin, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
Verse 4 - "Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'
Verse 5 - "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Verse 7 - "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
Verse 8 - "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everone who is born of the Spirit'" (NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Greek words translated "born again" mean "born from above". Nicodemus could not understand it or he would not ask Jesus the question in Verse 4.
2. According to Jesus, "born again" or "born from above" means "born of water and of the Spirit".
I believe many believers fail to understand how "water" has anything to do with being born again. Even John Wesley did not wish to explain what is meant by "born of water and the Spirit" in his sermon "Marks of the New Birth" (From Forty-four Sermons, Sermon XXXIX). This was what he said:
"We know these privileges are ordinarily related to baptism, which is termed by Jesus in the preceding verse: being born of water and of the Spirit. Now we want to know what these privileges are. Perhaps it is not necessary to give a definition of this because the Scripture gives none".
3. Verse 5 is an expansion of Verse 3. In Verse 3 Jesus stated that one must be born again. In Verse 5 He explained how to be born again. In other words, both Verse 3 and Verse 5 described the born again experience only. Jesus was not talking about the first physical birth. We need to add the word "again" to clarify what Jesus said. This is my paraphrase:
"Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born (again) of water and (born again of ) the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'".
Jesus essentially said that, a person needs the rebirth using water and the Spirit in order to see and enter the Kingdom of God.
Here are two common misinterpretations:
(1) Some Bible teachers make the error in interpretation by assuming that "water and the Spirit" means, "The Word of God and the Holy Spirit". They say water refers to the Word of God. In ohter words, according to them, a person who is born again is born of the Word and born of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that "water" does not speak of the "Word of God" in Scripture. But, the "cleansing effect of water" does speak of the "Word of God" in the process of sanctification!
Paul said, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ..." (Eph. 5:25, 26, emphasis added).
Now, if the Word has anything to do with the born again experience, then the Word must be heard or read first. And we know that a person who is not regenerated can never understand the Word of God. The Word of God was written by the Holy Spirit and it needs the Holy Spirit to reveal the things of God to us (2 Tim. 3:16).
(2) Some other Bible teachers also make the error in interpretation by assuming that "born of water and the Spirit" means "born of water and born of the Spirit". This phrase then has two parts. The first part - "born of water", then indicates the physical birth. To these Bible teachers "water" is considered a synonym of "water in the womb". The second part - "born of the Spirit", means the rebirth. But the fact is that "born of water and the Spirit" is one single spiritual event (the rebirth) and has nothing to do with the earlier physical birth! Hence, we must rule out this interpretation.
4. Verse 6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, .." means, "The physical birth". And "... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" means the "rebirth" or "second birth". Notice that the rebirth makes a person spiritually alive instead of spiritually dead.
5. Verse 8 - When a person is born again by the Spirit of God, there is no change in him physically and no one can see what is happening to him physically. It is like the wind; one can hear the sound but one cannot tell where the wind comes from and where it goes. The rebirth is not the result of man's power nor man's wisdom. It remains the mystery and the sovereign work of God. But one thing we know - the rebirth is a spiritual and not a physical rebirth. The redemption or salvation of our physical body happens when Jesus comes again:
The writer of Hebrews said, "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28, NKJV).
True Biblical Born again Experience
Based on the expalantion above I think it is reasonable to believe that Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he needs the second birth or the born again experience. The second birth is the spiritual birth with both the physical and spiritual aspects. "Water" refers to the physical act of "water baptism". But, this of itself and by itself cannot bring about the new birth if it is not accompanied by the divine activity (a spiritual act) of the Holy Spirit in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In other words, a believer without the both aspects of the born again experience will neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God. He will not be saved with only one aspect of the experience - either only Baptism of the Holy Spirit or only water baptism (please read my earlier message, "One Baptism")
I fail to understand why most Christians, even leaders in the evangelical, pentecostal or charismatic circles, either think Baptism of the Holy Spirit is unnecessary or it is a second experience for those who need power to share the Gospetl to the unbelieving world. Not only this is a blatant deception, but also ignorant of the teaching of Jesus Christ!
Study the Book of Acts and the Epistles carefully you will notice that every one who believed and repented had been baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. When Pentecost had come every one was baptized in the Holy Spirit and on the same day baptized in water. It does not matter which comes first - baptism in water or baptism in the Holy Spirit. Notice that no one ever comes to the Church to get baptized. Why? The answer is simple. The Church is for born again believers and unless they are both baptized in water and the Holy Spirit they are not born again yet! People who cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God cannot enter the door of the church! Can you see how men made a mess of everything?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
God's Purpose of Redemption
What is God's purpose of redemption for Israel and for the Church? This is an interesting question. God Himself gave us the answer in the Old Testament and the apostle Peter explained it in the New Testament.
Old Testament redemption
Exodus 19 contains a message God gave to Moses for the children of Israel after He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt, brought them out by tremendous miracles and brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai and from there He proposed to enter into a Covenant with them.
Let us look at some verses of Scripture:
"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and holy nation" (Exodus 19:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice what God said to the children of Israel - "I brought you to Myself". This I believe is the primary purpose of Israel's redemption - To bring His chosen people to Himself! God first revealed His primary objective before He went on to outline the rest of His purpose. You can read the rest of Exodus which contains the details of His Covenant and the conditions attached to His Covenant with Israel.
New Testament redemption
Notice also that the words spoken by God are not merely relevant to Israel after their redemption out of Egypt, but they are not less relevant to Christians today. I believe most of the Jews have never discovered the purpose of their redemption, not even today. The Scripture says because of their unbelief and their rejection of God, salvation has come to the Gentiles (Romans 11).
Since Israel failed to understand the purpose of their redemption God simply restated the same purpose for the Church of Jesus Christ consisting of both the Jewish and Gentile believers.
Peter wrote to believers in Christ:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, emphasis added).
Notice the similarity of both passages of Scripture (OT and NT). Both the children of Israel and the Church are special people of God and both are kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
God's primary purpose in redemption
God's primary purpose in redemption is always this - To bring His people (Israel and the Church) to Himself. Anything else is secondary.
How does God bring His people to Himself? He does that by preparing His Church as a bride for His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, in Ephesians 5, gives a picture of Christ's love for the Church:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25 - 27, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The two processes of cleansing and sanctifying are closely related but they are not identical. It is possible to have purity or cleanness, without sanctification, but it is not possible to have sanctification without purity or cleanness. Thus cleansing is a essential part of sanctification. Sanctification is directly connected with the word "saint". The word "saint" means "holy". Therefore the literal meaning of sanctification is "making saintly" or "making holy".
2. The one main definite purpose for which Christ redeemed the Church is that "He might sanctify and cleanse her".
3. The means which Christ uses to cleanse and sanctify the Church is "washing of water by the word". The operation of God's Word is compared to the washing of pure water. Even before Christ's atoning death upon the cross had actually been confummated, He had already assured His disciples of the cleansing power of His Word which He had spoken to them:
Jesus said, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3, NKJV).
4. Only God's Word (written or spoken) has the cleansing power. The Church cannot be cleansed by any other means - like observing Church doctrine, Church custom, Church tradition and the doctrine of men. The Church that is not clensed by the Word will not be holy. She is full of spots or wrinkles and full of blemishes and therefore fails to be the bride of Christ. This is an extremely serious matter and that is the reason why James said, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).
Jesus' ultimate purpose for the Church
After the preparation of the bride (the glorious Church), Jesus' ultimate purpose for His Church is to bring her to the Father's hous for the marriage of the Lamb.
Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2, 3, emphasis added).
1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 give a picture of what will happen. A day will come when all true Christians will be caught up bodily and alive to meet the Lord in the air. The souls and spirits of those who had previously died believing in Christ, having been consciously with Him in the interim, will come with their Lord from heaven to rejoin their glorious resurrected bodies. Those (true believers or true Christian) alive at the time of His return, their bodies instantly transformed as well, will be caught up together with the saints of all ages to meet Christ somewhere above the earth and He will bring them to the Father's house of many mansions. This is what most Bible teachers called the "Rapture". This is what John 14:3 means, "I will come again and receive you to Myself".
The "Rapture" is a word to which some critics object because they say it isn't in the Bible. In fact, it is in the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Latin word "rapturos" means, in English, an "ecstatic catching away".
I believe the first event in heaven after our Lord has taken us up there, will be the judgment of true believer at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12 - 15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). This will not be a judgment for condemnation but a judgment for reward. We must all give an account to our Lord for every action (good or evil) or failure to act; for every idle word and secret thought.
Solomon said, "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Eccle. 12:14, NKJV).
In Christ's days the Jewish bride was taken to the house of the groom's father where the two were in seclusion for seven days (one week). Christ must have had that custom in mind when He promised to take His bride to His Father's house. During these seven years (the 70th week of years in Daniel's prophecy - (Daniel 9:24 - 27), the earth is going through the Great Tribulation period under the reign of the Antichrist! But, at precisely the same time in heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb is being prepared (Rev. 19:7, 8)!
He brings His Church to Himself
The Bride of Christ escapes the wrath of the Antichrist. That is the way God protects His true Church, fulfilling what Jesus said to Peter:
"The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
Jesus said this because He will bring His Church to Himself to be His bride!
On the other hand, the gates of Hades shall prevail against the "church" that is left behind under the reign of the Antichrist. I believe the Antichrist together with his false prophet and his "elder" and "pastors" will be sitting at the gates of Hades!
The "church" that fails to be the bride
In both of his epistles, Paul warned Timothy that a time will come, in the lsat days, that believers will depart from the faith:
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1, NKJV).
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away" (2 Tim. 3:1 - 5, NKJV).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Last days are "perilous times" - Time of persecution, stress, danger and trial. I believe we are in the last of the last days now.
2. Paul listed 18 moral blemishes. Notice that the bride of Christ (the glorious Church) is to be without blemish (Eph. 5:27).
3. The key to all forms of moral blemishes is - Men become "lovers of themselves". Because of this they become lovers of money, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and so on.
4. Paul considered "having a form of gidliness but denying its power" as one of the moral blemishes. These "believers" are churchgoers, maintaining only a form of religion (being religious in the sight of men), but they are not true Christians. They may not be apostates, but they lack the real power of Christianity - power of the Holy Spirit which leads to a changed life and to holy living.
5. True Christians should turn away from such people.
Prophecy concerning end-time God's people
An angel of the Lord said to John who was banished to the isle of Patmos converning the Church of Jesus Christ toward the end of this age:
"Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be more filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still" (Rev. 22:10, 11).
Notice that the Book of Revelation is written for God's people, the Church. John was commanded not to seal the prophecy given to him because it will soon be fulfilled. On the other hand, Daniel was commanded to seal up his prophecy because the prophecy relates to a far-distance time (Daniel 12:9).
The angel told John, a time will come when there will be a line of separation and a departure of ways, attitudes and characters among God's people. Those who are wicked will be become more wicked; those who are righteous will become more righteous. The difference between those who are in darkness and those who are in the light will become more distinct as a testimony for all to see before the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is never the intention of God to confuse His people. He wants to make it clear to us that the righteous will receive His reward but the wicked will miss it all!
I believe at the close of this age there will be just two groups of God's people in the Church. One group will be the bride and the other willl be the harlot! Every person has to make a personal decision which group he or she will be found in. The decision is now! If you are not the bride then you are the harlot. The line of separation is clear and there is no grey area! If you are sitting on the fence, you are also a harlot.
The bride has the bridal attire. She has the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). She has the garments of praise and the crown of life and she receives many beautiful gifts from God. She loves her Lord and yields herself Him. She loves the truth of God's Word and obeys His commandments. She overcomes persecution and remains faithful to her Lord until death.
The harlot has many things that man in his wisdom can produce. She has the knowledge and wisdom of the world and she loves the things of the world. His church is a "prosperous" and worldly mega-church. There is no true shepherd to lead her. The pastors in her church are highly qualified eloquent professional preachers, the product of a "reputable" Seminary. They have a proven track record of building "successful" mega-churches. The harlot is under the deception that whatever her pastors do is of God. To her all church work is God's work; all church programs are God's programs. She loves the church of Christ instead of the Christ of the church. She serves the pastors instead of serving the Lord!
The ways of the bride and the ways of the harlot are contrary one to the other. Every one of us has to make the choice. As for "me and my house" we will serve the Lord. We want to be the bride. We want all that God has to offer us; we take hold of His promises and live by His Word!
Old Testament redemption
Exodus 19 contains a message God gave to Moses for the children of Israel after He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt, brought them out by tremendous miracles and brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai and from there He proposed to enter into a Covenant with them.
Let us look at some verses of Scripture:
"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and holy nation" (Exodus 19:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice what God said to the children of Israel - "I brought you to Myself". This I believe is the primary purpose of Israel's redemption - To bring His chosen people to Himself! God first revealed His primary objective before He went on to outline the rest of His purpose. You can read the rest of Exodus which contains the details of His Covenant and the conditions attached to His Covenant with Israel.
New Testament redemption
Notice also that the words spoken by God are not merely relevant to Israel after their redemption out of Egypt, but they are not less relevant to Christians today. I believe most of the Jews have never discovered the purpose of their redemption, not even today. The Scripture says because of their unbelief and their rejection of God, salvation has come to the Gentiles (Romans 11).
Since Israel failed to understand the purpose of their redemption God simply restated the same purpose for the Church of Jesus Christ consisting of both the Jewish and Gentile believers.
Peter wrote to believers in Christ:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, emphasis added).
Notice the similarity of both passages of Scripture (OT and NT). Both the children of Israel and the Church are special people of God and both are kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
God's primary purpose in redemption
God's primary purpose in redemption is always this - To bring His people (Israel and the Church) to Himself. Anything else is secondary.
How does God bring His people to Himself? He does that by preparing His Church as a bride for His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, in Ephesians 5, gives a picture of Christ's love for the Church:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25 - 27, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The two processes of cleansing and sanctifying are closely related but they are not identical. It is possible to have purity or cleanness, without sanctification, but it is not possible to have sanctification without purity or cleanness. Thus cleansing is a essential part of sanctification. Sanctification is directly connected with the word "saint". The word "saint" means "holy". Therefore the literal meaning of sanctification is "making saintly" or "making holy".
2. The one main definite purpose for which Christ redeemed the Church is that "He might sanctify and cleanse her".
3. The means which Christ uses to cleanse and sanctify the Church is "washing of water by the word". The operation of God's Word is compared to the washing of pure water. Even before Christ's atoning death upon the cross had actually been confummated, He had already assured His disciples of the cleansing power of His Word which He had spoken to them:
Jesus said, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3, NKJV).
4. Only God's Word (written or spoken) has the cleansing power. The Church cannot be cleansed by any other means - like observing Church doctrine, Church custom, Church tradition and the doctrine of men. The Church that is not clensed by the Word will not be holy. She is full of spots or wrinkles and full of blemishes and therefore fails to be the bride of Christ. This is an extremely serious matter and that is the reason why James said, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).
Jesus' ultimate purpose for the Church
After the preparation of the bride (the glorious Church), Jesus' ultimate purpose for His Church is to bring her to the Father's hous for the marriage of the Lamb.
Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2, 3, emphasis added).
1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 give a picture of what will happen. A day will come when all true Christians will be caught up bodily and alive to meet the Lord in the air. The souls and spirits of those who had previously died believing in Christ, having been consciously with Him in the interim, will come with their Lord from heaven to rejoin their glorious resurrected bodies. Those (true believers or true Christian) alive at the time of His return, their bodies instantly transformed as well, will be caught up together with the saints of all ages to meet Christ somewhere above the earth and He will bring them to the Father's house of many mansions. This is what most Bible teachers called the "Rapture". This is what John 14:3 means, "I will come again and receive you to Myself".
The "Rapture" is a word to which some critics object because they say it isn't in the Bible. In fact, it is in the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Latin word "rapturos" means, in English, an "ecstatic catching away".
I believe the first event in heaven after our Lord has taken us up there, will be the judgment of true believer at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12 - 15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). This will not be a judgment for condemnation but a judgment for reward. We must all give an account to our Lord for every action (good or evil) or failure to act; for every idle word and secret thought.
Solomon said, "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Eccle. 12:14, NKJV).
In Christ's days the Jewish bride was taken to the house of the groom's father where the two were in seclusion for seven days (one week). Christ must have had that custom in mind when He promised to take His bride to His Father's house. During these seven years (the 70th week of years in Daniel's prophecy - (Daniel 9:24 - 27), the earth is going through the Great Tribulation period under the reign of the Antichrist! But, at precisely the same time in heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb is being prepared (Rev. 19:7, 8)!
He brings His Church to Himself
The Bride of Christ escapes the wrath of the Antichrist. That is the way God protects His true Church, fulfilling what Jesus said to Peter:
"The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).
Jesus said this because He will bring His Church to Himself to be His bride!
On the other hand, the gates of Hades shall prevail against the "church" that is left behind under the reign of the Antichrist. I believe the Antichrist together with his false prophet and his "elder" and "pastors" will be sitting at the gates of Hades!
The "church" that fails to be the bride
In both of his epistles, Paul warned Timothy that a time will come, in the lsat days, that believers will depart from the faith:
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1, NKJV).
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away" (2 Tim. 3:1 - 5, NKJV).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Last days are "perilous times" - Time of persecution, stress, danger and trial. I believe we are in the last of the last days now.
2. Paul listed 18 moral blemishes. Notice that the bride of Christ (the glorious Church) is to be without blemish (Eph. 5:27).
3. The key to all forms of moral blemishes is - Men become "lovers of themselves". Because of this they become lovers of money, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and so on.
4. Paul considered "having a form of gidliness but denying its power" as one of the moral blemishes. These "believers" are churchgoers, maintaining only a form of religion (being religious in the sight of men), but they are not true Christians. They may not be apostates, but they lack the real power of Christianity - power of the Holy Spirit which leads to a changed life and to holy living.
5. True Christians should turn away from such people.
Prophecy concerning end-time God's people
An angel of the Lord said to John who was banished to the isle of Patmos converning the Church of Jesus Christ toward the end of this age:
"Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be more filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still" (Rev. 22:10, 11).
Notice that the Book of Revelation is written for God's people, the Church. John was commanded not to seal the prophecy given to him because it will soon be fulfilled. On the other hand, Daniel was commanded to seal up his prophecy because the prophecy relates to a far-distance time (Daniel 12:9).
The angel told John, a time will come when there will be a line of separation and a departure of ways, attitudes and characters among God's people. Those who are wicked will be become more wicked; those who are righteous will become more righteous. The difference between those who are in darkness and those who are in the light will become more distinct as a testimony for all to see before the Second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is never the intention of God to confuse His people. He wants to make it clear to us that the righteous will receive His reward but the wicked will miss it all!
I believe at the close of this age there will be just two groups of God's people in the Church. One group will be the bride and the other willl be the harlot! Every person has to make a personal decision which group he or she will be found in. The decision is now! If you are not the bride then you are the harlot. The line of separation is clear and there is no grey area! If you are sitting on the fence, you are also a harlot.
The bride has the bridal attire. She has the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). She has the garments of praise and the crown of life and she receives many beautiful gifts from God. She loves her Lord and yields herself Him. She loves the truth of God's Word and obeys His commandments. She overcomes persecution and remains faithful to her Lord until death.
The harlot has many things that man in his wisdom can produce. She has the knowledge and wisdom of the world and she loves the things of the world. His church is a "prosperous" and worldly mega-church. There is no true shepherd to lead her. The pastors in her church are highly qualified eloquent professional preachers, the product of a "reputable" Seminary. They have a proven track record of building "successful" mega-churches. The harlot is under the deception that whatever her pastors do is of God. To her all church work is God's work; all church programs are God's programs. She loves the church of Christ instead of the Christ of the church. She serves the pastors instead of serving the Lord!
The ways of the bride and the ways of the harlot are contrary one to the other. Every one of us has to make the choice. As for "me and my house" we will serve the Lord. We want to be the bride. We want all that God has to offer us; we take hold of His promises and live by His Word!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
Many Christians think of the problem of unanswered prayer as asking God for something but not getting what they asked for. This happens very often, but this is not what I mean by the problem of unanswered prayer. I believe the real problem for most of us is not that we don't get what we asked for, but it is when we don't get a reply from God. This is what we want to discuss here.
There are many ways by which God may answer my prayer. I may be in a situation that I am quite convinced that I want something and I ask for it. The answer that God gives me may be, "No, you can't have it, it's no good for you". Or, His answer may be, "Wait, the time is not ready yet". But that is not the real problem because there is an answer and I know for certain that God heard my prayer. The problem is, when the heaven seems like brass and I feel God is not listening and I am not gettign through to Him! There must be a hindrance somewhere.
It is certainly no fun having a one-way conversation with God. That is the major reason why some of us give up praying. That I believe is the most discouraging thing in prayer - when you feel that you are engaging in a one-way conversation. And a one-way conversation is not a conversation at all! How long can you keep up a conversation if the other person you speak to would not open his mouth? I mean, even with people it is so difficult, and therefore with God it is very discouraging if there is no reply! It seems that life has gone out of your prayer!
Biblical examples of unanswered prayer
Paul's problem
Consider Paul's "thorn in the flesh" experience (2 Corinthians 12:7 - 10). Three times Paul prayed that the Lord might remove it from him. The Lord did not reply him at first but finally the Lord said:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9, NKJV).
Paul was happy because it was not an unanswered prayer. It was not the answer he hoped for, but it was an answered prayer! The Lord did hear his prayer and answered him.
Job's problem
Job went through the experience of hindrance in prayer for many months.
Job complained to the Lord, "Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, then You respond to me, How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do You hide Your face, and regard me Your enemy" (Job 13:22 - 24)?
"I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me" (Job 30:20).
"Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, that my prosecutor had written a book" (Job 31:35)!
The psalmist's problem
In the Book of psalms we read of the psalmists crying out to God for response to their prayers. The following passages are from the psalms of David:
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; ..." (Ps. 39:12).
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me"(Ps. 27:7).
"Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer" (Ps. 61:1).
So we see, even David, the master of Psalm, prayer and praise, had his share of this problem of silence from God.
Major causes of the problem of unanswered prayer
There are many causes of the problem, but we are only concerned with the major ones. I believe it is important for us to search the Scripture to find out what are the causes of the problem of hindrances in our prayer. Otherwise, we may even blame God for keeping silense and we may easily think like Job that God is in the wrong when we can't get through to Him.
There are five major causes of the problem of unanswered prayer and we can be certain that God is not to be blamed for any of the five. Three of these are a breakdown in communication on the human side or on the earthly side of the conversation. Two of them are a breakdown in communication on the heavenly side.
The breakdown in communication on the earthy side is due to sin:
The psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Ps. 66:18).
Isaiah said that sins and iniquities have separated God from His people:
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1, 2, NKJV).
Breakdown in communication on the earthly side
The three major causes of the breakdown in communication on the earthly side are:
I am not right with God
There are two ways in which this can happen. My feeling about God may be wrong. That means I sin against Him in attitude. On the other hand, God's feelings about me may be wrong. That means I sin against Him in action. In other words, God may not approve of what I am doing. In either ways I sin against God.
I sin against God in attitude
My feelings about God may be wrong. I may be resentful toward Him and this may be a blockage. I can build up resentment against God because of the way my circumstances has turned out. The Scripture says, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18). But, I become too proud to thank Him in everything. Instead, I am in the habit of complaining against God if things do not go my way!
A good example of this is found in Job, who, at one stage of his suffering, complained to God:
"I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. But You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand You oppose me. You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success" (Job 30:20 - 22).
God's response to Job came later and this is found in Job 38 and Job 39. Job changed his attitude toward God when he heard God said:
"Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer" (Job 40:2).
Job did not sin in action but he certainly sinned in attitude and God dealt with that - Job repented and God restored him (Job 42).
I sin against God in action
The other way in which I may have a blockage and not be right with God is in my action. That means I am consciously and deliberately continue to do something of which He does not approve. I can act against the truth of His Word or do things in contrary to His will for me.
Peter said, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (1 Peter 3:12, emphasis added).
If I am in the habit of doing things that are evil in His sight and not pleasing to Him, He will not hear my prayer. The word "evil" here indicates something that God disapproved. Those who hold on to things that are disapproved by God sin against God in action.
I am not right with others
This is a very common hindrance to our prayer.
Peter said, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayer may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
If a husband does not treat his wife right, his prayer may be hindered. In other words, the husband cannot pray effectively.
There are two ways by which I can be wrong with people:
I cannot forgive someone
It may happen that I cannot forgive someone for what he has done to me. But Jesus said I must forgive him, otherwise He would not forgive me:
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25, 26, emphasis added).
The only condition in the Lord's Prayer is:
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
Notice that Jesus considered this so important that He repeated saying it immediately after He had finished teaching His disciples how to pray (Matt. 6:14, 15)!
My brother cannot forgive me
This is not so easy to understand and it surprises me, at first glance, to discover this in the scripture and that Jesus did say this:
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. Fisrt be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matt. 5:23, 24, emphasis added).
We need to take note of the difference between the above two passages of Scripture (Mark and Matthew). In Matthew 5 Jesus was speaking about a "brother" who has something against you. But in Mark 11 Jesus was referring to "anyone" (a believer or an unbeliever) who might be offended by you. Jesus used the word "brother" to refer to His covenant people who do His will (Matt. 12:49, 50). In other words, a brother is a true Christian.
The word "therefore" indicates the conclusion of something Jesus said a verse earlier (Verse 22). This brother was insulted because of two things - being called "Raca" which means "worthless one" in Aramaic, and being called a "fool".
Therefore, if I have insulted my brother in Christ and because of my wrong doing he cannot forgive me, then I must take the initiative to reconcile with him. Failing which there is a breakdown of communication with the Lord.
I am not right with myself
This I think is the most extraordinary problem. Many of us are too busy to pray or read the Bible daily. As believers we are expected to spend quality time with the Lord daily. We are not right with ourselves if we fail to do that. We are always too busy for the Lord if we fail to put our priorities right.
Martin Luther was a very busy man. When someone asked him his plan for tomorrow, he answered, "Work, work, and more work from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer".
Luther knew that prayer paves the highway of accomplishment. To this end he prayed, often and persistent. Through prayer and Bible study Luther learned that Satan's goal in fighting the people of God is to make them think they pray too much and work too little! Martin Luther, examining his Church, noted a frightful emphasis on works, but little on prayer and faith. From this burning conviction sprang the Reformation - a movement shifting balance from the physical to the spiritual and from works to faith.
In my opinion, it is good to let our prayer life be integrated with the rest of the daily demand of our life if we wish to see our prayer getting through to God without hindrance.
Breakdown in communication on the heavenly side
There are two hindrances that can come from the heavenly side and break down the communication from that end.
Satan is fighting me
It is far too easy to blame Satan for the first three hindrances. This could happen, but not necessarily so. It is more likely, becuse of our flesh (the "old man" or the carnal nature in us), that we are not right with God, not right with others, or not right with ourselves. After having exhausted those three causes we can be quite certain that Satan is trying to discourage us.
The Bible clearly tells us Satan has, in his command, legions of evil angels or demons. They are intelligent spirit beings without bodies and they get in the way of our prayer. We have seen this in Chapter 10, the Book of Daniel. When Daniel was praying he had God's angel and Satan's angel fighting over his prayer. The answer to Daniel's prayer came only after Michael, the Archangel of God had overcome Satan's angel.
As we have seen in many of my recent messages, Spiritual Warfare is going on all the time. My prayer is not getting through because warfare tends to break lines of communication. If I feel that Satan is hindering the communication I must against Satan in the Name of Jesus and use every weapon I can from the armory of God.
God deliberately not replying me
It is difficult to understand why would God deliberatly not reply when I am right with Him, right with others, right with myself and resisting Satan. To me there is only one possible answer - He wants me to move up in "The School of Prayer"; He wants me to increase my prayer effort; He wants me to pray a little harder; He wants me to exercise more of my faith in Him and He wants me to grow spiritually.
Andrew Murray, a great man of prayer once said, "When the Lord wants to lead someone to great faith, He leaves his prayer unheard".
Finally, I believe when you know God and when you have God, you have the answers to all your prayers, irrespective whether He acknowledges you immediately or He wants you to go through a season of waiting. That is the reason I believe the goal of all prayers is to know God!
There are many ways by which God may answer my prayer. I may be in a situation that I am quite convinced that I want something and I ask for it. The answer that God gives me may be, "No, you can't have it, it's no good for you". Or, His answer may be, "Wait, the time is not ready yet". But that is not the real problem because there is an answer and I know for certain that God heard my prayer. The problem is, when the heaven seems like brass and I feel God is not listening and I am not gettign through to Him! There must be a hindrance somewhere.
It is certainly no fun having a one-way conversation with God. That is the major reason why some of us give up praying. That I believe is the most discouraging thing in prayer - when you feel that you are engaging in a one-way conversation. And a one-way conversation is not a conversation at all! How long can you keep up a conversation if the other person you speak to would not open his mouth? I mean, even with people it is so difficult, and therefore with God it is very discouraging if there is no reply! It seems that life has gone out of your prayer!
Biblical examples of unanswered prayer
Paul's problem
Consider Paul's "thorn in the flesh" experience (2 Corinthians 12:7 - 10). Three times Paul prayed that the Lord might remove it from him. The Lord did not reply him at first but finally the Lord said:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9, NKJV).
Paul was happy because it was not an unanswered prayer. It was not the answer he hoped for, but it was an answered prayer! The Lord did hear his prayer and answered him.
Job's problem
Job went through the experience of hindrance in prayer for many months.
Job complained to the Lord, "Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, then You respond to me, How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. Why do You hide Your face, and regard me Your enemy" (Job 13:22 - 24)?
"I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me" (Job 30:20).
"Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, that my prosecutor had written a book" (Job 31:35)!
The psalmist's problem
In the Book of psalms we read of the psalmists crying out to God for response to their prayers. The following passages are from the psalms of David:
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; ..." (Ps. 39:12).
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me"(Ps. 27:7).
"Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer" (Ps. 61:1).
So we see, even David, the master of Psalm, prayer and praise, had his share of this problem of silence from God.
Major causes of the problem of unanswered prayer
There are many causes of the problem, but we are only concerned with the major ones. I believe it is important for us to search the Scripture to find out what are the causes of the problem of hindrances in our prayer. Otherwise, we may even blame God for keeping silense and we may easily think like Job that God is in the wrong when we can't get through to Him.
There are five major causes of the problem of unanswered prayer and we can be certain that God is not to be blamed for any of the five. Three of these are a breakdown in communication on the human side or on the earthly side of the conversation. Two of them are a breakdown in communication on the heavenly side.
The breakdown in communication on the earthy side is due to sin:
The psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Ps. 66:18).
Isaiah said that sins and iniquities have separated God from His people:
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1, 2, NKJV).
Breakdown in communication on the earthly side
The three major causes of the breakdown in communication on the earthly side are:
I am not right with God
There are two ways in which this can happen. My feeling about God may be wrong. That means I sin against Him in attitude. On the other hand, God's feelings about me may be wrong. That means I sin against Him in action. In other words, God may not approve of what I am doing. In either ways I sin against God.
I sin against God in attitude
My feelings about God may be wrong. I may be resentful toward Him and this may be a blockage. I can build up resentment against God because of the way my circumstances has turned out. The Scripture says, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18). But, I become too proud to thank Him in everything. Instead, I am in the habit of complaining against God if things do not go my way!
A good example of this is found in Job, who, at one stage of his suffering, complained to God:
"I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. But You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand You oppose me. You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success" (Job 30:20 - 22).
God's response to Job came later and this is found in Job 38 and Job 39. Job changed his attitude toward God when he heard God said:
"Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer" (Job 40:2).
Job did not sin in action but he certainly sinned in attitude and God dealt with that - Job repented and God restored him (Job 42).
I sin against God in action
The other way in which I may have a blockage and not be right with God is in my action. That means I am consciously and deliberately continue to do something of which He does not approve. I can act against the truth of His Word or do things in contrary to His will for me.
Peter said, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (1 Peter 3:12, emphasis added).
If I am in the habit of doing things that are evil in His sight and not pleasing to Him, He will not hear my prayer. The word "evil" here indicates something that God disapproved. Those who hold on to things that are disapproved by God sin against God in action.
I am not right with others
This is a very common hindrance to our prayer.
Peter said, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayer may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).
If a husband does not treat his wife right, his prayer may be hindered. In other words, the husband cannot pray effectively.
There are two ways by which I can be wrong with people:
I cannot forgive someone
It may happen that I cannot forgive someone for what he has done to me. But Jesus said I must forgive him, otherwise He would not forgive me:
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25, 26, emphasis added).
The only condition in the Lord's Prayer is:
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
Notice that Jesus considered this so important that He repeated saying it immediately after He had finished teaching His disciples how to pray (Matt. 6:14, 15)!
My brother cannot forgive me
This is not so easy to understand and it surprises me, at first glance, to discover this in the scripture and that Jesus did say this:
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. Fisrt be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matt. 5:23, 24, emphasis added).
We need to take note of the difference between the above two passages of Scripture (Mark and Matthew). In Matthew 5 Jesus was speaking about a "brother" who has something against you. But in Mark 11 Jesus was referring to "anyone" (a believer or an unbeliever) who might be offended by you. Jesus used the word "brother" to refer to His covenant people who do His will (Matt. 12:49, 50). In other words, a brother is a true Christian.
The word "therefore" indicates the conclusion of something Jesus said a verse earlier (Verse 22). This brother was insulted because of two things - being called "Raca" which means "worthless one" in Aramaic, and being called a "fool".
Therefore, if I have insulted my brother in Christ and because of my wrong doing he cannot forgive me, then I must take the initiative to reconcile with him. Failing which there is a breakdown of communication with the Lord.
I am not right with myself
This I think is the most extraordinary problem. Many of us are too busy to pray or read the Bible daily. As believers we are expected to spend quality time with the Lord daily. We are not right with ourselves if we fail to do that. We are always too busy for the Lord if we fail to put our priorities right.
Martin Luther was a very busy man. When someone asked him his plan for tomorrow, he answered, "Work, work, and more work from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer".
Luther knew that prayer paves the highway of accomplishment. To this end he prayed, often and persistent. Through prayer and Bible study Luther learned that Satan's goal in fighting the people of God is to make them think they pray too much and work too little! Martin Luther, examining his Church, noted a frightful emphasis on works, but little on prayer and faith. From this burning conviction sprang the Reformation - a movement shifting balance from the physical to the spiritual and from works to faith.
In my opinion, it is good to let our prayer life be integrated with the rest of the daily demand of our life if we wish to see our prayer getting through to God without hindrance.
Breakdown in communication on the heavenly side
There are two hindrances that can come from the heavenly side and break down the communication from that end.
Satan is fighting me
It is far too easy to blame Satan for the first three hindrances. This could happen, but not necessarily so. It is more likely, becuse of our flesh (the "old man" or the carnal nature in us), that we are not right with God, not right with others, or not right with ourselves. After having exhausted those three causes we can be quite certain that Satan is trying to discourage us.
The Bible clearly tells us Satan has, in his command, legions of evil angels or demons. They are intelligent spirit beings without bodies and they get in the way of our prayer. We have seen this in Chapter 10, the Book of Daniel. When Daniel was praying he had God's angel and Satan's angel fighting over his prayer. The answer to Daniel's prayer came only after Michael, the Archangel of God had overcome Satan's angel.
As we have seen in many of my recent messages, Spiritual Warfare is going on all the time. My prayer is not getting through because warfare tends to break lines of communication. If I feel that Satan is hindering the communication I must against Satan in the Name of Jesus and use every weapon I can from the armory of God.
God deliberately not replying me
It is difficult to understand why would God deliberatly not reply when I am right with Him, right with others, right with myself and resisting Satan. To me there is only one possible answer - He wants me to move up in "The School of Prayer"; He wants me to increase my prayer effort; He wants me to pray a little harder; He wants me to exercise more of my faith in Him and He wants me to grow spiritually.
Andrew Murray, a great man of prayer once said, "When the Lord wants to lead someone to great faith, He leaves his prayer unheard".
Finally, I believe when you know God and when you have God, you have the answers to all your prayers, irrespective whether He acknowledges you immediately or He wants you to go through a season of waiting. That is the reason I believe the goal of all prayers is to know God!
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Supplication and God's Mercy
My previous messages covered many areas concerning prayers - intercession, prayer of petition, agressive and authoritative prayer, binding the strongmen and warfare prayers. There is a type of prayer which I believe has not been given enough emphasis in the contemporary Local Church. It is called "supplication".
In our prayer life there may come a time when we are faced with a situation where there is a desperate need for prayer. But what are we to do if we do not know how to pray in that particular situation, or when we are alone and do not have the authority to exercise against the evil forces operating in our situation? The situation could be in your family, your job or your ministry in the Local Church. If you are a woman you may also ask, "I would love to pray, I love to see the situation change, but I don't have the authority"?
There is another way to pray and I believe anybody in desperation can pray this prayer. This prayer is called "supplication" which simply means desperately calling out to God for mercy. You will discover that in many occasions God almost instantly answer this type of prayer.
The importance of Supplication
God's people in the Old Testament seem to place more importance to supplication than believers in the New Testament. The word "supplication" occurs 35 times in the New King James Version of the Bible, of which only 4 times are in the New Testament. Similarly the word "supplications" occurs 20 times in the New King James Version of the Bible, of which only 3 times are in the New Testament. In most occasions the words "prayer" and "supplication" are used together to describe desperate prayer. Here are some examples:
1. In time of distress, David, the psalmist said, "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will recieve my prayer" (Ps. 6:9, NKJV, emphasis added).
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer, and in Your righteousness" (Ps. 143:1, emphasis added).
2. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed. "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today; ..." (1 Kings 8:28, emphasis added).
Solomon's same prayer was recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:19.
Solomon continued to pray, "... then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You" (2 Chron. 6:39, emphasis added).
3. Daniel prayed for Jerusalem and the people of God who sinned against the Lord:
"O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate" (Daniel 9:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis).
Immediately(Dan. 9:21) after Daniel's prayer and supplications, Gabriel, the archangel, came with the following words:
"O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therfore consider the matter, and understand the vision; ..." (Dan. 9:22, 23, emphasis added).
4. The Upper Room Prayer Meeting
After Jesus had ascended to Heaven, 120 of his disciples, including Mary, the mother of Jesus and other women went to a prayer meeting in an upper room:
"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" (Acts 1:14, emphasis added).
We all know about the outcome of this prayer meeting.
5. Pray all kinds of prayer with perseverance
Paul said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18, emphasis added).
Believers are expected to pray always with all kinds of prayer with perseverance. Also, to pray for one another, led by the Spirit of God, to pray in understanding and pray in the the Spirit.
Paul also gave us this wonderful promise of God:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture includes all forms of prayer - prayer, supplication, thanksgiving and requests (petition). "In everything" means "in every situation or every circumstance - in repect of afflictions, conflicts and trials".
What Paul means is that, in any given situation, no matter how depressing it may be, we should not worry, and we will have the peace of God if we pray with all forms of prayer, including supplication.
6. Jesus' prayer and supplications
The writer of Hebrews said, "... who (Christ), in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet he learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:7, 8, emphasis added).
Jesus, in His humanity, prayed, supplicated, and cried out to God, the Father, at the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39). Feeling that God had the power to save Him from the mode of dying, the burden of His supplication was that, if human redemption could be accomplished without such sufferings, it might please His Father to remove that cup from Him.
His prayers and supplications were heard and were not discarded though it was not literally answered. The cup of suffering and death was not taken away, but His suppliction was not diregarded.
The two important things we learn from the above examples concerning supplication are: One, prayer, in general, is different from supplication which is desperately entreating God's favor. Two, God will not disregard or discard any supplication. he hears our supplication, but we might not receive the answer that we expected.
The benefits of Supplication
Basically, I believe supplication is the place where most of us have to begin before we go on to other forms of prayer. This is because anyone, with or without authority, can supplicate before the Lord. We can supplicate alone or in a group of two or more believers. We can do it in the privacy of our prayer closet or in a Church prayer meeting.
I believe God's people, especially the ladies of the Local Church, should get involved in supplication whenever they are faced with problems in the Church. They should humble themselves, get together and forget about Spiritual Authority in this type of prayer. Primarily, they should be the ones on their face before the Lord crying out for God's mercy on the Pastors, Elders and leaders of the Church who are facing various types of problems - slandering, sexual immorality, discouragement, rejection, lack of integrity, lack of honesty, lack of loyalty and the like.
They should cry out to the Lord, "O merciful God, we don't deserve Your mercy, but we come to You for it. We ask of You Lord to be merciful to all of us and help us! You are the only source of help we have! We are not asking You for justice but asking You for Your mercy!"
This form of prayer is precisely what the writer of Hebrews referred to:
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15, 16, NKJV, emphasis added).
God's throne is called the throne of grace. The reason we can come boldly to the throne and obtain mercy and grace is because we have a great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who sympathizes with our weaknesses.
In my opinion, the only reason that we do not obtain mercy is that we do not come for it. We are too proud to kneel down before God. And yet the safest place to be in, is on the floor, for when we are there we cannot fall any lower! It may take a bit of boldness and struggle to get there. We may begin to think about our dignity, about what other people may say about us, but we will feel secure when we are on the floor!
A Biblical pattern of supplication
A wonderful pattern of supplication is found in the life of Rahab, the harlot who lodged in Jericho (Joshua 2:1 - 13). Rahab had no authority or had any claim on God. All she did was to cast herself upon the mercy of God. She could not ask for justice because she was not an Israelite and furthermore, a harlot! But all she asked was mercy and not justice. That is the essence of supplication.
Her supplication is found in Verse 12 and 13: "Now therefore, I beg you (the spies), swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, ..."
When Joshua and his people went in to Jericho, Rahab received mercy from God and whatever she asked for was given to her (Joshua 6:22, 23)! Joshua spared her life and the lives of her father, her mother, her brothers and all that she had. Ultimately, Rahab found herself (a harlot and not an Israelite) in the genealogical line of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5)! The key to Rahab's success was that she knew how to lay hold of God for mercy and she knew how to supplicate!
A prophetic picture of Israel and the Church
God is going to open the eyes of Israel and the Church through the prophet Zechariah:
"And I (the Lord) will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn" (Zechariah 12:10, NKJV, emphasis added).
I firmly believe that this Scripture will be fulfilled in the history of Israel. Nevertheless, it also has pattern for the Church. I believe God is going to pour out the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Supplication to Israel, His chosen people and to the Church, also His people. Without the pouring out, the eyes of the children of Israel and the Church will not be opened. The first outpouring is the Sprit of Grace. As we all know, grace cannot be earned because you and I will never deserve it. Believers are accepted by grace. It is important to realize that without God's grace we cannot even pray a prayer that is worth praying! He will not hear us because we are not worthy to have our prayer heard, let alone receiving an answer from Him. Therefore, the first thing we need is grace. And if we have received grace, then in the appropriate situation God will pour out the Spirit of Supplication. When we begin to cry out to God with the depth of supplication, intercession and agony that we couldn't believe would be possible, and then I believe we will get the revelation of what the Church need most - the wonderful revelation of the One we "pierced" (grieved) - The Lord Jesus Christ!
The Spirit of Supplication will reveal to us how much we have grieved our Lord Jesus by our disobedience, prayerlessness, indifference, apathy and general wickedness. In our natural mind we can't understand the extent to which we have grieved Him. We are very much blinded by our stubbornness, our rebellion, our pride, our arrogance, our sectarianism and our personal ambitions. I believe we will not see this unless we are on our face before God in supplication. I do not believe we could stand the revelation unless the Lord gave us, first of all, His grace. And if we want to see the situation in our Church changed, we need to put this before the Lord, on our face and let Him bring us to a place where we can contemplate what will be the end, unless God visits the Church. The Church is in serious danger of going the wrong spiritual pathway, because God's people are taking their eyes from the Scripture. They neither know the truth nor practice the truth because there is no true shepherd to lead His people.
Jesus (quoting Isaiah) said, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8, NKJV).
I believe God is willing to visit His Church but we must first meet His condition. We must repent and cry out to Him for mercy in our supplication. We must turn from our wicked ways and seek His face. We must deny ourselves and carry the cross and follow Him daily!
In our prayer life there may come a time when we are faced with a situation where there is a desperate need for prayer. But what are we to do if we do not know how to pray in that particular situation, or when we are alone and do not have the authority to exercise against the evil forces operating in our situation? The situation could be in your family, your job or your ministry in the Local Church. If you are a woman you may also ask, "I would love to pray, I love to see the situation change, but I don't have the authority"?
There is another way to pray and I believe anybody in desperation can pray this prayer. This prayer is called "supplication" which simply means desperately calling out to God for mercy. You will discover that in many occasions God almost instantly answer this type of prayer.
The importance of Supplication
God's people in the Old Testament seem to place more importance to supplication than believers in the New Testament. The word "supplication" occurs 35 times in the New King James Version of the Bible, of which only 4 times are in the New Testament. Similarly the word "supplications" occurs 20 times in the New King James Version of the Bible, of which only 3 times are in the New Testament. In most occasions the words "prayer" and "supplication" are used together to describe desperate prayer. Here are some examples:
1. In time of distress, David, the psalmist said, "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will recieve my prayer" (Ps. 6:9, NKJV, emphasis added).
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer, and in Your righteousness" (Ps. 143:1, emphasis added).
2. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed. "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today; ..." (1 Kings 8:28, emphasis added).
Solomon's same prayer was recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:19.
Solomon continued to pray, "... then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You" (2 Chron. 6:39, emphasis added).
3. Daniel prayed for Jerusalem and the people of God who sinned against the Lord:
"O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate" (Daniel 9:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis).
Immediately(Dan. 9:21) after Daniel's prayer and supplications, Gabriel, the archangel, came with the following words:
"O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therfore consider the matter, and understand the vision; ..." (Dan. 9:22, 23, emphasis added).
4. The Upper Room Prayer Meeting
After Jesus had ascended to Heaven, 120 of his disciples, including Mary, the mother of Jesus and other women went to a prayer meeting in an upper room:
"These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" (Acts 1:14, emphasis added).
We all know about the outcome of this prayer meeting.
5. Pray all kinds of prayer with perseverance
Paul said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18, emphasis added).
Believers are expected to pray always with all kinds of prayer with perseverance. Also, to pray for one another, led by the Spirit of God, to pray in understanding and pray in the the Spirit.
Paul also gave us this wonderful promise of God:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7, NKJV, emphasis added).
The above passage of Scripture includes all forms of prayer - prayer, supplication, thanksgiving and requests (petition). "In everything" means "in every situation or every circumstance - in repect of afflictions, conflicts and trials".
What Paul means is that, in any given situation, no matter how depressing it may be, we should not worry, and we will have the peace of God if we pray with all forms of prayer, including supplication.
6. Jesus' prayer and supplications
The writer of Hebrews said, "... who (Christ), in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet he learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:7, 8, emphasis added).
Jesus, in His humanity, prayed, supplicated, and cried out to God, the Father, at the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39). Feeling that God had the power to save Him from the mode of dying, the burden of His supplication was that, if human redemption could be accomplished without such sufferings, it might please His Father to remove that cup from Him.
His prayers and supplications were heard and were not discarded though it was not literally answered. The cup of suffering and death was not taken away, but His suppliction was not diregarded.
The two important things we learn from the above examples concerning supplication are: One, prayer, in general, is different from supplication which is desperately entreating God's favor. Two, God will not disregard or discard any supplication. he hears our supplication, but we might not receive the answer that we expected.
The benefits of Supplication
Basically, I believe supplication is the place where most of us have to begin before we go on to other forms of prayer. This is because anyone, with or without authority, can supplicate before the Lord. We can supplicate alone or in a group of two or more believers. We can do it in the privacy of our prayer closet or in a Church prayer meeting.
I believe God's people, especially the ladies of the Local Church, should get involved in supplication whenever they are faced with problems in the Church. They should humble themselves, get together and forget about Spiritual Authority in this type of prayer. Primarily, they should be the ones on their face before the Lord crying out for God's mercy on the Pastors, Elders and leaders of the Church who are facing various types of problems - slandering, sexual immorality, discouragement, rejection, lack of integrity, lack of honesty, lack of loyalty and the like.
They should cry out to the Lord, "O merciful God, we don't deserve Your mercy, but we come to You for it. We ask of You Lord to be merciful to all of us and help us! You are the only source of help we have! We are not asking You for justice but asking You for Your mercy!"
This form of prayer is precisely what the writer of Hebrews referred to:
"For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15, 16, NKJV, emphasis added).
God's throne is called the throne of grace. The reason we can come boldly to the throne and obtain mercy and grace is because we have a great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who sympathizes with our weaknesses.
In my opinion, the only reason that we do not obtain mercy is that we do not come for it. We are too proud to kneel down before God. And yet the safest place to be in, is on the floor, for when we are there we cannot fall any lower! It may take a bit of boldness and struggle to get there. We may begin to think about our dignity, about what other people may say about us, but we will feel secure when we are on the floor!
A Biblical pattern of supplication
A wonderful pattern of supplication is found in the life of Rahab, the harlot who lodged in Jericho (Joshua 2:1 - 13). Rahab had no authority or had any claim on God. All she did was to cast herself upon the mercy of God. She could not ask for justice because she was not an Israelite and furthermore, a harlot! But all she asked was mercy and not justice. That is the essence of supplication.
Her supplication is found in Verse 12 and 13: "Now therefore, I beg you (the spies), swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, ..."
When Joshua and his people went in to Jericho, Rahab received mercy from God and whatever she asked for was given to her (Joshua 6:22, 23)! Joshua spared her life and the lives of her father, her mother, her brothers and all that she had. Ultimately, Rahab found herself (a harlot and not an Israelite) in the genealogical line of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5)! The key to Rahab's success was that she knew how to lay hold of God for mercy and she knew how to supplicate!
A prophetic picture of Israel and the Church
God is going to open the eyes of Israel and the Church through the prophet Zechariah:
"And I (the Lord) will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn" (Zechariah 12:10, NKJV, emphasis added).
I firmly believe that this Scripture will be fulfilled in the history of Israel. Nevertheless, it also has pattern for the Church. I believe God is going to pour out the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Supplication to Israel, His chosen people and to the Church, also His people. Without the pouring out, the eyes of the children of Israel and the Church will not be opened. The first outpouring is the Sprit of Grace. As we all know, grace cannot be earned because you and I will never deserve it. Believers are accepted by grace. It is important to realize that without God's grace we cannot even pray a prayer that is worth praying! He will not hear us because we are not worthy to have our prayer heard, let alone receiving an answer from Him. Therefore, the first thing we need is grace. And if we have received grace, then in the appropriate situation God will pour out the Spirit of Supplication. When we begin to cry out to God with the depth of supplication, intercession and agony that we couldn't believe would be possible, and then I believe we will get the revelation of what the Church need most - the wonderful revelation of the One we "pierced" (grieved) - The Lord Jesus Christ!
The Spirit of Supplication will reveal to us how much we have grieved our Lord Jesus by our disobedience, prayerlessness, indifference, apathy and general wickedness. In our natural mind we can't understand the extent to which we have grieved Him. We are very much blinded by our stubbornness, our rebellion, our pride, our arrogance, our sectarianism and our personal ambitions. I believe we will not see this unless we are on our face before God in supplication. I do not believe we could stand the revelation unless the Lord gave us, first of all, His grace. And if we want to see the situation in our Church changed, we need to put this before the Lord, on our face and let Him bring us to a place where we can contemplate what will be the end, unless God visits the Church. The Church is in serious danger of going the wrong spiritual pathway, because God's people are taking their eyes from the Scripture. They neither know the truth nor practice the truth because there is no true shepherd to lead His people.
Jesus (quoting Isaiah) said, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8, NKJV).
I believe God is willing to visit His Church but we must first meet His condition. We must repent and cry out to Him for mercy in our supplication. We must turn from our wicked ways and seek His face. We must deny ourselves and carry the cross and follow Him daily!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
One Unique Spiritual Weapon
This is the last of our series of messages concerning Spiritual Warfare. Many of us are not aware that God never created us to stand alone in our war against the Devil. We need one another because He wants us to fight in close ranks. For this reason God has not provided any item of equipment for the protection of our back. All the six items of equipment - the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, are for the protection of our front. If we put on and use the entire protective equipment that God has provided, we are totally protected from the crown of our head to the sole of our feet, except for one area. And the one area for which there is no protection is our back.
I believe there is a two-fold application of this fact. First, never turn your back on the Devil because if you do, you are giving him an opportunity to wound you in an unprotected area. In other words, never give up on doing the will of God or doing anything that God calls you to do, no matter how frustrating it may seem to be. Never turn around and say, "I've had enough. I can't stand this; I can't take anymore" and "throw in the towel". This is turning your unprotected back to the Devil, and you can be sure he will avail himself of the opportunity to to wound you.
Second, I believe God knows, in certain sense, that we are not always able to protect our own back. In Paul's days, the Roman foot soldiers fought in close ranks. The Greek word for such a close rank is a "phalanx". The soldiers were trained to fight this way and to never break ranks. Every soldier knew the soldier on his right and on his left so that if he is hard-pressed and could not protect his own back, there would be another soldier to do it for him. Those soldiers were trained to be loyal to one another.
I believe the same is true concerning Christians in Spiritual Warfare. We cannot, or at least are not wise to, go out as isolated individuals and take on the Devil's kingdom. We must come under discipline, find our place in the Body of Christ (the Army of Christ). We have to know who stands on our right and who stands on our left. We must be able able to trust our fellow soldiers. Then, when we are under pressure, we ought to know who will be there to protect our back when we cannot protect it.
For those who have been long enough in Christian ministry will realize that, the real tragedy of our Christian experience is that the very person who protects your back sometimes wounds you. How often we, as Christians, are wounded in the back by our fellow Christians. That is something that never ought to happen. Let us make up our minds to stand together, protect one another 's backs, and not wound one another.
One unique Spiritual Weapon
One unique Spiritual Weapon that is given by God to all believers is loyalty. I call loyalty a Spiritual Weapon because God is the Author of loyalty whereas Satan is the author of disloyalty. Satan hates loyalty and he cannot stand seeing Christians loyal to God and loyal to one another. We need loyalty when we encounter the situation that we need someone to protect our back.
Loyalty is akin to honesty and you cannot separate them if you are forced to choose. Neither of them (loyalty and honesty) can be betrayed, neglected, omitted or disregarded. They are the salt of the human personality. Without them corruption takes over. Loyalty calls for a commitment of one's total self and substance. It involves a decision of trust and faith unto the supreme sacrifice to a person or cause that is worthy of such. Loyalty calls for laying down our lives for our brethren.
John said, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16, NKJV).
Jesus made such a commitment to the Father and perishing souls. He never turned away from that commitment. He was faithful and loyal unto death. Jesus revealed that the very heart of Christianity is loyalty.
God is the Author of loyalty
Disloyalty started with Satan but God is the Author of loyalty. He never broke His covenant, even if Israel did.
Solomon blessed the assembly of Israeil: "Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56, NKJV).
God keeps His covenants with those of all generations who love Him and keep His commandments.
"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ..." (Deut. 7:9).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Heb. 6:17, 18, NKJV, emphasis added).
God is endowed with immutable counsel and confirmed it by an oath, it is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible, therefore, for God to be disloyal. This, then , is the basis of loyalty.
The importance of loyalty
Every one of us is, or should be, responsible to someone else. Those who are in authority over us, whether in the Church, government or working relationship, have a right to expect our loyalty.
Loyalty in the government
Paul said, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans 13:1).
Peter said, "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good" (1 Peter 2:13, 14).
Every leader of a nation wants loyalty. The president (or prime minister) is frustrated if he is surrounded by a cabinet that is not loyal. confidential leeks are evidence that there is disloyalty within. Disloyalty makes efficient work impossible.
Loyalty gives direction. We do not stumble when we are loyal. We know where we are going. It is like a compass to a ship. Loyalty provides a purpose and the drive to accomplish that purpose. A country knows that without loyalty it can never win a war. If there is no loyalty, there will be mass defection in time of battle and danger.
Loyalty in a marriage and family relationship
In the book of Deuteronomy, when the children of Israel were ready to enter into their promised inheritance in the land of Canaan, Moses reviewed for them the kind of lifestyle God has planned for them. If they would keep God's Law, they would be abundantly blessed in every area of their lives. In particular, their children would be blessed forever "like the days of the heavens above the earth" (Deut. 11:21).
God also pointed out through prophet Malachi that marriage is a covenant:
"It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord, made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth" (Malachi 2:14, 15, NIV, emphasis added).
There are two reasons why God wants loyalty in a marriage and family relationship: One, your marriage is a covenant which cannot be broken. It is a covenant of loyalty unto death (Romans 7:3). Once this covenant is forgotten and ignored, marriage inevitably loses its sanctity. With the loss of the sanctity of marriage, it also loses loyalty, strength and stability. Second, God is seeking godly and loyal children. Godly husband and wife bring up godly and loyal children.
Loyalty in the Body of Christ
The basis of loyalty comes from the covenant relationship between God and the children of Israel:
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all the people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5, 6, emphasis added).
From then on, Israel was set apart unto God as a special people, not by any intrinsic righteousness of their own, but by the covenant God made with them. God made them holy by entering into a covenant with them. They became His chosen people and He became their God. God expected them to be loyal to Him, faithful to Him, obedient to Him, trust Him and love Him.
The same principles concerning covenant relationship established in the Old Testament are carried over, unchanged, into the New Testament. When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples He brought them into a covenant relationship with them.
After He had handed them the cup and told them all to drink of it, He said, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28).
Notice that they not merely shared the cup of the covenant with Him; they also shared it with one another. The same solemn act that brought each of them into covenant with Jesus, at the same time brought them all into covenant with one another.
This is borne out in 1 Corinthians, where Paul was explaining the significance of the Lord's Supper to the believers:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the cmmunion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10:16, 17, NKJV).
Peter also declared that the new covenant in Christ has the same effect as God's previous covenant with the children of Israel. All believers were also called the special people of God:
"But you are chosen generation, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
After Jesus had shared the bread and wine of the new covenant with His desciples He prayed to the Father - John 17, His High Priestly Prayer:
Jesus prayed, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one" (John 17:22).
This shows that the end purpose of the covenant is a union of the same nature and quality as that exists between the Father and the Son. Until we, as believers, have come into this unity, we have not fulfilled our covenant obligations - either to Christ or to one another. At the same time, believers should excercise the same loyalty toward one another as the Son has toward the Father. This loyalty is our unique spiritual weapon against the Devil when we need someone loyal to us to protect our back in spiritual warfare!
I believe there is a two-fold application of this fact. First, never turn your back on the Devil because if you do, you are giving him an opportunity to wound you in an unprotected area. In other words, never give up on doing the will of God or doing anything that God calls you to do, no matter how frustrating it may seem to be. Never turn around and say, "I've had enough. I can't stand this; I can't take anymore" and "throw in the towel". This is turning your unprotected back to the Devil, and you can be sure he will avail himself of the opportunity to to wound you.
Second, I believe God knows, in certain sense, that we are not always able to protect our own back. In Paul's days, the Roman foot soldiers fought in close ranks. The Greek word for such a close rank is a "phalanx". The soldiers were trained to fight this way and to never break ranks. Every soldier knew the soldier on his right and on his left so that if he is hard-pressed and could not protect his own back, there would be another soldier to do it for him. Those soldiers were trained to be loyal to one another.
I believe the same is true concerning Christians in Spiritual Warfare. We cannot, or at least are not wise to, go out as isolated individuals and take on the Devil's kingdom. We must come under discipline, find our place in the Body of Christ (the Army of Christ). We have to know who stands on our right and who stands on our left. We must be able able to trust our fellow soldiers. Then, when we are under pressure, we ought to know who will be there to protect our back when we cannot protect it.
For those who have been long enough in Christian ministry will realize that, the real tragedy of our Christian experience is that the very person who protects your back sometimes wounds you. How often we, as Christians, are wounded in the back by our fellow Christians. That is something that never ought to happen. Let us make up our minds to stand together, protect one another 's backs, and not wound one another.
One unique Spiritual Weapon
One unique Spiritual Weapon that is given by God to all believers is loyalty. I call loyalty a Spiritual Weapon because God is the Author of loyalty whereas Satan is the author of disloyalty. Satan hates loyalty and he cannot stand seeing Christians loyal to God and loyal to one another. We need loyalty when we encounter the situation that we need someone to protect our back.
Loyalty is akin to honesty and you cannot separate them if you are forced to choose. Neither of them (loyalty and honesty) can be betrayed, neglected, omitted or disregarded. They are the salt of the human personality. Without them corruption takes over. Loyalty calls for a commitment of one's total self and substance. It involves a decision of trust and faith unto the supreme sacrifice to a person or cause that is worthy of such. Loyalty calls for laying down our lives for our brethren.
John said, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16, NKJV).
Jesus made such a commitment to the Father and perishing souls. He never turned away from that commitment. He was faithful and loyal unto death. Jesus revealed that the very heart of Christianity is loyalty.
God is the Author of loyalty
Disloyalty started with Satan but God is the Author of loyalty. He never broke His covenant, even if Israel did.
Solomon blessed the assembly of Israeil: "Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56, NKJV).
God keeps His covenants with those of all generations who love Him and keep His commandments.
"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; ..." (Deut. 7:9).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Heb. 6:17, 18, NKJV, emphasis added).
God is endowed with immutable counsel and confirmed it by an oath, it is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible, therefore, for God to be disloyal. This, then , is the basis of loyalty.
The importance of loyalty
Every one of us is, or should be, responsible to someone else. Those who are in authority over us, whether in the Church, government or working relationship, have a right to expect our loyalty.
Loyalty in the government
Paul said, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God" (Romans 13:1).
Peter said, "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good" (1 Peter 2:13, 14).
Every leader of a nation wants loyalty. The president (or prime minister) is frustrated if he is surrounded by a cabinet that is not loyal. confidential leeks are evidence that there is disloyalty within. Disloyalty makes efficient work impossible.
Loyalty gives direction. We do not stumble when we are loyal. We know where we are going. It is like a compass to a ship. Loyalty provides a purpose and the drive to accomplish that purpose. A country knows that without loyalty it can never win a war. If there is no loyalty, there will be mass defection in time of battle and danger.
Loyalty in a marriage and family relationship
In the book of Deuteronomy, when the children of Israel were ready to enter into their promised inheritance in the land of Canaan, Moses reviewed for them the kind of lifestyle God has planned for them. If they would keep God's Law, they would be abundantly blessed in every area of their lives. In particular, their children would be blessed forever "like the days of the heavens above the earth" (Deut. 11:21).
God also pointed out through prophet Malachi that marriage is a covenant:
"It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord, made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth" (Malachi 2:14, 15, NIV, emphasis added).
There are two reasons why God wants loyalty in a marriage and family relationship: One, your marriage is a covenant which cannot be broken. It is a covenant of loyalty unto death (Romans 7:3). Once this covenant is forgotten and ignored, marriage inevitably loses its sanctity. With the loss of the sanctity of marriage, it also loses loyalty, strength and stability. Second, God is seeking godly and loyal children. Godly husband and wife bring up godly and loyal children.
Loyalty in the Body of Christ
The basis of loyalty comes from the covenant relationship between God and the children of Israel:
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all the people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5, 6, emphasis added).
From then on, Israel was set apart unto God as a special people, not by any intrinsic righteousness of their own, but by the covenant God made with them. God made them holy by entering into a covenant with them. They became His chosen people and He became their God. God expected them to be loyal to Him, faithful to Him, obedient to Him, trust Him and love Him.
The same principles concerning covenant relationship established in the Old Testament are carried over, unchanged, into the New Testament. When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples He brought them into a covenant relationship with them.
After He had handed them the cup and told them all to drink of it, He said, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28).
Notice that they not merely shared the cup of the covenant with Him; they also shared it with one another. The same solemn act that brought each of them into covenant with Jesus, at the same time brought them all into covenant with one another.
This is borne out in 1 Corinthians, where Paul was explaining the significance of the Lord's Supper to the believers:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the cmmunion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10:16, 17, NKJV).
Peter also declared that the new covenant in Christ has the same effect as God's previous covenant with the children of Israel. All believers were also called the special people of God:
"But you are chosen generation, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who call you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
After Jesus had shared the bread and wine of the new covenant with His desciples He prayed to the Father - John 17, His High Priestly Prayer:
Jesus prayed, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one" (John 17:22).
This shows that the end purpose of the covenant is a union of the same nature and quality as that exists between the Father and the Son. Until we, as believers, have come into this unity, we have not fulfilled our covenant obligations - either to Christ or to one another. At the same time, believers should excercise the same loyalty toward one another as the Son has toward the Father. This loyalty is our unique spiritual weapon against the Devil when we need someone loyal to us to protect our back in spiritual warfare!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Will He really find Faith on the Earth?
Jesus was with His disciples and He spoke a parable to them, telling them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. At the end of this parable Jesus said to them:
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8, NKJV)?
It is true that a believer needs faith when he prays, but Jesus was not talking about faith in praying only; He was talking about faith in general and that all believers need faith to live by.
The Importance of Faith
The importance of faith cannot be over emphasized because you can find it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The need of faith and the lack of faith are all over the entire Bible:
The Lord said to Habakkuk, "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure him" (Heb. 10:38, emphasis added).
The Bible mentioned 3 times - "The just shall live by faith". That also means, anyone who does not live by faith is not justified, not saved and not a believer. Therefore, in relation to the life lived before God, faith is not something that is optional, but something that is obligatory. It is not a matter of personal preference; it is a definite priority. Faith, in its primary sense, is the underlying principle which governs all Christian living - from start to finish. We live by faith, or we do not live at all!
The writer of Hebrews also said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphasis added).
You have faith means you believe in God; without faith means you do not believe in God and thus it is impossible for you to please God.
Israel's relationship with God
The Old Testament Scripture has much to say about the relationship of the children of Israel with God - Some have faith (they believe, trust and obey) and some failed to have faith:
"Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed" (Exodus 4:29, 30, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "Then they (Israel) believed his promises and sang his praise" (Ps. 106:12, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deu. 1:32, 33, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you" (Deu. 9:23, 24, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his delieverance" (Ps. 78:21, 22, NIV, emphasis added).
Benefit of having faith in God
Jehosaphat said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
If Israel would have faith in the Lord and His prophets their faith would be established. And they would prosper (victorious).
The attitude and faith of His people toward Jesus
Isaiah painted a prophetic picture of the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is one of rejection because His people would not have the faith to believe.
"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed" (Isaiah 51:1)?
For this reason Jesus predicted when He returns He will not really find faith in His people (Jews and the Church) on earth!
A measure of faith
Paul said, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis added).
Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12, emphasis added).
When God calls a believer to accomplish a task He gives a measure of faith for him to accomplish this particular task for Him. This measure of faith is a gift of God and the believer should receive it in the spirit of humility. Like Timothy, we will face opposition as we fulfill our calling, and we need to "fight of the good fight of faith" and hold on the our faith in order to "lay hold on eternal life". The word "fight", in in Greek, is the same word "strive" used by our Lord in Luke 13:4.
Jesus does not want our faith to fail
Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him and He said to Peter: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; ..." (Luke 22:31, 32, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him, but He prayed that Peter would hold on to his faith. Peter did deny the Lord 3 times and he did hold on to his faith.
What preciely is faith?
In my opinion, the subject of faith tends to cause more confusion and misunderstanding than any other subject in the Bible. I think it might be helpful if, before arriving at a definition of what faith is, we first condider what it is now. In this way we might be better able to understand the definition when we come to it.
Faith is not mere intellectual acceptance
A person can have an intellectual belief in everything the Church and the Bible teach or affirm, and not having faith. People come to Church and sit in the Church pews, week after week, make a "confession of faith", sing some worship songs, listen to an "anointed" sermon, partake of the Holy Communion, fellowship with other Christians and still not haveing faith. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain truths about God and the Bible; faith goes beyond those truths to touch God Himself and to be changed by Him. Faith comes when we hear God through His Word (Romans 10:17), whether in preaching or in studying the Scripture. Faith comes when we worship God, not merely because through raising our hands, speaking or singing in tougues, but when we worship God in the way we live and have our being.
Faith is not blind credulity
A healing evangelist came to a Local church and prayed for a shortsighted person. He was advised to get rid of his spectacles before he walked out, in a step of faith, to proclaim his healing. He nearly met an accident and someone had to drive him home.
Someone once said, God is able and willing to do the impossible, but He is not willing to do the unreasonable. Faith is a reasoning trust and not just trust. Why? Because faith rests on the character of God, and since God is reasonable, then faith must be reasonable also.
Faith is not naive optimism
The right type of optimism, of course, can be a very desirable quality. Valid hope, based on the character of God is an ingredient of faith (Hebrews 11:1). There is a teaching in some section of the Church says that it is the nature of faith to ignore reality and focus only on the finality. It sounds plausible, but not correct. Faith never ignores reality.
When we are faced with a real problem, we must not ignore it. We look at the problem, but we must not focus on it. We glance at it, but we gaze at God. True faith looks difficulties in the face, recognizes their presence, then rises up to surmount and overcome them. Anything less than this will let you down.
Faith is not positive thinking
Positive thinking does work and millions are practicing it and get "good" result. A positive thinker once said, "A man is what he thinks about all the day long." It is true that when we think positively, we tend to act positively because our thought processes are extremely powerful.
The question we need to ask is: Is our positive thinking in line with God's thinking? Our thoughts may be positive, but are they the thought on which God wants us to focus? It is possible to achieve great things through the power of positive thinking, but the tragedy is that we can think ourselves into situations where God may not wish us to go.
Faith is not presumption
A diabetic woman heard a sermon in her church concerning divine healing. Then she found a verse in her Bible one day: "I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex. 15:26, NIV). By "faith" she instantly claimed this promise and stopped her insulin injections. Within three days she had died. Sadly, she acted in presumption and not in faith.
The verse in Exodus is a general statement that shows God to be a healer of His people. You can find many other similar statements in the Scripture. As a general principle, it is perfectly true that God delights to heal, but in some specific instances He may have good reasons for withholding healing. Or, He may want a person to continue to follow medical treatment.
There are two different Greek words for "God's Word" - logos and rhema. Logos is the written in the Bible; rhema is a direct specific "spoken" Word from God - His special Word for a special situation. Faith comes as a result of a rhema from God. However the rhema will not go beyond the logos.
Biblical definition of Faith
The only definition of Faith is: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith begins with hope, which means, in this context, a confident expectation. Hope is an unshakable confidence that the promises of God will be realized. Faith begins, not with the hope of realizing our self-centered interests, but with the hightest interest of God - ultimate victory of good over evil. Faith has to be cultivated in the certain knowledge that God's long-range purpose is to right all wrongs and usher in His triumphant Kingdom. The more that hope prevails in our hearts, the more certain will be our hope in God's ability to meet our personal and individual needs.
The second part of Hebrews 11:1 describes where faith operates. it is easy to believe in things we can see, but not so easy to believe in the things we cannot see. Yet this exactly where faith operates. We do not need faith to operate in the realm of things we can see. Otherwise, it is sight and not faith. But the Scripture says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).
Exercising Faith
We are living in the end-time hour. Our security is shaken; the country we live in, is shaken in all areas imaginable - Politically, socially, and economically. Our freedom, both in action ad speech, will be restricted; our faith will be tested. Time has come for us to begin to exercise our faith.
The faith to be saved is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and keeping you save is His job (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by studying your Bible daily, wait upon Him daily and hear from Him daily (Romans 10:17). Speak (pray) to God and trust Him and He will show you the way you should go (Pro. 3:6). Faith only gets stronger when it is accompanied by action (James 2:17). And above all, pray about everything, in evergthing, in every situation and circumstance, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8, NKJV)?
It is true that a believer needs faith when he prays, but Jesus was not talking about faith in praying only; He was talking about faith in general and that all believers need faith to live by.
The Importance of Faith
The importance of faith cannot be over emphasized because you can find it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The need of faith and the lack of faith are all over the entire Bible:
The Lord said to Habakkuk, "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, emphasis added).
Paul said, "For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17, emphasis added).
The writer of Hebrews said, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure him" (Heb. 10:38, emphasis added).
The Bible mentioned 3 times - "The just shall live by faith". That also means, anyone who does not live by faith is not justified, not saved and not a believer. Therefore, in relation to the life lived before God, faith is not something that is optional, but something that is obligatory. It is not a matter of personal preference; it is a definite priority. Faith, in its primary sense, is the underlying principle which governs all Christian living - from start to finish. We live by faith, or we do not live at all!
The writer of Hebrews also said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphasis added).
You have faith means you believe in God; without faith means you do not believe in God and thus it is impossible for you to please God.
Israel's relationship with God
The Old Testament Scripture has much to say about the relationship of the children of Israel with God - Some have faith (they believe, trust and obey) and some failed to have faith:
"Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed" (Exodus 4:29, 30, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "Then they (Israel) believed his promises and sang his praise" (Ps. 106:12, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deu. 1:32, 33, NIV, emphasis added).
Moses said, "And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you" (Deu. 9:23, 24, NIV, emphasis added).
The psalmist said, "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his delieverance" (Ps. 78:21, 22, NIV, emphasis added).
Benefit of having faith in God
Jehosaphat said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
If Israel would have faith in the Lord and His prophets their faith would be established. And they would prosper (victorious).
The attitude and faith of His people toward Jesus
Isaiah painted a prophetic picture of the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is one of rejection because His people would not have the faith to believe.
"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed" (Isaiah 51:1)?
For this reason Jesus predicted when He returns He will not really find faith in His people (Jews and the Church) on earth!
A measure of faith
Paul said, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis added).
Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12, emphasis added).
When God calls a believer to accomplish a task He gives a measure of faith for him to accomplish this particular task for Him. This measure of faith is a gift of God and the believer should receive it in the spirit of humility. Like Timothy, we will face opposition as we fulfill our calling, and we need to "fight of the good fight of faith" and hold on the our faith in order to "lay hold on eternal life". The word "fight", in in Greek, is the same word "strive" used by our Lord in Luke 13:4.
Jesus does not want our faith to fail
Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him and He said to Peter: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; ..." (Luke 22:31, 32, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him, but He prayed that Peter would hold on to his faith. Peter did deny the Lord 3 times and he did hold on to his faith.
What preciely is faith?
In my opinion, the subject of faith tends to cause more confusion and misunderstanding than any other subject in the Bible. I think it might be helpful if, before arriving at a definition of what faith is, we first condider what it is now. In this way we might be better able to understand the definition when we come to it.
Faith is not mere intellectual acceptance
A person can have an intellectual belief in everything the Church and the Bible teach or affirm, and not having faith. People come to Church and sit in the Church pews, week after week, make a "confession of faith", sing some worship songs, listen to an "anointed" sermon, partake of the Holy Communion, fellowship with other Christians and still not haveing faith. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain truths about God and the Bible; faith goes beyond those truths to touch God Himself and to be changed by Him. Faith comes when we hear God through His Word (Romans 10:17), whether in preaching or in studying the Scripture. Faith comes when we worship God, not merely because through raising our hands, speaking or singing in tougues, but when we worship God in the way we live and have our being.
Faith is not blind credulity
A healing evangelist came to a Local church and prayed for a shortsighted person. He was advised to get rid of his spectacles before he walked out, in a step of faith, to proclaim his healing. He nearly met an accident and someone had to drive him home.
Someone once said, God is able and willing to do the impossible, but He is not willing to do the unreasonable. Faith is a reasoning trust and not just trust. Why? Because faith rests on the character of God, and since God is reasonable, then faith must be reasonable also.
Faith is not naive optimism
The right type of optimism, of course, can be a very desirable quality. Valid hope, based on the character of God is an ingredient of faith (Hebrews 11:1). There is a teaching in some section of the Church says that it is the nature of faith to ignore reality and focus only on the finality. It sounds plausible, but not correct. Faith never ignores reality.
When we are faced with a real problem, we must not ignore it. We look at the problem, but we must not focus on it. We glance at it, but we gaze at God. True faith looks difficulties in the face, recognizes their presence, then rises up to surmount and overcome them. Anything less than this will let you down.
Faith is not positive thinking
Positive thinking does work and millions are practicing it and get "good" result. A positive thinker once said, "A man is what he thinks about all the day long." It is true that when we think positively, we tend to act positively because our thought processes are extremely powerful.
The question we need to ask is: Is our positive thinking in line with God's thinking? Our thoughts may be positive, but are they the thought on which God wants us to focus? It is possible to achieve great things through the power of positive thinking, but the tragedy is that we can think ourselves into situations where God may not wish us to go.
Faith is not presumption
A diabetic woman heard a sermon in her church concerning divine healing. Then she found a verse in her Bible one day: "I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex. 15:26, NIV). By "faith" she instantly claimed this promise and stopped her insulin injections. Within three days she had died. Sadly, she acted in presumption and not in faith.
The verse in Exodus is a general statement that shows God to be a healer of His people. You can find many other similar statements in the Scripture. As a general principle, it is perfectly true that God delights to heal, but in some specific instances He may have good reasons for withholding healing. Or, He may want a person to continue to follow medical treatment.
There are two different Greek words for "God's Word" - logos and rhema. Logos is the written in the Bible; rhema is a direct specific "spoken" Word from God - His special Word for a special situation. Faith comes as a result of a rhema from God. However the rhema will not go beyond the logos.
Biblical definition of Faith
The only definition of Faith is: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).
Faith begins with hope, which means, in this context, a confident expectation. Hope is an unshakable confidence that the promises of God will be realized. Faith begins, not with the hope of realizing our self-centered interests, but with the hightest interest of God - ultimate victory of good over evil. Faith has to be cultivated in the certain knowledge that God's long-range purpose is to right all wrongs and usher in His triumphant Kingdom. The more that hope prevails in our hearts, the more certain will be our hope in God's ability to meet our personal and individual needs.
The second part of Hebrews 11:1 describes where faith operates. it is easy to believe in things we can see, but not so easy to believe in the things we cannot see. Yet this exactly where faith operates. We do not need faith to operate in the realm of things we can see. Otherwise, it is sight and not faith. But the Scripture says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).
Exercising Faith
We are living in the end-time hour. Our security is shaken; the country we live in, is shaken in all areas imaginable - Politically, socially, and economically. Our freedom, both in action ad speech, will be restricted; our faith will be tested. Time has come for us to begin to exercise our faith.
The faith to be saved is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and keeping you save is His job (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by studying your Bible daily, wait upon Him daily and hear from Him daily (Romans 10:17). Speak (pray) to God and trust Him and He will show you the way you should go (Pro. 3:6). Faith only gets stronger when it is accompanied by action (James 2:17). And above all, pray about everything, in evergthing, in every situation and circumstance, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Weapons of Attack
Last week we dealt with the six items of defensive armor of God listed by Paul in Ephesians 6:14 - 17. With the exception of the Sword of the Spirit, all these items are essentially for our protection in our ongoing Spiritual Warfare.
Many Bible teachers think there is only one weapon of attack made available to us - the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. But this is not as simple as this. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 our obligation, as a believer in this warfare, is to pull or cast down Satan's strongholds which is in the minds of humanity. Notice that even the sword can reach no further than the length of the arm of the person who wields it. In other words, there is nothing in the list of defensive equipment that will enable us to deal with Satan's strongholds.
We must now move from the defensive to the offensive. In this message we want to deal with weapons of attack that will enable us to cast down Satan's strongholds. It is a historical fact that no army, no matter how great, ever won a war on the defensive. We will never win a war by retreating or even by merely holding our ground. As long as Satan keeps the Church on the defensive, his kingdom will never be overthrown.
Jesus' Plan for His Church
When Jesus first unveiled His plan for His Church, He envisioned it being on the offensive and attacking Satan's strongholds.
Jesus said to Peter, "... and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hates will not overcome it"(Matthew 16:18, NIV).
The Living Bible reads, "All the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it".
The word for "hell", in Greek, is the word "Hades". The root meaning of which is "invisible, unseen". So Hades or hell is the unseen world of Satan's kingdom.
Jesus planed and pictured His Church as having two primary activities: Building and Battling. These must always go together. It is no good doing battle if we do not build. On the other hand, we cannot build if we do not battle. Therefore, we must think always in terms of building the Church and battling the forces of Satan.
Jesus promised Peter and all believers that Satan's gates will not hold out against the Church and that Satan will not be able to keep the Church out. Unfortunately some sections of the Christianity still believe that the Church is besieged by Satan's forces. Contrary to their belief it is not the Church trying to keep Satan out; it is Satan failing to keep the Church out. The true Church of Jesus Christ is born of God, and "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). If we obey Him as our Commander-in-Chief, we will be able to move out, storm Satan's citadels, break through his gates, released his captives and carry away his spoil. That is the Church's assignment, and it is essentially offensive, not defensive.
The word "gate" has a great deal of meaning in Scripture. For instance, in Proverbs 31:23, it says of the husband of the virtuous wife:
"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (NKJV).
In those days, the city gate was the place where the ruling council of elders sat and ruled and administered the city. So when the Scripture says that the gates of Satan will not prevail against the Church, it means that Satan's councils will not prevail against the Church but will be frustrated and brought to naught.
Satan is a defeated foe. God, through the cross, disarmed Satan's kingdom; He made a public display of the representatives of Satan's kingdom, and He triumphed over them in the cross:
Paul said, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that a triumph is not so much winning a victory as it is the celebration of a victory that has already been won. On the cross, Jesus did not win the victory for Himself. As our representative, He won the victory on our behalf. Thus, His victory becomes our victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
Notice also that in the final commission (the Great Commission) of Jesus (Matthew 28:18, 19), we are commissioned to exercise the authority and victory that Jesus had already won on the cross. In other words, our assignment, as the Church and individual believers, is to administer the victory, demonstrate the triumph, and exercise the authority that Jesus has won on our behalf. But this can only be done when we move from the defensive to the offensive.
Spiritual Weapons of Attack
The Scripture reveals four main spiritual weapons of attack - Prayer, praise, preaching and testimony. Notice that the mouth of God's people is the primary channel for releasing our spiritual weapons of attack against Satan's kingdom.
The Weapon of Prayer
I believe prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapons that God has committed to us. After Paul listed the six items of defensive armor he said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ..." (Eph. 6:18).
As I have mentioned in one of my previous messages that prayer is used to put on our defensive armor of God. And because Jesus is our armor of God we put on Jesus with our prayer on a daily basis. But it is important to understand that prayer is also the most powerful weapon of attack. After Paul said the above, he moved from defensive to the offensive.
In my opinion prayer is a more powerful and more effective than an intercontinental ballistic missile in destroying an assigned target. There is no limitation of time or distance in prayer. With it, we can destroy Satan's strongholds anywhere, even in the heavenlies.
The deliverance and rescue of Peter
A good example of prayer as a weapon of attack is related in Acts 12:1 - 10. The Church had come under persecution by King Herod. After Herod executed James, he wanted Peter dead also. Peter was arrested and was scheduled for execution after the Passover. Peter was in the maximum security jail with four squads of four soldiers each watching him night and day. There was no way of escape for Peter except with divine intervention.
Constant (day and night) prayer was offered to God for Peter by the Church (Acts 12:5). God answered the prayer of the Church by sending an angel to deliver Peter (Vs. 8 -10). However the deliverance and rescue of Peter by an angel was the first part of the result of their prayer. An angel was also sent to bring judgment to Harod, the percecutor (Vs. 19 - 23)!
The prayer of the Church releases the intervention of angels on our behalf. Our prayer breaks through Satan's kingdom in the heavenlies and releases divine angelic intervention.
The Weapon of Praise
In a sense, you could consider praise as one type of prayer. In Scripture, praise is frequently related to God's awesomeness or fearfulness. Praise is the appropriate response by God's people to His awesomeness, to His fearful acts of war and vengeance on their behalf.
Moses and the children of Israel sang a song of praise to the Lord after their deliverance from Egypt and after Pharaoh's army had been destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1 - 18).
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Ex. 15:11)?
The psalmist said, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (Ps. 8:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Now, compare what the psalmist said with what Jesus said:
"Yes. Have you never read, 'out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'" (Matthew 21:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
So, the above comparison reveals that the strength of God's people is praise. Praise is our great source of strenth and power.
Praise accompanied by God's Word
Another example of the power of praise is revealed by the psalmist:
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written agaist them. This is the glory of all his saints" (Ps. 149:6 - 9, NIV, emphasis added).
When praise is combined with God's Word (double-edged sword) in our mouth, praise becomes an instrument of judgment on kings, nobles and nations! The kings and nobles referred to are Satan's angelic princes and kings of the unseen world.
The Weapon of Preaching
Preaching is a weapon of attack related even more directly and specifically to God's Word. What many preachers and believers failed to realize is that this weapon of attack is solely and exclusively applies to the preaching of the pure Word of God. It in no way applies to the preaching of other things, such as human philosophy, political ideologies, Christian literature or even elaborate theology. All these are not double-edged swords and they are not even as powerful or as effective as a peashooter!
Paul gave a solemn charge to Timothy: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Tim. 4:1, 2, NIV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. Note the solemnity of the charge. It is given in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge those who are handling the Word deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2).
2. The charge is to preach the Word with the intention to "correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" and nothing else. This is in line with Hebrews 4:12. The preacher will answer to the Lord for the messages he preaches.
In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to find a preacher or a Pastor, in the contemporary Church, who ever heed God's solemn charge to Timothy. I have heard both a senior Pastor and an elder said there are four ways of interpreting the Scripture. How could this be when there is only one Holy Spirit? To me, by saying this, it is an insult to the Holy Spirit and Christ. To me there are only two ways of interpreting the Scripture - the biblical way and the non-biblical way; the right way and the wrong way. There is no grey area nor compromised teaching in the entire Bible.
Jesus Himself declared that there are two ways a person can choose: The narrow way to life and the broad way to destruction (Mattew 7:13, 14).
The effectiveness of God's Word
There is tremendous power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It will accomplish God's pleasure (Isaiah 55:11). It is a hammer that will break in pieces every rock that opposes the purposes of God (Jeremiah 23:29). It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and lays bare the secrets of men's hearts and minds (Hebrews 4:12).
The Weapon of Testimony
Testimony is speaking from personal experience about incidents that relate to the Word of God and confirm the truth of God's Word. To give testimony is to bear witness to the outworking of the Gospel message. Testimony is basic to Jesus' strategy of reaching the whole world with the Gospel. Jesus unveiled this strategy as He stood on the Mount of Olive with His disciples. His strategy is baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
To be effective witnesses for Jesus, we need supernatural power. Our testimony is supernatural. It needs to to be backed and enforced by spernatural power, the power of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus did not permit His disciples to go out and begin testifying until they had been endued with that power on the Day of Pentecost, why the Church sends believers out without the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Prophetic preview of the testimony of God's people
The Bible gives a prophetic preview of how the weapon of testimony will ultimately cast down Satan's kingdom in the heavenly realm. Revelation 12:7 - 11 describes a great conflict between angels and men that will span both heaven and earth at the close of this age. The "accuser of our brethren" is Satan. He will be hurled down from his kingdom in the heavenly realm. The interesting thing is, the believers will overcome Satan.
"They (the believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11, NIV).
The main weapon is in the word "testimony". It is their testimony that will ultimately shake down the whole kingdom of Satan. Their testimoy centers in two things - the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus. Notice that by giving their testimny they will not worry so much even to the point as losing their lives.
I believe we can do the same now to overcome Satan as we bear personal testimony to what the Word of God says the Blood of Jesus does for us. One appointed way is the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26). We know the cup represents the Blood of the Lord, so in taking the Lord's Supper, we are continually testifying, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In order to testify effectively to what the Word of God says about the Blood of Jesus, we must be familiar with what the Word of God actually tells us about the Blood. The following are four important provisions of the Blood of Jesus revealed by the Word of God:
1. We are redeemed and forgiven - Eph. 1:7
2. We are cleansed - 1 John 1:7
3. We are justified (made righteous) - Romans 5:9
4. We are sanctified (made holy) - Hebrews 13:12
Notice that we must say the above verses in order to make our weapon of testimony effective - "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Ps. 107:2).
Many Bible teachers think there is only one weapon of attack made available to us - the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. But this is not as simple as this. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 our obligation, as a believer in this warfare, is to pull or cast down Satan's strongholds which is in the minds of humanity. Notice that even the sword can reach no further than the length of the arm of the person who wields it. In other words, there is nothing in the list of defensive equipment that will enable us to deal with Satan's strongholds.
We must now move from the defensive to the offensive. In this message we want to deal with weapons of attack that will enable us to cast down Satan's strongholds. It is a historical fact that no army, no matter how great, ever won a war on the defensive. We will never win a war by retreating or even by merely holding our ground. As long as Satan keeps the Church on the defensive, his kingdom will never be overthrown.
Jesus' Plan for His Church
When Jesus first unveiled His plan for His Church, He envisioned it being on the offensive and attacking Satan's strongholds.
Jesus said to Peter, "... and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hates will not overcome it"(Matthew 16:18, NIV).
The Living Bible reads, "All the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it".
The word for "hell", in Greek, is the word "Hades". The root meaning of which is "invisible, unseen". So Hades or hell is the unseen world of Satan's kingdom.
Jesus planed and pictured His Church as having two primary activities: Building and Battling. These must always go together. It is no good doing battle if we do not build. On the other hand, we cannot build if we do not battle. Therefore, we must think always in terms of building the Church and battling the forces of Satan.
Jesus promised Peter and all believers that Satan's gates will not hold out against the Church and that Satan will not be able to keep the Church out. Unfortunately some sections of the Christianity still believe that the Church is besieged by Satan's forces. Contrary to their belief it is not the Church trying to keep Satan out; it is Satan failing to keep the Church out. The true Church of Jesus Christ is born of God, and "Whatever is born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). If we obey Him as our Commander-in-Chief, we will be able to move out, storm Satan's citadels, break through his gates, released his captives and carry away his spoil. That is the Church's assignment, and it is essentially offensive, not defensive.
The word "gate" has a great deal of meaning in Scripture. For instance, in Proverbs 31:23, it says of the husband of the virtuous wife:
"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (NKJV).
In those days, the city gate was the place where the ruling council of elders sat and ruled and administered the city. So when the Scripture says that the gates of Satan will not prevail against the Church, it means that Satan's councils will not prevail against the Church but will be frustrated and brought to naught.
Satan is a defeated foe. God, through the cross, disarmed Satan's kingdom; He made a public display of the representatives of Satan's kingdom, and He triumphed over them in the cross:
Paul said, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15, emphasis added).
Notice that a triumph is not so much winning a victory as it is the celebration of a victory that has already been won. On the cross, Jesus did not win the victory for Himself. As our representative, He won the victory on our behalf. Thus, His victory becomes our victory (2 Cor. 2:14).
Notice also that in the final commission (the Great Commission) of Jesus (Matthew 28:18, 19), we are commissioned to exercise the authority and victory that Jesus had already won on the cross. In other words, our assignment, as the Church and individual believers, is to administer the victory, demonstrate the triumph, and exercise the authority that Jesus has won on our behalf. But this can only be done when we move from the defensive to the offensive.
Spiritual Weapons of Attack
The Scripture reveals four main spiritual weapons of attack - Prayer, praise, preaching and testimony. Notice that the mouth of God's people is the primary channel for releasing our spiritual weapons of attack against Satan's kingdom.
The Weapon of Prayer
I believe prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapons that God has committed to us. After Paul listed the six items of defensive armor he said, "... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ..." (Eph. 6:18).
As I have mentioned in one of my previous messages that prayer is used to put on our defensive armor of God. And because Jesus is our armor of God we put on Jesus with our prayer on a daily basis. But it is important to understand that prayer is also the most powerful weapon of attack. After Paul said the above, he moved from defensive to the offensive.
In my opinion prayer is a more powerful and more effective than an intercontinental ballistic missile in destroying an assigned target. There is no limitation of time or distance in prayer. With it, we can destroy Satan's strongholds anywhere, even in the heavenlies.
The deliverance and rescue of Peter
A good example of prayer as a weapon of attack is related in Acts 12:1 - 10. The Church had come under persecution by King Herod. After Herod executed James, he wanted Peter dead also. Peter was arrested and was scheduled for execution after the Passover. Peter was in the maximum security jail with four squads of four soldiers each watching him night and day. There was no way of escape for Peter except with divine intervention.
Constant (day and night) prayer was offered to God for Peter by the Church (Acts 12:5). God answered the prayer of the Church by sending an angel to deliver Peter (Vs. 8 -10). However the deliverance and rescue of Peter by an angel was the first part of the result of their prayer. An angel was also sent to bring judgment to Harod, the percecutor (Vs. 19 - 23)!
The prayer of the Church releases the intervention of angels on our behalf. Our prayer breaks through Satan's kingdom in the heavenlies and releases divine angelic intervention.
The Weapon of Praise
In a sense, you could consider praise as one type of prayer. In Scripture, praise is frequently related to God's awesomeness or fearfulness. Praise is the appropriate response by God's people to His awesomeness, to His fearful acts of war and vengeance on their behalf.
Moses and the children of Israel sang a song of praise to the Lord after their deliverance from Egypt and after Pharaoh's army had been destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1 - 18).
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Ex. 15:11)?
The psalmist said, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (Ps. 8:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Now, compare what the psalmist said with what Jesus said:
"Yes. Have you never read, 'out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'" (Matthew 21:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
So, the above comparison reveals that the strength of God's people is praise. Praise is our great source of strenth and power.
Praise accompanied by God's Word
Another example of the power of praise is revealed by the psalmist:
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the people, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written agaist them. This is the glory of all his saints" (Ps. 149:6 - 9, NIV, emphasis added).
When praise is combined with God's Word (double-edged sword) in our mouth, praise becomes an instrument of judgment on kings, nobles and nations! The kings and nobles referred to are Satan's angelic princes and kings of the unseen world.
The Weapon of Preaching
Preaching is a weapon of attack related even more directly and specifically to God's Word. What many preachers and believers failed to realize is that this weapon of attack is solely and exclusively applies to the preaching of the pure Word of God. It in no way applies to the preaching of other things, such as human philosophy, political ideologies, Christian literature or even elaborate theology. All these are not double-edged swords and they are not even as powerful or as effective as a peashooter!
Paul gave a solemn charge to Timothy: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his Kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Tim. 4:1, 2, NIV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. Note the solemnity of the charge. It is given in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge those who are handling the Word deceitfully (2 Cor. 4:2).
2. The charge is to preach the Word with the intention to "correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction" and nothing else. This is in line with Hebrews 4:12. The preacher will answer to the Lord for the messages he preaches.
In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to find a preacher or a Pastor, in the contemporary Church, who ever heed God's solemn charge to Timothy. I have heard both a senior Pastor and an elder said there are four ways of interpreting the Scripture. How could this be when there is only one Holy Spirit? To me, by saying this, it is an insult to the Holy Spirit and Christ. To me there are only two ways of interpreting the Scripture - the biblical way and the non-biblical way; the right way and the wrong way. There is no grey area nor compromised teaching in the entire Bible.
Jesus Himself declared that there are two ways a person can choose: The narrow way to life and the broad way to destruction (Mattew 7:13, 14).
The effectiveness of God's Word
There is tremendous power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It will accomplish God's pleasure (Isaiah 55:11). It is a hammer that will break in pieces every rock that opposes the purposes of God (Jeremiah 23:29). It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and lays bare the secrets of men's hearts and minds (Hebrews 4:12).
The Weapon of Testimony
Testimony is speaking from personal experience about incidents that relate to the Word of God and confirm the truth of God's Word. To give testimony is to bear witness to the outworking of the Gospel message. Testimony is basic to Jesus' strategy of reaching the whole world with the Gospel. Jesus unveiled this strategy as He stood on the Mount of Olive with His disciples. His strategy is baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
To be effective witnesses for Jesus, we need supernatural power. Our testimony is supernatural. It needs to to be backed and enforced by spernatural power, the power of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus did not permit His disciples to go out and begin testifying until they had been endued with that power on the Day of Pentecost, why the Church sends believers out without the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Prophetic preview of the testimony of God's people
The Bible gives a prophetic preview of how the weapon of testimony will ultimately cast down Satan's kingdom in the heavenly realm. Revelation 12:7 - 11 describes a great conflict between angels and men that will span both heaven and earth at the close of this age. The "accuser of our brethren" is Satan. He will be hurled down from his kingdom in the heavenly realm. The interesting thing is, the believers will overcome Satan.
"They (the believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11, NIV).
The main weapon is in the word "testimony". It is their testimony that will ultimately shake down the whole kingdom of Satan. Their testimoy centers in two things - the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus. Notice that by giving their testimny they will not worry so much even to the point as losing their lives.
I believe we can do the same now to overcome Satan as we bear personal testimony to what the Word of God says the Blood of Jesus does for us. One appointed way is the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:26). We know the cup represents the Blood of the Lord, so in taking the Lord's Supper, we are continually testifying, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In order to testify effectively to what the Word of God says about the Blood of Jesus, we must be familiar with what the Word of God actually tells us about the Blood. The following are four important provisions of the Blood of Jesus revealed by the Word of God:
1. We are redeemed and forgiven - Eph. 1:7
2. We are cleansed - 1 John 1:7
3. We are justified (made righteous) - Romans 5:9
4. We are sanctified (made holy) - Hebrews 13:12
Notice that we must say the above verses in order to make our weapon of testimony effective - "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Ps. 107:2).
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