RESTORED TO USEFULNESS

We seem to hear increasingly of some well-known pastor who has fallen. For those who don’t make national headlines, there are others in small churches who resign in disgrace.  Is it more rampant, or more publicized? I suspect the former.

Be that as it may—how does it happen and can such a man ever be restored to usefulness?  2 Kings 6:1-7 gives us some guidance.

Consider, THE USEFULNESS THAT IS REQUIRED.   “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.’ So he answered, ‘Go.’ Then one said, ‘Please consent to go with your servants.’ And he answered, ‘I will go.’ So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.” (v.1-4).  We need servants of God who are usable for there is much to be done. Our usefulness for God requires vision and vigor.

There was VISION (v.1-2).  They saw the need and were moved to meet it. Do you have a burden for the work of God to progress? They called upon Elisha to oversee the project (v.3-4a). Leadership is pivotal for progress to be made.

There was VIGOR (v.4b).  The vision is pursued with vigor! There comes a point when inspiration must give way to perspiration. You need a dream, but a dream isn’t enough. Daydreamers never accomplish anything.

Then, we find THE USEFULNESS THAT IS REMOVED.  “But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, master! For it was borrowed.’” (v.5).  There will be no success without activity, but activity alone doesn’t insure achievement.

Ponder THE LOAN OF OUR ABILITY, “it was borrowed.”  The ability of the man to chop the tree wasn’t his own, but it was borrowed. Every now and then I’m listening to Rush Limbaugh and he says of himself, “Talent on loan from God.” Well it is. We are stewards—our gifts and abilities are on loan from God. We are going to give an account one day.

Then comes THE LOSS OF OUR ABILITY  “the iron ax head fell into the water.”  He became lax. He didn’t notice that the head of the ax was loosening. His laxity led to looseness and his looseness to loss. We can get so busy working that we stop watching. Jesus warned, “Watch and pray lest you fall into temptation.” If we are so busy in the work of God that we neglect the worship of God we are headed for a fall. Little by little this leads to loose living and loose living eventually leads to lost usefulness.

Thankfully there is THE USEFULNESS THAT IS RESTORED,  “So the man of God said, ‘Where did it fall?’ And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. Therefore he said, ‘Pick it up for yourself.’ So he reached out his hand and took it.” (v.6-7).

Restored usefulness requires A REPENTANT CONFESSION  (v.5b-6a).  He mourned over his loss. He confessed and acknowledged the place where it was lost. There is a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. After Peter denied Jesus, his bitter tears were the seeds of fruitful restoration. You get back on the road of righteousness where you took the devil’s detour. Where did you fall? Confess it to God with sincerity.

Then there follows A RENEWED COMMITMENT (v.6b-7). The stick causes me to think of another piece of wood—the cross. That cross is the source of our cleansing, but it is also the standard of our commitment. You must die to self to be useful for God.

We can be restored also. Where did you fall? How did it happen? Will you repent and seek God’s forgiveness? Come to the cross and you can be restored.  It might be a difference place or a different position, but you can yet make a difference IF you will do DIFFERENTLY.

SEEING CLEARLY

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬ NKJV)

My eyesight is terrible.  Unless I had my glasses on, you would not want to ride down the road with me!  Thankfully, my vision can be corrected.  Spiritually speaking, our vision often becomes foggy--we fail to see things as God sees them for our eyes are focused on the things of the world.  We need the Word of God to be a lens where we can see things from God's perspective.  It is what happened to Isaiah in chapter six of his prophecy.

There was AN UPWARD VISION OF DEITY (v.1-4).  The first look must be upward!  Then we will see God's sovereignty.  At this time, the throne in Jerusalem was empty.  King Uzziah was dead.  The monarch had been a tower of strength--and until slipping near the end of his reign had been a good and godly leader.  Now that he is dead, the prophet is concerned--his vision of the future clouded with uncertainty and anxiety.  God directs him to look behind the human ruler to the heavenly One.  The ever-changing events around us might lead us to fear, unless we see clearly the unchanging God above us--and that leads to faith.  Isaiah not only saw God's sovereignty, but His purity.  The angelic seraphim cry out His chief attribute: "Holy, holy, holy...!"   Even these majestic creatures are in awe of God's glory, covering their faces with two of their six wings!  The very sanctuary is shaken, and so is Isaiah!  Too many see God as a kindly grandfather--irreverently referring to Him as, "the Man upstairs."  No!  He is the almighty, infinitely holy God! We need to recover the proper perspective of God.

This vision of Deity leads to AN INWARD VISION OF DEPRAVITY (v.5-7). Seeing God for who He is enables us to see ourselves as we really are.  This brings conviction.  We tend to compare ourselves with other people--and we can always find someone more wicked than we are.  When we compare ourselves to God, however, we see the utter depravity in our hearts!  Conviction then leads to confession.  Isaiah confesses his tongue trouble--for our speech reveals what is in our hearts!  Confession then brings cleansing.  My old preacher grandfather used to say about this text, "God burned the devil out of Isaiah."  He did--and He will cleanse us too!

Now we are prepared for AN OUTWARD VISION OF DESTINY (v.8). The man of God looks into a wide world full of God's glory!  It is his destiny to embrace the opportunity to bring others out of the darkness of sin and into the light of glory!  Hear God's request, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”  The Lord is still looking for laborers today.  The fields are ripe and ready for harvest--sadly, the laborers are few.  See man's response, “Here am I!  Send me.”  Jesus looked out on the masses, meandering through life as lost sheep without a shepherd, and He was profoundly stirred in His soul.  He would give His life to save them!  Now, He asks us to join Him in that work.  Let us eagerly embrace the task!  This is the church's destiny.  Let us give ourselves to it wholeheartedly!  God help us to see clearly!

DEPTH PERCEPTION: Seeing Things As They Truly Are

 

Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  (Mark 12:24)

We do not live in a flat world, but in 3-D.  Things have depth and proper vision recognizes that.  When we lose depth perception, it is difficult to walk without falling or grab something without failing.  Depth perception helps us see things as they truly are.  In the twelfth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we see those with a distorted spiritual vision.  If we understand what Jesus is teaching, it is because we have spiritual depth perception—we see things as they truly are. 

For example, we see SALVATION AS IT TRULY IS (v.1-12)  The religious leaders of Jesus day, rather than receiving the Savior who had come, had decided to devise a salvation of their own religion and ritual.  God planted and provided for His vineyard, Israel, and expected fruit.  The religious leaders were to cultivate the spiritual welfare of the nation.  God sent his prophets to look for fruit and they were hated.  Then, He sent His Son and they would kill Him! This rebellion would bring retribution.  Others would receive the vineyard and become the people of God—the Gentiles who largely comprise the church.  Christ quotes from Psalm 118 (v.10-11).  Those Christ came to, evaluated Him, and decided He was unworthy to be the Messiah, but God had made Him the chief cornerstone!  In Christ alone is salvation!

Then we can see SUBMISSION AS IT TRULY IS (v.13-17)  There was the perception among the Herodians that submission to Caesar was in order—to compromise with Rome would secure their status.  The Pharisees, on the other hand, saw this as defiling and rebellion was demanded.  They sought to draw Jesus into the middle of the conflict—knowing He was bound to alienate someone.  These men were not seeking truth, but setting a trap.  They lacked depth perception.  Jesus tells us that we do have a Christian duty to the state.  As bad as we might hate to pay taxes, and may disagree with how much of it is spent, we receive benefit from the government and are responsible to fund it.  We are responsible to be good citizens by submitting to the laws of the land.  Ultimate allegiance, however, is to God—so civil disobedience may be needed if man’s laws contradict God’s!

Furthermore, we observe RESURRECTION AS IT TRULY IS (v.18-27)  The Sadducees did not understand the resurrection.  It was a doctrine they rejected.  Not believing in the resurrection is what made them “sad you see”!  They were the liberals of their day.  The argument hinges on the tense of the text and that says much about the reliability of Scripture!  Many denominations are headed for the ecclesiastical garbage dump because they have abandoned the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints.  They have turned their ears from the Word of God unto fables.  Liberal preachers have sown the seeds of error and we are reaping the bitter harvest of evil in moral relativism in America.  Such know neither the Word of God nor the power of God.

Do you have a Biblical worldview that enables you to see things as they truly are?  Open our eyes Lord, so we may have spiritual depth perception!

SEEING THE INVISIBLE

 

 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (Hebrews 11:1)

The Word of God is the lens through which the child of God must view life—to see things as they truly are.  The invisible realities of God’s activity are hidden from the eyes of the unbelieving.  All that they can see are the illusions of the material world that will someday fade into nothingness.  This world is full of deception—a satanic fog envelopes it.  Demonic darkness enshrouds the globe.  Blind people stumble along after blind guides with disastrous effect.  But God has given us a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (see Ps.119:105).  His Word pierces the darkness.  By it, we see Heaven’s perspective, and can see beyond the temporal and see through the transitory, to find the path that leads to real life.

Think of Noah who was able to see that the lifestyle of those around him was leading to judgment—the pleasures of sin were only for a season, while the wages of sin would be death.  He saw a flood that was coming, and the plan for escape for him and his family.

What of Abraham?  He saw a distant land where God would lead him—the light of revelation as a beacon to bring him out of a pagan land for a walk of faith that would eventually take him to a city of God not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  His response to that revelation would yield blessing to him and through him.

Then there was Jacob, who saw a stairway stretched from earth to heaven, where the angels of God ascended and descended from the throne.  He was running from the wrath of his brother and into an unknown future, even then in a dark wilderness with only a rock for a pillow.  God reminded him that He was with him, His angels would watch over him, and that Jacob would not be abandoned in his difficult journey.

We might look at Joseph’s dream.  He would become a ruler, with even his family bowing to him.  That dream sustained him as he traveled a circuitous path in many harsh conditions before he would reach his destination and the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Don’t forget Moses.  From childhood, a vision had been birthed in him to deliver his people from slavery.  He tried in his own strength, and God had to drive him into a desert of discipline for forty years, until Moses beheld a new sight—a bush aflame, yet not consumed—the voice of God summoning him to fulfill his mission in life.

David’s dream was also delayed, but not denied.  He was set aside to be a king while only a shepherd boy.  Many obstacles would rise up to block his path, but he would overcome as the truth God had put in his heart inspired him to press on when others might have given up.  At last, he would be crowned, even as God promised.

These all were bound together with a common thread—they heard the Word of the Lord, and heeded His call.  They saw with eyes of faith the invisible reality of God and His purposes, even though their natural eyes would have disclosed just the opposite.

Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Following that verse is the list of great champions of faith.  “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”  (v.7)  Of Abraham and the patriarchs it says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (v.13)  Then, Moses, “endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” (v.27)  [emphasis added]

What of you and me?  The chapter concludes by suggesting that we are links in the unbroken chain of those testifying to faith’s realities.  “that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.” (Heb.11:40, The Message)  They have run their leg of the race, passed on the baton from generation to generation, until reaching our hands.  The implication is that for the race to be won, we must not drop the baton, but we must also run our leg of the relay. (see Heb.11:40).

Here then is our challenge:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Heb.12:1-2)  [emphasis added]

It’s our turn now.  We can look into the Word of God with eyes of faith and see the invisible.  There are new exploits to be done, even as those champions of the past.  Don’t look at the temporal; focus on the eternal.  The cross appeared to be the end—abject failure and the triumph of evil.  Jesus, saw something different.  He saw the joy set before Him—how the Light of the World could not be extinguished, though hidden in a tomb for three days.  The despairing disciples would see Him risen in power and glory!  So may we—and we must.  Remember, the darkest hour is just before the dawn.