Lean Back and Watch God Perform His Promise

Romans 4:21 - And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

    This statement of Paul comes out of a very powerful section of scripture which describes Abraham and his walk of faith. As we read of the life and the circumstance of Abraham and how he was called by God to pioneer a path of faith for all of us to follow, it is no wonder that he is held in such high esteem all over the world even to this day.

    God had spoken to Abraham about the fact that an heir would come out of his own body; he would father his own son. Then God said, ‘Look at the stars and count them if you can; so shall your seed be’. That statement is the promise that is spoken of in this verse and in the light of that, we might wish to reconsider our idea of what a promise is. We’ve heard it said that all of God’s promises are conditional; God promises, we meet the condition and He fulfills the promise. This is our culture’s basic understanding of a promise. We do a similar thing with our children; if you clean your room then you can have a snack after dinner; if you do well on your grades then we will buy you a new bicycle. There is certainly an aspect of this that is correct; there is indeed an ‘if’ in many verses of scripture.

    However, let’s look closer at this particular promise of God. ‘So shall your seed be’. It is not really a promise in the way we normally think of it; it’s actually a statement, an announcement or a declaration. This is the way it is. ‘So shall your seed be’. As Abraham heard that statement, it produced something in his heart; he became fully persuaded. What was he fully persuaded of? He was completely convinced that what God declared, He was more than able to bring it to pass. This took all of the responsibility right out of Abraham’s hands and placed it all exactly where God wanted it; in His hands.

    Anybody can make bold declarations but not everybody can back them up; not everybody has the ability to bring these declarations to pass. Abraham recognized who it was that made the declared promise. God said it; the Creator of the universe was the source of this declaration; God Almighty had spoken, and He is well able to fulfill His promise. Years ago there was a popular saying that went like this, ‘God said it, I believe it and that settles it’, but maybe we should re-phrase it; ‘God said it and that settles it’. I believe that this is what happened for Abraham; he heard God speak; he recognized who said it and he fully relied on the character and the ability of the speaker; that settled it.

    A man by the name of James Stewart once wrote something which will help us here. He said that, ‘The constant watchword of the New Testament is not “We are able”, but what you do find over and over again is, “He is able”, and when [the writers] say it, they are looking away from themselves to God’. God is the one who has all ability, capability, power and might; He is able. We must look away from ourselves and look to Him. This is the persuasive thought that came into Abraham’s heart that produced an unshakeable conviction that this promise of God will surely come to pass. What are some of these promises of God for us today? ‘All your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children’, ‘By whose stripes you were healed’, ‘My God shall supply all your need according to His riches’. We are not the performer of these promises; He is. We don’t make it happen; God does. We don’t have the wisdom to make it happen; we don’t have the power to make it happen; we don’t have the resources to make it happen; our Heavenly Father does. Our part is simply to accept and agree with what He promises and let that Word persuade us and keep us calm as we lean back in the arms of our Father and allow Him to fulfill His promise. Thank you, Lord! You are definitely more than able!

For Every Broken Heart That Has Ever Asked Why?

Matt.27:46 – And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying ‘Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?’ that is to say, ‘My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?’

    This is one of the seven things that Jesus said while he was agonizingly hanging on the cross. These few, sacred statements from Jesus have proven to be a rich heritage of blessing, strength and comfort to us. Many sermons and books have been written about them and what a powerful and enlightening study it is.

    This cry of Jesus has been called the cry of anguish or the cry of despair and it was indeed a haunting cry. A cry is something deeper than words; it is an expression of the heart which surpasses language. Every person on the earth knows what a heart cry is. It is a cry of instinct more than one of intellect. It is a cry of longing more than one of logic. This heart cry transcends all language barriers; it transcends all belief systems; we can immediately identify with anyone who suffers no matter their culture, speech or nationality. The book of Romans tells us that the entire creation is groaning; suffering under the burden of sin and suffocating from the weight of wickedness. That groan is this very cry which we are considering. Jesus, being the most spiritually sensitive man ever, was acutely aware of this period of abandonment, and he cried and groaned in total identification with forsaken mankind.

    I have heard it pointed out that if you read through the Gospels carefully, you will never see Jesus address the Father as God. He always tenderly addressed him as Father, but in this dark hour of his life He cried out to the God of the universe. Mankind is fallen and has lost his filial relationship with the Father. He cannot truly be called Father by anyone other than His children. He may be God to the entire world but He is Father only to the family. Something mysterious was transpiring within Jesus that was so terrible, so sacred, so beyond description that we must be very careful how we tread here. A thick darkness had covered the land for three hours restricting the onlooker's sight; it may be that God mercifully hid the eyes of humanity from catching sight of things which are beyond our ability to fully understand.

    To ask the question 'why' is to ask the basic question of the fallen race. Why me? Why is this happening to me? Why is life so difficult? Why do I keep repeating destructive patterns? Why are all these terrible things happening in the world? Why? To pose the question 'why' is to inquire about causes; reasons that things are the way they are. We want to make sense out of our lives and circumstances. We want to find meaning and purpose in the midst of suffering. Someone has said that a man can put up with almost any ‘what’ as long as he has a ‘why’. Jesus knew why he had to suffer; he had told his disciples ahead of time that he was going to be killed and rise again, but darkness had encircled the land; darkness had come heavily upon him; darkness had enclosed his heart and now darkness was coming out of him. Why, God, why?

    The question of why that comes from the inside of any man always comes with his own limited perspective; he doesn’t see the big picture and therefore he doesn’t understand. Perspective is what one sees from their point of view; from their standpoint. I read years ago that discussing Bible truths is like climbing a mountain; if you climb up one side you see one view, but if you climb up from another side you see a different view. There are always a variety of views to look at from man’s partial perspective. However, there is God’s unlimited viewpoint and His infinite perspective. There was a specific reason that Jesus was forsaken on that day; the purpose of God was being fulfilled. God was carrying out His great plan of redemption in this sacred and horrific moment. There was a definite and meaningful why.

    Fallen man is forsaken man; he is forlorn man; he is forgotten man. Why have you done this to me? Jesus is representing the entire race of lost humanity who blame God for all their loss and agony. Why did you not protect me? Why are you allowing this to happen? The sense of forsakenness and abandonment is what stands between God and mankind. We sometimes have heard the phrase, ‘a God-forsaken world’, but maybe it is actually the Father God who is forsaken by the world. Maybe He is a ‘world-forsaken God’. The Father God is truly the ultimate sufferer; he loves much, therefore he suffers much. This moment of forsakenness was equally difficult for both the Father and the Son. The Son’s heart cried out in deep distress as He represented every terrible and tragic thing that man has ever experienced as a victim and committed as a culprit. The Father’s heart suffered in silent pain as He watched His Son carry the burden and the crushing weight; the culmination of every wrong choice; the sin and the hurt of the entire world.

    Tragedy, atrocity, calamity, brutality and heartbreak are the sad realities of life on earth. One doesn't have to look very far to see that there is sorrow on every continent, pain in every country and grief in every home. Our deepest consolation comes to us as we understand that Jesus suffered these same things, he experienced the complete range of human emotions and he continues to suffer with us. He understands you, he understands me. Jesus was forsaken, deserted, abandoned and rejected so that we could be fully accepted and lovingly embraced; included in the family and affirmed by the Father. No matter what you may be facing today, however dark and heavy your heart may be, however many questions may be in your mind, I pray that you would cry out to the Father and receive His peace, His strength and His assurance that He is right there, walking with you through it all. He is there, as close as a whisper and He is ready to answer. Amen!

    

Are You a Person Under Authority?

Dedicated to all those who have served in defense of their country...thank you!

Mat 8:9, 10 -   For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

   This account is well known as being the source for many sermons on the subject of faith. Jesus commended the Centurion in a way that was quite rare and it should definitely capture our attention. What was it about this man and the way he conducted himself that so impressed Jesus? As we study the entire passage and also the description given to us by Luke, we gain an understanding and a glimpse into the character of this unusual man. We see his humility, we see his compassion, we see his generosity and we see several other noble character traits, however, it was his faith that Jesus specifically applauded. Jesus did not praise his humility, or his compassion or his generosity; he praised and affirmed his faith. There was something so unique and different about this Centurion’s faith that Jesus felt compelled to comment; he was amazed; he was impressed. Contrary to some people’s thinking, Jesus is not all that easily impressed. Think about it; Jesus had seen it all, he had ministered to the multitudes and dealt with many fascinating people but never had he seen the quality of faith that this man exemplified. What produced this great faith?

    We have some insight into the kind of thinking and mindset that created the Centurion’s faith by his own comments regarding his understanding of authority. Luke’s account actually gives us a few extra words worth considering. ‘I also am a man set under authority’. The Centurion was a military man and he evidently viewed Jesus also as a man placed under authority similar to the military. The Centurion understood his place in the chain of command; he was both under men of greater rank and he was over men of lesser rank. When orders were issued to him he obeyed without rationale or hesitation; when he issued orders they were also obeyed. Orders are commands and commands are not suggestions. There are only two responses to a command; obedience or disobedience; we either submit or rebel; we either surrender or resist.

    No military man can promote himself; he rises through the chain of command in accordance with his compliance to superior officers and his ability to execute commands. He is set in his rank, he is arranged under others and assigned a particular station. The Centurion became the commander of one hundred men by years of loyal service and experience. There is something about the demeanor of a military man who understands that he is supported by the authority of the nation and also that he carries the authority of the nation. He walks tall; he walks dignified; he walks calmly; he receives orders and he gives orders; ‘Go, come, do this’. These are not requests they are directives. This Roman officer saw Jesus in the same light. He saw him as being supported and backed by the authority of Heaven. He saw Jesus as being a man who understood his place; he was set there by God. He also saw sickness as something inferior and of lesser rank; Jesus could simply speak a word of command and the sickness would have to obey and servant boy would be healed.

    How enlightening and helpful all of this is to us. The greatest commendation and sense of admiration, which ever came from the Lord Jesus, came to a man who was an outsider; a man who the elite religious community would tell us was not welcome or worthy; a military man of Rome who was considered an oppressor of Israel; and yet, his understanding of authority transcended all of the above. Great faith is not something to be pursued by us; it is something that is produced in us. It is a consequence of seeing all things in their proper order. Great faith was produced in this man by taking the patterns and methods of his own life and showing him the parallel to God’s way of operating. He did not have to look far to gain this faith; he did not have to work hard to gain this faith; he did not have to burn the midnight oil in study; he simply saw with clarity the way things are from God’s perspective. Obviously, that clarity of insight comes from God; we don’t unveil these things to ourselves. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of truth and as we position ourselves to hear from Him, He gives us glimpses and enables us to see and understand the Word of God. When that understanding and insight comes, genuine faith is produced within us; the lies and false perspectives of this world fall away and we walk forward into our future and into our destiny with confidence and security. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Acts 20:28 - Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

    Paul’s address to these leaders, spoken so many years ago, has given many ministers since, much encouragement and guidance. What a treasure to have this rare glimpse into the heart of Paul as he shepherds the overseers of Ephesus, and gives us much needed admonishment and instruction for our lives today. There are some strong words of exhortation and warning telling us that we must take heed. What does it mean to take heed? It means to be aware and alert and to take special note of something. When a sentence is prefaced with these words then unusual attention is required. This word is used elsewhere in scripture warning us to beware. To take heed, then is to beware. What are we to beware of? We are to beware or, be aware of ourselves. First and foremost we are to guard over our own lives as leaders. The obvious tendency, for those who have been charged with the care of a flock, is to put others ahead of themselves. That almost seems correct except that Paul says that is not the way to go. We must have the wisdom to see that if we do not take care of our own lives first, eventually there will be no one to care for others. We can be of no good to anyone if we neglect our personal lives to the point where we begin to breakdown. Call it what you will; burnout, compassion fatigue, running on empty, or just simply worn out, we are not designed to constantly live our lives at break-neck speeds, while bearing the load of ministry. There is another aspect of this, as well; we must take heed that we are not being negligent, lazy or possibly even, over-bearing or dictatorial. Take heed to yourself. Be aware of your own propensities and tendencies. Be self-aware. There is a big difference between being self-aware and self-conscious; one is a blessing and the other is a curse; one will give me the tools that will free and enlarge me, and the other will take those same tools and tighten the chains that bind and restrict me. Self-awareness is a blessing, because if I am not aware of my own patterns, habits and tendencies then, I can never change them.  It is only as I am aware, taking heed, and keeping a close watch on myself, that I can observe objectively and change accordingly.

    George Mueller said something along this line that has pertinence for us today. He said that the first thing that he would do in the morning is take some time to meditate on the word of God. He would do this not for the purpose of preaching but for the purpose of feeding his own soul. He stressed the fact that if his own soul were not well fed then the work of God could be done in a wrong attitude or spirit. This certainly seems to answer many questions for us. How many times has the work of God been done in a wrong spirit and done more damage than good? We are spiritual beings and we communicate not just in words but in spirit as well. Attitudes are transferable by association and contact. Someone has once said that some things are better caught than taught; and of course, in a positive sense, this is great. We catch a right attitude and posture from those around us; however the opposite is also true; we can catch a wrong spirit or attitude from others. As leaders it is so vital that we take heed to our own spiritual health and to keep a right attitude towards both the work that needs to be done and the people that are involved with us in it.

    This exhortation of Paul may also include a broader sense of taking heed to ourselves as a team of leaders. Elders, overseers, board members, department heads, worship teams, home group leaders and all the many volunteers are joined together crucially to facilitate the work and ministry of the local church. Our relationships with our ministry teams are so very important and vital. The enemy is always seeking to divide us and to stir up strife and hurt feelings amongst us. Paul wrote to the Philippians commanding them to, ‘let nothing be done through strife or vain glory’, which, as one minister said, is about how most of the church work gets done. James also said that where envy and strife is there is confusion and every evil work. Take heed; be aware of the strife that will inevitably surface in an attempt to destroy the work of God. Let us not continue to shoot ourselves in our own foot and become, as Jesus said, the foes of our own household.

    After we have paid attention to our own lives, as leaders, then we must not be neglectful of the condition of our flock, who are the ones whom the Holy Spirit has charged us to oversee. In our roving culture and non-stopping society, it has become increasingly difficult to gage the status and spiritual condition of people. Those who are regular and consistent attenders of our weekly gatherings can be more easily cared for because we see them and interact with them every week. However there are those who are not always in our Sunday morning gatherings due to a number of reasons. Take, for one example, the issue of employment. Years ago most of us worked regular daytime hours with at least Sundays off, but now we have a twenty-four hour, seven day work week. For many, there is no such thing as a weekend, the week actually never ends. Soccer, hockey, dance, extra-curricular school activities for the children, keep today’s families on the go constantly. I’m almost getting worn-out just writing about it. The beautiful people and families of our churches are feeling haggard and weary; some through a lack of knowledge; some through pressure from the workplace; but all of it is still a choice. One of the best things we can do for our congregations is continue to teach and preach on Biblical priorities; encouraging and exhorting people to take back their lives and bring them under the authority of God. I have a book in my library entitled, ‘In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed’. Just the title alone blesses me.

    Take heed to yourself, take heed to your flock. Whether its eating a meal, a morning devotion, a conversation with your child, or kissing your wife; slow down. Enjoy the journey, stop and smell the roses, pace yourself; the race of life is not a one-hundred yard dash; it is a long distance, cross-country marathon. Let’s be healthy and finish well and let’s finish well together!

God's Laws of Process and Growth

John 12:24 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.

   Jesus speaks to us of a seed and its process; it must fall into the ground and die. Both of those ideas are rejected by our positive-thinking, you-can-do-it culture. Firstly, we do not want to fall and, secondly, we certainly do not want to die, but Jesus says it is essential that both happen. The seed will remain an isolated and solitary seed if it does not surrender to this seemingly contradictory route. The seed has to leave one environment and enter another environment in order for it to change and grow. Do we wish to continue to cling to what we know? Are we going to hang on to the comfort of familiarity? You have probably heard people say, ‘I would rather stick with the devil I know than the devil I don’t know’, meaning that even though circumstances may be hard and undesirable, many times we are afraid to step out into something that we do not know so, we stay with the undesirable thing that we do know. Sadly though, we will never know the possibilities of what could be if we remain in the same known place, abiding as a seed. There was an Abraham within Abram, but, he would never have developed into the father of a multitude had he not left the familiar status quo behind. Elisha left his parents and his oxen, David left the sheepfold, Peter and John left their nets, Saul of Tarsus left the Pharisees and all of God’s men and women must leave in order for the promise of Jesus to be fulfilled; ‘he shall receive an hundredfold’.

    The seed represents astounding potential. The DNA of a full-grown oak tree is in the acorn, but there are laws of process that need to be observed, submitted to and obeyed. It is the will of God for that seed to grow and to become all that lies dormant within it, but there are laws of God that determine the unfolding of his will. If that seed never falls into the soil, thus surrendering itself to the death procedure, the capabilities and possibilities of the seed will never be released. The fall, the yielding, the surrendering of the seed must take place first; we must say with Jesus, ‘not my will but thine be done’. The seed, by remaining a seed, controls what it will always be; however, we need to release control if we are to become what God wants us to be.

   The seed must enter into the ground, into the unseen territory and into a new environment. God works through environment; nothing develops on its own. Neither the seed nor the man will ever grow without being placed around the right people and within the right setting. Once the seed has fallen into the soil, it must begin to die. Oh! How we recoil from that word and from the idea of death, but when we understand that death simply means a separation, then we gain a new appreciation for the method that God has chosen. It will be necessary for the seed to be stripped of its protective shell in order for the nutrients of the soil to penetrate and do their mysterious work. We will never reach the levels of development that are written into our DNA until we remove our self-defense systems and become vulnerable.

    If we do not submit to this God-ordained way, Jesus informs us that we will abide alone, which is another way of saying that we will remain a single, solitary seed; lots of potential but sadly, no change and no results. However, if we do yield and surrender entirely, placing ourselves in the soil of God’s choosing, we can expect a life of consistent growth, undeniable influence, multiplied productivity and deeply satisfying fulfillment.