What is it That You Want?

Matt.20:32 – And Jesus stood still and called them and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?

    There is something about the nature of Jesus and the way that He works that insists upon us choosing and being specific. The two blind men had just cried out for mercy and Jesus had heard them. He obviously understood that they wanted mercy but, apparently, mercy comes in drops or showers and it can cover a lot of ground.

    What do you want mercy for? Do you want the mercy that cleanses the soul from any taint of sin that you may have committed? Do you want the mercy that extends compassion toward you in the form of a meal to eat or a place to sleep? Do you want the mercy that lifts you out of the hopeless mindset of the beggar and restores vision and purpose to your floundering soul? Or, do you want the mercy that heals the diseased condition? What is your want? What is your desire?

    Mercy is general but faith is specific. The cry for mercy gets God’s attention but the cry of faith gets God’s answer. Mercy moves you in God’s direction but faith moves God in your direction. God is a Father who wants to deal with us as mature children. When your adult children want your help, all they have to do is ask. You won’t necessarily, do it for them; you desire for them to honour your relationship by asking. In the book of Exodus when God revealed Himself as, ‘I am that I am’, I believe that He is implying that He will be to us whatever we need or desire Him to be, all within the confines of his will, of course. He will meet us on whatever level of faith we are at. Jesus said to the blind men, ‘What will ye that I shall do unto you?’ I can be a comfort to you in your blindness, or I can be a healer to you of your blindness. I can be a provider to you of your daily needs or I can bring you to a place of providing for your own needs. I can give you a hand-out that will temporarily satisfy your hunger or I can give you a hand-up that will change your life forever.

    It would appear that our choices ultimately determine both the quality and the direction of our life. We may not be responsible for all that has happened to us but we are in charge of our response. In fact, when we analyze the word responsible, we can see that response is included. Dr. Edwin Cole once said that maturity doesn’t come with age but, maturity comes with the acceptance of responsibility. If that statement is true, then every time we respond in obedience to God, every time we respond to pressure and difficult situations, we grow; we increase our capacity for handling more; we develop and become more mature.

    Whether or not the blind men knew it, when they asked for sight, they asked to become responsible for their lives. They would no longer be looking to others for their sustenance but would become responsible contributors and participants in society.

    What are you asking for from the Lord? Please do not misunderstand me; God is so good and he is way better than we have known; he will bless us in ways that we would never consider for ourselves. His mercy will free us from poor choices and neglect, his mercy will rescue us; he is indeed a Saviour. However, there will come a time in our walk with him that he will require us to mature by accepting complete responsibility for our lives. We must stop pointing the finger and blaming others for where we are at, be it our finances, or our marriage, or any area of our life. There are some people who constantly blame others; it’s my boss’s fault or, my parents or, the government or, my church. Enough of that! What will ye? What do you want? Decide. Choose. Use your power and take action. How long will you hesitate?

    Lord, have mercy on us. Give us the mercy that enables us to take charge of our lives and to accept responsibility to cooperate with you in the fulfillment of your will and plan for each one of us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

No Vacancy for the Enemy

   Mat 12:43-45 -   When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

    Quite often when we read this portion of scripture we relegate it only to those poor souls who are completely taken over and have become demon possessed, but there is unique insight and powerful principles here for all of us to consider and learn.

    Firstly, we can see the nature of the enemy in that he is a restless entity; ever seeking, never finding; an eternal vagabond, always aware of a gnawing sense of agitation. That is Satan’s disposition and that sensation is what he attempts to foster in the heart of man. If you have ever had any acquaintance or dealings with a restless person, you know that it is seems almost futile to help them; true rest can only come from above, and only a restful person has genuine authority and lasting victory over the adversary.

    Another thing that we see with respect to the nature of the enemy is that he desires to own, possess and occupy man. He is ever seeking to influence, manipulate and control whomever he can; accordingly, then, the enemy, once dealt with, must continue to be dealt with. We can exercise authority and cast him out but, subsequently, we must exercise vigilance and keep him out. The enemy desires to return and to come back in to the same place that he once ruled, and because he is a persistent opponent, watchfulness and attentiveness are just two of the necessary elements that will secure our continued freedom.   

    Not only does the unclean spirit want to return but, he wants to reinforce his previously held stronghold; bringing the man into a worse state than the first. So again, we get a glimpse into his strategy and tactics. The enemy has an intention to strengthen his wicked purpose and ultimately bring utter devastation and ruin to the man. Make no mistake friends, there is a war and we are the targets; our foe hates all that even remotely resembles the image of God in man. We may have met some harsh, hard-hearted people but they pale in comparison with just how malicious, menacing and ruthlessly cruel this evil spirit truly is.

    When the unclean spirit had the rule of the house disorder and uncleanness was the norm. Once that spirit was gone the man was able to clean up his life and set things in order, however that is not enough. Any house, even if it is located in a posh neighborhood, must be occupied to ensure its safety and maintenance. Thieves love to find clean, orderly and vacant houses, because unoccupied houses have no one home to defend them. The problem with this house was not that it was clean and orderly, the problem was that it remained empty. There is an old saying that tells us that nature abhors a vacuum, but so also does the human heart; something will inevitably fill it.

    The principle we are being taught here is what we might call the Law of Displacement. When the children of Israel were commanded to go in and possess the Promised Land, the first thing they had to do was deal with the occupants of the land; they had to drive out the enemy. Once the enemy had been driven out he was to be kept out by their occupation of the new land, in other words, they displaced the enemy. We could also describe this law another way; how would one get the air out of a glass? You couldn’t shake it out. You could turn the glass upside down but, still the air would not come out. The only way to get air out of a glass and keep it out is to fill the glass with another substance, such as water. The water displaces the air, takes up residence and thus, prevents its return.

    Holy Spirit, please come and fill our hearts with your presence, fill our minds with your thoughts and fill our lives with a renewed sense of purpose. Let this next season be one of an awakening to all that God has for us. Let us be filled, be focused and remain free, in Jesus’ name, amen!

Are You Building to Last?

Mat 7:24 – 27 - Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

    These are the last few verses of Jesus famous discourse to his disciples which we call; The Sermon on the Mount. Only God can calculate the value of these statements and the impact that these words have had, and continue to have, on Earth’s inhabitants. Let’s look closer at how Jesus concludes this ‘sermon’.

    Jesus contrasts two different people; the wise and the foolish. Many times when we read this, we mistakenly assume that Jesus is talking about believers and unbelievers. A closer examination, however tells us that Jesus is speaking of believers. Unbelievers are not sitting at the feet of Jesus hearing his teaching. So this instruction and warning is for all of us as believers. Which type of man will I be? Will I be wise or foolish? I, alone, am in charge of that choice.

   The wise man built his house on the rock, so the question arises, ‘What is the rock?’ Most believers respond to that question by saying that the rock is God. It is true that in the book of Psalms, God is known as the Rock of our salvation; our steady, unchanging, always reliable and permanent security. However, in this verse, God is not the rock upon which the wise man built his house. The rock is his personal application and consistent practice of the words that he heard; it is the bending of his will to the Lord and the forming of his integrity. He did not simply hear but he acted on the word of God, thus constructing his life and character on the security and permanence of eternal foundations.

   Apparently, wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing. Both men heard the words of Jesus, so they both had knowledge, but only one had wisdom. Knowledge alone does not guarantee that we are building securely; in fact, we could be building on shifting sand, all the while quoting Bible verses. In contrast, wisdom is always looking way down the road ahead. Wisdom plans and builds for the future, even peering into the distance and preparing for eternity. The wise man did not take the easy route by digging a foundation in loose soil; no, he took the harder route by digging deep and chipping into the rock, slowly laying his foundation in the bedrock of faithfulness. We can imagine that the foolish man’s house seemed to be making better progress; he had his roof on before the wise man was finished with his foundation. In our fast-paced, get-it-done-now culture, slow and steady progress may be just what we need.

   Both men heard the word of God and built their lives; one by commission and diligence; the other by omission and negligence. From the outside both houses looked the same; it was only in the hidden realm that there was an infinite difference; and it was only when the storm came that the difference was revealed. The storms of life will inevitably come to all of us, at various intervals of our lives, and wise is the one who foresees such storms. Wisdom is not taken by surprise but foolishness always is. A fool builds on the sand, presuming that no storm will come, and even if it does, he seems to think his house will stand.

    I have heard it said that in one Oriental language there is only one symbol that stands for both crisis and opportunity. When the trouble and the tests come it reveals our character and it is our character that predetermines whether it will be a crisis causing our lives to crash or whether it will be an opportunity causing our resolve to be strengthened by God. Dr. Edwin Louis Cole once wrote, “There are no spur-of-the-moment decisions, but every decision is based on a lifetime of previous decisions which either enhanced or diminished one’s character”.

    I pray that we would awaken to a deeper resolve to continue to build on the firm foundation. If we have sinned and made mistakes, as all of us have, then make this an opportunity to repair the faulty foundations and get back on a path of wisdom; building the unseen life one brick at a time. It will definitely be worth it!

Crisis and Opportunity

Proverbs 5:22 - His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of his sins.

    The world we live in and, sadly, many sectors of the church,do not like to even acknowledge that sin exists and still has power. Many laugh and mock at the idea of sin but, if all of us were honest; we would admit there is an unseen and undetected power that tempts and drives men to commit horrendous and shameful acts against ourselves and one another. We can say that we don’t believe in poison but we will die if we ingest it regardless of our beliefs. In the final analysis men will suffer the consequences of continuing in their sin. Responsibility rests with the individual to choose the wisdom of God in avoiding certain evils. 

    In this very pointed chapter of Proverbs, we have frank and straight forward instruction and warning to shun sexual sin of every form. The strange and seductive woman has boldly come into our homes through the television and the computer screen, and we are the ones who have opened the door. We are the consumer, we are the reason that pornography and all sexually explicit material sells. We are the purchasers of sin. Iniquity is the power that holds men and keeps men shackled within a prison of addiction and weakness. Why does man do the things that he does? How can man treat himself and his fellow man and woman with such lack of respect and value? It could only be because of iniquity, which is the power within our fallen natures that clearly exhibits that something has gone terribly wrong. It is the propensity and the tendency to crave what we do not have. It shows itself in the fact that we are attracted to things that will eventually destroy us. Someone has written that habits are first threads then cables; easily broken at first and almost impossible to break later. We form the habit and then the habit forms us. 

    Sin is a powerful and compelling force that always has and always will entice men of all ages and all cultures. Sins' insidious power pervades and reaches to the highest levels and echelons of our society and it dives down into the lowest and darkest sectors of our culture; it is no respecter of persons; sin hates all men equally, Christian and non-Christian alike. Satan is the archenemy of God and the nemesis of mankind. He despises man; he deviously delights in the destruction of everything that is good and fair and kind.     Eventually if a sin is persisted in, the cords of that sin will hold the man captive. It will control the man and keep him in a cursed state. Regardless of what it looks like on the outside, he will be continually wrapped up, entangled and confined to a very tiny space, when all the while it is the will of God for that man to be blessed and free and ever-expanding in prosperity and influence. Sin, especially sexual sin, keeps men from becoming all that God intended for us. It restrains mature character and the full expression of the image of God. It diminishes true manhood. It promises much but delivers little. It is deceptive by nature and destructive in result. All of us need a Saviour; one who will free us from all iniquity and, thank God, Jesus has already done it! The power of sin has been neutralized. The shackles of sin have been broken. The prison doors are open. Captive humanity is now free to go. Why would we continue to stay inside?

    The crisis of life come to all of us, whether it be in the form of a sickness, the loss of a job, the end of a marriage or the shock of a fallen brother. When we find ourselves in turmoil because of a crisis, we have an opportunity to re-evaluate and re-examine our lives, and take a close and prayerful look at our spiritual condition. I want to exhort you to take advantage of this opportunity, as I am doing, and as Isaiah has exhorted us; 

 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous person his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, So he'll have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he'll pardon abundantly." Is.55:6,7