PRAYING WITH POWER

 

Praying as a ritual and prayer that is effectual are altogether different. The former is about self-righteousness, and the latter is about Kingdom mindedness. Paul tells Timothy that praying with power involves three elements. 

Powerful praying demands SANCTITY, “holy hands.”  Our hands must be clean—meaning our sinful actions have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. We are devoted to a sanctified life. God does not want to hear our petition until He has our confession. The Psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear,” (Psalms‬ ‭66‬:‭18‬‬). Repentance removes this roadblock to receiving God’s response.

Powerful praying also requires SERENITY, “without wrath.”  Not only must I be forgiven, but I must be forgiving. Bearing malice toward another puts up a roadblock to my prayers reaching heaven. Jesus taught this to His disciples, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. …But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. ‭6‬:12,‭15‬‬). Wrath will be an impediment to our intercession. There is a serenity that comes when we commend our enemies to God and let Him deal with them.

Powerful praying further needs SURETY, “and doubting.”  Faith is our confidence in God that we pray in alignment with His will to an Almighty God who is able to answer our prayer. While our hands must not be sullied by defilement and our heads not be filled with discord, neither can our hearts be consumed with doubt. Our Lord gave the promise, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them,” (Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬‬). Man says, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” but God says, “You’ll see it when you believe it.”  This is our surety.

Now, this is not some name it and claim it, blab it and grab it prosperity gospel nonsense. Faith is rooted in the Word of God and that Word of God defines the will of God. I can have absolute assurance that if my supplication aligns with Scripture that God will be pleased to answer in His time and in His way.

Let us devote ourselves to praying with power!  What a difference that will make in us, in the church, and in all those for whom we pray!

YAHWEH OUR SANCTIFIER

“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” (Leviticus‬ ‭20:7-8‬)

God is holy and we are commanded to be holy.  Yet, an outward standard alone is insufficient to accomplish this.  Paul acknowledged that frustration in Romans 7.

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. ... For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ... But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans‬ ‭7:14-15, 18, 23-24‬)

How many of us can testify to this wretched state—having a desire to keep God’s demand, and yet losing battle after battle to temptation.  It makes you want to give up.

Which is exactly where God wants us—as Luther sang,

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.
You 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.

You have to give up to go up!  God never demands something from us without equipping us to do it.  He is our Sanctifier, Yahweh M’Kaddesh. The answer to Paul’s, “Who will deliver me?” is given in the next verse, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom.7:25) and the Apostle will go on to explain this spiritual power in chapter eight.

We have no excuse “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter‬ ‭1:3-4‬)

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL ASPECT OF GOD’S HOLINESS

“as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”  (1 Pet.1:14-16)

Believers are already holy positionally—that’s who we are in Christ.  Peter spoke of that previously. “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (v.2-3).
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We will be holy perfectly—that’s what we become when we see Jesus.  Again, not the Apostle’s words, “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”(1:4-5).

What Peter is calling us to in v.14-16 is to be holy progressively—that’s our response to the grace that saves us and the glory that secures us—the godliness that sanctifies us.  We are not to live as we once did, for we are not what we once were!  The Holy Spirit indwells us to purify us.  Peter speaks of “obedient children” who take on the Father’s likeness.  We are not to be conformed—our conduct shaped from the pressure of our peers, but be transformed—by a renewed mind (see Rom.12:2, as contrasted to “your ignorance.”)

We have discovered the liberating power of truth!  The Psalmist said, “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. ” (Ps.119:11). The more we get the Word into us, the more it will get the world out of us.

TAKE OUT THE TRASH

“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.’” (‭‭John‬ ‭2:13-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

“Time for a trip to the dump.”  Dreaded words, spoken recently by my wife. She then enumerated all the junk that needed to be removed from the house. I agree—but it is nasty, sweaty, sometimes back-breaking work that requires a long excursion almost to Madison County where dust or mud and piles of stinking trash await your arrival. My wife is right, of course, and afterwards things will get much better.  For one thing, her scowl will transform to a smile.

Jesus saw that His Father’s house was full of trash. Nasty people were doing nasty things.  So, He rolled up His sleeves and cleaned house!  Little by little a place that was meant to be a place for prayer had become a place for religious racketeers to operate.  Christ’s righteous anger against sin—His zeal for His Father’s glory—would not tolerate it. 

Today, our body is the house of God—the believers gathered together are the place where Christ dwells and worship occurs.  The reality is that we need to take regular trips to the dump. The world’s trash has a way of accumulating in the corners of our mind.  The rotting heap of stinky sin piles up in our heart.  We ought to be zealous to clean up.  

Here’s how:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Sincerely,
Dennis Thurman

RISE AND SHINE!

Read Romans 13.

Rise and shine!  It is the call of a father to his child to wake up, get up, and dress up.  Many decades have passed since I was a boy, but I still remember having to get out of my warm bed and get ready to face a cold world in response to my father’s command. That is the call of our Father to His children, as we see in Romans 13.

We need to WAKE UP, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (v.11‬). It is easy to get comfortable under the covers of the church building.  But, there is a job waiting for us outside those walls.  Let us hear the Father calling and wake up!

We need to GET UP, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” (v.12‬a). No hitting the snooze button!  Some of us get awakened during a time of challenge from the exhortation of a pastor or from the experience of a problem, only to roll back over and go back to sleep.  Get up!

We need to DRESS UP, “Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. ...But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (v.12b, 14‬). Take off the night clothes.  Spiritually speaking, you repent and remove the wardrobe of this sinful dreamworld. But, you don’t go out naked!  Clothe yourself in the armor of God, which is nothing less than Christ Himself in all His fullness.  It’s a hostile world, and you better have your armor on!

We need to WALK UP, “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.” (v.13‬). We can’t stay inside, feeding on God’s word, and adjusting our armor by looking in the mirror—important as that is.  Once we hear our Commander’s instructions, it’s time to get out the door.  It is an uphill walk, against the wind. Those we encounter live in revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife, and envy.  They seek to bring us down to that level, but we must press on the upward way, and try to persuade them to come along.

Now—rise and shine!

DEDICATED TO GOD

Read Romans 12.

Paul has presented the glory of God’s Gospel in the first eleven chapters of Romans.  Now, he turns to the practical implications of that truth, as we see belief is to impact behavior.  His call is to complete dedication to God.

The basis of this dedication is in grace—what God has done for us, “I beseech [beg, implore] you therefore [because of what God has done for you], brethren, by the mercies of God [that has spared us from hell and opened up heaven], that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”  (v.1, comments added). That is, it is a perfectly reasonable thing for you to dedicate your all to the Savior who gave His all for you.

The means for this dedication has both a negative and positive dimension.  In verse two, the negative to avoid is “do not be conformed to this world,” and the positive to apply is “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” with the result, “that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  You will either be conformed to the world or transformed by the Word.  It’s your choice.  You can’t do both, for they are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk in opposite directions at the same time!

For the rest of the chapter, Paul makes practical application of what it means to be dedicated to God.  There will be the deploying of spiritual gifts in humble service (v.3-8). There will also be the demonstration of sanctifying grace in personal action (v.9-21). We are in the world to make a difference, but not of the world in being different. Our dedication to God is seen in our devotion to our fellowman.

DYING TO LIVE

Read Romans 6.

As you read the title, you may have thought this would be a meditation on heaven.  Although that is our ultimate experience of eternal life, it is but the pinnacle of what we can already experience—abundant life now, rooted in our union with Christ!

This experience is anchored in a truth we must COMPREHEND, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (v.6‬). The reality is that our union with Christ is such that all He is and has done has come to be our experience.  When Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him!  When He rose again, we rose with Him!  Eternal life is simply the life of the Eternal God in us—all Jesus is for all I need.

Based on what we comprehend concerning our union with Christ, we must CALCULATE as true, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v.11‬). Paul uses an accounting term here.  Let me explain this way—you have a dollar amount in the bank. You know this, not because you physically can see and hold cash in your hand, but you calculate by faith what the bank tells you and act on it as being true by using your debit card or writing a check. So, if you can trust a bank, can’t you trust God?  He says you are dead to sin and alive in Christ!

From comprehending this truth and calculating it as a promise from God, you then CHOOSE to live accordingly,  “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (v.13‬). A dead slave would be free from his master’s control. Since we are crucified with Christ, the old master—sin—has no claim on us.  Yet, being raised from the dead in Christ, we have a new master—Jesus.  In the same way we once yielded our body for sin’s passions, we now surrender it for the Savior’s purposes.

In Christ you are free;
Free to be all He wants you to be;
Free, for we died with Him on that tree;
Free, for my life is the Risen Christ in me!

THE HEART OF OUR PROBLEM

The religious police of Christ’s day—the Pharisees—were intent on enforcing their legalistic standards of ceremonial washings and purifications. While, I am sure Jesus has no issue with personal hygiene, and that washing your hands and bathing are commendable practice, He tells us there are more crucial spiritual concerns.

He begins with an exclamation.  “When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’” (Matthew 15:10-11). The response of the Pharisees was fast and furious, “Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’” (v.12).  They knew that God had forbidden, under the Mosaic covenant, for certain things to go into your mouth, so how can you reconcile the two?

Jesus offers an example. “But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.’” (v.13-14). The religious leaders were not wheat, but weeds.  Consider, the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matt.13:24-30. Someone may claim to be God’s son—even have some outward indications—and yet, truly be Satan’s spawn. The Pharisees were ceremonially clean, but morally corrupt.  They, were as those, “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim.3:5a). Worse still, they were blind guides leading blind people.  How ludicrous!  There are many voices today that claim to speak for God.  We better be discerning.   

Peter wasn’t. He was confused. “Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’” (v.15).  At least he turned to the right source for clarification. 

Jesus gives the explanation. ‘So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.’” (v.16-20). For example, if a Jew ate pork, since God had forbidden it, the issue was not the food in his mouth, but the filth in his heart—he was rebelling against God.  Later, when God said that we were free to eat bacon, to do so would no longer be rebellion—and I’m glad!

The truth is that the heart of our problem is the problem of our heart.  Before there are outward actions, there is an inward disposition. It is not religion we need, for it can only change the surface.  What we must have is regeneration, for only God can change the soul.

THE HAPPINESS OF HOLINESS

There is pleasure in sin, or else we would not pursue it.  But, it is like the pleasure a fish enjoys when it tastes the bait—the pleasure quickly turns to pain when the hook is set. On the other hand, true and enduring happiness is found on the highway of holiness. The best is deferred until heaven, yet what is the brief sacrifice we may make to do right in this life compared to the eternal bliss of glory?  Still, there are blessings now, as well.  Today, we will focus on a few terms in Proverbs 28 which are descriptive of the holy.

1.  RIGHTEOUS. “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.”  (v.1). Being in a right standing with God enables us to stand without fear.

2.   LAWFUL. “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them.” (v.4). They are law-abiding, both in obedience to principles taught in God’s word and in respect to authorities God has established to govern us.

3.  BLAMELESS. “Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, He himself will fall into his own pit; But the blameless will inherit good.” (v.10). We won’t be sinless until we reach heaven, but we can sin less. 

4.  REPENTANT. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (v.13). When the holy falter, they do not cover up, but confess up!

5.  REVERENT. “Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” (v.14). This inner disposition toward God sets the outward direction in godliness.

6. FAITHFUL.  “A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” (v.20). The holy are faithful in pursuing the things of eternity rather than running after the things of earth.

7.  BELIEVING.  “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.” (v.25). This is the basis for holiness: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb.11:6).  

Would people describe me this way?  What about you?  This is a great goal for this year. Walk on the highway of holiness and you will experience the happiness it brings—a “joy inexpressible and full of glory,” (1 Pet.1:8).

ABOVE THE STORM CLOUDS

Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.  (Revelation 14:1)

I remember flying out of Charlotte’s airport in the rain.  Black clouds enveloped the plane.  Powerful engines strained to lift the massive metal jet into the sky.  You couldn’t see anything outside the cabin window—all was dark and ominous.  Then the plane burst through the clouds into brilliant sunshine.  What had been dark clouds overhead became a bed of cotton balls below—bright blue sky all around.  That is what happens when you come to the fourteenth chapter of Revelation.  The previous chapter has featured flashes of lighting and peals of thunder—the storm of God’s wrath having broken on a Christ-rejecting world.  It is a scene dark with demons.  Suddenly, we gain a new perspective as we are taken into heavenly sunlight.  Never forget that as a child of God—no matter the storms of the present—there is a brighter day coming!

Above the clouds we see the glory of heaven (v.1).  Here are the 144,000 Jews who have been preserved through the tribulation and are now safe in heaven.  Though they are the specific ones named, we would not be amiss to see them prefiguring all the elect of God, secure in glory.  They, however, are the supporting cast, for the star of the heavenly scene is the Lamb standing on Mount Zion.  The spotlight is on Him.  That heaven will be an incomparably beautiful place is evident from the Biblical depictions, but what makes heaven to be glorious is that the Lamb is there!  It is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world who paves the way for us to join Him.  It is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world that purges the wickedness that would bar us.  One day we will bow before those nail-scarred feet and join the heavenly hosts singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”

God has given a birthmark to His children—the seal of the Holy Spirit—that brands us as belonging to Him and guarantees our safe passage into the City of God.  In the previous chapter, we have seen Satan has a “Beast-mark” for those who follow the Antichrist.  This is a seal which secures their doom—666.  The reality is that all of us identify with one group or the other.  If I am sealed by God my eternal destiny is settled.  There were 144,000 sealed on earth and there are not 143,999 seen in heaven—all are there and not one was lost!  When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there!

No wonder heaven will be a place of mirth and music (v.2-3).  A sacred symphony of praise will permeate the atmosphere.  Note that there will be the singing of new songs.  Some of us don’t like new songs.  Will we enjoy heaven then?  Maybe we better start singing some down here.  This is the song of the redeemed and salvation is something to sing about!

Heaven will be more than a happy place—it will be a holy place (v.4-5).  The celibacy of the 144,000 may be a literal, physical reality, but it portrays a real, spiritual condition also.  These have been morally pure and fully devoted to Christ.  They persevered because God purchased them.  Their testimony was true.  Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, we will stand faultless and flawless before God—O glorious day!

RETURN TO GOD!

Josiah was eight years old when he became king….  And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD….  (2 Kings 22:1a, 2a)

We live in dark, desperate, demonic days.  Still, there have been dark days before when God has visited His people with revival.  All He looks for is an open heart He can enter.  He will then transform that life and use them as a spark to ignite a flame.  Josiah was an example of this.  As we look at 2 Kings 22, we can see the difference that one person sold out to God can make.  My prayer is that we will hear the cry to “Return to God!” from the pages of His Word.  

Josiah was only eight years old when crowned king, but “eight is enough.”  From the outset, he inclined his heart toward God and purposed to establish his reign in righteousness.  Reflecting on Josiah’s age, we must acknowledge the indisputable fact that young people’s hearts are more responsive to God than the aged.  If someone isn’t saved before they get out of High School, the odds are great that they will never be saved.  It isn’t impossible for a senior adult to be saved, for with God all things are possible, but it is improbable.  That is why we must focus on children and student ministries!  We need to encourage and equip our young people in discipleship for they will contain the fire that will change our world for good or bad.

The neglect of the house of God was a clear indicator of the backsliding of God’s people.  When we lose the zeal for worship, alarm bells should go off.  Time and again I have seen people’s spiritual life start spiraling downward at this point.  In revival, the worship of God becomes a priority again. 

Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of Your words gives light.”  In those dark days, the light of truth broke upon the people.  It was the Word of God that brought the world out of the dark ages in the revival we call the Protestant Reformation.  Martin Luther searched the Scriptures and there God brought light to his heart.  Revival will never occur without a return to the study, exposition, and application of the Word of God.

Brokenness brought blessedness.  It is always in that order.  It isn’t mere sorrow over the consequences of sin, but over the condition of sin.  There is a difference you know. The prisons are full of people sorry for their crimes, but they are sorry for the consequences, sorry they were caught. They are not repentant for many when released turn to a life of crime.  “For godly sorrow produces repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10). The path that leads us to return to God is paved with tears of contrition.

Once again the people of God have a message to proclaim.  It is backed by the evidence of transformed lives.  The testimony of the lips must always be supported by the testimony of the life. If we’ve damaged our credibility through moral failure, it is time to have it restored through renewed obedience. 

When God comes in the devil must go.  If there is true revival a moral clean up is going to occur.  The stench of sin must be washed away that the sweet savor of sanctification might pervade. We talk about revival, even pray for revival, but until we are willing to turn from our wicked ways we will not experience it. 

Josiah was only one man, but his life made a difference.  Will ours?

A PURE WALK IN A PORNOGRAPHIC WORLD

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality....  (I Thessalonians 4:3)

Playboy magazine has decided to stop publishing nude pictures.  The pioneers of porn can no longer profitably produce that which is available for free in the most graphic form to anyone on the internet.  We live in a pornographic world.  Yet, the Bible calls us to a pure walk in this evil environment.  One must stay very close to God not to go astray—but you can.  That is the thrust of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

God is not against sex.  He invented it.  Sex within marriage is wonderful.  God's design is not just for the procreation of the species, but the pleasure of the spouse.  Genesis 2 portrays the beauty of husband and wife, naked and unashamed.  Fire within a stove will keep your house warm, but if it gets out it will burn it down.  The fire of sex can keep a marriage hot, but outside those bounds becomes destructive.  God doesn't want to keep us from pleasure, but from pain.  He does not mean to deny sex, but to delay it until their is a covenant relationship.  

Yet, premarital sex seems the accepted thing.  It is the thought of "test driving a car"--but, people are not vehicles.  It's not just the vice of teens and young adults--senior adults are increasingly shacking up for financial considerations.  

Not only is premarital sex a sin, but so is extramarital sex.  That is adultery.  It is a betrayal of trust.  

We further are forbidden to yield to “passion of lust” (v.5).  Other translations render this “passionate desire”; “concupiscence”; “lustful desire”  The Greek word is epithymia and it means surrender to sensuality and sexual obsession. That fuels the billion dollar porn industry—no longer just for lecherous old men, but epidemic even among women.  The rise of child pornography, sexual violence, homosexuality, and all kinds of perversion is due to this surrender to sensuality (see Rom.1:24-32).  Lust has an insatiable appetite—never appeased.

Another evil is expressed as to “take advantage of and defraud” (v.6).  Other translations render it: “overstepping the rights of and wronging” ; “transgress and wrong” ; “take advantage of and exploit.”   It is a composite of two Greek terms meaning to raise desires that cannot be legitimately fulfilled and taking that which is not yours.  Those desires are raised by provocative dress, sexual innuendo, and physical contact that may stop short of intercourse, but nevertheless is immoral.  You don’t have to go all the way to go too far!  We show portions of our anatomy that should only be seen by our spouse and touch portions of the body meant only for our mate.  

The positive dimension of this is a call to sanctification and holiness.  This means to be set apart for God.  It calls for consecration (v.1-3a).  We are to present our body to God.  We belong to Him.  He created us and redeemed us, so that we are doubly His.  This consecration should lead to control (v.4).   It is possible or God wouldn’t command it.  We may argue, “I’m only human.” Not if you’re a child of God!  You are a partaker of the Divine nature now!  An additional help is to meditate on the consequences of sexual sin (v.6-8),  This is not something to take lightly.  God does not.  Forgiveness is possible, but let us not use grace as an excuse for disobedience!

CONTACT WITHOUT CONTAMINATION

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  (Daniel 1:8)

Christians are to be in the world, yet not of the world.  The firefighter is in the fire, but not of the fire.  He cannot do his job without being close to the fire, but if he becomes of the fire it is life-threatening.  Believers are to have contact with our world, but not contamination from the world.  The story of Daniel and his three young friends in chapter one of his book provides insight.

We are presented with a complex and perplexing dilemma  (v.1-4)  How in this world can I be holy?  We live in a world filled with filth bent on polluting us.  Yet, God has deliberately placed us in this kind of environment—otherwise, we could not carry out our mission.  These four teenagers faced such a challenge to their faith.  They had to learn to be conversant with a pagan culture, but not corrupted by it.  Jesus has not called us to be isolated, but insulated, from the world.  We are not summoned to a monastery, but a ministry.  We are to be salt that seasons society and arrests the spread of corruption, but salt has to make contact before it can help preserve and season.  If it remains in the salt shaker it can’t do any good.  We are also to be the light of the world—and a flashlight at noonday won’t do much, but put it in the dark and it can show the way.  

This is not to minimize a clear and present danger (v.5-8).  It is the little compromise that opens the door to a major catastrophe.  How often Satan says, “That’s not so bad—people do much worse.”  Or, “Just this once—what could it hurt?”  Just a little wine—Satan whispered to Daniel—everybody else is doing it.  You don't have to be an oddball.  So it begins.  No one starts out with the goal of becoming an alcoholic, but you’ll never have to worry about that if you don't take the first drink.  Nobody intends to become a drug addict, and you won’t if you don’t smoke that first joint.  People don't become bankrupt from gambling without placing the first bet.  You won’t become  pregnant out of wedlock or contract an STD, if you don’t surrender your virginity.

We must make a committed and persistent decision (v.8-10).  They drew a line in the sand.  The old country song is so true, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”  That line you draw will have to be redrawn again and again.  Temptation functions like gravity.  It is constant and must be resisted.  The chief of the eunuchs was worried about losing his head—Daniel’s fate might be the same.  You don’t tell a tyrant, “No.”  But Daniel wasn’t worried about death for he had already died—died to self and to the world.

This brought a complete and powerful deliverance (v.11-20).  Daniel says, “Watch me and I’ll prove God is real!”  If God didn't come through, he was through!  Our world isn’t impressed with words—it waits to see the reality of our faith.  Miracles come to those expecting one.  Even the pagans had to take notice.  We can make a difference by being different.  Will we?

HOW TO EXPERIENCE INTIMACY WITH GOD

LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  Who may dwell in Your holy hill?  (Psalm 15:1)

God designed us with the capacity for intimacy with Him.  We find Adam and Eve walking in the garden with the Creator, but then sin disrupted that fellowship.  It still does.  The good news is that God sought out those first humans and He seeks after us today.  David shows us how to have intimacy with God in Psalm 15.

The question is whether we will respond to this Holy God—will I deal with the sin barriers in my life?  The implication in David’s question (v.1) suggests that we dare not rush rudely into God’s presence, but must pause and approach Him reverently.  Does He love us and desire our company?  Of course!  Yet, He is God so holy—above and beyond us.

Our walk must be upright (v.2a).  We do not slink around as a serpent, but stand upright with a spine stiffened by conviction.  Our feet move in lockstep with God’s commandments.

Our work must be righteous (v.2b).  Our hands are not used to serve ourselves, but to serve God by serving others.  It isn’t just that we refrain from doing the wrong thing, but that we actively pursue doing the right thing.

Our words must be sincere (v.2c-3).  Notice that what is on our lips is connected with what is in our heart.  There is to be no hypocrisy or inconsistency between what we think and how we talk.  Integrity demands that we mean what we say and say what we mean.  Our words are spoken to build up not to break down.  Backbiting is banished from our mouth.  Such a person does not take advantage of his neighbor or use his friends.  He or she has the best interest of others at heart.

Our associations must be godly (v.4a).  You cannot run with the wrong crowd and walk with God.  They are going the opposite direction.  We will be influenced by our associations.  If we are enamored with today’s celebrities who have the morals of alley cats then we will find ourselves thinking, talking, and acting like them.  If we honor holy men and women by meditating upon and modeling after them, then their influence will inspire us.  When I study the lives of men and women who were intimate with God, they create a hunger in my heart for the same experience.

Our possessions must not possess us (v.4b-5a).  The person who walks with God is a giver and not a taker because that is the nature of God.  He or she will keep their commitments, no matter what it costs them financially, because they know if they fail to do so it will cost them much more spiritually.  Such a one resists the corrupting influence of the love of money.  Their character is not for sale.

We will not always do everything perfectly, but we can do it better progressively (v.5b).  These traits will be the hallmark of our life.  When people think of us, these characteristics will come to mind.  Best of all, God knows the inclination of our hearts and the God-directed life will bring us into His fellowship.  Our feet will be firmly planted on God’s path, with no backsliding.  We will not find ourselves taking the Devil’s detours.

It is our privilege to have fellowship with God.  Through Christ our salvation makes us righteous before God, and by His Spirit our sanctification enables us to live righteously as we draw near to Him.

STUMBLING BLOCKS OR STEPPING-STONES

Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  (Matthew 18:7)

Are you a stepping-stone or a stumbling block?  God wants His people to be a bridge to help people to reach Him, rather than a barrier to hinder them from coming.  We are a daily advertisement for Christ.  Is the ad appealing?  We can be humble or haughty, holy or hypocritical, helpful or hateful—we will seldom be neutral.  We will be a positive or negative influence.  Jesus presents that sobering reality in Matthew 18.

Our attitude will make a difference in whether we are a stumbling block or stepping-stone.  In verses 1-7, Jesus is speaking about the humble spirit of a small child, as contrasted to the arrogant bully who runs roughshod over people.  We are being like the Savior when we are humble (Phil.2:3-8), but like Satan when we are haughty (Isa.14:12-15).  What is the humility of a child?  They do not worry about appearance.  They are genuine instead of putting up a front.  Children want to help.  They have the soul of a servant.  Then things get messed up.  Ego grows with our girth and physical stature demands social status to match.  Jesus called upon his grownups to become childlike.  Receive little children (v.5), rather than reject them.  Go to work in the church nursery—that is the factory for producing humble servants!  Change some diapers if you doubt it!  The most solemn warning is given to those who cause children to stumble (v.6-7).

We will be stumbling blocks rather than stepping-stones if we allow sinful passions to dominate our deeds, direction, and desires (v.8-14).  Woven into the very fabric of our soul are these dark threads of lust—wicked appetites that demand feeding.  Our world enshrines them, we enthrone them—only to find we become enslaved by them.  Chains of corruption—fetters of filth—wrap themselves around the heart and drag men and women down into hell.  Jesus said that radical surgery was demanded for this heart problem.  Extreme measures must be taken to overcome evil.  He was speaking metaphorically.  Mutilation will not produce holiness.  What Jesus is calling for is repentance—turning from sin by taking the sinner to the cross and turning to Christ by receiving His new life by faith.  The ultimate issue is getting a new heart—and that is salvation (v.8-10).  How many sinners spurn salvation because they have seen preachers and church members living immoral lives while calling others to new life—what a pious fraud!  God is all about seeking lost sheep (v.11-14).  We need a passion for souls, rather than sin.

Bitterness will be another barrier to people receiving our witness (v.15-35).  Grudges grind ugliness into our faces and the corrosive speech that we utter from an unforgiving heart is repulsive.  We dare not herald grace while holding grudges.  A winsome witness, who wins someone to Christ, has experienced the joy of forgiveness, and wants others to know it!  This is the church’s work (v.15-20).  The harsh face of the legalist and haughty tones of their criticism never draw people to Christ.  Bitterness makes you ugly.  It makes your breath reek with condemnation and your eyes bulge with hate.  If we want forgiveness then we must be willing to extend it (v.21-35).  Bitterness erect barriers and grace builds bridges.  Are we stumbling blocks or stepping-stones?

THE HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS

A highway shall be there, and a road,

 And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.  (Isaiah 35:8a)

This passage has a prophetic interpretation that carries with it practical implications.  It is a description of a future time when Christ comes again and establishes His Kingdom in the Millennium.  Israel will return to the Promised Land, traveling the Highway of Holiness.  The nation will be redeemed and their hopes restored when Messiah reigns in Zion.  We are not wrong, however, to see a broader application for all the redeemed of all the ages.  Abiding spiritual truths are found even in texts that specifically apply to the Jews in a coming day.  Paul said this,

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  (2 Tim.3:16-17)

So, there is truth for our time in this text.  I am reminded of Bunyan’s classic, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” which allegorically portrays “Christian,” on his way out of sin, through the wilderness of this world, and at last arriving in the Celestial City.

It is a HIGH WAY (Isa.35:8).  This indicates a raised street, clearly marked, so that even the simple cannot miss it or fools lose their way.  God has made His way of salvation simple—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved….”  (Acts 16:31)

It is a HOLY WAY (Isa.35:8).  It is declared that the unclean shall not walk upon it.  True salvation demands real repentance—the impartation of grace to turn from our sin and unto the Savior. 

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.  (Ps.24:3-4)

It is a HEALTHY WAY. 

No lion shall be there,

Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

 It shall not be found there.  

But the redeemed shall walk there….”  (Isa.35:9) 

There is safety from the ravenous beast.  Scripture tells us Satan is a roaring lion intent on devouring us (1 Pet.5:8).  The reality is that in the work of Christ, he was defanged!  We are secure in Christ!   

It is a HAPPY WAY.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.  (Isa.35:10)

Of all people on this planet, none should sing so exuberantly and smile so broadly than followers of Jesus Christ!  Gladness should mark the child of the King.

It is a HEAVENLY WAY (v.10).  The Highway of Holiness ends in Zion.  Literally, that will be the renewed Jerusalem on earth for the Jews, but the saints will abide in the New Jerusalem above—the Heavenly City!  That will be our eternal abode. 

Jesus said there are two roads we may travel—and only two:

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  (Matt.7:13-14)

Many are traveling the broad way of destruction.  The other way is less traveled and very narrow—the Highway of Holiness—but, at last it leads to Heaven.  There is nothing more important than that.

ALL THINGS NEW

 

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  (2 Peter 3:13)

I have three vehicles—all of them old and worn out.  Two of them have well over 200,000 miles on the odometer.  It seems I have one of them at the mechanic constantly.  One day, they are going to become nothing but scrap metal to be recycled.  That is the course of all things pertaining to this material universe.  The original creation was made by God—and as God is only capable of doing, it was good.  Then sin came, and with that, the curse of death.  The entire universe is headed that direction.  We see the evidence all about us.

The author of this letter, Simon Peter, knew there was a fixed point beyond which his physical existence would not continue.  Sitting in a prison cell, waiting for martyrdom—old bones aching, skin weathered, eyes dimming, his gnarled fingers moving pen across parchment—he writes of the time when God will make all things new.  He will soon be liberated from the prison his body had become—free from the torture that would end his pilgrimage—as the old fisherman would be crucified upside down.  That is the church tradition concerning his death, anyway—likely accurate.

Our demise and the eventual destruction of all things—the entire fabric of the universe unraveling and incinerated—sounds like something to dread.  Peter, however, is looking forward to it, and calls believers to that same anticipation.  It is not dread, but delight that he feels.  He knows that the end of the old creation is actually a regeneration into new heavens and a new earth—one where righteousness reigns—with sin and death forever terminated.

Egyptian mythology told of the phoenix—a bird that would age, and then would ignite and be consumed in fire.  Out of the ashes, a new phoenix would arise.  That is myth, but it has a grain of truth.  This present world is passing away—one day all that pertains to it will go up in smoke.  Yet, out of the ashes, a new creation will be reborn.

There are those, of course, who will scoff.  I have heard even those claiming to be Christians warn about, “Those who are so heavenly-minded, they are no earthly good.”  I suppose there are those who are immersed in charts and consumed with obscure details of end-time events.  That is fanaticism.  Proper perspective concerning the end of the age is actually a great motivator to evangelism and godly living.  The people we reach we must reach now.  Holy living today readies us for an eternity marked by righteousness.  The prophetic word is a tremendous incentive to make a difference in this world as we look forward to the world to come!