The unity of God's people is in the heart of God. God desired that His people be united through right relationships with Him and with one another. This is true both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. God gave us pictures of this unity through two psalms (Ps. 122 and Ps. 133) written by David.
A Picture of Unity
Let us re-consider the first five verses of Psalm 122, which I had expounded as carefully as I could last week, and see how we can picture what God is trying to tell us about this unity.
1. "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord" (Ps.122:1, KJV, emphasis added).
Notice thae phrase "let us". This was a collective decision by God's people to go and worship the Lord together. The psalmist did not say "I will go", but "let us go".
The Church has somewhat over emphasized the individual aspect of the Christian life. We talk about individual relationship with the Lord. And ther are things about which we have to make individual decision - like salvation and water baptism. But these practices lead to a collective life. There are many things in the Christian life we cannot come into as isolated individuals. We either come together in fellowship or we don't come into at all.
2. "Our feet shall stand within they gates, O Jerusalem" (Ps. 122:2, emphasis added).
Once again, it says "our feet". All God's people had decided to set foot on the City of Jerusalem together and went into God's House together. It speaks of Christians going to the Local Church to worship God together.
3. "Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together" (Ps. 122:3).
Jerusalem itself was a picture of close fellowship - with its buildings compacted and almost joined together.
4. "Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord" (Ps. 122:4).
God's people went up to Jerusalem as tribes under their recognized leaders within the tribes. Each tribe knew where they belong. This is the key to unity. When believers know their leaders and then these leaders come together, agreeing with one another, you will have unity.
I think every believer has two options - either be a shepherd or have one. If you aren't one then you need one; if you are one then you need your fellow shepherd.
The picture of this verse is that everybody in his tribe followed his leaders and all came together at a focal point - a place where God had set His Name, the House of the Lord in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament this corresponding focal point is the Name of Jesus.
Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20, NKJV).
We don't meet on the basis of doctrine; we don't meet on the basis of denominational beliefs or experiences - like speaking in tongues or the so-called deceptive "Holy Laughter". We meet because we com together into the Name of Jesus.
5. "For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David" (Ps. 122:5).
Believers are together enthroned with Christ (Eph. 2:5, 6).
The Importance of Christian Unity
Let us consider part of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer:
"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:20, 21).
Here are some comments and statements of truth:
1. The unity of all true believers is the only testimony which can reach the whole world. The visible demonstration of our unity in Him will cause the world both to believe and to know that He is the one which God has sent as the Messiah and Savior of the world.
2. We can be active in mission and evangelism work, but many will not be touched by those activities unless we are sincere in our attitude toward Christian unity.
3. Christian unity begins within the Godhead - between the Father and the Son. Therefore it is not a unity of organization. The Father and the Son are not organized to be one. It is a unity of neither denomination nor Church affliliation. But it is a unity of relationship in the Holys Spirit.
4. The Godhead provides us with a perfect pattern of right relationships. In the Godhead we have three things which are essential - Fatherhood, Headship and Fellowship. We can't have Fellowship in the Biblical sense without the acknowledgement of Fatherhood and Headship.
The Problem of Disuntiy
You cannot talk about Christian unity unless we identify the problem of disunity.
Jesus said, "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand" (Mark 3:24, 25, NKJV).
As long as the Church is divided it cannot stand against the kingdom of Satan. Therefore Satan's supreme objective is to keep the Church divided so that we cannot defeat him.
Furthermore disunity and division amongst us belie the message that we preached. We preached that Gospel solves people's problems by bringing them into right relationship with God and with men, and then we demonstrated the very opposite. I believe the pragmatically minded world is much more disposed to believe what they see in our lives than what they hear in our preaching.
Jesus said, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 12:35).
When we love one another we stay united with one another.
The Blessings of Christian Unity
Psalm 133, like Psalm 122, is also a song of ascents of David:
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing - life forevermore" (NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some comments and statements of truth:
1. The psalmist said "good and pleasant" but he did not say it was easy. In fact is is far from easy.
2. Notice the word "dwell" does not mean coming together for a couple hours on Sunday morning Church service. It also does not mean a coming together for a few days of Camp Meeting. In fact if we do come together in a Camp Meeting we'll begin to experience both some of the blessings and some of the problems. For example, when you are having a quiet time someone else's baby starts to squawk; when you want to use the bathroom someone went in just before you. The fact is, the moment we begin to get close to one another for any length of time things begin to happen.
3. The fact is that churchgoers do know the problem of getting too close to one another. So, in many cases Church meetings become social Sunday morning club meetings. People, mostly come from the same social status, come together to fellowship. But there is no real deep commitment, no deep involvement in other people's lives. They are probably too embarrassed to mention their problems, their hurts and needs. They rather keep it on a nice, dignified and respectable religious level.
4. The psalmist meant living together, sharing our lives together and committed to one another. The fact is, until you see me in my worst and my weakest and you still love me, you don't love me! You have to come to a place where you live with people the way you are and accept other people as they are.
Paul said, "Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God" (Romans 15:7).
I am a Christian not because I am right; I am a Christian because God received me in Christ - right or wrong. And if I am wrong I am not afraid to admit it.
5. The psalmist gave two pictures of unity; the first picture is like oil which speaks of the Holy Spirit. The psalmist pictured the anointing oil "running down" (Ps.133:2).
Notice that unity never flows upward; it always flow downward and it starts at the head. We know from experience in a family that children can't unite a family. But if father and mother are united, that unity will flow down to the children.
It means, in the Local Church level the key to unity is leaders coming together first, and not churchgoers coming together. The whole congregation will not unite unless we unit the leaders (shepherds) first.
6. The other aspect of the truth is, only shepherds that divide sheep - a very embarrassing thought. The disunity of God's people is due to the disunity of leaders. If leaders are united there will be no further problem uniting those who are led.
7. The second picture of unity is like dew which also speaks of the Holy Spirit. There are many vivid pictures of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture. Most of them are rather dramatic in nature - like wind, fire, rain and oil. But dew is not so dramatic. It does not come down in the way that you can hear and feel normally. During the hours of darkness it descends almost imperceptibly and yet it is one of the most gentle, refreshing, and reviving things in nature. In fact, dew is a picture of the Messiah Himself:
"Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning. You have the dew of Your youth" (Ps. 110:3, NKJV, emphasis added).
I believe God is saying something to us here. He wants us to have Christ-likeness. He is dealing with our character - gentleness and lowliness:
Paul said, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of Spirit in the Bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1 - 3, emphasis added).
Gentleness is also a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).
8. In the midst of Christian unity "the Lord commanded the blessing" (Ps. 133:3).
It is one thing to seek the Lord's blessing and another thing the Lord commanded (past tense) the blessing. We should give up seeking God's blessing and instead concentrate on obeying Him and we will discover that at the place we obey Him, He has commanded His blessing!
Moses said, "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God; ..." (Deut. 28:1, 2, emphasis added).
If you obey the Lord's voice, His blessings will come upon you and overtake you. That means you can't avoid His blessings because He commanded it! The key to right relationship in God is to hear and obey His voice. We can read the Bible but hearing His voice is quite different. His voice is living and personal. Very often we hear no voice when we read the Bible.
"Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people" (Jer. 7:23).
The basic condition for the Lord being your God is to obey His voice. But you must hear His voice first. You will hear His voice if you are in the right relationship with Him!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Right Relationships
Not many Bible teachers understand that Psalm 122 speaks of two right relationships - One, the right relationship between God and man and the other, the right relationship between man and man. Psalm 122 is actually a song of ascent of David to be sung by God's people during the last stage of their pilgrimage to the City of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place where God was met in worship.
Before I begin I would like to remind Christians that it is very easy to take the text of this Psalm out of its context and use the verses as slogan. This is especially so when we commit the verses (usually the King James Version) to memory. The right thing to do is whenever you get a verse from the Lord go back and see the setting of the verse and find out how this verse relates to other verses in that particular setting. Then you will use it in a Biblical sense instead of using it as a slogan taken out of context. It is often said that Scripture taken out of context becomes a pretext. In fact in its original language all the Books of the entire Bible had no chapter number and no verse number. They were put there by the translators. In its original language it would be difficult to take any verse out of its context.
The Nature and Function of Jerusalem
Psalm 122 describes the nature and function of the City of Jerusalem. It is conveniently divided into two halves:
1. The Nature of the City of Jerusalem
"I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord! Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem, which is built as a city that is compact together; to which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed and as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there thrones of judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David" (Psalm 122:1 - 5, The Amplified Bible).
The above five verses describe the nature of the City of Jerusalem. In fact the nature of the City is like the nature of the Country of Israel - too much history and too little geography. As soon as you read this psalm you'll get the sense that to the psalmist this city was very special. There was some thing unique about it. You'll feel it as soon as you step inside the gates. The City had a mixture of the real and the unreal.
The City of Jerusalem was terribly small. Someone said this City during king David's time looked as if a large city had been pulled down and another city had been re-erected on a tiny site with buildings all crowded together, compacted together, squeezed into a solid city. You could walk through the entire city in less than an hour. What made the City so special was its function.
2. The Function of the City of Jerusalem
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper that love you (the Holy City)! Peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces! For my brethren and my companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within you! For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek, inquire for and require your good" (Psalm 122:6 - 9, The Amplified Bible).
There were two important buildings used to be found in the Holy City of Jerusalem, but they are no longer here now. In these two buildings lived two kings. One is the father and the other one, his son; one is the King of the universe and the other the king of Israel. These two buildings were the house of the Lord and the house of David.
It was because of these two buildings that prayers were offered up for the peace of Jerusalem. These two buildings embodied and symbolized the two relationships that need to be put right. These two relatioships were the relationship between God and man and the relationship between man and man. Right relationships were needed not only for the City and not only for the nation of which the City was the capital, but for the entire world. Jerusalem was the city where men came up to praise and worship their God - where the twelve tribes processed and worshiped together as Cod told them to, as an example to the whole world.
Jerusalem was also the City where justice could be found. The Law Court of justice was in the house of David. It was in this court wrongs were righted; those who had been exploited were vindicated; criminals were punished and right relationships were established. If you wanted to be right with God and right with your fellowmen then this was the City to which you had to come.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
There is actually nothing terribly special about the prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. It is a natural thing for a Jewish person on entering a home to say peace to that home. Similarly the natural thing to do, when you enter the gates of Jerusalem and when you just stand inside the door, is to say peace to Jerusalem. It is a right and proper prayer to pray.
Jerusalem was peculiarly vulnerable in two areas - peace and prosperity. Therefore David prayed for peace and prosperity - in Hebrew mean shalom and shalvah. It is quite impossible to translate shalom and shalvah into English. Shalom not only means peace, but also harmony, health, well being and right relationship with God and everyone around you. Shalvah not only means prosperity, but also security, safety, tranquility, happy, joyful and abundantly blessed.
It is important to note that the peace that David prayed was an internal peace within the City (Ps. 122:7, 8). He was not thinking about Jerusalem out of security, not thinking about military and political peace. What truly concerned him was that within the place where God and men met, where relationships were put right, that Jerusalem would be a city of harmony.
Peace does not come naturally when you put a lot of God's people together, crowded in with one another so that they had hardly enough room to move about. Similary when you work in a place with Christians only (like in a Local Church), it is not necessarily a "promised land". When people are crowded together in a corridor of power peace does not come naturally. It is common to see Pastors and other servants of God having frictions with one another.
Therefore David, as soon as he stepped inside the gates, he prayed for the residence of the City who kept the Temple services going. He prayed for God's people who served the Lord in the Temple. He prayed that the Lord would keep them in harmony, keep them together in peace. He also prayed for prosperity for a very simple reason - Jerusalem was not a commercial viable City; it was not a place of trade and industry. It depended on help elsewhere. It was a subsidized capital and always will be. It would depend on the tithes and offerings of God's people coming up to worship God.
Why David and his companions prayed for the peace of Jerusalem?
The prayer was entirely for the residence of the city. It was a prayer that those who come here as visitors should pray. They should pray for those who lived there - a prayer that was very much needed. The last two verses of Psalm 122 made it very clear. David was not praying this prayer for the sake of the people there. But first he prayed for the sake of the pilgrims who came and second, for the sake of the God they came to meet. If Jerusalem was the meeting place between the Lord of heaven and the people of earth then it was vital that it would be a place of harmony, peace and deep satisfaction - a place where people might come and have peace with God and with one another and be satisfied and fulfilled.
The Christian's Problem
How do Christians pray for the City of Jerusalem the same way God's people did in the Old Testament when the two houses are not to be found there now?
The house of David is no longer to be found in Jerusalem. In fact there is no trace of it now. It was destroyed about 2,600 years ago when the last king of Israel was taken captive to Babylon. Since that day Israel has not had a king. But the House of the Lord destroyed at about the same time was rebuilt. It was standing there when our Lord Jesus Christ came to that City.
Jesus said, "See, Your house is left to you desolate" (Matt. 23:38).
After saying this Jesus immediately left the Temple (Matt. 24:1). A few days later the curtain (veil) of the Lord's House was pulled down by God as soon as Jesus was crucified. It was empty (desolate) from then on. In fact it was the Jewish custom to pull down the curtains of his house when it was left unoccupied.
The meaning of "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" today
We can ask many questions. For instance, what meaning can we give today to this prayer - "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem"? It is still valid? Have those two houses being re-erected any where else? Or they have totally disappeared?
Two amazing truths
The Scripture reveals two amazing truths:
1. Few weeks after the house of the Lord was emptied and the curtain pulled down God took up residence on earth! On the Day of Pentecost God moved house! And He dwells from then on in His people rather than in a place. Wherever you find God's people, there is the house of the Lord. His house is in His people individually (1 Cor. 6:15) and collectively, in His Church (1 Cor. 3:16, 17). It is a mobile concept now; it is no longer tied in one City and in the two houses.
2. Both the house of David and the House of the Lord (the Son of David) has been rebuilt in believers - believing Jews and believing Gentiles. When you look at a Christian you should see the house of David back in Jerusalem. You should see the place where the Son of David rules. One of the prophetic meanings of the Feast of the Tabernacle that is being observed by many Christians now, is the return of these two houses to the City of Jerusalem!
Spiritual application of Psalm 122
Since the Temple of the Lord now includes Jews as well as Gentiles there is a spiritual application of Ps. 122 which we must not forget. This points to the Heavenly Jerusalem that Mount Zion (the Church) to which we have come - through Jesus Christ.
Our prayer burden should be the peace and prosperity for the Church. We should pray that the Christians in our city may be in harmony and that there may be peace among those who love our Lord Jesus Christ. The peace of Jerusalem speaks of the peace of the House of the Lord (the Church) which we represent.
What makes for the peace of Jerusalem is very clear. The clue lies in what Jesus said in Luke 19. He wept tears of frustration over the City:
"If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42, NKJV, emphasis added).
I believe the two important things that make for the Christians' peace are moral integrity and spiritual priority - to the contrary of what many people (both believers and unbelievers) believed. Many people believe that the things that mke for their peace are political security and economic stability. To pray for political security and economic stability is good but it is not the Christians' primary concern.
When Jesus rode through the Gate Beautiful into the Temple area He astonished the crowd. They expected Him to deal with the Roman rulers but instead He went straight into the Temple and rebuked those who bought and sold:
"It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you made it a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46).
He did this because His people had no moral integrity and spiritual priority and they didn't understand what belonged to their peace. That was why Jesus wept! God wanted to give His righteousnesss to His people; He wanted to give the City the King of Righteousness. Yet when God visited this place with His Righteousness, this place did not recognize the Day of God's visitation (Matt. 19:44)!
Conclusion
I believe when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we must therefore pray that this City may recognize the Second Coming of the King of Righteousness. We must pray that this City will be happy to have more Christians, not just to come and visit, not just to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacle, but to welcome them as messengers of the coming King of Righteousness - The Prince of Peace! Jehovah Shalom and Jehovah Shalvah!
Before I begin I would like to remind Christians that it is very easy to take the text of this Psalm out of its context and use the verses as slogan. This is especially so when we commit the verses (usually the King James Version) to memory. The right thing to do is whenever you get a verse from the Lord go back and see the setting of the verse and find out how this verse relates to other verses in that particular setting. Then you will use it in a Biblical sense instead of using it as a slogan taken out of context. It is often said that Scripture taken out of context becomes a pretext. In fact in its original language all the Books of the entire Bible had no chapter number and no verse number. They were put there by the translators. In its original language it would be difficult to take any verse out of its context.
The Nature and Function of Jerusalem
Psalm 122 describes the nature and function of the City of Jerusalem. It is conveniently divided into two halves:
1. The Nature of the City of Jerusalem
"I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord! Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem, which is built as a city that is compact together; to which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed and as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there thrones of judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David" (Psalm 122:1 - 5, The Amplified Bible).
The above five verses describe the nature of the City of Jerusalem. In fact the nature of the City is like the nature of the Country of Israel - too much history and too little geography. As soon as you read this psalm you'll get the sense that to the psalmist this city was very special. There was some thing unique about it. You'll feel it as soon as you step inside the gates. The City had a mixture of the real and the unreal.
The City of Jerusalem was terribly small. Someone said this City during king David's time looked as if a large city had been pulled down and another city had been re-erected on a tiny site with buildings all crowded together, compacted together, squeezed into a solid city. You could walk through the entire city in less than an hour. What made the City so special was its function.
2. The Function of the City of Jerusalem
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper that love you (the Holy City)! Peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces! For my brethren and my companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within you! For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek, inquire for and require your good" (Psalm 122:6 - 9, The Amplified Bible).
There were two important buildings used to be found in the Holy City of Jerusalem, but they are no longer here now. In these two buildings lived two kings. One is the father and the other one, his son; one is the King of the universe and the other the king of Israel. These two buildings were the house of the Lord and the house of David.
It was because of these two buildings that prayers were offered up for the peace of Jerusalem. These two buildings embodied and symbolized the two relationships that need to be put right. These two relatioships were the relationship between God and man and the relationship between man and man. Right relationships were needed not only for the City and not only for the nation of which the City was the capital, but for the entire world. Jerusalem was the city where men came up to praise and worship their God - where the twelve tribes processed and worshiped together as Cod told them to, as an example to the whole world.
Jerusalem was also the City where justice could be found. The Law Court of justice was in the house of David. It was in this court wrongs were righted; those who had been exploited were vindicated; criminals were punished and right relationships were established. If you wanted to be right with God and right with your fellowmen then this was the City to which you had to come.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
There is actually nothing terribly special about the prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. It is a natural thing for a Jewish person on entering a home to say peace to that home. Similarly the natural thing to do, when you enter the gates of Jerusalem and when you just stand inside the door, is to say peace to Jerusalem. It is a right and proper prayer to pray.
Jerusalem was peculiarly vulnerable in two areas - peace and prosperity. Therefore David prayed for peace and prosperity - in Hebrew mean shalom and shalvah. It is quite impossible to translate shalom and shalvah into English. Shalom not only means peace, but also harmony, health, well being and right relationship with God and everyone around you. Shalvah not only means prosperity, but also security, safety, tranquility, happy, joyful and abundantly blessed.
It is important to note that the peace that David prayed was an internal peace within the City (Ps. 122:7, 8). He was not thinking about Jerusalem out of security, not thinking about military and political peace. What truly concerned him was that within the place where God and men met, where relationships were put right, that Jerusalem would be a city of harmony.
Peace does not come naturally when you put a lot of God's people together, crowded in with one another so that they had hardly enough room to move about. Similary when you work in a place with Christians only (like in a Local Church), it is not necessarily a "promised land". When people are crowded together in a corridor of power peace does not come naturally. It is common to see Pastors and other servants of God having frictions with one another.
Therefore David, as soon as he stepped inside the gates, he prayed for the residence of the City who kept the Temple services going. He prayed for God's people who served the Lord in the Temple. He prayed that the Lord would keep them in harmony, keep them together in peace. He also prayed for prosperity for a very simple reason - Jerusalem was not a commercial viable City; it was not a place of trade and industry. It depended on help elsewhere. It was a subsidized capital and always will be. It would depend on the tithes and offerings of God's people coming up to worship God.
Why David and his companions prayed for the peace of Jerusalem?
The prayer was entirely for the residence of the city. It was a prayer that those who come here as visitors should pray. They should pray for those who lived there - a prayer that was very much needed. The last two verses of Psalm 122 made it very clear. David was not praying this prayer for the sake of the people there. But first he prayed for the sake of the pilgrims who came and second, for the sake of the God they came to meet. If Jerusalem was the meeting place between the Lord of heaven and the people of earth then it was vital that it would be a place of harmony, peace and deep satisfaction - a place where people might come and have peace with God and with one another and be satisfied and fulfilled.
The Christian's Problem
How do Christians pray for the City of Jerusalem the same way God's people did in the Old Testament when the two houses are not to be found there now?
The house of David is no longer to be found in Jerusalem. In fact there is no trace of it now. It was destroyed about 2,600 years ago when the last king of Israel was taken captive to Babylon. Since that day Israel has not had a king. But the House of the Lord destroyed at about the same time was rebuilt. It was standing there when our Lord Jesus Christ came to that City.
Jesus said, "See, Your house is left to you desolate" (Matt. 23:38).
After saying this Jesus immediately left the Temple (Matt. 24:1). A few days later the curtain (veil) of the Lord's House was pulled down by God as soon as Jesus was crucified. It was empty (desolate) from then on. In fact it was the Jewish custom to pull down the curtains of his house when it was left unoccupied.
The meaning of "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" today
We can ask many questions. For instance, what meaning can we give today to this prayer - "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem"? It is still valid? Have those two houses being re-erected any where else? Or they have totally disappeared?
Two amazing truths
The Scripture reveals two amazing truths:
1. Few weeks after the house of the Lord was emptied and the curtain pulled down God took up residence on earth! On the Day of Pentecost God moved house! And He dwells from then on in His people rather than in a place. Wherever you find God's people, there is the house of the Lord. His house is in His people individually (1 Cor. 6:15) and collectively, in His Church (1 Cor. 3:16, 17). It is a mobile concept now; it is no longer tied in one City and in the two houses.
2. Both the house of David and the House of the Lord (the Son of David) has been rebuilt in believers - believing Jews and believing Gentiles. When you look at a Christian you should see the house of David back in Jerusalem. You should see the place where the Son of David rules. One of the prophetic meanings of the Feast of the Tabernacle that is being observed by many Christians now, is the return of these two houses to the City of Jerusalem!
Spiritual application of Psalm 122
Since the Temple of the Lord now includes Jews as well as Gentiles there is a spiritual application of Ps. 122 which we must not forget. This points to the Heavenly Jerusalem that Mount Zion (the Church) to which we have come - through Jesus Christ.
Our prayer burden should be the peace and prosperity for the Church. We should pray that the Christians in our city may be in harmony and that there may be peace among those who love our Lord Jesus Christ. The peace of Jerusalem speaks of the peace of the House of the Lord (the Church) which we represent.
What makes for the peace of Jerusalem is very clear. The clue lies in what Jesus said in Luke 19. He wept tears of frustration over the City:
"If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42, NKJV, emphasis added).
I believe the two important things that make for the Christians' peace are moral integrity and spiritual priority - to the contrary of what many people (both believers and unbelievers) believed. Many people believe that the things that mke for their peace are political security and economic stability. To pray for political security and economic stability is good but it is not the Christians' primary concern.
When Jesus rode through the Gate Beautiful into the Temple area He astonished the crowd. They expected Him to deal with the Roman rulers but instead He went straight into the Temple and rebuked those who bought and sold:
"It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you made it a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46).
He did this because His people had no moral integrity and spiritual priority and they didn't understand what belonged to their peace. That was why Jesus wept! God wanted to give His righteousnesss to His people; He wanted to give the City the King of Righteousness. Yet when God visited this place with His Righteousness, this place did not recognize the Day of God's visitation (Matt. 19:44)!
Conclusion
I believe when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we must therefore pray that this City may recognize the Second Coming of the King of Righteousness. We must pray that this City will be happy to have more Christians, not just to come and visit, not just to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacle, but to welcome them as messengers of the coming King of Righteousness - The Prince of Peace! Jehovah Shalom and Jehovah Shalvah!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Right Use of the Tongue
God created the human head with seven openings. Seven speaks of completeness and perfection. We have two ears, two eyes, two nostrils but we have only one mouth. If we have more than one mouth it will not be perfect. But as it is that one mouth causes us more problems than all the other six put together. The truth of the matter is there is no area in our personality more directly related to our total well being than our mouth and our tongue. God gives us the responsibility to make the right use of our tongue.
Scriptural Principles on the importance of the tongue
There are many Scripture passages which all emphasize the vital importance of the mouth and the tongue:
1. "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit" (Psalm 34:11 - 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
I. Two things that go with the fear of the Lord are, one, love life and two, see many good days. Life and its fullness and the fear of the Lord always associated together. The measure in which we have the fear of the Lord is the measure in which we enjoy true life.
II. The practical application is that when we begin to fear God, the first place that it will be manifested is to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking lies.
2. "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3, NKJV).
In other words, if you want to guard your life then you have to guard your lips. The weak area is the lips where the enemy will gain access. But if you don't guard your lips and speak rashly you will face destruction.
The alternatives are very clear - either take control of your tongue or face destruction.
3. "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity" (Proverbs 21:23, NIV).
The vital area that you have to protect is your mouth and tongue. Calamity is a strong word. Once again the alternatives are very clear cut. If you fail to guard you tongue calamity may visit you.
4. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21, NKJV).
Each one of us eats the fruit of his own tongue. If our tongue brings forth sweet fruit we will eat sweet fruit; if our tongue brings forth bitter fruit we will eat bitter fruit.
Your Spiritual condition is revealed by your tongue
The state of your tongue is a guide to your spiritual condition. Let us consider some passages of Scripture that established this principle.
1. Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! how can you, being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12: 33, 34, 36, 37, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus referred to the heart as the tree and to the words that come out of the mouth as the fruit. The condition of your heart is revealed by the kinds of words that will come out of your mouth.
2. Jesus said in similar language in Matt. 7:17, 18, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" (NKJV).
There is an absolute inescapable connection between the state of our heart and the state of our mouth. We may deceive ourselves about the state of our heart; we may have all sorts of ideas about our own goodness, purity or righteousness, but there is a sure and infallible indicator which comes out of the mouth. If the state of our heart is corrupt our tongue is corrupt. The words that we speak indicate the true condition of our heart.
Prophetic Pictures of Christ the Messiah and His Bride
1. Picture of Christ the Messiah
"My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever" (Ps. 45:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
The first aspect of the beauty of Christ that is manifested is His lips. Primarily His grace is manifested in His lips. Secondly, for this reason God has blessed Him forever.
2. Picture of His Bride
"Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like a piece of pomegranate. Your lips, O my spouse, drip as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon" (Song of Solomon 4:3, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).
The Song of Solomon was addressed to Christ's Bride (His true Church). The first feature of the Bride are her lips. The beauty of her voice comes out through the veil.
"Honey and milk" speaks of the Promised Land. Therefore the tongue of the Bride of Christ is full of God's promises! To be qualified as Christ's Bride she is expected to use her tongue in the right manner! The Scripture is very consistent.
Diseases of the Tongue
The Bible revealed many diseases that affect the tongue. Here are some of them:
1. Excessive talking
"In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise" (Prov. 10:19).
If you say too much you are bound to say something wrong. If you restrain your tongue you are wise; otherwise you are foolish.
The Bible also warns us never to use too many words toward God Himself:
"Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool's voice is known by his many words" (Eccles. 5:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
I. "Sacrifice of fools" means "saying a lot of words to God that we don't really mean".
II. "Many words" is a signature mark of a fool. When you hear a person continuously talking you don't need any other evidence that he is a fool. I think the root problem is restlessness. People who are always talking are restless people. The contemporary culture is full of restless people.
2. Idle or Careless Words
Idle words are words that account for nother - just empty words. We have spoken many words, but we don't really mean what we said, and we are not prepared to stand behind it.
Jesus said, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36).
Every idle word we have spoken we have to answer to it one day.
Jesus in delivering His Sermon on the Mount said, "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No', for whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matt. 5:37).
If we say more than what is necessary; for example, the unnecessary emphasis or exaggeration - all these words are from the Devil!
3. Gossip
"You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
Other words for "talebearer" are gossip, slanderer, untrue and malicious talker. In the New Testament the very title of Satan is the Slanderer. Therefore if you go round as a gossip telling tales you are actually doing the Devil's work for him. You are a representative of Satan!
Not only we must be careful not to give out gossip, we also must not receive gossip:
"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts" (Proverbs 18:8, NIV).
To receive gossip is the same as swallowing the morsels that a talebearer gives you. It is like swallowing poison which affects your whole being!
"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much" (Proverbs 20:19, NIV).
A gossip usually talks too much.
4. Lying
"These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16 - 19, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that out of the seven things, three are related to the tongue - lying tongue, false witness and someone who stirs up dissension among brothers.
"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight" (Proverbs 12:22).
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord because when we trace to its source, every lie comes from the Devil:
Jesus said to the Pharisees (unbelievers), "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).
The Destiny of Liars
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8, NKJV, emphasis added).
"But outside are dogs .... and whoever loves and practice a lie" (Rev. 22:15).
What a solemn warning - The qualifiction of being lost forever is so simple; just to love and practice one single lie!
5. Flattery
"They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things, ..." (Ps. 12:2, 3).
"A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin" (Proverbs 26:28).
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet" (Proverbs 29:5).
Notice that lying and flattering are closely related - both work ruin!
6. Hastiness in words or speech
"Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Proverbs 29:20).
In other words, a man who says things in haste and without forethought is worse than a fool. The Bible says nothing good about the fool. Yet the fool still has some hope. He has a higher measure of hope in comparison with a person who is hasty in his speech!
Scriptural Principles on the importance of the tongue
There are many Scripture passages which all emphasize the vital importance of the mouth and the tongue:
1. "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit" (Psalm 34:11 - 13, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
I. Two things that go with the fear of the Lord are, one, love life and two, see many good days. Life and its fullness and the fear of the Lord always associated together. The measure in which we have the fear of the Lord is the measure in which we enjoy true life.
II. The practical application is that when we begin to fear God, the first place that it will be manifested is to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking lies.
2. "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3, NKJV).
In other words, if you want to guard your life then you have to guard your lips. The weak area is the lips where the enemy will gain access. But if you don't guard your lips and speak rashly you will face destruction.
The alternatives are very clear - either take control of your tongue or face destruction.
3. "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity" (Proverbs 21:23, NIV).
The vital area that you have to protect is your mouth and tongue. Calamity is a strong word. Once again the alternatives are very clear cut. If you fail to guard you tongue calamity may visit you.
4. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21, NKJV).
Each one of us eats the fruit of his own tongue. If our tongue brings forth sweet fruit we will eat sweet fruit; if our tongue brings forth bitter fruit we will eat bitter fruit.
Your Spiritual condition is revealed by your tongue
The state of your tongue is a guide to your spiritual condition. Let us consider some passages of Scripture that established this principle.
1. Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! how can you, being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12: 33, 34, 36, 37, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that Jesus referred to the heart as the tree and to the words that come out of the mouth as the fruit. The condition of your heart is revealed by the kinds of words that will come out of your mouth.
2. Jesus said in similar language in Matt. 7:17, 18, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" (NKJV).
There is an absolute inescapable connection between the state of our heart and the state of our mouth. We may deceive ourselves about the state of our heart; we may have all sorts of ideas about our own goodness, purity or righteousness, but there is a sure and infallible indicator which comes out of the mouth. If the state of our heart is corrupt our tongue is corrupt. The words that we speak indicate the true condition of our heart.
Prophetic Pictures of Christ the Messiah and His Bride
1. Picture of Christ the Messiah
"My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever" (Ps. 45:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
The first aspect of the beauty of Christ that is manifested is His lips. Primarily His grace is manifested in His lips. Secondly, for this reason God has blessed Him forever.
2. Picture of His Bride
"Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like a piece of pomegranate. Your lips, O my spouse, drip as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon" (Song of Solomon 4:3, 11, NKJV, emphasis added).
The Song of Solomon was addressed to Christ's Bride (His true Church). The first feature of the Bride are her lips. The beauty of her voice comes out through the veil.
"Honey and milk" speaks of the Promised Land. Therefore the tongue of the Bride of Christ is full of God's promises! To be qualified as Christ's Bride she is expected to use her tongue in the right manner! The Scripture is very consistent.
Diseases of the Tongue
The Bible revealed many diseases that affect the tongue. Here are some of them:
1. Excessive talking
"In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise" (Prov. 10:19).
If you say too much you are bound to say something wrong. If you restrain your tongue you are wise; otherwise you are foolish.
The Bible also warns us never to use too many words toward God Himself:
"Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool's voice is known by his many words" (Eccles. 5:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
I. "Sacrifice of fools" means "saying a lot of words to God that we don't really mean".
II. "Many words" is a signature mark of a fool. When you hear a person continuously talking you don't need any other evidence that he is a fool. I think the root problem is restlessness. People who are always talking are restless people. The contemporary culture is full of restless people.
2. Idle or Careless Words
Idle words are words that account for nother - just empty words. We have spoken many words, but we don't really mean what we said, and we are not prepared to stand behind it.
Jesus said, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36).
Every idle word we have spoken we have to answer to it one day.
Jesus in delivering His Sermon on the Mount said, "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No', for whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matt. 5:37).
If we say more than what is necessary; for example, the unnecessary emphasis or exaggeration - all these words are from the Devil!
3. Gossip
"You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:16, NKJV, emphasis added).
Other words for "talebearer" are gossip, slanderer, untrue and malicious talker. In the New Testament the very title of Satan is the Slanderer. Therefore if you go round as a gossip telling tales you are actually doing the Devil's work for him. You are a representative of Satan!
Not only we must be careful not to give out gossip, we also must not receive gossip:
"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts" (Proverbs 18:8, NIV).
To receive gossip is the same as swallowing the morsels that a talebearer gives you. It is like swallowing poison which affects your whole being!
"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much" (Proverbs 20:19, NIV).
A gossip usually talks too much.
4. Lying
"These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16 - 19, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that out of the seven things, three are related to the tongue - lying tongue, false witness and someone who stirs up dissension among brothers.
"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight" (Proverbs 12:22).
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord because when we trace to its source, every lie comes from the Devil:
Jesus said to the Pharisees (unbelievers), "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).
The Destiny of Liars
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8, NKJV, emphasis added).
"But outside are dogs .... and whoever loves and practice a lie" (Rev. 22:15).
What a solemn warning - The qualifiction of being lost forever is so simple; just to love and practice one single lie!
5. Flattery
"They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things, ..." (Ps. 12:2, 3).
"A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin" (Proverbs 26:28).
"A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet" (Proverbs 29:5).
Notice that lying and flattering are closely related - both work ruin!
6. Hastiness in words or speech
"Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Proverbs 29:20).
In other words, a man who says things in haste and without forethought is worse than a fool. The Bible says nothing good about the fool. Yet the fool still has some hope. He has a higher measure of hope in comparison with a person who is hasty in his speech!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
God's Total Plan for Us
The Scripture reveals that God has a total plan for every one of us. We are created not without purpose. This message concerns the many stages in the conceiving and outworking of His plan for us from eternity to eternity.
Paul said, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28, 29, NKJV, emphasis added).
The five stages of His total plan are: He foreknew us, He predestined us, He called us, He justified us and He glorified us.
However, in order to get a more complete picture of these stages in God's plan and how they relate to one another we need to look at two other passages, both from Paul's epistles, in the New Testament which add to our understanding of this plan.
1. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" (Eph. 1:3 - 5, emphasis added).
The additional information is "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world".
2. ".... who (God) has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" (2 Tim. 1:9, emphasis added).
The additional information is "God has saved us and called us with a holy calling".
The Eight Stages of God's Total Plan
If we sum it all up from the above passages of Scripture we'll notice that God's total plan for us works out in eight distinct stages from eternity to time and then from time to eternity again. In other words, He began His plan before time began and right through beyond time into eternity!
Here are the eight stages:
1. God foreknew us
Peter greeted the Jewish believers (the elect) in the midst of their persecution:
".... to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: ..." (1 Peter 1:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
There is no attribute of God that is more awesome than God's knowledge and foreknowledge.
John said, "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things" (1 John 3:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
When the Scripture says "God knows all things" it means there is nothing that God doesn't know.
David said, "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence" (Psalm 139:1, 4, 6, 7, emphasis added)?
Here are some statements of truth:
A. God foreknows our thoughts. He knows what we are going to say before we say it!
B. The key to how God knows everything - is through His Spirit. The Spirit of God permeates everywhere and anytime. The past, present and future and even before time began. Through His Spirit God knows everything about us, even before we were born (Ps. 139:13 - 16).
2. God chose us
On the basis of God's foreknowledge, He chose us. God took the initiative to choose us. It is important to note that in all God's dealing with man, and in fact the whole universe, God always retain the initiative which never passes out of God's hand. This is true in various God's dealing as recorded in the New Testament:
A. The New Birth - Salvation
In contemporary Christianity, many people think that they gotten born again because they'd decided to be a Christian. But the Scripture says we are born again because God decided in the first place. The fact is, our job is to respond to God's decision to choose us, and without His decision it wouldn't have happened by our decision alone:
Paul said, "But we are bound to give thaks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ..." (1 Thess. 2:13, emphasis added).
B. Apostleship
Jesus said to His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, ..." (John 15:16).
Peter applied this to his own experience as he said to the Jerusalem Council:
"Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe" (Acts 15:7).
In relation to this, Peter didn't go to the household of Cornelius because he chose - he went because God chose (Acts 10).
This is also true for the apostle Paul's conversion at Damascus Road (Acts 22:14, 15). Paul didn't become an apostle because he chose, but because God chose. It fact if left to himself, this would be the furthest thing from his thinking. Furthermore, no one in the early Church would have chosen Paul to be an apostle. He would have been at the very bottom of the list!
I think there is a certain confidence when it is God's choice. Instead of figuring out ourselves what we should be we can find out what God has chosen us to be. Never get the attitude that God has chosen you to do something but you are not capable of doing it. God knows you can do it, otherwise He wouldn't have chosen you. God's foreknowledge leads to his choice.
We need to apply this spiritual truth to our own life. Don't try to be something that God hasn't chosen you to be. Don't make your own plan; don't work out the best you can do - that is not sufficient. Wait upon the Lord and find out what He has chosen you to do.
Let me make a rather controversial statement, which to me is also a spiritual truth. God makes His own selection; He does not call for volunteers. The only thing He wants us to do is to respond to His choice.
3. God predestined us
On the basis of God's choice for us, He predestined us. People in general, don't like the word "predestination" - it frightens them. In simple language "predestination" means "God worked out, in advance, the course that our life is to take so that His purposes would be fulfilled". To me this is very logical.
4. God called us
At this stage we moved out of eternity into time - life's clock started to tick. God's call comes in real time - during our life's journey on earth. His call impacts us individually. At this stage it is left to us to respond to His call. God's call means two things:
A. He invites us to join His Family through faith in Jesus Christ.
B. He summons us with the Authority of the King.
5. God saved us
When we respond to the call of God positively then God saves us - we enter into salvation as we are regenerated instantly. We are quickened and made alive in the Spirit. We are saved from sin, from its guilt, from its power, from its defilement. God has provided total salvation through Jesus Christ.
6. God justified us
When we are saved God also justified us. The word "justify" means "to acquit" or "to reckon righteous".
Paul said, ".... being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24, NKJV).
The basis of our justification is the death of Christ:
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9).
Justification was brought to us through Christ's resurrection:
"It (righteousness) shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:24, 25, emphasis added).
7. God called us with a Holy Calling
God saved and justified us so that we are qualified to be called by Him to do His work and to fulfill His purpose for us (2 Tim. 1:9). This is also our sactification and salvation process. This is on-going until we step out of time into eternity. Every believer in Christ has a unique calling according to 2 Tim. 1:9.
Here are some important statements of truth from 2 Tim. 1:9:
A. Your calling is holy. This means you are set apart to do God's will. God also sets limits and boundaries around your life - your calling is not unlimited.
B. Your calling does not depend on your works. It has nothing to do with your talent, your effort or your ability. When He calls you He will enable you to do His work. All you need to do is submit yourself to Him.
C. Your calling is God's choice and not your choice. He worked out His calling for you before time began.
8. We shall be glorified together with Christ
At this stage (at the fullness of the times) we are going to pass out of time into eternity again. We shall be glorified together with Christ.
Paul said, "... that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:10, 11).
Paul also said, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:16, 17, emphasis added).
Notice there is a condition attached - we must suffer with Christ first! The spirtual principle is - The road to glory is suffering!
Take comfort in what Paul said in the next verse:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
Paul said, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:28, 29, NKJV, emphasis added).
The five stages of His total plan are: He foreknew us, He predestined us, He called us, He justified us and He glorified us.
However, in order to get a more complete picture of these stages in God's plan and how they relate to one another we need to look at two other passages, both from Paul's epistles, in the New Testament which add to our understanding of this plan.
1. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" (Eph. 1:3 - 5, emphasis added).
The additional information is "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world".
2. ".... who (God) has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" (2 Tim. 1:9, emphasis added).
The additional information is "God has saved us and called us with a holy calling".
The Eight Stages of God's Total Plan
If we sum it all up from the above passages of Scripture we'll notice that God's total plan for us works out in eight distinct stages from eternity to time and then from time to eternity again. In other words, He began His plan before time began and right through beyond time into eternity!
Here are the eight stages:
1. God foreknew us
Peter greeted the Jewish believers (the elect) in the midst of their persecution:
".... to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: ..." (1 Peter 1:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).
There is no attribute of God that is more awesome than God's knowledge and foreknowledge.
John said, "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things" (1 John 3:20, NKJV, emphasis added).
When the Scripture says "God knows all things" it means there is nothing that God doesn't know.
David said, "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence" (Psalm 139:1, 4, 6, 7, emphasis added)?
Here are some statements of truth:
A. God foreknows our thoughts. He knows what we are going to say before we say it!
B. The key to how God knows everything - is through His Spirit. The Spirit of God permeates everywhere and anytime. The past, present and future and even before time began. Through His Spirit God knows everything about us, even before we were born (Ps. 139:13 - 16).
2. God chose us
On the basis of God's foreknowledge, He chose us. God took the initiative to choose us. It is important to note that in all God's dealing with man, and in fact the whole universe, God always retain the initiative which never passes out of God's hand. This is true in various God's dealing as recorded in the New Testament:
A. The New Birth - Salvation
In contemporary Christianity, many people think that they gotten born again because they'd decided to be a Christian. But the Scripture says we are born again because God decided in the first place. The fact is, our job is to respond to God's decision to choose us, and without His decision it wouldn't have happened by our decision alone:
Paul said, "But we are bound to give thaks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ..." (1 Thess. 2:13, emphasis added).
B. Apostleship
Jesus said to His disciples, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, ..." (John 15:16).
Peter applied this to his own experience as he said to the Jerusalem Council:
"Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe" (Acts 15:7).
In relation to this, Peter didn't go to the household of Cornelius because he chose - he went because God chose (Acts 10).
This is also true for the apostle Paul's conversion at Damascus Road (Acts 22:14, 15). Paul didn't become an apostle because he chose, but because God chose. It fact if left to himself, this would be the furthest thing from his thinking. Furthermore, no one in the early Church would have chosen Paul to be an apostle. He would have been at the very bottom of the list!
I think there is a certain confidence when it is God's choice. Instead of figuring out ourselves what we should be we can find out what God has chosen us to be. Never get the attitude that God has chosen you to do something but you are not capable of doing it. God knows you can do it, otherwise He wouldn't have chosen you. God's foreknowledge leads to his choice.
We need to apply this spiritual truth to our own life. Don't try to be something that God hasn't chosen you to be. Don't make your own plan; don't work out the best you can do - that is not sufficient. Wait upon the Lord and find out what He has chosen you to do.
Let me make a rather controversial statement, which to me is also a spiritual truth. God makes His own selection; He does not call for volunteers. The only thing He wants us to do is to respond to His choice.
3. God predestined us
On the basis of God's choice for us, He predestined us. People in general, don't like the word "predestination" - it frightens them. In simple language "predestination" means "God worked out, in advance, the course that our life is to take so that His purposes would be fulfilled". To me this is very logical.
4. God called us
At this stage we moved out of eternity into time - life's clock started to tick. God's call comes in real time - during our life's journey on earth. His call impacts us individually. At this stage it is left to us to respond to His call. God's call means two things:
A. He invites us to join His Family through faith in Jesus Christ.
B. He summons us with the Authority of the King.
5. God saved us
When we respond to the call of God positively then God saves us - we enter into salvation as we are regenerated instantly. We are quickened and made alive in the Spirit. We are saved from sin, from its guilt, from its power, from its defilement. God has provided total salvation through Jesus Christ.
6. God justified us
When we are saved God also justified us. The word "justify" means "to acquit" or "to reckon righteous".
Paul said, ".... being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24, NKJV).
The basis of our justification is the death of Christ:
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9).
Justification was brought to us through Christ's resurrection:
"It (righteousness) shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:24, 25, emphasis added).
7. God called us with a Holy Calling
God saved and justified us so that we are qualified to be called by Him to do His work and to fulfill His purpose for us (2 Tim. 1:9). This is also our sactification and salvation process. This is on-going until we step out of time into eternity. Every believer in Christ has a unique calling according to 2 Tim. 1:9.
Here are some important statements of truth from 2 Tim. 1:9:
A. Your calling is holy. This means you are set apart to do God's will. God also sets limits and boundaries around your life - your calling is not unlimited.
B. Your calling does not depend on your works. It has nothing to do with your talent, your effort or your ability. When He calls you He will enable you to do His work. All you need to do is submit yourself to Him.
C. Your calling is God's choice and not your choice. He worked out His calling for you before time began.
8. We shall be glorified together with Christ
At this stage (at the fullness of the times) we are going to pass out of time into eternity again. We shall be glorified together with Christ.
Paul said, "... that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:10, 11).
Paul also said, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Romans 8:16, 17, emphasis added).
Notice there is a condition attached - we must suffer with Christ first! The spirtual principle is - The road to glory is suffering!
Take comfort in what Paul said in the next verse:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
From Eternity to Eternity
According to the Bible, every one of us, whether we are aware of it or not, is on a wonderful journey from eternity to eternity. God leads us through from eternity, before time began, through many phases of time and on again into eternity. Our destination is a place of total rest and total security in God if we respond to His sovereign calling and choice throughout this journey.
Our journey began at the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, NKJV).
For all of recorded history man has speculated what is behind the universe and what keeps it in being. Countless different answers have been offered. Was it started with a big bang, or just by chance or by some other mindless physical process which just continuing on and on? Nobody knows how it started and how it will end. Unfortunately no answer was ever found to be correct.
The Bible's Answer
The Bible's answer is very clear and precise. It give three important concepts. Behind the universe there is:
1. A Person.
2. He is a Creator.
3. He is also a Father.
Your view of the origin of the universe will determine your whole perspective on it and on your life and on yourself. Are your existence just a chance happening with no real purpose? Are you just a victim of physical forces which you can't control? What is your reason of being here?
If you believe the Bible record then you have a reason and a purpose. That will change your whole outlook on life. If you believe the Biblical truth that behind everything, including you, there is Creator, a Person and a Father whom you can relate to, you will be truly secured in Him and in life.
The Eternal Presence of God
The psalmist said, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God: (Psalm 90:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that the psalmist did not say "You were God" or "You will be God". but he said, "You are God". God lives in eternal presence. He has no beginning or ending. He exists forever.
At the beginning of the Book of Revelation John recorded what He said:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8, NKJV).
At the end of the Book of Revelation Jesus says again, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Rev. 22:13).
Because of the fact that God lives in eternal presence you can never get outside of God. He was before you, He is with you for the rest of time and on into eternity.
The Faithfulness of God
The writer of Hebrews said, ".... looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, ..." (Heb. 12:2).
Our faith begins with Him, and culminates in Him.
Paul said, ".... Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
God accepts responsibility for everything He has begun. He never begins something that He is not going to see through to the end. He never leaves any of His purposes and works half finished. If we are in the centre of His will and faithfully doing what He tells us to do, we have the confidence that He will see it through to the finish.
God is our Salvation
It is important to understand God the Father is our salvation.
Isaiah said, "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation'" (Isaiah 12:6).
Moses and the psalmist said the same thing - "The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation" (Ex. 15:3, Psalm 115:14).
I feel sorry for people who try to find salvation in a Church, in a dorctrine or in a denomination or in a person. How unstable and incapable they are to provide the salvation that we can trust.
Peter said, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Our problem today in the Church is that we are prone to be self centered and earth centered. The truth is that Jesus Chirst and Him alone, is the centre and we revolve around Him. As long as we simply rely on our own ability and effort and the best that we can do, we'll never be secured in our salvation.
God is in Total Control
Paul said, "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that not a single word in the whole verse is more than one syllable. You can't say any thing more important or more profound than these words tell us!. Everything comes from God, through God and comes to its fulfillment in God. In other words, God has total supreme control over the entire universe! From the greatest to the smallest, from living things to non-living things - everything that exists is under God's total control.
Here are some statements in the Scripture that point this out:
1. God controls the stars:
The psalmist said, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them by name" (Ps. 147:4).
"Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing" (Isaiah 40:26).
There are millions of stars in the universe and yet He names them one by one!
2. God controls the lives of the sparrows:
Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will" (Matt. 10:29).
He also said, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God" (Luke 12:6).
The sparrow is so common in almost every country that nobody thinks much about them. Yet the Father keeps track of their existence. From the two statements made by Jesus we can see clearly the mathematics involed in the pricing of the sparrows. If two sparrows cost one copper coin, logically, two copper coins would buy you four sparrows. Yet one more sparrow was thrown in for free!
God controls the course of human history
Human history is not a series of unplanned events outside the sovereign control and plan of the almighty God.
The psalmist said, "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations" (Ps. 33:10, 11).
God's plan for Nebuchadnezzar
God raised up a Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar to fulfill His plan. Nebuchadnezzar was called to be His servant to judge His people because of their disobedience.
"Because you have not heard, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, ...." (Jeremiah 25:9, NKJV).
Nebuchadnezzar had a head-on encounter with the power and wisdom of God. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's pride God humbled him so that for seven years he was forced to act like a beast, going naked in the field and eating grass:
"That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws" (Daniel 4:33).
The next two verses said Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses and summed up the lesson he learned about God:
"I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to Him, 'What have You don?'" (Daniel 4:34, 35).
God's plan for Job
God's plan also applies to individual lives as seen in the case of Job. He was permitted to go through tremendous trials and sufferings. But in the end he received from God which worthed more than those things he lost (Job 42:12 - 17).
Furthermore, he received a personal revelation of the living God:
Job said, "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You" (Job 42:2).
Believers are part of His Plan
Those who believed in Christ are part part of His plan:
Paul said, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ..." (Eph. 1:11).
God works out everything in conformity to His will for us:
Paul said, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV).
For it to be true we have to meet three conditions:
1. We have to love God.
2. We have to be called by God - We must know our calling.
3. We have to walk in the purpose of God in our calling.
All true Christians fulfilled the above conditions. It follows that if you are not a genuine believer in Christ - "Not all things work together for your good"! In that case you should re-examine yourself and subsequently restore your personal relationship with the Lord, your God!
Our journey began at the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, NKJV).
For all of recorded history man has speculated what is behind the universe and what keeps it in being. Countless different answers have been offered. Was it started with a big bang, or just by chance or by some other mindless physical process which just continuing on and on? Nobody knows how it started and how it will end. Unfortunately no answer was ever found to be correct.
The Bible's Answer
The Bible's answer is very clear and precise. It give three important concepts. Behind the universe there is:
1. A Person.
2. He is a Creator.
3. He is also a Father.
Your view of the origin of the universe will determine your whole perspective on it and on your life and on yourself. Are your existence just a chance happening with no real purpose? Are you just a victim of physical forces which you can't control? What is your reason of being here?
If you believe the Bible record then you have a reason and a purpose. That will change your whole outlook on life. If you believe the Biblical truth that behind everything, including you, there is Creator, a Person and a Father whom you can relate to, you will be truly secured in Him and in life.
The Eternal Presence of God
The psalmist said, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God: (Psalm 90:2, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that the psalmist did not say "You were God" or "You will be God". but he said, "You are God". God lives in eternal presence. He has no beginning or ending. He exists forever.
At the beginning of the Book of Revelation John recorded what He said:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8, NKJV).
At the end of the Book of Revelation Jesus says again, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Rev. 22:13).
Because of the fact that God lives in eternal presence you can never get outside of God. He was before you, He is with you for the rest of time and on into eternity.
The Faithfulness of God
The writer of Hebrews said, ".... looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, ..." (Heb. 12:2).
Our faith begins with Him, and culminates in Him.
Paul said, ".... Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
God accepts responsibility for everything He has begun. He never begins something that He is not going to see through to the end. He never leaves any of His purposes and works half finished. If we are in the centre of His will and faithfully doing what He tells us to do, we have the confidence that He will see it through to the finish.
God is our Salvation
It is important to understand God the Father is our salvation.
Isaiah said, "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation'" (Isaiah 12:6).
Moses and the psalmist said the same thing - "The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation" (Ex. 15:3, Psalm 115:14).
I feel sorry for people who try to find salvation in a Church, in a dorctrine or in a denomination or in a person. How unstable and incapable they are to provide the salvation that we can trust.
Peter said, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Our problem today in the Church is that we are prone to be self centered and earth centered. The truth is that Jesus Chirst and Him alone, is the centre and we revolve around Him. As long as we simply rely on our own ability and effort and the best that we can do, we'll never be secured in our salvation.
God is in Total Control
Paul said, "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that not a single word in the whole verse is more than one syllable. You can't say any thing more important or more profound than these words tell us!. Everything comes from God, through God and comes to its fulfillment in God. In other words, God has total supreme control over the entire universe! From the greatest to the smallest, from living things to non-living things - everything that exists is under God's total control.
Here are some statements in the Scripture that point this out:
1. God controls the stars:
The psalmist said, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them by name" (Ps. 147:4).
"Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing" (Isaiah 40:26).
There are millions of stars in the universe and yet He names them one by one!
2. God controls the lives of the sparrows:
Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will" (Matt. 10:29).
He also said, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God" (Luke 12:6).
The sparrow is so common in almost every country that nobody thinks much about them. Yet the Father keeps track of their existence. From the two statements made by Jesus we can see clearly the mathematics involed in the pricing of the sparrows. If two sparrows cost one copper coin, logically, two copper coins would buy you four sparrows. Yet one more sparrow was thrown in for free!
God controls the course of human history
Human history is not a series of unplanned events outside the sovereign control and plan of the almighty God.
The psalmist said, "The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations" (Ps. 33:10, 11).
God's plan for Nebuchadnezzar
God raised up a Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar to fulfill His plan. Nebuchadnezzar was called to be His servant to judge His people because of their disobedience.
"Because you have not heard, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, ...." (Jeremiah 25:9, NKJV).
Nebuchadnezzar had a head-on encounter with the power and wisdom of God. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's pride God humbled him so that for seven years he was forced to act like a beast, going naked in the field and eating grass:
"That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws" (Daniel 4:33).
The next two verses said Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses and summed up the lesson he learned about God:
"I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to Him, 'What have You don?'" (Daniel 4:34, 35).
God's plan for Job
God's plan also applies to individual lives as seen in the case of Job. He was permitted to go through tremendous trials and sufferings. But in the end he received from God which worthed more than those things he lost (Job 42:12 - 17).
Furthermore, he received a personal revelation of the living God:
Job said, "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You" (Job 42:2).
Believers are part of His Plan
Those who believed in Christ are part part of His plan:
Paul said, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ..." (Eph. 1:11).
God works out everything in conformity to His will for us:
Paul said, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV).
For it to be true we have to meet three conditions:
1. We have to love God.
2. We have to be called by God - We must know our calling.
3. We have to walk in the purpose of God in our calling.
All true Christians fulfilled the above conditions. It follows that if you are not a genuine believer in Christ - "Not all things work together for your good"! In that case you should re-examine yourself and subsequently restore your personal relationship with the Lord, your God!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Single Most Important Event
I believe the single most important event ever recorded in human history is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the only hope in this despairing world. It also looks forward to the next major climax due to take place in human history - when He comes again to establish His Kingdom on earth!
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so seriously disturbing and unbelievable that it gives rise to what is commonly known as the Gnostic Gospels. The word "Gnostic" comes from the Greek word for knowledge (gnosis). The Gnostics believe that knowledge is the way of salvation. Examples of Gnostic Gospel are the "DaVinci Code", gospel of Judas, gospel of Philip, gospel of Mary and gospel of Thomas, just to mention a few. In all there are about four dozen others. The most recent one is "The Lost Tomb of Jesus". It is a made-for-TV documentary of Discovery Channel. They claim that the tomb contained the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, as will as his mother Mary, his father Joseph, and other family members. According to the filmmakers, their "discovery" supports claims that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and may have had children. Without going into details, we can say that the Gnostic Gosepel is one of the greatest deceptions in recent time. Notice that Christianity stand or falls depends on the resurrection of Christ. Therefore if it can be proven that Jesus' remains can be found in His tomb, then He is not resurrected and all Christians believed in vain.
Paul said, "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished" (1 Cor. 15:17, 18, NKJV).
Paul also warned Timothy against false knowledge and teaching:
"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in doing have wandered from the faith" (1 Timothy 6:20, NIV).
According to the Scriptures
Paul said, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ...." (1 Cor. 15:1 -4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The gospel that Paul preached is centered in the Person of Jesus Christ. You can't take away Jesus Christ and still have the gospel.
2. The gospel centers in three great, but simple, historical facts that relate to Jesus Christ - He died, He was buried and He rose again the third day. Christianity is rooted in human history. If history is true then Christianity is true.
3. The gospel therefore, is not a set of human opinion; it is not a system of theology or philosophy. It is a set of historicl facts based on the infallible Scriptures. Paul mentioned "According to the Scriptures" twice.
4. The Scriptures that Paul referred to are Old Testament Scriptures because the New Testament Scriptures have not been completely written yet in Paul's time. Therefore, the Gospel of Jesus Christ must have been foretold or predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
Principle that brings forth the truth
The principle that brings forth the truth in Old Testament prophecy is explained by Peter:
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:10 -12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Spirit of Christ the Messiah, in the first person, spoke through the Old Testament prophets.
2. The Spirit of Christ in them predicted two main phases in the experience of Christ - One, His suffering and two, His glory.
3. By the anointing of the Holy Spirit the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to us.
According to the prophetic utterance of David
Although David did not hold the office of a prophet, the Scripture reveals at least two examples of prophetic utterance when he spoke of Christ in the first perosn - he spoke as if Christ Himself was speaking:
1. Prophecy concerning Christ's suffering and crucifixion
"For dogs have surrounded me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:16 - 18, NKJV).
"Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:20, 21, NKJV).
In the New Testament the above Scripture passages were fulfilled (Matthew 27:34, 35).
2. Prophecy concerning Christ's resurrection and ascension
"I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:8 - 11, NKJV).
The above prophecy became a historical fact as confirmed by Luke (the writer of Acts) as a witness to Peter's sermon (Acts 2:30 -32).
Another passage of Scripture concerning Christ's comfort received from the Father, as spoken through David (in the first person) can be found in Psalm 71:20, 21.
According to the prophecy of Isaiah
Again Christ (by the Spirit of Christ) spoke through Isaiah in the first person concerning His suffering:
"The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard: I did not hid My face from shame and spitting" (Isaiah 50:5, 6).
Matthew testified that the above prophecy was fulfilled (Matthew 26:67).
According to the prophecy of Hosea
Hosea spoke of the experiences of Jesus Christ and our identification with Him:
"Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth" (Hosea 6:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The phrase "He is torn, but He will heal us" speaks of "by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
2. Believers are identified with Jesus in resurrection. Hosea was the only Old Testament prophet predicted Christ would be resurrected on the third day. Because of Christ's resurrection we would be resurrected - "He will raise us up".
3. The revelation knowledge after Christ's resurrection is only for those (believers) who follow on to "pursue the knowledge of the Lord". Prior to that time, the earthly life of Jesus were witnessed by all alike - believers and unbelievers, friends and enemies. But from the moment of His resurrection onward revelation knowledge is only granted to true believers.
4. Christ's going forth from the tomb compared the morning sunrise with the resurrection.
5. After resurrection and glorification, Jesus would "come to us like the rain, ....". This speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). This was culminated on the day of Pentecost.
6. Hosea's prophecy concerning believers' sharing with Christ in His resurrection was fulfilled in the New Testament.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ..." (Eph. 2:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "together" is mentioned three times indicating the three experiences!
Notice that the outward act of the believers' identification with Christ is Water Baptism:
".... 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).
The witnesses who saw Him alive after His resurrection
By Jewish law which was enforced in the time of Jesus and the apostles required that in order to establish the truth of a statement in a court of law, it was necessary to produce 2, or preferably 3 male witnesses.
Paul said, "... And that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, after that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out ot due time" (1 Cor. 15:5 - 8).
Obviously, the number of witnesses exceeded by many folds the minimun number required.
Common features of all withnesses
1. They were men who had never failed to record their own weaknesses and failings. They were humble and not boastful.
2. They were all changed from unbelief to belief. In Paul's case, not only he was changed from unbelief but from active opposition.
3. Their change was permanent, total and complete. Their life was never the same again after they had received the revelation knowledge of the resurrection of Christ.
4. No amount of persecution or threat of death could ever cause them to go back on their testimonies. They had to speak what they saw and what they knew.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so seriously disturbing and unbelievable that it gives rise to what is commonly known as the Gnostic Gospels. The word "Gnostic" comes from the Greek word for knowledge (gnosis). The Gnostics believe that knowledge is the way of salvation. Examples of Gnostic Gospel are the "DaVinci Code", gospel of Judas, gospel of Philip, gospel of Mary and gospel of Thomas, just to mention a few. In all there are about four dozen others. The most recent one is "The Lost Tomb of Jesus". It is a made-for-TV documentary of Discovery Channel. They claim that the tomb contained the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, as will as his mother Mary, his father Joseph, and other family members. According to the filmmakers, their "discovery" supports claims that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and may have had children. Without going into details, we can say that the Gnostic Gosepel is one of the greatest deceptions in recent time. Notice that Christianity stand or falls depends on the resurrection of Christ. Therefore if it can be proven that Jesus' remains can be found in His tomb, then He is not resurrected and all Christians believed in vain.
Paul said, "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished" (1 Cor. 15:17, 18, NKJV).
Paul also warned Timothy against false knowledge and teaching:
"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in doing have wandered from the faith" (1 Timothy 6:20, NIV).
According to the Scriptures
Paul said, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ...." (1 Cor. 15:1 -4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The gospel that Paul preached is centered in the Person of Jesus Christ. You can't take away Jesus Christ and still have the gospel.
2. The gospel centers in three great, but simple, historical facts that relate to Jesus Christ - He died, He was buried and He rose again the third day. Christianity is rooted in human history. If history is true then Christianity is true.
3. The gospel therefore, is not a set of human opinion; it is not a system of theology or philosophy. It is a set of historicl facts based on the infallible Scriptures. Paul mentioned "According to the Scriptures" twice.
4. The Scriptures that Paul referred to are Old Testament Scriptures because the New Testament Scriptures have not been completely written yet in Paul's time. Therefore, the Gospel of Jesus Christ must have been foretold or predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
Principle that brings forth the truth
The principle that brings forth the truth in Old Testament prophecy is explained by Peter:
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:10 -12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The Spirit of Christ the Messiah, in the first person, spoke through the Old Testament prophets.
2. The Spirit of Christ in them predicted two main phases in the experience of Christ - One, His suffering and two, His glory.
3. By the anointing of the Holy Spirit the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to us.
According to the prophetic utterance of David
Although David did not hold the office of a prophet, the Scripture reveals at least two examples of prophetic utterance when he spoke of Christ in the first perosn - he spoke as if Christ Himself was speaking:
1. Prophecy concerning Christ's suffering and crucifixion
"For dogs have surrounded me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:16 - 18, NKJV).
"Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:20, 21, NKJV).
In the New Testament the above Scripture passages were fulfilled (Matthew 27:34, 35).
2. Prophecy concerning Christ's resurrection and ascension
"I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:8 - 11, NKJV).
The above prophecy became a historical fact as confirmed by Luke (the writer of Acts) as a witness to Peter's sermon (Acts 2:30 -32).
Another passage of Scripture concerning Christ's comfort received from the Father, as spoken through David (in the first person) can be found in Psalm 71:20, 21.
According to the prophecy of Isaiah
Again Christ (by the Spirit of Christ) spoke through Isaiah in the first person concerning His suffering:
"The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard: I did not hid My face from shame and spitting" (Isaiah 50:5, 6).
Matthew testified that the above prophecy was fulfilled (Matthew 26:67).
According to the prophecy of Hosea
Hosea spoke of the experiences of Jesus Christ and our identification with Him:
"Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth" (Hosea 6:1 - 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. The phrase "He is torn, but He will heal us" speaks of "by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
2. Believers are identified with Jesus in resurrection. Hosea was the only Old Testament prophet predicted Christ would be resurrected on the third day. Because of Christ's resurrection we would be resurrected - "He will raise us up".
3. The revelation knowledge after Christ's resurrection is only for those (believers) who follow on to "pursue the knowledge of the Lord". Prior to that time, the earthly life of Jesus were witnessed by all alike - believers and unbelievers, friends and enemies. But from the moment of His resurrection onward revelation knowledge is only granted to true believers.
4. Christ's going forth from the tomb compared the morning sunrise with the resurrection.
5. After resurrection and glorification, Jesus would "come to us like the rain, ....". This speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). This was culminated on the day of Pentecost.
6. Hosea's prophecy concerning believers' sharing with Christ in His resurrection was fulfilled in the New Testament.
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ..." (Eph. 2:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "together" is mentioned three times indicating the three experiences!
Notice that the outward act of the believers' identification with Christ is Water Baptism:
".... 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).
The witnesses who saw Him alive after His resurrection
By Jewish law which was enforced in the time of Jesus and the apostles required that in order to establish the truth of a statement in a court of law, it was necessary to produce 2, or preferably 3 male witnesses.
Paul said, "... And that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, after that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out ot due time" (1 Cor. 15:5 - 8).
Obviously, the number of witnesses exceeded by many folds the minimun number required.
Common features of all withnesses
1. They were men who had never failed to record their own weaknesses and failings. They were humble and not boastful.
2. They were all changed from unbelief to belief. In Paul's case, not only he was changed from unbelief but from active opposition.
3. Their change was permanent, total and complete. Their life was never the same again after they had received the revelation knowledge of the resurrection of Christ.
4. No amount of persecution or threat of death could ever cause them to go back on their testimonies. They had to speak what they saw and what they knew.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Security in Time
Last week I shared with you a message on Eternal Security - True and permanent security through this age and into the next. This message concerns true and permanent security in time, which means security in this life on earth. There are two important areas that come to mind - Security in times of trouble and emotional security.
Security in times of trouble
The world over is going through times of trouble. Every one of us, a Christian or an unbeliever is experiencing various forms and degree of distress and trouble. We are going through a time of wars, disasters (natural or manmade), earthquakes, floods, extreme weather conditions, terrors, famine, diseases and pestilence and so on. Bible prophecy says things will get worse. But those of us who trust the Word of God will be comforted by what the psalmist said:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ....." (Psalm 91:1 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. There are conditions attached for coming into that total security psalmist spoke about. The first condition is, you must be "dwelling in the secret place". The word "dwell" speaks of continuously living in the secret place provided by God. It is not a place just for someone who runs into in time of a crisis. It is a place for someone who are dwelling in and abiding in it. The word "abiding" means "resting". This speaks of complete protection - dwelling and resting!
2. The second condition is a bold personal confession of faith in God and our relationship to Him - Say boldly, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust".
The psalmist said, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Psalm 107:2).
Redemption is not effective till we say it. We make it effective by our own personal confession.
3. What is a "secret place"? Well, first of all a secret place is hidden behind something; it has to be searched for; it is not advertised and there is no sign hanging out there telling you that this is the secret place. We have no choice but to find it - or we have someone leads us to it.
In the Book of Job there are passages which relate to the search of the secret place:
"The path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eyes seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. The deep says, 'It is not with me.' It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' God understand its way, and He knows its place" (Job 28:7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).
I believe, in the context of Psalm 91, the door to the secret place is the cross of Jesus Christ. That is why no animal can find it, no bird can see it. In fact the whole natural creation does no know it - Only God understand its way and knows its place! The secret place is in the spiritual realm and not in the natural realm. When God leads us to the Cross of Jesus Christ and we are born again by the Spirit of God the secret place will be revealed to us!
Concerning this "secret place" Paul said:
"For you died, and your life IS hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3, emphasis added).
I have to emphasis this - The phrase "your life is hidden" means "you are in the secret place now". The secret place is not in the next world but already true now! The truth is, when Jesus died, he did not die for Himself; He died for us. When Jesus died we died. That is why Paul said:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; ..." (Gal. 2:20).
As a believer you died, you passed through the death of Jesus, through the cross into a new realm, a realm that is not in the natural world, a realm the senses can't discern, a realm in Christ and hidden with Christ in God. This represents total and permanent security! You have double protection, first you are in Christ and then you are in God. Nothing in the whole universe can reach you except it comes through God and through Christ. As true Christians we are so totally identified with Jesus Christ that nothing can ever happens to us unless it is in the will of God and of Christ - that is total and perfect security! It is the security in this life in the midst of war, famine, earthquake, pestilence, diseases and all kinds of trouble and disaster. In Christ we are in that secret place of the most High protected from all harm and all danger. The door to this secret place is the Cross!
Emotional Security
Mental and emotional pressures are increasing in our contemporary life style. Extreme stressful life style can cause heart disease, hypertension and ultimately sudden death.
God's remedy against mental and emotional pressure is summed up in one word - peace. Peace not in the sense of not having any war but in the sense of fulfillment, completeness and rest. The common enemies of peace are fear and worry. They can come in many disguises - we can be afraid of sicknesses and diseases including cancer, afraid of accidents, afraid of people's opinion, fear of financial crash, fear of stocks and shares sell-out and we can worry about all kinds of things. Someone has said worry is like a nagging worm that eats away; fear is more like a dagger that thrusts into us. But each of them in the end is destruction.
Fear and Worry
God's main protection against fear and worry is trust.
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, ...." (Isaiah 26:3, 4).
A person who trusts in the Lord will focus his mind on the Lord. In return, the Lord will keep him in perfect peace.
There are two steps in achieving trust:
1. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). Let the Holy Spirit takes control of your mind. If you allow Him to reprogram your thinking and to redirect your thoughts, He will give you a new thought pattern.
Paul said, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV).
Paul brought out the contrast between the kind of spirit that operates in the people of the world and the kind of Spirit that should be operating in a child of God. We should always invite the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline to control our mind. When the Holy Spirit comes in it excludes the spirit of timidity and fear.
2. Focus our mind on the positive
Paul said, "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 mind through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7, NKJV, emphasis added).
We must trust the above above promise of God without reasoning and questioning. We simply receive the peace of God by faith.
Further on in verse 8 Paul gave instruction on how to retain the peace of God:
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
We must at all times, never to let our mind be preoccupied with the negative. Don't think about the problems that may arise. Instead focus on that which is good; focus on God, His love, His promises and His faithfulness and thank Him.
Tension between Fear and Trust
David the psalmist said, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in Cod I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? (Ps. 56:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that David didn't say that he would never be afraid. He said that whenever he was afraid he wouldn't yield to fear, he wouldn't focus on fear, he wouldn't let fear dominates his thinking. But he would turn away from the spirit of fear to the Lord. He would put his trust in the Lord.
As we turn to the Lord and put our trust in Him we have to honor His Word. The expression of God's will, God's counsel and God's attitude toward us is found in His Word. Circumstances might seem to suggest that God doesn't care, that God is far away and things are not under God's control. But when we put our trust in God and in His Word we can't believe the lies of Satan. This is the remedy against all kinds of fear.
Discouragement and Depression
Two of the most common enemies in the life of God's people are discouragement and depression. The work of the wrong spirit in our mind causes us to feel depress and discourage.
Discouragement
Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, ...." (John 14:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "Helper" also menas "Comforter" or "Encourger" in other versions of the Bible. The Holy Spirit never discourages the people of God. He may convicts and rebukes us but He will never discourage us. The Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to us the truth. On the other hand, Satan is a liar and he discourages us by bringing us his lies. The ultimate input of the Holy Spirit is always positive and never negative.
Jeus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
Put the Helper (Holy Spirit) and His Word (His Truth) together, you'll notice that the Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to our mind the truth of God's Word.
Depression
The Lord spoke through Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; .... To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
"The spirit of heaviness" is "the spirit of depression". Depression is a spirit. The phrase, "those who morn in Zion" means "those who are depressed in the Church - believers". The "Oil of joy" is the Holy Spirit.
When we put on the garment of praise and begin to praise God and worship Him the sprit of heaviness and depression will not be able to get at us - he is defeated. Notice that praise is a garment for us to put on all the time. We must live with the garment of praise on just as we live in other items of clothing. The garment of praise continuously protects our whole being and personality against the spirit of heaviness which is the source of depression.
Security in times of trouble
The world over is going through times of trouble. Every one of us, a Christian or an unbeliever is experiencing various forms and degree of distress and trouble. We are going through a time of wars, disasters (natural or manmade), earthquakes, floods, extreme weather conditions, terrors, famine, diseases and pestilence and so on. Bible prophecy says things will get worse. But those of us who trust the Word of God will be comforted by what the psalmist said:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ....." (Psalm 91:1 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).
Here are some statements of truth:
1. There are conditions attached for coming into that total security psalmist spoke about. The first condition is, you must be "dwelling in the secret place". The word "dwell" speaks of continuously living in the secret place provided by God. It is not a place just for someone who runs into in time of a crisis. It is a place for someone who are dwelling in and abiding in it. The word "abiding" means "resting". This speaks of complete protection - dwelling and resting!
2. The second condition is a bold personal confession of faith in God and our relationship to Him - Say boldly, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust".
The psalmist said, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Psalm 107:2).
Redemption is not effective till we say it. We make it effective by our own personal confession.
3. What is a "secret place"? Well, first of all a secret place is hidden behind something; it has to be searched for; it is not advertised and there is no sign hanging out there telling you that this is the secret place. We have no choice but to find it - or we have someone leads us to it.
In the Book of Job there are passages which relate to the search of the secret place:
"The path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eyes seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. The deep says, 'It is not with me.' It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' God understand its way, and He knows its place" (Job 28:7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).
I believe, in the context of Psalm 91, the door to the secret place is the cross of Jesus Christ. That is why no animal can find it, no bird can see it. In fact the whole natural creation does no know it - Only God understand its way and knows its place! The secret place is in the spiritual realm and not in the natural realm. When God leads us to the Cross of Jesus Christ and we are born again by the Spirit of God the secret place will be revealed to us!
Concerning this "secret place" Paul said:
"For you died, and your life IS hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3, emphasis added).
I have to emphasis this - The phrase "your life is hidden" means "you are in the secret place now". The secret place is not in the next world but already true now! The truth is, when Jesus died, he did not die for Himself; He died for us. When Jesus died we died. That is why Paul said:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; ..." (Gal. 2:20).
As a believer you died, you passed through the death of Jesus, through the cross into a new realm, a realm that is not in the natural world, a realm the senses can't discern, a realm in Christ and hidden with Christ in God. This represents total and permanent security! You have double protection, first you are in Christ and then you are in God. Nothing in the whole universe can reach you except it comes through God and through Christ. As true Christians we are so totally identified with Jesus Christ that nothing can ever happens to us unless it is in the will of God and of Christ - that is total and perfect security! It is the security in this life in the midst of war, famine, earthquake, pestilence, diseases and all kinds of trouble and disaster. In Christ we are in that secret place of the most High protected from all harm and all danger. The door to this secret place is the Cross!
Emotional Security
Mental and emotional pressures are increasing in our contemporary life style. Extreme stressful life style can cause heart disease, hypertension and ultimately sudden death.
God's remedy against mental and emotional pressure is summed up in one word - peace. Peace not in the sense of not having any war but in the sense of fulfillment, completeness and rest. The common enemies of peace are fear and worry. They can come in many disguises - we can be afraid of sicknesses and diseases including cancer, afraid of accidents, afraid of people's opinion, fear of financial crash, fear of stocks and shares sell-out and we can worry about all kinds of things. Someone has said worry is like a nagging worm that eats away; fear is more like a dagger that thrusts into us. But each of them in the end is destruction.
Fear and Worry
God's main protection against fear and worry is trust.
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, ...." (Isaiah 26:3, 4).
A person who trusts in the Lord will focus his mind on the Lord. In return, the Lord will keep him in perfect peace.
There are two steps in achieving trust:
1. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). Let the Holy Spirit takes control of your mind. If you allow Him to reprogram your thinking and to redirect your thoughts, He will give you a new thought pattern.
Paul said, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV).
Paul brought out the contrast between the kind of spirit that operates in the people of the world and the kind of Spirit that should be operating in a child of God. We should always invite the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline to control our mind. When the Holy Spirit comes in it excludes the spirit of timidity and fear.
2. Focus our mind on the positive
Paul said, "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 mind through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7, NKJV, emphasis added).
We must trust the above above promise of God without reasoning and questioning. We simply receive the peace of God by faith.
Further on in verse 8 Paul gave instruction on how to retain the peace of God:
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
We must at all times, never to let our mind be preoccupied with the negative. Don't think about the problems that may arise. Instead focus on that which is good; focus on God, His love, His promises and His faithfulness and thank Him.
Tension between Fear and Trust
David the psalmist said, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in Cod I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? (Ps. 56:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).
Notice that David didn't say that he would never be afraid. He said that whenever he was afraid he wouldn't yield to fear, he wouldn't focus on fear, he wouldn't let fear dominates his thinking. But he would turn away from the spirit of fear to the Lord. He would put his trust in the Lord.
As we turn to the Lord and put our trust in Him we have to honor His Word. The expression of God's will, God's counsel and God's attitude toward us is found in His Word. Circumstances might seem to suggest that God doesn't care, that God is far away and things are not under God's control. But when we put our trust in God and in His Word we can't believe the lies of Satan. This is the remedy against all kinds of fear.
Discouragement and Depression
Two of the most common enemies in the life of God's people are discouragement and depression. The work of the wrong spirit in our mind causes us to feel depress and discourage.
Discouragement
Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, ...." (John 14:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).
The word "Helper" also menas "Comforter" or "Encourger" in other versions of the Bible. The Holy Spirit never discourages the people of God. He may convicts and rebukes us but He will never discourage us. The Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to us the truth. On the other hand, Satan is a liar and he discourages us by bringing us his lies. The ultimate input of the Holy Spirit is always positive and never negative.
Jeus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
Put the Helper (Holy Spirit) and His Word (His Truth) together, you'll notice that the Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to our mind the truth of God's Word.
Depression
The Lord spoke through Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; .... To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).
"The spirit of heaviness" is "the spirit of depression". Depression is a spirit. The phrase, "those who morn in Zion" means "those who are depressed in the Church - believers". The "Oil of joy" is the Holy Spirit.
When we put on the garment of praise and begin to praise God and worship Him the sprit of heaviness and depression will not be able to get at us - he is defeated. Notice that praise is a garment for us to put on all the time. We must live with the garment of praise on just as we live in other items of clothing. The garment of praise continuously protects our whole being and personality against the spirit of heaviness which is the source of depression.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Eternal Security
Everyone, irrespective of race and culture, is looking for security. In fact a major part of human activity is directed toward finding security.
In the contemporary culture there are various agencies, or industries or organizations, in some way or other, devoted to provide security. One example is the Insurance Agencies. They do a tremendous job in providing security but their scope is limited. You can insure yourself against an accident but there is no way to be sure that accident won't happen. You can insure against fire or theft but there is absolutely no way to be completely sure that no fire will break out or no theft will take place. Then there is some form of social security in most countries. People may have their financial and medical needs cared for but there is no evidence of complete and total security. My conclusion is that in spite of all man's efforts, wisdom, know-how or wealth they are ultimatley powerless in achieving real security.
Security through the Word of God
There is another source of security which can provide real security and it is only found through the Wisdom of God.
Read Proverbs 1:20 - 33. It is the Wisdom of God speaking through the Scripture.
In Proverbs 1 the key verse says, "But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil" (Verse 33, NKJV).
Notice that the key to achieving the kind of security offered in the Bible is by listening to the right voice - The Voice of Wisdom. Those who listen to God's Voice of Wisdom will "dwell safely". He will be protected by God; he will live outside the scope of harm and evil!
God's Wisdom offers both advice and rebuke. God's rebuke is found in:
"Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes" (Prov. 1:25, 26).
If you reject the counsel of the Wisdom of God, you will be visited by ultimate calamity and disaster! Instead of helping and delivering you from your suffering, the Lord will laugh at you!
God's Wisdom shows us what is right and warns us against what is wrong. But apart from God's revelation we really can't fully understand what Wisdom is all about.
The Temporal and the Eternal
There are two parallel categories of things in the universe - things that are seen and things that are not seen; things that are temporal and things that are eternal.
Paul said, "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
The unseen world includes the Word of God, His being and His truth - they are all Spirit. By faith we apprehend what we can't see with our eyes or what we can't perceive with any of our senses. But through the perception of this eternal invisible realm we begin to find true security.
"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:6 - 8).
Human life is temporal and subject to corruption and death. We are like grass; we grow up, we die and we pass away. On the other hand, the eternal realm does not subject to corruption, or change or instability.
In order to understand and to achieve true security you have to see the limit of any other kind of security. Man, by his own effort or wisdom, can never achieve true and permanent security. Any achievement by man is like man's own nature - like grass! God has permitted that and He uses man's weaknesses to turn man's heart away from the impermanent to the permanent. Every one of us has to make a choice about how to live our lives. We have to decide whether are we going to build on the temporal or going to build on the permanent.
Nature of the Rock
The choice of building on the temporal or on the permanent is vividly described in the proverbial parable of Jesus (Matthew 7:24 - 27). Two men each built a house - one built on sand (speaks of the temporal) and the other buit on the rock (speaks of the permanent). The same choice faces every one of us.
Paul said, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).
The only foundation that will stand for eternity is the foundation of Jesus Christ. He is the foundation which God has already laid - we can't change it, we can't find another. We can only accept that which God has already provided in Jesus Christ.
The psalmist said the Lord is the Rock of our refuge (Ps. 94:22) and the Rock of our salvation (Ps. 95:1).
Peter said, "Coming to Him (Jesus) as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house ......" (1 Peter 2:4 - 5).
God spoke through Isaiah, "Behold, I lay Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, as sure foundation ....." (Isaiah 28:16).
Zion speaks of the Church all through Scripture. Jesus Christ has been chosen by God to build His Church. He is the "sure" and eternal foundation for the Church and individual Christians!
Jesus Himself said, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18, NKJV).
To me that is total and permanent security.
Personal relationship with the Rock
In order to have true security in this life or the next we must come to the Rock, the Lord Jesus, and have a personal relationship with Him. If you come to Him He will receive you.
Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
Commitment to Jesus Christ produces a direct and personal relationship with Him for which there is no substitute. This relationship is described in many passages of Scripture. Here are just two examples:
1. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk throught the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1 - 4).
Once you have made a commitment to Him as your Lord and Shepherd He accepts total responsibility to provide eternal security in every situation, every circumstance. And He does it for His Name's sake. There is no power of evil in the entire universe can disrupt the relationship between the Lord and the one committed to Him.
2. Paul said, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39, emphasis added).
When we are committed to Him, nothing (nine nor's) can separate us from the love of Christ. That is total and permanent security.
Eternal Hope and Hopelessness
Eternal Hope is the product of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Hope in the heart gives patience and strength to endure hardship and calamities and all the other pressures that come against us in life.
"The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous has a refuge in his death" (Proverbs 14:32, NKJV, emphasis added).
In the King James Version the word "refuge" is replaced by the word "hope". Therefore "refuge" also speaks of "hope". For every soul committed to the Lord even in the valley of the shadow of death there is a refuge and there is hope.
On the other hand, hopelessness takes away initiative, strength and the very will to live. To be without hope in this life is tragic. But to be without hope in death is the ultimate tragedy!
Paul said, "Therefore remember that you, once Gentile in the flesh .... that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Three things described those who are separated from Christ - without Christ, without hope and without God. To me this is a terribe picture!
Paul said, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:13, 14, emphasis added).
Notice the contrast at death between the two kinds of people - those who are united to Christ by faith and those who don't have that union with Christ in the spiritual realm. For the former, they don't have to experience death but they only being described as "fallen asleep". When they "wake up" they will see Him face to face (1 Cor. 13:12)! But for the later there is no hope!
In the contemporary culture there are various agencies, or industries or organizations, in some way or other, devoted to provide security. One example is the Insurance Agencies. They do a tremendous job in providing security but their scope is limited. You can insure yourself against an accident but there is no way to be sure that accident won't happen. You can insure against fire or theft but there is absolutely no way to be completely sure that no fire will break out or no theft will take place. Then there is some form of social security in most countries. People may have their financial and medical needs cared for but there is no evidence of complete and total security. My conclusion is that in spite of all man's efforts, wisdom, know-how or wealth they are ultimatley powerless in achieving real security.
Security through the Word of God
There is another source of security which can provide real security and it is only found through the Wisdom of God.
Read Proverbs 1:20 - 33. It is the Wisdom of God speaking through the Scripture.
In Proverbs 1 the key verse says, "But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil" (Verse 33, NKJV).
Notice that the key to achieving the kind of security offered in the Bible is by listening to the right voice - The Voice of Wisdom. Those who listen to God's Voice of Wisdom will "dwell safely". He will be protected by God; he will live outside the scope of harm and evil!
God's Wisdom offers both advice and rebuke. God's rebuke is found in:
"Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes" (Prov. 1:25, 26).
If you reject the counsel of the Wisdom of God, you will be visited by ultimate calamity and disaster! Instead of helping and delivering you from your suffering, the Lord will laugh at you!
God's Wisdom shows us what is right and warns us against what is wrong. But apart from God's revelation we really can't fully understand what Wisdom is all about.
The Temporal and the Eternal
There are two parallel categories of things in the universe - things that are seen and things that are not seen; things that are temporal and things that are eternal.
Paul said, "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
The unseen world includes the Word of God, His being and His truth - they are all Spirit. By faith we apprehend what we can't see with our eyes or what we can't perceive with any of our senses. But through the perception of this eternal invisible realm we begin to find true security.
"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:6 - 8).
Human life is temporal and subject to corruption and death. We are like grass; we grow up, we die and we pass away. On the other hand, the eternal realm does not subject to corruption, or change or instability.
In order to understand and to achieve true security you have to see the limit of any other kind of security. Man, by his own effort or wisdom, can never achieve true and permanent security. Any achievement by man is like man's own nature - like grass! God has permitted that and He uses man's weaknesses to turn man's heart away from the impermanent to the permanent. Every one of us has to make a choice about how to live our lives. We have to decide whether are we going to build on the temporal or going to build on the permanent.
Nature of the Rock
The choice of building on the temporal or on the permanent is vividly described in the proverbial parable of Jesus (Matthew 7:24 - 27). Two men each built a house - one built on sand (speaks of the temporal) and the other buit on the rock (speaks of the permanent). The same choice faces every one of us.
Paul said, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).
The only foundation that will stand for eternity is the foundation of Jesus Christ. He is the foundation which God has already laid - we can't change it, we can't find another. We can only accept that which God has already provided in Jesus Christ.
The psalmist said the Lord is the Rock of our refuge (Ps. 94:22) and the Rock of our salvation (Ps. 95:1).
Peter said, "Coming to Him (Jesus) as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house ......" (1 Peter 2:4 - 5).
God spoke through Isaiah, "Behold, I lay Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, as sure foundation ....." (Isaiah 28:16).
Zion speaks of the Church all through Scripture. Jesus Christ has been chosen by God to build His Church. He is the "sure" and eternal foundation for the Church and individual Christians!
Jesus Himself said, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18, NKJV).
To me that is total and permanent security.
Personal relationship with the Rock
In order to have true security in this life or the next we must come to the Rock, the Lord Jesus, and have a personal relationship with Him. If you come to Him He will receive you.
Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
Commitment to Jesus Christ produces a direct and personal relationship with Him for which there is no substitute. This relationship is described in many passages of Scripture. Here are just two examples:
1. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk throught the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:1 - 4).
Once you have made a commitment to Him as your Lord and Shepherd He accepts total responsibility to provide eternal security in every situation, every circumstance. And He does it for His Name's sake. There is no power of evil in the entire universe can disrupt the relationship between the Lord and the one committed to Him.
2. Paul said, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39, emphasis added).
When we are committed to Him, nothing (nine nor's) can separate us from the love of Christ. That is total and permanent security.
Eternal Hope and Hopelessness
Eternal Hope is the product of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Hope in the heart gives patience and strength to endure hardship and calamities and all the other pressures that come against us in life.
"The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous has a refuge in his death" (Proverbs 14:32, NKJV, emphasis added).
In the King James Version the word "refuge" is replaced by the word "hope". Therefore "refuge" also speaks of "hope". For every soul committed to the Lord even in the valley of the shadow of death there is a refuge and there is hope.
On the other hand, hopelessness takes away initiative, strength and the very will to live. To be without hope in this life is tragic. But to be without hope in death is the ultimate tragedy!
Paul said, "Therefore remember that you, once Gentile in the flesh .... that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:11, 12, NKJV, emphasis added).
Three things described those who are separated from Christ - without Christ, without hope and without God. To me this is a terribe picture!
Paul said, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:13, 14, emphasis added).
Notice the contrast at death between the two kinds of people - those who are united to Christ by faith and those who don't have that union with Christ in the spiritual realm. For the former, they don't have to experience death but they only being described as "fallen asleep". When they "wake up" they will see Him face to face (1 Cor. 13:12)! But for the later there is no hope!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Ripening of The Good and The Evil
At the close of this present evil age the war between the good and the evil will gather momentum and will come to a simultaneous climax. This is illustrated and stated in many places in the Scripture. Here are some examples:
1. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24 - 30).
Notice that all parables were given by Jesus to illustrate the mysteries concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 13:11).
This parable illustrates the good seed and the bad seed in the Kingdom of Heaven (among the believers). The "good seed" speaks of the apostles' doctrine (or true Bible doctrine) which produces "wheat". At the time when the good seed is sown (by Jesus), bad seed which produces tares is also sown by the enemy (the Devil). Bad seed speaks of false doctrine.
God wants the wheat and the tares to grow together until the harvest. He is not going to uproot the tares until the harvest comes. The climatic condition ripens the wheat ripens the tares also. That is precisely what is happening all over the world and also happening in the Church now. The wickedness of the human race is ripening with amazing rapidity. It seems the tares are ripening faster than the wheat.
Some Christians seem to be talking or thinking that the Church is gradually taking over the world. But, there is not a single line of Scripture that gives any support to that theory. The Church is going to impact the whole earth but not going to take over it. There is only one person who will do this - the Lord Jesus Himself!
2. Arise and Shine
The Lord was speaking to Zion (the Church):
"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:1, 2, 3, NKJV).
Dark is getting darker; light is getting brighter. In the midst of this darkness, God's people will shine forth with His light and His glory and will attract many Gentiles (unbelievers).
3. Stressfull time
Paul wrote to Timothy, "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)!
There are 18 moral and ethical blemishes listed in the above passage of Scripture. These are the character traces that we see in the contrmporary culture. It is interesting to note how they begin and end. They begin with the love of self and love of money and they end with the love of pleasure. This shows that corruption of human character will take its course. Both in the natural and in the spiritual corruptions are irreversible. Once corruption sets in, like in a fruit, you can arrest it, you can delay it, you can preserve it, but you can't reverse it. Ultimately it will take its course. It is true in the spiritual and in the moral - corruption is irreversible. It is equally true in the Church as in the world. There is no difference, unless you are a true and committed child of God.
God never tries to reverse corruption. His solution is a new creation.
Paul said, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17, emphasis added).
When man rejects the new creation then corruption must continues and comes to a climax - until the tares ripening to the full!
Religion without power
Some of you might think that Paul was only warning Timothy about the people of the world and not about believers. But verse 5 says, ".... Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away"!
These people are in fact churchgoers, so-called Christians, who have religion but not power. They develop techniques in doing new things in the Church - modern forms of worships with high-tech instruments and gadgets. They have the language and words but they don't have the power. But only supernatural power can do it - to please the Object of our worship - the Almighty God.
Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power" (1 Cor. 4:20).
Destiny of evil men
Paul said, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13).
I believe the most deceptive people are those who have deceived themselves. These people really believe their own deception. Sometimes a confirmed liar can past any lie detection test even when he is lying because he does not know he is lying - he really believes his own lies!
The original Greek word for "an impostor" or "a seducer" is "goes", which means "an enchanter" or "a wizard". Therefore an impostor is a practitioner of the occult.
Wicked or evil men will get worse and worse. Those who reject the grace of God of the new birth are inevitably doomed to get worse. An evil man is like an apple (or any other fruit) which has corruption in it. All kinds of fruit on earth are corrupt since man's fall (Genesis 3:17).
One way you can delay corruption is to put it in the refrigerator or a freezer. Religion is a refregerator. In fact many Local Churches, especially the mega-Churches are spiritual refrigerators. You can delay the manifestation of corruption but you can't reverse the process. Only the new birth can bring an end to corruption and start a new kind of life.
4. The time (of fulfillment) is at hand
An angel of the Lord said, "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 filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still" (Rev. 22:10, 11).
The time of fulfillment is the time of fulfillment of all Bible Prophecies. It is the time immediately prior to the return of the Lord. We are living in this time period. The present condition of the world (and of the Church as well) is - some are righteous, some are holy; some are unrighteous, some are filthy. The angel didn't say everybody is going to be righteous. He said remain where you are! To me this is an amazing statement. The Lord seems to say, "It is too late to change anything now - live it up, one way (righteous) or another (unrighteous) because there is only little time left for the people on earth! Don't be a hypocrite! If you are enjoying being unjust, go on, and be more unjust still!"
It seems to me the Lord is less opposed to the wicked than He is to the hypocrites!
The time prior to the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom
The following is a vivid picture painted by Isaiah:
"See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants - it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left" (Isaiah 24:1 - 6, NIV).
The earth comes under a curse and will receive the above severe judgment of God for four reasons:
1. The earth is defiled - both physical and spiritual, by its people.
2. The people have disobeyed the laws - physical, moral and spiritual.
3. The people have violated the statutes of God.
4. The people have broken God's everlasting covenant.
I think it is merely wishful thinking that we are going to enjoy increasing peace or greater order in the world today. Read today's newspapers you'll understand what I mean. You'll reader about turmoil, unrest, violence, murders, disasters (natural and man-made), wars and rumors of war - about every dreadful thing but peace and order. True Christians should remind themselves of the coming impending judgmental visitation of Jesus on the earth.
Jesus Himself warned, "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day" (Luke 17:24).
The climax is clearly very sudden. There is no warning when lightning flashes. The "warning" comes in the form of thunders after the lightning!
Paul said, "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:2, 3, emphasis added).
The two things the world most concerned with today are peace and safety - which lead to wealth. Just at the time they think they've got it made destruction comes. This is like labor pains which are part of the birth process - a birth that brings forth the Lord's Kingdom on earth.
God's Judgment on the Nations
"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:1, 2, emphasis added).
The basis of God's Judgment on the nations who hate Israel is two fold:
1. The way they have treated God's people, Israel.
2. The way they have divided the land of Israel.
Jesus' final discourse:
"When the Son of Man comes to His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left" (Matt. 25:31, 32).
Read further and you'll realize that once again the basis on which the nations will be judged is how they have treated the brothers of Jesus Christ! To resist Israel is to resist the Almighty God.
Conclusion
Terrors and destructions will come, but for those who truly know Christ and those who are in the Kingdom of God there is no terror - because only the Kingdom of God is unshakable.
"See to it that you do not refuse him (God) who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:25, 28, NIV).
1. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24 - 30).
Notice that all parables were given by Jesus to illustrate the mysteries concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 13:11).
This parable illustrates the good seed and the bad seed in the Kingdom of Heaven (among the believers). The "good seed" speaks of the apostles' doctrine (or true Bible doctrine) which produces "wheat". At the time when the good seed is sown (by Jesus), bad seed which produces tares is also sown by the enemy (the Devil). Bad seed speaks of false doctrine.
God wants the wheat and the tares to grow together until the harvest. He is not going to uproot the tares until the harvest comes. The climatic condition ripens the wheat ripens the tares also. That is precisely what is happening all over the world and also happening in the Church now. The wickedness of the human race is ripening with amazing rapidity. It seems the tares are ripening faster than the wheat.
Some Christians seem to be talking or thinking that the Church is gradually taking over the world. But, there is not a single line of Scripture that gives any support to that theory. The Church is going to impact the whole earth but not going to take over it. There is only one person who will do this - the Lord Jesus Himself!
2. Arise and Shine
The Lord was speaking to Zion (the Church):
"Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:1, 2, 3, NKJV).
Dark is getting darker; light is getting brighter. In the midst of this darkness, God's people will shine forth with His light and His glory and will attract many Gentiles (unbelievers).
3. Stressfull time
Paul wrote to Timothy, "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)!
There are 18 moral and ethical blemishes listed in the above passage of Scripture. These are the character traces that we see in the contrmporary culture. It is interesting to note how they begin and end. They begin with the love of self and love of money and they end with the love of pleasure. This shows that corruption of human character will take its course. Both in the natural and in the spiritual corruptions are irreversible. Once corruption sets in, like in a fruit, you can arrest it, you can delay it, you can preserve it, but you can't reverse it. Ultimately it will take its course. It is true in the spiritual and in the moral - corruption is irreversible. It is equally true in the Church as in the world. There is no difference, unless you are a true and committed child of God.
God never tries to reverse corruption. His solution is a new creation.
Paul said, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17, emphasis added).
When man rejects the new creation then corruption must continues and comes to a climax - until the tares ripening to the full!
Religion without power
Some of you might think that Paul was only warning Timothy about the people of the world and not about believers. But verse 5 says, ".... Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away"!
These people are in fact churchgoers, so-called Christians, who have religion but not power. They develop techniques in doing new things in the Church - modern forms of worships with high-tech instruments and gadgets. They have the language and words but they don't have the power. But only supernatural power can do it - to please the Object of our worship - the Almighty God.
Paul said, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power" (1 Cor. 4:20).
Destiny of evil men
Paul said, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13).
I believe the most deceptive people are those who have deceived themselves. These people really believe their own deception. Sometimes a confirmed liar can past any lie detection test even when he is lying because he does not know he is lying - he really believes his own lies!
The original Greek word for "an impostor" or "a seducer" is "goes", which means "an enchanter" or "a wizard". Therefore an impostor is a practitioner of the occult.
Wicked or evil men will get worse and worse. Those who reject the grace of God of the new birth are inevitably doomed to get worse. An evil man is like an apple (or any other fruit) which has corruption in it. All kinds of fruit on earth are corrupt since man's fall (Genesis 3:17).
One way you can delay corruption is to put it in the refrigerator or a freezer. Religion is a refregerator. In fact many Local Churches, especially the mega-Churches are spiritual refrigerators. You can delay the manifestation of corruption but you can't reverse the process. Only the new birth can bring an end to corruption and start a new kind of life.
4. The time (of fulfillment) is at hand
An angel of the Lord said, "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 filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still" (Rev. 22:10, 11).
The time of fulfillment is the time of fulfillment of all Bible Prophecies. It is the time immediately prior to the return of the Lord. We are living in this time period. The present condition of the world (and of the Church as well) is - some are righteous, some are holy; some are unrighteous, some are filthy. The angel didn't say everybody is going to be righteous. He said remain where you are! To me this is an amazing statement. The Lord seems to say, "It is too late to change anything now - live it up, one way (righteous) or another (unrighteous) because there is only little time left for the people on earth! Don't be a hypocrite! If you are enjoying being unjust, go on, and be more unjust still!"
It seems to me the Lord is less opposed to the wicked than He is to the hypocrites!
The time prior to the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom
The following is a vivid picture painted by Isaiah:
"See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants - it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left" (Isaiah 24:1 - 6, NIV).
The earth comes under a curse and will receive the above severe judgment of God for four reasons:
1. The earth is defiled - both physical and spiritual, by its people.
2. The people have disobeyed the laws - physical, moral and spiritual.
3. The people have violated the statutes of God.
4. The people have broken God's everlasting covenant.
I think it is merely wishful thinking that we are going to enjoy increasing peace or greater order in the world today. Read today's newspapers you'll understand what I mean. You'll reader about turmoil, unrest, violence, murders, disasters (natural and man-made), wars and rumors of war - about every dreadful thing but peace and order. True Christians should remind themselves of the coming impending judgmental visitation of Jesus on the earth.
Jesus Himself warned, "For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day" (Luke 17:24).
The climax is clearly very sudden. There is no warning when lightning flashes. The "warning" comes in the form of thunders after the lightning!
Paul said, "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety!' then suddenly destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:2, 3, emphasis added).
The two things the world most concerned with today are peace and safety - which lead to wealth. Just at the time they think they've got it made destruction comes. This is like labor pains which are part of the birth process - a birth that brings forth the Lord's Kingdom on earth.
God's Judgment on the Nations
"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:1, 2, emphasis added).
The basis of God's Judgment on the nations who hate Israel is two fold:
1. The way they have treated God's people, Israel.
2. The way they have divided the land of Israel.
Jesus' final discourse:
"When the Son of Man comes to His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left" (Matt. 25:31, 32).
Read further and you'll realize that once again the basis on which the nations will be judged is how they have treated the brothers of Jesus Christ! To resist Israel is to resist the Almighty God.
Conclusion
Terrors and destructions will come, but for those who truly know Christ and those who are in the Kingdom of God there is no terror - because only the Kingdom of God is unshakable.
"See to it that you do not refuse him (God) who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:25, 28, NIV).
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