“GUTSY GRIT OR GODLY SORROW?”
By J. Farrell Fisher
September 2, 2016
There’s an interesting verse in Jeremiah 45:5 where the Lord Himself speaks: “And do not seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” And, if God is no respecter of persons, (and He’s not!), then what He said through the prophet to Baruch, does the same hold true to you? Is YOUR “gutsy grit” what Holy God desires from you or a broken, repentant heart, and truly godly sorrow over the sinful state of your God-less life?
One of the saddest words in all of Scripture, so definitive of “fallen men”, is found in Proverbs 21:2 where the Word declares: “Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” A gutsy, gritty heart or a heart of Godly sorrow? A gilded heart of showy appearances or a graced heart of Godly indwelling?
Do you sense any of “gutsy grit” around you, whether child, youth, young adult, or aging adult? Do you ever view the “culture of fleshly intellect” and shake your head as you visualize “cultural unbelief” and fleshly rejection of Holy God and His love and purpose for all fallen men?
Jonathan Edwards, in his writing, “The Freedom of the Will,” wrote: “The heart (that’s the heart of fallen men!) is like a viper, hissing, and spitting poison at God.” The hearts of “fallen men”, alienated and separated from Holy God, are yielded to the aim of pursuing and satisfying the ‘flesh’ and its indulgences with no consideration of eternal purpose or what pleases and honors Holy God with His desire that they be reconciled to Him through the blood of the Lamb of God!
“Fallen men”, large in prominence or known by few, are no different! Both are citizens of the kingdom of darkness and the devil, intent on satisfying all fleshly desires, accepting of “seeming shows,” indulging in vain delights, programmed by civilized ‘stupidity’, critical of true men of redeeming faith through the Blood, satisfied with mental allegiance apart from ‘heart-transformation,’ and certainly with “No fear of God” but only acknowledgement of His existence, even if that! Faith, to them, is simply an awareness of God, if even that by some, but absent from true repentance and redeeming faith and them becoming the temple of Holy Presence on earth! Faith, to them, is for far too many, even some pastors, the faith of possibilities, not the faith of divine realities, which is why ‘philosophy’, factual or fiction, at least governs some’s ‘mental allegiance’!
“Gutsy grit” is never able to translate or transform the ‘chord discords’ or ‘off-key’ fleshly realities into an ‘orchestrated-life-harmony’ apart from the grace and the mercy of God! It was Thomas Carlyle who once said: [“The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations,” edited by Frank S. Mead, Fleming H. Revell com., Westwood New Jersey,p.456], “There is but one thing without honor, smitten with eternal barrenness, inability to do or to be, and that is unbelief. He who believes nothing, who believes only the show of things, is not in relation with nature or fact at all.”
Do you remember Moses and Aaron going in to Pharoah of Egypt and telling him, (Exodus 5:1-2), “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” And Pharoah said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” Yet, in Exodus 14 we read of the destruction of the Egyptian armies AND Pharoah with Verse 28 telling us, “Not so much as one of them remained,” and certainly not “gritted Pharoah”! And, dare I tell you, FROM HELL PHAROAH STILL GRIEVES AND GROANS, BUT NOW VOID OF HIS GUTSY GRIT!
“Gutsy grit” by unbelievers and rejecters of Resurrection Life in Christ are men, past, present, and future, who will reveal to you, if you’re ever able to ask them, (I hope not!), “We know now only anthems of despair, the themes of avenging demons, the scary, constant, unyielding voices of devilish phantoms,” or Harriet Beecher Stowe’s words, “No one is so thoroughly superstitious as the godless man. Life and death to him are haunted grounds, filled with goblin forms of vague and shadowy dread.”
There is no evil so great as the evil of the rejection of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and life in and through Christ, just as Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:12b, “If we deny Him, He [the One True and Living God, the Resurrected Christ], ALSO will deny us.”
I find the anointed spirit of Paul so needed in this 21st Century in our own journey of faith, and especially as one is cemented and grounded in the Holy Word, and fully aware of the fallacy of “gutsy grit”, and fully aware of the need of “godly sorrow”, “redemptive faith,” “and true repentance”! In 2 Timothy 2:23-26 he wrote: “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that THEY MAY COME TO THEIR SENSES AND ESCAPE THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
Do YOU find that a frightening statement that unbelievers are those “snared by the devil”, functioning in their lives according to his wants, desires, and plans? Isn’t it amazing, shocking, awakening, alerting to you to even hear Jesus, in Revelation 3:9, even mention “those of the synagogue of Satan”? SO…let’s just call on “gutsy grit” to see us through in our earthly warfare with the devil and the powers of darkness – right? WRONG!
Examine Revelation 12:7-12! And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR OWN TESTIMONY, AND THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES TO THE DEATH. THEREFORE rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
But, hear me! Whether it’s the world, the flesh, or the devil, Psalm 50:15 tells us: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” What a promise! Dare I ask YOU? “Do YOU stand on the promises in “gutsy grit” or “REST” in the finished work of Christ “At Calvary”? What does the Holy Word tell us in Ephesians 6:10-18?
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord [ Does that sound like “gutsy grit” to you?] and IN the power of HIS MIGHT. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
STAND THEREFORE, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [that’s imparted, implanted, imputed righteousness by the grace and mercy of God!], and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints –“
Dare I tell you that the day of your ‘helpless feeling’ can be, should be, must be, the day of full awareness of ALL God Himself wants to be and to do through you? Proverbs 3:1-6 is a powerful expression from God that should be the launching of your life of faith and trust through “Godly Sorrow” from a heart and life that does not lean on “gutsy grit” or “fleshly best” but God’s mercy, grace, and love! It says: “My son, do not forget my law (the wisdom and instruction from “trust” in the Lord!), but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, And SO find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. [Look now at Verses 13, and 21-26]! “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.” That’s the wisdom of God and the understanding the Holy Spirit gives to you as you faithfully feed on His Word! Verses 21-26 says, “My son, let them not depart from your eyes – keep sound wisdom and discretion; So they will be LIFE TO YOUR SOUL and GRACE TO YOUR NECK.
Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.”
So…what does a fleshly, sinful, mortal man do to obtain his personal salvation? Do you remember Paul and Silas imprisoned for the faith in Acts 16 when the jailer came to them after a great earthquake, finding all the prison doors opened, and Paul and Silas still there! He was ready to kill himself, but went in to Paul and Silas asking, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And it wasn’t ‘saved from an earthquake but “saved from his sins”! And in Acts 16:31 Paul and Silas told him, “Believe [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
That’s: BE FINISHED WITH YOURSELF AND ANY ATTEMPT AT BEING “RELIGIOUS”, AND REST IN THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST AT THE CROSS! Have you never received, rested in, or relied upon 2 Corinthians 5:17? “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he IS a ‘new creation’; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
“In Christ” we sing a “new song”! “In Christ” we walk in “newness of life” and serve Him in “newness of spirit”! The Lord Jesus said in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new…!” We’re ‘clothed’ with “new garments”, we “LIVE” by a “new and living way,” He grants us a “new name”, He bestows upon us out of our death the reality of “new-born”, a “new covenant,” a “new heart and a new spirit,” and as “newborn babes in Christ” we desire, hunger for, rest in, and are assured of His able-ness to keep what we’ve committed unto Him and to keep what He has committed unto us!
2 Corinthians 5:21 declares: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God In Him.” ARE YOU “the righteousness of God IN CHRIST JESUS”? Hear me!
“In Christ” we are no longer ‘mere men’ but sons and daughters of redemptive faith birthed by God to bear, share, unveil His Name!
“In Christ”, by God’s mercy, grace, and love, we’ve been set apart to be “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own special, blood-bought people”!
“In Christ”, ‘born again by the Spirit into the Holy Family of God, we are declared by Him to be the “righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”! We’re now “sons and daughters” of our Heavenly Father!
Our lives, now “in Christ”, are “hidden with Christ in God”! We’ve been “raised up to be seated with Him in heavenly places at the very right hand of God the Father!
Our lives “in Christ” are now identified as “ministers of reconciliation” and “ambassadors of Christ”! We’ve been counted worthy to walk with Christ, entrusted with His Gospel!
Christ Jesus is the Bridegroom – we’re “the bride of Christ”! We’re now “trustees of the ‘mysteries’! We’re “witnesses” of His Redeeming Grace! God even says of all repentant believers that they are “priests and kings unto Him.”
To God, we are the ‘fragrance of Christ,’ His ‘peace-makers’ in a troubled world, His disciples and disciplers, His “soldiers of the Cross”! We’re “more than conquerors” – we’re “new creations”!
“In Christ” we’re “living sacrifices”, eternal epistles, poems of the grace, mercy, and love of God! Doesn’t the Word declare the truth and reality, and visual presence of “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, or ‘disciples’ meaning “Followers of Christ”?
“In Christ” we’re “servants” of the King of kings and Lord of lords – we bear the image of the Heavenly Man, because WE ARE ‘the called, the separated, the anointed, indwelt by all the very fullness of God”!
“In Christ” we are His messengers, His proclaimers, the heralds of His gospel or ‘good news’! “In Him” we ARE the “glorious Body of Christ,” members of the Holy Body in particular!
“In Christ” we’re “vessels” through which God Himself reveals His Son, we’re “salt” and “light”, we’re the “Symphony” God sings about, the music of His heart, and over us He sings the sounds of joy and sweet pleasure!
It’s time to settle it for Eternity! Are you a ‘mere man’ or “the anointed, appointed, affirmed holy man of God, infilled by the Holy Spirit to be His holy messengers?
Are you a ‘mere man’ or the biblically-declared “mighty men of valor”? Are you a ‘worldly, anxious ant’ or an “ambassador of Christ”? Are you a ‘mere man’ or a son or daughter of the family of Father-God?
Are you a ‘mere man’ or a “true minister and servant of reconciliation”? Are you simply a ‘mere man’ or a true witness of Saving Grace, Master-Full Mercy, and overflowing in Calvary’s Song of eternal love and Christ-Alone “Blood Redemption”?
Are YOU a “witness” of “Saving Grace”? Are YOU “the elect,” the “set-apart”, the “chosen of God”? Are YOU “the apple of God’s eye”? Are YOU His “workmanship”? Are YOU a “partner with God”, a “vessel of honor before Him daily”, available for Him to do as He pleases through YOU?
Are You “clay in the hands of the Potter, being sculpted into His Holy Image and Likeness”? Are you a “partaker of the divine nature”, one with Him, the fullness of Him who fills all in all?
You do realize that a ‘roller coaster’, at least once in your life, ought to be fun to ‘play on’, but the “ups and downs”, the “around and around” moves you nowhere in life in relation to Holy God! A ‘ferris wheel’ at the State Fair will get you ‘up’ momentarily to look “over” for a brief glimpse of the beautiful side, but then it’s down again and around again to the same old circumstances!
And anonymous writer penned these words: “Do you know what makes man the most suffering of all creatures? It is that he has one foot in the finite and the other in the infinite, and that he is torn between the two worlds.” Are You “torn” or “settled” on the True Foundation of Eternal Life, Christ Jesus, our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Reconciler of men to God?