OR CHRIST’S RE-BORN DISCIPLES?”

Examine our vast world of population explosion on every continent and every nation of the vast world and their divided allegiances between the ‘kingdom of darkness’ and Christ’s “Kingdom of Light”! There ARE those deceived who believe in the reality of “mixed blessings”, assuming: “I’m devoted to Christ, but I enjoy and am excited by, at times, my ‘fleshly indulgences’. You see, I think God understands that one can have the best of both worlds.” Really?

It’s so illuminating and convicting and convincing about one’s choosing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His passions OR, though ‘believing’, to find one’s self “deceived by the powers of darkness”!

In Joshua 24:14-15 we read of Joshua challenging his people, Israel, who’d been in bondage but by the grace of God had been freed. Joshua said: “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and ‘put away the gods which your fathers served’ on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seeks evil to you to serve the Lord, CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.”

But, you are aware that there are some ‘religious zealots’ who serve Satan thinking they’re servants of Christ! In 2 Peter 2:12-22 Peter enlightens servants of Christ, if they want to be, exposing the “pretenders” who are “presumptuous, and self-willed”! He said of them: “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed (which they will be before the judgment seat of Christ!), speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will UTTERLY PERISH IN THEIR OWN CORRUPTION, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. (Of course, some prefer the “darkness”!). They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions WHILE THEY FEAST WITH YOU (the true believers!), having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and ARE ACCURSED CHILDREN. They HAVE FORSAKEN THE RIGHT WAY AND GONE ASTRAY, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. (That’s a shocker isn’t it? Peter mentions “the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error”, becoming prime targets of Satan and the powers of darkness!). While they promise them liberty, they themselves are SLAVES OF CORRUPTION; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. (Do you understand that? Satan has deceived, blinded, equipped and trained those who, yes, were given liberty, but he makes them slaves of corruption!).

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and ‘a sow having washed, to her wallowing in the mire’.” WOW!

Do you remember what Paul wrote to Titus? In Titus 3:3-7 lay hold of both ‘fleshly deceit’ OR “the kindness and the love of God”! Paul said: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,( by whom? Satan and his equipped ‘deceivers’?), serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. BUT when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Once known sinners were ‘foolish’, once they walked in disobedience, deceived by Satan, indulging in various lusts and pleasures, easily angered, easily hateful, but then, “I got saved and baptized, joined the church, enjoying the ‘fellowship’, as I do as I please spiritually or fleshly,” strongly suggesting they are under the influence of the powers of darkness!

The saddest thing I could ever imagine is a man who is born a sinner and continues under the Hell-inspired head of darkness, Satan, but “believes in Jesus” in the best of ‘head knowledge’, and not understanding Christ Jesus is his Savior, his Healer, and Emancipator from the rule and darkness of Satan! How many have you encountered who just ‘sit and watch’ as the world Christ died for becomes consigned to Hell because they “played the game of both worlds,” the kingdom of Satan and The Eternal Kingdom of the Resurrected, Reigning Christ?

The Holy Word is fully aware of how Satan sought to influence Job adversely saying to God, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?…but You, God, stretch out Your hand and touch all that Job has, and he’ll surely curse You to Your face!” And God allowed Satan to take on all Job had but not to lay a hand on his person! Satan stripped Job, and Job’s wife wanted him to “Curse God and die! But Job responded, to her, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” And the Holy Word then says: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Thank God for men like Paul who stood strong against ‘disciples of Christ’ with tendencies of walking both sides of the street of faith And disobedience! I don’t think Colossians 1 is an encouragement in one’s accepting Christ that what your old life was without Him is acceptable as you walk with Him in the Spirit-realm now! Colossians 1:18-23, and Verses 26-28, IS a powerful Word about “Striving according to His (God in Christ!) working which works in me mightily” so Paul wouldn’t be a “split-personality servant” of Christ and Satan! He said: Colossians 1:18-23 first: “And He (Christ Jesus) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Get ready!!).

And YOU, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – IF INDEED you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached (Is that message “Christ in you the HOPE OF GLORY”? You’ll see it in a few seconds!) to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” [Did Paul mention those who were “alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works” – but you don’t, won’t, or can’t see Satan as the author of the “Book of revolt against God’s plan” with his desire to use slaves of darkness to build his kingdom of darkness with his darkened help?].

Now: Verses 26-28 of Colossians 1! “…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

And Satan’s realm, not only in Hell, in the world at large, but even in some churches or denominations that flourish on “Christian activities” but fail miserably in revealing “The Indwelling Christ”, because they don’t like: “dying daily that Christ may be exalted through us; it just doesn’t measure up to OUR ‘religious understanding’!”

I love what Dr. Charles Stanley wrote in his book entitled, “When The Enemy Strikes”. There was a section in his book, (p.200), entitled “Be Bold In Your Testimony About Jesus”. He said: “Your testimony is not based upon what you believe, what you have done, or what you are doing. Your testimony is based upon who Jesus is in your life, what He has done on your behalf, and what He desires to do in you, in your family, and through you and your family to others in your community.

When you hear a lie being told by a family member, speak the truth of God’s Word. When you hear statements of doubt about God’s love or about God’s provision, speak the truth of God’s Word.

When you hear a family member take the Lord’s name in vain, speak the truth about who Jesus is, who God is, and who the Holy Spirit is. [And I say, JFF, be sure your identify Satan’s activities as, yes, he seeks to destroy your marriage, your family, and your witness!].

Don’t allow yourself to become comfortable with “just a little sin” in your family. A little arsenic spoils a plate of food – a little cyanide poisons a large body of water. (And I,JFF, say: “Be careful when Satan seeks to poison the waters of your family’s faith by denying Biblical Truth, even truth about the devil and demons!). Sin is deadly. It pollutes and infects and destroys. (So does Satan’s lies!). Don’t develop a tolerance for any amount of it in your life or the lives of loved ones.

If you allow yourself to be comfortable with sin (Or Satanic deception!), you soon will begin to defend the presence of sin (and you’ll even find yourself defending Satanic demonology!) – to justify it and to give place to it. Deal with those issues that underlie a person’s willingness to commit sin or to act in rebellion.” [Or to “give place to the devil through YOU!”].

There is SATANIC ACTIVISM, Satanic temptations, Satanic enticements, Satanic traps, like for animals, hoping you’re open to his “hook and lure”, Satanic horns that blow loud verses of fleshly pleasures with “death” as its final verse or chorus, there is Satanic invitations out to get one voluntarily rejecting “Holy Truth” because it lies “about what your flesh should enjoy”, there is Satanic deception about you, about self-interest, about ‘self-preservation and self’s indulgences, about the validity of ‘human nature’ as the center of its own universe ruled by “what my flesh tells me – I’m my own man”, with no consideration at all why God made you!

It was Martin Luther, in his writing “Table Talk,” who wrote: “The Devil has two manner of shapes or forms, wherein he disguises himself; he either appears in the shape of a serpent, to affright and kill; or else in the form of a silly sheep, to lie and deceive; these are his two court colors.”

And, consider: “Where does ‘not according to Christ’ come from?” If one reads Paul in Colossians 2:8 saying, “BEWARE lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ,” but I add, “The traditions of men in their personal philosophies and empty deceits and principles of the world were and are authored by Satan himself – from Satan himself: ‘Anything goes, but not God’s Truth, and it’s OK to “exchange the truth of God for the LIE because you can sin and not die!”

Satan will not speak the TRUTH either, and if, as he has, convinced ALL they can sin and not die, exchanging the truth of God for Satan’s lie, Paul says in Romans 1, Verse 21b, men become futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts are darkened, or Verse 22-23, men profess to be wise, but become fools, substituting the glory of the incorruptible God into images made like corruptible man, or Verse 24, God gives them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, exchanging the truth of God for the “Lie”, or, Verse 26, receiving Satan’s lies, “God gives them up to vile passions,” or Verse 28, “God gives them over to (Satan’s version) – a debased mind, to do those things WHICH ARE NOT FITTING;

Verses 29-32, “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving (except still ‘loving their flesh & old sin natures’!), unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

BUT, don’t ever forget, overlook, or take lightly Colossians 1:19-20, which I’ve already highlighted for you, but I sense after shocking you with Satan’s premier practices, you need to be reminded of Colossians 1:19-20!! Paul wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, “For it pleased the Father that in Christ Jesus all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to RECONCILE all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having MADE PEACE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST’S CROSS.” Have you ever been to Calvary’s mountain? It was there Christ Jesus “put to death the body of the sins of your flesh,” and according to Colossians 2:13-15, (Get ready to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”!), “And YOU, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh (or old sin nature!), He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers (including Satan’s chains binding your Christless life?), He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

And, if that is true, and it is Eternally True, “if YOU died with Christ” and “died with Him from the basic principles of the world, including Satan’s kingdom of darkness”, why, as though living in the world to the glory of God, do you give Satan inches, feet, yards, or miles on the property of your life “blood bought” by the very blood of the Lamb of God?

This is why in Colossians 3:1-4 Paul exposes some and encourages others who live by His enlightment: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died (Did YOU?), and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears (or is unveiled in us!), then you also will appear with Him,( unveiling ) in glory!” AMEN?

OR CHRIST’S RE-BORN DISCIPLES?”

Examine our vast world of population explosion on every continent and every nation of the vast world and their divided allegiances between the ‘kingdom of darkness’ and Christ’s “Kingdom of Light”! There ARE those deceived who believe in the reality of “mixed blessings”, assuming: “I’m devoted to Christ, but I enjoy and am excited by, at times, my ‘fleshly indulgences’. You see, I think God understands that one can have the best of both worlds.” Really?

It’s so illuminating and convicting and convincing about one’s choosing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His passions OR, though ‘believing’, to find one’s self “deceived by the powers of darkness”!

In Joshua 24:14-15 we read of Joshua challenging his people, Israel, who’d been in bondage but by the grace of God had been freed. Joshua said: “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and ‘put away the gods which your fathers served’ on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seeks evil to you to serve the Lord, CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.”

But, you are aware that there are some ‘religious zealots’ who serve Satan thinking they’re servants of Christ! In 2 Peter 2:12-22 Peter enlightens servants of Christ, if they want to be, exposing the “pretenders” who are “presumptuous, and self-willed”! He said of them: “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed (which they will be before the judgment seat of Christ!), speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will UTTERLY PERISH IN THEIR OWN CORRUPTION, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. (Of course, some prefer the “darkness”!). They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions WHILE THEY FEAST WITH YOU (the true believers!), having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and ARE ACCURSED CHILDREN. They HAVE FORSAKEN THE RIGHT WAY AND GONE ASTRAY, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. (That’s a shocker isn’t it? Peter mentions “the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error”, becoming prime targets of Satan and the powers of darkness!). While they promise them liberty, they themselves are SLAVES OF CORRUPTION; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. (Do you understand that? Satan has deceived, blinded, equipped and trained those who, yes, were given liberty, but he makes them slaves of corruption!).

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and ‘a sow having washed, to her wallowing in the mire’.” WOW!

Do you remember what Paul wrote to Titus? In Titus 3:3-7 lay hold of both ‘fleshly deceit’ OR “the kindness and the love of God”! Paul said: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,( by whom? Satan and his equipped ‘deceivers’?), serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. BUT when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Once known sinners were ‘foolish’, once they walked in disobedience, deceived by Satan, indulging in various lusts and pleasures, easily angered, easily hateful, but then, “I got saved and baptized, joined the church, enjoying the ‘fellowship’, as I do as I please spiritually or fleshly,” strongly suggesting they are under the influence of the powers of darkness!

The saddest thing I could ever imagine is a man who is born a sinner and continues under the Hell-inspired head of darkness, Satan, but “believes in Jesus” in the best of ‘head knowledge’, and not understanding Christ Jesus is his Savior, his Healer, and Emancipator from the rule and darkness of Satan! How many have you encountered who just ‘sit and watch’ as the world Christ died for becomes consigned to Hell because they “played the game of both worlds,” the kingdom of Satan and The Eternal Kingdom of the Resurrected, Reigning Christ?

The Holy Word is fully aware of how Satan sought to influence Job adversely saying to God, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?…but You, God, stretch out Your hand and touch all that Job has, and he’ll surely curse You to Your face!” And God allowed Satan to take on all Job had but not to lay a hand on his person! Satan stripped Job, and Job’s wife wanted him to “Curse God and die! But Job responded, to her, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” And the Holy Word then says: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Thank God for men like Paul who stood strong against ‘disciples of Christ’ with tendencies of walking both sides of the street of faith And disobedience! I don’t think Colossians 1 is an encouragement in one’s accepting Christ that what your old life was without Him is acceptable as you walk with Him in the Spirit-realm now! Colossians 1:18-23, and Verses 26-28, IS a powerful Word about “Striving according to His (God in Christ!) working which works in me mightily” so Paul wouldn’t be a “split-personality servant” of Christ and Satan! He said: Colossians 1:18-23 first: “And He (Christ Jesus) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Get ready!!).

And YOU, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – IF INDEED you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached (Is that message “Christ in you the HOPE OF GLORY”? You’ll see it in a few seconds!) to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” [Did Paul mention those who were “alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works” – but you don’t, won’t, or can’t see Satan as the author of the “Book of revolt against God’s plan” with his desire to use slaves of darkness to build his kingdom of darkness with his darkened help?].

Now: Verses 26-28 of Colossians 1! “…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

And Satan’s realm, not only in Hell, in the world at large, but even in some churches or denominations that flourish on “Christian activities” but fail miserably in revealing “The Indwelling Christ”, because they don’t like: “dying daily that Christ may be exalted through us; it just doesn’t measure up to OUR ‘religious understanding’!”

I love what Dr. Charles Stanley wrote in his book entitled, “When The Enemy Strikes”. There was a section in his book, (p.200), entitled “Be Bold In Your Testimony About Jesus”. He said: “Your testimony is not based upon what you believe, what you have done, or what you are doing. Your testimony is based upon who Jesus is in your life, what He has done on your behalf, and what He desires to do in you, in your family, and through you and your family to others in your community.

When you hear a lie being told by a family member, speak the truth of God’s Word. When you hear statements of doubt about God’s love or about God’s provision, speak the truth of God’s Word.

When you hear a family member take the Lord’s name in vain, speak the truth about who Jesus is, who God is, and who the Holy Spirit is. [And I say, JFF, be sure your identify Satan’s activities as, yes, he seeks to destroy your marriage, your family, and your witness!].

Don’t allow yourself to become comfortable with “just a little sin” in your family. A little arsenic spoils a plate of food – a little cyanide poisons a large body of water. (And I,JFF, say: “Be careful when Satan seeks to poison the waters of your family’s faith by denying Biblical Truth, even truth about the devil and demons!). Sin is deadly. It pollutes and infects and destroys. (So does Satan’s lies!). Don’t develop a tolerance for any amount of it in your life or the lives of loved ones.

If you allow yourself to be comfortable with sin (Or Satanic deception!), you soon will begin to defend the presence of sin (and you’ll even find yourself defending Satanic demonology!) – to justify it and to give place to it. Deal with those issues that underlie a person’s willingness to commit sin or to act in rebellion.” [Or to “give place to the devil through YOU!”].

There is SATANIC ACTIVISM, Satanic temptations, Satanic enticements, Satanic traps, like for animals, hoping you’re open to his “hook and lure”, Satanic horns that blow loud verses of fleshly pleasures with “death” as its final verse or chorus, there is Satanic invitations out to get one voluntarily rejecting “Holy Truth” because it lies “about what your flesh should enjoy”, there is Satanic deception about you, about self-interest, about ‘self-preservation and self’s indulgences, about the validity of ‘human nature’ as the center of its own universe ruled by “what my flesh tells me – I’m my own man”, with no consideration at all why God made you!

It was Martin Luther, in his writing “Table Talk,” who wrote: “The Devil has two manner of shapes or forms, wherein he disguises himself; he either appears in the shape of a serpent, to affright and kill; or else in the form of a silly sheep, to lie and deceive; these are his two court colors.”

And, consider: “Where does ‘not according to Christ’ come from?” If one reads Paul in Colossians 2:8 saying, “BEWARE lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ,” but I add, “The traditions of men in their personal philosophies and empty deceits and principles of the world were and are authored by Satan himself – from Satan himself: ‘Anything goes, but not God’s Truth, and it’s OK to “exchange the truth of God for the LIE because you can sin and not die!”

Satan will not speak the TRUTH either, and if, as he has, convinced ALL they can sin and not die, exchanging the truth of God for Satan’s lie, Paul says in Romans 1, Verse 21b, men become futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts are darkened, or Verse 22-23, men profess to be wise, but become fools, substituting the glory of the incorruptible God into images made like corruptible man, or Verse 24, God gives them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, exchanging the truth of God for the “Lie”, or, Verse 26, receiving Satan’s lies, “God gives them up to vile passions,” or Verse 28, “God gives them over to (Satan’s version) – a debased mind, to do those things WHICH ARE NOT FITTING;

Verses 29-32, “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving (except still ‘loving their flesh & old sin natures’!), unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

BUT, don’t ever forget, overlook, or take lightly Colossians 1:19-20, which I’ve already highlighted for you, but I sense after shocking you with Satan’s premier practices, you need to be reminded of Colossians 1:19-20!! Paul wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, “For it pleased the Father that in Christ Jesus all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to RECONCILE all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having MADE PEACE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST’S CROSS.” Have you ever been to Calvary’s mountain? It was there Christ Jesus “put to death the body of the sins of your flesh,” and according to Colossians 2:13-15, (Get ready to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”!), “And YOU, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh (or old sin nature!), He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers (including Satan’s chains binding your Christless life?), He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

And, if that is true, and it is Eternally True, “if YOU died with Christ” and “died with Him from the basic principles of the world, including Satan’s kingdom of darkness”, why, as though living in the world to the glory of God, do you give Satan inches, feet, yards, or miles on the property of your life “blood bought” by the very blood of the Lamb of God?

This is why in Colossians 3:1-4 Paul exposes some and encourages others who live by His enlightment: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died (Did YOU?), and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears (or is unveiled in us!), then you also will appear with Him,( unveiling ) in glory!” AMEN?

OR

DEMONIC DELIVERANCE?

BY: J.FARRELL FISHER

Satan Said: “Has God Really Said..?” Yes! “You surely shall not die…!” But we did!

OUTLINE

Introduction

Chapter One: The Devil And Deception!

Chapter Two: The Devil And Darkness!

Chapter Three: The Devil And Destiny!

Chapter Four: The Devil, Demons, And The Word Of God!

Chapter Five: Them, Him, And Us!

Chapter Six: Merciful Messages In The Midst Of Madness!

Chapter Seven: Devilish Opposition – The Necessity Of The School Of Perfecting Faith!

Chapter Eight: Demonized Daughters Or Delivering Faith?

Chapter Nine: BEWARE!

Chapter Ten: The Relevance of Christ In A Demonized World!

Chapter Eleven: Devilish Dividing Of Disciples’ Devotion Or The Savior’s Assaults On The Devil’s Attacks?

Chapter Twelve: The Devil And The Blood-Flow Of Jesus!

Chapter Thirteen: The Devil And Our Lord’s Liberating Ministry!

Chapter Fourteen: The Devil And The Great Physician!

Chapter Fifteen: The Devil And ‘Mountainous’ Temptations Or Choosing To Go Where Jesus Himself Chooses To Come!

Chapter Sixteen: Rabid Resistance Or Redemptive Reconciliation?

Chapter Seventeen: The Devil’s Distressing Disguises Or Jesus’ Dynamic Deliverance?

Chapter Eighteen: Wimpy Acceptance Of Demonic Intimidation Or Willful Acceptance Of God’s Warfare Armor?

Chapter Nineteen: The Devil – Your Prince Of Darkness? Or Jesus – Your King Of Light?

Chapter Twenty: Descending Devil Or Your Ascended Lord?

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever witnessed an evil act in someone, and a ‘friend’ witnesses it also and says, “That was certainly a devilish act,” and you’re alerted to the reality that some folks don’t even know they’ve become a vessel the Devil uses to impact your world with his evil ways?

Noah Webster’s 1828 English Dictionary defines ‘devilish’ as “partaking of the qualities of the devil; diabolical; very evil and mischievous; malicious; as a diabolical, devilish scheme or wickedness…”

In describing Satan, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defined him as: “The grand adversary of man; the devil or prince of darkness; the chief of the fallen angels.” And certainly there are those who don’t even know or realize that their lives are dominated by the devil’s wicked, evil, and malicious spirit! Have you recognized a person overcome by that diabolical spirit and, yes, even the very disposition of Satan out to destroy whatever is holy, righteous, good, or eternal in its nature?

It was John Wesley who once said: “All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.” I’m sure that would shock some whose ‘bent in life’ is totally inward as they assess themselves as superior to all others when in reality they are the devil’s prime example of satanic superiority! They are filled with self-pride, immersed in fleshly falsehood, and captured by envy!

I found Shakespeare’s comment in “Merry Wives of Windsor” [Macbeth, Act 2, sc. 2, 1.54] when he wrote: “No man means evil but the devil, and we shall know him by his horns,” but I believe we’ll know both the devil and his people by their horns and their hearts and their heaviness!

We’ll examine together, later, more of what Peter wrote to us in I Peter 5:8-11 when he said, under the Spirit’s anointing: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

To Him? That’s God Almighty, our Lord and Savior – not demonic domination but the divine rule of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

But you are aware – just as the devil deceived Adam and Eve, so today he still operates as the ‘master deceiver’ to lead men and women, boys and girls, into “Demonic Domination” while Jesus comes to give us “Demonic Deliverance”!!

Question! When you came to Christ Jesus, repented of your sin, rested yourself in The Faith, after your conversion, did you order the demons to leave your “property”, your life, your body that now belongs to Jesus? It’s time you told them to leave because “Now you belong to Jesus”, and they are trespassers! In Jesus’ Name, command they be gone!

CHAPTER ONE

THE DEVIL AND DECEPTION!

The devil’s biased nature is not only one’s bent to sin but his defiance of God’s will in one’s walk selflessly as one desires to hear God, walk with God, honor God, and bless Him in submission and obedience as the Living God calls us to Himself.

Adam and Eve were birthed, shaped, molded, established by God to walk with Him, but the devil and his army of fallen angels were not only after God’s humanizing of Adam and Eve but even us today – they had a choice and were deceived by Satan – and we had a choice!

Caedmon, in “Creation. The Fall of the Rebel Angels,” wrote: “And them all the Lord transformed to devils, because they His deed and word would not revere.” Has that changed at all? And the devil’s army is still at work today as they were in the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve fell ‘victims’ of the devil’s deception! No true reverence of the Holy and the Eternal!

Do you sense the ‘illness’ of the devil and the powers of darkness as they continue to rebel against Holy God and His Holy Word, bearing the banners of deception, darkness, and defiance, coming against every birthed human in the world to follow their “sicknesses” rather than turn to God’s Eternal Health and the Lord Jesus’ Healing Grace, Mercy, and Love?

It was Henry George Bohn, in his “Handbook of Proverbs”, who wrote: “The Devil entangles youth with beauty, the miser with gold, the ambitious with power, the learned with false doctrine.” So true!

Have you become aware of the devil’s intent of man’s earthly ruination, whether personally, family, locally, nationally, or, yes, even world-wide deception and destruction? The devil is not interested in holy lives, holy families, holy cities, holy schools, or holy nations. His desire is Godless relationships! And you can rest or be assured: the devil births, authors, promotes, designs, personalizes deception, confusion, division, separation from God and His people and, yes, His churches, with emphasis on “flesh” and not Spirit, “faithlessness” and not the Word of God, “likeness” to him and not “likeness” to God!

Have you ever watched on television as people flood the streets with their banners of opposition to everything God holds dear, and you realize, “These people are deceived by the devil himself and opposed to the Spirit and Truth of God Himself”?

The devil and deception? You do understand that, as the devil operates in deception around you, his desire is to see you down on the pathway to personal dejection! Devilish deception and personal dejection IS spiritual sickness – and only the Healer, Jesus, can bring spiritual health to us body, soul, and spirit!

But in John 2:24-25 there is a mind-shaking, heart-rending verse when Jesus “did not commit Himself unto them…because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man.” Also, you’ll remember that in Matthew 12:25 Jesus said to “the religious crowd, the Pharisees”, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

And when it comes to the spiritual kingdom of one’s own heart, if it’s a divided kingdom, even ruled over by the devil and his crowd, that house or heart cannot, will not, refuses to be surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship – and it will fall, fail, feebly shaking its way along through life, Godless because of its deception, but content because “look what I’ve done!”

Genesis 3:21-24 is the foundation and the walls of the city I’ve chosen to call as the “City of Unbelief” which describes ‘citizens’ given over to the devil and the peril of fleshly deception. It says: “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” – therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken…

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Have you become aware of “the way to the tree of life” or are you imprisoned to the absence of God’s peace, His pleasure, His purpose, His path, and with Adam and Eve, have “hid yourself from the presence of the Lord God,” even deafening your ears to His compassionate voice and calling? But with that choice you identify yourself as one more interested in the devil’s lies than God’s Truth!

In Jeremiah 5:1-4 the prophet identified those overtaken by deception rather than God’s Truth! He wrote: “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem [Dallas, New York, London, Paris, Mumbai, Delhi, Cairo, etc.]; See now and know; and seek her in open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her….,

Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely.’ O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they have not grieved;…

You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to return! Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God’”

If the devil is the author of ‘deception’, does he intend that it produce ‘disillusionment’ and ‘disappointment’ in as many human lives as possible, poisoning the total content of all humanity? He tries! Deception births disillusionment producing fruit that is bitter, sour, even deadly with despair, frustration, and futility, pouring itself out on the victims of the devil’s intent to smear, to mar, to rotten, and to disgrace God’s intent for them.

You understand that the devil “tricks” with his ‘superior philosophy’ (?) that he thinks is superior to God’s Revelation-Truth, authoring on fallen mankind’s limited mind and darkened heart, a sensual, sensational, fleshly, sinful excitement, that even he thinks is intellectual dominance over shallow religious minds!

Yes, Satan is the author of death, but Jesus gives Resurrection Eternal Life, and a Godly hope that never deceives; Satan spouts out lies while Jesus IS Eternal Truth; Satan promotes the sin nature, honoring it with his darkness, while Jesus births the divine nature in repentant, believing, trusting men who are through with their fleshly natures; Satan is thrilled when the darkness of the alienation of men from God prevails in their minds and hearts, while Jesus brings the Light of Atonement to perfect the fallen into sons and daughters of the heavenly glory through the very sacrifice of Holy God Himself!

Satan’s seed planted in men’s hearts appears so beautiful like a successful farmer’s field of green trees and lush fruit but the fruit is rotten and poisonous with fleshly fears, fleshly aims and goals, and fleshly degradation and deception, while Jesus plants the seeds of Holy Presence, Heavenly Power, and Godly privilege and Eternal Truth!

James 1:4, in the New King James version, says: “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” How? Because as Jesus IS, so are men of redemptive faith!

But the devil talks ‘perfection’ by him, when all he brings forth is the ‘best’ of Hell itself with God’s work absent from one’s life, ending up forever separated from God, even the ‘best’ human flesh can produce but void of God’s likeness, His love and grace, and void of the Resurrection Presence of Jesus as the eternal reason of one’s existence! You do understand that the devil and his demons will even promote a respectable life as long as it is not re-born, regenerated, reconciled to Almighty God. It was Alexander Brome, in his writing “New Montebank”, who said, “The devil’s ever kind to his own.”

“The Devil and Deception”! Are you familiar with Luke 4:5-8, and verse 13? It says: And the devil, taking Him up into a high mountain, showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time… And the devil said unto Him, ‘All this power will I give You, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it…. If You therefore will worship me, all shall be Yours…And Jesus answered and said to the devil, “Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, You shall worship the Lord God and Him only shall you serve… Verse 13, And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Jesus for a season.”

If Jesus Himself, Emmanuel, “God in flesh”, was tempted by the devil, you’re unsure the devil will seek to dominate your life and lead you away from God and the Savior? Are you spiritually blind to the reality that the devil hates, opposes, and seeks to enslave every man, woman, youth, or child in his domination? So…his domination becomes a reality because of his promotion of deception!

Do you believe he seeks to rebuke biblical truth that men need their spiritual chains broken off, that they need freedom and forgiveness from their sin natures and sin practices, and that he MUST blind the minds of the unrepentant of their need of the Savior and Lord? Why is that? Because the devil has no desire to lose even one of his slaves to sin and their devilish bondage and control, because they are his, and he needs them to foster his devilish plan! I John 3:8 tells us, “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.”Look at I John 3:9-10, [NLT], “Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, [present tense continuous action!] because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not obey God’s commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God.” There is demonic, satanic domination, BUT there is the eternal reality of one knowing demonic, satanic deliverance through Jesus, our Lord and Savior!

Do you remember the ‘religious crowd’ opposing Jesus? It’s found in John 8:43-45! “Why do you not understand My speech? It’s because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth, because there was no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe Me not.”

Satanic domination? “You can sin and not die”! [Check out the Genesis “beginning”!] “Christians can’t do anything but sin until they get to heaven.” Really? “Don’t believe the Bible or look to the Bible – it’s filled with untruths”! You’re sure?

And do you understand why the mindless and heartless and those demonically controlled say that? Paul would tell you (Ephesians 2:2-3), because “you walk according to the course of this world [fallen!], according to the prince of the power of the air (that’s the devil), the spirit that works in the children of disobedience;…Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Satanic domination? Did you grasp walking “according to the course of this [fallen] world, walking according to the devil himself, and walking according to the spirit that works in children of disobedience, controlled by the lusts and desires of the flesh and mind, yes, being children of wrath?

Do you understand what the devil promotes in the ‘fallen ones’? It’s that attitude, frame of reference, of “my right to myself to do as I please” when in reality it’s not that dimension of ‘self-realization’ but the demonstration of dominance by the devil in his attitude of rebellion to God, in the devil’s attitude, not only of his disposition AND demonstration of willful self, but his desire to take over every human life in irresponsible, immoral, decadent behavior that reflects the devil’s spirit, not God’s Holy Spirit!

Satanic domination produces satanic deception that results in the birth and the curse of spiritual death, though alive physically, and portrays in “fallen mankind” the “star-status” of Hell itself! That’s men believing that “it’s every man for himself” when in reality the devil holds the title deed to his sinful life!

Can you even begin to imagine the “pay-out” eternally for the man who goes to the devil’s “pay-window” and learns in a ‘flash’ his pay was counterfeit? A biased sin nature expects a huge pay-out and comes up bankrupt! He’s a spiritual rapist that devil who leaves fallen men as hopeless and helpless victims and assures them there’s no one who can help the spoiled, the violated, the very men who now are stamped with the devil’s image – and, I think, I pray, I consider: “but what if they turned to God Himself and found forgiveness, cleansing, and birthing of a new life in heavenly hope through the shed blood of Christ Jesus?

The devil is a ‘master-detractor’ who assured men and women of the spiritual ‘dark ages’ that their devotion to him was the open door to man’s best when in reality they opened that door and walked into the eternal ages of man’s lost-ness and separation and denouncing of any hope in God for them any longer, but Jesus says that if one opens the door where He knocks, He [Jesus] will come in and they’ll begin a relationship of eternal life, eternal peace, eternal joy, and will become a part of an eternal hope that never fades away!

Can you even begin to believe that there are nations, peoples, governments, or, yes, religions that have given the devil an open door into their affairs? Does he disguise himself? Is he able to ‘trick’ or deceive people into what he’s really about?

It was Cotton Mather, in his “A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World”, who wrote: “That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil. For any to deny the being of a devil must be from ignorance or profaneness worse than diabolical.”

If Jesus cast out demons and told us to do the same, tell me about your ‘deliverance’ from demonic activity in your own life! No wonder Voltaire would say: “You must have the devil in you to succeed in any of the arts”! I can’t say I fully agree with Voltaire but it’s real that some will never know “success” unless they’re fully surrendered to the devil’s bondage, slavery, and chains. And when they ‘succeed’ with the devil and leave God out of their lives, what have they gained? A ‘name’ fallen men appreciate but is a ‘shame’ to Holy God?

It was John Wesley who once said, “All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.” But, I have to add, “also, the work of the devil was welcomed by one with an evil nature and a defiled heart and mind who said ‘Yes’ to the demons and the devil of darkness!”

Don’t you sense ‘movie stars’ who are calamities of the dark spirit of the devil himself and have no shame? Aren’t you ashamed at times when some “star-athletes” are nothing more than broken vessels under the domination of the devil?

David asked a powerful question in Psalm 25:12 when he wrote: “Who is the man who fears the Lord?” Reckless men who have no shame for their sin or state of sinfulness are men totally bound by the devil himself! There is no abiding belief, trust, confidence, or assurance of God Himself because their loyalty is to the devil himself – whether they know it or not! Are you unaware of what or whop brings about in unbelievers’ lives an abiding unconsciousness of one’s desperate need of God Himself? That’s men who are utterly unbelieving because they are “hung up” over the devil’s Hell itself, and believe that to be an acceptable lifestyle because “everybody does it”! No! A thousand times, “NO!” But there are those in the midst of the darkest times of life who find out: “The Son still shines”!

Do you remember ‘ill-informed’, young, immature Peter who rebuked Jesus in Matthew 16:22 as Jesus had told of His impending suffering and death? In verse 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” But I believe also many men are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. But I also believe many men are not mindful of the things of God or the things of other men because their minds are captured and in bondage to the devil himself. Have you ever heard the “rooster” crowing because you denied the Lord?

And do you personally have understanding about what Jesus was saying in John 8:36? “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Yes, we, through His shed blood and His broken body and our repentance, are set free from the law of sin and death. And unbelief is disobedience but, when repentance toward God and faith in our Lord’s work at the Cross occurs, a new life is birthed, formed, transformed, and freed from demonic dominance to divine discipline. Chambers spoke about freedom from “the tyrant of your individuality”, finding yourself birthed into a new identity in Christ.

One of the great preachers of the past was J. Wilbur Chapman. In his day he wrote the following words:

“I know of a world that is sunk in shame, Where hearts oft faint and tire; But I know of a Name, a precious Name, that can set that world on fire; Its sound is sweet, its letters flame. I know of a Name, a precious Name; It’s JESUS.”

And I praise and thank the Living God for the Name above all names, the precious Name of King Jesus, conqueror of death, Hell, the grave, and the devil himself! But of “the devil” I wrote the following:

“The devil is your adversary, but now toothless like a captured lion, his roaring voice has lost its force as Jesus won the battle.

He may be loud, his call distinct. His one desire is to turn you from God and to lead you into his ‘roller-rink’.

He gets you ‘skating’ with a goal in mind, that you willingly in your life leave the Lord behind.

Mindless lives, empty hearts, men without purpose, bound by his deception, in Hell, they experience a horrendous reception.

Love and grace are bound from his place, peace and joy, are broken toys, with the noise of Hell demons roar and prisoners’ sad songs none employ.

The jaws of hell have sharpened teeth as every prisoner becomes menu meat; terrified consciences, deprived of morals, find no words to tell their stories.

It’s ‘good intentions’ that some began to claim while in their broken hearts they understand –“ here in Hell, there is no fame.”

Looking around I see this bottomless pit, and I also see where Satan chooses to sit, while all around the scorching flames burn in men’s veins: “You belong to the Devil – I am he, since in your fleshly, earthly, self-centered style, you simply decided upon me to rely.”

But earthly men refuse to examine – they’re too busy trying to overcome their spiritual famine. No eye can see, no tongue can tell, no songs can sing the tortures of eternal Hell.

Ambition is self-centered men’s greatest trait, and by it they share in fallen angels’ fate – no home in heaven, only a place in Hell, and there they dwell with eternal torture that never can say: “I am well.”

Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and you’ll not be alone, because many determined their lives were their own.

No honoring of God, but a life full of shame, as selfishly men choose to promote their own fame. It seemed so smooth and the road so easy, but no one told them of the eternal diseases, and of the death that will not die because in their hearts, upon Jesus they would not rely!”

DEMONIC DOMINATION IN DECEPTION OR DEMONIC DELIVERANCE IN CHRIST JESUS? There’s verse in the old hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” written by P.P. Bliss and H.G. Spafford. It says: “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed His own blood for my soul.” Amen?

CHAPTER TWO

THE DEVIL AND DARKNESS

In Mark 16:16b Jesus said: “…he who does not believe [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] will be condemned.” The word ‘condemned’ is the Greek word ‘katakrino’ meaning, “to judge against, sentenced,” which means one who rejects Jesus, the True Light, is sentenced to eternal separation from God with darkness that never sees the glory of God’s eternal Light but only the devil’s darkness!

Isaiah the prophet saw a dark day coming even for rebellious Israel. In Isaiah 24:3-11 he wrote: “The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish….

The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws [of God], changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant…

Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left…The new wine fails, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh…..

The mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the jubilant ends, the joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it….

The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for wine in the streets, ALL JOY IS DARKENED, the mirth of the land is gone.”

Haven’t you even witnessed it as nation after nation strives to live through desolation and darkness as their citizens choose not to honor God but by their very ‘bent’ in life and politics reject God’s ways, His will, the divine Word, and “live” for the devil without even realizing it?

In “The Presbyterian Outlook” published years ago, Kenneth J. Foreman wrote: “Jesus did not spend His time guarding the customs; He was sent to His death by the men who did.” And those men, even religious leaders of the time, substituted “the devil and darkness” for Christ and His Living Word and His Eternal, Everlasting Light!

In Matthew 23:37 Jesus said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

Do you see and sense men rejecting the Living Lord and His Light because they, yes, truly love the devil and his darkness without even sensing his vile and violent ways of victimizing their own lives and families on the altars of devotion to rebellion against Holy God, a Loving Savior, and the Holy Spirit?

“The devil and darkness?” Are you even aware of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:11? “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many,” and He declared it because He knew then and knows now that “lawlessness abounds, the love of many [for God] will grow cold,” [Matthew 24:12]! And false prophets arise because of the deceiving activity and aimless darkness of the devil himself to oppose eternal Truth and the true prophets and true disciples of Christ Jesus!

Darkness covers the minds, hearts, spirits, and wills of fallen men, and they don’t even recognize it in themselves because their devotion in life is to the development of their own natural lives without a hint in them of a merger with and ownership of the devil and his dark disciples [that’s ‘demons’ and unbelievers!]. And, certainly, they know and assert: “We have no need of the Christian’s salvation experience because we’re our own saviors – the devil tells us so!”

But darkness of unbelief in the Savior and Lord of life is so commonplace today because of “the serpent” who hustled into the garden to tell Adam and Eve, “You will not surely die,” if they disobey and turn away from God’s revelation! Yet, in Genesis 3:7, we read: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings,” which instituted what I call “Fig-Leaf Religions”! And one verse later, Genesis 3:8, Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God…”, which delighted the devil, and still does!

Are you familiar with God’s covenant with Abram? You’ll find it in Genesis 15 – I encourage you to read it carefully. Verse 6 tells us that Abram “believed in the Lord and He [God] accounted it to him for righteousness.” And the covenant was by blood sacrifice!

You’ll notice Genesis 15:11 that “the vultures came down on the carcasses, [and] Abram drove them away.” Would you even expect at all that these “vultures” symbolize the demons who, yes, come against God’s people who offer themselves on God’s altar of service and sacrifice? Look at Genesis 15:12! “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and BEHOLD, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” I love Oswald Chambers description of this even in his book, “My Utmost For His Highest”! [p.13], Remember, as Genesis 16 began, Abram was 86 years of age. When we come to the start of Genesis 17 the Holy Word tells us he was 99 years old when he was given the new name, Abraham! Genesis 17:5. Chambers said: “Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left on relying on common-sense ways.”

Do you even sense that God Himself will use the devil and the powers of darkness in our lives and circumstances to bring about in us divine principles, divine intent, and divine, eternal purpose? Genesis 17:5 says, God speaking, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” Abraham? “Father of a Multitude”! Please tell me about your own spiritual numbers of children birthed through you by God to establish His earthly kingdom as He did through Abraham!

“The devil and darkness”? Yes, but did you receive through Abraham’s story and witness that God can, has, does, and will use the devil as a ‘tool’ in His hand to test us, shape us, mold us, finish us as one of His eternal pieces in Heaven’s Museum of historical living?

In Matthew 4:1-11 it tells us: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty day and forty nights, afterward He was hungry….

NOW WHEN THE TEMPTER CAME TO HIM, he said: “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’….

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You,’ and, ‘In Their hands they shall bear You up, lest you dash Your foot against a stone.’….

Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory….

And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve….

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

“The devil and darkness”? If the devil comes to Jesus, does the devil come to men all over the world? More than likely, those who are the greatest threat to his devilish kingdom, get his personal presence – most are visited by his demon representatives! But you need to see what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:27 when he said to the church and us now, “nor give place to the devil!”

Paul says, “Don’t give the devil even an inch on the ground of your life!” The devil or the demons will come to you to keep you in your place in darkness – he doesn’t want a single person ‘coming to the Light’! The devil’s opposition is to Christ, to His people, to His church, and he celebrates, as he comes, and witnesses those trapped in the snares of his deceit! This is why we read in Ephesians 5:1-7,…

“Therefore be imitators of God [not the worldly, devilish disciples], as dear children [of God]. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma….

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints [those set apart by Him for His glory, honor, and praise!];….

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks….

For this you know, that no fornication, unclean person, nor covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God….

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”

An idolater? That’s one who bows before the ‘false god of Satan’, even if they don’t know that’s who owns their lives and has them in chains in the dungeons of darkness! It was Shakespeare who wrote of “defying the devil,” calling him “the enemy of mankind.” [“Twelfth Night,” Act 111,sc.4,L.108]. He hasn’t ‘taken his own’ as one has written about, but owns the property rights to every godless being, young or old!

In Isaiah 14:12 the devil is called ‘Lucifer’, fallen from heaven and son of the morning! I believe he should have been called ‘son of the mourning’, because his activity in one’s life of darkness produces only ‘mourning’, not rejoicing in Jesus!

Do you really understand one’s fleshly inability to overcome the power of the very darkness of the devil? Even if you’ve chosen to deny Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and you live an acceptable lifestyle by fallen men’s standard, even highly “successful” by that worldly standard, if you’re without Christ in your life, you’re determined by God to be an eternal failure while the world and the devil pours on you its hellish accolades and awards!

Didn’t Shakespeare say of the devil in “King Lear,” [Act 111, sc.4,L.148], “The prince of darkness is a gentleman.” Oh, really? Outward in appearance a ‘gentleman’ – inward in reality, the demon of darkness and destruction and deceit and devastation!!

Wasn’t it Shakespeare again, in “Hamlet,” [Act 11, sc 2, L.627], who wrote: “The spirit that I have seen May be the devil; and the devil has power to assume a pleasing shape. But pleasing to his hellish self and war with Holy, Almighty God that the devil has lost!

God’s Word speaks about “resisting the devil, and he will flee from you,” while the world of flesh and the devil, tells fallen men, “Welcome him! His lifestyle is of ‘a pleasing shape’ – and multitudes fall into that dark cloud of Satan’s ways, bringing disaster on their lives!

Do you realize how, yes, even nations can become so deceived by the devil? Are you even aware of social changes when nations establish foreign gods to His Word and ways, and ushers in a ‘storm’ of godless disobedience, fleshly aims, and the darkened spirits of Hell itself? And the extremely sad thing is to see men and women, boys and girls, created by Almighty God for His glory, honor, and praise, but they rebel; and before your very eyes you watch them changed from, potentially, God’s masterpiece into the devil’s mangled mess, changed from, practically, sons and daughters of God into the very residents of Hell itself! They are not invisible spirits but fleshly human beings totally given over to the devil’s control!

Can you not see before you the tragedy of those around you who willingly accept the devil’s ‘kiss of death’? Are you unaware of the devil’s luscious, luxurious, lying, lower-nature leanings that draw men away from God and into the arms of devilish attachments and enslavements and death, when he told you how ‘alive’ you’d be? ‘Alive in darkness and forever with the devil, but a closed door to Heaven’!

If “sin is death”, how does the devil get by so much and so easy telling men how pleasurable and rewarding it really is? God is merciful and ‘warns’ while the devil is mean and weans men off of biblical truth to hellish doctrines!

What’s the title of this book? “Demonic Domination or Demonic Deliverance”! And you’re either in the darkness of demonic domination or by grace through faith you are experiencing demonic deliverance by our Lord and Savior!

Sadly, David wrote in Psalm 82:5, “They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth [their world of darkness] are unstable.” It’s why King David cried out to God in Psalm 12:1, “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from the sons of men.” But you’re not concerned about your ‘world’ around you where men abound in unfaithfulness to God, even promoting devilish darkness!

Are you aware of what John said in John 3:18-21? “He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned; but he who does not believe[trust in, rely upon, adhere to] is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God….

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil….

For everyone practicing evil HATES THE LIGHT and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Do you fully grasp the words of Jesus about those who HATE THE LIGHT and those who willingly come to the light? Understand – men will not come to Jesus’ True Light when their lives are in love with and devoted to their darkness and rebellious ways!

In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus also tells us, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good [spiritually healthy with eyes fixed on the Lord and Savior], your whole body will be full of light….

But if your eye is bad [evil or unhealthy spiritually], your whole body will be full of darkness. IF THEREFORE THE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU IS DARKNESS, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS?!?”

In one’s walk of faith in a world of darkness, there must be a mind, spirit, and heart that so values the wealth of the wisdom of God’s Holy Word! Follow carefully Proverbs 2 where a man is challenged to come humbly before God and His revealed Word and ways, to come continually, come purposefully, and, yes, come desperately because it is a matter of eternal death in Hell or eternal life in Heaven, come gainfully, come in a holy walk, guarding yourself and your family because eternity is before us all! Proverbs 2:1-22 says:

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;….

Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;….

Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, ands find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;….

He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path….

When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you; To deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things;….

From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked;….

Whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters by her words….

Who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead;…

None who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life – So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness; For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.”

Aren’t you aware that all around you are people who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness? Don’t you know, haven’t you witnessed, has your heart never been broken over those who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked? Doesn’t it shock you to your core to witness wounded, wharped, ‘wasting away’ men and women whose ways are so crooked, so defiant of God and His Holy Word, and who become so devious in their paths, their businesses, their marriages?

Do you understand how easy it is to take the very life and existence and being God Himself as given to them, only to sense their desire was and is to build their own fleshly kingdoms under the domination of the devil, surrounded by the darkness of Hell they personally surrendered to, establishing their own kingdom-rule of Hell in their walks, their talks, their own earthly dreams and visions, without any awareness their kingdom allegiance is nothing more than the chains of the devil, the darkness of Hell, and forever alienation and separation from the God who loved them and sacrificed His own Son for their citizenship change from the devil’s kingdom of darkness to the Savior’s Kingdom of Light?

But, praise God, there is the gift of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior! The beloved John wrote in I John 1:5-7 that, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, THAT GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

What did Paul tell us in I Corinthians 6:9-11? “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither Fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. But you were WASHED, but you were SANCTIFIED, but you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” GLORY! GLORY, HALLELUJAH! GLORY BE TO THE FATHER, TO HIS SON, AND TO THE HOLY SPIRIT!

In Christ, we’re not what or where we once were! Through His shed blood and resurrection life, we’re no longer in the darkness of the devil’s domination – we’re in our Lord’s gracious liberation and Eternal Light!

In Romans 13:11-14 Paul delivers us a powerful word of leaving the darkness and leaping into our Lord’s Eternal Light! “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is “high time” to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed….

The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly (decently), as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy….

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.”

What will it be for you? Darkness of the devil or the Light of our Lord and Savior and the Light of His Holy Word?

There’s an old hymn written by Philip P. Bliss in the 1800’s. It says: “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; The Light of the world is Jesus; Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in, The Light of the world is Jesus.

No darkness have we who in Jesus abide, The Light of the world is Jesus; We walk in the Light when we follow our Guide, The Light of the world is Jesus.

You dwellers in darkness with sin blinded eyes, The Light of the world is Jesus; Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise, The Light of the world is Jesus.

No need of the sunlight in heaven we’re told, The Light of the world is Jesus; The Lamb is the light in the city of gold, The Light of the world is Jesus.

Come to the Light, it’s shining for thee; Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me; Once I was blind, but now I can see: The Light of the world is Jesus.”

CHAPTER THREE

THE DEVIL AND DESTINY

I’m sure that you have no qualms or questions about ‘divine destiny’, God-ordained purpose, or even man’s best efforts to fulfill his own dreams, but is there another set of tracks the devil himself desires you to be ‘side-tracked’ on?

Yes, the devil promotes a person’s destiny, ‘signed by Satan’! We saw in the previous chapter the devil’s promotion of the dark side of life, but in this chapter we’re going to see “destiny” designed by the devil himself for every life.

And the problem is that fallen man’s hearing is, as a result of sin and spiritual death, deaf to God but alert to the voice and temptations of the devil and his armed forces, well-trained to bring defeat on compromising people. It takes the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to break through the devil’s ‘deaf to God’ leanings.

It’s fallen mankind who so easily says, “Speak, devil, and the demons of Hell. I’m listening to what you have to offer me.” But, yes, to God Himself they have a hard time hearing because sin and rebellion altered, hindered, closed their ears to hear God clearly. Only by Holy Spirit presence and power was fallen mankind’s capability of hearing God unstopped.

In Proverbs 22:15 the wise man wrote: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child….”, and when I read that I had to say, “Yes, even ‘grown men’ experience foolishness because they still live with the heart of a wayward child, still going the devil’s way and not God’s way, satisfied with “cookies” out of the devil’s cookie jar rather than the “Bread of Life”! Earlier, in Proverbs 22:12, the writer tells us: “The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless.” Faithlessness is foolishness and foolishness is the walk of the faithless because they’ve turned away from God’s ultimate intention for them that they might be a part of a world perverted by one’s spiritual blindness!

Do you sense in a lost world around you those large tracts of spiritual land that speaks loudly of barrenness toward God, stubbornness and ignorance and rebellion to the words of Jesus, and cold, dark, frozen wills to the Holy Spirit’s intent of honoring Christ through all men’s lives?

And are you aware and alert to the devil’s intent to oppose in you and all mankind divine purpose, Christ-realization, Spirit-transformation and empowerment, or – are you satisfied with the devil’s destiny, plan, and war-strategy of your “self-realization” apart from the divine initiative of ‘Christ-realization’?

I don’t believe that most of the world is even aware of this eternal battle of their lives concerning devotion to God or the captivity of their lives to Satan and his demonic army. The devil’s strategy, as lord over the powers of darkness, is still DECEPTION, DARKNESS, and an evil DESTINY! His intent is that fallen mankind stay in the habitat of demonic control, at ease in their captivity, constantly available to the promotion of Godless living, constantly and continually at war with those who have repented and rested in the finished work of Christ, and ‘pumping up’ the ‘flesh’-life of some who actively oppose the church’s divine purpose of openly declaring Christ to their lost estate, dishing out resentment, bitterness, ingratitude, devilish meanness, counterfeit proclamations of “no need of saving grace, mercy, and love” – and, yes, even martyring some who are not afraid of ‘dying for the Faith’!

Have you ever heard it in your ministry outreach as a disciple of Christ? “You fear God? Man, you really must be mentally sick!” And that attitude usually comes from a hardened heart to the grace of God but also by people who’ve been utterly unbelieving because their parents, their professors, their bitter friends, who had no fear of God at all were living reckless, faithless, or ‘best-effort devotion to themselves’ – and those false witnesses wanted to enlarge their numbers of co-conspirators so they were not alone sailing in their sea of faithlessness!

“The devil and destiny”? And you do understand that multitudes of unbelievers are at ease, yes, even comfortable in the abiding consciousness of no relationship with Holy God, no fear of God, no love of God, and no desire to be reconciled to Him through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, the True and Only Savior and Lord over mankind! Spiritual blindness to the reality of one’s need of God is acceptable to them.

James, the brother of Jesus, gives us understanding about the spiritual blindness some walk in, even though they ‘see’ it as the world’s acceptable wisdom with no need of God. He wrote in James 3:13-18,…

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct [that’s conduct that is of God’s very presence and power in him!] that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom….

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking [that’s ‘selfish-ambition’!] in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth….

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is EARTHLY, SENSUAL, and DEMONIC. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil are there….

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

“The devil’s destiny?” Domination! Spiritual delusion! One’s personal destruction by leading that man away from God and TO THE DEVIL, HIS ARMY, and to HIS DECEIVED CAPTIVES! That’s one’s personal acceptance and appreciation of his “away from God lifestyle” as he discovers he won’t be alone in Hell!

And this is why James ended his letter in James 5:19-20, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

One thing is for sure concerning the devil and your destiny with him, and that is, without Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, the devil is committed to deafen your ears, blind your eyes, capture your will, so you don’t know or can’t appreciate God’s extreme love for you personally! I Peter 1:18-19 tells us, “KNOWING that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” And you really believe the devil wants YOU to know that?

But we see in Revelation 12:9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast out to the earth, and his angels [demons] were cast out with him.”

Are you aware that satanic, devilish, demonic ‘ministry’ through deception IS “spiritual death”? In Hebrews 2:14-15 the anointed writer tells us, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] likewise shared in the same, that through death [His Cross] He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Yet, you have to ask, “The devil has the power of death over me?” YES!!

“The devil’s destiny”? That’s every man, woman, youth, and child, under the enslavement as Hell’s prisoner, destined for hell’s chains unless we repent of our sin and willingly receive, accept, crown Jesus alone as Savior and Lord of our lives!

In Acts 2:36-39 Peter declared: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”….

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them,, “Repent, [and because you have repented], let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

“The devil’s destiny”? I recently read I Timothy 6:10 and was stopped in my tracks, being warned by the Spirit o0f God, that even in the ‘professing church’ there are those more committed to gaining what they believe is their “fortunes”, even foregoing devotion to the church Jesus loves and gave Himself for. How do you know? Doesn’t the Holy Word declare, “and forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is,” [Hebrews 10:25]? Would we, should we, must we, even dare to consider that to abandon the church Jesus loved and gave Himself for is to open the door of possibility of forfeiting Christ in one’s life? [WARNING GIVEN!}

The devil does have a designed destiny for your life, but God Himself also has a judgment seat that every individual, past, present, and future, must stand before and give an account of his/her walk or witness, or the lack of it. And, what will you say when Almighty God asks YOU, “Tell Me about your devotion to the church My Son loved and gave Himself for.” What will YOU say?

A part of the devil’s destiny IS deception. And it certainly has a powerful influence even today! Do you see, sense, understand, and fight the same battle as Moses did? Didn’t Egyptian leadership, under the devil’s control, attempt to compromise Moses’ faith, allegiance, and devotion to the Lord God? Look with me at Hebrews 11:23-29!

“By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command….

By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. [God rewards – the devil poisons, pulverizes, passes over to his followers bondage, death, and pointless pleasures!!]…

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them….

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”

The devil’s destiny always brings on ‘drowning’ to his devotees. How do you define ‘drowning’? In Isaiah 17:10-11 we read: “Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation; and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings;….

In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins IN THE DAY OF GRIEF AND SORROW.”

Do you truly believe it’s God or godly people who set out pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings? That which man plants in the field of his life without God’s Seed may be ‘pleasant’ but it produces foreign seedlings that produce no ‘divine fruit’, and will even ‘flourish’ but fleshly seeds, though even flourishing, will be a harvest that will be a heap of ruins, yes, days of grief and sorrowing, because they yielded to the devil’s destiny and not to God’s Way of Truth and Life!

Did the prophet Isaiah say that ‘fleshly harvests’ will be a heap of ruins IN THE DAY OF GRIEF AND DESPERATE SORROW? Examine for yourself what Isaiah said in Isaiah 5:24!

“Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; [WHY?] Because they have the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Why do men ‘despise’ God’s Holy Word? Because the root of their lives, their devotion, their commitment, comes from devilish, demonic deception, and, yes, even being ‘religious’, Hell awaits because they rejected the law of the Lord, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel!! AND THE DEVIL LAUGHS AND MOCKS THEM as he leads them to eternal bondage and that eternal death that will not die in his prison called Hell! The Pit! The dwelling place of the unbelieving!

Are you familiar at all with Job 18? I know that it is Bildad who really felt that Job needed to hear what Bildad knew about an after-life. Job had already told Bildad and his friends in Job 16:11-12, “God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked. I WAS AT EASE, but He has shattered me; He has also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has set me up for His target.” [Read Job 18 before continuing!].

And I hope you know that out of God’s love and mercy for us, if He views us leaning over and even giving in to the devil’s temptations, Holy God will ‘shock’ us into an attitude of true repentance and faith, so that we will be an overcomer of Satan and the demons, and not overcome by them!

But understand – it was and is the devil himself that accused, abused Jesus, and pushed for His crucifixion – but you’re not the devil’s ‘enemy’ although he wants you to be his friend in distress, deception, deathly activity, denial of one’s need of God, never revealing to unbelievers that he offers them a deadly future that never ends?

Who is it that promotes dejection, disappointment, disease of the heart and mind and soul? Or who is it that spreads the spiritual disease of disillusionment that turns people away from being a servant in, to, and through the body of Christ called “His Church”? And you forget the devil telling Eve in Genesis 3:4, “You will not surely die,” when God has declared, “the wages of sin is death”? Doesn’t the Word of God declare in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, JUST AS CHRIST ALSO LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER”? But sense on the marriage front divorce has become so rampant, it’s OK today to divorce one’s self from His calling of laying one’s life down in ministry and service and the blessing of other believers? I really don’t think so – one’s separation is from the world, the flesh, and the devil – not from the redeemed servants of the Lord.

Hebrews 2:12 is a quote from the Old Testament [Psalm 22:22], saying to us as disciples of Christ, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

To the Thessalonians Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to them, and in I Thessalonians 2:14-16 he said, “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans….

Who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men….

Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.”

Dare I tell all believers in the Body of Christ? Love those for whom Christ died, both believers and unbelievers, both supporters and forsakers of that precious people called the “church,” loving the massive church of mixed calling, loving the small church that struggles, and loving the small gatherings of hungry believers who’ve never seen a believing, blessed pastor available to lead them, but like the small gatherings I saw in India off and on over 25 years, the true believers will gather and they’ll learn from one another, and the Spirit – not from the devil!

2 Thessalonians 2:1 says, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him, we ask you…” Oh, I know there are those who say that Paul was speaking of the ‘last days’ church before His ‘Second Coming’ to earth, but shouldn’t we absolutely look at our ‘gathering together’ unto Him NOW as a body of believers? And without hesitation I say with the Word, “Forsake not the assembling together as the manner of some is.”

The devil promotes, instiotigates, favors people who promote divorce, division, devisiveness in every form and fashion – he opposes self-surrender and self-sacrifice concerning those who declarew themselves “friends of God”. That’s his ‘destiny’ for every individual or family or nation! But our Lord and Savior? He says, “I delight to do Your will, O God,” yes, even if it is the Cross! That is no ‘natural affinity’ but the spiritual love and eternal destiny of every true disciple who walks in utter and absolute devotion and submission to the spirit and life of the Lord Jesus Christ who still says: “Take up YOUR cross and follow Me,” while the devil says, “Save yourself for your OWN fleshly desires, wants, and ambitions!”

Is your life and walk on earth ‘the devil’s destiny’ or have you surrendered to the ‘dream’ of God’s eternal purpose and destiny for your life and walk, and you see it fulfilled in Christ alone?

A few words I wrote recently says the following: “I love Your church, O Lord, and those who for You stand tall. Their love of Your people is not small, but grips their hearts through the Savior’s love and sacrifice for all….

That’s the “church” who gathers in His Name because they clearly and convictingly understand the awesomeness of His fame….

His love is for the whole world, the world even that nailed Him to the Cross, the world that sensed no loss because to them, they were and are their own boss….

The Savior’s aim was to leave no man lame, but to give him by His blood, new life, new hope, new beginning, that flourishes with no sad ending of an unbelieving name….

But there is a devil who only promotes lies, and comes to all men to blind their eyes; his goal is death with one desire – to end all godly breath with flaming fire….

Jesus came to end the devil’s game and give to all believers the ending of the devil’s control, and by His shed blood made repentant men whole….

Satan, as he did with Jesus, will leave you for a season, thinking a later time would give him a better reason, finding even ‘followers’ who’ll be a part of the treason….

Oh, but then there was Jesus’ shed blood that poured out on the Cross, as the devil experienced eternal loss; like a toothless, clawless, defeated bear, the devil only occasionally comes out of his lair –

And when he does come out, it’s not like earlier bouts, because now, when he comes, it’s Jesus who has him on the run, yes, eternally defeated, exposed as a fraud, and God’s people arise and loudly applaud;….

They give blessing to the Lord, never being bored, as the devil still irritates, doing his devious-best to steal our heavenly estate….

But the devil is a loser, even those with some he has those deceived, because, “No need of His blood, no need of repentance, no concern of His sentence: ‘Sin is death’, because I give you a present of full fleshly breath. ‘You shall not die,’ I still am saying, like a stubborn mule, who goes on braying, ‘a stubborn mule’ living by his own rule!

Then Jesus comes with His eternal Word, “My forgiveness is true – accept My revelation. Understand My unveiling of Heaven’s declaration.”….

And to all He comes to say from His heart, “Deny yourself in all your sin and shame. Find the blessing of living in and through My dear Name….

Find life, not death; find hope, not hopelessness; find blessing, not the curse – Heaven’s acceptance, not the devil’s worst!”

Hell or Heaven? To every man God gives an eternal choice, and you have the will of hearing the devil or God’s merciful choice – consider, not the devil’s future, his hate,, but God’s loving voice, before it’s too late!!”

Have you heard someone say, even family or friend, “I’m not planning on dying,” when he doesn’t know he’s already spiritually dead in his trespasses and sins, dead in his love and devotion to the God who made him, lost him, and bought him with a Price, dead to eternal ambition and THE spiritual hope, dead to the need of Christ as one’s Savior and Lord, dead to any concern that Hell awaits him soon?

Sometime ago I wrote these words comparing the devil’s design and destiny with “GOD’S ETERNAL BLESSING”!

“Glory to our bleeding Lord crowned with a crown of thorns, Beaten, bruised, and stricken brutally, struck with a rod of cruel misery…..

Face and back torn, mercilessly shattered, spat upon filthily scattered; Glory to the Lamb so tender and comely, sacrificed by God so royally;

Raised to the Brightness of Eternal Heaven, giving new life in divine leaven;

Translated to the throne to represent His own, full-blown in glory, with Light and Life His Eternal Story.”

What is it for you? The devil’s fables and fabrications? Or will it be the Lamb’s Eternal Light and Life that never fades?

CHAPTER FOUR

THE DEVIL, DEMONS, AND THE WORD OF GOD

In Mark 1:23-28 there is an amazing, powerful, eye-opening revelation. I want you to see for yourself the authority of Jesus over the devil and demons! But I’m also afraid that even too many ‘professing disciples’ think it’s an unimportant topic for today’s ‘enlightened churches’! It says:

“Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God!’ [Don’t you find it alarming that ‘intellectuals’ deny Jesus’ true identity but demons clearly know WHO JESUS IS?]….

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him…..

Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him?’….

And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region of Galilee.”

Are YOU aware that without Jesus and the authority of the Word of God that men, through self-effort, fully aware of demonic activity, can go through a ‘temporary’ cleansing and end up worse than their first estate because there is no faith, trust, or surrender in or to the Lordship of Christ? Ponder Matthew 12:43-45 for yourself!! “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none…..

Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order….

Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

In “War on the Saints,” [p.19], Jessie-Penn Lewis, author and former missionary to China wrote: “A perspective view of the ages, covered by the history in Bible records, shows that the rise and fall in spiritual power of the people of God was marked by the recognition of the existence of the demoniacal hosts of evil. When the church of God in the old and new dispensations was at the highest point of spiritual power, the leaders recognized, and drastically dealt with, the invisible forces of Satan; and when at the lowest they were ignored, or allowed to have free course among the people.”

I believe that’s a fair statement of both the spiritual health of the church in the world today and its knowledge of scriptures and the reality of spiritual warfare between Heaven’s army and the devil and his demons.

I want us to examine carefully in Mark’s gospel of specific incidents of demon activity in the lives of people and our Lord’s action toward them. In the 16 chapters of Mark there are at least 14-15 confrontations with demons and the devil.

In “War on the Saints,” by Jessie-Penn Lewis and Evans Roberts, they mention several other writings you’ll find vitally important to this area of biblical studies – and it is Necessary! Look to “What Demons Can Do To Saints”, by Merrill Unger. But also “The Adversary – The Christian Versus Demonic Activity” by Mark I Bubeck, [especially reading the Introduction by John Wesley White!!!].

FIRST, LET’S EXAMINE THE REALITY OF SATAN! In Mark 1:13 we read: “And He [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, TEMPTED BY SATAN, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”

If you didn’t know, Satan means “adversary”! In I Peter 5:8 we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Is an unawareness of the devil’s activity in one’s life because they are fully his already and have no desire or awareness of spiritual warfare? But he surely is the accuser of those who’ve fully come to Christ and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ! In Revelation 12:10 we read, Then I heard from heaven a loud voice saying, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of Christ have come, for the “accuser of our brethren”, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”

It speaks about “Lucifer”, the ‘demonic-light-bearer,’ that Isaiah 14:12 tells us [or ‘Day Star’, or light-bearer], coming as ‘an angel of light’ to deceive the very elect of God and ‘weakens the nations’!

Revelation 12:7 tells us of the ‘dragon’ who promoted ‘war’ in Heaven itself – and if he promotes ‘war’ in Heaven, what does he do on earth? He’s the ‘devil’! He’s the ‘slanderer’! I Peter 5:8 says he walks about as a roaring lion, “seeking whom he may devour.” He does so by demonic intimidation of your baseness!

Do you even care about what Jesus had to say about the devil? Look at6 John 8:44! This is when Jesus nailed the ‘religious’ scribes and Pharisees! He said: “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 in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources [his own nature-language of Hell!!], for he is a liar and the father of it.”

The devil is a ‘deceiver’! Revelation 20:10 says, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” And, of course, you see why John 12:31 calls him ‘the ruler of this world [who] will be cast out”!

Paul talked in Ephesians 2:1-2 about, not only those made alive by Jesus who had been dead in their trespasses and sins, [but] how they once walked according to the course of the world, [and] according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Do you sense, know, and are made aware that according to Revelation 9:11, the devil or Satan is described as, “they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit,” which represents the devil as destroyer over Hell itself?

He’s the “tempter”! Matthew 4:3 tells us that the tempter came to Jesus, and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Matthew 13:38 describes him as the ‘wicked or evil one’ – and it hasn’t changed since he was cast out of heaven even before Adam and Eve were birthed by God!

Do you know the devil of this age who “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving,” seeking to divert any single seeker who begins to look toward Christ? [2 Corinthians 4:4]?? Oh, and we don’t have to be concerned about a “hinderer,” do we? In I Thessalonians 2:18 Paul says WE DO!

Are you aware of men who meet and become containers for evil spirits the devil sends to Them? That’s Mark 5:1-20!! We’ve just seen together from God’s Holy Word “the reality of Satan.”

But now I want you to grasp with full understanding “THE REALM OF SATAN’S POWER!” Paul gives us all a word of instruction in Ephesians 6:10-13! “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles [or schemings] 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.”

But you do understand that in a secular world that truly believes it is smarter than God, you do know and understand and pray for, interceding in behalf of fleshly intellectuals and unwise philosophers and godless minds who come against ALL who rest themselves in the faith of saving grace, mercy, and love!

You’ve heard them! “Satanic deception and occupation is a religious sham!” “That an educated person, modern-day citizen, can be demon possessed is spiritual fraud by uneducated, unwise, narrow-minded religious freaks.” “Duped dunces who proclaim possession of educated persons with demons is about as true as an elephant troubled by one small ant!”

And then you see and read an anonymous writer about the devil’s reality, and he says: “Talk of devils being confined to hell, or hidden by invisibility! – we have them by shoals [or great multitudes assembled] in the crowded towns and cities of the world. – Talk of raising the devil! – What need for that, when he is constantly walking to and fro in our streets, seeking whom he may devour.”

It was John Dryden in his “Absalom and Achitophel,” [Pt.1,L.79], who wrote: “When to sin our biased nature leans, the careful devil is still at hand with means.”

If Jesus had to say, believing it, Mark 8:33, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men,” but YOU are smarter than Christ Jesus and YOU deny the existence of the devil?

I dare you to approach Luke 11:14-23 with a mind and heart open to this encounter with Jesus about the devil and demons! It says:

And He [Jesus] was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled….But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven..

But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls….

If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons to Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judge….

But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace….

But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

I pray that YOU are a “gatherer” with Christ, available to Him as a vessel through which He claims victorious power over the devil and his demon slaves! Jude 9 tells us, “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”

Are you fully aware that the devil holds full sway over every lost, unbelieving man in the world? I John 5:19 tells us, “We know we [repentant, trusting sons of God] are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

In Luke 4:5-6 we read, Then the devil, taking Him [Jesus] up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” And Jesus’ divine response? Luke 4:8, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Have you surrendered to the ‘sway of the wicked one’ or are you fighting the good fight of redemptive faith?

Also, understand, at least for true, repentant, surrendered believers to the Lordship of Christ, Satan’s power is limited by Holy, Sovereign, Merciful God! In Job 1:8-12 we read,….

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”….

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land….

But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

We’ve just seen in God’s Word “the realm of Satan’s power”, but does the devil have a support system? BE ASSURED – THERE IS A NUMEROUS SUPPORT SYSTEM OF SATANIC, DEMONIC ACTIVITY! In our Lord’s Holy Word we see various identities: “Unclean spirit,” “foul spirits,” “lying spirits,” “evil spirits,” “demons,” “deceiving spirits,” – and I’m sure, many more identities!

But the Lord and Savior has no reluctance to approach, confront, challenge, and, yes, command!

Mark 1:25, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Mark 5:8, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” [The problem with some people is, they’ve become ‘friends’ with unclean spirits, and have no desire to command they leave!]

Mark 9:25 tells us, When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

Are you even aware that the devil and demons have the power of speech and even replied to Jesus in Mark 3:11 as they saw Him, and falling down before Jesus, they cried out saying, “You are the Son of God.”

They even are possessed by a sense of fear! In Luke 8:31 we read, “And they begged Jesus that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.” Question! Are demons fearful of you and your authority in Christ?

Demons are even dominated themselves by unholy desires! Matthew 8:31 tells us that the demons begged Jesus, “If You cast us out [and He will!], permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” Piggishness is the limit of their demonic desires!

Demons need a place to rest or dwell. Matthew 12:43-45 tells us, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none…..

Then he says, ‘I will return to my place from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Did you notice that the demon and seven other spirits had, have, the power of decision? “I will return to my house from which I came,” and the seven other spirits decided to follow him! They agreed as unholy spirits! [That should tell you, be careful about your decision-making process if YOU are not fully surrendered to Christ’s Lordship!]

The devil and demons are possessed, controlled by, and strongly influenced by a spirit and power of rage. In Matthew 8:28 we read, When He [Jesus] had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, EXCEEDINGLY FIERCE, so that no one could pass by,” verse 4 telling us he’d been often bound with chains and shackles, “and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.”

Be assured – the devil and demons are formidable foes! A demon can come in as one (Mark 1:26) or as seven (Mark 16:9) or as “Legion,” (Mark 5:9)! He’ll use a single girl as a ‘diviner’ or a man also practicing ‘sorcery’ or ‘magic’ or ‘deception’ on others.

But Satan’s activities with his army of demons is to see WAR as a constant reality against God, against the Savior and Lord of life, against the Spirit, and certainly against God’s precious people! There may be a ‘season’ when he’s not around you, but be assured, you are his target!

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul tells us, “But though we walk in the flesh, we do not was according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”….

You do understand the necessity as a soldier of the Cross of putting on your armor for your daily warfare! That’s Ephesians 6:11, Paul saying, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” He does come against you with “fiery darts”! Paul also told Timothy about “waging the good warfare.” [I Timothy 1:18].

And we have an eternal promise in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him [the Devil, Satan, his army] by the BLOOD OF THE LAMD and by the word of their own testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

ALSO, YOU MUST BE AWARE OF THE DEVIL’S OPPRESSION OF TRUE BELIEVERS! Examine 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 where Paul instructs us, “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

But not only is unforgiveness a strong oppression of Satan on all unforgiving people; consider his deception that surely oppresses, weighs down, and destroys! In 2 Corinthians 11:3 we read, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Deception? You need to be aware that our salvation walk in Christ is not instant, full, complete knowledge of everything, including spiritual warfare with and by the devil!

Deception? Your mind, my mind, by nature was darkened, blinded, with a veil – but in Christ that veil was destroyed, but the mind is renewed only to the extent that the light of Truth has been received!

Deception? It’s real – yes, believers can be ignorant of the soulish, satanic devices the devil will use to confuse, blind, or hinder one’s spiritual growth and maturity.

Deception? Jesus warned us: “Take heed….be not deceived.” There can even be oppression in disciples brought on by demonic sickness! Examine Luke 13:16! Jesus says, “So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, WHOM SATAN HAS BOUND – think of it – for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” Glory!

Deception? You were unaware that followers of Christ can allow themselves to be ignorant of Satan’s devices? Yes, in sickness at times? [That doesn’t mean ALL SICKNESS IS FROM SATAN!].

But then we read Paul’s words to Timothy in I Timothy 4:1-2! “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron….”

The devil resists the righteous! To declare allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ is to open the door wide to the devil’s resistance: Zechariah 3:1 says, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.”

The devil will seek to snatch from you “the word of the kingdom”! Matthew 13:19 tells us, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.” I also believe that’s our Lord telling us to “stay” IN THE PLACE He’s plowed, planted, and protected – wayside living is dangerous ground to be walking on, trying to serve the Lord in places He doesn’t want you to be!

The devil encourages, entices, and tempts to sin. In John 13:2 we read, “And supper being ended, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Ischariot, Simon’s son, to betray Jesus.” Tell me about YOUR “heart protection” against the deadly design to ‘betray Jesus’!!

The devil will seek to blind you to Jesus’ truth! In Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned to Peter, and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Are you ‘mindful of the things of God,’ or consumed by the things of men? 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us of thoser4 “whose minds the god of this age has blinded!”

The devil produces “fruit of the unholy spirit.” In Galatians 5:16-21 we read, Paul speaking, I say then, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh….

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish….

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies….

Envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you tin time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The devil captivates and ensnares! 2 Timothy 2:26 tells us, “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.”

And we, as true believers, don’t have to be equipped to fight against the devil and the powers of darkness? Most wimpy believers are no threat to the devil, and therefore, are “so at peace within themselves,” when they are blind to their spiritual bondage in the powers of darkness, believing they’re the choicest children of Jesus!

The devil hinders the true believer! In I Thessalonians 2:18 the Word tells us, “Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us.” Do you know about “hindrances” that keep you, yes, from honoring Christ in your walk?

Oh, but then, I pray, you see and know by your own faith walk THE AUTHORITY TRUE BELIEVERS HAVE OVER THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS, YES, OVER THE DEVIL HIMSELF! In Luke 10:1, 17-20, are equipping verses for true soldiers of the Cross, as they’re trained to win the spiritual battles. It says:

Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” But look carefully with me at verses 17-20! “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…..

Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you….

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

If you haven’t sensed it as yet, I want you to clearly see it right now! CHRIST’s VICTORY IS OUR VICTORY NOW OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS [DEMONS] AND THE DEVIL HIMSELF!! In I John 3:8-9 we read, “He who sins [and keeps on sinning] is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin [and keep on sinning], for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin [and keep on sinning] because he has been born of God.”

I want to close this chapter out as I began it with comments from Jessie-Penn Lewis, famous author of “War On Saints.” “In brief, the Church of Christ will reach its high water mark when it is able to recognize and deal with demon-possession: when it knows how to ‘bind the strong man’ by prayer: when it knows, ‘command’ the spirits of evil in the name of Christ, and deliver men and women from their power…are… to resists by faith and power this ever-flowing flood of Satanic power pouring in among men…These supernatural forces of Satan are the true hindrance to revival….

The power of God which broke forth in Wales, with all the marks of the days of Pentecost, was checked and hindered from going on to its fullest purpose by the same influx of evil spirits as met the Lord Christ on earth, and the apostles of the early church: with the difference that the inroad of the powers of darkness found the Christians of the 20^th Century, with few exceptions, unable to recognize and deal with them. Evil spirit possession has followed, and checked every similar revival throughout the centuries since Pentecost, and those things must now be understood and dealt with, if the Church is to advance to maturity.” Amen?

CHAPTER FIVE

THEM, HIM, AND US

This important chapter comes out of the revelation of Mark 5:1-20. I must stress its vital importance to your ministry-walk as a disciple of Christ in the midst of a full-blown world of demonic, devilish activity, and the blessing of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and, yes, our Deliverer!! The Word says:

“Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He [Jesus] had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,….

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him….

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshipped Him….

And he cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.’

For Jesus said to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit!’ Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he answered saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’….

Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, ‘Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.’

And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea…..

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

And those who saw it told them how it had happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region….

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done to you, and how he has had compassion on you….’

And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”

Alexander Maclaren was one of the world’s greatest expositors. In his commentary he entitled this section on the Gadarene demoniac, “The Lord of the Demons.” And I like that. The very heart of this incident IS Jesus! In studying Mark 4, Jesus left the multitude, traveled to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, met the need of this enslaved man, and then returned. I can only say to you right now: God help us all never to get our eyes off our Savior, Lord, and Deliverer!

In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul said, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Never forget it – Jesus is VICTOR – over life, death, sin, Hell, Satan, over all demonic forces. And when you know the Truth that is Christ Jesus, Truth will set you free.

But Dr. Maclaren did comment, and I quote: “The demoniac is not a man at war with himself, but a man at war with other beings who have forced themselves into his house of life.”

It would be easy to say “Poor man” and not see that the city folks that came out were just as deceived, oppressed, bound, blinded because they wanted to chase Jesus out of their coastal area!

I remember speaking with Dr. Bill Anderson, classmate at Baylor University, teammate on the football team of the Baylor Bears 1955-1958, co-seminary traveler from the Waco, Texas, area to Ft. Worth for seminary studies 4 days a week, back and forth those four days for three years! I said to him about the demons crying out to Jesus, “Let us alone,”….

And Bill said, “Fish, whenever, wherever, whomever is turning from Jesus and His Truth, you can know the demoniac spirit of “Let us alone” is prevailing.” That’s so true – and it doesn’t have to be the sad picture of the Gadarene demoniac. It can be the well-dressed, well-heeled socialite that sits in any church on a Sunday morning and laughs inside at the Truth of the Word of God, demonically infested and doesn’t even know it!

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:…In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

I want you to examine FIRST, THE DESTRUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ‘LEGION’ ARMY OF DEMONS! If you didn’t know, a Roman “Legion” of soldiers consisted of 6000 soldiers. The ungodly Roman Empire was in the country of Israel at this time, and no doubt with ungodly rule, and demons would feel at home!

Jesus asked the demon his name after He’d said, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” The demon answered, “My name IS Legion; for we are many.” And 6000 demons can, will, and do a great amount of hellish destruction!

Again the Mark passage, Mark 5:2-9, God gives us a picture of a destroying, destructive demon under the domination of the devil, [until the Lord and Savior confronts him!]. He lived in caves, dark, damp, chilly, along the beach where tombs of the dead had been placed.

The Word tells us the demon [6000 strong] had super-human strength – no fleshly man could even begin to tame him – no group of men could keep him enslaved with fetters and chains. He was a day demon – he was a night demon – always sleepless and restless, dominated by hatred, yes, toward himself, but also toward ‘faith people.’

In the night air citizens of any city where he was would hear wild cries, shrieks of tormenting agony, would fill the night air and send cold, bone-chilling fear, like a strong, destructive wind sweeping over people!

Maclaren wrote: “Insensible to pain and deriving some dreadful satisfaction from his own wounds, he has gashed himself with splinters of rocks and howled in a delirium of pain and pleasure at the sight of his own blood…It paints for us, not merely a maniac but a demoniac.”

What are their destructive characteristics? For one, consider Mark5:2, where God’s inspired Word speaks of the man “out of the tombs…with an unclean spirit.” Ask any doctor about one living in dirt, filth, or stench, and see what he tells you about the lifespan of a physical body submerged in that dirt or filth, day after day, even year after year!

But the same is true of the soul and spirit of a man! An evident uncleanness produces that demonic spirit of deathliness. And the one thing our Savior and Lord wants us to see is that the sickness of society isn’t a freak accident but a satanic design drawn up by the devil to lead men to the halls of death, yes, to Hell itself!

And the moral pollution of our nation is not constitutional liberty – it is contracted bondage, bought and paid for by the devil himself with the coins of rebellion and disobedience to the Word of God, signed, sealed, and delivered by the “spirit of uncleanness” in inhabited, influenced, oppressed lives of men, women, boys and girls, who don’t even know to whom they belong.

But also look at Verse 3 of Mark 5 and see for yourself that spirit of “withdrawal”! “who had his dwelling among the tombs,” that’s the tombs of dead bodies!

Whenever someone wants to isolate one’s self from mankind, you can be assured that at least in 99% of the cases, the spirit of withdrawal is functioning and leading that man down the path of pain, loneliness, bitterness, doubt, and self-hatred.

When a man would rather be with his dog than his daughter – that’s demonic. When that one would rather be with his pigs than his family or friends – that’s demonic. When a person had rather be in dead places than with the “living”, that’s demonic.

Then look in verse 3 also at what some would call “unexplainable Strength”, when in reality “it’s weak people demonstrating supernatural, demonic strength”!

What does Mark 5:4-5 reveal to us? That’s the torturous, tormented state of mind. The California former pastor, Ray Stedman, once said: “At first demonic influence can seem to be very alluring and seductive, until finally this torment sets in, the deep sense of restlessness which this man exhibited, wandering up and down the mountains, crying out in pain at the torment he felt within, bruising himself with stones – evidently in an attempt to drive out his inner torment. This is a sign of demonic influence.”

And I want you to know that in the asphalt jungles of America today there are those who live with inner torment who need to know and hear Jesus say, “I’ve come to give you rest, peace, healing, purpose, and deliverance from the powers of darkness!”

What does Mark 5:7 tell us? How about recognition but not a receiving of the authority of Jesus as Savior and Lord and Deliverer? It says: And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

Demonic, devilish activity? What about the evidence, the sign, the masks of dual personalities? Remember, the ‘man’ identified as an ‘unclean spirit’ in verse 9, and then affirmed in verse 10 as “Legion” or multiple personalities! Verses 12 and 13 both tell us “all the demons” asked Jesus, and giving “them permission”, they ran to their drowning in the sea. That’s a choice of personal suicide! How tragic when Jesus offers deliverance And salvation!

SECOND, EXAMINE CAREFULLY THE DIVINE, SOVEREIGN-GIVEN AUTHORITY OF JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR! In Matthew 28:18 we read, Jesus speaking, “All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.”

Then verses 26-27 of John 5 says, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”

Don’t you find for yourself a degree of awe as you read about Jesus our Lord in Mark 1:27? Jesus, very early in His public ministry, had baptized His servants with the Holy Spirit in verse 8 , John telling us what Jesus was going to do, and how the angels ministered to Him. But in verse 27 is clear indication of what our Lord and Savior was all about! “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

Jesus knew what He was dealing with – an unclean spirit of the devil! Jesus knew what He had to do to release a troubled man from his demonic bondage as He exercised on earth His God-given authority! Jesus commanded and they left the possessed man!

There’s a great old hymn that tells us: “I hear about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see;….

And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit.” And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the Victory!”

Jesus has given you heavenly authority! That’s every born-again believer! We are not to fear the devil or any demon of Hell! What did Luke 10:17-20 eternally tell us for practical, caring ministry to those enslaved by demons or the devil?

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”….

And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions [demons], and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you…..

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

THIRD, BE AWARE OF THE DISTINCTIVE CHANGES OF LIBERATION. In Mark 5:15 the city crowds came out to Jesus, and “saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting AND CLOTHED and in his right mind. And they were afraid.”

This is that man who had been in a roaring state of restlessness, but through Christ he rested his life in the Lord’s calm sea of life dramatically delivered, changed, seated, and rested in the “FINISHED WORK OF BLOOD REDEMPTION” called salvation, deliverance, and healing!

No longer was he a shameless, naked, strange, weird creation – he became a new creation in Christ, clothed in righteousness, dressed comfortably in the garment of praise.

He was no longer a ‘wild man’ who couldn’t sit still, [“out of sight is out of mind” for one who denies God and His grace and mercy!]. Now this man is “in his redeemed, right mind,” meaning spiritually he received the healthy, healing, holy work of God in himself, able to curb his formerly warped passions through Christ!

He was no longer an isolated, weird, strange, unknown, with an ‘unexplainable quantity of craziness’ but a man integrated into oneness with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. No longer is he a ‘split-personality’, a divided soul, a chained individual to the powers of darkness – he’s been indwelt by the very Spirit and Life of Christ!

He’s no longer a ‘tormentor’ – he’s a Truth-teller! He’s no longer a debased, enslaved game-player who tries to play both sides of the field, with God on one side of him, and the world, the flesh, and the devil on the other side! Now? Notice – he’s seated! Where? At the feet of Jesus!

I want you to know that where you walk or where you sit in the pattern of your life tells whether you’ve been liberated or not. You should know if you don’t: Jesus says, “By their fruit you shall know them!”

FOURTH, ARE YOU AWARE IN YOUR WALK OF FAITH THE DISCIPLINED CHARACTER OF DIVINE LOVE AS THE POWERS OF DARKNESS TELL YOU “DEVOTION TO GOD IS UNIMPORTANT; YOU COULDN”T OBEY ALL HE ASKS OF YOU!” REALLY? In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those Jews which believed on Him, “If you continue in My Word, then you are disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

I John 5:13 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.”

What is it that Jesus has done for you? The Word tells us that through His shed blood there is freedom from the law of sin and death! And that SHOULD MEAN FOR YOU freedom from demonic slavery, unless you try to walk both sides of the spiritual avenue, Jesus on the Right and the devil and his demons on the left!

For “Legion” Jesus gave him a new name. For Legion Jesus set him free. For Legion Jesus gave him the eternal sense and presence of purpose. For Legion He gave him his family and friends. For Legion Jesus gave him heaven’s prescription for aliveness and wholeness, yes, mental and spiritual health. For Legion the King of kings and Lord of lords gave him a command, a calling, a ministry: “Go tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how the Lord Jesus had compassion on you.”

And if Jesus has had compassion ON YOU, are you that disciple who tells all of your Lord’s amazing grace and mercy? John 17:18 tells us, “As You sent Me [Jesus] into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.”

He’s given us “the ministry of reconciliation”! He’s called us as ambassadors to go exercise the winning battle over Satan and his demon army! The old hymn, “Rescue the Perishing,” is a hymn too many modern-day Christians never sing or even follow its calling. It says:

“Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying; Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o’er the erring one, Lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the mighty to save….

Though they are slighting them, Still He is waiting, Waiting the penitent child to receive. Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently. He will forgive if the only believe….

Down in the human heart, Crushed by the tempter, Feelings like buried that grace can restore. Touched by a loving heart, Wakened by kindness, chords that are broken will vibrate once more….

Rescue the perishing, Duty demands it; Strength for your labor the Lord will provide. Back to the narrow way Patiently win them; Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died….

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”

I close this chapter with one last painful, sad, sick thought! That is: THE DENING NATURE OF PEOPLE ENSLAVED BY DEMONS WITH THE FALLEN NATURE OF WORLD VALUES RATHER THAN HEAVENLY VALUES!

Examine carefully, thoughtfully, Mark5:13-14, “….The unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what had happened.” Oh, get ready!!

Verse 17 says, “Then they began to plead with Him [Jesus] to depart from their region.” Do you see it? The city-folk preferred 2000 pigs to the Lord Jesus Christ! “Leave! We want nothing to do with you! We are not interested in Your salvation, healing, or deliverance – just give us the pigs and the troughs they eat from.”

Enough said about pigs and troughs!! In Lloyd Ogilvie’s writings on Mark, I wrote down one of his powerful statements that so applies to this chapter and its closing. He said:

“In Legion’s healing we see what our healing can mean. Jesus Christ has promised to meet us in our need. He comes and asks, “Who are you?” yet He knows us as we are! He sees the Legion of compulsion, concerns, desires, dreams, and sins. And we are free to tell Him all about ourselves. We need no hiding place among the tombs. The variant forces within can come trembling out and be banished. There is no need to live on with guilt and remorse. We can turn all of that over to Jesus, and He will give us a new name.” Amen?

CHAPTER SIX

MERCIFUL MESSAGE IN THE MIDST OF MADNESS!

I have no idea how YOU have personally reacted to what you’ve read in the first five chapters. But I do pray earnestly that you persevere to this book’s end because there is hope, there if freedom, there is relief from life’s spiritual battles – and it all relates to God’s mercy, His grace, and everlasting love revealed to us and for us “in Christ”!

In Mark 6:14-29 we read, “Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘It is Elijah,’ and others said, ‘It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.’….

But when Herod heard, he said, ‘This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!’ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her….

Because John had said to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;….

For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly…..

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officials, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.’…..’He also swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give to you, up to half my kingdom.’ So she went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’…..

And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,….

Brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.”

But you are unsure if that’s “madness”? And you’re certainly not sure, even now, that the devil, demons, and evil spirits are real, even out of the Pit of Hell itself? I’d say it’s a need of a ‘heart-examination’ for you even if you let your ‘mind’ call what we just read abominable!

It’s madness when a ruler of a nation will have a man beheaded at the whim of a teen-age strip-tease artist! It’s madness when a man will go to such extremes to cover his own sin. It’s madness when the message of hope for a nation is drowned in careless oaths, easy compromises, or unholy alliances. It’s madness when men of God are assassinated in body or maligned in character by crude, Christ-less, cheapened men and women!

It’s madness when people will forfeit Eternal Life in Christ and the Kingdom of God because of pathetic promises made to pathetic people in pathetic circumstances! Look at Mark 6:26! “And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.”

It’s madness when the message of repentance is called for, but rather than repent, men revel and rebel in sordid, sensual, senseless living for the devil and his demon-kind rather than for, of, and by the love of God!

It’s madness to know, to hear, to listen to just and holy men, and then make our eternal decisions from pressures of Christ-less crowds and worldly Herodiases and Jezebels! Didn’t Herod listen to John?

It’s madness when men will be swept up by pressure, devilish pressure, to please and impress men, even ‘peer pressure’ that pulverizes decency, holiness, and godlikeness rather than simply desiring to please and honor God!

It’s madness when men will sell their souls for sensual pleasures, temporal gain, earthly desires, forfeiting divine will, or divine blessing, or the preciousness of abiding peace in the inward man!

One thing is for sure: Herod was not at peace but a haunted man, living in fear, overcome by guilt, driven by a placating behavior that was unwilling to believe the price of peace had been paid for in the Lamb’s blood shed at the Cross! [Remember, the Lamb’s blood was shed in the heart of God before the world ever came into being!]

It’s no different in this very hour as you’re reading this book! It IS a ‘mad, mad, mad, mad world’ demonized by the devil! And that ‘mad, mad world’ has come to pass because of human instruments in, under, deceived by Satan! In Isaiah 1:2-7 God spoke:

“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider….

Also, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward…..

Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed up or bound up, or soothed with ointment….

Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” [Strangers? How about demons?]

I’m sure you know what the prophet Jeremiah recorded from the Lord in Jeremiah 17:9! “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” [Without Christ deceived hearts under the domination of Satan and his demon forces, men are hopeless as well as deceived and desperately wicked!]

John Bunyan, in “A Book For Boys and Girls,” wrote about man: “From God he’s a backslider; Of ways, he loves the wider; with wickedness a sider; more venom than a spider; In sin he’s a confider; A make-bate and divider.”

Robert Burns also had an understanding about man. In “Inscribed to the Honorable C.J. Fox” he wrote: “Good Lord, what is man? For as simple as he looks, Do but try to develop his looks and his crooks!…..

With his depths and his shallows, his good and his evil: All in all he’s a problem must puzzle the devil.”

You know the devil is a rebel – and so are all men from birth! I’m sure this is why Samuel Taylor Coleridge stated in his “Table Talk”: “If a man is not rising upwards to be an angel, depend upon it, he is sinking downward to be a devil. He cannot stop at the beast. The most savage of men are not beasts; they are worse, a great deal worse.”

How does that stack up or measure up to Mark 6:14-29 as you look at a man in the midst of madness? I want you to notice that there are messages for each of us in the midst of diabolical madness!

THERE IS THE MESSAGE OF ONE BEING CAREFUL IN HOW HE HEARS! That’s Mark 6:14! Herod heard of ‘who’? That was Jesus “…for His name had become well known.”

But Herod heard as he wanted to hear! Herod heard as his ears, physical ears, had been programmed to hear. Herod heard guided by a guilty conscience rather than guided by a liberated spirit. Herod heard impulsively, carelessly, with a colored message. Mark 6:14b-16, And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”….

Others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.’ But when Herod heard, he said: ‘This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead.’”

There are those who ‘hear’ and then there are those who really hear: 1) There are those who hear with physical ears but they NEVER really hear: Psalm 135:17 says, “They have ears, but hear not…” In Matthew 13:13 Jesus spoke of those who, “and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

2) There are those who hear but they willfully reject what they hear: In Jeremiah 6:10 God spoke: “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear in uncircumcised and they cannot hearken, behold the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” [Do you sense demonic interference in one’s hearing process?]

In Jeremiah 8:9 the prophet said, “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord: and what wisdom is in them?” [Yes, it goes beyond demonic interference to, “I don’t care what God asks of me, I’ll do it “my way”!”]

I want you to know that God cannot help the man who hears but doesn’t really want to hear. God cannot help the man who willfully, selfishly rejects hearing of Him and His Word and colors what he hears to fit his own prejudices and opinions. God cannot help the man who hardens his heart by willfully rejecting divine revelation.

Zechariah 7:12 says, “Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.”

Oh, then Psalm 95:6-11 challenges us all, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand….

Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me, though they saw My work….

For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” But you’re not sure going astray in your heart is even remotely possible that the devil himself lied to You and led you astray by his deceiving ways, like: “You surely shall not die!”

3) Also there are those who willfully hear with seeing ears, “I see, I see,” and they take heed to what they hear, receiving and acting upon what they see and hear!

Mark 4:23-24 tells us, Jesus speaking, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed WHAT you hear. With the same measure you use it, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” Maturing grace!

It is certainly a matter of the will. Psalm 85:8 says, I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints.”

In ‘hearing’ there are some scriptural steps in the hearing process that Herod refused, and in the midst of madness in a modern, demon-influenced society, don’t choose Herod’s folly!

1)HEAR AND BELIEVE! Believe is not only hearing, but believing, which is relying upon, trusting, adhering to, obeying what you hear from God, even if the devil seeks to refute it!

2) Hear and follow: John 10:3-4 says, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out…and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.”

3) Hear to become: Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them….”

4) Hearing to do: John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” Satan has a disrespect of Godly control and a desire for ruling control over himself and the world as he saw it under his evil domination. And he still disrespects God’s control over himself, the world at large, and you in particular! He wants domination over you!

5) Hearing to learn: Luke 10:38-42 tells us, Now it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house….

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’….

Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

6) Hearing and persevering: Jesus said in John 8:31, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

7) Hearing and loving: Psalm 39:3 tells us, “My heart was hot within me; while I was meditating, the fire burned.” When one has tasted the fruit of God’s Word, been in the blessing of His Holy Place, even if one is tempted to walk away by the devil and the powers of darkness, the true disciple never could!

In Jeremiah 20:9 the prophet said, “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name,’ but His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.’” [Check Jeremiah 9:23-24!]

I THINK IT’S VITAL THAT YOU SEE THE MESSAGE OF DEALING WITH AND SEVERING OURSELVES FROM THE SINS OF UNFAITHFUL ANCESTORS! Have you ever heard it said: “He’s just a chip off the old block.” That could be good and godly, but it also could be a carry-over of demonic, devilish influences of ancestors who “bought the Lie”!

I want you to examine thoroughly Nehemiah. He was a great man who saw failures in the past of his forefathers and was determined to “wipe his and his family’s slate clean”! He even challenged his fellow country-men to go back to Jerusalem and re-build the torn-down city. The name ‘Nehemiah’ is from a Hebrew name meaning, ‘The Comfort of Yahweh”!

Though the devil promotes deadened consciences, Nehemiah knew, believed in, stood on, and sought to revive, renew, and restore the people of God to their holy calling. He prayed to God Almighty!

Nehemiah 1:6-11 says, “please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned….

We have acted every corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses….

Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;….

But if you return to Me, and kerep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest p[art of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name….

Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayers of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant mercy in the sight of this man, the king that I served as his cupbearer.”

THERE’S ANOTHER MESSAGE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE AND THAT IS THE MESSAGE OF WHO WE CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH IN OUR EARTHLY LIVES! Should I dare mention, first, the absolute necessity of being joined as one with Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life? I pray you search out Colossians 1:13-14 and make those your refrigerator verses for the next several months! It says:

“He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of God, the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

And in that blessing of union with Christ, though fully aware that the devil might leave us for a season, we need to be so aware of what our earthly, fleshly unions can mean to us, e3ither as a blessing or as a curse!

Consider marriage! What does 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 tell us? “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?….

And what accord has Christ with Belial []the devil or one of his devotes to the devil’s ways!]? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ [But you carelessly choose to marry an unbeliever? GIVE ME A BREAK!]….

Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” I w2ill be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

[But you decide it’s OK to marry the devil’s son or daughter?] Also, who do you share life with in your daily occurences outside home and family? Witnessing to the lost is one thing, but being “wooed” by the citizens of the devil’s army is another! Didn’t Paul tell us to “come out from among the Hell-bent and Jesus will receive you?”

And in the “Christian community” how vital is it that you seek strong pastoral Christ-like leadership, seeking a community of believers that truly longs to honor Christ, and folks that need your encouragement and discipling?

ALSO, WHAT ABOUT WHAT WE PERSONALLY DO WITH THE TRUTH THAT CONFRONTS US? Herod ignored Truth and murdered a devotee of Truth! What about David though, in his spiritual immaturity, who failed to go out to the battle and failed at the war of sexual fantasy and sexual reality?

There are doors one is tempted to walk through by the powers of darkness – they love immorality and every sexual deviance, but Jesus’ disciples “fight the good fight of faith” and honor the Lord and Savior! [Please, please stop and read Psalm 51 over and over!!]

THEN< THERE IS THE NECESSARY MESSAGE AND RESPONSE TO IT CONCERNING THE LIFE CHOICE OF WHO WE WILL FOLLOW! Will we respond to the devil or obey Jesus? Will we respond to Holy God or the unholy spirit of the devil himself? Will we choose fallen flesh or the Eternal Spirit? Will we follow the fallen world or turn and follow Jesus Only?

For Herod it was Herodias or John the Baptist. We will always have choice of who we will follow. It’s more than likely an everyday path of some choice comes that pumps flesh or honors the Spirit of God.

But there must be a once-for-all, fleshly, here and now choice of pleasure OR a spiritual, eternal, settled decision for or against Christ Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords.

You must know you cannot serve God and mammon. You must know you cannot serve Christ and an unbelieving compromising world. You must know you cannot serve the devil and the Holy Spirit. You cannot serve to walk in darkness and at the same time have the Light of light shining in you.

But, you can settle it right now! “I choose Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and daily take the sentence of death AGAINST THE DEVIL! In closing, let’s look at Herod and John the Baptist:

Herod, ungodly. John the Baptist, Godly! Herod, fear. John the Baptist, Faith. Herod, a compromiser. Jesus, courageous. Herod, guilty. Jesus, grace-filled. Herod, a people-pleaser. Jesus, God-pleaser. Herod, murderer of God’s men. Jesus, Messenger of God’s message. Herod, lust. Jesus, Light and pure love. Herod, a divided, split conscience. Jesus, a pure heart.

And God gives you a choice!

CHAPTER SEVEN

DEVILISH OPPOSITION – THE NECESSITY OF THE SCHOOL OF

PERFECTING FAITH!

Having been a high school and collegiate football player, one of the key ingredients of preparation for your next opponent was studying their plays, patterns, strong or weak points, to gain the upper hand. And when it comes to spiritual warfare by disciples of Jesus with the devil and his “players”, it’s necessary to recognize, understand, participate, and learn from our Lord and Savior about being alert, well-trained, disciplined, through the School of Perfecting Faith.

In Mark 6:30-56 [please read before continuing] we see the reality of a learning experience in the Twelve chosen disciples. We need to see the lessons learned from failing grades, but also we need to see the perseverance in disciples’ pilgrimages that leads to a prospering, completing, ‘finishing strong’ journey of faith.

Even Paul the Apostle said: “I haven’t arrived fully yet, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

But sadly it’s tragically true that there are some who never bother with examining a win or a loss, never consider the past failures or victories or how they came to be, and are not even pushing forward today into the spiritual adventures of new frontiers of faith, new mountains to climb, new testings and personal exams, because “back there I failed miserably when the devil and his demon forces kicked me down for a period of time.” They will not let failure, loss, defeat, to be for them a lesson they needed to learn from.

Sometimes it’s not even failures of the past that hinder us and lessen our learning ability, because sometimes it’s the victories of the past! I believe with all my heart that this is the context of the passage in Mark 6:30-56! In the corresponding story of Luke’s Gospel, the disciples have come back riding high with a sweet taste of victory upon their lips, minds, and probably their hearts. They didn’t know ‘the agony of defeat’, as if defeat, mistake, failure has no value for a disciple.

Look at them! “Why, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in Your name,” they said. And Jesus knew the danger they were in because He knows there are some who could relish ‘subject unto us’, rather than knowing the victory came ‘in Jesus’ Name’.

Previous victories will not meet the need of crisis moments today against ourselves, our fleshly enemies, and, yes, the devil and his demons, unless we are constantly updating and programming ourselves, and even ‘testing’ ourselves in His school exams of perfecting faith.

It was a school, and, yes, an absolutely vital, important school. The training of the Twelve was so important because the things learned from Christ among witnesses, the same lessons were to be taught to faithful men, who would teach others also – even us, 2000 years or so later! Lloyd Ogilvie said: “…this is a vivid account of Jesus’ effort6s to liberate His disciples from the limitation of the impossible.” I like that!

Let’s “sit” now in the spiritual schoolhouse of learning, and see what valuable lessons we find together “IN The School Of Perfecting Faith.” And I pray that Paul’s testimony to Timothy about some he’d encountered in the school of life will not be true of us: 2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”:

FIRST, WE “NEED” COMMUNION AND FELLOWSHIP WITH OUR LORD AND MASTER, JESUS CHRIST. In Mark 6:30 doesn’t the Word tell us, “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things…”? And I don’t know of a more valuable, important lesson to be learned than that – we “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus telling Him all the things happening in us and around us.

We “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus to be with Him. In Mark 3:13 the Word says, “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.” He wants our fellowship, our communion, our companionship, and our love.”

{He] called to Him those He Himself wanted.” “They came to Him,” and I believe today decisions need to be made ABOUT TIME ALONE WITH JESUS! Do you remember Martha? ‘Martha, you’re just too busy. Mary has chosen the good part. She sits at My feet learning.”

Do you remember Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:7-10? “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ….

And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;….

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

We “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus to hear from Him! In Mark 9:7, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God spoke of our Lord and Savior: “…This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” There are no more important words from God than “Hear My Beloved Son!” Are you listening and responding to the words of God in your pilgrimage or more attuned to the devil and his demons?

You’ll remember that Jesus was called, not only Wonderful, but was called “Counselor” – Isaiah 11:2 says, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Get into the presence daily! In Acts 4:13 we read, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled: and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

[Taking ‘no knowledge from Jesus’ is to choose to remain under the domination of the ‘knowledge’ of the world, the flesh, and the devil!]

SECOND, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE OF OUR NEED OF REST. Verse 31 of Mark 6 tells us, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”

You either “come aside by yourselves…to rest awhile,” or you yourselves just come apart! In William Barclay’s book on the Gospel of Mark, [p.156], he wrote: “It may well be that the whole trouble in our lives is that we give God no opportunity to speak to us, because we do not know how to be still and to listen; we give God no time to recharge us with spiritual energy and strength, because there is no time when we wait upon Him.”

What did Isaiah tell us in Isaiah 40:31? “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”

Your body needs “rest” before the Lord and, yes, in His Presence! In I Corinthians 6:19 the Word is clear – your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit! Your soul needs “rest”! Psalm 116:7 says, “Return unto your rest, O my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Your spirit needs “rest”! Psalm 51:10 tells us, “…renew a right spirit within me.”

And do you understand, your body, soul, and spirit, yielded to God or not, are ‘treasures’ the devil covets – and if you’re not willing to yield to the devil, he’ll call his deceiving, destructive, dark forces to come against you!

THIRD, WE “NEED” TO SEE PEOPLE AS JESUS SEES THEM. In Mark 6:34 we read: “And Jesus when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.”

It’s really interesting that this morning, before I came to my office to write, my wife showed me on her cell-phone a picture of a sheep, lost, wandered away from its shepherd, that for six years somehow survived in the wilderness with its coat never sheared – and you wondered, “How did it even survive? How did it even get food to its mouth, and how did it walk so heavy-laden?”

“Sheep having no shepherd?” What does God’s Word tell us? And do you sense, even by sight, ‘sheep who’ve gone astray’?

• Lost sheep are devoid of the Way! Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray…” Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

But Jesus tells us in John 14: 6, I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the life! No man comes to the Father, but by [or through] Me.”

• Lost sheep are defenseless against their worst enemy. Are you familiar with 2 Corinthians 4:4? “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image [exact likeness, same DNA, just as much Man as if he were not God – and just as much God as if He were not man!], yes, the image of God, should shine on them.”
• Lost sheep are deprived of the Shepherd’s provision. In Psalm 23:1, we read, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” yet how easy is it for you to sense before you the starving people who know nothing of “the Shepherd’s provision”?

Psalm 23:5 says of our Shepherd, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.”

• Lost sheep are denied the significance of their worth and value under the Shepherd’s ownership and care. Do you see ‘worth and value in a sheep’s “wool and meat”? Do you see “worth and value” of your own life under the Master’s ownership, watchcare, protection, and usefulness to touch your world around you, even standing strong against the devil and demon powers, yes, “casting them out”?

God says of His Own people in Isaiah 43:21, “This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.” It’s why John wrote in Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

FOURTH, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE OF HIS POWER AND OUR PRIVILEGE. Mark 6:35-44 informs us: “When the day was far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.’…

But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii [Roman coin] worth of bread and give them something to eat?’…

But He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they found out they said, “Fives loaves and two fish.” Then Jesus commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass…

So they sat down i9n ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set beforew them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled…

And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.” This wasn’t a happen-chance. These people hadn’t been with Him for three days, like when He fed the 4000….

Our Savior and Lord saw the opportunity to paint a live portrait that would help His own disciples see some valuable, important, eternal things: “This, My friends, disciples, servants, warriors, is in My permissive will to help you plan your ministries, not on one’s best calculations of one’s own physical resources, but ministry and service and blessing based on My power.” Jesus was saying to His disciples then and us now: “I AM YOUR PROVIDER!”

The context of Mark 6 is: rest for disciples, truth for thronging multitudes, food for about 5000 men who’ve missed a meal, even peace in the midst of the troubled seas of life!!! BUT BETTER THAN THAT?

Do you remember I John 3:5? “And you know that Jesus was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The eighth verse says, “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.”

Oh, and then, I John 4:9 says, “…that we might live through Him!” But besides His power, what about our privilege? Without a doubt, I’m convinced that ‘in Christ’ we live to pass out “the Bread of Life” to a hungry world. John 6:33 says, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

There’s a question for us in Psalm 78:19. “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” He did, He can, He still does, He will – and it will be a heavenly BANQUET FEAST of eternal celebration!

Again, Alexander Maclaren, in His Mark Commentary, [pps.266-267] said, “…the loaves were not diminished by His givings. That is true about all divine gifts. He bestows, and is none poorer. The streams flow from the golden vase and after all outpouring, it is brim-full!”

FIFTH, WE ALSO NEED TO BE SENSITIVE TO REPEAT PERFORMANCES IN THE LESSONS OF LIFE WE ALL NEED TO LEARN.

Look, first, at Mark 6:45-50. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitudes away….

And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land….

Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by….

And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”

Our Lord loves us so much that He’ll carry us over and over the same ground until its familiarity is commonplace and we know how to respond in uncommon, supernatural, divine trust and dependence.

When the storm came, why didn’t they cry out in faith, “Jesus, You’re able. Jesus, You’re the storm-stopper. Jesus, we wait in faith and trust because of Your divine ability. Jesus, calm the troubled seas of our lives.”

They didn’t do that. But understand: though they didn’t call, Jesus came anyway. And because they were still so untrained in the school of perfecting faith, they thought Jesus was a “ghost”! He wasn’t! “Be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid.”

SIXTH, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE THAT FAILURE ALONG YOUR JOURNEY DOESN’T MEAN AN END OF MINISTRY OT THE END OF YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD.

Mark 6:51-52 tells us: Then Jesus went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”

Again, it was Ray Stedman who said: “Who is this? Who sends storms into our lives? Who tests us? Who makes provision for our needs and then tests us on it? Who gives us a promise and then sends us out to see if we believe what we teach or what we say? It is the Lord Himself. This is what He is doing with us, as He did with the disciples. He is training us, teaching us, preparing us, building into our lives, as He built into their lives, so that we might be men and women of faith – confident, calm, able to cope with life.”

SEVENTH, WE “NEED” TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH JESUS WANTS TO BE IN THE P{RESENCE OF THOSE WHO KNOW THEY HAVE NEED.

In Mark 6:53-56 we read, “When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Jesus….,

ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard Jesus was….

Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”

I can only ask you: Is there a pressing desire on your life to be in the presence of people with eternal needs? Are you fully available for Jesus to touch needy lives through His presence in you?

I came across in my notes an article that a blessed brother gave to me back in the early 1980’s. The article was entitled “A Personal Matter.” It was addressed to “Jesus, Son of Joseph,” Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth 25922, sent from: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem, 26544:

Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the result through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant….

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service, and for your guidance, we make some general comments. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee….

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability….

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the maniac-depressive scale….

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and righthand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely yours, Jordan Management Consultants

Enough said in this chapter!

CHAPTER EIGHT

DEMONIZED DAUGHTERS OR DELIVERING FAITH?

In Mark 7:24-30 we read, From there Jesus arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet….

The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her: “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to little dogs.”….

And she answered Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” Then Jesus said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.”

There is no doubt this lady was truly a woman of “Delivering Faith” who trusted God’s power to deliver her daughter from “Demon Possession.”

Lewis Carroll, in his “Through the Looking Glass,” told of an interesting dialogue between Alice and the White Queen. The Queen had said, “I’ll give you something to believe, I’m a hundred and one, five months, and a day.” [My father’s mother lived to be one hundred and two!]

Alice responded: “I can’t believe that.” And the Queen said, “Can’t you? Try again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.” Alice tried, and then she laughed and said, “There’s no use trying…one can’t believe impossible things.”

The Queen reacted to Alice’s response: “I dare say you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

The Queen’s response to Alice was not, is not, never will be what biblical faith, true faith, redemptive faith is all about. Her idea of ‘faith’ that gets you what you want? “Take long deep breaths, close your eyes to fact or reality, and deep down in a fleshly mind just believe what “you” think is impossible, incredible, and impractical – don’t really “trust” God! Use your own mental powers to change your circumstances.”

Dare I tell you? “I believe that’s about as ‘demonic’ as it gets because mental, mind manipulation can make the difference in human lives, as they deny God’s saving grace, mercy, and love, and believe it’s “self”, with a good mental attitude that releases their “best”, that is nothing more than opposition to one’s real need of Him!”

Listen to what Howard Hendricks had to say about un-genuine, counterfeit faith. It was an article in Moody Monthly, May, 1973! He wrote: “Even to many a Christian, faith is passivity, resignation, a copout from personal and active involvement under the guise of ‘trust God’. To others, it’s like a spider’s web, mercurial, and illusive. You try to grasp it, but you can’t get a grip on it. An increasing number are convinced that faith really doesn’t work in the realities and pressures of contemporary life.” True, saving, redemptive faith is not a ‘mind’ game but a matter of one’s heart! And even if one says, “I believe in God, I believe in Jesus,” does that mean ‘heart-change’ has occurred?

In Mark 7, how more pressurized would it be for you than having ‘a demonized daughter’? I traveled all over the world for over 30 years ministering to pastors, churches, youth conferences, evangelism crusades, yes, sensing a need of preaching and teaching the power of God to save, redeem, release those in bondage to the devil and demons.

Demonic activity flourishes all over the world – and even today there are mothers, and fathers, who know something is bad wrong with children when they are bound, bruised, bleeding within, and belittled by the powers of darkness! And what never changes is the eternal victory that comes as the servants of Jesus share “Genuine Faith”!

Notice from the Word, Jesus went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, possibly His first time in this geographical area. And a Greek lady, a Syro-Phoenician, sought Jesus out. How did she know about Jesus? She could have been a part of that “great multitude” initially that we see coming to Him in Mark 3:7-8. [Let’s give her a name – maybe “Sara”?]

“Sara, we saw a man you need to know. We heard Him teaching about the forgiveness of sins. We saw Him healing the sick. And, Sara, we saw Him casting out demons. You have a demonized daughter. Go to Jesus.” And she did!

There’s no doubt “Sara” was a woman of genuine, amazing faith. She could have heard or seen little of what Jesus said and did, but you must remember, Jesus said that even little faith in the right object can move mountains!

I can’t say whether “Sara’s” faith was little or great, but it was genuine. Faith is not some illusive dynamic that one tries to gather up in a test tube, though all faith is tested. Faith is not some blind charge into the dark that you sincerely hope lights up your path.

Genuine faith is intelligent, reasonable, factual, and applicable to all areas of life one walks in. It’s based on revelation!

I want to tell you about another lady. Her name was DIONYSIA. It was thousands of years ago that this woman lost a ‘claim’ in a local court over a piece of land. She had appealed to a higher court in Alexandria, writing (in Greek) to the judge: “In order that you may know my appeal is just, I enclose my HUPOSTASIS.”

To her letter she had attached her title deed to the piece of property, put them in a stone box, and sent them to Alexandria by a slave. The slave never arrived: the inn where he spent the night had burned to the ground.

A few years ago archaeologists found the slave’s charred bones, the stone box, and the documents which they translated. The word ‘huposatasis’ that referred to the lady’s title deed, get this, is the same word used in Hebrews 11:1 which the King James version of the Bible translates “substance”.

“Genuine faith” – faith is a claim, a deed of trust, our original right to all God intended, all that is, and all that God Himself claimed in your behalf as a repentant sinner, now made a saint by repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross!

It is our ‘title deed’ to our Lord’s abundant grace and mercy and love that enriches the poverty of our lives without Him! Genuine faith? It is a legal life brand, a testament between God and Jesus, Jesus and man, a work that was finished at Calvary’s Cross and made fully available to men and women of a true repentant heart and life.

One verse I want to add from the Word: I John 5:11 says, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” Not “best effort,” not religious activity, not spiritual endeavors separate from “crucified with Christ”!

The Syro-Phoenician, Sara, had the witness, had the record. “There’s forgiveness, release, and life in Jesus Only!” For her, that included deliverance for her demonized daughter. Genuine Faith? Four things I want you to see:

FIRST, NO VOICE, NO OPPOSITION, NO DEMON-POWER CAN SILENCE GENUINE FAITH! I would suppose that you understand that faith can be tried, it can be tested, and it is certainly opposed by some. Psalm 66”10 tells us, “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined…”

It was Simon Peter, in I Peter 1:7 who said, “…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”

The Syro-Phoenicians by birth, the Greek “Sara”, in Mark 7:26, “kept asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter, but Jesus didn’t immediately answer her and say ‘Yes’ to her request! But “Sara” asked, and kept on asking, she asked and kept on asking – Jesus didn’t immediately answer her.

But what you need to see, silence, and settle on is – your faith in Jesus’ able-ness to set YOU free; He will hear! Even if you don’t hear the immediate voice, word, or will of Jesus, YOU WILL NOT BE DETERRED, LIKE SARA. You have the record, you have the witness, and you have that permanent passion: “Jesus is ABLE, [and He will], TO HEAR ME, ANSWER ME, AND TO CAST OUT ANY DEMON!! Sara knew: “There’s LIFE in Jesus…Healing in Jesus…Deliverance in Jesus!”

Sara believed, she trusted, she reached out even when there were no words coming from the lips of Jesus. She even met opposition from the followers of Jesus! In Matthew 15:23 we read, “…His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

The disciples of Jesus didn’t treat this needy lady as any lady ought to be treated. They didn’t respond to her as followers of Christ ought to respond. They resented her, they became impatient with her, they wanted Jesus to pass on by her and get on with building up their egos as the world around saw them walking with Jesus.

And that’s even if His teaching “appeared” to exclude or be beyond her need! Matthew 15:24 says, “But Jesus answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” We could say, ‘well,’ (or she could have said), ‘well. I’m not physical Israel, so what Jesus preaches can’t be for me.’ No!

There is a house of Israel, not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Abraham’s “TRUE” children? That’s a repentant child of faith, an obedient child of faith, a child of true trust and full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

Didn’t Jesus say, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he was glad”? Romans 9:6-7 tells us, “But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children [of true faith] because they are the seed of Abraham; but ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’”

Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”…verse 29, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs, according to the promise.” Sara knew she had a right because she had, possessed, owned, fully surrendered to saving faith in Christ!

And one cannot be silenced even if overcome by the awareness of our own inadequacy and unworthiness. In Mark 7:27-28 we read, But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Sara answered and said to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

I believe without a doubt or even a momentary hesitation, Sara knew herself and her need, and she knew Jesus’ able-ness! “Lord, the truth is, You know it, my daughter and I don’t need to be saved by ourselves but from ourselves!”

And it’s the truth from Christ, in you, that changes things when you settle it, that you’re the needy one, yes, demon-controlled without Christ, empty, unfulfilled – but Jesus makes the eternal difference!

It is the Truth that changes, frees, heals, delivers, when YOU KNOW: “My heart without Christ is deceitful and desperately wicked,” but Jesus, the Great Physician, operates in miraculous heart transformations! Philippians 3:21 speaks of Christ “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body!”

It is the Truth that changes a person who knows his life is filthy, black, dirty, alienated from God because of our sin natures, but Jesus is the One, through His blood, that washes us white as snow. It is Truth that changes a person when we know we’re nothing, but in Christ Jesus, He becomes our everything!

SECOND, GENUINE FAITH IS NO LONGER IN OPPOSITION TO GOD, LIKE THE DEVIL IS, OR DISAGREEABLE TO HIS WORD, WAY, OR WILL, BUT LIVES IN A CONTINUAL LIFESTYLE OF SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE.

Jesus had said in Mark 7:27 that “deliverance is the children’s bread,” but Sara said: “Verse 28, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

Do you remember when David had been approached by Nathan, and Nathan pointed the divine finger of calling upon David to repent and get his heart right before Holy God? David didn’t balk, he bowed. David didn’t fight, he fell. David didn’t resent or resists, he received. Didn’t he say in Psalm 51:6, “Behold, You [God] desire truth in the inward parts” – and he faithed God’s cleansing of His heart!

The woman in Mark 7? “Yes, Lord; Truth, Lord; forgiveness, Lord; I am as a dog, Lord, a little dog, but so desirous of even the crumbs from Your table!”

Jesus said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread, and throw it to the dogs.” But she wisely responded, “Yes, Lord, I would not want a child of Yours to be deprived of bread to feed me and my child. I agree. The children must first be fed and then the dogs after dinner…This is Israel’s time and the Gentiles will come later. I agree.”

Agreement always opens the door of blessing. Agreement always releases Heaven’s power. Agreement always channels the will of God into human need. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”

THIRD, GENUINE FAITH IS PERSISTENT. Does Verse 26 in Mark 7 tell us, “and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter”? And in verse 27, Jesus said to her – and kept on saying to her! Then in verse 28 the mother said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

A “Yes, Lord” over and over is seen in this passionate mother, sold out on the Truth that only Jesus could free her demonized daughter from her demonic possession. She asked and she kept on asking, she cried out and kept on crying out!

You do understand that there are many who live with the counterfeit of outward allegiance apart from the desire for Jesus to be Himself in them – but not this mother! Yes, she knew Jesus was able not only to forgive sin but able to deliver her daughter from the demon powers – and she wasn’t going to quiet down and walk away – she wanted Jesus to be Himself in her daughter’s need of deliverance. “Jesus You are able. My daughter needs Your deliverance mercy and grace – and I’m here before You until You do!”

FOURTH, GENUINE FAITH IS VICTORIOUS. In Matthew 15:28 we read, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

In Mark 7:29 Jesus said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

In “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Memorial Library, Vol.10, p.377] the great preacher of England said: “This woman is a lesson to all who consider themselves outsiders, who think themselves beyond the pale of hope, who were brought up without any religious guidance or relevance, who’ve been neglected for so long. This poor woman is a Sidonian: she comes of a race that had been condemned to die many centuries before, one of the accused of Canaan, and yet for all that she became great in the Kingdom of heaven because she believed and there is no reason why those who feel outside the church of God can’t be in the center of it.”

I John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”

Hebrews 11:33 says, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.”

Oh, and then, Daniel 3:17 says, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”

George Mueller wrote it: “What Is Faith?” “Faith is the eye, by which we look to Jesus. A dim-sighted eye is still an eye; a weeping eye is still and eye….

Faith is the hand with which we lay hold of Jesus. A trembling hand is still a hand. And he is a believer whose heart within him trembles when he touches the hem of the Savior’s garment, that he may be healed….

Faith is the tongue by which we taste how good the Lord is. A feverish tongue is, nevertheless, a tongue, and, even then, we may believe when we are without the smallest portion of comfort; for our faith is founded, not upon feeling, but upon the promises of God….

Faith is the foot by which we go to Jesus. A lame foot is still a foot. He who comes slowly, nevertheless comes.”

Mark 7:25! “For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at Jesus’ feet.” Tell me about YOUR “position” before Jesus!

Do you remember Jesus saying to Martha, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40. I say to you with all my heart: “Rest your faith in Jesus who is victorious over any demon you face, even over the devil himself!

CHAPTER NINE

BEWARE!

I’m sure that you are at least familiar with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:15 when He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

That, dear friend, is a worthy, vital, life-saving word from our Lord and Savior, necessary to awaken us concerning “false prophets” who have been deceived, equipped, and trained by the devil himself or the slaves under his domination! You have “Sodoms” because of Satan. You have “Gomorrahs” because of s godless devil.

In Jude 6-7 the Word tells us: “And the angels [fallen angels, demons] who did not keep their proper [or own] domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, HAVING GIVEN THEMSELVES OVER TO SEXUAL IMMORALITY and gone after STRANGE FLESH, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Can you even begin to fathom the fullness and ferocious and fatal significance of “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” which is a fire that never ceases and the death that will not die? “BEWARE”!

I really don’t know all that birthed some of John Milton’s words in “Paradise Lost”, [Bk.IV,l.73], but at least for a period of time in his life he didn’t know about ‘BEWARE’! He wrote: “Which way shall I fly Infinite wrath and Infinite despair?…

Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell; and in the lowest deep a lower deep, Still threatening to devour me, opens wide, To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven.”

Are you aware or have you been alerted recently to the disease of fleshly pride, or the gaudiness of vain-self-glory, or the deathliness of hypocrisy in the midst of ‘play-acting’? It’s Proverbs 16:18 that tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall!”

I was so amazed when I came across a statement made by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford in “Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations” edited and compiled by Frank S. Mead, [Fleming H. Revell Com., Westwood, NJ, pps. 328-329]. Stanford wrote:

“Human excellence, apart from God, is like the fabled flower which, according to the Rabbis, Eve plucked when passing out of Paradise. Severed from its native root, it is only the touching memorial of a lost Eden – sad while charming and beautiful, but dead.” “BEWARE”!

Haven’t you sensed around you the deathly dilemma of self-willed disobedience in many people who don’t know, have no desire to know, the miracle attitude of heart that guided Samuel? It’s found in I Samuel 4:10 as God had called his name, and Samuel responded: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” But, sadly, many have chosen the disease of spiritual deafness to both God’s voice and His Holy Word! “BEWARE”!

“BEWAREW”! You’ve seen it as you went by a house, fenced and gated, with that sign. You’ve probably seen the sign as it says: “Beware of the dog.” And I don’t know of any person who sees it and refuses to “beware” when he comes upon it!

There are times that it’s a word of warning for more than dogs. Jesus was concerned about His chosen 12 disciples initially in his earthly circle. They were so vulnerable, so young in the faith, so easily influenced by sincere but sincerely wrong teachers.

But the message was not only for His 12 disciples but for all believers. WE ARE TO “TAKE HEED,” “BEWARE,” “BE ALERT,” “BE ON GUARD.”

We had a drill, both in high school and college football, to keep you alert. Twelve teammates would surround you in a circle – you never knew where the “charge” would come from, but one of your teammates would charge! You had to learn to be sensitive to that charge with “eyes in the back of your head and wide-open ears” to hear even their first step!

I remember Jerry Sapp coming home from Viet Nam. His family was a part of the church I pastored in Ocala, Florida. Jerry was a ‘green beret’ – he lived with the Montenards – and he told me he stayed alive by identifying ‘smells’. “BEWARE”!

In you, as a soldier of the Cross, you better major on your spiritual senses development to protect you from your enemies! Have you learned to “smell the devil and his demons”? Great victory comes when we know what we’re guarding against!

FIRST, BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHINGS. In Mark 8:15 we read, Then Jesus charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And then in Mark 8:21 He said, “How is it you do not understand?”

Our Lord and Savior, our Counselor, our Master-Teacher alerts every true disciple of the Pharisaical ‘deception’. In Matthew 3:7 He called them a generation of vipers and condemned them for their impertinence. In Matthew 5:20 He condemned their ‘work-righteousness’ void of True Faith.

In Matthew 9:12 Jesus upbraided them for their pride against others. Are you aware of a “loveless spirit” toward others? What about Luke 7:30? The Pharisees and lawyers “rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” In Luke 16:14 the Pharisees were so in love “with money”, they had no room to love Jesus or His Truth because covetousness had captured them!

Are you familiar at all with the “deceived” who teach that Jesus was in a league with the devil? So, our Lord and Savior challenged them in Matthew 23:27, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness.”

But, how do YOU know? Jesus said in Matthew 23:28, “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Look at Matthew 22:29 where Jesus told the “SAD-YOU-SEES,” “You are mistaken (deceived, err), not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:13-17 the following for us in this modern day of, yes, major deception! “Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them….

And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus….

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

My New King James version of the Bible introduces the Book of Hebrews in this way: “Many Jewish believers, having stepped out of Judaism into Christianity, want to reverse their course in order to escape persecution by their countrymen. The writer of Hebrews exhorts them to “go on to perfection.” (Hebrews 6:1).

Examine Hebrews 5:12-14! “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food….

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

“Beware of false teachings”? Years ago my wife, Sue, and I were attending an Evangelism Conference, I believe, in Atlanta, Georgia, where we ran into a dear, dear brother pastor that I had been a classmate of at Baylor University and also Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, whose name is Lewis Abbott.

Lewis introduced us to a friend of his named Harry Dent Sr. Harry was led to the Lord by his daughter. He was an attorney but worked for years in Washington, DC, during the Nixon administration. After coming to the Lord, and, yes, his disapproval of what he saw in Washington, he decided to move back home.

Chuck Colson, after Harry’s conversion, encouraged him not to get on the “speaker-circuit” but to go to Southeastern Seminary and get himself grounded in the Word of God. His daughter encouraged the same thing. Upon his conversion event, he was in God’s Word faithfully, but was still not well-grounded as yet.

In seminary he had a lady PhD professor teaching a class. In the early beginning of the class, this seminary teacher said: “Jesus was not divine – and never said He was!” Harry, young in faith, stood up to say to her, “You’re wrong. He did tell us!” The professor responded, “Where?” Harry didn’t know for sure, but said, “I think it was in John’s Gospel.” False teaching? In a seminary? By an unbelieving PhD?

James said, in James 3:13-17, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth….

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there….

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield [that’s yielding to God and His Word!], full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy [or play-acting].”

SECOND, BEWARE OF DOGS. That’s Paul in Philippians 3:2 where he said, “Beware of dogs, [or unbelievers!] beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!”

He had encountered true believers earlier in Philippians 1:28, “and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”

The word ‘perdition’ Paul used is a Greek word, apolia, meaning a ruin or loss – damnable, destructive, dying – a waste! That’s what “dogs” do, and their unbelieving attitude and walk is evident – it’s even destructive, harmful, and damaging! Look at 2 Corinthians 6:14-16!

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness or lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?….

And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God….”

Do you remember Paul’s words to Timothy about Alexander the coppersmith? In 2 Timothy 4:14-15 we hear Paul’s concern for an enemy of Christ and His Cross and Jesus’ servants! “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him for his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.”

William Cullen Bryant, in his writing “The Battle-Field,” said: “Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again; The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes in pain, and dies among his worshippers.”

That, my friends, is the end result of a “dog’s deceit” and their destructive bites at Truth and Truth-tellers!

THIRD, BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS. In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

And yet, how many do you know who brazenly say, “Oh, Yes it is!” In I Timothy 6:6-10 Paul taught Timothy, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out….

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which DROWN MEN IN DESTRUCTION AND PERDITION….

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pressed themselves through with many sorrows.”

How awakening is that “shock-wave” to a greedy world? And what did Jesus tell us in Matthew 6:19-21? Read it intently, prayerfully, examining your own heart as to what has truly captured you!

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal….

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

You do understand and are fully aware that covetous people have no confidence in God but only in the size of their back accounts! Oh, some have “fleshly ideals” but “heavenly visions” are absent from their planned program of earthly pleasures. And it’s a sad reality that covetous people are sooner or later overcome by the bankruptcy of moral incentives!

It was Orin Philip Gifford who said: “Ahab sold himself for a vineyard, Judas, a bag of silver, Achan a wedge and a garment, Gehazi, silver and raiment. Are you for sale?”

FOURTH, BEWARE OF FALLING FROM YOUR STEADFASTNESS. Peter challenged us in 2 Peter 3:17 when he said, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.”

To the church at Ephesus and even the church worldwide today, Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:”14, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting….”

Does that shock you? Are you aware of demonic plotting and devilish pushing in you to toss you about with winds of ‘doctrine’, rather than cemented in God’s Word of Truth? Have you ever witnessed the ‘trickery of men’ who profess allegiance when their only desire is to lead untrained women in fleshly adultery? Sadly, I’ve witnessed that ‘move’ in a few compromising pastors!

This is why Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Our Savior and Lord said in John 15:9, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide, remain, continue in My love.”

How did the writer of Hebrews describe the steadfastness which ought to envelop every believer’s walk? Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand throne of God.” AMEN?

FIFTH, BEWARE LEST YOU FORGET THE LORD. In Deuteronomy 6:12 Moses challenged Israel and us, “then BEWARE lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”

Have you grasped understanding of your old sin nature when the chains rattled so freely and scarred you so deeply? Have you forgotten or never realized that “the wages of sin is death,” and that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”?

This is why the prophet Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 3:21, “A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have PERVERTED their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God.”

And then he challenged our sinful world as he heard God speak, in the next verse, “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”

If you ever studied human history at all, you understand, you know that EVEN A NATION CAN FORGET GOD! In Psalm 9:17 the inspired Word tells us, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” God intended human nature and nations to be the very habitation of His divine presence, purpose, and power, but governments guided by godless men forgot, fought against, and failed in implementing through their leadership eternal presence and purpose.

And, yes, A HOME CAN FORGET GOD and close the door to His plan for Godly families. In Psalm 132:10, at some point in my spiritual journey, I initiated that verse. Later, I wrote “for my family’s sake.” It says, “For Your servant David’s sake [and me and my family], do not turn away the face of Your Anointed [Messiah}.”

It is God’s holy desire to be the Sovereign Leader over every family! Wouldn’t you believe or understand that, if Holy God had been Sovereign Leader over every home, divorce would become a strange term in every nation?

A CHURCH CAN, SADLY, EVEN PUT GOD ASIDE! And, I wonder, with names of churches boldly advertised for public awareness, if some of them should be titled “ICHABOD” because of departure from Truth, from the Holy Spirit, and from the calling “to make disciples”!

In I Samuel 4:19-22 there is the story of Phinehas’ wife who was with child. When the child was born, verse 21 tells us, she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel.”

Read carefully Psalm 78 :56-61 and reflect upon some of the churches needing your intercession! It says: “Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned their back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow….

For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. When God heard this, He was furious, and greatly abhorred Israel,….

So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had places among men, and delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand.” TELL, Me, IS YOUR CHURCH FREE OR IN BONDAGE?

A LIFE CAN FORGET GOD! In Hebrews 12:7-11 we read awakening words of divine inspiration: “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?….

But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid themrespect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father os spirits and live?….

For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

A believer’s life without God the Father in full control is what Oswald Chambers called on who lives with “the strut of the spiritual prig.”

SIXTH, BEWARE OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ENEMY. And if you’re not sure who that is, let me share with you I Peter 5:6-11!

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you….

Be sober, be vigilant; because YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing THAT THE SAME SUFFERINGS ARE EXPERIENCED BY YOUR BROTHERHOOD IN THE WORLD….

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Can you say AMEN to GOD the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Will you “fight the fight of redemptive faith,” yes, even against the devil and his demons?

CHAPTER TEN

THE RELEVANCE OF CHRIST IN A DEMONIZED WORLD

In Philippians 3:7-8 Paul challenges every true disciple about his personal witness and warfare in his spiritual journey. He said: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

Would you personally choose Christ for yourself in the midst of a demonized world or just surrender to the fallen flesh of your old sin nature to be dominated by the devil?

It’s so very clear through the revelation of God’s Holy Word that Jesus won His battle over Satan in behalf of thye people God made, lost, and the bought out of bondage by the blood of the Lamb of God shed on Mount Calvary!

Again, I want you to examine carefully Matthew 4:1-11! Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wildrenenn to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry….

NOW WHEN THE TEMPTER CAM TO HGIM, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’….

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He [God] shall give His angels charge over You,’ and ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”….

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”….

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

I’m sure that YOU are aware of Christ and that YOU know about the devil and demon forces! At least if you’ve read the book this far, it’s for certain, at least, that YOU want to know about “the relevance of Christ in a demonized world”!

It’s been years ago, I believe the mid to late 1960’s when I pastored a church in the east Phoenix area on the very border with Scottsdale, Arizona. Evangelist James Robison did an area-wide Phoenix crusade. In one of the services James said: “The more we think of Jesus, the less we think of ourselves. We don’t think much of Jesus, do we?”

It’s also been years ago, while on vacation, on a Sunday afternoon, that Sue and I watched a religious program that dealt with the relevance of the church in our world today. It was a Protestant minister and four or five young people. Some were for the church, but some felt the church had failed. But the thing that so amazed me was the fact that in the entire program the name of Jesus Christ was mentioned only once as they talked about the relevance of the church today.

I want to major in this chapter on “The Relevance of Christ In A Demonized World.” The word ‘relevance’ relates to, according to the Dictionary, “bearing upon the matters at hand – pertinent – applicable.” In other words, “meaningful to your life, your witness, your ministry as a true believer in Christ in your world today.”

When I speak of the relevance of Christ, I’m not talking about ‘Churchianity’, but about “CHRIST-I-ANITY.” I’m not talking about nominal Christianity, though I’m sure it would be contemporary. I’m not speaking about ‘fair weather friends,’ although I’m sure we’d describe a percentage of the church today.

I’m not speaking about what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyr in Hitler’s reign of terror of World War II, when he spoke of “cheap grace.” That would today probably be seen as superficial religion, watered-down religion of baptism and church membership with no emphasis of true commitment of one’s life to the Savior and Lord as “disciples, witnesses, true grace followers.”

I will not be speaking about what one writer described as shoddy, substitute, second-hand faith. And I’m not talking about a disengaged gospel where one claims to be a ‘team member’ but never walks out or participates in the very Oneness of Life in Christ.

I’m not talking about a once-a-week retreat behind stained glass windows as one’s understanding of the fulfillment of their religious duty. I’ll be sharing about “soldiers of the Cross,” “ambassadors of Christ,” “witnesses to our world,” “testifiers of Redemptive Truth,” yes, the very army of God with Christ Jesus as our commanding officer! WHAT ABOUT OUR WORLD TODAY?

Unless somehow you’ve been (still) spiritually blinded, we all are a part of a sin-sick society, with a troubled majority, a war-torn world, dissatisfied, discontented, searching, maybe, because of their own broken lives, homes, and hearts.

We’re part of a people searching for peace through pills, pot, pleasure, prosperity, and the perilous channels of alcoholic drinks. We move among the “masses” who’ve made money their “god”, part of a materialistic-minded men who think life does consist in the abundance of what a man possesses.

We live in the ‘language’ of “Now”, determined to ignore a never-ending life. They live in the language of ‘me’ – not Him. They live in the language of sex – not marriage. They live in the language of anything goes, circumventing the Law of God with no guilt, no shame, and no sorrow!

It, sadly, is too often a racially torn world where personal prejudices have violated the longings of God: “God has made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth,’ in peace not peril, in trust of one another not mistrust, in love not hate, in friendship, not enmity! Yet many today, all over the world, walk the streets of fear, failure, frustration, faithlessness, and fighting!

We are a part of generations that have gloriously conquered outer space, yet the majority are miserably missing out on the victory of a conquered inner self! The following are old statistics given by Paul Harvey before his death. He was a gifted, talented, well-informed radio and TV commentator. He said:

“There are 116 million churches in the U.S., more thanh ever before, an increase of 30 per cent in 10 years, yet at the same time,;;;;

Illegitimacy has increased 300%, pornography in the nation is now billions a year, venereal disease 72% in one year,….

Crime bills in the U.S. increased over 20 billion a year, increasing 4 times faster than the population explosion, juvenile crime increases 5 times faster….

For every dollar spent on churches that’s $12,000 on crime. The divorce rate is about 1 out of 3 marriages….

There are an estimated 10 million alcoholics with millions of problem-drinkers unknown….

Combine all monies spent on religion, education, medicine, automobiles, we still give to gamblers more money than all those put together….

Then Paul Harvey said, “Ours is the most civilized, Christianized nation on earth, yet 37 million of our children receive absolutely no religious instruction.”

We, in 2015, have increased dramatically and sadly every statistic Paul Harvey lamented about! What a sad, sad world – yet for the True and only Redemptive Faith our “saving faith” is an eternal world of divine opportunity and hope: “the whole earth groans and travails in pain,” but, “there is a Balm in Gilead”!

From ‘world sadness’ let’s examine YOU, US, WE, one by one as we examine whether or not we’re FREE, FULFILLED, and FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH!

Some have to go by the name of “John Q. Public” because our eyes are centered on what the world around us have to offer. Some of us have to be called “Mr. Satisfied” because, out for ourselves, without God, they’ve done pretty well.

Some have inserted, been enslaved, have a middle name that is entitled, “do-as-I-please”! You do remember our earlier study where Jesus met the ‘wild man’ and asked his name. He said: “My name is Legion, for we are many”! Legion means what ? 6000 demons destructively working as One!

Please remember, reflect, and re-evaluate what you want your identity to be for eternity! We know: God created us in His own image, SIN invaded the human heart, the devil deceived fallen mankind and dictates to a defiled, diseased, defiant lifestyle against Holy God! Yes, fallen man is Legion – many fallen identities! “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” at times called “Mr. Lustful,” and it rings a bell.

Some respond to the name envy, jealous, fearful, falsehood, faithless, indifferent to God, with others familiar with the name of proud, greedy, hateful, angry, hypocrite, covetous, resentful, embittered.

Does the name unbeliever ring a bell? How about disobedient, rebel, missed-the-mark, Mr. fall-short, superficial, secondary who majors on minors! Our names? What about: “for-all-have-sinned-and-fall-short- of-the-glory-of-God?”

And, yes, we know about where we choose to live, don’t we? For some, it was the wilderness of want, a walk through a garden of guilt, a drive on the avenue of anxiety, a climb up the mountain of meaninglessness, or anchoring our ship in the harbor of hopelessness, or sailing on the sea of shame, or our ‘missile’ launched into the space of a misspent life – and can you believe it? Some are satisfied in the prison house of sin, shame, with self in total bondage to the devil, in spiritual chains locked into a life that they don’t even know they can be free from because they ignore Jesus and give the devil the ground of control in them he so desires!

Yes, some are sleeping in the bed of personal satisfaction, or choosing to walk on their own on the street of self-indulgence. But I want you to know if you’re really satisfied, blessed, or fulfilled by the lifestyle you’ve chosen – do you know, without Christ, that life will never reach higher than the limits of your sinful self – without saving faith in Jesus, you’ll never know God’s forgiveness and you’ll never know freedom from the chains and powers of the devil and his demons! Oh, but then….

WHAT ABOUT JESUS?

It was Maltbie D. Babcock who once wrote: “God be thanked for that good and perfect gift, the gift unspeakable: His life, His love, His very self in Christ Jesus.”

Didn’t Jesus Himself say, clearly, in John 10:30, “I and My Father are one”? He prayed to Father-God in John 17:11, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one AS WE ARE ONE…”

Didn’t the prophet Isaiah call Jesus, “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us”? What did the beloved John tell us in John 1:1-5?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” “Darkness” did not comprehend Jesus then – darkness does not comprehend Jesus now!

In John 1:9-13 we read, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him…

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

If Christ Jesus is the One who says, “Come to Me and I will give you rest,” then what or who is involved when we determine, “it’s the best effort of our reach after God that makes the difference.’! No! A thousand times, No! Jesus not only willingly went to the Cross in our behalf, He took your best and worst self with Him, and YOU were crucified with Him!

Oswald Chambers said in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.140], “We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him.” Chambers was so right – most will believe in Jesus apart from their awareness of “crucified with Christ”! Jesus?

• JESUS IS LORD OF CREATION. As God said in Genesis, “Let Us create the world…”, and Jesus was there! As God said, “Let Us make man in Our image…”, Jesus was there.

As God shaped the universes, Jesus was there! As God molded the mountains, Jesus was there. As God flung out the stars by the word of His power, Jesus was there.

As God carved out the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams, Jesus was there. As God breathed sweet breath into the animal kingdom, Jesus was there. As God dotted the valleys with His glorious beauty in the flower world, Jesus was there. As God breathed life into man, the breath of life, Jesus was there!

• JESUS IS LORD OF THE CROSS. John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

What did Paul tell us in Romans 5:8? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus burst the boundaries of Heaven itself and came to walk with mankind! Yes, He was born of the Virgin Mary because He was born of God, not of fleshly mankind.

Jesus was raised in Nazareth, baptized in the Jordan, tempted in the wilderness, healed the multitudes, ministered to the masses, fed the hungry, preached the kingdom of God.

Oh, and then they took Him, but willingly He laid His life down, was crucified on Golgatha, place d in a borrowed tomb, arose from the dead, as Lord of both death and eternal life.

I remember Dr. Lockridge, the great black preacher from California, a man I loved to hear over and over again. On one occasion I heard him preaching: “Jesus is….

The Pearly from Paradise, the Gem from Gloryland, Truth’s fairest Jewel, Time’s choicest Theme, Life’s strongest Cord, Light’s clearest Day, Purity’s whitest Peak, Joy’s deepest Tide, Glory’s stateliest Summit. His name is like honey to the taste, harmony to the ear, health to the soul, and hope to the heart – In His birth is our significance, our life, our example our death, and our resurrection to eternal hope!”

• Jesus is Lord of the Crown – Philippians 3:10-11 tells us, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Oh, please hear me! There is no power of His resurrection apart from your identity in His death on the Cross! And because of that eternal truth, I’m not waiting – I’m bowing down and crying out, yes, ‘Holy is my Lord and Savior’; I confess and keep on confessing Him, right now, as Lord of my life and my eternal future; I acknowledger and surrender to His Lordship. I will testify of His Name. I will fear Him for His power, I will trust Him for His wisdom, His guidance, His goodness, His greatness, and I will adore and praise Him because of His blessed Holiness and Righteousness.

Plus, AS TO HIS RELEVANCE, FOR US ALL IN OUR WORLD OF TODAY, I CHOOSE TO CONTINUALLY REPENT AND TO REST IN HIS FINISHED WORK AT THE CROSS IN MY BEHALF.

Do you understand ‘punitive relevance’? – that’s “Christ forgiving the guilty by His shed blood on the Cross”! Romans 5:6 declares, “Christ died for the ungodly…” Romans 5:8 says, “Christ died for us…” In I Corinthians 15:3 Paul says, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”

And then in 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul so illumines divine purpose in and through Christ for us all. He wrote: “And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died and rose again for them.” What’s the Message?

Christ forgives the guilty, removes our sins as far as the east is from the west, then casts them into the sea of God’s forgetfulness! We repent, we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, the Father accepts us, and justifies us [justified, or accepted “Just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned!], and we praise and honor Holy God with our walk of faith, trust, and obedience!

“Could my tears forever flow, could my zeal no languor know, these for sin cannot atone, Christ must save, and Christ alone.”

What about ‘practical relevance’? In Galatians 2:20-21a Paul tells us all: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us…I do not set aside the grace of God…”

Are you aware and have you appreciated ‘powerful relevance’? In Acts 1:8, before Jesus’ Ascension after His Resurrection, He said to His disciples and us, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Do you remember Simon Peter? In I Peter 1:5 he wrote, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

‘Permanent relevance’? Oh, I tell you that that Truth is so uplifting and comforting! When Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always,” or “I’ll never leave you or forsake you,” we erupt in praise and thanksgiving!

“There’s not a day that passes, there’s not an hour goes by, but that we have sweet fellowship, my blessed Lord and I!” [I don’t know who wrote that, but it blesses me!].

There is also ‘purposeful relevance’. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly!”

There is also a ‘peaceful relevance.’ In John 14:27 our Lord said to all disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, I give to you ‘peace that passes all understanding.’”

These last few pages in this chapter are REAL, RELEVANT, RIGHT, RICH, ROYAL, AND REWARDING! Why? Because Christ Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords!

We’ve seen, “What About Our World Today?” We’ve seen, “You, Us, We”! We’ve seen, What About Jesus?”

But, last of all, in this chapter, let’s briefly look at “WHAT ABOUT THE DEVIL?” You do remember earlier in this book study we saw in Matthew 4:1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” [If you’re thorough enough in your studies, you’ll find Jesus facing every testing or temptation that all fallen and redeemed humanity face!]

Ephesians 4:27 is as clear as ever, “do not give place [or opportunity] [or “toe-hold”] to the devil” in your life and walk!

Then, get “dressed up”!! Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day against the wiles of the devil.” As a disciple of Christ, as a soldier of the Cross, warfare with the powers of darkness is Satan’s strategy against you before you were ever born! But here’s your revelation of overcoming Satan!

Revelation 12:11 says, “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.” AMEN? Yes! Amen!

Have you become aware though that the devil and his armies of defiant slaves of darkness even use the world’s ‘music’ and the world’s ‘television’ to capture minds, wills, and bodies with his possessing powers? I wrote the devil’s ‘take’ on a famous hymn, “All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name.”

It says: “All hail the power of a worldling’s name, Let demons prostrate fall, let sinners prostrate fall; Bring forth a false diadem, and crown ourselves lord of our own lives…

You chosen seed of the devil’s clan, You prisoners of the fall, Hail him who captured by his lies, crown him lord of our fallen world…

Let every family, every tribe, On this disastrous fall, yes, on this disastrous fall, To hail the devil all misery release, crown him lord of the fall…

O that with young devilish clans, who at the devil’s feet will bow, we’ll join that off-key chorus, and celebrate godlessness as our call.”

Don’t you sense in our modern world a massive sinking into the sea of the devil’s deceptions? But there is one eternal truth I’m absolutely sure of: OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, ETERNALLY MASTERS DEEP WATER RESCUES!

Psalm 107:23 speaks of, “These [who] see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.”

I know that, when there are inward elemental eruptions on the sea of life, we can, musty, will, discover the works and wonders of God in those deep waters. Have you experienced the depths of bewilderment when you strayed into the ‘troubling depths’ of demonic activity?

When those winds and waves and troubling seas of adversity, pain, doubts, fears, sufferings, even deathly, demonic bondage sweep over you, do you know the One who speaks to you say to those waves, “Peace be still”? Hear me!

“When peace like a river attends your way Or sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever your lot, He has taught you to say, ‘It is well, It is well with your soul’!”

That’s when you eternally rest in Jesus’ victory over demon powers through His shed blood, His death, His Resurrection-never-ending Power of God!

Lewis E. Jones wrote this old hymn before I was even born! It’s entitled “There Is Power In The Blood”! It says:

Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood….

Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood…

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow; There’s wonderful power in the blood…

Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful power in the blood.”

Yes, your eternal life of faith was “blood-bought, blood wrought, blood purchase” through Christ Jesus alone on Mount Calvary. There’s no other way than the Way, the Truth, and the Life whose name is Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us”!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DEVILISH DIVIDING OF DISCIPLES’ DEVOTION OR THE SAVIOR’S ASSAULTS ON THE DEVIL’S ATTACKS?

At times I have often wondered if fallen mankind or even “walk-both-sides- of-the street-disciples” look at Jesus and become convinced they really ‘know Him’, but then, because of their false assumptions, convince themselves, by their surface familiarity, they really ‘know Him’, when in reality, especially the devil, what he knows about Him convinces him He’s an irritant to devilish, fleshly faith, and should just be put to death.

You can rest assured that the devil really knows who Jesus is because Jesus was the vote that cast him out of heaven, along with his rebellious demons! And certainly the devil has no desire to see born-again believers spiritually prospering in a world he wanted to own, control, deceive, and disease with his mind and heart of rebellion to the Holy God he despises!

It is for certain that the devil has no desire for any man in any age group on any continent believing that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was and is Emmanuel, “God in flesh”, that he must continue to convince the fallen world he claims is his own, that Jesus was not divine, and if it happened, the continents of Christ would be darkened and void of heavenly light, holy love, and eternal hope and purpose, declining to a ‘living hell on earth’ -but, praise God, it isn’t going to happen because God’s Word, Will, Wisdom, and Ways, will never decline, or divide true disciples’ devotion!

Just recently I wrote these words: “It was the Cross where I saw His Light, and the Cross where I saw His might. The devil was stricken and his strategy smitten, because Jesus our Lord bound the devil’s hordes… The devil was stricken and his strategy smitten, because Jesus our Lord bound his hordes. The devil was smiling as Jesus was dying; but ‘futile’ is the Word of the devil’s trying….

The devil’s assault was to put Christ to death but through His Resurrection we find our rest….

Placed in the grave by the disciples of Christ, but three days later we see God’s better! Jesus was raised from death to New Life, the devil ended with only eternal strife….

Life and peace is Jesus’ Word to those who’d been so devilishly gored, as sin and death turned unto God who is forever adored!”

And why is our Lord so adored? Because God, Emmanuel, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is not willing that any should perish but that ALL should come to repentance and faith!

If there are those who yield to the devil, yield to their old sin natures, yield to a diabolical love of the world – they’ll miss Jesus as Savior, and especially miss His assaults on the devil’s attacks!

But what we’re going to examine in this chapter initially is “the devil’s dividing of a seeker or a disciple’s devotion.” [Please remember, “Satan had a disrespect of Godly control with a desire for ruling control over himself and the world as he saw it under his evil domination.”

THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? FIRST: THERE IS NO DOUBT OF HIS CHALLENGE FOR ALL TO IGNORE GOD’S INSPIRATIONAL, INSTRUCTIVE, INDESCRIBABLE BLESSING OF THE ETERNAL WORD!

I know that you are already familiar with what took place after the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit “made Adam and Eve in their OWN IMAGE, ACCORDING TO OUR LIKENESS” with God giving them instruction to “be fruitful and multiply.”

[You do know and understand that the devil and his devotees of rebellious angels were removed from Heaven by the Godhead ‘assuming’ they’d build their ‘kingdom of darkness’ on the earth!]

When Jesus began His public ministry, we saw in Matthew 4:1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” We’re ALL tested by the Spirit related to whether or not WE STAND ON THE AUTHORITY OF GOD’S HOLY WORD!

Tragically, we know, fallen mankind fell into the “net” of demonic deception, deciding “God said” was not as important to them as the “love” of the world, the flesh, and the devil! When Jesus then, on the high pinnacle of the temple in the holy city, was challenged by the devil, Matthew 4:10 tells us: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” And the devil left Him for a more opportune time.

I’m challenging you, right now, to examine and tell me about YOUR devotion to the Word of God or the lack of devotion to His Holy Word. What did Jesus Himself say to the “tempter” in Matthew 4:4? Jesus answered the devil saying, “It is written, ‘man shall not live by [physical] bread alone, but by eve4ry word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

But what does the devil seek to do to turn YOU away from, yes, a pure devotion to the Word of God, and turning you away from following Jesus in full surrender to God’s revealed will and eternal destiny for all through His precious, perfecting, pure, and powerful Word?

• Satan casts doubt continually on the Word of God! “Has God indeed said…?” Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

And our Lord’s “simplicity”? Physical bread alone does not sustain life – but the Word of God births, blesses, and builds Godly faith that is eternal Tell me about your daily devotion to God’s Holy Word as your sustaining spiritual food!!

I tell you without a moment’s hesitation that Christ and His Holy Word are the greatest treasures a man in this dark world can ever have! [Examine Psalm 119!].

• Satan twists and distorts the Truth of God’s revealed Word. Did the devil ask Eve, in Genesis 3:2, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the devil did ask that without completing God’s word in Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”

God had commanded in Genesis 2:16, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;…v.17, “…BUT…!”…”of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die…”

If God says, and He does, “the wages of sin is death,” you don’t see yourself in a spiritual state of death separated from God? I don’t know who said it but I had recorded the following statement: “To hear truth and not accept it does not nullify truth.” The devil sought to twist, to distort, and, yes, to crucify Truth, but Truth stands Eternally!

It was Horace Mann who once said: “Keep forever in view the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinion of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God.” How awesome is that!?! And where have you “conducted” yourself to? God’s throne or the devil’s trash-bin?

• Satan authors confusion. Genesis 3:3 says as the devil spoke to Eve she told him, “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Really? God didn’t say “nor shall you touch it, lest you die” – the Lord said, Genesis 2:16, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it: you shall surely die.”

How confusing is the devil even today when people hear ‘portions’ of truth but they never ‘put on truth’, adapting themselves to, say, ‘Church-i-anity’ without dying to self and truly putting on the Lord Jesus Christ? “I believe in Jesus Christ” one says, without ever letting the word of Christ dwell in them richly!

In Colossians 3:3-10 Paul wrote: “For you died, [Did YOU?], and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory…

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry….

Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them….

But now YOU YOURSELVES are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have PUT ON THE NEW MAN who is [being] renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…” WOW!

What a holy calling when the devil only authors ‘confusion’!

• Satan inserts and intensifies “the Lie”! And you are not sure what ‘The Lie” really is? Look at Genesis 3:4, Then the serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die.”

Paul was always straight-forward after his conversion! He met Christ on the Damascus Road and experienced eternal heart and life change. He later wrote in Romans 8:6, “To be carnally minded is death,” and he learned that after his confrontation by Christ with Paul because the Lord, yes, chose Paul, because the Lord Jesus knew his devotion as a Jewish rabbi had not, could not, would not bring new birth, new life, new hope, but “best-effort” only with the absence of divine breath, divine life, or divine forgiveness and eternal purpose.

“You will not surely die” because you sin, the devil says, when the Truth is, “the wages of sin is DEATH!” Death without Christ as Lord and Savior IS eternal human tragedy celebrated by the enemy of all mankind – the devil. But for the repentant man of faith and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus, death is only the door to eternal Rest in Christ!

Isaac Watts, in “The Presence of God,” wrote: “His maker kissed his soul away, and laid his flesh to rest.” Yes, absent from the body means present with the Lord for those who reject the devil’s “Lie” and live only in Eternal Truth!

• Satan promotes unbelief and enticement to rebellion and disobedience to God’s revelation! In Genesis 3:6 His Holy Word tells us, “So when Eve saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant [a desirable thing], to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Wise and wounded, denying truth and deadly, rebellious and in need of regeneration, lame, limping, and live-less, ignoring that disobedience authors spiritual death and separation from God – that’s unbelieving, fallen, alienated, and separated men and women away from the Lover of their souls!

Desirable does not mean life-giving or life-sustaining. Even a PhD can mean ‘perilously-helpless’ (without the) Divine Lord and Savior!

• Satan’s ‘creative disability’ is the master-less design of “FIG-LEAF RELIGION”! Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

Nothing like that going on today – Right? As a result of “fig-leaf religion” men hide themselves from His presence, even in man’s ‘creation’ of ‘religion’, and close their ears from the voice of the Lord!

THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? WHAT ABOUT THE COMPROMISING OF ONE’S CONVICTIONS?

Do you see “compromising” as the dividing or splitting of Truth? That’s like the Old Testament in I Kings 3 when “splitting a living child in two” was deemed by some as reasonable!

And some never see that compromising one’s convictions of Holy Truth is disuniting one from relationship to that Truth! “Redemptive Reality” becomes a warped mind’s ‘gracious loss’ in order to gain ‘fleshly independence’ from ‘strange individuals’ who believe God’s Word is Truth!

And, certainly, the compromising of truth one has once held is nothing more than substituting one’s friendship with God for a degree of acceptance among fallen, unredeemed mankind around a person, who says, by action, “I’d rather be accepted by sinners than His saints or the Trinity!”

Though the Holy Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that “God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God,” it is not some surface-truth that doesn’t get to the heart, because the true interpretation of that verse is that Christ Jesus, by His sacrificial death, is not proving He is “for” me unless I want Him fully “in me.” [That’s Oswald Chambers’ statement in “My Utmost For His Highest,” p.224!].

If we are “partakers of His divine nature,” then how, why, do some ‘believers’ compromise with no desire to truly “escape the corruption of the world through lust”? [2 Peter 1:4].

Oh, I know our salvation walk is a “process”. This is why Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

But the “process” is not an excuse for compromise! The “process” does not mean that we don’t NOW stand in Christ “complete”! But the devil does not want YOU to know, right now, in this stage of your walk with Christ, that YOU are more than conqueror!

THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? WHAT ABOUT THE DIMMING OF YOUR DAILY DISCIPLINE? You do understand that it infuriates the devil when he sees a true believer praying, feeding on the Word, yielding to the Spirit, taking the sentence of death unto himself daily that the Resurrection Life of Jesus will be manifested in his mortal flesh, and, like Paul, choosing the Cross so the Christ will be unveiled in us and through us!

I assure you that “daily discipline” is not a piece of cake and a dish of enjoyable ice cream! In 2 Corinthians 5:2-9 Paul wisely wrote: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,….

If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life….

Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight….

For we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

“The dimming of your daily discipline?” Do you think it may be because one has personally chosen or deceived by the devil that it isn’t necessary to continuously “walk in the light as He is in the light”? Didn’t Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5:9 that his spiritual ambition was “to be well pleasing to Him”?

What did Paul say in I Corinthians 9:27? “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” But you do understand the danger of one who desires “excessive ambition in the flesh: over “approval of Holy God”!

CONSIDER ALSO THE DENYING OF THE DYNAMIC OF GOD’S PROVISION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Thank God for the Apostle Paul! And I say that because I see such divine transformation and life-change of one who was a Rabbi! As a former pastor and missionary, I was and still am awed by his reception of and ministry through the Holy Spirit!

In 2 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul wrote, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony opf God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified….

I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Think with me for a moment: Are you aware of what it truly means to BE “broken bread and poured out wine”? Hear me! Your life will never be God-honoring and a God-blessing to your woprld around you apart from Holy Spirit-Anointing! Here’s what Oswald Chambers said: “If you are rightly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the sublime height where no one ever thinks of noticing you, all that is noticed is that the power of God comes through you all the time.” [“My Utmost…p238].

Didn’t Paul ask: “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” And what about Romans 8:26? Paul tells us, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

[Why don’t you do a thorough word study on the Holy Spirit in your biblical Concordance? You’ll be awed!].

THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING OF A DISCIPLE’S DEVOTION? Please understand that THE DEVIL WANTS YOU EXEMPTED FROM THE MINISTRY OF EVANGELISM AS ONE’S TRUE EXPRESSION OF REDEMPTIVE FAITH.

You are already aware of Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s watch-care over your journey of faith, but in that promise Jesus also said the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon you and in you was to be through you, equipping you to be a faithful witness of His saving grace! That’s Acts 1:8!

Without a doubt, true spiritual nobility is a disciple, saved by grace through faith, who understands the calling of Christ upon his life to be a redemptive witness to a lost and broken world around him.

You are to be, yes, a fountain of living water, poured out to a needy and desperate and thirsty world around you. But the devil is a master-deceiver who tells you, “You can’t witness and win others. Don’t you know how mentally deficient you are; don’t you know your density compared to those around you; your crowd is more superior than you – you’ll disgrace Jesus!” And that’s all lies out of the midget mind of the devil, defeated by Jesus through His death, burial, and resurrection! “You shall be My witnesses!”

I can only ask you: “Are you gripped by a deep love for the world around you because you know it is for those that Christ died?” You need to know that upon your salvation experience of forgiveness, re-birth, reconciliation with God, that He commissions you “to reveal His Son” in me and through me, in you and through you, in the church and through the church! LIVING WITNESSES OF SAVING GRACE THROUGH CHRIST!

“God so loved the world,” knowing the world would crucify His Son! “God so loved the world,” but the devil diffuses doubt and unbelief and seeks to block at every opportunity any sharing of the “good news”. “God so loved the world,” and in hate the devil profanes and opposes the witnesses of saving grace and loving mercy extended to a lost and dying world.

When it comes to disciples of Jesus sharing their faith with others, the devil himself, because of his hellish pride, because of his despising of holy truth and sacrifice, and because of his demonic envy, will let true witnesses to know that “they are going to have Hell to pay,” but Jesus says His witnesses don’t owe him even a counterfeit coin at all!

THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING OF A DISCIPLE’S DEVOTION? THE DEVIL RATIONALIZES THE ROYAL, KINGLY, ETERNAL WORSHIP OF GOD AS WARPED WILLFULNESS WITH NO WORTH OR VALUE.

Dare I tell you that private or corporate worship is the holy ground of a man’s redeemed heart, alone on the backside of a desert, or amassed with men in a small or large church, but fully committed to honoring, praising, adoring, lifting up from mind and heart and voice God’s worthiness of man’s worship!

But worshipping God doesn’t please the devil even if it comes from an unredeemed soul! True worship though that raises the devil to an explosive state is when men KNOW “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in Truth!”

The devil loves ‘worship’ as long as it is worship of him! Remember that Matthew 4:8-10 tells us, “Again, the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Jesus, “All these things I will give You if you fall down and worship me.”….

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Oh, the devil could “give” Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their glory? What does Revelation 20:10 tell us? “The devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

In Philippians 3:3 Paul writes, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh [or old man or old sin nature!].”

In John 4:23-24 Jesus said, “…the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Farther in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Amen?

Do you know and understand brokenness, humility, or an attitude of true liberty for what Jesus has graciously given to you? What about undefiled loyalty and love? What about true sacrifice on an altar where faithfully and regularly you lay it all down to the glory of God? What about re-born, renewed, refreshing of the inner man by God’s Spirit that revives your spirit-man? Have you been worshipping Him?

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE DEVIL AND THE BLOOD –FLOW OF JESUS!

The disciple, Peter, made a powerful statement in I Peter 4:17 when he said, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Does Peter’s words ring a bell of remembrance in you as to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23? Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven….

Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’….

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’!”

Do you know the intent of Satan related to you personally? He’ll accept your ‘religious activity’, or your ‘church involvement,’ or even your ‘ministerial care of others’ as long as you stay away from “BLOOD REDEMPTION”!

Oh, the devil was more than pleased as the religious leaders gave consent for the beating of Jesus, and he thought, yes, the end of His life and His existence – and, “I’ll be free as the devil should to build my orn kingdom of darkness!” “Crucify Him” was the devil’s battle-cry against God Almighty in the flesh!

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in Mark 14, and in verse 24, Jesus said: “This is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for many.” Jesus’ blood – shed for many! But then in John 19:32-35 we read, “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him….

But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”

You are aware that there are those who oppose the truth of what many liberals call ‘slaughterhouse’ religion. But I want you to know, if you haven’t nailed it down for yourself, it was Sovereign God who decided: [Hebrews 9:22b, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness] of sin.” In fact, in verse 20, God had said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded,” yes, pointing to His impending sacrifice of His Son for our sin, Jesus being our substitute for the penalty of our SIN and the consequences of sin’s diabolical nature!

It was Dwight L. Moody, in his “Best of Moody,” [p.57], who wrote, and preached: “I tell you the moment a man breaks away from this doctrine of blood [sacrifice], religion becomes a sham, because the whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is that Christ came into the world and died for our sins.”

The following is only three verses of the older hymn entitled “There Is A Fountain,” written by William Cowper and Lowell Mason. It says:

“There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; and there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Your precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till all the ransomed church of God Be saved to sin no more.”

I am very impressed with what Phillips Brooks wrote years ago. He said: “Never does human nature seem so courageous and so wicked all at once, as when we stand before the Cross of Jesus! The most enthusiastic hopes, the most profound humiliation, have found their inspiration there.”

And what about Charles Lamb’s statement? “If Shakespeare should come into this room, we would all rise; but if Jesus Christ should come in, we would all kneel.” Tell me about your “bowing” before the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

Do you see “faithful bowing” and “full surrender” and “free abandonment” of self to His control as, yes, eternal recognition that that is what Holy God did at the Cross as He gave His Son for our penalty and the privilege of restoration to God’s purpose and plan for our earthly walk as His disciples?

Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.53], so challenges us in recognizing our eternal hope in Christ alone. He wrote: “Yield in childhood to selfishness, and you will find it the most enchaining tyranny on earth. There is no power in the human soul of itself to break the bondage of a disposition formed by yielding. Yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust (remember what lust is: ‘I must have it at once,’ whether it be the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind) – once yield and though you may hate yourself for having yielded, you are a bondslave to that thing. There is no release in human power at all but only in the Redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One Who can break the dominating power viz., the Lord Jesus Christ – “He has anointed me….to preach deliverance to all captives.” So true! Let’s examine “THE DEVIL AND THE BLOOD-FLOW OF JESUS”!

FIRST, THE NECESSITY OF ‘REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD’! Come to I Peter 1:7, and verses 18-21! The Word declares: Verse 7, “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation [or ‘unveiling’] of Jesus Christ….

Verses 18-21, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your AIMLESS CONDUCT received by tradition from your fathers,….but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot….

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times FOR YOU, who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

You do understand that those who nailed Jesus to the Cross were your representatives and mine, “lawless hands” that crucified Jesus and put Him to death! In Acts 5:30-31 Peter and the other apostles said: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Have you acknowledged in yourself that even repentance is the gift of God as well as forgiveness? There’s no blood redemption apart from heart-surrendered repentance!

In Acts 20:28 Paul said, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” But somehow, more than likely the deceitfulness of the devil himself, you were convinced a blood sacrifice for your sin was unnecessary because you are a good, decent, respectable, best-effort gentleman?

The question I would ask you is: “Are YOU a partaker of the divine nature?”, and apart from “new birth” we live with the old sin nature, alienated and separated from Holy God! There’s no satisfaction or blessing God with the nature of rebellion through the deceit of the devil, “You’ll not die for your sin,” but, no, you were birthed through Adam and Eve with the very nature of “I do it my way”! SIN IS DEATH!

JESUS AUTHORS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS IN OUR PLACE!! If you didn’t know, Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What does Colossians 1:14 tell us? “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Oh, but here is the dividing allegiance to compromising in sin or full surrender to “Victory In Jesus” over sin: Romans 6:1-2 and verses 10-14 tell us thankfully and gloriously – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?….

Verses 10-14, “For the death that Jesus died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord….

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God….

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

In Revelation 5:9 the beloved John wrote: And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God BY YOUR BLOOD out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation….

Verse 10, and have made us priests and kings to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Are you reigning through Christ on your earth?

SECOND, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF “BEING WASHED IN THE BLOOD.” Washing is cleansing, washing is purification, washing is the “birthing of new life,” washing is far more than our forgiveness – washing is away with the old and in with the new and eternal!

In Isaiah 1:18 God’s Holy Word declares, “Come now, and l;et us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Are you familiar with Revelation 1:5? “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD….”

I pray you fully grasp[ for a vibrant, victorious walk with Christ as He unveils it in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh [the old sin nature], but according to the Spirit,” yes, the Spirit of His Resurrected, Indwelling, Empowering Holy Spirit!

In Hebrews 9:11-14 we read: “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation….

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption….

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

THIRD, THERE IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT IN CHRIST’S SHED BLOOD AND THROUGH IT WE ARE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY THE BLOOD – NOT DEC EIVED BY THE DEVIL THAT OUR SIN DOESN’T PRODUCE DEATH.

“You surely shall not die!” Remember that deception? But Romans 5:9 declares, “Much more then, HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED [“just as if I’d never sinned”!] by His blood, we shall be [being] saved from wrath through Him.”

Examine carefully until you fully understand Romans 3:21-26, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;….

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….

Whom God set forth as a PROPITIATION BY HIS BLOOD, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,….

To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Do you “See” PROPITIATION BY JESUS’ BLOOD? Did you see God “justifying the one who has faith in Jesus”? Did you understand “the righteousness of God [yours} through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”?

Doesn’t 2 Corinthians 5:21 tell us also, “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Christ]?” Reconciled to God by religion? NO! By the blood of the Lamb of God! Reconciled to God by our “best efforts”? NO! By the sacrifice of the innocent, pure, sinless Christ who became sin on the Cross for us! Reconciled to God by the recitation of all of our good deeds? NO! It’s only by God’s divineness of His eternal grace, mercy, and love, received through the Sacrificial Lamb of God!

FOURTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF OUR UNDERSTANDING AND COMMITMENT TO THE BLOOD THAT COVERS. I want you to carefully read Exodus 12:5-13! [How vital the blood is, yes, for home and family protection!]. It says: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheewp or the goats….

Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight….

And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it….

Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire….

And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So shall you eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover….

For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord….

Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

In “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.255], Oswald Chambers illumines our hearts and minds so superbly. He said: “We trample the blood of the Son of God under foot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation of the forgiveness of God and of the unfathomable depth of His forgetting is the Death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the Atonement which He has worked out for us. “Christ Jesus….is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” When we realize that Christ is made all this to us, the boundless joy of God begins; wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is at work.”

FIFTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF UNDERSTANDING THAT OUR ACCESS TO GOD IS BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS! What does Ephesians 2:13 tell us? “But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Do you really, really understand about being “brought near by the blood of Christ”? In Colossians 1:19-20 we read, “For it pleased the Father that in Christ all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Christ Jesus, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His Cross.” GLORY!

Access to God by the blood of Christ, peace with God made through the blood of Christ, pleasure to the Father that in Christ all fullness should dwell…! In Hebrews 10:19-23 we read, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God,….

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water….

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.”

SIXTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF APPROPRIATING OUR DESIGNATED AUTHORITY BY AND THROUGH OUR SAVIOR AND LORD’S SHED BLOOD. In Luke 10:1 the Word illumines us as to Jesus’ plan for every disciple! “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”

Then in Luke 10:16-20 our Lord enlarges our understanding of His authority through ALL DISCIPLES! “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”….

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, AND OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, and nothing shall by any means hurt you….

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Disciple of Jesus!! Are YOU a student of His Word? Knowing your calling as a “soldier of the Cross” have you been disciple as a true warrior against the powers of darkness? Revelation 12:11 tells you and me, “And they overcame him [the devil, Satan, his demons] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

SEVENTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WE ARE BIRTHED INTO THE DIVINE FAMILY OF GOD, BECOMING TOGETHER HIS NATION CHANGERS.

In Acts 17:26-28 we read, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings….

So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;….

For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”

You’ll remember that just before His Ascension Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Awesome birthing, awesome blessing, and, yes, even an awesome burden of responsibility every disciple has to touch his/her world with grace, mercy, and God’s love! Aren’t we called in the Word “ambassadors of Christ”? Your salvation experience was God opening the door through you to touch the lost, lonely, needy, empty men and women who’ve had enough of trying to live without God’s presence, purpose, and power.

As “the called of God”, every disciple has been commissioned by Holy God, challenged by the Resurrected Christ, collared and corralled by Jesus’ shed blood! In Hebrews 13:12-13 we read, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach….”

Then Hebrews 13:20-21 reads, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

EIGHTH, UNDERSTAND – WE ARE CONSTANTLY AND CONTINUALLY BEING SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.

What does Romans 5:9-10 reveal to us? “Much more then, having now been justified [accepted ‘just-as-if-I’d-never –sinned’!] by His blood, we shall be [being] saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, MUCH MORE, having been reconciled, WE SHALL BE BEING SAVED BY HIS [INDWELLING] LIFE!”

This is why Paul wrote Philippians 1:6 to the church-at-large! “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you WILL COMPLETE IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST.” I John 1:7 clearly states, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN.” GLORY!

LAST, WE MUST UNDERSTAND, AND SHARE, THE ETERNAL TRUTH THAT THERE IS ALSO JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS. I’m closing this chapter with a sobering Word from Holy God. It’s Hebrews 10:29-31!

“Of how much worse [or sorer] punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the Covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?….

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

YES! IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL, IN JUDGMENT, INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD!”

Is there in you a holy fear of God?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE DEVIL AND OUR LORD’S LIBERATING MINISTRY

In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus opened Isaiah’s prophetic word to identify His ministry to us today: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES and recovery of sight to the blind, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

My Lord and Savior said in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

And then in Mark 3:20-27 we find instructive words for those who doubted His authority to heal, His anointing in preaching, or His amazing grace of deliverance to those in bondage to the devil’s control and demonic activity.

If I were to say to you, “I have been saved,” most of you of faith who know the Word of God would say that you agree that I am on good, safe, solid, scriptural ground. If I were to also say to you, “I am being saved,” your mind would immediately turn to the Ephesians statement: “for the perfecting of the saints” – and you’d say that’s also true. Then, if I went a step further and stated, “I will be saved,” you’d be reminded of Paul’s statement in Romans 13:11, “Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”

God IS at work in true believers both to will and to do of His good pleasure. And what is His pleasure toward us? I Thessalonians 5:23 informs us, “And the very God of peace sanctify you WHOLLY….and I pray your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God’s desire is to save us, and in Christ Jesus He reconciles us to Himself. That’s “ATONEMENT”, or AT-ONE-MENT with God! But salvation is more than reconciliation – salvation is LIBERATION. Salvation is more than the work of grace whereby we’re declared righteous – salvation is freedom, setting us free from the grave-clothes of Adam’s nature and death. Salvation is more than the merciful act of our ACCEPTANCE IN THE BELOVED; salvation is healing grace, the touch of the Great Physician’s hands upon the wounds of the sinner’s mind, soul, and spirit.

In Mark 8 there is an inspiring passage that just leaps out and gives hope to a man about “seeing” but he has doubts over his spiritual eyes because there is such a wide chasm between what he knows he ought to be and what he knows he is. Read it as yourself without Christ – blind, darkness only, no spiritual sight at all.

Mark 8:22-25 tells us: Then Jesus came to Bet5hsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Jesus to touch him. So Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything….

And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.”

Jesus will touch you one time. Jesus will touch you a second time, a third time, a fourth time – He’ll touch you as often as you will allow Him to touch YOUR BLIND SPOTS, or deep wounds, or the hurting scars, or the painful areas of your life – even where the devil and demons get a foothold!

Jesus meant it! “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me: “to proclaim liberty to the captives – to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” [Luke 4:18]. But He also said in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

FIRST, I want us to examine SOME DEFINITE AREAS OF CHRIST’S LIBERATING POWER: What about the area of governmental bondage? There’s no greater word than the word “free”, and thank God, you and I, at least in the past and to a degree the present, have a heritage of being a free people.

And, certainly, there’s no greater man on earth than the man who spends his life for the freedom of others. Eternal honor is given to those who expend their lives to free others from the chains and tyranny of civil bondage and sees that possesses and enjoys their God-given rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was not intended by God to be a United States of America “rights” only.

There is governmental liberty whether one lives in a democracy or not. True liberty if found only in Christ Jesus, and some of the freest people of our world are those in Christ, in chains, maybe even in a Siberian, Russian, Chinese, or terrorist political prisoner camp!

What about the chains of ‘religious superstition’ or the chains of demonic philosophies? The man who forfeits spiritual reason, divine revelation, or the Word of Christ alone to bow or to fall before the throne of superstition or the throne of demonic religions, and who willingly crucify Christ again and again and deny His Holy Word for their lives is a man who will be a slave to the devil forever unless he repents and trusts the finished work of Christ at the Cross for his salvation!

What about the bondage of carnal desires and that fallen sin-nature of instinctual inclinations and willful defiance of God’s Law? That’s that man grinding away in the mill of promiscuity – in bondage and chains of darkened lustful pleasures, tight chains around, not his hands and feet, but his heart!

That’s the young collegiate or young high school student rotting away in the reeking dungeon of sensuality, a salve to sexual immorality. That’s that young lady in whom the stench of death is upon her mind, heart, spirit, and fleshly will, going the way of the fallen world.

There’s a lady – she knows, she’s tired – tired of being controlled by the spirit of anger, fear, resentment, bitterness – a slave to her sin-patterns. Oh yes, and there’s that group – not one – but a community no0f like-minded, darkened hearts, and they’re beginning to say to one another: “There must be something more, something else; we’ve been borne along through these many years of rebellion we believed to be ‘life at its best,’ so societally, fashionably customized to our sin natures – and all it has offered and given to us is emptiness, guilt, and shame!” And I guarantee you, it’s happening all around you!

What about the ‘time-bomb’ of explosive self-reformation? Can I say it in a way that I pray you’ll understand? There are a lot of “good people” in the world. They are not immoral people, but certainly give God not an inch of ground in their lives. How did it happen?

If they’re part of Adam’s race [and they are!], and gotten to a place where people call them ‘good,’ they did a superb job of self-reformation. They possessed, possess, “I’ll do it if it kills me” attitude. They were self-determined to bring those wild stallions of fallen flesh within them under control – and not outwardly is there any evidence of a sad, spiritual state of heart and mind – their lives are now moral, their conduct is acceptable in their ‘man-made’ society, and thewir reputation with fellow-fallen sinners faultless.

But what have they really done? They’ve buried their old sin nature that hasn’t died, they are going, not under an assumed name but an assumed state of heart! And some, many, even go to their graves like that!

Reader, who are you? What is YOUR life all about? And especially as it relates to the Holy God who made you, lost you, and bought you with a price? Up until now you’ve lived that good, self-reformed style of life, but the Holy Spirit struck quick and powerful and your sin has been exposed, your conscience has been Spirit-pricked, your heart has been haunted by unresolved alienation from God’s Way of salvation, blessing, fulfillment through His eternal purpose for YOU!

But there are others: What about those chained to the hurts and pains of the past? Are you aware of women who were sexually abused by their fathers, or uncles, or neighbors, when they were children, and now live under “dark clouds” mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? Are you aware and do you deal with the hurts and pains of broken marriages and broken homes and families?

Do you see around you rebellious sons and daughters who live on guilt trips because of parental failures, until all of a sudden the capability of fallen humanity hits you, and you begin to see how sinful sin can be even rampant in your own child, or your own mom or dad, or both?

Oh, and then there are those unfulfilled dreams or ambitions – failures multiply, and one wonders why he/she was even born! Are you aware of the hurts or pains or scars through the loss of loved ones, a mate, or a child? “They’re dead, gone, and I don’t know if I can go on without them.” The hurts are so real.

I remember years and years ago, I think in the mid to late 1960’s pastoring a church in Tucson, Arizona. Carnie and Dawn Marks were precious parts of that fellowship. While there my wife, Sue, and I learned that they had had two girls, one maybe three years of age and the other girl maybe six? Both little girls had died before I became their pastor. After several years of ministry there, we were called to serve another church in Phoenix, Arizona. I believe it was Sue who had written Carnie and Dawn about parental hurt and the pain of two daughters dying.

Dawn responded with the following words: “How good it was to get your letter – strange that it should be centered around the subject of parental hurts. For some time I have wanted to share our experience – and only in the last several months have I had an overwhelming urge to share the fact that God not only took the ‘hurt’ away – He removed the ‘scar’ -! So, I’ve even thought of writing a book! Your letter just may be the handiwork of God – give me a little time to assemble the joys, the pains, the restoration.”

Have you sensed in some or even dealt with in Christy-like compassion the bondage that some try to live with through the heaviness of guilt because of ‘hidden sin’, an activity some believe only themselves and God are aware of? But they come to you, now vocal, now convicted, now fully aware of sin’s consequences? “I have violated God’s Word and God’s will and God’s Law. I need no convincing. I have been in rebellion, offending God in all that is holy, good, decent, and right. I deserve judgment.”

Oh, but then that person asks, “But is there hope for someone like me? I don’t like myself, I can’t sleep well at night, and each new day is a nightmare. Is there really available the divine power of God to change one such as I am?” AND THERE IS! “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses one from all sin!”

Also, examine those heavy chains of the debilitating fear of death. Have you heard it, or even, have you ever been gripped by it? “I am afraid to die…!” And I want you to know: THERE IS THE SHEPHERD whose name is Jesus! And YOU can say right now, “The Lord is MY Shepherd, I shall not want – and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

[If I haven’t mentioned in this book, at 77 years of age, April 28, 2013, I had a major heart attack. When I went to the hospital on a Saturday night, in the emergency room I heard the emergency room doctor, after reading my EKG, say: “Get him to surgery fast, he’s got less than an hour to live!” My heart surgeon was in the hospital on a Saturday night at about 8pm, and within 22 minutes from emergency room to surgical wing, I was being operated on! Major artery 100% blocked! When the surgery was over, the doctor told my wife of the 100% blockage and a major blood clot behind the blockage that would have killed me if it broke through! I never had one fear! I was at perfect peace!]

In Christ, one is “more than conqueror”! And when in death you are “in Christ,” yes, “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all His saints,” and you’ll hear Him say, “Welcome! For to you to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

SECOND, DIG WITH ME INTO THE RICH SOIL OF GOD’S WORD AS TO THE DECLARED AVAILABILITY OF THE LIBERATING LORD TO SET YOU FREE. In John 8:31-36 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, trusted Him, relied upon Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”….

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin….

And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

“IF” is a mighty, big, gigantic word, with “IF” as a condition, and conditioned by our response to Jesus’ question, “Will YOU be made whole?”

I hope you know already that it can be for you the possibility through Jesus’ promise of liberation from bondage, freedom from the devil’s control, and healing of a wounded spirit! I also hope you know that what you’ve just read was Sovereignly planned by God before the world was ever created! Revelation 13:8 speaks of: “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world”!

Peter illumined our minds in Acts 2:23 when He spoke of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know.”

Paul continued building that strong foundation to saving faith when in 2 Timothy 1:9 he wrote, “who 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.”

Your freedom from Satanic chains, from self-domination, from sin and death, was sacrificially purchased! “Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!” “Overcoming by the blood of the Lamb!” Turn your eyes upon Jesus – look full into His wonderful face!

Charles Spurgeon, in his Memorial Library, [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.8, p.201] wrote: “dragged to Pilate’s Hall bound, whipped like a common felon, scourged like a murderer, and dragged away by hell-bounds through the streets, fastened by those cruel fetters which went through His flesh to accursed wood! See Jesus yielding up His liberty to the dungeon of death!” And it was just FOR YOU AND ME, AS WELL AS THE REST OF FALLEN MANKIND!

Jesus was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich! And it was so sweetly and freely offered to us! Acts 10:43 says, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes [trusts in, relies upon, adheres to] in Him will receive remission of sins.” Remission? FORGIVENESS! Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10:28, “Come unto Me…all you that labor and are heavy-laden… and I will give you rest.”

Hear me! His Word is a solemn promise of a perfect and perfecting liberty: I Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God who gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Oh, how I love John’s word in I John 3:2-3! He says: “Beloved, NOW we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is….And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Tell me of your purifying process as you “lean not to your own understanding,” but you acknowledge, bow to, confess, rest in the Truth that He is your Savior and Lord and the Master of your life both now and forever!

Then in this chapter of :The Devil and Our Lord’s Liberating Ministry,” do you see, do you sense, and have you settled it in your mind and heart that Jesus’ death, burial, and Resurrection IS your “Get out of jail” through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord’s FINISHED WORK? But do you also see that our Lord’s Word does instruct us about fighting the goof fight of faith?

In I Peter 5:8-9 we’re told, “Be sober [watchful], be vigilant [alert and prepared and reinforced]; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. RESIST HIM, STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world [of redemptive, saving, freeing, delivering faith!].”

But when there is no ‘watchfulness’, when there is no vigilance,’ when men, women, youth, even children, ignore God’s grace and decide to live by ‘grit’, they have ignored the battle line and stepped over into the devil’s domain, and rejecting God’s warning, God’s mercy, God’s entreaties, multitudes enter that spiritual state of darkness and learn the devil’s deceitful lies, spiritually imprisoned, cuffed with cruel chains and bondages, and get a taste day aqfter day of the devil’s fiery domain!

In Isaiah 42:23-25 the prophet warns rebellious men who reject God’s love! “Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?….

Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom WE HAVE SINNED?….

For THEY WOULD NOT WALK IN HIS WAYS, NOR WERE THEY OBEDIENT TO HIS LAW [HIS REVEALED WORD]….

Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger and the strength of battle; it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not know; and it burned him, yet he did not take it to heart.”

Romans 5:12 tells us, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” SIN AND THE SIN NATURE IS THE OPEN DOOR TO DEMONIC ACTIVITY!

Follow Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.206], “The disposition of sin is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the disposition of self-realization.” And I say to you as one decides he is his own deity, the door is opened wide and the devil gladly enters! But Jesus? “Get behind Me, Satan!”

Show the devil the door, and celebrate with the saints!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE DEVIL AND THE GREAT PHYSICIAN

How do you describe what the devil is all about? And if you have a doubt as to his existence, you’ve come to major deception in your own life! Our world is like a great hospital full of people smitten by the deadly spiritual diseases of unbelief, rebellion, even open defiance of the Word, Will, and Ways of Holy God.

But Christ Jesus is right in the middle of demonic activity, devilish rebellion to God, bondage, chains and imprisonments, deadly diseases called ‘sin and death,’ offering fallen humanity THE WAY OF HEALING GRACE!

There is a dark cloud over fallen humanity that does not grasp that the devil is out for their sickness while Jesus is out for their healing grace and mercy to be received, accepted, and relied upon!

Do you remember Jesus Himself saying in Luke 18:8, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” I want you to know I am absolutely thrilled by those who walk in concerning the finished work of Christ at the Cross, but heart-broken over multitudes who refuse His open arms of true salvation and eternal purpose fulfilled through them. And heart-broken over those who are blind to His saving grace, even spiritually shaken by those who deny His Word, and, yes, dumb-founded by the millions and millions who feel so comfortable in a demonized, Hell-bent society, and broken over the rejection of our Loving Savior.

AQnd, of course, we know that we have one called the devil or Satan who is out for our demise of a personal relationship with Holy God, and we understand he’s out to see us diseased, eternally sick, and facing death in Hell with him forever, but facing a death in Hell that will not die!

The devil so promotes the “natural” over the spiritual. He is a master of deceit of the unimportance of forgiveness, new birth, and reconciliation with God. “Why worry about God-consciousness when self-esteem is the strong motivating factor of successful mankind?” “God’s will for your life when you’re so capable of self-determination?” “Fearing God? What a deprived, disturbed, distraught individual who doesn’t know they’re number one without Him?”

“Why consciousness of God when one is secure in his/her own self-consciousness?” “A soul at ease? How about free from this religious ‘faith’ stuff?” “If you’re religious, you are wise because you base your life upon ‘common sense,’ not ‘common sickness’, because some religious freak tells you, you need to be born again?” “The grave of my awareness that in me dwells no good thing? What a monstrous lie that people say God told them!?!”

“God knows your disease – and He’s the remedy for your healing? I don’t think so!”, so the devil says to you! “Pagans in an eternal crisis?” “As the devil, my world, my authority, my wisdom, says: nothing pagan about you – be at peace in who you are, not what some ‘false God’ says He wants you to be!”

“Without Jesus, the Bible calls you ‘heathen who are dying without God,’ but I say you’re number one in your world because you rest in the ‘wisdom’ of the devil! Look at my numbers!”

“Oh, they talk about ‘life eternal’ but in the here and now when I tell you, ‘only in being your real self does one begin to truly live,’ and under my administration, as the devil, I give you and keep on giving you so ‘self’ is magnified and a Savior denied! Who needs to “be saved”?”

“Oh, I know some say Jesus exposed ‘common-sense carefulness’ in a life as fraud, fake, infidelity, but, as the devil, I tell you: ‘Follow me, and do as you please!’”

“Even as sick as you may sense your self to be, opposite to New Testament evangelism, ‘take thought to your life,’ because devotion to your true soul is more important than devotion to what God wants you to be.”

Sin sickness is an illness spread by the devil himself because it’s his declaration of independence from Holy God, and the massive disease is taking its toll among godless men. In the word ‘sin’, if one removes the ‘s’ and the ‘n’, you find ‘I’, which is the very foundation, faulty as it is, called “carnal self”! And, of course, the devil lets you know awareness of sin is ‘religious deception’ and you shouldn’t fall for it. He doesn’t tell you that one of the fiercest and deadly diseases overcoming mankind is ‘no consciousness of sin.’

And though sin is the notable identifying characteristic of every alienated life from God, for a man to refuse grace, mercy, and the love of God for sin’s forgiveness and to go on and on and on in a lifestyle of habitual sinfulness is more than a description of fallen humanity but an awareness of a life under satanic bondage and devilish control!

I encourage you to face the reality of the Cross of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God With Us,” because it was for sin and for our unhealthy life imposed upon us by devilish deception that Jesus shed His blood on the Cross! Examine Matthew 8:16-17 where we read: When evening had come, they brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

The Cross of Christ was sin-deliverance AND satanic deliverance! On the Cross the shed blood of Christ was God’s eternal prescription for what every earthling must have for healing grace to abound toward them! In Acts 10:38 Peter said, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

God’s heart for fallen mankind is deliverance from the bondage of sin and death and deliverance from satanic domination! Though the man born blind in John 9 was healed by Jesus, in verse 25 he said, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see,” not yet knowing who Jesus was. In verses 35-38 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’….He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’”….

And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshipped Him.

Born blind – receives sight! Born alienated – receives reconciliation! Born spiritually ignorant – receives personal faith! Born with compromising parents – encounters Father-God! Born in poverty – made rich by Christ! Born with limitations – receives unlimited, eternal possibilities! Sight gained – service given! Sight gained – true worship birthed!

Apart from the redeeming blood of Christ for sin, deliverance, and satanic deliverance, fallen men and women face “sickness” that most have no understanding about, whether physical sickness or spiritual sickness.

In John 8 Jesus had gone to the Mount of Olives and the scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. Oh, they were so ashamed and wanted immediate judgment exercised on her. They talked about “stoning” according to Moses’ law. They were there for immediate judgment on her, but John 8:6 says, “Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.”

Verses 7-12 then tells us: So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”….

And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst….

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”….

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 60:2-3, “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.” John and Isaiah agree! I John 1:5b says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Dare I say, “darkness is the devil’s dwelling”? And you do remember that Jesus spoke of “the sons of the kingdom” – [that’s the devil’s kingdom!] – will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [Matthew 8:12].

Are you aware of the ‘warfare’ from before earth’s creation that Satan was planning deceit, defilement, and, yes, darkness, especially in men’s minds and hearts? God told Abram of “blessing” but that “curses” would come against him! And the curses of darkness are just as abusive as they were when the devil lied, leaned on, and led away to bondage any who fell into his “falsehoods”! Living a ‘lie’ IS sickness!

I do not say, never will say, that “all sickness” is from the devil – it’s just not so; but there is ‘sickness’ that comes directly from his desire to destroy as many as he can. Are you familiar with Job’s story in the Old Testament?

In Job 1:6-12 we read, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”….

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”…..

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him and his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land….

But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

What happened in Job’s immediate future? Job 1:13-22 tells us that Job lost everything – his property, his family, with Job arising, tearing his robe, shaving his head, and then fell down to the ground and worshipped God!

Oh, and then in chapter 2 is the unveiling of Satan attacking Job’s physical health with God instructing the devil in verse 6, And the Lord said to Satan “Behold, Job is in your hand, but sp[are his life,” with Job’s wife then telling Job, “Curse God and die!”

Jobe 2:10 then tells us that Job said to his wife, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

It sounds to me like Job had already experienced a divine heart transplant, and as a “new man” he could fight the good fight of faith even as he “suffered” from demonic domination for a time with his spiritual eyes riveted on “the great Physician,” Holy God, the able-ness of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit!

Please let me turn your full attention to Jesus, our “Great Physician”! Don’t ever forget, overlook, or deny our Lord’s healing graces and mercies and expression of eternal love! In Mark 1:34 we read, “Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.”

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS WAS ETERNALLY QUALIFIED AND DIVINELY CHOSEN.

In Isaiah 61:1 we read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me [Jesus] to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;….”

The verse you just read was written at least 700 years before the Lord’s birth, and He came at God’s appointed time to fulfill God’s eternal purpose and plan.

Isaiah 7:14 informs us, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” which means “God With Us”!!

You’ll find God’s promise coming to fruition as His angel came to Mary to share the eternal news. In Luke 1:26-35 we read, Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary….

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was….

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS….

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”….

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Miraculous promise from God, miraculous Person in presence, miraculous power needed to overcome the devil and his demons, and a miraculous intercessor who took our place on the Cross to remove the devil’s ‘sting of death’! It was and still is Jesus of Nazareth!

Hebrews 9:11-15 says, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation….

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Plkace once for allo, having obtained eternal redemption….

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?….

And for this reason HE IS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” GLORY!! Eternally qualified and divinely chosen!

It was Peter who opened our heart6s to God’s “CHOSEN ONE” for His eternal plan of redemption and release from the demonic “strongholds” in every fallen man’s life. In I Peter 2:6 Peter wrote, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scriptures, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” Next:

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD AND UNDERSTANDS TODAY EVERY CASE OF MEN’S SICKNESSES. In Matthew 9:1-2 God’s Word says, So He [Jesus] got into a boat, and came to His own city….

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith [IN HIM!!], He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” That was a shocker to all those who brought the paralytic because the important thing to them was physical healing while Jesus’ eternal concern is a new heart fully forgiven of all sin!

Examine Matthew 9:3-8! And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?….

For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” – then He said to the paralytic, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’….

And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.”

A paralytic healed AND forgiven, an unclean spirit cast out, Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever healed, Jesus cleansed a leper, He healed the paralytic carried by four men on a bed to the presence of Christ, a man with a withered hand healed by Jesus; Mark 3:10-11 says, “For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about to touch Him….

And the unclean spirit whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out saying, ‘You are the Son of God’ – and I assure you that today the demons know who Jesus is whether or not you acknowledge Him and bow before Him!

Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, whether physical lakes, or stormy demonized lives! Jesus healed the woman with issue of blood for twelve years: The young girl, Tabitha, He said, “Little one, little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Mark 6:56 says, “Wherever He entered in ti villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR AND MASTER OVER LIFE, SICKNESS, DEATH, HAS ALREADY HEALED MILLIONS. In Revelation 7:9 we read, After these things I looked, and, behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,….

Verse 10, And crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Exclamation point – Jesus saves, heals, and delivers – did then, does now!

I personally traveled all over the world for over thirty years after being a pastor of churches in the U.S.A for my first twenty-two years. In most places where I visited and ministered there were no hospitals, doctors, or nurses, and often many sick people. We prayed for healing mercy and grace to abound ‘in the Name of Jesus,’ and often witnessed dramatic, God-honoring healings!

I remember on one occasion in a government housing project in Madras, India, (now called Chennai), my translator, Pastor Anand, and I were ministering in the streets. Someone brought a lady to us who’d left her husband and three children and gone to the streets – a druggie, a street prostitute, and when we saw her, a totally demonized woman. We ministered Jesus delivering authority over demons, led her to repentance and faith and saw divine transformation!

I gave her the name, “Esther,” because, in India, among the Christian fellowships I worked with, when one came to Christ they received a new name. She became a significant part of my translator’s church, and one year later when I returned there to preach in a Sunday morning service, I asked Anand, “Is Esther here?” He said yes, and I asked him to have her come up to the front altar so I could pray for her, and have her bring her children! He did, she did, but as she came from the back of the church to the altar, she was calling out her children to come with her – I was astounded! “Anand, I asked for her children to come with her – who are these people?” And Pastor Anand said that in the past year she had personally led to faith in Christ over 200 people, her “babes in Christ”!

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS DEEPLY LOVES EVERY PATIENT. Has Jesus Christ not proved this by dying on the Cross for each of us, shedding His own blood that we might be freed from the guilt, from the gravitational pull downward to demonic bondage, from aimless lives caught up in the world, the flesh, and the devil himself?

Galatians 1:4 tells us, “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”!

The Cross was, and still is, the will of God in proving His love for fallen mankind: God so loved the world” – He gave Jesus as our Lord and Savior! Romans 5:8 clearly says, “But God demonstrates [proves] His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Do you understand “greater love”?

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS HEALS COMPLETELY AND FINALLY – NO NEED OF A ‘FOLLOW-UP SURGERY. In Acts 9:32-35 the disciple, Peter, understands the calling on every disciple to be an extension of Jesus’ life, an expression of His amazing love, and the proof of His power. He came down to Lydda and there found a man named Aeneas, who had been bed-ridden for eight years and was paralyzed.

Pet said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

“God, help us all as Your disciples to know and understand that Jesus is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think – heal through us today as Jesus did then and does now!”

AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS DELIGHTS TO MINISTER TO HOPELESS CASES. Matthew 9:18-26 is one passage or sections of New Testament scripture that causes one to say: “Am I to really believe what I’ve just read; is it actual Gospel-Truth of the divine ministry and order of Christ our Lord?” And, of course, we say “Yes” ten thousand times! Jesus never changes! He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!

The scriptures tell us: While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hands on her and she will live.”….

So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”….

But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour….

When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the frlute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him….

But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

Can I share my heart? Thank God, that Jesus heals physical sickness, and, yes, “raises the physically dead,” but don’t you stand in awe of Him who takes spiritually dead lives and raises them up to “new life,” “new hope,” and “new eternal purposes”?

But the last point in this chapter? AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN”, JESUS IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus calls us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest….

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…… For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

2 Peter 3:9 is so illumining of the heart of God. Peter wrote: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, b ut is longsuffering toward us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.”

Through the prophet Ezekial in the Old Testament, Ezekial 33:11, God spoke so clearly: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die….?”

Again, Peter, in Acts 3:19, preaching publicly, said: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

Repentance, regeneration; repentance, refreshing from the Lord; repentance, renewal of His eternal purpose for your life! The “Great Physician” IS YOUR SAVIOR AND YOUR DELIVERER AND YOUR HEALER! Rejoice in the Lord!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE DEVIL AND ‘MOUNTAINOUS’ TEMPTATIONS OR CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF CHOOSES TO COME!

You do understand that in the spiritual of life that you have an enemy whose desire is to lead you astray, to lead you into dismay while promising ‘gold’ in the hay! And it doesn’t take long to learn his prize was ‘fool’s gold’!

And certainly there are ‘tools’ the devil uses to lead you away from the awareness of your desperate need of God’s saving grace, like “lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life”!

The devil and his ‘mountainous’ temptations are fully revealed in Matthew 4:8-11! We read, Again, the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory….

And the devil said to Jesus, “All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’….

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

In another gospel it speaks of the devil leaving Jesus for “a more opportune time,” because he hates to lose and comes back and comes back and comes back – because he wants to lead YOU astray!

And there’s no doubt the devil’s oppressive temptations can be warded off for a period of time, but be assured his “fleeing” your resistance will only fortify his determination to return! In James 4:7 we read, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

I’m convinced that much of the devil’s ‘mountainous’ temptations find fertile grounds, especially among young believers and even more among non-believers, because, short of spiritual maturity in and through biblical knowledge and training, too many do not know that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” when he’s nothing more than a deceiver of darkness!

It’s so interesting and challenging to me that Paul was so straightforward about the danger of deception from the devil. He wrote in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and DO NOT BE ENTANGLED AGAIN WITH A YOKE OF BONDAGE.”

And it’s not my intent to major here on ‘yokes of bondage’ but upon the fact that there IS a yoke of bondage because of the devil and his ‘mountainous temptations’ – he comes and comes and comes, seeking to turn you away from devotion to Jesus!

Just how bold was Paul when he wrote in I Corinthians 9:27, “But I discipline me body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” I cannot see anywhere that ‘disqualification’ is a blessing.

When you saw Jesus on the mountain with the devil, do you think one of the devil’s special ‘;tools’ was that of distraction, a turning away from the goal, a substitution of divine intent?

Of course, you saw earlier that in Genesis 3 the ‘serpent’ cast doubt on the Word of God: “Did God indeed say…?”, even instituting “the lie” – “YOU CAN SIN AND NOT DIE”! One of his major strategies is de-fusing any fire of devotion on God’s Holy Word! It even impacted Israel, and Jeremiah warned in Jeremiah 6:10, “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it,” and the devil has a celebration!

If the Word of God “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” [Hebrews 4:12], don’t you know and understand why and how the devil denies, degrades, and seeks to defuse any interest in God’s Word, whether one is saved or lost, redeemed or unredeemed, family of faith or family of unbelievers?

To the church at Thessalonica and us today, Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:14, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly [insubordinate or idle], comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all;” how vital is it to comfort those gripped by fainting spells spiritually, yes, opening the door to demonic interference, to recognize that there are infant, young believers and unbelievers with a target colored on their minds and hearts, because of spiritual weakness, and especially those who have a carry-over spirit of stubbornness, rebellion, and love of indifference to devotion, with demons at the door?

You’ll remember that John 17 was Jesus’ personal and powerful prayer to His Father before His arrest and His appearance in Pilate’s court. In verses 11-15 the Lord and Savior prayed: “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are….

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled….

But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your world; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world….

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, BUT THAT YOU, GOD, SHOULD KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL ONE.”

Oh, how amazing it is that Jesus “prays” to Father-God to keep Jesus’ children of faith from the evil one – that is the devil! But Jesus mentioned to God in His prayer about “the son of perdition” who was “lost”! That’s Judas who betrayed Jesus!

In Colossians 1:13 Paul challenged believers in Colossae that God the Father “has delivered us from the power of darkness…” You KNOW there is a “kingdom of darkness”, and the devil, as its ruler, has no desire to see even one leave to enter our Lord’s eternal “Kingdom of Light”!

Here’s how the psalmist, in Psalm 107:10-20, described those enslaved in the devil’s dark kingdom: “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons – Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High,….

Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses,….

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children opf men!….

For He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron in two. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted….

Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Darkness, death, despisers of God’s Word, distresses, drawn away from God, destructions, dominating rule of self-will, self-pleasure, denial of even the need of saving grace, mercy, and love? And it all begins with the devil’s lies?

You do understand that the devil is a ‘seed-planter’, and fallen mankind is the field where he plants the seed. Matthew 13:22, Jesus speaking, tells us: “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

I have no hesitation in saying to you that money itself is not an evil thing, but the devil is so devious that he perverts it with a passionate desire of the evilness of the love of money! And I know this is why Paul wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 6:9-10,

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition….

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

And if one’s heart was “tuned” by Christ rather than the devil himself, one would not be subject to “off-key” mentality that one’s babk account was more important than his ‘life-ledger’ under God’s oversight and God’s control!

To Timothy, in I Timothy 6:11-17, Paul also said: “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness….

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses….

I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,….

That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate [Sovereign}, the King of kings and Lord of lords,….

Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

THE DEVIL AND ‘MOUNTAINOUS’ TEMPTATIONS OR CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF IS ABOUT TO COME. Luke 10:1 says, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” [Should I challenge you to get out your ‘check-list’ or your ‘punch-list’?]

FIRST, HOW ABOUT CHOOSING TO GO TO THE PLACE OF PLENTIFUL HARVEST? In Luke 10:2 Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

I think it would be vital for you to settle in your minds, in your hearts, and on your schedule daily activities of an eventful harvest.

Didn’t Jesus say in Luke 19:10, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”? Jesus said in Luke 9:56, “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

The devil is out to destroy – Jesus is out to save. The devil is out to shackle and imprison – Jesus is out to release and break the chains of bondage. The devil is out to sicken – Jesus is out to heal. The devil is out to starve – Jesus is out to feed the bread of life.

In John 5:34-38 Jesus told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish God’s work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, LIFT UP YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT THE FIELDS, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together…,.

For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

SECOND, HOW ABOUT CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS GOES – EVEN TO THE PLACE OF THE WILY WOLVES? Luke 10:3 clearly tells us that our Lord even commissions us: “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”

The early church in Acts had begun its journey of faith and obedience. In Acts 20:17-32 we find a major unveiling of New Testament ministry and example:

From Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,….

Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly from house to house,….

Testifying to Jews and also to Greeks [Gentiles], repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the spirit in Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,….

Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me [there]. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God….

And indeed, now I know that among you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men….

For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood….

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves….

Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and days with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Savage wolves, ravenous animals, destructive enemies, deceptive ‘disciples’, who were out to destroy, or short-change men who were promised one thing but receive another – yes, death instead of life, guilt instead of innocence, the curse rather than the blessing, emptiness rather than Divine-Infilling of Holy Presence!

THIRD, WOULD YOU CONSIDER GOING TO THE PLACE OF ABIDING PEACE, BLESSING, AND FRUITFULNESS, RATHER THAN GOD-ABSENT PROBLEMS, THE CURSE, AND FRUITLESSNESS? In John 15:16 Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you should ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Are you acquainted with the “fruit of Christ”? Have you even considered without Christ or with Christ? In Colossians 3:15 Paul wrote, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” I Corinthians 7:15b tells us: “But God has called us to peace.” Jesus promised: “My peace – a peace that passes all understanding – I give to you, disciple of Mine!”

Storms may blow – but in Christ peace reigns. Troubles may arise – but in Christ peace is our comfort. Wars may erupt – but in Jesus peace overrules violence. Hurricanes may explode – but help in Christ is ever present!

FOURTH, IS AVAILABILITY TO THE LIFE IN NEED A MAJOR PRIORITY AS IT WAS WITH JESUS, YES, EVEN A SACRIFICIAL DEATH ON THE CROSS? That’s laying down YOUR life in ministry and service to others!

In Luke 4:18 the prophetic word about Jesus, our example, says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

Then, in Luke 10:30-37, is one strong, convicting passage that calls us all into account as to our priorities as Christ’s royal ambassadors. It says: Jesus speaking, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead….

Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at that place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side….

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him….

On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’….

So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?’ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

We’ve seen demonic sickness, bodily sickness, mental illness, emotional stress, open sin, secret sin, marital madness, spiritual betrayal, defiance of God’s Word – and as followers of Christ we remain silent or aloof or oblivious to another’s need?

FIFTH, DO YOU CHOOSE TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF CHOOSES TO COME – THE PLACE OF REJECTION? John 1:11 says of Jesus, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” In Mark 14:46 the Word tells us, “Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.” Chief priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, general public of devotees to Judaism, ordinary servants, with verse 50 saying, “Then they all forsook Him and fled.”

A lonely path called “the way of the Cross,” a lonely journey called “death to self,” a lonely calling described, “forsake all and follow Me!” In I John 3:13 we read, “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.”

Can you imagine a whole city coming out to meet you, and then deciding to walk away? That’s Matthew 8:34, “And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” Is that a cold, callous, cruel response to the King of kings and Lord of lords?

SIXTH, HOW NEAR ARE YOU TO GOING TO THE PLACE OF BROKENNESS? In John 10:31 we see Jesus as the Jews “Took up stones to stone Him” Where did that come from? Bodily “stoning” is cruel, evil, demonic, alien to everything and everyone God stands for, but the devil and unbelievers have no shame concerning Jesus, whether stoning, spitting, slandering, or seeking to pour shame on Him, even by denial, ignoring, or nailing to the Cross!

In Revelation 12:9-13 we read, “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 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 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 he has a short time.” AMEN!

SEVENTH, WILL YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO THE PLACE OF FRIENDSHIP AND BLESSING? And someone asks, “Where is that?” In Luke 10:38-42 we see the dramatic difference between busyness and blessing! Now it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house….

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was disturb with much serving, and she approached Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’….

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things; But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

“Mary has chosen that good part?” “Mary has chosen that part with the significance of eternal consequences”? “Mary chose to sit at My feet and hear My word?”!

Tell me about your daily devotion at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word, since He tells us, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth!”

EIGHTH AND LAST, FOR THIS CHAPTER, DO YOU GO TO THE PLACE OF PRAYER? In Luke 11:1 the Word tells us, Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His diusciples said to Him, “Lord, TEACH US TO PRAY, as John also taught His disciples.”

I remember often as a child visiting my grandparents several times a year. This was my Dad’s parents – my dad and mother had divorced when I was three years of age and my mother moved her and me to her parents 30 miles away.

Mammaw and Papa Fisher had a two-story home with a wrap-around porch. Below them was a smaller house but with an attic with windows on each side.

Every time I was there, at least several times a day, the lady in the house below went to the attic windows, opened them for a breeze, and faithfully lifted her hands to pray to Holy God in Jesus’ Name, blessing, praising, exalting, entreating, rejoicing every time!

I was deeply moved as a child and thanked God often for a pure example of one who prayed. In Luke 18:1 Jesus spoke a parable, that “men always ought to pray, and not lose heart.” Do you realize how often men and women of faith lose the heart of faithful praying?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RABID RESISTANCE OR REDEMPTIVE RECONCILIATION?

In I Peter 5:8-11 Peter challenges every man on the face of the earth concerning warfare with their number one enemy. He wrote: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world….

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you….even after fifteen chapters related to “Demonic Domination Or Demonic Deliverance,” I’m not sure all understand the seriousness of “Rabid Resistance Or Redemptive Reconciliation.”

When Peter said that YOU have an “adversary the devil [who] walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” does that include you?

“Rabid Resistance”? The word ‘rabid’ according to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is defined as: “furious, raging, mad; as a rabid dog or wolf.” That’s ‘furiousness’ or ‘madness’ – and that’s the attitude of the devil and his army of demons that concerns every man, woman, boy, or girl, on the face of the whole earth!

Even if you seriously surveyed the life of Jesus Christ alone, you’d discover the very ‘agony’ of the Son of God as time after time Satan cam to lead Him away from His eternal destiny. And, of course, the devil felt victorious when Jesus was hung on the Cross, suffered, bled, and died – but the devil was so short-sighted because he didn’t know about Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope!

Do you understand that you have an enemy of God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s mercy? If you know nothing of “Rabid Resistance” against any word of repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, then you have been covered over by the dark cloud of “rabid resistance” and are missing out on the eternal truth of “redemptive reconciliation”!

Rabid resistance comes in many different forms, styles, or strategies, because your ‘adversary’ the devil is a master of deceit! He “pumps” the ‘natural life’ even at its best man-made level, with “self-realization” his “academy award winning honor”! It was Oswald Chambers, in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.256], who said, “To discern that natural virtues antagonize surrender to God, is to bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle.”

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Verse 25, For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find iot.”

But we just read in I Peter 5:8 that we have an adversary called the devil – and Peter also said that the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour! You are his “prime-rib” ready for the fire – and he will devour you if you let him!

An individual who so loves his ‘flesh’ is the devil’s foremost candidate for ‘demonic domination’ because thye devil sees ‘flesh’ as majoring on its own independence with no need of God, and before they know it, they’re victims of demonic bondage!

Are you genuinely aware of how much the devil loves a ‘natural man’ who considers the very things of the Spirit of God as nothing more than foolishness? [I Corinthians 2:14]. In Paul’s letter, also to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, he wrote:

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age [the devil] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image [exact likeness, nature, and character] of God, should shine on them.”

Spend some time one day, limited at best, browsing the television scenes, and you’ll fast come to the conclusion that our world loves the praise of men more than the praise of God, that most are enslaved to the bondage of ‘flesh promotion’, and that holiness has become for most a “curse word”!

In Ephesians 4:27, Paul was very emphatic when he said: “nor give place to the devil,” or “don’t even give him a toe-hold’! In Ephesians 6:11-13 the apostle really gets down to business with those he deeply cared about [and us today] when he wrote, understanding clearly, the devil’s rabid resistance to any man who has even a ‘silly-mille-meter’ of belief, faith, or even just an idea about God:

“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 you stand.”

That’s standing against the devil – not seated with him, resisting the powers of darkness – not entertaining them, fighting the good fight of faith against demon forces – not surrendering to his dark temptations.

But let me clearly say to you that just as Jesus was sent out into the wilderness by the Spirit [Mark 1:12], so the Holy Spirit will allow, yes, a person today to also be led into a ‘wilderness of testing,’ and, Mark 1:13 tells us, “And He [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, TEMPTED BY SATAN, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”

Jesus’ desire, His will, and His equipping of His disciples is not to yield to the enemy of God, but to overcome by the victory He won for us as He overcame Satan through His own shed blood. If a man falls, falters, and fails in his battle against Satan, it is because he fights in and through himself as best he can, ignoring the blood shed by the Lamb of God at Calvary!

But, be assured, as you go through the New Testament and major on the life of Jesus, you will recognize that Jesuis for His entire earthly existence faced constant warfare against Satan and the powers of darkness! And, be assured, it’s not God Almighty saddling us with demonic activity, but there is that rerality of the devil ‘on you’ just as He stayed on Jesus with Jesus constantly saying, “Get behind Me, Satan,” and so must we who are His followers.

To be indwelt by our Lord’s Resurrection Life is to find one’s self facing spiritual warfare just as Jesus did! In fact, in Psalm 110:1-3a, David unveiled our Messiah’s reign when he said, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. RULE IN THE MIDST OF YOUR ENEMIES! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power…”

Have you volunteered to be a soldier of the Cross and do battle faithfully against the devil and his forces of evil? Though our Lord and Savior suffered, bled, and died on the Cross, yet by God’s Resurrection power, our Savior is seated on the throne as mighty conqueror over sin, over death, over the devil, over Hell itself! Yes, He knew about “thorns”, but He also did then and does now wear the Crown of Victory over your enemy! Your enemies, yes, are now His footstool!

You are familiar with the Book of Job I’m sure! But I would encourage you to read Job’s encounter with Satan, yes, allowed by God. It was a tough, tough contest! In Job 6:11-13 Job came to a place of asking: “What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?….

Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?”

The day came when Job fully humbled himself before God Almighty. In Job 42:2-6, this man of faith, though suffering greatly, came through as a victorious warrior! He said:

“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, THINGS TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME, WHICH I DID NOT KNOW….

Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’….

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Don’t you find it so amazing, so enriching, so encouraging? In Job 42:16-17 it tells us, “After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.” The devil did not win!

Remember Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 as “the serpent” came to deceive God’s first man and woman? It became so bad for them that they even “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God,” but loving, merciful, caring God sought them out as He seeks us in this very moment thousands of years later!

Paul HAD TO WRITE 2 Corinthians 11:3 for us! He said, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” What a merciful word of warning from Holy God!

If it’s “Rabid Resistance [against you by the devil], have you ever considered God’s Plan of “Redemptive Reconciliation”? Does Romans 5:8 not grip you with joy, admiration, and thanksgiving for His love of you so personally? Paul said: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

This is why Oswald Chambers wrote: [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.252], “Rely on the certainty Of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in souls.” He went on to state in the next paragraph, “When once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith; but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God.” GLORY! Are you secure in your faith?

“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Jesus IS Lord – and you become His son and servant and sent-one. Jesus IS your Lord AND your Savior AND your Master of all of life – and because He is, you never get enough of the comprehension of “so great a salvation” through Him alone!

“Redemptive Reconciliation”? That’s the “blood-bought” open door to God’s Holy Presence! This is why John 3:21 tells us: “But he who DOES THE TRUTH comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” Amazing truth, amazing privilege, amazing blessing, amazing provision, amazing calling and anointing – one with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

No wonder Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Grace abounded to Paul, and still can and does abound toward and in every repentant servant of the Most High God and their Master, King Jesus! And, I say to you, because of God’s grace appropriated in your life, the Lord Jesus Christ keeps you away from sin’s wide-open door, and challenges you daily to honor your Savior, walk God’s path of holiness and righteousness, and to void all temptations to bless the flesh but curse His holy name, never offering Him broken promises and empty professions but daily, on the altar, surrendering a cleansed heart by the blood, a renewed mind by the Word, and a pure sacrifice at His holy throne daily – dead to self but eternally alive in Christ!

“Redemptive Reconciliation”? In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul gives us a true picture of a victorious servant of King Jesus! He wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”

Examine your heart and mind in this very moment – are you fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ over your life; are you bringing, “yes,” every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, or, has Satan said: “It’s okay! You won’t die!”?

“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Have you ever witnessed the lives of people, without God, who by human effort do their best to overcome, yes, a deathly existence within them because we know, “sin is death;” but even beyond that ‘fleshly’ life given over to the sin nature that produces a deathly state, what about “human sicknesses” and they don’t know the “Great Physician” whose name is Jesus?

In Acts 9:32-35 there is the story of Aeneas: Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda….

There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bed-ridden eight years and was paralyzed….

And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately….

So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Oh, how thrilling! And even more so when we realize that a lot of “sickness” is attributed to the devil and his demon forces! I’ve seen it, I’ve witnessed it, I’ve been an insignificant tool in God’s Hand through which HE “set captives free”! I’ll never forget being in the mountain province of Ooty, up the mountain from Coimbatore, India. Our team was staying in a hotel there, and when we came in one night after our teaching, the lady at the front desk, English lady, asked if we would minister to one of her India employees. We encouraged her to have the young lady come with her husband about 8 a.m. next morning to our room.

She came, and so did her husband. To our amazement, as we started to minister to the young lady, she passed out and fell to the floor. We realized immediately that she was demon-possessed! As we began to take authority over the demons, the first response was: “WE DON’T HAVE TO COME OUT – AND WE’RE NOT COMING OUT,” in perfect English male voice from the woman who spoke only her native India tongue. It was about thirty to forty minutes before the victory was won – but they came out and she experienced the “new Birth” into a daughter of God through Christ!

Now, in the U.S.A, there are demonstrations, even in Washington, DC, promoting Islam as an acceptable religion – compared to what? If Jesus is LORD to the glory of God the Father, then what are other religions other than demonic activity to steal men, women, and nations away from “redemptive reconciliation” for acceptable ways to be “religious”! It was religion that crucified Jesus – and still does!

“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Of course, you understand that the liberal, brain-dead in America promote more than one way to be reconciled to God, although Jesus IS “the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Christ!” He is the ONLY DOOR into the Holy Presence of God!

Remember, Aeneas was “sick” – and so is every man, woman, boy or girl, separated from Holy God by their Adamic sin-natures. But Peter said to Aeneas, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole!” To whom have YOU said that to recently?

Not all, but some who are “sick” are in that state of life because they live in rebellion to the Word, the will, and the way of God. Great sin that produces, yes, “spiritual sickness”, has no cure but by the blood of the Lamb of God. Do you see around you a godless society who clearly reveal a ‘high fever’ for self-fulfillment, a dark disease called ‘sin and death’, and have had no counselor but the devil himself?

I don’t know how old you are now, but you know, and you also know whether you’ve been sustained by Satan or grace-fully saved and redeemed by Jesus, by His shed blood at the Cross which is the only way to be redeemed and reconciled to Holy God, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ is YOUR only “physician” for your sin-sickness, and only by the balm in Gilead, the blood of the Lamb, is one freed from Satanic-bondage!

Would you dare to believe, right now, that as Jesus healed, saved, and delivered Aeneas, that He can do the same for you? Can you even begin to comprehend that the God who made all of the world and their galaxies and planets and stars came willfully to redeem YOU and restore YOU to an eternal relationship with Holy God?

“Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole!” It is still true today – man’s ‘salvation, healing, deliverance’ is only through Jesus Christ and by no other! But some are so ‘sin-sick’ and ‘demon-bound’ that they cannot believe that through Jesus only they can be eternally redeemed, reconciled to God, and all devilish chains broken – but it’s true!

There’s no ‘army’ of demons that can withstand the blood of the Lamb of God. There’s no ‘chains’ of ‘fleshly enslavements’ that can hold off and defeat the blood of the Lamb of God. There’s no adulterous man, woman, or teen-ager, guilty of immoral fleshly sion, that is stronger than our Lord’s shed blood! Are you aware of the multitudes of men and women who’ve been set free from the ‘Niagara Falls’ of lust and sexual immorality by Christ Jesus?

Are you familiar with the “Lord’s Prayer” as we find it in Matthew 6:9-13? Verse 13 clearly says, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from ‘the evil one.’ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” But you’re unsure if He can deliver you from the devil’s clutches? Remember, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think!

It is no idle ‘tale’ that the man the furtherest away from God, held in chains by Satan, darkened in the inner man by the disease of sin and death, can be miraculous delivered, set free, made new into a son or daughter of God.

In Matthew 9”10-13 read carefully what Jesus is saying to us! “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came out and sat down with Him and His disciples….

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick….

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Self-righteous, religious parties have no need of “Amazing Grace” because they are addicted to ‘fleshly, religious grit.’! Religion has never birthed one soul into God’s Kingdom, but repentance toward God and faith alone in the finished work of Christ at the Cross opens Heaven’s Door and God’s heart forever and ever.

I want to close this chapter with words from Spurgeon out of his “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Memorial Library, Vol.19, p.373], “Where self is conspicuous, I see an omen of mischief, I see no good in this fine opinion of yourself; but if I heard you cry, [and I say crying desperately!JFF], ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God’ – if I heard you say, ‘Lord, quicken me out of my death in sin,’ – if I saw you lying down before the Most High, and praying, ‘Turn me, and I shall be turned’ – I should have a far brighter hope for you. In your weakness you would become strong; but in your present strength, I am sure I see a great weakness, which is likely to be your ruin. O dear hearts, your best friend does not lie within your own doors. Your hope for better things shines yonder at the right hand of God, where the living Savior has all power given to Him in heaven and in earth. Sinner, if you grow no sweeter flowers than the dunghill of your own nature can nourish, you will die amid poisonous weeds. If you never drink of better water than the filthy well of your heart will yield, you will perish of thirst, or of a deadly draught.”

But then there’s Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Master, who shed His blood that you might be forever free from Satan’s bondage and control. “Free at last! Praise God! Free at last! Through Jesus only!”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE DEVIL’S DISTRESSING DISGUISES OF JESUS’ DYNAMIC DELIVERANCE

In Luke 9:37-42 we find one of the most glorious victories of Jesus in all the Word of God. Of course, it’s a battle between the devil and his distressing disguises as he had a demon spirit to seize the young boy convulsing him often, but Jesus’ disciples hadn’t learned yet about ‘deliverance’.

But Jesus “rebuked the unclean spirit,” and gave the boy, free of demonic control, to his father. The child was healed! If you wouldn’t, I will – you’ve just read of a little boy overcome by a vile spirit, which really gives us a picture, yes, adult men, adult women, boys and girls, and children around you, who are a modern picture of unbelieving, unrepentant, ungodly, and unregenerate people under the control of demon spirits who are out to ‘sicken’ their bodies and minds, distressing their daily journeys, with the intent of destroying any inkling of a redeemed life!

A man without Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of his life is in as desperate a state of existence as this boy so troubled, vexed, distressed, and being without any hope in themselves if Jesus had not come down from the mountain to the community where the boy was suffering. And Jesus still comes to expose the devil’s distressing disguises, releasing our Lord and Savior’s dynamic deliverance.

Are you even aware of the pains, the heartaches, the stressful state of one’s demonic-suffering lifestyles? Our passage of Scripture in Luke 9:37-42 tells us of a son who was only a child but the ‘spirit’ had seized him often, there’s cries of extreme pain, convulsive attacks, foaming of the mouth, bruises, plus, no doubt, a father’s tears and calls for help.

I can only ask you to examine your own spiritual care, your spiritual nurturing, and even sacred protection for every gift of God He gives you in the lives of your children, youth, collegians, and even young business people or soldiers. There must be an awareness through Holy Scripture exposure that the powers of darkness are out to seduce, enslave, and capture your kids for the devil’s army.

This father in Luke 9 was not an absentee, unconcerned, indifferent father to the needs of his child. To Jesus he cried out for help concerning the healing deliverance of his son.

What is the devil up to concerning his strategy? I’ll guarantee you one thing early and easily in this chapter: The devil is a stickler for “legalism” apart from God’s grace, mercy, and love! In the New Testament era of Pharisees and scribes, I have no doubt that legalism was their testimony and a major reason for seeing that Jesus was put to death! What does the devil major on?

How about CASTING DOUBT ON THE VERACITY OF DIVINE TRUTH AND REVELATION.

If the Word of God observed produces liberation from bondage and produces life-changing activity of Holy God in the hearts of repentant, trusting believers, why would you even have a single doubt about the devil denying the truth of what God says?

If the Word of God exposes man’s sinful nature, exposes his rebellion to the will of God for his life, or that its truthfulness cannot be denied, what is the devil to do?

Notice what Charles Spurgeon had to say: [Memorial Library, Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.2, p.297], “Other people may disbelieve the doctrines of revelation, but the devil cannot, for he knows the truth, and though he will belittle it often, he is so crafty that he understands that with the soul convinced of sin his best method is not to contradict the truth, but to pervert it.”

To the church at Galatia, Paul shared his troubled heart and mind because of those who were “misled” in falling away from revealed truth. He said in Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”

And, of course, we’re fully aware of “the gospel of grit” crowd who want ‘self-effort’ being their motivating factor of faithfulness because of Jesus’ finished work at the Cross was misleading to them and denied their qualities of goodness, even though Jesus crucified both our worst and our best traits!

In Acts 13:8-10 Paul confronted Elymas the sorcerer who denied biblical truth! “But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith….

Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O Full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?”

There’s a convicting verse in 2 Corinthians 7:10 where Paul said, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

And you do understand that one of the devil’s strategies is denying the conviction of sin and the necessity of repentance! Follow again Oswald Chambers’ words in his famous book, “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.254]:

“Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It IS the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit rouses a man’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God – ‘Against You, God, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.’ The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God’s grace. Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.”

Do you see and sense how wily, how cunning, how crafty, and how sly the devil is in perverting one’s true identity before Holy God? It was Thomas Adams who long ago said: “The devil is no idle spirit, but a vagrant, runagate walker, that never rests in one place. – The motive, cause, and main intention of his walking is to ruin man.” Hasn’t God’s Word told us that the devil “walks about seeking whom he may devour?” And certainly he “deceives” by perversion of Holy, Godly, Eternal Truth! Which leads us to:

SATAN CONFESSES TO “LIES” – NOT TO ETERNAL TRUTH! Do you remember Satan saying to Eve in Genesis 3, “Has God indeed said…?” And then he told Eve, “You will not surely die,” if you sin!

When a man even has a leaning toward “Eternal Truth,” that’s when the devil moves in; if a man displays a ‘turning’ to eternal truth, if the devil sees one with a heart even slightly moving in God’s direction, if Satan sees symptoms of true belief, he’ll direct a whole division of armed-demons to frustrate even a thought about God’s saving grace!

If Satan sees even a child turning toward Truth, you’re not aware of his ‘child-abuse’ with demonic infiltration, like a nation having “spies” to go underground to undermine and destroy anyone turning to the true faith?

SATAN FIGHTS FOR WHAT HE “THINKS” BELONGS TO HIM! He has his own ‘kingdom-domination-of-darkness’ for every life, every state, and even every nation. He wants to be ruler over the kingdom of deceit, deafness to God, and the desecration of anything ‘holy’.

If he sees a turning to the kingdom of God, he knows he’s losing a kingdom-subject that declines his support. His empire of darkness is being defeated, lessened, and weakened!

In 2 Timothy 2:26 Paul talked to Timothy about those who needed to come “to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” He told Timothy earlier about faithful bishops, but I believe all born-again believers also, in I Timothy 3:7, “Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

The devil set ‘traps’ or ‘snares’ or ‘nets’ to hold you until you’re totally “brain-washed” and “heart-captured” to be loyal to him and his godless designs of his world living patterns!

Do you understand how dangerous it is living in a world where the devil is out to imprison you in unholy living? In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 Paul wrote, “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, LEST SATAN SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF US; FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES.”

Take advantage of you? How about enslavement, branded as belonging to the devil, identified as a citizen of the kingdom of darkness! That’s what the devil has in mind for you.

SATAN INDUCES BITTER SOULS TO END SADNESS BEFORE THEY FIND JOY! Does he use ‘failure’ as a reason to end sadness before one finds the true joy that only God can give? “I might as well end it all now because all I’ve known is failure, loss, disappointments, continual frustration with my inability to succeed!”

Do you understand ‘impulse’ being a factor of whether one chooses to live or die without ever examining the inspiration of Holy Living under God’s control?

Bitter souls, induced by Satan, to end sadness before they find joy, are individuals who have been blinded by Satan to see the Cross of Christ, or deafened to hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”

Do you not even understand at all the warfare against or for the eternal purposes of God in Christ for one’s life? Is it just easier to “end it all” rather than come into “God’s All” by His grace, mercy, and love? Is this why Paul wrote Romans 8:7? “Because the carnal [fleshly] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” So, one settles for ‘self-carnality’ rather than the fruit of Jesus’ resurrected life!

SATAN IS THE MASTER OF ANXIETY, WORRY, FEAR, DISCOURAGEMENT, INTIMIDATION, CONFIDENCE IN ‘FLESH’ LIVING! Would you dare to begin your own study between the life, blessing, and hope in Christ, compared to what the devil stands for and has instituted in earthly, bodily forms?

Can you even begin to imagine the conflicts, the struggles, the doubts and fears, of that little child invaded by that “unclean spirit,” yet many never consider the ‘fleshly’ debilitating “fruits of the devil” that only encourage disease, death, discouragement, and doubts if life really has any meaning for them!

And if they begin to look for hope, the devil spews hopelessness; if they turn even a degree toward faith, the devil sparks the dying flames of faithlessness, if they turn and look upward toward love and mercy, the devil fuels hate and mean-ness and even madness!

Whatever God promotes out of a heart of compassion, the devil will mimac the opposite out of heartlessness; if God inspires heavenly joy, the devil will counterfeit ‘happiness’ which is so temporary or seasonal.

SATAN ALSO MAJORS ON THE SHIFTS OF ONE’S EYE-CONTACT FROM THE ETERNAL TO THE TEMPORARY, FROM VIEWING CHRIST JESUS TO CENTERING ONE ON HIMSELF/HERSELF! You do comprehend! There is a ‘self-worship’ instituted by the devil himself that turns a potential man/woman of faith in Christ to an inward devotion on ‘flesh’ and not on and in the Spirit of God!

The devil hates, resents, misrepresents, dilutes, and seeks to poison any idea of one turning to Christ as the true author and true finisher of one’s faith. He’ll tell you, “It’s not mercy that saves you – it’s merit! You have to earn a place on Christ’s team!”

And when it gets down to the “nitty-gritty” level, the devil majors on thorns, briars, unplowed, unseeded fields, void of the Word and void of the Holy Spirit!

You do understand! The devil wants you in “Egypt” – not in the Promised Land of Faith, Hope, and Love. This is why Moses tells us in this modern day: Deuteronomy 6:12-13, “then BEWARE, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.”

There’s a verse that I pray you receive for yourself. IT’s found in Mark 9:7-8, “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.’”

Jesus Only! Did God say, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’?” Yes! God always has pointed to Jesus as the Coming Messiah, the only Lord and Savior who redeems lives by His shed blood on the Cross!

“The Devil’s Distressing Disguises Or Jesus’ Dynamic Deliverance?” But, of course, you understand – the devil introduced, promoted, fought for “more than one way to God” – so “Fig-Leaf Religions” were birthed or fallen men determined their own ‘way’ to God!

But then listen to Paul as he wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 2:1-7, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence….

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth….

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,….

For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle – I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying – a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

Didn’t the beloved John warn us about “false prophets” that I’m convinced were under marching orders from the devil, not God -? In I John 4:1-6 John wrote: “Beloved, [children of redemptive, repentant faith in Christ alone!], do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world….

By this you know the Spirit of God; EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH IS OF GOD, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this IS the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world….

They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Dare I tell you that God is grieved deeply in His heart for a rebellious, unbelieving religious world that rejects His love and an unbelieving religious world that has no problems with the Crucifixion of Christ? Jesus is not their concern – they’ve determined for themselves how God should accept them!

But there is a Word from Holy God! Let the Spirit write it on your mind and heart! It’s 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12! It says: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other,….

So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure….

Which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;….

Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,….

In flaming fire taking vengeance ON THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD, AND ON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST….

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,….

When He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed….

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,….

That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Are you even aware of ‘religious yokes of bondage’ or ‘fleshly yokes of bondage’ promoted by Satan himself? This is why in Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote: “Stand fast therefore in the LIBERTY by which Christ has made you free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

That’s FREE from the devil’s bondage! That’s free from the law of sin and death! That’s free from the failures of your ‘worst and your best’ in place of God’s presence in you! That’s free from your own expectations of yourself but filled with God’s eternal purpose, power, and pleasure! That’s free from ‘yokes’ and willfully chosen the attitude of yieldedness to God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will!

Yes, liberty in Christ! That’s what Oswald Chambers called “the liberty of realizing the dominance of Jesus Christ.” I assure you, that’s better than the dominance of the devil!

John 1:12 tells, “…as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] in His name.”

And having believed in, trusted in, relied upon, and adhered myself to Jesus Only, things in me have not simply been ‘altered’, but crucified with Christ, now dead to my old self, and raised by Him to walk in the newness of life, which is His eternal, abiding presence in us – we become His holy temple!

Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p235], wrote: “If you still hanker after the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born again, the Spirit of God makes the alteration manifest in your actual life and reasoning, and when the crisis comes you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference in you. There is no possibility of imagining that ‘you’ did it. It is this complete and amazing alteration that is the evidence you are a saved soul.”

In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

If “the wages of sin is death”, and you’re that ‘active’ sinner, be assured ‘spiritual death’ reigns in you, and only Jesus can save you from sin, from death, from your old self, from the devil and his demons – only Jesus can set you free from your ‘old man’ and birth eternal life in you!

In John 11:25 Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” And I have no hesitation in saying to you, If Jesus gives you ‘new life,’ you’ll always be consciously aware of what your old man was all about!

You’ll become so aware of the change from death to eternal life, from spiritual blindness to eternal sight, from fleshly meaninglessness to divine purpose, from fleshly and demonic weakness to God’s eternal strength, from fleshly attractions to spiritual fruit of the Holy Spirit, from un-holiness to an awareness you’ve taken on the very holiness of God Himself, from demonic intimidation to Spirit-inspiration, from the chains of the devil’s bondage to the liberty and freedom of Christ the Conqueror!

“Free at last, free at last! Praise God Almighty – I’m free at last!”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

WIMPY ACCEPTANCE OF DEMONIC INTIMIDATION OR WILLFUL ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S WARFARE-ARMOR?

You, no doubt, have at least heard John 10:10 at least at some point in your life-journey. Jesus said: ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Life journeys have always been exposed to experiences, alternatives, choices, decisions of ‘who’ or ‘what’ or ‘whom’ will have determining factors or influences upon one’s life for the ‘curse’ or for the “Blessing”, for temporary satisfaction or eternal significance, for the devil’s reputation or for God’s Holy Honor!

Some in our world today have, for a long period of time, been so fully intertwined, twisted, so intimate with the powers of darkness and demonic activities, that their sentence of ‘death’ within themselves is so common it’s just like another grain of salt on what they’ve determined as their daily diet.

Wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation? How about ineffectual as concerning God’s eternal intent for their earthly lives? How about picked on by the devil and demon powers with no will to fight back? Wimpy? How about willfully consenting to Satanic control with no will to give Holy God even a thought?

Wimpy acceptance? How about giving in to every demonic temptation that satisfies one’s darkened, imprisoned, bound up sin nature, surrendering to a temporary, God-dishonoring lesser cause or purpose – a feeble fight, indecisive, ineffectual, pumping sinful flesh for all it’s worth and denying God even an inch of ground in the mind and heart?

Do you understand and recognize that the friends of darkness, the devil, and the demons are interested only in your surrender to the deadly activities of the world, the flesh, and the devil? And you must learn early in life that there is a universal confederacy of darkness that wants to blind you and keep you blind to God’s love, grace, and mercy, your vision obliterated concerning Christ and His Cross, and your head and heart knowledge of God’s Calvary-Love left out of his life-dictionary! That’s the devil’s death-dictionary really!

Are you aware of the “wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation” by men who are overcome by no resistance to tempting devils, overcome by, yes, fleshly allegiance to their old sin natures, to their infidel principles, to their own personal demons assigned by Satan himself because he’s read their faithless mind, examined their diseased heart, and observed their worldly traits since childhood?

Are you not aware that every man on the face of the earth IS engaged in a constant crusade for either the devil’s army or for the cause of Christ? You are either masquerading your loyalty to the devil’s forces or you’re openly living out your calling as the ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Sadly, most of our world fight their fleshly battles against Christ and His Church with, far too often, an allegiance to the devil that they know nothing about! Check their footprints! What are they imitating and becoming like? Who are their friends and fellow-comrades?

Do you ever sense, or maybe I should ask, are you a part of our modern world’s skepticism, our modern world’s rending of Gospel truths, our modern world’s attempt at defaming, denying, and declaiming any loyalty to God’s Eternal Word, both written and Living?

I find it so ‘comical’, and at the same time, so troubling when I read a verse like Revelation 22:15 as Jesus had testified concerning the ‘blessed’ earlier, then says: “But outside [His Kingdom!] are dogs and sorcerers…,” and I realize Jesus compares unbelievers as barking dogs, yelping animals, toothless with no bite, but vocal with only a howl – they don’t know Jesus, yes, takes ‘dogs’ and transforms them by His miracles of grace into sons and daughters of the Most High God!

Though the devil and his demon-army are also like toothless dogs, they still bark, and certainly can stop a faithless man in his tracks! I came across these words of an old English hymn in one of Spurgeon’s books. The song says:

“Can you cleave to your Lord, can you cleave to your Lord When the many turn aside? Can you witness that He has the living Word, And none upon earth beside?….

Do you answer we can, do you answer we can, Through His love’s constraining power? But do you remember the flesh is weak, And will shrink in the trial hour?….

Yet yield to His love, Who around you now The bands of a man would cast; The cords of His love, who was given for you, To His altar binding you fast.”

And you are either branded with the devil’s marks or Jesus has bound you fast on His altar called the Cross! Tell me, who are you identified with?

Just because a “crowd” can condemn one man , Jesus, a crowd was, has been, and is the “testimony” of a “wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation”!

I want you to come to Matthew 27:39-54. Follow the Word and decide: “Am I one of the wimpy ones or a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?” It says: “And those who passed by blasphemed Jesus, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.”….

Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if he will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”….

Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’, that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’….

Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This Man is calling for Elijah!’ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink….

The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His Spirit….

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;….

And coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion, and those with Him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

Dare you even read Psalm 22? And especially in verses 16-18, what do you see? Is it a prophetic word about Jesus? It says: “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 22:8 then declares, “For the Kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations.” And what did and what does the devil do in defiance of King Jesus?

Psalm 2:1-9 declares, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,….

Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision….

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” I will declare the decree; the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession….

You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Any life, any nation, any demon who rejects Jesus will be broken with a rod of iron, and Jesus will dash them to pieces like a potter’s pot – broken and spread abroad so some will see and turn from the devil to the Lord of All Life!

Have you grasped the full significance of the past, present, and future of the devil and his wimpy disciples? I’m telling you: sin is so diabolical, so evil, so initially pleasurable, and then the sting of death occurs. Sin is so blanketed with shame, with distress, with a depraved state of life, yet the devil, his army, and unbelievers will cast insult after insult on our bleeding, suffering, dying Savior and Lord, and make fun of God’s ‘brainless attempt’ at man’s forgiveness, resurrection, new life, and eternal hope.

Those themes the devil denies and mocks and scorns and laughs at and ridicules, but God the Father, God the Spirit God the Son, the angels of Heaven, and the saints of all ages sing and keep on singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” for the victory of Jesus over the devil and his hordes of slaves and unbelievers.

Do you understand and comprehend what the family of faith faced, faces now, and will continue to face, because God’s Word is so clear? In I John 5:11-13 we read, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life….

These things I have written to you who believe in [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

Will YOU receive Biblical Truth as it relates to your identity in Christ? I John 4:17c says, “we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as Jesus Is, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.” Glory! When Jesus said on the Cross: “It is finished!”, you should recognize and willfully accept “God’s Warfare-Armor”!

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead by His power! That’s Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope. And though we were dead in our trespasses and sins, our faith in our Lord and Savior’s finished work at Mt. Calvary and God’s able-ness in His tomb, we discover God’s Amazing Grace, His awesome power, and His eternal hope, given to repentant, redeemed, regenerated followers of Saving Faith! Yes, Jesus trusted the Father – and so must you! Do you make much about trusted Father-God for your salvation through Jesus’ willful obedience to His Father as He went to the Cross?

Self-reliance is the devil’s way – and he was cast out of heaven, assigned a hellish dwelling, and does his utmost to take as many as possible to his dark abode! Yet, how many people do you know who surround your life but have no interest in your “saving faith”?

Jesus trusted Father-God before the world was! Jesus trusted Father-God as He and the Holy Spirit helped Him shape our world, our universes, our stars and planets, our sun and moon, our beautiful oceans, rivers, streams, and lakes – even all the new worlds being discovered in our very century! And iof Jesus trusted God, so will I trust Him! Will you?

And when your ‘world’ around you has no appreciation of your faith, will you stand ‘faithful’? When your enemies scorn your surrender to Christ, can you withstand their flaming darts and furious, phony accusations? Spiritual storms will emerge – will you say, “Peace! Be Still!”? Isaiah even wrote in Isaiah 57:1, “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from ‘face of evil’.”

It’s absolutely awe-inspiring to me what I just read from Spurgeon today! [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.19, Memorial Library, p.232], “The gospel lives by being killed and conquers by defeat. Cast it where you will, it always falls upon its feet.” Consider Christ’s witness, His life, His death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, His soon-coming – but you don’t see where you fit in to His calendar, His time-table, His purpose and plan for your life?

Then, here comes demonic activity, devilish influences – and one is either tricked by evil influences or trusts in Holy God’s unveiling of divine truth! And when a man ignores God’s Truth and yields to Satan, the world, and the flesh, he realizes, I pray, before it is too late: “Father-God in my life does matter!”

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure. For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor….

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed ALL WAS VANITY AND GRASPING FOR WIND. There was NO PROFIT UNDER THE SUN.”

Do you see Solomon’s dilemma for a long, long time? He set his life on what was ‘crooked’ and on that which had no eternal meaning or profit!

Oh, but then God had His breakthrough with Solomon, and Solomon saw that his lifestyle was temporary and destructive, and, yes, even devilish, but God’s purpose is “eternity in their hearts” and “what God does [IN ME] is forever”!

God warns – the devil woos! God alerts – the devil puts men to sleep! God says, ‘sin and you die’ – but Satan says, ‘You surely shall not die.’ God says, “My Word is redemptive” – Satan says, “God’s Word is restrictive.” God says, “Follow Me, divine living” – Satan says, “Follow me, ‘flesh’ appreciation.” God says, “My Kingdom is royal reconciliation” – Satan says, “That kingdom is rebellious to a man’s doing things his way.”

What did Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 10:5? “…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” Jesus dealt with your old sin nature at the Cross – but in the journey of warfare with demonic activity, Peter tells us in I Peter 5:8-9,

“Be sober [serious minded], be vigilant, [alert to the devil’s traps and snares], because your ADVERSARY [enemy] the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. RESIST HIM, STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, knowing that the same sufferings were experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

Examine Oswald Chambers’ statement in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [pps. 185-186], “The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin: Jesus Christ deals with sin in Redemption. The conflict is along the lines of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in antagonism to the entrenchments of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as ramparts against the knowledge of God. We can either go back and make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish those things and let Jesus bring another son to glory.” AMEN?

It’s not our ‘impulse’ against the devil, but our yielding to Christ and His victory “At The Cross” thousands of years ago!! AMEN, again!

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE DEVIL –YOUR PRINCE IN DARKNESS? OR JESUS – YOUR KING OF LIGHT?

Just how serious is it for one, or a group, or a church, or a nation to not know that the “prince of darkness” thrives on biblical ignorance in the minds of individuals who aren’t even aware of spiritual blindness related to their own condition of ‘darkness’ or void of their understanding of one’s eternal need of God?

You know the “Light of the world” came – and His name is JESUS! And the ‘prince of darkness’? That’s Satan – the abuser, the accuser, the author of life stories in ungodly darkness! Yes, your enemy is one shadowy character – his destiny for all mankind was and is total darkness oblivious of God’s Presence and God’s purpose for your life now and through all eternity.

You’ll find it interesting that in Genesis 15:12 the Word tells us: “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” Are you aware that for thirteen years Abram experienced that many years of silence from God – no word from God at All? Thirteen years of silence. God’s silence for you can be and often is His ministry of blotting out any self-dependency, any self-interest, or any self- sufficiency. Have you experienced those times, those years, of God being silent to you but in those hours, days, weeks, months, years of His silence, you break through to Heaven’s Glory and His eternal purpose for your life, and you report for duty, yes, fighting the good fight of faith, overcoming every demonic testing?

Consider this possibility: the devil’s darkness and his desire for you to stay there with him; the devil’s darkness the destiny of any man who chooses to live without Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord of his life; and the devil’s darkness becoming a state of damnation because of fleshly unwillingness to be saved by God’s grace! That’s darkness – forever – with Satan!

Yet there was a survey years ago, back in the early 2000 years, that 90% of those surveyed felt sure they’d be in Heaven because they saw themselves as so good, while only 30 per cent surveyed saw hell as a legitimate place! So Jesus Himself, to them, 70%, must be a real liar! [Give me a break!}.

In Matthew 10:27-28 Jesus spoke: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” And the word ‘hell’ is the Greek word ‘GEHENNA” which the Jews used as hell or place of fire and punishment and torment!

But you’d rather entertain the ‘prince of darkness’ than be captured, converted, and consecrated to the honor of Christ and the one True and Living God? I absolutely love, adore, and celebrate Acts 5:19-20, which tells me, “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ‘Go stand in the temple and speak to all the people all the words of this life.”

The devil offers you the word of darkness, death, denial of redemptive truth – while Jesus gives you forgiveness, life eternal, blessing, and the peace that passes all understanding!

Antagonist agents come from the devil – angels of Heaven come from God Himself. Spiritually – blinded representatives of the slaves of darkness come – from Heaven glorious angels appear. Doubters, arguers, opposition slaves to the devil, eternal liars, insane sad-u-cees, come from Hell – from the very presence of the throne-room of God and the King of kings and the Lord of lords, come ‘ministering spirits’, angels of Heavenly honor! Spurgeon said: [don’t miss this!] [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 19, p.238], “The omnipotence of God will be glorified in the insignificance of the agents by whom He will achieve the everlasting triumph.” GLORY!

I have an old, old hymnal from long ago. And thinking about our warfare against the devil and his demon forces, I was reminded of a hymn I sang even as a little boy and teen-ager. It says:

“I’ve seen the lightning flashing, and heard the thunder roll; I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Trying to conquer my soul; I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Telling me still to fight on; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone….

The world’s fierce winds are blowing, Temptations sharp and keen; I feel a peace in knowing My Savior stands between; He stands to shield me from danger When earthly friends are gone; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone….

When in affliction’s valley, I’m treading the road of care; My SAavior helps me to carry My cross when heavy to bear; My feet, entangled with briars Ready to cast me down; My Savior whispers His promise: ‘I will never leave you alone.’….

He died for me on the mountain, For me they pierced His side; For me He opened the fountain, The crimson, cleansing tide; For me He’s waiting in glory, Seated upon His throne; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.” Are you alone and lonely?

One of the powerful purposes of God through Christ was not only the reality of God’s saving grace, bringing us forgiveness of sins, but the coming of Christ to the perilous places of demonic, devilish activity, to demonstrate our ability in Him of authoritatively exercising our own: “Get behind me, Satan! I’m a servant of the Resurrected Christ!”

And, oh, one of the greatest blessings of the family of faith is reporting daily on the battlefields of life to not only defeat Satan but to deliver his captives to our Lord’s Throne-room of redemptive ministry! Are you aware of the great joy and celebration of Jesus when He sees you “rescuing the perishing”?

Hear me! You’re not an ‘invalid’ in Christ Jesus, lame from your spiritual birth! You’re an invader of demonic kingdoms, even his vast strongholds of disease, disobedience, and distrust of God’s faithful Word!

To Timothy (and us), Paul wrote 2 Timothy 4:1-5, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom….

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching….

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;….

And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

“Endure afflictions”? That’s more than man-made, unbelieving, rebellious sons of darkness – it’s the devil who also “afflicts”, “wounds”, and seeks to destroy!

Unholy spirits are operative in a maddening world encouraging the sins of the flesh, loosening demons to attack, injure, so harm comes to careless “sinners” that their lives are transformed into spiritual invalids. There are ‘angels’ of devilish occupations who are out to disengage any man who looks toward God Almighty! He’s brutal, betraying eternal truth, and belittling anyone who turns toward God. If you know nothing about demonic activity, demonic warfare, and demonic bondage, more than likely you are fully the devil’s, so why waste time on you when you are already his!

Do you understand how fruitless the devil sees endless debate about his existence, his strategy, and his supposed victory, when he already has millions chained and enslaved to his debased way of existence?

But to true believers, ambassadors of Christ Jesus, witnesses of His grace, mercy, and love, Paul said again to Timothy, I Timothy 6:20-21, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge – by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”

“Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE.” Does that mean the only place you speak words of life is in the temple? I don’t think so. How many demonized unbelievers do you see in your church every Sunday? If the church is not a ‘going’ people, why would you think it would be a growing church?

Isn’t it amazing to you God’s heart? In 2 Peter 3:9 Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but THAT ALL should come to repentance.”

The word of the Lord came to Ezekial! In Ezekial 33:11 God spoke, “As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”

If God’s angel has told you already, and He has, is your “speaking to the people all the words of this life,” [Acts 5:20], an option you hold or a heavenly commissioning?

Are you aware of multitudes around you, in your city, in your place of occupation, in your neighborhood, in schools and universities and hospitals, people who’ve never heard the Gospel Truth? And are you aware that Acts 5:42 tells us the early disciples “daily in the temple, and IN EVERY HOUSE,…did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ”?

And IF YOU are a citizen of this disordered world order, with the lost surrounding you, those darkened by the devil, but you enlightened by the Lord Jesus, isn’t it our calling, our commissioning, our mandate, to carry the light to where they are? If there are spiritually hungry men starving around you, will you carry the “Bread of Life” to them? If the spiritually sick and sin-diseased are around you, will you escort the Miracle Healer to their door? If you’ve sensed demonic activity in the lives of those you know and care about, will you dare to take Christ’s authority over those demon destroyers?

Don’t you find it thrilling that we read in Acts 5:28, as the high priest accused the faithful disciples, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

And Peter and the other apostles told them, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

It’s so amazing and shocking to me that a God-birthed nation in the U.S.A. is being attacked and a devilish movement of silencing the Word, the praying, the witnessing, and the caring – godless men, godless leaders, are poisoning or binding or silencing or claiming governmental violations, yes, truly accusing and blaming God for being God!

Thank God, those early disciples “did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Thank God, “blood atonement” was faithfully taught. Thank God, they exposed Jesus ‘murdered by hanging on a tree.” Thank God, they clearly understood about obeying God rather than men.

And though the devil and the powers of darkness hated it, and though governmental and religious leaders opposed it, those early sold-out disciples proclaimed God’s forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, and preached and witnessed and taught that only in and through Christ Jesus is there union with divine, eternal, spiritual life that is far more than religious exceptionalism. In Jesus is Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope!

When God’s Word declares: Verse 20 of Acts 5, “…speak to the people ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE,” you’re comfortable with selective words that fit your mind, your life, your life-style, and “all the words of this life” can be altered, demonically twisted, even denied?

Paul understood the devil’s intent to disgrace Jesus, dishonor God’s Truth about His Son, defame anyone standing up to honor God’s Son and our Savior and Lord, deny the Lamb of God as the only way of reconciliation to Holy God, distort biblical truth, and certainly he saw the deception that can grip even professing believers. In Galatians 1:6 he wrote, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, Verse 7, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert [distort] the gospel of Christ.”

In the New Living Translation 2 Corinthians 11:4 challenges us: “You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”

And that, my friends, is a dastardly, defiant, deceitful work of Satan, yes, even through ill-informed or false prophets, promoted by Satan as the preachy liar, adaptable proclaimers of error, untruths, and false hopes.

Devilish preachers who mess up divine truth are not masters of the Word but misfits who know nothing of protecting Holy Truth. Carnal teachers are lecherous teachers addicted to their stripped minds and hearts, continually manipulated by the powers of darkness, and certainly like a ‘strip-tease’ artist lusted for by mental, maligned, miserable midgets! Carnal unbelief seems to be an attraction for phony preachers.

But, sadly, it’s not just devilish preachers or the mental midgets of God’s Holy Word – how concerned are you today with, yes, children, youth, young adults, being trained by far too many worldly, fleshly, demonically motivated teachers?

I was reading Elizabeth Barrettt Browning recently in her book, “The Poetical Works of E.B.B,” poems written by her from 1826 to 1844. One is called, “The Cry of the Children.” No doubt what she wrote came about because of her observance o0f children and youth who had to work like ‘slaves’ in the factories across England: [pps. 289-291], This is only a portion!

“Ay! Be silent! Let them hear each other breathing For a moment mouth to mouth – Let them touch each other’s hands, in a fresh wreathing of their tender human youth!

Let them feel that this cold metallic motion Is not all the life God fashions or reveals – Let them prove their inward souls against the notion That they live in you, or under you, O wheels! –

Still, all day, the iron wheels go onward, As if fate in each other were stark; and the children’s souls, which God is calling sunward, Spin on blindly in the dark.

Now tell the poor young children, O my brothers, That they look to Him and pray – So the blessed One, who blesses all the others, Will bless them another day.

They answer, “Who is God that He should hear us, While the rushing of the iron wheel is stirred? When we sob aloud, the human creatures near us pass by, hearing not, or answer not a word!

And ‘we’ hear not (for the wheels in their resounding) Strangers speaking at the door; Is it likely God, with angels singing round Him, Hears our weeping any more?

“Two words, indeed, of praying we remember; And at midnight’s hour of harm, – ‘Our Father,’ looking upward in the chamber, we say softly for a charm, We know no other words, except ‘Our Father,’ And we think that, in some pause of angels’ song, God may pluck them with the silence sweet to gather, And hold both within His right hand which is strong

‘Our Father!’ If He heard us, He would surely (For they call Him good and mild) Answer, smiling down the steep world very purely, ‘Come and rest with Me, my child,’”

“But no!” say the children, weeping faster, “He is speechless as a stone? And they tell us, of His image is the master Who commands us to work on. Go to!” say the children, – “Up in Heaven, Dark, wheel-like, turning clouds are all we find!

Do not mock us; grief has made us unbelieving – We look up for God, but tears have made us blind.” Do you hear the children weeping and disproving, O my brothers, what you preach? For God’s possible is taught by His world’s loving – and the children doubt of each.

And well may the children weep before you; They are weary ere they run; They have never seen the sunshine, nor the glory Which is brighter than the sun: They know the grief of men, but not the wisdom; They sink in despair, without the calm – Are slaves, without the liberty ion Christdom, – Are martyrs, by the pang without the palm, – Are worn, as if with age, yet unretrievingly no dear remembrance keep, – Are orphans of the earthly and heavenly:

Let them weep! Let them weep!

They look up, with their pale and sunken faces, And their look is dread to see, For you think you see their angels in their places, With eyes meant for deity; – “How long,” they say, “how long, O cruel nation, Will you stand, to move the world, on a child’s heart,

Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation, And tread onward to your throne amid the smart?

Our blood splashes upward, O our tyrants, And your purple shows your path; But the child’s sob curses deeper in the silence Than the strong man in his wrath.”

Hear me, man, woman, boy or girl, yes, little child! God Almighty loves you with an everlasting love, proving His love for you by the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, on the Cross of Calvary! And He proved His power by raising Jesus from the dead!

No devil, no demon, no army of unbelievers, no world full of rebellious sinners can keep you from receiving forgiveness of sins, freedom from bondage, fullness of His eternal purpose for your life, and Hell itself with all its evil forces cannot keep you from our Lord’s overcoming, victorious, God-honoring Life and purpose!

The devil would have you blind to your total depravity, blind to the eternal effects of your Fall without Christ as Savior and Lord, blind to the reality of spiritual death now, blind to the awful doom of self and eternal separation from Holy God, blind to the necessity of regeneration producing “new birth”, yes, blind to the Resurrected Christ, knocking at your heart’s door in this very moment!

Jesus IS your “King of Light”! Why live under the cloud of darkness of demonic domination? Jesus, the “King of Light,” is also, the “King of Love My Shepherd IS”! H.W. Baker and J.B. Dykes wrote the following hymn:

“The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness fails never; I nothing lack if I am His, And He is mine forever….

Where streams of living water flow My ransom soul He leadeth; And, where the verdant pastures grow, With food celestial feedeth….

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill, with You, dear Lord, beside me; Your rod and staff my comfort still, Your cross before to guide me….

And so through all the coming days, Your love shall fail me never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Your praises, Within Your house forever.”

And I know without hesitation that this is why Henry F. Lyte wrote the hymn, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”! It says: “Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave, and follow Thee; Destitute, despised, forsaken, You, from hence, may all shall be:

Perish every fond ambition, All I’ve sought, and hoped, and known; Yet how rich is my condition, God and Heaven are still my own!

Let the world despise and leave me, They have left my Savior, too; Human hearts and looks deceive me; You are not, like man, untrue;

And, while You shall smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, Foes may hate and friends may shun me; Show Your face, and all is bright.

Man [even demons] may trouble and distress me, It will but drive me to Your breast; Life with trials hard may press me, Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.

O it’s not in grief to harm me, While Your love is left to me; O it was not in joy to charm me, Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Haste me on from grace to glory, Armed by faith, and winged by prayer; Heaven’s eternal day is before thee, God’s own hand shall guide you there.

Soon shall close your earthly mission, Swift shall pass your pilgrim days, Hope shall change to glad fruition, Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.” AMEN?

Why? BECAUSE JESUS IS YOUR “KING OF LIGHT” FOREVER AND EVER!

CHAPTER TWENTY

DESCENDING DEVIL OR ASCENDED LORD?

I find it so amazing that Jesus says in John 15:16, “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….”

But when it comes to the “descending devil,” we were all birthed with a sin nature, totally enslaved, branded with the devil’s markings, traits, identity, as a bond-slave to him.

In Zechariah 2:13 the prophet spoke: “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation.” And then, in Zechariah 3:1-4 the prophet tells us:

The he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and SATAN standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”….

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” [Are you robed by God?].

I certainly do not know how it is with you, but I rejoice and celebrate the truth that Jesus rebuked Satan and snatched the branding iron from the fire!

And though God’s servant had been wearing filthy garments, don’t you rejoice that his filthy garments [robes of iniquity] had been removed from him, and he was then clothed with rich robes? How about you? Robes of iniquity or robes of righteousness?

In Proverbs 15:11 the wise man tells us, “Hell and Destruction are before the Lord; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.” And as ‘the hearts of the sons of men’ are before the Lord, what does God see, what does God read about your present-conditioned heart? Acts 1:24 says, “You, O Lord, who knows the hearts of all…”, and knowing your heart, how does it read before Holy God? Devotion to the descending devil or allegiance to our Ascended Lord?

And if you didn’t know the ‘descending devil’ authors “woes” while the God of the Cross authors births, and blesses “the worshipping of the King of kings and Lord of lords”! The ‘descending devil’ birthed eternal death while Jesus authors “eternal life”!

In I Corinthians 15:46-58 we read: “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth made of dust [earthy]; the second Man is the Lord from heaven….

As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust, []also ‘earthy’]; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly….

And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man….

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -….

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed….

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’….’O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ…..

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Death does have the ‘devil’s sting’ because his lifestyle was rebellion against Truth and surrender to sin and its eternal destructive nature! When did “the wages of sin” no longer become “death”? That, my friends is only the mind of the devil and his followers! Sin IS falling short of God’s glory and embracing the devil’s maligning pleasures that are so cancerous and deadly producing eternal separation from God, except for the blood shed by Jesus as the Lamb of God to reconcile us to Him!

There is a ‘law of sin and death’, but the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me [us] free from the law of sin and death.” [Romans 8:2].

You understand that the devil’s mind of carnality results in the reality of spiritual death, but the mind of Christ is life and peace! This is why in Romans 8:12-14 Paul tells us:

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will lived. For as many as are led by the Spirit, these are sons of God.” Led by the flesh, led by your old sin nature, led and motivated by the devil and his demon forces, one dies without ever dying – but in and through Christ one receives eternal life and “Lives” supremely!

Since it is a ‘descending devil,’ where is he headed, and where are his followers headed? Do you remember Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees? In Matthew 23:33 Jesus said, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”

Oh, in Luke 12:4-5, Jesus unveils powerfully the fear of God! “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: FEAR HIM [God] who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”

Do you remember Jesus’ challenge to enter “by the narrow way”? That’s Matthew 7:13-14; our Lord and Savior said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Is that alarming to you as it is to me? Many go the “broad way” with the devil’s destructive style following, but “few” go the “narrow way” because it’s tough, demanding, costly – yes, die to self that you may live in and through Christ!

Dare I tell you that to be one with the devil is impure Hell? Do you comprehend that “Hell” IS the absence of God and the very presence of the devil and his demon forces and the suffering men of unbelief yet now living with eternal sorrow and pain? Do you understand ‘eternal darkness’? Do you sense Hell to be unceasing, everlasting pain, coupled with constant torture by ‘demons’?

Do you understand ‘incurable sin-diseases,’ or a constant decaying that never rots out? Have you even comprehended the costliness of ‘self-love’ while you rejected willfully God’s free gift?

It was Shakespeare who wrote: “Divines and dying men talk of hell, but in my heart her several torments dwell.”

Do you just excuse ‘resounding woes’ as a justifiable way of life, accepting not only the devil’s ‘testings’ but his torments, accepting his lies while you set aside God’s truths, accepting his costly offers while you reject God’s costly Cross, accepting the devil’s guilt while God has before you eternal forgiveness?

And do you realize that the “descending devil” will hide your reward in Hell, while God opens His “pearly gates” wide for you to see your eternal blessing in Heaven? What is the reward for criminal activity of the Spirit-realm when unbelievers, deceived by the devil, are waiting and looking and expecting a rich pay-out for their godless life?

Alighieri Dante, in “Inferno,” wrote: Here sighs, pliants, and voices of the deepest woe resounded through the starless sky. Strange languages, horrid cries, accents of grief and wrath, voices deep and hoarse, with hands clinched in despair, made a commotion which whirled forever through that air of everlasting gloom, even as sand when whirlwinds sweep the ground.”

Whirlwinds of eternal punishment for demonic yieldedness! Storms of ceaseless winds of destruction because one loves the ‘flesh’ rather than the Cross of Christ! Terrible cyclones of horrendous penalty because one loves “fleshly activity” rather than “Spirit-Atonement”! Skullish living that brings death and bones rather than Spirit-anointing that opens doors to everlasting life!

Do you not know that godless men step, they think upward, but in reality, they’ve stepped downward into an abyss of the devil’s making that is torture, godlessness, pain, because of the great furnace of never-ceasing flames, visible darkness the devil thought would hide the truth of everlasting punishment, but easily lighted up the torture and pain and godlessness guilt, and, without ever ceasing, eternal judgment!

Wouldn’t YOU say that the devil, Satan, is like that godless, adulterous woman that Proverbs 9:13-18 tells us about? The Word declares: “A foolish woman is clamorous [boisterous]; she is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the highest places of the city, To call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way….

Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”….

But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.” Did you see it? Do YOU receive it? Spiritually dead are IN the depths of hell! Adulterous waters are not sweet but bitter! Hidden sins are not pleasant ‘in secret’ but exposed before God’s throne for all to see!

What does the eternal truth of God’s Holy Word tell us in I Corinthians 6:9-11? “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,….

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God….

AND SUCH WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

The devil and fallen flesh, men without God, are co-conspirators against the holiness, righteousness, oneness, with the true Lover of men’s souls, Holy God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit! There is no blossoming spring garden of the soul for the man under the demonic domination and devilish intimidation of Satan himself – his seeds are ‘weeds’, his treats are ‘twisted roots of conscious-less behavior,’ his prizes are ‘complete emptiness’ of eternal purpose, divine blessings, or royal relationships, and his winner’s crown turns out to be only ‘deceitful hopes.’

Do you even fathom one degree of the devil’s reward for your allegiance to his view of life that is godless, totally selfish, demonically dominated, bankrupt of holy truth, deathly in his ‘rewards’ or ‘benefits’, and when you stand before him for your ‘honors,’ he blankets you with the darkness of guilt, deadliness that will not die, and, not a crown, but ‘dumb-donkey’ defined and designated!

In Proverbs 2:14 we read, “The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.” The Fool? Proverbs 18:2 tells us, “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” Self-centered, strongly self-willed, inwardly self-determining, because the devil assures them they’re wise enough not to look beyond themselves, and definitely not ‘up’ to God, “understand – it’s your life, your way, your desires – you don’t need God!” That’s the devil and his devotees who warp men’s minds!

The devil is after nation after nation, family after family, school after school, yes, even church after church, with the purpose of ungodly and wicked generations.

Tell me about the “field of your life”! What is being produced there? In Hebrews 6:7-8 we read, “For the earth which drinks in the raion that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, IT IS REJECTED and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” From where or from whom does the seed come that you’re saving in the field of your life and home and family? And, is it God’s “blessing” or Satan’s “curse”?

In the Dallas –Ft. Worth region of Texas, in the last few months, there have been over thirty earthquakes, but tell me, in the region of your very life, are you experiencing spiritual “quakes”? Is it time to consider if it’s God or Satan shaking you, quaking you, to awaken you to the reality that devastation and judgment is on the horizon for you!

In Revelation 6:13-17 John saw, yes, a ‘cosmic disturbance.’ He said, “And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind….

Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place….

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains….

And said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

“Descending Devil or Your Ascended Lord?” From the beginning of earthly living, who wooed mankind away from allegiance, faithfulness, and devotion to God? If there is a drawing away from loving and serving God, who is the magnetic attraction? That’s your ‘descending devil’ because he has in Hell already a permanent residence! Read carefully Deuteronomy 30:11-20!!

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’….

Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’….

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess….

But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess….

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;….

That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life, and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Do you understand how easy it is to find hiding places from Holy God? Do you ever consider the length people go to, to ignore even a Word about God’s redemptive love affair with wayward, rebellious, unbelieving sons and daughters whom God created, but who alienated Him from their presence, and who rejected even a word about the “Blood Sacrifice”?

The ‘fallen,’ the ‘fallen away from God’ people, the ‘slaves’ of demon powers, choose blackened hearts to blood-washed lives, choose lust over God’s love, choose blaspheming God’s Holy Name over living in the blessing of His Precious Name, who choose adultery over a blood-washed and pure heart, who, yes, willingly accept God’s wrath over the Wonderful Savior and Lord, and who side with blackened hearts and vile minds and dirty ‘flesh’ over the Indwelling Presence of the Prince of Peace!

In I Peter 3:22 the disciple speaks of the resurrected Christ “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” But then Peter goes on to tell us in I Peter 4:1-2,

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose or mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh, has ceased from sin, that he NO LONGER should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

And Peter brings us all to eternal decision time: my way or God’s way, sin or the gift of the Savior’s righteousness, rebellion or submission to His Word and will, earthly pleasures that are deadly or Heavenly Pleasures that are eternally blessing the surrendered soul, focused on ‘NOW’ or eyes fixed on the eternal glory, fallen flesh or Reigning Spirit, fruit of the flesh or the fruit of God’s Spirit, the devil’s temptations fully embraced or one’s full surrender to God’s eternal Truth?

I would ask you to answer right now: “HAVE YOU MADE YOURSELF SUBJECT TO CHRIST OR ARE YOU, BY FLESHLY CHOICE, STILL A SLAVE TO THE DEVIL’S CONTROL, POWER, AND AUTHORITY OVER YOUR LIFE?”

You do understand that one can ‘choose’ his willful deliberation of a spiritual catatonic disengagement with God. He becomes immobile, unresponsive, purposeless, inflexible, surrendering to intense mind and heart inactivity related to the voice, will, and heart of God!

Jesus didn’t act on ‘impulse’ when He was sent by God to the Cross, but “willful obedience,” wondrous inspiration, and full surrender to God’s eternal plan. [This is why Paul instructs all believers to bring, even every thought captive to the obedience of Christ! And, of course, if believers today act on ‘impulse,’ they miss the Way of Christ! Far too many ‘believers’ live their life of faith acting on fleshly impulse rather than Jesus’ “Father, not My will, but Your will be done through Me.”

Oh, please hear me! Again, what does I Peter 3:22 tell us about Jesus? “who has gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” To whom, because of your life-style choices have YOU been made subject to? I CHOOSE TO BE SUBJECT TO THE KING OF kings and the LORD OF lords! And you do understand: rejecting Jesus’ Lordship puts you under for eternity, slavery, chains, and hellish prison-bars that the devil supervises!

But Jesus Christ, Resurrected King? Why did He stay in the grave for three days? Recorded history lives concerning His death and burial and Resurrection! Why did He stay around for 40 days before His Ascension? Do we find in the four gospels and Acts that Jesus comforted the heart-broken, strengthened the fearful, assured the lonely of His abiding presence, and to prepare them for the fierce battles coming their way, embracing and enlightening and encouraging His disciples: “Earth-life may be short – but I, the Lord Jesus, am yours forever!”

Has Jesus gone into Heaven? Yes! Will we go there? “Absent from the body but present with the Lord!”

It was H.G. Spafford and P.P. Bliss who wrote the hymn: “It Is Well With My Soul.” Only the second verse here, but it tells the Old, Old Story! “Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, Let this blessed assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And has shed His own blood for my soul…It is well, now, with my soul!”

CONCLUSION

To say the least, these twenty chapters have been a true challenge to us all! When you consider that Satan challenged not only God the Father – he has challenged every citizen of God’s green earth! He wants us in his army of enemies to Holy God – and there are multitudes who have been blinded, chained, trained for ungodly living, and ‘pushed’ to oppose God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with a desire to turn every believer away from the sacrifice of Christ at the Cross and the Christ of the “empty tomb.”

I genuinely pray that God’s Holy Word, His Resurrected Son, and His army of true repentant, reconciled, regenerated disciples, step up to honor the Godhead who loves us far above even our thinking or our desire to please Him in all things!

Resurrection Life, Resurrection Hope, and Resurrection Power, is the gift of God’s grace, mercy, and love. And I challenge you, right now, to consider the eternal fact that if YOU were the only person to have ever lived, what God did 2000 years ago at Calvary He did it just for YOU!

Now? It’s time to stand in the “Victory In Jesus”, it’s time to oppose the devil’s intent to capture lives for himself. It’s time to offer your life as a living sacrifice to the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior, and to touch our needy world with His love, His grace, and His mercy.

Now? Equip yourself in the Word, in the Spirit, and in the eternal desire of God to make His Son known through YOUR available, redeemed, and Spirit-filled life!

Now? Put on the whole armor of God that you may truly “fight the good fight of faith,” claiming the world around you through the shed blood of a loving Savior and Lord and through His provision of the very power of the Holy Spirit.

Now? Through His Holy Word, through your prayerful heart, through your daily surrender, begin to claim those Jesus died for, taking them away from the devil’s bondage and enslavement and fleshly, demonic chains!

Now? Offer YOUR life as a ‘living sacrifice’ to the glory, honor, and praise of the Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t let a day pass in which you cease to ‘war’ but offer your life, your family, your business, your church, your witness, to the honor of Christ Jesus! Jesus defeated the devil at the Cross and the empty tomb – and through faith in Christ, you, yourself are “MORE THAN CONQUEROR THROUGH HIM”! Step to the plate and hit a home-run, a grand-slam, to win the souls of those enslaved by Satan!

Now? Through repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, pour out your testimony as a “living spring of divine presence” that touches others to the glory of God. Amen? Set your family, friends, and acquaintances, free through Christ’s victorious life!

By J.Farrell Fisher

July 6-8, 2017

There’s an interesting question Jesus asked while here in His earthly body in Luke 18:8b, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” I’m sure, as a student of the Word, that you’re familiar with Jesus’ words about Old Testament Judaism coming to a close, and how there would be times of great deception, times of great open sin, but it would be foolish to say that Jesus wasn’t concerned about anytime but then when He asked that question!

“Will Jesus, when He comes again, find faith on the earth?” In our time period of human history, are there “good souls unredeemed”? Are there those who’ve never been confronted with why they’re here and why Christ died for them particularly? But we certainly know there are billions of people through history up until now who by His grace, mercy, and love, and through their repentance toward God and faith in Christ’s finished work at the Cross, have been “born again”, becoming a child of the King, “Godly spirits washed in Christ’s blood”!

Unredeemed souls or Godly spirits washed in Christ’s blood? Flesh-bent or Spirit-birthed? Here-and-now citizens of their fleshly kingdoms or the born-again into the Eternal kingdom of Christ? Devotees of the ancient who live in unbelief or the cherished sons and daughters of faith who live in the “washing”? Devotees of the ancient fallen world loving it more than God or the “renewed spirits” of grace and mercy living, yes, in the eternal in, with, and through the Resurrected Christ and Reigning God Almighty on His Throne? The ‘self-serving’ of the immediate present or the “selfless, crucified with Christ” and living to His glory in the here-and-now, AND to celebrate after earthly death in His eternal Presence around the Throne of God?

Unredeemed souls? Good souls as well as evil souls? “Flesh-achievers” who see no value in you as a believer looking to “Another”? “I believe in the supremacy of my existence without any concern about ‘His supposed plan for my life’?” It’s not a ‘modern-movement’ but birthed when Adam and Eve listened to Satan more than to the God who birthed them! Look through human history – you’ll be shocked by the number of people who lived “dreamless existences” apart from the “dreams of God-blessed, eternal meaning and reality, through the “blood-sacrifice” of the Son of God”!

Unredeemed souls? God-less existence? Masters-of-science but void of THE Master of life? Atheistic and atoned for but an believing one content to live ‘life’ apart from Holy God’s intent? It’s amazing to me what I read in Genesis 9:12-17! And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for the perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant (the rainbow) which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Yet how many godless souls are there who never consider the Sovereignty of God and His mercy toward them, yes, “drowning’ in the flood waters of sin and unbelief? How many? Merciful God is ignored, denied, cursed, and unbelievers live in carnal, self-composed, self-centered, self-absorbed thoughts about their ‘fleshly existence’ without a concern at all for the love, grace, and mercy of God! Godless souls, many of them, will live their lives in ‘fleshly, respectable goodness’, while also there are the evil, the morally wrong and shameless, like many known by “their evil dispositions”, unaware of the extent Satan will go to destroy them and all around them who need “blood redemption”! There ARE the “extremists”, yes, even of loyalty to their fallen sin natures!

Unredeemed souls? Some live with an attitude of despicable meanness while others live ‘peaceably’ with their absence of faith; some live, so at peace, with their ‘self-intent’ that they easily develop a ‘fetish’ and ‘worship’ and ‘allegiance’ to their ‘godless ways’! Unredeemed souls seldom, if ever, have any thoughts or inspirations about ‘reliance upon God?’- why, they’ll ask! “You don’t know me or my natural instincts, my incredible virtues, my self-centered personal impulses and incredible inner strengths – who needs your God?”

Unredeemed souls? Their ‘common sense’, besides Satan himself, is their worst enemy! Their ‘common-sense-carelessness’, related to eternal intent, becomes their strong foundation of infidelity, blinding themselves to the fact that their cares of their worldly dreams are as strong and blinding as Satan’s intent to sidetrack them to devotion of the Living God and Loving Savior! Have you ever witnessed in the faithless the despair which erupts when all they’ve worked for becomes meaningless to them? I’ve heard of some of the wealthiest men in the world, when it came time to die, who said, on their deathbeds, “What I worked for, what I gained, what I have now, means nothing to me as I face the grave.”

But it’s more than ‘a grave’ that one has to face! What does Proverbs 11:31 tell us? “If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.” My Holman Study Bible, NKJV, footnote says, “But if God’s impartial judgment begins with the righteous, then the sinner will not escape” his own day before Holy God to give an account of his/her spiritual stupidity! Peter, in 1 Peter 4:18, quoted Proverbs 11:31!

Unredeemed souls? You’ve witnessed it: unredeemed souls walking with a ‘spiritual strut’ in self-pride and arrogance that breaks God’s heart! They major on the ‘common sense of godlessness’, majoring on ‘ordinary wits’, and blinded to the snares of Satan concerning the Lord Jesus’ vicarious intercession at the Cross and His victory over that which keeps unbelievers in their ‘graves of sin and death’!

Unredeemed souls? You are aware that Christ Jesus ‘chose’ the twelve disciples, not because He saw in them superb, ingrained natural abilities able to help Him in His task, but ‘vessels’ to be washed in His blood, crucifying all that they, and us, are in our ‘flesh’, resurrecting “the twelve” and you and me, designating US as “temples” in which His Presence can be manifested, honoring and glorifying His Father!

In Luke 18:31-34 we read, Then Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them (and to you and me?), “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. (Oh, really? But modern-day folks? Neither do they know or understand the things which were spoken!

“They understood none of these things”? Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost For His Highest” (p.159) wrote the following: “God called Jesus Christ to what seemed unmitigated disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ’s life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God’s. But what seemed failure from man’s standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God’s because God’s purpose is never man’s.

Chambers continued: There comes the baffling call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is implicit. The call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in comradeship with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His purposes.”

Yet how many surround you in your modern world who have no grasp at all of what Holy God had planned through their available lives as they lived unavailable to Him for only what “pleases my flesh”! At the same time, are you aware of those who “pump” their flesh-mindedness of “how pleased God must be to have me with all my talents and gifts available to Him”! Really? Or is it, “They understood none of these things”?

I’ve often wondered how many ‘church folk’ live with a true passion and concern about living out their ‘life in Christ’ in such a way that all honor, praise, and thanksgiving goes to Him because they chose death to their old man and rejoice in the miracle of God’s grace that their “new man in Christ” has become His holy tabernacle and temple through which He’s allowed to be Himself in “vessels” of earthly bodies as the faithful take the sentence of death daily unto themselves that His resurrection life will be manifested in and through their mortal flesh – and that has nothing to do with one’s talents, one’s mind, or one’s willful determination to “be a good Christian”.

Again, Oswald Chambers said: (p.158), “The bravery of God in trusting us! You say – ‘But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value.’ THAT IS WHY HE CHOSE YOU! As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.” (Aren’t you thankful that He only uses ‘empty vessels’ with nothing to brag about but Him?)

“Good Souls Unredeemed Or Godly Spirits Washed In Christ’s Blood”? I’ve always appreciated John Wesley’s writings of great Hymns. One entitled “O For a Thousand Tongues” says in the fourth verse, “He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.” But you hear the proud unredeemed souls asserting, “Your Savior (?) talks about the power of canceled sin when I don’t have any sin? He sets the prisoner free? I’ve never been in jail! His blood makes the foulest clean? What an insult! His blood was availed for ME? You Christians are mind-warped, brainless, and ‘charmed’ by a charlatan!” That’s many in modern-day America! They have no shame spitting on Christ Jesus, THE Savior and Lord, THE Redeemer, yes, THE ‘restorer’ of men’s souls!

In Psalm 23 David sang: “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. Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You (Lord Jesus) are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Do you see, celebrate, rejoice in, rest in, rely upon “The True Shepherd” who restores your soul to eternal intent, with the never-ending promise, “of goodness and mercy following you all the days of your life, assured you’ll dwell in the house of the Lord forever”?

Good souls unredeemed are blinded, by choice, to the declaration of Sovereign Care! Good souls unredeemed are ‘satisfied’ with ‘wilderness wanderings’ rather than “Promised Land Blessings”! Good souls unredeemed are ‘far from Holy God’ constructing their own ‘idols’ of imitation living! Good souls unredeemed make God’s desired plan of heritage an abomination! Good souls unredeemed walk after, live in, invest their lives in that which is actually consuming them with no eternal profit to the honor of God existing for them!

God said, in Jeremiah 2:11-13, “Has a nation (Israel) changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate,” says the Lord. For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

And how many do you personally know whom “Loving God” led them ‘in the Way’, but they forsook Him and drifted into the wilderness of wickedness, unbelief, and ‘self-idol’ worship – degenerate plants of alien vines, ‘washing themselves in iniquitous soaps thinking they can fool God’, ‘playing the harlot,’ with their backs turned from the only Savior and Lord!

Again, in Jeremiah 2:19-22, God unveils not only Israel, His initial ‘chosen people’, but all men in every nation of the world who live, many, “compromised lives” before Him, and the “many” professing allegiance but are nothing more than “degenerate plants of an alien vine”, so foreign to the nature and character of Christ Jesus!

God’s Word came to Jeremiah saying, “Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you,” says the Lord of hosts.

For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; and you said, ‘I will not transgress,’ when on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.

I want to close this message about “Good Souls Unredeemed Or Godly Spirits washed in Christ’s Blood” with words from Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 1:17-24! The Apostle Paul said: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ (Prudent? ‘Self-figuring of what’s important to them from the best of human nature, but void of God’s Presence within them!). Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe (trust in, rely upon, adhere to). For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God AND the wisdom of God.”

Listening To The Redemptive Voices

Intro: There is one thing that must be settled in every human heart – redemptive faith is never the result of fleshly sight and fleshly hearing! Oh, all across the world everyday people are hearing voices that they think they ought to heed and follow.

In Deuteronomy 18:9-22 God is so gracious to forewarn His people: LISTEN!! “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations…There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer,, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. [That’s a demon!!]. For all who do those things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ – when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken;; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of Him.” Do you understand how many ‘prophetic voices’ are around you every day? – and their conscious or unconscious desire is to lead you away from God, away from His purpose, away from His Person and APPOINTED PROPHET?

Are you aware that ever since the Fall of man in God’s Garden of Holiness that even a ‘snake’ showed up there voicing deception and never spoke “TRUTH”?

And because of the Fall, there is the need of Redemption and Reconciliation with Holy God, regeneration through faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross – Redemption is God’s Reality, Redemption is God’s Restoration, Redemption is God’s Release into the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

But too many have ears superbly trained to hear what they want to hear, to hear what pumps their flesh, to hear what everybody does so they can fit in with anyone but the God who made them, lost them, but then bought them with a price!

I say to you: Beware of any voice, anywhere, anytime, that competes, contends against, or tries to contradict the Voice of Jesus only, the Voice of the One True and Living God, and beware of the voices that speak their opinions and not the revelation of His Word!

Redeemed men have redeemed ears to hear and serve God because they’re blessed with a divine love-gift of a life that hears Him speak, responds to His voice, and reaches out for His destiny and purpose in them and through them.

Redeemed men are not such that are inclined to tell God what they think He ought to do or to let out for His approval their plans, their ambitions, and their determination to “get ‘er done” with or without Holy Him.

Redeemed men, blessed as “partakers of the divine nature,” are men who know and understand that it “pleased God…to reveal His Son in [them}..” and they comprehend their “walks” as disciples are an overflow, a release, a service, to the honor of Christ out of the explanation of sheer love, sacrificial devotion, spontaneous obedience to the Proven Voice and Living Word within them!

Do you remember Genesis 15? Verse 1 says, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’” THAT’S FAITH IN GOD – NOT FAITH IN HIMSELF! And God gives Abram a vision –

Verse 5, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them…So shall your descendants be.”….”How will this be?”, Abram was asking. And God cut a blood covenant with Abram! WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?…Verse 11 says, “And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” Oh, what a fighter, what a defender of the Faith, what a warrior in the eternal warfare of the ages! RIGHT?….Verse 12, “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; [Ever felt you’ve been in a deep spiritual sleep?]…and behold, HORROR & GREAT DARKNESS FELL UPON HIM.”….Verse 17 tells us: in that darkness “a smoking oven & a burning torched passed between those pieces,” God assuring Abram “he was on the right journey”!

COVENANT HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED! At the end of chapter 16, it says Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” [13 years before Genesis 17:1!] – “When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said: “I am Almighty God; walk before me and be blameless.” Verse 3 – Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him…” He gave Abram a new name: Abram was ‘Exalted Father’ – Abraham was “Father of a Multitude”!

Sue &nd I established early in our marriage a mutual covenant – a covenant of prayer for our line of the Fishers to be established for a 1000 generations to honor God – WE HAD HEARD HIS VOICE!

In Job 42:2 Job said to the Lord, “I know that You can do all things and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.”….And this, no doubt, is why David wrote the 23^rd Psalm out of a heart that had learned to listen to God’s heart-beat and God’s Voice!! ….[READ!!]

In 2 Timothy 2:7-9 Paul wrote: “Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not bound or chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

I’m telling you: YOU NEED TO STRIP FROM YOUR MINDS the thin gauzes of doubt, unbelief, speculation, indifference, and irreverence toward God’s Voice, and put on yourself the Royal Robe of Submission, Surrender, and SOLE RELIANCE on the VOICE OF GOD, not the wagging tongues from defiled hearts & rebellious minds who’ve determined: “WE DON’T NEED TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE!!” – I’m telling you: RUN even from a classroom, or a doctor’s office, or from a lawyer who is the ‘Law’ unto himself!

Listen to Dr. R.G. Lee out of his famous book “Payday Someday,” [pps. 55-56]. Dr. Lee preached: “In this Word of God which can never be bound or imprisoned, the historian has found his most thrilling chapters, the artist his loveliest conceptions, the poet his loftiest themes, God’s prophets their divinest messages, ethics its greatest authority, philosophy its profoundest inspiration, oratory its most beautiful quotations to bejewel its grandest flights, and many writers multitudinous themes and suggestions that blossom like rare and fragrant flowers in the world’s vast garden of literature.”

Do you understand that when one turns a deaf ear to “Redemptive Voices”, they have personally awakened in themselves afresh and anew the death knell to blessing, liberty, freedom, guidance, and the eternal destiny of fullness in Christ?

What did Paul say to the Athenians? “In Him [in Christ] we live, and move, and have our being”! And, I say, “Thank God for those who listen, hear, and respond in faith and obedience to the Redemptive Voices!”

FIRST, WE NEED TO HEAR, LISTEN, AND RESPOND TO THE VOICE OF THE LAW OF GOD. I want you to come to Exodus 19:4-6 and witness precious privilege, a treasured possession, a holy vow, and a Godly promise. The Word Says: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”…Then look at verse 19, ‘Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.” And then comes the voice of Holy Exposure in Exodus 20:1-21!!

Why the Ten Commandments engraved on those tablets of stone? Come to Galatians 3:10!! Are you ready? “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’” – Law’s Purpose? Galatians 3:24 tells us: “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Verse 7 has already told us “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Why?

In John 8:56 Jesus said of Abraham: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”…THE LAW CARRIES EVERY MAN TO THE HOLY BAR OF GOD! THE LAW CONDEMNS EVERY MAN FOR VIOLATIONS! THE BROKEN LAW CAUSES US TO CAST OURSELVES ON THE MERCY SEAT and GRACE and LOVE OF GOD TO LEARN HIS ETERNAL WAY OF SALVATION and HEALING PROVISION

Look at the 10 Commandments, Listen to the Voice of God speaking, and then LEAN ON HIM in repentance toward God and faith in Christ’s finished work at the Cross!!…..THE VOICE OF THE LAW CONDEMNS –THE VOICE OF THE CROSS LIBERATES!….THE VOICE OF THE LAW SEPARATES – THE VOICE OF THE CROSS UNITES!….THE VOICE OF THE LAW EMBITTERS – THE VOICE OF THE CROSS SWEETENS!…THE VOICE OF THE LAW DECLARES JUDGMENT – THE VOICE OF THE CROSS DECLARES INNOCENCE!…THE VOICE OF THE LAW DECLARES DARKNESS TO THE SOUL – THE VOICE OF THE CROSS DECLARES “LIGHT” TO THE SAINTS!…

I want you to hear words from the great British preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, dead now almost 150 years ago: [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial Library, Vol. 4, pps. 237-238],…”Now, I beseech you, hear this word and believe it: ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.’ Oh, you can say, ‘I believe this Word – it is true – blessed be His dear name; it is true to me, for whatever I may not be, I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER; [a Law-of-God breaker!]:…And, good Lord. You know when I say I am a sinner, I do not mean what I used to mean by that word. I mean that I am a real sinner. [A LAW OF GOD VIOLATER!!]. I mean that if you should damn me, I deserve it; if You should cast me from Your presence forever, it is only what I merited [ earned] richly. O my Lord, I am a sinner; I am a hopeless sinner, unless You save me; I am a helpless sinner, unless You deliver me. I have no hope in my self-righteousness; and Lord, I bless Your name, there is one thing else, I am a sorrowful sinner, for sin grieves me; I cannot rest, I am troubled. Oh, if I could get rid of sin, I would be holy, even as God is holy, Lord, I believe.’ But I hear an objector cry out, ‘What, sir, believe that Christ died for me simply because I am a sinner!’ yes, even so. ‘No sir; but if I had a little righteousness; if I could pray well, I should then think Christ died for me.’ No, that would not be faith at all, that would be self-confidence. Faith believes in Christ when it sees sin to be black, and trusts in Him to remove it all. Now, poor sinner, with all your sin about you [Law-breaking etc.], take this promise in your hands, go home today, or if you can’t, do it before you get home – go home, I say, upstairs alone, down by your bedside, and pour out your heart, ‘O Lord, it is all true what the preacher said today; I am condemned, and Lord, I deserve it. O Lord, I’ve tried to do better, and I have done nothing with it at all, but have only grown worse. O Lord, I have slighted Your grace, I have despised Your Gospel: I wonder You haven’t damned me years ago; Lord, I marvel at myself, that You suffer such a base wretch as I am to live at all. I have despised a mother’s teaching, I have forgotten a father’s prayers. Lord, I have forgotten You; I have broken the Sabbath, taken Your name in vain. I have done everything that is wrong; and if You condemn me, what can I say? Lord, I am done before Your presence. I have nothing to plead. But Lord, I come to tell You, You have said in the Word of God, ‘Him that comes unto Me, I will in no wise cast out.’ Lord, I come; my only plea is that You have said, ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.’ [Sinners? Law of God breakers and violators!!] Lord, I am THE SINNER; He [Jesus] came to save ME; I trust in it – sink or swim – Lord, this is my only hope..[THE LAW] has pointed me to Christ alone!”

I wish you could have heard my son’s Youth Minister preach recently on Mark 9:7-8, “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but Jesus only with themselves.”

SECOND, WE NEED TO HEAR, LISTEN, AND RESPOND TO THE VOICES OF HEAVEN’S ANGELS AND DEPARTED SAINTS….Come to Revelation 11:15-18, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He [Jesus] shall reign forever and ever!’ And the 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come. Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” [You do understand! God isn’t talking about non-environmentalists here!!}

I want to ask you a very serious question! Are you aware that there are loud voices opposed to God, loud voices intent on the destruction of the earth, of God-ordained intent, God-ordained purpose, and a God-ordained ‘way of life’?….Rather than ushering in ‘heaven on earth just as it is in heaven now,’ there are co-conspirators intent on ‘hell on earth as it is in hell right now’!

I love reading John Piper – and, in his book, “A Godward Life,” he wrote: [pps.207, 209], “Jesus had a lively, daily awareness of heaven & hell. These awesome realities were always relevant for the way He lived and taught. He was radically reasonable about these things. If we will live forever in bliss or torment, then securing the one and escaping the other is more important than most of what we think about…So He motivated loving actions with the hope of God’s fellowship in heaven, and he motivated radical purity with the fear of separation & torment in hell. For Jesus a profound desire for heaven and a potent fear of hell were practical, daily parts of living a glad and holy life….We are playing games if we say we long for heaven more than this earth & then live like earthbound people.” And then Piper quoted I John 3:3, “Everyone who has this hope fixed on [Christ] purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Back in the early ‘80’s as I was pastoring Highlands Church in Ocala, Florida, it was the spring of the year. Into the Sunday a.m. fellowship walked a man & woman I’d never seen before – he had a white suit on and his lady friend, coal-black hair, also had a white suit. They filled out a visitor’s card and the address was the apartment complex across the street from the church. As per every Tuesday I made the visit, invited in, found out about his nationally known Christian ministry of piano with Rex Humbard’s church and even numerous appearances with Bill Gaither.

After casual and cordial conversation, he then informed me that the two were not married, that they both had left their mates and children so they could be together! I WAS STUNNED, to say the least!…I then carefully dismissed myself and asked the man if he could come by my office the next morning – he agreed. Wednesday morning had almost passed – it was lunch time and I needed to go eat with Sue. But, as I was leaving, the man opened the church door, big smile on his face, then said: “Pastor Fisher, what did you think about what I told you yesterday about me and my lady friend?”….I pointed my finger at the man and said to him: “Sir, you are an adulterer and the woman you’re living with is an adulteress. And unless you both repent you’re bound for Hell! And I want you to know, unless you repent, don’t step foot in this door of God’s church.”…I walked out – and left him standing with his mouth wide open.

One year later, 2:30 a.m. in the morning I received a phone call. It was this man. He was weeping, crying, hard for him to talk, but I heard him through his tears say: “Pastor Fisher, I want to thank you. You are the only pastor nationally who told me the truth. Across Canada and America I asked leading pastors, well-known pastors, what they thought – and all but you said, “It’s OK, Brother; God wants you happy!”….NO!! GOD ISN’T INTERESTED IN YOUR HAPPINESS – HE WANTS YOU HOLY!!

The piano player and his wife had been reconciled, God had given them a ministry to troubled marriages, and they wanted to come to Ocala and share what God had done through truth shared!…Please, please, hear me: There are those “spiritually lost, spiritually destitute, spiritually inclined” to deny truth and destroy the earth – but there are the servants of God, the prophets, and the saints who’ve heard His Voice, Fear His name, and are willing to stand, & yes, die for eternal truth!

THIRD, WE NEED TO HEAR, LISTEN, AND RESPOND TO THE VOICE OF GOD CALLING OUT FOR VOLUNTEERS! Come to Isaiah 6:1-9! “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ And He said, ‘Go, & tell this people:…”

Did you catch it? I don’t know how you could miss it! Isaiah said what? “..I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go FOR US?” US?…ALMIGHTY GOD – LOVING SON and THE HOLY SPIRIT CALL TO US!! “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’; …And Isaiah responded: “Here am I! Send me.”

Are you aware that every day, men and women, boys and girls, are confronted by open doors to the habitations of the temporal or the habitations of the Eternal?….You are either pressed in to ‘pathological self-obsessions,’ ‘acute self-consciousness,’ the childish framework of ‘me, my, mine’ – or you’ve heard God’s Holy Voice calling out: “Whom shall I send and who will go for Us?”

In Mark 1:14-15 Jesus had begun His public ministry. Mark wrote: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, & believe in the gospel.” BUT THAT’S NOT ALL

Look at Mark 1:16-17!! “And as HE [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon & Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them: “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

In Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy,” Willard wrote: “This is a call for us to reconsider how we have been approaching our life, in light of the fact that we now, in the presence of Jesus, have the option of living within the surrounding movements of God’s eternal purposes, of taking our life into His life.”….I’d rather say, “taking His life into our lives,” and with Isaiah say: “Here am I! Send me!” “I want to be what you want me to be! I want to go where you want me to go! I’ll be a shoe-shiner for the glory of Christ! I’ll be a carpenter for the honor of my Lord. I’ll be a musician for the honor & blessing of Christ Jesus. I’ll be a scientist, and especially one who affirms God’s creative genius – not one who denies it. I’ll be a doctor extending my Lord’s healing grace and power.”

How can one profess redemptive life and redemptive love and redemptive liberty and redemptive privileges, and not say with Isaiah: ‘Here am I! Send me!’………You may find yourself so very much at home with the Rangers and the Mavericks and the Phil Micklesons and your pets and favorite movie stars – but you need to grasp that it is God who made you, the Lord who saved you, and a world that needs you out there! Out there is a God-birthed, God-blessed, God-bathed, God-enveloped world that needs Him!….Have you ever heard it? “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal”? And you understand – you can be heaven’s messenger of healing grace!….With transparent, transformed, and triumphant lives because of God’s grace and mercy, with the flames of our Lord’s unquenchable love, with a faithful and truthful presence and an available “Send me,” we can change the world around us!

It was Henry Ward Beecher who wrote: “Consecration is not wrapping one’s self in a holy web in a sanctuary & then coming forth after prayer and twilight meditation and saying, ‘There, I am [now] consecrated.’ Consecration is going out into the world where God is and using every power for His glory. It is taking all advantages [opportunities, crises] as trust funds – as confidential debts owed to God. It is simply dedicating one’s life, in its whole flow, to God’s service.”

FOURTH, AND LAST, WE NEED TO HEAR, LISTEN, AND RESPOND TO THE VOICE OF CHRIST – SAVED OR UNSAVED, LOST OR FOUND, SPIRITUALLY RE-BORN OR SPIRITUALLY DEAD!….Come to Revelation 3:18-22!….Let me tell you of the love of Jesus!! “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

It was Charles Morrison who once said: “The love of God is no mere sentimental feeling; it is REDEMPTIVE POWER.”……….Harold Cooke Phillips put it like this: “This coming to know Christ is what makes Christian truth redemptive truth, the truth that transforms, not just the truth that informs…”….I want to close with an old hymn!!

“My Faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine! Now hear me while I pray, Take all my guilt away, O let me from this day Be wholly Thine!…Verse 2, May Thy rich grace impart, Strength to my fainting heart, My zeal inspire; As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee, Pure, Warm, and changeless be A living fire!…Verse 3, While life’s dark maze I tread, And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my guide; Bid darkness turn to day, Wipe sorrow’s tears away, Nor let me ever stray From Thee aside…Verse 4, When ends life’s transcient dream, When death’s cold, sullen stream Shall o’er me roll, Blest Savior, then, in love, fear and distrust remove; O bear me safe above, A ransomed soul!”

What is our Lord saying to us? From “Ashes to Fire”, From slave of Satan to son and servant of Holy God,

From a world-promoter to a world-changer, From a life of indifference to a life of passion to be God’s instrument in touching others with His grace and mercy,

From a nobody to His somebody, From chains to freedom in Christ,

From a darkened soul to an enlightened spirit,

From self-consumption to spirit-sacrifice,

From deaf ears and blinded eyes to one who hears and sees and responds to our Lord’s compassion for the needy!

‘PLAYED FOR THE FOOL’

OR

“PURCHASED BY GOD”?

Beyond the shadow of any fleshly doubt is the reality that there is not a man or woman who has ever lived without an awareness of the presence of God, even if it’s only the acknowledgement He HAS KNOCKED ON THEIR HEART’S DOOR! AND, IF HOLY GOD BIRTHED MANKIND WITH AN AWARENESS OF HIM, what is it that blinds one to what he/she already knows? Would you be bold enough, truthful enough, to admit, though now you deny Him, that you have been possessed and over-run by a strong spirit of “natural individuality” that says, “For me, NO NEED OF GOD”? Could it be ‘deceived by Satan’?

“No need of God?” Psalm 14:1 clearly declares, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” But, at least for true believers, understanding spiritual identity as ‘new-born sons and daughters of God’, one is aware of the warfare that does exist in the unbeliever’s heart as one truly ‘deceived by the powers of darkness’! Most unbelievers being ‘played by the powers of darkness’ as “fools” are blinded to, yes, the grace and mercy and love of God as “new-born sons and daughters by the Holy Spirit”, having been “crucified with Christ”, old sin-natures done away with, with Satan and his demons telling folks, “That’s just impossible – natural sin-natures done away with and Resurrection Life manifested in you? Impossible! Be satisfied with your sin-nature; God will still love you.” Really?

In Galatians 2:17-21 Paul illumines the “crucified life” that has now been “justified” by Christ’s death on the Cross. He wrote: But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; and the life which I now live in the flesh (the old man!) I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” WHAT AN AWESOME, LIBERATING, CHRIST-HONORING WORD!

Yet the fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ Really? In Exodus 5:1-2 the Word tells us, Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh (of Egypt), “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’

And Pharaoh 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.” He bought his personal ticket to the eternal Hell, choosing separation from Him as his personal choice.

Yet how many unbelievers do you know who live casually, comfortably, supposedly convinced “life without your God and His Son is a life I choose that is superior and more satisfying than your walk as a disciple of Christ”! There is a spiritual war related to the true saving of souls in and through Christ only, but the spirit of a darkened world, the independence of a self-sufficient soul, and the vainness of a proud ‘self-made man’ pumped up by Satan and his demons deceives the minds of many of “no need of faith in your ‘saving’ God – we’re sufficient in ourselves”!

But in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 the Apostle Paul wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Know anyone exalting himself/herself against the knowledge of God?

Yes, many are “played for the fool” by Satan, demonic forces, the world spirit, and a strong, self-independent, soul existing life, they think, with no need of merciful God! Yes, though many are “played for the fool” by Satan, at the same time there ARE multitudes who understand that “in Christ” one no longer has to be enslaved to the old sin nature because, by His “blood-purchase” Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death, freed us from the world’s deceitful bondage and slavery, and, yes, freed us from the chains of fleshly death into the ‘Kingdom-Crown of liberty, freedom, and the peace that passes all understanding – through the “Lamb’s Blood” we were washed, birthed, and indwelt with the fullness of the blessing of His Resurrection Life, Resurrection Hope, and Resurrection Power!

Through His “blood purchase” we were delivered from bondage to WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE, to WALK IN OUR NEW IDENTITY, and to WALK EMPOWERED BY THE MIGHTY HOLY SPIRIT AND OUR TRUST AND OBEDIENCE TO HIS ETERNAL WORD! YES, “IN CHRIST” WE “BRING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST”! WE “quit trying” and learned “to trust His ever faithful Word and His abiding Presence in us being Himself through us to honor, glorify, and BE the LIFE” THAT HONORS MERCIFUL, LOVING, COMPASSIONATE, ENABLING GOD!!

Yet, still, many ‘believers’, many ‘followers of Christ’, many ‘disciples’, have those ‘lapse moments’, having, yes, sinned then doubted whether they can ever again see themselves as sons or daughters of Holy God, living in immense frustration with the ‘old self’ blinding, clouding out, or thinking they’ve lost their identity as a true servant of Christ Jesus! Dare I tell you? Believe I will!

IF GOD BIRTHED YOU INTO HIS KINGDOM, IF ONE ‘STEPS AWAY’ IN A MOMENT OF SELF-INDULGENCE, DOES “FATHER-GOD” DISOWN A CHILD OF FAITH, BECAUSE IN A MOMENT OF IMMATURE, CHILDISH ABANDONMENT, HOLY GOD WRITES THEM OFF AS UNWORTHY, NOT TRUST-WORTHY ENOUGH TO BE CALLED HIS SON OR DAUGHTER ANY LONGER? SATAN WILL TELL YOU THAT – BUT NOT YOUR LOVING FATHER!

There was a time in Paul the Apostle’s life when in the ‘present tense’ he called himself ‘a miserable man’, and that was a time period in his life as merciful God was pouring the Word through him, yet he KNEW those ‘moments’ he’d strayed away – but he learned, “God wouldn’t let me go where I foolishly had chosen to walk for a time, but held on to me, and wouldn’t let me go”!

Holy God uses ‘life-walk-failures-as-disciples’ TO BE MOMENTS OF ETERNAL EDUCATION IN THE MERCY, LOVE, AND GRACE OF GOD! Receive Paul’s inspired testimony in Romans 7:21-8:14!! “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, THE ONE WHO WILLS TO DO GOOD. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I THANK GOD – THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Romans 8:1-14 follows: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (New Covenant!) has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors –not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” How SPIRITUALLY CLEAR IS THAT TO YOU?

“Led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God?” Sons of God, birthed by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, guided by the Spirit, gifted by the Spirit, are blessed with “the glorious liberty of the children of God”, no longer pawns of the powers of darkness! It’s so interesting to read in Jeremiah 17:10, God speaking, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WAYS, according to the fruit of his doings.” A difference between ‘the fruit of a man’s doings’ OR is there an opportunistic way of things that please and honor Holy God blessed by the Holy Spirit in a yielded vessel’s life?

In Galatians 5:22-25 Paul wrote: “But the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. AND those who are Christ’s HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH (DAILY!) WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES. (SO…) IF we live in the Spirit, LET US ALSO WALK IN THE SPIRIT.”

‘Best effort’? OR “SPIRIT-BLESSED”? ‘Trying’ OR “TRUSTING THE SPIRIT TO HONOR CHRIST THROUGH YOU AS YOU DAILY CHOOSE TO LIVE THE LIFE HONORING CHRIST JESUS BY THE BLESSED FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ALLOWED TO BE HIMSELF IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU?

The third verse of the old hymn published by The Broadman Press, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1940, says: “Come, Holy Comforter, Your sacred witness bear In this glad hour: You who Almighty ART, NOW RULE IN EVERY HEART, and ne’er from us depart, Spirit of power.”

I.H.Meredith in the same hymnal wrote “Seal Us, O Holy Spirit.”

“Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Grant us Your impress, we pray; We would be more like the Savior, Stamped with His image today.

Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Help us Your likeness to show; Then from our lives unto others Streams of rich blessings shall flow.

Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Make Us Your own this hour; Let us be useful, dear Master, Seal us with witnessing power.

Seal us, seal us, Seal us just now, we pray; Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Seal us for service today.”

Concerning YOU in your present path of ‘faith’, as if misguided, diluted, or truthfully a lack of faith, choosing for yourself again the mortal sphere of misguided men, OR have you willfully stepped over into the immortal sphere of the redeemed, the “blood-bought”, the “new-born”, indwelt by the Spirit of the Resurrection Life of Christ, anointed by the Holy Spirit sensing more and more every day of, yes, the “fruit of the Spirit” as God’s Holy Word verifies it? Does “the tree of your life of saving faith” flourish with the “Fresh Fruit of the Holy Spirit”?

FARRELL FISHER

“Some read the Bible and gain an accumulation of information without a relational experience of Oneness with the God who wrote it.” FF

FOREWARD

After my major heart attack April 28, 2013, I knew our Lord wanted me to write – and I did. In just a brief period of recuperation, I began to write a book entitled “Resignation to Hopelessness” which really is a book about our eternal hope. But presently there is a “hopeless spirit” that is like a dark cloud heavy over our nation, the USA.

And I am firmly convinced what God did for me after my heart attack that He can do for our nation! Didn’t He say in II Chronicles 7:14 that if His people called upon Him, humbling themselves and praying, that He would forgive their sins and heal their land?

There’s a biblical command in Isaiah 60:1-3 which says to “us”: “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 rise 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.”

And since God is no respecter of persons or nations, will He not rise upon us if we humbly call upon Him? Oh, yes, HE WILL! One truth I’ve learned and allowed to be deeply imbedded on my heart and mind is that God is not interested in our ‘abilities’, if we have any, but God is interested in our availability to ALL HE IS!!

So…let’s not be “crushed” but truly converted, and in on what God is up to! Didn’t Jesus say, “Ask, and you will receive, seek, and you will find, knock, and it shall be opened to you?” Let’s do that together as we examine some of life’s greatest questions!

OUTLINE

QUESTIONS THAT CRUSH OR CONVERT

CHAPTER ONE: “YOUR STRENGTH OR GOD’S ABLENESS?”

CHAPTER TWO: “FALSE FREEDOM OR DIVINELY VALIDATED LIBERTY?”

CHAPTER THREE: “MAN DIES! DOES HE LIVE AGAIN?”

CHAPTER FOUR: “LIFE AS A VAPOR? WHERE’S ITS SIGNIFICANCE?”

CHAPTER FIVE: “IS THERE WISDOM IN ‘WAITING ON GOD’?”

CHAPTER SIX: “IS IT COMMONPLACE TO BE DECEIVED?”

CHAPTER SEVEN: “IS THE GOAL OF CHRISTLINESS UNATTAINABLE?”

CHAPTER EIGHT: “IS IT SELF-MADE TOWERS OR HIS DIVINE HOLY PRESENCE?”

CHAPTER NINE: “FISHING FOR MEN OR A FATALISTIC MIND-CLOSURE TO MEN?”

CHAPTER TEN: “IS CONTINUAL SIN ‘OK’ FOR A NEW OR TRUE BELIEVER?”

CHAPTER ELEVEN: “IS ‘ALL STRESSED OUT’ THE EVIDENCE OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE?”

CHAPTER TWELVE: “IS ‘SALT’ AND ‘LIGHT’ THE REDEEMED ONE’S TRUE CALLING AND MISSION?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: “ARE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS BOUND OR BLESSED BY OLD TESTAMENT LAW?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: “ARE TEENAGERS, YOUTH,UNMARRIED YOUNG ADULTS FREE FOR ROMANTIC SLEEPOVERS?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: “HOW WILL YOU PLEAD?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: “WHEN GOD SPEAKS?”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: “THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD?”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: “THE GOD OF THE PEOPLE?”

CHAPTER NINETEEN: “THE PEOPLE OF GOD?”

CHAPTER TWENTY: “ENTER HIS GATES?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: “THE WAYS OF GOD?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: “WHERE ARE ALL HIS MIRACLES?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: “IS THERE IN YOU PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: “WHERE’S THE GRIEF?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: “WHY GLORY IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: “THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE OT THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: “ON WHAT DO YOU MAJOR?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: “SAD DEFECTIONS OR SURE ELECTIONS?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: “IS THERE DANGER IN WILDERNESS WANDERINGS BECOMING PERMANENT?

CHAPTER ONE

“YOUR STRENGTH OR GOD’S ABLENESS?”

IF “Christ in you” IS “the hope of glory”, then why are there far too many ‘professing’ followers who attempt devotion as disciples in their own strength (?), which is nothing more than wilting weakness?” One’s personal determination to honor Christ in the best effort of flesh-living is setting aside Jesus in them to a ‘closet-residence’ and they are void of ALL HE IS!

If we know that Holy God made Jesus to be sin for us…that we might be made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), then why assert your impotence to please God when Christ stamped us through His shed blood as 100% as righteous as He is?

This is why in I Corinthians 1:30-31 Paul wrote: “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Oswald Chambers put it like this: [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.149], “Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.”

If, according to 2 Peter 1:4 we are “partakers of the divine nature,” then why reach into “the old man” and fail to “rest” in Him and all He is? Some are so deceived in their fleshly pride that participation in their spiritual journey is indulgence only in “the luxury of misery” and they miss out on the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ – and they do pay a high price in counterfeit devotion and discipline with no honoring of Christ alone.

Your weakness or God’s ableness? ‘Fleshly energy’ related to divine living is a blurring of the very Life and Presence of Christ! This is why in Romans 5:10 Paul wrote: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.”

It is not natural tendencies that honor our Lord but the supernatural triumph of His death, His burial, and His Resurrection Life that raised us up out of the pit of our own destruction to the throne of being seated with Christ in the heavenly place right now! This is why in 2 Corinthians 2:14 Paul said, “Now thanks be to God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.”

But until one hears the Gospel Truth, is convicted by the Holy Spirit, and then receives “the gift of repentance” from God Himself, men wander and don’t know the wonder of His grace, mercy, and love, so they measure themselves by the themselves; oh, they wonder, no doubt, they question, they seek – in the wrong places, with wrong intents – and miss out on the wonderful words of eternal life, eternal mercy, and eternal grace. They miss the Mark set by God Himself.

You’ll remember that Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that “…He [Jesus] died for all, that they who live SHOULD LIVE NO LONGER FOR THEMSELVES, but for Him who died and rose again ON THEIR BEHALF.” And I know you realize that there are those consumed by, controlled by, and diseased by the poisonous passion of living for themselves!

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus spoke of those who saw themselves as very religious but had never been re-born in the Spirit realm: Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who DOES the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cat out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ‘And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness?’”

Do you understand the ‘lawless’ and those who practice ‘lawlessness’? Look at the “Ten Commandments”! Why were they engraved on those tablets? That we might ‘touch’ the tablets, OR, that we might see our lawlessness because to offend in even one point is to be guilty of all. In Galatians 3:24 Paul wrote: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.” Justification by faith is the only open door into the Holy Presence and oneness with God Almighty!

Man’s self-weakness, even though he may believe he’s the strongest man God ought to accept because of that man’s own estimation of himself, is a self-portrait painted in dark, grotesque, dirty colors, denying God’s judgment that he’s a guilty sinner, short-circuited by continuous sin, alienated from Father-God, spiritually dead though he believes he’s living life in grandeur when in reality he’s bound in a dungeon-cell of personal destruction. The reason? Because if a man is not living for the glory of God alone, he’s bound in the goriness and deceit of a blinded, blackened, broken existence.

If you look at Romans 5 Paul describes those for whom our Lord and Savior died on the Cross:

• Verse 6, “For while we were still helpless (without strength), at the right time Christ died…”
• Verse 6, “…Christ died for the ungodly.”
• Verse 8, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Verse 10, “For if while we were ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son…”; and Verse 10 doesn’t end with ‘the death of His Son,’ but with the “much more, having been reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.”

Saved by your grit or saved by His grace? Saved by your determination or your dependence on His finished work? Saved by your abilities or saved by your availability to all God tells us? Saved by your efforts or transformed by Emmanuel? If we must ALL appear before the judgment seat of Holy God and give an account, on what or whom will you stand with? Your weakness or God’s ableness? Hebrews 9:24-28 says:

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest ethers the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another – He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

This is why Oswald Chambers wrote: [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.206], “The disposition of sin is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the disposition of self-realization – ‘I am my own god’ – This disposition may work out in decorous morality or indecorus immorality, but it has the one basis, my claim to my right to myself.”

And do you understand that your claim to your right to yourself is your weakness substituted for God’s Ableness? Your grit, substituted for God’s grace, is vainness in place of the eternal victory of Christ in you and through you! Vainness is empty pride…Victory is Jesus’ eternal celebration. Vainness is a man’s constant pat on his back…Victory is Jesus’ Hallelujah Chorus that never ceases! Vainness is ineffectual effort…Victory is Jesus’ never-ending promise! Vainness is idle boastfulness…Victory is immense blessing out of the very heart of God that never ends!

Your weakness? That’s self-effort with “no wins”! God’s ableness? That’s divine initiative with never a loss! Your weakness? That’s your sin, your guilt, your penalty, your judgment that is not a ‘pretty thing’! God’s Ableness? His love, His power, His anointing, His never-ending provisions, His eternal watch-care, His faithfulness to see you through!

Your weakness? You are a descendant of Adam – hopeless, helpless, hollow – even though you’ve viewed yourself as fellow man’s greatest gift! God’s Ableness? In You? No hopelessness, no helplessness, no hollowness, no imperfections, just His divine clearance, His affirming voice: “This is My Beloved son in whom I am well pleased;” this is My perfect daughter, justified by faith, granted peace with God, and not a closed door ever to His perfect, powerful, promising presence!

Your weakness? Your worldly advantages become your heavenly bankruptcies; your tributes of earthly recognitions and earthly glories are described becoming nothing more of significance than before Holy God to be looked upon as “men of low degree, of mindless thoughts, of eternal emptiness” but, God’s Ableness? I don’t know who wrote it, but he/she said: “Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream, All the fitness He requires is to know your need of Him! This He gives you; it’s the Spirit’s rising beam!”

Is He shining His beams of glory on your life and your walk? Your weakness or God’s Ableness? I want you to think about Paul the Apostle – put yourself in his place momentarily! Your weakness or God’s Ableness? In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 we read: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is perfected [or made perfect] in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Did you see it? Do you accept it? “God’s power perfected in what?” “God’s power ONLY perfected in your weakness!” What did Paul say in Philippians 4:13? “I can do all things through Christ who strengths me.” Do you see a man in his natural state super-empowered by Divine strength? And yet how many have y7ou witnessed who leaned to their own understanding of themselves and did not depend, trust, rely, or wait upon God Himself?

Your weakness? “I can handle this; I am able; I’ve so trained, disciplined, learned for myself – and I can achieve what I want to achieve, overcome what I need to overcome, win whatever war I need to fight!” And when it’s over, you witness a whipped, beat-up puppy dog – the Lion of the Lord is absent! Your weakness? That’s one who lives on wild imaginations but is void of divine inspiration; that’s one who is fleshly motivated and makes his/her own plans – and may see them come to fruition without any inspiration from God or for God’s glory! Intellectually they reason it all out – but spiritually there is no anointing and no glory for God alone!

Would that be your weakness scribbled over the canons of your life as an imprint of your best effort void of the invasion of the anointing of God’s Spirit and God’s power? When “best efforts” replace “blessed anointing” we see defected canvases that win no acknowledgement from God!

I don’t know how I want to say this, but I’ll try: There is truly a golden rule of honoring God and glorifying Christ that comes when a disciple or disciples are empty of self and full of Jesus, empty of pride and pressing in to His fullness, empty of self-effort and full of the anointing, leading, empowering, and illuminating of His true Spirit of light!

It was John Tillotson who wrote: “He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.” Have you witnessed men who build decent reputations through their walks and journeys of life and yet are void of glory and honor and praise of God? It was John Milton, in “Areopagitica,” who wrote: “God sure esteems the growth and completing of one virtuous person, more than the restraint of ten vicious.” But what if virtuousness is for self-glory with no intent of opening the door to the honor and praise of God? Some men are virtuous without any intent of thankfulness or tribute to God! Think about it – now many NFL players play to honor God and the Savior, Jesus Christ? How many businessmen open their doors of businesses or banks or law firms to reveal Jesus? How many medical physicians or nurses do you know who see their professions as opportunities of mirroring Christ?

Slaves to worldly systems or servants of the Lord Jesus Christ? Men of selfish indifference to others or men of selfless involvement to reveal the Savior? Preachers of a professional, stage, performance status or Spirit-anointed messengers of the Most High God? False witnesses or an earthly-revealer of the Indwelling Christ? Meaningless testifiers or the very indwelling Presence and Spirit of Jesus Christ?

Your weakness or God’s Ableness? It was JohannWolfgang von Gothe who wrote: “Epochs of faith, are epochs of fruitfulness; but epochs of unbelief, however glittering, are barren of all permanent good.” Didn’t Jesus say, “By their fruits you shall know them?”

Your weakness or God’s Ableness? Are you truly aware that as God has no confidence in your ‘fleshly’ abilities neither should you? This is why in Philippians 3:3 Paul wrote: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Paul then in Philippians 3:17-21 wrote: “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies o0f the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glorious in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.”

I know you see it! Now, deal with it! “Flesh or Spirit”? Fleshly religious activity and spiritual hindrances or a spiritual presence and spiritual helps that truly bear witness to the Resurrected Christ? Do YOU count all things as loss to gain Christ or does what you hold onto in your fleshly walk determine your journey? Paul said what was his goal? “That I may gain Christ!”

In C.A. Coates’ book “The True Grace of God,” he shared a hymn that says: [p.126], “Yet sure in Your presence My soul still constant were, My eye would more familiar Its brighter glories bear. And thus Your deep perfections Much better should I know, And with adoring fervor In this Your nature grow.” Are you growing? Is it wild berries or ‘true fruit’? Your weakness or is it God’s Ableness? What are you resigned to – or what or Who are you resting in?

Is your spiritual journey continuous efforts at irreparable attempts of making your present life better apart from God’s redemption and reconciliation and regeneration or are you of the variety who says, “God, be merciful to me THE SINNER?”

Is God able to choose a man and make him into the father of many nations? Is God able to sustain, prepare, and then lead His people out of their bondages into His land of promises? Is God able to choose, raise up, or even put down kings and leaders over people and nations? Is God able to shut the lions’ mouths and protect His servants, delivering them even out of the lions’ dens? Can God separate the sea of your suffering and lead you through the parted waters of trouble on dry, safe ground? Can your God heal the sick, raise the dead, shatter your prison walls and set you free?

Has God, will God, does God take wounded sons and daughters, terrorized by godless or faithless dads and/or moms, and raise up true princes and princesses in the Royal Family? Is the God you know, the God you serve, the God you celebrate, the God who makes you more than a conqueror because of His great love; yes, is He the God who takes you out of death into Life Eternal, out of sorrow over your own brokenness into delighting in His healing grace, out of your meaninglessness into His eternal purposes and plans? Is God able to raise you out of man’s religions into His divine relationship?”

Is God able to spiritually take you out of your extreme, painful circumstances of life and sit you on and in His lap for heavenly hugs and holy presence that makes you stand in joy and delight and celebration? Is the God of miracles still present with you in your high mountains of misfortune and disappointment? Is God able to transform your vain glory into our eternal presence of a glory that never fades away?

Has one thing God ever promised you ever failed? In your house of bondage, when God said He’d deliver you out and into His Land, did that never happen? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

It was Peter who signed his name to his letter in 2 Peter 1:1-4, 10-11, saying: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 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: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father o0f our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection o0f Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…Verses 10-11, 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.”

What did Paul tell Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:12b, “…for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Then Peter, again, in I Peter 4:19 wrote, “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” What’s that about? In I Peter 4:14 Peter said: “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He (Jesus) is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”

I felt I needed to share these next few poetic words God put on my heart after the “widow-maker” experience with a close call to death! It’s so important that we examine where we truly are in our spiritual journey: “Our Weakness or God’s Ableness”?

“Religions’ face is not divine but is so poorly displayed And rests in sad abandonment of all heavenly aid; Religions’ voices are so extreme in their delight, But cannot lift the heart when fear shatters the night.

Uninformed disciples, so distraught in their gaze, Wonder if it’s at all possible for their mortal hearts to be raised. Misfortune is their loss with no smile in their grief, There is no word of comfort to give any sweet relief.”

Religions’ face? They gaze and gaze and gaze each day, And religions’ vain glories never die away. Emptiness is their song and they wonder, ‘To whom do we belong?’ And because ‘their weakness’ is their scheme, God’s Ableness for them is a blank theme.

Heavy are their nights because God’s Presence is not in their sight. The lions they cannot tame because they never look to God who is the same. They live in the valley of the shadow of death and never know the God who gives LIFE.

Their lives are not temples but tombs of the devils’ prey, because in their hearts no allegiance to Christ holds full sway. Absorbed in self-indulgence, divine power is not in their play, Their hearts are so contaminated because ‘flesh’ holds the day.

Hopeless sighs are not Heaven’s songs, And the love of God is not a truth to which they belong. ‘Religion is self-effort’ they boldly proclaim, as the message of Jesus to them is so lame.

Then, there is that soul, upon its knees, who has a different theme, “God is my rescuer, and upon Him I lean. Jesus is my Savior, of Him I faithfully sing. He washes my sin in His own blood, and carries me faithfully over life’s great flood.”

Holy Presence in me is His eternal theme, and with the angels of Heaven, I faithfully sing. Lord of my life from now and forever, Word of my life that faithfully delivers. Jesus is able my faith to sustain, and upon me His Spirit does faithfully rain.

God is able to lift me up, and faithfully bless me with Heaven’s over-flowing cup. I am His, and He is mine – and upon my life His Sun still shines –

And the Day is soon coming, when at His table, I eternally will dine – because He and His disciples are mutually mine.”

CHAPTER TWO

“FALSE FREEDOM OR DIVINELY VALIDATED LIBERTY?”

In John 8:31-36 Jesus so truly spoke of the true, spiritual, practical, personal, eternal freedom that comes only through Him. His Word says: Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.” Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I Know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.”

There is no greater word for an enslaved humanity than the word ‘free’! And there is no greater man on earth than that man who spends his whole life on earth providing for or even fighting for or dying for the freedom of others.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines ‘freedom’ as: “A state of exemption from the power or control of another (maybe Satan?); liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement…”

In Genesis 15:13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.” AND THEY WERE ENSLAVED – but there came that day when God divinely intervened and “set the captives free”!

Are you aware that there are those who “settle in” to captivity and think that it’s normal or just divinely intended? I truly believe Paul was joking about the Corinthians when in 2 Corinthians 11:19-20 he wrote: “For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly. For you bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face.”

Ezekial 34 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. God is up to something good here for all of us who’ve been enslaved in false freedom. He searches for His sheep, He leads them out of bondage to false prophets, He cares for His sheep and delivers them from darkness, from their cloudy and gloomy days, bringing them “out” from a deathly state of life to live in blessing, in security, because “you are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men and I am your god,” declares the Lord God.” Oh, how good and great is that?”!!

But then, just as there is, false freedom, we must understand it is promoted by false prophets! Peter calls them “wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” [2 Peter 2:17]. Then in verses 18-22 he exposes their deceptions and their end! “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought out of bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled again in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Sadly, some precious people have been enslaved, ensnared, and entangled in various webs of deceptions – and we can only pray that, out of that web of deception, men can be set ‘free’ by our Lord’s “divinely validated liberty”! “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” And Paul, in Romans 8:21, speaks of that freedom as “the glorious liberty of the children of God”!

Let’s look at ‘false freedom’ first. I’m convinced some are in bondage to the ignorance of their own SPIRITUAL DEATH BEFORE HOLY GOD.

When the Word declares that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” some ignore or are truly ignorant of the reality that “the wages of sin is death.” If you’ve never been one who reads, studies, or applies the Word of God to your life, you more than likely do not know the war between ‘flesh’ and the Spirit – that’s your old sin nature, the old man, the one not in union with Christ – so Paul tells us in Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally [or fleshly] minded IS DEATH, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Why is that? Because Romans 8:7-8 declares, “Because the carnal (fleshly) mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” That means that those controlled by, dominated by, captured by, devoted to their old sin natures are bound by that until “Christ sets you free”!

In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul tells us, “For He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [in Jesus only].” I love Romans 5:10! It says, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.”

‘False Freedom’? THAT’S CHAINED TO ONE’S HURTS AND PAINS AND ‘GHOSTS” OF ONE’S PAST! Are you aware of hurting individuals who strongly, steadily, and as sure as day follows night, push down, try to bury, and attempt to suffocate their lostness, deadness, doubtfulness about their true identity in the sea of their forgetfulness? There are people who live with 5 days, 5 years, 50 years of pain and heartache and, yes, ‘ghosts’ out of their former days, knowing nothing of “new creations in Christ Jesus”!

You are aware that personal reformation is not divine transformation. Adapting is not being atoned for. Education is not evaporation of the errors (?) in your life that you now endure. Cosmetic covering is not Christ’s conversion of your old self to new Life in Him. When Jesus said ‘You must be born again,’ He said it to a highly religious man of stalwart, religious prominence! But he HAD TO BE BORN AGAIN! And so do we all!

“False Freedom?” THAT’S THE HOME-MADE TIME BOMB OF EXPLOSIVE SELF-REFORM! And it is so prevalent and presumptuous! “I can handle my own life – I don’t need God. That’s for sissies, for the weak-minded, for the sad folks who can’t stand on their own.”

And all around you are so many who will not bow before Truth because they’ve convinced themselves of ‘the Lie’[“I can sin and not die!”] – and they live by ‘self-modification’ and not the “sure mercies of God.”

Are you understanding? Controlled ‘flesh’ does not bring one into a personal relationship with Holy God! Best efforts do not reveal or unveil Blessed Emmanuel! A ‘natural,’ independent, self-ruling man is not free but bound in his weakness, blind to the spiritual, and burdened [though he may not know it] by the heavy load of his GOD-LESS-NESS! Natural values and virtues hinder and bring one to that absolute necessity of “:new birth,” not even knowing Hell’s armies have surrounded them to hold them back from “crucified with Christ,” thus becoming a child of the King.

“False Freedom”? THAT’S ONE WHO “SAYS” HE IS FREE BUT LIVES IN BONDAGE TO HIS CARNAL DESIRES AND HIS INSTINCTIVE, INDULGENT INCLINATIONS! In I Corinthians 3:1-3 Paul spoke of some Corinthian Christians who were behaving like “mere men.” “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”

And “mere men” are those bound to their carnal desires and their instinctive, indulgent inclinations! “Mere men”? “We must increase – Jesus must decrease!” “Mere men”? “We don’t need to ‘perfect holiness’ because we have no fear of God!” “Mere men”? “We live on a common-sense basis and are not goaded by a God you profess to know!” “Mere men”? “We don’t have to be still and we don’t have to know He is God!”

It doesn’t take long to “see” and to “know” where a man’s heart i9s – and if it’s a closed heart to God, you’ll see a man daily grinding at the mill of self-indulgence, smelling worse each moment because of his rotting sensuality, easily angered by any mention of Jesus, and either coming apart at the seams of his life or angered and fighting back because he’s yoked with the devil and the powers of darkness.

That man is not delivered FROM his sin but has been given over TO his sin. The prison cuffs become heavier and heavier – the demonic voices become louder and the demonic traps more frequent and devastating in nature. He’s bound like a Samson by the deceptions of the Delilahs!!

“False Freedom”? THAT’S ONE, YES, BOUND BY THE CHAINS OF RELIGIOUS SUPERSTITIONS AND DEMONIC PHILOSOPHIES! In Galatians 4:8-11 Paul so eloquently and in convicting fashion nailed, yes, some professing disciples who had decided for bondage rather than deliverance! He wrote: “But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”

In fact Paul was so bold to the church at Corinth that he wrote them: I Corinthians 8:9-12, “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their conscience, you sin against Christ.”

Plus, in I Corinthians 7:35, he wrote: “And this I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly, and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” But bound by the chains of religious superstitions and demonic philosophies is not true freedom! This is why we read in Colossians 2:6-10, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

“False Freedom”? Dare I say that some false freedom is also the result of POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENTAL BONDAGE BY LEADERS WHOSE INTENT IS TO DECEIVE AND ENSLAVE THE PEOPLE THEY SUPPOSEDLY ARE TO BE SERVING, SETTING FREE, AND WATCHING THEIR GODLY GOVERNANCE OF THEIR LIVES, FAMILIES, AND ETERNAL PURPOSES!?!

“If Jesus sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” And I believe eternal honor is given to those who expend and extend and express their leadership to free others from the chains of civil bondage and governmental imprisonment, seeing men possess, enjoy, and share in their God-given rights: LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF BLESSING – NOT ONLY BEING A USA PRINCIPLE BUT A BIBLICAL STANDARD FOR GOD’S GLORY!

I’ve only given you a sip, a taste, of ‘false freedom’ but what is our “Divinely Validated Liberty”? Again, John 8:36 says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

I pray you see, sense, and fully understand that this “Divinely Validated Liberty” IS THAT SOVEREIGNLY PLANNED BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THIS WORLD! Revelation 13:8 speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” And if you have any doubts, the prophetic Word of Isaiah 53:4-7 tells us: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.”

In John 1:29 the Holy Word tells us: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And that was Jesus of Nazareth! Revelation 5:11-13 says, Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wisdom and riches, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I hear saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

It’s God who sits on the throne! It’s the Lamb seated on the throne who took our place on the Cross, died, and yet forever lives! And all of that is out of the heart of God who tells us: John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

But also “DIVINELY VALIDATED LIBERTY” IS THAT WHICH WAS AND IS SACRIFICIALLY PURCHASED: It is ours because Jesus has revealed it as a sovereign work of His power, but required, in the mind and heart of God, as that purchased by His shed blood! This is why, in Acts 20:28, that we read, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

No doubt this is why we read in I Corinthians 7:23, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” That price was and is the shed blood of the Lamb of God whose name is Jesus. Are you truly aware of WHO Jesus IS and what Jesus DID AT THE CROSS? This IS the eternal Son of God, God Himself, who gave up His freedom and His very Life that you and I might be set free. Jesus gave up His freedom that you might be LIBERATED FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH! The old hymn says, “Jesus Paid it all, All to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!”

DIVINELY LIBERATED LIBERTY IS THAT, NOT ONLY PURCHASED BY HIS BLOOD, BUT SWEETLY PRESENTED BY HIS RESURRECTED PRESENCE, POWER, AND PROMISE: Do you understand? In His love He bought you and by His power He raises you up to His throne of everlasting life – and by His grace He liberates you to live in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You may have been in sackcloth and ashes, but in your repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, He clothes you in His righteousness and instills within you everlasting freedom and liberty. We’re no longer “bound” but “blessed”, not imprisoned by our old sin natures but liberated by His blood and power, not hidden in darkness but one celebrating in the Light, not by self-effort or personal merit but by the grace, mercy, and love of God!

Certainly, it was for sinners He died, because there was and is none righteous, no not one! But though bondage is a curse, through His blood He gives us blessing. Though bondage is a chain, through His blood He gives us freedom. Though bondage is darkness and the very valley of the shadow of death, our Lord dresses us in the beautiful gowns of freedom and liberty. Though bondage is always cruel darkness which stings us and strangles and stifles us, His True Light shines and the darkest midnights of the soul become the high noons blazing in His personal, abiding presence.

DIVINELY LIBERATED LIBERTY IS THAT WHICH, PURCHASED BY HIS SHED BLOOD, BECOMES THROUGH GRACE AND FAITH OUR PRESENT AND PERENNIAL POSSESSION: Do you understand “chained through the ages” but now, through His shed blood, we’re free in the eternal fresh air of holy presence? Bound with the guilty, but now free with the emancipated, bound with the dark ones, but now celebrating with sons and daughters of light, bound with the slaves of sin, but now servants of His holy righteousness, bound in the darkness of sinful hearts, but now servants of God by the dawn of new creation Light?

BUT, LASTLY, DIVINELY LIBERATED LIBERTY IS THAT WHICH, PURCHASED BY HIS SHED BLOOD, GRANTS TO US A PERFECT PARDON: Micah 7:18 says, “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love [or mercy]. Verse 19, He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You [God] will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.”

How does that happen? Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Yes, even King David knew and understood God’s perfect pardon! He said, Psalm 32:1-5, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand, God, was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

It was Spurgeon who said, “Forgiven sin is better than accumulated wealth.” The precious prize of pardon is a dark night turned into the brightness of Heaven’s eternal shining sun on a forgiven son whose sin has been washed and cleansed in the Lamb’s blood! Isaiah 43:25 says, God speaking, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” Glory!

The memory of past sin, washed in the blood, is not to be like a hanging noose wrapped around your throat! What you were without Christ is not who you ARE in Christ now. Doesn’t His Holy Word tell us, Psalm 32:2, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity (or charge his account with), and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

If any man after death had any perception of a life of unforgiven sin and what he had in store for an unforgiven life of rebellion to God, I believe he’d fall before the Cross and empty tomb, confessing his sin, and calling out for mercy and grace. Oh, please hear Oswald Chambers in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.255]. He quoted Hebrews 10:14, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified [or ‘set apart’].” Then Chambers said: “It does not matter who or what we are, there is absolute reinstatement into God by the death of Jesus Christ and no other way, not because Jesus pleads, but because He died. It is not earned, but accepted. All the pleading which deliberately refuses to recognize the Cross is of no avail; it is battering at another door than the one which Jesus opened. I don’t want to come that way, it is too humiliating to be received as a sinner. “There is none other name…” The apparent heartlessness of God is the expression of His real heart, there is boundless entrance in His way. “We have forgiveness through His blood.” Identification with the death of Jesus Christ means identification with Him to the death of everything that never was in Him…The Atonement is a propitiation whereby God through the death of Jesus makes an unholy man holy.”

Divinely Validated Liberty, or freedom, is: “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” []John 8:36].

CHAPTER THREE

MAN DIES! DOES HE LIVE AGAIN?

I don’t know of a more crippling question if one’s life has no foundation of saving grace or mercy, and he asks, “If I die, will I live again?” Death for many is, yes, death to truth because in their minds and hearts they wished to die, having no saving will to live! I saw recently in print a man speaking of “fine dying [which is] a man’s privilege…” But if he doesn’t know if he lives again, what is “fine” about that? That may be the wicked and the weary and the worn down who want what they’ve experienced to be over! But it’s not.

Death is not a ‘troubling dream’; death is not a punishment but an open door to a different state of life; death is either a dread because of the door it opens to some, but for others it is the gate of life opened to eternal blessing; it’s so sad but death for some is experiencing death without having appropriated the life God desired them to claim, while others continue their blessed life of faith even though they have died in resurrection hope, power, and promise.

It’s for certain that there truly is ‘a democracy of the dead’ in which equality is real and sure. It was the “Aerzte-Kalendar” from Germany that had a quote saying: “The thought of death leaves me completely calm because I have the firm conviction that our spirit is a being of indestructible nature, continuing from eternity to eternity; it is similar to the sun, which seems to set each night for us mortals, but which actually never sets, instead continues to shine uninterruptedly.,”

It is for sure our ‘being’ is of an indestructible nature and continues on and on and on either in Heaven or Hell! For some that eternal state after physical death is immeasurable blessing in fellowship with Holy God, with the Lord Jesus Christ, and engulfed in still greater blessings in and through the Holy Spirit; but the ‘lost,’ the unbeliever, the rebellious, the deceived, there remains forever eternal torment under the control of Satan and his satanic demons and armies forever and ever, experiencing a ‘death’ that will not die! For them, death is not the gate to heavenly pleasure but hellish dread.

I really do not know how the ‘godless’ even think about ‘death’ with its open door to continual corruption, demonic disturbance, and satanic slavery. But born-again believers? They take their “rest” on the bosom of Jesus, wrapped in His arms of love and grace and mercy! But the worldly? It was George Eliot who said: “Worldly faces never look so worldly as at a funeral.” IN Revelation 14:13 we read, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘That they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

That is an awesome word of encouragement and enlightment. There is a ‘rest’ from our labors, and what we’ve done in the earthly life follows us into the heavenly life! No doubt this is why the author of Hebrews wrote: Hebrews 4:9-10, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” And, in Hebrews 3:18-19, gracious God has given us a warning: “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” When I read these verses I realize that that moment of death is not as one embracing a moment of final sleep but entering, for them, a new and lasting awakening to the fullness of Heaven’s blessings or the fullness of Hell’s curses!

The Holy Word speaks of “rest” for the believer in death, but to the unbeliever Revelation 9:12 speaks of “One woe is past; and behold, there comes two woes more hereafter.” But the born-again believer? Look with me at I Corinthians 15:50-58!! Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ “O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

I pray you see and are fully aware that born-again believers know and are fully persuaded that death has lost its sting! Yes, for the true believer “death is swallowed up in victory”!

But not all men know “death swallowed up in victory” but death sounding with cruel cries, heavy hearts, and sorrowful loneliness. Eglon, king of Moab, had conquered Israel and ruled over them for eighteen years. But the Lord raised up a deliverer whose name was Ehud. Ehud came to the king carrying not only ‘tributes’ but trouble – he brought a dagger! In the presence of the king, Ehud said to Eglon, “I have a message from God for you.” The dagger was “death swallowed up in defeat!”

You may not have heard of the venerable English preacher, George Whitfield, but in his early ministry days he fell ‘deathly ill’, and was not sure he would live or die. He experienced an extremely high fever and thought his time had come. There was a blessed negro woman who was caring for him. She said boldly, “No, Mr. Whitfield, you are not going to die yet; you have thousands more to bring to Christ; keep up your spirits, for you will live and not die – the Master has a big job for you to do.”

Job no doubt wrestled with himself and God about the reality of death. In Job 30:16-23 we read: “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; the days of affliction take hold of me. My bones are pierced in me at night, and my gnawing pains take no rest. By great force my garment is disfigured; it binds me about as the collar of my coat. He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and you regard me. But You have become cruel to me; with strength of Your hand You oppose me. You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. For I know that You will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.”

Spurgeon wrote in his “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Vol. 17, p.299], “It is the part of a brave man, and especially a believing man, neither to dread death not to sigh for it; neither to fear death nor to court it. In patience possessing his soul, he should not despair of life when hardly pressed; and he should be always more eager to run his race well than to reach its end.” Sound words of wisdom from Dr. Spurgeon!

I have a very solemn statement to share with you that I firmly believe can change your life forever if you respond positively to it. Here it is: “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” That comes from Isaiah the prophet to Hezekiah who was sick and near death. [Isaiah 38:1].

Across the seventy-seven years of my life I have witnessed death in the old, in the young, in babies, in middle-aged men and women, scholars, athletes, doctors, housewives, mothers, fathers, soldiers, policemen, historians, prisoners, patriots – but regardless of their status economically, financially, socially, spiritually – whatever, they still died!

The psalm-song of David ought to be learned and sung over and over: Psalm 39:4-7, “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about as a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”

It was Augustine who used to speak uncertainly, not sure whether he ought to call life “a dying life or a living death” – and it’s certain the temporal life is a dying life and we are living to die, but that’s simply earthly and fails to face the eternal! I’ll never forget my New Testament professor of preaching at Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, who told us regularly: “Preach as a dying man to dying men!”

Again, Spurgeon, [“Spurgeon’s Sermons,” Vol. 17, p.301] preached: “Early in the life of my boys I took them to the old churchyard of Wimbledon and bade them measure some of the little graves within that enclosure, and they found several green hillocks which were shorter than themselves. I tried thus to impress upon their young minds the uncertainty of life. I would have every child remember that he is not too young to die. Let others know that they are not too strong to die.” Then Spurgeon shared about Paracelsus, a very famous physician of old time, who prepared a medicine that he believed would extend a life for a long time if taken regularly, and maybe never die, except of extreme old age; and guess what? Paracelsus died a young man!

Job not only believed though that the hour of death would come since “it is appointed unto men to die,” but that also, after death, there are “houses appointed for all living.” Beyond death, beyond the grave, there is Satan’s abode and the Savior’s home in glory. Where you spend eternity is to be settled in your own mind, heart, and will.

What did Job say? And did he say it because he truly believed it and rested in it? “I know that you will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.” Providential plans are firmly established for “life after death” because of His revealed Word: Didn’t David describe for us the joy in the true believer because of his after-death destination? Psalm 23:4-6 tells us: “Yes, though I walk through 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER!”

There is resurrection life AND resurrection hope! It’s Job again, Job 19:25-26, who cemented and celebrated for us the true believers’ after-life when he said: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, THIS I KNOW, that in my flesh I shall see God.”

Paul understood our future after our earthly departure. In I Corinthians 13:12 he wrote: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” And in Christ we are KNOWN BY GOD HIMSELF!

Do you know it, sense it, celebrate it, shout it out on the housetops? Didn’t we read I Corinthians 15:53? “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality?” Glory! Glory Hallelujah!! Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary describes “immortality” like this: “The quality of never ceasing to live or exist; exemption from death and annihilation; life destined to endure without end; as the immortality of the human soul – Jesus Christ, who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…” [2 Timothy 1:10]. Noah Webster went on to describe immortality as “exemption from oblivion…existence not limited.”

And all of this is because, I Timothy 1:17, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God alone who is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” SO BE IT!

But I do know that there are so many people, even some in our local churches, who’ve never broken through their walls of fear about death to rest in the eternal hope of their oneness in and with Christ Jesus for the forever life in Heaven. Of course, some are afraid to die because they know they are separated from God, and intend to stay that way – but Hell scares them. I can only pray they get Hell scared out of them because Hell is real as Heaven is real, but it truly is a ‘hellish’ place!

Again, listen to the wise Spurgeon who operates as a surgeon on the disease of the fear of death and Hell: [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 17, pps. 312-313], “When the decree of God is our delight, we feel no abhorrence to anything which He appoints either in life or in death. If we are living as Christians ought to live, we have denied our self-will, and we have accepted the Lord to be the arbiter of all events, the absolute ruler of our being. If your soul is truly married to Christ, you find your supreme bliss in the Bridegroom’s will. Your cry is, “Your will be done.” This should be our ordinary condition in daily life; and it is an admirable preparation for thinking of death with composure. Let me live, if God will be with me in life; let me die, if He will be with me in death. So long as we are “forever with the Lord,” what matters where else we are? We will not further ask when or where; our ‘when’ is “forever,” our ‘where’ is “with the Lord.” Delight in God is the cure for dread of death.” Amen?

Are you at peace that if you lie down in your bed tonight that it just might be your last night alive in your earthly body? The one thing I believe we gladly receive through the truth of God’s Word is that a man is not prepared to live fully if he’s not prepared to die in faith – not fear. How does that come to be?

RECFEIVE GOD’S FAITHFUL WORD FOR YOURSELF ABOUT LIFE AND ABOUT DEATH. What did Jesus tell us? “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” How’s your daily menu in God’s Word?

RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM DYING. Isn’t death appointed? It doesn’t matter where you live death occurs. It doesn’t matter how educated you are – one is not wiser than death. It doesn’t matter how physically strong you’ve disciplined y7ourself to be, that moment comes when death rules. It doesn’t matter how religious you’ve trained yourself – death is inevitable. Psalm89:49 says, “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?”

RECOGNIZE THAT, ONCE DUST, TO DUST WE SHALL RETURN. Yes, Job spoke of ‘corruption’ that ‘you are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ alerting himself that he does go the way of all men – and he knew his time would come. Do you deny it? “In Adam all die”! But, praise God, in Christ we live forever even though the physical perishes!

RECOGNIZE, YES, THE WAGES OF SIN IS, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE ‘DEATH’! What does Romans 5:12 tell us? “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned – “ So, we’re hopeless? Look at Romans 5:17! “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more, those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus.”

RECOGNIZE IN YOURSELF THE REALITY OF YOUR OWN AWARENESS, ASSOCIATION, OR AFFINITY WITH THE INEVITABLE!! And do you know what happens when we get gut-level honest with ourselves? We begin to ask questions, to look about us to the overcomers of the fear of death, to truly ask, “Does God have a word for me?”, to set aside satanic influences of unbelief, doubt, or fear, and to begin a journey of faith and obedience to “my Savior” who died and rose again!

In Psalm 91 we find such a powerful word of enlightment, encouragement, and an enabling to live the overcoming life in Christ. It says: Verses 14-16, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Living in Christ is living abundantly because that’s LIVING IN AND THROUGH GOD ALONE!

CHAPTER FOUR

“LIFE AS A VAPOR? WHERE’S ITS SIGNIFICANCE?”

In “The Works” of Alfred Lord Tennyson, [p.546], the famous poet and writer of the past, wrote the following words: “Visions of youth – for my brain was drunk with the water, it seems; I had past into perfect quiet at length out of pleasant dreams, And the transient trouble of drowning – what was it when matched with the pains Of the hellish heat of a wretched life rushing back through the veins?” The very next writing?

“Why should I live? One son had forged on his father and fled, And if I believed in a God, I would thank him, the other is dead, And there was a baby-girl, that had never looked on the light: Happiest she of us all, for she past from the night to the night.”

A suicidal youth and a dead baby girl who never saw light! And some believe they’ve celebrated life by drowning or just dying right out of the mother’s womb? I believe I’d call that “maimed, marred, misspent living.” I pray that it would alarm you, stir you, challenge you, that you would discover multitudes around you who see for themselves no real value in living – as James 4:14 asks, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

And that’s true of masses of people! Certainly we were all created free to choose whether to live as a fleeting vapor or a victorious son and daughter of God Himself. But sadly, the paralysis of believing, of trusting, of obeying the God who made us, leaves one spiritually and morally empty, and he/she does as he/she pleases with desperate, darkening consequences. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Presumptuous people are for the most part people who are arrogant, filled with fleshly pride, irreverent to revealed Truth, ‘living’ unto themselves in a state of spiritual blindness, darkness, and unbelief. They defy conscience, promote vainness, and despise holiness and holy revelation.

Vapor victims? Life has no meaning for them, life purpose is a paralysis they think they avoid, life relationship to God is hollow for them, life values are personal merits rather than Prince of Peace mercy; life music has no sound chords but only death and dying, off-key rhythms; life’s ‘self’, as Francis Bacon wrote, is ‘the chiefest bridle of all vices’; “life is doubt so just do as you please;” life is for many an untruth that sprouts into total falsehood, becoming Satan’s sharp teeth to sink into others; yes, and vapor victims can be victims of religion apart from relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Robert Burns, in “The Cotter’s Saturday Night,” wrote: “Compared with this, how poor Religion’s pride, in all the pomp of method and of art, When men display to congregations wide, Devotion’s every grace, except the heart!”

In “Gentle Alice Brown” Sir William Schwenk Gilbert wrote: “Of all unhappy sinners, I’m the most unhappy one! The padre said, ‘Whatever have you been and gone and done?” LIFE IS A VAPOR! That’s “what you’ve been and gone and done!” How sad is Job 7:6-10? “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; while your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.”

Fast, fleeting, hopeless days – a brief breath – a vanishing cloud – one who is no longer known – with Job at one point in his earthly journey even saying: Job 7:16, “I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are but a breath.”

“Life as a vapor? Where is its significance?” James helped us so much to understand “hope” when one sees himself as totally “hopeless”. In James 1:14-16 the brother of Jesus wrote: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” How did Paul the Apostle put it? Romans 5:10 says, “For id when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.”

Paul said later in his letter to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He [God] mahe Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That’s our eternal victory not temporal vapors! But the sad truth is some who profess faith in Jesus’ shed blood for their sin never consider5 its purpose in God’s grace and mercy to extend, express, and enlighten His righteousness through their daily journeys!

“My sins are forgiven!” SO? For what purpose and to whose glory? In Romans 5:14-17, 20, the Apostle of faith challenges us: “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more, the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more, those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus. Verse 20, Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.”

I’m not interested any further in elaborating on our death, our state of death, or our date with death, but that out of that spiritual death our Lord and Savior has released for us “resurrection life, resurrection power, and resurrection hope.” It’s so true that a man needs to understand his latter end and the briefness of his days on this earth, but more importantly one needs to grasp, “Why am I here? And, what is the purpose of my existence?”

Spurgeon said, [“Spurgeon’s Sermons”,Vol.15, p.54], “Among the earnest, the prayerful, the holy, many must own that the vaults of death have brought them spiritual health.” And I believe, even more, confronted by Christ, testified to by the lives of His servants, spiritually convicted by His living Word, one comes to the holy hour of divine confrontation and eternal intent!

Significant day? Significant life? I believe that’s the day of truly eternal significance when one is gripped, not by what today or tomorrow brings, but WHO HOLDS US IN HIS HANDS AND ARMS AND HEART OF SAVING GRACE, MERCY, AND LOVE. Have you heard our Lord say to you: “You are Mine because I love you, I died for you, and I rose from the grave to draw YOU unto MYSELF?” In 2 Corinthians 4:6 we read, :For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Significant day? Significant life? At least “vapor” shows us how meaningless and fleeting we are in ourselves. I believe, by God’s Word and by God’s Spirit and by God’s faithful witnesses, that we begin to sense, receive, and stand upon our eternal purpose of “LIVING” in the glory and relationship of oneness with Him! Paul put it like this in Galatians 1:15-16, 24: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me…v.24…And they glorified God in me.” In Galatians 2:20-21 Paul enlightens us even more: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God…”

Significant day? Significant life? The new disciple’s life is not for pats on our backs but for praises to the God of grace. In I Peter 2:9-10 Peter tells us: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

Paul, in Romans 1:3-5 speaks “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him, we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom YOU ALSO ARE THE CALLED OF JESUS CHRIST…”

“Obedience to the faith”? In 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 Paul wrote: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

Ambassadors for Christ, messengers to a lost and dying world, witnesses of His amazing grace, love, and mercy, the story-tellers of eternal truth, the flag-carriers of kingdom allegiance – extensions of His life, expressions of His love, the proofs of His power!

Significant day? Significant life? What about safety? What about security? What about ‘settled into’? What about heavenly significance of service and sacrifice? What about life as a true hymn of faith? In Isaiah 33:14-17 the prophet wrote: “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypocrites; “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil; He will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, His water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off.”

Spurgeon wrote: [“Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 15, p.31], “Safety in Zion belongs to those born in her by regeneration, reared in her by sanctification, enfranchised in her by faith in the Son of God, settled in her by fixed principles, confirmed in her by obedience to her laws, and bound to her by intense love of her king and her citizens. Such “shall dwell on high” secure from danger, and only such: the aliens and foreigners within her gates shall ere long be driven forth with shame.”

“Life as a vapor? And where is its significance? Just think for a moment about Paul’s challenging statement to the Galatian church – Galatians 4:19-20, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you. I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.” Do you grasp a present, participatory, praying spirit in the “professors of faith” around you? For many, rather than significant, saving faith, it is an attitude of shame toward God and they’re angry with Him. In Isaiah 45:22-25, God speaks: “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.”

That’s because some are so ‘self-sufficient’ that they believe God ought to bless them because of their meritorious ‘spiritual genius’ – and God laughs! But the ‘true Israel’ calls for mercy. The true Israel calls to God for new hearts. The true Israel cries out for grace to abound toward them more and more. The true Israel knows and understands there is no hope for them save in God Himself! Their faith and trust is living – not dead, it is dynamic – not dormant, it is heart-changing – not cosmetic!

Significant day? Significant life? Do you remember the angel’s description of John to Zacharias? Luke 1:16-17 says, “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Oh, how awesome is that! Our faith in Christ is a walk making ready people prepared for the Lord! YOUR LIFE IN CHRIST? It’s not a fictitious story of faithlessness but the true story of people preparing to meet their God!

What does Ephesians 2:8-10 tell us about our life and living in Christ in eternal significance? It says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

What is a ‘professed’ faith if there is no life change? Your outward life may be perceived as “All For God,” but if there is no new heart by the grace of God, it’s a sham, a pretense, a false witness! But grace, true grace, births a new witness – Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age..” Then in Titus 3:5-7 he amplifies it to Titus, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

There’s nothing ‘skin-deep’ about saving faith in a “new life” – saving faith is the reality of crucifixion with and in Christ and raised up as a new creation. In Psalm 24:3-5 David wrote about the King of glory and His Kingdom citizens. He said: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Oh, examine your ‘life’ of faith. Is it a true life of faith – redeemed by the blood of Christ, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and renewed by the Living Word of God? Are you a free man in Christ Jesus? Free from the darkened sins of your old sin nature? Free from the uncontrolled vices of guilt and shame and bondage? Free from the oppression and domination of the powers of darkness? Free from the fashionable sins of a perverted people? Free from the starvation diet fleshliness birthed in you? Free from the abomination of a defenseless nature of sin and death?

What did Jesus tell us? John 10:27-30, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal live, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

Oh, but that is not all you need to rest in!! Look at Romans 8:31-39!! What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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 thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Vol.15, pps. 46-47] Spurgeon said: “As for the waters, the living waters of grace and of the Holy Spirit, these shall always flow: in summer and winter shall the still waters be found at your side; yes, they shall be within you “a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.” Words cannot tell the privilege of the man who lives in God and lives with God! He need not shiver in the damps of the earth – he lives on high; he need not fear the fury of the enemy, for he has a place of defence; he need not dread the lapse of time; his munitions are of rock; he need not tremble at famine and drought, his needs shall all be met by the care of heaven. The man who knows his sins are forgiven, who is covered with the righteousness of Christ, who is in vital union with the Lord Jesus, who is indwelt by the Holy Ghost: that man, I say, need not desire to be any other than he is, but may give himself up to blessing and praise and magnifying the Most High every moment of his life till he is caught up to the highest heaven, to dwell where enemies cannot threaten nor necessities arise.”

Always remember: self-righteousness is a curse – Savior-blessed righteousness is heavenly celebration daily; self-acceptance is deceit if Christ within you is not your delight; self-approval is blindness while Christ’s Atonement is true sight and heavenly vision; self-worship is the devil’s delight while “rejoicing in the Lord” is a disciple’s journey and eternal destiny’ self-will is spiritual sickness while divine will and blessing is healthy living, thanks to God’s love, mercy, and grace.

Psalm 39 is an awesome psalm of personal awareness and a psalm of one’s awareness of the great, great need of God to transform “vapors” into the eternal breath of God in us. The psalmist wrote: I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me.” I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreaths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches and does not know who will gather them. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish. I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it. Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; Surely every man is a vapor. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as well as my fathers were. Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, before I go away and am no more.”

Hear me! If your “life” is a life of significance and celebration it’s because you are “in Christ Jesus”! No other reason or explanation! So… “All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all!!”

I truly celebrate Christ Jesus every time I pick up and read Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost For His Highest.” On pages 140-141 he listed Philippians 3:10, “That I may know Him.” Then he said confirming words to this chapter: “The initiative of the saint is not towards self-realization, but towards knowing Jesus Christ. [I say, that’s true life!]. The spiritual saint never believes circumstances to be haphazard, or thinks of his life as secular and sacred; he sees everything he is dumped down in as the means of securing the knowledge of Jesus Christ. There is a reckless abandonment about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we shall realize Jesus Christ in every domain of life, and He will bring us to the same point again and again until we do. SELF-REALIZATION leads to enthronement of work; whereas the saint enthrones Jesus Christ in his work. Whether it be eating or drinking or washing disciples’ feet, whatever it is, we have to take the initiative of realizing Jesus Christ in it! Every phase of our actual life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father in the most menial work. “Jesus knowing…that He was come from God, and went to God…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.”…The aim of the spiritual saint is “that I may know Him.” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am here not to realize myself, but to know Jesus…[the disciple’s] aim is to secure the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances he is in.” AMEN?

CHAPTER FIVE

“IS THERE WISDOM IN WAITING ON GOD?”

In “Tennyson’s Works” I do not know what spurred the following but it does speak, not to waiting, but postponing what could have happened earlier in two lives. Tennyson wrote: “And the wind began to rise, and I thought of him out at sea, And I felt I had been to blame; he was always kind to me, ‘Wait a little, my lass, I am sure it will all come right’ – And the boat went down that night – the boat went down that night.”

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines waiting as “staying in expectation.” I like that, but I also know that waiting can be ‘wilting’! Job said in Job 14:14, “…All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes.” He didn’t want to be ahead of God or behind Him. Job said later, Job 17:13-15, “If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in the darkness, if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?”

There’s no doubt Job knew a ‘waiting’ apart from God can be so demonstrative of everything but Godly living and Godly expression and experience. He had learned to battle through dark moments and come out in eternal Light. In Job 19:25 he said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth, Verse 26, And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.”

Living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, area it is not unusual to see a large number of auto wrecks daily, snuffing out lives by the hundreds over a year’s time, and some because of faulty brakes – but spiritually far too many outside of automobile wrecks have no wisdom, no understanding, no prudence to protect, but live so recklessly. Fleshly or carnal security is not exempt from spiritual stupidity. They don’t possess holy wisdom but learn self-pride and self-wisdom goes before a spiritual fall which can become so disastrous. Their lives have faulty spiritual brakes because they’re devoid of divine wisdom.

There is such an impressive, inspirational instruction in Isaiah 40:29-31. It says, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Of course, you are aware that “youths and young men” feel they are so invincible that they need no one, not even God! But they do “faint,” they do “fail,” and they do “fall.” Even “old men” wax “old” in foolishness and will “live” in spiritual death because they base their lives on fleshly desires, inordinate affections, maddening morality, and give no place for God in their lives! It’s not just old garments that become “ragged and torn”, but old men as well who have no wisdom.

Wanton, worldly wisdom waits not on God but wilts and dies because men build “houses” with no foundation of faith or on unstable, improper, yes, deathly foundations without God!

Knowing the reality of heavenly wisdom that comes from “waiting on God” comes because one recognizes truly that “in Him we live and move and have our being.” Apart from Him it’s death in full mode. And this, no doubt, is why inspired by the Holy Spirit, James wrote 1:5-8 which says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Lacking wisdom and knowing it is not a universal blessing but sadly a universal curse because most men really believe they are wiser than God Himself and more able to handle their own affairs leaving God Himself out of their lives. “If any of you lack wisdom” – how wise or insufficient of wisdom are you? Do you understand that when it comes to our lives in the spiritual realm that most have never had a tutor – they are content with spiritual blinders to ignore rather than have unveiled in them the wisdom of God.

But James told us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him.” Let’s see what we can discover about the wisdom of waiting on God!

WE’VE JUST SEEN IN SCRIPTURE THE WISWDOM OF WAITING ON GOD THROUGH PRAYER: If we look at Ephesians 5:18 we hear Paul instructing us to “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” It’s for sure that “praying…in the ‘flesh’” is of no value but praying in and through the Spirit-Man opens the door to the very mind and heart of God.

In James 4:2 James said: “Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” Didn’t Jesus tell us in Matthew 7:7-11 about asking and receiving? “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

BUT ALSO THERE MUST BE THE WISDOM OF RECEIVING FROM “THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES” AS OUR EXAMPLE: In Hebrews 12:1-4 we see a challenging word for us: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Forconsider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted ti bloodshed, striving against sin.”

Tell me about that godly “cloud of witnesses” that you’ve allowed to surround your life – family, friends, ‘angels unaware,’ teachers, neighbors, classmates, the converted and transformed ‘drunk’ or drug addict, the friends whose marriages were saved by Christ Jesus, that holy professor whose presence constantly caught YOUR ATTENTION.

Acts 5:25-32 highlights for us godly witnesses that cannot be silenced or denied – and all around YOU are godly witnesses from whom you can and will receive their “cloud of glory” as they reveal to you their salvation journey. “So one came and told them, saying, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, ‘Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!’ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be a Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.’” And doesn’t His Word speak about a “great cloud of witnesses”?

THEN ALSO THIS GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES IS THE WISDOM THAT ACCEPTS GOD’S EXCHANGE OF HIMSELF FOR OUR NOTHINGNESS: In I Timothy 6:7 Paul wrote: “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” To Titus Paul wrote: Titus 1:15, “…to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled…”

I don’t hesitate in saying to you that apart from God’s salvation in and through Christ ALL MEN are as nothing – that’s zeroes. No eternal LIFE, No eternal significance, and yet our Lord valued them enough to die on the Cross for their nothingness to bless them with Heaven’s everything and ALL!

Alfred Lord Tennyson, in “Despair,” wrote the following: [“Tennyson’s Works,” p.545], “Hoped for a dawn and it came; but the promise had faded away; We had passed from the cheerless night to the glare of a drearier day;….He is only a cloud and a smoke who was once a pillar of fire, The guess of a worm in the dust and the shadow of its desire – Of a worm as it writhes in a world of the weak trodden down by the strong, Of a dying worm in a world, all massacre, murder and wrong….O we poor orphans of nothing – alone on that lonely shore – Born of the brainless Nature who knew not that which she bore!….Trusting no longer that earthly flower would be heavenly fruit – Come from the brute, poor souls– no souls – and to die with the brute.”

In Isaiah 40:17 the prophet looks upon the nations of the masses of people and says: “All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.” But then, because of His great love and mercy, He chooses to die in our place that we might live in Him and through Him! In James 1:2-4 James wrote: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Do you see that? Out of a saving, tried faith, God’s people allow the steadfastness of God to do a perfect work in them, and they become mature and complete, lacking nothing. The “nothings” become inheritors of His everything! In Jeremiah 29:11 our Lord speaks: “For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

ALSO, PLEASE NOTE, IT’S WISDOM, TRUE WISDOM THAT DISCOVERS AND DEPENDS UPON THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD: One of the awesome passage of the Old Testament is found in I Chronicles 29:10-14 which says, Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.”

A solemn, serious, sacrifice of praise is in order every day of a man’s life concerning the greatness of our God. In fact, I see it as indispensable – and apart from the worship and praise of God’s greatness, it causes me to wonder if they’ve truly entered a saving relationship with Holy, Merciful, Loving God. The greatness of God is immortal!

The greatness of God, yes, the awareness and acknowledgement of it by men, breeds eternal interest, abiding love for, and continual praise and bowing before and celebrating our great God! The absence of that in one’s life is evidence they’ve never met Him, or known Him, or loved Him, or celebrated Him. Psalm 48:1 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised…” Great in goodness, great in mercy, great in love, great in His activity, great in His wisdom, great in His deliverance, great in His salvation, great in His assurance, great in His glory, great in His power, great in His name, great God, great King, great Savior, great Lord, great Peace, great Joy – do you know, do you serve “The God Who Is Greater?”

THIS LEADS US TO THE WISDOM THAT OPENS THE HEART OF WORSHIP AND PRAISE AND ADORATION IN A TRUE BELIEVER’S HEART AND SOUL: In John 4 the woman of Samaria had come to draw water and Jesus asked a drink of her. The woman responded, verse 9, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” In verse 10 Jesus responded to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” What a curve-ball to a ‘strike-out queen! But, at least now, encountered by Jesus, she wants to know where one gets ‘living water’!

In telling her about the ‘living water,’ Jesus tells her that the water He’ll give to her will become in her a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life! Then, beginning in verse 21-26, Jesus reveals to her the heart of true worship! Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of [or through] the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

And who are the true worshippers? Philippians 3:3 says, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh [or one’s old sin nature.”

Revelation 4:8-11 is a picture of those who “bow” before Holy God and their Savior in an unending attitude of adoration and praise! It says: “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes, around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

I remember in my very younger years, maybe 8-11 years of age, when I visited my father’s parents in Athens, Tennessee, they had a large two-story home with a wrap-around porch from the front door all the way around to the back door. I often walked around the porch and would witness a woman on her porch on her knees with her hands lifted high. I asked my grandmother one day what the woman was doing, and she responded, “Why, son, she’s worshipping and praising and praying to God. She bows before Him every day.” I didn’t ask her but I should Have: “Mammaw, do you bow and pray every day?”

I would ask you right now: “Are you a disciple who bows, who prays, who worships God every day?” I love the statement that I heard on an occasion: “Worship is transcendent wonder.” It was Rufus Jones who once wrote: “Worship is the act of rising to a personal, experimental consciousness of the real presence of God which floods the soul with joy and bathes the inward spirit with refreshing streams of life.” WOW!

Psalm 95:1-7 says: “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.”

IT’S ALSO WISDOM THAT UNVEILS THE WILL OF GOD AND THE WAYS OF GOD: In Ephesians 6:6 Paul wrote: “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, DOING THE WILL OF GOD FROM THE HEART.” Then, in I Thessalonians 4:3 Paul said: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” And sanctification means what? That’s one “set apart” for the glory of God alone!

Oswald Chambers wrote in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.217], “Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh?”

Then Chambers added: “All that Jesus made possible is mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed, my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul says nothing is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Wisdom unveils the will of God which unveils the very ways of God! We know that Jesus says: “I am the WAY…” Is His way your way? In Luke 1:67-79 Zacharias had been filled with the Holy Spirit, and he prophesied saying: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Now, look at verses 78-79 again! “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Are you a part of “the new and living way”? Hebrews 10:19-25 says: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.”

It’s my earnest prayer that “the new and living way” is your path, and that you choose God’s will and God’s way every day of your life! In Deuteronomy 30:11-20 we read: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

But last of all, in this chapter, I WANT YOU TO SEE, SENSE, SEIZE, AND STAND IN THE WISDOM THAT SHARES IN THE WORK OF THE LORD: In Acts 9 we have recorded Saul of Tarsus’ conversion experience. As he was confronted by the Lord, at first he didn’t know who He was, but then in verse 6, “trembling and astonished,” Paul said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Far too many who have “been saved” (?) want the Lord’s stamp of approval for their plans of a disciple’s walk, but not His! In Acts 9:15 the Lord Jesus said to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Verse 16, For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Paul was a “first round draft choice” by our Lord. And he signed on! In I Corinthians 9:19-27 he said: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law, ( not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be a partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” [Check out 2 Timothy 2:15-21!]

You do know that there is a night coming when no man can work. Don’t be delayed in fulfilling our Lord’s calling through your life and witness. Are you a laborer together with God? And, like Paul, we’ll not serve our Lord with our own preconceived ideas, but “Lord, what would You have me to do?” Oswald Chambers said: “One life wholly devoted to God is of more value to God then one hundred lives simply awakened by His Spirit….Unless the worker lives a life hidden with Christ in God, he is apt to becoming an irritating dictator instead of an indwelling disciple.” [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.83].

W.H. Bellamy and Wm. J. Kirkpatrick wrote the following old hymn: “O troubled heart, there is a home, Beyond the reach of toil and care; a home where changes never come; Who would not fain be resting there?…Yet when bowed beneath the load, By heaven allowed, your earthly lot; Look up! You’ll reach that blest abode; Wait, meekly wait, and murmur not….Toil on, nor deem, tho’ sore it be, One sigh unheard, one prayer forgot; The day of rest will dawn for you; Wait, meekly wait, and murmur not.”

WAIT ON THE LORD!! IT’S WISDOM!!

CHAPTER SIX

IS IT COMMONPLACE TO BE DECEIVED?

Thomas Adams once said: “The devil is no idle spirit, but a vagrant, runagate walker, that never rests in one place. – The motive, cause, and main intention of his walking is to ruin man.” If you have a problem believing in the devil, guess what? You’ve been deceived by the very author and master of deception! In I peter 5:8 Peter wrote: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.”

It was Shakespeare in “Comedy of Errors,” [Act 5, sc.1, l.9] who wrote: “He must have a long spoon that shall eat with the devil.” I’m not sure I agree with Thomas a Kempis writing that, “The devil does not tempt unbelievers and sinners who are already his own,” because entrapment, deception, a lying spirit, and, yes, temptation overflows out of him and his devilish army, not just to disciples of Christ but even to our Lord’s enemies.

But neither do I believe deception comes only from Satan. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 Paul wrote: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”

Genesis 3 is our introduction to deception that becomes so commonplace – and the very first verse says, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” Several things take place here that every man, woman, and child is susceptible to: 1) The devil casts doubt on the Word of God, 2) The devil twisted truth and distorted it, 3) The devil confuses – Verse 3, 4) The devil spouts the BIG “LIE” – you can sin and not die, Genesis 3:4 5) The devil breeds unbelief and then entices – Verse 6.

And look what happens as a result of a commonplace deception! Verse 7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made them coverings.” That’s the early birth of ‘FIG-LEAF RELIGION’ which dominates fallen humanity.

There are deceitful men whose evil hearts dictate commonplace deception. The Word speaks of “deceitful and unjust men.” In Psalm 120:2 the psalmist cried out in his distress saying to the Lord, “Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue.” Have you tried to score that with your national leaders or your investment advisers or your children’s teachers or, yes, even your church’s overseers?

Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” And that surely can be more than the devil and his army! And if you, apart from Christ, have not learned it about yourself, get ready! Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, God speaking: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

In Ecclesiastes 9:3 the “wise man” wrote: “This is an evil; in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; [do you think deceit might be included in “the hearts of the sons of men (who) are full of evil?] madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”

What did God say through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:3-6? “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me,” says the Lord. “Everyone take heed to hios neighbor, and do not trust any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Mw,” says the Lord.”

There was a day, after serious preparation, that Jesus had left Jerusalem for Bethany, and He was hungry. In Mark 11:13 the Word says: “And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves…” The fruit had not been produced yet. And I wondered – does the Lord look for heavenly fruit on the trees of our lives or is He disappointed when He sees fruitless trees that deceive the public about our professional faith but are barren trees?

Deception? Commonplace Deception? Fallen men without Christ are specialists at examining one’s profession of faith – and sadly, too often, rather than a sacrificial life they see covetousness, rather than a servant spirit they see self-centered multitudes of church folk simply examining their spiritual navels! Spurgeon was right! “A false professor [of Christ] exposes Christ to ridicule.” Outward allegiance breeds individuals who inwardly are becoming “gospel-hardened.” Do you remember “the parable of the two sons” in Matthew 21:28-32? Don’t miss the “I go, sir,” but he doesn’t go! That’s deceit – not true wisdom!

Why is it that some know TRUTH but find that truth clouded over by fleshly lies that they have time to resolve their spiritual dilemma later? That’s deceit! Here’s how Spurgeon dealt with that attitude as he preached: [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.9,p.198], “Pity the poor naked spirit which so soon will be quivering with utmost agony, a self-caused agony, an agony from which it would not escape, an agony of which it was warned, but which it chose to endure sooner THAN GIVE UP SIN and yield to the scepter of sovereign grace.” WHAT A DECEPTION!

Think about Adam and Eve in the Garden as Satan came to deceive them! And consider again that the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was not, is not, never will be the fruit of the tree of life. And where has the majority of fallen humanity chosen to find their fruit? Bitter trees – blessed fruit? Or bitter trees of life – blessed fruit of life? The devil’s choice or the Savior’s sacrifice?

Deception! I’m sorry, so very sorry, for the millions who bow before idols and receive no salvation help. Deception! I’m sorry, so very sorry, for the millions who follow religiously dead men and know nothing about the Living Savior and Lord. I’m sorry, so very sorry, for, yes, masses of people who go to cemeteries without any hope of resurrection life and power. Deception!

Deception? The author of Hebrews calls us all to a high alert! In Hebrews 3:12-14 we read, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you8 an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…”

“Departing”? Has the Hebrews author alerted, yes, ‘believers’ to the danger and a disaster of a life deceived by sin? He speaks of our “rest” but then in Hebrews 3:15-19 he says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

If a man is deceived, if a man is falling, if a man is falling because of disobedience, repentance is as necessary for the stumbling as it was for one’s conversion experience, which is why Hebrews 4:16 alerts us, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Thank God that grace and mercy is truly available to the brokenhearted over their deception!

We’ve already seen that Satan himself since the days of Adam and Eve has been busy with “deception” – “has God really Said?” “You surely shall not die”! “I’ll give you a kingdom to rule over!” But there is more: I Peter 5:8-9 tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a rearing lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhoods in the world.”

I say to you with a heavy heart that I would be seriously concerned about a lost man or a believing man who would dare to say, “I don’t know what you’re talking about – I’ve had no threats from the devil?” Could that be because he’s already fully captured and controlled? And it’s more than deception, it’s more than even devouring – he wants to destroy your witness, destroy any faith you may have, destroy your ministry, destroy your family, destroy your circle of influence. He wants you so deceived that you’re no longer a threat to his field of operation.

But it’s not only the powers of darkness who want to paralyze you from seeing and walking in the highway of holiness – there are also worldly men who will, who do, who attempt to short-circuit your connection with faith in Christ. In Ephesians 4:12 Paul wrote: “that we should be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…”

Far too many believers are totally unaware of “the trickery of men”! The prophet Jeremiah looked around his community and country, and in Jeremiah 9:1 he spoke of his “eyes a fountain of tears, that I may weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” But God had to say in Jeremiah 9:3, “…they are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me.” And then in verse 6 the Lord told Jeremiah, “Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.

Then, in Matthew 24:11, Jesus moved away from ordinary men spouting deception – He said: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” In Isaiah’s day, Isaiah 30:8-11, God told Isaiah, “Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever; that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord; who say to seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, tuen aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” And certainly this modern-day is a day in which rebellious people promote, allow, even love “smooth things”, and false prophets are raised up to “prophesy deceits.”

But God is so gracious. In Isaiah 30:21 He tells us, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” You can trust God even when you’re attacked with ‘deception’ and you find yourself afraid. Corrie Ten Boom said before her death, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Then there is another path you could find yourself on if you’re not alert, not careful, and not disciplined in “the way of righteousness.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 we read: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Unrighteous deception? And notice, unrighteous deception because they “had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Didn’t we see in Hebrews 3:13 about some being “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin?”

Also there is the “mere men malady”! Look carefully at I Corinthians 3:1-3! “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” Then Paul later warned us and alerted us to the “blessed walk of faith.” That’s I Corinthians 3:18-23! But how does this “mere men malady” capture some in deception? Matthew 13:22 says, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of the world and THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES CHOKE THE WORD, and he becomes unfruitful.” DECEPTION CHOKES TO DEATH – NOT LIFE!

Let me share one more dilemma that some find themselves in. In Colossians 2:8 Paul wrote: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Then he opened wide the door of faith and trust and hope and blessing when he said in Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

Question? In your journey with Jesus, what is your greatest blessing outside of your oneness with Christ? Before going to the next chapter, please read Luke 10:1-20!!

CHAPTER SEVEN

IS THE GOAL OF CHRISTLIKENESS UNATTAINABLE?

There are those who truly believe that if their names are recorded in a church’s membership role then certainly all is right between them and the Lord Jesus. I don’t know anything any further from the truth than that statement. There are those who say they are probably more knowledgeable about Jesus because from infancy on they’ve attended a church regularly. But I have to ask again, “Does church attendance validate one’s salvation experience?” Does burial in a Christian cemetery assure that one buried there must have been a believer? And did that dead ‘believer’ conform his life to Christ’s life?

Even ordained ministers have often been deceived in their journeys – “why of course I am Christlike – if not, how was I ordained? Why, almost daily I am counseling needy souls and every Sunday I preach at least once – and you wonder if I’m Christlike?” Have you ever been around “a biblical scholar” whose daily walk has no resemblance to spiritual soundness and reflects poorly on the spirit of the power of Truth and gives no evidence of the “second birth”?

In a church community have you ever been around faultfinders or constant, unbearable, condemning gossips or condescending bullies? Slander is a chief weapon of those who “profess” Christ but know nothing of possessing or being possessed by the fullness and spirit of His Life! Their mission in life? To right the wrongs in every one’s ‘life in Christ’ but their own.

Have you ever heard it? “Well, I presume I am saved because I was baptized as a baby, as a child, as a teenager, or as an adult – of course I’m saved!” “Oh, I might not resemble Jesus – but I try.” “Yes, I’m a Christian – I may not look like Jesus – I may not resemble Him at all, but do you want to see my baptismal certificate?”

And I would ask: “Were you crucified with Christ? You know you live, but no longer YOU – it’s Christ in you who is the hope of glory? Did you die to your flesh [your old man, your old sin nature] so the Spirit of Christ might live in you and through you?” Have you passed from death unto life and that life of Christ sealed in you by His Spirit? Or have you suspended the journey because you believe since you were “saved and baptized”, beyond that it’s foolishness? I don’t think so!

“Patience for His perfect work?” “Why, I’m “saved” already, so what’s this business of a ‘spiritual perfect work’?” “You mean I’m supposed to look like Jesus in all I am or all I do or in all I say? That sounds like salvation by works to me. I’m going to stay away from those “work” words!” If one has been truly “born again,” he/she begins a journey of conformity to Christlikeness, taking the sentence of death daily that the resurrection life of Christ may be manifested, fully released, each day.

“Patience for His perfect work” appears to many as a path to ‘rose-colored’ living without a single problem. When Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation,” to many that sounds like a betrayal of true faith even though Jesus suffered, bled, and died on the Cross!

What’s the question? “Is the goal of Christlikeness unattainable?” Do you grasp the identification of the one who asks it? That’s the one who is not truly acquainted with the Word of God, not familiar with biblical truth, and, yes, not identifying with even the words of Jesus! They are influenced by the world, the world in the church, by the flesh, and by the devil himself – and the devil surely doesn’t want you to be even a believer who identifies with the Word of God! Darkness in the mind about one’s true identity in Christ is a devilish ploy to bring deception into fruition rather than a true believer standing on the Word.

I know there is ‘holy anxiety’ at times when one has known the Truth, walked in it, and, maybe, fallen away from it for a brief moment, but a “new-born” son or daughter of God will, I say WILL, arm themselves afresh and anew against sin and death. It was Spurgeon who said, “There is no temple of the Philistines which shall not fall beneath the might of our greater Samson.” I pray you receive that truth!! He then quoted a hymn with powerful words: “No power in earth or hell Can force me to depart; Christ is my strength unconquerable, He fortifies my heart…Fixed in His love I stand, And none shall drive me thence; Enclosed I am within the hand of Love’s omnipotence.”

Do you truly understand “abiding in Jesus”? There is JOY in abiding there! There is PEACE in abiding there! There is FULLNESS in abiding there! Paul told the church at Rome: Romans 15:29, “But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” What a word of hope and encouragement to us!

Christlikeness unattainable? It’s so opposite the holy work of the Cross and the empty tomb, so opposite the Word of God, and so opposite the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He magnifies in you the resurrected Christ! It’s not impossible in attaining Christlikeness. It’s not impossible for you daily to choose death to yourself so the resurrected Jesus can be fully released through you.

What did Paul say in Galatians 2:20? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” He then identified a major problem some ‘believers’ find themselves in when in Galatians 3:3 he said: “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh [or your old sin nature]?” He then asked the Galatians as I now ask you: Galatians 4:9, “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire to be in bondage again?”

Are you aware that there are those who turn back rather than press in? Are you aware that some “professors” choose the weak and beggarly elements over the God-given provisions of Holy Presence, living promises, and fullness of divine life? It even happens with churches! Listen to Spurgeon: [“Spurgeon’s Sermons,” Vol.19, p.359], “The new plan is to assimilate the church to the world, and so include a larger area within its bounds. By semi-dramatic performances they make houses of prayer to approximate to the theater; they turn their services into musical displays, and their sermons into political harangues or philosophical essays – in fact, they exchange the temple for the theater, and turn the ministers of God into actors, whose business it is to amuse men. Is it not so, that the Lord’s day is becoming more and more a day of recreation or of idleness, and the Lord’s house either a joss-house full of idols, or a political club, where there is more enthusiasm for a party than zeal for God?”

“Is the goal of Christlikeness unattainable?” Yes, if a church doesn’t preach and teach faithfully the Word of God. Yes, if the church promotes and demonstrates worldliness rather than God-likeness. Yes, if pulpits are claimed by unregenerate men who’d just as soon deceive people than preach Truth. Yes, if church members are satisfied with dried-out bread, muddy water, and spoiled fruit!

Poor quality disciples become vessels unto dishonor because devotion to Truth wanes and wanes and wanes – and one then can’t discern a difference between a so-called disciple and the world around him/her. Divided allegiances between half-hearted disciples and the world will not usher in, demonstrate, or validate the very sovereign rule of heaven on earth. Our Lord wants disciples who know His kingdom rule and authority and cry out faithfully: “Christ’s kingdom come, Christ’s will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.”

“Is the goal of Christlikeness unattainable?” It certainly is if those professing faith in their redemption in Christ is squeezed in to a vessel that sees no problem if it’s dirty, impure, mixed, callous to the heart of God, compromised at every turn, and not protective of his/her or God’s reputation, certainly not sold out to a pure heart and washed in the blood of the Lamb!

It was Watchman Nee who wrote the book, “Changed Into His Likeness.” [Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, Penn., 1973, p.52]. In it Nee said: “The Church counts for nothing in herself, save as a vessel to bring in Christ. God’s purpose is in the Son.” And if ‘your purpose’ is other than the Son, you’ll never see, sense, or celebrate His Life in you! And then on page 53 Nee really unveiled why many Christians miss out on the blessings from heaven. He said: “God does not only want right things done; He wants us to be the medium of right things that HE is doing.” That means a true disciple is the true vessel that contains the True Savior who does His heavenly work in an available human vessel. If you were crucified with Christ, why are you attempting to do His work? WOW!

Nee then said, “I am afraid this is not a popular thing to speak of. Preach to stir men to more evangelizing, more activity, more sacrifice, and they will listen and agree. But talk about the worthlessness of our work for God, even when it is not sinfully but well done, and we meet with disapproval and misunderstanding. Yet this is the central point in service. Whether we can bring in Christ to be God’s vessel of recovery depends on whether we can get out of the way to make room for Him…Only what He does in us and through us can satisfy Him.”

Do you see it? Our attempts at helping our Lord become major distractions to His working in us and through us. And when we are determined to serve Him through our best efforts, we shut the door to Him! We attempt – we fall short. We go out to serve – and come home empty-handed. We try in the best energy of our flesh, fail, and then question ourselves if Christlikeness is really obtainable! Then we learn: No – it’s not OUR trying but trusting Him to be faithful in His work through us.

That can be a tough place when a strong human will becomes a stumbling block to Christ Jesus Himself! It’s a challenge, I know, to be able to say every day or this particular day, right now, “Lord, I know it’s time I choose an end to myself where You can be in me and through me “My All In All.” But when we’re determined to chart our own course of Christian service, then the Christ in me is forced to a back-seat or a second-place. Do you see it? Extreme self-confidence detracts and even demotes Jesus to a behind-the-scenes watcher! Inflated egos close the door to Christ to do His work, His way, and in His will, but He has not, will not, force Himself in fullness on an empty, brainless, fruitless, “I can handle it, Jesus” kind of devotee!

“Well, I AM GIFTED!!” And they give no place to the GIVER! What does Romans 6:11 tell us? “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Have you failed to grasp what our Lord is telling us through Paul as he wrote in I Corinthians 1:26-2:5? “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 2:1-5, then says: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Self-will, fleshly power and determination shuts the door on the fullness of Christ in us! Oh, but we read in Colossians 3:1-4, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

I know it may be a ‘shocker’ to you, but God is not at all interested in your improvement – we all come up short, so God crucified us all with Christ! Get over your failure, rest in faith, let Christ stand in you as your hope of glory!

Christlikeness is not unattainable when I grasp that God’s desire in me is for me to be an empty vessel in which Christ Jesus is fully welcomed! I Peter 1:6-7 says, noting that the “revelation” we read about is “the unveiling of Christ in us and through us: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation [or unveiling] of Jesus Christ…”

Paul was a travailer in prayer. In Galatians 4:19 he said, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth [pains] again until Christ is formed in you.” He could have said he was travailing until Christ was fully released through you! Oswald Chambers said: [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.268], “I cannot enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God unless I am born from above by a birth totally unlike natural birth. ‘You must be born again’ This is not a command, it is a foundation fact. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.”

How does that come into fruition in your life? You believe, receive, repent, yield to, and walk in Christ Jesus! 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”

Do you see it? Self-energy blocks Christ’s fullness in you! Self-effort is like an earthly dam holding back His eternal supply of All-Sufficient Life, grace, power, love, and His faithfulness to Holy God through us. When Jesus is made Lord of your life, that tells me lordship has switched from self to the Sovereign Lord and Savior of the Cross and empty tomb – and if God raised Jesus from the dead, and He did, so can He raise us out of our state of spiritual death and resurrect us to allow Him to be Himself in and through us!

And because your body, your life, is now the residence, yes, of the very life of Christ, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Yes, the goal of Christlikeness IS attainable!

I close with statements by Oswald Chambers in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.56], “I have to cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit until both are in accord with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I insubordinate in intellect?” Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who never spoke from His right to Himself, but maintained an inner watchfulness whereby He continually His spirit to His Father? I have the responsibility of keeping my spirit in agreement with His Spirit, and by degrees Jesus lifts me up to where He lived – in perfect consecration to His Father’s will, paying no attention to any other thing. Am I perfecting this type of holiness in the fear of God? Is God getting His way with me, and are other people beginning to see God in my life more and more? GOOD QUESTION!

CHAPTER EIGHT

“IS IT SELF-MADE TOWERS OR HIS DIVINE HOLY PRESENCE?”

It didn’t take long after the “fall of men” for God to look down and see the following in Genesis 6:5-6, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved ion His heart.” But earlier, in Genesis 5:24, we read of a man that the Word says, “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” What a contrast!

And over thousands of years things haven’t changed that much. There are still those who “give themselves over” to their wickedness, and there are still those who “choose to walk with God.” Without hesitation, I believe God is still “grieved in His heart” because of those who willfully choose to walk as ‘god’ unto themselves and refuse “Amazing Grace.”

But when you come to Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 you begin to see “The Beginning of Confusion” and “The Beginning of Unveiled Purpose.” Confusion can and often does erupt in some local churches among believers. In I Corinthians 14:22-23 Paul wrote: “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?”

In verse 33 Paul then said, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

The sad truth that grips my heart in 2013 is that far too many folks cannot, will not, have no intention of discerning between ‘peace’ and man-made confusion, yes, even in some churches! “Is It Self-Made Towers OR His Divine Holy Presence?” Have we chosen to live in “peace” or fleshly confusion? Do we choose “God’s Way” or the fleshly rule? Is it surrender to His voice or are most men directed by “the world, the flesh, or the devil”? Is it God’s conversion and His construction of heavenly life in you or is it man’s confusion and corruptness and clouding out of a God-ordained life or church fellowship?

In Joshua 24:14-15 Joshua spoke to the people of Israel and us when he said: “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Do you have an Angel guiding, establishing, protecting, providing for your every need? In Exodus 23:20-25 God speaks: “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perezites and the Canaanites and the Hivities and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You hall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.”

That is not simply an Old Testament promise to Israel, but when you read Philippians 4:19 you see a New Testament valid promise to men and women of redemptive faith. Paul said: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Isn’t this why David said in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”? Oh, fallen men may accumulate much, except for what the inner man wants and needs. Worldly men, void of God, remain empty, unfulfilled, and certainly not “blessed”!

Heavenly men? They are an “extension of God’s LIFE,” an “expression of God’s Love,” and “the proof of His never-ending power and glory”! Earthly men? They are as “sounding brass” and “clanging cymbals” with lives and instruments out of tune, off-key, void of a Director, and producing nothing but poor music in themselves and their walks.

In I Corinthians 15:47-49 Paul tells us, “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man.” The image of the heavenly man? That’s men of faith and trust and obedience bearing the image and likeness of Jesus Christ Himself because of repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross!

This takes us back to Genesis 11:1-9! Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel [Confusion], because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.”

I pray, having been confronted by “self-made towers” or by “Divine Holy Presence” and eternal purpose, that you choose to “walk with God” like Enoch, and that now you eagerly await God’s taking of you into His eternal home.

Notice: “Come, let us…” Where is God in all that? You’ll remember that Adam and Eve, deceived by Satan, thinking that “having their eyes opened, would be like God, knowing good from evil,” all of a sudden realize they had been lied to, and thus, [Genesis 3:8], “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” And men, in “self-made towers,” are still hiding themselves from the presence of the Lord with most of them not even knowing what they are doing!

“Come, let us…”! You’ve seen them, you know them, you’ve rubbed shoulders with them: “We’re the masters of our own destiny! We don’t need God! We’ll build ourselves and build our own cities, and they will reach the heavens!”

“Come, let us…”! “Who knows better than us what we want to do with our lives? Get this, you Christians: ‘us’ is more than you and collectively we’re smarter than your God!”

“Come, let us…” what we want to build, erect what we want to erect, construct what we decide needs to be constructed to “better our lives.” Really? Better when most are void of eternal purpose, void of a meaningful, blessed relationship with the God who made them, void of any desire of ‘Heaven is my home,’ settling for a hellish relationship that lasts forever with the devil and his demons?

“Come, let us…” live with our uncontrolled, lustful passions, live with our lives enslaved to worldly lusts, selfish ambitions, harmful spiritual diseases that steal true life from us, live dominated by the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil, bound and enslaved but never recognizing the spiritual chains and spiritual prison bars.

“Come, let us…” leave God out of our ‘life equations,’ because we’re able, we’re strong, we’re mature, we’re wiser than the wisest of that Christian community. The ‘lifelessness’ of godlessness, even in its sickness, is superior to a Godly submission.”

“Come, let us…” savor, cherish, hold onto our independence from God and His ‘unhealthy’ people – we’ll stand alone, on our own, free as a living prisoner can be.”

“Come, let us…” choose our selfish, limited, emotionally limited infancy of life that exposes our hollow hearts, our sinful minds, and our fallen natures that seek to hide us from God’s control.”

“Come, let us…” go on our own way without God, never realizing our steps away from Him produces in us a sad reality like suffocation or drowning or a deathly state of hopelessness that tries to deny, refute, or cover over the emptiness that unbelief in the God of eternal salvation produces.”

“Come, let us…” deny that the sacred nature of human life is more important than the secular and that choosing to walk independent from God is not sickly, deathly, or producing ‘killer’ viruses in us that God calls ‘sin’ or ‘sinfulness’ or ‘spiritual death.’” Really?

“Come, let us…” pump ourselves up in our egos with an unfounded confidence that ‘faith in God’ is unnecessary, unimportant, and really unfounded.” Really?

“Come, let us…” follow our own wishes, hopes, and dreams of anticipation of self-fulfillment that we know will satisfy our fleshly selves, our darkening desires, enabling our true selves to be birthed, raised, and matured to self-happiness.” Really?

“Come, lets us…” embrace a choice of lifestyles that is impurely self-centered, crowning ourselves as rulers over our hedonistic, sexually immoral activity that identifies us with a fallen world in general.”

“Come, let us…” head ourselves in the direction of a worldly happiness that has nothing to do with “Jesus joy” even though He said His joy was a joy that “remains in you and stays full.” Though happiness is fickle and unsure, we’ll gamble ourselves on ourselves to find our own happiness.”

“Come, let us…” live with the bread of our own achievements since the God of the Bible tells His people tribulation awaits His own. We, in the world, live with the fruit of our own labors.”

“Come, let us…” treasure our treasures, gloat over our accomplishments, forget God, lift up our hearts in pride, and set aside His biblical commands.” Oh, but I say to you, please receive Deuteronomy 8:17-18, 19c: “Then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives your power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant…” But if one says, ‘Come, let us…, then in verse 19c God says: “I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.”

Then, I know you’ve noticed in Genesis 11:4, And they said, “Come, let us build…”! Do you grasp who we are reading about in the early existence of human beings, birthed into fleshly life amidst the very handiwork of God in His masterful Creation? But they say, “Come, let us build…” Consider the universes, consider the planets, consider the vastness of our outer space and the beauty of earthly mountain-peaks and valleys, consider the awesomeness of oceans and majestic fields, consider the beauty of fields ready to be harvested, consider the Rose of Sharon, consider what He has built – and remember that Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…”

If you carefully read and receive the Book of Jeremiah, you will discover, not our ability to build, but one’s availability to all God is and to all God does! God told Jeremiah in chapter one, verses 18-19, “Therefore prepare yourself and arise…For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar…For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

Yet, one chapter later, Jeremiah 2:32, God said: “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.”

“Build?” “Come, let us build?” Whatever man “builds” is a futile effort if they do not see, understand, or grasp for themselves what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:13-19! When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 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. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Do you understand that man “builds” tombs of death while God, through available men of faith and trust, build tabernacles of Holy Presence?

In Acts 20:32 Paul said: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified.” Question! What is it to be sanctified? That word means “set apart” to the honor and glory of God alone – and whoever you are, whatever you ‘do,’ is to be or to build to God’s glory! That’s to be your ‘built business’!

But what happened in Genesis 11:4 as the ‘let us’ crowd began to “build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; [and] LET US MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES…” This is in spite of Psalm 100:3 as David said, “Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.” “…we ourselves?” That’s those who say, whatever God has done, we can do better. We’ll make a name for ourselves.” But do YOU understand? Whatever you do of merit, the honor belongs to God alone, whether you give it to Him or not! This is why in I John 1:8 John wrote: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

In Isaiah 28 the prophet spoke of “scornful men” who in verse 15 said, “For we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” Then, when you come to Nehemiah 1 you see a ‘vision development’ birthed out of a burden and Nehemiah praying for his people and for their opportunity to once again be favored by God. He wrote: Nehemiah 1:3-11,

And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said: “I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel, Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept Your commandments, the Statutes, not the ordinances which You have commanded Your servant Moses. Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.”

But, hear me; just as Jesus ‘redeemed’ all of mankind at the Cross doesn’t mean all men are forever saved if repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of the Cross is not exercised! Nehemiah was passionate for his people as we ought to be for our people – but some are so intent on “making a name for ourselves,” Jesus is just an option for them that they never exercise! Again, Nehemiah said in verse 11, asking God to listen to those ‘who desire to fear Your name…’! Isn’t it tragic? How many do you know, even IN the church, who fear God’s name?

There’s a warning in Psalm 9:5 where the psalmist says, “You [God] have blotted out their name forever and ever.” And though their name has been erased from God’s remembrance, it doesn’t mean their eternal life is now extinct – they live forever under the curse of Hell’s flames, the devil’s domain, and cannot escape the “death that never dies”!

And then what happened in the fallen nature of men in Genesis 11:4 as they sought to “build ourselves…a tower whose top is in the heavens”? It was 400 A.D. when Augustine wrote the following in his “Confessions”: “How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self? Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know You.”

Most ‘tower-builders’ do not know themselves and thus have no intimate knowledge of Holy God who longs to “birth” their lives in the Spirit as His earthly dwelling! Most ‘tower-builders’ are stuck in themselves and have no comprehension of God’s ‘tabernacle-dwelling’ in and through their lives. And that’s because their minds and hearts are clouded over concerning the intensity and power of evil.

My son, Stan Fisher, urged me to read Peter Scazzaro’s book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” In the third chapter, [pps. 42-43], Scazzaro spoke about “The Beast Today” out of Revelation 12, 13. He then said: “The beast tells us: *happiness is found in having things; *you should get all you can for yourself, as quickly as you can; *security is found in money, power, status, and good health; *above all, you should seek all the pleasure, convenience, and comfort you can; * God is irrelevant to everyday life; * Christianity is just one on many alternatives to spiritualities; * there are no moral absolutes; whatever is true for you is what is true; *you’re not responsible for anyone but yourself; and * this life on earth is all there is.

“Tower-builders or tabernacle-dwellings”? You do understand that ‘tower-builders’ choose darkness over light, the here and now over the eternal awareness, physical and earthly dividends over spiritual and eternal blessing, the temporary, fleshly satisfactions that soon disappear, waiting for a bigger and greater ‘hit’ that one received the last time around and still come up empty. OR,

What about tabernacle-dwellings? What did Paul tell us in Galatians 2:20? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me..Verse 21, I do not frustrate the grace of God…!!”

Oh, but then in Philippians 1:19-21 Paul was so anointed in the Spirit as he wrote these words: “For I know that this [imprisonment] will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always, so now Christ also will be magnified in my body whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

It was Francis de Sale who described the true eternal blessing in Christ as follows: “the mind’s loving, unmixed, permanent attention to the things of God.”

But if you haven’t been seeking after God Himself, be assured that God is in hot pursuit after you. You may, even at this very moment, not be a person who has anchored himself/herself to an inexhaustible search after Him, but be aware He’s ‘smelled’ you and is tracking after you. God’s search is unceasing to make every person a ‘child of the King,’ a son/daughter in the family of God, a servant like Jesus who doesn’t appear to be served, but to serve and give one’s life for the many.

CHAPTER NINE

“FISHING FOR MEN OR A FATALISTIC MIND-CLOSURE TO MEN?”

As I began to write this chapter, I had received word of the death of a son of a life-long friend. The man who died was about the same age as my son, Scott, who is 55 years of age. He had been on a trip to Alaska with his parents and his own family. They had flown in from Alaska to Atlanta and were taking a shuttle service to Chattanooga, Tennessee, near their home in Cleveland to get their cars. They didn’t get out of Atlanta before Scott Hicks collapsed with a fatal heart attack. My friend who informed me of his death said that Scott was sharing his faith in Christ with a man who was traveling on their shuttle – and he said, “Scott shares his faith in Christ with everyone he encounters. This man who had experienced saving grace and mercy and had become a new creation was relentless about sharing the faith, making disciples, and honoring Christ Jesus his Lord and Savior!”

I could not help but think: “What if every true believer understood their ‘calling’ to share the faith with others? What would happen worldwide? But also what has been the result of a ‘fatalistic mind-closure to men’? I’m convinced that as an American citizen of 77 years of age that I have witnessed a down-turn of Christians sharing the faith! I’m also convinced that most pastors and churches have not even begun to equip their people to share their faith with others. In Matthew 4:17-20 Jesus shared His heart with the lost and encouraged His disciples to be “fishers of men.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

There came a ‘moment’ after Creation that God looked upon the men He created and said, Genesis 6:6, “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart.” One translation says God was grieved and His heart was filled with pain. But then there was a Noah who “found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and Noah walked with God.” And ark-building began to rescue the drowning in the sea of their sins!

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was just as much God as if He were not man, and just as much man as if He were not God. And, facing the Cross, Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as You will,” because He knew and understood the suffering of the Cross was the only hope of man’s redemption, so Jesus suffered, bled, and died in behalf of YOU and me. And that is not a fatalistic mind-closure to men! The ‘spirits’ of fallen men oppose the need of man’s redemption and their response in repentance and faith, but in I John 4:1 we read, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if whether they are from God,” and FROM GOD there always has been and always will be the call to touch the lost with the message of grace, mercy, and love.

God’s inexhaustible grace and love at the Cross in Christ’s shed blood is indelibly placed at every turn that men need to be saved. Why should any true disciple ever question the equipping of the saints to share their faith with others? Could it be even possible that many who “profess” faith in Christ are really ‘believers’ who are buried in a casket of a false disciple? And I can only ask, ‘Is your Christ-spirituality a consciousness of the need of ‘witnessing to others’ or an ‘illusion’ that makes no sense of responsibility in you and through you?

In Acts 1:8 our Holy Word of God tells us, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES TO ME in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” After Jesus’ death and resurrection, we read in Matthew 28:16-20 about “The Great Commission.” It says: Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen!

Have YOU announced man’s ‘pardon’ by God Himself? The following story entitled “The Strange Case of George Wilson” came from an American Baptist Association Trust: “ In 1829 two men – Wilson and Porter – were convicted of robbing the United States mails, and sentenced to death by hanging. Three weeks before the time set for Wilson’s execution, he was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson…Strangely enough, Wilson refused the pardon. The case went to the Supreme Court (United States vs. George Wilson, 7 Peters’ Report, page 150) and the court finally handed down its decision: “A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him.”…Most people would agree that Wilson was a fool for refusing to accept a pardon. Yet these same people daily reject the pardon which God has provided for them…Because God is just, He must punish our sins, But because God is merciful, He Himself suffered the awful penalty when Jesus Christ, His Son, suffered all the wrath of God against our sins as He died on the cross of Calvary. ‘For God os loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)…Your pardon has been signed by God Himself. Now all you need to do is accept it by telling God in prayer that you are guilty of sin; ask Him to pardon you, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). At the same time you call upon God trust Him to pardon you for Christ’s sake. Do this and God will deliver the evidence of your pardon and you will be released from the prison of sin. Unless you accept the pardon, you remain condemned. “He that believes not is condemned already.” (John 3:18). Wilson’s was a strange case. But then, Wilson was a fool.”

A pardon? A release from sin’s penalty and sin’s power and sin’s perversions? Men set free to be and become all God intends for them to be “in Him”? Adopted out of the devil’s dominance into the true liberty and freedom as sons and daughters of God? No debt due to sin? No bankruptcy due to one’s old nature? No brokenness and sadness due to separation from God? And you don’t have “good news” to share?

In Psalm 32:1-7 David wrote about “the joy of forgiveness,” but you “in Christ” don’t have a song to sing? “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” [Have you heard God singing over you lately?]. [Have you been singing to Him?].

And in Psalm 33:3 David, yes, spoke of “singing to Him a new song” that speaks of awe-struck wonder because of God’s “fashioning of the heart”! [I remind you that in I Samuel 16:7 the Lord said to Samuel, “…for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”] “The Fashioning of the Heart?” Psalm 33:15 says, “He [God] fashions their hearts individually…” In Ezekial 36:26 we read of God granting to repentant men and women, yes, and boys and girls, “a new heart.” In Hebrews 10:12 and verses 19-23 we read: “But this Man, [Jesus Christ], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…Verses 19-23, Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

“The Fashioning of the Heart?” Acts 16:14 speaks of Lydia whom “the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul,” but you’re unsure the Lord will do the same through your witness to others?

“The Fashioning of the Heart?” Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts…”Do you truly understand your role in touching your world around you with His mercy, grace, and love? Your family, your friends, your city, your state, and nation, needs to know they are loved by God, loosed by God to His ultimate intention, led by God, lifted by God, and liberated into the fullness of Holy Presence in them from ‘doing’ to ‘being.’ 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” And you don’t have a word to share?

What about a “new song” to sing about our names written down in glory? Do you understand “new wine”? A “new covenant”? Could your lost and “alienated from God’ friends need a “new spirit”? Our Lord promises a “new heart”! Even “new, ripened fruit” can be your inheritance! Are “new tongues” a worthy consideration for a foul-mouthed old man? Don’t you believe the promise of a “new man” births hope in the hopeless? Oh, yes, there is a “new and living way”! SHOW THEM, TELL THEM, ASSURE THEM OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD’S PROMISES! In a hellish earth, hellish life, hellish home and family environment, a hellish existence, you don’t have a word about “a new and living way?”

Let the fresh, vibrant, life-giving words of Paul encourage you as you, in convicting fashion, receive what Romans 6:4 tells us: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” How encouraging is Romans 7:4 to you? “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” And didn’t Paul say in Romans 7:5 that men, when in the flesh [old sin nature], that “the sinful passions…were at work…to bear fruit to death”? But verse 6 tells us that once, having died to what we were held by, NOW we’re at work to “serve in the newness of the Spirit…”?

Could we, should we, be discerning right now that our new-found walk of faith is to be a walk under the control; and leadership of the Holy Spirit? As Paul wrote the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 3:2-6, “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Is it possible that as a new believer in Christ or an aged believer that you have sensed the great need of being empowered by the Holy Spirit to become a valid, victorious witness of saving grace and you, right now, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit that you might truly be a vibrant witness?

Then, in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 Paul wrote: “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech – unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing [or fading] away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

OH, and then look carefully at 2 Corinthians 4:1-6! “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Did the last verse we read say that God Himself commanded ‘light to shine out of darkness, shining in our hearts TO GIVE THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.’? Did Jesus Himself say anything different from what we’ve just read? In Matthew 5:14-16 our Lord said: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

But again in 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul said, “we have this TREASURE in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” The “treasure” of Christ’s living presence in us, the “treasure” of redemptive truth, the “treasure” of God’s desire that through us, verse 11, “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” AND WE TELL OTHERS! Do all that we tell about salvation believe, receive, and rest themselves in Christ? Jesus said in John 8:47, “He who is of God hears God’s words…” You can be at peace that if you faithfully share gospel truth you’ve done your part.

Prior to His ascension after His resurrection disciples asked Him, [Acts 1:6-8], “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” And Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Oh, and then Jesus was taken up, leaving the sharing of saving grace and faith to His earthly disciples!

In chapter two of Acts the Holy Spirit came! And “this” became “that” which was spoken by Joel the prophet: Joel 2:28-29, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit bin those days.”

And what an encouraging, uplifting, anointed word that we find in Acts 2:25 from David, “I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.” YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF WITNESSING TO OTHERS – THE LORD is at YOUR right hand! Plus, what was instilled within Peter must be instilled in every new disciple! Acts 2:36-40, 47 says: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Verse 47, “…And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

It is vital for you as a born-again believer to examine carefully every situational opportunity that you see the early disciples experiencing. Too often God’s people re uninformed or have overlooked situational witnessing! If, as Peter Scazzero said in his book, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” [p.109], that “Unhealed wounds open us up to habitual sin against God and others,” how many do you reach out to who exemplify “unhealed wounds” and “unhealed hearts” and “unhealed marriages” and “unhealed relationships” or even “unhealed churches”?

As you examine Acts 3, the very second verse shows us about “a certain man lame from his mother’s womb.” Remember that Acts 1:1 informs us “…of all that Jesus began both TO DO and TO TEACH…!” And the early disciples learned His lessons and examples fully! Have you?

I remember being in a huge government housing project in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, for a street meeting with Pastor Anand of Apostolic Christian Assembly. The musicians had sung, I had preached, and then I extended an invitation for salvation, for deliverance, or for our Lord’s healing grace. Before me a father and mother came carrying their 8 year old son who’d never walked since birth, in a blanket, laid him down at my feet, and then asked, “Can your Lord and Savior heal our son?” Anand and I laid hands on the boy and prayed, and then said, “Arise, young man, and walk!” Praise God, he did rise and walk.” I’ll never forget his toothpick legs, but then saw, through prayer, God giving him strong legs!

And if that wasn’t a ‘shocker’ enough for us, the very next night another father and mother carried to the front their 11-12 year old son who also had never walked! The same Jesus of the night before touched this young man and gave him new legs – and the family or families of both sons came to salvation in our Lord!

I like to call true disciples “The Appointed and Anointed” of the Lord! In Matthew 10:1 we read: “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirit, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of disease.” Jesus then said in verses 7-8, “And as you go, preach, [witness, testify], saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE.” [But do you not have anything to share? Maybe it’s time to “be born again!”]

One of the most heart-wrenching stories I’ve ever read about was a Miss Havisham from the novel Charles Dickenson wrote about called “Great Expectations.” The story is about this daughter of a very wealthy family who, on her supposed wedding day, received a letter at 8:40a.m. that her fiancé who was to become her husband that day informed her he’d not be there for the wedding. The story is that exactly at 8:40a.m having received this sad word, stopped every clock in her home at the time of the letter’s arrival, deciding to spend the rest of her life in her wedding dress, plus wearing only one shoe since that was all she’d put on, living that way into old age, choosing to live an unfulfilled past even to her death!

Is it possible some Christians “assume” they are married to Christ yet never bear children of faith? They talk about their wedding to the Lord but never consummated the marriage with holy vows and a holy heart like Him to touch their world with grace. Do you think her story, your story, might resemble Judas? Was his life a life of “wasted opportunities”?

For some, what I’ve just written is so true, but at the same time I would say, “it’s not true of all disciples.” In Matthew 10:16-24 and in verses 27-28 we hear Jesus speaking to us and warning us that witnessing is not enjoying a “nice piece of cake,” but, yes, trouble! Jesus said: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. Verse 27-28, Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” And that’s JESUS SPEAKING TO US!!

There is a serious word in Matthew 10:32-33! Jesus says: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Don’t you find Jesus’ words convicting and challenging? I don’t believe Jesus is speaking only of ‘public confession’ but also private and personal declaration of one’s need of the Savior and Lord of life, sharing with those around you of His love, grace, and mercy, that it was for them also that Jesus died on the Cross, and if they were the only person on the face of the whole earth, what He did on the Cross He would and did it just for them.

Jesus’ words to alienated sinners? Matthew 11:28-30 tells us: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Do you know anyone who “burns the candle at both ends” or “labors and is heavy ladened”? Do you know anyone who needs Christ’s ‘yoke’, yes, needs to be broken from their selfish, uncontrolled, untrained life? Do you know anyone who needs His rest for their souls? Then share the love of Jesus, share what He’s done for you, share what He’s done for your family and friends and classmates or business associates! Fishers of men or a fatalistic mind closure to men and their spiritual needs?

Christless lives are eternal disasters regardless of their earthly successes or lack of them. Christless families living faithless lives are void, yes, even destitute of the Lord’s eternal promises. It breaks my heart to say it, but Christless professors, so wise in the world’s ways, are ‘train-wrecks’ when it comes to eternal relationships and values and true wisdom of the One who made them. I don’t know of a sadder state of life than for one to be immersed in the non-reality for them of faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

If “practicing the presence of God” is vital for true spiritual health in the life of a believer, what about “practicing the presence of needy people” concerning their need of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior? I’m personally convinced and appalled that too many pastors and churches in America have no awareness at all of what I call “intentional evangelism.” That means evangelism is intentional in all I am, in all I do, even expecting that every day, in all I do, He is reaching out through me to others who need His saving grace and mercy.

When it comes to “fishing for men”, have you considered prayer as a mighty war weapon for who and how we reach the lost, the unsaved, the deceived, the desperate ones who have no hope? In Philippians 1:9-11 Paul said: “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” DO YOU PRAY FOR THE LOST?

Consider also your own life situations! Is every event, every good or bad experience just happen-chance – or is God up to something good through you? What did Paul say in Philippians 1:12? “But I want you to know, brethren that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel…”

Will you be a servant of Christ who exalts, magnifies, expresses, the beauty and blessing of His saving grace and redemptive acts and glorious work of lost mankind’s salvation? In closing this chapter, look prayerfully at Acts 3:6-9! Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

CHAPTER TEN

“IS CONTINUAL SIN ‘OK’ FOR A NEW OR TRUE BELIEVER?”

I have no hesitation in saying to you that I know this chapter will cause a major ‘fuss’ with some because I grew up in a denomination that says one cannot do anything but sin until he/she goes to Heaven! That, I believe, is a perversion of biblical truth! I sometimes wonder if some ‘devotees’ to the Word of God are simply ‘kindergarten children’ who refuse to grow up, mature, and accept the Word of God for what God says or find it acceptable to claim that Word without its application to their own lives because they are comfortable with a ‘compromised’ profession of faith!

What did Paul say in Romans 6:1-3? “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we WHO DIED TO SIN live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” What an awesome, convicting, life-changing or life-condemning question!

Oh, but it gets better and better! Look at Romans 6:5-7! “For if we have been united together (us and Jesus) in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should NO LONGER BE SLAVES OF SIN. For he [that’s you or me] who has died has been freed from sin.”

These are some of the most liberating words you’ll ever find in God’s Word because you accept Truth that because of Jesus’ death on the Cross and your co-crucifixion with Him you are now no longer a slave to sin and your old sin nature but a transformed slave chained to God through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross!

Look at Romans 6:17-18 and verse 22 and rejoice evermore! “But God be thanked that though YOU WERE SLAVES OF SIN, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Verse 22, But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

John Piper said in his book “A Godward Life,” [p.161], “The old slave master [Satan] pays wages, but God gives gifts,” and then quoted Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you understand the ‘mind-set’ that many professing disciples operate by? “The wages of sin is death,” therefore many ‘strive’ to be overcomers of that which Jesus paid the ultimate price for while the revelation of God’s Word tells us, Romans 6:12-13, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Presenting one’s self to God on the merits of Christ alone, not one’s best effort!!

Are you truly, truly fully aware of 2 Corinthians 5:21? It says: “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.” What’s your choice: ‘sinner separate from God or saint set apart as the righteousness of God?’ Oswald Chambers hit a historic ‘home-run’ when he wrote in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.224], “That Christ died for me, therefore I go scot free, is never taught in the New Testament. What IS taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” [not- He died my death], and that by identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have imparted to me His very righteousness. The substitution taught in the New Testament is twofold: ‘He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.’ It is not Christ FOR ME unless I am determined to have Christ formed IN me.” Amen? And that is the true battle-front in every believer’s life: Is it me or Jesus? Is it that I want the ‘best’ and the ‘worst’ of me or my conformity to the image of Christ? Am I a ‘slave of sin’ or the servant of the Most High and Holy God? Will I be a victim of continuous sin or a victor because of the finished work of Christ at the Cross and His historic resurrection Presence in me and through me?

I do want you to KNOW without hesitation that the evidence of a spiritually born, new life in Christ, is that you are one man/woman. Boy/girl, who is passionate about Christ having His way in and through you, and His image becomes more real and clear through you! I know it’s a process, a continual activity of choosing the ‘Spirit-Life in Christ’ over the ‘old man, the flesh,’ but I have a biblical promise that never changes: I John 1:7, “If we [I, you] walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

The evidence? Didn’t Paul say that one should “examine himself/herself whether he/she is IN THE FAITH”? And this is so true when one hears Jesus say in Luke 12:35-47 the following: “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But KNOW THIS, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore YOU ALSO BE READY, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, AND WILL CUT HIM IN PIECES [in two] AND APPOINT HIM HIS PORTION WITH THE UNBELIEVERS.”

What did Paul say to young Titus as he wrote to him in Titus 2:11-14? “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

And when you read these verses, do you sense ‘performance’ or one’s position in Christ, that one ‘grinds’ out the faith or is graced, that one earns or is empowered and enveloped in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ? In Romans 5:17 Paul said: “For if by one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more, those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

Continual sin? Is that possible if my “life is hidden with Christ in God”? Continual sin? ‘OK’ for a new or true believer? Continual sin? Some say, “What God says is for the future – it really can’t be for the present because I have a love for the flesh, the fallen part of me, and, yes, for my sin, but I know God understands, overlooks, and even excuses what I can’t help but do!” Really? Continual sin? “Well, the ‘gift of righteousness is a future reward, not a present reality.” Oh, really?

If the last paragraph is true, then it means that God’s verdict about our sin that was issued in the very Cross of Christ was a great injustice to the very name of Christ, but it is not! Jesus took your sin and mine, your old sin nature and mine, and we “died” with Him, in Him, and through Him!

What is Hebrews 10:14 all about? The author wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” The author had already said in verse 10, “By that will we have been sanctified THROUGH THE OFFERING OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST ONCE FOR ALL.” Glory!

The blood ATONEMENT of Jesus Christ is not to give us a license to sin but our liberation from the tendency to sin! But, when we do sin, because our Savior promised and sent the Holy Spirit to inhabit ALL believers (Romans 8:9), the Spirit will do what? In John 16:8 we read, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

What did Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10? “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

And ‘godly sorrow,’ birthed in us by the Holy Spirit abiding in every believer, arouses within us our failures, our falls, our fickleness, but also highlights God’s faithfulness in forgiveness, and continues to shape us in the very image and likeness of Jesus – conscious sorrow resulting in an appreciation of unconscious God-likeness!

Isaiah 32:13-15 gives us a picture of God’s people apart from the Holy Spirit but then what happens when there is yieldedness to the Spirit’s control. The prophet heard God speak: “On the land of My people will come up thorns and briers, yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city; Because the palaces will be forsaken, the bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks – Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.” And then He said that the peace of God will reign.” Is that true in you?

Let me share several things that I believe are of utmost importance for the true believer in overcoming ‘continual sin’!! Come with me to I Corinthians 9:27! There, Paul said: “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

One translation says: “I buffet my body and make it my slave…” I believe Paul is telling us we are not to be blind to our progress or lack of it in being conformed to the image of Christ! If you haven’t learned it as yet, you need to know there is a spiritual war going on – and you do have a part in this!

In I Corinthians 10:1-14 we read: “Moreover, brethren I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the clod and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ,. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

If Christ is your Rock, and you stand on Him, and keep on standing on Him, you are one who understands your completeness in Christ, and that there is a transition of identity – we’re not slaves to sin any longer but sons of God! But, it’s true, sometimes in our journeys as followers of Christ Jesus we do have to have ‘wake-up calls’! In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul wrote to each of us today. He said: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is perfected in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

In “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Vol. 19, pps.369-370], Spurgeon preached: “I am quite sure that some people think themselves very strong, and are not so. Their proud consciousness of fancied strength is the indication of a terrible weakness. We have among us ‘certain persons who think that they can do all that is needful for their own salvation’ whenever they please to do so. They can perform all sorts of good works, or at least quite enough to carry them to heaven. Their first idea is that they are to be saved by their own doings; and they really expect to be saved. They may admit that they have a few faults and flaws in their character; but these are so trifling as to be hardly worth mentioning, And God Almighty is too merciful to be very particular. Their lives have been excellent, their tempers amiable, their manners courteous, their spirit generous, and they quite believe that by keeping on at the same pace they will win the prize: if they do not, who will? The ship of their character is in fine condition; they have no leaks which the pumps cannot keep down; their sails are not rent, and they hope to sail into the haven of peace with a glorious cargo of merit, having an abundant entrance, and hearing a ‘Well done!” Ah, my friend! That consciousness of legal strength is a mere delusion, and it will have to be taken out of you. There is no going to heaven that way – by self or by works of self. Your error is a common one, but it is fatal. I have seen many epitaphs of persons, placed by mistaken kindness of friends upon their tombstones, which I felt sure would have been sufficient to shut them out of heaven if they had been true. These departed worthies do not appear to have been sinners at all; their virtues were superlative, their faults non-existent. Such wonderful people would appear from their epitaphs to have flown up to the gates of heaven upon the wings of their own virtues, and to have entered therefore without a passport of mercy, as burgesses by their own right of the New Jerusalem. I wonder how they would behave themselves in heaven, if they were really admitted there! All the rest are singing, ‘We have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” but these needed no washing, and so they would be likely to strike up a little song by themselves, and sing ‘Our robes never needed washing; we kept them as white as snow.’ What discord that would create in the music of the skies! What a division of character and feeling would be found among the celestials! I cannot see how there could be any harmony of sentiment among sinners saved by grace and righteous ones who owed nothing to mercy, nothing to the atoning sacrifice.” Oh, how truly spoken!

Then, could one be ignorant of the danger of “drifting away”, of “neglecting so great a salvation,” or ignoring the witness of God within or the gifts of the Holy Spirit”? That’s Hebrews 2:1-4! “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness, both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”

When “self” begins to be supreme, drifting away becomes the end result! When “neglect” becomes a practice, the sea of identity “in Christ” becomes cloudy! When “Spirit-led” becomes weird, then true discipleship has begun to wane! And that leads one to:

TAKING ONE’S EYES OFF OF JESUS OUR LORD AND BEING LED AWAY FROM SPIRITUAL FREEDOM TO DEMONIC BONDAGE! Look with me at Hebrews 2:9-10, 14-15, “ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings…Verses 14-15, Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Subject to bondage?

Jesus even said: “In the world you will have tribulation,” but too many put on “rose-colored glasses” seeing ‘peace and safety’ when there is none! Didn’t we read “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” but you hear only that ‘peace and safety’ song?

One last thing I want to emphasize in this chapter: Submission to Christ, our Lord and Savior, is not an open door to disobedience which breeds hardness of heart through deceitfulness of sin!! Hebrews 3:12-14 says: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”

And that doesn’t put the fear of God in you? Look at Hebrews 3:18-19! “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

I urge you in the days ahead to major on 2 Corinthians 12:7-10! “for when I am weak, then I am strong”? Why? How? That’s eyes off self and eyes only on the Christ within! That’s eyes set, not on your weakness, but on God’s amazing strength and never-failing power! That’s a commissioned journey, not in yourself, but in His ever-abiding presence! That’s an awareness of hopelessness in one’s flesh but eternal hope in God’s Spirit! That’s faith, not in earthly dry wells, but faith in His eternal supply that never runs dry! That’s not awareness of who I am, but availability to ALL GOD IS – always has been, always will be! Amen? It’s not only our consciousness to all God is, but our complete surrender to His Sovereignty and His saving and sure ways!

Is your pilgrimage in Christ one of drudgery, duty, dejection, distraction, or is it discipline, dependence, discernment, destiny, and delight? Don’t forget Psalm 1:1-2! “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates days and night.” Is that your testimony?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“IS ‘ALL STRESSED OUT’ THE EVIDENCE OF A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE?”

My wife, Sue, and I flew into Utah with her sister, Amy, and her husband, Joe Rodgers, to visit our son, Stan, and his wife Leann, and their daughter Katie, and their young families, Mr. & Mrs. Zach Fisher and Mr. & Mrs. Ben Fisher. What a delight! We flew in August 3, 2013, and on August 5 I was reading the news of “USA TODAY”. On the very front page was an article entitled “All Stressed Out?’ with a sub-title: ‘Buy some peace.’ It said, “Cloaked in anxiety, our 24/7 on-the-go nation produces stress-buckets. And, of course, one person’s angst is another person’s business opportunity.”

Then the article introduced Deepak Chopra (?) who said that he never feels stress, because he’s introduced his “Dream Weaver” ‘to aid relaxation, meditation, sleep.’ It’s a business idea – and he’ll probably make a small or big fortune that has absolutely nothing to do with “the peace that passes all understanding.”

In the article Ann Mack stated that “we’re entering the dawn of the super-stress era,” then stated, “since it’s become a cost issue and serious medical concern, you’ll see more efforts to prevent or reduce it. “ The article stated further: “Little wonder in a nation that could be the world’s poster child for stress. Last year, some 7 in 10 Americans said they regularly suffered physical symptoms due to stress, and 67% said they regularly experienced psychological symptoms because of it, reports the American Psychological Association. In a still-recovering economy, it’s no surprise that the top three causes of stress last year were related to money, work, and the economy, reports the APA.” David Ballard then said, “We’re just not very good at dealing with stress.” So, welcome Deepak Chopra’s Dream Machine! Really?

“Buy some peace”? You do understand that there are multiple ways to find a temporary, false, “never feel stress” peace that has nothing to do with the peace with God, the peace of God, or “the peace that passes all understanding” through Christ Jesus!

Thomas Merton has written in his “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” [New York: Doubleday, 1968, p.86], “There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence…activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence…It kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”

Do you recognize or even doubt that “stress” is not good, that “stress” is an evidence of absence of the Spirit and Word of God in one’s life? If “stress” is real, and it is, would we even dare consider that God Himself called a ‘Sabbath Rest’ as very good, Genesis 1:31, but some around you, maybe even yourself, truly believe “burning the candle at both ends” is not harmful but holy? I’m afraid for some, I DON’T AGREE!

In Peter Scazzero’s book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” [p.170], Peter said: “On every Sabbath, we experience a sampling of something greater that awaits us. Our short earthly lives are put in perspective as we look forward to the day when God’s kingdom will come in all its fullness and we will enter an eternal Sabbath feast in God’s perfect presence. We will taste His splendor, beauty, greatness, excellence, and glory far beyond anything we ever experienced or dreamed.”

What does Exodus 20:8-11 tell us? “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” So… on Sunday you just do as you please, and ignore God’s holy day? No wonder you’re “stressed out”!

Do you believe that Holy Sovereign God knows us better than we know ourselves, and that His Word about the “Sabbath Rest” is still an absolute essential in our spiritual, even physical pilgrimage? I’m sure it’s why7 David said in Psalm 84:5, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, O God.”

Angelo Patri, in “Redbook,” wrote: “Spiritual power is a hidden power, locked in the silence of the soul. We cannot force it to come at command o0f will. But when in extremity our strength is as water, our will as the sighing of the wind, when we yield all physical being and lean hard on the spiritual strength within us, the soul’s strength rises to assure us as the sun rises over the rim of night…This spiritual strength is man’s inheritance, the eternal power granted him at Creation. It is God’s breath within him. On that strength we can go forward; we can take whatever comes and know it is well with us always.”

What’s the title of this chapter? “Is ‘All Stressed Out’ The Evidence of a Spirit-Filled Life?” I don’t think so! The wiseman of Proverbs wrote in Proverbs 25:28, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.” No walls of protection in one’s life breeds “all stressed out”! Earlier, in Proverbs 16:32, the author wrote: “He who is slow to anger is better than the might, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

Could ‘all stressed out’ be true description of one who is “heavy ladened”?” In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor, and are heavy ladened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The word ‘laden’ is a Greek word for ‘over-burdened’ or like a cargo ship that sinks because it was over-loaded! It also means ‘loaded up with spiritual anxiety.’

I hope and pray that you saw in the Matthew 11 passage the words “all you…” and “all you who are heavy laden…” and you latch on to Jesus words: “I will give you rest…” Do you understand that that is a divine promise from the lips of Jesus our Lord and Savior and Master of our lives? Then Jesus said: “Come…take…learn…and LEAN” on Him! But I also see and sense in another word of our Lord that when we come, take, learn, and lean on Him that He “gives” – and it’s not only a “rest” FROM one’s heavy load but a “rest” IN CHRIST HIMSELF!

Oh, but then our Lord said: “Take My yoke upon you…” which tells me my rest is not from inactivity but a walk, a work, a willingness to be “yoked” to the Master-Bull who “breaks” me from walking alone in my journey of faith to walking in step with my Lord and Savior!

Do you realize how easily frustration with your circumstances and fretfulness in your situation can disable a fruitful walk with your Lord? Shutting down is the dominance of our flesh, and, yes, even demonic activity to feed off of our weariness, our wilting, our warped spiritual activity and identity ‘in Christ’! But the question of the moment is: HOW HAVE I ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN? I’ll look with you at seven sources or roots:

FIRST, “STRESS” COMES BECAUSE OF A TROUBLED MIND. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Paul speaks of “not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or word or letter, as if from us…” which in context related to the ‘rumor’ that the ‘day of Christ had come.’ But the reality is that many are “soon shaken in mind or troubled” about many, various, different situations and circumstances – and it births various forms of even sickness: emotional, mental, physical, or spiritual!

To Titus Paul wrote: [Titus 1:15]. “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” Do you understand “vainly puffed up by [one’s] fleshly mind”? And if pride goes before a fall, maybe one needs to examine his/her fleshly mind activities!

Paul gives us all valuable words of wisdom when in Philippians 2:5-11 he wrote: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

A spiritual mind-set is extremely important, I believe, to every day “set your Mind” in direction to, dependence upon, and devotion set to honor the Lord today, through you, His honor, glory, and praise! If that is an unimportant spiritual discipline, then it’s easy to experience a shriveled soul, a parched devotion, a flooded day of preoccupation with one’s “feelings”: rather than full faith and fellowship, and, yes, even distractions of eye-set and mind-set!

In Colossians 3:1-2 Paul challenges us all: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” How challenging is that?

SECOND, “STRESS” COMES BECAUSE OF A DIVIDED HEART. In Psalm 81 there is a sad but deliberate admonition from God concerning His own people Israel. God Said: Psalm 81:8-16, “Hear, O MY people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied them.”

The passionate prophet, Hosea, heard God speak from a broken heart when He looked upon His own people, Israel. In Hosea 9:10-12 we read: “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame; they became an abomination like the thing they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird – no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them to the last man. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!”

And, then, in Hosea 10:2-4, we read why it happened then and why it happens now: “Their heart is divided; now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars. For now they say, “We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord. And as for a king, what would he do for us?” They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.”

The word ‘divided’ means “divided in loyalty”. I don’t know how you read spiritual times and seasons in church life in your nation, but “divided in loyalty” is, sadly, an ‘in-time’ evaluation of church life in America – too many ‘Christians’ on Sunday would rather ‘play’ than pray, wilt, rather than worship, gad about rather than give God the sacrifice of Praise, even when God says: “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy!” DIVIDED HEARTS!

THIRD, “STRESS” COMES THROUGH AN OVERLOADED STYLE OF LIFE. And that can be because of one’s true devotion to Gods and the opposition that arises against devoted followers of God. When Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation,” the flood of tribulation can be overwhelming at times. In Psalm 69 David cried out to God with an urgent plea for God’s help in David’s time of trouble! Psalm 69:1-18 says: “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overwhelm me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully; though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You. Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, nor let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut its mouth on me. Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; hear me speedily. Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; deliver me because of my enemies.”

FOURTH, “STRESS” COMES BECAUSE OF A SPLIT FAMILY OR A FAMILY SO ENGROSSED IN ITSELF THEY STIFLE OUT GOD, AND WHAT THEY CONSIDER “GOOD” FOR THEMSELVES BECOMES A GRAVE OF THE HEART.

In Micah 6:8 the Word says, our Lord speaking, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, [or lovingkindness] and to walk humbly with your God?” It doesn’t get any better! In Micah 7:6 it says: “For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.” Could that be sons against a father or a father against his own flesh and blood?

It was Horace Bushnell who once wrote: “A house without a roof would scarcely be a more different home, than a family unsheltered by God’s friendship, and the sense of being always rested in His providential care and guidance.”

In Titus 1:11 Paul wrote: “…whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain…”Whether an unstable or stable family, both are subject at times to false teachers who would undermine faith, trust, obedience in families.

No doubt this is why Peter, in Acts 3:25-26, wrote or spoke the following, yes, to ‘stressed out,’ stifled, starving families today: “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you, first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities.”

We know God established family life in order that families might “be fruitful and multiply,” that man might, together with mate and children, experience and enjoy God’s blessing, to picture up close Jesus and His precious body of believers, to instill parenting as a tool to, yes, reveal the very heart of God, to reveal mutual dependence upon Him whether parent or child, to establish, train, mature, and bring children up “in the training and admonition of the Lord,” and to exhibit in small form the large, very Body of Christ Jesus!

In America, and no doubt the rest of our known world, there is an assault on Godly family life. There is prevalent, right now, an infectious spiritual disease that is out to decay, disintegrate, and deplete Godly husbands and wives and Godly fathers and mothers. “The thief is out to kill and destroy marriage and family.” Yes, even in America, right now, there are those in governmental powers nationally who believe their ‘state’ powers are more sacred than families – they want to rule over, control, and direct6 your children to trust them more than they trust God or parents! And families are being split at a rapid pace!

FIFTH, “STRESS” COMES BECAUSE OF A CORRODED LOYALTY: I pray that I can say this without being harsh, super critical, or mean-spirited, but a corroded loyalty to our Lord is the under-pinning of corroded loyalty in the home and family. In fact, a corroded loyalty, I believe, is because of ‘false liberty’ one has professed in a Christian marriage ceremony as one who desires to honor Christ, and has ‘professed’ to a church congregation that same ‘false liberty’; therefore, loyalty to the Body of Christ quickly or slowly deteriorates.

A test of loyalty always emerges in a disciple’s life, in a pastor’s life, in a church’s life and relationships and responsibilities, in a family’s close relationship and responsibility, and, yes, even in a business! And when corroded loyalty has run its course, “stress” breaks out like an infectious disease! Loyalty is because of love, not love because of loyalty. Jesus proved His love for us in that while we were still sinners He died for us!

Corroded loyalty is evidence one has forgotten “crucified with Christ”! In Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.228], he wrote after quoting Galatians 2:20, “These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me3 up to the point 365 times a year, but He cannot put me through it. It6 means breaking the husk of my individual independence of God, and the emancipating of my personality into oneness with Himself, not for my own ideas, but for absolute loyalty to Jesus.” Tell me! In you, right now, this very moment – are you standing in absolute loyalty to Jesus or has your loyalty been corroded?

SIXTH, “STRESS” IS BIRTHED BY THE SEED OF A COMPROMISED ETHIC: In John 6:60-71 we read a heart-wrenching story of defection from Christ. It says: Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to Him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.”

A safe description besides “a compromised ethic” would be “the internal assaults” on the Savior and His people. I don’t believe our Lord and Savior was ever overcome in any way by a compromised ethic or the internal assaults, but I assure you that there are numerous believers who’ve been overwhelmed by that “stress”! “Will you go away”? because of oppositional forces to your faith? “That’s a tough word, Jesus”! “That’s an offensive word, Lord”! “That’s exposing our prejudices, Master”! “That’s contradicting and compromising for us what we really think, Jesus”!

Have you ever heard an unbelieving husband berate his ‘sold-out’ wife for her devotion to her faith and church family – and see her begin to back off? Have you ever witnessed a “big boss” come down hard on a few employees for their “stand” concerning their Savior and see them go silent fearing a loss of their jobs? Have you ever sat through a condemning session by a university professor that threatens devotees of our Lord – and they become like dunces in a corner of the class? Have you seen the end result of the ‘party’ class of young people to side with godless fraternity brothers or sisters and become totally delinquent as to a stand for the eternal faith?

Deceivers, denouncers, yes, demonstraters against biblical faith can call out that response of a compromised ethic, but at the same time some “feed” on trash and not the treasure of God’s revealed Word and they starve the soul – the bread of life is substituted for foul crumbs trying to survive on a spiritual starvation diet!

And, “God, help us”! a compromised ethic is often the end result of a poor choice of friends – some are swayed to evil rather than a biblical ethic by carelessly associating with immoral men, loose women, or lewd conversation that darkens not enlightens one’s conscience and convictions.

In “Mrs. Browning,” Elizabeth Barrett Browning, wrote: “The Soul Travailing,” [pps. 80-81], about the “stress” of ‘traveling vainly.’ She wrote: “Always! Always! Must this be? Rapid Soul from city gone, Dost thou carry inwardly What doth make the city’s moan?…Must this deep sigh of thine own Haunt thee with humanity? Green visioned banks that are too steep To be overbrowsed by the sheep,…May all sad thoughts adown you creep Without a shepherd? – mighty sea, Can we dwarf Thy magnitude, and fit it to our straightest mood?…O fair, fair Nature! Are we thus impotent and querulous Among thy workings glorious – Among Thy fullnesses that still Leave us vacant and defiled,…And wailing like a kissed child, Kissed softly against his will? God, God! – With a child’s voice I cry, Weak, sad, confidingly – God, God!…Thou knowest eyelids raised not always up Toward Thy love (as none of ours are) droop, As ours, over many a tear!…Thou knowest, though Thy universe is broad, Two little tears, suffice to cover all! – Thou knowest – Thou, who art so prodigal of beauty – we are oft but stricken deer, Expiring in the woods – that care for none Of those delightsome flowers they die upon!…O blissful mouth, which breathed the mournful breath We name our souls! (self-spoilt!) by that strong passion Which paled thee once with sighs – by that strong death Which made thee once unbreathing – from the wrack, Themselves have called around them, Call them back Toward Thee in continuous aspiring!…For here, O Lord, For here they traqvel vainly; vainly pass From city pavement to untrodden sward,…Where the lark finds her deep nest in the grass Unswept of its last dew! – Yea, very vain The greatest speed of all these souls of men, Unless they travel upward to Thy Throne! There sittest THOU, the satisfying ONE, With blood for our sins, and holy perfectings For all requirements – while th’ archangel, raising Toward Thy face his full ecstatic gazing, Forgets the rush and rapture of his wings!”

SEVENTH, “STRESS” ERUPTS IN THE VOLCANO OF A WOUNDED SPIRIT: In Proverbs 18:14 we read, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?”

A broken spirit is one who has been exchanged at a loss for an impoverished spirit! There is nothing proud for one to brag about when a wounded spirit bankrupts one’s faith, one’s devotion, or one’s dependence upon God for healing grace in a time of trouble. Most, rather than looking up, are now looking in – and wounds birth an overwhelming attitude of “poor me”!

Grasp what Jesus was saying in Matthew 26:41 when He said: “Watch and pray, lest YOU enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I want to close this chapter with a letter I recently received from “Circuit Rider Ministries,: the support arm for Andy and Rebecca Brink’s on-going ministry of the Faith. Rebecca wrote THIS letter, yes, about “stress”. I called Andy and Rebecca and asked if I could print it in this chapter – they were glad to! Here it is: [Their address? PO Box 6241, Tyler, Texas, 75711 – phone #: 281 – 755 – 4030], and if you don’t know, their 7^th child will be birthed soon!! Are YOU ready? Rebecca wrote:

“Well, I would love to say that having another baby on the way has just been a breeze as if I have this thing down by now, but it just hasn’t quite worked out that way. There haven’t necessarily been any real complications, but man has it been hard not to sink into a major funk over the little things: -/ I have thought many times while unable to move due to utter exhaustion, “I am getting way too old for this!” I have been so easily frustrated when the kids are just being kids, and it’s not simple and easy…as if having kids is EVER simple and easy?? I think I literally spent the entire first trimester either wanting to throw up, cry, or just crawl in bed and sleep for weeks, hoping it would all magically be better when I woke up. I kinds though I had a legitimate “bone to pick” with God, that by number 7, I should have had some sort of right of passage into an easy pregnancy. I felt pretty justified in my way of thinking, until it was clear He was not being a team player. Well, then I was just plain mad! I sort of felt like I had been tricked into this deal, and the road ahead seemed impossibly long and weary. So I am going to be brutally honest here because this story has a GREAT ending!…

So, flash forward to my second trimester and you will find me in the depths of self-pity over how hard my life seemed, barely functioning from complete exhaustion (thinking FOR SURE something was wrong with me)…and only FIVE more months of pregnancy to go. Ouch! I finally had a chance to get away one weekend with some dear friends and spent the whole first day crying, wondering why this pregnancy still had to be so hard. I mean, the second trimester is supposed to be a breeze! I was desperately needing God’s grace, strength and encouragement, but was too mad at Him to ask for help[. Everyone that weekend was so sweet and attentive, but I just felt kinda numb inside. After dinner the first night, a dear friend spoke up and shared with the group something she had recently learned about Psalm 46:10. Well, some of you may remember from the last newsletter that that was the exact verse that had so impacted me the year before: “Be still and know that I am God.” My ears kinda perked up as she shared, and I began to try and let His Word penetrate my heart…

The word “still” in that verse literally translates as follows: “to cease from striving, to lay your hands down, letting God intervene in your situation without your interference.” As my friend was sharing this, I felt my heart beginning to soften. I was also struck that evening by a song that was shared. The words went something like this: “I’ll stand, my soul Lord to You surrendered…all I am is Yours.” Those words began to chip away at the hardness of my heart. Later that night, in the privacy of my room, I began to lay it all out before the Lord and genuinely ask Him for His help. I realized that when Andy and I had “abandoned” ourselves once again to God’s sovereignty, trusting that this new life He had given us was a part of His plan, I had an expectation that God would be so pleased, that He was just going to lay out a bed of roses for me to relax on for the next nine months! (Mistake #1). I was horrified that things were actually harder on me than they had ever been before, and that there might be more difficulty and suffering ahead: – / All of a sudden, I could see my heart so clearly…I was willing to “abandon and surrender all” as long as there was no inconvenience to me. And as long as it all made me feel and look good, I was all in! But to think that you can step out in faith and choose to trust Him for something hard, and then suffer for it??? I wasn’t up for that one. (Mistake # 2), Then I remembered Daniel and his faithfulness and commitment to God, and what did he get for it? A trip to the lion’s den, with an unknown outcome! He had no idea that God had a great purpose in Daniel’s suffering, and was prepared to send His angels to protect him that fateful night, but Daniel sure didn’t know it. He had already calculated the cost to his life, but it was worth it to Daniel…I guess the real question is, was He worth it to me? Did I really want to give the Lord everything, so that I could sing the words to that song without feeling like a complete hypocrite? “I’ll stand, my soul Lord to You surrendered, ALL I am is Yours!” Really? Even if it means more children? Even if it means less money because it has to stretch over so people? Even if it seems like I will NEVER get to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation without rearranging the entire universe so that all seven children are cared for in my absence? And for what? Why do I have to abandon and surrender anyway? My wrestling match with God!…

“Be still and know that I am God” continues to take on deeper meaning for me as I am learning to cease from striving when things get hard. For those of you that have had children, I am sure that at some point during childbirth classes, someone told you that you have to relax during contractions or they will be entirely ineffective, making your labor much more painful. Our midwife always has to gently remind me at the end when things are beyond tough, to let even my facial muscles relax throughout the pain so that my body can get it over with faster and easier. It sounds crazy, but it has totally worked! And I can tell you, in the very same way, that this pregnancy was so much harder than it had to be for me because I spent the first five months of it tense, frustrated and angry. When I literally chose to surrender, lay my will down, and trust that this whole thing is working for my good, my body began to respond well and it got so much easier! I went from not being able to get off the couch, to actually feeling pretty good and excited about the whole ordeal! Now did my troubles vanish? Not any more than the pain of childbirth, but there has been a special grace to get through it much easier! The incredible thing about the pain of childbirth is that when you think you cannot take it another second, that little life is right around the corner. And when that baby arrives, the pain is forgotten and totally worth it. What a perfect picture!” AMEN? THANK YOU, REBECCA BRINK!!

CHAPTER TWELVE

“IS ‘SALT’ AND ‘LIGHT’ THE REDEEMED ONE’S TRUE CALLING AND MISSION?”

As Matthew 5 opens, in Verse one, it speaks of “His disciples came to Him,” and then Jesus began to teach them. And I want you to contemplate so seriously the words that our Lord spoke to them and us in verses 11-16! “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so the persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

In Luke 6:22-26 Dr. Luke gives us a broader picture of both true and false disciples when he wrote: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

It would do you well to spend months in the four Gospels learning not only the Life of Christ but also the lives and ministries and troubles and heartaches of His true disciples. Did you catch, were you shocked by, was self-examination the result of reading our Lord’s words in Luke 6:26? “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

This chapter is not to be an examination of false prophets but it does amplify for us His “true prophets” and the clear evidence describing them is “persecution for righteousness’ sake.” Has it not dawned on you yet a fallen world’s despising of the message of Christ Jesus? Our Lord and Savior became the ridicule, abuse, and slander of even the religious crowd of His day, but the identifying mark of false prophets was their extreme popularity!

Jesus never said that His disciples would find a world awaiting their ministries and rejoicing with them in what they had to say. In fact, in John 15:18-25 Jesus said: “If the world hates you, you know that i9t hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept Mt word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

And before our Lord’s betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane, He had gone aside to pray. John 17 is Jesus’ passionate prayer for His disciples right before a religious crowd in a diabolical frenzy with the soldiers arrested Him, bound Him, and led Him to Caiaphas who told the Jews that it was advantageous if one man should die for the people! John 17:6-19 tells us: To the Father our Lord prayed: “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father, keep through Your name these whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Hear me! Being true to Christ and His word and His mission means a world ‘out there’ will declare an unholy war against you, your family, your fellowship, and the more loyal you become in your commitment to Him alone the greater your opposition!

What did Jesus say in Matthew 5:11? “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Was Paul on target when he told Timothy in his letter to him, 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” And, then, in Acts 5:41-42 we read: “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

But there is an encouraging word for all true believers in Romans 8:16-19! “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. 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. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Then, a heavenly word follows for us in Romans 8:31-39! “What then shall we say to these things? If God id for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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 thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now, FIRST QUESTION: “IS SALT THE REDEEMED ONE’S TRUE CALLING AND MISSION?” What do we read in Matthew 5:13 as Jesuis says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

And, I wonder, does ‘salt’ lose its saltiness when it’s never sprinkled on what it has the potential to preserve, influence, add a better taste to? Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says of ‘salt’: “To sprinkle, impregnate or season with salt, as to ‘salt’ fish, beef, or pork…To fill with salt between the timbers and planks, as a ship, for the preservation of the timber.” Do you see it? A ‘ship of life’ but no ‘salt’ as a preservative; a ‘ship of faith’ but no salty influences; a ‘ship of proclamation and testimony’ but no salt to capture the pure taste of our Lord and Savior!

Genesis 18:16-19:24 is an awesome lesson about the saltiness of God’s people. Sodom was spared for a time because of ‘salty’ Lot in its borders. And in Genesis 18:26 the Lord said: “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Do you grasp why America hasn’t fallen yet? Oh, it’s been grievously wounded, it rests at a place of desperation this very moment, but God “SEES” the righteous few and withholds His judgment!

In Exodus 32 we find Moses looking upon “the people of God” and he saw them “unrestrained,” verse 25. Moses called out at the entrance of the camp: Verse 26, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side – come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.” But judgment fell upon 3000 of the people that day. More were ready to die, but Moses intervened! Look at Exodus 32:30-35, Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin – but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.”

That’s not the end of the story of salty grace and mercy! In James 1:27 we read: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” You do know how “spotted” your world is with immoral activity, in the lowering of biblical standards of holy behavior, in making dishonesty a public norm rather than a disgrace, of promoting impurity and ungodliness as an acceptable pattern of life, of advancing deliberate temptations to sin and violate even the laws of God, of wiping out, of tarnishing the righteous rather than the unholy, of promoting the unprincipled as leaders of our nations, of abusing the Ten Commandments as illogical, ‘off-the-wall’ suggestions, of disdaining biblical truth as that which helps ‘monkeys’ not people!

Oh, there’s more! Esther! What a story! Esther’s husband was the king, and Esther’s people came under the king’s judgment, and many were slaughtered! Mordecai came to Esther to inform her that she would not escape any more than all the other Jews, and she had to take a stand. Is that being ‘salt’?

Mordecai told Esther, [Esther 4:4], “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” And Esther responded: “If I perish, I perish.”

Does that speak to you and you in your nation, in your family, in your school, in your community and state, in the time of the lowering of standards, in the time of betrayal of marriage oaths, in the time of bosses or employees going under-handed betraying ethics, morals, laws, or truths of God’s Word? Does ‘salt’ preserve from corruption, deceit, incest, dirty jokes? Is a disciple of Jesus a “cleansing agent or remedy” for a people who are about to be destroyed by bad, yes, evil choices?

And I don’t know about you but I love “salt” on my summer-grown garden tomatoes! WOW! What a flavoring miracle! Do you hear it around your kitchen table? “Pass the salt, please.” And that’s to be a believer’s life, his/her testimony, even a gift of saltiness in the Spirit-realm to flavor a tasteless life!

I love what Oliver Wendell Holmes had to say once, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.” Preachers, pastors, parishioners aren’t to be offerers of ‘death’ but announcers of ‘life’, of ‘saltiness,’ of ‘blessings’ – not a dark, dead, dismal curse! A depressed world needs divine salt, divine joy, divine peace, and divine usefulness with an eternal taste – not a savorless life, or a savorless ministry, or a savorless marriage, or a savorless man! “God, help us!”

In “Tennyson’s Works,” Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote: [pps.3-4], “O God! My God! Have mercy now. I faint, I fall. Men say that Thou didst die for me, for such as me…Patient of ill, and death, and scorn, and that my sin was as a thorn Among the thorns that girt Your brow, Wounding Your soul. – That even now,…

In this extremist misery of ignorance, I should require a sign! And if a bolt of fire would rive the slumbrous summer noon While I do pray to Thee alone, Think my belief would stronger grow! Is not my human pride brought low? The boastings of my spirit still? The joy I had in my freewill All cold, and dead, and corpse-like grown?…

And what is left to me, but You, And faith in You? Men pass me by;- Christians with happy countenances – and children all seem full of You! And women smile with saint-like glances Like Your own mother’s when she bowed Above You, on that happy morn When angels spake to men aloud, And You and peace on earth were born…

Goodwill to me as well as all – I one of them; my brothers they; Brothers in Christ – a world of peace And confidence, day after day; And trust and hope till things should cease, And then one Heaven receives us all.”

That was written before 1892! Do you understand a redeemed man’s true calling and mission? ARE YOU SALT? But also a redeemed man’s true calling and mission is not only his spiritual saltiness but the reality of heaven’s LIGHT! Matthew 5:14-16 says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

It is absolutely so amazing to me – I become awe-struck every time I read it or hear it when I know that Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” This is why in I Thessalonians 5:5 Paul said, “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.” He told the church at Ephesus, Ephesians 5:8, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

To the church at Galatia, Galatians 1:15-16, Paul said that it was the very “pleasure of God” to separate Paul from his mother’s womb, call him through His grace, for the purpose and plan of “revealing His Son in me,” and in you! If you haven’t heard, haven’t understood it, having received it as yet, your “old man” was “crucified with Christ; it is no longer I [YOU!} who lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God.” That’s Galatians 2:20-21!!

In Christ, you and I, children of faith, are vessels, containers – and every day we are to choose death to ourselves that the resurrection Light and Life of Christ might shine through us. That’s Luke 8:16 where Jesus said: “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter [or those you encounter] may see the light.”

You’ll remember that Jesus told the people of His day about the witness of John in John 5:35, “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.” And have you fully absorbed Peter’s testimony in 2 Peter 1:16-19? “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came down from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

“Dark places – shining lights!” “Dismal circumstances – a shining Light!” “Defeating darkness – overcoming Light!” “Downcast spirit – uplifting Light of glory, honor, and praise!” “Doom and gloom attitudes – songs, singing, and shouting the Light of our Savior’s glorious praise!”

True light is seen, true light is radiant, true light reveals, true light exposes, true light overshadows, true light enhances and encourages, true light warns and illuminates dangers, true light glorifies God!

William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible Series on Matthew wrote: [p.122], “One of the old historians wrote of Henry the Fifth after the Battle of Agincourt: ‘Neither would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung by the minstrels of his glorious victory, for that he would wholly have the praise and thanks altogether given to God.” The Christian never thinks of what he has done, but of what God has enabled him to do. He never seeks to draw the eyes of men to himself, but always direct them to God. So long as men are thinking of the praises, the thanks, the prestige, which they will get for what they have done, they have not really even begun on the Christian way.” SOBERING WORDS!!

The only significance to your life is the Light of Christ within you – all else is sinking sand of selfish insignificance! If your life does not radiate the Life of Christ within it’s like ‘a boundless ocean of existence’ without eternal meaning and mission!

Darkness? Self-enhancement! Light? Christ-honoring! Darkness? A little dishonesty! Light? Living in Truth! Darkness? No sympathy! Light? Mercy and grace and kindness! Darkness? Self-promotion! Light? Self-denial to honor Christ alone! Darkness? Reckless abandonment to one’s sin nature! Light? Complete surrender to our Lord’s Lordship! Darkness? An incapacity to walk faithfully, holily, righteously before God! Light? One faithful unto death and crowned with the Light of Life!

Light? O.D. Kretzman, D.D., in the “Illinois Medical Journal,” once wrote: “If we are to survive the atomic [nuclear]age, we must have something to live by, to live on, and to live for. We must stand aside from the world’s conspiracy of fear and hate and grasp once more the great monosyllables of life: faith, hope, and love. Men must live by these if they live at all under the crushing weight of history.”

Do you understand the chaotic darkness of godless lives? And are you blessed by those God-filled lives of light and liberty and the love of God? I love what Philllip Brooks once said: “Be such a man, and live such a life, That if every man were such as you, And every life a life like yours, This earth would be God’s Paradise.”

What about St. Irenaeus, in “Adversus haereses, V, who wrote: “The Word of God, Jesus Christ, on account of Hid great love for mankind, became what we are in order to make us what He is Himself.” “Glory!”

In John 1:14-16 we read awesome words of heavenly intent for the “salt and light” folks of redemptive faith, full surrender, and awesome transformation: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

W. Russell Bowie, in “The Chaplain,” [December 1960] wrote: “The doctrine of the incarnation is no unrelated speculation. It is the truth by which we find God, and are found by God, both in the common times, and the times of crisis. It says to us that the glory of God can be revealed in the little place and in the everyday event, as it was in the earthly life of Jesus; and it makes us trust that the divine redeeming purpose cannot be killed by the evil which may crucify it, and that in the love of Christ the power of God stands by us even when the world is dark.” GLORY AGAIN!

“Salt and Light” for me are the seeds of God’s everlastingness, the living fruit of His eternal vineyard, the healing touch of His grace of transformation, and the blessed flood of immortal living in His holy presence.

“Salt and Light” for me, because of our Lord’s saving grace, and His eternal mission, is the evidence of His indestructability of the Spirit-man and his role in touching God’s chosen with mercy!

“Salt and Light” is God’s “academy awards” not of fiction but the fact of eternal salvation and your participation in it. “Salt and Light” is God shining, unveiling, revealing the birth of immortality for all men if they but repent and put their faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross!

“Salt and Light” may have as its stage appearance the dim but darkening reality of a man’s separation from God, but its second and final drama is reconciliation with God, regenerated by God, and a renewal into God’s eternal intent for your life in Christ!

“Salt and Light” are a modern-day Job’s statement of faith and reason and revelation that “I know that my redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God.” [Job 19:25-26]

“Salt and Light” are the thoughts of eternal “rest”, eternal “restoration,” and eternal “consolation,” that says though earthly life was brief, eternal life in Him is forever!

“Salt and Light” are living hopes beyond the shadows of earthly dreams. “Salt and Light” are abandoned clothes in a casket because of absence from the body is presence with the Lord.

“Salt and Light” has a ring of nobility to it because to be in Christ is to be a part of a new creation that honors, blesses, and praises God and worships the King.

“Salt and Light”, white and bright, are those radiant colors of eternal hope, given to us that does not make us ashamed but continually blessing our Lord and being blessed.

“Salt and Light”, reminders of sins forgiven, the Savior present, the Spirit ruling, and Holy God being praised. “Salt and Light”, the great open door to our eternal home, the gathering of all the saints past, present, and future – and rejoicing in the angelic chorus at the throne of God as we all bow, adore, praise, exalt, and celebrate the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

“Salt and Light” – night and darkness are behind us and day and light ever before us, never diminishing but intensifying in our Lord’s eternal glory. “Salt and Light” – yes, it’s the heavenly language of our Lord and Master who tells us our value and worth is discovered as we look to His cross and resurrection.

“Salt and Light” – Joseph Addison, in “Cato,” [Act V, Sc 1] wrote: “The stars shall fade away, the sun himself grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But YOU shall flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, the wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.” Why? In Christ, through Salt and Light, you have become a part of a new day, a new way, a new heaven, a new life, a new future!

“Salt and Light” – an anonymous author penned these words: “Think of stepping on shore, and finding it Heaven! Of taking hold of a hand, and finding it God’s hand, Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial air, Of feeling invigorated, and finding it immortality, Of passing from storm and tempest to an unbroken calm, Of waking up, and finding it HOME.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“ARE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS BOUND OR BLESSED BY OLD TESTAMENT LAW?”

It was four years ago, 2009, that I had had printed in India my book entitled: “Dangerous Trends From The Denouncers Of Truth.” In that book the thirteenth chapter is entitled: “The Grace of the Law – A Necessary Revival.” I’m including that chapter in this book as another question: “Are New Testament Christians Bound Or Blessed By Old Testament Law?” In Hebrews 2:14-15 the author said: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” And the fear of death is more than, yes, the fear of the devil, but even the fear of the broken law of God! Are you ‘bound up’?

If you’ve ever heard the statement, “We are people no longer under the Law but people under Grace!”, then you need to immediately pause, thoroughly examine the scriptures, and then respond to either the truth or error of that statement. There is a need, especially in America, for a necessary revival – THE GRACE OF THE LAW.

Without the resurrection of the grace of the law in this country, our nation will not survive these decades of decadence and immorality. God will not allow us to do so. Those who “take His name in vain” and bow down to the gods of their depraved flesh “will suddenly be broken and that without remedy.” In Matthew 5:17 Jesus is very clear: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”

The truth is that the law of God is either being fulfilled in you, through the presence of the indwelling Christ, or you find yourself under the Lord’s judgment because you are walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit! In Romans 3:31 Paul asks a vitally important question: “Do we then nullify the Law through faith?” (Then he answers his own question), “on the contrary, we establish the Law.” That word “establish” is translated from the Greek word “his–te–mi”, and means “to make to stand.” Because I’m a disciple of Jesus, I have become one who is to ESTABLISH again the law of God; I am to be one who MAKES TO STAND forever that which God requires; I am to be one who abides ‘in the Law,’ not in order to be saved, but BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN SAVED! Submission to the law of grace or transgression of that Law is the benchmark of either my obedience or my rebellion to Holy God!

In Ezekial 36 a prophetic picture is painted by the Lord. It is a picture, not only of those in Israel, but of the Church of the last days. Read carefully verses 17–31. What is God saying about that new, bold covenant that would see its fulfillment in Christ Jesus? Note especially verses 25–27: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols, (see also Colossians 3:5). Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

There is a new Law now! In Romans 8:2 Paul says it is “the Law of The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.” And then he says that as a result of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, our Lord has done what? He “has set you free from the Law of sin and death.” I grew up singing an old hymn, “Free from the Law, O happy condition!” It was not until later that I finally learned it was not freedom from the Law of God, but freedom from the Law of sin and death! Paul clearly states, in agreement with the previously mentioned words of Jesus, in Romans 8:3, that “[God] condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Jesus issued a strong warning in Matthew 5:18–9: “For truly I say to you, until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall b called great in the kingdom of Heaven.”

There are some who “keep” and don’t “teach.” There are some who “teach” and don’t “keep.” But our Lord says we are to be those who “keep and teach” even the least of the commandments. Sadly, today, our nation, and even our churches, have bought into a teaching that we are “free from the Law of God.” The result has been devastating! The Law of God has become a strange thing. Some church members will even get angry with you when you read the scriptures that the requirement of the Law of God is to be fulfilled in them! Ask me how I know!

In Hosea 8:12, speaking of Israel and prophetically of last days churches, God says: “Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of my law, they are regarded as a strange thing.” In Hosea 4:6–7 God called the nation of Israel to accountability, and He’s doing the same today to “religious America,” the nation that is “supposedly one nation under God.” Listen to what He says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.” Several years ago, my son, Scott, wrote an article entitled The Law of God Today. Let me quote from that article: “We are living in the midst of one of the greatest times of apostasy in the history of the world. Paul warned us in 2 Timothy 3:1 that “in the last days difficult times will come.” He went on to describe these difficult times in the following verses: “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Many teach that this is a description of the condition of the world in general during the last days. If that is true, what is so unusually different about that as compared with any other time in history? Unregenerate men have always lived that way! The tragedy of this passage is that PAUL IS DESCRIBING THE LAST DAYS CHURCH!” And Scott spoke the truth!

As one reads through the Bible, it becomes very clear that God hates sin, in fact, He says, “the wages of sin is death.” But today the church is sending a confusing message to the world. As revelations of sexual immorality in the form of pornography, adultery, and homosexuality among preachers become a common occurrence in the national and local media, the church preaches more loudly than ever “the unconditional forgiveness of God.” The message of the gospel has been lowered to a “bumper–sticker theology” that says, “Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven,” and so they keep on sinning.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been neatly packaged into “Madison Avenue” slogans and phrases to make it more palatable to the masses, the goal being to present the “good news of God’s forgiveness” in a ”positive” non–offensive manner. All reference to man’s absolute depravity and his status before God as a sinner condemned to death apart from repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus alone, is completely ignored, and even labeled as harsh and unloving. A man like Robert Schuller can make the following statement and still be recognized as one of the leading evangelical ministers in the entire world! “I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counter–productive to the evangelism enterprise than the often CRUDE, UNCOUTH, AND UNCHRISTIAN STRATEGY OF ATTEMPTING TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THEIR LOST AND SINFUL CONDITION.”

It is not crude, uncouth, and unchristian to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition! It is not crude, uncouth, and unchristian to make the church aware of sin that leads to death! I guess Schuller doesn’t appreciate Jesus saying that if He hadn’t come they wouldn’t have known their sin! They have forgotten what James said – or they make light of it and say it doesn’t really say what it says. But it does! James 5:19–20, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.”

Please hear me, the grace of God, the marvelous, matchless grace of God is not an excuse for sin. Grace is not licentiousness but liberty. Grace is not a frivolous teaching allowing you to flirt, court, or get into bed with any sin your heart desires. But grace is that fiery teaching of liberation and freedom emancipating you to “live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.” (Titus 2:12). In I Timothy 1:5, Paul tells Timothy: “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” And that’s God’s desire for His people. Notice Three Things:

First, LOVE FROM A PURE HEART.

Look at Psalm 24:3–5, “Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Living in the presence of Almighty God is conditional!

In Isaiah 59:1–2 the Lord specifies the consequence of sin upon our relationship with Him: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” But remember that Ezekial 36:26 reveals God’s provision for His people – “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you.” And what was the evidence of a new heart and spirit? “By My Spirit, you’ll keep the Law in your heart!” In fact, Galatians 5:14 says, “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

There is no pure heart apart from a new heart. In the New Testament the same message is born out in I John 2:3–6, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him, the one who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same manner as He walked.” And how did Jesus walk? He walked in heart purity! He fulfilled, established, made to stand, the Law of God.

Second, A GOOD CONSCIENCE. The Word has much to say about conscience. In I Corinthians 8:7 Paul issues a warning about conscience, “a conscience being weak is defiled.” That is why Paul challenged Timothy in I Timothy 1:19, to maintain a good conscience. In I Timothy 3:9, he again challenged his spiritual son to hold “to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” And I assure you that the mystery of godliness is not being held onto in a lifestyle of law–breaking!

In I Timothy 4:2 Paul speaks of men who “by means of hypocrisy of liars seared in their own consciences as with a branding iron.” A seared conscience? There is no doubt what it is, it is those who violate the Law of God and feel no qualms about it – outside the church and within it, sometimes even in the pulpit! But there is hope! Hebrews 9:14 says, “how much more will the blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The prophet asked, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” In Luke 6:46 Jesus asks, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ yet do not do what I say?”

Third, A SINCERE FAITH. Does that mean there can be an insincere faith? Of course it does! But what is a sincere faith? Romans 3:31, once again, “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law [of God]!” Do you understand that? An insincere faith? In I Timothy 6:3 Paul describes it as “anyone who advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness.” A question – did the Lord Jesus set aside the Law of God or did He intensify its demands? I read a review of a supposedly “Christian” book in an India newspaper by a doctor of theology there. There was a quote from his book that said, “Jesus hated the Old Testament Law.” I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was another confirmation of what the prophet Jeremiah called “the lying pen of the Scribes.”

In I Timothy 1:8–11, Paul instructs us in the purpose and proper use of God’s Law. He says: “But we know that the Law is good if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

Look carefully – “realize the fact that the law is not made for a righteous man.” A righteous man? I John 3:7 says, “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” There is by the grace of God an imputed, credited, declared righteousness through our faith in Christ that is real! But the deeper truth is, that imputed, credited, declared righteousness becomes the consuming passion of a man’s life, he’s not a play–actor (hypocrite), but a participant in the fullness of Christ’s indwelling Life. A “righteous man” is one who has been swallowed up by Life – one who has been clothed with His dwelling from Heaven. That’s Jesus, who fulfills the Law! And the man “in Christ” is the man indwelt by and overflowing with the spirit and attitude of Jesus, “I do always those things that please My Father.”

There are many who say, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior,” but it’s a matter of the head and lips, but not of the heart; it’s a matter of culture and convenience not commitment and consecration; and it’s often a matter of family tradition not a living, life–changing, vibrant, all–consuming passion and faith! In Matthew 7:21–23 Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of the Father Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Listen with your heart to Romans 6:19 if you are a Law of God violator! “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For first as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in your sanctification.”

I wonder why these verses are seldom read in many churches today? Look at the warning from John found in I John 3:4, “Everyone who practices sin also practices ; and sin is lawlessness!”

To practice lawlessness brings a curse and separation from God! Paul tells us in Galatians 3:13 that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Not though, REDEMPTION IS FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, NOT THE REQUIREMENT OF THE LAW! Galatians 3:14 continues, stating that through Christ we “receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The Spirit? The promise of the Spirit? Through faith? In Acts 5:32 the Word emphatically states who can receive the Spirit of God: “And we are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Look at Abram – he’s a pagan living in Ur of the Chaldees. He’s called out, chosen by God, and found faithful. His name is changed. The “AH” out of YAHWEH is added to signify his relationship with Almighty God. His life is changed, he receives the promise of the Spirit, and lives a life of obedience and submission to God. In Galatians 3:17 Paul says, “What I am saying is this: The law, which came 430 years later…” Why 430 years

later?

Because there was that long and unusual period in the history of God’s people when they walked in faith and obedience. It was not true in man’s early history! Genesis 6:5–6 says of the generation that was destroyed bt the flood, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually; and the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart!” There’s the flood and a Noah. Then in the sovereignty of God, He looks to Ur of the Chaldees, to pagan Abram, and raises him up to bless him and to make his name great and to bless through Abram all the families of the earth! For 430 years there is a new spirit and attitude in the hearts of men toward Holy God! Then comes the Law! Why? Galatians 4:19 asks and answers the question: “Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator until the seed should come to whom the promises have been made.”

Look to Galatians 3:21, “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be!” Now please look back to I Timothy 1:8. It is highly critical for your understanding, and mine. “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.” How does one use the law of God lawfully? Whenever there is lawlessness and rebelliousness, the law of God must be upheld. Whenever there is a compromise with the unholy and the profane, you must uphold the law of God. Whenever there is immorality and sexual perversions, the law of God must be upheld. Why? The Law leads us to Christ! In Galatians 3:24 Paul says, “Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.”

I want to quote again from Scott’s article “The Law of God Today.” “Jeremiah prophesied of the New Covenant that would be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jeremiah 31:33, h said, “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it.” In Hebrews 10:15–16, after stating that the Holy Spirit bears witness to us, Jeremiah 31:33 is quoted as applying to us, “I will put My law upon their heart.” In Psalm 40, a Messianic Psalm, Jesus says in verses 7 and 8, “Then I said, Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Your will, O My god; Your law is within My heart.”

The New Covenant that we have in Jesus Christ leaves no room for lawlessness; instead; the promise we have is that He will give us A NEW HEART, a heart that DESIRES TO DO HIS WILL. In Ezekial 36:26–27, we are told, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.”

Rather than resisting the true nature and character of God by justifying our rebellion, we are to have a heart like David, who said in Psalm 119:97, “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

Israel had a law written on tablets of stone that God said was not too difficult for them to keep. We have the law of God written upon the tablets of our hearts and the Holy Spirit living within us to cause us to desire to do His will; that is why the writer of Hebrews warns us in Hebrews 2:3, after reminding us that every transgression and disobedience by Israel received a just recompense, ‘how shall we escape (judgment) if we neglect so great a salvation? We are without excuse!”

THE GRACE OF THE LAW – A NECESSARY REVIVAL BECAUSE:

Number one: MEN DON”T KNOW THEY ARE SINNERS!

There must be the necessary revival of the Grace of the Law because there are multitudes in sin and they don’t even know they’re sinners in danger of the eternal judgment of God! There was a French evangelist who said on an occasion of a deep burden over the lostness of man to a friend: “Oh, I wish I could find a sinner; I’ve got such good news to tell him.” The friend responded: “Find a sinner? Why, the world is filled with them.” And the evangelist answered: “I know, but it’s one thing to be a sinner and quite another to know it!”

Listen to Paul in Romans 7:7–12, “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the law; for I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment producing in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the law sin is dead. And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died; and this commandment which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me. For sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good!” Examine Romans 3:20b,

“For through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Isn’t it convenient that our nation’s courts have seen fit to remove the Law of God from hanging on the walls of courts and schools? Do you realize how rampant the violation of the Law of God is across the world today? And there must be a “voice raised in the wilderness declaring – Make His paths straight!”

*“The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23

*“Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:23

* “I have seen a violent, wicked man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found. Transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.” Psalm 37:35–36, 38.

*”Zion will be redeemed with justice, and her repentant ones with righteousness: But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, and those who forsake the Lord shall come to an end.” Isaiah 1:27–28.

* “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15. That’s not a good thing!

The Grace of the Law!

Number Two, MANY CHURCH MEMBERS HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THEY ARE NO LONGER ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR SIN.

There must be a necessary revival of the Grace of the Law because there are multitudes of churches filled with many people who truly believe they are no longer accountable to the Law of God, and even feel they are free to continue in sin because they believe they couldn’t do otherwise until they get to heaven! Yet, that is not the testimony of scripture or the truth of Christ’s triumphant victory over sin at Calvary! To the woman taken in adultery before Jesus, after her accusers left, said to her after forgiving her sin, “Go and sin no more.” That was also Paul’s challenge to the church at Corinth. In I Corinthians 15:34 he said, “Become sober–minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame.” I pray that as a disciple of the Lord that you will be mastered by the truth of Romans 6:12–22. It is truly one of the most liberating passages in all the Word of God. Remember Jesus’ words in John 8:32, “and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!”

Look with me at several verses from Romans 6:12–22:

*6:12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts.”

*6:14, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law (of sin and death), but under grace!”

*6:18, “and having been freed from sin, you became servants of righteousness.”

*6:22, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit (grace, the Word, the Spirit) resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” (Read also Romans 8:12–14!)

In I Peter 4:17–18 the Word declares that “it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved (and it is), what will become of the godless man and the sinner.”

A number of years ago, I was pastoring Highlands Baptist Church in Ocala Florida. On a Sunday morning there was a handsome, striking couple that visited our fellowship. They signed a visitor’s card indicating they lived in the apartment complex across the street from the church. As usual, I visited all visitors the following week. I was not prepared for what I learned. This man had been a well–known pianist for churches and quartet ministries across the U.S. and Canada. I learned that the woman was not his wife, but that they had met and “fallen in love.” He left his wife; she left her husband and children. He informed me that before they made their final decision to break up two families they sought the counsel of “leading pastors” in the U.S. and Canada, and had been encouraged to “follow your hearts.” I was stunned! I paused! Then I excused myself, but asked the man to come by my office. The next morning he came. And with smiles on his face he asked me, “Well, Pastor, what do you think?” I didn’t have to think! I pointed the “finger of God” in his face and said, “Sir, you are an adulterer. I don’t care what your ‘leading pastors’ had to say, you are a lawbreaker. If I believed what you and those pastors believed, I’d close my Bible, close the doors of this church, and tell all the people to go home – it’s all a lie. But it’s not, and unless you and that woman repent you are both going to Hell along with those false prophets who counseled your rebellion to the Law of God. And, sir, until you repent, you are not welcome in this church.” I then walked out the church door and left him standing in the foyer in shock and dismay. He never came back. But a year later, 2a.m. in the morning, I got a long distance telephone call. There was a man on the other end weeping. He gave his name. It was the adulterous gospel piano player. He said, “Farrell, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You were the only man to tell me the truth. By the Word and the Spirit and your testimony, I finally saw the truth. I was convicted. I repented. The relationship was broken off, and by the mercy and grace of God my marriage has been restored. My wife and I would like to come to Ocala and tell what God did in our marriage. He’s even given us a ministry to hurting couples and troubled marriages.” He came – and we were blessed! I later saw him on national television playing the gospel of Christ piano and music with the countenance of Christ all over him!

Number Three, THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE. There must be the necessary revival of the Grace of the Law because this nation has lost sight of the “divine intent” of truly being one nation under God. Proverbs 14:34 states: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”

Abimelech, king of Gerar, asked an interesting question in Genesis 20:4, “Lord, will You slay a nation?” He has in history, and He will also do so to our nation, unless our nation repents and returns to righteousness!

Deuteronomy 32:28 describes our nation today, “For they are a nation lacking in counsel, and there is no understanding in them.” Verse 29 says, “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they (as a nation) would consider their latter end or discern their future.” Listen to David in Psalm 9:15–20, “The nations have sunk down in the pit, which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. The wicked will return to Sheol, even all the nations who forget God. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged before You. Put them in fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are but men.”

In Isaiah 1:4, the Lord prophesies to Israel of their decline, and it is so applicable to America today, “Alas, sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons, who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord! They have despised the Holy One of Israel! They have turned away from Him!” Bill Bennett, former secretary of education and drug czar has written a book entitled “The Devaluing of America.” It should be read by every school board member in America. At one of the Republican conventions he made this statement, “There is a FRAYING of the social fabric of this great nation!” That’s true, but more than that, there is a fraying of the spiritual fabric of this once great nation! The garment of faith and obedience to Almighty God is being rent in twain from top to bottom! How does it happen?

Study Psalm 2. Look carefully at the first two verses! “Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed.” Then in verses 8–12, look at the end result of that! Don’t miss it! “Ask of Me and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now, therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

The Lord said to Samuel (I Samuel 8:7), “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” We saw in the beginning of this third theme how (Proverbs 14:34) “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Let God bring conviction to you over the spiritual condition of our nation – and let’s pray together for genuine revival!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“ARE TEENAGERS, YOUTH, UNMARRIED YOUNG ADULTS FREE FOR ROMANTIC SLEEPOVERS?”

Again, when my Sue and I were in Park City, Utah, for about 12 days, August 3-August 15, 2013, I read another “USA Today” newspaper with an article entitled: “Let Teenagers Have Their Romantic Sleepovers,” with a picture of Angelina Jolie in 2001 with her mother, Marcheline Bertrand. It stated that when Angelina Jolie was 14 years of age, her boyfriend had been allowed to move in.

The article was written by Amanda Marcotte. She wrote: “While state education boards across the country are still embroiled in a debate over whether to even accept the realities of sex before marriage, in the real world, widespread acceptance of premarital sex and cohabitation has opened up a debate about whether parents who still have kids in the house should let them have romantic sleepovers or even let boyfriends or girlfriends move in…In 2011, Angelina Jolie shocked her fans with the news that she had lived with her boyfriend when she was 14, and that she planned to be just as liberal in the living arrangement department as her mother was. When the shock wore off, two years later, Henry Alford in “The New York Times” opened up the possibility that such a move might even be the smart one for parents and kids. It might even improve relationships between them.”

Amanda Marcotte then spoke of these “trends” as that which, she believed, was “reflective of a larger shift in American life,” which is true because the larger shift is a greater disgust of the Law and Word of Holy God. “Let’s take the Ten Commandments off the walls of our legal centers, schools, homes, and, yes, even churches – we just might offend somebody!”

Amanda Marcotte wrote: “The old-school parental claim that their offspring should never have premarital sex under their roof is yielding to a more accepting attitude about their growing and grown children’s sexuality.”

“The real world”? Yes! Enemies of God and His Truth, enemies of holiness and righteousness, enemies of the call to pure hearts and cleansed souls, enemies of anything or anyone that suggests we have a call from God to obey His Word, enemies of anyone who challenges sexual immorality is an offense against Lord God Almighty and a violation of His covenant-law and even His covenant-grace!

We live in a time period of American history of “misplaced, lost, and buried shame”! Shame over known-sin has been shed just as shame over lust, license, and the dark moments of adultery and fornication have been denied! It’s as if a former ‘stable society’ has given over to lawless claims of liberty and freedom to do as one pleases failing to recognize spiritual anarchy!

I do want you to know that I believe there is a time, there is a place, there is a ‘line’ that can be crossed – and when it’s crossed, Holy God will shut that door of opportunity to turn to Him – and judgment is birthed! Adultery, abortion, and, yes, animosity toward the God of Calvary’s love – and they shake their fists in defiance of God and His Word – and turn inward on themselves to satisfy their shameless lusts!

Do you remember Judges 17:6? “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Isn’t that true for a significant number of American citizens including many youth in our culture? And a word of warning from God’s Holy Word is essential here and now! Proverbs 17:15 says, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.”

Are you aware of how much justification of wickedness goes on in America today? Yes, even in the White House and presidential quarters day after day after day – and there will come a time when they stand before Holy God to give an account of their words, their deeds, their actions that shame His Word, His gracious deeds, and His atoning actions!

And promiscuous young people today? In “Aurora Leigh” Elizabeth Barrettt Browning wrote: “I felt so young, so strong, so sure of God,” but many youth have said by word and deed, “I feel so free to do as I please, really, so weak morally, but I’m a believer,” and deceive themselves in a licentious fashion indulging their fallen flesh to express their independence, believing they are unrestrained by God or His Word, by parents, by their school leaders or teachers, and they become loose in thinking and deeds when in reality they strap themselves tighter and tighter in fleshly and demonic bondage.

In Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1,13-14 we read: “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity. Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’ Verses 13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ‘Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

I want you to grasp, young people, that liberty in Christ is not a license to Sin! There are those who will excuse your sin, give you false feelings of assurance as you sin, and even take advantage of you in participating in your sin. But neither in them or you yourself is there any genuine spiritual life at all if you bow before the American idol of sexual immorality!

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus speaks: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practices lawlessness.’”

John Piper wrote: [“A Godward Life,” p.256], “the evidence of being savingly known by Jesus is to be an evildoer no longer, that is, to have righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. Religious zeal and even miracle working do not prove a new heart of love.”

Do you ‘profess’ a marriage to Christ or look forward to a wedding to come? I think about those youth, the collegians, young adults, who have been ‘reared’ with no holy revelation, or of youth who’ve had great moms and dads, but are totally untethered to anything that godly parents taught them – oh, but they do ‘profess’ Jesus as they “call their own shots,” “determine their own way, deny discipleship demands, and even say, “I acknowledge You, Lord, but when it comes to sexual preferences, I’ll do as I please.”

But look at Matthew 22:2 and verses 10-14! “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.” Verses 10-14, “So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Are you unaware of the lack of holy wedding garments in one’s marriage to Christ? Wedding garments? Wedding garments in the spiritual, heavenly realm? No heavenly wedding garments – no marriage to Christ! Have you, young people, overlooked Titus 2:14? “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

I don’t hesitate in saying to youth and to adults that broken vows of honoring Christ through illicit, immoral sex-capades, deface and defame the precious picture of a Savior who washes our sins as white as snow! And forgiveness IS granted through the shed blood of our Lord, IF we accept His Word, “Go, and sin no more!”

Why was God’s law given? Romans 3:20 says, “…for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” And by the Cross and the shed blood of the Lamb of God the guilt of sin is washed away! Paul went on to say in Romans 3:21-26, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God sent forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Faith in Jesus is not a license to continue in sin, but liberty from the very power of it! And a young person who has embraced sexually immoral behavior, longing to be free of its curse and condemnation, repents and keeps on repenting, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of his/her faith, and establishes, not impure, but pure relationships with one of the opposite sex.

I don’t have to tell you that there are always consequences to broken laws of God, consequences to broken precepts of holy living before the Lord, and scars that often remain like a bad dream you can never forget. And the devil will surely remind you of what he believes is your unworthiness to receive God’s forgiveness. But it’s there, and there forever!

God is a good and gracious parent. In Hebrews 12:6 we read, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

That’s not ‘jail-cell’ confinement imprisoning you as punishment, but an act of heavenly correction. In Hebrews 12:10-11, we learn what His conscientious purpose and plan is: “For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Young people, ‘painful’ correction or discipline spiritually is a high and holy calling AND ‘privilege’ but Jesus said in John 12:26, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me,” and the attitude of our Lord concerning Father-God? In John 8:29 Jesus said: “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, FOR I ALWAYS DO THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM.” What a calling! What a mission for your life, young person! What holy privilege – “don’t cast your pearls before swine!”

There is no blessing in a scheme of law of God rejection or a personal pursuit of satisfaction of sexual tendencies that declares one guilty of breaking, defiling Holy Law in the pursuit of self-satisfaction of one’s “glands”! Again, John Piper wrote: [“A Godward Life,” p.119], “If you love God’s good gift of sexuality, take a stand for treating it like precious gems rather than common gravel. Guard it in the velvet-lined safe of steel commitment. Don’t strew it on the street or in the press.”

I pray that every young person in America would memorize Psalm 1! I believe a huge youthful transformation would occur concerning their response to youthful sexual immorality. Psalm 1 says: “Blessed is the man [the young person] who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

But I also believe that as Timothy, young Timothy, received counsel from his spiritual elder, Paul, if young people today would receive Paul’s words, a deepening of true faith would occur and a great respect for honoring God with the bodies would become a holy, heavenly reality! In 2 Timothy 2:19-22 Paul wrote:

“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

I want you to know, young person, that it is God’s desire, His heart and passion, to redeem young men and young women but it is not His intent to celebrate your depraved decisions that satisfy your lusts and clashes with His Truth!

In James 3:13-17 the brother of Jesus wrote: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

John saw the “holy city,” the “New Jerusalem” in a vision in Revelation 21. And God spoke to him in verses 7-8 saying: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 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.”

Hear Jesus, young people – don’t turn a deaf ear to our Loving Savior and Lord! In Revelation 22:12-19 Jesus said: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Do you remember Joseph, the youngster, who honored God? In Genesis 39:1-9 there is an awesome example for youth today!! It says: “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and he served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had put under his authority. So it was, from the time he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

I want to share a word from Josh McDowell from his book, “Beyond Belief To Convictions.” He said: [p.166], “God is so passionate about his relationship with us and our kids that he has personally – and miraculously – provided the inspiration of his word, supervised its transmission, and repeatedly reinforced its reliability so that all those who have open eyes and open hearts may believe it with assurance and conviction. Nations may have rejected it, tyrants may have tried to stamp it out, heretics may have tried to distort it, but the evidence of the Bible’s reliability is sufficient to assure us and our kids that it has remained a true reflection of reality – of who God is – and that it is “stronger and more permanent than heaven and earth,” [Luke 16:17]. Moreover, an examination of how God has meticulously and miraculously protected the integrity of His Word will impress us and move us with the depth of God’s love for us and His faithfulness toward us.”

Oh, youth, young people, those caught in a cruel trap of self-indulgence and sensual, sexual ‘pleasure’ – it is out of the very pit of hell to steal from you marriages; greatest gift for a husband or a wife – the gift of sexual pleasure untainted but celebrated on a wedding night and for untold years to come! Oh, understand it, grasp it, hold out for it – the gift of purity, saved for your wife, saved for your husband!

In sexual relationships there is a high mountain of the very glory of God in your marriage, where the armies of Satan celebrate and get their “fix” in every diabolical sexual perversion! If you’re there, you are “feeding” the demons! And most youth have never been told they “entertain” demons unaware!!

Has the ‘voice’ of shame deceived you, blinded you, deafened you? Has a fallen society so corrupted you that you cannot begin to hear God’s passionate voice about fighting the fight of faith? Has even a divided, deceived church community ‘brain-washed’ you that pre-marital sex is no big deal? Are ‘common-place’ professors violating you with ‘uncommon,’ ‘evil,’ ‘fleshly’ thoughts about what’s normal to them – immoral, perverted lifestyles?

Too many youth are garrisoned by the godless and consider they’re OK to do and be what their fatalistic friends do and are! Too many youth are entrenched in the norm of a fallen society producing in them a spiritual stagnation, refusing to even LOOK God’s Way! Too many youth are “comfortable” with a Christless crowd where their dispositions become boxed in to immoral living, sexual perversions, illicit activities, so guiltily playing “the fool” with their souls.

Oh, youth, “you must be born again”! Of, youth, “you must be born of the water of God’s Word and born of His Holy Spirit”! Oh, youth, Jesus loves you and wants YOU to be His Bride! Oh, youth, Jesus must increase and you must decrease! Oh, youth, recognize that you were crucified with Christ, yes, YOU, 2000 years ago! Your old sin man died on the Cross with your Lord and Savior! There’s forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation, renewal, residency with your life His home on earth!

What does Isaiah 45:22-25 tell us, young people? “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come. And all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.” How does: “shall be justified and shall glory” sound to you?

I do care about where you’ve been by the choices you’ve made and what you’ve done by the choices you’ve made because there are consequences, yes, good and bad – but more importantly the Word tells me, yes, that God Himself is so pleased when one youth turns to Him!

In Acts 26:12-19 receive the testimony of Paul! “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith.’ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.”

Oswald Chambers wrote in his “My Utmost For His Highest” valuable words for the understanding of every young person. He said: “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Our Lord said, in effect, to Paul – Your whole life is to be overmastered by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine. I HAVE CHOSEN YOU!!”…When we are born again we all have visions, if we are spiritual at all, of what Jesus wants us to be, and the great thing is to learn not to be disobedient to the vision, not to say that it cannot be attained. It is not sufficient to know that God has redeemed the world, and to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did effectual in me; I must have the basis of a personal relationship to Him. Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim, he was brought into a vivid, personal, overmastering relationship to Jesus Christ. Verse 16 is immensely commanding – “to make YOU a minister and a witness.” There is nothing there apart from the personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person not a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ’s, he saw nothing else, he lived for nothing else. “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

What about you, young lady? What about you, young man? To Whom or to what do you belong?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“HOW WILL YOU PLEAD?”

Have you ever witnessed a court-room scene when someone is being arraigned for a crime and the judge asks, “Mr. So & So, HOW DO YOU PLEAD?” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says of “arraign”: “To call or set a prisoner at the bar of a court, to answer the matter charged against him in a indictment or information. When called, the indictment is read to him and he is to plead guilty or not guilty and to elect by whom he will be tried.”

Before the judgment bar of Holy God, how will YOU plead? Before the judgment bar of Holy God, who do you choose to be your advocate? Before the judgment bar of Holy God, what’s the case you lay out before Holy God? Think about it! Why?

In Romans 2:1-3 Paul wrote: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Paul said to the Corinthian congregation in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter had a challenging word to every man. In I Peter 4:14-19 he wrote: “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

Oh, I do like what Anthony Hoekema wrote in his book, “The Bible And The Future,” [Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Eerdman’s Publ. Co., 1979, p.259], “The failures and shortcomings…of believers…will enter into the picture on the Day of Judgment. But – and this is the important point – the sins and shortcomings of believers will be revealed in the judgment as forgiven sins, whose guilt has been totally covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

And I know this is why David wrote in Psalms 19:9-10, “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

But pity and pray for those who see the finger of God writing over their judgment page the word “TEKEL”, [Daniel 5:27], “You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.”

When I married my wife, Sue, she was of the Methodist persuasion, and still is! There’s an old Methodist hymn with these words: “Are you ready? Are you ready? Ready for the Judgment Day? When the saints and sinners shall be parted right and left – Are you ready for the Judgment Day?”

And do you remember Julia Ward Howe’s words in the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”? “He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat, He is sifting out the hearts of men before His Judgment Seat”? Oh, think about it! Press in to it! Have you heard the arguments?

ONE, “I’M A RELIGIOUS MAN”!! But I’m not ashamed to bust that bubble that that man based his life upon because ‘religion’ has never “REDEEMED” any man! Do you really differentiate between ‘religion’ and what Jesus said, “You MUST BE BORN AGAIN, born of the water of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit”?

Religion began in the Garden of Eden! Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; AND THEY SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER (“FIG-LEAF RELIGION”) AND MADE THEMSELVES COVERINGS.”

That’s man-made creations! That’s religious invention that has no intention of being reconciled to God God’s Way! From “Confusionism’ to Hinduism to Islam-ism, that’s men’s intent on doing their own thing in their own way, deciding for themselves what makes them look good before a ‘god’ they claim to know.

Religion has been confronted by Christ as empty of redeeming merit! Do you remember Nicodemus, a religious man, a spiritual guru of Judaism? We read about him in John 3:3-11!! Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what we know and testify what we have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.”

Do you remember Paul before King Agrippa because of the Jews’ condemnation of him after his conversion to Christ? In Acts 26:5 we read, “They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our RELIGION I lived a Pharisee.”

But was he “saved,” was he “redeemed,” was Paul at that time, under Pharisaical religion saved? NO!! I remember Major Ian Thomas of England speak of those who are “awakened souls, but unregenerate in spirit.” SO TRUE!

Religion may awaken a soul to some form of conscience but it cannot transform into a “new creation.” Religion may excite with mandates of some shades of truth but it doesn’t, hasn’t, and never will lead to DIVINE TRUTHY except by the shocking awareness of religion’s EMPTINESS! Have you heard it?

TWO, “I LIVE BY THE GOLDEN RULE.” Do you realize how that flies in the face of God?

If the “golden rule” is redemptive, then why did God decree “the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world”? If the “golden rule” is regenerative, then why the Cross of Christ? If the “golden rule” SAVES, then why did the SAVIOR SUFFER? If man’s initiative transforms, then why the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? If you’ve determined that all you need is to live by the “golden rule,” then you’re the goose that is about to be cooked because all you can lay are brass eggs, trying to pass off as “golden,” when it’s only “fools’ gold.”

Golden rule mentality, spiritual mentality on your terms, is ‘self-determination,’ and “my best efforts ought to be acceptable even if God chooses the death of His Son.” BUT LISTEN: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 tells us: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…that is, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to ud the WORD OF RECONCILIATION.”

THREE, “I’VE DETERMINED I AM A RIGHTEOUS MAN.”

That’s man’s unsound declaration revealing how far he is from Holy God! What does God say? “…ALL (ARE) LIKE AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL (THEIR) RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE LIKE FILTHY RAGS…” [Isaiah 64:6].

Do you remember how that happened? Genesis 2:16-17 says, “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”

The trees of the garden of which we may freely eat? “The tree of life!!” That is Living By The Life of Another [Jesus Christ], that is Living In And Through God’s Life, That is Partaking of the Fruit of Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope!

But the “Good Old Boys” Network ‘measures themselves by themselves,’ and partakes of the fruit of “good and evil.”

Here’s the “shocker,” my friends: Holy God took your best and your worst, BOTH, and judged them worthy only of the Cross! In Christ Jesus God crucified your best AND your worst! “I am crucified with Christ!”

Two thousand years ago Holy God hung you on the Cross with Christ: your goodness was judged worthy of death – your evilness was judged worthy of death! And you ‘think’ you have something to offer to God? So, when you stand before the Court of God, how will you plead? Who is your advocate? What will be your defense?

“I’m a religious man”? “I’ve lived by the Golden Rule”? or “I’ve determined, God, whether You like it or not, I’m a righteous man”?

But there is another option, another life choice, another Way…it’s called the Way of love, grace, and mercy, in and through the sacrifice of Christ in YOUR behalf! And consider this: If you were the only person who ever lived, what Jesus did for the whole lost and dying world, He would have done what He did just for YOU!!**

“My faith has found a resting place – not in device or creed! I trust the ever LIVING ONE – HIS WOUNDS FOR ME SHALL PLEAD… I need no other argument, I need no other plea; It is enough that Jesus died, and that HE DIED FOR ME.”

Your life, its foundation, is built on either selfish gratification or on Sovereign Grace. “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? AMAZING LOVE! HOW CAN IT BE, THAT THOU, MY GOD, SHOULD DIE FOR ME?”

You’re familiar with I Corinthians 11 where Paul talked about the Lord’s Supper. In verse 28 he said, “But let a man EXAMINE HIMSELF, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

This IS examination time, encounter time, entreaty time. It’s “TERROR OF THE LORD” TIME or “TRIUMPHANT MERCY, LOVE, AND GRACE TIME.” This is “pump my flesh time” or “falling on the Rock of Jesus time” This is “self-measurement time” or “Sovereign mercy time.” This is “grit time” or “marvelous grace time” from our loving Lord.

This is the “mountain top of self-approval time” or the “fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins time”. This is “boastfulness and willfulness of self time” or the “bread and wine time” of God’s redemptive plan. This is the self-written “book of accomplishment time” or the “Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine time”!

Are you familiar with the old hymn entitled “At Calvary”? “Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died, AT CALVARY…Mercy there was great and grace was free, Pardon there was multiplied to me…There my burdened soul found liberty AT CALVARY.” Have you been there?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“WHEN GOD SPEAKS?”

It happened many years ago when I was pastoring a church in a southern city in the U.S.A. I was sitting in my church office intent in preparation both in the Word and in prayer for the coming Sunday services. All of a sudden, I sensed a strong and powerful “Voice.” “Your friend, [I’ll leave him unnamed] is involved in an adulterous affair. Go tell him to repent or I’ll strike him dead.” I was stunned! (“What was that? Who was that? It wouldn’t be God. My friend is happily married. My friend is in church every Sunday. My friend is so hospitable to me and my wife. My friend is a successful businessman.”) That sure was strange – and I shut it down.

Three months later it broke wide open. It was true. A relationship had been going on for three years with a ‘lady’ (?) in the church unknown to no one, we thought, but later we learned from a few of our church youth they had known and had been following the couple to their ‘hidden’ rendezvous. The man’s marriage was rescued. The woman walked away from her husband and children.

Was it God speaking and I couldn’t hear? I believe it was without a doubt! Jack Deere, in his book “Surprised By The Voice of God,” [p.20], wrote: “The God of the Bible reveals much more to us than the sins of others. He speaks about many things. Sometimes we fail to hear Him because He says more than we want to hear. Sometimes we fail to hear Him because we are ignorant of the varied ways in which He chooses to speak to us. And sometimes we fail to hear Him because His voice is drowned out by competing voices that masquerade as God’s voice, throwing us into confusion.

Listen to the Word of God!! His voice is on every page: In Jeremiah 7:23-24,26, we read: “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. Verse 26, Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.” It didn’t get any better at this time for God’s people!

Jeremiah 11:10 says, “They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who REFUSED TO HEAR MY WORDS, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

So God asked a question! Jeremiah 23:18, “For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?” And here comes a challenging, convicting, mind-clearing, and will-engineering word that should shake you to the core!! Jeremiah 25:4 says: “And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.”

Did it say, “rising early and sending them”? Was that early a.m., early morning, early in their pilgrimage, or was it that God, early on, “read their mail,” “watched their reluctance early in their journey to submit themselves to Him,” or God foreseeing, after their choices of deafness to His voice, the perception of their falling away?

In Matthew 10 Jesus had just sent out His twelve disciples, and in verse 27 He said: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.” He had just said in verse 26, “…and there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and HIDDEN THAT WILL NOT BE KNOWN.” [HOW’S YOUR FEAR OF GOD DOING?].

Paul was giving his defense in Acts 22 after the commander was about to arrest him – and he told of Ananias coming to him, sent by the Lord. In verse 14, Ananias said to him, “The God of our fathers has chosen you that YOU SHOULD KNOW HIS WILL, AND SEE THE JUST ONE, AND HEAR THE VOICE OF HIS MOUTH.”

If you’ve ever been under my preaching ministry at all, I know you’ve heard me preaching over and over again: “God is no respecter of persons. What He’s done for Moses, Paul, David, John, He’ll do for you.” And that includes conversational language concerning His good, acceptable, and perfect will for your life!

And God is still speaking as He did to Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or James because His love for us is as great as it was for them. Our Lord is still speaking because of the intensity and overflow of His heart, purposes, plans, and missions because they are as great or greater now than they were then.

He’s still speaking because HE WANTS US TO HEAR HIS VOICE in order to know Him more perfectly, maturely, and intimately.

He’s still speaking because, like a little child with a loving father, He wants to build our confidence and assurance as to our Holy Family Heritage.

He’s still speaking because like a small ship in a big ocean we need the ‘Heavenly Stars of His Priceless Words” to give direction to our lives!

I picked up Larry Lea’s book “The Hearing Ear” a few years ago. I finally started to read it recently! I was overjoyed by what I read. In the “Preface,” Lea said: “Most of us can point to some specific time and say, ‘That was the turning-point in my life.’…I certainly can… (Lea said:), When I think of my turning point, I remember that day back in 1968 when, for the first time in my life, I heard the voice of God… I was 17 years old and I had lost my mind. Locked inside the psychiatric ward of Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas, I spent most of the time lying on my bed in a drugged stupor with my eyes rolled back in my head. I thought that the lady who cleaned my room was my mother and that the patient across the hall was the doctor…

But one day the horrible mental fog around my brain cleared just long enough for a shining ray of hope to penetrate my senses. Falling to my knees, I prayed the only prayer I knew how to pray. Pleading, weeping, I cried out to God, over and over I sobbed out His name: ‘Jesus! Jesus! Oh, merciful Jesus!…

Suddenly, I heard a voice speak in my spirit: ‘Now, you are My son. You will take My message to this generation. You will be My mouth and My minister.’ Then the voice told me I could get up and go home…In less than a week, I walked out of that hospital, and I’ve sought to walk by that same still, small voice ever since.” [THANK YOU, LARRY LEA!!].

Over and over again in the Word, it says: “He who has ears, let him hear!!” NOW, LISTEN TO JESUS!! In John 8:42-47 Jesus said: “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 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 in 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. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God, HEARS GOD’S WORDS; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Isn’t it amazing that what some call “dumb sheep” Jesus talks about them “hearing His voice”! In John 10:3-5 Jesus said, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Oh, and then Jesus said in verse 16: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

I tell you, Jesus HAS SPOKEN TO YOU whether you’ve heard and responded to His voice or not! He SPEAKS – you should listen! Then, in John 10:27-18 Jesus continued: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

So…what is this really all about “When God Speaks?”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS THE VOICE OF FRIENDSHIP AFFIRMATION! In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron had just spoken against Moses, and God showed up!! Numbers 12:6-8 says, Then God said, HEAR NOW MY WORDS: ‘If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream… Not so, with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house -…I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings, and he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?’”

We see in Exodus 33:11, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” There’s an old hymn entitled “Day By Day.” It says: “Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find, to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for weary or for fear. He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what He deems best – Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest…Every day, the Lord Himself is near me, With a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me, He Whose Name is Counselor and Power; The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid; “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” This is the pledge to me He made.”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS THE VOICE OF INSTRUCTION:

I want you to come to Deuteronomy 4:10-12, 33, 35-36, and verse 39: The Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children. Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice…Verse 33, “Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?…Verses 35-36 “To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.” …Verse 399, “Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”

What is His Holy Word telling us as He speaks to our hearts? 1) “That they may learn to fear Me –“ In Matthew 10:28 Jesus confirms the legitimacy of one “fearing God” when He said: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather FEAR HIM who is able to destroy both soul and body in HELL.”

Have you seen the truth of the everlasting gospel in Revelation 14:6-7? Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people – saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has comer; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

2) “That they may teach their children –“ Do you have a passion that your own children grow up with an intensity of godly identification? “Our parents birthed us, but we’ve chosen to truly be children of faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” WOW! How good is that?!? And, thank God, for parents who do not ignore the spiritual training of their children!

3) “That they may know the Lord Himself is God; there is none other.” I pray that you remind, teach, instill within your children and family Exodus 20:3-6!! “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Now…

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS THE VOICE OF WITNESS AND WARNING:

In Psalm 81:9-16 we are “admonished”: “There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

The prophet Ezekial received a word from God in Ezekial 3:17, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning for Me.”

It’s why the psalmist in Psalm 95:7-8 recorded God’s heart-cry: “Today if you will hear His voice:…Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion; and as in the day of trial in the wilderness…” I ask YOU: Was the day of trial in the wilderness of God?

In Isaiah 30:9 God said to the prophet, “this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear THE LAW OF THE LORD.”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS THE VOICE OF DIRECTION FOR YOUR LIFE, YOUR WITNESS, YOUR PERSONAL MINISTRY, YOUR OWN SPIRITUAL HEALTH:

In Isaiah 30:21 we read, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right or whenever you turn to the left.” His voice of direction? I Corinthians 16:9 speaks of “…a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries…” Why the adversaries? Why the opposition? Because there are those who have no desire to be led by God!

In Revelation 3:7-8 we read, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things say HE who is holy, HE who is true, HE who has the keys of David, HE who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens…I know your works. See, I have set before you an OPEN DOOR, AND NO MAN CAN SHUT IT.” Oh, and then there is Colossians 3:14-17!! “But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through Him.”

To Noah, God said: “Make yourself an ark,” even if he didn’t know what an ark was! To Abraham, God said, “Get out of your country, from your kindred, and from your father’s house to a land I will show you…I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

To Moses, God said, “Come now and I will send you to Pharoah that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” To Paul, God said, “Rise and stand on your feet: for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things I will yet reveal to you.”

A poem written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox says this: “One ship drives east and another drives west with the selfsame winds that blow. ‘Tis the set of the sails And not the gales which tells us the way to go.”

What’s the “set of the sails” for your life? Has God Almighty “set your sails”? Or is it self-will, self-rule, self-pleasure, self-direction, or the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God? In Genesis 24:27 we read, “I being in THE WAY, the Lord led me…”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF JUDGMENT UPON THE NATIONS:

In Isaiah 34:1-6, 8, we read astounding words about the voice of God’s judgment – and not one nation is spared!! “Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against the nations, and His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. Also their slain shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise from their corpses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made overflowing with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Verse8, For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”

It was Thomas Carlyle who once wrote: “Foolish men imagine that because judgment for an evil thing is delayed, there is no justice, but only accident here below. Judgment for an evil thing is many times delayed some day or two, some century or two, but it is as sure as life, it is as sure as death!” [Get ready, America! God has set you in His sights!}

In Isaiah 42:13 we read: “The Lord shall go forth like a might man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.” Are you ready for the march of the mighty man, God, as He comes and clearly calls your name to stand before Him and give an account? Why? Isaiah 65:12 says: “Therefore I will number you for the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter; because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.”

Have you heard some say: “Old Testament! Old Testament! We’re of the New Testament crowd!” Really? In Revelation 6:12-17 we read: “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and ion the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from THE WRATH OF THE LAMB! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

But men of saving grace and faith and mercy who truly have heard His voice and responded in true repentance and faith? Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:17-18, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES:

In Isaiah 42:5-9 we read: Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Aren’t you awed as you come to the Book of Acts and read about Philip? Acts 8:26-35 says: Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Etiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: [Out of Isaiah 53], “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.”

[And aren’t you amazed as you read Acts 9:1-20 and see the blessed conversion of Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the Apostle? Please read it!!].

Isaiah 43:18-21 tells US of OUR NEW OPPORTUNITIES!! “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.”

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF HOPE: Ezekial 36 and Ezekial 37 are both clear passages of understanding about the heart of God and His voice of hope, yes, in you and in me!

In Ezekial 36:24-30 we read, God speaking: “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.”

And I pray you will pause, right now, and turn in your own Bible to Ezekial 37, reading the first ten verses! You’ll be awed by what you read. It’s God’s promise of new life, new breath, new blessings!

Dead-bone nations have a sunlight of hope! Dead-bone people like you and me have a revelation- ray of holy sunshine and hope shining on us! Dead-bone churches can be raised up to resurrection life and light by Jesus only! Dead-bone marriages can, and, yes, will be renewed by the miracle of grace and mercy! And, dead-bone visions and dreams will hear His voice of hope!

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF SALVATION AND DELIVERANCE FROM THE BONDS OF SPIRITUAL DEATH:

In John 5:25 we read, “Most assuredly, I SAY TO YOU, the hour is coming, AND NOW IS, when the dead WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD; AND THOSE WHO HEAR WILL LIVE.”

Jesus now, yes, NOW, stands before the tombs of multitudinous lives “dead in trespasses and sins,” and says, “Lazarus, COME FORTH!” “FARRELL, COME FORTH!” “ANGIE, COME FORTH!” “CALEB, COME FORTH!” And His Word says: “and he who had died came forth…!” Amen?

William T. Sleeper and George C. Stebbins wrote the old hymn: “Jesus, I Come.” It says: “Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into Your freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to You; Out of my sickness into Your health, Out of my want and into Your wealth, Out of my sin and into Yourself, Jesus, I come to You!” Amen?

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF DIVINE CONVICTION:

Jesus said in John 15:22, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” Divine Conviction? Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says of conviction: “The act of convincing, or compelling one to admit the truth of a charge; the act of convincing of sin or sinfulness; the state of being convinced or convicted by conscience; the state of being sensible of guilt; as, the ‘convictions’ of a sinner may be temporary or lasting and efficacious. By ‘conviction’ a sinner is brought to repentance. Men often sin against the ‘conviction’ of their own consciences.”

• There is THE DIVINE CONVICTION OF HOLY PRESENCE: Luke 5:8 says, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ feet or knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
• There is THE CONVICTION OF HOLY LAW: Romans 7:8-9 tells us, “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.”
• There is THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY GHOST: John 14:8-9 says, “And when He [the Holy Ghost6] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…of sin because they do not believe in Me…”
• There is THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY WORD: Psalm 119:133 says, “Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.” Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.254], has written: “Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses a man’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God – “against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God’s grace. Repentance always brings a man to the point: I HAVE SINNED. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says it and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.” [Where is God in that? ‘disgust at self’, but no shame before God?]

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF AWESOME, MYSTERIOUS REVELATION:

In 2 Corinthians 12:1-5 we read of these mysterious revelations. It says: “It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast except in my infirmities.”

Isn’t it amazing to you? Here’s Paul. He knows of others who’ve been blessed, encouraged, and uplifted by these awesome events of ‘hearing God’! Then Paul hears Him! And he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. ‘Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” When our Lord speaks to you, you be strong in Him!

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF UNVEILING OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST:

Oh, get ready! This is so good! Revelation 1:9-20 is a word from John for every believer! It says: “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodecia.” Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with Me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

This is so similar to what Peter, James, and John experienced as Jesus took them up on a high mountain, Matthew 17:1-6, “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.” Have you entered the “glory-cloud” of holy presence lately?

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, UNDERSTAND, IT IS WITH THE VOICE OF VICTORIOUS CONQUEST:

In I John 5:4-5 John tells us: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

There is such an encouraging, inspirational word for us in John 4:42 which says: Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” Spurgeon wrote: [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial library, Vol.13,p.225], “Appointed, anointed, commissioned of the Father to speak to us, to confer with us, to make known among us the mind and will of our great and gracious Sovereign,…[Jesus spoke} and we should heed and hearken to His words.” Have YOU heard the voice of God speaking to you?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD?”

As we begin this chapter study together, I want to lay the foundation with three different passages of God’s Word: First, Psalm 139:1-6, 16-17, 23-24, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Verses 16-17, Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. Verses 23-24, Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Philippians 4:4-6 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Jeremiah 23:23-29, “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off?” Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord. “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed! I have dreamed!’ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord. Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

How is it with you as you face yourself, your walk, your pilgrimage, your journey as a follower of Christ when you come to such a word as Psalm 139 and Paul’s letter to the Philippians? Or what about Jeremiah’s deep awareness of God’s eyes on him?

Do you read it with the same insight David wrote with, or Paul, or Jeremiah? “MY LORD IS NEAR TO ME!!” When Paul wrote Philippians he was “chained,” yes, “imprisoned,” bound, not knowing if he would live or die! In Philippians 1:13 he said, “it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that MY CHAINS ARE IN CHRIST.” *QUESTION!!*

Are the “chains of YOUR circumstances ‘IN CHRIST’?” Is what happens to you seen as an opportunity “FOR THE FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL”? Do you see every situation, event, happening, as another giant step of you “being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of others’ faith?

Paul faced tremendous problems, and yet he saw them as OPPORTUNITIES because “in nothing was he going to be ashamed, [but that] now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”

And when in Philippians 4:5 Paul said, “The Lord is at hand,” he wasn’t talking about the Lord’s bodily return, or His second coming, but about HIS ABIDING PRESENCE! He eagerly waited for the Savior’s “coming again,” but here he’s gloriously overwhelmed by the deep awareness that Paul’s life was enveloped, en-sphered, encircled, en-grasped, enraptured with the precious presence of the Prince of Peace.

Do you live OVERSHADOWED BY THAT DIVINE CLOUD OF GLORIOUS PRESENCE? Spurgeon said he could not recall ever spending even a short 15 minutes without the profound thought of the presence of Christ!! “The Lord is at hand!!”

How did David put it? Psalm 139:7-12 and verse 5 says, “The Lord is at hand!” F.B. Meyer, in his Devotional Commentary on Philippians, [p.209], wrote: “We all know times like that. We have been walking in the midst of some beautiful landscape, the river rushing past, flowers dipping their cups silently into its brink, the gentle air moving through the quivering leaves above, the insect life humming its varied music, and all nature suffused with the smile of the sun. Then, all of a sudden, there has been borne in on us the consciousness of a spiritual presence; we have FELT A BREATH ON OUR FACES, A THRILL IN OUR HEARTS, [“THE LORD IS NEAR”]…In church, when saying your prayers mechanically, falling in with the murmur of repetition as you’ve done a 1000 times, standing listfully listening to the people singing, or joining them without much heart; sitting apparently intent on the words of the minister while your thoughts have been far away on business or pleasure. SUDDENLY there has been as if it were the music of GOLDEN BELLS, and YOU HAVE REALIZED THAT THE OLD PROMISE WAS BEING FULFILLED: “THERE AM I IN THE MIDST.” Without opening the door, without the sound of a footfall the Lord Jesus has glided into the shut apartment of your nature, and you have said, ‘The Lord is NEAR.’”

One of the awesome truths of life that needs to be awakened in your heart and mind is the reality of God’s desire for you TO KNOW HIS NEARNESS, for you to know His love for you, how ‘precious’ His thoughts are TO YOU, and how the Living God, the Resurrected Savior, and the reigning Holy Spirit is as much with you and for you as if there was no one else on the face of the earth – just you and Him! Let’s look at this “nearness”:

THERE’S THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD EVEN IN OUR FALLEN STATE AND NATURE:

What does Romans 3:23 say? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Oh, and then Isaiah 59:2 reminds us, “your iniquities have separated you from God.”

When Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s Word and bought into Satan’s “LIE” that you can sin and not die, they died spiritually and all of a sudden realized their spiritual nakedness and the separation of their souls from God.

Even then as now they began to think, “God is far away,” or “there is no God,” or “if there is a God, He doesn’t care about me,” or “If there is a God, and He knows my condition, He’ll not want anything to do with me.”

And the problem is because our own hearts, in our fallen state, are so far from God, WE CONCEIVE THE FALSE IDEA THAT GOD’S HEART IS FAR FROM US! But look at Genesis 3!!, and especially verses 4-9! What did they do?…”hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.”

Do you know about hiding? Men hide themselves in their depraved thoughts. They hide themselves in their religious deceptions. They hide themselves in their busyness. They hide themselves in their alcohol, drugs, or sexual addictions. They hide themselves in their self-made, personally designed, fleshly goals, aims, and ambitions building towers to make a name for themselves. They hide themselves even in the pews of “Cultural Christianity”!

Then…all of a sudden, “Adam, where are you?” In his hiding place – and it’s God seeking Adam! It’s not man who seeks after God. What does Romans 3:10-12 tell us? As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.

We didn’t seek God – GOD SOUGHT US! It’s not our voice, “God, where are You?” It’s God’s voice – “Adam, where are you?” [And you do know, don’t you, that God knew exactly where Adam was: geographically or positionally”]

God’s “The Seeker.” God’s “The Hound of Heaven.” It’s not “search and destroy,” but “seek and save”! What does “Immanuel” mean? God With Us. God In The Flesh. John 1:11-12 tells us: “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Listen to Spurgeon, [Memorial Library, Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.18, p.270], “Friends, I remember well when I was in the death-cart, and Jesus came to me with PARDON. Death and hell were before me; I rejoiced exceedingly when I SAW THE NAILPRINTS IN HIS HANDS AND FEET, and the WOUND IN HIS SIDE. When He said, “Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven,” I thought I never saw such loveliness before, and never heard such music in all my days.”

What did David say in Psalm 40? “HE BROUGHT ME UP OUT OF A HORRIBLE PIT, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps…He has put a new song in my mouth…PRAISE TO OUR GOD!”

What does that great old Hymn say? “Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary…[But] by God’s Word at last my sin I learned – Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned, Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary…O the love that drew salvation’s plan! O the grace that brought it down to man! O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!”

Forever man should know of God’s nearness because of that mighty span of the Cross of Jesus! But also..

THERE’S THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN NEED OF PERSONAL REVIVAL:

In Psalm 85:6 the question of this hour, today, right now, comes forth: “WILL YOU NOT REVIVE US AGAIN, THAT YOUR PEOPLE MAY REJOICE IN YOU?” What did Paul say in Philippians 4:4-5? “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, REJOICE!…Let your [steadfastness] be known to all men. THE LORD IS AT HAND.”

When you come to Psalm 119:67 you’ll hear King David say: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” In verse 149 he said, “Hear my voice, according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, REVIVE ME according to Your justice…” and then said in verse 151, “You are NEAR, O Lord…” Personal Revival Needed? REVIVAL BECAUSE ONE LOSES THE JOY OF SALVATION, REVIVAL NEEDED BECAUSE ONE HAS WILLFULLY GONE ASTRAY (Psalm 119:176), “I have gone astray like a lost sheep…”, and, yes, corporate revival because the church as a whole has lost the desire to pray, (Psalm 80:18), “revive us, and we will call upon Your name,” revival because one has lost that glorious inner countenance – days without number He has been forgotten – 3 times in Psalm 80 David cried out, “Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved;” and revival because one can find himself/herself in bondage – Ezra 9:8 says, “And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our Gods, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.”

Vance Havner, now deceased Southern Baptist prophet, wrote a little book entitled “Repent Or Else.” [pps. 14-16]. He wrote: “Revival is a work of the Spirit among God’s own people whereby they get right with God and with each other…Revivals should not be necessary…but so long as we have such a malarial brand of Christianity, a fever and a chill, a fever and a chill, we shall need revivals…The church needs time out to tune up. We are so busy building a bigger orchestra, that we cannot stop to tune our instruments…We never need to go to the mourner’s bench more than when we feel least like it. [Then quotes Finney]: ‘Revival is nothing less than a new beginning of obedience to God, a breaking of heart and getting down in the dust before Him with deep humility and obedience to God, a breaking of heart and getting down in the dust before Him with deep humility and forsaking of sin.”

And what did David say? “You are near, O Lord…” IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MESS, Our Lord is at hand. In the middle of our darkness, our Lord shines His Light. In the middle of our rebellious wanderings, our Lord finds us! “A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing; Our Helper He amid the floods of mortal ills prevailing.”

THERE’S THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN NEED OF CONFIDENCE AND ASSURANCE:

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m not sure I can make it. I’m not sure I can hold on. I’m not sure I can enter in. I’m not sure I can overcome. I’m not sure I can make it to the ‘finish’ line. I’m not sure.” But Psalm 121:1-2 says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Are you aware of the ‘infancy’ of Israel’s faith in God as they began to follow Him out of Egypt, into the wilderness, and on in to the promised land? There were times they said, “We wish we were back in Egypt!”

The pilgrim journey was new to them – “we’ve never passed this way before!” Spurgeon said: “…their newly found liberty was darkened by a terrible fear of RECAPTURE!” But listen to Exodus 13:20-22, “So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”

What does Exodus 14:19 tell us? And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.”

In Hebrews 13:5 God Himself said: “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.” Have you forgotten or overlooked God’s word to Joshua? Joshua 1:5 says, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

Is that any different at all from Matthew 28:20 when Jesus said: “Lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.”

You may never see visibly a natural cloud that bursts into a flame, but because of God’s promises YOU CAN STAND ASSURED, “God Is With ME and His Power, Protection, Provision, Presence ABOUNDS TOWARD ME to see me through.”

Exodus 14:19 again? “And the Angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and STOOD BEHIND THEM!!” STOOD BEHIND THEM – STANDS BEHIND ME – STANDS BEHIND YOU!!

It’s settled from God’s point of view! It’s permanent from God’s side! It’s forever, a done deal! The Glorious Angel of God is permanently fixed, shrouded in the clouds of heavenly glory, with sword drawn in His hand. Isaiah 52:12 tells us: “For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

[Please read Romans 8:31-32, 29-30, 37-39].

THERE’S THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IMMERSED IN THE DEEP WATERS OF WORRY, DOUBT, OR FEAR:

Look with me at Philippians 4:6-7, 13, and 1:28! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus….Verse 13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 1:28, And not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”

Have you heard them? “I have God’s blessing as long as I am real positive. I have God’s blessing as long as I am really ‘spiritual’. I have God’s blessing as long as I am real up-beat, as long as I give the appearance of being strong. I have God’s blessing as long as I am a ‘super-saint’. I have God’s blessing as long as I am an extra-ordinary disciple. I have God’s blessing as long as my thoughts and affections are set on things above. I have God’s blessing as long as I’m walking in perfection.” NO!! A 1000 times, NO!

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read, “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.”

Have you seen “The New 23^rd”? “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need. He lets me rest in meadows green and leads me beside the quiet stream;…He keeps on giving life to me And helps me to do what honors Him the most, Even when walking through the valley of death, of death, I will never be afraid, For He is close beside me…Guarding, guiding all the way; He spreads a feast before me In the presence of my enemies [worry, doubt, fear!!]… He welcomes me as His special guest, With blessing overflowing, His goodness and unfailing kindness Shall be with me all of my life and afterward I will live with Him forever, in His Home.”

ALSO, IS THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES ISOLATED BY THE JUDGMENTS OF MEN:

Please come to Genesis 16:1-9, 13-14, Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Verses 13-14, Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You-Are-The-God-Who-Sees;” for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; [Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me!]…”

Do you know about ill-treatment, misjudgment, harsh and cruel renderings against you – the besmirching of your name, honor, character? What about the purloining of your good and godly reputation? Even Jesus was not exempt from this attitude or action!

Luke 6:7 says, “The scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely…THAT THEY MIGHT FIND AN ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM.” Jesus’ own family was saying, “He’s lost His senses!”

I want you to come with me to I Peter 3:13-17 because “the Lord is at hand” – He is so near to you as you are maligned, ridiculed, even lied about!! “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

Did Jezebel misjudge, threaten, and isolate Elijah? I Kings 19 says Elijah “arose and ran for his life…” He ran to the wilderness, ended up in a cave. Oh, but then, LISTEN!! I Kings 19:9, “…Behold, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ELIJAH…Verse 11, Then God said to him, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And BEHOLD THE LORD PASSED BY!

Do you remember Jeremiah’s pilgrimage? The weeping prophet was being walloped! Look at Jeremiah 32:1-3, 31:3, 11-14, and Jeremiah 33:1-3!

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord; “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it..” Jeremiah 31:3, 11-14, The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you…Verses 11-14, For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord – for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old, together; for I will turn their mourning to joy, will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 33:1-3, Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord id His name): Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

You’ll remember John on the island of Patmos in Revelation 1 imprisoned for the faith! YOU are going to be wronged, but “Look up! YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWS NEAR!” You will be misjudged! Get in the Spirit and hear God’s trumpet blow His rallying cry for your defense!

THERE IS THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE INTENSE BATTLES OF THE FAITH:

In 2 Chronicles 20 the people of Moab with others came to battle Jehoshaphat. He was afraid and began to seek the Lord, and Judah gathered together to seek Him. They knew they didn’t have the power to stand against their enemies so they set themselves together to seek God’s help. They “stood before the Lord” and cried out for His help. In verse 15 the Spirit of the Lord had come upon Jahaziel and he heard God speak: Thus says the Lord to you, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

Thank God for Isaiah 54:17 which tells us: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.

I love Deuteronomy 28:7 which tells us, “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face: they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.” SCATTERED AND SHATTERED BY GOD HIMSELF!

Do you remember the three young Israelites in the fiery furnace because they would not bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image? Daniel 3:24-25, we see and hear the king saying, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?…Look!! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire: they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!!” WOW! In Daniel 6:22 Daniel had been cast into the lions’ den because of the battle of praying to God! “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouth, so that they have not hurt me…” GLORY!

Paul was in that “good fight of faith”! He told Timothy (2 Timothy 4:16-18), “At my fist defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

When Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah, Hezekiah gathered his people and gave them encouragement. 2 Chronicles 32:8 says, “With him is an arm of flesh: BUT WITH US IS THE LORD OUR GOD, TO HELP US AND TO FIGHT OUR BATTLES.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.”

And what did John say in I John 4:4? “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because HE WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAT HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD.”

THERE’S THE NEARNESS OF OUR LORD WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES SURROUNDED BY THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINEYARD:

Have you ever seen the “FOX” of envy or strife? Philippians 1:15-16 says, “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add afflictions to my chains.”

Have you ever seen the “FOX” of disinterest in the progress and joy of faith for others? Philippians 1:24-26 says, “Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.” Paul never displayed disinterest in others’ spiritual progress – it was his heart and mind every day, every way, everywhere! But too many Christians exhibit disinterest in where other young believers are – there is no concern by them for your spiritual maturity.

Have you ever witnessed that “FOX” of disunity? Philippians 2:1-4 says, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

What about that “FOX” of unbelief, false doctrine, false worship? In Philippians 3:1-3, 18-19, we read: “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Verses 18-19, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame – who set their minds on earthly things.”

Have you ever been shocked by the “FOX” of pettiness between women? Look at Philippians 4:1-3, “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I also urge you, true companions, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.” Consider “wild cat female kittens” at one another’s throat – watch out!

Have you ever been around that “FOX” of selfishness? That’s not the Philippians because we read in chapter four, verses 15-17, of THEIR unselfish support of Paul, but I remember a church financial secretary telling me on an occasion that she did not comprehend that the most vocal opposers, disrupters, antagonists in a church business meeting were always the ones who supported the church financially the least of all!

How does one raise up stones to break bones when the Lord is at hand? How does one center so much on themselves in selfish fashion when the Selfless Savior is at hand? How does one center so much on themselves allowing pettiness to permeate them when the Prince of Peace is present? How does “my way” or the highway rule some hearts when the Marvelous Master moves among us? How does unbelief and false doctrine get a foothold in some lives when the God of all Truth rules the day?

Here’s how Paul dealt with it. Listen carefully and prayerfully to his words in Philippians 3:7-16, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upwards call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”

The last point in this chapter? THERE IS NEARNESS OF OUR LORD IN THE TIME OF OUR DEATH:

You do know! We are going to die! How about YOU reading Psalm 23 right now as a refresher course! The Nearness of our Lord even in our fallen state and nature! He’s drawn near to us! The Nearness of our Lord when we find ourselves in need of personal revival! He’s drawn near to us! The Nearness of our Lord when we find ourselves in need of confidence and assurance! He’s drawn near to us! The Nearness of our Lord when we are immersed in the deep waters of worry, doubt, or fear! He’s drawn near to us! The Nearness of our Lord when we are isolated by the judgments of men! He’s drawn near to us! The Nearness of our Lord when we are in intense battles of the faith! “The Lord stood with me!” The Nearness of our Lord when we find ourselves surrounded by the little foxes that spoil the vineyard! “I am with you, in your midst!” The Nearness of our Lord in the time of death! “You are with me, I’ll fear no evil!”

Is our Lord near us now? Remember Gethsemane? There Jesus knelt to pray, “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from ME; NEVERTHELESS not My will, but Yours be done…And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood flowing to the ground.” WHY? “Because “I AM NEAR YOU AND FOR YOU!”

He was before Pontius Pilate, falsely accused, condemned by a thoughtless, truth-less crowd: “I take your condemnation, judgment, guilt, sins upon MYSELF, because “I AM NEAR YOU AND FOR YOU.”

Watch as He plods the streets, beaten unmercifully in the scourging, bleeding already profusely, carrying that “Old Rugged Cross” because “I AM NEAR YOU AND I AM FOR YOU.”

At this very moment He’s your Advocate, your Heavenly attorney, at the right hand throne of God, having pled your case before that eternal throne of the Most High God, because “I am near you and I am for you.”

When He comes in that heavenly cloud of glory, the second time, not as the suffering servant, but the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords, when that glorious trumpet sounds, you’ll hear Him say, “Because I’m near you and I am for you. Come on – let’s go to our eternal gathering together and to our eternal home!” AMEN?

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“THE GOD OF THE PEOPLE?”

In Isaiah 40:18 there is a powerful question. It says, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare Him with?” Our God, Jehovah God, the one and ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD IS BEYOND COMPARISON! Would you try to compare Him to the world’s wealthiest man who holds in his little fingers the destinies and fortunes of corporations and crowds of employees?

In Isaiah 1:3 it says, “An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” And too many don’t know and don’t understand that He is the OWNER of it all! Haggai 2:8 says, “The silver is MINE, and the gold is MINE,” declares the Lord of hosts.

In Psalm 50:10 we read, “For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a 1000 hills.” Would you try to compare Him to the world’s wisest men who hold in their little fingers papers or degrees of their intellectual accomplishments?

I Corinthians 1:19-21 says, “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

There used to be a song we used to sing about that said something about God holding the whole world in His hands – and HE DOES!

In Isaiah 44:6 the Word speaks, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts; I am the first and the last, and there is no god besides Me…”

Rahab stood on her gift of revelation faith and said to Joshua [Joshua 2:11], “for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” And she rested her life on “the scarlet thread.” And it hasn’t changed.

2 Chronicles 6:14 declares, “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart.”

I want to challenge you, if you haven’t been already, right now, with Isaiah 26:4 which says, “Trust in the Lord forever. For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.” And the God we serve is no respecter of persons or peoples: Deuteronomy 7:21 says, Moses speaking: “…the Lord your God is IN YOUR MIDST, a great and awesome God…”

Deuteronomy 10:17 tells us, “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe.” It gets better!

Look with me at Deuteronomy 32:3-4, [but let me insert first Deuteronomy 31:3 where Moses declared that, “It is the Lord your God who will cross before you!” Don’t be afraid! Moses then wrote a song in chapter 31, verse 19, that he tells them about, and we find it in the 32^nd chapter!] – Deuteronomy 32:3-4, “For I proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.”

And we also are on a journey, and there are new horizons before us all, even battles to be fought and heavenly reserves to draw upon in our most difficult and blessed moments! So, Psalm 70:4 says, “Let God be magnified!”

“THE GOD OF THE PEOPLE?” OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF ETERNAL, CREATIVE POWER: [Let me say to you, right now, that you don’t have to have full or complete understanding of a truth to stand upon it! Remember that!].

In Genesis 21:33 the Holy Word says, “And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the EVERLASTING GOD!”

God didn’t begin – HE IS, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE! We read in Jeremiah 10:10, “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.” Then come to verses 12-13, “It is He who made the earth by His power (don’t ever forget it!! Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created [made] the heaven and the earth” –In fact, in Hebrews 11:3 we read, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”),…who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens…When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth: He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouse.”

Psalm 100:3 declares, “KNOW that the Lord Himself is God: It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…” Now,

Come to Isaiah 40:9-14, and 28-31! “O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up to the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “BEHOLD YOUR GOD!” Behold the Lord shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding? Verses 28-31, Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

And the meaning of what we’ve just read? “NEVER FORGET THE GOD OF ETERNAL, CREATIVE POWER!” This is why, in your spiritual journey, that 2 Corinthians 5:17 is so important! “Therefore, if ANY MAN is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; and behold, new things have come.” He said in Revelation 21:5, “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things NEW!”

Ask the “born again” – New Life! Ask Peter after he failed – New Beginning! Ask parents who know – New children! Ask children who know – New Parents! Ask businessmen who lost it all – New Opportunity! Ask ones who know of fractured, broken marriages – New Grace, Holy Households! Ask nations once ruled by tyrants and dictators – New Nations with God As Their Lord!

The church of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is to be the people who herald the “NEW HOPE”!! David Chilton wrote an exposition of Revelation entitled “Days of Vengence,” [pps. 547-548]. Listen to what he wrote about Revelation 21:5!! He said: “…The only essential difference between the subjects of 2 Corinthians 5 and Revelation 21 is that Paul is speaking of “the redeemed individual,” while John is speaking of “the redeemed community.” Both the individual and the community are recreated, renewed, and restored to Paradise in salvation, and this cosmic restoration has already begun. John sees that what has begun in seemingly (to the eyes of the first century) isolated instances is really the wave of the future. The new creation will fill the earth; the whole creation will be renewed. This is true definitively, it will be absolutely true eschatalogically – and it gives us the pattern for our work in between, for it is also to be worked out progressively. The New Creation must be unfolded, its every implication understood and applied, by the royal priesthood in this age…The great church historian Phillip Schaff understood this: ‘To the Lord and His kingdom belongs the whole world, with all that lives and moves in it. ALL is yours, says the apostle (ICorinthians 3:22). Religion is not a signal, separate sphere of human life, but the divine principle by which the entire man is to be pervaded, refined, and made complete. It takes hold of him in his undivided totality, in the center of his personal being; to carry light into his understanding, holiness into his will, and heaven into his heart; and to shed thus the sacred consecration of the new birth, and the glorious liberty of the children of God over his whole outward and inner life that may not be glorified. The creature, in the widest extent of the word, is earnestly waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, and sighing after the same glorious deliverance. The whole creation aims toward redemption; and Christ is the second Adam, the new universal Man, not simply in a religious but also in an absolute sense. The view entertained by Romish monasticism and Protestant pietism, by which Christianity is made to consist in an opposition to the natural life, or in ‘flight from the world,’ is quite contrary to the spirit and power of the Gospel, as well as false to its designs. Christianity is the redemption and renovation of the world. It must make all things new.” Can you say AMEN to that?

In Isaiah 42:5-9 we read, Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

And then Isaiah 45:18, 22-23 tells us, For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. Verses 22-23, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.” And, remember, as we’ve begun this study, we’ve seen THE GOD OF ETERNAL, CREATIVE POWER – at this given moment we need to bow before Him and declare our allegiance to Almighty God!

OUR GOD? OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF CONSTANT CALLING:

In Genesis 3:9 Satan had come and deceived Adam and Eve, and they rebelled and sinned, then realized their ‘nakedness’ before Holy God. Then they were feverishly ‘fig-leafing’ their lost and sinful condition, had hidden themselves, they thought, and then in verse 9, “Then the Lord God CALLED to the man, and said to him, “Where are you, Adam?”

I tell you, God is not blind. He knew where Adam was and what condition he was in spiritually. God said, “Adam, look where you are at this point in your life. Look at what disobedience has produced. Look at the absence of God from your life. Look at the end result of devilish deception and fleshly indulgence!”

Do you remember Hagar when God spoke to her in that isolated place? She said, (Genesis 16:13), “You are a God who sees.” And because He sees, He calls. In Ezekial 33:11 we read, “Say to them, ‘As I live!” declares the Lord God, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?”

We just saw in Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the earth: for I am God and there is none else.” Paul told Timothy (I Timothy 2:4) that God “will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Notice, it’s God who takes the initiative! I Thessalonians 5:24 says, “Faithful is He who calls you.” It’s God who sends the prophets! It’s God who produces the beautiful feet of those that preach, witness, and bring glad tidings of good things. It’s God who inspires the songs of deliverance, salvation, and healing grace. It’s God who speaks through the partner or the parent or the child! It’s God who calls to us even in the crisis of circumstances. It’s the GOD-BREATHED WORD OF HOLY SCRIPTURE BY WHICH WE ARE TO LIVE! God does it!

In Deuteronomy 30:19 we read, God speaking, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” Don’t let it be said of you, Proverbs 1:24, “I called and you refused…”

And old hymn says it so clearly: “Jesus Calls Us,” written by Cecil F. Alexander. It says:

“Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult of our life’s wild, restless sea, Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying, ‘Christian, follow Me.’…Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world’s golden store. From each idol that would keep us, saying, ‘Christian, love Me more.’…In our joys and in our sorrows, Days of toil and hours of ease, Still He calls us in cares and pleasures, ‘Christian, love ME more than these…Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies, Savior, may we hear Your call. Give our hearts to Your obedience, Serve and love You best of all.”

OUR GOD IS ALSO THE GOD OF CLEAR UNVEILING:

In Genesis 17:1-3 we read: “Now when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘I AM GOD ALMIGHTY; walk before Me and be blameless…And, I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.’ And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him…”

David said in Psalm 48:10, “As is Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth.” You’ll remember God coming to Isaac in the contentious land of the Philistines and saying to him, (Genesis 26:24), “I am the God of your father Abraham…”

To Jacob, God said, (Genesis 31:13), “I am the God of Bethel…” the God of encounter, anointing, and promise. And you’ll remember that Jacob had his name changed – “Israel of God” – and he was praying for Joseph with whom he had been reunited and in that prayer said, (Genesis 48:15),, “to the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day…”

In Joshua 24:19 Joshua called Him, “…the holy God, the jealous God.” And, yes, He is THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF MY RIGHTEOUSNESS, GOD MY HELPER, the sustainer of my soul, the God who works wonders, My Father – the rock of my salvation, God of our salvation, God our refuge and strength, The Lord – the God of Heaven, the Lord – your God, God of Israel!

Isaiah 9:6 says He is “the Child born, the Son given, upon whose shoulders the government rests – His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And how could anyone ever forget Matthew 1:21? “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Then in Matthew 22:32 we read: “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

JEHOVAH M’KADDESH (Sanctification), ROPHE (Healer), NISSI (Shepherd), SHALOM (Peace), JIREH (Provider), TSIDKENU (Righteousness), ROHI (SHEPHERD), SHAMMAH (Present).

Have you heard it before: (?) “Oh, that I may know Him…” And John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

OUR GOD IS GOD OF CONTINUOUS CARE TO THE GREAT NEEDS OF FALLEN AND REDEEMED MANKIND:

Do you remember what Isaac asked his father on that mountain? “Father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Genesis 22:7-8, Abraham responded in faith and confidence: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” He knew the heart of God and the promise of God – and he was sure!

What does 2 Corinthians 5:19 tell us? “God was ‘in Christ’ reconciling the world to Himself…” Are you reconciled to God? In verse 21 Paul wrote: “He (God) made Him (Christ Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Catherine Marshall, in her book “Something More” (p.7), wrote: “Our God is the Divine Alchemist. He can take junk from the rubbish heap of life, and melting this base refuse in the pure fire of His love, hand us back – GOLD!” It is our salvation – the sustenance of the soul and spirit! LOOK AT HIS WORD! REJOICE AND RECEIVE!

Deuteronomy 8:2 He “led you in the wilderness…disciplining you.”

Deuteronomy 9:3 He “crosses over before you as a consuming fire,”

Deuteronomy 9:6 He “gives you a good land”

Deuteronomy 12:7 He “blessed you” Deuteronomy 12:9 “giving you the inheritance,” Deuteronomy 13:3 “testing you” Deuteronomy 20:4 “goes before you”

Joshua 1:13 “gives you rest”, Joshua 23:5 “promised you,” Joshua 23:10 “Fights for you”

I Samuel 9:8 “tells us our way, I Samuel 10:9, “changes the heart,” I Samuel 10:10, “comes upon us mightily,” 2 Samuel 22:48, “executes vengeance for me,”

I Kings 4:29, “gives wisdom,” I Kings 18:21 calls us to “Follow Him,” I Kings 18:24, “answers by fire,”

I Chronicles 4:10, “grants what we request,” I Chronicles 12:8, “helps you,” I Chronicles 14:11, “breaks through my enemies,”

2 Chronicles 9:8, “delights in you,” 2 Chronicles 25:8, “has power to help,” 2 Chronicles 26:5, “prospered him,”

Ezra 2:8, “hand of God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him,”

Nehemiah 7:5, “puts His will in our hearts,” Nehemiah 9:17, “God of forgiveness,” Nehemiah 13:2, “turns the curse into a blessing,” Nehemiah 13:26, “loved by God,”

Psalm 14:5, “with the righteous,” Psalm 18:28, “illumines my darkness,” Psalm 18:32, “girds with strength,” Psalm 43:2, He “is my strength,” Psalm 43:4, “my exceeding joy,” Psalm 43:5, “the help of my countenance,” Psalm 46:1, “my refuge,” Psalm 49:5, “redeems my soul,” Psalm 50:2, He “shines forth,” Psalm 53:6, “Restores His captive people,” Psalm 56:9, “for me,” Psalm 57:2, “accomplishes all things,” Psalm 60:2, “Through our God we shall do valiantly,” Psalm 62:11, “power belongs to God,” Psalm 71:5, “my confidence,” Psalm 71:7, He “taught me,” Psalm 77:14, “works wonders,” Psalm 84:11,” a sun and a shield,” Psalm 86:15, “merciful and gracious,”

Ecclesiastes 3:14, “whatever God does will remain,”

Isaiah 5:16, “shows Himself,” Isaiah 40:1, “comforts His people,” Isaiah 40:3, “in the desert a highway for our God,” Isaiah 40:10, “comes with might,” Isaiah 50:4, “gives me the tongue of disciples to know how to sustain the weary one with a word,” Isaiah 51:22, “contends for the people,” Isaiah 62:5, “rejoices over me,”

Daniel 2:28, “reveals to His people,” Daniel 3:17, “able to deliver us,”

Amos 7:1, “shows me,”

Luke 1:78 revealed “the tender mercy of God,” Luke 7:16, “visited His people,” Luke 8:39, “done great things for us,” Luke 16:15, “knows our hearts,”

Acts 10:41, “chosen beforehand – verse 42, appointed by God,”

Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 15:5, “gives perseverance,” Romans 15:13, “fills us,” Romans 15:33, gives “peace,” Romans 16:20, “crush Satan,”

I Corinthians 10:13, “faithful,” I Corinthians 15:28, our “all in all,”

2 Corinthians 1:9, “raises the dead,” 2 Corinthians 9:8, “able to make all grace to abound toward you,”

Philippians 2:13, “at work in you,”

Colossians 4:12, “assured in all the will of God,”

I Thessalonians 2:4, “approved by God,”

Ephesians 1:6, “accepted in the beloved,”

Hebrews 2:4, “bears witness with us,”

James 4:8, “draws near to us,”

2 Timothy 4:17-18, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men…” Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”

And then I tell you, it is not a trite verse but the center of all glorious truth, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

And, then, Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” AMEN?

OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF THE “BURNING BUSHES” ALONG LIFE’S JOURNEY:

In Exodus 3:1-6 we read: Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of God appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not draw near to this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”

And then in Deuteronomy 5:22-24 there are awesome words of hope! “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.”

Creation itself is a ‘burning bush’ – Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God: and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

The two tablets of stone by the finger of God is a ‘burning bush’ – Psalm 19:7-8 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple…The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

The Prophetic Word is ‘a burning bush’ – “Thus says the Lord…”

The cross of Christ is a ‘burning bush’ – Romans 5:8, “God proved His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Holy Spirit’s presence in us is a ‘burning bush’ – John said when Jesus came (Matthew 3:11), “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Do you remember? There was the “burning bush” in Genesis 3:8 when Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” and they HEARD HIS CALL! It got their attention!

There was the “burning bush” in Genesis 12 when a pagan man in a pagan land heard the divine command and obediently “went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.”

There was the “burning bush” in the isolation of ‘escapism’ in the midst of broken rlationships when (Genesis 28:12) Jacob saw a ladder, heard a voice, and declared “Surely the Lord in in this place, and I did not know it.”

There was the “burning bush” of a prophetic finger when David learned: “You’re the guilty man who needs to be reconciled to God.”

There was the “burning bush” of the ‘second chance’ when Jesus appeared to the distraught Peter who had bungled badly his oath of allegiance.

There was the “burning bush” of an obedient Phillip who went to the backside of a desert to witness and proclaim Christ to a confused yet hungry Ethiopian.

There was the “burning bush” of a flashing light on the Damascus Road that humbled Saul of Tarsus and changed him to a Paul the Apostle. [Examine Psalm 139:1-18!!].

OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF THE SINGING SYMPHONIES OF PRAISE:

Psalm 40:1-3 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord: and He inclined to me and heard my cry…He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay: and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm…And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God: Many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”

Yes, the Word speaks of the songs of God in I Chronicles 16:42! Daniel Webster said to have HYMNED is to have SUNG, PRAISED, OR CELEBRATED IN SONG! Psalm 47:6 says, “Sing praises to God, sing praises: Sing praises to our King, sing praises!” In Psalm 69:30 the psalmist says, “I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.”

Have you ever considered it? Why is there such a vast storehouse of Gospel Music all over the world in the Christian faith but in other ‘religions’ there is little if none?

And there is an answer! Religions are of the ‘head’ while the Christian Faith is of the heart! True salvation births “new songs”! God’s sustenance and faithfulness overflows into our celebrations! A filling and anointing in the Holy Spirit of the Almighty erupts into “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with our hearts TO THE LORD.” Just consider the awesomeness of Handel’s “Messiah”!!

Psalm 146:2 says, “I will praise the Lord while I live: I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” [Look at Psalm 150!!].

OUR GOD IS THE GOD OF SMITTEN SALVATION:

In Isaiah 52:13-53:12 we read, “Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider. Isaiah 53:1-12, Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground, He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked – but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

What does I Corinthians 1:18 tell us? “The word of the Cross…(is what?)…THE POWER OF GOD!!”

“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt…Yonder on Calvary’s Mount outpoured – there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt…Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold, threaten the soul with infinite loss: Grace that is greater – Yes, grace untold – points to the refuge, the mighty Cross…Dark is the stain that we cannot hide – what can avail to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide – whiter than snow you may be today…Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive?…Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.”

So Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow: though they are red like crimson they will be like wool…”

OUR GOD ALSO IS THE GOD OF THE SPOKEN WORD:

In Isaiah 46:5-11 we read, “To whom will you like Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike? They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; they prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands; from its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer nor save him out of his trouble. Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.”

God spoke to men like an Abram and a Moses. He spoke to nations like Israel. He, yes, spoke to pagan kings like Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar. He spoke to cities like Nineveh. God spoke in certain times and seasons. He’s even spoken in circumstances or events we all face at times. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

We have the promise of Jesus in John 14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I WILL COME TO YOU.” In 2 Samuel 7:29 David said excitedly, “…For You, O Lord God, have spoken: and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

In Numbers 24 God met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and sent him to Balak. And, in verse 19, when he met him he said: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Sometimes it’s “the seven peals of thunder,” that have spoken. (Revelation 10:4). Psalm 60:6 says, “God has spoken in His sanctuary.” Isaiah 1:20 affirms it, “Truly the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

And then in Jeremiah 25:3 we read, “I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.” Are you listening? Are your ears tuned to hear God speak?

A failure to listen for God to speak to you is tragically what Oswald Chambers called “incarnate unbelief,” which means one has no faith, is god unto himself, is guided by personal feelings, and shutting the door in the face of God. This is not the day nor the time, really not ever, to shut God out of your life or ministry! Look to Him, listen for His voice, and rest in His Sovereign leadership and guidance – yes, hear Him speak to you!

Ezekial heard God!! In Ezekial 5:13 we read, “…then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them.” Then, Paul, in I Thessalonians 2:13 wrote, “…we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which performs its work in you who believe.”

And what did Paul say to Timothy? “ALL Scripture is GOD-BREATHED!!” Do you accept Jesus’ word? Matthew 4:4 says: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

“Holy Bible, book divine, precious treasure, you are mine; Mine to tell me from where I came, mine to teach me what I am…Mine to chide me when I rove; mine to show a Savior’s love; Mine you are to guide and guard, mine to punish or reward… Mine to comfort in distress, suffering in this wilderness, mine to show by living faith, man can triumph over death…Mine to tell of joys to come, and the rebel sinner’s doom, O Thou Holy Book divine, precious treasure, YOU ARE MINE.”

OUR GOD IS THE GOD ON FINAL, EARTHLY SUMMATION AND FULL, ETERNAL GLORY:

In Ephesians 1 Paul talked about the WORK AND WILL OF GOD, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of us all! He said: Ephesians 1:3, “He’s “blessed us,” Verse 4, He’s “chosen us,” Verse 5, He’s “predestined us to adoption,” Verse 7, He’s “redeemed us through His blood,” Verse 8, He’s “lavished upon us the riches of His grace.” Then…

In Ephesians 1:9-12 we read, “He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him…(LISTEN!)…with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things in the earth…In Him…also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestine3d according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will…to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ, should be to the praise of His glory.”

There is such a strong, powerful, illuminating word in Colossians 1:18 which says: “…that in all things He [Jesus!] might have the preeminence!

Our lives are to be summed up in Christ! Our marriages are to be summed up in Christ! As parents we are to so live and teach our children that their lives also are summed up in Christ! Your business and work ethic are to be summed up in Christ! Your friendship relationships are to be summed up in Christ! Your visions, dreams, goals, aims, aspirations are to be summed up in Christ!

Does Jesus reign in your heart and in your home and in your work-a-day world?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“WHO ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD?”

I want you to come to Ezekial 36 first. We’ll share together verses 22-28, and then Ezekial 37:24-28, and then Hebrews 8:1-2, 6, 10.

Ezekial 36:22-28, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,’ says the Lord God, ‘when I m hallowed in you before your eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”

Ezekial 37:24-28, “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Hebrews 8:1-2, 6, 10, “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. Verse 6, But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. Verse 10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

When you think about those who were not a people but now they are, when you think about those who were void in mercy but now filled with it, and when you think about those who had no abiding name but now they do, what do you say of them?

They’re called “the believers of the faith, saving faith,” “the Body of Christ,” “the Army of God,” “the soldiers of the Cross,” “the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ,” “the baptized ones,” “the Covenant crowd,” “the Christ-tians,” “the followers of the Way,” “the Born-again-ners,” “the sheepfold,” “the children of the Way,” “the children of Light,” “Wisemen,” “the Promised Bride,” “the Brotherhood of Love,” “the Israel of God,” “the sons of Promise,” “the citizens of the Kingdom,” “the Family of Faith,” “the branches of the True Vine,” “God’s Household,” “a habitation of God through the Spirit…”

But I like that holy covenant of Promise Word we just read, Ezekial 36:28, “So you will be My people, and I will be your God!” In Scripture, you’ll find “My People,” “Your people,” “His people,” “the people of the Lord,” “the people of His pasture,” “the flock of His people,” “Your great people,” “Your own people,” “the people of the God of Abraham,” “Your people called by Your Name.”

Samuel said in I Samuel 12:22b, “…the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.” But you do realize that there are multitudes of people who have no desire at all to be the people of God.

Jude 12 speaks of those “caring for themselves,” and Genesis 11:4 speaks of those whose all-consuming life passion is to “make a name for ourselves,” a people of the world who’ve been squeezed into its mold, a people who think only of flesh, the temporal, and not of the Spirit or the Eternal!

But then there are “the people of God”! Who are they?

You’ll remember Exodus 32 and 33 and the “golden calf” madness of a people who rode “side-saddle” on the calf of deception, idolatry, and spiritual foolishness. And they heard from God, “I’ll see that you get to the land I promised you, but I will not go up in your midst.” And our God will never be with our deceptions, idolatries, or our spiritual foolishnesses!!

But THEY humbled themselves, and Moses interceded: Exodus 33:15-16, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all other people who are upon the face of the earth?” Who ARE these “distinguished” People of God?

IT IS THOSE WHO LIVE IN “THE REST” THAT THEY ARE CHOSEN OF GOD:

In Deuteronomy 7:6 Moses said, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God: the Lord your God HAS CHOSEN YOU to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Psalm 33:12 says, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” I would remind you of what Paul said to the church at Rome, (Romans 3:10-11), “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no not one…there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after or for God.”

But if now there are those ‘seekers for God,’ what happened? In Jeremiah 31:3 the prophet tells us, “The Lord appeared to me from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

Do you remember John 6:44? Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” He said later in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I CHOSE YOU.”

In Revelation 17 it says that there will be those who “wage war against the Lamb.” It’s the way it has been and the way it will be! But also it says in verse 14, “and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, [LISTEN!}, and those who are with Him (in Victory) are the CALLED, and CHOSEN, and FAITHFUL.”

So in Colossians 3:12-15 Paul says to us: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put o love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Then, in Hosea 2:19-20, 23 we read, “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord. Verse 23, Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are MY PEOPLE!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO IN REPENTANCE ARE BROUGHT TO HIM:

In Luke 1:17 we read, “And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous: so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

John the Baptist was raised up with the ministry of repentance. Jeremiah was a major Old Testament prophet of repentance! In Jeremiah 5:3 he spoke: “O Lord, do not Your eyes look upon truth (and for truth)? You have smitten them, but they did not weaken. You have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock: they have refused to repent.”

John, in Matthew 3:2, began his ministry, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus, then, in Mark1:14-15, came “preaching the gospel of God,” saying “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe [or trust in, rely upon] the gospel.”

Before His ascension, in Luke 24:47, Jesus commissioned His disciples “that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed on the basis of His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Paul, to the Ephesian elders, Acts 20:21, stated he testified to both “Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Do you remember when Peter went before the elders in Jerusalem about Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit? When he explained the elders glorified God saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life!”

Look at 2 Corinthians 7:9-11! Paul said: “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO ARE JOYOUSLY REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB:

In Matthew 1:21 we read, “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” And do you remember when the mouth of Zacharias was opened that he prophesied? Luke 1:68 says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.”

Peter later said, I Peter 1:18-19, “you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” Redeemed, not by religious activities, but by the blood of Christ. Redeemed, not by valiant attempts to live by the Golden Rule, but by the blood of Christ. Redeemed, not by consecrated devotion to the traditional teachings of men, but by the blood of Christ. Redeemed, not by manly attempts to live a moral life, but by the blood of Christ.

Titus 2:14 tells us, “Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Jesus was and is “the merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. [Hebrews 2:17]. Then, Hebrews 13:12 tells us, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people THROUGH HIS OWN BLOOD, suffered outside the gate.”

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO ARE JUSTIFIABLY RECONCILED TO GOD:

In 2 Corinthians 5:14-19 we read, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Did it say “reconciled us to Himself through Christ”? And he said it not once but twice! “RECONCILED”? There are two words here: ALLASSO, “to change, alter, exchange,” and KATA, “according to”. That’s ‘according to’ HIMSELF! He changes us, alters us, exchanges us “according to” JESUS!

We are reconciled to His PERSON – “we shall be like Him.” We are reconciled to His PURPOSE – “…saved us and called us with a holy calling…(2 Timothy 1:9) I Peter 4:2 says, “…live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” We are reconciled to His POWER – I Corinthians 1:24, “Christ, the power of God…” In His prayer for the Ephesian church Paul prayed, (Ephesians 1:19), that they might know “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” We’re not the impotent – we’re the empowered; we’re not the addled – we’re the anointed; We’re not the empty – we’re the FILLED IN ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth that the word of the Cross of Christ IS the very power of God. [I Corinthians 1:18].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. [I Corinthians 2:4].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the faith that rests not on the wisdom of men but on the power of God. [I Corinthians 2:5].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth for our raising up through power. [I Corinthians 6:14].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the surpassing greatness of the power that is of God and not of ourselves. [2 Corinthians 4:7].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth that though we know we are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him and in Him because of the power directed toward us. [2 Corinthians 13:2].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth of the working of His power. [Ephesians 3:7].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the power of His resurrection. [Philippians 3:10].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth that we have been strengthened with all power according to His glorious might. [Colossians 1:11].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the truth of the glory of His power. [2 Thessalonians 1:9].

“In Christ” we are those who know and live by the power of His indestructible Life. [Hebrews 7:16].

“In Christ” we are protected by the power of god. [I Peter 1:5]. So, Revelation 19:1 says: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” – and to Him we have been reconciled!!

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN ROYALLY BLESSED BY OUR FATHER-GOD:

Psalm 144:15 says, “How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” Then in Psalm 67:7 the psalmist said, “God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”

The first two verses of Psalm 67 says: “God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us – that Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all the nations.”

If you haven’t read Ephesians lately, you need to be blessed by Ephesians 1:3 where Paul said that God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” BLESSED US?

He’s blessed us because we’ve been washed in the blood of the Lamb, Revelation 22:14. He’s blessed us because our hope is only in Him, Titus 2:13. He’s blessed us because we’re of the faith of Abraham, Galatians 3:9. He’s blessed us because we’ve been willing to be reviled for the name of Christ, I Peter 4:14. He’s blessed us because we died “in the Lord,” Revelation 4:13.

I love Deuteronomy 28:6 which says, We’re “blessed when we came in, and blessed when we go out!” And then in Verse 8 it says that God even commands the blessing! Glory!

Disciples of Christ are not foolish fanatics but faithful men and women who’ve become devoted to Holy God because of His undeniable loyalty to His servants! He’s “blessed us” and He keeps on “blessing”!

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN RELEASED IN THE FULLNESS OF HIS HEAVENLY AUTHORITY:

In John 20:21 Jesus said, “Peace be with you: AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, I ALSO SEND YOU.” Is that a call to a few or a calling for ALL His chosen disciples?

Revelation 1:5-6 tells us, “…To Him who loves us, and has released us from our sins, by His blood…and He has MADE US TO BE A KINGDOM, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

One of the great theological differences of men’s ministries is when the kingdom of God begins. For some it’s future while for others it is present, NOW. Let’s look at the Word!!

I Timothy 1:17 says, “Now to the King Eternal (of the ages), immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Then, in I Timothy 6:15 Paul called Jesus “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”

And then John, in Revelation 1:9 gives us insight: “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and the kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus…” Is that clear to you? THE KINGDOM IS IN JESUS!! Then our Lord, in Luke 10:19 tells us, “Behold, I give you authority…” Then boldly in Romans 5:17 Paul illumines us more: “…much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will REIGN IN LIFE through the One, Jesus Christ.”

Did that say “reign in life” or reign when you get to heaven someday? To the Ephesians, Ephesians 3:10-11, Paul wrote: “grace was given…[LISTEN!]…in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places…This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What about what Jesus had to day about all disciples, then and now? In Luke 12:32 our Lord and Master said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.” That’s THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE KINGDOM RULE, THE KINGDOM AUTHORITY, THE KINGDOM PURPOSE AND PLAN, THE KINGDOM PROVISIONS AND POWER!

Didn’t He teach us to pray: “…YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ‘ON EARTH’ [in the here and now] AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” GLORY!!

Jesus calls you in Christ “the salt of the earth,” “lights on the hills,” the Ezras and Nehemiahs building greater cities than old Jerusalem – we’re ushering in the New Jerusalem! And Daniel 11:32 says, “…the people who know their God will display strength and take action…” Tell me about your personal ‘game plan’ in helping Jesus Christ change the world!

Daniel 12:3 says, “And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Then in Daniel 7:13-14, “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

Isaiah saw it! And he cried out: “Here am I! Send me!” God said, “Go, and tell this people!” And with that heavenly authority, we are His witnesses, we are “Kingdom” ambassadors of our Lord Jesus Christ!

THE PEOPLE OF GOD? THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN ORDAINED AS TRUE WORSHIPPERS OF THE ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD:

Isaiah 43:21 says, “The people whom I have formed for Myself will declare My praise.” It was the psalmist, in Psalm 102:18, who said, “Let this be written for the generation to come; that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”

Oh, I pray Jesus’ words in John 4:21-24 will truly speak to your heart and open it wide to worship and praise the Living God! It says: Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Our Lord said in Luke 19:40, “I tell you, if these (disciples) become silent, the stones will cry out!” The angels bless the Lord (Psalm 103:20). Even “the morning stars sing together for joy” – symphonies of praise to our God.

Why were the “Pharisees” so “in the face” of the disciples and so opposed to their joyful praising of Jesus? I like Arthur Pink’s definition of worship and it explains the void within the Pharisees and scribes. [It’s in his volume on John, p.208], “Worship is a redeemed heart occupied with God, expressing itself in adoration and thanksgiving.”

The Pharisees and scribes were devoted to print – disciples were devoted to the Prince!

The Pharisees and scribes were devoted to the page – disciples were devoted to the Author!

The Pharisees and scribes were devoted to the scroll and their interpretation of it – disciples were devoted to the Spirit of it and their need of Christ the Savior!

In closing this chapter, do you remember when the Word of God was rediscovered in the reign of Josiah, how it was read in his presence, and how he tore his cloths at the reading of the Word of God? Why? Because he knew that there was such a vast difference in what he heard and what he knew he and his people were or did or did not do! He was heart-broken!

Listen to me! “In Christ” we’re the people of God. We’re the Church, the Body of Christ, the fellowship of the believers – that’s those who are to BE the People of God. And yet too often there is such a difference in what we hear and know and what we do!

So what does God say? II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Paul really nailed it down for us when in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 he wrote: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

How could a believer forget Jeremiah 2:32? “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number?” But we’ll not be those who forget – we’ll be those who fill Heaven with praise and adoration! We’ll not be those who wilt – we’ll be those who worship with great passion and fidelity! We’ll not be those drifting into complacency and indifference – we know Him, love Him, and will serve Him faithfully. We’ll not be those who look and act like unbelievers – we’re those who are “Living Stones,” true memorials to our Lord and Savior! We’ll not be those who are silent – we’ll sing His High Praises and make joyful sounds of true devotion to Christ Jesus!

Oh, don’t miss this: I Peter 2:9-10, “But YOU are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” Glory!!

I close this chapter with words from Habakkuk 3: 17-19, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”

“The People of God”? That’s those who have come to God’s open door to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of our Lord Jesus Christ”!! That’s those who say with Paul, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and, yes, even the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

“ENTER HIS GATES?”

It’s one of the greatest statements of faith found anywhere in the Word of God. It’s one of the most loved Psalms, Psalm 100: “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!…Serve the Lord with gladness…Come before His presence with singing…Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…We are His people and the sheep of His pasture…ENTER INTO HIS GATES with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise…Be thankful to Him, and bless His name…For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”

And His “enduring truth” still says to us, “ENTER HIS GATES”! In Luke 13:23-24 one said to Jesus, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And Jesus said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” What an awesome encouragement and warning!

Psalm 122:1-2 is entitled “A Song of Assents” – and I would ask you, are you ascending into the “gates of the Lord”?

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!”

Bill Bennett, in his book, “The Book of Virtues,” [Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993, pps.479-480] included Henry van Dyke’s “Doors of Daring.” It says, “The mountains that inclose the vale with walls of granite, steep and high, Invite the fearless foot to scale their stairway toward the sky…The restless, deep, diving sea that flows and foams from shore to shore, calls to its sunburned chivalry, ‘Push out, set sail, explore!’…The bars of life at which we fret, that seem to prison and control, Are but the doors of daring, set ajar before the soul… Say not, “Too poor,” but freely give; Sigh not, “Too weak,” but boldly try; you never can begin to live until you dare to die.”

And Jesus our Lord straightforwardly declares: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” The steps of Jesus led Him straight to Jerusalem for an appointment with death!

There was a physical sacred city called the city of God, Jerusalem; also called the holy city. And just as God ordained its building with “gates,” what He did then He has done now. The “holy city” of the Spirit has “gates” they’re not “doors of daring”, but “doors of dependence”! They’re not gates of timbers and iron, but gates of eternal truth and heavenly inspiration and instruction!

We know what God had to say to Obadiah about Edom and Esau because we saw in the Word “The Advancing Amalek Army.” But we also need to learn of “the reasons of God’s judgment.” Listen to Obadiah 10-11, 13: “For your violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever…In the day that you stood on the other side – In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem – Even you were as one of them…Verse 13, You should not have entered the gate of My people in the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.”

Will you stand within the gates of grace or will you be a violator, a foreigner, a stranger standing within the gates of judgment? What did Jesus say? “…for many, I say to you, will seek to enter (the straight and narrow) gate, AND WILL NOT BE ABLE!!”

Edgar Guest wrote “The Things That Haven’t Been Done Before.” It says: “The things that haven’t been done before, Those are the things to try; Columbus dreamed of an unknown shore At the rim of the far-flung sky,

And his heart was bold and his faith was strong as he ventured in dangers new, and he paid no heed to the jeering throng or the fears of the doubting crew.

The many will follow the beaten track With guideposts on the way. They live and have lived for ages back with a chart for every day.

Someone has told them it’s safe to go On the road he has traveled o’er, And all that they ever strive to know Are the things that were known before.

A few strike out, without map or chart, Where never a man has been, From the beaten paths they draw apart To see what no man has seen.

There are deeds they hunger alone to do; Tho’ battered and bruised and sore, They blaze the path for the many, who do nothing not done before.

The things that haven’t been done before Are the tasks worthwhile today; Are you one of the flock that follows, or Are you one that shall lead the way?

Are you one of the timid souls that quail at the jeers of a doubting crew, Or dare you, whether you win or fail, Strike out for a goal that’s new?”

I want you to know there is the goal of a new and living way – it’s the gates of God that lead to His eternal life and His eternal day. What did Psalm 100:4 tell us? “Enter His gates with thanksgiving…”

In Ezekial 43:5-12 the prophet tells us: “The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Then I hear Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever. Son of man, describe the temple of the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.” [Did you notice: “its exits and its entrances”?]

Now come with me to Nehemiah 3=

Let’s LOOK AT THE LAMB’S GATE: Nehemiah 3:1, Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors…”

We certainly are His people and the sheep of His pasture, but to enter the Holy City, there is only one way! In John 10:7 we read, Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” Again, in verse 10 our Lord said, “I AM THE DOOR. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” Remember, it’s called the “Sheep Gate,” or the “Lamb’s Gate.”

In Exodus 12:3-8, 21, we read: “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assemble of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” Verse 21 then says: Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, AND KILL THE PASSOVER LAMB.”

And you’re unsure about the identity of the “Passover Lamb”? In Isaiah 53:7-11 we read “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was ‘led as a lamb’ to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken, And they made His grave with the wicked – but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” Its verification?

In John 1:29 the Word of God says: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!”

In Revelation 12 John informs us about the ‘great dragon’ and our war with the Devil or Satan, and then in Verse 11 informs us: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Don’t take lightly your own spiritual warfare with the powers of darkness but, at the same time, rest in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world that Revelation 13:8 tells us about: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him [that’s yielded to and devoted to the Devil himself] whose names have not been written in [God’s] Book of Life of the Lamb…”

Revelation 14:1 tells us, “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” And they are busy preparing for the “wedding” of the Lamb and Is Bride! Revelation 19:7 tells us, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” WOW!

The “Lamb’s Gate”? That’s entrance to God’s City of “Rest”! Matthew 11:28-29 says: Jesus speaking, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Charles Spurgeon, in his Memorial Library series, “Spurgeon’s Sermons, [Vol. 13, pps 311-312], wrote: “The gospel of Jesus Christ is intended as a refuge for those who have broken the law of God, whom vengeance is pursuing, who will certainly be overtaken, to their eternal destruction, unless they fly to Christ and find shelter in Him. Outside of Christ the sword of fire pursues us swift and sharp. From God’s wrath there is bout one escape, and that is by a simple faith in Christ. Believe in Him, and the sword is sheated, and the mercy and the love of God will become your everlasting portion; but refuse to believe in Jesus, and your innumerable sins, written in His book, shall be laid at your door in the day when the pillars of heaven shall reel, and the stars shall fall like withered fig-leaves from the tree.”

The “Lamb’s Gate”? That’s the entrance to God’s City of our eternal home!

It’s “a promised home” – John 14:2 says, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU.” Paul clarifies it to the Philippians and us when in Philippians 3:20 he wrote: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

It’s “a permanent home” – Philippians 3:21 says, “WHO WILL (might, maybe, possibly?) transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,…”

It’s “a prosperous home” – Revelation 21:21 says, “And the twelve gates of heaven were twelve pearls (priceless): each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

It’s “a pleasurable home” – Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

The “Lamb’s Gate”? That’s the entrance to God’s City of abundant provisions! Doesn’t Philippians 4:19 tell us, “And my God SHALL SUPPLY all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

The “Lamb’s Gate”? That’s the entrance to God’s City of separation from all that is behind us! Judges 2:1 says, “Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers.” Oh, and listen carefully, thankfully: God leads US up from the world, from bondage, from sin and death, from a meaningless existence, from hollowness and helplessness, from the deception of the fruit of good and evil to the eternal fruit of one tree of hope and help of an empty tomb!

Let’s look at THE FISH GATE: Nehemiah 3:3 says: Also the sons of Hassenaah built the FISH GATE; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars.” So.. what significance does that have for us today?

In Matthew 4:19 Jesus is calling His first disciples, saying to them, and us: “Follow Me, And I will make you [to become] FISHERS OF MEN!!”

In Romans 10:12-15 we read: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’”

Gabriel Marcel said: “Conversion is the act by which one is called to be a witness!!” Isn’t that what the Resurrected Christ told His disciples just before His ascension? Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Come to Acts 8! Acts 8:4 says, “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” ‘Preaching’ is the Greek word: evangelidzo!! That’s evangelizing, sharing the Word, sharing the faith, reaching out in the name of Christ Jesus!

Acts 8:5 says, “Then Phillip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.” The word ‘preached’ here is the Greek word, KERUSSO, or “to herald,” “to blow the trumpet.”

Acts 8:6 says, “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Phillip…” The word ‘spoken’ is the word “LEGO” or conversationally speaking to another!

Acts 8:25 says, “So when they had testified…” That word ‘testified’ is the Greek word ‘MARTUREO’ meaning “bearing witness to a fact you know about even to giving up your life if needed.”

Are you getting this beautiful picture? Deuteronomy 12:3 says, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” It’s why the wiseman of Proverbs said, Proverbs 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

Again, “Conversion is the act by which one is called to be a witness!” Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy…He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing Bringing his sheaves with him.” IT HASN”T CHANGED! “RESCUE THE PERISHING!!”

Let’s look at “THE OLD GATE”: the Farrell Fisher translation? “The ANCIENT Gate”!

Nehemiah 3:6 tells us: “Moreover Jehoida the son of Paseah and Meshullum the son of Besodeiah repaired the OLD GATE; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and bars.” [Just a question since I’m fast approaching the age of 78!! “What’s so bad about the ‘old’ or ‘the ancient’?]

In Jeremiah 6:16 we read, THUS SAYS THE LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘WE WILL NOT WALK IN IT.’” Later, in Jeremiah 18:15 God spoke again, “Because My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in pathways and not on a highway…” [Could that be no desire to walk on God’s “Highway of Holiness?”] What is “The Old Gate”?

That’s the “ANCIENT GATE OF THE SOVEREIGN RULE OF HIM WHO IS CALLED THE ANCIENT OF DAYS! Daniel 7:9-10 says, “I watched till thrones were put in place, and THE ANCIENT OF DAYS was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire…A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.”

That’s the “ANCIENT GATE OF THE APPOINTED KINGDOM RULE OF HIS HEAVENLY SON!

Daniel 7:13-14, 18, says: “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him before near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. Verse 18, “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”

That’s the “ANCIENT GATE OF PROMISED VICTORY FOR THE SAINTS!

Daniel 7:21-22, 26-27 says: “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,…until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom. [But the beast arises, “speaking pompous words against the Most High,…persecuting the saints of the Most High…intending to change times and law”]. Verses 26-27, “But the court shall be seated And they shall take away the beast’s dominion, to consume and destroy it forever…Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

Oh, yes, there is another Gate!! IT’S “THE VALLEY GATE”! Nehemiah 3:13 speaks of “the low place”. It speaks of the gate or the way of humility!

In Philippians 2:3-8 we read, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

For “proud societies” I know it’s difficult but James 4:10 tells us, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” And God’s vision is not impaired!

I Peter 5:5-6 says, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud; but He gives grace to the humble.’…Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

How powerful and liberating and challenging and convicting is the Word of God!! 2 Chronicles 7:14, “humble yourselves and pray – God answers! Psalm 10:17, God hears the desires of the humble. Psalm 25:9, God teaches the humble His way. Psalm 34:2, The humble hear and they rejoice. Psalm 37:11 The humble inherit the land. Proverbs 29:23 The humble obtain honor. Luke 1:52 God exalts the humble. James 4:6 God gives grace to the humble. James 4:10, God lifts up the humble.

What about in Nehemiah 3:14 the “repairing of the REFUSE GATE”?

Do you remember Exodus 12 and the preparations for Passover? Exodus 12:15 says, “..On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” What is the Word telling us about “refuse”?

In I Corinthians 5:8 there is a word about “the leaven of malice and wickedness.” If you look at Verse 7 it speaks of “clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

Paul’s word to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:20-22 is so on target, not only for youth worldwide, but on target for all! “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself for the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, and prepared for every good work. Flee youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Do you know and understand what the will of God is for your life? In I Thessalonians 4:3 Paul said, “For this is the WILL OF GOD, YOUR SANCTIFICATION; that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” The word “sanctification” is a word that fundamentally tells us we are “set apart” for the honor and glory of God alone, set apart for His usefulness in kingdom allegiance!

It’s why in I Thessalonians 4:7 Paul said, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” We cleanse ourselves because “in Christ” we serve, represent, and honor the King of kings and Holy God. But beyond what we just read, what about what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 7:1? “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

We cleanse ourselves because we’re called with a high and holy calling. We cleanse ourselves because we possess a holy hope – being like Him. We cleanse ourselves because of our ministries of salt and light. We cleanse ourselves so Christ feels at home in us. We cleanse ourselves because cleanliness in Spirit is better than dirtiness of the flesh. Next Gate?

There is “The FOUNTAIN GATE”: Nehemiah 3:15, “ Shallun..repaired the Fountain Gate.”

I want you to look first at John 7:38-39 where Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water…But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Then later, in John 16:7 Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage (necessary) that I go away: for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

Oh, and then, in John 20:22, after telling the disciples that ‘as the Father has sent Me, I also send you,” Jesus “Breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Some appropriate little brooks – others choose the flow of the mighty Niagara Falls. Some choose to dig in desert sands for a small drop of water – others choose the flow of a mighty Amazon or Nile River of the Spirit.

The Fountain Gate speaks of entering the flow of God Himself. The Fountain Gate speaks of standing on the promise of available power. The Fountain Gate speaks of resting in the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The Fountain Gate speaks of receiving available provisions of the fruit of the Spirit. The Fountain Gate speaks of trusting the baptism of Holy Ghost fire sweeping over us like the wind of a fire-cloud into the very glory of God. The Fountain Gate speaks of the acknowledgement of our impotence, but also the announcement and availability of His inexhaustible supply of His great power.

Acts 4:33 says, “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”

Jack Taylor, in “The Key To Triumphant Living,” [Broadman Press, Nashville, 1971, p.81], wrote: “How marvelous is the figure of a RIVER…a RIVER: is involuntary and doesn’t have to try. A river is unselfish and available wherever it goes. A river is the picture of confidence and power and doesn’t have to babble like a brook! A river is consistent and keeps on keeping on. You don’t have to prod it. A river is a picture of constant cleaning. Cast pollution in it and it will sweep it away. A river is a symbol of courage. Put obstacles in front of it, and it will overwhelm them. A river speaks of available power. It runs factories and turns lights on all over the country.” Do you see the necessity of the Fountain Gate? No production, no power, no lights apart from the anointing of the mighty Spirit of God!

This is why Paul wrote Ephesians 5:17-18, “Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is…And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT!! Let the river flow through you!

But Jeremiah 2:13 says, God speaking, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.” And then in Jeremiah 17:13 God says, “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth. Because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.”

But there is another option!! Zechariah 12:10 says, God speaking, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

Let’s meet together, right now, at “THE WATER GATE”: Nehemiah 3:26 says, “Moreover the Nethinim who dwelt in Ophel made repairs as far as the place in front of the WATER GATE…” How absolutely thrilling is God’s precious Word!

Come to Nehemiah 8:1-6, 8-9, Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose…and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground….Verses 8-9, So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.”

In Ephesians 5:25 Paul spoke of how Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it…and then in Verses 26-27 he said, “that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word…that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” I pray you are familiar with the ministry of the Word of God – individually, as a family, as a nation, and, yes, throughout the world!

Psalm 107:20, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” But come to Psalm 119!! It majors on God’s Word: Psalm 119:9, “How can a young man cleanse his way> By taking heed according to Your word.”

Psalm 119:11, “Your word have I hid in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” Verse 25 speaks of “revival” according to God’s Word! Verse 28 speaks of “strengthened according to God’s Word!” Do we walk around with fleshly, spaghetti, or like muscles or mighty muscles of Almighty God?

Psalm 119:49 says, “Remember the word to your servant upon which You have caused me to HOPE.” Then verse 89 speaks of God’s Word “settled in heaven – FOREVER.” In verse 105 the psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Then in verse 165 he said, “Great peace have those who love Your word, and nothing causes them to stumble.” Receive His holy Word as your daily bread!

Next, let’s look at “THE HORSE GATE”: Nehemiah 3:28 says, “Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.” The HORSE GATE?

Proverbs 21:31 speaks of “The Horse prepared for the day of battle”! Tell me about your own spiritual preparation to “fight the good fight of faith”! Jeremiah 8:6 speaks of “The Horse rushing into battle!!” Oh, but then it gets really personal here when in Zechariah 10:3b we read: “For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as His royal horse in the battle…!”

What does Revelation 19:19 tell us? “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

Ernest Shurtleff wrote the great hymn entitled, “Lead On, O King Eternal.” It says: “Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come; Henceforth in fields of conquest Your tents shall be our home. Through days of preparation Your grace has made us strong, And now, O King Eternal, We lift our battle song…

Lead on, O King Eternal, Till sin’s fierce war shall cease, And holiness shall whisper The sweet Amen of peace; For not with swords loud clashing, Nor roll of stirring drums, With deeds of love and mercy The heavenly kingdom comes…Lead on, O King Eternal, We follow, not with fears; For gladness breaks like morning Where’er Your face appears; Your cross is lifted o’er us; We journey in its light: The crown awaits the conquest: Lead on, O God of might.”

Let’s look at “THE EAST GATE”:

Nehemiah 3:29,”…After him Shemaiah …the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs.” Malachi 4:2 says, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of righteousness SHALL ARISE with healing in His wings.”

Without a doubt I believe this East Gate is that gate of looking, preparation, anticipation, even longing, for the soon return of the King of kings and Lord of lords! Matthew 2:2 says of ‘the wise men’ from the East that they came seeking: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him!”

Matthew 24:27 makes it even clearer: “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

But God’s Holy Word inspires us to always ‘be ready’ as if today were the day keep your eyes fixed on the East! Revelation 22:12, 16 says, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work, Verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

Almeda J. Pearce wrote a classic hymn entitled “When He Shall Come.” It says: “When He shall come, resplendent in His glory, To take His own from out this vale of night, O may I know the joy at His appearing – Only at morn to walk with Him in white!…When I shall stand within the court of Heaven Where white-robed pilgrims pass before my sight – Earth’s martyred saints and bloodwashed overcomers – These then are they who walk with Him in white!…When He shall call, from earth’s remotest corners, All who have stood triumphant in His might, O to be worthy then to stand beside them, And in that morn to walk with Him in white!”

Revelation 3:4, Jesus speaking, “You have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”

Lastly, let’s look at “THE ASSIGNMENT – APPOINTMENT – RECRUITMENT GATE”: Nehemiah 3:31 tells us about Malchijah making repairs…in front of the Miphkad Gate, “inspection” or “recruiting gate.”

In 2 Timothy 1:9 Paul shared with Timothy the call to share in the sufferings ‘FOR THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE POWER OF GOD,’ telling him, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works [or plans], but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before time began…Verse 10, but now has been revealed…”

Do you remember as we began this study that we heard Jesus say, “Strive to enter through the NARROW GATE?” O but now, listen to Psalm 31:8, “You, God, have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; YOU HAVE SET MY FEET IN A WIDE PLACE!!”

I tell you, it’s a wide place of spiritual adventures. It’s a wide place of touching the infinite and laying hold of the supernatural. It’s a wide place of expanding horizons within the Sovereignty of God. It’s a wide place of grasping the heart and ministry of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It’s a wide place where the bubbling of the spring becomes a mighty river of incomparable love feeding the world with grace and mercy.

Disciples of Jesus are not those confined in a small place suffering from ‘cabin fever’ – they are the ones who’ve entered the gate of holy calling and soar with Christ in the heavenly places. Though they may live in a small town they are consumed with the spirit of global-mindedness. They’re those who’ve been lifted to the vast vistas of world vision. With Abraham their desire is to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

John saw a vision in Revelation 5:9-10 – it’s of those singing THE NEW SONG: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; For you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation…And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”

Luke 13:22-30 is both a warning AND a reason to rejoice in the Lord! It says: “And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who are saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open for us, and He will answer and say to you, I do not know you, where you are from; then you begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say to you, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

It was Bob Moorehead, pastor in Seattle, Washington, in the book “Standing Tall” by Steve Farrar, who wrote: [pps. 165-166], “I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit’s power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look up, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, stored up, and stayed up the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.”

And I’d say Bob Moorehead’s color is “blood-red” from the very veins of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God! Amen?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“THE WAYS OF GOD?”

I did a message a number of years ago entitled “Restraining Affection.” One of those restrained affections was ‘the restraining affection of a limited knowledge of God.’ Several things I want to make mention of to introduce “The Ways of God”: Romans 10:1-2 showed us those who “have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge.” In Titus 1:16 we learn of those who “profess to know God, but by their deeds deny Him.”

It doesn’t let up much at all! In John 17:3 Jesus said, “this IS eternal life, that they might KNOW YOU, the only True God and Jesus Christ whom You sent”, but how many really “know” Him? We learned in that message Hebrews 10:30-31, “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengence is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people – IT IS A TERRIFYING THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.”

And then in Hebrews 3:10 we read, “Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their hearts; and they did not know My ways…(as a result) Verse 11, ‘As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest.’” How serious does it sound to you to know God and His ways? But God is gracious and merciful which explains both Jesus’ presence AND the Cross!

So our Lord and Savior tells us in Matthew 10:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Moses learned the grace and mercy of God – and I don’t want you to miss what Moses said: Exodus 33:11-14, So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, SHOW ME NOW YOUR WAY, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, “y Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” The psalmist wrote, Psalm 103:7, “He [God] made known His ways to Moses.” And if He did that for Moses, will He do that for you?

There are those who profess that they’re the people of God – they ‘profess’ that they know His ways, or they profess they want to know His ways, but in Psalm 95:10 God declare, “…they do not know My ways…” But then there are those who come to the spiritual crossroads of life and say, “I don’t even want to know Him or His ways.”

In Job 21:7, 13-15, are words you can hear regularly, and your heart is broken. Listen, and choose Him, not a sin-blackened heart! Job 21:7 says, “Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power?” A sobering question – or should be! Then, Job 21:13-15 says, “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?’”

There are those who settle for the fringes of His ways – Job 26:14, “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways: and how faint a word we hear of Him!” The fringes of – but not His ways!

But then, there are those who hunger, long, desire, walk with the very breath of life in them only to know Him: Philippians 3:10 is Paul saying, “that I may know Him!!” And Daniel 11:32 gives people like Paul a heavenly promise: “…the people WHO KNOW THEIR GOD will display strength and take action.” There are several things I want you to clearly understand:

One, GOD WANTS US TO KNOW HIS WAYS:

Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” I sense God focuses on us because of His great love for us – the man who is the furtherest throw away from God is the man loving God is most concerned about!

2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are completely His, whose hearts are steadfast.” But you must understand and be genuinely awakened in Truth: God doesn’t unveil Himself to the divided heart! Psalm 25:9 says, “…He teaches the humble His way…”. God doesn’t reveal Himself to the proud and arrogant! Psalm 25:12 says, “Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose…” Psalm 25:14 says, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.” David put it even stronger in Psalm 103:17-18 when he wrote and sang: “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them”

God doesn’t manifest the beauty and glory of His life when there is no fear of Holy God. David was so bold about himself before the Lord. In Psalm 25:4 he cried out to the Lord: “Make me know Your ways, O Lord.” He said in verse 5, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” Are you seeing “the surrendered life”? Are you sensing a hungering heart? Do you possess a longing soul for God Himself? Or are you ‘blind’ to what or WHO you need to see?

Understand: God doesn’t pull back the curtain to a prayer-less, self-satisfied heart.

Two, GOD NOT ONLY WANTS US TO KNOW HIS WAYS, HE WANTS US TO BE ONE WHO WALKS IN HIS WAYS:

In Deuteronomy 8:5-6 are two significant, eye-opening verses that should awaken you if you’ve lapsed into indifference to God and His ways – “You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. THEREFORE you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to WALK IN HIS WAYS and to fear Him.”

You know Moses had a true heart for God – and Moses had a heart for His people also. In Deuteronomy 28:1-2,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.”

Didn’t Jesus ask a very pertinent, pointed statement when He said, “Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, but you do not do what I say?” I hate to be the one to shock you to your senses, if needed, but ‘obedience is not an option in the day of grace’! Obedience is the hallmark of one who has truly been born again!

In Deuteronomy 19:9 we read: “and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three..”

Have you truly come to grips with the evidence of “saving grace”? Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…” Paul said later in Ephesians 4:1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”

But the Word of God, the Holy Word of God, exposes the false foundations of disobedient, reckless, self-centered living, when in Isaiah 42:24, we read God’s response to that kind of a lifestyle: “Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the Lord against whom we have sinned? And in whose ways they were not willing to walk? And whose law they did not obey?”

Here they are! They knew or know His ways – but they chose, then and now, not to walk in them! Doesn’t Jeremiah 5:1-5 give us a saddened picture of, yes, even modern-day rebellion concerning those who refuse to walk in His ways? It says: “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; see now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her. Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely.” O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they have not grieved; You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor, they are foolish; for THEY DO NOT KNOW THE WAY OF THE LORD, the judgment of their God. I will go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.”

The Book of Hosea is one great prophetic word, yes, for our modern world to discover the ways of God! In Hosea 14:9 His Word tells us, “Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous WILL WALK IN THEM, but transgressors will stumble in them.”

God’s Holy Word overflows with “promises” He makes – Zechariah 3:7 says, Thus says the Lord of hosts, “IF you will walk in My ways, and IF you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among those who are standing here…” How exciting is I Kings 3:14? “And if you WALK IN MY WAYS…then I will prolong your days.” It’s in Isaiah 58:13-14 where God gives the challenge of us, all humanity, desisting from all our ways, and yielding ourselves to God’s ways, delighting ourselves in Him, then He will cause us to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed us with the heritage of Jacob.

But commitment is required! Psalm 37:5 is so clear: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Then in Psalm 50:23 we read, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright, I will show him the salvation of God.” As a result of the eternal choice of God’s ways for your life, Psalm 138:5 says, “And they will sing of the ways of the Lord: For great is the glory of the Lord.” Are you singing yet?

Three, WHAT ARE THE WAYS OF GOD?

Without hesitation, it’s easy to say God’s ways are the ways of greatness! Deuteronomy 10:17 says, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality or takes a bribe.”

He’s great and awesome in His creative power: Genesis 1:1 begins, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The prophet Isaiah hear Him speak: Isaiah 45:6-8, “That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things. Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.”

He’s great in the eternal Cross of Christ: I’m sure you know John 3:16 by memory! But you haven’t attached eternal significance to Christ’s shed blood and broken body dying on the Cross for your salvation?

He’s great in His character and great in His awesome acts! Deuteronomy 7:21 says, “… for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.” I Chronicles 16:25 says, “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised…” Has your life of faith matured to the point that you have become one disciple who more and more erupts in praise and adoration for the glory of God like a spiritual volcano that never subsides?

How does the Word describe His greatness? “Great deliverance,” “great judgments,” “great power,” “great terrors,” “great fires,” “great voice,” “great work which He did,” “great wrath,” “great name,” “great things He has done for you,” “the greatness of His victory,” “great mercies,” “great lovingkindness,” “great compassion,” “great goodness,” “Great King of all the earth,” “great peace,” “great glory,” “great sword,” “great wisdom,” “great law,” “great faithfulness,” “great vengeance,” “great signs,” “great day of the Lord,” “great love wherewith He loved us,” “great salvation,” “great Shepherd of the sheep”!

In Mark 10:42-45 we learn about “sharing” in His greatness! But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Yes, there is the way of greatness!

There is the way of the mother hen! Matthew 23: 37-38 says, Jesus speaking, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate..”

His way is the way of blamelessness or “having integrity”: 2 Samuel22:31, 33 tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.. Verse 33, “God is my strength and power, AND HE MAKES MY WAY PERFECT.” This is why in Psalm 101 David wrote: Verses 2-3, “I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.”

His way is the way of straightness! In Acts 13:9-10 Paul confronted Elymas the sorcerer: “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?’” Oh, but of course, we don’t have to worry about that attitude in America, do we? Again, David, in Psalm 125:5 said, “But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.” Do you remember John beginning his public ministry, and they asked him, John 1:23, “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness; make straight the way of the Lord.’”

His way is the way of LIFE: I love what Peter said in the beginning of his public ministry in Acts 2:25-28, “For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades [or “among the dead”]. Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.” But you have a better way of life than Jesus’ way?

His way is the way of Righteousness and Truth: In Revelation 15:3 we read, They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints!” Isaiah 64:5 says, “You, God, meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways.”

His way is the way of Blessing: Psalm 67:1-2 the psalmist gives us both an invocation and a doxology. He wrote: “God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” Have you ever heard someone say, “God wants me to be happy.” No, He wants you “blessed” – happiness is here for a moment, then gone away in the dark clouds! But God’s ‘blessing’ is forever. Plus, God isn’t interested in your happiness – He wants you to be HOLY!

His way is the way of the stronghold: Proverbs 10:29 is so clear: “The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright.” In Him, you don’t have to be uptight when you walk upright because we have a mighty fortress in our God, a bulwark never failing. It’s a stronghold of strength, love and compassion, protection, provision, and Holy Presence! Psalm 48:3 says, “God, in her palaces (the Holy City) has made Himself known as a stronghold…”

His way is the way of Sovereign Leadership: In Genesis 24:27 we read: And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brothers.” Isaiah 48:17 says: Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who LEADS YOU BY THE WAY YOU SHOULD GO.” And, praise God, that Word is still true today. He will open doors for you, and He will close the doors you do not need to be headed toward!

His way is the way of PEACE: Isn’t it interesting as you look at world events, national crisis, family eruptions, church splits – Isaiah 59:8 says, “The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever takes that way shall not know peace.” Don’t you remember that Jesus’ promise is for the “peace that passes all understanding”! Glory!

Then, lastly, His way, is the Everlasting Way: Habakkuk 3:6 simply says: “His ways are everlasting..” In John 10:27-28 Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

In Oswald Chambers’ book “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.93], he wrote: “God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. “This is life eternal, that they might know You.” The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.” That central place of power? Walking in His ways, walking in step with our Lord and Savior, and, yes, walking in step with His people!

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“WHERE ARE ALL HIS MIRACLES?”

The question of this chapter is what Gideon asked the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6 – and it is a pointed, personal, powerful question for all disciples of our Lord to be examining! Certainly, Gideon was asking concerning three areas of a disciple’s spiritual journey: 1) “Where are all His miracles …that our fathers told us about, 2) that our nation once knew, 3) And that our walk with God experienced in the infancy of our faith and pilgrimage.

Thomas Fuller, in his book entitled “Church History,” [Vol. 2, p.239) said: “Miracles are the ‘swaddling – clothes’ of infant churches.” No doubt that statement is truer, but miracles also are the garments of salvation disciples are to be walking in! Miracles are not to be the exception, but the explanation of the Indwelling Life of Christ in every true believer! That’s those believers made totally available to Almighty God and the Resurrected Christ and the very present power of the Holy Spirit!

In Numbers 11:23 the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited?” It’s not the Lord’s power that is limited but the limitations of the Lord’s people that they carry around, even doubting its modern-day availability!

Deuteronomy 3:24 says, “O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand: for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?”

But the psalmist asked, Psalm 79:10, “Why should the nations say, ‘Where Is Their God?” But is it God that is the problem when miracles appear as ancient acts or is it us? Must we have to say to the nations, ‘Our God is asleep?’ ‘Our God doesn’t do what He once did?’ Or ‘Miracles were for another day and age and no longer are they applicable to New Covenant people!’ I don’t think so! GOD IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER!

Hear what Spurgeon had to say, and receive it, walk in it, and apply it to yourself and the church of these ‘last days’! [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial Library, Vol. 17, p.95], “Some deny miracles; and if they also deny God, I will not at this time deal with them. But it is very strange that anyone who believes in God should doubt the possibility of miracles. It seems to me that, granted the being of a God, miracle is to be expected as an occasional declaration of His independent and active will. He may make certain rules for His actions, and it may be His wisdom to keep them; but surely He must reserve to Himself the liberty to depart from His own laws, or else He has in a measure laid aside His personal Godhead, deified law, and set it up above Himself. It would not increase our idea of the glory of His Godhead if we could be assured that He had made Himself subject to rule, and tied His own hands from ever acting except in a certain manner. From the self-existence and freedom of will which enter into our very conception of God, we are led to expect that sometimes He should not keep to the methods which He follows as His golden rule. This has led to the universal conviction that miracle is the proof of Godhead. The general works of creation and providence are to my mind the best proofs; but the common heart of our race, for some reason or other, looks to miracle as surer evidence; thus proving that miracle is expected of God.”

A miracle? What is it? Listen to Robert South: “A miracle is a work exceeding the power of any created agent, consequently being ‘an effect of the divine omnipotence’!”

I want my life, my family, my ministry, my church, my nation, to be an effect of divine omnipotence! It was Vance Havner, in his book, “Repent or Else”, [p.18], who said: “A lot of Sunday-morning Christians, who want to sit with folded hands and listen to a mild discourse on the Teacher of Galilee, need to be aroused from their stupor by a vision of the flaming Christ of the Candlesticks.” I’m telling you, the church TODAY needs to become a true body of believers ‘ship-wrecked on His Sovereignty and stranded alone on the Sea of His omnipotence!

Isn’t it absolutely amazing to you that Jesus had to say to a church, [Revelation 3:20], “Laodecia, Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.” “WHERE ARE ALL HIS MIRACLES”?

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN “BURIED IN THE ATTITUDE OF SELF-PITY” IN THE MIDST OF LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES RATHER THAN THE APPROPRIATION OF GOD’S AVAILABLE PRESENCE, PROPHETS, AND PROMISES TO SEE HIS SERVANTS THROUGH:

In Judges 6:1, 6-10 we read, “Then the children did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. Verses 6-10, So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. Also I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed My voice.”

Do you understand “pity parties”? That’s a trap we set for ourselves binding us in our natural inabilities while thanksgiving is release to the availability of God’s supernatural power! Pity parties are paralyzing, but appropriation is liberating!

In Acts 16, beginning at verse 16, as Paul and Silas were ministering to a slave girl who possessed a spirit of divination and received deliverance, her masters were more than annoyed by Paul and Silas – they had them imprisoned! Opportunity now for a “pity party”? No! How about appropriation through prayer to Holy God? Acts 16:25 says, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns, and the prisoners were listening to them.” The result? A great earthquake, prison doors opened, chains loosed, and a multitude of prisoners get saved!

We fix our eyes on ourselves so often, on our circumstances, on our enemies, that we cannot see or recognize the awesome hand of God! The Word doesn’t say, “Fix your eyes on your circumstances!” It says, “Fix your gaze upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith!”

We need to see every moment of every day the crucified, risen, ascended, reigning, glorified and coming King of kings and Lord of lords who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think! We need to see the Christ of the Golden Candlesticks whose countenance overshadows us, brighter than the noon-day sun, whose eyes are like fire, and whose voice is like the sound of many waters.

We need to see Him (Colossians 2:15) who “disarmed the rulers and authorities, who made a public display of Satan and the powers of darkness, who stripped them naked, triumphing over them.”

If we really bow down to the Lord Jesus, if we really submit ourselves to His authority, if we gladly become His servant, under His Sovereign control, there is no circumstance we are not over! Why? Because He rules and He reigns – and we learn to let God be God in us and through us! If you haven’t, then confess your self-pity, abandon it at the altar and receive the prophet’s word and walk on with God in His miracle-working deliverance!

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY A WALK OF DISOBEDIENCE RATHER THEN OPENED BY A WALK OF OBEDIENCE:

In Judges 6:10 we read, ‘Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed My voice.” In Deuteronomy 7 we read about God’s passion to bless those who obey Him – and you would think that that is the desire of every believer, but sadly it is not! Deuteronomy 7:9-14 tells us: “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who Keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them. THEN it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples…”

Do you remember His Word? “Tell the sons of Israel, ‘Go forward,’” and as they did, the Red Sea was opened and they walked on dry land and the armies of the enemy were destroyed! Do you remember? “Stretch forth the withered hand” – and as he did, the hand was restored! Do you remember? Elijah to the widow of Zarephath, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” “I have no bread, only a handful of flour and a little oil.” “Make me a cake first, then you and your son. For thus says the Lord, ‘the bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor the jar of oil empty until the day that the Lord sends rain on the field of the earth.’ She went and did as Elijah had spoken.”

Where are all His miracles? There was a poll nationwide that said 90% of Americans believe in God, and we know there is a church just about on every corner of American cities big or small, yet the spiritual climate of America is in a sick stage near death. It doesn’t seem to equate! You look at the seven churches in Revelation 2, 3, and 5 were in great need of the miracle power of God restoring them to their first love! And if we are going to see God’s miracles again, there must be a ‘revival’ of obedience!

Listen to Finney, quoted in Havner’s book, “Repent or Else,” [pps. 15-16], “Revival is the renewal of the first love of Christians, resulting in the conversion of sinners to God. It presupposes that the church is back-slidden and revival means conviction of sin and the searching of hearts among God’s people. Revival is nothing less than a new beginning of obedience to God, a breaking of the heart and getting down in the dust before Him with deep humility and forsaking of sin. A revival breaks the power of the world and of sin over Christians. The charm of the world is broken and the power of sin overcome. Truths to which our hearts are unresponsive suddenly become living. Whereas mind and conscience may assent to truth, when revival comes, OBEDIENCE to the truth is the one thing that matters.”

HIS MIRACLES ARE BARRED BY A LACK OF APPRECIATION OF GOD’S DIVINE MANDATE: Again, in Judges 6:14-16, hear the word of the Lord: “Then the Lord turned to him (Gideon) and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’ So he said to Him, ‘O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manessah, and I am the least in my father’s house.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

Is there an appreciation, a deep appreciation, for the mandates of our Master and Lord? In John 20:21 He said, “Peace to you! As My Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And they go in their own strength? No! John 20:22 says, And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” With have the Master’s Divine Mandate plus Holy Spirit anointing!

In John 14:12 our Lord says even now to us: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do because I go to My Father.” What an amazing word! Do you possess heavenly appreciation for our earthly mandate?

HIS MIRACLES ARE BOUND UP IN FEAR, EVEN FEAR OF FAILURE, RATHER THAN TRUE BIBLICAL FAITH THAT CALLS UPON GOD TO SHOW HIMSELF STRONG:

In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we read, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”

Do you have even a faint idea of the dilemma of one who has no idea of the God who has shown Himself strong but they settle in to try and stand on a false foundation of fear?

I want you to come back to Judges 6 and follow carefully every word in verses 17-24: Gideon said, to God, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And God said, “I will wait until you come back.” So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.”

Then in verses 36-40 Gideon is either unsure of God, afraid of his own failure, or doubting himself that God could use him as a leader! That’s what these verses are about! Gideon didn’t need a fleece – he needed the unconditional offering of full surrender to the will of God for his life, submission, yes, even celebration that God had confidence in him whether he did or not! Gideon had been touched by the signature of God on his life – but he was genuinely afraid.

Is God with us? Is God with you? Why not say to Him, “Lord, consume my fears and give me a strong faith; Lord, light the fire of your blazing glory in me; Lord, show yourself strong! A fleece? Why not faith in the faithfulness of God! But, at the same time, I don’t believe it was ‘doubting Thomas’ but a man who wanted only in the divine certainty of the Living Christ’s presence, power, plan, and promise. We should not be those who ‘kick against the pricks, but those subject to the hands of our Lord’s control!

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BETRAYED AND BLOCKED BY THE ACQUISITION AND ACCEPTANCE OF IDOLS AS AN ORDINARY PART OF ONE”S LIFE:

Look again in Judges 6:25-29! It says, Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and TEAR DOWN THE ALTAR OF BAAL THAT YOUR FATHER HAS, AND CUT DOWN THE WOODEN IMAGE THAT IS BESIDE IT; and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down. So Gideon took ten men from among his servants AND DID AS THE LORD HAD SAID TO HIM. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”

Do you remember the word of the Lord coming to Ezekial? Ezekial 14:2-3 says, And the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?” I believe you know the answer!

And, sadly, most Americans don’t even know what ‘idolatry’ truly is from God’s perspective! But Colossians 3:5 informs us: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, WHICH IS IDOLATRY.”

Are you aware of what you’ve just read? The Holy Word of God explains much of America’s fall into idol worship, even by many in the church! Rather than devotion to Christ Jesus, many faithfully bow before their idols in their minds, bodies, and, yes, their hearts – they’re captured, bound, imprisoned, to the world, the flesh, and the devil!

Have you cut down and burned the idols in your own heart and mind? Is your life hidden with Christ in God? To what or who do you bow before each day? “Where are all His miracles?” In the born-again, surrendered, yielded life – not to idols, but yielded to Christ alone! That’s THE MIRACLE!

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BESEIGED BY A FEAR OF MAN THAT LIMITS THE FULLNESS OF GOD:

In Judges 6:30-32 we read: Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar!”

It’s for sure: Joash had no fear of man, but at least he did have a fear of God. Proverbs 29:25 tells us, “The fear of man brings a snare [a trap], but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe [or secure].” The fear of men is wicked, but the fear of God is heavenly blessing. But it is true that some earthlings have no confidence in God Himself but fear of men dominate their every turn – and they suffer with a spiritual disease that is quickly cured when God has His rightful place in their lives. If we know God is our ‘help’, why should one ever fear?

It’s faithlessness in God Himself that breeds fleshly fear of fallen men! God doesn’t birth cowards – He births sons of God. God doesn’t birth men who are overcome by the fear of what men could do to them, but births men who know God is their defense and their defender!

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY FLESHLY DEVOTIONS RATHER THAN FAITHFUL DEPENDENCE UPON THE SPIRIT OF GOD:

There is such an interesting verse in Judges 6:34 which tells us: “But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon..” Came upon? It’s a word that basically means “took possession of”!

But those who doubt, are afraid of, or ignorant about the Holy Spirit’s ministry in their lives offer God “best effort” which shuts the door on God’s blessing their lives in the anointing of His Spirit and power – they want to “wing it” on their own, producing only death not heavenly life.

Do you remember our Lord’s words to His disciples right before His ascension? John 20:21-22 says: So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!!” Has that changed? Not from Jesus’ point of view, but certainly from those who trust in fleshly devotions, miracles are strange events they want no part of.

In Luke 5:17-26 you find Jesus forgiving and healing the ‘paralytic but also you see the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, and the scribes, who in their ‘fleshly devotions’ are opposing Jesus! That attitude has not changed even today!

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY THE INTELLECTUAL RATIONALIZATIONS OF NICKLES, NUMBERS OR NOSES, RATHER THAN THE INFINITE REVELATION – “GOD IS ENOUGH”:

In Judges 7:2 the Lord spoke to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’”

In that story God shared with Gideon that if Israel went out on its own to defeat the Midianites that they would internalize the victory and it would be their personal glory – not God’s. So, He told Gideon, “Too many men, Gideon! Send home those who are afraid, and 22,000 left the battlefield!” Another large number of Israelites failed God’s test the second time, leaving only 300 men against a strong nation’s might! And their weapons? God, torches and trumpets!!

Look at Deuteronomy 8:10-20! “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. BEWARE that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest – when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end – then you say in your heart ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember thye Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods and serve them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.”

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN, ARE, WILL BOOMERANG THROUGH DOUBT AND SPECULATION OF THE UNUSUAL, MIRACULOUS, SUPERNATURAL, RATHER THAN RECEIVED IN AN ATTITUDE OF HUMBLENESS, PRAISE, AND WORSHIP:

In Judges 7:12-15 we read, “Now the Midianites and Amalikites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”

In Matthew 13:53-58 we read about Jesus going back into His own country. He went into the synagogue to teach them, but they doubted Jesus and His teaching! They were “offended at Him” – and verse 58 tells us: “Now He did not do many mighty works THERE because of their unbelief.” Does that attitude of unbelief still hinder Jesus’ miraculous ministry?

How about Abraham? Romans 4:20-21 says: “He did not waiver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being FULLY PERSUADED that what God had promised, He was also able to perform.” Amen?

HIS MIRACLES HAVE BEEN BLIGHTED BY A SPIRIT OF “FALLING SHORT” RATHER THAN ENDURING TO THE END:

In Judges 8:4 we read: When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three men who were with him “crossed over”, exhausted but still in pursuit.”

Isn’t it interesting to you that Jesus said in Matthew 20:16 that “Many are called, but few chosen”? You are aware, I pray, that you as a man, like Gideon, are chosen to fulfill God’s purpose in and through your life! No doubt this is why Paul said of himself, in I Corinthians 9:22, “…I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Life with eternal purpose, life with a divine design, life with eternal intent!! But the spirit of “falling short” of God’s plan short-circuits one’s walk of faith! Oswald Chambers wrote in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.221], “All God’s men are ordinary men made extraordinary by the matter He has given to them. Unless we have the right matter in our minds intellectually and in our hearts affectionately, we will be hustled out of our usefulness to God.”

And I pray that is not an indictment of your spiritual walk and journey but an illumination of God’s intent for your spiritual journey – YOU WILL BE ONE AVAILABLE TO GOD FOR HIS MIRACULOUS MINISTRY!!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“IS THERE IN YOU PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS?”

The calling of God on a man’s life is such a high and holy calling. To be ‘in Christ Jesus’ is to be a vessel, a container, set apart for the glory of God through availability to the Indwelling Lord and Savior and Master of life.

I want you to read so carefully and prayerfully Revelation 1:4-6, “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and HAS MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS TO HIS GOD AND FATHER, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Do YOU say ‘Amen’ to that?

In I Peter 2:4-5, 9, we also read: “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Verse 9, But YOU are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Then in 2 Timothy 1:8-9 we read, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who 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.” WOW!

Next foundational word for this chapter? I Peter 5:10, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

God’s Holy Word is so inspirational, instructive, illuminating for us His divine intent laid out from the overflow of His heart and mind before the world had even been established! In Leviticus 16:21-22 we read about “the scape goat”! The Lord had spoken to Moses with instructions: “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”

And if you haven’t learned it as yet, “Christ Jesus IS God’s ‘scape goat’ in our behalf on the Cross with His broken body, shed blood, and dying form! Yet, many have not returned to the Lord! In Amos 4:11-12 the prophet spoke: “I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord. Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD!”

Holy God is concerned, not only with the lost, the separated, the unbelievers, but also His own children of faith who take lightly spiritual preparedness and readiness. This is what apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are all about because we read in Ephesians 4:12-16, that these teacher-servants are given “for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” What an awesome foundation for us in this chapter!

So Jesus in His loving spirit of compassion said to us in Matthew 24:42-44, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

What was it Jesus said to Simon Peter about preparation and readiness? Look at Luke 22:31-32, And the Lord said to Simon, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” The wise man of Proverbs 24:16 told us, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” Who are you? The righteous man who falls and gets up or the wicked man content in his calamity?

In Matthew 22:8-14 Jesus speaks to us all about preparation and readiness. He Said: Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Preparedness and Readiness? What is it all about?

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS OF THE HEART:

In Psalm 78:7-8 we learn absolute essentials for reconciliation to Holy God. It says, “That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that DID NOT SET ITS HEART ARIGHT, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

2 Chronicles 12:14 tells us about King Rehoboam. It says: “And he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.” And that’s the calling on every man’s life, past, present and future: Prepare your heart to seek the Lord!

Samuel had gone to Bethlehem at the Lord’s request, and he saw Eliab, saying to those around him, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But I Samuel 16:7 is God’s response to Samuel’s flawed response about Eliab. God said: “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Do you remember the question David asked in Psalm 23:3? “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” And God’s response? Verse 4, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart…”!! Well, that’s certainly a dilemma if you look only inwardly to yourself and do not look to the God who graciously offers “new hearts”! Isn’t that what God tells us in Ezekial 36:25-27? “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

In John 7:38 Jesus tells us, “He who believes in Me, [that’s trust in, rely upon, adhere to], as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Since the lost man’s heart is a diseased heart, spiritual heart-transplant is his only hope of being reconciled to Holy God. Prepare, get ready to meet Him face to face!

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS TO REMOVE EVERY OBSTACLE:

2 Timothy 2:19-22 hits the nail dead-center on the head of God’s concern for every disciple of Christ. Paul wrote to his young spiritual so, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,” and “let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Our journey of faith in Christ is not ‘happen-chance’ but holy commitment to be, to become, all God desires of us – and that’s explained in Colossians 3:9-10, “Do not lie to one another, SINCE you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have PUT ON THE NEW MAN who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

Here’s how Oswald Chambers explained it in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.222], “When looking back on the lives of men and women of God the tendency is to say – What wonderfully astute wisdom they had! How perfectly they understood all God wanted! The astute mind behind is the Mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God’s wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God.” Oh, how strong and on target is that!

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS FOR THE SPIRITUAL BATTLES EVERY DISCIPLE FACES:

In John 16:33 Jesus speaks to us as His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

There’s an interesting word Paul shared with the church at Corinth when in I Corinthians 14:8 he said, “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?” That may explain the Ephraimites when Asaph said in Psalm 78:9, “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.”

The Christian walk, the path of true disciples, the highway of holiness, always leads to a battlefield. For some it’s in their marriage, for others it’s parental-children conflicts, for businessmen it’s war with a crooked associate, for college students who serve Christ it’s war with a godless professor, for churches it can be a ‘false preacher’ who betrays the Word he professes loyalty to, for true pastors it’s ungodly men who see themselves ‘sent by God’ to keep the preacher straight –spiritual walks in Christ always leads to ‘your cross,’ ‘your war,’ ‘your test,’ and you cannot escape it, but you can prepare just like a soldier on his way to a war-front! Antagonism to the true faith and loyal disciples of Jesus is the recognition that trouble is rooted in everyone’s journey with Jesus, but there is the promise of His people leaning on Him coming out a ‘winner’ not a loser, a victor not a victim, a champion not a dejected, defeated, defiled son!

I love 2 Chronicles 20:15 which says: Thus says the Lord to YOU, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” Amen?

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS TO KEEP OUR LAMPS ALIGHT:

In Luke 12:35-37 Jesus tells us, “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.” Are your lamps burning?

The call on your life as a disciple is the call to walk in the light as He is in the light, yet many ‘professing disciples’(?) choose to walk in darkness. And the ‘darkness of disillusionment’ is a black cloud, not only overshadowing many, but producing doubt, cynicism, and even rejection of the Christ-life they claim to hold.

I pray what Jesus had to say in Matthew 25:1-13 will be a light exposing your darkness if you’ve let it in or a light that reveals your devotion to the only Lord and Savior: “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now, five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

In John 5:35 Jesus described John like this: “He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.” Will Jesus rejoice over your light as it reveals His fullness in you?

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS FOR THE APPROVAL OF GOD:

I Corinthians 9:23-27 informs us not only of the approval of God but “striving for the crown.” I was a high school and collegiate football player for my high school team in Cleveland, Tennessee, and was on football scholarship at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I can assure you that I never played to lose but to win! What did Paul tell the Corinthians? “Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be a partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

To Timothy Paul wrote: 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly diving the word of truth.”

Yes, and did you know or did you fly by what Paul said to the Corinthians why he disciplined himself in the things of the Spirit-real? BECAUSE HE HAD NO DESIRE TO BE DISQUALIFIED!! That is NO APPROVAL FROM GOD HIMSELF! That ought to scare the living—– out of you!

But there are ‘professors of faith’ who are not possessors of the true faith – they are ‘pretenders’! And in Titus 1:15-16 Paul wrote: “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” But is it your strong desire to be “approved by God”?

THERE IS THE PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS TO DIE:

In 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Paul wrote: “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

I’ve already told you earlier in this book of my heart attack on April 27, 2013. My son Scott took me to the hospital just moments after we arrived back from Houston, Texas, having attended a three-day conference there. I had chest pains from across my left shoulder straight across to my right shoulder. At the emergency room an EKG was ordered: Two minutes to do the EKG, two minutes for the emergency room doctor to read it, and immediately he said to the 7 or 8 attendants working on me: “Get him out of here to surgery; he has less than an hour to live!”

Down that hospital corridor they ran with me, up an elevator, into the surgical wing – and at 8:30 on a Saturday night, there was my heart-surgeon doctor ready to perform a miracle: my main artery was 100% closed, there was a huge blood clot ready to break loose and kill me, but Holy God intervened! And here’s the miracle of grace: I had no fear AT ALL – if my Lord wanted me in Heaven, I was ready to go! Are YOU prepared to die?

I ministered for 25 years all over India leading pastors’ conferences, open-air crusades, and youth evangelism outreach. On one of my memorable trips I so clearly heard God say to me: “The church of India will blossom, but it will blossom by the blood of the martyrs.” India’s pastors are prepared to die!

THERE IS PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS TO PREACH, TEACH, OR SHARE THE WORD OF GOD:

Thank God for Paul’s passionate concern for the young Timothys. He wrote in 2 Timothy 4:1-2, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, PREACH THE WORD! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

Why is that? Because in the ‘last days’ church of the 21^st Century, Verses 3-4, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Do you realize and understand what Paul was talking about as he shared the “falling away-ers” from the true faith and word because of their “itching ears”? Well, be assured, God hasn’t called you to “scratch” itching ears but to preach, teach, and share with others the revelation of God’s Holy Word! And that’s even if it costs you your life! Beware of any “community of faith” (?) that has no real emphasis on the revelation of God’s Word!

In I Peter 3:15 Peter wrote: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” Are you ready?

THERE IS PREPAREDNESS AND READINESS FOR THE WEDDING DAY:

In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul challenged the church in Corinth and, yes, churches everywhere: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Does it appear to you that some “professors” might not prepare for the wedding day?

In Revelation 19:5-8 John heard a voice from heaven saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, AND HIS WIFE HAS MADE HERSELF READY.’ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

There should be no surprise as to who the “bride” is preparing for the wedding day, but Revelation 17:14 tells us: “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and THOSE WHO ARE WITH HIM are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Romans 5:10 opens the door to your preparation and readiness for that eternal “wedding day”. It says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.” Are YOU “being” saved by His life?

In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul wrote: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” The “bride” prepares herself, making herself ready for the wedding day. And verse 3 of this same chapter lets us know this bridal path preparation when Paul said the Corinthians were in his heart “to die together and to live together.” I thought it was ‘live together so they could die together.’ That may be the natural world, but in the Kingdom of God it’s daily taking “the sentence of death” that we might share in resurrection life, resurrection power and resurrection hope – dying together so we eternally live together wedded to our Lord and Savior!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“WHERE’S THE GRIEF?”

In Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 are words that express true cycles and events of a pilgrim’s journey. It says: “There is an appointed time for everything…A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” But for Israel Jeremiah had to ask, Jeremiah 15:5, “Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will mourn for you, or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?” Certainly God’s “chosen people” have little support – and if Israel was destroyed [which it won’t be] who would mourn but those who share God’s heart?

In Matthew 11:16-17 Jesus said: “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to other children…and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and yet you did not mourn.”

No grief or no mourning about personal, spiritual tragedies, or, yes, national reversals from God-fearing to a godless society, is like an evil ‘scum’ settling over the population at large! Rather than a genuine Godly sorrow, many societies just settle into a gall of bitterness. You’ve sensed it no doubt when spiritually there is no clear shining sun, no fresh spring rains of revival or renewal, no cooling clouds – only horrible spiritual hurricanes that pummel your life –only spiritual volcanic eruptions all around you, only dark, dark clouds of suffering, demonic attacks, Satanic interference…and no one seems to care!

But you don’t mourn or grieve alone – if you – because in Matthew 5:4 God’s Holy Word tells us, Jesus speaking, “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” I pray that you understand if you are one who does grieve over the spiritual climate surrounding you that you understand that your “grief” is but the shadow of God’s Holy Presence!

In Isaiah 53:3 the prophet tells us about Jesus: “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Grief or sorrow is out of the divine nature of God Himself! Grief or sorrow is assurance of eternal presence! No grief, no sorrow over the spiritual condition of individuals or a nation is evidence of a spiritual disease that needs and must have divine healing.

In Ezekial 9:4-6 The Lord said to the prophet, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” To the others He said in my hearing, ‘Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is a mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”

Why was that? Because there was little grieving and mourning over the sins of the city and the nation! And God said, “Begin with the elders in leadership of My temple!!”

There’s another prophetic word God gave to Amos. Notice Amos 6:1-8, “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation, to whom the house of Israel comes! Go over to Calneh and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seat of violence to come near; who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall; Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; Who drink wine from bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, BUT ARE NOT GRIEVED FOR THE AFFLICTION OF JOSEPH. Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, and those who recline at banquets shall be removed. The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts says: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” No grief, no mourning – and God moves in judgment!

To mourn? The dictionary says, “to express grief or sorrow; to grieve; to be sorrowful…mourning may be expressed by weeping or audible sounds, or sobs, sighs or inward silent grief…to lament.”

To grieve? “To feel pain of mind or heart; to be in pain on account of an evil; to sorrow; to mourn.” Do you understand whether its grief or mourning over a broken marriage, or a wayward teenager, or a rebellious nation, or godless leaders, or a compromising pastor or church people, or lost family members and friends separated from God, your brokenness can hold back God’s judgment?

Is it possible that, “where there is no grief or mourning or sorrow” over the situations of life you find yourself in, that we can [and will] have God’s grief birthed in us if we call on Him? Yes, if one is willing to accept it and share it with Him! It begins with:

THE GRIEF OF GOD OVER THE SIN OF MAN THAT YOU WILLINGLY ACCEPT:

In Genesis 6:5-6 we read: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and HE was GRIEVED IN HIS HEART.”

The author of “Green Pastures” wrote: “It ain’t no picnic bein’ God…”. [That was John Jasper.]. And you begin to understand and grasp the awesomeness of God’s heart for you and me! John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

In Isaiah 1:2-9, 18-20 we hear both the mind of God and the heart of God, His grief and His grace: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.’ Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devout your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. Verses 18-20, Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Listen to Jesus and the grief in His own heart as He spoke about Jerusalem: Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” And the result? Verse 38, See! Your house is left to you desolate!” But you don’t believe that’s our Lord’s concern about you or your nation?

WHAT ABOUT THE GRIEF OF CARING MEN OVER THE LOSTNESS OF OTHERS AND THEIR SEPARATION FROM GOD?

In Romans 9:1-3 we read the heart of Paul the Apostle: “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.”

One of the greatest dangers any professing disciple of Christ faces is a cold, cold heart concerning the lost, the perishing, the alienated from God folks! If there is no sorrow and grief over the separated from God people, it means one has become extremely shallow in his faith. And I’m not thinking of the sorrow of the rich young ruler because riches had become his god – his sorrow was because he had become disillusioned when he realized the bondage of self-love and what possessed him – and he certainly was not willing to let it go! But Jesus reached out to him, He sought to touch him with grace and mercy, He targeted what had his heart and sought to truly make him rich in faith! Who do you reach out to?

Do you remember Psalm 126:5-6? It says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seeds for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

What was our Lord’s commission to the early church and has it changed? “You shall be My witnesses…!!” Are you busy about the Father’s business?

THERE IS ALSO THE GRIEF OF THE FALLING OF THE MIGHTY:

I Samuel 15 is such a powerful word to all of God’s people, and, yes, a word of warning concerning our obedience or lack of it as the Lord commissioned us. It’s about Saul as Samuel came to confront him. The commission of God to Saul was to go and Amalek and utterly destroy that people – none were to be spared!

Saul did attack them, but I Samuel 15:9 says, “but Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep…” Look with me at I Samuel 15:13-23. We read: Then Saul said to Samuel, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ So Samuel said: ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” Verse 35 then says, And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.” Enough said here!

THERE IS ALSO PARENTAL GRIEF OVER THE FALLING AWAY FROM GOD OF SONS AND DAUGHTERS:

Proverbs 10:1 is so very clear, “A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother..” And then in Proverbs 17:25 we read, “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.”

Isn’t it absolutely sad for parents who live Godly lives, lay their lives down in ministry and service to their sons and daughters, and, yes, train them well in the Word and by example, to have to face the devastation of their sons and daughters because they choose the world not God’s will, they choose fleshly devotion to a fallen self not faithfulness to a loving Savior, they choose loose living morally to living in and by the Holy Word of God!

For parents that is horrendous, a heavy weight hard to carry, and even a hellish assault on their own faith! Rather than God’s spirit of grace on their sons and daughters some parents are crushed as they witness sons and daughters bound by spirits of deception, bound by the control of demonic spirits that have taken their children over with hellish mind control, broken-hearted as they watch sons and daughters sold out to the spirit of godlessness.

How sad is it when a broken-hearted parent reads a passage like Proverbs 19:16 which says, “He who keeps [God’s] commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless [reckless] of his ways will die.” And at least those parents set aside to the glory of God grieve over wayward children.

THERE IS THE GRIEF OF A DEPARTED GLORY:

Ephesians 3:21 says, “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” That’s God’s aim, His divine will and pleasure, His goal for every life to live under the glory cloud of Holy Presence, for the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to reign supreme in every heart, every home, every church, every life – glory all around!

But when you look to Lamentations and then look around you, one is heavy-laden by the absence of God’s glory cloud! Lamentations 1:20 speaks of one in great distress because of that recognition that His glory has departed. It says, “See, O Lord, that I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me, for I have been rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, at home it is like death.”

Why is it? You know what Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” But that’s so difficult for many to face up to – so they substitute glory in God for a spirit of godlessness in themselves!

It may be hard for a godless society to accept, but I believe the Holy Word is convicting and convincing, so follow carefully I Corinthians 5 which says: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles – that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

THERE IS ALSO THE GRIEF OF THE WORD-TESTING:

Didn’t we just read in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 5 two statements “inspired by God’s Holy Spirit” – Verse 9, “I wrote to you in my epistle…” and Verse 11, “But now I have written to you…”

In 2 Corinthians, again, Paul stresses the vital importance of openness and obedience to God’s divine will! 2 Corinthians 6: 11-12 the Apostle said, “O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.”

Do you grasp what we’ve just read? Grief always overshadows a life that is resistant to the Holy Word of God! Didn’t Jesus tell us in Matthew 4:4, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”?

Go to Genesis and read carefully God testing Abraham. Remember? “Take Isaac to the land of Moriah, offer him as a burnt offering on the mountain.” Abraham told his two servants traveling with him that “we will come back to you.” He was going to be obedient and offer Isaac, and he expected “a resurrection”! In verse 12 of chapter 22 of Genesis God said as Isaac laid on the altar, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.” [Check out Ezekial 21:1-17!!].

BUT ALSO WHERE IS THE GRIEF OVER THE NEEDY?

In Job 30:25 we read: “Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?” And there is no doubt God’s compassion SHOULD flow through us to the poverty-stricken physically, but just as passionate God’s people must “care” for the spiritually poor! Isn’t spiritual poverty as great a threat to a society as physical poverty? Neglect of either is not an option God’s people should hold!

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Then in Psalm 35:9-10 David was being persecuted, but he called out to the Living God because he knew God’s heart: “And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones shall say, ‘Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?’

But we who are in oneness with Jesus have no concern, no ministry, no outreach, no compassion for the poor? “As Jesus is, so are we in this world?”

THERE IS THE GRIEF OF A POTENTIAL BETRAYAL AND A PERILOUS FALLING AWAY:

In Matthew 26:17-25 we learn about Judas! But then follow carefully verses 31-35! Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

Do you understand the fragileness of ALL disciples when persecution is unleashed? In Zechariah 13:7 it says: “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,” says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered…”

Mark 14:21 should plant the fear of God in any and every true believer! It says, “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

The Prophet Jeremiah puts before us awesome words of warning when he told us in Jeremiah 22:8-10 these words: “And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods and served them.’ Weep not for the dead, nor bemoan him; weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.”

THERE IS THE GRIEF THE WALK OF DEATH PRODUCES:

In Matthew 26 Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. In verses 37-39 we read about this momentous night in the life of our Lord AND three of His disciples: And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

And you do understand – I’m not only talking about one’s facing the reality of physical death that can produce ‘grief’ about dying in many hearts, but I’m talking about the struggle between ‘flesh’ and Spirit that we all must face and fight, and some ‘fear’ that death to self or, yes, death to their old sin natures! There’s no doubt that ‘grief’ concerning a sharing of “the afflictions of Christ” that Paul talked about has and will generate grief in some hearts, but here is to be a “continuing” in the faith, grounded and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you’ve centered your life in! Hold on! Don’t give away to ‘grief’ the walk of death can produce!

THERE IS, OR SHOULD BE IN EVERY BELIEVER, GRIEF OVER HARDENED HEARTS:

In Mark 3:1-5 we see this possibility for today: And Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there with a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.”

Did you notice Jesus “grieved by the hardness of their hearts”? And I have no doubt about some who hear the demands of discipleship, His call to be broken bread and poured out wine, His call to disciples to take up their own crosses and follow Him, and they say, “I’ll not be squeezed by anyone, crushed by anything to make His wine, or accept the call of a cross for anybody or anything,” and as a result, they walk away from the greatest relationship and opportunity they could be a part of – they don’t – and Jesus grieves over hardened hearts.

THERE IS ALSO THE GRIEF OF “TOO-LATE” TEARS:

Oh, how I pray that the Holy Spirit will come fully upon you and bring holy conviction on you if these verses relate to you: Hebrews 12:14-17 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.” “Too-Late Tears”!! “Too Late!!” Some determine they have time – but it was “too late”!

I close this chapter with James 4:7-10. I pray you receive it right now: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Would you please go to Revelation 21 and read carefully Verses 1-8, and verse 27!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“WHY GLORY IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST?”

I know as well as you that modern men major on an awful lot of things, but it certainly doesn’t mean that most men ‘glory in the Cross of Christ’! Modern men, separated from God, indulging fallen flesh, and possessing no interest in our Lord’s death on the Cross, are totally devoted to the ‘old man,’ to their fallen flesh or old sin nature, and though they do not know it or understand it, they are bound by the powers of darkness and serve like a slave of the old Roman empire!

Fallen men, away from God glory in themselves, glory in the accumulation of more and more money, glory in their fame or name that they make for themselves, glory in their indulgent, fleshly, sin natures, and really do celebrate and rejoice in their sinfulness!

I love what Oswald Chambers had to say when he said, “The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me.” And sadly most men do not know that “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” You would think that would be good news for a sin-bound man, but some find their bondage enjoyable and saving faith a “downer”!

But in Isaiah 52:13-15 we read, “Behold, MY SERVANT shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.” And that certainly is my desire for every alienated soul living apart from “amazing grace” that they shall see His face, hear His voice, sense His Spirit, and repent toward God and put their faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross!

I don’t know if you know it or ever really considered what happened to Jesus as He was beaten, battered, spat upon, and, yes, stripped naked as they nailed Him to the cruel Cross – it was shameful! And no Roman was ever put to death on a cross – but they nailed Jesus to the Cruel Cross! But the question is: “Why [should you] Glory In The Cross of Christ?”

If a ‘self-glorying’ man ever slows down long enough, opens his ears to gospel truth, becomes sick with ‘amiable religiosity,’ is convicted by the Holy Spirit of his sinful bondage, and pauses long enough and seriously enough to view naked Jesus on the Cross because of Jesus’ love for that man to forgive him and set him free from his sin problem – if “he lifts up Jesus in His mind and his heart, Jesus will draw him unto Himself” in saving grace and mercy!

This is why Oswald Chambers wrote in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.264], “The calling of a New Testament worker is to uncover sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Savior [and I say Lord also], consequently he cannot be poetical, he must be sternly surgical. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful discourses. We have to probe straight down as deeply as God has probed us, to be keen in sensing the Scriptures which bring the truth home and to apply them fearlessly.” If that’s true – and it is – let’s begin:

WE ARE TO GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY SATISFACTION OF OUR SIN DEBT BEFORE HOLY GOD:

God set the terms of your ‘sin-debt’ forgiveness! Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of God’s grace…”

There is another vital verse that must penetrate all of our minds and hearts. It is I John 2:2 where John wrote: “And He Himself [Jesus] is the PROPITIATION for our sins, and not ours only, but also those of the whole world.”

What did John the Baptist say when he saw Jesus coming? “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD WHICH TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!!” One of the old, old hymns that still holds a special place in my heart is the hymn, “There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood”:

“There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains…The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day, And there may I, tho’ vile as he, Wash all my sins away…E’er since by faith I saw the stream Your flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die…Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing Your power to save, When this poor lisping, stammering tongue, Lies silent in the grave.” This hymn was written by William Cowper.

Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

I pray you have understanding of our Lord’s revelation! I Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also died for our sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…”

Isaiah 53:10 tells us: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” Why? Because Verse 11 says, “He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”

Hallelujah! Jesus took our iniquities and nailed them to His Cross Himself as He suffered, bled, and died to take away your sin! Glory in Him!!

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS BECAUSE IT OPENS THE DOOR TO THE HOLY PLACE:

Hebrews 10:19 is so very, very clear. It says, “Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus…”

Do you know what the Great High Priest used to do before he entered the Holy Place in the tabernacle? Only the Great High Priest could go in once a year only, and that after great spiritual preparations! But in case he overlooked something and died on the spot as he entered the presence of God, he had tied a long rope around his ankle so the priests outside could drag him out from the presence of God. But NOW?

In Matthew 27:50-51 we read, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit…and behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom..” What is that all about? That is our Lord, through the Cross, opening the door to the Holy Presence to all of God’s people!

Hebrews 6:19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters the veil!” But you see no reason to glory in Christ Jesus?

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS BECAUSE IT REVEALS THE DEPTH OF GOD’S LOVE FOR US:

Romans 5:8 is so on target! It says, “But God proved His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

But I do believe some take God’s truth and twist it, determining for themselves, not His Word, that His forgiveness is a license to do as I please since God is so loving and forgiving! How preposterous and unbelieving is that! Do YOU really believe the tremendous price of Jesus’ suffering and death on the Cross was to give you an open door or free pass to sin as you please?

If, according to Isaiah 49:5, that God formed Jesus “to be His Servant” and through conversion we’ve been made One With Christ, how is that freeing us to do as we please in a ‘free-sinning lifestyle’?

Consider again John’s message in John 3:16-21! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

And, Romans 8:35 asks, and then answers: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” I have a question: “Does your trouble or troubles traumatize God? Does your bad experiences in life limit what God can do in your behalf? Are your “wounds” exempt from the wonders of His love, grace, and mercy?”

Listen to me – I’m telling you: “In Christ” even “bitter seasons” become “sweet blessings” because He will never leave you nor forsake you! Spurgeon preached a message that caught my attention. It was based on Ecclesiastes 11:3 which says: “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth,” and his message was entitled “Black Clouds and Bright Blessings.” [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial Library, Vol.11, p[.225].

Look with me at Ephesians 3:17-19! It says: “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST which passes knowledge; THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.”

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE IT RELEASES THE VICTORY TO OVERCOME SIN IN OUR DAILY LIVES:

Romans 6:14 is so very, very clear: “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are no longer under the law (of sin and death!!), but under grace.” And God’s grace is greater and stronger than your old sin habit! But it does require our yielding ourselves as servants of our Lord and Savior and not to our old sin nature – we yield ourselves to the victory of His “Blood Atonement”!!

If our Lord and Savior said, “Go and sin no more,” then when do some professing believers say they can’t do anything but sin until they get to Heaven? How convenient for the compromisers!

If our Lord and Savior said, “Go and sin no more,” then why do fleshly pleasure seekers shut their ears and their hearts to the finished work of Christ on the Cross in their behalf? Do you remember Jesus having a woman caught in adultery brought to Him by the Pharisees? That’s John 8. And in verses 10-12 we read, When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Romans 6:22 tells us: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE IT SHOWS THE WAY OF EXALTATION:

Come to Philippians 2:5-11, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus humbled Himself and was exalted, lifted up. Jesus made Himself of no reputation and was exalted. Jesus took the form of a bondservant and was exalted. Jesus humbled Himself and was exalted. Jesus was obedient to the point of death and was exalted. But as His “followers” we are free to choose a different way to be exalted? I don’t think so!

It was Phillips Brooks who said: “Jesus Christ, the condescension of divinity, and the exaltation of humanity.” His guiltless blood was shed for men’s guilty hearts so that through repentance and faith they may be exalted with Him!

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY WAY SOVEREIGN GOD DETERMINED SALVATION BY FALLEN MEN COULD BE OBTAINED:

Acts 4:12 is the foundation of building a lasting ‘house of faith’ in God! It says: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” And that name that saves? Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Emmanuel –“God with us”!

Paul told the Corinthians in I Corinthians 15:1-3, “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…”

Do you understand ‘reconciled to God’? And if it is necessary, essential, and is by God’s determination alone – what does His Holy Word tell us? Romans 5:10 says, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be [being] saved by His life.”

You are not put into a right relationship with Holy God because you are ‘religious,’ or because you do religious acts, or because you, at least, try to obey Him. You’re saved only through the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross, and you ‘rest’ in His finished work there! Religious or “In Christ”? Good deeds or “In Christ”? Church attendance or “In Christ”? Super efforts or “In Christ”? “Others speak well of me” or “The Spirit Himself bears witness with My Spirit”?

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A NEW DYNAMIC OF TRUE LIFE:

In Hebrews 10:10, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all…” What will? The will of God from before the foundation of the world – Christ Jesus as the Lamb slain in the mind and heart of God BEFORE the world was even established!

Hebrews 10:14-17 tells us: “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their Minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’”

“Sanctified”? That means ‘set apart’ by God for His glory, honor, and praise! “A New Dynamic”? Glorying in the Cross to the glory of God alone! “Living”? To honor Him alone and fulfill His eternal purposes!

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE THE CROSS WAS GOD’S WAY TO TRIUMPH OVER OUR ENEMY, SATAN:

In Colossians 2:13-15 we read: “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, having triumphed over them.”

John illumined our victory over the powers of darkness in I John 3:8 when he wrote: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of Satan.” The works of Satan? To dismantle you! To so tempt you that you fall away! To capture you, yes, for Hell itself!

Look at Hebrews 2:14-15 and glory in the Lord Jesus’ rendering Satan powerless: “Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil:…and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

When the psalmist said in Psalms:136:24 that “[God] rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy endures forever,” don’t you think the devil and his demons are your enemy? And Jesus handled your dilemma with the devil! And you have reason to glory in Him!!

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE THROUGH THE CROSS THE GREAT POWER OF GOD IS RELEASED:

Just listen and receive I Corinthians 1:17-18, 23, which says: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should be made void…For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED!!”

Why was Paul sent? “TO PREACH THE GOSPEL” which we just learned that the word of the cross not only “saves us, reconciles us, redeems us,” it is also the great power of God released through us in an overcoming life, in spiritual warfare, and the release of His great power through us to honor Christ by ministering in His Name, by His available anointing and empowering!

You may face disillusioning battles but the power of the Cross promises you victory. You may face a world of trouble, but His Cross is the power of God to overcome. You may face closed doors, but the great power of God opens those doors or better doors.

WE GLORY IN THE CROSS OF JESUS BECAUSE THROUGH THE CROSS THE WORLD’S PULL HAS LOST ITS POWER:

Galatians 6:14 says it so encouragingly: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” The world pull, yes, has lost its power through the Lord Jesus. Settle it: ALL THAT MATTERS IS JESUS!

There’s an old hymn that says: “This world is not my home, I’m just a’passing through, My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” That’s Heaven – my eternal home around God’s throne!

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE OR THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE?”

I wonder if you’ve ever said it or experienced it, “I am going to get this done right this time,” but again you fall flat on your face. You have great confidence in yourself and you try but you’re soon crushed. You’re blessed with lofty ambitions but you live with LIMP ACCOMPLISHMENTS. You dream and drool with the drippings of SELF-DETERMINATION but end up with the nightmare of constant failure.

You know the STANDARD of moral accountability and responsibility but find yourself flawed with the reality of SIN in the heart. You aim toward “the mark” and you miss it. You RACE toward the finish line of personal faithfulness and you stumble and fall.

You reach up for the shining star of light and “GLOW-FUL-NESS” but radiate only the darkness and despair and dismay of wanting to do right but wallowing in the wrong.

And the powerful truth of the revelation of the Word of God is that a self-sufficient, self-motivated man never finds the witness of a royal release while the weakness of self-willed resolve is hidden from our eyes.

The great depth of our own weakness is a mystery to a man who is disciplined and determined to make it on his own without any outside help including God. Do you understand? STRONG CONSTITUTIONS can be our undoing. Brave soldiers are beyond numbering in basic training, but when the real battle commences few heroes are to be found with medals of HONOR.

I’m not sure if you’ll be familiar with the story called “STYX” in which THETIS dipped ACHILLES everywhere but the heel by which she held him. He was so strong and so invulnerable wherever the water had touched him, but remember, the heel hadn’t been covered by the water, and all of a sudden PARIS shot the arrow into the heel, and ACHILLES DIED.

Most men think of themselves as completely INVULNERABLE but fail to remember there is a HELPLESS HEEL. The one thing I want you to know is that without the Spirit of Christ controlling our lives we are all “SHORN SAMSONS”! Dr. Watts had a verse in one of his hymns that said: “SAMSON, when his hair was lost, Met the Philistines to his cost; Shook his vain limbs with vast surprise, made feeble fight, and lost his eyes.”

YOUR strength is your greatest weakness! YOUR proud consciousness is a strong indication of personal corruptness! YOUR ship of flawed character has had a major leak since its inception and is about to sink! YOUR own flight to the gates of heaven on the wings of self-estimation of acceptable virtues has an unacceptable visa and passport.

Why did Jesus die if we could earn our own way to heaven? Why was His blood shed if your best could merit the favor of God? TRUTH IS NEEDED!!

Listen to Spurgeon [Vol.19,p373, Memorial Library, Spurgeon’s Sermons]: “Sinner, if you grow no sweeter flowers than the dunghill of your own nature can nourish, you will die amid poisonous weeds. If you never drink of better water than the filthy well of your own heart will yield, you will perish of thirst, or of a deadly drought.”

The weakness of personal resolve is a field of broken promises. The weakness of personal resolve is a playing field of despised vows. The weakness of personal resolve is a dirty pig-lot of vain imaginations.

I’m not asking you to get a better “grip” on yourself; I’m asking YOU to let go of yourself. I’m not asking you to make a better resolution of self-determination; I’m asking you to be finished with yourself. I’m not asking you to start another chapter entitled “Better Effort;” I’m asking you to give yourself the “Blessed Encounter” with Jesus.

I’m not asking you to make a new avowal of attachment to the rod of self-improvement; I’m asking you to surrender to the rod of Spirit-anointing!

Do you know what Romans 7:18-25 says? In Romans 7 there has been a big struggle in Paul’s life because as yet he hadn’t learned Romans 8! We’re talking about a believer, a follower, a new servant of Christ with a major war going on. How do we know? Look at Romans 7:22!! “For I DELIGHT IN THE LAW OF GOD (or Word of God) ACCORDING TO THE INWARD MAN.” No unbeliever DELIGHTS in God’s Word. No unbeliever even has an inward man! But Paul did and you in Christ do!

Paul wisely shares his struggles. He wisely shares the maturing process. He wisely shares the absolute spiritual necessity of accepting one’s impotence to fulfill the purposes of God on his own. Do you remember Peter’s vow of determined resolution? Matthew 26:35, “Even if I have to die with You, Jesus, I WILL NOT DENY YOU!” “And so said all the disciples.” And the truth is, the disciples fled and Peter denied!

William Barclay said, [his Romans study, p.103], “The human will unstrengthened by Christ is bound to crack.” And it’s not that we’ve cracked – we’ve been shattered into pieces because we majored in our weaknesses rather than be mastered by the witness of the Holy Spirit!

Dr. Griffith Thomas, in his devotional commentary on Romans, [pps. 192-193], wrote: “The key to the meaning of the entire section is found in the repetition of “I” 30 times in the chapter, without a single mention of the Holy Spirit. It indicates what “I” am struggling to do, and utterly fail to do in my own strength.”

THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE OR THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE?

It’s said of Muhammed Ali while flying to one of his events that his flight got into some turbulence. The seat-belt sign came on and as usual the stewardess checked it out and all had complied but Ali. She asked him to fasten his seat-belt, but the “Lip” responded, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” And the stewardess replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane either.”

THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE: LISTEN TO GOD”S HOLY WORD!!

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE RECOGNITION OF FLESH’S IMPOTENCE: In Mark 14:37-38, as Jesus was going to Gethsemane to pray, he came back to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to them, “Could you not watch one hour?…Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK.” And whether or not YOU recognize the ‘flesh’s’ impotence, God Does! HE KNOWS about our weaknesses!

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE DETERMINATION AND JUDGMENT UPON THE ‘FLESH’: Listen to I Corinthians 15:50, [And by the way, ‘flesh’ is your old sin nature!], “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood CANNOT INHERIT the kingdom of God.” We must learn quickly, early, life’s crossroads – Flesh or Spirit? Old man or new man? Sinner or saint? Sin nature or partaker of the divine nature? Earthly living only or Heavenly minded?

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE DECLARATION OF HOPE ONLY IN CHRIST JESUS: John 1:12-13 tells us: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who will believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, NOR of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE INSIGHT THAT PROMOTION OF THE FLESH LEADS TO A GREATER PERVERSION OF THE SAME: Look at Romans 6:19, “I speak in human terms because of the WEAKNESS OF YOUR FLESH. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, AND OF LAWLESSNESS LEADING TO MORE LAWLESSNESS…” Do you understand that? When ‘religious flesh’ gets involved it builds a bigger BARRIER between Holy God and sinful man! When ‘willful flesh’ is released for either good or bad, it leads to a greater divide between presumption and personal salvation!

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE EXPLANATION THAT THE “HOW TO” NEVER COMES TO FRUITION WHEN I’M “INTO” WHAT GOD IS “ONTO” IN HOLY JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION: What did Paul say in Galatians 2:20? “I am crucified with Christ…” My evil and my good were both nailed to the Cross! But, for Paul, in Romans 7:18-19, he’s been struggling because his ‘religious self’ rather than his ‘redeemed, regenerated self’ has been in control. Listen to Romans 7:18-19, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) NOTHING GOOD DWELLS; for to WILL is present with me, but HOW TO perform what is good I do not find…For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, THAT I PRACTICE.”

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE REVELATION THAT SELF-PROMOTION NEVER PLEASES GOD: Romans 8:5 is so very clear: “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh..” And the result? Romans 8:7-8 says, “the fleshly, (carnal) mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be…So, then, THOSE WHO ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD.” Don’t forget what ‘flesh’ is biblically: your old sin nature!

THERE’S THE WEAKNESS OF THE FLESH BECAUSE OF THE DIVINE UNVEILING OF FLESH’S ULTIMATE END: Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally (or fleshly) minded IS death…!!” Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh YOU WILL DIE…” Alexander Maclaren put it like this so plainly and powerfully: “That which of all things unfits man for the reception of Christ as Savior, is not gross profligacy and outward, vehement transgression, but it is self-complacency, fatal self-righteousness and self-sufficiency.”

Jean Nicolas Grau, in the “Alliance Weekly,” wrote: “Do not shelter the mirror which reflects your soul’s lack of beauty; rather welcome the truth, and believe that next to the knowledge of God nothing is so precious as the knowledge of self.”

Listen to James Milner!! “While a man rests on his own merits for acceptance with God, it is of little consequence whether he be a pagan idolater, or a proud, ignorant Pharisee. – I do not know which of the two is most distant from the kingdom of God.”

Now, let’s shift gears, and get in full throttle!! LET’S LOOK AT “THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE”:

Come to Romans 8:1-2!! “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, WHO DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, but (WALK) according to the Spirit…For the law of the SPIRIT OF LIFE in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Notice, in fact, in verse 4, that EVEN “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled IN US who do not walk according to the flesh BUT WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT…” In John 16:7, prior to His departure, Jesus said to the disciples, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage (necessary) that I go away; for if I do not go away, the HELPER will not come to you: but if I depart, I WILL SEND HIM TO YOU.”

THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE BECOMES REALITY BECAUSE OF OUR “BIRTHING” IN THE SPIRIT: In John 3 Jesus said to Nicodemus in verse 3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born AGAIN, he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.” Verse 5 then says, Jesus speaking, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless on is born of the water (of the Word) AND the Spirit, he cannot ENTER the kingdom of God.” And then in verse 6 Jesus explains: “That which is born of the flesh is FLESH, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

In the natural we’re all born physically alive but spiritually dead to God. Romans 3:10-18 says, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one…There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God…They have all gone out of the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one…Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit…the poison of asps is under their lips…Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness…Their feet are swift to shed blood…Destruction and misery are in their ways…And the way of peace they have not known…There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

OH, BUT WE’VE COME TO CHRIST JESUS! How? John 6:44 says, Jesus speaking, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;” WHAT A REVELATION!! And LISTEN! Because of true “repentance toward God” AND “faith in the finished work of Christ” alone at Calvary, we’ve come out of DEATH into LIFE by the same Spirit who raised Christ from death in Joseph’s borrowed tomb. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO DWELLS IN YOU.”

In fact Romans 8:9 clearly says, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. NOW IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NOT HIS.” BIRTHED AND INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! GLORY!

THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE BECOMES REALITY BECAUSE OF THAT ADDED BLESSING OF OUR “BAPTISM” IN THE SPIRIT: Right before His ascension, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples. Look at John 20:19-22, “Peace be with you…” [What is that? It’s a fruit of the Spirit!]. He said again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Listen to verse 22, And when Jesus had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’!” IMPARTATION!!

Then come with me to Acts 1:4-8, 2:1-4, And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to part from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, “you have heard from Me.; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Then in Acts 2:1-4 we read: When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. What do you see in these two different passages?

Well, there is an Indwelling – but also an Overflowing. There is a residence – but also a release. There is an enveloping – but also an enduement of power from on high. There is the presence – but also a powerful anointing. The Holy Spirit is the Mighty Breath of God imparting Divine Life, but He’s also the Mighty Wind releasing God’s directional force, and also the mighty river sweeping us up in a delightful flow of heavenly blessings!

Don’t ever forget Acts 19:1-6!! And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

You’ll remember that John the Baptist went out into the wilderness of Judea preaching and multitudes came to him. In Matthew 3:11 he said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall Baptize YOU WITH THE HOLY GHOST AND WITH FIRE.” Is there the spiritual fire of God in your bones?

HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM IS FOUR ILLUMINATING REALITIES: 1) IT’S A CERTAIN EXPERIENCE! They tarried, they anticipated, they obeyed, and a transformation occurred. Listen to Arthur Wallis! (“In The Day Of Thy Power,” pps.69-70), “These who but a few days before had slunk into the upper room and bolted the door for fear of the men who had murdered their Master, are now standing in the open and alleging that this Jesus is alive, and accusing their hearers of murder. Peter, who a month and a half before had denied his Lord at the jibe of a servant-girl, now stands before the multitudes in the very city where He was crucified, and asserts that God had made this Jesus ‘both Lord and Christ.’ Certainly something very definite has happened to these believers…IT IS THE BIRTHRIGHT OF EVERY CHILD OF GOD TO RECEIVE THAT ANOINTING, AND TO KNOW THAT HE OR SHE HAS RECEIVED IT.”

2) IT’S A CLARIFYING EXPERIENCE! It’s so evident: “He’s not ‘fleshly,’ he “walks in the Spirit.” It’s not the ordinary for her, “she walks in the supernatural.” There’s nothing ordinary about them, “they walk in the dimension of the extraordinary!”

In Acts 2:5-18 read carefully these dynamic events in the early church! And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days,” says God, “That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” It happened just as God said: He clarified it for them!

3) IT’S A COMPULSIVE EXPERIENCE! “Compulsive”? It means “The application of a force that is irresistible.” Luke 24:49 says, “Clothed with power from on high.” Acts 10:38 speaks of “anointed…with the Holy Spirit and with power.

To the church at Corinth, I Corinthians 2:4-5, Paul said, “And my speech and my p[reaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER…THAT YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT BE IN THE WISDOM OF MEN BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD.”

E. Paul Hovey wrote: “The word ‘Comforter’ as applied to the Holy Spirit needs to be translated by some vigorous term. Literally, it means ‘with strength.’ Jesus promised His followers that “The Strengthener” would be with them forever. This promise is no lullaby for the faint-hearted. It is a blood transfusion for courageous living.” AMEN!!

4) IT’S A COVETED EXPERIENCE! In Matthew 5:6 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED.” Are you ‘hungry’ for Spirit-anointing?

In Isaiah 44:1-3 we read, “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you; ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.” Do you understand how ready God is to pour out His power and anointing on a thirsty, hungry soul?

THE WITNESS OF A ROYAL RELEASE BECOMES REALITY AS WE BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE OURSELVES THE BLESSINGS OF SPIRIT-ANOINTED LIVING: Consider the Blessing of Confidence and Assurance: Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

Let it well up within you: “I KNOW, I REALLY KNOW, I’M A CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, GOD’S OWN SPECIAL PERSON, I’M NOW A PART OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD! HOW DO I KNOW? Because the Spirit of God has written it on my heart!”

Consider the Blessing of Unshakable Awareness: I John 3:24 says, “…And hereby we know that Jesus abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us.”

Consider the Blessing of Unveiled Encouragement: John 14:26, “But, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” In fact, in Luke 12:12, Jesus assures us, “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say.”

Consider the Blessing of An Opened or Closed Door: Acts 13:2 says, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” OPEN DOOR! But in Acts 16:6 we read, “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” CLOSED DOOR!

Jonathan Edwards, one of God’s appointed-anointed leaders of the Great Awakening wrote: “God has had it much on His heart, from all eternity, to glorify His dear and only begotten Son; and there are some special seasons that He appoints to that end, wherein he comes forth with Omnipotent Power to fulfill His promise and oath to Him; and these times are times of remarkable pouring out of His Spirit, to advance His kingdom; such a day is a day of His power.”

And here you and I are. What about us? Will it be, “The Weakness of Resolve or the Witness of a Royal Release?” Will it be, our testimony, our epistle, read of all men, as that of the Flesh or that of God’s Spirit through us? Will it be self-determination or Spirit Dependence?

Will it be active, animal like acceleration or mighty anointing of His Spirit? Will it be a shallow stream of self-effort or an ocean of omnipotent occupation? Will it be fleshly energized excitement or a Spirit- quickening of the saints in the fires and rivers and baptisms of the Holy Spirit?

Will it be man at his best that falls so short or God unveiling Himself in irresistible power and anointing? Will it be man taking the field to play his understanding of the religious game or God’s Spirit at bat in the excellence of His extraordinary enduements on the evangels of the faith?

Will it be us in our masterful, fleshly manipulations or the manifestation of God’s Falling Fire kindled in Heaven and in His heart?

God gives us a promise in Ezekial 34:26. It says, “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their seasons; there shall be showers of blessing.”

And I believe our nation and our churches have not been in seasons and showers of blessing, but in spiritual drought and dryness because we’ve tried hard and at the same time resisted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! And God is saying, “There’s going to be a change. Get ready. The Fire is going to fall!!”

Listen to Spurgeon’s powerful prayer and let’s make it our own: “O God, send us the Holy Ghost! Give us both the breath of spiritual life and the fire of unconquerable zeal. O You are our God, answer us by fire, we pray! Answer us both by WIND and FIRE, and then we shall see You to be God indeed. The kingdom comes not, and the work is flagging. Oh, that You would send the wind and the fire! You WILL do this when we are all of one accord, all blessing, all expecting, all prepared by prayer…

Lord, bring us to this waiting state! God, send us a season of glorious disorder. Oh, for a sweep of the wind that will set the seas in motion, and make our ironclad brethren, now lying so quietly at anchor, to roll from stem to stern!…

Oh, for the fire to fall again – fire which shall affect the most stolid! Oh, that such fire might first sit upon the disciples, and then fall all around! O God, You are ready to work with us today even as You did then. Stay not, we beseech You, but work at once…

Break down every barrier that hinders the incoming of Your might! Give us now both hearts of flame and tongues of fire to preach Your reconciling word, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“ON WHAT DO YOU MAJOR?”

In Philippians 1:21 Paul shared his heart: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Think about that with me: “For to me…” My choice, my selection, my determination…! But remember, it’s God Himself who reaches out to us! In fact, in Proverbs 1:24-25, we read: “Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out My hands and no one regarded, because you disdained all My counsel, and would have none of My rebuke…Verse 26, I’ll laugh at your calamity..” God said a similar word in Jeremiah 7:13, “And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer.”

And then, “For to me to live…”. For most it is a life-long search for ‘life’ but always in the wrong places with the wrong persons and for the wrong reasons. But Jesus said in John 10:9-10, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief [Satan the liar], does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

“For to me to live IS CHRIST”… Jesus IS the eternal reality of Heaven’s pre-ordained plan and blessing for fallen men. And without Christ we are separated from God, lost, on the wrong foundation, majoring on the minors that sound out the ultimate chord of sadness, separation, and senselessness instead of the desires of God for us. Augustine said it: “Restless are our souls, O Lord, until we rest in You.”

Do I major on my faults and failures or on Christ’s strengths and His redemptive conquests? Do I major on un-acceptance before others or that I am “accepted in the Beloved”? Do I major on the inevitable defeats or on His eternal victories that always cause me to triumph, declaring me a “winner” in my journey?

Do I major on my fear that no one really loves me or that God proved His love for me in that while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me? Do I major on a search for personal identity or do I major on the fact of a true, fulfilling identity of who I am “in Christ”? Do I major on my sinfulness and the filthy rags of attempts at self-justification or on my declared redemptive righteousness “in Christ”?

Do I major on my weaknesses in a debilitating fashion or magnify my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me? Do I major on the oldness in the old sin nature or on the fact that I am a new creation in Christ and declared by God to be a ‘saint’ or one set apart to the glory of God?

Do I major on cultural or familial curses that want to dominate me or on the kingdom of Christ and the faith-filled blessings of His kingdom that liberates me?

Do I major with the psalmist on the sad fact that no man really cares for my soul or on the glad fact that God has loved me with an everlasting love and drawn me with His lovingkindness? Do I major on the futility of the fleshliness of First Adam or on the finality of Spirit-Life in the Second Adam?

Do I major on what I was before Christ or on who I am in Christ? Do I major on the reigning death of my old sin nature or the reign of righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior?

Do I major on the reality of earthly opposition, that so many are against me, OR on the blessed truth that Almighty God is for me? Do I major on my own personal ineptness in things of the Spirit-realm or that I am more than conqueror through Him who loved me?

Do I major on my feebleness in human effort of being a witness to my world around me or on the fullness in divine oneness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do I major on my fears of war with the powers of darkness or that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under my feet?

Do I major on my inability and shortcoming of impacting my world effectively or on Him who is able to establish me redemptively in my world? Do I major on my personal poverty in the Spirit-realm or that I am already enriched in everything spiritually by my Lord and Savior?

Do I major on my earthly learning that never brings me to the knowledge of the truth or on the benefit of the new blood covenant in Christ where I receive His wisdom and His mind? Do I major on my continual war with temptation or on the truth that my God made a way of escape from it?

Do I major on my restlessness in life or that there is rest in Christ now and a rest that remains for the people of God? Do I major on that in my life that is unsure and fading or upon the anchor of my soul that is both sure and steadfast and which enters into the Presence of God behind the veil?

Do I major on my tendency to wander and draw back or upon the faith and trust and reliance upon Him that causes me to press in to the saving of my soul? Do I major on my sorrowful chastenings or do I look beyond to the yielding of the peaceable fruit of righteousness by which God trains me?

Do I major on all that can be shaken in my life or do I rest and receive in its fullness the kingdom of Christ which cannot be shaken? Do I major on the passion for the praise and honor of men or am I consumed with the passion for the praise of God alone?

Do I major on the works of the law by which no one is ever justified or on the deeds of the law written on the tablets of my heart by the finger of God through the blood of Christ? Do I major on the fallen life of my former self without Christ or on the redeemed life in Christ who loved me and gave Himself for me?

Do I major on setting aside the grace of God in me and focusing on “grit” or do I stand in the grace of God and focus on His glory as His gift to me? Do I major on being made perfect by the flesh or do I major on having been perfected by the Spirit?

Do I major on the weak and beggarly elements of life that leads again to bondage or on the joy of the Lord that is my strength and the blessed revelations that lead me to true freedom and liberty? Do I major on the entanglements of the world, the flesh, and the devil that leads again to bondage or do I stand fast in the liberty by which Christ Jesus made me free?

Do I major on the less of my former, unredeemed life or on the “much more” of reconciliation, being continually saved by Christ’s Life?

Do I major on what I was without Christ, without strength and ungodly, or on the revelation, Ramah Truth, that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and by His grace be being continually transformed to the kingdom of the godly?

Do I major on personal condemnation incited by the accuser of the brethren or on a powerful confidence inspired by the affirmer and advocate of the elect? Do I major on the power of sin in the old man or on the truth of power over sin because I know I died with Christ at the Cross, my old body of sin, and that now sin is no longer my master but Jesus is?

Do I major on the law of sin and death or on the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus who has made me free from the law of sin and death? Do I major on the emphasis of a carnal mind that is enmity against God or on the Leadership of the Spirit that is life and peace?

Do I major on the program of “of me,” “through me,” “for me,” or upon the ministry of “of Him,” “through Him,” and “to Him” to whom be glory forever? Do I major on making constant provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust or do I put on the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do I major on the kingdom of food and drink or on the Kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? Do I major on the emptying of my life of faith of all confidence or assurance or on the God of hope who fills me with all joy and peace in believing that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit?

Do I major on my sadnesses and sorrows or on the provision of Holy God that I can live before others with joy by the will of God and may be refreshed and renewed with them as I walk by faith? Do I major on my earthly, fleshly house that is daily dying or on the eternal Temple of God which is my body where the Holy Spirit of God dwells?

Do I major on the kingdom that is word only of men or on the Kingdom that is of God filled with Holy Ghost supernatural power from on high? Do I major on the mindful discouraging picture of what I was or on the truth that I’ve been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God?

Do I major on the constant attempts of the thievery of your time or on the redemption of your time and the revelation of truth that you may serve the Lord without distraction? The Christ-Life in you is not a small compartment but the total summation of ALL HE IS and ALL HE DOES through your available life!

Do I major on the sounding brass and clanging cymbals or on the greatness of that which abides: FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE? Do I major on the fact that I have many adversaries as a disciple of Christ or on the fact that through it all God has opened a great and effective door for me?

Do I major on that which was buried with Christ and it stinks or on the fact that through the new birth you and I are of God now and by His grace we have become the fragrance of Christ? Do I major on the letter that kills or on the Spirit who gives life? Do I major on the ministry of condemnation from the devil or on the ministry of righteousness that comes from God abounding in His glory?

Do I major on the veiled face of an unrepentant heart or on your unveiled face by the grace of God that continually transforms you into the same image from glory to glory? Do I major on despair because heaven’s treasures are in an earthern vessel not discerning it’s God’s design so the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us?

Do I major on the fact that I’ve lost heart because my outward man is perishing or on the glorious fact that the inward man is renewed day by day? Do I major on selfish living for the satisfaction of SELF or on living no longer for myself but for Him who died for me and rose again?

Are you yielded to the domination of the old man or on the discipline of the new creation miracle of God? Do you major on the restriction of your own affections or on the marvelous truth that the love of God has been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to you?

Do you major on the reality of trouble on every side, that without are conflicts and within are fears, or on the reality that nevertheless God comforts the downcast? Do you major on the poverty of your personal soul life or on the grace of the Lord Jesus who for your sake became poor, that you through His poverty might be made rich?

Do you major on the emptiness and void of your former life without Christ or that in Christ by the grace of God you always have all sufficiency in all things to every good work? Do you major on measuring yourself by yourself and comparing yourself among others or on the Holy Blessed Gospel that as He is, so am I in this world?

Do you major on the thorns that pierce your life or on the grace that is sufficient to see you through? Do you major on what was crucified with Christ, dead and buried, or on that resurrection life, hope, and power of God?

Do you major on the futility of your former self with all its deeds of fleshliness or on the fruit of the Spirit? Do you major on your doubts and uncertainties or on the fact that, having believed and trusted, you’ve been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise?

Do you major on those accusations of the powers of darkness of your former emptiness or on the truth of Jesus, the fullness of Him who fills all in all? Do you major on the fall-out of having been a child of wrath or on the fill-up of the truth that I’m a son or daughter of God now by grace and faith?

Do you major on your perplexities, conflicts, and anxieties, or on Him who is your Peace? Do you major on the heartache of living in a loveless world or on the joy of knowing the love of Christ which surp[asses knowledge?

Do you major on your own personal ineptness in your spiritual journey or on God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask or think? Do you major on your sadness for no greater progress in your spiritual maturity or on the confidence that He who began the good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ?

Do you major on the failures of the past or on forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are before you, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? Do you major on the temporariness of your earthly home or on the blessed truth that your citizenship is in heaven?

Do you major on all the sad events of your life and maybe even multiple sorrows or do you REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS? Do you major on being anxious about everything or in everything do you pray to God and find the peace that passes all understanding?

Do you major on the kingdom and the power of darkness around you or on the holy truth that God has translated you out of that kingdom into the Kingdom of the Son of His love? Do you major on the emphasis of your reaching earthly stardom for earthly glory and recognition or on the emancipation of your soul and spirit as you discover Christ only ‘in you’ is the hope of God’s glory?

Do you major on the shadows of former things from the past, even in the historic events of scripture yesterday or on the substance Who is Christ? Do you major on the involvement of earthly attractions or on setting your mind on the things above?

Do you major on your inability to speak the Gospel like Moses and Jeremiah both did or on the revelation that you’ve been approved by God, entrusted with the Gospel to speak faithfully its claims not as pleasing men but God?

Do you major on the establishment of your place in the world or that God desires to establish our hearts blameless in holiness before our God? Do you major on your short-comings or on the gracious fact that God counted you worthy of the Kingdom of God?

Do you major on your unworthiness of Heavenly Kingdom Life or that God from the beginning CHOSE YOU FOR SALVATION through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth? Do you major on the reality of having made shipwreck of your faith at some point or on the rescue of God like the restoration of Peter?

Do you major on the mystery of iniquity or on the mystery of godliness? Do you major on the earthly opposition to the Gospel that sometimes makes you feel ashamed of the testimony of our Lord ( the Gospel is an offense, it brings reproach!), or do you major on the glorious truth that He 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 before time began?

Do you major on what you don’t know about the things of God or on what you do know – whom you believed and how you once were persuaded that He is able to keep what you’ve committed against that day?

Do you major on the discouragement of having been a vessel of dishonor or on the promise that he who cleanses himself WILL BE a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the master and prepared for every good work?

Do you major on the forsaking of friends and family because of your faith or on the glorious truth that the Lord stands with you and strengthens you, delivering you from every evil work and preserving you for His heavenly kingdom?

Do you major on earthly blessings alone in this present age or are you majoring on looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ? Do you major on the hopelessness of your flesh or on the hopefulness in Christ that is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which does enter the veil of God’s Holy Presence?

Do you major on the prayerlessness of men in your behalf or on Christ who ever lives to make intercession for YOU? Do you major on religiosity and ‘churchy-anity’ or on pure and undefiled religion before God the Father?

Do you major on the aftermath of your old sin nature, on the burial clothes from your death in trespasses and sins or on the truth that you’ve been made a partaker of the divine nature? Do you major on the disappointment of lost battles in the spiritual war or on the truth that you are of God, you HAVE overcome, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world?

Do you major on the fact that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one or that you are of God and have overcome him through the blood of the Lamb, through the word of your own testimony, and that you truly don’t love your life, even unto death?’ Do you major on your ‘trip-ups’ or on Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy?

I don’t really know what all this is about…why the Lord poured these questions into me. But I was reading Revelation 3 as the Lord spoke to the pastor or messenger at Sardis, and in Verse 2, Jesus said: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.”

And I know in one sense He is saying, “You’ve not been mature in your understanding of who YOU are IN CHRIST.” Proverbs 23:7 says: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Out of the passion of his soul for the church at Rome, Paul wrote: Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world but be [being] transformed – BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND – that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

With the renewing of your mind fresh this very moment, consider Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever thing are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – think on these things.”

And we know from I Peter 2:10- that though once we were not a people, “but..now [we are] the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy!!”

Have YOU obtained mercy? Are YOU the person of God, His son, His daughter? Are you His own special people? Are you a holy nation? Are you a royal priesthood? Are you the chosen race?

Listen carefully: I’m not asking you to take the name of the Lord your God in vain – I’m asking you to take His name in Victory!! Confess? That means agree – same the same thing as:

“I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!” “I AM BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS!” “I AM MADE ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST!” “I AM SEATED WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES!” “I AM BORN AGAIN!” “AS JESUS CHRIST IS IN THE WORLD, SO AM I.” “I AM BORN AGAIN BY THE WORD OF GOD.” “I AM KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD.” “I WAS REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB!” I AM COMPLETE IN CHRIST LACKING NOTHING.” “MY SINS WERE NAILED TO HISW CROSS – THE BLOOD COVERS THEM.” “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!”

And on and on and on, God celebrates who we are “in Christ!!” Why don’t you celebrate right now, and continue to identify who YOU ARE IN CHRIST!

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“SAD DEFECTIONS OR SURE ELECTIONS?”

Every pastor with a shepherd’s heart and every small part of the Body of Christ knows that the greatest calamity that occurs to a fellowship of believers is not outward assaults from the Church’s or disciples’ enemies, but inward assaults from wounds in the house of our friends, from the wiliness of warped false teachers, from even the wars of the apostates and traitors to the truth.

Every true shepherd’s heart and even every small part of the Body of Christ has grieved and been broken-hearted over supposed sanctified selfishness when people save themselves for themselves and have nothing to pour out for the greater body of Christ.

Every true shepherd’s heart and even every small part of the Body of Christ has experienced a Judas with his sop and his subtle, severing kisses and maybe hollow hand-shakes. Every true shepherd’s heart and even every small part of the Body of Christ knows the sickness of slander, the sickness of a ‘good-by, been good to know you salute, the disease of loose tongues, and the death of divisiveness of lies about God’s people – and they have no shame. But we can overcome all that.

The greatest heart-ache, the heaviest, sickening feeling and emotion that God’s people experience is when there is out and out DEFECTION. They are here, they are with us – but then, even though we didn’t see it or sense it, they’re going back to Egypt!

Numbers 11:5 says, “We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic.” AND THEY TURN BACK! Numbers 11 is not much different from John 6. There had been a great deliverance, a heavenly provision; it’s not manna out of heaven now but the “living bread” and the call of true discipleship to “eat My flesh and drink My blood!” Then listen to John 6:60, 66:

“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’…Verse 66, FROM THAT TIME MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES WENT BACK AND WALKED NO MORE WITH HIM!!”

Then Jesus turned to the 12 and said, Verse 67, “Do you also want to go away?” And Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!”

The devil is a “genius” at finding ways to make run-a-ways from the faith to really feel at home in the strange land and making “feeding swine” feel as if it’s a royal service.

Every “Samson” has his “Delilah” who is out to say “The Philistines are UPON YOU, Samson.” They long to see you grinding at the mill, spiritually blinded to your hope and help, chained to them and not to Christ!

Every DISCIPLE has not only a demon but Legions that stand at his door demanding, demeaning, deceiving, desiring to steal, kill, and destroy – but you don’t have to open that door!

On the High Mount of Transfiguration we stand in the Glory-cloud of God’s Presence and right below us the devil rages in a young son in an epileptic fit. If Satan will ask of Christ Jesus to bow down and worship him, will he bid to us, call to us, come to us in frequent solicitation to cross the line and stand on his side? You can bet your last dollar on that – unless you already are His lo0ck, stock, and barrel!

WHAT IS IT THAT SO DRAWS TO THE DARK CLOUDS OF SAD DEFECTIONS?

THERE IS THE SAD DEFECTION OF ANSWERING THE CALL OF THE WORLD AROUND US:

Song of Solomon 6:13 says: “Return, return, O Shulamite: Return, return, that we may look upon you!” I want you to notice several things about the timing of the call to defection! For one, it’s in the high moment of spiritual ecstasy – she’s just heard from Jesus! Verse 4 says, “O my love, you are as beautiful as TIRZAH, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners!”

It’s in the holy moment of confidence and assurance! Verse 3 says, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. He feeds me among the lilies.”

It’s in the hand moment of busyness about the Father’s business. Verse 11 says, “I went down to the garden of nuts to see the verdure of the valley, to see whether the vine had budded and the pomegranates had bloomed.” AND HERE COMES THE WORLD!! “Return, return, O Shulamite: Return, return that we may look upon you!”

That’s the call that appeals to pride: “that we may look upon you!” It’s the call of past haunts, pleasurable indulgences, the call of paralyzing persons of emptiness and shallowness, appealing to one’s flesh! The voices of the sirens are the calls to the old slavery of the sisterhood of selfishness and the manhood of ego-madness, manipulation, and misery – all coated with the poisonous sugar or poisoned essence of peppermint – looks sweet, then kills!

It seems so innocent, so beneficial, so pleasurable! And then, ensnared, it becomes so deathly! 2 Timothy 4:10 says, “…Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.”

Spurgeon, in his “Spurgeon’s Sermons, [Memorial Library, Vol.15, p.18], wrote: “When the world loves the holy man it is the love of the vulture for the sick lamb.”

It’s why J.B. Phillips said: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold!”

THERE ALSO IS THE SAD DEFECTION OF NEGLECTING THE HOLY SPIRIT:

In Matthew 25:1-13 listen carefully: “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were wise took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

You should know and receive faithfully Galatians 5:16, “I say then, ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” But what if you do? What if you’re deceived, distracted, detoured away from following the Holy Spirit’s lead? Look at Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

And I’m convinced this is why Paul was so clear to the church at Thessalonica! In I Thessalonians 5:19, he said: “DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT!” To the Ephesians he wrote in Ephesians 4:30, “And do not GRIEVE the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

The prophetic word of Isaiah 63:8-10 reveals so much about God’s people and their relationship with the Holy Spirit AND God’s concern for His own people’s reaction to the Holy Spirit. He said: ‘Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior…In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old…But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.”

To neglect the Holy Spirit is: 1) Shutting the door to conviction – John 16:8 says, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin…” 2) Shutting the door to remembrance – John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” 3) Shutting the door to guidance into Truth – John 16:13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” 4) Shutting the door to testimony and the glorifying of Christ – John 15:26 says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” 5) Shutting the door to the Spirit is deciding to live by the letter only that kills – 2 Corinthians 3:6 “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Hebrews 10:29 makes mention, yes, of the danger of “insulting the Spirit of grace…!” Yield to the Spirit, don’t ‘yelp’ like a deranged dog!

THERE IS THE SAD DEFECTION BECAUSE OF AN ATTITUDE OF COMPLACENCY AND INDIFFERENCE:

Look with me at Luke 12:35-41! “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them to sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do you speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

It might be best for us all to consider carefully whether or not we’ve been truly devoted to the honor of Christ alone or have we drifted into complacency or indifference Why? In Luke 12 look at verses 42-46! And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”

“Cut in pieces”? “Sweet Jesus” doing that? In Jeremiah 34:18 & 20 the Lord speaks: “And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it – Verse 20, “I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.”

Complacency and indifference is like partaking of poisoned “Kool-Aid”!

THERE IS THE SAD DEFECTION BECAUSE OF THE BIRTHING OF A GREATER LOVE FOR SENSUAL INDULGENCE THAN THE SACRED LOVE OF HOLY GOD:

In Proverbs 21:16 we read, “A man who wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the congregation of the dead.” What congregation do you want to dwell in? The congregation of the dead or the congregation of the living? For you, is it the congregation of ‘fleshly’ pleasure or the congregation of the priceless pleasure of Holy Presence?

In I Thessalonians 4:3-8 we see opposite points of view as to a selection of a lifestyle that honors or shames Holy God: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”

Didn’t Paul tell young Timothy, I Timothy 5:6, “…she who lives in pleasure is DEAD while she lives.” You need to be so aware and alerted that all around you in a godless society are those who take pleasure in unrighteousness!

Spurgeon, [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Memorial Library, Vol.12, p.303], wrote: “Certain it is that the pleasures of sin for a season fascinate their minds till they sacrifice their souls at the shrine of sordid vanity…they have renounced the pleasures that never pall, the immortal hopes that never fail, and turned their backs upon that blessed Savior who gives and feeds the tastes for joys unspeakable, for joys of glory full…,” for transient joys, temporary pleasures, and tantalizing terrors that seemed so full of good and acceptable.

THERE IS THE SAD DEFECTION BECAUSE OF ONE’S MEDDLING IN MYTHS AND SPECULATIONS MAKING SHIPWRECK OF THEIR VESSEL OF FAITH:

In I Timothy 1:18-19, Paul wrote: “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophesies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck…” And I have no doubt that Paul was referring to what he’d already written in verses 3-7 of the same chapter: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.”

He gave Timothy a greater challenge in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Do you understand that for some myths and speculations become more palatable than the meat and surety of God’s historical, holy Word? Have YOU grasped the reality that to eat His flesh and to drink His blood is to take on Christ Jesus – His Spirit, His way of bringing about victory; that death, burial, and resurrection is the only path to true salvation?

And, as a result, the Gospel becomes offensive to some!! Remember the disciples saying to Jesus, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

Do you realize how many people say, “I just don’t understand what the Bible is saying,” when in reality the TRUTH of God’s Holy Word has clashed with their personal prejudices and their pride? Do you understand why many choose to walk no more with Him because His cause, His character, His claims and demands of discipleship kick against the goads and they won’t have it any longer? THIS FAR AND NO MORE, for them!

Can’t you see that private stronghold, those long-held habits, or maybe their favorite ‘pleasures’ finally bringing one to that place where they say, ‘No More!’ and in an unholy huff, they turn away?

THERE IS THE SAD DEFECTION BECAUSE THE GOD OF GRACE, MERCY, AND LOVE HAS TO TAKE A BACK-SEAT TO THE GOD OF GREED:

In I Timothy 6:6-11 Paul wrote, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Luke 12:13-15 tells us of a man who sought to get Jesus to help settle a dispute over an inheritance: Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Yet, how many do you know who would react to Jesus Himself saying to Him brazenly, “O YES IT IS!” And they walk away from the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

In his book, A Minister’s Obstacles, Ralph Turnbull has a chapter entitled “The Dry Rot of Covetousness”. [Fleming Revell Com., 1954, p.26 & p.32]. And many never know that the disease of the dry rot of covetousness is consuming not only their lives but their faith and ministries.

Turnbull quoted D.R. Davies in his “The Sin of Our Age” calling attention to this “dogma of increasing wants.” And once the seed of greed is implanted in the heart it ever grows in an increasing appetite for more and more.

Chuck Swindoll in “The Quest For Character,” [p.22], wrote: “Nobody ever withstood greed without a fight that was both relentless and fierce. The god FORTUNE dies a slow, painful death.”

But please REMEMBER – it’s not money but “the love of money” that is the root of all kinds of evil. Money or greed becomes an idol in the heart that men bow down to! Now…

Remember we began with the question, “Sad Defections Or Sure Elections?” Come with me to 2 Peter 1:2-11, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” NOTICE, “SURE ELECTIONS”!

• In the context of 2 Peter 1, we CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THAT SALVATION IS NOT ONLY DEPENDENCE BUT ALSO A “DOING OF THE WORD.” It’s actively “Standing On The Promises!”

The overcoming attitude of “sure election” is the attitude of “add-to-it is.” Salvation is not stationary but a progressive walk in the way, the will, and the Word of God.

Our walk in salvation is not only EARNING A LIVING but BUILDING A LIFE! It’s why in I Peter 2:2 Peter said, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow up into your salvation.”

2. We know our calling and election is SURE BECAUSE WE ARE “PRESSING IN TO CHRIST!!” I Peter 2:21 says, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”

It’s that spirit and passion of Paul in Philippians 3:7-14, “But what things were gain to me, these things I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

3. We know our calling and election is sure, being made sure, BECAUSE WE LOVE SIN LESS AND LESS AND LONG TO FULFILL ONLY THE WILL OF GOD MORE AND MORE:

I Peter 4:1-2 says, “Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same purpose or mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin…that he NO LONGER should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

In verse 17 Peter puts it in a little different way but so enlightening: “If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:14 says, “…be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”

……….4. We know our calling and election is sure BECAUSE IN THE WAY OF HUMILITY WE’VE BEEN DRAWN NEAR TO GOD AND LONG TO STAY THERE:

I Peter 5:5-7 says, “Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for…’God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble…’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

………..5. We know our calling and election is sure BECAUSE WE REST ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD’S WORD: [I’m going to close this chapter, this last point on sure election, by asking you to read carefully and over and over for several weeks Psalm 119!! Will you?}

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“IS THERE DANGER IN WILDERNESS WANDERINGS BECOMING PERMANENT?”

The title of this last chapter sounds so foreign to the purpose of God in the leading of His people – and yet ‘so true’ for far too many disciples! The wilderness pilgrimage is ‘legitimate’ and according to the sovereign purposes of God in leading His people from the beginning of the journey to its completion; from the infancy of faith to its full maturity, from “little children” to “young men” and beyond to “fathers of the faith,” according to I John 2:12-13; from a land of spiritual bondage and slavery to the promised land of “the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

In Deuteronomy 6:1 the Word says, “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, THAT YOU MIGHT DO THEM IN THE LAND where you are going over to possess it.” And then in Verse 23, “and HE BROUGHT US OUT…in order TO BRING US IN, to give us the land which He had sworn to give to our fathers.” Our God has sworn to give us the land which has been promised to us, just as with the children of Israel in the wilderness, and that promised land for you and me is that He has predetermined from before the foundation of the world, that we should be conformed to the image of His Son. It’s His desire, His purpose, even His provision of all-sufficient grace that we finish the course. But sadly, not all pilgrims successfully pas through the wilderness; what is intended to be temporary becomes permanent, instead of the door to life and oneness with Christ it becomes their door to death and eternal separation from God.

Why the wilderness? Deuteronomy 8:2 tells us: “…God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, TESTING YOU to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” [If YOU have a problem with this, ask yourself why Jesus said, “Why do you call Me Lord and do not do what I say?”]. I heard a friend once teach, “whatever God makes, He tests.” Peter said the same thing in I Peter 4:12, “Beloved, DO NOT BE SURPRISED at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you FOR YOUR TESTING, as though some strange thing were happening to you.” Jesus Himself was tested – by the devil, in the wilderness. In Luke 6:40 Jesus tells us, “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been FULLY TRAINED, WILL BE (JUST) LIKE HIS TEACHER.” We are instructed to expect this time of testing in the wilderness to find out what is really in our hearts, “whether (we) would keep His commandments or not.”

In I Corinthians 10:1-12, the apostle Paul warns us to learn from what happened to the children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings because it is an example for us in our wilderness walk. In Verse 1 he says, “For I do not want you to be unaware, BRETHREN…” about what happened to our fathers in the wilderness. They had taken into themselves the Passover Lamb (in I Corinthians 5:7 we are told that Christ is our Passover Lamb), they were delivered out of the bondage of Egypt (we are delivered out of the world and the bondage of Satan), they were baptized in the cloud and in the sea (a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the “washing of the water of the Word”), they had experienced the power of God as He delivered them over and over again with mighty signs and wonders, BUT “THEY WERE LAID LOW (DESTROYED) IN THE WILDERNESS!”

Why were they destroyed? Because of their evil desires, idolatry, immorality, they tested God, and they grumbled and complained about the difficulties and hardships they were encountering along the way. Contrary to popular evangelical belief, God did not destroy them because “they were ruining their witness of earth, so He decided to bring them on home early,” God’s destruction is forever, and one lives in a state of death that never dies! And Paul says to you and me in verse 11, “Now these things happened to them as AN EXAMPLE, and they were written FOR OUR INSTRUCTION, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Then follows a staggering warning that most people today simply choose to ignore. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

It is not God’s desire that any disciple perish but that all come to repentance and walk in holiness, finishing the course, obtaining the witness, not aborting the formation of Christ within us, but going on – going over into the land promised – completion in Christ, “the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:13). After the Lord had led Israel into the wilderness He gave them a choice – “See, I have set before you today LIFE and prosperity, and DEATH and adversity…So CHOOSE LIFE in order that you may live…by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life…” His desire for them, as well as for us, was that they follow Him fully; the Word tells us that He does not will for anyone to perish. But He clearly placed the choice of life and death in their hands. “If your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that YOU SHALL SURELY PERISH.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

Many of the children of Israel chose to die in the wilderness, they chose not to go all the way with Christ; for them the wilderness became permanent. Why does the wilderness that God intends to be temporary become permanent in the lives of His people? Psalm 106 gives an account of Israel’s wilderness wanderings, and it is a solemn warning for you and me.

THEY FORGOT HIS WORKS

In Psalm 106:13 we are told that “they quickly forgot His works.” This is really an astonishing statement. The mighty works of God were demonstrated before the whole world as a testimony of His power and His choosing of Israel, all of the nations had heard of the works of the God of Israel and it struck fear in their hearts. But Israel forgot! They forgot the power of God that was released in their behalf to deliver them from the captivity of Egypt. They forgot the plagues, they forgot the death angel, they forgot the Blood that spared them, they forgot about the opening of the Red Sea and the destruction of the enemy, they forgot about His provision of manna and the water that came from the rock. The tragedy is that they forgot all of this in just a few short years!

The result of their forgetfulness is found in verse 15, so “He sent a wasting disease among them.” His judgment was released upon them. Now remember that P{aul had told us that “all these things happened as an example, and were written for our instruction…” Is it possible that we could follow in their example of forgetfulness? In Revelation 2 we hear the words of Jesus to the church at Ephesus. “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. REMEMBER from where you and fallen, and REPENT and do the deeds you did first; or else I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand out of its place.” Ephesus forgot. They forgot His mercy and love that He had extended to them. They forgot what they were like before He saved them. They forgot the hell they were living in and the hell they were destined to before He snatched them out of the fires.

Have you forgotten what Christ did for you at Calvary? Have you forgotten the price He paid to redeem you from every lawless deed? Have you forgotten that it was He who sought you out, not you who sought Him out? Paul reminds the Corinthians in I Corinthians 6:9-11, “that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God…neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU, BUT YOU WERE WASHED, BUT YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, BUT YOU WERE JUSTIFIED…”

Have you forgotten that while you were an enemy of God living in the futile way of life handed down to you by your ancestors, “foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another…” Titus 3:3; the kindness of God then appeared to you and saved you? Peter tells us in II Peter 1:9, “For he who lacks these qualities (the character and nature of Jesus Christ) is blind or short-sighted, HAVING FORGOTTEN HIS PURIFICATION FROM HIS FORMER SINS.”

Remember Jesus, remember the price He paid, remember His works! Don’t ever let the enemy cause your mind to become so cluttered with self and the affairs of this life that you forget His works, as Israel did.

THEY DID NOT WAIT FOR HIS COUNSEL

Psalm 106:13 also tells us that “they did not wait for His counsel.” His desire for them was to follow the leading of His Spirit, He would show them the way. In Isaiah 30:21 He tells them, “And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Jesus told the disciples in John 10:27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” There is the reality of following the voice of Jesus, the counsel of God, waiting upon Him. And yet the testimony of so many today is to rush out in the impulsiveness of human will rather than the absoluteness of divine will.

The true disciple of the Lord Jesus who wants to go on will not follow the voice of strangers. Many strangers rose up among the children of Israel with ‘a word from God’ to go back to Egypt, to build a golden calf, not to go in to the promised land, not to drive out the nations, to marry foreign women. But God’s word is forever settled and not one jot or tittle of it has passed away. In Jeremiah God addressed the problem of following the words of men rather than the words of God. In Jeremiah 23:16 He said to them, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; THEY SPEAK A VISION OF THEIR OWN IMAGINATION, NOT FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD.”

How do we know or recognize a stranger? By knowing the voice of the Lord, by knowing His Word and His Spirit. When you acquaint yourself with The Shepherd you’ll have no problem discerning strangers. Paul foresaw this problem when he gathered to himself the elders of the church at Ephesus. In Acts 20:28-30 he said to them, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit haqs made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure SAVAGE WOLVES WILL COME IN AMONG YOU, not sparing the flock; and FROM YOUR OWN SELVES MEN WILL ARISE SPEAKING PERVERSE THINGS, TO DRAW AWAY THE DISCIPLES AFTER THEM. Therefore be on the alert…” His advice to them was to discern the difference: “And now I commend you to God and TO THE WORD…”

THEIR HEARTS CRAVED EVIL THINGS

Another sign that the wilderness is dangerously close to becoming a place of permanent torment is found in Psalm 106:14, “They craved intensely in the wilderness.” Their hearts turned back to Egypt. Suddenly the wilderness struggle that God was using to work His character and His nature into them, to bring them to a place of total dependence upon Him, became too difficult. And although they were free from slavery, slavery began to look good to them once again. In Numbers 11 we find that they had “greedy desires.” And although they had FORGOTTEN the works of God, they REMEMBERED “the fish we used to eat in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.” Their hearts turned back to Egypt and they began to long for having their fleshly desires fulfilled once again. It did not matter that it meant enslavement, they were like Esau, willing to trade their inheritance for a bowl of stew

There is the reality of the inward struggle, the battle to bring our minds and bodies into subjection to the will and the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is just that, A STRUGGLE! Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him DENY HIMSELF, TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME.” Paul knew the reality of this struggle when he wrote in Galatians 5:17, “The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another.” But if you desire to enter in to the promised land, “you may not do the things that you please.”

In the same way that we were formerly slaves of sin, we are to now become slaves of righteousness. How? In Romans 6:12,13 Paul said, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness.” We are not to allow our fleshly cravings to control us, but we are to bring our desires into conformity with His Word. Paul spoke of buffeting his body and making it his slave; bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ; and no longer carrying out the desires of the flesh.

In II Timothy 4:10 Paul sadly reports that “Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me.” In Philippians 2:20-21, in recommending Timothy to that church he admitted the loneliness of his walk; “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. FOR THEY ALL SEEK AFTER THEIR OWN INTERESTS, not those of Christ.” In the same way that Israel was warned the people of God are warned today, but just as the nation of Israel, many of the people of God today are “craving intensely in the wilderness.” Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one, after putting his hand to he plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” An example of the judgment that comes upon those who look back is found in Lot’s wife, who looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. In Luke 17:32 Jesus simply said, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

THEY TESTED GOD

Psalm 106:14 also tells us that “they tempted God in the desert.” They expected Him to perform for them regardless of the rebellion in their hearts. There came a time in their wilderness walk when there was no water. Instead of crying out to “The Lord Your Provider,” instead of calling upon the name of “Yahweh,” the great “I AM,” they quarreled with Moses. In Exodus 17:3 we read, “The people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses.” Moses cried out to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”

In their hearts they were saying, “perhaps God could save us from bondage and slavery, but surely He’s not able to give us water!” “God could provide the blood to save us from sin and death, but surely He’s not able to provide us with our daily bread.” “God could thwart the mighty attack of the enemy, but surely He’s not so personal or thoughtful as to be concerned with our physical sustenance.” “He may be mighty, but He’s not “ALL-MIGHTY!” In Psalm 78:18-19 we read, “And in their heart they put God to the test by asking for food according to THEIR OWN DESIRE. Then they spoke against God; they said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?’”

In Matthew 6 we find the reality of a caring, loving, providing father who so cares for us that the very hairs of our head are numbered. His name reveals His character, “I AM.” “I AM whatever you have need of.” Do you need food? “Look at the birds of the air…Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they?” Do you need clothing? “Observe how the lilies of the field grow…if God so arrays the grass of the field… will He not much more do so for you?” “I AM YOUR PROVIDER.” Do you understand that He is able to meet every need that we have according to His riches in glory? What does He ask of us? “Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; or for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?…For ALL THESE THINGS THE GENTILES EAGERLY SEEK; for your Heavenly Father KNOWS THAT YOU NEED ALL OF THESE THINGS. BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU.”

THEY REBELLED AGAINST GOD’S AUTHORITY

In Psalm 106:16 we read that “they became envious of Moses in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.” This tragic event is recorded for us in Numbers 16 and it is called “The Rebellion of Korah.” Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, along with two hundred and fifty leaders of the people, “men of renown,” rose up against Moses and Aaron. Verse 3 records their charge against Moses, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the people the assembly of the Lord?” This sin is prevalent in the church today as men and women begin to experience the presence of God and then the rebellion that is in their hearts begins to manifest against God’s appointed leadership.

Both the Old and New Testaments have much to say about false prophets who mislead the people by not turning them away from their sins, who for the sake of material gain begin to compromise the Word of God. Nowhere in this Word are we told to submit our li9vesw to the teachings and authority of false prophets. But the history of the church reveals that “The Rebellion of Korah” is a common occurrence among the people of God who become enlightened by His Word and become partakers of His Holy Spirit, and then rebel against godly authority. “We are ALL HOLY.” “We have no need that ANY MAN should teach us.” “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us.”

In the 1740’s during the “Great Awakening,” George Whitfield came to America from England preaching a fiery message of holiness and repentance. Sadly, he encountered great opposition from a very ritualistic religious establishment. He later recorded his observation of the state of the ministry in New England in his journals, saying, “Many, nay most that preach, I fear, do not experimentally [or experientially] know Christ.” What George Whitfield spoke was true! But the result of his authoritative blasting of the ministry among the thousands of new converts in the Great Awakening period produced a rebellion to ALL preachers and a spirit of anarchy that nearly destroyed any lasting fruit of that great revival. When Whitfield realized what was happening, he wrote with humility, “Alas, alas! How can I be too severe against myself, who, like Peter, have cut off so many ears, and my imprudencies mixed with my zeal, have dishonored the cause of Christ.”

There is the scriptural precedent for the role of overseer or elder as well as the reality that all who are born again by His Spirit are a part of the body, and each part is “being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part…” [Ephesians 4:16]. But that is not to the exclusion of God-ordained leadership. In Ephesians 4:11 Paul described the “gifts of men” from God to the church, “And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, FOR the equipping of the saints FOR the work of service, TO the building up of the body of Christ…”

Paul told Titus, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might SET IN ORDER what remains, and APPOINT ELDERS IN EVERY CITY as I directed you…” Paul then gave very specific guidelines that these men were to meet. He told Timothy in I Timothy 3:1, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man ASPIRES TO THE OFFICE OF OVERSEER, it is a fine work he desires to do.” Notice that Paul commends that desire, he did not condemn it. James warned us in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.” We serve a holy, sovereign God who is the God of order and not the author of confusion. He has anointed men and placed them in the Body with the responsibility to watch over it, to feed it with the pure word, to protect it from savage wolves and to lead men and women into the measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ.

With the scriptural understanding of the role of overseers, Paul boldly proclaimed in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” It is amazing how we as Christians like to “pick and choose” through the Word of God. The rebellion of Korah is a solemn warning for you and I today; God judged Korah, Datah, and Abiram as well as all who followed them. In Numbers 16:32, 33, we read, “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah, with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.”

THEY DESPISED THE PROMISE

Psalm 106:24 says, “they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe in His word.” They left Egypt with their eyes fixed on the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, but when it was time to take possession they refused. The spies who were sent in to the promised land returned with “a bad report,” saying, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us…it is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.” [Numbers 13:31-32].

In the same way, we have been delivered out of the world, ruled by a harsh taskmaster, even Satan himself; a land of sin and guilt, of bondage and slavery, of rebellion and disobedience, and have been given a promise – the promise of being changed, conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Peter tells us that through His precious and magnificent promises we may “become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Imagine that! You and who “were dead in our trespasses and sins…and were by nature children of wrath,” (Ephesians 2:1-3), have the opportunity to be “made alive together with Christ…and seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

We must also encounter the trials of the wilderness so that we learn to trust Him in all things, but as we enter the times of testing we are to “greatly rejoice…that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” But sadly, today there are many voices crying out, “the bad report” that the promise of Jesus Christ is unobtainable, that it is vanity for a man to believe that he can be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ in this life. Yet for those who have the spirit of Joshua and Caleb, who are willing to be the only ones to go in and possess the promise, Paul said in II Corinthians 4:11, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Will you be like Paul who was able to say at the end of his life, “I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…” and like Joshua and Caleb of whom the Lord spoke in Numbers 14:24, “But My servant Caleb, BECAUSE HE HAD A DIFFERENT SPIRIT AND HAS FOLLOWED ME FULLY, I will bring into the land…”; or will you be like “the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord?” Numbers 14:36. The reason they died? They did not believe His word!

THEY JOINED THEMSELVES TO IDOLS

There is no subject in the entire Word of God that is more directly spoken to by God. In Exodus 20:4,5, He told them, “You shall not make for yourself an idol…you shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” The Lord instructed them to drive out all of the nations in the land they were going in to possess because He knew their hearts would be drawn away from Him. They were forbidden to mingle with the nations for this very reason, yet we read in Psalm 106:35, “They mingled with the nations, and learned their practices, and served their idols, which became a snare to them.”

God called this harlotry, spiritual adultery and prostitution. In Deuteronomy 31 the Lord revealed to Moses what would happen to the people as soon as he was gone, and Moses prophesied to the people in verses 16, 17, “this people will arise and PLAY THE HARLOT WITH STRANGE GODS OF THE LAND…and will forsake Me and BREAK MY COVENANT which I have made with them. Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I WILL FORSAKE THEM and hide My face from them, and they shall be consumed.” And just as the Lord said it would be, it was; in Psalm 106:28 we read, “They joined themselves to Baal-peor.”

The prophet Jeremiah saw what was happening in the land and it absolutely broke his heart. He is called “the weeping prophet” because with brokenness he prophesied to Israel about the impending judgment; he saw how Israel had turned away from the Lord and said in Jeremiah 3:9, “it came about because of the lightness of HER HARLOTRY, that SHE polluted the land and COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH STONES AND TREES.” Paul warned us in I Corinthians 10:7, “And do not be idolaters as some of them were,” and in verse 14 said, “Therefore, my beloved, FLEEE FROM IDOLATRY.” The very last words of John in the book of I John are, “Little children, GUARD YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS.”

“Oh, preacher, pastor, prophet – that would never happen to us!” Really? Listen carefully to Colossians 3:5! “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” And YOU ARE UNSURE AMERICA IS FAST BECOMING AN IDOLATROUS NATION? Oh, and by the way, Colossians 3:6 tells us: “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.”

We are warned that in the same way the wrath of God came upon the children of Israel and they were destroyed in the wilderness, the same thing could happen to us if we turn away from following the Lord to worship other gods in this world! “Oh, God, HELP US!”

THEY RESISTED THE HOLY SPIRIT

I want you to look carefully at Psalm 106:32-33 because there is no doubt this is a problem in modern church life today! “They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them; Because they rebelled AGAINST HIS SPIRIT, so that he spoke rashly with his lips.”

It gets clearer when you read Acts 7:51, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You ALWAYS resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” And that is not good! What about you?

In Romans 8:13-14 Paul tells us: “For if you live according to the flesh [your old sin nature] you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

It is the Holy Spirit of God within a true disciple that honors, exalts, and glorifies Christ, not anything that has to do with one’s “old man or fallen flesh.” And when the Holy Spirit is received, acknowledged, and yielded to, a disciple, then, sees the Spirit at work in Him to lift HIGH Jesus Christ and empower one to live victoriously, not as a defeated disciple! Don’t RESIST the Holy Spirit!

What does John 16:14 tell us? “He, the Holy Spirit, shall glorify Me.” I pray that your very body has become a temple of Holy Presence and that you live a life led by the Spirit of God and not your flesh! And, I pray, you clearly understand Holy Spirit Presence and never yield to defile that temple! Amen?

CONCLUSION:

This has been an interesting, inspiring journey for me and I pray for you also. My heart attack on April 27, 2013, was an awareness of life’s uncertainty, but also a deep awareness of God’s holy presence in and through an available vessel – and that He is in charge!

I’m thankful He gave me extended time to write the book entitled “Resignation To Hopelessness” and this book “Questions That Crush Or Convert.”

And I’m thankful you persevered through 29 questions! And I pray your question or questions have been answered. I encourage you that “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Eat heartily!! Amen? Farrell Fisher

A SENSE OF

URGENCY

By J. Farrell Fisher

October 4, 2014

Recently I sent to my dear friend, Dr. Bill Anderson, former classmate at Baylor University and teammate on Baylor’s “Golden Bears” football team that beat Number 2 in the nation, Tennessee, in the Sugar Bowl in 1957, a message that I had prepared on “The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ”! Bill’s last pastorate was, I believe, 26 years leading Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida.

I had received word from a dear friend that a mutual friend of ours had shared that he didn’t believe in the virgin birth of Christ and didn’t think it was necessary for one to have a relationship with God. I prepared the message on the virgin birth and sent it to Bill. He E-mailed back, “As you know, large segments of Christendom are giving up the doctrine. I’ve often heard that 85% of all writing theologians don’t accept the doctrine as biblically stated; I think the number is higher. I have a manuscript in which I exegeted every passage in the New Testament which relates to eternal punishment – at least 148 – there are several other questionable ones – but can’t get it published. Publisher told me to write on how to get to heaven, without really trying, and it’d sell! Bill”.

Do you sense a time of great urgency for STANDING FOR TRUTH as you see the world around you, yes, promoting deceptions? Of late our Lord has been impressing upon me “A Sense of Urgency.” All across this world of ours, what happens politically, economically, socially, spiritually, and morally becomes a rallying cry in my bones, “We don’t have long!”

And that “sense of urgency” increases in its intensity each day. Webster, in his 1828 Dictionary, defines “urgency” as: “pressure, pressing with necessity; as the urgency of want or distress, violent or vehement.”

It would help us to have a taste of Hezekiah’s medicine. One day he’s healthy – the next he’s mortally ill. [2 Kings 20]. And God sent Isaiah the prophet: “Thus says the Lord, ‘SET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER, FOR YOU SHALL DIE AND NOT LIVE.” Is it time for you to set YOUR life in order, your family, your nation, your church? Some men never consider the urgency bound up in this earthly life. They think they’ll never die and if they do it’s just a grave they face, it’s all over, believing there’s nothing to follow.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in his Psalm of Life, wrote: “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal!” In Psalm 39:4-5 David wrote, ‘LORD, MAKE ME TO KNOW MY END, AND WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF MY DAYS. Let me know how transient I am…Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.”

Shakespeare, in Macbeth (Act V, sc 5,l.26) wrote: “LIFE…is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” How sad is that? Charles Wesley, who wrote his “Letter to John Wesley” said, “I desire to have both heaven and hell ever in my eye, while I stand on this isthmus of life, between two boundless oceans.”

Look with me at Ephesians 5:15-16, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, ‘redeeming the times,’ because the days are evil.” THE TIMES? Look at the, yes, Holy Scriptures!!

Genesis 38:12, “time of mourning,” Psalm 21:9, “time of anger,” Psalm 102:13, “a time to be gracious,” Proverbs 25:13, “time of harvest,” Isaiah 49:8, ‘Thus says, the Lord, ‘In a Favorable TIME, I have answered you…”, Jeremiah 14:19, “a time of healing,” Jeremiah 15:11, “a time of disaster,” Jeremiah 30:7, “time of Jacob’s distress or trouble,” Jeremiah 51:6, “this is the Lord’s time of vengeance,” Ezekial 30:3, “a time of doom for the nations,” Ezekial 35:5, “the time of their calamity,” “the time of the punishment of the end,” Daniel 11:24, “a time of tranquility,” Hosea 10:12, “time to seek the Lord,” Romans 8:18, “the sufferings of this present time,” 2 Corinthians 6:2, “the acceptable time,” 2 Timothy 4:6, “the time of my departure,” I Peter 1:17, “the time of your stay upon the earth,” I Peter 5:6, “the proper time,” Revelation 2:21, “time to repent,” Psalm 9:9, “times of trouble,” Daniel 9:25, “times of distress,” Matthew 16:3, “the signs of the times,” Acts 17:30, “times of ignorance,” Ephesians 1:10, “fullness of the times,” 2 Timothy 3:1, “difficult times coming.”

Are you and I ‘time’ or ‘times conscious? Are we aware of the days – their number, destiny, signs, opportunities, wisdom? In I Chronicles 12:32 it speaks of the “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…” Deuteronomy 32:29 tells us, “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future (or latter end!).” In Deuteronomy 28 we come to the end of the blessings and curses chapter, and for those who refuse the wisdom of God, reject the biblical pathways to blessing, renounce the discernment of the times, verse 66 tells us: “So your life shall hang in doubt before you: and you shall be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.”

Notice, there is assurance of life, of blessing, and of a future. It’s why we read in Ecclesiastes 7:17, “…WHY SHOULD YOU DIE BEFORE YOUR TIME?” Or, why should you die before you’ve really begun to live? And in Deuteronomy 32:35 our Lord talks about the unwise: “In due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them.” Then in verses 46-47 Moses said, “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe – all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Do you remember Paul before Felix and his wife Drusilla in Acts 24? He preached faith in Christ Jesus – ( righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come)!! Verse 25 says, “And Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you.” There’s no evidence he ever did! He didn’t make the most of his opportunity, he didn’t sense the urgency of the moment – he didn’t understand the life or death preciousness or peril!

In Acts 26:28-29 Paul shared with King Agrippa “words of sober truth.” Paul discerns Agrippa even believed the prophets as Agrippa said to him, “In a short time, Paul, if I let you, you will persuade me to become a Christian.” But he pushes Paul away, goes back to the business of being a king, and misses the King of kings!

Jude 18 tells us, “In the last time there shall be MOCKERS, following after their own ungodly lusts…Verse 20, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life!!”

CONSIDER CAREFULLY, FIRST, A SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF OUR ONENESS AND OUR WALK IN CHRIST: Ephesians 5:15 says, “Therefore, be careful how you walk…” The Amplified translates it: “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise – sensible, intelligent people – MAKING THE MOST OF THE TIME – BUYING UP EACH OPPORTUNITY – BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL.”

“Be careful how you walk?” Why? I Timothy 4:1 says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…” Paul had said earlier in I Timothy 1:19, “Holding faith and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck…”

Peter discerned and was led also to sense spiritual urgency and even danger! In 2 Peter 3:17 he wrote, “You therefore, beloved, knowing beforehand, be on your guard LEST, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall away from your own steadfastness.”

It IS a “serious walk”! Because of our call, not to ease and comfort, but to ‘commitment’ and a ‘cross’! What did Paul say in Romans 8:18? “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” If Paul knew he had to die daily, it’s just an option to you without any real significance?

It IS a “serious walk” because our call IS a call to alertness and not to apathy! Luke 21:36 tells us, “But keep on the alert at all times.” And true believers keep on the alert through prayer and the Word! Luke 18:1 says, “that at all times they ought to pray.” And in Romans 15:4 we read, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of scriptures we might have hope.”

It IS a “serious walk” because our call is a call to duty in a spiritual and invisible war! What does Ephesians 6:12 tell us? “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.”

It IS a “serious walk” because our call is the calling of hope in Christ and not in ourselves! In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Paul wrote, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

It IS a “serious walk” because our call is a call into the test of our faith! In Hebrews 10:35-36 we read, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

CONSIDER SECOND THE SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF RAMPAGING FLOODS OF EARTHLY, NATURAL, AND DEMONIC ‘wisdom” IN OPPOSITION TO THE “WISDOM OF GOD”! Follow carefully James 3:13-17, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom…

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic…

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

CONSIDER THIRD THE SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF THE SINISTER IMPACT OF THE WORLD’S DAYS! In Ephesians 5:15-16 we read, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The spiritual father nature in Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had him write to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

I changed Romans 6:19 just a ‘fraction’ for emphasis, “…if you present your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness [it will lead] to more lawlessness, when God intends your members to be slaves of righteousness!”

There must be in you as a true disciple of Christ Jesus, one with Him, in Him, through Him, and we are to be those disciples who take the full armor of God and, yes, “we resist in the evil day”! We stand firm and faithful and full of the Holy Ghost, fighting the good fight of faith!

CONSIDER FOURTH THE SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF THE SPIRITUAL SICKNESS OF FALLEN MANKIND WHO ARE WITHOUT CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR! It was the psalmist who said, “No man cares for my soul,” and I wonder if the fallen world, separated from God, is saying the same thing today!

What does Isaiah 59:2 tell us? “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” I don’t know how any prodigal, wayward, wandering, lost, alienated child of God could read Luke 15:14 and not know there is hope in a Loving, Caring Father-God! “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want,” but some wayward sons are satisfied in their spiritual destitution!

Paul wrote the Thessalonians, I Thessalonians 4:13, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are already asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” But, in Christ, we ARE “children of the hope”, and God calls us to reach out with His “Life-Preserver”!! His name is Jesus!

I remember reading a news article many years ago about a child in Louisville, Kentucky, who had been on a ‘liver-transplant list” for a long time. One became available at a much-needed time, but Louisville was hit with a massive snow storm. There was two feet of snow and the temperature had dipped to 22 below zero. The call came the morning of the storm, but the airport had been closed. The deadline for the little boy was only hours away. What happened? Hundreds and hundreds of people went out to clean the runway so the child could be flown out, yes, to an available liver!

CONSIDER FIFTH A SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF THE SOBERNESS OF DIVINE JUDGMENT! Oh, look carefully at Isaiah 26:7-10! The prophet tells us, “The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just. Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You. With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.”

How SAD is that?!? Yet our Lord has unveiled Himself every single day since this world was created! Why then do men not “see” the righteousness of God and desire it? Because they love darkness rather than Light, untruths rather than Truth, turmoil rather than the peace that passes all understanding – lost men “crucify” Jesus over and over! And they must learn: Hebrews 9:27, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment!”

There are so many, many lives that we meet every day whose lives hand over the entrance to Hell by one solitary thread, and the thread is old and rotten! Hell IS REAL! It was prepared by God for the devil and his angels, but it also became a place for godless, Christ-less lives! It’s “where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched”!! If you’re without Christ, you need only one whiff of the smoke and stench of Hell!

Jude 14-15 tells us “…Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Was Simon Peter alert to “divine judgment”? In 2 Peter 2:9-10 he tells us: “then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”

Do you have “a sense of urgency because you know the seriousness of divine judgment”?

CONSIDER SIXTH THE SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE OF THE SHORTNESS OR BREVITY OF LIFE! What did James tells us? James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

In Job 7:6 we read, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle [or a Singer sewing machine!].” Have you ever heard someone say, “I have plenty of time!” But the next day, they’re gone!

The psalmist told us, Psalms 39:5, “Indeed, You [God] have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.” They don’t have long – then their eternal days are ushered in!

LASTLY, CONSIDER THE SENSE OF URGENCY BECAUSE GOD”S KINGDOM HAS DRAWN NEAR! Matthew 3:2 says, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand…it draws near.”

I’m telling you, “Gabriel has God’s trumpet to his lips, and he’s about to blow!! Plus, Psalm 34:7 tells us, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” Delivered to Jesus or delivered to the devil and his angels? Psalm 34:22 then tells us, “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.”

I’m sure John 3:16 is in your memory-box, but what about John 3:18-19? “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

The most awesome, awful, seek deed on earth? Rejecting the love of God expressed in the crucifixion of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ!

When one is called to be a ‘saint’ and settles into selfish sinfulness and unbelief, only Hell, the Devil and his demons, and multitudes of unbelievers will be one’s eternal companions with every day dark, then darker, sick then sicker, sinful and more sinful, hellish and more hellish – but you’re a true believer, and you’re not accountable for them?

By J.Farrell Fisher, August 13-15, 2017

“Best efforts” are the personal noose around one’s neck if he/she thinks that is a good substitute of being “born again” by the Spirit of God through true repentance and inheriting the “True Life” in Christ alone!

“Best efforts” relate to self-determination in proving one “worthy” of God’s blessing on his/her life when man at his worst AND his best was crucified with Christ on the Cross. Most men walk in the best of their natural affinities because Satan still deceives men as he did Eve and Adam when he said to them, “Has God really said, “If you sin, you will die? You shall not die if you sin!” So, deceived men and women are still living in their ‘self-deception’ having bought “the Lie”, and are living ‘performing’ without any consideration of God’s promises, still “falling short of the glory of God”!

“Best efforts” means walking through life apart from God’s “promised blessings”! “Best efforts” means walking with determination of one’s “lesser things” rather than Holy God’s “better things”! “Best efforts” means fleshly repudiation of the “revelation of God” and a “manly determination to do the best I can”, for some even a shaking of the fists to God’s face in defiance, while for others it’s intentional deafness to the voice of God saying, “Forsake all, and come, follow Me!” In Hebrews 6:13-20 we read about the Father’s infallible promise to all mankind about an “anchor to his/her soul”: It says,

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.’ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise, the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

In the Sovereign administration of Holy God He chose Melchizedek, a man who “chose” to be made “in the likeness of the Son of God”, though it would be thousands of years ahead before the Son of God would appear on earth, but he knew Him! Amazing revelation! Even before Christ had been born on earth, this man, Melchizedek, knew Him to be “the anchor of his soul”, and that he, in his faith in the Savior’s work to come, could enter, live in, be blessed by His Holy Presence behind the veil!

“Atoned for” is not a philosophy of “try your best”, “attempting the best I can” is not “Life in Christ through Christ’s blood atonement,” even “head belief” in all Christian doctrine is not “self-transformation into ministers of righteousness” but the false deception that “my effort counts” in the place of the shed blood of the Lamb of God!

All through biblical history, even up to this present hour, there ARE “self-ordained” speakers who proclaim themselves ‘ministers of righteousness’, ‘angels of light’, ‘messengers of truth’, when in reality they are Satan-deceived, Satan-inspired, Satan-ordained, and even fool, ‘in the church’, many believers who are not grounded in the true foundation of the Word of God.

“Best efforts” are much like Hollywood’s “imitation” of life persons and events, but as the film actors and actresses, many “professing believers” are nothing more than “cheap imitations” of the divine Life in Christ! It’s like the truth of Proverbs 14:9, “Fools mock at sin…!”, after saying in Verse 8, “…the foolishness of fools is deceit!” Didn’t John say in 2 John 7-11, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”

“Best efforts” are “shouted” by premier, all-star, self-determining individuals, getting high acclaims from the fleshly-motivated-‘super-stars’ in all arenas of life, because “pumping their flesh” rebounds in excuse of one’s unbelief of the need to be reconciled to God! In 2 Peter 2:10-15a Peter wrote about “those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray…”.

Do YOU see “best efforts” as God’s Holy Word and His penetrating eye sees the attempt of a life living apart from Him with no need of Him since they “are able to live a satisfying life without being reconciled to your Holy God”? But Paul defines them in 2 Timothy 3:13 saying truthfully and convincingly, “But evil men and impostors (“pretenders”) will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

“Best efforts”? That’s one’s ‘common sense commitment’ to “do the best I can”’ without any consideration of what Holy God requires! Do you remember Jesus saying to some of His ‘followers’ in Luke 6:46, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things which I say?” Oswald Chambers wrote in his book “My Utmost For His Highest,” (p.105), “Many of us do not go on spiritually because we prefer to choose what is right instead of relying on God to choose for us.” In Mark 4:18-19 Christ Jesus spoke about those “planted” on stony ground, receiving the word with gladness, but are “rootless”! He said: “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word; AND THE CARES OF THE WORLD, THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES, AND THE DESIRES FOR OTHER THINGS ENTERING IN CHOKE THE WORD, and it becomes unfruitful”! “Best efforts” are guided by “the cares of this world”, not the Kingdom-Rule of Holy God through Christ Jesus the Lord!

“Best efforts” are ‘pressure-filled’ without any release, and the demands on “best efforts” multiply exponentially and are, yes, ‘self-explosive’ in difficult moments, and especially when called before the Judgment Throne of Holy God to explain one’s spiritual stupidity and heartless and ‘held-back grasp’ of the proven love of God! What or who are you devoted to? When there is a “self-world” in one’s life, motivated by Satan himself, the foundation of that life is ‘crumbling sand’, not the Solid Rock; that “self-world” is personal promotion, personal interest, personal ambition, personal motivation, overshadowing any word or directive from Christ, the True Master; that “self-world” becomes, yes, a “den of a thief” because it ignores, denies, and robs God of His eternal purpose written for that life and formed before even the foundation of the world! But “best-effort folks” say: “That’s not my cup of tea – I don’t have to drink it, don’t even desire it!”

But Christ Jesus still comes, Christ Jesus still knocks on the doors, hearts, and minds of men, Christ Jesus the Lord inspires the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to Come – and the Spirit WILL upon your repentance and faith birth you into “new, resurrection life in Christ”!

You do understand! Walking in the “best effort of flesh” does not reconcile one to Holy God! In Romans 8:5 Paul said: “For those who live according to the flesh (or old sin-nature) set their minds on the things of the flesh…” saying in Verse 6, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace,” continuing in Verses 7-8, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

“Flesh living” is void of the Spirit of God, and especially as the Spirit convicts, but those who want the “best of flesh” deny the Spirit’s presence because they live in the “perverted frame of reference that ‘sin’ is OK, and I don’t need the Spirit guiding me to Truth”! In 1 Corinthians 2:14 we read, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him.” Thank God for His inspiration of Paul who wrote also in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6,”But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded (Satan), who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image (exact likeness) of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”,

With Christ Jesus explaining for us the ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:7-15, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said to you that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

Question! “Day by day are YOU being taught by the Spirit as a man of true faith who, yes, lives on the Word of God day by day, since Jesus said that ‘man does not live by physical bread alone but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’?”

“BEST EFFORTS OR BORN AGAIN?”

In 2 Timothy 2:11-26 Paul moves folks of a “seeking faith” from self-determination to “Sovereign grace, love, mercy, and hope”! He wrote: This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him (that’s “crucified WITH Christ”), we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. (Does that suggest that there is the reality of ‘reigning temporarily over the world, the flesh, and Satan, but one “falls away”?). If we deny Him, He also will deny us. (Does this line up with Matthew 7:21-23?). If we remain faithless, He remains faithless. He cannot deny Himself. (“The wages of sin is death”? Still is, even if you’ve claimed allegiance to Him but hold on to the world, the sin nature, and Satan’s temptations?).

REMIND THEM OF THESE THINGS, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words that have no profit, (“I tried”), to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetis are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS”, and, “LET EVERYONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peaxce with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

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.”

Paul once said: “Examine yourself whether you are in the true faith” because the Holy Word can be twisted by individuals who want the Word to confirm to their chosen lifestyle rather than them converted, transformed, born again by the Spirit of Truth!

I would ask: Are YOU living in and by and for personal glory through your “best efforts” OR have you been “born again” through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, standing on His Word, not the words of deceived men and snaring demons, and living for the honor of Christ alone? Hattie E.Buell and Rev. John B.Sumner had the hymn, “A Child of the King”, published in the “American Hymnal” in 1933. It says: “My Father is rich in houses and lands, He holds the wealth of the world in His hands! Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full, He has riches untold.

My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men, Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them; But now He is pleading our pardon on high, That we may be His when He comes by and by.

I once was an outcast stranger on earth, A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth; But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down, An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there; Tho’ exiled from home, yet, still I may sing: All glory to God, I’m a child of the King.

I’m a child of the King, A child of the King; With Jesus my Savior, I’m a child of the King.”

Is that YOUR daily song of eternal thanksgiving? And do YOU yield to His glory, His honor, and His praise every day, as you lean not unto your old fleshly self, but gladly, daily, moment by moment, give Him His “blood-bought” place in You?

OR THE ETERNAL TRUTH: “GOD LOVES ME”!”

APRIL 25-26, 2019 BY J.FARRELL FISHER

IN THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY, AS I WAITED I BEGAN TO READ A CURRENT “SPORTS ILLUSTRATED” MAGAZINE. THERE WAS AN ARTICLE ENTITLED “DONTE’S EPIC” WITH AN EARLY MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT CALLED “WRANGLER” WITH A STATEMENT: “STAY IN YOUR ELEMENT: EVERYDAY VERSATILITY, OUTDOOR CREDIBILITY”.

I WAS STARTLED,DISTURBED,AGITATED,‘BECAUSE’, I WONDERED,WHAT DOES ‘EVERYDAY VERSATILITY OR OUTDOOR CREDIBILITY’ HAVE TO DO WITH “RECONCILED TO GOD”,BY BIBLICAL REPENTANCE AND TRUE FAITH, WHERE ONE FINDS “RECONCILED” TO GOD BY THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDING US INTO ALL TRUTH, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT SEEING TO IT THAT OUR HEARTS HAVE BECOME FERTILE GROUND OF THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, AND THE THRONE OF GOD ERECTED IN THE TRUE DISCIPLE’S HEART!

HOW EASY, YET STRONGLY POISONOUS IN THE HUMAN HEART AND MIND IT IS TO LIVE WITHOUT GOD’S LOVE, GRACE, AND MERCY, OR THE TREE OF DIVINE LIFE SURELY PLANTED, THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT NOT BEING PRODUCED IN THE CONVICTED HEART, PLUS FAILING TO ALLOW THE INDWELLING GUIDANCE OF GOD HIMSELF TEACHING US BECAUSE, THERE IS NO FERTILE SPIRITUAL SOIL FOR THE SCHEDULED ERUPTION OF THE SEED PLANTED!?! “FLESH”, ONE’S OLD SIN NATURE IS UTTERLY UNABLE TO ‘PRODUCE’ THE LIFE OF GOD WITHIN APART FROM BIRTHED,MATURED,&GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!

I’M SURE IT’S EASY IN DECEIVED MINDS AND HEARTS TO RELY UPON ONE’S ‘INNER SOCIAL AGENDA’ – TRYING TO BE THE FRIEND OF GOD WITHOUT “TRUSTING”, RELYING UPON A SOCIAL INNER SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE WITHOUT GOD ENLIGHTENING A TRUE REPENTANT, TRUSTING HEART! “BEST EFFORT” IS MAN’S ‘SICK THEOLOGY’ WHILE GOD’S DIVINE CONVICTION, GRACIOUS “GIFT”, AND, HAVING TRULY REPENTED, TO THEN KNOW THAT HE,GOD,OPENED THE DOOR OF ONE’S HEART, AND THEN THEY HEAR JESUS SAY: “I’LL COME IN!”

I’M NOT OPPOSED TO ‘OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES’, BUT ‘EPIC’ LIVING APART FROM “RECONCILED TO GOD”? NO DOUBT MILLIONS AND MILLIONS ACROSS THE WORLD, INCLUDING AMERICA,ARE FLOUNDERING, DROWNING, IN SOCIAL,PHYSICAL,& SELFISH SATISFACTION, WITHOUT BEING CONVICTED,CONVERTED,COMPOSED, FULLY AWARE OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE WITHIN THE HEART AS HIS NEW TABERNACLE OF “PRESENCE” AFTER OPENLY REPENTING& TRUSTING IN A HEART, MIND, & SOUL,

WHO WANTS “RECONCILED TO GOD” BY HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION, “RE-BORN” BIRTHED BY THE SPIRIT, NURTURED, MATURED, & REVEALING CHRIST IN THE “NEW-BORN LIFE”, & IN EVERY “NEW-BORN LIFE”,REVEALING WHAT THEIR CALLING, MISSION, & MINISTRY IS IN HONORING THE “RESURRECTED CHRIST” WITHIN THEM!

IN HEBEWS 12:28 WE READ: “WHEREFORE WE RECEIVING A KINGDOM WHICH CANNOT BE MOVED, LET US HAVE GRACE, WHEREBY WE MAY SERVE GOD ACCEPTABLY WITH REVERENCE & GODLY FEAR!” THIS REMINDS ME OF SOLOMON, IN 1 KINGS 3:5-15! IT SAYS: “IN GIBEON THE LORD APPEARED TO SOLOMON IN A DREAM BY NIGHT: & GOD SAID, ‘ASK WHAT I SHALL GIVE YOU.’ AND SOLOMON SAID, “YOU HAVE SHOWN UNTO YOUR SERVANT DAVID,MY FATHER, GREAT MERCY,

ACCORDING AS HE WALKED BEFORE YOU IN TRUTH,&IN RIGHTEOUSNESS,&IN UPRIGHTNESS OF HEART WITH YOU; &YOU HAVE KEPT FOR HIM THIS GREAT KINDNESS,

THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN HIM A SON TO SIT ON HIS THRONE,AS IT IS THIS DAY.AND NOW,O LORD MY GOD,YOU HAVE MADE YOUR SERVANT KING INSTEAD OF DAVID MY FATHER;& I AM BUT A LITTLE CHILD:I KNOW NOT HOW TO GO OUT OR COME IN. AND YOUR SERVANT IS IN THE MIDST OF YOUR PEOPLE WHICH YOU HAVE CHOSEN, A GREAT PEOPLE,THAT CANNOT BE NUMBERED NOR COUNTED FOR MULTITUDE.

GIVE THEREFORE YOUR SERVANT AN UNDERSTANDING HEART TO JUDGE YOUR PEOPLE, THAT I MAY DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD & BAD: FOR WHO IS ABLE TO JUDGE THIS YOUR SO GREAT A PEOPLE? AND THE SPEECH PLEASED THE LORD, THAT SOLOMON HAD ASKED THIS THING. AND GOD SAID UNTO HIM, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ASKED THIS THING, & YOU HAVE NOT ASKED FOR YOURSELF LONG LIFE;NEITHER HAVE ASKED RICHES FOR YOURSELF, NOR HAVE ASKED THE LIFE OF YOUR ENEMIES;BUT HAVE ASKED FOR YOURSELF UNDERSTANDING TO DISCERN JUDGMENT; BEHOLD,I HAVE DONE ACCORDING TO YOUR WORDS; &LO, I HAVE GIVEN YOU A WISE AND AN UNDERSTANDING HEART; SO THAT THERE WAS NONE LIKE YOU BEFORE YOU, NEITHER AFTER YOU SHALL ANY ARISE LIKE UNTO YOU.

AND I HAVE ALSO GIVEN YOU THAT WHICH YOU HAVE NOT ASKED, BOTH RICHES & HONOR:SO THAT THERE SHALL NOT BE ANY AMONG THE KINGS LIKE UNTO YOU ALL YOUR DAYS. AND IF YOU WILL WALK IN MY WAYS, TO KEEP MY STATUTES & MY COMMANDMENTS, AS YOUR FATHER DAVID DID WALK, THEN I WILL LENGTHEN YOUR DAYS!” OH,! WHAT A WORD OF CONVICTION,

CONVERSION, CONSECRATION, COMFORT&CHALLENGE! AND “YOU” MUST REMEMBER 2 TIMOTHY 3:15-17 AS PAUL CHALLENGED A YOUNG SPIRITUAL SON & US!! HE SAID: “AND THAT FROM A CHILD YOU HAVE KNOWN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES,WHICH ARE ABLE TO MAKE YOU WISE UNTO SALVATION THROUGH FAITH “WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS”.ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, & IS PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS: THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE PERFECT, THOROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS.”

ARE “YOU” LIVING IN THE DECEPTION OF A FALLEN WORLD?” OR DO YOU KNOW THAT HOLY GOD “KNOCKS” ON YOUR HEART’S DOOR & MIND &WILL, TO SAY TO YOU, “OPEN THE DOOR & I WILL COME IN & I WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL BIBLICAL TRUTH!”?? I WROTE WORDS OF POETRY RECENTLY THAT SAYS: “STRANGERS IN A GOD-BLESSED LAND,SELFISHLY LIVE AS ‘SLAVES’ TO A WORLD, A DEVIL, & A ‘FLESHLY’ BAND;IGNORING GOD & SINGING THEIR OWN SONG, ‘OFF-KEY’, THEY’RE LOUD & SINFULLY STRONG.

STRANGERS TO “TRUTH” & ALL THINGS “RIGHT”, THEY WANDER ON EARTH IN THEIR ‘SOULISH NIGHT’ IGNORING THE GOD OF LOVE & LIGHT, DANCING &PRANCING & JUMPING IN THEIR SIN, THEY EASILY TUTN AWAY FROM “GOD’S MIGHT HAVE BEEN”.

“NEW LIFE IN CHRIST” IS TO THEM A ‘BORE’, BECAUSE LIFE ON THEIR OWN IN SINFUL PLEASURE, VOID OF GOD IS THE SIN-NATURE’S ‘LEISURE’:SO DAY BY DAY IN THEIR SELFISH WAY, THEY WILLFULLY LIVE BLINDED TO GOD’S “BEST DAY”; THE DAY OF REDEMPTION FOR SOULS N SIN, BUT MANY WILLFULLY CHOOSE WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN!”

ARE “YOU” LIVING IN “THE DECEPTION OF A FALLEN WORLD-CULTURE OR “LIVING IN” THE TRUTH: “GOD LOVES ME & SO WANTS TO REDEEM ME,RECONCILE ME,& RE-TRAIN ME ABOUT “TRUE DISCIPLESHIP”, SO THAT I,YOU, THE “BODY OF CHRIST” IN EVERY CONTINENT & NATION, STATE & CITY, MAY TRULY BE HIS “ROYAL AMBASSADORS” EXTENDING THE KING’S MINISTRY!!!

“GOD LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO; LITTLE ONES TO HIM BELONG, THEY ARE WEAK, BUT HE IS STRONG! YES, JESUS LOVES ME,YES, JESUS LOVES ME; YES, JESUS LOVES ME – THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO!” IN THE OLD “THE AMERICAN HYMNAL”PUBLISHED IN 1933 BY ‘THE BROADMAN PRESS’, NASHVILLE,TENN.,IS A HYMN ENTITLED, “O COULD I SPEAK”,(P.11), THAT SAYS: “O COULD I SPEAK THE MATCHLESS WORTH, O COULD I SOUND THE GLORIES FORTH WHICH IN MY SAVIOR SHINE, I’D SOAR, &TOUCH THE HEAVENLY STRINGS, AND VIE WITH GABRIEL AS HE SINGS IN NOTES ALMOST DIVINE, IN NOTES ALMOST DIVINE.

I’D SING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD JESUS SPILT, MY RANSOM FROM THE DREADFUL GUILT OF SIN, & WRATH DIVINE: I’D SING HIS GLORIOUS RIGHTEOUSNESS, IN WHICH ALL-PERFECT, HEAVENLY DRESS MY SOUL SHALL EVER SHINE, MY SOUL SHALL EER SHINE.

I’D SING THE CHARACTERS HE BEARS, & ALL THE FORMS OF LOVE HE WEARS, EXALTED ON HIS THRONE:IN LOFTIEST SONGS OF SWEETEST PRAISE, I WOULD TO EVERLASTING DAYS MAKE ALL HIS GLORIES KNOWN, MAKE ALL HIS GLORIES KNOWN.

WELL,THE DELIGHTFUL DAY WILL COME WHEN MY DEAR LORD WILL BRING ME HOME, AND I SHALL SEE HIS FACE; THEN WITH MY SAVIOR, BROTHER, FRIEND, A BLEST ETERNITY I’LL SPEND, TRIUMPHANT IN HIS GRACE, TRIUMPHANT IN HIS GRACE.”

FOR YOU,YOUR CHOICE! SELF OR THE SAVIOR,LUST OR HIS LOVE, MY WORLD OR HIS KINGDOM, MY FLESHLY PLEASURES OR HIS ETERNAL PEACE, MY DARKNESS OR HIS LIGHT, MY ‘TRYING’ OR HIS WORD OF “TRUST”, MY SELF-EFFORT OR HIS SAVIOR’S LOVE EXCELLING, MY NATURAL BREATH OR HIS BREATH OF THE LOVING SPIRIT, MY ‘SPOTS’ AS SATAN’S MARKING OF SIN-CAPTURED LIVING OR HIS “SPECIAL GRACE” OF ‘NEVER-FAILING’ PRESENCE & POWER TO LIVE AS “MORE THAN CONQUERORS, BUT ETERNAL VICTORS” BECAUSE OF HIS BLOOD, HIS DEATH, HIS RESURRECTION, HIS ASCENSION, & HIS ETERNAL EYE ON YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU WALK IN HIS VICTORIOUS CONQUEST OVER SATAN, OVER SIN, & OVER PHYSICAL DEATH! CAN “YOU SAY, ‘HALLELUJAH! GLORY TO THE NAME OF KING JESUS!”

APRIL 24-25, 2019

BY: J.FARRELL FISHER

I BEGIN WITH POWERFUL, CONVICTING WORDS FROM JEREMIAH 9:3-6 AS THE PROPHET OF GOD WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THE FOLLOWING, HAVING HEARD GOD SPEAK!! AND HE’S TALKING ABOUT “SPIRITUAL ADULTERERS”!! “THEY BEND THEIR TONGUES FOR LIES: THEY ARE NOT VALIANT FOR THE TRUTH UPON THE EARTH; FOR THEY PROCEED FROM EVIL TO EVIL, AND THEY KNOW NOT ME, SAYS THE LORD.TAKE YOU HEED EVERY ONE OF HIS NEIGHBOR, AND TRUST YOU NOT IN ANY BROTHER; FOR EVERY BROTHER WILL UTTERLY SUPPLANT, AND EVERY NEIGHBOR WILL WALK WITH SLANDERS. AND THEY WILL DECEIVE EVERY ONE HIS NEIGHBOR, AND WILL NOT SPEAK THE TRUTH: THEY HAVE TAUGHT THEIR TONGUE TO SPEAK LIES, AND WEARY THEMSELVES TO COMMIT INIQUITY. YOUR HABITATION IS IN THE MIDST OF DECEIT; THROUGH DECEIT THEY REFUSE TO KNOW ME, SAYS THE LORD”

THE RANDOM HOUSE COLLEGE DICTIONARY IN 1975 DEFINES DECEIT AS FOLLOWS: “THE ACT OR PRACTICE OF DECEIVING; FRAUD,CHEATING…AN ACT OR SCHEME INTENDED TO DECEIVE; A LIFESTYLE OF BEING DECEITFUL; FALSENESS; DECEIT,GUILE, HYPOCRISY, DUPLICITY,FRAUD,TRICKERY,…THE INTENTIONAL (LIFESTYLE) OF CONCEALMENT OR PERVERSION OF TRUTH FOR THE PURPOSE OF MISLEADING..”!

DID IT SAY, “A LIFESTYLE OF BEING DECEITFUL”? THE WORLD, YOUR OLD SIN NATURE, AND SATAN HIMSELF ARE EQUIPPING FORCES TO KEEP YOU SEPARATED AND ALIENATED FROM HOLY, LOVING, MERCIFUL, CARING GOD. THE “WISDOM” THAT GRANTS AND GIVES NO PLACE FOR GOD IS SPIRITUAL DARKNESS EVEN UNDER THE SUNSHINE THAT STAYS BRIGHT! THIS IS WHY IN 1 CORINTHIANS 2:14,AND VERSE 16, WE READ: “BUT THE NATURAL MAN RECEIVES NOT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD; FOR THEY ARE FOOLISHNESS UNTO HIM; NEITHER CAN HE KNOW THEM, BECAUSE THEY “SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED”!”

VERSE 16b THEN SAYS, HAVING ASKED IN 16a, “FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE (GOD) MAY INSTRUCT HIM?”, FOLLOWING WITH VERSE 16B,”BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!”…THE BIRTHING OF ALL HUMANITY BY GOD WAS GOD’S ISSUANCE OF ‘FREE-WILL’ FOR EVERY BIRTHED ONE IN THE WORLD WHO IS GIVEN THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE: THEMSELVES AS THEIR OWN MASTER, SAVIOR, AND LORD AS THEY SEE FIT, OR CONVICTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEY REPENT OF THEIR SINFUL BENT, ASKING FOR SOVEREIGN BLESSING IN AND THROUGH CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION, RESURRECTION, AND ETERNAL RULE ON THE THRONE OF GOD AND AVAILABLE FOR THE LIFE, HEART, AND DESIRE OF ONE WILLING TO BE THE SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,AND-UPON CONVERSION, THEY THEN DISCOVER CHRIST INDWELLS THEM TO BE THEIR SERVANT!

AGAIN, POWERFUL WORDS FROM PAUL IN 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17! THIS IS TO PROFESSING BELIEVERS, TO PRETENDING CHURCHES, TO ‘IMITATION’ GOVERNING STATES OR NATIONS! “KNOW YOU NOT THAT YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU? IF ANY MAN DEFILE THE TEMPLE OF GOD,(HIM,THEM,IT!),HIM,THEM,IT SHALL GOD DESTROY; FOR THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YOU ARE.”

HAVE I HIGHLIGHTED ENOUGH “THE DECEPTION OF FALLEN WORLD CULTURES” FOR YOU? THEN, I WANT TO SHIFT GEARS AND TURN TO: “THE TRUTH THAT HOLY GOD LOVES US”! LOOK AT MALACHI 4:1-2! “FOR, BEHOLD, THE DAY COMES, THAT SHALL BURN AS A OVEN; AND ALL THE PROUD, YES, AND ALL THAT DO WICKEDLY, SHALL BE STUBBLE; AND THE DAY THAT COMES SHALL BURN THEM UP, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS, THAT IT SHALL LEAVE THEM NEITHER ROOT NOT BRANCH. “BUT UNTO YOU THAT FEAR MY NAME SHALL ‘THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS’ ARISES WITH HEALING IN HIS WINGS; AND YOU SHALL GO FORTH, AND GROW UP AS CALVES OF A STALL.”

HAVE YOU WITNESSED LATELY LIVES AROUND YOU LIKE ‘CALVES OF A STALL’, ALIVE, WELL, JOYFUL, JUMPING, KICKING THEIR HEELS, BECAUSE SALVATION IN AND THROUGH CHRIST DELIGHTS THEM,EVEN HILARIOUSLY,AMAZINGLY,JOYFULLY UPLIFTING THEM EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY?

I TELL YOU, IT’S FAR MORE THAN JUST A “CHRISTMAS SONG” BECAUSE ISAAC WATTS AND GEORGE HANDEL “KNEW” THE BLESSING OF GOD’S AWESOME MERCY AND GRACIOUS GRACE! THE SONG IS IN THE HYMNAL, THE BROADMAN HYMNAL, FROM THE BROADMAN PRESS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, PUBLISHED IN 1940! IT SAYS: “JOY TO THE WORLD! THE LORD HAS COME; LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING; LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM, AND HEAVEN AND NATURE SING…

JOY TO THE EARTH! THE SAVIOR REIGNS; LET MEN THEIR SONGS EMPLOY; WHILE FIELDS AND FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS AND PLAINS REPEAT THE SOUNDING JOY.

NO MORE LET SINS AND SORROWS GROW, NOR THORNS INFEST THE GROUND; HE COMES TO MAKE HIS BLESSINGS FLOW FAR AS THE CURSE IS FOUND.

HE RULES THE WORLD WITH TRUTH AND GRACE, AND MAKES THE NATIONS PROVE THE GLORIES OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WONDERS OF HIS LOVE.”

IN LUKE 19:10 JESUS SAID, “FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.” BIRTHED FLESHLY INTO THE WORLD EVERY CHILD IS BIRTHED IN ‘FLESH’, BIRTHED WITH AN INHERITED SIN-NATURE, BIRTHED ABSENT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, HIS LOVING FATHER, AND HIS FRUITFUL HOLY SPIRIT, DEFINED BY GOD AS LOST, ALIENATED, SEPARATED, IN NEED OF BEING BORN SPIRITUALLY BY GRACE AND FAITH WITH A FREE PASS INTO KINGDOM OF GOD LIVING!

DOES CHRIST JESUS HAVE ENEMIES? YET AT THE SAME TIME DOES HE ALSO HAVE CO-LABORERS, BIRTHED TO BE SOLDIERS OF CHRIST IN THE ARMY OF THE FAITHFUL? HE DOES HAVE ENEMIES, WARRIORS AGAINST HIM, BUT HE ALSO HAS FAITHFUL SOLDIERS THAT BEAR HIS CROSS AND FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH! IN REVELATION 17:14, IT SPEAKS OF HIS ENEMIES, THEN HIS OWN CO-WARRIORS! “THESE SHALL MAKE WAR WITH THE LAMB, AND THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME THEM; FOR HE IS LORD OF LORDS, AND KING OF KINGS; AND THEY THAT ARE WITH HIM ARE “CALLED,” “CHOSEN,” AND ARE “THE FAITHFUL”!

THIS IS WHY SABINE BARING-GOULD AND ARTHUR SULLIVAN WERE INSPIRED TO WRITE THE HYMN PUBLISHED IN “THE BROADMAN PRESS” IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, IN 1940(P46).IT SAYS: “ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS,MARCHING AS TO WAR, WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS GOING ON BEFORE! CHRIST, THE ROYAL MASTER, LEADS AGAINST THE FOE; FORWARD INTO BATTLE, SEE, HIS BANNERS GO!

AT THE SIGN OF TRIUMPH SATAN’S HOST DOES FLEE; ON THEN,YOU CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, ON TO VICTORY! HELL’S FOUDATIONS QUIVER AT THE SHOUT OF PRAISE; BROTHERS, LIFT YOUR VOICES, LOUD YOUR ANTHEMS RAISE!

LIKE A MIGHTY ARMY MOVES THE CHURCH OF GOD; BROTHERS, WE ARE TREADING WHERE THE (SAVIOR) AND THE SAINTS HAVE TROD; WE ARE NOT DIVIDED; ALL ONE BODY WE, ONE IN HOPE AND DOCTRINE, ONE IN CHARITY.

ONWARD,THEN,YOU PEOPLE, JOIN OUR HAPPY THRONG,BLEND WITH OURS YOUR VOICES IN THE TRIUMPH SONG; GLORY, LAUD, AND HONOR, UNTO CHRIST THE KING; THIS THRO’ COUNTLESS AGES MEN AND ANGELS SING.

ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, MARCHING AS TO WAR, WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS GOING ON BEFORE!” (ARE “YOU” A SOLDIER OF THE ARMY OF CHRIST INVADING A WORLD OF UNBELIEF AROUND YOU? OR DO YOU “SLEEP” IN YOUR BARRACK BED DEAD TO,YES, THE GREAT NEED SPIRITUALLY OF THOSE WHO NEED TO BE AWAKENED AND CONFRONTED WITH CHRIST’S PRESENCE KNOCKING ON THEIR HEARTS’ DOORS SAYING, “OPEN YOUR HEART’S DOOR, AND I, KING JESUS, WILL COME IN ESTABLISHING MY THRONE IN YOU TO REIGN THROUGH YOU”?

ARE “YOU” A CHILD OF THE KING? DOES KING JESUS REIGN IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU EXPRESSING HIS LOVE, EXTENDING HIS MERCY, AND PROVING HIS POWER? HATTIE E.BEULL, IN THE SAME HYMNAL, HAD HER SONG PUBLISHED,(P.47), THAT SAYS, THIRD STANZA, “I ONCE WAS AN OUTCAST STRANGER ON EARTH, A SINNER BY CHOICE, AND AN ALIEN BY BIRTH; BUT I’VE BEEN ADOPTED, MY NAME’S WRITTEN DOWN, AND HEIR TO A MANSION, A ROBE, AND A CROWN.

I’M A CHILD OF THE KING, A CHILD OF THE KING: WITH JESUS MY SAVIOR I’M A CHILD OF THE KING.”

DARE I TELL YOU? I BELIEVE I WILL! “TOO MANY ‘PROFESSING’ CHURCHES AND ‘BELIEVERS’(?) DEGRADE THE TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH “AND” CHRIST BY ‘PROFESSING’ WITHOUT ALLOWING HIS POSSESSING FREELY HIS RELEASE, HIS GIFT AND GIFTS, HIS ETERNAL LONGING TO BE HIMSELF IN THEM, BUT THE ‘FUTILE, FATAL, FLIPPANT BELIEVERS’ LIVE EXPRESSING HEAD KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT HIS HOLY PRESENCE IN HUMAN HEARTS EXTENDING HIS LIFE, EXPRESSING HIS LOVE, AND PROVING HIS POWER! WILL YOU LET JESUS BE JESUS IN YOU? AGAIN, JEREMIAH 9:3-6 PLUS VERSES 7-9!!

“THEY BEND THEIR TONGUES LIKE THEIR BOW (AND ARROW) FOR LIES: BUT (ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?), BUT THEY ARE NOT VALIANT FOR THE TRUTH UPON THE EARTH; FOR THEY PROCEED FROM EVIL TO EVIL, AND THEY KNOW NOT ME,SAYS THE LORD.TAKE HEED EVERY ONE OF HIS NEIGHBOR,AND TRUST NOT IN ANY BROTHER; FOR EVERY BROTHER WILL UTTERLY SUPPLANT, AND EVERY NEIGHBOR WILL WALK WITH SLANDERS.

AND THEY WILL DECEIVE EVERY ONE HIS NEIGHBOR, AND WILL NOT SPEAK THE TRUTH; THEY HAVE TAUGHT THEIR TONGUE TO SPEAK LIES, AND WEARY THEMSELVES IN COMMITTING INIQUITY.YOUR HABITATION IS IN THE MIDST OF DECEIT; THROUGH DECEIT THEY REFUSE TO KNOW ME,SAYS THE LORD.

VERSES 7-9 FOLLOWS SAYING:THEREFORE,THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS, BEHOLD, I WILL MELT THEM, AND TEST THEM; FOR HOW SHALL I DO (OR DEAL) WITH THE DAUGHTER OF MY PEOPLE? THEIR TONGUE IS AS AN ARROW SHOT OUT; IT SPEAKS DECEIT; ONE SPEAKS PEACEABLY TO HIS NEIGHBOR, BUT IN HEART HE LAYS IN WAIT. SHALL I VISIT THEM FOR THESE THINGS?SAYS THE LORD: SHALL NOT MY SOUL BE AVENGED ON SUCH A NATION (OR SUCH A PEOPLE, OR SUCH ‘PROFESSORS’ WITHOUT ANY DESIRE TO BE POSSESSED, OWNED, AND POURED OUT TO SPIRITUALLY ‘THIRSTY’ PEOPLE, FOR SOME WITH ONLY HEAD KNOWLEDGE), BUT VOID OF A “NEW-BORN”, ETERNALLY TRANSFORMED, IGNITED WITH THE “FIRE” OF HIS RESURRECTED PRESENCE REIGNING IN AND THROUGH YOU, BY BEING “GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, TAUGHT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND EMPOWERED TO BE HIS HEAVENLY WITNESS”!

WHY NOT LET: “JESUS, BE JESUS IN ME; NO LONGER ME BUT THEE; RESURRECTION POWER, FILL ME THIS HOUR; JESUS, BE JESUS IN ME!”? WILL “YOU”?AND THAT WILL BE “THE DAY” IN YOU,IN AND THROUGH YOU, IN WHICH “YOU” ALLOW HIM TO EXTEND HIS LIFE, EXPRESS HIS LOVE, AND PROVE HIS POWER! THE OLD HYMN, “ALL HAIL THE POWER”,SAYS: “ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME!LET ANGELS PROSTRATE FALL; BRING FORTH THE ROYAL DIADEM, AND CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL.

YOU CHOSEN SEED OF A NATION’S RACE, YOU RANSOMED FROM THE “FALL”, HAIL HIM WHO SAVES YOU BY HIS GRACE, CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL.

LET EVERY KINDRED, EVERY TRIBE, ON THIS TERRESTRIAL BALL, TO HIM ALL MAJESTY ASCRIBE, AND CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL.

O THAT WITH YONDER SACRED THRONG WE AT HIS FEET MAY FALL; WE’LL JOIN THE EVERLASTING SONG, AND CROWN HIM LORD OF ALL.” DOES CHRIST JESUS LIVE AND REIGN THROUGH YOU THIS VERY DAY, THIS VERY HOUR, THIS VERY MOMENT?

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BY: J.FARRELL FISHER, October 24-26, 2018

How prophetic and convicting do YOU find Jeremiah’s words from the Lord in Jeremiah 18:1-12? The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that kingdom against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”

And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” THE MORTAL SPHERE OF MISGUIDED MEN!

The Lord Jesus so clearly understood the deception of earthly treasures and the opposite of it, being a life, a mind, and a heart set on the “true treasures of heaven”! In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Examine carefully WHERE your mind, heart, will, and spirit is truly set! In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul wrote, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”! IS THAT TRUE IN YOUR WALK AS A “PROFESSING DISCIPLE OF CHRIST JESUS”?

How sad that many, in comparison to the grace gifts of Christ, live unaware of the “flesh-bondage”, though some are even religious, but void of the power, freedom, and victory of His Overcoming Life over the flesh-nature, the world-spirit, and the demonic-deceptions!

Oswald Chambers, in his book “My Utmost For His Highest”, (pps. 185-186), highlighting 2 Corinthians 10:5, wrote: “Deliverance from sin is not deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, which the saint has to destroy by neglect; and other things which have to be destroyed by violence, i.e., by the Divine strength imparted by God’s Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but to stand still in and see the salvation of God; but every theory or conception which erects itself as a rampart against the knowledge of God is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not by fleshly endeavor or compromise (v.4).

It is only when God has altered our disposition and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin: Jesus Christ deals with sin in Redemption. The conflict is along the line of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in antagonism to the entrenchments of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as ramparts against the knowledge of God. We can either go back and make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish those things and let Jesus bring another son to glory.”

How often have you witnessed, yes, seen ‘professing disciples’ who “stand still and see the salvation of God”, yes, being fully unveiled before them AND before Christ Jesus as He waits to see if, by the clouds, His people trust in Him? Have YOU flippantly read Revelation 1:7? John said, “Behold, He is COMING WITH CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.” I truly often wonder if, at times, when dark clouds surround people, especially true believers, that those ‘clouds’ ARE the awareness for them of the Lord’s abiding Presence! If He says, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you,”, is that only true of peaceful times, or does it include perilous times? As well as the Word of God, I treasure the past hymns of the ages, and especially one hymn by H.G.Stafford and P.P.Bliss found in the old Broadman Hymnal published by The Broadman Press, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1940. It was entitled “It Is Well With My Soul”, saying:

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say, IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And has shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin – oh, the bliss of this glorious thought – My sin – not in part, but the whole –Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, “Even so” – it is well with my soul.

IT IS Well…with my soul,…It is well, it is well with my soul.” Is it ‘well with your soul’, cemented in Christ’s eternal victory over sin, over Satan, and, yes, over death itself? “BEHOLD, HE COMES WITH CLOUDS!”

Are you familiar with Psalm 97 which is so important for the ‘lighting up’ of “The Mortal Sphere of Misguided Men”? It says: Verses 1-2,“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Oh, but then reflect upon Verses 4-6! “His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, AND ALL THE PEOPLES SEE HIS GLORY”, followed by Verses 10-12:

“You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. LIGHT is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”

In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” And the Lord Jesus was not speaking about human reasoning or human understanding, but human minds and human hearts enlightened by the Holy Spirit in the grace of “eating His flesh and drinking His blood”, and he or she who does so “abides in Jesus, and Jesus in him or her”!!

Are YOU aware of ‘religious folks’ who ‘mouth’ words apart from the WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? Jude said the following in Verses 3-25, and I close this message with Jude’s powerful Spirit-anointed words! He said: “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day, as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (That’s against Christ Jesus the Lord, Emmanuel, the Promised Savior!).

These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And on some have compassion, making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”

Are YOU a “contender for the true faith”, or have you been captured, chained, and been fully corrupted by, yes, your old sin-nature colored black and dark by Satan himself or his band of rebellious, renegade, run-amok-demons?

Why not “choose YOU this day whom you will serve through all eternity, choosing especially and literally, day by day, to be led by the Resurrected, Reigning, Victorious Christ over sin, over death, and over Satan? Amen?

“VICTIMIZED LIVING OR A VICTORIOUS LIFE?”

The Random House Collegiate Dictionary, Revised Edition, 1975, by Random House, Inc., says ‘victimized’ means, “to make a victim of, to dupe, swindle, or cheat; to slay as or like a sacrificial victim.”

And “victimized living by the masses of unbelievers in Christ’s Blood Atonement” live, yes, like many ‘church folk’, deceived, demeaned, distressed, yes, led astray from the victorious Truth of “crucified with Christ”, and following repentance toward God and a vibrant faith and trust in the Blood Atonement, those of true repentant, trusting minds and hearts are “New Born” by the Holy Spirit into Heaven’s gracious gifting of “everlasting life”!

BUT “Victimized living” is deception accepted from the world around you that easily blinded even Adam and Eve from the ‘flesh’ that deceives you and keeps the door of one’s heart and mind opened to the world, the flesh, and Demonic, Devil-constant temptation, so wanting to keep those doors opened, so one loses sight of the fullness of the blessing of Christ as their deceit, the gift of Satan himself, leading them on in yielding to devilish deceit while professing allegiance to Christ’s revealed Truth! It was John Wesley who once said: “All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil,” but some ‘professing believers’ live their ‘faith-walk’ consenting, yielding, and for a time enjoying their satanic deception!

It was William Shakespeare, in his writing “Twelfth Night”, (Act 111, sc.4,l.108), who wrote: “What, man! Defy the devil: consider he’s an enemy to mankind.” But far too many keep their doors open to Satanic invitations blinded by his hellish ways!

What was it Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-13? “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord 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.”

Yet, many ‘believers’(?) professing Christ have no mature, scriptural understanding that Satan’s aim is to deceive true disciples, seeking, yes, daily, to ruin your witness, your testimony, and your surrender faithfully to Christ’s Lordship, leading YOU down the pathway of his “darkness”!! If you’ve ever read St. Augustine’s “The City of God”, XV, remember, he said: “The Devil often transforms himself into an angel to tempt men, some for their instruction and some for their ruin.” He IS a “master deceiver” out to hold captivity captive under “the wiles of the devil”!

Oh, have you ever read Alexander Brome’s writing called “New Montebank”? Brome wrote: “The devil’s ever kind to his own.” So, there are multitudes of worldly folk who “know the kindness (?) of Satan” as he leads them, deceives them, distracts them from the “true salvation in and through Christ only”, even substituting ‘fleshly best’ for the fullness and fruit of the Holy Spirit! And, dare I say it? Believe I will! “Every temptation of Satan to citizens of God’s world of divine opportunity are temptations DOWNWARD, not to turn you TO God, but away from Him!”

Satan IS “the birther of lies, the author of deception, and the Hollywood-imitator of a sincere ‘religious’ soul”, as he leads you down the pathways of self-indulgence rather than knowing you were crucified with Christ, that your old man, yes, deserved death but Christ Jesus took your old man to Calvary so that no longer he (or YOU) could be manipulated by Satan’s powers of darkness, disbelief, and distraction away from God’s gracious pull on your heart, mind, and spirit. Satan loves, adores, appreciates “falling stars” who were birthed “in Christ”!!

Are YOU aware how Satan so easily sways people, serving them devilish consequences rather than divine rewards? It’s a sad, sad day when one is blinded to his, yes, gentle, calm, but corruptive ways! An old Dutch Proverb said: “Never was hood so holy but the Devil could get his head in it;” and, sadly, far too many ‘religious folk’ are blinded to his occupation in them and around them through their wide-open acceptance of all Christ Jesus died for, Satan wanting to maintain his deceitful and misleading occupation around them, even for some ‘in them’ with his dark presence trying to dim the Light of Christ and His Word!

“Victimized living”? Satan BINDS, Satan BLINDS, he BRUISES, he BELITTLES, he ‘BLESSES’ with his ‘happy, self-satisfying bits and tastes of diseased honey,’ he BETRAYS promising one thing that seems so ‘blissful’ but is BEDABBLED with the ‘paint’ of his satanic artistry, he BEFOULS, he BITTERS every word and every promise of God assuring his enchained that it was God who BOUND them over to Satanic care! Really?

It was Cotton Mather, in his “A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World”, who wrote: “That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil. For any to deny the being of a Devil must be from an ignorance or profaneness worse than diabolical.” WOW!

What about what Shakespeare wrote in “Troilus and Cressida”, (Act 111, sc.4,l.108)? “Sometimes we are devils to ourselves When we will tempt the frailty of our powers, Presuming on their changeful potency,” no doubt understanding that, yes, true believers can “play-act”, willfully betraying the Christ within to indulge the old crucified life in fleshly, demonic, worldly desires and unfulfilling fantasies that cannot, will not honor the divine within!! Satan’s portrait of a life professing both faith in Christ and a consistency with hell’s intentions is a life that loves being blessed by God, but quietly, privately, indulges darkness not knowing their ‘dance partner’ is Satan himself or one of his assigned demons to ultimately take you down again to his dark domain!

“Victimized living”? Can true believers, at times, be overtaken by spiritual carelessness, even being unconcerned about demonic activity? In 2 Peter 5:6-11, the beloved disciple of Christ wrote: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; Casting all your care upon him; for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

But the God of all grace, who has called us unto eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. OR “SO BE IT, LORD”, as you daily take the sentence of death daily to your old self that Christ in you, for you, and through you, wages war against Satan for Christ’s honor through you as Christ’s servant, not Satan’s slave!!!

Jessie Brown Pounds wrote a hymn entitled “A Place in the Ranks for Me”, in the old “American Hymnal” of 1933! It says: “Listen! The trumpet of God is sounding, Is sounding from sea to sea; On the field where the brave are falling, There’s a place in the ranks for me.

See, the army of God advances, In strength of His holy might; See the flash of the moving lances, And the glitter of helmets bright.

Like the trumpet of God is sounding, Is sounding for victory; I must go, for the brave are falling, And the Captain has need of me.

There’s a place in the ranks for me! A place in the ranks for me! On the field where the brave are falling, There’s a place in the ranks for me.”

Whether YOU are aware of it or not, Satan is alive, he is active, and he so longs to reinstate demonic bondage! He comes as a thief in the night to steal every rich blessing Christ has promised, given, and will protect if we give Him His rightful place as Lord, Savior, Master, Conqueror over every evil we face including Satan and his demon forces that are just as active today as they were in the days of our Lord and Savior thousands of years ago!

In Luke 22:31-32 the Lord Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not; and when you are converted, strengthen your brothers.”

There is a “strong-arm commander-in-chief” of the forces of darkness, desirous that God’s created world should be a kingdom of darkness, even challenging Jesus as he does us, so desirous of leading us astray from loyalty to our Lord and Savior to a supposedly sanctified life of good AND evil, of the Savior and Satan, and of Heaven’s best and Hell’s imitations! Luke 4:1-13 is an insightful Word of preparation for all believers! It says:

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost (Do YOU understand for Christ to be in You is also for YOU to live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit?) returned from Jordan, AND was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto Him, If You be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word of God.” And the devil, taking Him up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And Satan said unto Him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

And the devil, taking Him up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, All this power will I give to you and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me (by every birthed man, woman, or child? It doesn’t take long for every birthed baby to instantly ‘cry’ for what they want!); and to whomsoever I will I give it. If You (Jesus) therefore will worship me, all shall be Yours.

And Jesus answered and said unto Satan, Get behind Me, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord God, and Him only shall you serve. [What about YOU? Are YOU still “serving” the world, the old sin-nature, AND Satan? OR are YOU fully submitted to the King of kings and Lord of lords?].

And he brought Jesus to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the Temple, and said to Him, “If You be the Son of God, cast yourself down from here. For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You. And in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone.” And Jesus answering said, “It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” And when the devil had ended all temptations, he departed from Him for a season.

How illumined are you in your mind, your spirit, and your walk, as YOU LEARN that YOU are a prime target of Satan, understanding he’s out to turn YOU away from ALL JESUS IS for you, in you, through you, substituting fleshly failure for full obedience, or momentary pleasures for eternal obedience, or “ONLY ONE LITTLE FALLING AWAY”, when the demonic activity can be fatal to faith, obedience, and love of the Savior, because obedience to Satan introduces again that fatal darkness?

Again, receive Peter’s incisive, illumining, liberating words! 1 Peter 5:6-11 we read: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you. Be sober, (serious minded!), be vigilant; because YOUR adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brothers (of faith) that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”

I have to share Shakespeare’s words in “Comedy of Errors”, (Act IV, sc.3,l.65), “He must have a long spoon that shall eat with the devil.” Oh, and Martin Luther’s words in “Table Talk”? Satan has two manner of shapes, as he disguises himself: the shape of a serpent, to affright and kill; or else in the form of a silly sheep, to lie and deceive; these are his two court colors.”

Satan IS the world’s principle author and boastful egotist as he lies about himself, lays traps for all, ‘hires’ the brain-dead, the self-fulfillers, and the ‘flesh –world’, bound by his chains of darkness, immorality, and self-pleasure in sensual fulfillment that ‘smells’, self-idolatry that ‘binds’ and ‘ruins’ even some ‘professors’ of religious faith! In his writing, “Handbook of Proverbs”, Henry George Bohn wrote: “The Devil entangles youth with beauty, the miser with gold, the ambitious with power, the learned with false doctrine.” Is it possible that you, a ‘professor of faith in Christ’, having been blinded to victory over Satan because, for you, his ‘poisonous delights, worldly pleasures, and self-indulging, was just too delightful to turn from, that you refused “Christ’s knock”, and kept on being deceived in “Satan’s lock” though broken by Christ Jesus on the Cross, through the Cross, for the glory of His Name, not Satan’s fame?

What was it Elizabeth Barrett Browning said in “Aurora Leigh”? “The devil’s most devilish when respectable.” Are you still “respecting” Satan as he leads you joyfully in his deceits and lies and imitation-spiritual-skills? There IS a hell to gain and a heaven to lose if you choose to play with him on his terms, willfully choosing to shut God’s door to His never-ending, freeing, yes, emancipating, liberating, disengaging ministry of, yes, His victory and conquest over Satan’s devilish, demeaning, destructive, disuniting activity, but you ‘think’ it’s OK to ‘play’ around with Satan and his army, like children with their birthday play-toys, but Satan is not a ‘play-toy’ – he’s an enemy of God, of the Holy Spirit, of Christ Jesus, including the ‘church’ Christ Jesus births and keeps on birthing! Satan ‘loves’ to disguise himself and his hellish co-laborers called ‘demons’ because he’s out to literally crucify Christ but to nail His ‘children of faith’ to the same cross of cruel suffering!

But Jesus Christ IS our “more than conqueror” – He’s our Victorious Liberator over sin, over Satan, over death itself! William F. Sherwin wrote the song, “Sound the Battle Cry” found in The American Hymnal of 1933! It says:

Sound the battle cry! See, the foe is nigh; Raise the standard high For the Lord; Gird your armor on, Stand firm, every one; Rest your cause upon His holy word.

Strong to meet the foe, Marching on we go, While our cause we know, must prevail; Shield and banner bright, Gleaming in the light; Battling for the right We never can fail.

O! You God of all, Hear us when we call, help us one and all by Your grace; When the battle’s done, And the victory’s won, May we wear the crown Before Your face.

Rouse, then soldiers, rally round the banner, Ready, steady, pass the word along: Onward, forward, shout a loud Hosanna! Christ is Captain of the mighty throng.”

Are YOU strong in the grace of God? AND – Are YOU “a soldier of the Cross of Christ, yes, His spiritual army fighting the good fight of faith, and knowing your field of spiritual warfare,ready to daily show up warring against Christ’s enemies in the spiritual realm with the armor of the Word and the lead of the Holy Spirit ? Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-15 the following words of encouragement saying,

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This IS a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. (So, Paul warns “the wages of sin IS death”, even if you’re a consenting disciple in sinful participation!).

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Were YOU crucified with Christ? Have YOU repented and turned from your sin nature and its practices? Were you “enlisted” by the Spirit as a soldier in the Lord’s spiritual army? Tell me: Just how faithful does your heavenly report card reveal about your honorable walk as representative of the King of kings and Lord of lords? Are YOU “duty-ready”, having died with Christ, raised by the Holy Spirit, equipped by the Word and the Spirit, and, yes, daily fighting the good fight of faith in uplifting Him, honoring Him and His Word, His purpose for your life, and His desire to use YOU to free “the prisoners of sin, of Satan, of a dark world”, igniting in YOU the Light of His Glory?