"Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord." -Zechariah 4:6-
Most take this to mean that we do not accomplish the things of this life through force or authority, but only because the Holy Spirit brings them to pass. In one form or another, that is how this verse is often applied. You are not going to accomplish things in this life through your ability or your position. The Holy Spirit will bring it to pass.
I presented this argument to the Lord the other day. He told me I was mis-applying the scripture. And, so I was. Below is the passage:
Zechariah 4:
1. And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, And behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3. And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5. Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
Here's where the error occurs: People just wait on the Holy Spirit to do it. That is how this scripture is mis-applied.
The candlestick Zechariah saw is an image/symbol of the Holy Spirit. What is this candlestick, you ask? Why, it's God's word to Zerubbabel saying, "It's not by an army, it's not by the King's authority, but by my Spirit that you shall build this temple."
Zerubbabel was trying to rebuild the temple. (Read all about it in the book of Ezra.) Military and political machines were activated against him, to stop him. So the word was sent to him.
Zerubbabel already had the written word of the Lord telling him to rebuild the temple. (Isaiah 44:21 thru Isaiah 45:21, ) King Cyrus was spoken to in God's written word by name. So why did Zerubbabel need a second word of the Lord? It was to tell him how to do it.
Zerubbabel did not lack the will of the Spirit to do it. It wasn't a matter of, "does God want to?" The verses in Isaiah told him exactly what God wanted to do. It wasn't a matter of, "It's in the Lord's hands: if he wants me to build it, I'll build it." If that were the case, there would have been no need to send Zerubbabel a word at all. What Zerubbabel did or didn't do would have been irrelevant.
So why DID God send Zerubbabel a second word? It was to tell him how to do it. To show him where he was doing it wrong.
He wasn't shouting "Grace, grace!" to it.
Why a shout? Shouts are emphatic commands. You don't generally beg with a shout. When Zerubbabel shouted, "Grace!" he was commanding grace to be.
What is this a description of? Faith. God was telling Zerubbabel how to walk by faith.
Why shout "Grace!"? The word "grace" simply means having the greater bow in favor to the lesser. Zerubbabel was certainly the lesser. The forces around him were certainly the greater. Grace was what he needed to win in his situation.
Grace might not be what you need to win in your situation. So you wouldn't shout that. What would you shout? I'm guessing the name of Jesus and whatever it is that you need. If it's healing, you would shout, "I am healed in Jesus' name!" Or a job: "Job - BE! In Jesus' name!" Find a scripture that covers your case, and shout that.
There are a few things of note. Here, we see God describing what faith is like. How long did Zerubbabel shout? Until he was done. "Shoutings" is not a singular word. "Crying" is not a one time action. Some people think speaking faith is a vain repetition the heathen use. But, all scripture agrees. God wouldn't say "yes, yes, shoutings," in one place, and, "No, no, vain repetitions," in another place if they were both the same thing. The mantras the heathen chant contain no faith command. Their words are all in vain.
Also, he shouted to the mountain, not to God. When people have a problem, they speak to God about it. They say, 'It's all up to you to fix it." But that is wrong. We are to speak to our problem with shoutings. With authority. Or his Spirit won't do it. That is where Zerubbabel was missing it.
So, shout, cry aloud from the heart. That is how things are done by God's Spirit.
You might want to shout secretly in your prayer closet so the Father will reward you openly, though (Matthew 6:5-6).
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Vain Worship
Imagine Judgement Day. You stand alone before the God of creation. Your life is in question. The books are opened. Every detail of every moment of your life is examined. And it is found that all your worship was in vain. All your good deeds, all your sacrifice, all your church attendance - nothing.
In vain. That means none of it counts. It was as if you had never worshiped. Never lifted your voice in praise or thanksgiving to God. Never done any good deeds. Never even called Jesus your Lord.
How could such a thing be possible? How could you have done vain worship?
Matthew 15:
7. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Here, Jesus says that all these Jews did to worship God was in vain. Let's look at the passage he referred to.
Isaiah 29:
10. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
(There is a reason Jesus pointed the Jews to this passage. The verses the follow verse 13 were talking about what Jesus was doing. Did any of them go look them up?)
The situation Isaiah describes here fits so many churches today. So many church leaders cannot understand the scripture. They do not have an original understanding of it. They rely instead on doctrines that they were given by other men. Some teach what they were taught in Bible school. Others teach what they were handed by tradition from preachers who went before them. When you ask them about some principle in the scripture, they simply quote the standard line they were taught. They cannot go beyond this, because to them, the Bible is sealed. It looks like a dyslexic jumble of rules, not the coherent reasoned discourse of a genius God.
To them, the Word has become "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little." They have been blinded from understanding it.
Isaiah 28:
13. But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
And if the leaders of a church can't understand the Bible, what chance does the little guy have? Like Isaiah 29 says, the little guy will say, "Why are you asking me? I don't know anything!"
Yes, one might say, but this was before the church age. It doesn't apply today.
Doesn't it? What separates Christians from the Muslim? Or Jews? Or any other devout religion on the earth?
Well then, this verse is certainly of the Church age:
1 Corinthians 13:
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Here Paul says you could spend your entire life ministering to the poor, and in the end be martyred for Christ, and it could be as if you had done nothing.
All your worship could be in vain.
So how do you know if your worship is vain or not?
Well, Jesus told us. People think Jesus was being mean spirited when he called them hypocrites. But he wasn't. He walked in love. He told them what their problem was before he even told them they had a problem.
They were role-playing. That's what the word hypocrite means - play actor. Role player. It is we who think it means someone who says to do one thing, but does another themself. Sinning is not hypocrisy. Role playing is hypocrisy.
And this is why the Jews of Jesus day - and many Christians of our day - have vain worship: they were role-playing their worship.
Politicians are role players. They play a certain role so the public will vote for them. Do they really believe that role? If you find one, let me know.
I heard once of a woman (I don't remember where) who suddenly started drinking, getting tats, and living the wild life. When her kids asked her why, she said, "I was just playing the good mother until you kids were out of the house."
All of us are adept at role playing. When the police car pulls up behind us on the road, we suddenly play the role of the model citizen. When the in-laws knock on the door, certain things disappear. We do what other people expect us to, even though we would not ordinarily do so.
As Christians today, people lift a character out of the Bible, then they play that role. "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't chew." Each church has its own version of the model Christian character. Everyone in the church conforms to that role, and everyone is happy.
Except God.
God doesn't want you playing a role. He wants you to be motivated by his love within you.
If his love motivates you to give all you have to the poor, then it is worship that is not in vain.
If his love motivates you to be in a situation where you are martyred, then it is a profit to you.
The law of Moses merely caused people to role play. (Here is what my character is, here is what I will do.) Their hearts were contrary though. So, God gave us a New Law:
Romans 5:
5. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The New Law is to obey the love of God that the Holy Ghost stirs within our hearts toward the rest of the world.
And that is being who we are from the heart.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
In vain. That means none of it counts. It was as if you had never worshiped. Never lifted your voice in praise or thanksgiving to God. Never done any good deeds. Never even called Jesus your Lord.
How could such a thing be possible? How could you have done vain worship?
Matthew 15:
7. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Here, Jesus says that all these Jews did to worship God was in vain. Let's look at the passage he referred to.
Isaiah 29:
10. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
(There is a reason Jesus pointed the Jews to this passage. The verses the follow verse 13 were talking about what Jesus was doing. Did any of them go look them up?)
The situation Isaiah describes here fits so many churches today. So many church leaders cannot understand the scripture. They do not have an original understanding of it. They rely instead on doctrines that they were given by other men. Some teach what they were taught in Bible school. Others teach what they were handed by tradition from preachers who went before them. When you ask them about some principle in the scripture, they simply quote the standard line they were taught. They cannot go beyond this, because to them, the Bible is sealed. It looks like a dyslexic jumble of rules, not the coherent reasoned discourse of a genius God.
To them, the Word has become "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little." They have been blinded from understanding it.
Isaiah 28:
13. But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
And if the leaders of a church can't understand the Bible, what chance does the little guy have? Like Isaiah 29 says, the little guy will say, "Why are you asking me? I don't know anything!"
Yes, one might say, but this was before the church age. It doesn't apply today.
Doesn't it? What separates Christians from the Muslim? Or Jews? Or any other devout religion on the earth?
Well then, this verse is certainly of the Church age:
1 Corinthians 13:
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Here Paul says you could spend your entire life ministering to the poor, and in the end be martyred for Christ, and it could be as if you had done nothing.
All your worship could be in vain.
So how do you know if your worship is vain or not?
Well, Jesus told us. People think Jesus was being mean spirited when he called them hypocrites. But he wasn't. He walked in love. He told them what their problem was before he even told them they had a problem.
They were role-playing. That's what the word hypocrite means - play actor. Role player. It is we who think it means someone who says to do one thing, but does another themself. Sinning is not hypocrisy. Role playing is hypocrisy.
And this is why the Jews of Jesus day - and many Christians of our day - have vain worship: they were role-playing their worship.
Politicians are role players. They play a certain role so the public will vote for them. Do they really believe that role? If you find one, let me know.
I heard once of a woman (I don't remember where) who suddenly started drinking, getting tats, and living the wild life. When her kids asked her why, she said, "I was just playing the good mother until you kids were out of the house."
All of us are adept at role playing. When the police car pulls up behind us on the road, we suddenly play the role of the model citizen. When the in-laws knock on the door, certain things disappear. We do what other people expect us to, even though we would not ordinarily do so.
As Christians today, people lift a character out of the Bible, then they play that role. "Don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't chew." Each church has its own version of the model Christian character. Everyone in the church conforms to that role, and everyone is happy.
Except God.
God doesn't want you playing a role. He wants you to be motivated by his love within you.
If his love motivates you to give all you have to the poor, then it is worship that is not in vain.
If his love motivates you to be in a situation where you are martyred, then it is a profit to you.
The law of Moses merely caused people to role play. (Here is what my character is, here is what I will do.) Their hearts were contrary though. So, God gave us a New Law:
Romans 5:
5. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The New Law is to obey the love of God that the Holy Ghost stirs within our hearts toward the rest of the world.
And that is being who we are from the heart.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Evil Eye
Matthew 5:
17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: ...
... 20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus made this statement, then launched into several examples.
Jesus gave several examples. Pharisees: "Thou shalt not kill." Jesus: "You shalt not be angry without cause." Pharisees: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Jesus: "You shall not look upon another to lust after them." "An eye for an eye," "Turn the other cheek."
You get the general principle. "All that the Pharisees do from the law and the prophets will not be enough for you to operate under kingdom principles."
He was still in this pattern when he touched on money.
Matthew 6:
19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
.... 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Consider this: the Pharisees had an evil eye. Where in the law does it say to have an evil eye?
According to Strong, this Greek word "evil" means hurtful in effect or influence. It comes into focus when you see it is derived from a word that means "toil." In context of Jesus' subject, it means living your life chasing every penny you can. Does it mean you are greedy? No. It means you are trying to be the Proverbs 31 woman. This is what the Pharisees did.
America's Puritan heritage gave us hard work as a virtue. The Puritans pulled this ethic straight out of the Bible. And the Pharisees did as well. But, even though it is the American tradition, hard work itself is not the virtuous thing. The Bible virtue is found in why you do all your hard work.
That is what makes your eye evil or clear. While the legally righteous labor to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, the kingdom righteous labor to be able to show mercy to those in need. They do the work of God. Then God takes care of their other issues.
The Pharisees have a keen eye for a money opportunity. They can smell it out from a mile away.
Jesus taught us to have a keen eye for ministry opportunity: see the needs around you.
Paul stated this concept in Ephesians 4:
28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
The righteousness that is of the law and prophets labors to provide for ones self, and their own. It gives to the Lord his due, then socks the rest away for a rainy day.
Jesus said this wasn't good enough. Your labor should be to rescue the needy around you.
Consider the fast of Isaiah 58:
5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
6. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.
9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10. And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Sounds a little like what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount.
Christians often adopt the righteousness of the Pharisees when it comes to money. They put away as much treasure on earth that they can. They refuse to associate with the "losers" in life, preferring to hob-nob with those more successful than they. What they don't realize is that those "losers" are the ones Jesus wants to spend time with. While they are "doing what it takes," they enslave themselves to money.
There is nothing wrong with working hard. There is only something wrong in working for money. You should really be working to show mercy to all who need it. Starting with your family.
If your eye is full of evil, toil and trouble, toil and trouble.... how very dark it can be for you.
If your eye is full of light, God adds to you the desires of your heart.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: ...
... 20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus made this statement, then launched into several examples.
Jesus gave several examples. Pharisees: "Thou shalt not kill." Jesus: "You shalt not be angry without cause." Pharisees: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Jesus: "You shall not look upon another to lust after them." "An eye for an eye," "Turn the other cheek."
You get the general principle. "All that the Pharisees do from the law and the prophets will not be enough for you to operate under kingdom principles."
He was still in this pattern when he touched on money.
Matthew 6:
19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
.... 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Consider this: the Pharisees had an evil eye. Where in the law does it say to have an evil eye?
According to Strong, this Greek word "evil" means hurtful in effect or influence. It comes into focus when you see it is derived from a word that means "toil." In context of Jesus' subject, it means living your life chasing every penny you can. Does it mean you are greedy? No. It means you are trying to be the Proverbs 31 woman. This is what the Pharisees did.
America's Puritan heritage gave us hard work as a virtue. The Puritans pulled this ethic straight out of the Bible. And the Pharisees did as well. But, even though it is the American tradition, hard work itself is not the virtuous thing. The Bible virtue is found in why you do all your hard work.
That is what makes your eye evil or clear. While the legally righteous labor to pay the mortgage and put food on the table, the kingdom righteous labor to be able to show mercy to those in need. They do the work of God. Then God takes care of their other issues.
The Pharisees have a keen eye for a money opportunity. They can smell it out from a mile away.
Jesus taught us to have a keen eye for ministry opportunity: see the needs around you.
Paul stated this concept in Ephesians 4:
28. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
The righteousness that is of the law and prophets labors to provide for ones self, and their own. It gives to the Lord his due, then socks the rest away for a rainy day.
Jesus said this wasn't good enough. Your labor should be to rescue the needy around you.
Consider the fast of Isaiah 58:
5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
6. Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.
9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10. And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Sounds a little like what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount.
Christians often adopt the righteousness of the Pharisees when it comes to money. They put away as much treasure on earth that they can. They refuse to associate with the "losers" in life, preferring to hob-nob with those more successful than they. What they don't realize is that those "losers" are the ones Jesus wants to spend time with. While they are "doing what it takes," they enslave themselves to money.
There is nothing wrong with working hard. There is only something wrong in working for money. You should really be working to show mercy to all who need it. Starting with your family.
If your eye is full of evil, toil and trouble, toil and trouble.... how very dark it can be for you.
If your eye is full of light, God adds to you the desires of your heart.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Word of Wisdom
What say we take a look at the Word of Wisdom.
It can be somewhat amusing to read all the explanations available as to what the word of wisdom is. And also sad. I think one of the best books I read on the gifts of the Spirit simply ignored the word of wisdom. My conclusion? The author didn't know, so he didn't say. A wise choice, I would gander.
The word of wisdom reveals mysteries. Could this include God's secret plans for the future? Possibly. The word of wisdom most often goes into action when one is reading the Bible, though.
One day I heard the Spirit say as I picked up my Bible, "Do you what to know what is going on in the world?" I said, "yes," he led me to Daniel 7. Was this the word of wisdom? No. The word of wisdom didn't kick in until I hit verse 12. I suddenly saw it all. All 4 beasts were on the earth at the same time, and three of them were allowed to continue for fifteen months after the Lord's return, and after his Kingdom was set up. Only the beast of Revelation was destroyed. Of course I did more digging, and found that, yes, the four beasts fit nicely with what I understood them to be.
I think the most ironic of times was when the word of wisdom revealed to me what the word of wisdom was. But I have had it operate on things that were not even remotely scripture related.
Let's look at some verses.
Proverbs 1: 6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
First, the simple outlay. The word of wisdom gives understanding to the dark sayings of the wise. Wise sayings are shrouded in mystery. Read Jesus' parables, and you will find some.
Often, when the word of wisdom goes into action, you "remember" what that dark mysterious saying means. You understand what they were saying.
1 Corinthians 12:
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1 Corinthians 13:
1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Paul was very good about saying things in different ways so as to convey a clear picture. In Romans 8, he described being led of the spirit in these ways:
"walk not after the flesh," "{walk} after the Spirit,"
"{don't} mind the things of the flesh," "mind the things of the spirit,"
"{not} live after the flesh, {but} the Spirit,"
"Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry 'Abba, Father',"
"Led of the Spirit,"
"His spirit bears witness with our spirit,..."
Now, these all describe exactly the same thing. The inward witness is the tug of the Spirit that draws you to worship. (Paul was also very good about giving us practical examples we could all identify and relate to.) Every born again believer can relate to the call of worship. It is that same call that will lead you in every area of life.
The word of wisdom showed this to me. I was riding on a train from Iowa to Texas. I was staring out of the window lazily watching the world roll by. Behind me two women were chatting away, but I tuned them out until they started talking about what the leading of the Spirit was. My ears perked up, and I started eavesdropping. Finally, it was too much, and I turned to join the conversation.
I was alone in the railcar.
This was the word of wisdom in operation in an audible manifestation.
(I know, I know, people will nitpick, and say women aren't supposed to teach in the church. Yet, Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is a woman, is she not?)
But I digress. In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul employs the same "say it more than one way"strategy. He even kept some of them in the same order. "Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith." "Understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and have all faith..."
The word of wisdom reveals mysteries. Just as the word of knowledge reveals facts you do not know, the word of wisdom reveals things you don't understand.
They may be things that are only a mystery to you.
As I said earlier, the word of wisdom is very active while reading scripture. But the Holy Spirit is not limited to scripture. The word of wisdom can reveal people's hidden, even subconscious, motives. Anything that is a mystery to you, he can show you.
In this day when there are millions of voices screaming for our attention, it's good to know that there is one voice that will guide us into all truth if we will only take the time to listen.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
It can be somewhat amusing to read all the explanations available as to what the word of wisdom is. And also sad. I think one of the best books I read on the gifts of the Spirit simply ignored the word of wisdom. My conclusion? The author didn't know, so he didn't say. A wise choice, I would gander.
The word of wisdom reveals mysteries. Could this include God's secret plans for the future? Possibly. The word of wisdom most often goes into action when one is reading the Bible, though.
One day I heard the Spirit say as I picked up my Bible, "Do you what to know what is going on in the world?" I said, "yes," he led me to Daniel 7. Was this the word of wisdom? No. The word of wisdom didn't kick in until I hit verse 12. I suddenly saw it all. All 4 beasts were on the earth at the same time, and three of them were allowed to continue for fifteen months after the Lord's return, and after his Kingdom was set up. Only the beast of Revelation was destroyed. Of course I did more digging, and found that, yes, the four beasts fit nicely with what I understood them to be.
I think the most ironic of times was when the word of wisdom revealed to me what the word of wisdom was. But I have had it operate on things that were not even remotely scripture related.
Let's look at some verses.
Proverbs 1: 6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
First, the simple outlay. The word of wisdom gives understanding to the dark sayings of the wise. Wise sayings are shrouded in mystery. Read Jesus' parables, and you will find some.
Often, when the word of wisdom goes into action, you "remember" what that dark mysterious saying means. You understand what they were saying.
1 Corinthians 12:
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1 Corinthians 13:
1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Paul was very good about saying things in different ways so as to convey a clear picture. In Romans 8, he described being led of the spirit in these ways:
"walk not after the flesh," "{walk} after the Spirit,"
"{don't} mind the things of the flesh," "mind the things of the spirit,"
"{not} live after the flesh, {but} the Spirit,"
"Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry 'Abba, Father',"
"Led of the Spirit,"
"His spirit bears witness with our spirit,..."
Now, these all describe exactly the same thing. The inward witness is the tug of the Spirit that draws you to worship. (Paul was also very good about giving us practical examples we could all identify and relate to.) Every born again believer can relate to the call of worship. It is that same call that will lead you in every area of life.
The word of wisdom showed this to me. I was riding on a train from Iowa to Texas. I was staring out of the window lazily watching the world roll by. Behind me two women were chatting away, but I tuned them out until they started talking about what the leading of the Spirit was. My ears perked up, and I started eavesdropping. Finally, it was too much, and I turned to join the conversation.
I was alone in the railcar.
This was the word of wisdom in operation in an audible manifestation.
(I know, I know, people will nitpick, and say women aren't supposed to teach in the church. Yet, Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is a woman, is she not?)
But I digress. In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul employs the same "say it more than one way"strategy. He even kept some of them in the same order. "Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith." "Understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and have all faith..."
The word of wisdom reveals mysteries. Just as the word of knowledge reveals facts you do not know, the word of wisdom reveals things you don't understand.
They may be things that are only a mystery to you.
As I said earlier, the word of wisdom is very active while reading scripture. But the Holy Spirit is not limited to scripture. The word of wisdom can reveal people's hidden, even subconscious, motives. Anything that is a mystery to you, he can show you.
In this day when there are millions of voices screaming for our attention, it's good to know that there is one voice that will guide us into all truth if we will only take the time to listen.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Make Sure Your Salvation
2 Peter 1:
4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
That is a bit more than a sound bite, but there is really no way to slim it down. I want to look at verse 10: making your calling and election sure. Making certain your salvation.
That is to say, making sure you bear fruit.
Why is bearing fruit important?
Many people come to faith in Christ, and assume they are done. "I got saved. Now I can go about my life knowing I'll go to heaven when I die." This is not a wise assumption. (Some assume they can continue to live like heathens in the house of the Lord: you don't want to be one of them.) Salvation is a lifelong process, not a one time event.
It is easy to see why people get confused: being born again is a one time event. And you are saved once you get born again. But being born again does not mean you will never forfeit your salvation. You can deny Christ. You can throw him away. You can become a twice-dead (Jude 1:12). You can become someone who has no fruit (Jude 1:12).
Jesus was more direct than Peter:
Johm 15:
1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
.... 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
But wait! one might say. Didn't Jesus say that if you came to him, he would never cast you out?
Yes, he did.
Johm 6:
37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
But Jesus isn't the Father. Jesus will not reject you. But the Father just might. And Jesus said he would if you refuse to bear fruit.
On the day of atonement, when the high priest divided between the "good goat" and the "bad goat," the high priest didn't decide, God did: the priest cast lots (Leviticus 16:7-10). He cast lots so God could decide which was the good goat, and which goat got to have all the sins piled upon it, and to be cast out to the outer darkness destruction of the wilderness. The high priest symbolized Jesus, the goats, you and I. The scapegoat offering was added because two of the sons of Aaron offered strange fire before the Lord, and were burned to death (Leviticus 10). The fact that not all the sons of Aaron were acceptable is a warning to us. Just as not all the offspring of Aaron were acceptable, not all the offspring of Jesus will be either.
What is the Father looking for? In previous blogs, we saw he wants us to depart from iniquity, not just be forgiven of it, but to have the desire and choices purged from our lives. Now, also, we see he wants fruit.
Titus 2:
11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Zealous of good works.
Peter said that if the following things were in you in abundance, they would make you that you should neither be barren, or unfruitful, and would safeguard your salvation.
Faith - This is your faith in Christ.
Virtue - This word means manliness. Valor. Excellence. I would say "boldness" or "backbone." "Man up, and stop being a whiner." Having you act together.
Knowledge - This word means the act of knowing. You need to know what you are doing, and not have a blind aimless faith. You should only get that direction from the Lord.
Temperance - This means having strong self-control. Learning to kill sin-hunger, and to obey when it is not in your personal best interest. Say "no" to yourself, your wants, your goals, your dreams.
Patience - Endurance. To stay under whatever God has for you, and not cut and run. This does not mean you should put up with abuse and say, "It must be God's will." It means, when God has led you somewhere and the going gets tough, you endure. You don't say, "It must not have been God's will after all," and quit.
Godliness - Piety. Be a worshiper. It means to be one who renders quality adoration. Obedience is a quality form of adoration, and hence the translation as "godliness".
Brotherly Kindness - this means being fond of the church family. Being integrated into the church. Finding your social identity and network in the church.
Charity. Agape. Jesus defined the greatest level of agape as "that a man shall lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Would you die for a member of your church? A stranger? Then, how about living for them? You don't have to die to lay down your life.
If you look at these, you will find they all point toward fruit-bearing. The end result of your faith in Christ from God's viewpoint is that you bear fruit. The others are all things that are going to be required of you for you to bear fruit. As Jesus said, the Father will purge every branch in him that bears fruit. When one purges a grapevine, they strip away most of the leafy trappings so that all the sap will go into the grapes.
That is what the Father does: he strips away all the personal glory we have, so that our lives will be focused on the fruit he desires. It takes virtue on our part to accept it. It takes knowledge on our part, so we won't resist it. It takes temperance and patience on our part to submit to it. It takes godliness on our part to thank him for it, and not feel bitter about it. It takes brotherly kindness and agape to let God strip us of our goals and ambitions so that he might use us in service to his church.
But in the end is reward, and eternal life. Think of that. Ten million years from now, we will still be alive, as young and as healthy as we ever were. Will we go to the stars? Will there be whole new universes populated by creatures as yet unimagined? Will I be the one creating them? I don't know. I only know, I will be there, somewhere, sin-free, and bearing fruit.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved.
4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
That is a bit more than a sound bite, but there is really no way to slim it down. I want to look at verse 10: making your calling and election sure. Making certain your salvation.
That is to say, making sure you bear fruit.
Why is bearing fruit important?
Many people come to faith in Christ, and assume they are done. "I got saved. Now I can go about my life knowing I'll go to heaven when I die." This is not a wise assumption. (Some assume they can continue to live like heathens in the house of the Lord: you don't want to be one of them.) Salvation is a lifelong process, not a one time event.
It is easy to see why people get confused: being born again is a one time event. And you are saved once you get born again. But being born again does not mean you will never forfeit your salvation. You can deny Christ. You can throw him away. You can become a twice-dead (Jude 1:12). You can become someone who has no fruit (Jude 1:12).
Jesus was more direct than Peter:
Johm 15:
1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
.... 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
But wait! one might say. Didn't Jesus say that if you came to him, he would never cast you out?
Yes, he did.
Johm 6:
37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
But Jesus isn't the Father. Jesus will not reject you. But the Father just might. And Jesus said he would if you refuse to bear fruit.
On the day of atonement, when the high priest divided between the "good goat" and the "bad goat," the high priest didn't decide, God did: the priest cast lots (Leviticus 16:7-10). He cast lots so God could decide which was the good goat, and which goat got to have all the sins piled upon it, and to be cast out to the outer darkness destruction of the wilderness. The high priest symbolized Jesus, the goats, you and I. The scapegoat offering was added because two of the sons of Aaron offered strange fire before the Lord, and were burned to death (Leviticus 10). The fact that not all the sons of Aaron were acceptable is a warning to us. Just as not all the offspring of Aaron were acceptable, not all the offspring of Jesus will be either.
What is the Father looking for? In previous blogs, we saw he wants us to depart from iniquity, not just be forgiven of it, but to have the desire and choices purged from our lives. Now, also, we see he wants fruit.
Titus 2:
11. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Zealous of good works.
Peter said that if the following things were in you in abundance, they would make you that you should neither be barren, or unfruitful, and would safeguard your salvation.
Faith - This is your faith in Christ.
Virtue - This word means manliness. Valor. Excellence. I would say "boldness" or "backbone." "Man up, and stop being a whiner." Having you act together.
Knowledge - This word means the act of knowing. You need to know what you are doing, and not have a blind aimless faith. You should only get that direction from the Lord.
Temperance - This means having strong self-control. Learning to kill sin-hunger, and to obey when it is not in your personal best interest. Say "no" to yourself, your wants, your goals, your dreams.
Patience - Endurance. To stay under whatever God has for you, and not cut and run. This does not mean you should put up with abuse and say, "It must be God's will." It means, when God has led you somewhere and the going gets tough, you endure. You don't say, "It must not have been God's will after all," and quit.
Godliness - Piety. Be a worshiper. It means to be one who renders quality adoration. Obedience is a quality form of adoration, and hence the translation as "godliness".
Brotherly Kindness - this means being fond of the church family. Being integrated into the church. Finding your social identity and network in the church.
Charity. Agape. Jesus defined the greatest level of agape as "that a man shall lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Would you die for a member of your church? A stranger? Then, how about living for them? You don't have to die to lay down your life.
If you look at these, you will find they all point toward fruit-bearing. The end result of your faith in Christ from God's viewpoint is that you bear fruit. The others are all things that are going to be required of you for you to bear fruit. As Jesus said, the Father will purge every branch in him that bears fruit. When one purges a grapevine, they strip away most of the leafy trappings so that all the sap will go into the grapes.
That is what the Father does: he strips away all the personal glory we have, so that our lives will be focused on the fruit he desires. It takes virtue on our part to accept it. It takes knowledge on our part, so we won't resist it. It takes temperance and patience on our part to submit to it. It takes godliness on our part to thank him for it, and not feel bitter about it. It takes brotherly kindness and agape to let God strip us of our goals and ambitions so that he might use us in service to his church.
But in the end is reward, and eternal life. Think of that. Ten million years from now, we will still be alive, as young and as healthy as we ever were. Will we go to the stars? Will there be whole new universes populated by creatures as yet unimagined? Will I be the one creating them? I don't know. I only know, I will be there, somewhere, sin-free, and bearing fruit.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
There Is No Condemnation...
Romans 8:
1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death Paul speaks of here is not "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Rather, it is the overriding compulsion people have to commit sin. Let's look at that in context.
Romans 7:
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
8: 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
That law of sin and death is the lust your flesh has to commit sin. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is the desire your born again spirit has to commit righteousness.
But what I want to look at is that there is no condemnation for Christians who do not walk after the flesh. So many believers today think that there is no condemnation EVEN IF they walk in the lust of the flesh. They are so wrong.
They lie, steal, commit adultery, violence, and hatred without the slightest twinge of conscience. All this, because they believe that because they are born again, sin has no consequence to them.
There is a condemnation waiting for Christians who do such things. Turning God's grace into lasciviousness leads to denying Jesus. And denying Christ leads to eternal damnation, born again, or not.
Jude 1:
4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Lasciviousness is simply unbridled lust. If you follow after lust, and the Lord deals with you about crucifying it, but you ignore him, you will eventually deny him to follow after your lust. He won't deal with you about it any more because you will no longer be his child.
Jude calls them "twice dead." That means they died spiritually, were born again, then died again.
Jude 1:
12. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Freedom from condemnation only comes when one does not walk after the lust of the flesh. God's merciful gracious salvation is not so you can indulge in sin. It is so that you can become free of it. Holy. Acceptable to God.
All of us have sin. All of us have bodies, and our bodies are the root of sin (Romans 7:18). It isn't the presence of sin that is the problem, it is what we do with it. To you resist it with your faith, crucifying it on the Cross of Christ? Or do you yield to it, obeying its every whim and fantasy?
If you can commit sin without the Holy Spirit convicting your heart, you are in a very dangerous place.
If you can speak evil of others, and not be corrected by righteousness, you need some alone time with Jesus. Really? How about your president? Or your last president? Your in-laws? Your spouse? Neighbor? Boss?
God is not interested so much in having people who can sing like angels. He has angels that do that. He desires holiness in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6, Luke 11:39).
Following after the control of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus will set you free from the control of sin and death. Following after the whims and passions of the Holy Ghost can take a little practice, but the rewards are eternal. We have spent most of our lives learning to obey the whims of the flesh. As believers, we need to learn to follow the whims of Christ's spirit within us. To follow the dictates of Christ's love within us.
When Christ's love is perfected in us, there is no condemnation, for, as John said, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death Paul speaks of here is not "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Rather, it is the overriding compulsion people have to commit sin. Let's look at that in context.
Romans 7:
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
8: 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
That law of sin and death is the lust your flesh has to commit sin. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is the desire your born again spirit has to commit righteousness.
But what I want to look at is that there is no condemnation for Christians who do not walk after the flesh. So many believers today think that there is no condemnation EVEN IF they walk in the lust of the flesh. They are so wrong.
They lie, steal, commit adultery, violence, and hatred without the slightest twinge of conscience. All this, because they believe that because they are born again, sin has no consequence to them.
There is a condemnation waiting for Christians who do such things. Turning God's grace into lasciviousness leads to denying Jesus. And denying Christ leads to eternal damnation, born again, or not.
Jude 1:
4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Lasciviousness is simply unbridled lust. If you follow after lust, and the Lord deals with you about crucifying it, but you ignore him, you will eventually deny him to follow after your lust. He won't deal with you about it any more because you will no longer be his child.
Jude calls them "twice dead." That means they died spiritually, were born again, then died again.
Jude 1:
12. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Freedom from condemnation only comes when one does not walk after the lust of the flesh. God's merciful gracious salvation is not so you can indulge in sin. It is so that you can become free of it. Holy. Acceptable to God.
All of us have sin. All of us have bodies, and our bodies are the root of sin (Romans 7:18). It isn't the presence of sin that is the problem, it is what we do with it. To you resist it with your faith, crucifying it on the Cross of Christ? Or do you yield to it, obeying its every whim and fantasy?
If you can commit sin without the Holy Spirit convicting your heart, you are in a very dangerous place.
If you can speak evil of others, and not be corrected by righteousness, you need some alone time with Jesus. Really? How about your president? Or your last president? Your in-laws? Your spouse? Neighbor? Boss?
God is not interested so much in having people who can sing like angels. He has angels that do that. He desires holiness in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6, Luke 11:39).
Following after the control of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus will set you free from the control of sin and death. Following after the whims and passions of the Holy Ghost can take a little practice, but the rewards are eternal. We have spent most of our lives learning to obey the whims of the flesh. As believers, we need to learn to follow the whims of Christ's spirit within us. To follow the dictates of Christ's love within us.
When Christ's love is perfected in us, there is no condemnation, for, as John said, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Sunday, January 25, 2009
"Goat, Goat, Goat, Sheep"
Colossians 2:
16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
When God instituted his sabbaths and holy days, he set them forth as shadows of Jesus. In other words, they were prophetic in nature. Every time Israel observed them, they were foretelling an event in Jesus' life. Jesus died on Passover, as our Passover lamb. He rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. The Holy Spirit came at the feast of Pentecost (Jesus delivered his new law written on fleshly tables of the heart on the day Moses delivered the Ten Commandments written on tables of stone.)
There are three other feasts that have not yet been fulfilled. That is because they have to do with the second coming. The first of these is the Feast of Trumpets of which no man knew the day or the hour on which the last trump would sound. There is the Feast of Atonement, then the Feast of Tabernacles. Just as the first three happened on the calendar day, so shall the last three.
Consider the Feast of Atonement. It is taken by some to have already been fulfilled, because this is the day the Levitical high priest made sacrificial atonement for the sins of Israel, and Jesus already did that for us at Passover, as delineated in the book of Hebrews. But this was not the purpose of the feast of atonement, and Jesus was not of the Levitical priesthood. The type of the feast, the shadow the feast held, was not for cleansing sin, but for afflicting ones soul (Leviticus 23:27,29). To put the focus on the right place, think not the repenting of your sin, but the repenting of yourself.
On the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month was the feast of atonement, a shadow of things to come. The fulfillment of that day -which happened eight to nine days after the last trump blew- will be the judgement seat of Christ. It will occur on that day. God graced us with a prophecy that describes this event:
Zechariah 12:
9. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; ....
14. All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
The house of David refers to the church, the inhabitants of Jerusalem refers to natural Israel (Zech 12:8). (You really need to read this entire passage to grasp the full import of it, but there is not room in this blog. Zechariah 14 reveals the what the shadow of the feast of tabernacles is about.) Jesus is head of the house of David, heir to his throne, whose house are we, the believers (Hebrews 3:6).
The description in Zechariah 12 of this day is one of personal encounter between Jesus himself, and each individual.
But Jesus himself also described this day.
Matthew 25:
31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38. When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39. Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43. I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Why do I say this is the feast of atonement? Because it is at the feast of atonement that the high priest cast lots to separate out the good goat from the bad goat.
Leviticus 16:
7. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
.... 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
The word "scapegoat" in the Hebrew just means "the goat that goes away." (They translate it "escapegoat" since the other goat gets sacrificed into the service of the Lord.)
Looking at the shadow, it is of importance to note that the High Priest did not decide which was goat was which, but rather, God did through the casting of lots. So too, shall it be at the judgement seat of Christ. You will notice that both the sheep and the goats were caught by surprise as to why they were in that category. That means, the Holy Ghost didn't know either, or he would have told them. It is the Father who will choose.
But why did Jesus use sheep and goats, but the shadow used two goats?
If a sheep and a goat had been used in the shadow, there would have been no need to cast lots. The point is, they both look alike! It was only after the priest casts his lot that he knew which was which. That is the way it is with Christians: you can't tell which are the sheep, and which are the goats. That is why Jesus will have to divide them.
So how do you know which you are? Notice that the sheep in Jesus' story didn't realize they had done it? Notice that the goats all thought they had? But the deciding factor was whether or not the people had walked in love.
1 John 4:
10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19. We love him, because he first loved us.
20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21. And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Are you a sheep, or are you a goat? Do you fear God's judgement? Then you are not yet made perfect in love. Perfect love casts out fear, because love does not commit sin against the Father: it has no need to fear.
There are many passages in 1 John that display the difference between sheep and goats, but I chose this one because it also tells you how to become a sheep if you are not one, and how to stay a sheep if you are. If your love is not made perfect, you will not have boldness on the day of judgement. You will have fear. And fear brings torment.
In verse 17, John makes a statement that you will not understand unless you understand how faith works. John was speaking to people that were already well versed in faith, and they would immediately recognize it for what it is. Those who do not understand faith will find it confusing, and assume John is talking in riddles. Let me rephrase it for you: "This is how our love is made perfect: "As Jesus is, so are we in this world."
That's right, it is a faith confession, a faith command. How is Jesus? He is dead to sin, and alive to righteousness (Romans 6:10). In verse 17, John is telling you how to walk in love. "The lust of my eye is dead. It died when Jesus died. I see what Jesus sees. The lust of my flesh is dead. I want what Jesus wants. I am not the lord of my life. I do what Jesus does." As Jesus said, "Where I am, there my servant will be also."
St John:
24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Is my interpretation of the feast of atonement correct? Is the scapegoat really the goat of Jesus' parable? It does not really matter. The day will come when Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. He himself said so. Both the sheep and the goats will call him Lord. But the goats will be cast without the camp to be destroyed. And Jesus was very clear to say that the deciding difference was whether or not we loved one another.
All believers have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts (Romans 5:5). But it is not perfected in all of them. You can use your faith to perfect that love. "As he is, so am I. The love of God is shed abroad in my heart: I obey it always. I do always do those things that please him."
Use your faith to let the love of God transform you into the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).
Then, when Jesus passes over you, he will be saying, "Sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep."
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved.
16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
When God instituted his sabbaths and holy days, he set them forth as shadows of Jesus. In other words, they were prophetic in nature. Every time Israel observed them, they were foretelling an event in Jesus' life. Jesus died on Passover, as our Passover lamb. He rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. The Holy Spirit came at the feast of Pentecost (Jesus delivered his new law written on fleshly tables of the heart on the day Moses delivered the Ten Commandments written on tables of stone.)
There are three other feasts that have not yet been fulfilled. That is because they have to do with the second coming. The first of these is the Feast of Trumpets of which no man knew the day or the hour on which the last trump would sound. There is the Feast of Atonement, then the Feast of Tabernacles. Just as the first three happened on the calendar day, so shall the last three.
Consider the Feast of Atonement. It is taken by some to have already been fulfilled, because this is the day the Levitical high priest made sacrificial atonement for the sins of Israel, and Jesus already did that for us at Passover, as delineated in the book of Hebrews. But this was not the purpose of the feast of atonement, and Jesus was not of the Levitical priesthood. The type of the feast, the shadow the feast held, was not for cleansing sin, but for afflicting ones soul (Leviticus 23:27,29). To put the focus on the right place, think not the repenting of your sin, but the repenting of yourself.
On the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month was the feast of atonement, a shadow of things to come. The fulfillment of that day -which happened eight to nine days after the last trump blew- will be the judgement seat of Christ. It will occur on that day. God graced us with a prophecy that describes this event:
Zechariah 12:
9. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; ....
14. All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
The house of David refers to the church, the inhabitants of Jerusalem refers to natural Israel (Zech 12:8). (You really need to read this entire passage to grasp the full import of it, but there is not room in this blog. Zechariah 14 reveals the what the shadow of the feast of tabernacles is about.) Jesus is head of the house of David, heir to his throne, whose house are we, the believers (Hebrews 3:6).
The description in Zechariah 12 of this day is one of personal encounter between Jesus himself, and each individual.
But Jesus himself also described this day.
Matthew 25:
31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38. When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39. Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43. I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Why do I say this is the feast of atonement? Because it is at the feast of atonement that the high priest cast lots to separate out the good goat from the bad goat.
Leviticus 16:
7. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
.... 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
The word "scapegoat" in the Hebrew just means "the goat that goes away." (They translate it "escapegoat" since the other goat gets sacrificed into the service of the Lord.)
Looking at the shadow, it is of importance to note that the High Priest did not decide which was goat was which, but rather, God did through the casting of lots. So too, shall it be at the judgement seat of Christ. You will notice that both the sheep and the goats were caught by surprise as to why they were in that category. That means, the Holy Ghost didn't know either, or he would have told them. It is the Father who will choose.
But why did Jesus use sheep and goats, but the shadow used two goats?
If a sheep and a goat had been used in the shadow, there would have been no need to cast lots. The point is, they both look alike! It was only after the priest casts his lot that he knew which was which. That is the way it is with Christians: you can't tell which are the sheep, and which are the goats. That is why Jesus will have to divide them.
So how do you know which you are? Notice that the sheep in Jesus' story didn't realize they had done it? Notice that the goats all thought they had? But the deciding factor was whether or not the people had walked in love.
1 John 4:
10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19. We love him, because he first loved us.
20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21. And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Are you a sheep, or are you a goat? Do you fear God's judgement? Then you are not yet made perfect in love. Perfect love casts out fear, because love does not commit sin against the Father: it has no need to fear.
There are many passages in 1 John that display the difference between sheep and goats, but I chose this one because it also tells you how to become a sheep if you are not one, and how to stay a sheep if you are. If your love is not made perfect, you will not have boldness on the day of judgement. You will have fear. And fear brings torment.
In verse 17, John makes a statement that you will not understand unless you understand how faith works. John was speaking to people that were already well versed in faith, and they would immediately recognize it for what it is. Those who do not understand faith will find it confusing, and assume John is talking in riddles. Let me rephrase it for you: "This is how our love is made perfect: "As Jesus is, so are we in this world."
That's right, it is a faith confession, a faith command. How is Jesus? He is dead to sin, and alive to righteousness (Romans 6:10). In verse 17, John is telling you how to walk in love. "The lust of my eye is dead. It died when Jesus died. I see what Jesus sees. The lust of my flesh is dead. I want what Jesus wants. I am not the lord of my life. I do what Jesus does." As Jesus said, "Where I am, there my servant will be also."
St John:
24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Is my interpretation of the feast of atonement correct? Is the scapegoat really the goat of Jesus' parable? It does not really matter. The day will come when Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats. He himself said so. Both the sheep and the goats will call him Lord. But the goats will be cast without the camp to be destroyed. And Jesus was very clear to say that the deciding difference was whether or not we loved one another.
All believers have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts (Romans 5:5). But it is not perfected in all of them. You can use your faith to perfect that love. "As he is, so am I. The love of God is shed abroad in my heart: I obey it always. I do always do those things that please him."
Use your faith to let the love of God transform you into the image of his Son (Romans 8:29).
Then, when Jesus passes over you, he will be saying, "Sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep."
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Secret Place
Psalm 91:
1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Did you ever have a secret place as a kid? A place nobody knew about, and that only you could find? I did. Mine was in the top of our maple tree. (I'm sure my parents would appreciate knowing this! Hey, it was only twenty feet.) On a hot summer's day, when the wind stirred the treetop... Ahh! That was the life.
A secret place is a place of shelter and safety. It is a cozy place, a place of refuge. It's very cozy living in God's secret place. But it's no secret on how to get there!
Psalm 91:
2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
That's how you get there. "The Lord is my refuge. He is my fortress. He is my God. In him do I trust."
When you dwell in a place, that place becomes your habitation. When you say of the Lord, "He is my refuge," you come to dwell within him. He becomes your spiritual house.
Psalm 91:
9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Notice, that this is something you do? It's not something God chooses? You make the Lord your habitation. How? By saying he is your refuge, your fortress, your God.
All kinds of people all over the world call upon their god. Some people wear their god around their neck. A god is a being you go to for divine intervention in your life. When you say of the Lord that He is your God, you are forsaking other gods and claiming the Lord - the Most High God - as your god.
It is because you SAY he is your God that he becomes your habitation. Because what you SAY is how you set your love upon something.
Psalm 91:
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Where does your love sit? It is easy to tell. It is what is coming out of your mouth. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
Some set their love upon their favorite sports team. Or their favorite sport. Spend a little time with them, and eventually you will hear in which house their heart dwells.
So, how do you set your love upon something, in this case, God?
James 3:
2. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Here is a mystery for you! Out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. But at the same time, what you say is where your heart goes!
So you have a choice: you can either let your heart float aimlessly about on the sea of life, or you can take control of it's rudder, and steer it where you want to go. "Life and death are in the power of the tongue: they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18:21). If you start saying, "The Lord is my God. He is my refuge," your heart will begin to correct course until your heart says, "The Lord is my God."
The Lord is my Shepherd: I never lack (Psalm 23:1).
Oddly, people sometimes tend to put their love upon things that are bad for them. I'm not talking about sins. I'm talking about circumstances. "Nothing ever works out for me. It's only going to fail. Nobody likes me. I can't find a job." Don't let your ship float aimlessly across the sea of life. Steer it into the secret place of the Most High. "The Lord is my refuge! He is my God! There shall no evil befall me, neither shall any plague come near my dwelling!"
Psalm 1:
1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The word meditate means to murmur. In other words, to say. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful. Delight in God's word. Speak it day and night. Set your love upon him.
John 14:
23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
The word "keep" above does not mean "obey" as much as it means to "watch over," to keep your eye on.
God's word was meant to be spoken as well as believed. He said so in Romans.
Romans 10:
6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, ...
8. ... The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The word is in your heart, and your mouth. One could just as easily say, "I have faith of the mouth," as they can say, "I have faith of the heart." It is also not only true that one who does not believe in the heart has no faith, but that one who does not speak with the mouth, has no faith either. You may believe it, but if you do not speak it, you have no faith. You may speak it, but if you do not believe it, you have no faith.
(The english language uses "believe" as the verb for faith. However, believing is only half of "faithing." Speaking is the other half. That can be a little confusing.)
So, if you wish to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you need to believe and speak, "The Lord is my refuge and my fortress. He is my God. In him do I trust. Surely he shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. Only with my eyes shall I behold and see the reward of the wicked."
Incidently, when I bought my first house, I made sure to climb the tree. Alas! The branches big enough to support my weight did not sway in the breeze. But that is okay, because I have found a new secret place.
1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Did you ever have a secret place as a kid? A place nobody knew about, and that only you could find? I did. Mine was in the top of our maple tree. (I'm sure my parents would appreciate knowing this! Hey, it was only twenty feet.) On a hot summer's day, when the wind stirred the treetop... Ahh! That was the life.
A secret place is a place of shelter and safety. It is a cozy place, a place of refuge. It's very cozy living in God's secret place. But it's no secret on how to get there!
Psalm 91:
2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
That's how you get there. "The Lord is my refuge. He is my fortress. He is my God. In him do I trust."
When you dwell in a place, that place becomes your habitation. When you say of the Lord, "He is my refuge," you come to dwell within him. He becomes your spiritual house.
Psalm 91:
9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Notice, that this is something you do? It's not something God chooses? You make the Lord your habitation. How? By saying he is your refuge, your fortress, your God.
All kinds of people all over the world call upon their god. Some people wear their god around their neck. A god is a being you go to for divine intervention in your life. When you say of the Lord that He is your God, you are forsaking other gods and claiming the Lord - the Most High God - as your god.
It is because you SAY he is your God that he becomes your habitation. Because what you SAY is how you set your love upon something.
Psalm 91:
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Where does your love sit? It is easy to tell. It is what is coming out of your mouth. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
Some set their love upon their favorite sports team. Or their favorite sport. Spend a little time with them, and eventually you will hear in which house their heart dwells.
So, how do you set your love upon something, in this case, God?
James 3:
2. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Here is a mystery for you! Out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks. But at the same time, what you say is where your heart goes!
So you have a choice: you can either let your heart float aimlessly about on the sea of life, or you can take control of it's rudder, and steer it where you want to go. "Life and death are in the power of the tongue: they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18:21). If you start saying, "The Lord is my God. He is my refuge," your heart will begin to correct course until your heart says, "The Lord is my God."
The Lord is my Shepherd: I never lack (Psalm 23:1).
Oddly, people sometimes tend to put their love upon things that are bad for them. I'm not talking about sins. I'm talking about circumstances. "Nothing ever works out for me. It's only going to fail. Nobody likes me. I can't find a job." Don't let your ship float aimlessly across the sea of life. Steer it into the secret place of the Most High. "The Lord is my refuge! He is my God! There shall no evil befall me, neither shall any plague come near my dwelling!"
Psalm 1:
1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The word meditate means to murmur. In other words, to say. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful. Delight in God's word. Speak it day and night. Set your love upon him.
John 14:
23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
The word "keep" above does not mean "obey" as much as it means to "watch over," to keep your eye on.
God's word was meant to be spoken as well as believed. He said so in Romans.
Romans 10:
6. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, ...
8. ... The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The word is in your heart, and your mouth. One could just as easily say, "I have faith of the mouth," as they can say, "I have faith of the heart." It is also not only true that one who does not believe in the heart has no faith, but that one who does not speak with the mouth, has no faith either. You may believe it, but if you do not speak it, you have no faith. You may speak it, but if you do not believe it, you have no faith.
(The english language uses "believe" as the verb for faith. However, believing is only half of "faithing." Speaking is the other half. That can be a little confusing.)
So, if you wish to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you need to believe and speak, "The Lord is my refuge and my fortress. He is my God. In him do I trust. Surely he shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. Only with my eyes shall I behold and see the reward of the wicked."
Incidently, when I bought my first house, I made sure to climb the tree. Alas! The branches big enough to support my weight did not sway in the breeze. But that is okay, because I have found a new secret place.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Jesus didn't die for you...
...he died with you.
That means, you also have to die. You have to die to sin. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life - they have to go.
Many people are of the impression that Jesus died instead of them. But if you want salvation, you also have to die. You also need to be obedient to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
1 Peter 2:
24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
You see, when Jesus died bearing our sin, we also died to our sin.
Romans 6:
1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
When a person comes to Christ, they are born again. In verse 6 above, Paul says that our old man, our old spirit, is crucified with Jesus. He dies, and is resurrected as a new spirit with the character and nature of God. God reaches back through time, and nails our spirit to Jesus' Cross. When Jesus dies, our spirit dies. When Jesus is raised from the dead, our spirit comes back to life. All this happens in the twinkle of an eye, just like the rapture.
And when the rapture happens our body will be "born again," as well. It will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (I Corinthians 15:34-58).
In the mean time, our flesh is still hungers for sin. Now is when we must become obedient to the death of the cross, just as Jesus did.
Do we say, "Oh, thank God Jesus saved me," then go live a life enjoying the sins of the flesh? Or do we take advantage of the opportunity to put to death the misdeeds of the body? Which do you think is what God expects (Romans 12:1)?
Romans 8:
8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
If you live after your sin dead flesh, you shall die. But if you put to death the misdeeds of the body through the Spirit, you shall live.
But how do you do that? How do you slay the lusts of the flesh? How do you use the Spirit?
It is by the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:5). It is easy to hear it: simply speak it.
Ephesians 4:
17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20. But ye have not so learned Christ;
21. If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
You need to put away the lusts of your flesh. You need to sever them from your heart. By speaking God's truth. "The lust of my eye is dead. It died when Jesus died. He himself bore the lust of my eye in his own body on that tree, and it died when Jesus died. It is dead. It has no life in it. It has no strength in it. It has no power in it. It cannot move. Now, I see what Jesus sees."
(Do you see how to make a faith confession? The above uses 1 Peter 2:24.)
Notice in this passage in Ephesians, that those who are in the world live in an ego-driven fantasy world, because their hearts are blind? Notice that they can no longer feel after God with their heart? (Acts 17:27.) Their hearts can no longer bring them understanding?
But being blind and unfeeling in the heart is not how Jesus teaches you. If your heart sees, and your heart feels, Jesus himself will teach you to get rid of the deceitful lusts of your flesh, to mortify them, to put them to death. As Jesus said, he stands at the door of your heart knocking. If you open up to him, he will show you what you must do. He will reveal to you what it is you are doing that you need to repent of. And he will give you the power to overcome.
Revelation 3:
19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Jesus overcame the cross. We also need to overcome the cross. Now that we are born again, our spirit, too, is willing, but our flesh weak (Matthew 26:36-44). We must become obedient to the death of the cross. Jesus is here to help us and to teach us. He is here to die with us.
Luke 9:
23. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
We all have a daily choice to life for ourselves, to follow after our flesh, and to indulge our sinful passions, or, to live for Jesus, to follow after his heart's desire, and to use our faith to put to death the sinful lusts of our flesh. If we seek to save alive our sinful passions, we will lose our life to eternity. But if we daily present our body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and are obedient to the death of the cross, we will live for an eternity. The sun will die, the stars will cease to exist, but we shall still be.
And Jesus will live with us, not instead of us.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
That means, you also have to die. You have to die to sin. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life - they have to go.
Many people are of the impression that Jesus died instead of them. But if you want salvation, you also have to die. You also need to be obedient to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
1 Peter 2:
24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
You see, when Jesus died bearing our sin, we also died to our sin.
Romans 6:
1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
When a person comes to Christ, they are born again. In verse 6 above, Paul says that our old man, our old spirit, is crucified with Jesus. He dies, and is resurrected as a new spirit with the character and nature of God. God reaches back through time, and nails our spirit to Jesus' Cross. When Jesus dies, our spirit dies. When Jesus is raised from the dead, our spirit comes back to life. All this happens in the twinkle of an eye, just like the rapture.
And when the rapture happens our body will be "born again," as well. It will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (I Corinthians 15:34-58).
In the mean time, our flesh is still hungers for sin. Now is when we must become obedient to the death of the cross, just as Jesus did.
Do we say, "Oh, thank God Jesus saved me," then go live a life enjoying the sins of the flesh? Or do we take advantage of the opportunity to put to death the misdeeds of the body? Which do you think is what God expects (Romans 12:1)?
Romans 8:
8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
If you live after your sin dead flesh, you shall die. But if you put to death the misdeeds of the body through the Spirit, you shall live.
But how do you do that? How do you slay the lusts of the flesh? How do you use the Spirit?
It is by the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:5). It is easy to hear it: simply speak it.
Ephesians 4:
17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20. But ye have not so learned Christ;
21. If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
You need to put away the lusts of your flesh. You need to sever them from your heart. By speaking God's truth. "The lust of my eye is dead. It died when Jesus died. He himself bore the lust of my eye in his own body on that tree, and it died when Jesus died. It is dead. It has no life in it. It has no strength in it. It has no power in it. It cannot move. Now, I see what Jesus sees."
(Do you see how to make a faith confession? The above uses 1 Peter 2:24.)
Notice in this passage in Ephesians, that those who are in the world live in an ego-driven fantasy world, because their hearts are blind? Notice that they can no longer feel after God with their heart? (Acts 17:27.) Their hearts can no longer bring them understanding?
But being blind and unfeeling in the heart is not how Jesus teaches you. If your heart sees, and your heart feels, Jesus himself will teach you to get rid of the deceitful lusts of your flesh, to mortify them, to put them to death. As Jesus said, he stands at the door of your heart knocking. If you open up to him, he will show you what you must do. He will reveal to you what it is you are doing that you need to repent of. And he will give you the power to overcome.
Revelation 3:
19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Jesus overcame the cross. We also need to overcome the cross. Now that we are born again, our spirit, too, is willing, but our flesh weak (Matthew 26:36-44). We must become obedient to the death of the cross. Jesus is here to help us and to teach us. He is here to die with us.
Luke 9:
23. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
We all have a daily choice to life for ourselves, to follow after our flesh, and to indulge our sinful passions, or, to live for Jesus, to follow after his heart's desire, and to use our faith to put to death the sinful lusts of our flesh. If we seek to save alive our sinful passions, we will lose our life to eternity. But if we daily present our body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and are obedient to the death of the cross, we will live for an eternity. The sun will die, the stars will cease to exist, but we shall still be.
And Jesus will live with us, not instead of us.
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Born Again, Left Behind
Many people believe that once they are born again, that is all that is necessary to make it to heaven. And it is true that once you are born again, your are part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
John 3:
3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
And again, as Paul says:
Colossians 1:
13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
So it is through the new birth that one enters into the Kingdom of Heaven. But being born again is no guarantee you will make it in the rapture. Let us look at the parable of the tares. (Tares are darnel, a weed called "false wheat" because it looks exactly like wheat, but has no fruit. At harvest, it's sheaf of seeds stands tall because its seeds are small and bitter, while true wheat bows its head because it is weighed down by the heavy seeds it holds.)
Matthew 13:
24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
... 36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The angels will gather all who do iniquity out of Jesus' kingdom, and will burn them in fire. By being born again, you have been given a great priceless gift. But if you squander that gift, and live a life of iniquity, you will be worse off than those who never knew the Lord. Peter speaks of this. (In the interest of space, I have dropped portions, ..., in order to focus on my main point. I recommend you read the entire passage from the Bible.)
2 Peter 2:
1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, ....
2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways....
... 4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6. And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
... 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government....
... 14. Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, ...
...20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
It is a dangerous thing to make a mockery of the Blood of Jesus. He gave his blood and his flesh to deliver you from sin. To abuse this great gift by pursuing a life of sin- it would be better to have never known the Lord in the first place.
But how does one turn from sin? It is very good that we can repent and ask forgiveness, but how does one stop sinning?
There is one answer Jesus gave for this. There is not room in this post to go over it in detail, but I will simply say this: You curse the tree of sin just as Jesus cursed the fig tree: Using faith. (Mark 11:13-14, 20-26.) Then the tree of sin will die from the root: the lust for that sin will die. When your faith grows up, it will kill the lust that drives the sin. It will cease to exist in your heart.
But how do you do this? You can use the same prayer Jesus used. When he found the fig tree had no fruit because it wasn't time yet, he said, "No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever." (The best time to kill a tree of sin is before it has borne any fruit!) Peter marveled when they went by the tree again the next day that it was dried up from the roots. Jesus told him, "Have faith in God," and proceeded to teach them how to use faith. You can use that same prayer, and that same faith.
You can say to the lust that fuels your sin, "No man eat fruit of you henceforth, forever! You are dead, in Jesus name!" And if you stand on this faith - believe it and speak it - until it grows up and bears fruit, your sin-hunger will die just like the fig tree did.
Does this mean you will stop sinning immediately? No, probably not. Faith takes time to grow. Even with Jesus, whose faith was mature, it took some time for the fig tree to die. So when your sin puts up a fight, you just repent, ask God to forgive you, and speak and believe all the harder that your lust is dead. That it died when Jesus died (Romans 6).
That way, when the rapture happens, you won't be born again but left behind.
When the Judge of the Rapture looks at the throne of your heart, will he find Jesus sitting there, or will he find iniquity sitting there?
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
John 3:
3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
And again, as Paul says:
Colossians 1:
13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
So it is through the new birth that one enters into the Kingdom of Heaven. But being born again is no guarantee you will make it in the rapture. Let us look at the parable of the tares. (Tares are darnel, a weed called "false wheat" because it looks exactly like wheat, but has no fruit. At harvest, it's sheaf of seeds stands tall because its seeds are small and bitter, while true wheat bows its head because it is weighed down by the heavy seeds it holds.)
Matthew 13:
24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
... 36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The angels will gather all who do iniquity out of Jesus' kingdom, and will burn them in fire. By being born again, you have been given a great priceless gift. But if you squander that gift, and live a life of iniquity, you will be worse off than those who never knew the Lord. Peter speaks of this. (In the interest of space, I have dropped portions, ..., in order to focus on my main point. I recommend you read the entire passage from the Bible.)
2 Peter 2:
1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, ....
2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways....
... 4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6. And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
... 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government....
... 14. Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, ...
...20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
It is a dangerous thing to make a mockery of the Blood of Jesus. He gave his blood and his flesh to deliver you from sin. To abuse this great gift by pursuing a life of sin- it would be better to have never known the Lord in the first place.
But how does one turn from sin? It is very good that we can repent and ask forgiveness, but how does one stop sinning?
There is one answer Jesus gave for this. There is not room in this post to go over it in detail, but I will simply say this: You curse the tree of sin just as Jesus cursed the fig tree: Using faith. (Mark 11:13-14, 20-26.) Then the tree of sin will die from the root: the lust for that sin will die. When your faith grows up, it will kill the lust that drives the sin. It will cease to exist in your heart.
But how do you do this? You can use the same prayer Jesus used. When he found the fig tree had no fruit because it wasn't time yet, he said, "No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever." (The best time to kill a tree of sin is before it has borne any fruit!) Peter marveled when they went by the tree again the next day that it was dried up from the roots. Jesus told him, "Have faith in God," and proceeded to teach them how to use faith. You can use that same prayer, and that same faith.
You can say to the lust that fuels your sin, "No man eat fruit of you henceforth, forever! You are dead, in Jesus name!" And if you stand on this faith - believe it and speak it - until it grows up and bears fruit, your sin-hunger will die just like the fig tree did.
Does this mean you will stop sinning immediately? No, probably not. Faith takes time to grow. Even with Jesus, whose faith was mature, it took some time for the fig tree to die. So when your sin puts up a fight, you just repent, ask God to forgive you, and speak and believe all the harder that your lust is dead. That it died when Jesus died (Romans 6).
That way, when the rapture happens, you won't be born again but left behind.
When the Judge of the Rapture looks at the throne of your heart, will he find Jesus sitting there, or will he find iniquity sitting there?
Copyright © 2009 Burley Ward. All rights reserved
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