"...these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation become offended and fall away (Luke 8:13b)."
Jesus told us instead to expect persecution, excommunication, and tribulation. Since Christians today expect blessing, acceptance, and prosperity, it's easy to see why so many are setting themselves up for a big disappointment when GOD does not meet their expectation. Ultimately, you will apply the same expectations upon God as you do upon people, holding Him personally responsible for what THEY did or did not do to you. The seed for apostasy and falling away is planted in my heart, in your heart, in every Christian heart: that is, the unrealistic and unbiblical perception of how we expect God and other people to treat us.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of men. He could perceive their reasonings and murmerings against Him. This is why He could love unconditionally - He expected nothing in return. Why should He? People were and are intrinsically self-centered, self-serving and self-preserving. It is the nature of Adam, and it is our nature. True, Christians now have a new nature, but most only know of that new nature in theory, not by experience.
Jesus did not expect His disciples to remain faithful to Him simply because He washed their feet. His knowledge of people gave Him the liberty to just love them and not expect anything in return. He could wash the disciples' feet knowing they would all forsake Him. It was not as if He became angry when they left, "after all I've done for them." That's OUR way. We keep a mental ledger of debits and credits and EXPECT others to treat us fairly, or support us, etc. just because we applied the Golden Rule to them. If we were in His place, our line of reasoning would be: I can count on Peter, James and John; the rest I am not as sure of; Judas will likely betray me; but, if I show them unconditional love, wash their feet, and pray for them, surely they will stand with me during my time of suffering.
O Christian, how many times have you reasoned thusly, adding up your debits and credits with others and expecting them to treat you as you have treated them? How many times have you expected the preacher to visit you, the neighbor be kind to you, the friend to listen to you, the husband to love you, the wife to honor you, the children to obey you, the parents to understand you? What did you expect? To be applauded? To be affirmed? To be understood? To be appreciated?
O preacher, what did you expect? The praise of the masses? The universal recognition of your special gift? The outward trappings of a successful ministry, with a one hundred-fold return of luscious fruit? Did you expect to be consulted as a dauntless leader, hailed as a church-growth expert, lauded as God's man or woman of the hour?
Yes, you expected it, I expected it, we all expected just a little something from others - and therein lies the problem: no, not in what others did to you, whether it was just or unjust, or what they failed to do, whether in negligence, forgetfulness, or spite. The crux of the matter, the point of stumbling, is your unrealistic expectation that people will behave in a predictable, godly, Biblical, Christ-like, loving manner. Because more times that not, they don't.
And that upsets us. We expect people to approve of our writings, our music, our "word", our ministry, our insight, our revelation, our values, our doctrinal position. And they expect the same of us, and God help the one who fails to render credit where credit is due! The "I" is always hidden behind such a desire, so it is no wonder that we become upset when we are not afforded the appreciation and respect we think we deserve. If they are not Christians, we could shrug and say, "What do you expect? They don't even know the Lord." Ah, but then, people who claim to know the Lord (maybe some who really do) fail to meet your expectations too. We can align our expectations such that we do not expect compassion from a sinner, but what about when compassion is lacking from a saint? My, what a test this is! We can overlook the insults and offenses and misdeeds of the lost and make excuse for them because they are not saved. How then do you make excuse for those who mistreat you while claiming to be on God's side? I maintain that the "like-minded brethren" are the most difficult to get along with.
Then of course, one of those "well-meaning" preachers will tell you that you can expect to be prosperous, healed, and victorious. Hope rises, and you believe. "Expect a miracle!" they shout. And the prosperity you expected does not materialize; the healing does not "manifest"; and victory seems to be way out on the horizon, well beyond your outstretched hands.
The time it takes varies from individual to individual, but each one of us facing the cumulative effect of unmet expectations reaches the same fork in the road. Eventually the focus of our attention shifts from what people have done, to what God has NOT done. It seems to us in such a place that God seldom, if ever, intervenes on our behalf, defends our cause, or solicits what we want from other people.
We worship God, and expect that He will afford us with some tangible evidence or feeling of joy, peace, strength or nearness of His presence. It is in a sense much like Pavlov's dog, who learned how to press a button in order to get a treat. Is this Spirit and Truth?
We read and study the Bible, expecting that God will grant us revelation into His Word, that we may grow in spiritual knowledge and Christian maturity. Or, preacher, you expect to get your Sunday sermon or midweek lesson out of the text before you. But there comes a time when, as Nee says, the Bible looms before you as a massive rock from which you cannot obtain nourishment. What then?
What do we do when He doesn't answer as we expect Him? What then, O Christian? What will you do? What will you believe? Perhaps you will be like Job's wife. Curse God and die, she spat. Why retain your integrity any longer? Not just die, but CURSE GOD first, then go ahead and die! Don't just roll over, Job! You've got some anger going on in there, don't you? You've got a little bitterness in your heart, huh? God blessed you once, but today you are cursed! God prospered you once, but today you are bankrupt! God healed you once, but today the flesh hangs off your bones! You are a stinking mess. You are a bum, a loser, a has-been. This is the result of your life of faith! This is how God eventually treats all His children, by sending them to a cruel cross and crucifying them on it, naked before the world, helpless before the religious mafia, powerless before the devil! You were mistaken somewhere, Job. You had God all wrong. You messed up somewhere along the line. Give up Job. Curse God and die!
Isn't it interesting? When God behaves as we expect Him to - the raise comes, the transfer goes through, the cancer is healed, the marriage is restored, the storm passes us by - we do not protest that we are unworthy, or argue with God's decision to bless us. Unless it is an unusual display of grace we may scarcely give God the credit. Ah, but let God delay Himself, or "fail" to deliver as expected, and behold how quickly our countenance is darkened against Him!
Are people your problem? No. Is God your problem? No! YOU are your problem, and specifically, your expectation is your downfall. Sure, expect great things of God - but qualify what you mean by great. Don't think great things means likeable things, pleasant things, easy things. I tell you plainly that you can expect the opposite. Since you and I were born with an Adamic nature which makes us inherently selfish, stubborn, and greedy, it behooves God to lead us along a path that of self-denial, foregoing what we "like" in favor of conformity to the image of His Son, who is anything but self-ish.
So when we look at Job we see that he was righteous, but he was ignorant. All he knew was blessing, prosperity, and living in the "hedge." Yes, it's lovely to live there in the hedge. Everything he touched was blessed; he was protected from failure. Did Job worship God as a result? You bet! And like most, thought that the blessing was a result of his own righteousness and servitude. But Satan pointed out that that the hedge of blessing and protection was the very thing that kept Job so faithful.
Therefore the testing of Job was a valid test, a crucial one, and a crucible through which each Christian will be purged, sifted, and tried. To what end? It is summed up in the words of Job himself as he neared the end of his ordeal: "I have heard Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth Thee." BUT NOW! BUT NOW! BUT NOW! Before he heard about Him, but now he sees Him, and falls to the ground. Before he worshipped Him having heard, now he worships having seen, and known. I submit that God set him up for such experiential knowledge by allowing him to be subjected to the assaults of the devil, the harshness of his environment, the misunderstanding of his friends, the loss of his family and material possessions, and his physical infirmity. I submit that if anyone desires to take up the cross and follow Christ such testing is the only realistic expectation His disciple can entertain.
Many quickly point out that Job was blessed more in the end than in the beginning; but if getting doubly blessed is our purpose for enduring such affliction then we have failed the very purpose of such a test, and such an attitude only proves man's capacity for being self-serving, even in the worst of circumstances.
I am writing to you, O Christian, who is so full of expectation of what the spiritual life should be like, you who are so sure that you know God, so acquainted you are with His Word! Have you seen God? Or are you worshipping what you have heard, bowing to an invisible force in the clouds, expecting some blessing or feeling or voice or gift? Where will you be, when there is no "Blessed Assurance", when all the evidence points to your failure as a Christian, when "peace like a river" is no longer "attending" your way?
I am writing to that individual who is on the slippery slope of apostasy, ready to renounce their faith (not openly of course, but inwardly) because of some unrealized dream or hope or wish or expectation that after ALL you've been through, surely God will bless you or compensate you or reward you or answer you! Beware! It is more likely that God wishes to know if you worship Him for His gifts, or for Himself; and of course you know that HE knows, it is YOU that must know. The Lord knew, and Peter thought he knew, but by cock's crow Peter knew he didn't know, and we know he didn't know either. Some of you think you know, but you don't know, not yet. Perhaps you need a lion's den to be brought face to face with God. Perhaps a flaming furnace to encounter the Fourth Man. Perhaps you need a cross of splintery wood instead of shiny gold electroplate.
How easy and grandiose it is to speak of martyrdom and dying for Christ. But anyone can DIE for Him: how many will LIVE for Him? The test is not in the dying, but in the living; not in one ultimate act of sacrifice, but in a million little obediences every day! Yes! If you cannot, if you will not, take up the cross and die in the mundane and hum-drum of Today, in the HERE and NOW, you are not fit to die the martyr's death in the unknown darkness of some future persecution.
People do not turn away from their faith and become apostate when threatened with death. They fall away when they become bitter against people, angry with God, and offended with His manner of dealing with them. It isn't a sudden decision you are confronted with, but an invisible thing which starts from the core of your being and works its way into your soul. It is certainly a clear and present danger, and it is within you now, maybe in an inert, embryonic form, maybe in a full-blown disillusionment and anger against God, but it is THERE, waiting for you to succumb to it, feeding itself on your expectation.
Let us draw near to God, and ask to be reduced to Christ. Let us accept whatever He deems beneficial to us, whether it is according to our expectation or not. Know that by the time the rooster crows you may curse and swear that you don't know the Man. Blessed is the one who finds no occasion for stumbling in Him. Love people, but expect nothing from them. Enjoy God, love Him, obey Him: be content with that.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
"I Will Restore the Years" Joel 2:25
In the first chapter of Joel, an invading swarm of locusts had completely devastated the land of Judah. Their blight, accompanied by drought and famine had withered every aspect of their existence.
And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten..Joel 2:25
What is it that has overwhelmed and ravaged the western church? The locusts of tradition! These hordes are a picture of the idolatrous, humanistic distortion of 2 key dynamics:
1. Another image of Christ - man made ideas present another image of Christ. They present another Jesus.
2. Another gospel is preached - money making, man-centered, comfortable, seeker sensitive "christianity"
This is in stark contrast to Christ centered paradigm. What we need are people who will no longer bow to the god of religion and comfort - who will stand up to the gods of this age - who have the courage to fully surrender and be completely crucified with Christ.
Who is On the Lord's Side?
I have chosen Zion, here will I dwell
And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten..Joel 2:25
What is it that has overwhelmed and ravaged the western church? The locusts of tradition! These hordes are a picture of the idolatrous, humanistic distortion of 2 key dynamics:
1. Another image of Christ - man made ideas present another image of Christ. They present another Jesus.
2. Another gospel is preached - money making, man-centered, comfortable, seeker sensitive "christianity"
This is in stark contrast to Christ centered paradigm. What we need are people who will no longer bow to the god of religion and comfort - who will stand up to the gods of this age - who have the courage to fully surrender and be completely crucified with Christ.
Who is On the Lord's Side?
I have chosen Zion, here will I dwell
Gather the old men, gather the young men, gather the children,
Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber,
Let the bride come our of her closet,
I plead with you, O Zion, there is a controversy in Zion
I will plead with you, there's a contoversy in Zion
It is for the corn, the wine and the oil.
Blow the trumpet, blow the trumpet...
I have pierced your ear so that one again you'll fear My name.
I call you to the Feast, I call you to the Harvest Feast.
I will cleanse your blood,
I will remove from you the reproach of Egypt once again,
Let the nations gather,
Let them assemble to the Valley of Jehosophat,
Even the Valley of Decision,
And say with your heart this day, "I CHOOSE THE LORD!"
In My fury I scattered you but for a moment,
But now, with My mercy, I gather you again,
I plead with Zion, to a Priesthood who has wandered from Me,
"WHO AMONG YOU IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE??"
There won't be another season like this, this is serious business,
I am your Judge and jury, I plead with you.
This is the season I am blowing the trumpet, I blow the trumpet!
WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE? WHO WILL BE IN MY ARMY?
Taken from "Sound the Alarm" Kelly Varner
Monday, December 24, 2007
ANNA
"And there was one Anna, a prophetess... a widow eighty-four years old, who never left the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day (Luke 2:36,37)."
We know very little about Anna. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and lived with her husband only seven years before she became a widow. Now she is eighty-four years old. Perhaps the experience of losing her husband after such a brief time together helped forge the character of this prophetess. We have no way of knowing.
We have no record of any prophetic words or visions or dreams. How can you have a prophet who does not prophesy? Quite simply, because the prophetic ministry is something more vast than being able to give out a few "words" from God. The only thing we know about Anna's ministry is that it is primarily devoted to ministering to the Lord with unceasing fastings and prayers. We might consider this monastic, yet the Bible considers this prophetic. We are not suggesting that to minister to the Lord means to neglect people altogether. There is no need to force such an unnecessary dichotomy. But we maintain that there can be no real Spirit-and-Truth ministry to people until and unless we have first ministered to the Lord. For one thing, we cannot be motivated by man's need, but by God's Need, because often the two are in conflict. And, we cannot speak Life except by revelation, and this we can only receive from God. Unless we have invested a great deal of time in our secret ministry to the Lord then the shallowness of our public ministry will be very evident. Today it is abundantly clear that not enough time is spent ministering to the Lord, and way too much time is spent ministering to people; hence, most of what is done in the name of ministry is performed in a fleshly, human way which never bears any lasting fruit.
There in the Temple, Anna ministered to the Lord. She never wrote a book, never had a website, never conducted a meeting that we can tell. All in all it seems to be a very passive existence, the sort of "waste" that makes us want to criticize her for not being more useful. Anna the prophetess should be "doing" something. But how many of us consider prayer and fasting to be serving God? We cannot repeat often enough that for too many people, prayer and fasting is a way to serve THEMSELVES, or to get God involved in THEIR cause. We have a need, so we pray, and if the need is critical and we become desperate, then we will fast. This may be appropriate in some situations, but it is not serving the LORD. It may be done to bring about OUR will, but it is not necessarily motivated by a desire to minister to the Lord, to see His heart satisfied, and to see His Need met.
Now it is no coincidence that, in verse 38, Anna came "in that instant" and met Simeon, Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus in the Temple, and recognized Him to be the Christ. In response, she "gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." Jesus is only a few days old here. There are no angelic choirs singing Hosannas, no shepherds bowing down to worship, no star blazing overhead. All the outward signs have disappeared, and this Baby seems to be no different in outward appearance than the dozens of other Jewish babies being dedicated in the Temple that day. But Anna knew the difference because she devoted her life to ministering to the Lord. What seems like a waste turns out to be the very thing that put her in the right place at the right time, while the more useful busybodies missed the entire event. We find that prophetic things, revelatory things, are inescapably linked to ministering to the Lord. No relationship, no revelation.
We know very little about Anna. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and lived with her husband only seven years before she became a widow. Now she is eighty-four years old. Perhaps the experience of losing her husband after such a brief time together helped forge the character of this prophetess. We have no way of knowing.
We have no record of any prophetic words or visions or dreams. How can you have a prophet who does not prophesy? Quite simply, because the prophetic ministry is something more vast than being able to give out a few "words" from God. The only thing we know about Anna's ministry is that it is primarily devoted to ministering to the Lord with unceasing fastings and prayers. We might consider this monastic, yet the Bible considers this prophetic. We are not suggesting that to minister to the Lord means to neglect people altogether. There is no need to force such an unnecessary dichotomy. But we maintain that there can be no real Spirit-and-Truth ministry to people until and unless we have first ministered to the Lord. For one thing, we cannot be motivated by man's need, but by God's Need, because often the two are in conflict. And, we cannot speak Life except by revelation, and this we can only receive from God. Unless we have invested a great deal of time in our secret ministry to the Lord then the shallowness of our public ministry will be very evident. Today it is abundantly clear that not enough time is spent ministering to the Lord, and way too much time is spent ministering to people; hence, most of what is done in the name of ministry is performed in a fleshly, human way which never bears any lasting fruit.
There in the Temple, Anna ministered to the Lord. She never wrote a book, never had a website, never conducted a meeting that we can tell. All in all it seems to be a very passive existence, the sort of "waste" that makes us want to criticize her for not being more useful. Anna the prophetess should be "doing" something. But how many of us consider prayer and fasting to be serving God? We cannot repeat often enough that for too many people, prayer and fasting is a way to serve THEMSELVES, or to get God involved in THEIR cause. We have a need, so we pray, and if the need is critical and we become desperate, then we will fast. This may be appropriate in some situations, but it is not serving the LORD. It may be done to bring about OUR will, but it is not necessarily motivated by a desire to minister to the Lord, to see His heart satisfied, and to see His Need met.
Now it is no coincidence that, in verse 38, Anna came "in that instant" and met Simeon, Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus in the Temple, and recognized Him to be the Christ. In response, she "gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." Jesus is only a few days old here. There are no angelic choirs singing Hosannas, no shepherds bowing down to worship, no star blazing overhead. All the outward signs have disappeared, and this Baby seems to be no different in outward appearance than the dozens of other Jewish babies being dedicated in the Temple that day. But Anna knew the difference because she devoted her life to ministering to the Lord. What seems like a waste turns out to be the very thing that put her in the right place at the right time, while the more useful busybodies missed the entire event. We find that prophetic things, revelatory things, are inescapably linked to ministering to the Lord. No relationship, no revelation.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Shattered Dreams - Larry Crabb
Here's a quote from his book :
"It's hard to hear, but it is important to know that God is not committed to supporting our ministries, to preventing our divorces, to preserving our health, to straightening out our kids, to providing a livable income, to ending famine, to protecting us from agonizing problems that generate in our souls an experience that feels like death. We cannot count on God to arrange what happens in our lives in ways that will make us feel good."
"We can count on God to patiently remove all the obstacles to our enjoyment of Him. He is committed to our joy, and we can depend on Him to give us enough of a taste of that joy and enough hope that the best is still ahead to keep us going in spite of how much pain continues to plague our hearts."
.... Maybe this is why some people don't like what he has to say.
"It's hard to hear, but it is important to know that God is not committed to supporting our ministries, to preventing our divorces, to preserving our health, to straightening out our kids, to providing a livable income, to ending famine, to protecting us from agonizing problems that generate in our souls an experience that feels like death. We cannot count on God to arrange what happens in our lives in ways that will make us feel good."
"We can count on God to patiently remove all the obstacles to our enjoyment of Him. He is committed to our joy, and we can depend on Him to give us enough of a taste of that joy and enough hope that the best is still ahead to keep us going in spite of how much pain continues to plague our hearts."
.... Maybe this is why some people don't like what he has to say.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT BEARETH WITNESS BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS TRUTH."
When God's people, even just a nucleus of them, will come to this kind of commitment: "Lord, I will do what You say--I will go Your Way--as You give me the grace and the power to do it," then we are going to see a "nuclear" spiritual reaction that will set in motion THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE in the Body of Christ, in ways that will exceed our fondest expectations. But where is that passionate longing and desire for the return of His Lordship to our midst? As long as we are content to know that blessed state of justification by His blood--without having a passionate desire for Christ to be Lord of His Church, without knowing that earnest commitment to walk in His way and become identified with His Cross--we are not going to experience that mighty presence of the Spirit in our midst that will bring cleansing and deliverance and holiness to the people of God.
I am confident that the Lord is rising up in His Church in this hour with those burning "eyes of fire" to sweep away the dross from His people, and to bring us back to the Cross from which we have strayed; and that He is going to set in motion the forces of resurrection life in the Body of Christ that we might know and experience in our daily lives the blood of His Cross, and the power of His resurrection. But do we really desire this to happen? Do we really desire to discover our cross?
If we do, this must bring us to the place where we are ready to cancel our plans, desires, pursuits, ambitions--be they base and worldly, or noble and spiritual. THE ONE MOTIVATING PRINCIPLE THAT GUIDED OUR LORD JESUS WAS NOT GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD, OR GOD'S PLAN FOR THE KINGDOM, OR GOD'S PLAN FOR THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL--IT WAS SIMPLY AND ONLY A PASSION AND DESIRE TO WALK IN THE WILL OF THE FATHER. Everything that He did--everything that was good and righteous and beautiful--sprang out from this simple commitment:
"I CAN OF MINE OWN SELF DO NOTHING: AS I HEAR, I JUDGE: AND MY JUDGMENT IS JUST; BECAUSE I SEEK NOT MINE OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF THE FATHER WHICH HATH SENT ME" (Jn. 5:30).
I am confident that the heart of God is heavy and grieved as He listens in to the cries of a very zealous, but a very wretched and miserable Laodicean Church, for more preachers, and more church buildings and temples, and more seminars, and more television, and more radio, and more music, and more money, money, money, "to get the job done." If we had ears to hear what He is saying, we would sense the grief of His heart, and His longing for a people who would come to stillness, and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches...
"My son, give Me thine heart."
"My people, will you not become broken bread in My hands, that I might do as I will?"
"Where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things... have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word" (Isa. 66:1-2).
The Accusation Of The Lord Jesus
"And they crucified Him... and set up over His head His accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matt. 27:35, 37).
Jesus seemed to be a little evasive when Pilate asked Him if He was a king. Not because He was unwilling to tell the truth but because His Kingdom was vastly different from what Pilate understood about kingdoms. But when Pilate insisted, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus gave a very direct answer: "My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight... Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth..." (Jn. 18:36-37).
Our Lord Jesus never promoted His Kingdom except as it related to proclaiming the Truth, walking in the Truth, living the Truth; for this is the whole character and ultimate essence of the Kingdom of God.
Once again as in the days of Jesus there is a lot of expectation concerning the Kingdom of God; and it is still as greatly distorted and misunderstood by God's people as it was back then. Jesus made it clear that His Kingdom did not relate to eating and drinking, to the economy, to political movements, or to externally getting involved with the kingdoms of this world. On one occasion they even tried to force Him to be their King. BUT WHEN THEY FULLY UNDERSTOOD THAT HE CAME TO CHANGE THEIR HEARTS RATHER THAN THEIR GOVERNMENT, THEY WERE QUICK TO CRUCIFY HIM. The Jewish Sanhedrin understood the nature of His mission much more than most of our Christian leaders do today:
"If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation" (Jn .11:48).
And then there was a very remarkable prophecy by the High Priest in which He not only prophesied the death of Jesus, but went on to say things that he himself did not understand: that this One would not only gather together the people of God there in their own nation, but would reach out and gather together the people of God wherever they were in all nations.
THIS PROPHECY BECAME THE CRUX OF THE WHOLE MATTER, for we are told: "Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put Him to death." (See Jn. 11:48-53).
What was the sentence, and what was the accusation of the Lord Jesus? THAT WHICH JESUS CLAIMED TO BE, THAT WHICH HE ACTUALLY WAS--THIS BECAME THE ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM. Pilate wrote it out in bold letters for all men and all nations to read, for it was written "in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin" (Jn. 19:20). I believe the Lord wanted it in the language of all men, for His Cross was to have great implications for the whole world. Pilate would not change the reading of it, even though the Jews pressed him to revise it to read: "This is Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jews."
"THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
This became His accusation.
I emphasize these things, because once again there is great expectation for the Kingdom of God, and rightly so. The truth of God is beginning to shine afresh in the hearts of men. But once again it is shining forth in the darkness. God knows how to sort it all out. He still knows how to divide the light from the darkness, as He did in the beginning. It looks like a polluted mixture-and it is. Nevertheless God is preparing a people for His Glory. He is preparing--
And perhaps we should mention one more, although no one is laying claim to it, But the great apostle Paul used it much--Bondslaves! Jesus Himself took this role, even though He was the firstborn Son, and highly exalted over all creation. Not that we as God's people are called to be "bondslaves." We are called to sonship and to liberty--and foreordained to be conformed to the image of the Firstborn.
But what we are by calling--And how we attain to this high calling--These represent two different things.
For the "calling" is according to God's plan and purpose... But the attainment of it is according as we learn obedience and walk in His ways.
How important it is that we recognize God's WAY. Certainly God wants us to know the "hope of His calling." BUT HE ALSO WANTS US TO KNOW THE WAY INTO THAT CALLING. Our Lord Jesus was KING, but He took the position of a bondslave, and discovered in this pathway of obedience THE HIGHWAY TO THE THRONE. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and gave Him a Name which is above every name--" Why? Because He emptied Himself, made Himself of no reputation, and came in the form of a BONDSLAVE. (See Phil. 2:8-9).
Getting involved in "the ministry" is not the high calling. This could very well lead to conceit, high-mindedness, and a sense of superiority and achievement--especially if one is successful. But the "high calling" is achieved by seeking out the pathway of God that would identify us with the sufferings of Christ. (See Phil. 3:8-10). In this pathway you might find yourself walking in a very unexciting, very ordinary, very unpretentious, very restrictive, very unfulfilling pathway. If you had to write your biography it could be very boring, as you would talk about working in shops and factories, about tending the children, about washing pots and pans, about tilling the field, or hammering nails, or bending tin. And in it all, of course, experiencing the ordinary joys and sorrows of ordinary people. BUT IF THIS BE GOD'S WILL FOR YOU, IT IS GOING TO BE RIGHT THERE IN THE PATHWAY THAT GOD ORDAINED, THAT YOU WILL COME TO KNOW HIM IN A VERY MEANINGFUL WAY, AND BECOME THAT SPECIAL TREASURE THAT HIS HEART IS LONGING FOR.
On the other hand, you might choose to walk in some kind of a "spiritual ministry," and if you have certain ministerial qualities you might become very successful in that. BUT IF IT IS NOT BY GOD'S APPOINTMENT YOU WILL NOT COME TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. FOR THIS "HIGH CALLING" IS RESERVED FOR HIM THAT IS PREPARED TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY FIND THE LIFE OF CHRIST THAT PROCEEDS FROM A WALK OF TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL.
But we are talking about the accusation of the Lord Jesus, because it is in this context that we want to speak about our accusation, if we truly walk in identification with Him. What Jesus was, a King of righteousness and truth, this became His accusation at the hands of a world He came to reprove. It was a perverted charge, of course; but it was because of who He was, and who He claimed to be, that He was crucified. Now who are you? Who am I? Part of a glorious and triumphant Church? Members of the Holy Bride of Christ? Overcomers? Sons of God, being prepared and groomed for manifestation? Kings and Priests unto God? I trust we are...
BUT IF YOU AND I ARE ANY OF THESE, NOT IN OUR DOCTRINE ONLY, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE COME TO VITAL UNION WITH CHRIST, THEN THESE TITLES OF THE HIGH CALLING WILL BE THE CAUSE OF OUR ACCUSATION. AND IF WE WALK IN THE PATHWAY OF OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF GOD, THESE TITLES OF HONOR WILL BE NAILED ABOVE OUR HEAD ON OUR CROSS BY MEN WHO SEEK TO PERVERT THE TRUTH IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT OUR DESTRUCTION.
It is not because we live in a "democracy" that we are free from persecution. It is because we are bringing no vital reproof to the world of darkness about us.
"But we had the SENTENCE OF DEATH in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead" (2 Cor. 1:9). Paul was sentenced to death. He was on death-row. Not by the Roman Government--not yet. But right there in His walk with God--the word he preached, the word he lived, brought him into collision with the world about him; with his brethren in Judaism, and with false brethren in the Church, He was "crucified unto the world." The world was "crucified unto him" (Gal. 6:14).
For men of truth, who not only know the truth but walk in it, are always nailed to the very cross they are constrained to declare. Paul carried his cross around with him wherever he went--NOT BECAUSE HE MINISTERED DEATH, BUT BECAUSE HE MINISTERED LIFE. He didn't carry a gold cross on a chain about his neck; but he was nailed to one wherever he went. It had to be this way because he spoke the truth and walked in it. He didn't try to make a cross so he could boast he was like Jesus. The world made it for him, and nailed him to it, because he walked as Jesus walked.
We might continue on as we are--teaching, preaching, evangelizing, establishing churches, healing the sick, writing books, singing songs--and we could go on and on enumerating the various areas of service that God has committed into the hands of His servants in the House of God--And all this may be bringing joy and blessing and deliverance to many of God's people--BUT BE PREPARED, IF YOU WANT TO BE TOTALLY COMMITTED TO THE WILL AND THE WAY OF GOD--BE PREPARED FOR THE DAY WHEN MEN WILL TAKE DOWN YOUR BANNER OF HONOR, AND NAIL IT ABOVE YOUR HEAD ON YOUR CROSS--Because the truth of God is sterile as long as it remains a teaching or a doctrine; but it becomes offensive to the world about us when we begin to walk in it.
I am confident that the Lord is rising up in His Church in this hour with those burning "eyes of fire" to sweep away the dross from His people, and to bring us back to the Cross from which we have strayed; and that He is going to set in motion the forces of resurrection life in the Body of Christ that we might know and experience in our daily lives the blood of His Cross, and the power of His resurrection. But do we really desire this to happen? Do we really desire to discover our cross?
If we do, this must bring us to the place where we are ready to cancel our plans, desires, pursuits, ambitions--be they base and worldly, or noble and spiritual. THE ONE MOTIVATING PRINCIPLE THAT GUIDED OUR LORD JESUS WAS NOT GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD, OR GOD'S PLAN FOR THE KINGDOM, OR GOD'S PLAN FOR THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL--IT WAS SIMPLY AND ONLY A PASSION AND DESIRE TO WALK IN THE WILL OF THE FATHER. Everything that He did--everything that was good and righteous and beautiful--sprang out from this simple commitment:
"I CAN OF MINE OWN SELF DO NOTHING: AS I HEAR, I JUDGE: AND MY JUDGMENT IS JUST; BECAUSE I SEEK NOT MINE OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF THE FATHER WHICH HATH SENT ME" (Jn. 5:30).
I am confident that the heart of God is heavy and grieved as He listens in to the cries of a very zealous, but a very wretched and miserable Laodicean Church, for more preachers, and more church buildings and temples, and more seminars, and more television, and more radio, and more music, and more money, money, money, "to get the job done." If we had ears to hear what He is saying, we would sense the grief of His heart, and His longing for a people who would come to stillness, and hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches...
"My son, give Me thine heart."
"My people, will you not become broken bread in My hands, that I might do as I will?"
"Where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things... have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word" (Isa. 66:1-2).
The Accusation Of The Lord Jesus
"And they crucified Him... and set up over His head His accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matt. 27:35, 37).
Jesus seemed to be a little evasive when Pilate asked Him if He was a king. Not because He was unwilling to tell the truth but because His Kingdom was vastly different from what Pilate understood about kingdoms. But when Pilate insisted, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus gave a very direct answer: "My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight... Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth..." (Jn. 18:36-37).
Our Lord Jesus never promoted His Kingdom except as it related to proclaiming the Truth, walking in the Truth, living the Truth; for this is the whole character and ultimate essence of the Kingdom of God.
Once again as in the days of Jesus there is a lot of expectation concerning the Kingdom of God; and it is still as greatly distorted and misunderstood by God's people as it was back then. Jesus made it clear that His Kingdom did not relate to eating and drinking, to the economy, to political movements, or to externally getting involved with the kingdoms of this world. On one occasion they even tried to force Him to be their King. BUT WHEN THEY FULLY UNDERSTOOD THAT HE CAME TO CHANGE THEIR HEARTS RATHER THAN THEIR GOVERNMENT, THEY WERE QUICK TO CRUCIFY HIM. The Jewish Sanhedrin understood the nature of His mission much more than most of our Christian leaders do today:
"If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation" (Jn .11:48).
And then there was a very remarkable prophecy by the High Priest in which He not only prophesied the death of Jesus, but went on to say things that he himself did not understand: that this One would not only gather together the people of God there in their own nation, but would reach out and gather together the people of God wherever they were in all nations.
THIS PROPHECY BECAME THE CRUX OF THE WHOLE MATTER, for we are told: "Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put Him to death." (See Jn. 11:48-53).
What was the sentence, and what was the accusation of the Lord Jesus? THAT WHICH JESUS CLAIMED TO BE, THAT WHICH HE ACTUALLY WAS--THIS BECAME THE ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM. Pilate wrote it out in bold letters for all men and all nations to read, for it was written "in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin" (Jn. 19:20). I believe the Lord wanted it in the language of all men, for His Cross was to have great implications for the whole world. Pilate would not change the reading of it, even though the Jews pressed him to revise it to read: "This is Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jews."
For here was One crucified for an apostate but very religious people--the Hebrews.
Here was One crucified for the intellectual and the wise--the Greeks--and by His Cross He would bring all their wisdom to nought.
Here was One crucified for the strong and the mighty--the Romans--but by that Cross He would bring all their power to nought.
For the Hebrews professed to have knowledge and truth, yet walked in darkness.
The Greeks were noted for their quest after wisdom and knowledge, yet they never found God in all of their searching.
The Romans had become that powerful empire that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his vision--strong as iron--but by the Cross their kingdom would be crushed and scattered like the dust of the threshing floor.
"THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
This became His accusation.
I emphasize these things, because once again there is great expectation for the Kingdom of God, and rightly so. The truth of God is beginning to shine afresh in the hearts of men. But once again it is shining forth in the darkness. God knows how to sort it all out. He still knows how to divide the light from the darkness, as He did in the beginning. It looks like a polluted mixture-and it is. Nevertheless God is preparing a people for His Glory. He is preparing--
A Glorious Church.. A Holy & Cleansed Bride.. A Godly Remnant.. A Firstfruits ... Sons of God.. Kings and Priests.. Overcomers..
And perhaps we should mention one more, although no one is laying claim to it, But the great apostle Paul used it much--Bondslaves! Jesus Himself took this role, even though He was the firstborn Son, and highly exalted over all creation. Not that we as God's people are called to be "bondslaves." We are called to sonship and to liberty--and foreordained to be conformed to the image of the Firstborn.
But what we are by calling--And how we attain to this high calling--These represent two different things.
For the "calling" is according to God's plan and purpose... But the attainment of it is according as we learn obedience and walk in His ways.
How important it is that we recognize God's WAY. Certainly God wants us to know the "hope of His calling." BUT HE ALSO WANTS US TO KNOW THE WAY INTO THAT CALLING. Our Lord Jesus was KING, but He took the position of a bondslave, and discovered in this pathway of obedience THE HIGHWAY TO THE THRONE. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and gave Him a Name which is above every name--" Why? Because He emptied Himself, made Himself of no reputation, and came in the form of a BONDSLAVE. (See Phil. 2:8-9).
Getting involved in "the ministry" is not the high calling. This could very well lead to conceit, high-mindedness, and a sense of superiority and achievement--especially if one is successful. But the "high calling" is achieved by seeking out the pathway of God that would identify us with the sufferings of Christ. (See Phil. 3:8-10). In this pathway you might find yourself walking in a very unexciting, very ordinary, very unpretentious, very restrictive, very unfulfilling pathway. If you had to write your biography it could be very boring, as you would talk about working in shops and factories, about tending the children, about washing pots and pans, about tilling the field, or hammering nails, or bending tin. And in it all, of course, experiencing the ordinary joys and sorrows of ordinary people. BUT IF THIS BE GOD'S WILL FOR YOU, IT IS GOING TO BE RIGHT THERE IN THE PATHWAY THAT GOD ORDAINED, THAT YOU WILL COME TO KNOW HIM IN A VERY MEANINGFUL WAY, AND BECOME THAT SPECIAL TREASURE THAT HIS HEART IS LONGING FOR.
On the other hand, you might choose to walk in some kind of a "spiritual ministry," and if you have certain ministerial qualities you might become very successful in that. BUT IF IT IS NOT BY GOD'S APPOINTMENT YOU WILL NOT COME TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. FOR THIS "HIGH CALLING" IS RESERVED FOR HIM THAT IS PREPARED TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE, IN ORDER THAT HE MAY FIND THE LIFE OF CHRIST THAT PROCEEDS FROM A WALK OF TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL.
But we are talking about the accusation of the Lord Jesus, because it is in this context that we want to speak about our accusation, if we truly walk in identification with Him. What Jesus was, a King of righteousness and truth, this became His accusation at the hands of a world He came to reprove. It was a perverted charge, of course; but it was because of who He was, and who He claimed to be, that He was crucified. Now who are you? Who am I? Part of a glorious and triumphant Church? Members of the Holy Bride of Christ? Overcomers? Sons of God, being prepared and groomed for manifestation? Kings and Priests unto God? I trust we are...
BUT IF YOU AND I ARE ANY OF THESE, NOT IN OUR DOCTRINE ONLY, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE COME TO VITAL UNION WITH CHRIST, THEN THESE TITLES OF THE HIGH CALLING WILL BE THE CAUSE OF OUR ACCUSATION. AND IF WE WALK IN THE PATHWAY OF OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF GOD, THESE TITLES OF HONOR WILL BE NAILED ABOVE OUR HEAD ON OUR CROSS BY MEN WHO SEEK TO PERVERT THE TRUTH IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT OUR DESTRUCTION.
It is not because we live in a "democracy" that we are free from persecution. It is because we are bringing no vital reproof to the world of darkness about us.
"But we had the SENTENCE OF DEATH in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead" (2 Cor. 1:9). Paul was sentenced to death. He was on death-row. Not by the Roman Government--not yet. But right there in His walk with God--the word he preached, the word he lived, brought him into collision with the world about him; with his brethren in Judaism, and with false brethren in the Church, He was "crucified unto the world." The world was "crucified unto him" (Gal. 6:14).
For men of truth, who not only know the truth but walk in it, are always nailed to the very cross they are constrained to declare. Paul carried his cross around with him wherever he went--NOT BECAUSE HE MINISTERED DEATH, BUT BECAUSE HE MINISTERED LIFE. He didn't carry a gold cross on a chain about his neck; but he was nailed to one wherever he went. It had to be this way because he spoke the truth and walked in it. He didn't try to make a cross so he could boast he was like Jesus. The world made it for him, and nailed him to it, because he walked as Jesus walked.
We might continue on as we are--teaching, preaching, evangelizing, establishing churches, healing the sick, writing books, singing songs--and we could go on and on enumerating the various areas of service that God has committed into the hands of His servants in the House of God--And all this may be bringing joy and blessing and deliverance to many of God's people--BUT BE PREPARED, IF YOU WANT TO BE TOTALLY COMMITTED TO THE WILL AND THE WAY OF GOD--BE PREPARED FOR THE DAY WHEN MEN WILL TAKE DOWN YOUR BANNER OF HONOR, AND NAIL IT ABOVE YOUR HEAD ON YOUR CROSS--Because the truth of God is sterile as long as it remains a teaching or a doctrine; but it becomes offensive to the world about us when we begin to walk in it.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
From Where you Are..Lifehouse
This song really speaks to me of the Father missing his children..His prodigals..I miss them too...
Four Examples of Brokenness:
The Bread of Life:
The Cross represents the principle of brokenness in the disciple of the Lord Jesus. Let us look to the Scriptures for some examples of brokenness. The night He was betrayed, we are told that the Lord Jesus "took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me ( Luke 22:19)." Many times the Lord has told the disciples and the crowds, "I am the Bread of Life." He commanded them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and one which I refer to constantly when discussing this subject. Many turned aside and no longer followed the Lord after He said this. How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Because He is the Bread of Life.
The little communion wafers we partake of today fail to adequately represent the Bread of Life. At the Passover there was one loaf, and it was broken into pieces that all may partake of it. Today, the wafers come to us already divided. The Church is certainly divided today, so perhaps this is a good representation of our division, but it fails to show us the vital truth that in order to partake of the Life, there must be a breaking. There is one Loaf, not many loaves. Jesus is the Bread which came down from heaven. How may we receive Him? He must be broken for us. After blessing the bread, and breaking it, He plainly tells us, "This is my body."
It is interesting to note here that the blessing Jesus prayed over the bread is the same blessing the Jews bless their bread with today. It has not changed in centuries. The Scriptures do not record it because it was written for the Jews, and they already know it: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, which bringeth forth bread from the earth."After the blessing, Jesus broke the bread. The Passover ceremony also calls for a portion of the bread to be wrapped in a napkin and hidden, to be retrieved later. Thus, the Lord is showing us His crucifixion and resurrection in the blessing, the breaking, and the "burying" of the bread. He is the Bread which is come down from heaven, broken, buried, and brought forth from the earth. Our traditional communion wafer destroys this beautiful parable. Indeed, our Lord is One Loaf which is broken, that we may all share of His Life. Hallelujah! This illustrates the need for brokenness that Life may issue forth.
Example Two: A Grain of Wheat
Again, for an example of brokenness, let us look to the Lord's Word to us in His final hours on earth: "And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (John 12:23-25)." How remarkable are the Lord's words here. He begins by saying it is time for Him to be glorified. When we think of the Lord being glorified, we think of His baptism when the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove and the Voice of God declared Him to be His Son. Or, we think of the mountain when His appearance became dazzling white and the brightness of His Glory was shown to Peter, James, and John. How strange then that Jesus talks of being glorified by a cruel death. It seems contrary to what we have been led to believe thus far. But the Lord explains why His death is necessary.
When the Lord Jesus humbled Himself and accepted the limitations of a human body, He was only able to be in one place at a time. For all the people He did heal, there were many millions who remained sick. He simply could not, as a Man, be everywhere at once. He was limited by time and space. In one place He seems frustrated with a holy frustration: "I have come to bring a fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and what constraint I am under until it is completed (Luke 12:49,50, New Jerusalem Bible)!" See how the Lord is restrained, and seems to be aching to come forth. He is like the grain of wheat, a seed surrounded by the outer shell of His physical body.
Pick up an acorn. What are you holding in your hand? A seed, yes. But what else? A tree? Yes, once the seed is buried it will one day produce a tree. But what else are you holding in your hand, besides a tree? A forest! Because, from that seed will come a tree, and from that tree will come many more seeds, and from those seeds will come many more trees, and so on. So what you hold in your hand is not a mere seed, but a forest.
Jesus says the Kingdom of God is "as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear (Mark 4:26-28)." Dear friend, this is glorious! We don't have to do anything with the seed but cast it into the ground and forget about it! "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself." God will bring forth the fruit if we will bury the seed! Do you want to be fruitful? Humble yourself! Cast yourself into the ground and allow yourself to be broken that the fruits may come forth.
Now Jesus says if the seed will not fall to the earth and die, it will abide alone. Take the seed home and place it on your desk. Will it become a forest? Of course not. Why? That forest is inside the shell. It cannot come forth on its own. You see, the potential is there, for there is life in the seed. But the inner life is entombed by an outer shell. How do we get that which is in the shell to come out of the shell? We must bury the seed in the ground - the seed must "die" and give up being a seed. The shell must be broken and that which is within the shell may then come forth. When it dies, it brings forth "much fruit".
You see, the issue is not the ability of the Life to spring forth, but the brokenness of the vessel which holds the Life captive! It is not that we need more power, but that we need more brokenness. When we are properly broken we will find the indwelling Christ is more than sufficient.
Example Three:The Alabaster Box
"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as [Jesus] sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head (Mark 14:3)." The ointment here represents Anointing, or Life. I use the terms synonymously. It was very precious, but it was contained within an alabaster box. Albaster is a kind of stone used to make vases. But the same stone was also used to make caskets! Again, we have Life encased within Death. The inward release is contingent upon the outward breaking.
How many of us cherish the vessel more than the ointment? Friends, the vessel is nothing. Let us look beyond the vessels and instruments of the Lord and only note if the precious ointment is coming forth freely or is inhibited. The vessel houses the Life and must be broken. If we wish to be containers of this heavenly ointment, let us ask the Lord to break us that the hidden fragrance and anointing may come forth.
Example Four: The Veil Of The Temple
"And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Mark 15:38)." The veil of the Temple was a thick curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. What is special about the Holy of Holies? It is where the presence of God dwelt. No one could step into the presence, or even look behind the curtain, without falling over dead. Only the high priest could enter, and then only once a year. A rope was tied around his ankle with which the other priests could pull him out from behind the curtain in the event of his death.
But when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, the thick curtain which stood as a barrier between the presence of God and the people was split down the middle from top to bottom. Why top to bottom? To demonstrate that it was God Himself who split the veil. Had the veil been torn from bottom to top, it could perhaps be explained away that man was responsible. To tear the veil from top to bottom is indeed a miracle. What does it signify? Of course it means the death of Christ opened the way for us to approach the throne of grace without fear of death (Hebrews 10:19,20). That is the obvious meaning. Yet we know also that the three sections of the temple - the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the Outer Court - represent the spirit, soul, and body of man. The Holy of Holies is the spirit of man where Christ dwells. In between the inner man and the outer man stands a thick veil.
We stand by our assertion that each believer is complete and contains the entire fullness of God; but we also acknowledge that the veil of the flesh must be rent in two in order for that fullness to come forth. How often we meet a brother or a sister and we sense their preciousness, but there is something that prevents the Life from coming forth as it should. That "something" is the fleshly veil which remains intact. We can only hope that they will allow the Lord to rend and break them so the Life can come forth. Similarly, when we sense a lack, we should not pray for more of the Lord, or seek more power, as though the indwelling Christ is not sufficient. Instead, we may ask the Lord to break us and take away the veil that is keeping the Life from coming forth.
The Cross Accomplishes This BreakingNow we have before us four examples from the Scriptures of what it means to be broken, and why it is necessary: the bread, the grain of wheat, the alabaster box, and the temple veil. There is yet another point to be made from these four examples. In each instance, the Lord mentions His death and resurrection. The principle of the Cross is central to each illustration. The blessing and breaking of the bread speaks of His death and resurrection; the grain of wheat speaks of His coming glorification through His substitutionary death; the alabaster box is connected to the Lord's anointing for burial (Mark 14:8); and the temple veil is rent at the moment of His death on the Cross. These are not mere coincidences.
The Lord has continually called us to deny ourselves, take up the Cross, and follow Him. We are not left to wonder what it means to take up the Cross, or what God hopes to accomplish in us when we do so. In these examples He is showing us what that means, and why it must be so. What is He saying? That we must be broken before we can bring forth Life. That to save our life we must give up our life, lay down on the altar, and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. Only then may we truly live for God. Only then may we be vessels through which Life may flow.
One time the disciples asked the Lord, "Increase our faith (Luke 17:5)." Do you remember how the Lord responded to this request? It is a very strange response. Today we ask the Lord to increase our faith, increase our patience, increase our love, increase our self-control, give us more. Strangely enough, it seems as though these repeated requests often go unanswered. We are still asking for "more", and it has been many years since we first asked. It is the same with the disciples. They ask the Lord to increase their faith. Instead of giving them more faith, He basically tells them they don't need more faith, that they have enough already. How do you like that response?
Watchman Nee was once asked to help a sister who insisted that she needed more patience. She told brother Nee of all the times she lost her temper and how terribly she behaved. She prayed and prayed for patience, but to no avail. So she asked brother Nee if he would agree with her in prayer that God would give her patience so she would no longer lose her temper. Brother Nee said, "This I cannot do." Stunned, she asked why not. "Because I can assure you that God will not answer your prayer," he answered. This sister became angry. "What do you mean God will not answer my prayer?" she demanded. "Am I so far gone that He will not hear me anymore?" "No, I do not mean exactly that," brother Nee explained. "What I mean is this: God will not give you more patience, because you have no need of patience." Now the woman was nearly beside herself with anger. "What do you mean I have no need of patience? I am always losing my temper and acting in a most regrettable manner. How can you say I do not need patience?" "Dear sister," he calmly replied, "it is not patience that you need; it is Christ."
He goes on to explain that all we have need of is in Christ, and Christ is in us. Therefore, we do not need to seek God for a little patience here, a little faith there. Instead, we must see that we are complete in Christ, and ask God to humble us and break us, that Christ would be my Patience, and that Christ would be my Faith, and that Christ would be my Righteousness, etc. We have every spiritual blessing already in Christ, but that Life is for the most part trapped within the alabaster box. We love the alabaster box more than the ointment, but we cannot have the ointment without breaking the vessel.
Dear friend, are you an enclosed vessel, or a broken one? Is Christ bound up and restrained within your heart, or is your heart free and unfettered that He may come forth through you? Have you expressed your willingness to die to yourself that you may bring forth much fruit, or are you like the seed which refuses to die and therefore abides alone? Has the Presence been released in you and through you, or does the veil need to be torn in two?
Oh, let us go back to the cross and humble ourselves that He may have freedom of expression through us! Do we desire the presence of the Lord? Then let us ask the Lord to decrease us through the Cross, for "the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
The Cross represents the principle of brokenness in the disciple of the Lord Jesus. Let us look to the Scriptures for some examples of brokenness. The night He was betrayed, we are told that the Lord Jesus "took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me ( Luke 22:19)." Many times the Lord has told the disciples and the crowds, "I am the Bread of Life." He commanded them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and one which I refer to constantly when discussing this subject. Many turned aside and no longer followed the Lord after He said this. How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Because He is the Bread of Life.
The little communion wafers we partake of today fail to adequately represent the Bread of Life. At the Passover there was one loaf, and it was broken into pieces that all may partake of it. Today, the wafers come to us already divided. The Church is certainly divided today, so perhaps this is a good representation of our division, but it fails to show us the vital truth that in order to partake of the Life, there must be a breaking. There is one Loaf, not many loaves. Jesus is the Bread which came down from heaven. How may we receive Him? He must be broken for us. After blessing the bread, and breaking it, He plainly tells us, "This is my body."
It is interesting to note here that the blessing Jesus prayed over the bread is the same blessing the Jews bless their bread with today. It has not changed in centuries. The Scriptures do not record it because it was written for the Jews, and they already know it: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, which bringeth forth bread from the earth."After the blessing, Jesus broke the bread. The Passover ceremony also calls for a portion of the bread to be wrapped in a napkin and hidden, to be retrieved later. Thus, the Lord is showing us His crucifixion and resurrection in the blessing, the breaking, and the "burying" of the bread. He is the Bread which is come down from heaven, broken, buried, and brought forth from the earth. Our traditional communion wafer destroys this beautiful parable. Indeed, our Lord is One Loaf which is broken, that we may all share of His Life. Hallelujah! This illustrates the need for brokenness that Life may issue forth.
Example Two: A Grain of Wheat
Again, for an example of brokenness, let us look to the Lord's Word to us in His final hours on earth: "And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (John 12:23-25)." How remarkable are the Lord's words here. He begins by saying it is time for Him to be glorified. When we think of the Lord being glorified, we think of His baptism when the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove and the Voice of God declared Him to be His Son. Or, we think of the mountain when His appearance became dazzling white and the brightness of His Glory was shown to Peter, James, and John. How strange then that Jesus talks of being glorified by a cruel death. It seems contrary to what we have been led to believe thus far. But the Lord explains why His death is necessary.
When the Lord Jesus humbled Himself and accepted the limitations of a human body, He was only able to be in one place at a time. For all the people He did heal, there were many millions who remained sick. He simply could not, as a Man, be everywhere at once. He was limited by time and space. In one place He seems frustrated with a holy frustration: "I have come to bring a fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and what constraint I am under until it is completed (Luke 12:49,50, New Jerusalem Bible)!" See how the Lord is restrained, and seems to be aching to come forth. He is like the grain of wheat, a seed surrounded by the outer shell of His physical body.
Pick up an acorn. What are you holding in your hand? A seed, yes. But what else? A tree? Yes, once the seed is buried it will one day produce a tree. But what else are you holding in your hand, besides a tree? A forest! Because, from that seed will come a tree, and from that tree will come many more seeds, and from those seeds will come many more trees, and so on. So what you hold in your hand is not a mere seed, but a forest.
Jesus says the Kingdom of God is "as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear (Mark 4:26-28)." Dear friend, this is glorious! We don't have to do anything with the seed but cast it into the ground and forget about it! "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself." God will bring forth the fruit if we will bury the seed! Do you want to be fruitful? Humble yourself! Cast yourself into the ground and allow yourself to be broken that the fruits may come forth.
Now Jesus says if the seed will not fall to the earth and die, it will abide alone. Take the seed home and place it on your desk. Will it become a forest? Of course not. Why? That forest is inside the shell. It cannot come forth on its own. You see, the potential is there, for there is life in the seed. But the inner life is entombed by an outer shell. How do we get that which is in the shell to come out of the shell? We must bury the seed in the ground - the seed must "die" and give up being a seed. The shell must be broken and that which is within the shell may then come forth. When it dies, it brings forth "much fruit".
You see, the issue is not the ability of the Life to spring forth, but the brokenness of the vessel which holds the Life captive! It is not that we need more power, but that we need more brokenness. When we are properly broken we will find the indwelling Christ is more than sufficient.
Example Three:The Alabaster Box
"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as [Jesus] sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head (Mark 14:3)." The ointment here represents Anointing, or Life. I use the terms synonymously. It was very precious, but it was contained within an alabaster box. Albaster is a kind of stone used to make vases. But the same stone was also used to make caskets! Again, we have Life encased within Death. The inward release is contingent upon the outward breaking.
How many of us cherish the vessel more than the ointment? Friends, the vessel is nothing. Let us look beyond the vessels and instruments of the Lord and only note if the precious ointment is coming forth freely or is inhibited. The vessel houses the Life and must be broken. If we wish to be containers of this heavenly ointment, let us ask the Lord to break us that the hidden fragrance and anointing may come forth.
Example Four: The Veil Of The Temple
"And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Mark 15:38)." The veil of the Temple was a thick curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. What is special about the Holy of Holies? It is where the presence of God dwelt. No one could step into the presence, or even look behind the curtain, without falling over dead. Only the high priest could enter, and then only once a year. A rope was tied around his ankle with which the other priests could pull him out from behind the curtain in the event of his death.
But when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, the thick curtain which stood as a barrier between the presence of God and the people was split down the middle from top to bottom. Why top to bottom? To demonstrate that it was God Himself who split the veil. Had the veil been torn from bottom to top, it could perhaps be explained away that man was responsible. To tear the veil from top to bottom is indeed a miracle. What does it signify? Of course it means the death of Christ opened the way for us to approach the throne of grace without fear of death (Hebrews 10:19,20). That is the obvious meaning. Yet we know also that the three sections of the temple - the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place, and the Outer Court - represent the spirit, soul, and body of man. The Holy of Holies is the spirit of man where Christ dwells. In between the inner man and the outer man stands a thick veil.
We stand by our assertion that each believer is complete and contains the entire fullness of God; but we also acknowledge that the veil of the flesh must be rent in two in order for that fullness to come forth. How often we meet a brother or a sister and we sense their preciousness, but there is something that prevents the Life from coming forth as it should. That "something" is the fleshly veil which remains intact. We can only hope that they will allow the Lord to rend and break them so the Life can come forth. Similarly, when we sense a lack, we should not pray for more of the Lord, or seek more power, as though the indwelling Christ is not sufficient. Instead, we may ask the Lord to break us and take away the veil that is keeping the Life from coming forth.
The Cross Accomplishes This BreakingNow we have before us four examples from the Scriptures of what it means to be broken, and why it is necessary: the bread, the grain of wheat, the alabaster box, and the temple veil. There is yet another point to be made from these four examples. In each instance, the Lord mentions His death and resurrection. The principle of the Cross is central to each illustration. The blessing and breaking of the bread speaks of His death and resurrection; the grain of wheat speaks of His coming glorification through His substitutionary death; the alabaster box is connected to the Lord's anointing for burial (Mark 14:8); and the temple veil is rent at the moment of His death on the Cross. These are not mere coincidences.
The Lord has continually called us to deny ourselves, take up the Cross, and follow Him. We are not left to wonder what it means to take up the Cross, or what God hopes to accomplish in us when we do so. In these examples He is showing us what that means, and why it must be so. What is He saying? That we must be broken before we can bring forth Life. That to save our life we must give up our life, lay down on the altar, and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. Only then may we truly live for God. Only then may we be vessels through which Life may flow.
One time the disciples asked the Lord, "Increase our faith (Luke 17:5)." Do you remember how the Lord responded to this request? It is a very strange response. Today we ask the Lord to increase our faith, increase our patience, increase our love, increase our self-control, give us more. Strangely enough, it seems as though these repeated requests often go unanswered. We are still asking for "more", and it has been many years since we first asked. It is the same with the disciples. They ask the Lord to increase their faith. Instead of giving them more faith, He basically tells them they don't need more faith, that they have enough already. How do you like that response?
Watchman Nee was once asked to help a sister who insisted that she needed more patience. She told brother Nee of all the times she lost her temper and how terribly she behaved. She prayed and prayed for patience, but to no avail. So she asked brother Nee if he would agree with her in prayer that God would give her patience so she would no longer lose her temper. Brother Nee said, "This I cannot do." Stunned, she asked why not. "Because I can assure you that God will not answer your prayer," he answered. This sister became angry. "What do you mean God will not answer my prayer?" she demanded. "Am I so far gone that He will not hear me anymore?" "No, I do not mean exactly that," brother Nee explained. "What I mean is this: God will not give you more patience, because you have no need of patience." Now the woman was nearly beside herself with anger. "What do you mean I have no need of patience? I am always losing my temper and acting in a most regrettable manner. How can you say I do not need patience?" "Dear sister," he calmly replied, "it is not patience that you need; it is Christ."
He goes on to explain that all we have need of is in Christ, and Christ is in us. Therefore, we do not need to seek God for a little patience here, a little faith there. Instead, we must see that we are complete in Christ, and ask God to humble us and break us, that Christ would be my Patience, and that Christ would be my Faith, and that Christ would be my Righteousness, etc. We have every spiritual blessing already in Christ, but that Life is for the most part trapped within the alabaster box. We love the alabaster box more than the ointment, but we cannot have the ointment without breaking the vessel.
Dear friend, are you an enclosed vessel, or a broken one? Is Christ bound up and restrained within your heart, or is your heart free and unfettered that He may come forth through you? Have you expressed your willingness to die to yourself that you may bring forth much fruit, or are you like the seed which refuses to die and therefore abides alone? Has the Presence been released in you and through you, or does the veil need to be torn in two?
Oh, let us go back to the cross and humble ourselves that He may have freedom of expression through us! Do we desire the presence of the Lord? Then let us ask the Lord to decrease us through the Cross, for "the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
Friday, December 07, 2007
Story of a woman whose son was killed in the Rwandan genocide
As told by Mark Buchanan...
This woman had nursed bitterness, grievance, and thoughts of vengeance; she just wanted to find her son's killer and bring due punishment. But, one night she had a dream, and in the dream she was going down this street and saw a house, and she knew it was a house of her enemy. And she heard God say, "Go into the house." She said, "I don't want to go into the house." She went into the house, and God led her through many rooms and then up the stairs. And he said, I want you to go up the stairs." She said, "I don't want to go any further in this house." "I want you to go up the stairs." She went up the stairs, opened the door at the top, and finds it leads into heaven. And she had a revelation that the path to heaven goes through the house of her enemy.
Two days later, there was a knock on her door. A young man is standing at the door, and he is shaking. He says to her: "I am the man who killed your son. I place my life in your hands; whatever you want to do with me, I accept it. I have had no peace since I did what I did. And I will accept whatever. If you want to kill me, you can kill me. If you want to turn me in to the authorities, turn me in to the authorities. Whatever you want - my life is in your hands."
And because she had revelation from God, she said, "I will not do any of this. But I do have one request. You must now become my son." She took him in and fed him at the table where she fed her son. He's the same size, so he wore his clothes. He actually moved in and became a son to her, because heaven passes through the house of her enemy.
This boy is still living with her. God has given her such favor that she now has a national ministry in Rwanda. She travels all around, and she's helping the whole nation deal with the issue of reconciliation, because heaven passes through the house of your enemy.
This woman had nursed bitterness, grievance, and thoughts of vengeance; she just wanted to find her son's killer and bring due punishment. But, one night she had a dream, and in the dream she was going down this street and saw a house, and she knew it was a house of her enemy. And she heard God say, "Go into the house." She said, "I don't want to go into the house." She went into the house, and God led her through many rooms and then up the stairs. And he said, I want you to go up the stairs." She said, "I don't want to go any further in this house." "I want you to go up the stairs." She went up the stairs, opened the door at the top, and finds it leads into heaven. And she had a revelation that the path to heaven goes through the house of her enemy.
Two days later, there was a knock on her door. A young man is standing at the door, and he is shaking. He says to her: "I am the man who killed your son. I place my life in your hands; whatever you want to do with me, I accept it. I have had no peace since I did what I did. And I will accept whatever. If you want to kill me, you can kill me. If you want to turn me in to the authorities, turn me in to the authorities. Whatever you want - my life is in your hands."
And because she had revelation from God, she said, "I will not do any of this. But I do have one request. You must now become my son." She took him in and fed him at the table where she fed her son. He's the same size, so he wore his clothes. He actually moved in and became a son to her, because heaven passes through the house of her enemy.
This boy is still living with her. God has given her such favor that she now has a national ministry in Rwanda. She travels all around, and she's helping the whole nation deal with the issue of reconciliation, because heaven passes through the house of your enemy.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Face Like Flint
FLINT
Set my face like flint
Don’t matter what you say
You can’t make or break me
You can’t make me quit
I’m no friend of this world
I’ve been dead for a while
It’s alright by me
I can still give a smile
It’s alright
It’s okay
The sun will rise
It’s alright
Oh, love it’s okay
And I would test your will
Steal all your thrills until you supplicate
And I would show you pain
Send rain to wash these stains of ingratitude
It’s time you say I don’t care what they say
I don’t care
It’s so much easier
Than I had ever let myself believe
My soul is yours
You can stare
You can speak
I don’t care
Set my face like flint
Now I can live more free
Though I may be strange and odd
And sometimes offensive
But I’m just being me
That’s all I can be
That’s all I can be
It’s alright
Oh, love it’s okay
lyrics by Jonathan Jackson
c/p Fire and Plague Publishing
Stripping Down to Christ Alone
Just recently I have been reading some of the older writings and I found this one by T. Austin-Sparks which especially grabbed me. I guess I am asking myself the question: Am I willing to pay the price?
We live in a time of more than usual dearth spiritually - the state of things may well remind us of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones. We have not merely to cope with evils which have characterized bygone ages, but also with the matured corruption of a time wherein the varied evils of the Gentile world have become connected with, and covered by, the cloak of Christian profession; and when we turn to the state of those whose knowledge of truth and high profession might naturally encourage the expectation of more healthy and vigorous Christian action, we find,alas! in many - yea, in the majority of cases - that the knowledge is but cold and uninfluential theory... and the professionbut superficial.
Christianity has become so largely a matter of doctrine and creed; the test of Christian life is very much a matter of subscribing thereto. Christian experience has become largely limited to a matter of being saved, without the great eternal and universal relative factors and issues. Christian service is resolved far too much into a matter of enthusiasm in a great enterprise, apart from an adequate apprehension of what the Lord is really after... and the indispensable energy and equipment of the Holy Ghost. The Christian "Church" is very largely reduced to earthly institutions, societies, denominations, buildings, activities, and orders; and the spiritual revelation and apprehension of the "one Body" and "one Spirit" is, for the most part by far, lacking.
This is in full accord with the Word of God. There will be one, and only one, hope for God's people: their knowledge of Him in Christ... and the power of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality. Not their activities, enthusiasms, organizations, enterprises, creeds, "churches," orthodoxy, etc., but Himself. That time, which is now coming upon us - though imperceptible to so many who are preoccupied with plans and programs - will make manifest the principle of the "one Body," for each of the Lord's children will feel keenly the need of the fellowship of another, no matter of what connection, so long as that other knows Him.
The bringing in of the ministry of the prophets of old had its occasion in the breakdown of the Lord's true order. Theirs it was to keep before His people what that order was... and to call back to it... against a day of fire. We are in such a time, and what the Lord needs is that instrument by which He can keep His mind about things in view... and call back to it - an instrument which will pay the price of being refused a hearing, of ostracism, of false imputations, slander, and cruel calumny. This needs faith, boldness, and preparedness to leave all vindication with the Lord.
Beloved fellow members of Christ, will you have it urged upon you to seek the Lord for "a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" - a pure spiritual unveiling of the Lord Jesus as God's representation of His thought concerning all these things; and as He gives you light, will you seek grace to stand for Him in the day of His need... with all boldness, and whatever the price? All other questions will answer themselves as you do this. †
_______________________________
Theodore Austin-Sparks (1888-1971) left behind a
treasury of writings filled with the Wisdom, Life and
Revelation of Christ. His writings and messages may be
accessed online at Austin-Sparks.Net.
We live in a time of more than usual dearth spiritually - the state of things may well remind us of Ezekiel's valley of dry bones. We have not merely to cope with evils which have characterized bygone ages, but also with the matured corruption of a time wherein the varied evils of the Gentile world have become connected with, and covered by, the cloak of Christian profession; and when we turn to the state of those whose knowledge of truth and high profession might naturally encourage the expectation of more healthy and vigorous Christian action, we find,alas! in many - yea, in the majority of cases - that the knowledge is but cold and uninfluential theory... and the professionbut superficial.
Christianity has become so largely a matter of doctrine and creed; the test of Christian life is very much a matter of subscribing thereto. Christian experience has become largely limited to a matter of being saved, without the great eternal and universal relative factors and issues. Christian service is resolved far too much into a matter of enthusiasm in a great enterprise, apart from an adequate apprehension of what the Lord is really after... and the indispensable energy and equipment of the Holy Ghost. The Christian "Church" is very largely reduced to earthly institutions, societies, denominations, buildings, activities, and orders; and the spiritual revelation and apprehension of the "one Body" and "one Spirit" is, for the most part by far, lacking.
There will be one, and only one, hope for God's people:
their knowledge of Him in Christ... and the power
of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality.
Christian teaching has very largely become - at best - a matter of giving addresses and preaching sermons with a presentation of "the letter of the Word" - a giving forth of truth as truth, but lacking in "revelation in the knowledge of Him"... that true inwardness of meaning which reaches the heart and meets the deepest spiritual need of the hungry. The result of all this is that the impact, upon the world... and particularly upon "the world rulers of this darkness," of that which stands for God is almost nil, or a minus quantity.
Missionary leaders who are in a position to speak with authority are almost of one mind and voice in saying that the only hope of an adequate movement amongst the heathen lies in the direction of a new spiritual movement amongst God's people in the home countries. As we get nearer the close of this age, the contact with... and impact of... the forces of Satan are going to be such that only those who know the full testimony of Jesus and stand experimentally in it will be able to go through without being paralyzed. The aspect of things is fast changing. The past twenty years has seen a movement into a realm where the old methods and means no longer prove effectual. We shall soon find a tremendous pressing down of the powers of darkness upon this earth, using the world-powers to such a degree and in such ways as to eclipse anything which has hitherto been.This is in full accord with the Word of God. There will be one, and only one, hope for God's people: their knowledge of Him in Christ... and the power of His resurrection as a present spiritual reality. Not their activities, enthusiasms, organizations, enterprises, creeds, "churches," orthodoxy, etc., but Himself. That time, which is now coming upon us - though imperceptible to so many who are preoccupied with plans and programs - will make manifest the principle of the "one Body," for each of the Lord's children will feel keenly the need of the fellowship of another, no matter of what connection, so long as that other knows Him.
The bringing in of the ministry of the prophets of old had its occasion in the breakdown of the Lord's true order. Theirs it was to keep before His people what that order was... and to call back to it... against a day of fire. We are in such a time, and what the Lord needs is that instrument by which He can keep His mind about things in view... and call back to it - an instrument which will pay the price of being refused a hearing, of ostracism, of false imputations, slander, and cruel calumny. This needs faith, boldness, and preparedness to leave all vindication with the Lord.
Beloved fellow members of Christ, will you have it urged upon you to seek the Lord for "a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" - a pure spiritual unveiling of the Lord Jesus as God's representation of His thought concerning all these things; and as He gives you light, will you seek grace to stand for Him in the day of His need... with all boldness, and whatever the price? All other questions will answer themselves as you do this. †
_______________________________
Theodore Austin-Sparks (1888-1971) left behind a
treasury of writings filled with the Wisdom, Life and
Revelation of Christ. His writings and messages may be
accessed online at Austin-Sparks.Net.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Taking Up The Cross Daily
"The Old Cross and the New"
"The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.
"The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.
"The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, Come and assert yourself for Christ. To the egotist it says, Come and do your boasting in the Lord. To the thrill-seeker it says, Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship. The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.
"The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
"The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromises, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more." -- by A. W. Tozer
"And [Jesus] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23)."
The Cross is the means by which we enter, as well as live, the Christian life. Most Christians understand how we enter by way of the Cross. That is, we know that the death of Christ on the cross, the shedding of His blood, redeemed us from being dead in our sins. It satisfied the judgment of God against us and opened the door to fellowship with our heavenly Father.
This knowledge is sufficient for us to be saved, but if we only know the work of the Cross in terms of what Jesus did we will be unable to live out the Christian life in a meaningful way. Though forgiven, we will find ourselves unable to forsake the sins we may have just repented of. Please note that Christ called upon people to take up THEIR Cross as individuals and follow Him. Before He ever took up the physical cross and died for our sins, He bid us to bear a Cross of our own as a prerequisite for following Him. Moreover, He tells us the Cross we are called to bear is not a once-and-for-all transaction. Jesus died for our sins once, and there is no further sacrifice to be made. God does not require Him to take up the cross and die daily for our sins, yet He tells us to take up our Cross daily and follow Him. What is this?
Our passage in Luke gives us a clue that the passage in Matthew does not give. The physical cross is nothing in and of itself. The Roman procurator who sentenced Jesus to death, Pontious Pilate, was alone responsible for the death of thousands of criminals on wooden crosses. If someone understands us to say that there is intrinsic power in a wooden upright post and crossbeam then they miss the point. The Cross is a principle, a philosophy, a standard, a symbol of self-denial. When we speak of Christ's death on the physical cross we do not capitalize the word "cross". It is merely an instrument of death and it was a once-and-for-all event, thank God. But when we speak of the Cross as a call to self-denial and discipleship, we capitalize the word "Cross" because it is something more than a method of execution, it is an attitude of daily denying the Self, submitting one's life into the Hand of Another, and giving ourselves up to die to our own will that we may follow His will.
But there is more. Please understand that the Cross is more than death; it is resurrection as well. This is unique to the Cross we are called to bear. The physical cross always ended in death for its victims, Jesus Christ being the only exception. Similarly, the Cross as a principle working within us comprises death and life, burial and resurrection. God does not kill us in order to eradicate us or to render us non-existent. No, no, no, a thousand times no! All that is nailed to the Cross is one day brought to Resurrection! Did not Jesus say if we lose our life we will save it? Did not Jesus say if a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it brings forth much fruit? Hallelujah! This is the glory of the Cross! It is no glory to just die like a dog and cease to exist. No, we have something more glorious in mind than this. The Cross is not the end of me, but the beginning of me - a new man, a reborn me, a newly created me! Yet it is not I, but Christ! I cannot truly live for God until I truly die to myself. Then, the life I receive is resurrected life. Friends, when we overcome death and are resurrected, we cannot die again! Death has no more power over us!
It behooves us, then, to deny ourselves, take up the Cross DAILY, and follow Jesus. Suppose a doctor asks, "Are you alive?" How would you respond? The question of life and death is applicable to your current state, not your previous experience. In other words, you would not say you are alive because you were born thirty years before, or because you had a birthday last week. These are but historical facts; it does not necessarily mean you are alive and well TODAY. Upon hearing of the death of someone, you might comment that they appeared to be quite well the day before. Nevertheless, they are dead today. Life is a daily condition, not a historical one.
In like manner, the question of spiritual life is a matter of my condition today, not five, ten, twenty, or fifty years ago. Since this is the case, it is not enough to take up the Cross in the beginning. In order to live today, we must have His Life today; and in order to experience His Life daily, we must have His Death daily. After many years we can perhaps smile, sing, appear loving, and be very engaged in spiritual work, yet have little Life, vitality, or freshness of spirit. All we have to do is open our mouth and people with discernment will quickly perceive if we are bringing forth Life or Death. We can repeat word for word what we said last week, but if we have not touched Life today we are only babbling spiritual phraseology. Or, we can hear a message and touch the Life of the Lord in the brother or sister who shares it. Then we bring it home and relate it to our brothers and sisters, employing the same words and illustrations, yet it fails to bring Life to the hearers. Why? It was a borrowed Life, not an actual entering into Christ and receiving from Him. The words may be correct, but without Life even correct words are of little value.
Christ compared His flesh to the bread from heaven, called manna, which fell daily and sustained the Hebrews during their exodus from Egypt and subsequent wandering in the desert . Each day a new journey was made to collect fresh manna. All that was not eaten by sunset would become worms by sunrise. We are grateful for the multitude which have tasted of the Lord's goodness, but the issue is not in tasting the Lord, but in feeding upon Him daily. Is this your experience? Our Lord was born in a little town called Beth-Lehem, which means, "House of Bread". Christ taught us to pray "Give us this day our daily bread." Day by day we eat His flesh and drink His blood. This speaks of Life and daily communion. No matter what our previous history and walk with God, everything hinges upon today and now. Union must be maintained; fellowship must be unbroken; communion must be continuous; abiding is always a present action.
How do we maintain the Life of the Lord in us? Was is the testimony of the apostle Paul? "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you (II Corinthians 4:7-12)." In another place, he says, "I die daily (I Corinthians 15:31)." This is what it means to take up the Cross daily. We desire the Lord's Life daily, so we must have His Death working in us daily. There is no resurrection without crucifixion.
The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death. Why do we commit to teaching this in depth? Why do we belabor the point incessantly? Because the saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore call us to go back to the Cross and start over again.
Christ says we must die in order to live; we must first take up the Cross before we are fit to follow Jesus. This is the call of the Cross. Who will accept it?
"The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.
"The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.
"The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, Come and assert yourself for Christ. To the egotist it says, Come and do your boasting in the Lord. To the thrill-seeker it says, Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship. The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.
"The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.
"The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromises, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more." -- by A. W. Tozer
"And [Jesus] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23)."
The Cross is the means by which we enter, as well as live, the Christian life. Most Christians understand how we enter by way of the Cross. That is, we know that the death of Christ on the cross, the shedding of His blood, redeemed us from being dead in our sins. It satisfied the judgment of God against us and opened the door to fellowship with our heavenly Father.
This knowledge is sufficient for us to be saved, but if we only know the work of the Cross in terms of what Jesus did we will be unable to live out the Christian life in a meaningful way. Though forgiven, we will find ourselves unable to forsake the sins we may have just repented of. Please note that Christ called upon people to take up THEIR Cross as individuals and follow Him. Before He ever took up the physical cross and died for our sins, He bid us to bear a Cross of our own as a prerequisite for following Him. Moreover, He tells us the Cross we are called to bear is not a once-and-for-all transaction. Jesus died for our sins once, and there is no further sacrifice to be made. God does not require Him to take up the cross and die daily for our sins, yet He tells us to take up our Cross daily and follow Him. What is this?
Our passage in Luke gives us a clue that the passage in Matthew does not give. The physical cross is nothing in and of itself. The Roman procurator who sentenced Jesus to death, Pontious Pilate, was alone responsible for the death of thousands of criminals on wooden crosses. If someone understands us to say that there is intrinsic power in a wooden upright post and crossbeam then they miss the point. The Cross is a principle, a philosophy, a standard, a symbol of self-denial. When we speak of Christ's death on the physical cross we do not capitalize the word "cross". It is merely an instrument of death and it was a once-and-for-all event, thank God. But when we speak of the Cross as a call to self-denial and discipleship, we capitalize the word "Cross" because it is something more than a method of execution, it is an attitude of daily denying the Self, submitting one's life into the Hand of Another, and giving ourselves up to die to our own will that we may follow His will.
But there is more. Please understand that the Cross is more than death; it is resurrection as well. This is unique to the Cross we are called to bear. The physical cross always ended in death for its victims, Jesus Christ being the only exception. Similarly, the Cross as a principle working within us comprises death and life, burial and resurrection. God does not kill us in order to eradicate us or to render us non-existent. No, no, no, a thousand times no! All that is nailed to the Cross is one day brought to Resurrection! Did not Jesus say if we lose our life we will save it? Did not Jesus say if a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it brings forth much fruit? Hallelujah! This is the glory of the Cross! It is no glory to just die like a dog and cease to exist. No, we have something more glorious in mind than this. The Cross is not the end of me, but the beginning of me - a new man, a reborn me, a newly created me! Yet it is not I, but Christ! I cannot truly live for God until I truly die to myself. Then, the life I receive is resurrected life. Friends, when we overcome death and are resurrected, we cannot die again! Death has no more power over us!
It behooves us, then, to deny ourselves, take up the Cross DAILY, and follow Jesus. Suppose a doctor asks, "Are you alive?" How would you respond? The question of life and death is applicable to your current state, not your previous experience. In other words, you would not say you are alive because you were born thirty years before, or because you had a birthday last week. These are but historical facts; it does not necessarily mean you are alive and well TODAY. Upon hearing of the death of someone, you might comment that they appeared to be quite well the day before. Nevertheless, they are dead today. Life is a daily condition, not a historical one.
In like manner, the question of spiritual life is a matter of my condition today, not five, ten, twenty, or fifty years ago. Since this is the case, it is not enough to take up the Cross in the beginning. In order to live today, we must have His Life today; and in order to experience His Life daily, we must have His Death daily. After many years we can perhaps smile, sing, appear loving, and be very engaged in spiritual work, yet have little Life, vitality, or freshness of spirit. All we have to do is open our mouth and people with discernment will quickly perceive if we are bringing forth Life or Death. We can repeat word for word what we said last week, but if we have not touched Life today we are only babbling spiritual phraseology. Or, we can hear a message and touch the Life of the Lord in the brother or sister who shares it. Then we bring it home and relate it to our brothers and sisters, employing the same words and illustrations, yet it fails to bring Life to the hearers. Why? It was a borrowed Life, not an actual entering into Christ and receiving from Him. The words may be correct, but without Life even correct words are of little value.
Christ compared His flesh to the bread from heaven, called manna, which fell daily and sustained the Hebrews during their exodus from Egypt and subsequent wandering in the desert . Each day a new journey was made to collect fresh manna. All that was not eaten by sunset would become worms by sunrise. We are grateful for the multitude which have tasted of the Lord's goodness, but the issue is not in tasting the Lord, but in feeding upon Him daily. Is this your experience? Our Lord was born in a little town called Beth-Lehem, which means, "House of Bread". Christ taught us to pray "Give us this day our daily bread." Day by day we eat His flesh and drink His blood. This speaks of Life and daily communion. No matter what our previous history and walk with God, everything hinges upon today and now. Union must be maintained; fellowship must be unbroken; communion must be continuous; abiding is always a present action.
How do we maintain the Life of the Lord in us? Was is the testimony of the apostle Paul? "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you (II Corinthians 4:7-12)." In another place, he says, "I die daily (I Corinthians 15:31)." This is what it means to take up the Cross daily. We desire the Lord's Life daily, so we must have His Death working in us daily. There is no resurrection without crucifixion.
The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death. Why do we commit to teaching this in depth? Why do we belabor the point incessantly? Because the saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore call us to go back to the Cross and start over again.
Christ says we must die in order to live; we must first take up the Cross before we are fit to follow Jesus. This is the call of the Cross. Who will accept it?
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