The God of Hope

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

The news of what is happening around the world seems to be getting progressively worse. Compounding the darkness are the memories we deal with that are associated with the acts of evil or natural disasters. If we aren’t careful we can nosedive into a downward spiral of darkness that will leave us crashed and burned. Can we pull up out of such hell bent plunge? Yes; God reaches down and offers us a strong right hand to save us from our fears.

Isaiah 41:10 states “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” There are a myriad testimonies of those through the ages who have been lifted and sustained by the righteous right hand of their God. Be encouraged; God knows your circumstances; God has your back; and God will bring you home.

But how does God lift us, sustain us, give us hope? In Romans 15:4 He tells us, “that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (15:4b). God has give us a tangible tool to direct us in hopeful paths and buoy us through hard times - His Holy Word. God’s word reveals the nature of God and gives us hope because we learn God is not against us but for us (Romans 8:30-31). This is a key ingredient in being prepared for whatever this world throws at us. God’s hope revealed in His word helps us face present and future difficulties with confidence as we trust in Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit

The God of the Bible is the “God of hope.” In Paul’s benediction to the church in Rome he writes, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Here’s a verse we need for our day. This verse points us toward a victorious journey. This verse is the right door to pick. This is the verse that points us to the Author of the hope we are thirsty for; the hope that we need. This verse points us to the God of hope. It is in the God of hope that we have a future with the hopeful prospect of Christ’s return. God reveals Himself in nature, in His word, He reveals Himself to humankind by various names. But one of the greatest ways God has revealed Himself to us is as “the God of Hope.”

The word “hope” (Greek elpis) means to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation; confidence; faith, hope.” Hope is the gift of God to be able to look forward with anticipation of good.

Hope produces “joy” (Greek chara) a delightful gladness in God; a calm delight. Joy is a settled assurance that God is in control and because he is in control everything will turn out well in the end. Joy is not merely happiness. Joy exceeds happiness in that happiness depends on happenings, or circumstances in life. Paul is inspired to use the superlative “all” when he says, “all joy.” God doesn’t just fill us with a little bit of joy, but He fills us up to overflowing with “all joy.” And we should therefore look for God’s joy in Jesus when we go through trials (cf. James 1:2ff.).

 “Joy” is a word closely connected to the “grace” (Greek charis) of God. Grace is God giving to us something we don’t deserve. God has sent His only Son Jesus to us in love and grace. Jesus is the epitome of hope and joy. When he died on the cross all hope seemed lost. When he rose from the dead it showed there’s always hope with God. When He died on the cross people seemed emptied of joy. When He rose from the dead there was fullness of joy. Hope and joy depend on Jesus.

Hope and joy lead to peace. When we look to the future with anticipation of God’s good, it enables us to weather any present storm in His “peace.” “Peace” is translated from the Greek term eirene meaning “peace; prosperity; feeling one or together; quiet; rest; brought together again. God’s peace is like the feeling we get when a loved one returns or when two that have been separated come back together. It’s of feeling of thanks, security, good conclusion; faith fulfilled. We have peace in Jesus who brings us back to God. Through faith in Jesus we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). When we turn all our troubles over to Jesus in prayer we can have the peace of God in anxious times (Phil. 4:6-7).

Hope is faith for the future. Hope is a product of faith. Hope is faith progressing and persevering. Hope is the fruit of faith in God. The key to God’s hope, joy and peace is unlocked with the words, “in believing.” When we put our faith in God, in Jesus, the God of hope will fill us up with hope, joy and peace to weather the storms of life. The closer you get to God in Christ the more hope, peace and joy you will have in life.

The Bible connects hope to our faith relationship with God over and over again. It states, “For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God” (Psalm 38:15). The Bible states, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. . . . 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:5 and 11). Faith is trusting God in the present. Hope is trusting God for the future. That is what God wants to give you. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Hope is a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The hope of God is not something we can work up within ourselves. The hope of God is something we can only receive by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul concludes this verse on hope, joy, peace and faith with the words, “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope, joy, peace and faith are the products of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer. It is the Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:15-16). And if we are His children, God will look after us to care for us (Luke 11:13). It is the Spirit who helps our weakness (Romans 8:26). It is the Spirit who assures us in times when we are too weak to handle the trials and circumstances of life. Hope is something the Holy Spirit works in us. The Holy Spirit is our Source of hope. The hope of the Spirit prepares us and empowers us to carry on.

Hope is an essential of life. Even the secular world realizes the importance of hope. Years ago the Duke University psychology department did an interesting experiment. The objective was to study SURVIVAL. The results showed the importance of hope. The experiment involved taking Norwegian wharf rats and dividing them into two groups. (Warning: PETA or The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals probably wouldn’t approve of this today.) The first group of rats was put in a large container of water. A spray of water was hooked up on top of the container to drench the swimming rats. The rats were taken one by one and placed into the container of water. THERE WAS NO POSSIBILITY OF ESCAPE FOR THIS FIRST GROUP OF RATS. The rats placed in this HOPELESS situation were able to swim for 17 minutes before they drowned.

 

The second group of rats was also placed in the large container of water with the spray except this time at about the 15-16 minute mark; (just before the rats exhausted their strength) the rats were RESCUED. This process was repeated to see the effect of the rescue on the rats in the second group. What they found was that THOSE RATS WHO WERE GIVEN HOPE OF RESCUE WERE ABLE TO SURVIVE 36 HOURS!

 

What does this study show? It’s an example of the importance of hope. If rats need hope don’t you think humans do? Hope is essential to survival and perseverance. Without hope there is no reason to go on. Without hope one is likely to just give up and die. But with hope there is every reason to go on in life. There is no greater hope than the hope God provides. With god there is hope no matter the obstacle. With God there is always hope; there is always the possibility of overcoming.

You can’t live without hope. The world is filled with people who are enslaved to their anxieties and worries. There are many in this world that live little better than rats in water that have no hope. They often address their worries and uncertainties with drugs of one kind or another obtained legally or illegally. And sometimes people lose hope to the degree that they end their own lives.

A 2013 article in the Health section of the New York Times noted that, “More people now die of suicide than of car accidents, . . . . From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose nearly 30 percent, . . . .”[1] The recent suicide of Robin Williams is a vivid life photo of the rise in suicide. And what is worse, suicide is rising among the young. “According to 2010 statistics reported by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: For middle and high school age youth (ages 12-18), suicide is the second-leading cause of death. For college-age youth (ages 18-22), suicide is the third-leading cause of death. Overall, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for our youth ages 10-24.”[2] If hope is what we need to press on through life and God is the One who is the Source of such hope, and His word is His prime instrument of such hope, then such increased acts of hopelessness shouldn’t surprise us. We have for decades been systematically removing any trace of God and His word from our schools and society. There is a better way. There can be hope.

God wants you to hope in Him. When we hope in Him we won’t give out. When we hope in God we’ll be ready and unashamed to minister the gospel and be filled with His joy and peace in the circumstances of life, no matter how hopeless they look. Hope is only as strong as what it is based on. When you hope in God all things become possible to those who trust in Him (Mark 9:23). There is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). There is power because the gospel offers us hope. That is God’s desire for you.

Jesus is our model of hope. We find our hope when we look to Jesus. In Hebrews it states: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls”   (Hebrews 12:1-3). Look to Jesus for your hope. Jesus went to the cross and did so with joy! How could He have done that?

Jesus had joy in going to the cross (a settled satisfaction he was in the center of God’s will). Jesus knew the cross was the crux of redemption for humanity. That’s hope! Jesus had a steadfast hope that even though the cross would be the hardest thing He ever did, in the end, it would accomplish the redemptive plans of His Father. He had a hope that rested in the Father’s plan. He had a hope that rested in the faithfulness of the Father. And that hope bolstered Him and encouraged Him through the depths of darkness of His atoning work as expressed in His words, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Ever feel like that? Jesus understands. Look to Jesus and he will give you hope to get through.

But there is a “weight, and . . . sin which so easily ensnares us.” What is that weight? What is that snare? It’s us! It’s our self-centered focus. If we see the world and everything else revolving around us, we will not only have a distorted view of reality, we will have no hope. If we want a sustaining hope from the God of hope then we have to look away from “me” and look up to “Thee.” We have to look to Jesus. Jesus is the light that shows us the way through the darkness. For those sinking in a smothering quicksand of bad news in the world, Jesus reaches down to lend us a righteous right hand. Look to Him. Take hold of His hand. And if you can’t see in the darkness, He will shine the light of His word to show you the way. Hope in the God of hope. He will get you through.

 

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[1] Tara Parker-Pope, Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in the U.S. New York Times 5/2/2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/health/suicide-rate-rises-sharply-in-us.html?_r=0

[2] Gary Herron, Teen Suicide Rate increasing,  Rio Rancho Observer http://www.rrobserver.com/news/local/article_60eddcca-4332-11e3-af4d-0019bb2963f4.html

Do you Remember?

 

“Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven.”  - Lamentations 3:40-41

 

Do you remember why September 11^th is a special time of remembrance? Is it branded into your heart and soul? It is for me. Do you remember how on a crystal clear Tuesday morning at 8:45 am an American Airlines Boeing 767 with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel and a full load of passengers went crashing into the north tower of the World Trade Center? Do you remember how at 9:03 am the South Tower was hit by another 767 with similar payload and passengers? I remember that day. I remember watching in horror. I had just dropped my children off to school. I returned to my home and stepped into the house and my wife immediately informed me that a plane had apparently hit the south tower. I watched in prayer. And then my jaw dropped as another plane hit the south tower. This was no accident. This was a terror attack. It was a merciless, vile, evil attack. I watched and prayed and then as the towers eventually collapses I fell to my knees in brokenness and sorrow as the reality of the deaths of the souls inside those towers struck home. Do you remember the fire, the smoke, the carnage, the atrocity? Do you remember the victims? Do you remember the heroes? Do you remember the hurt and pain and sorrow we all felt?(well at least most of us felt). I do. I to this day it’s difficult for me to watch documentaries on those events; just too painful.

 

Do you remember that shortly after the terror attacks of September 11^th, 2001, U.S. House Joint Resolution 71 was passed by a vote of 407 to 0 on October 25^th 2001. This resolution was an almost unprecedented show of unity and requested that the President designate September 11^th of each year as Patriot’s Day. President Bush signed this resolution in to law on December 18^th, 2001. The day had been initially referred to as The National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks. Today our nation and its representatives are more divided than ever. We haven’t learned much from 9/11.

 

Our politicians are so concerned with being politically correct they won’t even utter the words “Islamic Fundamentalists.” Their concern for offending is still greater than their concern for truth. We have extricated ourselves from Iraq for the most part. However we find ourselves still embroiled in Afghanistan and there is a strong sense that the war on terror is getting worse not better. There are more decapitations than ever before and more vividly depicted in the global media thanks to ISIS. Extremist Islamic terrorists are making more not less inroads into European nations and elsewhere in the world; even toward our southern borders. It doesn’t seem to be in the news as much, but let me ask you, do you think Iran is closer or further away from attaining a nuclear weapon? No doubt any day now we will get the news that Iran has weapon grade material to manufacture nuclear weapons. When that day comes, will you feel more or less safe? Do you think we’re winning or losing? Those are rhetorical questions.

 

The United States continues to be blamed for all the world’s problems. Even the first African American President with all his charisma has not changed that.  The Benghazi debacle has led to  greater frustration with our government. We are almost resolved to accepting the fact that our government officials just don’t’ get it. We seem to have little to no answers for the proliferation of terrorists and their ever more brazen tactics. It’s not getting better. It’s getting worse. And our enemies see our weakness. For them its carte blanche until a person of steely grit steps up who will not speak with mere people pleasing charisma but with providentially provided courage. One problem; we don’t know if there is such a person in our nation.

 

Walk a bit further down memory lane with me. Remember how after the attacks of 9/11 the churches throughout the country were packed? That lasted for about a week. Now not only are people back to their normal empty state, but we see a rise in atheistic activism. There is gridlock in the government except when it comes to passing legislation that supports immoral lifestyles. Our nations’ legislation is licentious; it gives license to sin. We promote immoral relationships and protect them as though they were genuinely issues of human rights. People fawn over those they should be embarrassed about. We are a nation that calls good evil and evil good. The nation that does that can expect captivity just as much as the first nation to run that route were taken captive (cf. Isaiah 5:20). We are a nation headed for prison.

 

But all is not lost. With God there is always hope. God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3-4). He is the God of hope (Romans 15:13). It admittedly doesn’t look good. The sun may be setting on this nation. But we serve a God who is able to turn back the sundial. Cling to that. Petition the Lord for more time (cf. 2 Kings 20:1-11).

 

The Christian can glean good from tragic times by taking a Biblical perspective. The events we see unfolding before us are a part of historical maneuvering into position of God’s prophetic plan. One day the entire world will come to bow before Jesus and understand truly that No Jesus; No Peace – Know Jesus Know Peace. For many that awareness will come too late. Sinners who persist in rebelling against God and His word will come to know Jesus as Lord much the same as the demons do. Rebel sinners as well as demons will meet God as the Judge who will enforce their eternal damnable destiny (James 2:19). I pray the one persisting in perversity, the one rejecting God rebelliously, and even those who go so far as to deny His very existence, I pray they heed God’s gracious gospel offer so they can be saved from such a fate.

 

In the years since September 11^th, 2001 there has been a lot of reflection. The world is becoming more and more convinced that 9/11 was an orchestrated government conspiracy. More and more people believe the devastation and pain was the price politicians and prominent backroom people were willing to pay to maneuver into places of power and enrich their accounts. If it were possible, I don’t think any scenario is beyond the grasp of the sinful nature of humanity. I just don’t know if humanity is able to orchestrate such a conspiracy like that on their own.  Maybe we just can’t accept that immensity of the tragedy. Who thought those gigantic towers would come down; even if jets hit them? Maybe all the explanations and conspiracies is an effort to sooth our mind and heart. Bottom line? No matter what happened, at the very least 9/11 was a demonically inspired and influenced act. Satan’s fingerprints and the fingerprints of his hoards are all over that crime scene. We should all be able to agree with that.

 

I remember sitting down and prayerfully asking the Lord to help me make sense of it all. Lord, give me a message to send out that will help the people who are hurting so badly. Lord give me a word; help me to apply Your word to this terrible event. The Lord did give me a teaching to send out. And I’d like to share some of what the Lord gave me and how we can make sense or live through tragedy. Certainly there have been natural as well as unnatural tragedies since 9/11/2001. And there are likely are more tragedies in our future. It would be hard to find someone who disagrees with that. What understanding and comfort can we drink from God’s word? Maybe you have some questions about tragedy. I pray you’ll find some answers in what follows.

 

First, God Allows Tragedies to Happen – But He Is Still In Control. We might be tempted to think that life is out of control when such tragedies hit us or near us. But this is not true. God is in control. But if God is in control, wouldn’t He have stopped such a tragedy and loss of life? We might find this difficult to accept, but God allowed the attack and tragedy that happened at the World Trade Center. In His word God reveals, “I make peace and create calamity” (Isaiah 45:5-7). That’s the truth. God is sovereign even in times of tragedy. He is BIG enough to field all our questions and entertain all our doubts. He’s God. We may disagree with God’s permissive will. We may not understand why what happens does happen. But God remains on the throne. Even Satan was not allowed to bring trials into Job’s life until he has secured permission from God (Job 1-2). What happens, happens because God allows it to happen. But why would God allow tragedy? The answer to that question is multifaceted.

 

Second, God Hates Tragedy and Calamity. The Bible tells us that though God allows tragedy to happen, He hates it: “For the Lord will not cast off forever.32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:31-33). God takes no pleasure in allowing tragedy to occur. He is not a sadist or tyrant who has a lust for power and indiscriminately shows it. God is not capricious either. God loves us; even when and if He allows tragedy to enter our lives. He has purpose in that which He does and in what He allows to happen. If this is so, then it leads us to a greater question, why does God allow such tragedies?

 

Third, God Allows Tragedy to Get Our Attention; To Get Us to Search Our Ways. Sometimes a people or person becomes so hardened toward God that they need to be shaken to be awakened from their spiritual sleep. The psalmist tells us that God does orchestrate hardship at times with an aim to bring us to Himself: “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.11 You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs.12 You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.”  (Psalm 66:10-12; See also James 1:2f.) God tested Israel with affliction and hardship, but His aim in doing so was, to bring them out to rich fulfillment. That is God’s aim and purpose and He will do whatever it takes to bring us to that point. As hard as it might be in this life to recognize that there is something more than this, something eternal, we must look to God to understand this. God’s priorities are eternal. Ours are too often finite. God’s ultimate purpose for us is to spend eternity with Him and conform us to the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). But to become like Jesus is so often way down on our list of priorities, (if it is on our list or in our hearts and minds at all).

 

God uses trials to get our attention. We see an example of this on a national scale in the history of Israel. The book of Lamentations is a funeral-like dirge inspired by God through the prophet Jeremiah. In chapter one of Lamentations God through Jeremiah points out that her captivity and affliction is the result of her persistent sinfulness:

• Lamentations 1:5, 8, 9 – “Her adversaries have become the master, Her enemies prosper; For the Lord has afflicted her Because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. . . 8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away. . . .9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!”  

While tragedy is not always the result of sin, it always serves to wake people up.  Job wasn’t afflicted because he sinned. There was a greater scenario working itself out behind the scenes. But in the case of America, we are a nation that is not only asleep spiritually, but defiantly seek to eliminate God from our schools and every walk of life. We like to think that this nation is great because of democracy. That is false. This nation is great because of those in her history who relied on God who is faithful. We have lost our bearings and foundation in God. We need to be awakened to that fact. We are immoral and lascivious. In the name of tolerance lifestyles aberrant to God are not only allowed but promoted, and that to our youth! (Romans 1:18-32). We are a people who are selfish and self-absorbed. We major in the minors of sports and leisure, and we minor in the majors of truth, justice and the salvation of souls. And tragically, the church has become secularized. Where is holiness? Where is the Spirit in and through us? Where is the Spirit of Christ in us? We need to break up the fallow or hard ground of our hearts (Jeremiah 4). The truth of the matter is that, there are no good people. All fall short of the glory of God and we need to repent and turn to Him. He is willing to heal us and heal our land, but we need to turn to Him and give Him our hearts (Romans 10:9-10). We are not called by God to speak watered down truth, but to speak all the truth and speak it in love (Ephesians 4:15).

 

The aim of God in allowing tragedy is to get us to search out our ways and return to Him. In Lamentations it states: “Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord;41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven.”  (Lamentations 3:40-41). This is the greatest aim and lesson of tragedy, to turn to God in the midst of them.

 

Fourth, God Allows Tragedy to Cause Us to Call Out To Him and Repent of Our Sin. Jeremiah goes on to say:

 

• Lamentations 3:55-58 – “I called on Your name, O Lord, From the lowest pit.56 You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.”57 You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, “Do not fear!”58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life.” 

As we turn to God we find a loving God of hope willing and waiting to heal us and have us personally relate to Him in an eternal relationship of love. Jeremiah was inspired to write of this by saying:

 

• Lamentations 3:21-26 – “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.” 

In the New Testament Jesus speaks of a tragedy similar to that of the World Trade Center collapse. He says the important thing is not whether or not the tragedy happened because of the sin of the victims. The important thing is for us to wake up and take accounts. Those who survive need to repent and turn to Him:

 

• Luke 13:1-5 – “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?3 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.4 “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?5 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”  

Jesus does not concern Himself with assessing blame. Jesus focuses on the fragility of life and the need to repent and get right with God, NOW! We are not guaranteed our next breath. Those who went to work at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11^th , or who started one of the many days since that day not knowing that some other tragedy would occur, had no idea of what the day would hold for them. Life is fragile; it’s a vapor, a gift from God. We know not our days, only God does. Sudden tragedy causes us to come face to face with the reality of the fragility of life. We need to understand that we need to get right with God, NOW!

 

Fifth, God Allows Tragedy To Show Us We Need To Be Right With Him, NOW! The people of these United States of America live as though there is no God. And we in the church have shown a tendency to procrastinate in and neglect our walk with God. Ask yourself a question, and answer it truthfully, when are you more inclined to pray, in hard times or easy times, in good times or bad times? When do you feel compelled to pray, when the skies are blue, or when they are black with the smoke of a terrorist attack? When tragedy strikes it shakes us up from our lethargy and drops us to our knees before God. It is sad that that is what it takes to get us on our knees, but if that are what it takes, God will allow it.

 

Read some of the following verse which talk to us about our need to be ready and eight before God, now:

 

• Matthew 7:24-27 - “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:25 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:27 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” 

“Ánd great was its fall.” The fall of the Twin Towers in New York City pale in comparison to the crash this country will suffer at the hands of her enemies unless we repent. God is giving us a wake up call. The wake up calls of God have been getting steadily more severe. We have progressed very rapidly from the loss of a few students in a number of horrible school shootings to the loss of thousands in an all out terror attack. If we don’t’ respond now and repent, what will happen next. Will a city be lost, a county, a state, a region? Will terror planes turn into terror chemical warfare, or nuclear terror? What is it going to take to wake up this nation? You may say, “Wait a minute, those verses were written thousands of years ago, they don’t apply to me.” But the Bible says things would get “worse and worse” (1 Timothy 3:13). The world is not going to get better, but worse, (until Jesus returns).

 

Now is the time to get right with God (Hebrews 4). God wants us to wake up now. He says, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11). Get into God’s word. Get right with God through faith alone in Christ alone. Ask God to fill you and overflow you with the Holy Spirit. Be burdened for the lost. Be empowered by the Spirit to do something about it. Get ready, because the tragedy of the World Trade Centers is not likely to be the last one.

 

Do you remember that in 1993 the Towers were nearly destroyed? For a time after the 1993 attack we were vigilant and took precautions toward potential future terrorism. But over time we became lax and negligent. The same is true of us spiritually. We draw close to God when a hard time comes, but as soon as He gets us over the hump, we slip back into our easy chair and settle for coasting in our faith and being a Christian couch potato. The enemy is persistent.

 

Sixth, Tragedy Teaches Us That God Can Bring Good Even From Tragedy. What good can possibly come from a tragedy such as that of the terrorist attack on September 11^th?  God can bring much good from these circumstances. Of Jesus it was prophesied, “A bruised reed He will not break, a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (Matthew 12:20; Isaiah 42:1-4). If tragedy has nearly broken you, if the flame of your spirit is about to go out, understand that Jesus is there for you and offers you eternal life. Jesus calls us to Himself: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  (Rev. 3:20). Don’t let tragedies’ effect be compounded for evil by driving you away from God. Turn to Jesus and find rest for your souls and a saving relationship that will last and eternity. That is good.

 

Remember, those who face tragedy in the Lord, see the reality of His sustaining grace. If we turn to God, we will find a strong faith that will get us through anything. And that is true of our nation as well as for the individual. God can bring good even from tragedy if the tragedy causes people to repent and turn to Him through faith in Christ and salvation (Romans 8:28-39)

 

Tragedies reveal the strength of God in the believer. Tragedies provide opportunities to be more than a conqueror through Him who loved us. Wouldn’t you rather be a more than a conqueror who cannot be separated form God’s love by anything or anyone, not even the most horrific and brutal terrorist attack in history? That’s where I want to be, close to God, in His love, depending on Him, forgiven. That is good that comes from the dark contrast of tragedy.

Remember, this world is not our home. The events of September 11^th were filled with the darkness of smoke. But there is light here too. The dark tragedy and evil that we have seen serves as a contrast to the light of the blessedness of Jesus for the believer. Jesus is our blessed hope and we look forward all the more today, after this tragedy, for His glorious appearing (Titus 2:13). The tragedy has made this world a little less, (maybe a lot less) palatable to us. Maybe now we realize our citizenship is not in this world but in heaven (Philippians 3:20). That is good and that came as the result of tragedy.

 

The tragedy of the destruction of the World Trade Center, attack on the Pentagon, and the murder of thousands is a reality; it has come upon us, now we need to turn to God. This tragedy is the result of God’s hedge of protection being lowered by Him to allow a wake up call in the form of tragedy. Read the words of the psalmist who wrote:

• Psalm 80:12-19 – “Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?13 The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.18 Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!” 

We need to understand that if we do not repent, then the tragedies we’ve experienced are only the beginning. If we do not repent, it may be the beginning of the end.

We need to repent as a nation and as individual people. We need to pray for the victims, their families, friends, for the firemen and policemen and EMT workers, the doctors and nurses, the governmental leaders, our president and our nation. We need to pray for Israel. We cannot afford to let this tragedy pass us by without affecting us. Read the words of promise for those who go to their knees:

• 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

May God help us; may God bless America.

Why Beheadings?

“If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” – 2 Kings 10:6

 

The purpose of terrorism is to shock an enemy and through fear incapacitate them. The hope is that the fear instilled in an enemy will be greater than its will to resist. Terrorists are seeking to incapacitate through decapitation. It’s working. The modern day terror group ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) is already surpassing Al Qaeda in its recruiting and geographical gobbling up of territory. ISIS is doing this through the gruesome media imagery of decapitation. Few groups have risen to prominence as fast as ISIS and they are rising on the swipe of their swords and saws. Their brutality is proving to be an effective intimidation strategy causing whole cities to surrender to their demands for fear of the consequences.

The vivid realities in the world today are not for the faint of heart. Media is bringing the gory blood lust of decapitation into our living rooms. No longer is such evil an isolated incident. Beheadings are something that have garnered the world’s attention. There is a sinister influence intertwined with these beheadings.

Beheadings are nothing new. Beheading, historically, is a cost effective efficient means to execute a person. They were usually performed with an axe or sword. Later in Europe the guillotine was the instrument of choice. If performed properly beheading is a humane way of executing a person. The beheaded person loses consciousness in 2-3, at most 7 seconds. Death is the result of a sudden loss of blood pressure and blood. The severing of the spinal cord and loss of oxygen not to mention the effects of shock all lead to a swift death. Capital punishment has been abolished in Europe but beheadings continue to this day in parts of the Middle East (e.g. Saudi Arabia). And the fashion in which beheadings are performed nowadays are far from humane.

Beheadings are a favorite practice not only of terror groups. Drug cartels have used beheading for years as a means of not only eliminating their opposition but making a statement to discourage others from opposing their illegal commerce. Cartels seek to emasculate local government officials with such tactics. We are told by those who study such things that decapitations occur on a daily basis. There are hundreds of beheadings that occur around the world. It is the contemporary media presentation of beheadings that have brought this practice to our attention in an all too up front and personal way. [1]

Beheading is something found in the Bible. David cut off the head of Goliath (1 Samuel 17). King Saul’s son Ishbosheth was beheaded (2 Sam. 4:5-7). Jehu, in fulfillment of Elijah’s prophetic word against the house of Ahab, beheaded Ahab’s seventy sons. He sent letters stating “If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow” (2 Kings 10:6). For fear of retribution from Jehu his command was fulfilled. Jehu also put the prophets of Baal to the “edge of the sword” (2 Kings 10).  This is an extremely gruesome chapter in Israel’s history. Taken in isolation we could easily be appalled. But King Ahab had been exceedingly wicked and evil. The LORD through Elijah had warned him (1 Kings 21:21-22). Ahab brushed off the prophetic warnings and persisted in his wicked ways. He reaped what he sowed.

In the New Testament John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod (Matthew 14:10; Mark 6:16, 27; Luke 9:9). James was beheaded (Acts 12:2). The followers of God have been persecuted and destroyed viciously throughout history. Beheadings are nothing new.

Beheading can be an instrument of the governing powers or the instrument of those opposed to the governing powers. What is the purpose and message of the beheadings used by such groups as ISIS today?  Psychological warfare is definitely one purpose of beheadings. When one person beheads another it communicates total control over total vulnerability. It feeds the savage seduction for power for the one doing the cutting. It starves the one victimized of any hope of mercy. Islam is the perfect conduit for such interactions.

Why are beheadings rising to such prominence? There’s something in the fallen sinful nature that is prone to rubber neck and watch the gruesome, especially when it involves blood and dismemberment. Perhaps today’s generation has been desensitized to bloodletting through video gaming where decapitation is commonplace. The raging rebelling warrior spirit of the disenfranchised is also drawn to the gruesomeness of beheading. The cell phones of captured terrorists commonly contain images of decapitation. And in a vile demonic way beheading has become a kind of rite of passage and initiation into terror groups. It’s a badge of honor to a terrorist to be a part of a group that will go all the way in brazen beheadings.

We are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). Humanity has a mind to think and a chest with a heart to make decisions. There can be little doubt that any and all efforts to scar and dismember humanity are rooted in Satan’s raging maniacal effort to desecrate the image of God by marring the human body. Separate the head from the bodies’ heart. When you see the grisly ghastly destruction of human beings you can be sure the ultimate author of it is Abaddon, The Destroyer (Rev. 9:11).

The response of the world to the images of beheadings is telling. But what does it tell us? Time will tell. We are confronted with beheadings today and it takes our breath away. But since 1974 when abortion was legalized literally millions of abortions have been performed using techniques far worse than beheading. Abortions are performed with such techniques as Suction Aspiration or Curettage, and Dilation and Extraction all of which are mercilessly and disgustingly gruesome. And while terrorists have begun more frequent beheading of children, they are no match for abortions destruction of the human in embryo. Apparently, based on the absence of an enduring outcry, people have become used to such carnage. There certainly are images of abortion as gruesome as that of the terrorist’s beheadings. Just Google “Images of Abortion” and you’ll see.  If we can become accepting of abortion, will we also grow to accept beheadings? What does this tell us about human nature; the sinful nature? There’s something seriously wrong here.

The church is described as a body with Jesus as its Head (Col. 1:18). The decapitation of a human body is a demonic statement of removing Jesus the Head from the Church Body. It is a demonic statement against Jesus Christ. The prophetic word of scripture tells us many saints will be beheaded in the latter days (Rev. 20:4). To live is Christ, to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). But there may be a more serious separation taking place that is being exposed through the ghoulish terrorist henchmen.  Does not the absence of grief and being appalled at abortion and possibly the one day desensitization to the imagery of terror decapitation expose a fatal disconnect between the heart of Christ and the heart of humanity?

The apostle John was inspired to write, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17). If that verse indicts those who withhold “goods” from those in need, isn’t it even more indicting for those who stand by and accept the destruction of humanity as long as it doesn’t personally affect them?  Let me tell you something; ISIS is literally at the southern borders of the United States and it very possibly won’t be long before beheadings are taking place on our soil. If they come to our churches and start beheading people, then what will you do? Will you renounce Christ to live? Or will you join the ranks of beheaded saints?

In Revelation we are told that the saints “overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11). Have you been forgiven and cleansed from your sin by the blood of Jesus through faith in Christ? What is your testimony? What does you response to the brutality in the world expose about how you really feel in your heart? Do you love your life more than Jesus? The time may come when such a decision may have to be made. What will you decide?

Why beheadings? Beheadings reveal the dark destructive demonic talons that have sunk into Christ-rejecting humanity. But maybe the gruesome bloodletting exposes something else. Maybe the present or eventual innocuous response of “Christians” to what is happening to their brethren also serves to identify the tares from the wheat. If we can look on with curiosity at the gruesome images with no tangible response other than a “My, my, isn’t that terrible,” then there’s no pulse to our spiritual heart. If we can watch the carnage with nary a prayer or letter to a government official or vote or demonstration or some kind of responding action, are we alive spiritually? If we can watch the carnage and just let it go business as usual, what does that flat-line tell us of our spiritual heart beat?

But what can we do? We can pray. And we can seek the Lord’s intervention on behalf of our persecuted brethren. Seek the Lord to protect them. Seek the Lord for His will to be done. Seek the Lord in full surrender to see what He might want “me” to do. Seek the Lord and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Pray and be ready to put shoes on your prayers.

We have two choices. Jesus said, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: . . . . Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:34, 40). And Jesus said, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:41, 45-46). Why beheadings? Maybe to get our attention about a choice we need to make.

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[1] Interview of Dawn Perlmutter by Robert Siegel of NPR - http://www.npr.org/2014/08/29/344327974/the-spectacle-of-the-beheading-a-grisly-act-with-a-long-history

Obedient to the Faith

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. – John 7:17

 

My heart is breaking for the bride of Christ. Her Middle Eastern limbs are being decapitated. The church is being marked for destruction. Thank God for our eternal security in Jesus. Thank God for the staying power of the Spirit. And thank God for His promise that in the end we will be more than conquerors against His foes.

 

But there is another reason my heart breaks for the bride of Christ. A great portion of the church in the west, in America in particular, is lethargic, fat and out of shape. Here we are living in the last days of the Laodicean church. There is a large portion of “The Church” that is either dead or lukewarm. Jesus, His call and ministry in life has degenerated into a take it or leave it proposition. When the spiritual rubber meets the road of application many are leaving God’s word behind. People talk christianeze but they walk in the world at ease. Jesus is not the top priority in the lives of many in the church; He’s just something else to be fit into a busy schedule. Some of this is due to the compromise of scripture and lost vision of those leading the congregations.  Pastor Millard Milk-toast and Pastor Worldly-Willie are in some pulpits. There’s something missing in the message to the flock of God. But pastors and church leaders are not the only ones to blame.

 

How is it that people can sit in churches where God’s word is taught and show little to no lasting fruit? How can people look you straight in the face and say, “Yes” to the word taught and then walk away living “No” to the word applied? Conversion means change; from darkness to light; from the power of Satan to God. God in His word speaks of accountability, responsibility, confession and repentance. The blessed effect of the gospel is a new creation and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. If that is true why are so many in the church so similar to those in the world? Why are so many in the church adopting the methods, mannerisms and immoralities of the world?

 

The answer to that question is that a “gospel” is being preached that is devoid of repentance. There is a doctrine of grace being taught that frees people to sin rather than frees them from having to sin. “Christians” are not growing in their faith. “Christians” are not challenged. “Christians” are bearing little to no fruit. “Christians” are not overcoming; they are not victorious. “Christians” are living in sin, with little to no conviction of their sin, and still settled and satisfied they are good “Christians.” To that the inspired words of Paul still resound, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!” (Romans 6:1).

 

In the Gospel of John Jesus stated to His religious opposition, “ Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. ¹⁸ He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. ¹⁹ Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?” (John 7:16-19).  Jesus’ teaching was true to the teaching of the Father. Why didn’t His religious opponents see that? It was because of unwillingness to do so. Jesus said if a person is willing to do the will of God they will “know” that the doctrine is from God. In other words, receiving revelation is linked to obedient application of what has already been revealed. The problem with the religious leaders opposing Jesus was that their teaching was from themselves and was self-seeking. They focused on their traditions rather than the scriptures. They had drifted from the objective truth of scripture to the subjective “truth” of their human traditions. They didn’t seek the glory of God. They sought their own glory. They sought to establish their authority rather than God’s. They were caught up in religious culture rather than spiritual consecration. That too often is also true of religious leaders in our day.

 

Jesus indicted the religious leaders stating they had the Law of Moses and, “yet none of you keeps the law.” They hadn’t applied what they had been given. And if the shepherds didn’t apply God’s word how could the sheep be expected to do so? Sheep follow their shepherd. The condition of the sheep is in part an indictment of the work of the shepherds. Ouch!

 

But the condition of the sheep isn’t all on the shepherd’s shoulders. The individual sheep must bear responsibility. No matter who has let you down or misguided you, on judgment day, you will be held accountable. On that day if you are guilty of being lukewarm or nowhere with the Lord you will suffer the consequences. Jesus will ask you, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). You won’t be able to blame others for your deficiencies and delinquencies on that day. If we truly belong to Jesus then we have the Holy Spirit and He is all we need to walk in truth (John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:9-14). There is no viable excuse for a lack of passion for the Christ of the cross of passion (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14-21). That is why it is so important to give priority to your personal relationship with Jesus. What are you doing with Jesus? Are you getting to know Him? Are you walking day by day with Jesus in His word in the Spirit?

 

The point Jesus was making is that obedience is a prerequisite to receiving the truth and revelation of God. The religious leaders were in reality living in rebellion to God’s word. They had a passion, but it was a passion to hold onto their position. They had long lost their passion for God. They had long lost their passion to please God. Their lack of passion for God and His word led to a stifling procrastination in obeying God. And it is that same lack of obedience that is the missing ingredient in Christianity today.

 

The righteous path to understanding the teaching of God is to seek His glory even if it means crucifying our flesh. If you are not obeying what God has shown you now, you shouldn’t expect to receive more revelation. Part of the reason the Jews didn’t receive Jesus or know His identity as the promised Messiah was because they had not obeyed the revelation of God in the writings of Moses they had already received. If you obey and apply what God reveals to you, you can expect Him to build you up with more revelation and understanding. If you don’t apply what He reveals to you it results in a watered down foundation that is too weak to build on. Application of revelation is a prerequisite for more revelation. Do you want to know more of God and His word and go deeper with Him? Apply in the Spirit what He has shown you already. Then He will give you more.

 

Application is a matter of obedience. That irritates the flesh. We don’t naturally want to obey. Our sinful nature is prone to rebel and disobey. But if we want to hear from the Lord and grow in our relationship with Him, we must obey. The lord reveals Himself and His word to those who are willing to submit in obedience to Him and His word. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Why is this so? What does the Bible reveal to us about obedience?

 

First, obedience and faith go hand in hand. By faith we obey. And by obedience we demonstrate evidence of our faith. This is why those saved from their sins through faith in Christ are referred to as “obedient to the faith” – “Then the word of God spread, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5). Obedience is something God requires throughout the Bible. It is something that irritates the fleshly sinful nature. You can tell the unsaved or self-oriented person by how they respond to obeying God’s word or instruction in general.

 

Second, obedience is the means God uses to establish us in the gospel and our faith. In Paul’s closing words to the Romans he states, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began ²⁶ but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— ²⁷ to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:25-27).  In his closing words Paul reminds the Roman Christians that God is able to establish them. The word “establish” comes from the Greek term steridzo from which we get the English word steroids. Steridzo means to set fast, to be resolute, strengthen, confirm. We need to pump some spiritual iron. And the way we do that is through obedience to God’s word.

 

Steroids enable a muscle to recover faster and bear greater weight. When we obey God’s word, we are infused with the ability to obey more and more. When we obey it strengthens us to lift heavier burdens in life and overcome bigger obstacles. In God’s gym we are established spiritual by obeying God’s instructions. God is our Personal Trainer and if we want to get in shape and improve our health we need to heed His instructions.

 

Obedience leads to strength. Disobedience leads to weakness. If you go to the gym but only look at the weights and never lift them, you’ll be weak. You have to lift to build muscle. This is the principle of sowing and reaping God has put in place (Gal. 6:7-9). Obedience is God’s means to strengthen and establish us in our faith.

 

Third, there is a battle test to obey fought in the mind. Keeping with the theme of training, your attitude determines your altitude; your determination determines your destination. Decision determines your destiny. This is why the LORD inspired Isaiah to write, “’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword’; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 1:19-20). God calls us to reason with Him. He associates willingness (which takes place in the heart as an act of our will) and obedience (which is a decision rooted in right thinking). Obedience is a decision we make. According to God’s words it is something we must decide to do. Obedience is the result of fulfilled accountability.

 

Spiritual warfare involves making a decision to obey. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10:4-6).

 

Satan is a liar and deceiver (John 8:43-44). He seeks to get people to disobey God by presenting them with alternatives to God’s truth. He tempted Eve with a lie that put her in a position to either trust God and obey Him or mistrust God and disobey Him. She chose to mistrust and disobey God (Gen. 3). Obedience therefore is a test of our faith (e.g. 2 Cor. 2:9).

 

Fourth, obedience determines your master. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16). Obedience is enslaving. That can be good. That can be bad. If you obey God and His word you will become more and more likely to adhere to God and His word. When you flex your spiritual muscles in obedience it’s as though God releases holy spiritual endorphins of joy that motivate us to press on to more obedience. If you disobey God and His word you will become more and more likely to continue the downward spiral of sin. You will crash and burn. This is why obedience is so closely linked with faith. Obedience is evidence of genuine faith (e.g. Matthew 7:21; John 14:15, 21).

 

Fifth, God disciplines us to make us obedient. There are consequences to disobeying God and His word. These consequences serve to warn and move us away from that which will harm us and if persisted in kill us even to the point of eternal death. God’s word is the way of life (Prov. 6:23; 10:17; Jer. 21:8; Psalm 16:11). God loves us and wants what is best for us. When we deviate from His way we endanger ourselves and others and move away from His best. God disciplines us to return to His best and right obedient path.

 

Disobedience was the downfall of Israel (Deut. 8:20; Isaiah 42:24). Obedience is expected from the time we are children and throughout our lives. From our earliest existence we are warned to obey God and our parents – “The eye that mocks his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it” (Prov. 30:17). Obedience holds the family unit together. It’s important to learn to obey at an early age. Learning obedience early in life prepares us for success later in life. We need obedience training as soon as we can understand right from wrong.

 

God makes obedience the key that opens the doors of blessing. Now we need to clarify that even though obedience and blessing are connected, God’s blessing is not primarily contingent on our obedience. God’s blessing is contingent on God’s own nature of grace. God blesses us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. If God withholds blessing because of disobedience it is only to discipline us and move us toward greater blessing. God disciplines us “for our profit” (Hebrews 12:10). He disciplines the disobedient because He loves them. God’s objective in us is to move us further toward and deeper into holiness where we will experience and appreciate the richness of His blessed presence (cf. Hebrews 12:3-11).

 

Sixth, obedience is the product of the Holy Spirit’s holy work in us. Peter opened his inspired letter to persecuted Christians by referring to them as the, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” (1 Peter 1:2).  Here we see obedience is directly associated with the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Further in this opening chapter Peter exhorts, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16). We are to be “as obedient children.” Obedience is the mark of a genuine Christian. Obedience is what distinguishes the saved from the unsaved. Are you more disobedient or more obedient? Examine yourself. Seek the Lord. Surrender to the Holy Spirit and His holy work in you.

 

Seventh, obedience produces a good testimony. Paul wrote of the Christians in Rome, “For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil” (Rom. 16:19). The wattage of our light for Jesus is in direct proportion to the degree of our obedience to Him. Let your light shine through obedience.

 

Eighth, obedience is an encouragement to other believers. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. ¹⁵ And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. ¹⁶ Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.” (2 Cor. 7:14-16). It’s encouraging to see other believers obey the truth. When we obey we take our position alongside Jesus and other Christians who stand on the front lines of the spiritual battle.

 

Paul wrote to Philemon, “Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.” (Philemon 21). Paul’s mind was put at ease because he knew he could trust Philemon to do the right thing in regards to the slave Onesimus. It’s a great source of encouragement for church leaders to know those who serve in the church will do so obediently. Maybe Pastor Millard Mile-toast and Pastor World-Willie would repent and courageously teach, promote and live God’s word if the flocks they oversee were willing to eat that food. Maybe as the flock is a product in part of the shepherd, the shepherd is a product of the flock.

 

When our brothers and sisters who are in harm’s way see their brethren in other parts of the world taking a stand for righteousness with them it encourages them. But when one limb of the bride suffers and the other could care less, when one limb exercises faith while another lays lazily limp, it is very discouraging. Obey and encourage one another!

 

Ninth, obedience glorifies God. Disobedience discredits God. The sinful disobedience of those representing God is a negative testimony about the reality of God. When a Christian disobeys it communicates their unfaithfulness but it also reflects poorly on God (Titus 2:5). The world says, “If God is real, how come He makes so little difference in your life?” This is why King David’s sin with Bathsheba was so atrocious; it gave the enemies of God ammunition to accuse God of being less than God (2 Sam. 12:14). Glorify God; obey Him!

 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians about their obedience in giving to the needs of the ministry. He said, “For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ¹³ while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, “ (2 Cor. 9:12-13). Their obedience in giving resulted in God being glorified because by their sacrificial giving they were declaring their faith in God and God’s faithfulness to sustain them as they gave. Obedience, especially obedience in giving, glorifies God.

 

Tenth, obedience is Christlike. God’s prime objective for us is to be molded into the likeness of Jesus (Rom. 8:29; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6). Jesus obeyed. “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8; cf. also Heb. 5:8). Jesus is our model of obedience. If we are to realize God’s purpose for us we, like our Savior and Lord Jesus, must obey.

 

Finally, obey in the power of the love of the Spirit. When we speak about obedience the temptation is to slip into a works righteousness or self-reliant attitude. If we rely on ourselves to obey, obedience will be a heavy burden that will ultimately crush us. But Jesus says “My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). How can that be? Jesus enters our life and empowers us to obey. The fuel for our obedience is God’s love.

 

When we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and He comes to reside within us by the indwelling Holy Spirit the love of God is poured out into our heart (Rom. 5:5). And it is that love of the Holy Spirit in us which brings the victory. God’s love “never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8). That is why John is inspired to write, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3). And then John says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4). Do you see the connection? The love of the Holy Spirit in us is the motivating fuel for obedience. And that obedience is the product of the faith worked in us by the Spirit. Love, obedience, and faith; they all work together to bring great victory.

 

When you examine your life do you see an obedient follower of Jesus? Do you love Jesus enough to obey Him? Will you obey Jesus, no matter what? Would you stand with your brethren and give your life to obey Jesus the Lord? If the Holy Spirit is indeed residing within you, if you have indeed been born again and spiritually regenerated, you will be moving toward greater and greater obedience. If on the other hand you are living a lie, you won’t much care about obeying God and His word. Obedience is the evidence of our faith (cf. James 2).

 

Where do you stand with Jesus? Will you begin by obeying His call to repent of your sins and accept Him as Savior? If you have taken that first step of obedience will you continue more seriously with the Spirit’s work to help you live a life of obedience to God and His word? Will you be “obedient to the faith”?