Life

Rend your heart

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Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence— Isaiah 64:1

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:12-13

Several years ago I heard a woman tell of a dream she had. In the dream there was a large group of believers who were worshipping God. And they were calling out to Him “Oh Lord, rend the heavens and come down!” And the reply came back from heaven “Rend your heart and not your garments.” And the people would cry “Rend the heavens and come down” and heaven would answer “Rend your heart and not your garments.”

The rending (or tearing) of garments was an expression of grief common in that day. It was an outward expression of the intense emotion of the heart. But just like many things, it frequently became nothing more than a ritual, void of any real anguish of heart.

We are very good at rending our garments. On any given Sunday morning, in the intensity of a moment of worship when we feel very moved by the music, we cry out to Him. We tell Him how much we need His Presence, how desperate we are for Him. And then five minutes later we are discussing what our restaurant options are for lunch. The garment has been rent….but the heart remains intact.

I absolutely love the joy that I have as a follower of Jesus. But at some point we are going to all have to admit that even in the midst of all of our smiles and laughter, we do not experience His presence like we know is possible. Maybe one day soon we will no longer be satisfied with just rending our garments, but we will let our hearts be truly rent before Him, no longer willing to pretend that the superficiality of our walk with God is abundantly satisfying. And maybe then He will rend the heavens and come down.

Don’t accept the enemy’s substitute

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“Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Isaiah 36:16-17

The king of Assyria had already conquered the fortified cities of Judah. Now this great army is approaching Jerusalem. The enemy, who began by threatening, now tries another tactic. He attempts to convince the people that what he has to offer them is just as good as what they have now. His promise to them is that if they will just agree to his terms of surrender, they can continue in the lifestyle they currently enjoy in their own land until he comes to take them away to a foreign land where they will still enjoy the same things.

War is difficult. War is costly. War is inconvenient. Surrender without really losing anything doesn’t sound so bad….

Except that this land which is like your land, isn’t your land. Nothing in this land belongs to you. And what the enemy has failed to mention is that there will be no freedom for you there.

The enemy is an expert in counterfeit. Our nation is filled with a counterfeit gospel that sounds good. It speaks of Jesus and faith and spiritual things. But there is no altar, there is no repentance, there is no holiness. This false gospel knows nothing of obedience, a consecrated life, or a life of prayer. And those who surrender themselves to such a message might enjoy some benefit of spiritual things, but they possess nothing. Christ is not their life but merely an accessory. They live in the kingdom of this world which has been altered to resemble the kingdom of God….but it isn’t. We have been warned that this would happen.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

It is so much easier to redefine sin than to wrestle in prayer until a besetting sin is overcome. It is easier to be moral than holy. It is easier to simply enjoy a Sunday sermon than to get in the altar and die to everything of the self life. It’s easier to be religious than to engage in the warfare of this spiritual life.

Because war is difficult. War is costly. War is inconvenient. And thus many surrender to a false gospel that doesn’t cost them anything. But there will never be any freedom there.

Hold fast, people of God, to the true gospel of Jesus Christ! It is a glorious message of life and power! It is the only hope this world will ever have. For the sake of those who do not yet know, and for the honor of the Lord Jesus, we must not compromise the message. Ever!

Preparation of the outward life

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Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Philippians 2:17

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. 2 Corinthians 12:15

These verses characterize not only the Apostle Paul’s labors for the Lord, but the essence of his life. Poured out and spent. Doing without, suffering want and personal hardship, enduring rejection and loneliness …. he lived with reckless abandon for the glory of Jesus only. I wonder how many times this man’s heart had been absolutely broken by betrayals, by false accusations, by rejections; and yet still his life was one poured out and spent. Paul could have lived a comfortable life, but the Lord had called him to so much more than that. It cost Paul significantly to follow and serve Jesus, but Oh the reward of it!

Paul called himself a bondservant of Christ. The word here translated bondservant is actually the word slave (doulos).  It is a strong word, carrying the following meanings:

  • It refers to one born into slavery.
  • It refers to one who is in a relation to another which only death can break
  • It refers to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another.
  • It refers to one who serves another even to the disregarding of his own interests.

Disregarding our own interests? Losing our will in the will of another? This mentality doesn’t just happen to us….it must be cultivated.

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:7-8

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20

It MUST be cultivated. We simply cannot afford to waste these few years we have been given on this earth catering to our own desires to live comfortable lives. There is a world that Jesus died for, and that He yearns for…precious souls that His blood was shed for. Every day we meet them and pass by them in this life. They are at the grocery store, at our jobs, our schools. And they are waiting to hear the words of this life. But an unprepared life will walk through her days absolutely oblivious to the perishing around her.

One day we will stand before the Lord Jesus. The book of Revelation talks about Him wiping away our tears. I believe those will be tears of regret when we see how much Jesus wanted to do through our lives and how little we were prepared and available for His purposes.

No matter who you are, or how insignificant you feel your life is, and how impossible it seems that your life could ever make a real difference for eternity, I encourage you to adopt this prayer as the motto of your life:

Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.

And then watch in amazement as He takes your prepared life and ministers to a world with it.

Today you can purpose to be a vessel set apart and prepared for the Master’s use. Devoted to the Word and prayer…..absolutely surrendered to the Beloved….poured out and spent that Jesus might have His testimony through your life. This, dear brother and sister, is our reasonable service and our great privilege. Whatever the sacrifices we may have to make to have a life prepared to serve the Lord Jesus, on that day we see His face we will only wish we had sacrificed more. It’s gonna be worth it all!!

 

 

Life!

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“The One who existed from the beginning is the One we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This One who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen Him. And now we testify and announce to you that He is the One who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then He was shown to us.” 1 John 1:1-2

Not only is personal, intimate experience with the Lord Jesus a vital necessity for our own life and ministry, it is the absolute delight of the believer.  We desperately need to “see Him with our own eyes and touch Him with our own hands”.  Otherwise we will be like the seven sons of Sceva – living in defeat because we use the name of a Jesus we don’t even know.  Personal relationship with Christ must be cultivated, maintained and protected.  The cares of life – both the good cares and the bad cares – will always attempt to crowd Him out, but we must guard this relationship jealously. Because Christ is our life!   Without a real walk with Him, everything becomes stale and monotonous….. just one of many shades of grey. But with Him!! Oh, with Him there is joy unspeakable and full of glory! Even in the midst of our greatest difficulties and heartaches we have this testimony – my God is with me….and He is enough!   And out of the intimacy of our relationship with Him, our heart will overflow with testimonies of the Jesus we have come to know personally and in reality.  How much more compelling is our witness when others perceive that we are not speaking of a dead Savior, but a living Lord and Friend!  One who is able to save to the uttermost. One that we know and that knows us and Whose presence we find abundantly satisfying.

“This One who is life from God” is the One we testify of.  The world’s experience of dead religion keeps them from our gatherings and from our Jesus.  But when we expose them to the One who is life from God, this One we have seen and touched, they will begin to see Christianity as it has forever been meant to be – full of life.

In Him is life…..

A very blessed Resurrection Day!

A life laid down

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Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I received from My Father. John 10:17-18

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3:16

At any point during the night of His betrayal, Jesus could have escaped from the control of His captors and avoided the cross. He had the power to free Himself as He had demonstrated in previous encounters with crowds that wanted to take Him by force. But this night He used an even greater power…..the power to lay His life down. And because we are in Him, we have this same power.

Many in the church today are seeking after power…..the power to preach, the power to heal, the power to move in the spiritual gifts. And I say yes! Let us, by all means, have these things. But where are those who are seeking, earnestly seeking, the power to lay their lives down?

Generally speaking, we are a selfish people. The new nature that Jesus has given us is many times crowded out by the self-centered demands of an un-crucified flesh. Comfort…convenience…..leisure…ease. And the words of the Lord Jesus are drowned out – “if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

In the cross was the ultimate demonstration of God’s love. Jesus took up His cross. He laid His life down. Oh that we would long to follow Him in this! Can you imagine how our cities would be shaken by a people who exerted the full force of their power to lay their lives down!

Lay your life down to preach the gospel….lay your life down to pray earnestly for a move of God….lay your life down to actually demonstrate the love of God to those in need. It’s only a temporary life anyway. What a waste to use it all up on ourselves. Why not pour it out lavishly in anticipation of the glories of that eternal life that awaits us?

Imagine the pleasure of Jesus to have a people who live to give their lives away…..just like He did.

Bondservant

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“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1)

The word here translated bondservant is actually the word slave (doulos).  It is a strong word, carrying the following meanings:

  • It refers to one born into slavery.
  • It refers to one who is in a relation to another which only death can break
  • It refers to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another.
  • It refers to one who serves another even to the disregard of his own interests.

The word slave is an unpopular word….and for good reason.  Throughout the history of humanity, the stronger have conquered the weaker and subjected them to the most horrific indignities.  The first goal of a slave is simply to survive.  But a close second would be to obtain freedom.  Yet the Apostle Paul willingly made himself a bond-slave of Christ.

Born a slave to sin, he was born again a slave to righteousness.  At the moment of new birth, he entered into a relationship with the Lord Jesus which not even death could sever, for the power of death was broken on the cross.  He was a man whose will was utterly swallowed up in the will of God, demonstrated by his utter disregard even for his own life that he might preach Christ.

This disgraceful word…..slave…..has now been given an air of dignity by all of those who, like Paul, have gladly chosen the title of slave for themselves because of the exceeding greatness of the Master.  Head high, chin up, eyes lifted heavenward…….we serve with gladness.

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Commissioned as couriers

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“The couriers who rode on royal horses, went out, hastened and pressed on by the kings command” Esther 8:14

BACKGROUND: That wicked Haman had persuaded the king to issue a decree ordering the extermination of the Jews. Queen Esther successfully exposed Haman’s plot against her people and a new decree was written, counteracting the previous one. So at the king’s command the order was given to send the decree by means of couriers to make it known through the entirety of the land. And so they went out, they hastened, they pressed on.

They went out….no easy thing in those days. It involved exposure to the elements and to the dangers associated with travel. But the message had to be taken and they were the ones commissioned to do it.

They hastened….this caught my attention. It is a word that means much more than might be thought at first glance. Much more than hurry……….it means to tremble inwardly, be alarmed or agitated. The lives of many people were on the line. Disaster loomed over their heads until the decree was delivered. The couriers understood this and trembled at the importance and magnitude of the task they had been given.

They pressed on……in the face of weariness and hardship, maybe wanting to give up and just go back home, yet they relentlessly persisted until their task had been accomplished. So many reasons to quit, but one over-riding reason to press on – the king’s command.

A command has been given in our day as well, by an infinitely more glorious and powerful King: “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” Mark 16:15. Perhaps we should consider how we are responding to such a command.
Are we going out? Has the gospel of the Lord Jesus moved us out of our comfort zones and propelled us into the harvest – the harvest in the nations, the harvest in our city, the harvest in the workplace, the harvest in our own homes? Are we content to just let someone else do it, hoping the message will get there somehow, preferring the comfort, safety and routineness of life as usual?

Do we have a proper sense of the urgency and importance of the message? Men perish eternally without the gospel. Souls are lost forever. There is no remedy for them once they step into eternity apart from the saving blood of Christ….only the certainty of eternal separation from God in a place of eternal suffering. Do we tremble over their fate? Does it ever cost us tears or sleepless nights? Doesn’t it just seem like it should?

We have been entrusted with delivery of the message to them that their destruction has been counteracted by the decree made on Calvary…”It is finished.” No longer must they live with wrath lingering just beyond their final breath. No longer must they live separated from the God who wants to be known as Father. The invitation has been issued from heaven for all to come.

But those who do not hear, cannot come.

Are we serving the Lord with endurance? I think often of the Apostle Paul’s command to Timothy – “you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). We must. Adversity and opposition will come as we go forward to take the message of grace to a world that insists on being offended at the cross. But we must press on. Retreat is not an option. And how can those of us who have tasted of this abundant life refuse to endure any difficulties necessary that we may bring others into this life?

My brothers and sisters who read this…..I have read over this multiple times seeking to remove any harshness from it. I have no desire to cause guilt or shame to anyone. But in my own life I find myself often needing a reminder of what is at stake. So many things crowd into our lives to distract us…..but the souls……let us not forget about the souls…….

They are waiting for the gospel.

Poured out and spent

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Philippians 2:17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

2 Corinthians 12:15  And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

These verses characterize not only the Apostle Paul’s  labors for The Lord, but the essence of his life. Poured out and spent. Paul was all in to give all out. Doing without, suffering want and personal hardship, enduring rejection and loneliness …. he lived with reckless abandon for the glory of Jesus only.  I wonder how many times this man’s heart had been absolutely broken by betrayals, by false accusations, by rejections; and yet still his life was one poured out and spent.

At some point early on I would have been tempted to throw in the towel – “I’m done with you people!” – and find a wilderness where it could be just me and Jesus.   But the blood of Jesus was poured out and the body of Jesus was spent…for people.

If we are going to seek and save the lost (which we are called to do) and if we are going to be the body of Christ (which we are called to be) then it might be good to go ahead and settle it in our hearts now – we will at times be betrayed, accused, and rejected by those we are trying to lead to Jesus and by those we are following Him with.   It’s all part of a life poured out and spent.   But there is abundant grace available to us in Christ so that we can love when hated, bless when cursed, do good when treated poorly.  We are without excuse. So let us love one another fervently, even when we don’t deserve it.  And let us love the lost with a heart filled with compassion even when they hate us for it.  And let us be poured out and spent for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Becoming convinced

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Reading the story of Gideon in Judges 6:36-7:15…..a man chosen by God for a great work. Yet he struggled to believe it could be true that he would be chosen for such a task as delivering the people of Israel from their enemies. He was an insignificant man from an insignificant family.  He realized that he couldn’t step out into the plans of God with such doubt.  Thus Gideon requested the fleece, which God so mercifully answered. Still there was doubt, so he requested another sign which God also granted. But still Gideon did not have the faith needed to embark into the purposes of God for his life. The questions he thought he needed answered, the things he thought he needed God to do to convince him, did not help. They did not strengthen his faith.  And although he began to step out into obedience and assemble the army, yet his heart remained unconvinced.   But when Gideon has exhausted all his questions, all his fleeces, and determines to step out into a fearful obedience solely based on what God has said, then God brings a word to him that settles the matter in his heart.  Gideon no longer questions, but worships.  And the purpose that God had declared to him (“arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand” 7:9) now becomes the faith filled cry of his own heart as he gives the command to his army – “arise, for The Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 7:15.  Gideon has become convinced.

We are often so confident that if God would just answer this question or provide that confirming sign that we could then be steadfast and immovable in God’s purposes.  However I have found, like Gideon, that this is so often insufficient. But the God who made this heart knows how to persuade this heart and utterly convince me and bring me to a place of settled faith about a thing.  May we learn from Gideon and be obedient to our Lord, even when it is a fearful obedience.  Marching forward into His purposes, with an ear open toward heaven, we too will surely receive the faith we need to finish our course victoriously and with great joy.  Amen!