Recently, I found a website for Oasis Church in Florida http://www.visitoasis.org/ . In reading the pastor’s blog, some of his posts (articles) that he had written really caught my attention. What he has written is certainly interesting and thought-provoking.
I have combined his posts about “I Don’t Need Oasis Church” below. I have also done some editing to clarify what Rev. Melton has written. I think you will appreciate what he says as you read what he has written.
“I DON'T NEED OASIS CHURCH”
These must be the words of a disgruntled member or attender! Must be someone who is upset at Oasis! Someone who has left our church over a petty disagreement with style or music! No, it isn't.
These are the words I spoke this morning about 12:30 A.M. as I was returning Friday, on my day off, from Melbourne (Florida). You might be saying, "But Guy, you're the founding Pastor. You've been here since the beginning. You were the one God gave the vision for Oasis."
It can, and might, be confusing to some of you to hear me to say this. But if Oasis Church never met again, I would be OK. I would thrive and I would be a happy man. If a hurricane demolished our buildings, or a fire burned them down, and we could never meet again as a church family--I would be fine with that!!!
I mean what I say, "I DON'T NEED OASIS CHURCH!!!!!!!"
(Part 2)
"I don't need Oasis Church!" I mean that. If you did not read my first post on this, then STOP NOW!!!! Go back and read it. I made the statement if we never met again I would be fine with that. If a fire burns down our buildings, a hurricane blows away all we have, I am fine.
Well, first let me say, that doesn't mean I would not grieve, be hurt, or shed tears. I would...maybe buckets of them. I would miss those of you who are Oasis members and friends of mine, who I have grown to love and admire more than I do or could ever tell you.
But please, hear me out.
Driving home Friday night (mentioned above) on my day off, I was listening to a C.D. which I often do while driving. There was a prominent pastor (Bill Hybels) of one of the largest churches in America (Willow Creek) discussing their church and a three-year intensive study they had just done in their church (and other churches).
The Pastor and staff discovered many of the folks who were very involved in their church weren't growing as disciples. They were stale and stalled in their faith. Others who were not that involved in all the programs and activities might have actually been growing as Christians even more (than those were very involved). (See footnote at the end of this email for more info on Willow Creek's study).
What would cause this when this is a great church and one where thousands of lives had been changed through their ministry? In a discussion with other staff members (and from the research), they proceeded to some of these findings.
Among the things they found is that longevity as a believer in Christ did not necessarily make a true follower of Christ. They also found that the more activity in the church a person was involved in did not necessarily make a better disciple of Christ.
So, what does this mean to me? Without dissecting all their study and thoughts, I want to share what God reminded me about. It's not about my church. It's not about Oasis Church and how much I show up. It's not even about how much I am involved...even in leadership.
They found that a percentage of the most dissatisfied members of their church were the ones who had been in the church the longest, and some of them were leaders. But they said they didn't feel their church was satisfying their needs and meeting their expectations. Some said they likely would leave the church (and many had over the years) to the surprise and disappointment of the Pastor and leadership.
Now these were not casual attenders. They were, in some cases, the heart and soul of the church and the reason over the years the church had grown like it did. Yet, they felt like they weren't growing and getting what they once did out of their church where they had invested themselves so heavily.
I have to ask myself, could that be true about the church I pastor? I say, "Absolutely it can!!" We are no different. I haven't done an intensive study. Quite frankly I don't need to. I see, I hear, I observe.
How could this be? Why? What as a Church are we failing at? Why are those who should be the most intense disciples, actually disappointed and disillusioned?
(Part 3)
“Why I Don't Need Oasis Church” is not a cute saying I thought up to catch your attention. No, I mean it. Why?
First let me say, I love Oasis Church. Some days, I would literally give my physical life for her. I say some days, that is, because it's not all the time. Hey, I am being honest here! Based on my previous blog post, I want to begin to explain my thinking on this. I know some will not understand. That is fine. Read it and just mull over it. Let it sink in. It might be a long time before you understand. That is OK.
The church belongs to God. He established it. Jesus gave His life for the Church. Other than the family, I don't know of another organization on earth that God Himself established and loves as much as He does the church.
Yet, too many of us mistake how we relate to His church with how we relate to Him. We rely on the church to give us our relationship with Him. We rely on the church to feed us, clothe us, and do essentially everything for us. Now, before you get mad, I know the ones reading this are not the ones who probably would go to the extreme of wanting us to clothe and feed you physically. But I am trying to get to something.
Most long-time believers, I believe, are stalled in their walk because they are expecting the church to give them the growth they desire. We might have grown as a young believer very fast because of our church or another church. The sermons, classes, small groups, even serving but then we find ourselves stalled!
It is not uncommon for a church to add more programs, build more buildings, facilities, gyms, classrooms, you name it-"we will build it if you'll come!" We do bigger programs, add more ministries and at the end of the day, we spend thousands and thousands of dollars, yes, even millions, to still find we have more disgruntled, disappointed, stalled Christians.
You say this isn't true about Oasis Church. To some extent it is. We have resisted many of the buildings, and programs many churches launch into. But we are forever tempted to build bigger, better and add more bells and whistles to keep you happy. That's human nature.
(Part 4)
I have painted what some might say is a bleak and negative picture of the church, our church. Well in some ways it could be. Why is that?
If a person is coming to Oasis Church for what they can get from it to keep them going, at some point their spiritual life will stall and become stale. At that point, they are disappointed in themselves, their church and ultimately God. So what's the answer?
I am not suggesting we throw out the church. Absolutely not. I'm not suggesting, as some in our society, that the church is so broken so just bury it and start over. No, that is not the answer.
What I am suggesting is that it's really not about the Church. It's about the individual, and our walk with the Lord. My life must be Christ-centered. He must be at the center of my life and all that I am.
What happens is that if we become church-centered and not Christ-centered we become stalled. The church does not change our life. Christ changes lives.
When a person has the expectation that their church attendance and participation will change their life, they are setting themselves, and the church, up for failure. As a church, even if we don't mean to, many times we make attenders think if they will become more involved, join more groups and attend more functions, they will be happy and satisfied and God will bless them.
What I am saying is that the church has a role in my Christian life. A big one!! But it is not my Christian life. Attending church does not make me a disciple or more in tuned with my Creator and my Savior.
I must be in a daily walk with God Himself. Now, brace yourself for this statement!!! It begins with time with God. Yes, it's as simple as that!! Prayer and Bible Reading. First, there must be a daily communion with God. He must be part of our daily lives. It takes time with Him. I can tell you when I go a few days without Bible reading and prayer, it shows. You are talking stale, stress, confusion, wrong decisions, and personality changes to name a few. He must be speaking into my life.
He must be at the very center of my life. He must be at work in my heart and life. The Bible says that the Spirit of God lives inside every believer. When we have no dialog with the person we live with...we don't listen, we don't discuss...what happens? We grow distant. We are ships passing in the night.
Final Post
So, why should I stay in the Church? For those of you still reading, you're saying, "If you don't need the church, why do I need the church?"
Good question! I'll try to give a few reasons we all need the Church, and why we should stay in the Church whether it be Oasis or, for our friends and family out of town, the one you attend. I can only personally speak here to Oasis Church since it is the only one I am a part of.
Last week Oasis had another class for newcomers. Discover Oasis gives a look at who we are, where we came from, what we believe, where we are going and how you can get involved if you choose to join. Kevin McCord, our Admin. Pastor has done a great job leading this class for the last several years. Any class I address, I share how important it is to get involved, and the more you get involved, the more you get out of your church. That is true.
I also share how excited each newcomer is to be there. They really are. We have incredible stories in each Discover Oasis Class of how folks come to Oasis and how much they love it. But I tell them: that will not keep you here, just as the music, the worship, the friendly atmosphere, the children’s ministry, etc. will not keep you here.
Oasis Church cannot sustain you spiritually nor should it. If you think the church will or should, you will soon be off to another place looking for what you need.
It is the Lord Who grows and matures us. Our church is but a tool that He uses. Most people get disillusioned when they expect us, as a church, to keep them spiritually full and contented. No church will do that. It is God who does that and each of us must have a personal walk and relationship with Him.
Do you know that the church can actually draw us away from Him? We can get so busy working for Him in the church that we forget to develop our relationship with Him. We don't have time for Him. It is especially dangerous when you are working in a church as an employee, pastor etc. We must fight this challenge all the time as pastors. My walk with Him is more important than my role as pastor.
That is why I can say, "I don't need Oasis Church". I want Oasis Church in my life. I love Oasis Church. But, when all is said and done, if Oasis Church was gone tomorrow, I have a living, breathing, relationship with my Lord, Jesus Christ. He is all I need. The fastest growing church of all time, in the Book of Acts, didn't have buildings, or programs or a campus. They had Jesus.
China, where public worship is prohibited in many places, has millions coming to Christ underground. They are studying, praying, growing, and going, on their own in many places. The church is exploding there and other places in the world without all the things we have come to expect in the United States in a church.
Now some will use the excuse when they get disgruntled with a church to drop out and say, "I can serve God and have a relationship with God without the Church, and being a part of it". Yes, I suppose that is true.
But truthfully, I have not seen one person who said that who was actually a growing, contented, mature, serving disciple of Christ. Why would you want to say you want Him but you don't want His Bride? His Bride is the Church, even with all our warts and problems.
So why is the Church important? Let me list a few things:
Christ gave Himself for the church. It is His way of sharing His Gospel here on Earth.
*The church edifies us.
*The church leads us to worship God.
*The church provides a vehicle for Community. Small groups are a big part of our church. A small group might lend to making friends, and establishing some awesome relationships, but your small group won't provide you a living, personal, growing relationship with Jesus Christ in itself.
*The church teaches doctrine.
*The church evangelizes the lost. We do that as individuals and as the Church.
*The church equips the saints for ministry. Ephesians clearly states that the Pastors/Leaders are to equip each of us for ministry. Training and providing opportunities for ministry through the church is part of that.
*The church disciples/Mentors new believers into mature believers.
*In the church we pray for one another.
*The church provides ministries that utilize each person's spiritual gifts.
At different stages in our walk with God, the church plays a different role in each of these stages. This is important for us to realize.
I think we have failed as a church in general in that we do so much for people and promise so much that many expect us to meet their every need and to provide their personal relationship with God. This is not the case.
Early in a Christian's experience, the Church is huge...to help them grow, and find their gifts, to teach, disciple, baptize (Simply -- the Great Commission). But, them
you begin to move from being served and being taught to serving and doing mission. You move from the Milk, to the Meat. The church teaches you to find the meat, and it is up to the individual to eat. The Shepherd doesn't force the sheep to eat or drink at the stream. He only leads them beside still waters and into green pastures. There comes a time, when we, as sheep, need to eat and drink. Shame on us as a church if we only feed the sheep milk and never teach them to eat and where to find food.
I don't need Oasis Church. But I sure do love it. I don't need to attend church to have a personal relationship with God but God does expect me to be a part of His church, His body, His Bride.
I attend 4-7 live services each and every week and I love it. I get pumped. I get convicted. I get encouraged. But many times, it's in different ways. Sometimes just hanging out during one of the 7NOW nightly services, I will get blessed by a story of a changed life. I will sometimes be blessed by the young musicians who lead us in worship. I will be blessed to pray with someone struggling with a problem. I will be blessed by fellowship with some friends, prayer, scripture, message, and so much more.
NOW, I DON'T NEED OASIS CHURCH, BUT I WANT TO BE A PART OF OASIS CHURCH. AND TO HONOR GOD IN MY WORSHIP, COMMUNITY, AND MISSION!!! HOW ABOUT YOU?????????????????
*Footnote:
Willow Creek Church in Chicago has just finished a three year process of scientific research to study their church and other churches regarding their effectiveness in helping church members in their spiritual growth. The research has been published in the book, “Reveal: Where Are You?”
Bill Hybels, the pastor of Willow Creek, writes in the book:
“The local church is the hope of the world.....It’s a message I believe with all my heart. So you can imagine my reaction when three people whose counsel I value told me that the local church I’ve been the pastor of for more than three decades was not doing as well as we thought when it came to spiritual growth.
If that wasn’t bad enough, they said this wasn’t just their opinion. It was based on scientific research. Ouch.”
Second Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
I don’t think there is anyone who is a Christian who would not agree that the United States of America is in deep, spiritual trouble. And nothing that has happened recently seems to have made a difference in our nation.
Events surrounding 911 certainly didn’t change things. The cost of oil certainly is not having any effect on the conscience of the United States. And, even the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ”, as wonderful as it was, hasn’t changed the spiritual condition of our nation.
The last great nationwide revival in the United States occurred in the late 1850’s and has been termed “The Third Great Awakening”. Of that movement of God in our country, revival historian J. Edwin Orr has written:
“...the influence of the awakening was felt everywhere in the nation. It first captured great cities, but it also spread through every town and village and country hamlet. It swamped schools and colleges. It affected all classes (of people) without respect to condition . . . It seemed to many that the fruits of Pentecost had been repeated a thousand-fold . . . the number of conversions reported soon reached the total of fifty thousand weekly”.
In our nation, we have seen glimpses of revival since the closing of the “Third Great Awakening”, most notably, the Asbury Revival in 1970 and revival that began in Brownwood, Texas in 1995 (not Brownsville, Florida).
Before our nation was formed, a call to prayer was proclaimed in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming our country and that call to prayer has continued through our history.
President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation for a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863 during the Civil War. It is interesting to note that the Civil War began only three years after the waning days of this great revival.
The National Day of Prayer was established in 1952 by President of the United States, Harry Truman and “The National Day of Prayer Task Force”, spearheaded by James and Shirley Dobson, has been in existence since the early 1990’s.
We have had the prayer and fasting movement since at least 1994 when Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, began a yearly 40 day fast and encouraged other Christians to join him in fasting for national revival.
But, why, hasn’t revival happened? So many believers have prayed and fasted and cried out to God for Him to send revival to our nation. But why have we not seen a great movement of the Spirit of God in our nation in one hundred and fifty years?
Some may ask, “What is wrong with God? Doesn’t He hear our prayers? Doesn’t He care that our nation is traveling downward through a spiral of degradation and evil wickedness?”
There is nothing wrong with God but there is something terribly wrong with us. God help us. We need revival.
Second Chronicles 7:14 is a verse that many of us could quote from memory. The verse has been used over and over again when someone speaks about praying for our nation and praying for God to send us a revival. But, even though many of us can quote it from memory, it is possible we have become so familiar with the verse that the significance and meaning has been lost to us.
“If my people which are called by My Name…”
A literal translation of this phrase reads: “If my people over whom My Name is called”. The Hebrew word for “called” carries with it the idea of:
God’s people possessing the mark of His ownership
God’s people possessing the mark of His reputation
God’s people possessing the mark of His signature
God is the Owner/Ruler of His people.
The Owner is in charge. The Owner is King and the Owner is sovereign. The Sovereign King is Ruler over all of creation. The King is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and He is everywhere (omnipresent). We are the King’s servants and we belong to Him. The servants work in the King’s kingdom. The servants don’t have a kingdom. The servants aren’t in charge, the King is in charge. The servants submit to the King and the servants represent the King in matters of the kingdom. No servant is allowed to usurp the authority of the King. There is only one King and the servants do not have the option to be King. Though the servants sometimes attempt to rule their own lives, they usually come to understand who is King when they experience times of trouble, hardship, and crisis. The servants belong to the King and they carry the King’s reputation and the mark of His signature to a lost and dying world. The servants of the King must yield their lives to Him, acknowledge His ownership of them, must never attempt to be the “king” of their own little kingdom.
The Hebrew for “over whom My Name is called” suggests that God is proud to call us His name over His people. Therefore, the question must be asked: “Are the people of God living in such a way that God is proud to call His Name over them?”
”If My people over whom My Name is called will humble themselves”
The Hebrew word for humble means to submit, to fall on one’s knees, to be lowly, to be subdued and captured, and to be depressed, not in spirit, but in position, as in a depression of land.
Why is humility important in the kingdom of God? Because....
Humility is acknowledging our own spiritual bankruptcy (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) and it is acknowledging our spiritual need for God (“blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”).
Humility is acknowledging God’s sovereignty, authority, and power over all of His creation.
Humility is unequivocal dependence upon God.
Humility is a willingness to wait for God to act in His own time and in His own way.
Humility does not rush in and take matters into its own hands.
Humility is doing something only when there is clear word from God.
Humility is being patient.
Humility is not being offended by being treated like a servant.
Humility does not brag and boast about one’s own achievements and one’s capabilities.
Humility understands that you can’t get away with hidden sins before God.
Humility does not exalt self or the flesh.
Humility is being obedient to God and obedient to other people whom God has placed in your life to have authority over you.
The person who is humble is the person who pursues the face and heart of God and becomes more detached from the things of this world.
But, humility is uncommon in the kingdom of God. Why is that? Because......
We are full of pride and we are so full of ourselves.
We like to talk about ourselves and exalt ourselves.
We want to be recognized for what we do.
We want to name web sites after ourselves.
We love to promote ourselves because we think we are so great.
We want to be the first in line not last in line.
We expect other people to serve us and God forbid that we should serve somebody else.
We expect other people to clean up our messes, instead of doing it ourselves.
We think the rules apply to everybody else but us.
We don’t want to go down, we want to rise high up on our pedastel.
We don’t want to be crucified and we don’t want to die to the flesh.
We like to brag on ourselves and let people know how truly important we really think we are.
We definitely don’t want to be treated like servants; we just want to be called servants.
And, we certainly don’t want to be treated like slaves. Even though the word of God says in Romans 6 that we are “slaves” to righteousness and therefore to God, we don’t want to be treated like a slave because a slave is treated like a “nobody”, who has no privileges and has no rights. (One of the Apostle Paul’s favorites words he used to refer to himself was “doulos”, which means slave).
How do we know that humility is uncommon in the church today? For example....
Some pastors sit around wondering why Pastor "So and So" always gets invited to preach at all of the conferences and all of the conventions. Then, these same preachers wonder why they never get invited to preach......never imagining that just maybe they can’t preach as well they thought could or maybe their lack of humility results in not being invited to preach.
And, this principle also applies to those who sing. “Why does she always have to get the solos when the choir sings? Why don’t they ever ask me to sing?” Have we ever thought about the fact that just maybe we can’t sing as well as what we thought we could or maybe it is our lack of humility that results in us not being asked to sing?
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray”The Hebrew word for “pray” carries with it the idea of rolling around in something and becoming stained.
In order for God to send revival and heal our land, the people of God will have to understand that we must become people of prayer and that our lives must become “stained” by “rolling around”, (i.e., entering into), in His presence.
Prayer is a relationship with God. We speak to Him by praying and He speaks to us, primarily through His word. But, He also speaks to us through His Spirit, through our circumstances, and through other servants in the kingdom.
We know we should pray but we don’t. We know we should pray more but we don’t. Why is that? Because we cannot submit to God and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy and acknowledge our need of Him.
Do you think we would pray more if our lives were in a constant state of crisis? Of course, we would. But, God is merciful and He gives us times when there is no crisis in our personal lives. So what do we do when there is no crisis? We don’t pray as much and we don’t cry out to Him as much. It is almost like we are saying to God, “I don’t need You unless I am going through some trial in my life”.
God desires for us to be in such an intimate relationship with Him that nothing changes in the amount of time we spend with Him, whether we are in crisis mode or not. The amount of time we would spend in communion with Him during periods of calm in our lives should be the same amount we would spend with Him during those difficult days of hardship that we go through.
In our relationship with God through prayer, we should not be seeking to get things from Him. Parents know the joy of giving gifts to their children. But, the greatest joy of parents is when the children spend time with them, just wanting to be together. And, so it is in our relationship with God. He loves to give us gifts. But, the greater joy for Him is when His children just want to spend time with Him and enjoy being in His presence. Our relationship with God through prayer should be seeking to know Him more deeply and more intimately so that we can become more like Him.
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face”
The next requirement is that we must seek the face of God. The Hebrew word for “seek” carries with it the idea of touching, striving after, seeking after, and getting a hold of. The Hebrew word for face is “peniel”. It is the same word that is used in Gen. 32:30 when Jacob called the name of the place where he struggled with God “Peniel” and says, “for I have seen God face to face’.
When we seek the face of God, we must realize that there will be times when it will be like Jacob’s experience. There will be a struggle: between our flesh and the very nature, character, and will of God. Yet, when we seek the face of God, just like Jacob, the character of God will be reflected in and through our lives. And, just like Jacob, the one who seeks the face of God will never ever be the same.
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways”
In our pursuit of God, there must be a turning from our wicked ways. The Hebrew word for “ways” is a word that can mean: a path, a journey, a course, a habit, or a manner. “Wicked” can be defined as evil and anything that is unpleasing to God. Wicked ways can apply to anyone who is doing anything or going in any direction that is unpleasing to God.
It is interesting to notice the order of these requirements for revival:
To become a people whom God is proud to call His Name over
To become a people of prayer
To become a people of humility
To become a people who seek God’s face
To become a people turn from our wicked ways
As a result:
*God will hear from heaven.
*God will forgive our sins.
*God will heal our “land”.
(For the Israelites, the “land” represented the physical relationship with God, which He had promised to them, but the land also represented their spiritual relationship with God.
Keys for personal revival:
The key to turning from evil is to seek God’s face.
The key to seeking God’s face to is to pray.
The key to prayer is humility.
The key to humility is an understanding that we belong to God and should be the kind of people that He is proud to call His Name over.
I don’t think there is anyone who is a Christian who would not agree that the United States of America is in deep, spiritual trouble. And nothing that has happened recently seems to have made a difference in our nation.
Events surrounding 911 certainly didn’t change things. The cost of oil certainly is not having any effect on the conscience of the United States. And, even the Mel Gibson movie, “The Passion of the Christ”, as wonderful as it was, hasn’t changed the spiritual condition of our nation.
The last great nationwide revival in the United States occurred in the late 1850’s and has been termed “The Third Great Awakening”. Of that movement of God in our country, revival historian J. Edwin Orr has written:
“...the influence of the awakening was felt everywhere in the nation. It first captured great cities, but it also spread through every town and village and country hamlet. It swamped schools and colleges. It affected all classes (of people) without respect to condition . . . It seemed to many that the fruits of Pentecost had been repeated a thousand-fold . . . the number of conversions reported soon reached the total of fifty thousand weekly”.
In our nation, we have seen glimpses of revival since the closing of the “Third Great Awakening”, most notably, the Asbury Revival in 1970 and revival that began in Brownwood, Texas in 1995 (not Brownsville, Florida).
Before our nation was formed, a call to prayer was proclaimed in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming our country and that call to prayer has continued through our history.
President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation for a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863 during the Civil War. It is interesting to note that the Civil War began only three years after the waning days of this great revival.
The National Day of Prayer was established in 1952 by President of the United States, Harry Truman and “The National Day of Prayer Task Force”, spearheaded by James and Shirley Dobson, has been in existence since the early 1990’s.
We have had the prayer and fasting movement since at least 1994 when Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, began a yearly 40 day fast and encouraged other Christians to join him in fasting for national revival.
But, why, hasn’t revival happened? So many believers have prayed and fasted and cried out to God for Him to send revival to our nation. But why have we not seen a great movement of the Spirit of God in our nation in one hundred and fifty years?
Some may ask, “What is wrong with God? Doesn’t He hear our prayers? Doesn’t He care that our nation is traveling downward through a spiral of degradation and evil wickedness?”
There is nothing wrong with God but there is something terribly wrong with us. God help us. We need revival.
Second Chronicles 7:14 is a verse that many of us could quote from memory. The verse has been used over and over again when someone speaks about praying for our nation and praying for God to send us a revival. But, even though many of us can quote it from memory, it is possible we have become so familiar with the verse that the significance and meaning has been lost to us.
“If my people which are called by My Name…”
A literal translation of this phrase reads: “If my people over whom My Name is called”. The Hebrew word for “called” carries with it the idea of:
God’s people possessing the mark of His ownership
God’s people possessing the mark of His reputation
God’s people possessing the mark of His signature
God is the Owner/Ruler of His people.
The Owner is in charge. The Owner is King and the Owner is sovereign. The Sovereign King is Ruler over all of creation. The King is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and He is everywhere (omnipresent). We are the King’s servants and we belong to Him. The servants work in the King’s kingdom. The servants don’t have a kingdom. The servants aren’t in charge, the King is in charge. The servants submit to the King and the servants represent the King in matters of the kingdom. No servant is allowed to usurp the authority of the King. There is only one King and the servants do not have the option to be King. Though the servants sometimes attempt to rule their own lives, they usually come to understand who is King when they experience times of trouble, hardship, and crisis. The servants belong to the King and they carry the King’s reputation and the mark of His signature to a lost and dying world. The servants of the King must yield their lives to Him, acknowledge His ownership of them, must never attempt to be the “king” of their own little kingdom.
The Hebrew for “over whom My Name is called” suggests that God is proud to call us His name over His people. Therefore, the question must be asked: “Are the people of God living in such a way that God is proud to call His Name over them?”
”If My people over whom My Name is called will humble themselves”
The Hebrew word for humble means to submit, to fall on one’s knees, to be lowly, to be subdued and captured, and to be depressed, not in spirit, but in position, as in a depression of land.
Why is humility important in the kingdom of God? Because....
Humility is acknowledging our own spiritual bankruptcy (“blessed are the poor in spirit”) and it is acknowledging our spiritual need for God (“blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”).
Humility is acknowledging God’s sovereignty, authority, and power over all of His creation.
Humility is unequivocal dependence upon God.
Humility is a willingness to wait for God to act in His own time and in His own way.
Humility does not rush in and take matters into its own hands.
Humility is doing something only when there is clear word from God.
Humility is being patient.
Humility is not being offended by being treated like a servant.
Humility does not brag and boast about one’s own achievements and one’s capabilities.
Humility understands that you can’t get away with hidden sins before God.
Humility does not exalt self or the flesh.
Humility is being obedient to God and obedient to other people whom God has placed in your life to have authority over you.
The person who is humble is the person who pursues the face and heart of God and becomes more detached from the things of this world.
But, humility is uncommon in the kingdom of God. Why is that? Because......
We are full of pride and we are so full of ourselves.
We like to talk about ourselves and exalt ourselves.
We want to be recognized for what we do.
We want to name web sites after ourselves.
We love to promote ourselves because we think we are so great.
We want to be the first in line not last in line.
We expect other people to serve us and God forbid that we should serve somebody else.
We expect other people to clean up our messes, instead of doing it ourselves.
We think the rules apply to everybody else but us.
We don’t want to go down, we want to rise high up on our pedastel.
We don’t want to be crucified and we don’t want to die to the flesh.
We like to brag on ourselves and let people know how truly important we really think we are.
We definitely don’t want to be treated like servants; we just want to be called servants.
And, we certainly don’t want to be treated like slaves. Even though the word of God says in Romans 6 that we are “slaves” to righteousness and therefore to God, we don’t want to be treated like a slave because a slave is treated like a “nobody”, who has no privileges and has no rights. (One of the Apostle Paul’s favorites words he used to refer to himself was “doulos”, which means slave).
How do we know that humility is uncommon in the church today? For example....
Some pastors sit around wondering why Pastor "So and So" always gets invited to preach at all of the conferences and all of the conventions. Then, these same preachers wonder why they never get invited to preach......never imagining that just maybe they can’t preach as well they thought could or maybe their lack of humility results in not being invited to preach.
And, this principle also applies to those who sing. “Why does she always have to get the solos when the choir sings? Why don’t they ever ask me to sing?” Have we ever thought about the fact that just maybe we can’t sing as well as what we thought we could or maybe it is our lack of humility that results in us not being asked to sing?
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray”The Hebrew word for “pray” carries with it the idea of rolling around in something and becoming stained.
In order for God to send revival and heal our land, the people of God will have to understand that we must become people of prayer and that our lives must become “stained” by “rolling around”, (i.e., entering into), in His presence.
Prayer is a relationship with God. We speak to Him by praying and He speaks to us, primarily through His word. But, He also speaks to us through His Spirit, through our circumstances, and through other servants in the kingdom.
We know we should pray but we don’t. We know we should pray more but we don’t. Why is that? Because we cannot submit to God and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy and acknowledge our need of Him.
Do you think we would pray more if our lives were in a constant state of crisis? Of course, we would. But, God is merciful and He gives us times when there is no crisis in our personal lives. So what do we do when there is no crisis? We don’t pray as much and we don’t cry out to Him as much. It is almost like we are saying to God, “I don’t need You unless I am going through some trial in my life”.
God desires for us to be in such an intimate relationship with Him that nothing changes in the amount of time we spend with Him, whether we are in crisis mode or not. The amount of time we would spend in communion with Him during periods of calm in our lives should be the same amount we would spend with Him during those difficult days of hardship that we go through.
In our relationship with God through prayer, we should not be seeking to get things from Him. Parents know the joy of giving gifts to their children. But, the greatest joy of parents is when the children spend time with them, just wanting to be together. And, so it is in our relationship with God. He loves to give us gifts. But, the greater joy for Him is when His children just want to spend time with Him and enjoy being in His presence. Our relationship with God through prayer should be seeking to know Him more deeply and more intimately so that we can become more like Him.
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face”
The next requirement is that we must seek the face of God. The Hebrew word for “seek” carries with it the idea of touching, striving after, seeking after, and getting a hold of. The Hebrew word for face is “peniel”. It is the same word that is used in Gen. 32:30 when Jacob called the name of the place where he struggled with God “Peniel” and says, “for I have seen God face to face’.
When we seek the face of God, we must realize that there will be times when it will be like Jacob’s experience. There will be a struggle: between our flesh and the very nature, character, and will of God. Yet, when we seek the face of God, just like Jacob, the character of God will be reflected in and through our lives. And, just like Jacob, the one who seeks the face of God will never ever be the same.
“If my people over whom My Name is called shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways”
In our pursuit of God, there must be a turning from our wicked ways. The Hebrew word for “ways” is a word that can mean: a path, a journey, a course, a habit, or a manner. “Wicked” can be defined as evil and anything that is unpleasing to God. Wicked ways can apply to anyone who is doing anything or going in any direction that is unpleasing to God.
It is interesting to notice the order of these requirements for revival:
To become a people whom God is proud to call His Name over
To become a people of prayer
To become a people of humility
To become a people who seek God’s face
To become a people turn from our wicked ways
As a result:
*God will hear from heaven.
*God will forgive our sins.
*God will heal our “land”.
(For the Israelites, the “land” represented the physical relationship with God, which He had promised to them, but the land also represented their spiritual relationship with God.
Keys for personal revival:
The key to turning from evil is to seek God’s face.
The key to seeking God’s face to is to pray.
The key to prayer is humility.
The key to humility is an understanding that we belong to God and should be the kind of people that He is proud to call His Name over.
A Letter To The Pastor
A legendary story is told of a rich man who came to visit a cathedral while it was being built and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
There are some times when as a pastor you wonder whether anything you are doing in ministry is making a difference in people's lives. There are those long, and sometimes lonely, hours that are necessary to your sermons every week. Added to that, is the pressure of everyone expecting you to "hit a home run" every time you get up to preach.
There are those days and nights that you spend at the hospital ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of those who are hurting. There are the countless numbers of hours spent counseling, trying to come up with answers to help those who are hurting emotionally and spiritually.
Then, there are all of the meetings, the weekly visitation of visitors to your church, and on top of all that, you are expected to minister to those in your community who don't go to your church but go to another church or they don't even go to church at all.
As you much as you have tried, you haven't seen your church grow in years. Oh, you have people who will visit who are looking for a church home but they never return for a second visit. And, it has been so long since anyone has walked down the aisle after one of your sermons, whether to be saved, to rededicate their life, or just to ask for prayer.
And, there are those occasions when you have had to neglect your family for those critical needs in your congregation when you just couldn't say "no" to a family who needed your counsel and support.
You wonder at times if it is worth it all. You wonder whether anyone would even notice if you stopped pastoring your church. Sometimes, it even feels like you are invisible, especially to God.
You cry out, "God, what is wrong with my church? What is wrong with me? God, what is wrong with You? Can't you see that my heart is breaking over the spiritual condition of my church family? I keep investing my life in their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Nothing ever changes! No one even says, "Thank you, Pastor, for your hard work and dedication." No one says, "Thank you for you many hours of sacrifice to help us in our walk with God."
You may have even said, "God, if something doesn't change in my church, I'm just gonna quit! I can't take it anymore. Nothing I do seems to make a difference. Does anybody really care about what I am doing? Does anybody really care about the things of God? It seems at times as though the only thing that matters to my people are their physical needs. Why aren’t they concerned about the spiritual needs in their lives?"
_________________________________
To: The Pastor
From: God
I just wanted to write you a letter to let you know that I understand everything you are going through. I know the way is hard sometimes and I know that it can be frustrating dealing with your precious flock. I heard your crying the other night. And, the other day when you got mad at Me? I can handle that. It is alright to get mad at Me. I don't ever hold things like that against you.
You are my special child and I love you so much. You are always on My mind and you are always at the center of My attention. Nothing that ever happens to you goes unnoticed by Me. And, nothing you ever do for Me goes unnoticed, either.
I planned out your life before you were ever formed in your sweet mother's womb and I was so excited on the day that you were born. Because of My plan for your life, I was counting the days when you would one day be willing to join Me in assisting in My work.
I decided that I needed you to be a shepherd to some of My sheep. Sheep can be frustrating to work with sometimes. They are so helpless. They don't know where to go and they don't know what to do. That is why they need a shepherd and that is why they need you and why I need you.
I wanted you to know that you are part of a great and glorious work in My kingdom. You are kind of like that workman who takes part in building a cathedral: diligently and invisibly working on all of the details. The workman will go unnoticed but when that cathedral is completed, many stand in awe of the beauty of the structure.
And, so it is with My kingdom. You must be diligent in your work though at times you will feel like you are invisible to the world. I need you to do your part in the work that I have called you to do. It is not necessary for you to see and understand everything that pertains to the structure of My kingdom. You must only do your part and do it to the best of your ability. I have other workmen that are also fulfilling their roles in My kingdom work that I have not called you to do. Just do what I have asked you to do.
I am the Architect of My kingdom. I know what it will look like after it is completed. And, after all is said and done, you will not be recognized by having your name placed on the “cathedral”. No, that is reserved for My Son. His name will be placed on high and He will take His place on His throne.
But, you can be assured that I know the contributions you are making in My kingdom. Your work does not go unnoticed. One day very soon, you will be rewarded for all of your work and you will receive some very special crowns.
But, on that day when you receive those jeweled crowns, you will be in such awe of the beauty of the kingdom you helped to construct that you will be so humbled by all that you will see. Because you will take your place in the presence of My Son, you will lay down your crowns at His feet and rejoice. On that day, it will not matter to you how much work you have done over the years. And, it will not matter to you whether any one noticed what your work on the earth. No, the only thing that will matter on that day is that you will enter through gates of splendor and bow down before your glorious King.
My precious child: do not quit and do not give up. Those thoughts do not come from Me but come from My adversary and My enemy. He knows what I am doing through you and He knows the work that I am accomplishing through your life. That antagonist, know as Satan, knows he was defeated when My Son died on the cross and He knows that one day he will ultimately go down to eternal defeat.
So, dear Pastor, carry on. Go quietly amidst the troubles, the trials, the hardships, and the heartaches. These afflictions are only temporary. The journey is just beginning for you but one day you will make your appearance in My glorious kingdom in Heaven.
Until then, you just keep on following Me and serving Me. I have prepared a special place for you upon your arrival.
I love you, dearly.
Your friend,
God
P.S. There are many, many people awaiting your arrival and your entrance here in heaven. They need to speak with you because they want you to know how much you meant to them on earth and they want to say “thanks”.
Cheap Crosses
Mark 15:25 " Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him".
No one wanted a Roman crucifixion. With its origins in the Middle East in the area which we now know as Iran, crucifixion by the Roman government was cruel, vicious, brutal, and humiliating.
The Roman soldiers always made the victim carry the cross to the place where he would be crucified.
And so, the journey began for Jesus to carry His own cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Spat upon and laughed at, His robe ripped from His body, the Roman soldiers brought the cross that weighed over 100 pounds and was made of olive wood to Jesus. They lashed His shoulders to the cross then tied a long rope around His waist that was approximately ten feet long.
The rope was that long, so that, should the victim become reluctant to walk forward, the soldiers could pull the one being crucified down the street.
Jesus had already lost a lot of blood in the garden of Gethsemane. He had sweated great drops of blood through His skin through a process of the human body called “hematidrosis”. Hematidrosis can occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, for example when someone is facing their own death.
Hematidrosis causes great weakness in the human body and can cause the body to go into shock. During this process of the human body, as a result of the hemorrhaging of blood into the sweat glands, the skin becomes fragile and tender and the slightest touch can cause a considerable amount of pain.
Before Jesus was crucified, He had been struck in the face and His body had been beaten through the torture known as scourging. Scourging, practiced by the Romans, was a cruel punishment that usually preceded crucifixion.
The only ones exempted from scourging were women, Roman senators, and soldiers, except in cases of desertion. Normally there were between one and six trained Roman officers called lictors who were responsible for dispensing the blows to the victims. The lictors chosen to administer the scourging had received special medical training.
They knew how to wield the whip so as to open bruises which had already formed. The instrument used for scourging was a short whip called a flagrum or flagellum to which was attached several braided leather thongs of variable lengths.
Knots were tied in the ends of each thong, and sheep bone or iron balls were inserted into the knots at the end of each thong.
Jesus had been stripped of his clothing and his hands were tied to a post.
The Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back and legs with full force causing deep contusions.
Lacerations from repeated blows cut into the underlying muscles of His body and ripped the overlaying skin of His back to a point where it hung in ribbons of bleeding flesh. His capillaries and veins would have been torn resulting in intense bleeding.
The pain that Jesus experienced from the scourging was intensified because of hematidrosis in Jesus’ body. His body would now be in a state of half-shock and His body temperature would have begun to drop. At this point, there would be little fluid left to nourish the tissues of His body.
The Roman soldiers realized how hard they had pushed Him when Jesus fell to the ground and could go no further. So, they enlisted Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross.
Once the victim reached the site of crucifixion, a society of Jewish women would always give a victim a mixture of vinegar and myrrh to ease the pain before the cross was lifted with the person tied to it. That day when Jesus was crucified, two thieves were crucified with Him, and the thieves drank the liquid in an attempt to ease the pain of crucifixion. But, not Jesus.
No. He wanted His mind clear. He knew exactly what He was doing and He knew the pain that was to come. There was no attempt on His part to try to ease the discomfort or escape any of the suffering that was about to occur.
So, the Roman soldiers flung Him to the dirt and stretched His arms at 90 degree angles on the cross. Then, the soldiers drove 5 inch long spikes into His wrists.
The reason they drove the spikes into the victim’s wrists was so that at the moment of lifting the victim, the median nerve that runs from the wrist to the shoulder, would be severed and excruciating pain would race up and down the victim’s arm. The only relief possible to the victim would be death itself and doctors report that the greatest pain that someone being crucified would experience would have been when the median nerve was severed.
As the pain shot through the arms of Jesus and the two thieves that day, none of us could imagine the terrifying screams that went up from the hillside in that awful, awesome moment.
Once the victim was lifted up on the cross, one of two methods was used regarding the victim’s feet. The first method would be to leave the feet hanging, which would bring about almost certain death.
The soldiers, though, had discovered a way to prolong the torture. They would place the left foot against the cross then place the right foot on top of the left and drive a spike through both feet. When the victim would begin to sag and as his body reached an angle of 65 degrees, he would be unable to breathe and carbon dioxide would fill the lungs, causing more terrifying pain. (Imagine holding your breath and not being able to breathe). (Notes on medical aspects of the crucifixion: from T.W. Hunt).
Then, they crucified Jesus on the cross.
Why is the cross so important? Why was it necessary for Jesus to die on an old rugged cross?
Because the cross is the place where Jesus shed His blood and died for our sins. And, the cross is the place of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice for the atonement for our past, present, and future sins.
It is in that awful, terrible moment when Jesus, holy and perfect and pure as He was, and is, takes upon Himself the sins of the world and He is crucified.
It is a liberating event for you, and for me, for on the cross we are delivered from the penalty of our sins. The penalty would have been separation from God for eternity in that terrible place called Hell had Jesus not died for us.
Not only were we delivered from the penalty of our sins by Jesus dying on the cross, we were also delivered from the power of sin in our lives. How cruel it would have been for God to have delivered us from only the penalty of our sins but not offered freedom from the power of sin in our daily lives.
Being delivered from the penalty of sin and being delivered from the power of sin, when Jesus died on the cross, He also set us free so that one day, in heaven, we will be delivered from the presence of sin. And in heaven, there will be no sin.
But, what about the cross today?
Why don’t we preach more about the cross than we do? Why don’t we teach about the cross more in our Bible study groups in our churches? Why don’t we write more books about the cross? Why don’t we write and sing more songs about the cross?
If the cross was so important to the Lord Jesus, why is it not important to us today?
We live in a world of crosses today in our culture but the crosses are "cheap crosses." Just go into your local Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target, or K-Mart and you can buy a cross always for much less than the retail price. Just google the words “cheap crosses” and you will find many web sites where you can purchase a cheap cross.
And, certainly, you know that everyone needs to wear a cheap cross and everybody needs to have a cheap cross hanging on the walls of their houses. Of course, all bought at discount for less than the retail price.
We see people everywhere wearing cheap crosses around their necks on a chain. They wear their cheap crosses in their ears as ear rings. They wear their cheap crosses on their fingers as rings or they have their cheap crosses tattooed on who knows how many different parts of their bodies.
And, it’s cool to wear a cross, isn’t it? Why, just ask Snoop Dog or 50 Cent or rapper Slim Thug if it isn’t cool to wear a cross around your neck. Hey, if the rappers do it, we all ought to do it!
Here is the funny thing about purchasing a cheap cross: you can go into any Sam’s, Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart and buy a cross and they won’t even ask you for your OCI badge (Official Christian Identification badge) that says that you are a legitimate, in good standing and long-time member of the “I’m saved because my identification badge says so” society.
No, everybody qualifies to buy and wear cheap crosses, whether they are a Christian or not.
Wearing a cross is appealing. Isn’t it? It makes you look good and it makes a great fashion statement, doesn’t it? And cheap crosses profit the companies that make them because they don’t cost a lot to make. So, all in all, buy a cheap cross and help the economy.
Sadly, cheap crosses could well describe a good bit of what we hear being preached on TV, on the radio, on the internet, and in our churches. And, a cheap cross might be appropriate to put on the steeples of some our churches whose pulpits are catering to those who want a religion at no cost.
We don't mind wearing the symbol of the cross around our necks. We don't even mind singing hymns about the cross. And, to be honest with you, we don't even mind if someone preaches about the cross----- just so they preach to lost people and not to us. We love to sing that we will “cling to the old rugged cross” but do we understand what clinging to the “old rugged cross” really means.
If someone preaches that the cross is about personal sacrifice, we don’t like it.
If someone preaches to us that the cross will take us out of our own little world of our comfort zone, we don’t like it.
If someone preaches to us that the cross will mean our own death to sin, death to selfishness, and death to self-centeredness, we don’t like it.
We want to get the Christian life for as little sacrifice as possible. And, maybe we can even slip through the Christian journey for absolutely nothing.
That describes so much of what is happening today in Christianity. We want a cheap cross.
Sadly, there is very little preaching today about the cross of Jesus but there is more preaching about (and these are not made up):
• Eight steps to create the life you want
• How to become a better you
• Positioning yourself for greatness
• Positioning yourself to prosper
• Exalted in my body (whatever that means!)
• Designed for success
• Stepping to a new level of blessing
• The necessity of how to recognize the enemies of prosperity
• The rewards of recognizing financial deliverers assigned by God to unlock your
faith
• How to focus your seed sowing for a specific result
God forbid that anybody preach on the cross today and suffering and sacrifice. There are men who call themselves communicators and motivators but they are, apparently, afraid to call themselves "preachers of the gospel", fearful that they might be associated with someone who just might preach on the cross of Christ.
And, God forbid that anybody write about the cross of Christ and about denying self and denying the flesh. We have Christian books written today about success, financial prosperity, the Christian’s sex life, being on the mountaintop with God, how to be happy and how God wants to bless your life with fancy homes, fancy cars, and the latest in fashionable clothes. But, we don’t have much written about the cross.
Why is that?
When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant death.
When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant denial of fleshly desires and fleshly wants.
When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant heading down a road from which there would be no return.
Where do we find ourselves today? Preferring a "cheap cross", one in which there is no commitment, no surrender, and no change in our lives? That kind of cross is not found in the Word of God.
The cross that is mentioned in the New Testament is:
• A cross that is demonstrated by surrendering our lives to follow Jesus Christ.
• A cross that is marked by complete and total obedience to Jesus Christ and nothing
less is acceptable than complete obedience.
• A cross that results in lives being changed.
In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul describes what the cross meant in Jesus' life-
5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus
6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God
7) But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men:
8) And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
• The cross for Jesus meant no recognition (verse 7a: "…but made Himself of no reputation…"). Jesus was not concerned about making a name for Himself nor was He concerned about being well known or noticed. He wasn’t concerned about self-promotion.
• The cross for Jesus meant no prejudice (verse 7b: "…took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men…"). Jesus was willing to become like we are in order for us to become like He is. He was willing to identify and associate Himself with mankind, showing no prejudice toward us and toward our sinfulness, our rottenness, and our wickedness.
• The cross for Jesus meant no pride (verse 8a: "…He humbled Himself…"). For Jesus, there was never an issue of pride. He humbled Himself and became a servant.
• The cross for Jesus meant no rebellion (verse 8b: "…. became obedient unto death…"). We find no resistance and no rebellion in Jesus. We see that He went to the cross to die, willingly and joyfully. (Hebrews 12:2 “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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”.)
Among the words that have lost their meaning in today's church is the word “cross” and that word that has lost its meaning in your life and my life.
Cheap cross? I hope not but it sure looks like it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism during World War II. Bonhoeffer was arrested in March 1943, imprisoned, and eventually hanged just days before the end of World War II in Europe.
Bonhoeffer wrote:
"The cross is laid on every Christian. The first suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. We surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death—we give over our lives to death. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die....death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man. Only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, die to all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die…”
Instead of a cheap cross there must be the realization that the cross is costly. It cost Jesus His life. It will also cost us our lives by requiring us to die to self.
What is dying to self?
“When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at nought, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of and when your wishes are crossed and your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, to any annoyance, when you stand face to face with waste and folly and extravagance and spiritual insensitivity and endure it as Jesus endured it, that is dying to self.
When you're content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any solitude, any raiment, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or to record your own good words or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly, as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self.” (Gene Warr)
Let me ask you: are you dead yet?
Surrender? Never!!!!
Nancy Leigh Demoss writes in her book, “Surrender: The Heart God Controls”, pages 17-18, 2003):
"On March 10, 1975, almost thirty years after the end of World War II, Lt. Hiroo Onoda finally handed over his rusty sword and became the last Japanese soldier to surrender.
Onoda had been sent to the tropical island of Lubang in the Philippines in 1944, with orders to conduct guerrilla warfare and prevent enemy attack on the island. When the war ended, Onoda refused to believe the messages announcing Japan’s surrender.
For twenty-nine years, long after all his fellow soldiers had either surrendered or been killed off, Onoda continued defending the island territory for the defeated Japanese army. He hid in the jungle, living off the land, stealing food and supplies from local citizens, evading one search party after another, and killing at least thirty nationals in the process. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent trying to locate the lone holdout and convince him that the war was over.Leaflets, newspapers, photographs, and letters from friends were dropped in the jungle; announcements were made over loudspeakers, begging Onoda to surrender.
Still he refused to give up his fight.
Some thirteen thousand men had been deployed in the effort before Onoda finally received a personal command from his former commander and was persuaded to give up the futile, solitary war he had waged for so many years.
In his autobiography entitled, “No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War”, Onoda describes the moment that the reality of what had transpired began to sink in:
I felt like a fool...What had I been doing for these years?...For the first time I really understood....This was the end. I pulled back the bolt on my rifle and unloaded the bullets...I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it." (Demoss)
(end of quote)
__________________________________________
The war, for Onodo, was finally over.
But, yet, the war rages on for some of us.
And, that war is raging inside of us because, not unlike Hiroo Onoda, we fight and refuse to surrender. We rebel against God’s authority and we defiantly resist Him.
Why? Because “flesh” is hostile to submitting to God’s authority. The “flesh” attempts to do things its own way. And, the “flesh”, strong and powerful that it is, seeks to live without surrendering to God.
Surprisingly, the Sovereign Lord allows us, in our “flesh”, to do things our own way.
Why? He knows that, sooner or later, we will discover that we can’t accomplish anything of eternal significance in our “flesh”. And, He knows that we will find that, in our “flesh” and in our refusal to submit, we will fail miserably. He loves us too much to force Himself upon us. And, in His compassion and graciousness, He allows us to discover that when we surrender and submit, we find the pathway to freedom and deliverance from the stranglehold and putridness of the “flesh”.
And, so the war rages on ...and on ...and on. No surrender. No submission. No raising of the white flag. No throwing in of the towel. No laying down of the gun like Hiroo Onoda.
No! Absolutely not! The “flesh” shall fight to the end: “I can do it!”
And, so, while we refuse to surrender and refuse to submit, others around us have to endure the agony. Many residents on the island of Lubang suffered and many died at the hands of Hiroo Onoda because of his unwillingness to surrender. Likewise, our spouses, our family members, our friends, our co-workers, other believers, and our ministries, suffer the extreme pain and terrible consequences of our pride and our “flesh” and our refusal to surrender to the almighty hand of God.
Many have surrendered and found their freedom and their joy. Others have raised the white flag of surrender and found their peace.
But, no, not the “flesh”. It seeks to have its own way. It is stubborn, inflexible, immovable, and obstinate. The “flesh” is at war and will fight to the bitter end.
And so, the war rages on...and on...and on...and................................................................................................
Thoughts on the man of God
It was during his first visit to Britain on a preaching mission, that D.L. Moody heard the words which set him hungering and thirsting after a deeper walk with God and which marked a new beginning in his life. The words were spoken to him by Henry Varley, a well-known evangelist of that time, as they sat together on a seat in a public park in Dublin. The words were these:
"The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him."
"He said 'a man'" thought Moody, "he did not say a great man, nor a learned man, nor a 'smart' man, but simply 'a man.' I am a man, and it lies with the man himself whether he will or will not make that entire and full consecration. I will try my utmost to be that man." The words kept ringing in his mind, and burning their way into his soul until finally he was led into the deeper, richer, fuller experience for which his soul yearned. (Source: J. Gilchrist Lawson)
Ezekiel 22
23 Again the word of the LORD came to me:
24 "Son of man, say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath.'
25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.
28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-when the LORD has not spoken.
29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
God was looking for a man. Not a group of men. Not a collection of men. Not a cluster of men. Just one man. But He found no one. Where was the man that God was looking for?
Because of Israel’s spiritual poverty and spiritual pollution, Ezekiel had prophesied the fall of Jerusalem. But his message fell on deaf ears. The people of God had become worthless and useless to God. They had violated some of the Ten Commandments and they had become proud and disrespectful to God. Their disobedience would eventually lead to their destruction and the corruption was so complete that when God searched for a man to stand in the gap, to build up the wall, none could be found. (Source: Walvoord and Zuck)
Where was the man that God needed? He had always found his man before.
When God wanted a man in the midst of a desperately corrupt culture, He found Noah.
When God wanted a father for His people, He found Abraham.
When God needed an honorable man to save not only His people but the people of a foreign nation, He found Joseph.
When God needed a deliverer of His people, He found Moses.
When God needed a king for His people, He found David.
When God needed a prophet to confront the prophets of Baal, he found Elijah.
When God needed someone to whom He would give a double portion of His Spirit, He found Elisha.
When God needed someone to be a testimony and witness in Babylon, He found Daniel.
And where is that one man today?
We have seen that man before in people like D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, and others: surrendered to God, pursued Him with passion, and consumed with fire from heaven.
But where is that man today? Where is that man for our generation?
There may be some today that would say there will never be another man like Billy Graham; that there will never be another man like Moody, never another man like Spurgeon.
There are some who might say that Billy Graham was a man whom God used in his generation, in his own day, but that the world will probably never see that kind of ministry and that kind of response to the gospel again. There are some that might say that we will never see another Moody or Spurgeon. indicative of Christian leaders who say that we are living in a post-Christian era, giving up on God and sounding like it is time to lock the doors, clock out, and go home.
We know that our culture and our generation are far from what we desire it to be, but, are we past the point when God can use one individual, like a Billy Graham, to call our nation and our world to repentance?
In days gone by, God has usually used one man (sometimes several men) to be His vessel for sending a great movement of His Spirit throughout a nation.
In the First Great Awakening, during the 18th century, in Great Britain and colonial America, God used men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John and Charles Wesley.
In the Second Great Awakening, God used men like Francis Asbury, Charles Finney, and Peter Cartwright, a missionary who helped start the Second Great Awakening and who personally baptized twelve thousand people.
Included in the Second Great Awakening, was Jeremiah Lanphier, one man determined to see a great movement of God in New York City. Little did he know that the simple prayer meeting he started by himself during his workplace lunch hour would ultimately result in more than 50,000 people a day praying for revival. And those prayers would usher in, what Perry Miller of Harvard would later refer to as, "The Event of the Century", an awakening formally referred to as "The Layman's Prayer Revival."
During the Second Great Awakening, scholars estimate that possibly a million people came to Christ in 1857 and 1858. Therefore, in less than one year, nearly 20% of the American population was swept into the Kingdom of God. Three years later, in 1861, though the Civil War had begun, the revival continued, as both union and confederate soldiers were converted by the thousands.
The latter half of the 1800’s gave the world men of God, such as D.L. Moody, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, George Mueller and great theologians such as Charles Hodge and B.B. Warfield.
In 1904, in the country of Wales, God used Evan Roberts, who prayed, “Lord, bend me”, to bring one hundred thousand souls to Christ in just nine months, from November 1904 to August 1905.
But where is the man of God for our generation?
Where is the man of God who will pursue righteousness rather than recognition?
Where is the man of God who will pursue holiness rather than happiness?
Where is the one who will be a man after God’s own heart?
Is it you?
Would you be the man who would rise up and say to God?
“Lord, I want to be that one man through whom the world can see what You can do through one individual fully consecrated to You. I will take the mantle. I will take the next step. I will do whatever it takes. I will be the one who flings himself upon You, no matter what the cost, no matter what others might say. I will be the one who doesn’t care about being famous; who doesn’t care about being recognized; who doesn’t even care never to be asked to preach at the next big pastor’s conference. All I care about is being right with You and being used by You, Lord. I will be the one who wants to know You more intimately and who wants to know You more deeply. I will be the one who wants to experience more of Your holiness and wants to experience more of Your power. I will be the one who wants to know the depths of Your love and I will be the one who wants more of You in my life. Lord, I want You. I want Your hand upon me and I will be that man who is fully and totally consecrated to You. Lord, I will be your man”.All it takes is one man.
On June 5, 1989, almost nobody knew the man’s name. Nobody outside his immediate neighborhood had read his words or heard him make a speech. Nobody even knows what happened to him even one hour after his one moment that was seen in the world's living rooms through television. But one man stood before a column of army tanks near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, to protest the Chinese government’s violence towards Chinese students who supported a democratic form of government.
The meaning of his moment — and it was no more than that — was instantly decipherable in any tongue, to any age group: millions of people knew what the "tank man" (also know as the “Unknown Rebel”) did.
A small, unexceptional figure in slacks and white shirt, carrying what looked to be his shopping bag, posted himself before an approaching army tank, with a line of 17 more tanks behind it. The first tank swerved to the right; and this one man moved to his left to block it. Then, the tank swerved left; and this one man moved to his right. Surprisingly, the “tank man” then climbed up onto this vehicle of war and said to its driver, "Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you."
One lone man stood up to machinery, stood up to armed forces and to all the massed weight of the People's Republic of China and stopped a brigade of 18 tanks. As soon as the man descended from the tank, anxious onlookers pulled him to safety, and the waters of anonymity closed around him, his name never known yet will be remembered for his courage. (Source: CNN)
Just one man. That’s all it took.
And maybe that is what it will take for God to send His Spirit to our generation for another great spiritual awakening. He has done it before. I believe He can do it again.
"The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him."
Kenny
"The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him."
"He said 'a man'" thought Moody, "he did not say a great man, nor a learned man, nor a 'smart' man, but simply 'a man.' I am a man, and it lies with the man himself whether he will or will not make that entire and full consecration. I will try my utmost to be that man." The words kept ringing in his mind, and burning their way into his soul until finally he was led into the deeper, richer, fuller experience for which his soul yearned. (Source: J. Gilchrist Lawson)
Ezekiel 22
23 Again the word of the LORD came to me:
24 "Son of man, say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath.'
25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.
28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-when the LORD has not spoken.
29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
God was looking for a man. Not a group of men. Not a collection of men. Not a cluster of men. Just one man. But He found no one. Where was the man that God was looking for?
Because of Israel’s spiritual poverty and spiritual pollution, Ezekiel had prophesied the fall of Jerusalem. But his message fell on deaf ears. The people of God had become worthless and useless to God. They had violated some of the Ten Commandments and they had become proud and disrespectful to God. Their disobedience would eventually lead to their destruction and the corruption was so complete that when God searched for a man to stand in the gap, to build up the wall, none could be found. (Source: Walvoord and Zuck)
Where was the man that God needed? He had always found his man before.
When God wanted a man in the midst of a desperately corrupt culture, He found Noah.
When God wanted a father for His people, He found Abraham.
When God needed an honorable man to save not only His people but the people of a foreign nation, He found Joseph.
When God needed a deliverer of His people, He found Moses.
When God needed a king for His people, He found David.
When God needed a prophet to confront the prophets of Baal, he found Elijah.
When God needed someone to whom He would give a double portion of His Spirit, He found Elisha.
When God needed someone to be a testimony and witness in Babylon, He found Daniel.
And where is that one man today?
We have seen that man before in people like D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, and others: surrendered to God, pursued Him with passion, and consumed with fire from heaven.
But where is that man today? Where is that man for our generation?
There may be some today that would say there will never be another man like Billy Graham; that there will never be another man like Moody, never another man like Spurgeon.
There are some who might say that Billy Graham was a man whom God used in his generation, in his own day, but that the world will probably never see that kind of ministry and that kind of response to the gospel again. There are some that might say that we will never see another Moody or Spurgeon. indicative of Christian leaders who say that we are living in a post-Christian era, giving up on God and sounding like it is time to lock the doors, clock out, and go home.
We know that our culture and our generation are far from what we desire it to be, but, are we past the point when God can use one individual, like a Billy Graham, to call our nation and our world to repentance?
In days gone by, God has usually used one man (sometimes several men) to be His vessel for sending a great movement of His Spirit throughout a nation.
In the First Great Awakening, during the 18th century, in Great Britain and colonial America, God used men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John and Charles Wesley.
In the Second Great Awakening, God used men like Francis Asbury, Charles Finney, and Peter Cartwright, a missionary who helped start the Second Great Awakening and who personally baptized twelve thousand people.
Included in the Second Great Awakening, was Jeremiah Lanphier, one man determined to see a great movement of God in New York City. Little did he know that the simple prayer meeting he started by himself during his workplace lunch hour would ultimately result in more than 50,000 people a day praying for revival. And those prayers would usher in, what Perry Miller of Harvard would later refer to as, "The Event of the Century", an awakening formally referred to as "The Layman's Prayer Revival."
During the Second Great Awakening, scholars estimate that possibly a million people came to Christ in 1857 and 1858. Therefore, in less than one year, nearly 20% of the American population was swept into the Kingdom of God. Three years later, in 1861, though the Civil War had begun, the revival continued, as both union and confederate soldiers were converted by the thousands.
The latter half of the 1800’s gave the world men of God, such as D.L. Moody, William Booth, Hudson Taylor, George Mueller and great theologians such as Charles Hodge and B.B. Warfield.
In 1904, in the country of Wales, God used Evan Roberts, who prayed, “Lord, bend me”, to bring one hundred thousand souls to Christ in just nine months, from November 1904 to August 1905.
But where is the man of God for our generation?
Where is the man of God who will pursue righteousness rather than recognition?
Where is the man of God who will pursue holiness rather than happiness?
Where is the one who will be a man after God’s own heart?
Is it you?
Would you be the man who would rise up and say to God?
“Lord, I want to be that one man through whom the world can see what You can do through one individual fully consecrated to You. I will take the mantle. I will take the next step. I will do whatever it takes. I will be the one who flings himself upon You, no matter what the cost, no matter what others might say. I will be the one who doesn’t care about being famous; who doesn’t care about being recognized; who doesn’t even care never to be asked to preach at the next big pastor’s conference. All I care about is being right with You and being used by You, Lord. I will be the one who wants to know You more intimately and who wants to know You more deeply. I will be the one who wants to experience more of Your holiness and wants to experience more of Your power. I will be the one who wants to know the depths of Your love and I will be the one who wants more of You in my life. Lord, I want You. I want Your hand upon me and I will be that man who is fully and totally consecrated to You. Lord, I will be your man”.All it takes is one man.
On June 5, 1989, almost nobody knew the man’s name. Nobody outside his immediate neighborhood had read his words or heard him make a speech. Nobody even knows what happened to him even one hour after his one moment that was seen in the world's living rooms through television. But one man stood before a column of army tanks near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, to protest the Chinese government’s violence towards Chinese students who supported a democratic form of government.
The meaning of his moment — and it was no more than that — was instantly decipherable in any tongue, to any age group: millions of people knew what the "tank man" (also know as the “Unknown Rebel”) did.
A small, unexceptional figure in slacks and white shirt, carrying what looked to be his shopping bag, posted himself before an approaching army tank, with a line of 17 more tanks behind it. The first tank swerved to the right; and this one man moved to his left to block it. Then, the tank swerved left; and this one man moved to his right. Surprisingly, the “tank man” then climbed up onto this vehicle of war and said to its driver, "Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you."
One lone man stood up to machinery, stood up to armed forces and to all the massed weight of the People's Republic of China and stopped a brigade of 18 tanks. As soon as the man descended from the tank, anxious onlookers pulled him to safety, and the waters of anonymity closed around him, his name never known yet will be remembered for his courage. (Source: CNN)
Just one man. That’s all it took.
And maybe that is what it will take for God to send His Spirit to our generation for another great spiritual awakening. He has done it before. I believe He can do it again.
"The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him."
Kenny
Darkness
"What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops." Matthew 10:27
At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness" - watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
(Oswald Chambers)
At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness" - watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
(Oswald Chambers)
The Difficult Places Of Life
Events and circumstances, moments in our lives, and crises that we experience, can sometimes define and determine who we are and how we respond to other situations in our lives. When we look backwards at those events, sometimes we can gain some modicum of understanding as to the influence our circumstances have had on us in developing our character. impacting the way we live, and, ultimately, teaching us more about God. Whether good times or bad times, our circumstances, and our reaction to those circumstances, influence our lives in many different ways. And it is in these difficult places of life that we find ourselves intimately drawn to God in worship.
So, it was in the life of the prophet Isaiah, who records a major event in his life that would define and impact his life and his ministry: the death of King Uzziah.
Isaiah 6
1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called out to another and said, " Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."
4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
5 Then I said, " Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Uzziah was the tenth king of Judah and, for most of his reign, lived a godly life. He was highly influenced by the prophet Zechariah and, unlike many of the other kings before him, never rebelled against God..............................................until the end of his life.
Under his influence, the southern kingdom attained power, wealth and success unlike any it had enjoyed since the days of Solomon. Because of his successful reign as king, Uzziah was well-respected and the people of his nation looked up to him as one of their greatest leaders.
In Second Chronicles 26, we find the following information about Uzziah:
1 All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah’s sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as king in place of his father.
2 After his father’s death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.
4 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.
5 Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.
6 Uzziah declared war on the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built new towns in the Ashdod area and in other parts of Philistia.
7 God helped him in his wars against the Philistines, his battles with the Arabs of Gur, and his wars with the Meunites.
8 The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful.
9 Uzziah built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle in the wall.
10 He also constructed forts in the wilderness and dug many water cisterns, because he kept great herds of livestock in the foothills of Judah and on the plains. He was also a man who loved the soil. He had many workers who cared for his farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys.
11 Uzziah had an army of well-trained warriors, ready to march into battle, unit by unit. This army had been mustered and organized by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. They were under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials.
12 These regiments of mighty warriors were commanded by 2,600 clan leaders.
13 The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. They were prepared to assist the king against any enemy.
14 Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones.
15 And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful.
16 But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.
17 Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men.
18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!”
19 Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead.
20 When Azariah the high priest and all the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the Lord had struck him.
21 So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.
22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 When Uzziah died, he was buried with his ancestors; his grave was in a nearby burial field belonging to the kings, for the people said, “He had leprosy.”
When confronted by the priests, Uzziah became furious and raged against the priests. Uzziah’s power led to a prideful heart and his pride resulted in him doing something that was none of his business. Burning the incense was an act of worship with spiritual significance for the priests. But, only the priests were supposed to enter that part of the temple and burn the incense. Uzziah had decided that is was up to him to take care of God’s business.
God had not called Uzziah to do what he did. As a result of his disobedience, Uzziah was stricken with leprosy by the Lord, placed into quarantine and died in that condition. Uzziah is now remembered more for his disobedience than he is for his obedience.
Isaiah was greatly disturbed by all of this and the death of the great king. Uzziah had reigned for 52 years. His death signaled the end of a time of great prosperity and consistency. For Isaiah, the death of the king was an event that would have major impact on him and the Jewish nation. The King's death ushered in a time of uncertainty, change and doubt but his death also made Isaiah and the entire nation understand that their king died because of his sin.
Yet, for Isaiah, this was to be a time of rediscovery and renewal.
What was it that had such a profound effect upon Isaiah's life? Surely, it must have been that he saw the awful result of sin in the King's life. Uzziah was a godly king, yet, at the end of his reign, he decided to rebel against God. It was never his responsibility to enter the temple. It was never his responsibility to burn the incense. But, yet, we find in Second Chronicles 26 that because of his great power, Uzziah became prideful and he sinned against God. As a result, God placed upon the king a deadly disease and he died in quarantine, hidden away, yes, because of his leprosy, but. more importantly, because of his sin.
This had a devastating effect upon the prophet Isaiah, but, the crisis became an opportunity for revival in his personal life and an opportunity to discover more of God. This awful situation, which could have been a dark cloud over Isaiah’s life, was used by the Lord to bring Isaiah to a fresh encounter in his relationship with God.
When Isaiah has this great vision of God, he gains a deeper understanding about God and he develops a greater perspective about:
· God’s Position-“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne”. The throne of God represents His kingship and His rulership over all of His creation. The throne of God is representative of His authority and that He is in charge. There is only one throne and that is God’s throne. You don’t have a throne. I don’t have a throne. None of God’s people has a throne. Yet, we live our lives like each one of us has a throne. We live like we are in charge and we live like we are the center of the universe. We live like there is no other god but us. I live like it is all about me. You live like it is all about you. Forget about the little catchy phrase that has circulated for some time that is used in songs and in preaching: “It’s not about me; it’s all about You, God”. (Big theological word coming now) HOGWASH! We don’t live like it is all about Him. So, why do keep we keep using that phrase over and over and over and over and over (well, you get the idea) again? No, we need to somehow come to an understanding that it is all about God, that He is on the throne and He has all authority. He is King over all of His creation!
· God’s Perspective-“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up”. God has a different perspective than we do. Isaiah 55:8 tells us that God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Sometimes we question God. Sometimes we don’t understand why He causes or allows things to happen. But, we must come to the conclusion that His perspective is different than ours. We see things from an earthly perspective. God sees things from an eternal perspective. The challenge is to try to see events as God sees them. How? “Turn your eyes upon Jesus....look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”.
· God’s Preeminence-“and the train of His robe filled the temple”. In Isaiah’s day, one would determine a king’s status by his robe and the length of the train of his robe. Isaiah sees the Lord seated on a throne as King and the train of His robe (a wedding dress usually has a long, flowing “train”) filled the whole temple. The implication is that the presence of God crowds out everything and leaves room for nothing else. Oh, that the presence of God would so fill our lives that everything of this world would be crowded out of our lives.
· God’s Purity-“Holy, Holy, Holy”. In theology, there is an area of study that deals with “the otherness of God”. Although we are created in the image of God, there are the characteristics and virtues of Him that distinguish Him from all of creation. One of those characteristics that distinguish Him from us, that is part of His “otherness”, is His holiness.
"Otherness gives us a sense that God is so pure, matchless and unique that no one else and nothing else even comes close. He is altogether glorious—unequalled in splendor and unrivalled in power. He is beyond the grasp of human reason—far above the reach of even the loftiest scientific mind. He is inexhaustible, immeasurable and unfathomable—eternal, immortal and invisible. The highest mountain peaks and the deepest canyon depths are just tiny echoes of His proclaimed greatness. And the blazing stars above, the faintest emblems of the full measure of His glory (Matt Redman)”.
· God’s Providence-“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. The Hebrew word for “hosts” is “saba”.
The plural of “saba” is “sabaot” or “sabaoth”. In the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, Martin Luther wrote these words:
“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.”
“Saba” is a military term and is defined in English as “army”. “Sabaot(h)” is the plural of “saba” and is translated “armies”. When Isaiah refers to God as the “Lord of hosts”, “hosts” refers specifically to all the angelic armies of heaven. This name denotes His universal sovereignty and that he is the King of all heaven and earth.
· God’s Presence-“the whole earth is full of His glory”. God is omnipresent, that is, He is present everywhere. We cannot run from God. We can only run to Him. If we run to the east, He is there. If we run to the west, He is there. Whenever we try to run from Him, we will always find Him already there.
Then Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven’."
When Isaiah comes into the presence of God, he is convicted of his sin and the sins of his people. After his confession and repentance, he is then purged and cleansed of his sin and his sin is forgiven.
What Isaiah discovered was that even though he had a wonderful encounter with God, he was also convicted of the sin in his life. He discovers this principle: the closer one gets to the holiness of God, the more sin is exposed in a person’s life. This worship experience of Isaiah was truly a high point of his life, yet, it also led to the discovery of his own sinfulness. And so also for us: when we worship, we can receive great joy as a result of being in the presence of God, but we must also be mindful that true worship in God’s presence will result in our realization that we fall so short of His glory. Worship that assists us in obtaining a deeper understanding of the “Lord of hosts” will result in our confession and repentance of sin in our lives.
After all of this, Isaiah is spiritually ready to hear:
· God’s Plea- “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" I love what Oswald Chambers (“My Utmost For His Highest”) says about this:
“God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, "...who will go for Us?" However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Send me."
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, here am I! Send me." (January 16, updated version by James Reimann).
And now we see the climax of worship and the proper response to worship: obedience. The worship experience is not complete until there is obedience.
And, so it is, that in our deepest hour of crisis or in our times of sorrow, such as happened to Isaiah, that we can also experience a deeper understanding of God through our worship of Him.
Kenny
So, it was in the life of the prophet Isaiah, who records a major event in his life that would define and impact his life and his ministry: the death of King Uzziah.
Isaiah 6
1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called out to another and said, " Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory."
4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
5 Then I said, " Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Uzziah was the tenth king of Judah and, for most of his reign, lived a godly life. He was highly influenced by the prophet Zechariah and, unlike many of the other kings before him, never rebelled against God..............................................until the end of his life.
Under his influence, the southern kingdom attained power, wealth and success unlike any it had enjoyed since the days of Solomon. Because of his successful reign as king, Uzziah was well-respected and the people of his nation looked up to him as one of their greatest leaders.
In Second Chronicles 26, we find the following information about Uzziah:
1 All the people of Judah had crowned Amaziah’s sixteen-year-old son, Uzziah, as king in place of his father.
2 After his father’s death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.
4 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.
5 Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.
6 Uzziah declared war on the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built new towns in the Ashdod area and in other parts of Philistia.
7 God helped him in his wars against the Philistines, his battles with the Arabs of Gur, and his wars with the Meunites.
8 The Meunites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he had become very powerful.
9 Uzziah built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the angle in the wall.
10 He also constructed forts in the wilderness and dug many water cisterns, because he kept great herds of livestock in the foothills of Judah and on the plains. He was also a man who loved the soil. He had many workers who cared for his farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys.
11 Uzziah had an army of well-trained warriors, ready to march into battle, unit by unit. This army had been mustered and organized by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. They were under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s officials.
12 These regiments of mighty warriors were commanded by 2,600 clan leaders.
13 The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. They were prepared to assist the king against any enemy.
14 Uzziah provided the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones.
15 And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and the corners of the wall. His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful.
16 But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.
17 Azariah the high priest went in after him with eighty other priests of the Lord, all brave men.
18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is the work of the priests alone, the descendants of Aaron who are set apart for this work. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have sinned. The Lord God will not honor you for this!”
19 Uzziah, who was holding an incense burner, became furious. But as he was standing there raging at the priests before the incense altar in the Lord’s Temple, leprosy suddenly broke out on his forehead.
20 When Azariah the high priest and all the other priests saw the leprosy, they rushed him out. And the king himself was eager to get out because the Lord had struck him.
21 So King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house, for he was excluded from the Temple of the Lord. His son Jotham was put in charge of the royal palace, and he governed the people of the land.
22 The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 When Uzziah died, he was buried with his ancestors; his grave was in a nearby burial field belonging to the kings, for the people said, “He had leprosy.”
When confronted by the priests, Uzziah became furious and raged against the priests. Uzziah’s power led to a prideful heart and his pride resulted in him doing something that was none of his business. Burning the incense was an act of worship with spiritual significance for the priests. But, only the priests were supposed to enter that part of the temple and burn the incense. Uzziah had decided that is was up to him to take care of God’s business.
God had not called Uzziah to do what he did. As a result of his disobedience, Uzziah was stricken with leprosy by the Lord, placed into quarantine and died in that condition. Uzziah is now remembered more for his disobedience than he is for his obedience.
Isaiah was greatly disturbed by all of this and the death of the great king. Uzziah had reigned for 52 years. His death signaled the end of a time of great prosperity and consistency. For Isaiah, the death of the king was an event that would have major impact on him and the Jewish nation. The King's death ushered in a time of uncertainty, change and doubt but his death also made Isaiah and the entire nation understand that their king died because of his sin.
Yet, for Isaiah, this was to be a time of rediscovery and renewal.
What was it that had such a profound effect upon Isaiah's life? Surely, it must have been that he saw the awful result of sin in the King's life. Uzziah was a godly king, yet, at the end of his reign, he decided to rebel against God. It was never his responsibility to enter the temple. It was never his responsibility to burn the incense. But, yet, we find in Second Chronicles 26 that because of his great power, Uzziah became prideful and he sinned against God. As a result, God placed upon the king a deadly disease and he died in quarantine, hidden away, yes, because of his leprosy, but. more importantly, because of his sin.
This had a devastating effect upon the prophet Isaiah, but, the crisis became an opportunity for revival in his personal life and an opportunity to discover more of God. This awful situation, which could have been a dark cloud over Isaiah’s life, was used by the Lord to bring Isaiah to a fresh encounter in his relationship with God.
When Isaiah has this great vision of God, he gains a deeper understanding about God and he develops a greater perspective about:
· God’s Position-“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne”. The throne of God represents His kingship and His rulership over all of His creation. The throne of God is representative of His authority and that He is in charge. There is only one throne and that is God’s throne. You don’t have a throne. I don’t have a throne. None of God’s people has a throne. Yet, we live our lives like each one of us has a throne. We live like we are in charge and we live like we are the center of the universe. We live like there is no other god but us. I live like it is all about me. You live like it is all about you. Forget about the little catchy phrase that has circulated for some time that is used in songs and in preaching: “It’s not about me; it’s all about You, God”. (Big theological word coming now) HOGWASH! We don’t live like it is all about Him. So, why do keep we keep using that phrase over and over and over and over and over (well, you get the idea) again? No, we need to somehow come to an understanding that it is all about God, that He is on the throne and He has all authority. He is King over all of His creation!
· God’s Perspective-“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up”. God has a different perspective than we do. Isaiah 55:8 tells us that God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Sometimes we question God. Sometimes we don’t understand why He causes or allows things to happen. But, we must come to the conclusion that His perspective is different than ours. We see things from an earthly perspective. God sees things from an eternal perspective. The challenge is to try to see events as God sees them. How? “Turn your eyes upon Jesus....look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”.
· God’s Preeminence-“and the train of His robe filled the temple”. In Isaiah’s day, one would determine a king’s status by his robe and the length of the train of his robe. Isaiah sees the Lord seated on a throne as King and the train of His robe (a wedding dress usually has a long, flowing “train”) filled the whole temple. The implication is that the presence of God crowds out everything and leaves room for nothing else. Oh, that the presence of God would so fill our lives that everything of this world would be crowded out of our lives.
· God’s Purity-“Holy, Holy, Holy”. In theology, there is an area of study that deals with “the otherness of God”. Although we are created in the image of God, there are the characteristics and virtues of Him that distinguish Him from all of creation. One of those characteristics that distinguish Him from us, that is part of His “otherness”, is His holiness.
"Otherness gives us a sense that God is so pure, matchless and unique that no one else and nothing else even comes close. He is altogether glorious—unequalled in splendor and unrivalled in power. He is beyond the grasp of human reason—far above the reach of even the loftiest scientific mind. He is inexhaustible, immeasurable and unfathomable—eternal, immortal and invisible. The highest mountain peaks and the deepest canyon depths are just tiny echoes of His proclaimed greatness. And the blazing stars above, the faintest emblems of the full measure of His glory (Matt Redman)”.
· God’s Providence-“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. The Hebrew word for “hosts” is “saba”.
The plural of “saba” is “sabaot” or “sabaoth”. In the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, Martin Luther wrote these words:
“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.”
“Saba” is a military term and is defined in English as “army”. “Sabaot(h)” is the plural of “saba” and is translated “armies”. When Isaiah refers to God as the “Lord of hosts”, “hosts” refers specifically to all the angelic armies of heaven. This name denotes His universal sovereignty and that he is the King of all heaven and earth.
· God’s Presence-“the whole earth is full of His glory”. God is omnipresent, that is, He is present everywhere. We cannot run from God. We can only run to Him. If we run to the east, He is there. If we run to the west, He is there. Whenever we try to run from Him, we will always find Him already there.
Then Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven’."
When Isaiah comes into the presence of God, he is convicted of his sin and the sins of his people. After his confession and repentance, he is then purged and cleansed of his sin and his sin is forgiven.
What Isaiah discovered was that even though he had a wonderful encounter with God, he was also convicted of the sin in his life. He discovers this principle: the closer one gets to the holiness of God, the more sin is exposed in a person’s life. This worship experience of Isaiah was truly a high point of his life, yet, it also led to the discovery of his own sinfulness. And so also for us: when we worship, we can receive great joy as a result of being in the presence of God, but we must also be mindful that true worship in God’s presence will result in our realization that we fall so short of His glory. Worship that assists us in obtaining a deeper understanding of the “Lord of hosts” will result in our confession and repentance of sin in our lives.
After all of this, Isaiah is spiritually ready to hear:
· God’s Plea- “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" I love what Oswald Chambers (“My Utmost For His Highest”) says about this:
“God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, "...who will go for Us?" However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Send me."
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, here am I! Send me." (January 16, updated version by James Reimann).
And now we see the climax of worship and the proper response to worship: obedience. The worship experience is not complete until there is obedience.
And, so it is, that in our deepest hour of crisis or in our times of sorrow, such as happened to Isaiah, that we can also experience a deeper understanding of God through our worship of Him.
Kenny
You Are Important To God
In the late 1800’s, Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher, had a passion to win all of the young boys in his Sunday School class to the Lord. One of the boys he shared the gospel with, and who was saved, was a young man who later became one of America’s greatest evangelists: D.L. Moody.
After evangelizing America, D. L. Moody started on England. There in England F. B. Meyer heard his message. One of the illustrations that Moody used, about his Sunday School teacher Edward Kimball, stirred two of Meyer’s Sunday School teachers. One of the Sunday school teachers came to him and said, "Brother Meyer, the illustration that that preacher gave in our church the other day stirred my girls so much that there has been a lot of weeping, confession and testimony. We are sure that the Holy Spirit has come among us; and we have had an experience in our class that you won’t believe!"
F. B. Meyer was so affected by the testimony of that teacher and those girls that he got off by himself, and soon it began to grip him in the same manner. His ministry began to open up and spread, and as it did, he was invited to come to America.
Meyer was invited to Furman University to preach. One young fellow in the student body had decided to quit the ministry and go back to a secular job. But the message by F. B. Meyer was given with such fervor and flame that the young fellow stepped out, came forward and renewed his vow to his calling. He became the great R. G. Lee.
Then F. B. Meyer went on to preach at another location. In that service, a young fellow caught fire and began to evangelize. His meetings spread out all over the areas of New England and the mid-Atlantic coast, until they were bulging at the seams. J. Wilbur Chapman, set on fire of God through the preaching of F. B. Meyer, began to stir up the whole northeastern coast.
Then, because of Chapman’s preaching, he was invited to speak at a certain place. His ministry was changing, and he needed someone to move in on those citywide crusades that he was holding. Someone said, "The man you want is the young convert, Billy Sunday."
Billy Sunday, influenced by J. Wilbur Chapman and working in Chapman’s evangelistic association, went to Charlotte, North Carolina to preach a series of meetings. There, a group of laymen were so inspired and so stirred, that they organized a committee to invite an evangelist back. Mordecai Ham was invited the next time to preach in Charlotte. During that series of meetings, a young boy sitting in the choir loft one night was saved, whose name was Billy Graham.
How important is one individual in the kingdom of God? How important is one Sunday School teacher in the kingdom of God? God had a purpose for Edward Kimball. God wanted to touch many lives through one man, one Sunday School teacher, who had a passion for God and a passion for lost souls.
You, my dear friend, are important to God. He has a reason for you being on the planet Earth. He has a purpose for your life that has everything to do with the kingdom of God.
"You say your life is your own. But can you dare to ignore the chance that you are taking part in a gigantic drama under the orders of a divine Producer? Your cue may not come till the end of the play--it may be totally unimportant, a mere walking-on part, but upon it may hang the issues of the play if you do not give the cue to another player. The whole edifice may crumple. You as you,may not matter to anyone in the world, but you as a person in a particular place may matter unimaginably." Quote: from Agatha Christie)
Kenny
After evangelizing America, D. L. Moody started on England. There in England F. B. Meyer heard his message. One of the illustrations that Moody used, about his Sunday School teacher Edward Kimball, stirred two of Meyer’s Sunday School teachers. One of the Sunday school teachers came to him and said, "Brother Meyer, the illustration that that preacher gave in our church the other day stirred my girls so much that there has been a lot of weeping, confession and testimony. We are sure that the Holy Spirit has come among us; and we have had an experience in our class that you won’t believe!"
F. B. Meyer was so affected by the testimony of that teacher and those girls that he got off by himself, and soon it began to grip him in the same manner. His ministry began to open up and spread, and as it did, he was invited to come to America.
Meyer was invited to Furman University to preach. One young fellow in the student body had decided to quit the ministry and go back to a secular job. But the message by F. B. Meyer was given with such fervor and flame that the young fellow stepped out, came forward and renewed his vow to his calling. He became the great R. G. Lee.
Then F. B. Meyer went on to preach at another location. In that service, a young fellow caught fire and began to evangelize. His meetings spread out all over the areas of New England and the mid-Atlantic coast, until they were bulging at the seams. J. Wilbur Chapman, set on fire of God through the preaching of F. B. Meyer, began to stir up the whole northeastern coast.
Then, because of Chapman’s preaching, he was invited to speak at a certain place. His ministry was changing, and he needed someone to move in on those citywide crusades that he was holding. Someone said, "The man you want is the young convert, Billy Sunday."
Billy Sunday, influenced by J. Wilbur Chapman and working in Chapman’s evangelistic association, went to Charlotte, North Carolina to preach a series of meetings. There, a group of laymen were so inspired and so stirred, that they organized a committee to invite an evangelist back. Mordecai Ham was invited the next time to preach in Charlotte. During that series of meetings, a young boy sitting in the choir loft one night was saved, whose name was Billy Graham.
How important is one individual in the kingdom of God? How important is one Sunday School teacher in the kingdom of God? God had a purpose for Edward Kimball. God wanted to touch many lives through one man, one Sunday School teacher, who had a passion for God and a passion for lost souls.
You, my dear friend, are important to God. He has a reason for you being on the planet Earth. He has a purpose for your life that has everything to do with the kingdom of God.
"You say your life is your own. But can you dare to ignore the chance that you are taking part in a gigantic drama under the orders of a divine Producer? Your cue may not come till the end of the play--it may be totally unimportant, a mere walking-on part, but upon it may hang the issues of the play if you do not give the cue to another player. The whole edifice may crumple. You as you,may not matter to anyone in the world, but you as a person in a particular place may matter unimaginably." Quote: from Agatha Christie)
Kenny
Dear God: Where Are You And Why Don't You Help Me?
The Silence of God
It is hard for us, when we face the difficulties of life, when things get tough, not to give up hope. Often, we want to throw ours hands up and say, "I quit!" But that it is not what God desires for us to do. That is what the devil wants. This idea of "losing hope" comes from our enemy, Satan.
You may be in a difficult situation right now. There seems to be no answer. You might not even be sure that God is listening to your prayers or that He even knows what you are going through. You might even think that God doesn’t care about you. Well, my friend, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Let me begin by saying that God is listening to your prayers and He does know what you are going through. He does care about you and He cares about the difficult places of your life.
But what you are dealing with is called the silence of God. To you, right now, it seems like He is silent, it seems like He is not working and it seems like He doesn’t care.
In the silence of God, try to understand that He is at work and that He does care about you and He loves you. In the silence of God, you have His attention and He is attending to His business. The difficulty comes in not seeing what He is doing. But know this: He has His eye trained on you and you have His undivided attention. He has not left you alone to try to work out your situation on your own.
Consider Lazarus (John chapter 11): Outside the circle of the twelve disciples, two sisters, Mary and Martha, and one brother, Lazarus, were the closest friends of Jesus. Before Jesus was crucified, on the last night that Jesus gets any rest, He spends that time in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
John chapter 11 gives us the account of Lazarus, who was sick and dying. The two sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, had sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was “sick unto death” and He sent word to them that “this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God”. We know that Jesus could have healed Lazarus by “long distance”. The gospels tell us that Jesus could heal someone without being in the presence of someone. Also, Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from getting sick. How? He is God!
To Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, it seemed like Jesus wasn’t even going to come to help them. It eventually took Jesus four days before He reached Lazarus. There was silence. It seemed to them like He didn’t care. But Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and He knew what He was going to do.
But why did He allow all of this to happen? Why did He allow Lazarus to go through the suffering and this “sickness unto death”? Why did Jesus say to His disciples, regarding Lazarus’ situation, “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe”. And to magnify the seriousness of the situation that everyone faced after the death and burial of Lazarus, we see Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. We see the Master’s compassion and love for Lazarus and surely for Mary and Martha in their grief.
What can we learn from the story of Lazarus? That in the silence of God, when it seems like He is not at work, when it seems like He doesn’t care, that there is a greater glory to be revealed and there is a greater testimony.
There was a greater glory to be revealed to them about Jesus. Everyone knew that Jesus could perform miracles. They knew He could multiply food and feed thousands of people. They even knew He could raise people from the dead. But they had never seen Him raise someone back to life who had been dead four days.
What is significant about four days? In the Jewish religion and culture, when a person died, they believed that the person’s spirit hovered over the body for three days. Therefore, a Jewish person was not declared dead until the fourth day. This is part of the reason why Jesus lingered before going to Lazarus. When He raises Lazarus from being dead four days, no one can make the accusation that Lazarus wasn’t “officially” dead. When Jesus calls forth Lazarus by name and Lazarus walks out of the tomb, the greater glory that is revealed about Jesus is that now they know that He has power over life and death.
The greater testimony is for Lazarus. Lazarus' testimony (John 12) was so powerful that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him because so many people were placing their faith and trust in Jesus. (The humor in this is that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Lazarus. Didn’t they realize that Lazarus had already died once and Jesus brought him back to life? Kill Lazarus ten times. If Jesus wants him to live, He will bring him back to life ten timesJ).
So what can we understand, then, in all of this? How does this apply to someone who has lost hope, ready to give up? How can someone deal with the silence of God?
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, all capable of giving up hope, could do nothing but look to Jesus for help. They couldn’t fix the problem. It was beyond their ability to do anything. What could they do? They could only do one thing now in their desperation: look to Jesus. They would have to trust Him and cling to Him. They would have to rely on Jesus. He would be their only hope. He would be their only help. Only Jesus could do something about the problem that they had encountered.
But the main concern of Jesus was not the circumstance of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus but their relationship to Him and whether or not they would trust Him. (And trust is all about relationship. You can’t trust someone you don’t know personally. The more you get to know someone, the more you can trust them. And when you get to know someone intimately, you can fully trust them no matter what).
Jesus could change their circumstance immediately but what mattered to Jesus was whether or not Mary, Martha, and Lazarus would trust Him. What mattered to Jesus was whether they would cling to Him more than they ever had before. What mattered to Jesus was whether they would rely upon Him more than they had ever relied upon Him before. Their relationship with Jesus was going to go deeper. Their relationship with Jesus was going to have to be more intimate.
And so it is with someone who has lost all hope and is ready to give up; going through difficult circumstances and the silence of God. If this is true of you today, please understand this:
As much as He cares about what you are going through, Jesus cares even more about your relationship to Him, about your trusting Him. Yes, He cares about your circumstance but He cares even more about you. The issue, my dear friend is this: Are you going to trust Him? Are you going to cling to Him? Are you going to rely upon Him?
We know the end of the story. Lazarus is raised from the dead. His health has been restored but more important is that hearts could rejoice because a greater glory had been revealed to them about Jesus.
And Lazarus had that greater testimony. Before he got sick and died, Lazarus was kind of on the “fringe”. Mary, we know, worshipped at Jesus’ feet and at least Martha wanted to serve by working in the kitchen. But Lazarus? Before his sickness, he is just casually mentioned in the gospels as the brother of Mary and Martha. Now, he has that greater testimony.
And you know what? One day...that’s right, one day you will be able to give that greater testimony. One day you will be able to say, along with Lazarus: “Let me tell you what Jesus did for me!”
How is that possible? By trusting Him fully. By trusting Him completely. By trusting Him intimately. By clinging to Him like never before. By relying upon Him like never before. He cares for you and He knows what you are going through.
Why silence? Because there is a greater glory to be revealed to you about who God is and there is a greater testimony for you to share with others!
It is hard for us, when we face the difficulties of life, when things get tough, not to give up hope. Often, we want to throw ours hands up and say, "I quit!" But that it is not what God desires for us to do. That is what the devil wants. This idea of "losing hope" comes from our enemy, Satan.
You may be in a difficult situation right now. There seems to be no answer. You might not even be sure that God is listening to your prayers or that He even knows what you are going through. You might even think that God doesn’t care about you. Well, my friend, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Let me begin by saying that God is listening to your prayers and He does know what you are going through. He does care about you and He cares about the difficult places of your life.
But what you are dealing with is called the silence of God. To you, right now, it seems like He is silent, it seems like He is not working and it seems like He doesn’t care.
In the silence of God, try to understand that He is at work and that He does care about you and He loves you. In the silence of God, you have His attention and He is attending to His business. The difficulty comes in not seeing what He is doing. But know this: He has His eye trained on you and you have His undivided attention. He has not left you alone to try to work out your situation on your own.
Consider Lazarus (John chapter 11): Outside the circle of the twelve disciples, two sisters, Mary and Martha, and one brother, Lazarus, were the closest friends of Jesus. Before Jesus was crucified, on the last night that Jesus gets any rest, He spends that time in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
John chapter 11 gives us the account of Lazarus, who was sick and dying. The two sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, had sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was “sick unto death” and He sent word to them that “this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God”. We know that Jesus could have healed Lazarus by “long distance”. The gospels tell us that Jesus could heal someone without being in the presence of someone. Also, Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from getting sick. How? He is God!
To Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, it seemed like Jesus wasn’t even going to come to help them. It eventually took Jesus four days before He reached Lazarus. There was silence. It seemed to them like He didn’t care. But Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and He knew what He was going to do.
But why did He allow all of this to happen? Why did He allow Lazarus to go through the suffering and this “sickness unto death”? Why did Jesus say to His disciples, regarding Lazarus’ situation, “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe”. And to magnify the seriousness of the situation that everyone faced after the death and burial of Lazarus, we see Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. We see the Master’s compassion and love for Lazarus and surely for Mary and Martha in their grief.
What can we learn from the story of Lazarus? That in the silence of God, when it seems like He is not at work, when it seems like He doesn’t care, that there is a greater glory to be revealed and there is a greater testimony.
There was a greater glory to be revealed to them about Jesus. Everyone knew that Jesus could perform miracles. They knew He could multiply food and feed thousands of people. They even knew He could raise people from the dead. But they had never seen Him raise someone back to life who had been dead four days.
What is significant about four days? In the Jewish religion and culture, when a person died, they believed that the person’s spirit hovered over the body for three days. Therefore, a Jewish person was not declared dead until the fourth day. This is part of the reason why Jesus lingered before going to Lazarus. When He raises Lazarus from being dead four days, no one can make the accusation that Lazarus wasn’t “officially” dead. When Jesus calls forth Lazarus by name and Lazarus walks out of the tomb, the greater glory that is revealed about Jesus is that now they know that He has power over life and death.
The greater testimony is for Lazarus. Lazarus' testimony (John 12) was so powerful that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him because so many people were placing their faith and trust in Jesus. (The humor in this is that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Lazarus. Didn’t they realize that Lazarus had already died once and Jesus brought him back to life? Kill Lazarus ten times. If Jesus wants him to live, He will bring him back to life ten timesJ).
So what can we understand, then, in all of this? How does this apply to someone who has lost hope, ready to give up? How can someone deal with the silence of God?
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, all capable of giving up hope, could do nothing but look to Jesus for help. They couldn’t fix the problem. It was beyond their ability to do anything. What could they do? They could only do one thing now in their desperation: look to Jesus. They would have to trust Him and cling to Him. They would have to rely on Jesus. He would be their only hope. He would be their only help. Only Jesus could do something about the problem that they had encountered.
But the main concern of Jesus was not the circumstance of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus but their relationship to Him and whether or not they would trust Him. (And trust is all about relationship. You can’t trust someone you don’t know personally. The more you get to know someone, the more you can trust them. And when you get to know someone intimately, you can fully trust them no matter what).
Jesus could change their circumstance immediately but what mattered to Jesus was whether or not Mary, Martha, and Lazarus would trust Him. What mattered to Jesus was whether they would cling to Him more than they ever had before. What mattered to Jesus was whether they would rely upon Him more than they had ever relied upon Him before. Their relationship with Jesus was going to go deeper. Their relationship with Jesus was going to have to be more intimate.
And so it is with someone who has lost all hope and is ready to give up; going through difficult circumstances and the silence of God. If this is true of you today, please understand this:
As much as He cares about what you are going through, Jesus cares even more about your relationship to Him, about your trusting Him. Yes, He cares about your circumstance but He cares even more about you. The issue, my dear friend is this: Are you going to trust Him? Are you going to cling to Him? Are you going to rely upon Him?
We know the end of the story. Lazarus is raised from the dead. His health has been restored but more important is that hearts could rejoice because a greater glory had been revealed to them about Jesus.
And Lazarus had that greater testimony. Before he got sick and died, Lazarus was kind of on the “fringe”. Mary, we know, worshipped at Jesus’ feet and at least Martha wanted to serve by working in the kitchen. But Lazarus? Before his sickness, he is just casually mentioned in the gospels as the brother of Mary and Martha. Now, he has that greater testimony.
And you know what? One day...that’s right, one day you will be able to give that greater testimony. One day you will be able to say, along with Lazarus: “Let me tell you what Jesus did for me!”
How is that possible? By trusting Him fully. By trusting Him completely. By trusting Him intimately. By clinging to Him like never before. By relying upon Him like never before. He cares for you and He knows what you are going through.
Why silence? Because there is a greater glory to be revealed to you about who God is and there is a greater testimony for you to share with others!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)