GOD IS WITH US

 

                  What a wonderful season it is! Christmas may be busy and demand that our time be split in many different directions, but when we finally settle down and reflect on its true meaning, the love of Christ warms us through and through. The birth of Jesus is a joyous time. It’s a time to remember how much God loves us. “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.”

We also remember the passages of Scripture reminding us that the birth of Jesus was prophesied thousands of years before He actually came in the flesh.

 

It all started in Genesis 3:15 when God told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Isaiah 7:14, says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.”

 

In Isaiah 9:6-7, the prophet said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

 

Then in Micah 5:2, the place of His birth was prophesied. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

 

            The Messiah, Jesus, Christ, Emmanuel was born just as prophesied. He lived His life and ministry just as the prophets had foretold. Here are just a few of the prophecies concerning His life as the Son of Man.

 

Isaiah 61:1-2 – “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”

 

            Jesus died, was placed in a tomb, rose again the third day and then ascended back to the Father. All of this had been prophesied, too. He was born to die for our sins so we can live. Once again, these are just a few of the prophecies concerning His death.

 

Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

 

Isaiah 50:6 – “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

 

Isaiah 53:5 – “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

 

Isaiah 53:12 – “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

 

And there were prophecies of His resurrection and ascension:

Psalm 16:10 – “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”

 

Psalm 49:15 – “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.”

 

Psalm 68:18 – “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.”

 

            It is amazing how detailed some of these prophecies are, and yet they came about exactly as foretold. All the other prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled will be fulfilled when the time is right. There is another prophecy that has been fulfilled that Jesus Himself prophesied.

 

John 14:16-17 – “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

 

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.”

 

This prophecy had also been given in 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 in those days.

 

We can read about it happening in Acts 2:1-4.

 

“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.”

 

            Thank God for the birth of Jesus, and thank God for sending us His Spirit to live in us and guide us in the way of Truth. Jesus may not be with us in bodily form, but He can be in us by the Holy Spirit if we will allow Him to come in.

            Knowing these prophecies that have come to pass in perfect harmony with what God said gives us even more reason to expect every other prophecy to come to pass.

 

In Mark 13:25-27, Jesus said, “And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”

 

Philippians 2:9-11 – “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Thank God Jesus came and dwelt among us in human flesh.

Thank God His Spirit still dwells in us with the same power, wisdom and love.

We have His treasure in our earthen vessels.

And thank God Jesus is coming again to rule and reign forever!

 

Have a very Merry Christmas!

THE CHURCH – THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

 

        When we talk about the church, we usually mean a building where we assemble to sing and hear the Word of God preached. We may have our name written on the roll as a member of that group and become busy in all its activities. But the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is much more than that.

            The Church is the Bride of Christ. That is its position or status. It is not relegated to one group of people, one place, or at one point in time. The Church is made up of those who are one with Christ. It represents the kingdom of God on earth by the same Spirit that Jesus had when He was here. It has the same power, wisdom and abilities. It is made up of those who have repented and turned away from sin to do the will of God and to walk in His Spirit. They have been washed in the blood of Jesus for forgiveness of their sins and never look back. Jesus loves His Church so much that He gave His life for it. 

            Ephesians 5:25-27 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,” How did Jesus love the church? He “gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

            Even after all Jesus did for us, most people couldn’t comprehend it, so they never found their true place in the kingdom of God. They had no clue Who Jesus was or why He came because they refused His Light. Did that stop Jesus from His mission? Absolutely not!

It’s like the proverbial “rags to riches” stories. We have all heard the fairy tales of a girl who was poor and had evil influences that held her back from becoming all she was meant to be.

But one day a prince takes notice of her. He falls in love and marries her. Suddenly she is a princess and becomes all she had ever dreamed of being because the prince did everything needed to make her royalty. He made her his own.

            Jesus did all that for us before any of those tales were ever written. His story is true and powerful, not a fairy tale. We were born poor and destitute, with a sin nature that oppressed us and we could not overcome it, yet Jesus loved us and did all that was necessary to make us into who we were meant to be from the beginning. We were made to be His bride. We were made to be royalty, ruling and reigning with Him.

Even now many will not receive His offer to become part of His Bride. They will not say “I do” and come into a covenant relationship with Him. Yet there are numerous others that have entered that covenant and become part of His Bride. They span the annals of time, place and circumstance. They are the ones who will rule and reign with Jesus Christ throughout eternity.

Although many rejected Him, He knew many would become one with Him…part of His Bride!

            So, Jesus loves us and gave Himself for us. He sanctifies and cleanses us by the water of the Word. WHY? “ 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."

            Jesus is not returning to claim a bride that is dirty, unfit and unprepared. There is no excuse for His church to be unprepared, because He has done everything to cleanse His Church and make it pure. But it is up to each individual to lay aside anything that will make us unfit to be one with Him.

            Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

            Then in Isaiah 62:5 it says, “And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.”

Jesus rejoices over His Bride! And we are to rejoice in Him. After all, He died to cleanse us and make us holy so we can be one with Him. He is returning for His Bride at an undesignated time, so we always need to be ready, always doing the work of His kingdom. 

Revelation 19:7-8 reveals this about the marriage supper. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."  Jesus provides the robe of righteousness, but we have to put it on and wear it. We have to allow Him to change us to be part of His Bride.

            Brides look forward to their wedding day. They make sure they are ready, dressed just right, hair done, everything perfect. But they don’t wait until that day to start preparing. They plan and prepare for a long time so they will be ready when the day comes.

            If we want to be part of the Bride of Christ, we will prepare ourselves. Remember the foolish virgins in Matthew 25? Ten bridesmaids had been waiting, but only five were prepared with extra oil when the time came. When the time was announced, “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.”

            They had missed their opportunity to go in because they were not prepared. They ran out of oil. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We need to constantly be filled with the Spirit, always following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and always prepared for the coming of Jesus.

            There is another time mentioned in the Bible about God shutting a door. It was after Noah had preached repentance to a very unrepentant crowd. He told them of the impending flood, but they refused to prepare. Once the last sermon was preached by Noah and, as we would say it, the last altar call given, the door was shut, and no one could go in. They were left to die in the flood they had been warned about. They had chosen not to prepare.

            Preparing is being separated from this world and the contamination of sin. It also involves connecting ourselves to Christ, His righteousness and His kingdom. If we truly want to become holy, we will separate ourselves to Christ and from the world, just like the vow made in our wedding ceremonies to forsake all others. We must be faithful to Jesus in that same way, giving ourselves completely to Him. Flirting with the world is unfaithfulness and is not acceptable. It will turn our attention from Jesus and cause our oil to run out. Satan wants to woo us away from our loyalties to the Groom. He is sly, and we need to be aware of his devices and remember, we do not have to surrender to Satan’s attacks. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to live a very different life, a life at one with Jesus Christ. 

Jesus has something ahead for His Bride, and now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to sacrifice our worldly desires for the things of God's Spirit and for eternal accomplishments as we work alongside Him. We can be genuinely in love with Jesus and full of His Spirit, then our worship comes alive, and our works bear fruit. It happens when we choose to forsake all others and become truly one with Him. It involves our own interests decreasing and the interests of God becoming our sole focus.

God has called the Church, His Bride, to work side by side with Him. Every born again believer who has forsaken this world and become one with Jesus from every era and every place on earth is part of his Church where He chooses to dwell. Can you just imagine that day when all of us who have prepared will be in heaven together with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, Paul and all the others? You don’t want to miss it! Those who are not One with Him will be left out. But we can begin now to prepare ourselves.

            Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

That prayer can be a powerful tool to help us stay clean and pure in this world if we pray it sincerely and follow what the Lord speaks to us in answer to it. If He shows us something that has caused us to be tainted by this world, we can confess it and allow Him to set us free from it. We need to consistently give ourselves a spiritual check-up and allow Jesus to show us our faults. Then He can help us correct them so we can draw closer to Him.

"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Revelation 21:2)

Be prepared. Don’t be caught off-guard when Jesus comes to claim His Bride.

 

CAN WE DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER?

 

    I gathered up everything I needed to work on the Bible study I was writing. Then, I finally sat down and started to go to work. Immediately I knew something was wrong. Something very important was missing. I didn’t have my reading glasses and I couldn’t see the computer screen clearly. I had to get back up and get my glasses so I could see clearly to do the job right.

If we are planning to work with God, we need to be able to see clearly to get His work done right. We need to hear Him clearly before we jump in with both feet. After all, the kingdom of God is the place where the will of God is always done. And we don’t have to wait for heaven to live in God’s kingdom. We can live in His spiritual kingdom even while we remain in this world.

When Jesus prayed for us, He told the Father that He wasn’t praying for us to be taken out of this world, but that we would be kept from the evil one. We are here as witnesses of Christ in this world to our generation. And the power and wisdom to do the will of the Father is within us by the Holy Spirit when we are born again. It is the only way we can be effective witnesses.

In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us, “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. That won’t change for anybody. Even those who have the best intentions. So, there is an important question we need to ask ourselves. “Are we really doing the will of the Father? Or are we just following our own desires? Does Jesus just get an honorable mention in our lives, or is He everything to us? Or maybe we are busy doing works in our own power, ability and wisdom, and just hope that it’s enough. The fact is that our works will never be enough. It’s only by the Holy Spirit that we can do God’s will.

Do we really want to know what the Lord is saying to us? So many people are groping in the darkness when it comes to following Jesus. But it doesn’t have to be that way.       Too often we are self-assured and think we have everything we need to perform our Christian duties. We say a prayer before we start on our newest project and ask God to bless our hard work and planning. But we know something is missing. Why do we see so few lasting results from our efforts? Let’s ask ourselves honestly, “what results are we looking for?” A good turnout for the meeting we planned? applause for our spectacular presentation?  A record number of book sales? a flurry of excitement in the music? notoriety for ourselves? Seriously, are our expectations for results the same as God’s expectations? Have we asked Him? Before we start “laboring for the Lord”, let’s make sure we are at the right job site and have the right tools to get the job done.

            Oswald Chambers said, “How much Christian work there is today which has never been disciplined, but has simply sprung into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was not a movement of an impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s.”

            But we can’t do His will if we don’t know what it is. And we can’t know what His will is if we don’t know Him well enough to hear Him as He gives us His instructions! So, how can we know Him and become one with Him in spirit and purpose? We get to know Him through prayer, faith and as we follow Him.

            Psalms 27:8 says, “When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].” His Face is His presence, His countenance. Without His presence there is no life, light or power in what we do. We are in desperate need of the presence of God among us. Not just an emotional experience, but for God to be among us and within us; for His words to come forth in power and with such Life that hearts are changed. We need to know Jesus Christ and surrender all to Him so He can work through us and accomplish His will.

 “All to Jesus I surrender – All to Him I freely give.

I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.”

 To really do that, we need to seek God above everything else in our lives and know Him. We have to seek His presence as our greatest need, freely surrender everything to Him and live daily in His presence as we love and trust Him.

            We seek Him through prayer - earnest prayer that will not give up until we have heard from Him. But few are willing to take time in His presence. We don’t just pray for His guidance and wisdom, then move on to implement the plans we have already decided on. We find out what His plans are and we adjust to them. We enter into His presence and linger there until we hear from Him, until we get to know His heart. Prayer is about knowing God.

Prayer is a two-way conversation between us and God. Jesus prayed often and heard from His Father. He only did what the Father told Him to do and only said what the Father told Him to say. We can too if we take time to listen to what God says to us. He may speak through the Holy Spirit within us, through Jesus’ teachings or other parts of the Bible. But however He speaks, we need to be listening. Hearing what God says is the most important part of prayer.

            C.S. Lewis said, “In worship, God imparts Himself to us.” In other words, He makes Himself  known to us and reveals hidden spiritual secrets to us. He opens our hearts and minds to spiritual insight that can only be known by those who seek Him.

We need to seek God Himself. Then we will have the mind of Christ and can actually accomplish things of eternal value. We will have the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead us and empower us to truly make a difference.

            Elisabeth Elliot said, “Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between his will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer”.

Can you imagine hearing from God and being part of accomplishing His plans? It is overwhelming and exciting, almost unbelievable. But it really is part of His plan for us. We may think that God revealing His plans to us is impossible, that it was only for people like the disciples, the apostle Paul, or the prophets in the Old Testament. But they are all gone from this earth, and the work of the kingdom still needs to be done. It’s up to us to carry it forward for this and future generations. We don’t need to miss out on it because we are too busy carrying out our own plans.

            Remember the part of the Lord’s prayer that says, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? How can that be done? Only through those who are emptied of self and filled with the Holy Spirit. Only through those who give up their rights to serve others, and do the will of the Father; those who see the possibilities of living in the kingdom of God as opposed to remaining earthbound. Those who only have earthly eyes and earthly interests miss out on seeing into the heavenly realm…a whole new dimension.

            “The Lord came to Jeremiah, His prophet, and said, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” God will show us what we need to know if we will just ask Him. He wants us to be part of what He is doing. But, first, He wants to tell us things we have no way of knowing or understanding through this world’s knowledge. Why? So we can be equipped to work with Him. And we can know which jobsite we are supposed to be on and what time we are supposed to be there, accomplishing great things and winning great victories for the Kingdom.

            Jesus never conferred with His flesh man to decide what He would do or what He would say to the people. He conferred with the Father. He was representing His Father, not His humanity. The same holds true for us.

            God is always looking for someone who is seeking Him so they can work with Him. Those who work with Him receive the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out His plans. Daniel 11 tells of a very difficult time for God’s people, then he says, “But the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits." And those of the people who understand shall instruct many” (Daniel 11:32-33)   

Remember Noah? Moses? Joseph? Esther? Those are just a few that God used mightily. They are all gone from this earth, so we need to step up to know our God and do great exploits.  We can do the will of the Father!

Are we willing?

 

ARE YOU TIRED?

 

    I was shopping for a toy for my grandsons when I saw the picture on a box that looked like it might have a neat toy inside. I wasn’t really sure what it was, but I bought it. Later, when my son brought the boys, he opened the box and put everything together. It proved to be quite interesting, and the boys really liked it. There was three feet or so of rubber fencing that, when put together, housed a small robotic bug. When you turned the switch on the bug, it would run around in the fence and turn in a different direction each time it hit the fence or the turn stile in the middle of the area. It would continue running around from place to place until you picked it up and turned it off. That little bug was very busy but was going nowhere.

Honestly, sometimes I can relate to that bug. There are times I feel like I am running around here and there but when I think I am making progress, suddenly I hit a block that causes me to turn in a different direction. I’m working hard but never seem to accomplish anything. I have a lot of great ideas that go undone because I keep running out of time or energy or inspiration. When that happens, I get tired, weary, exhausted, discouraged and ready to turn myself off and come to a complete stop. I get tired inside and out. Does that sound familiar?

Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” But how can we keep from being weary? How can we “faint not” when life is charging forward and we are desperately trying to hold on for the ride?

When that discouraged, “ready to quit” feeling comes, we need to be infused with the Holy Spirit. If we don’t take some time for an infusion, we will collapse. It’s not that the Holy Spirit withdraws from us or His strength gets weak like the power of a battery. It simply means we have been too busy to tap into His supply that is always within our reach. Jesus said the Holy Spirit was a river of living water within us. You can’t get any closer than that.

If I am very thirsty and a glass of water is sitting right next to me, all I have to do to quench my thirst is reach over, pick up the glass and drink the contents. If I don’t make the effort, I can sit there until I dehydrate while the help I need is right beside me.

John 7:37-39 tells us, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 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.”

At this point He was speaking of what was to come. But Jesus has been glorified, and the Holy Spirit is available now to all who will receive Him. Jesus has offered to us the power of God in our lives by His Spirit. He doesn’t just give us a little sip. He gives us rivers of living water.  Notice this river is in us, but it also flows out of us. It is not just for us, but for every person we come in contact with.

Our bodies may get tired and need a rest, and that’s understandable. Our mind and emotions may be weary, too, but if we stay tapped in to the Spirit of God within us, we can be at full power spiritually on a consistent basis. The Spirit of God within us can even renew our minds and emotions. He can get us back on the right track so we can get off the track of confusion and futility. He can give us wisdom, power, insight and strength, but we have to allow our spirits to be infused by Him, only Him. He will renew, restore, heal, and lead us in the right direction if we will follow Him.

            To ‘infuse’ means “to steep or soak in a liquid for the purpose of extracting its properties or attributes and qualities.” When we live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit; when we have the Holy Spirit within us, we are daily soaking up His attributes. Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” If we are constantly infused by the Spirit, we are living in Him. Then we can walk out His attributes in our lives.

Isaiah 40:28-31 says, “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.”

When we wait on the Lord, we linger in His presence and soak up all He is into our spirits. As born-again believers, we have the Spirit of “the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth” within us. He never grows weary or faints. He can tell us not to be weary or faint because He gives us His strength to press on, not limp on, but press on into the kingdom of God.

            The Apostle Paul said, “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.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

            We can continue to walk in the Spirit accomplishing everything God has planned for us to accomplish. We can continue on until we reach the end of this life and enter life eternal. Or we can disregard the power we have at our disposal and try to hobble through this life barely holding on. How foolish to be hungry and thirsty when we could partake of the great banquet that is spread out for us.

            The Holy Spirit will be with us to renew our strength and power. He is with us to help us run and not be weary, walk and not faint or even become tired. To those who have no might, He will increase their strength as they soak in His power.

            Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be filled with the Spirit. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit that would live in us to remind us of Jesus’ words, to empower us to do the work Jesus commissioned all His people to do, and to have His insight and strength.

            We don’t have to stumble through life or be pushed through life by the chaos around us. We can walk every day with purpose and power. We can live in a way that will bring God glory.

Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit? Do you have the rivers of living water flowing through you? Are you living in the Holy Spirit, daily immersed in His power and might? Are you walking according to the leadership of the Spirit in your life every day? If not, there is good news. You can.

On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ followers, Peter stood before the people gathered there and with the power of the Spirit, he preached a message that brought 3000 people into the kingdom of God. Before He received the Holy Spirit, he could not have accomplished that, because it was the Spirit within him and flowing out of him Who worked in the hearts of that great crowd.

Quoting from the prophet Joel, Peter said, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of 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. (Acts 2:17-18)

To prophesy means to speak under divine inspiration. That is exactly what Peter was doing when he preached that sermon. We can do that too when we receive the same baptism of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’ resurrection, He told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. He knew they couldn’t operate without Him. So they waited for ten days. After the Holy Spirit was poured out, they began a ministry in His power that “turned the world upside down”.

            Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are working on low power. Is that why we see so few results for our labor? We can work alongside God in His power if we will seek Him and allow Him to work through us. We can be infused with the Holy Spirit and do the works of Jesus. Will we?

Ephesians 5:15-18 tells us, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

 

SIMPLIFY

 

            While on vacation I visited my favorite book store. It’s always one of the highlights of my trip because it has a huge basement full of books, puzzles and knick-knacks. I usually spend most of my time in the basement because I find unusual, interesting things there. On this particular visit I found a plaque about fourteen inches long. It was wooden with a piece of burlap across the front. One word was written clearly on that piece of burlap. “Simplify”. Of course I bought the plaque. That one word drew me with an intensity I couldn’t explain or ignore. It seemed to call me to explore its significance. You are about to read what I discovered when I followed that drawing.

As those who profess to follow Jesus, do we need to simplify our spiritual lives both personally and corporately, privately and publicly? Do we need an inner cleansing that will strengthen our bond with Jesus and enable us to walk in His Spirit with power and wisdom?  Let’s look at Jesus’ example to help us answer that question.

            If we simplify something, we make it less complex by removing the unnecessary elements. We remove the clutter to retain only what has value. And we can see it more clearly once the extra baggage has been removed.

Jesus illustrated for us a life of simplicity. He came down to us in this world representing His Father and the kingdom of God. He lived a very simple life with no entanglements to this world. He never limited Himself to the narrow traditions of religion or certain social classes or the newest trends. Nor did He try to fit in with the religious leaders because He had only one authority that He was accountable to. And that was His Father. He said and did what the Father told Him, no questions asked. He had no agenda of His own. He consistently spoke truth, the message of His Father, whether He was applauded or criticized. Whether He was received or rejected. He never struggled with confusion about who to obey, even in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus never felt a need to defend Himself because He knew Who He was and why He was here. He knew the religious leaders had no authority over Him. Even the elements of this world had no authority over Him. He rested completely in the Father’s control. How could He do this? Because Jesus lived in the kingdom of God, the kingdom where God’s will is always done, even while He was here in human flesh.

That is the place we are to live also. We are to live free from the confinement and the dictates of this world. Often our interaction with this world draws us into a place of turmoil and confusion. It lures us away from following Christ in the purest form of devotion and commitment to Him. It robs us of our simple faith in Him and His Word. Simply believe Jesus. Put your trust in Him and Him alone. Life gets terribly complex and frustrating when we try to do what this world requires and follow Jesus too. That seems to be where the majority of Christians find themselves. Serving two masters and working feverishly to please them both. There is a lack of peace when we are not at one with God. Jesus was one with the Father and prayed that we would be, too. He prayed that we would know the peace and simplicity of following Him.

Jesus taught the perfect way to simplify our lives. He said, “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.” (Matthew 6:24) Mammon is materialism and the elements of this world. If we are serious about simplifying our lives, we will need to lay aside this world to follow Jesus just as He followed the Father. 

There are two kingdoms. One is the kingdom of this world. The other is the kingdom of God. We are born into this world naturally in the flesh. We are born into the kingdom of God supernaturally in the Spirit. The problem is that many Christians don’t understand that we can begin living in the kingdom of God now. We can do the will of the Father instead of the will of our natural disposition. In re-birth, we have been changed to have the disposition of Jesus. We don’t just try harder to do right, we become right because our inner self has been changed and the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been given to us. We can experience the peace of God, the oneness with Him that goes beyond our understanding. If we are truly born again, we will not continue to follow the ways of the world or our old nature. We have to cut ties with them. We now live, move and have our being in the kingdom of God. There are so many confessing Christians whose lives are divided into two parts - the physical (natural) and the spiritual. They conduct their business in the natural realm the same as everyone else. Most of their lives are spent in natural pursuits – entertainment, leisure, etc. But they have their devotions with God and attend church. It is a false security that has no merit. We cannot have one foot in the world and one in the kingdom of God when it comes to allegiance and commitment. The two often disagree and we have to make a choice.

That does not mean we don’t interact with the people in this world. Jesus rubbed shoulders with the people in this world daily and many times with crowds thronging Him. But He didn’t rub shoulders with the things of this world. He operated completely in the realm of God’s kingdom. How else could He heal the sick, cleanse lepers, cast out devils, raise the dead and calm the storms? How else could He speak with such authority in His teachings?

Jesus was sent to the people in this world, including you and me. He was sent to save us and ultimately give us the same power and the same Spirit that He had. Now we are the ones who are to do the works of Jesus by the Holy Spirit inside us. Now we are the ones sent to the people of this world. They are waiting for the word of salvation that will release them. But we need to be following the will of the Father before we can show them.

We know all these things, but we have lost them somehow, somewhere in the clutter of temporal things. It’s time to break off the bands that have stolen our freedom. It’s time to realize who we are in Christ Jesus and begin to walk in it, free from the anxiety of this world. Will we let the fresh wind of God’s Spirit blow out the cobwebs of the world in us? Will we become one with Jesus and start walking in the Spirit? We can. Jesus was never held back, confined or restricted by the expectations of people. Nor was He a self-seeking renegade. Far from it. He never changed His course based on human expectations whether it was the common people wanting to make Him a king or the religious leaders plotting to kill Him. He was simply under the authority of One, His Father. God doesn’t want us to limit ourselves to what we can produce on our own, but in what He wants to produce through us.

If we truly want to simplify we will narrow all our interests down to One – Jesus Christ. Then we can serve God wholeheartedly. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit. When we yield to Him, we can begin bringing things back to their purest form, eliminating all the clutter of religion that has been added through the years. We can de-clutter, getting rid of all the glitz, glamour and manmade traditions. We need to simplify on both the personal and corporate levels. We can be free to serve God without the pressure that this world imposes on us.

We can be liberated from traditions of the past as well as the present trends of religion. We can be free to follow God with a pure heart.  It’s time to push off the limits and let Him lead. It’s time to drop our own agendas, hear from God, then follow Him. If He says, “be still”, we need to be still. If He says to step out in faith, we need to step out in faith. We need a fresh flow of the Spirit of God in our lives and churches. Is our worship in its purest form? Is it man-made or God breathed? Are we free to worship? Are our prayers in the purest form, or are we asking God to do things our way instead of listening to His voice? Are we free in our faith or are there dark places of doubt that hold us back?  We can be free in our faith when we hear from God and follow.

If we try to serve this world and Jesus, we are trying to coexist in two incompatible worlds. They contradict each other, and trying to combine them in our hearts will leave us confused and deluded. We will become double-minded, doubting the Word of God and doubting the standard of this world. We will be built on an unstable foundation and will fall. Living such a dualistic life is dangerous because it gives us false assurance that we are following Jesus when we are not. We are only truly following Him when we are one with Him.

The choice is up to each of us. 1 Kings 18:21 says, “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”

So, will we follow Jesus or the accepted values of this world? We cannot do both. Those who are trying to live in both worlds will find the two are completely incompatible. We need to simplify and have only one authority in our lives. We cannot successfully serve the standards of this world and Jesus at the same time. It’s that simple. We can live in bondage or we can be free.

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

UNCHARTED TERRITORY

 

UNCHARTED TERRITORY

 Uncharted: “not shown or located on a map; unexplored; unknown, as a place or region: the uncharted depths of space.”

            Some people have had the experience of leaving this world’s atmosphere to explore what lies beyond it. But most of us have no idea how that would be. Even those who have been in space have not touched the tip of the iceberg of what is really out there. Although most places in our world have been charted, they remain unknown and unexplored to us personally.

            There is no place that God has not charted or that is beyond His notice. There is no place that God has not created. He knows every nook and cranny of this world and all that lies beyond it. What if God called us to venture out beyond our comfort zone; to explore a place that is unfamiliar, but where His Spirit will lead us? He has called us. This place is not a physical place. It is a spiritual place where Jesus is calling us to venture out in faith. He tells us to come and explore the kingdom of God. Now is the time when God’s people need to be alert to the vision He has for them. This is the time when God’s people need to step out in faith, into the unknown, as He leads them. This is the time when we need to cry out to God to give us His insight to see people and circumstances as He sees them, not as we see them in the natural, but as He sees them in the spirit realm. We need to so solidify our relationship with Jesus that we know what He is saying to us and how He is leading us. Then we need to activate our faith to follow Him into uncharted territory.

            God told Abraham to leave all that was familiar to him and start on a journey, leaving his family behind. God promised Abraham that He would show Him the place. Talk about uncharted territory! We would have asked God to give us the address to this place so we could put it in our GPS and get the shortest route. But sometimes God tells us to follow Him in faith and He will get us to the destination He has planned for us at the right time. We don’t need the details. We need discernment and faith in God. We need to learn how to navigate by following Jesus through this life. It’s not always about the destination. Sometimes it’s about the journey. Or maybe we just need to experience the journey to prepare us for our destination.

            The prophet Ezekiel was shown water coming out from under the door of the temple of God. It began to flow until it was ankle deep, knee deep, hip deep and then it became a river that could not be crossed. It was water to swim in. The waters from the temple of God swept through the area and healed the stagnant streams and rivers, creating new life in them.

            This is the living water Jesus talked about. The water of the Spirit of God that can be living in us and flowing out of us to bring life to others. This water comes straight from His dwelling place and we are invited to have this living water and be led into the depths of God’s Spirit. Our spiritual stagnation can be healed and we can be refreshed in the living water! What’s more, we can refresh others!

            I wrote a song called “Wadin Through Life”. It depicts the life of a Christian who is trying to play it safe instead of surrendering everything to Jesus. Here are the lyrics:

“Wadin’ through life. All I was doing was wadin’ through life. Didn’t know if I’d swim or I’d sink. So I stayed on the river’s brink. Wadin’ through life. All I was doing was wadin’ through life. Deeper water sure gave me a fright ‘til I found the truth. I said all the right things, even went to the meetings. But wadin’ ‘round in the shallow end was not far enough from sin…The ankle-deep waters are refreshing I grant you; But the fullness comes only when you get deep enough to swim.”

            How deep have you gone into the river of God? Can you still feel the safety net of the shore under your feet, or are you swimming in the depths of the Holy Spirit, being held up only by His hand? Are you saved, but not useful? Saved, but not obedient? Saved, but not whole-heartedly committed? Or are you truly born again and growing in the Spirit, watching the shore disappear from sight as you enter the uncharted territory in the depths of God’s Spirit? Jesus is calling you to come deeper. If you will follow Jesus you can rest in His hands knowing that there is no uncharted territory with Him. He doesn’t get lost. He doesn’t make a mistake in calculating the way. Everything is under His control, even our safety. And He knows every inch of the territory. Are we so close to Jesus that we know His will in the circumstances that arise in our lives? Are we so committed to follow His will that we walk out His purposes without a thought of self?

I read three titles in the book “My Utmost for His Highest” and could see that they were three steps toward a life that is totally abandoned to Jesus. So, while I am using the titles from Oswald Chambers, I will share my own comments.

The first title is, “Where the sin and the sorrow cease, and the song and the saint commence.”  Our first experience with Jesus is when we are enlightened to the fact of Who He is, and we make a decision to repent and follow Him. That is when we are born again. Our life in the kingdom of God starts right there. The sin in our lives is washed away by Jesus’ blood and we are made righteous. The sorrow and the emptiness within us ceases as we are made a new creation. This new creation has the power of the Holy Spirit, and we know without doubt that we have been changed.

The second title is, “Where the self-interest sleeps and the real interest awakens.”

This is where we realize there is more to our experience with Jesus than “what’s in it for me?”

We see that being born again is just the beginning of our new life and there is much more ahead of us if we will follow Jesus. This new birth is like our natural birth in that we are babies in Christ and are to grow into maturity. We never stop thanking God for the new life we have, but our vision increases to see the need of others to have the gospel preached to them. We have our hearts opened to the fact that we have a spiritual purpose, a holy calling. And we begin to follow Jesus in that direction. If we are not careful, we can get stuck there, because it’s easy to make our work in the kingdom all about ourselves. We can get a haughty, superior spirit if we are not walking humbly with God. But we can do mighty works when we deny self.

            The third title is, “Where the selective affinity dies and the sanctified abandon lives.” An affinity is a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing or idea. In this step of our lives, we don’t just chose what attracts us about Jesus and His teachings, but follow Him even in the hard things He teaches and calls us to. Here we give ourselves over completely to His will without thought to ourselves. We no longer chose what we will or will not do, but fully surrender to His will. Here we have made the decision to lay down our life for Him and for those who still don’t know Him, and those who need to be discipled. Laying down our lives doesn’t necessarily mean dying. It means that we present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. That we lay aside our will and desires for the cause of Christ. We embrace the cross. Is it a burdensome, wearying, sad thing to do? NO! It is our delight to follow Jesus and to have Him with us every step of the way.

            Are we truly following Jesus or are we still in the same ankle-deep water we started in? Have we progressed in our walk with Jesus and in our commitment to Him? If we have not been growing in Christ, we can start today. Wherever we stopped growing, we can begin there to move into the next step. We can go from ankle-deep to knee-deep to hip-deep and then into the waters to swim in.

            It may be stepping into uncharted territory for us, but it is certainly not uncharted for God. Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us. If He is leading us, we have nothing to fear. In Philippians 3:12-14 Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [Amplified Bible]

            Don’t draw back in fear. Don’t freeze in place. Keep moving forward regardless of the uncertainty of the situation. We can trust in the certainty of our God. He will be there to support us, guide us and strengthen us for the journey.