Fight the Good Fight: Called to Pray

Scriptures: Ezekiel 22:30; 1Timothy 1:18-2:8

Sermon:

            "Yesterday the greatest question was decided... and a greater question perhaps never was nor will be decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."[1]  This is what John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail Adam, July 3, 1776.  These words mark the beginning of our nation whose birthday we celebrate today.  July 4, 1776 our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence that declared our independence from England – something never attempted before in the history of mankind.  A relatively weak and untrained group of farmers, lawyers, statesmen and proprietors set out to free themselves from the tyranny of the most powerful nation on earth at that time.  Since then we have known unprecedented liberty and personal freedom, but with liberty and freedom come choices to decide whether we will walk responsibly or to indulge ourselves in our own desires.  John Adams, second president of the United States and signer of the Declaration of Independence, foresaw the dangers inherent in our system of government and warned,

Self Deceit is perhaps the source of far the greatest and worst Part of the Vices and Calamities among man kind – the love of Pleasure and Aversion to Pain.[2]

He went on to say:

…any Man, the best, the wisest, the brightest of you can find…that he is more important, more deserving, knowing and [necessary?] than he is, that he deserve more respect and Reverence, Wealth and Power than he has, and that he was doing but his Duty in punishing with great Cruelty those who should esteem him no higher and shew him no more Reverence and give him no more Money or Power than he deserved.[3]

When this happens:

Democracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few.[4]

Adams warned us that human nature is very self-destructive and seeks its own pleasure and tries to avoid pain, but unless we fight against human nature even the best and brightest among us will slip into cruel behavior punishing all who do not think highly of us regardless of what we say, do or think.  In short, there can be no criticism of what anyone says or does.  Think of political correctness and the inadvisability of speaking contrary to the media’s views on politics, homosexuality, ecology or evolution.  They “know” what is best and true and good for us.  In the 60’s when someone dared to question how we were going to pay for welfare or voiced the opinion that we should be doing something to get these people jobs and off welfare, they were defamed and slandered.  They were called “racists” and “hate mongers.”  They were accused of hating the poor and especially the blacks.  Yet today, after a mountain of debt and three generations living on welfare, we are forced to face these issues.  Still, may Heaven help the person who tries to reason contrary to their views.  I believe we are watching democracy “degenerate into an anarchy, such…that every man will do what is right in his own eyes…”  Certainly “no man’s life or property or reputation or liberty” is secure.  I believe we are seeing our proud nation “mould itself into a system” that subordinates “moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and …cruelty of one or a very few” or the mob with the lowest denominator of morality.  Such are the dangers we face if liberty is taken to mean “do whatever you want.”  We had to fight for our freedom, and we must fight to maintain it. The same could be said of Christianity. 

Already in Paul’s age he encountered people who had become deceived and taught “strange doctrines” and paid “attention to myths and endless genealogies, which gave rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith (1 Timothy 1:3-4, NASB).”  The Christian faith was in danger of degenerating almost before it took off.   God called Paul and others like Timothy to stand against the deceptions armed with God’s truth given in “love with a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (v. 5, NASB).”  Now he gives the command to Timothy to “fight the good fight (v. 19, NASB).”  This can only be done by “keeping faith and a good conscience (v. 19, NASB)” by following all the teachings of scripture as interpreted through the New Testament and by not listening to those who try to change the gospel message.  These latter people have rejected and have made a “shipwreck in regard to their faith.”  Like our nation Christianity offers incredible liberty and freedom, but we dare not use it to do “what seems right and good in our own eyes.”  That is the self deception Adams was talking about in our nation.  It is no less true in Christianity.  Also, like our nation, our freedom came as a result of a great revolution that came at a very high price.

God came to earth in the form of a baby and grew into a man.  The God/man, Jesus, ushered in the kingdom of God on earth.  He pushed back the powers of darkness that held the earth captive.  They always recognized Him and never wanted to have to deal with him.  They always had to capitulate to his authority.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Darkness temporarily gained the upper hand and had Jesus crucified.  The sinless man died and took on our sins to pay the death penalty we owed because of our willful choices that oppose God.  He died so that we might have freedom from sin and once again know the liberty of a restored relationship with God the Father.  There was a great battle those three days, but at the end, on the first day of the week, Jesus rose from the dead and lives eternally with the Father in heaven where he intercedes for us.  We did not have to fight the first war -- that was fought and won for us.  However, we, upon acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, are drawn into the ongoing war between God and Satan, between Light and Darkness.  We are commanded to “fight the good fight.”  Jesus fought for our freedom, but we must fight to maintain it.  This is not a popular image in many Christian groups today.  “Onward, Christian Soldiers” has been removed from most modern hymnals because it uses inappropriate imagery.  Paul gives insight as to how “fight the good fight” will look.

First, we must pray.  “First” in this sense means to take precedence over and not just one of many things that Paul is going to list.  It is the foremost, primary and chief thing we must do in this ongoing battle.  All sorts of prayers must be offered.  Prayers for self and for others, prayers for healings must be offered, but there is more.  We must pray for our government officials, elected and appointed, from our President to the local school board.  What are we to pray?  Paul tells us in verse four, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  When was the last time you prayed for the salvation of anyone (except perhaps for a family member or close friend)?  How often do you pray for people to “come to the knowledge of the truth?”  Many today would ask, “Whose truth should we be praying for?”  This is a major area where the battle is being waged today.  People increasingly are buying into the philosophy that “you have the right to do what is right in your own eyes,” and the corollary to that is “you make your own truth; there is no Truth.”  Without self-discipline to reject momentary pleasure that brings lasting difficulties and responsibility to do what is right even at great personal cost, we lose real freedom, and liberty is sacrificed to the debt we owe, whether that is money, drugs, sex, material goods and the like.  Such are the dangers we face if liberty is taken to mean “do whatever you want.”  Jesus fought for our freedom, but we must fight to maintain it.  So what is the truth we are to fight to preserve?  Paul has an answer for that also. 

There is One God, not countless ones.  There is One Way of salvation, not many.  The Lord Jesus the Christ has provided the means of salvation and not any other.  This also flies contrary to popular thinking, even in the Church today.  Many would tell us that “all roads lead to God.”  Scripture does not say that.  Only faith in Jesus Christ assures us of access to God.  Verses like John 3:17-18 make that clear.

¹⁷ "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

¹⁸ "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If God does anything different, He has not told us and therefore we are on shaky ground to think otherwise.  We are not free to believe and do whatever we want.  We are compelled to do what God wants and that frequently means there is a huge gap between the two. Such are the dangers we face if liberty is taken to mean “do whatever you want.”  Jesus fought for and won our freedom, but we must fight to maintain it.   How do we bridge that gap? 

First, have faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Second, pray.  We can stand in the gap created by the breaking down of righteousness due to our stubborn and willful choices contrary to God’s ways.  Paul calls for “men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension (1 Timothy 2:8, NASB).”  We are called to pray perhaps as we have never prayed before, calling God to bless our leaders and us with His salvation and with knowledge of His Truth.  Pray that God would pour out His Spirit on this valley, that His Truth would go forth in power and in love, that we would know His will and be conformed to it.  Jesus fought for our freedom, and this is first and foremost how we must fight to maintain it.  Perhaps you feel you are too insignificant or unimportant for God to hear your prayers.  Perhaps you feel this church or this valley is too out of the way to make that kind of difference.  Let me share with you a message I believe came from God.

While in seminary, I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy several times (I did not have cable).  In part three, “The Return of the King,” there is a scene where Gondor, a kingdom of men, is coming under attack by the Dark Lord, Sauran.  (In Middle Earth where this takes place there were also hobbits – innocent and little people, dwarfs, elves – angel like beings and orks – demonic types of creatures.  The orks served Sauran, the most evil being of Middle Earth, who was trying to conquer everyone and bring a rule of Darkness to the entire land.)  Gandalf a powerful friend of the true king of men, went to the Steward of Gondor to try to convince him to light the beacon that would call the King back to the city and the realm to defend it from the impending evil.  The Steward was only concerned for his own personal power and refused to send the signal.  He did not want the King to return because that would mean the end of his personal rule.  Gandalf took it upon himself to stand in the gap on behalf of the people and taking with him Pippin, a Hobbit, had him climb the tall tower in which wood, oil and fire were stored to light the beacon.  (They did not have telephones, internet or telegraph in this world.)  Pippin lights the beacon and Gandalf rushes to the other side of the city to see if the next beacon would pick up the signal and send it on.  It does, and it sets off a series of beacons, one after another across mountaintops, above the clouds, above the tree line, in snow capped mountains until the signal reaches the King, who is sitting, watching and waiting for the call that says they want his help.  His people want his return.  When he sees it, he turns and runs to the King of this realm, a fatherly type, to ask for him to send him, the rightful king with an army to return and to fight on behalf of his kingdom.  What I noticed was how small and isolated these beacons were.  They were on remote mountain tops.  Except for the initial one, they were not located in cities where most people would think power and influence are located.  They were in remote places.  [Show clip] 

I believe these small, remote outposts represent the small rural churches of America.  The fire (and the oil that ignites it) represents the Holy Spirit bringing life into these churches causing them to be on fire for the Lord.  Holy Spirit led prayer is what will restore life to beleaguered churches and bring the fire that calls the rightful King back to fight for His people.  I cannot help but notice how we are located between two mountain ridges with a string of small rural churches stretching from one end of the valley to the other.  My vision is that one after the other would be set ablaze by the Spirit.  I have been praying for the Holy Spirit to move up and down our valley, that God’s Word would go forth powerfully and in love, convicting us and calling us to repentance in order that we would become the people God has planned for us to be in order that we may powerfully experience God’s favor and blessings.  Will you join me in this prayer?  I plan to set aside an hour Wednesday afternoons at Burnt Cabins and eleven o’clock Thursday mornings and seven Thursday evenings at Lower Path Valley for prayer.  Will you join me?

Holy Spirit Lead Prayer Part 2:

Prayer That Is Alive and Effective

Scripture: Ezekiel 22:30; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Sermon:

In Ezekiel 22:30, Judah’s defeat and impending exile loomed on the horizon, but people could not be bothered even to pray.  The government and religious leaders of the day, including the (popular) prophets, “ignored glaring moral factors and preached a comfortable message of blessing and salvation.”[1]  Verse 30 is God’s indictment against them.  “Prophetic intercession against the coming catastrophe had been conspicuous by its absence.  It could have averted or at least postponed the end (cf. Amos 7:1-9; Jer 5:1).”[2]  Such is the power of prayer.

Things looked bleak for the children of George Muller's orphanage at Ashley Downs in England. It was time for breakfast, and there was no food. A small girl whose father was a close friend of Muller was visiting in the home. Muller took her hand and said, "Come and see what our Father will do." In the dining room, long tables were set with empty plates and empty mugs. Not only was there no food in the kitchen, but there was no money in the home's account. Muller prayed, "Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat." Immediately, they heard a knock at the door. When they opened it, there stood the local baker. "Mr. Muller," he said, "I couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I felt you had no bread for breakfast, so I got up at 2 o'clock and baked fresh bread. Here it is." Muller thanked him and gave praise to God. Soon, a second knock was heard. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. He said he would like to give the children the milk so he could empty the cart and repair it.

George Muller was such a man as God was looking for in Ezekiel 22:30.  He stood in the gap between orphans and the ravages of this world.  He protected them from the cold, wind and rain.  He kept them fed and clothed and saw they received an education.  He ran an orphanage on faith.  He believed God answered prayer and was a man of prayer.

When asked how much time he spent in prayer, George Muller's reply was, "Hours every day. But I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And the answers are always coming." [3]

In a very different setting, a seminary in the United States, another man stood in the gap between the needs of a fledgling seminary and its extinction and prayed also.

In its early days, Dallas Theological Seminary was in critical need of $10,000 to keep the work going. During a prayer meeting, renowned Bible teacher Harry Ironside, a lecturer at the school, prayed, "Lord, you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of those cattle to help us meet this need." Shortly after the prayer meeting, a check for $10,000 arrived at the school, sent days earlier by a friend who had no idea of the urgent need or of Ironside's prayer. The man simply said the money came from the sale of some of his cattle! [4]

Currently, our Food Pantry in the Valley needed another freezer to hold the food God was blessing them with.  Lilly suggested they pray for one.  In a matter of minutes, they found out that a man who routinely helped them and was not there that night, had located a freezer and was bringing it.  You may wonder, “How do people pray and get such dramatic results?” 

            First we must understand what prayer is.  It is conversation with God.  All good conversations include talking and listening, sharing what is on your heart and mind with each other and sitting quietly with another, just waiting, and you sit in silence enjoying each other’s company.  Silence is a problem for us.  We have been conditioned never to be quiet – we even have music in elevators and at gas pumps.  When we get in our car we turn on the radio or MP3 player.  At home it is usually the television, stereo or radio.  We do not like silence.  When conversation dies out, most people become uncomfortable and rush to fill the silence with any thought that comes to mind.  Here is where many fall short in prayer.  We talk all of the time and do not give God time to speak to us, to tell us what is on His mind, what He would like us to pray.  So, how does God talk to us?  What are we listening for?

            The first clue comes from Acts 1:4-8, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 and Romans 8:26-27.  In Acts we find Jesus reminding the disciples that he would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and that they must wait for the promised Holy Spirit before they can carry the gospel into all the world.  Pentecost followed ten days later, and we see a marked difference in the disciples.  They now had boldness, preached with authority, healed people and cast out their demons.  We have learned that each person who believes in Jesus has the Holy Spirit dwelling in them from the moment they believed in Jesus as their Savior.  1 Corinthians tells us that the things that have been hidden by God from the wise and powerful of this world, He “has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (verse 10, NIV).”  Paul goes on to tell us in Romans that we have received “the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us (verse 12, NIV).”  The Holy Spirit helps people in their weaknesses, and one of those weaknesses is not knowing what to pray.  “Prayer has always been one of the great mysteries of the spiritual life.  We understand that God is listening, but we sense our inadequacy when it comes to knowing how to pray or exactly what we should pray for.”[5]  Since Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, all followers of Christ have the Holy Spirit living in them and one of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to teach us what Jesus has said in order to make it a functioning part of them.  As 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us, “We have the mind of Christ” to understand the mysteries of God.  This extends to our prayers and knowing what to pray and how to pray it.  How does He do this?

            First, the Holy Spirit uses Scripture.  To have an effective prayer life, you need to immerse yourself in Scripture for it gives the Spirit an abundance of information to guide you in prayer.  Beth Moore models this kind of prayer beautifully in her devotional, Praying God’s Word Day by Day.  One way you might begin to pray the Scripture is that you may think of a scripture reference.  God may have placed it in your mind in order for you to pray it.  For instance, in 2001 I woke up one morning with Psalm 18 on my mind.  It kept coming back to me, so I read it and turned it into a prayer.  It seemed to have two distinct parts to it.  The first part seemed personal, “I love you Lord.  You are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer…”  “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From his temple he heard my voice…”  The second half seemed to deal with a ruler of a nation to be victorious over his enemies.  I sensed the first half was for me and the second part was for our President.  I continued to pray this psalm for the next fifteen months.  The morning God gave me this psalm was the morning an action was taken in my church that caused great turmoil in our congregation, especially me because I was spiritually close to the situation.  Then on September 11^th I realized why I was praying the second half of the chapter.  For nearly eight months I had been praying for God to bless our President to overcome the enemy.  It was now clear who that enemy was – the Taliban and Islamic terrorists.  I could not have known that, but God did and gave me scripture to pray to address it months before it happened.

            A second way God speaks to you is that He may show you Scripture to pray as you are reading it.  In order for God to speak to you in this way, two things must happen.  It is good to be in the habit of reading more than just a verse to two at one sitting, and you must read it slowly in a meditative way listening for God to speak.  When you do, one or more verses may “jump out” at you.  These verses seem to speak just to you or to a need you have been praying about.  Pray this scripture.  It is God’s word to you in this situation. 

            A third way that God sometimes uses Scripture is to have you open the Bible and begin to read.  Most Christian scholars point to absurdities that might happen, but I have often found it to be very helpful when I do not know what to do.  If you recall, God gave me Jeremiah 30:12-17 when I had been diagnosed with cancer.  All evening I had a very strong sensation that God had something for me to read in His Word.  I had no other guidance than that; so I simply opened the Bible and my eyes fell on these verses.  What a blessing they were.  I held onto them as God’s promise to me throughout the surgery, chemo, radiation and bone marrow transplant.  That was over seventeen years ago.  Similar things have happened since then.  One time I was dissatisfied with my sermon; something was missing.  Sunday morning I sat down to have my devotions.  I had nothing specific in mind so I just opened my Bible and read.  Suddenly I knew this passage was exactly what I needed to pull my sermon together to make it stronger and clearer.  Praise God!  I would caution you to use the principles of discernment above to be sure the Holy Spirit is leading you and not some other spirit.

            God may use means other than Scripture to speak to you.  You may have a thought that seems slightly different from your own.  A person’s name keeps popping into your head or a thought keeps returning although you try to push it out of your mind.  You may have an image pop into your mind.  This may be a summons to pray for this person or situation.  Often God wants you to keep it to yourself and keep praying about it.  If God wants you to speak it out to others, He stirs you up so that your heart starts to pound, and you may even begin to tremble.  This could get stronger if you try to remain silent.  If you are praying with the person, test it with them.  Tell them what you “heard” and ask something like, “Does this mean something to you?”  Never say, “God told me.”  You may have simply imagined it.  Additionally, be careful how you interpret what you get.  You may have heard accurately but you could still misunderstand what it means.  Usually the job of interpretation is the responsibility of the people involved to discern.  Do not think you have a corner on the interpretation because you were the one to receive the message.  This leads to division instead of unity.

            Another way God may reveal a need for prayer is through a feeling.  If you are praying for healing for someone, your hands may get hot.  One time I was praying for a young woman who had had surgery for a malignant brain tumor.  She had small children and dearly wanted to be there to raise them.  I was part of the group that prayed for her.  That night not only did my hands get hot, but I got so hot I was perspiring.  I was kneeling beside the woman and the people standing over me, were overcome with heat to the point that they had to sit down and get some air.  Those on the other side of the woman did not feel the room was hot at all and just looked at us.  Six years later the woman is cancer free.  Additionally, when praying for healing for someone, you may feel a pain where you do not normally have one.  God may want you to pray for someone with a pain in that area of his or her body. 

The feeling may be sociological or psychological in nature.  I have discovered that I often “feel” what is happening in groups of people.  One time I felt like I was shattering and flying into thousands of pieces.  I found out that was what was happening to a home church.  They had fallen into unsound teaching and the group shattered and split apart until no two families attended the same church.  By trial and error, I have found that when I feel a strong foreboding, if I pray nothing bad happens.  When I ignore the feeling and do not pray, really bad things have happened, like accidents, sickness,

Message Holy Spirit Lead Prayer

Scripture: Hebrews 7:24-25; Romans 8:34, 26-27; Ezekiel 22:30; Acts 1:4-8

Sermon:

Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire, told the following story. "A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the girls responded, 'Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.' 

That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, 'If God sent that, I'm sure He also sent a doll!' And she was right! The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests, and 5 months earlier He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles."[1]

What is your prayer life like?  Have you experienced such dramatic answers to prayer as this?  Does prayer excite you so that you just can’t wait to pray?  Or is your prayer life more typically like our culture teaches us to pray?  You do not believe in prayer.  Perhaps your prayer life is non-existent because you do not feel “called” to pray, or you believe it is something to do only when every other resource has been exhausted.  Maybe you pray a little but find it difficult to make time to pray.  You may be in a place in your life where your prayers are like helium balloons with weights attached to them.  They stay anchored to the ground instead of sailing to heaven.  You might feel like “what’s the use,” my prayers are never answered.  Your prayers are dry, dull and repetitious; they lack power, life and vitality.  Keep reading for prayer is a primary tool God gives us for the journey.

            Why should we pray?  Does it really make a difference?  Jesus seemed to think so.  Luke 5:15-16 says, “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (NIV)  This impressed the disciples so deeply that they asked Jesus to “teach them to pray.”  The result was the Lord’s Prayer.[2]  Time and again Scripture records that Jesus was in prolonged prayer just before or immediately after a major miracle occurred.  Mark 1:35-39

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

 ³⁶ Simon and his companions went to look for him,

 ³⁷ and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"

 ³⁸ Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

 ³⁹ So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

 ⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

 ⁴¹ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"

 ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. (NIV)

He had healed many in the town where Peter’s mother-in-law lived, and after sunset the whole town showed up with their sick and demon possessed and Jesus healed many of them and cast demons out of them.  The next day the townspeople were looking for him to do more miracles.  Instead the disciples found Jesus alone in prayer replenishing himself and getting directions for what he should do next.  Instead of healing the people at Peter’s house, he left for nearby villages to preach there.  “That is why I have come (v. 38b).”  After the miracle of feeding the five thousand men plus women and children, Jesus went off “to a mountain by himself” while the disciples took a boat across the lake to Capernaum.  That evening, after dark, a storm came up and the winds blew.  Then the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water towards them.  They were terrified, but he comforted them say, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  He got in the boat and immediately they were at their destination.  (John 6:14-21) 

            Jesus spent the night praying before every major decision.  Luke 6:12-13 records that he spent the night praying alone on a mountain before he chose the twelve disciples from among the many who were following him.  When they went down the mountainside there were people waiting for him for healing and for deliverance “and all the people tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all (v. 19).”  When facing imminent death, he spent the night praying in the Garden of Gethsemane asking God to remove what was about to happen, if there could be another way.  Nevertheless, he surrendered to God’s will over his own personal will with the famous words “Thy will be done.”[3]  Beloved of God, are you beginning to see the connection between the things that Jesus did and his prayer life?

            Jesus did not stop praying after his death and resurrection.  Hebrews 7:25 (NIV) tells us that Jesus “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”  Romans 8:34 (NIV) informs us, “Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  What wonderful news!  Jesus did not stop praying when he was glorified and went to heaven.  He still prays for you and me, but that is not all.  The Holy Spirit also prays for us.  Romans 8:26-27 (NIV) tells us,

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

That is two thirds of the Godhead that prays for you!  That is good news indeed.  So if God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are praying for us, why do we need to pray? 

Jesus thought it was important and prayed many long hours; we are to be like Jesus, therefore we must pray too.  Furthermore, Jesus told us to.  In both Matthew 7:5 and Luke 11:9 (NIV) Scripture records, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  (Emphasis is mine.)  John records that Jesus said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”  (John 14:13-14, NIV, emphasis is mine.)  Paul tells us “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  (Philippians 4:6, NIV)  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV) he commands us, “pray continually (pray without ceasing, KJV, NRSV, NAS, ESV).”  Revelation 5:6-8 gives us a picture of God on His throne with the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders before the throne.  The elders are “holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (NIV).”  This image is repeated in 8:3-4.  We are commanded to pray because prayer pleases God and is vital to the working out of His plan on earth.

The giants of the Christian faith placed a priority on prayer.  John Wesley said, “God does nothing but in answer to prayer.”  Martin Luther wrote, “Whatever aspect matters may assume, we can achieve all through prayer…therewith we can accomplish everything, and thus maintain what already exists, amend what is defective, patiently put up with what is inevitable, overcome what is evil and preserve all that is good.”[4]  Jonathan Edwards recorded, “I was almost constantly in…prayer, wherever I was.  Prayer seemed to be natural to me, as the breath by which the inward burning of my heart had vent.”[5]  He was at the forefront of the Great Awakening and became its spokesman.  In fact all revivals in history began with prayer.  If you want to see your nation or local area set free from bondage to debt, drugs, delinquency, gangs, senseless murders, failed marriages and general madness, begin with deep heartfelt prayer.  Missions is a “work done mainly by the Lord himself and is principally a matter of prayer…”[6]  As we have seen in the case of the missionary in Zaire where a young mother died after childbirth and they needed a makeshift incubator, God provided because He knew months in advance what would be needed and prompted a saint in England. to put something in a box of supplies that would normally not be included.  This person obeyed the promptings of the Spirit instead of thinking, “This is foolish.  This has never been done this way.”  He or she heard the Spirit and stepped out in faith and did something different, and it saved a life.  Someone else shared from her abundance and gave a doll that comforted a little girl on the other side of the world after the loss of her mother.

God answers prayer right here also.  Donna Black had scratched her eye at work, and it did not heal.  After several months the doctor decided she needed surgery to correct the injury.  She had prayer and that week when she went for the surgery, the eye was healed; the surgery was not needed.  Naomi, an eighty-nine year old, who is in a nursing home with failing body and mind, wanted communion although she could no longer eat solid food.  She choked and turned red, but was able to get her breath.  We finished communion and prayed additionally for her.  The immediate change that came over her was astounding.  Evelyn, the elder with me, said she would not have believed it if she had not seen it with her own eyes.  Naomi suddenly sat up straight in her chair, was composed and began to talk with us like she used to before the deterioration.  Her eyes were clear and focused; she smiled, and it was easy to understand her.  What a blessing for us all!  In an excellent book about unanswered prayer, Jerry Sittser gives us this insight about prayer:

While history deals with the past, prayer deals with the future.  We already know what happened in the past, though we can do nothing to change it.  We don’t yet know what will happen in the future, though we can do something to influence it.  We can shape the future by how we pray and thus create the very history we will someday know as the past.[7] 

Jesus understood that prayer shapes the future and prayed before, during (I believe he was praying as he wrote in the sand when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him) and after miracles, deliverances and authoritative teaching.  We can do no less than he if we are to be obedient to His call.  The Scriptures command us to be like him.  In the coming weeks we will look at how to pray like Jesus, how prayer positions us with Christ and what hinders our prayers.  If your prayer life could use a boost (or if it is none existent or nearly so) this is for you.  I am guessing that all of us need to grow in our understanding and exercise of prayer.  Keep reading.
So if prayer is so beneficial, why do we so reluctant to pray?  D. A. Carson feels that “if we fail to pray, it is because our compassion is defective.   Or…our diagnosis of the problem and their remedies is faulty, prompting …secondary solutions”[8]  In our culture, those secondary remedies are throwing tons of money at a problem and working ourselves weary with little to show for our efforts.  Problems like poverty for instance seem to get worse the more we do.  John Calvin wrote, “Prayer is born first from our own sense of need, then from faith in God’s promises.”[9]  He has also identified two “Rules of Right Praying.”  First, we are called to “leave behind all thought of our own glory, cast aside all notion of our own worth, put away all self-assurance, humbly giving glory to the Lord.”[10]  This thinking goes against our culture that teaches us to promote ourselves and to seek our own glory.  Think of our idols – sports heroes and actors and actresses.  Few walk in humility.  We are told how good we are and how deserving we are of the best of everything.  This, however, is marketing and has little to do with reality.  It does feed our pride so that we readily buy into it.  We want people to recognize us and to praise us instead of seeking God’s glory.  Second, we must “sense our insufficiency…earnestly ponder …how much we need the very things we seek from God; let us then seek them that we may attain them from Him.”[11]  This also goes against the grain of culture.  We are taught to be self-sufficient.  We have our own solutions.  We need no one to tell us what to do.  Furthermore, none of us wants “charity.”  We would rather work ourselves to death or resort to stealing than to accept charity.  It is very difficult for us to admit that we are needy – even to God.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 6

What Else Is There Besides Salvation and Comfort?

Scriptures: Isaiah 40:21-22, 27-31; Colossians 3:1-4; Romans 12:1-2; Mark 8:34-38

            God chooses the insignificant people and things of this world to show His goodness and His greatness.  Case in point is His choice of a relatively insignificant and unknown man through whom He planned to grow a nation that would bless the world by producing a savior, a man anointed by God to take upon himself the sins of the entire world.  He did this so that He could forgive you and me and reconcile us to himself.  God chose Abraham because of his faith in the One True God; “he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Galatians 3:6, NIV)  The promise was that “All nations will be blessed through” him (Galatians 3:8, NIV).  That blessing was realized in Abraham’s descendant, Jesus, the Christ, the one anointed by God to save the world.  Scripture tells us that “those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”  (Galatians 3:9, NIV)  But things did not always progress smoothly, nor did it progressively improve.  There were many ups and downs and bends in the road.  The journey was often made difficult by their stubborn refusal to do things God’s way.

            First through no fault of their own, they ended up as slaves in Egypt.  For four hundred years they cried to God, and He sent them a deliverer, Moses, who led them through the wilderness where God established a covenant of law with them.  They entered a covenant with God that said if they obeyed God, He would bless them, and if they disobeyed, curses would fall upon them.  Moses and the Israelites then set out to live a life of freedom in their own land.  This took much longer than necessary because they refused to believe God that they could defeat an army they perceived as giants. They thought God’s plan was defective and stubbornly said they would not do it.  As a result they had to wander forty years in the desert.  When they finally entered the Promised Land, under Joshua, Moses’ successor, things went well for a while; then problems began.

            They began to take God’s blessings for granted.  They credited their good fortune to their own cleverness and abilities.  Worship of God became a ritual for one hour a week, if that, and then it was off to seek their own pleasure and profit.  They began to experience setbacks in business.  Crops failed.  Their enemies were beating them in battle.  What were they to do?  Thankfully some of the prophets, priests, leaders and people remembered their covenant with God and repented of their waywardness.  They cried to God for forgiveness and deliverance, and He sent them judges who restored faith in God and brought God’s truth and righteousness back to the land.  They would experience God’s blessings again.  You may be familiar with judges like Deborah and Sampson.  Things would go well as long as the judge lived, but when the judge died, the people would go back to their own way of doing things according to their own plans to benefit themselves.  Eventually they would be back in trouble and crying out to God for His mercy.  Sadly this became a cycle of obedience and blessings, falling away from God, experiencing the curses of the covenant, crying out to God for deliverance, God raising up a godly leader to restore obedience which led to God’s blessings.  The summary statement of the people during the times of decline was “they did what was right in their own eyes.”  (Judges 17:6; 21:25)  They didn’t want what God wanted, and that was all it took for them to lose God’s favor.

            At the end of the age of judges, God raised up a king in Israel.  David’s reign was known as the Golden Age because they had peace, prosperity and influence with other nations.  David was “a man after God’s heart.”  His descendants were usually not so inclined.  Just one generation after his death, the kingdom split.  First Israel, the Northern Kingdom, turned from God’s ways, and then Judah followed.  As they pursued their own plans for wealth and power, their nation fell into decline.  Crops failed.  They cheated people in business dealings and foreigners began to take over those businesses.  Murder, stealing, sexual immorality and rape were rampant.  They brought in gods from the East and worshipped them.  God’s wrath was about to fall, but the prophets told them lies that they would have peace and security, and the people wanted it that way.  They had become rich and powerful, and they only wanted to do “what was right in their own eyes” and to hear comforting messages about their salvation and the good life.  They did not want to hear what they were doing wrong or that destruction was pending.  They didn’t want what God wanted, and that was all it took for them to lose God’s favor.  They convinced themselves that God would not hold their sins against them.  After all, they were God’s chosen people, therefore they reasoned, “No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.”  (Jeremiah 5:12, NIV)  Yet, the Assyrian army defeated Israel and carried the people away into exile.  Then roughly 150 years later, the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem and Judah went into exile also.  In Ezekiel 22:30 God looked for someone 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.”  So God let the consequences of “all they have done” fall upon them. 

            Fast forward 2,100 years.  God has a new people – those who have chosen to follow His son, Jesus.  They trust in his sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins.  These have been rejected and persecuted by the established state religions of Europe.  They have come to the New World in search of the right to worship God in the way they feel is right.  In Pennsylvania, William Penn began a “holy experiment” to allow all religions the freedom to worship in their own way.  (Note—at this time, these religions were all Christian and a few Jews.)  In New England the Puritans conducted their own experiment to integrate the religious, economic, social and political lives of the community.  They saw themselves as the “city on the hill,” the model for the world to see how Christians can and should live.  They followed scripture and were blessed with prosperity and success.  However, they could not pass on their faith in God to the succeeding generations.  As they prospered, their children believed they could continue in the prosperity without the personal sacrifices to God.  They kept many of the rituals but dis-integrated religious life from the economic, social and political spheres.  They ignored the deep things of God and only “did what was right in their own eyes.”  They didn’t want what God wanted, and that was all it took for them to lose God’s favor.  This time, however, God found a man, Jonathan Edwards, who stood in the gap, to build the wall and to pray for the restoration of the church in this New World.  Edwards was a man of deep conviction and prayer.  The latter was like breathing and eating to him.  God heard and used him to bring about the Great Awakening in New England.  This began around 1740, was interrupted by the American Revolution and afterwards continued into the early 1800’s.  America won her freedom and became the bastion of evangelism and missions.

            Fast forward another hundred years; it is the Roaring 20’s.  America is sure of her destiny.  She believes that we can accomplish anything in our own strength, wisdom and courage.  We will transform the world with our intellect and knowledge and usher in the millennium where everything will be right and just and good.  We “do what is right in our own eyes.”  We have wealth (except for the factory workers), speakeasies and rising hemlines.  We do not have to feel bad about the plight of the poor because Darwin has assured us that “survival of the fittest” is the way nature works.  They didn’t want what God wanted, and that was all it took for them to lose God’s favor.  Al Capone runs an underground mob, and the police cannot catch him. Then Black Tuesday hit.  October 29, 1929 the stock market crashes ushering in the Great Depression.  Millions had invested and gambled in the stock market to make lots of money.  Now they are penniless or worse.  People lose their homes.  Hemlines drop.  People are starving.  There are few jobs to be found until World War II comes and people are back at work to support the war effort.  Billy Graham, a great man of prayer, evangelizes the country and later the entire world.  In the 1960’s at the height of Christian popularity and influence (over 60% of Americans claimed to go to church regularly), Madeleine Murray O’Hare pushes for and wins the outlaw of prayer and Bible reading in our schools.  This expands to all areas of our public life.  How could this happen?

            The Christian faith has been likened to a river.  It can run wide and shallow or narrow and deep.  In the sixties, when it was popular to be a Christian, many attended church, but faith was shallow.  The message was increasingly narrowed to salvation and what God could do for you.  Comfort, love and positive messages became the norm much like the false prophets of the days of the prophets, Isaiah through Ezekiel.  God would never do anything to punish us if we did not obey.  He is too loving and kind to do that.  Love meant “never having to say you’re sorry.”  Our theology became, “All you need is love” which is not from the Bible.  It is a Beatles’ song.  Love meant allowing anything and everything that made you “happy” in the short term.  We were free “to do what was right in our own eyes.”  We didn’t want what God wanted, and that was all it took for us to lose God’s favor.  The Church lost its ability to call people to repentance and sanctification for that was not being loving according to the new theology.  So runs the wide river when Christianity is popular.  However, when the river runs narrow and deep, there may be fewer claiming to be Christian, but those who do, are committed to Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.  They are convinced that to “seek first the kingdom of God” is the way to have what they desire most.  They understand what C. S. Lewis of Narnia fame in the middle of the 20^th century wrote, “We are halfhearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.”  (Emphasis is mine.)  They have given up making mud pies in the slums for sandcastles by the seashore.

At the height of prosperity, when the United States of America declared public profession and displays of God to be illegal, and He was banned from our schools and courtrooms, we had great faith in our own abilities to run our lives, society, politics and economics.  Prior to outlawing God, we had no debt.  People tended to deal honestly in business.  I can remember a time when our house had no locks (I lived in a small city).  They were not needed.  People respected other’s property.  The vast majority of children were raised in homes with a mother and a father present.  Things were not perfect.  Segregation and domestic violence needed to be addressed.  However, since the barring of God from our public life, our government is in debt to the tune of $13 trillion and rising.  Hemlines have risen to mid thigh or higher.  Teens are having babies at the rate that has prompted schools to establish nurseries within their campuses to enable the single moms to finish their education.  The same is true at the college level.  “The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage (is) 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri.”[1] Welfare has skyrocketed since its inception in the 1960’s.  We now have three generations living that way.  We have brought in New Age and Eastern religions to replace or to blend with Christianity.  Socially, 80% of our young people believe it is OK to lie to people and to cheat on tests.  Economically, businesses cut corners to raise profits, cheat and steal not caring if consumers or employees are hurt in the process.  Increasingly, foreigners own our companies and our government.  Politically, we cannot trust our government leaders.  Militarily, we have been met with stiff opposition and can rarely achieve victory although we possess superior military weaponry.  Internationally, we have lost favor with most nations.  Even in rural America, murder, drugs, sexual immorality and lack of religious interest are problems.  What is my point in reminding you of what you already know?  What is the answer?

            I am concerned that we are witnessing the demise of our nation, just as the Jews of Ezekiel’s day.  Most Christians as well as non-Christians are saying that God will not punish us for our rebellion.  He loves us too much.  However, one of the founding fathers of our nation, George Mason, co-author of The Bill of Rights along with James Madison, said, “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this.  By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins, by national calamities.”[2]  What are we to do?

            I believe God is still looking for someone to stand in the gap and build the wall in our day so that we do not have to suffer the consequences of our own willfulness.  This is why this paper is being written.  In personal ministry, I bring comfort, but in public preaching I try to give wisdom, knowledge and understanding that will take you deeper with God if you allow it.  I believe God is looking for people who will get into the subterranean waters of the faith and move beyond salvation, comfort and what God will do for them and ask, “What can I do for you, Lord?”  God is looking for someone who believes deep in his or her soul that to seek first the kingdom of God is the way to have all the blessings we crave.  God is looking for someone who will lose his or her life for Jesus’ sake, “deny himself and take up his cross and follow” Him (Mark 8:34-35, NIV).  God is looking for someone who will set his or her heart “on things above, where Christ is…” and will die to self and whose life is “now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:.1-3, NIV).”  God is looking for someone “to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1, NIV), and not to be conformed “any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing or your mind” (Romans 12:2).  God is looking for someone to “be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16, NIV).  God is looking for someone to move beyond salvation, comfort and how God can benefit them.  God is looking for someone to deny himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus. 

Dr. Henry Blackaby wrote to Steve Farrar,

I hope if you didn’t hear anything else that comes from this…that you will understand that it’s God’s people who hold the destiny of America.  Don’t fuss at the world.  It’s acting just like its nature.  God’s attention is focused on His own people.  The future of America rests in our hands.[3]

Do you feel too insignificant to be that person?  Do you feel your church is too small to make a difference?  Remember Abraham.  God is looking for someone to build the wall broken down by rebellion against God and stand in the gap for the land (includes its people).  God is looking for a person who wants what God wants so He can show favor. Will you be the person God is looking for?  Will your church be that church God uses to change your community, your nation?  The choice is yours.

"We Are All Called to Serve"

Scripture: Romans 12:1-9; Ephesians 4:7, 9-13; 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-7

Every living organism has a body. The church is the living entity that makes up Christ’s body. As part of that body, we are all called to serve God. How that looks will be influenced by the gifts He gives us. Each member of his body is given at least one gift that he or she is expected to use to build up the body of Christ to the glory of God. These gifts are supernatural because they are given by the Holy Spirit. We have looked at some of the more dramatic ones of words of knowledge and wisdom, miracles, faith that moves mountains, healings, prophecy, tongues and discernment of spirits. In Ephesians 4 we read about gifts that are often defined as being “natural abilities” such as preaching, teaching or evangelism. However much natural ability a person may have, say to study and learn in order to prepare for such ministry, there is a component in which the Holy Spirit comes upon the person and the natural ability becomes a spiritual gift in which the Word of God is proclaimed in power. Similarly in Romans we read about gifts of service in which a person never seems to tire of doing good works and the gift of giving in which the giver gives so generously and with such joy that the rest of us are moved to dig deeper into our own pockets. Paul mentions the gift of mercy where the person always seems to look beyond our faults and the gift of encouragement that always knows just the right thing to say to lift our spirits. Some things we notice in the body of Christ not listed in these passages are music, singing and prayer. We may call them talents, but when the Holy Spirit comes upon the person in power and moves us beyond ourselves and into God’s presence, these talents then become gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are all called to serve God with the gifts He gives us and to use them according to His plan.

As I conclude this section on the gifts of the Holy Spirit as some of the tools God gives us on our journey, our nation is celebrating Memorial Day – the day we set aside to honor those who served our nation with their commitment and dedication to the principles for which we stand, liberty, justice and freedom for all, not just a select few. We all know that Marines represent the highest call of all the branches of the military. They are the first into battle. They are known for their bravery, faithfulness, commitment, honor and dedication.

"Honor, courage, and commitment are the values that define a Marine …. Marines are held to the highest standards, ethically and morally. Respect for others is essential. Marines are expected to act responsibly in a manner befitting the title they’ve earned. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to face fear and overcome it. It is the mental, moral and physical strength ingrained in every Marine. It steadies them in times of stress, carries them through every challenge and aids them in facing new and unknown confrontations. Commitment is the spirit of determination and dedication found in every Marine. It is what compels Marines to serve our country and the Corps. Every aspect of life in the Corps shows commitment, from the high standard of excellence to vigilance in training. [1]

Marines are committed to the success of the mission on which they are sent. The mission is the important thing. The Marine Corps motto is:

Semper Fidelis: More than a motto, a way of life. Semper Fidelis distinguishes the Marine Corps bond from any other. It goes beyond teamwork – it is a brotherhood and lasts for life.
Latin for "always faithful," Semper Fidelis became the Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what. [2]

Each Marine is required to take an oath.

Marines pledge themselves completely to the Constitution of the United States. From the day they enlist and throughout their service, the oath every Marine takes is a promise and a reminder of their commitment to the defense of our nation.

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC; THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME AND THAT I WILL OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE ORDERS OF THE OFFICERS APPOINTED OVER ME, ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONS AND THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE. SO HELP ME GOD. [3]

This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote Romans 12:1-2. When we come to faith in Jesus we are transferred into the Kingdom of God. We have a dual citizenship as it were. We are still members of this nation (whatever that may be for you), but we have a new membership in the body of Christ and a new home in God’s Kingdom, called “heaven.” We are called to loyalty to this new kingdom and to our Lord. God calls us to be no less committed to Him and to His ways than the Marines who are pledged and committed to the defense of this nation. We are all called to serve God. The problem is that we are so inundated with the philosophies of our age and the way of doing things promoted by our culture that we miss what God is calling us to think and to be, and unless we can “be” this new person and group, we will miss the will of God. We who follow God all want to know his will, but we often find it difficult to know. Furthermore, once we understand God’s will, we may find it even harder to obey.

Dunn says that for the “redefined people of God” (those who follow Christ) “the objective is …discerning the will of God,” but that is not merely following a set of rules as the Jews thought. For those of us on this journey

it is rather a matter of recognizing the…tension of living between the two ages: on the one hand, resisting the danger of adapting too much to the norms and values of this age, and on the other, of submitting to the power of the risen one to renew from within….the alternative to dependence on written formulations is a charismatic immediacy of dependence on God (emphasis is mine). [4]

We must always be aware of the tension between what the world tells us is right and good and what the Risen Lord calls us to be and to do. Scripture calls us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…” and “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV) This transformation does not take place by our own efforts, plans, schemes and skills. It is the result of “charismatic immediacy of dependence on God.”

This is a supernatural working of the God given Holy Spirit functioning in each believer to “will and to do God’s good pleasure (Philippians 2:13, my own paraphrase).” It is the supernatural working of the Spirit that enables us to “discern…the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect.” The Holy Spirit trains us to know and to follow God through Christ much like the marines train recruits and prepare them to serve their country at the highest level. They claim, “Marines are made, not born.” [5] In the same way, Christians are called by God and trained by the Holy Spirit, and while they are “born again,” they are not Christians by means of their physical birth. Just being born into a Christian family and going to the family church does not make you part of God’s family. You must respond to His call on your life and commit to His ways – even when they do not seem to be in your own best personal interest.

One of the differences between our culture’s thinking and doing and the Christian way is like the distinction between Stephen R. Covey’s description of leadership versus the Marine Corps’ understanding of the “win/win” principle. In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (over 10 million copies sold), Covey believes

that when two parties are working toward a solution, they should work toward a solution that is mutually beneficial -- or as Covey proclaims, "win/win or no deal." (1990 p. 214) If two parties cannot find a workable solution, they will agree not to embark on an endeavor. The Marine Corps, on the other hand, sets a priority on winning for the organization and the American people. Individual Marines benefit too -- most of the time; however, the Marine Corps mindset requires and ensures that each individual is mentally prepared to lay down his or her life if that is what is required to accomplish the mission. The difference in the two philosophies is the prioritization of the leadership objectives. Where Steven Covey says, "win/win or no deal," the Marine Corps says, "win/win if possible, but at all costs accomplish the mission.

It is this mentality that produces people like Charles J. Berry, who in WWII, lost his life as he covered a grenade with his own body to save his fellow Marines, .… A more recent example is expressed in the sentiments of one of the Marines who helped rescue American POW's in Iraq. About the experience, Cpl Christopher Castro said, "There was no way the guys we just rescued were going to get shot now. That was the last thing we were going to let happen. They'd have to take us down first." And after seeing the POW's safely to Kuwait the Marine rescuers asked to return to their unit because as Cpl Castro put it, "There is still fighting." (Chenelly, 2003) [6]

This is the kind of call God places on the life of those who follow Him. As individuals we greatly benefit from this commitment. We are forgiven and have salvation that guarantees our home in heaven as part of God’s Kingdom. We know God’s blessings, peace and joy. On the other hand, in the meantime, we are called to a life of surrender and sacrifice, not complacency and comfort. Jesus told us that those who would follow him must “deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s with save it. (Mark 8:34-35, ESV)” He gave us our mission, “ ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV, also called The Great Commission)

This requires that we stop living for ourselves and follow Jesus into a life of obedience, surrender, humility and possibly suffering and death, but we have been conditioned by this age to accept only the “win/win” scenarios. After all what is wrong with that? There should be no losers. Right?

Beck, in his analysis of the Marines versus Covey (and by extension our culture), has helped us to see where that thinking goes wrong. Unless the priority of a mission is its accomplishment, the "win/win" philosophy “…may leave the door open for selfishness, even though that is not the intent of the philosophy. Covey does not acknowledge the need for sacrifice….(1990 p.209)” [7]

The point at which our culture diverges from our service to God is selfishness – we want what we want. Just as unselfishness “is a liability in Covey's philosophy, but a requirement in the Marine Corps philosophy,” [8] so too unselfishness is a liability in the world’s system, but a requirement in God’s Kingdom. This means that since scripture tells us the only way to discover the will of God is through Scripture and the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit and the gifts he gives, then we must determine to use those gifts in obedience to Scripture. If it means doing something that is uncomfortable to our rational minds but conforms to Scripture, then let us be obedient to the move of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow the gifts of words of wisdom and knowledge, of miracles and faith, of prophecy and tongues, of healings and discernment. Let us prophecy, teach, preach and evangelize in the power and love that the Holy Spirit gives to reach the lost and to build up one another until we come to maturity. As Romans says,

⁶ And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;

⁷ if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;

⁸ or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor… (Romans 12:6-10, NAS)

We are all called to serve God with commitment, honor and courage, but we “fail to understand what the call of Jesus is about. Jesus is talking about a course of discovery and discipline that demands our all-out commitment to Him to the end.” [9] Some people begin with great enthusiasm, but when the excitement wears off they fall back to their old ways. “Dependability is a virtue. Too often a person sells out to whims of the moment, while God want us to build a life that counts.” [10] Let us strive for perfection in our minds and in our actions even though we realize we will not reach it until we reach our final destiny in God’s Kingdom.

Marines are committed to the United States’ Constitution and promise to obey the President of the United States and the officers over them and to the success of the mission over personal well being. We are all called to serve the God of all creation. Can we do anything less than commit ourselves to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to Scripture and to those in spiritual authority over us and to the Great Commission regardless of personal cost?

[1] “Core Values,” Marines home web page found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.marines.com/main/index/making_marines/culture/traditions/core_values .

[2] “Semper Fidelis,” Marines home web page found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.marines.com/main/index/making_marines/culture/traditions/semper_fidelis .

[3] “The Oath,” Marines home web page found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.marines.com/main/index/making_marines/culture/traditions/the_oath .

[4] Dunn, Romans 9-16, Word Biblical Commentary, p.717.

[5] “Making Marines,” Marines home web page found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.marines.com/main/index/making_marines .

[6] Gannon Beck, “At All Costs: Accomplish the Mission,” an academic paper written for American Military University, as posted on the internet and found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.oo-rah.com/store/editorial/edi43.asp . Disclaimer:Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this Web site.

[7] Beck, as posted on the internet and found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.oo-rah.com/store/editorial/edi43.asp .

[8] Gannon Beck, “At All Costs: Accomplish the Mission,” an academic paper written for American Military University, as posted on the internet and found on May 29, 2010 at http://www.oo-rah.com/store/editorial/edi43.asp .

[9] Randal Earl Denney, The Kingdom, The Power, The Glory, pp. 69-70.

[10] Denny, p. 69.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 7: Dreams and Visions and Things

Scripture: Acts 11:1-18

One time when Michigan State was playing UCLA in football, the score was tied at 14 with only seconds to play. Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State's coach, sent in placekicker Dave Kaiser who booted a field goal that won the game. When the kicker returned to the bench, Daugherty said, "nice going, but you didn't watch the ball after you kicked it." "That's right, Coach," Kaiser replied. "I was watching the referee instead to see how he'd signal it. I forgot my contact lenses, and I couldn't see the goal posts." [1]

How often do you feel like Dave who desperately wanted to do the good thing, the right thing, but could not see far enough ahead to envision the goal? I suspect most of us have been there. We desire to be like Christ, but what does that look like? We, like Dave, do not have our spiritual contacts to see what that looks like. We must keep our eyes fixed on the referee to tell us whether what we are doing is good or not. The Holy Spirit is our referee, and He is willing and eager to show us God’s way for our lives, if we will let Him. God has given us Jesus, His Word, the Holy Spirit, His love and His gifts to show us who, what, when, where, why and how, but we choose to do things our way. We all want healing of physical ailments, but we often reject the gifts that might bring it. We are suspicious of words of knowledge and wisdom; we like to see miracles and desire faith, but try to explain them away in scientific terms. We really do not like prophets because their message makes us uncomfortable, and the gift of tongues is just too weird for many of us. Discernment of spirits does not fit into our Western mindset, but these are all tools for our journey that God has made available to equip us for this pilgrimage we are on called life. The purpose of these gifts, when used in God’s love, is to help us to see God’s plan for us and for others. Today we are going to look at the last of the supernatural gifts of the Spirit: dreams, visions and kairos moments. Read Acts 11:1-18 (the abridged version of Acts 10).

The issue at stake here was whether a Gentile had to become a Jew (obeying the rituals of Judaism to make them pure) in order to be a Christian. At the time of the incident between Peter and Cornelius, the Church and especially the church council in Jerusalem were comprised of circumcised Jews. In their accusation, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them,” can you hear their incredulous indictment, “We have never done it this way before!?” Peter cut them off with his explanation of what happened. God had sent an angel to a devout, God-fearing Gentile with a message to send for Peter so that he, his family and those who served him could be saved. Although Cornelius was a Gentile, he had learned about the God of the Jews and prayed to Him and lived in obedience to His laws, but this was not enough to save him. However, because his heart was pure towards God, God moved mightily on his behalf to make sure he had the opportunity to hear the gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ. The angel told him that Peter would be able to tell him how he could be saved and also told him how to find Peter.

The next thing God did was to prepare Peter to rethink his prejudices. He sent Peter a vision about clean and unclean animals. [2] These laws created a huge problem for fellowship for they could not eat with the Gentile in his home. What would that do to the Lord’s Supper? God had His work cut out for Him. He sent the vision of the clean and unclean animals being let down in a sheet three times accompanied by spoken messages: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat,” and “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” God’s timing was impeccable. Just as this vision ended, Peter did not have much time to wonder what it all meant, for Cornelius’ messengers arrived at this instant. This is what is called a kairos moment. It is a time chosen by God for a blessing to happen. He arranges the setting and moves the people and things in place for it to happen. If we walk through the door He has opened wonderful things will happen. If we are stubborn and refuse to listen to God’s leading, we will miss the blessing. You do not have to have a vision to experience God’s kairos time.

Marian woke up extremely early one morning and could not go back to sleep regardless of how hard she tried, so she got up and went through her morning ritual of getting ready for work (which included devotions). She still had two hours until she had to be at work, so she decided to go to Wal-Mart to return some yarn she did not need for the Prayer Shawls people at church were making. She got there before 6:00 A. M. and could not find anyone who had the authority to take the returns and to give her credit. She waited about twenty minutes while a lady was called out from the warehouse part of the store. As they were talking, the lady asked her what the yarn was for and Marian told her about the Prayer Shawl ministry that knits or crochets shawls for those who are sick, dying, infirmed or need encouragement and pray for the person while they knit or crochet. The lady perked up and offered her a note on which she had written her son’s name and address. It turns out that her son was very ill, and God told her that morning to write this down because she would meet someone who would pray for him. Wow! If Marian had been stubborn and not gotten up two hours early (losing sleep) and not followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit, both she and the lady’s family would have missed God’s blessing. We must train ourselves to listen for the voice of God the Holy Spirit speaking to us. Thankfully Peter discerned God’s voice and obeyed.

The Holy Spirit told him to go with the men. When he got there, he heard about the angel appearing to Cornelius and that he would give them the message of salvation. Peter now knew what he was supposed to do, and he stepped up to the plate. You may read the complete message in Acts 10:34-43. The highlights of his address are:

³⁴ So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

³⁷ you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

⁴² And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (ESV)

Peter got no farther in his message when the Holy Spirit showed up and baptized these Gentiles with the same evidence the disciples experienced on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). These Gentiles were speaking in tongues. Now Peter recalls the words that Jesus spoke while he was with them. “¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” (Acts 11:16, ESV) Other Scripture supporting what Peter did and the action he witnessed in these Gentiles comes from Genesis where God chose Abraham and told him:

² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:2-3, ESV)

The prophet Jonah had been sent to the wicked city of Nineveh to preach repentance and forgiveness. The prophet Joel had predicted that:

²⁸ "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

²⁹ Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:28-29, ESV)

It is important to note that Peter did not ignore scripture, righteousness, repentance and the moral code of scripture. What God was showing him was at this time of the initiation of the New Covenant (Testament) the old rituals of worship no longer applied. Romans 5 and Hebrews clarify this. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. There was no longer any need for the rituals of animal and grain sacrifices or the identifying mark of circumcision. Because of Jesus, the rituals could be put away, but not the moral code that calls us to holiness, righteousness, repentance and forgiveness as the way to experience fully God’s love, mercy and grace of salvation. The identifying mark of the Christian today is the circumcised heart of the believer where the Holy Spirit now resides “to work in you to will and to do God’s good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13, author’s interpretation) The Pentecost of the Gentiles assures us that the phenomenon that took place with the devout disciples of Jesus was never intended to be limited to them. It was and is for all who follow in their footsteps. What might it look like today?

We have already heard about Marian’s experience. In a different vein, when I first received my call, I told God I would join a church that had just driven off a godly pastor. When I said, “Yes,” to God’s promptings to become a part of that body and hence a part of that conflict, God gave me a picture of a dark place with a bed of coals with glowing edges on a few of them. I heard, “Fan the coals…” and the image disappeared. More in keeping with Peter’s experience, I had a dream that lasted quite long. This is fairly spectacular, since I am one of those people who do not remember dreaming at all, and if I happen to wake up to a dream it fades from memory within seconds. This dream was vivid and has been burned into my conscious memory. I was walking along a boardwalk approaching a beautiful beach. The water was as clear as could be, sparkling and ‘bubbly.” The beach and the water were crowded. I was enjoying watching the fun everyone was having when I began to notice something was wrong. The people in the water became two dimensional and flat like the cartoon character, Gumby. Like Gumby they began to stretch out in weird directions and became distorted. The people seemed unaware of what was happening to them. They were becoming more and more distorted, and they did not care. They were having fun. That was all that mattered. I heard God telling me that I had to rescue the people – get them out of the water. I tried, but they ignored me. I was only able to rescue one young man. The dream changed.

I was riding in the back seat of a taxi. The young man I had rescued was in the front seat beside the driver. To my left, I only saw a hand resting on the seat and the legs and feet of the person sitting there, but I knew it was Jesus. I was telling the driver about what I had seen when the rescued man began to get agitated and tried to tell me something. (He was still under the effects of the water and could not talk clearly yet.) He motioned and pointed to the driver. Suddenly the driver’s attitude changed, and he told me that he had been in that water and was not distorted or flat. He had a perfect grasp on reality. He had not been deceived, distorted or deluded by the water. He had not changed in any way. Suddenly as the car careened down the road he jumped up and turned around 180 degrees to face me, and jumping up and down and pounding his fists on the back of the seat, he kept yelling, “I am not distorted! I have a perfect grasp of reality! I am not deceived!” The young man and I looked at each other stunned at the driver’s total lack of the very things he claimed to have and wondered how soon we would crash. The dream ended. Using modern imagery, I believe Jesus sent this dream to tell me that just as the church of Peter’s age was sent to the Gentiles to rescue them from their lost state, so too we are sent to rescue the people of our age from their endless pursuit of godlessness and entertainment that makes them two dimensional, deceives and distorts them and causes them to lose their grasp of reality. Scripture says,

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," ²⁰ and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." (1 Corinthians 3:18-21a, ESV)

This would explain why as our nation has removed God from its life and done what seemed wise to us we have reaped problem upon problem upon ourselves. We must get out of the water that lures us to our own destruction and into the life giving water that comes from the Holy Spirit, given by God through Jesus to the church on the day of Pentecost.

One of the clearest lessons of this story is that God is in charge! At every step along the way, the Holy Spirit was directing things. The Holy Spirit led Cornelius to send for Peter; the Holy Spirit led Peter to accept Cornelius’s invitation; the Holy Spirit filled those persons at the home of Cornelius. God is in charge – what good news! We have been given, as a free gift, the rule of God over our lives. No matter who we are, we all have the privilege of calling God, in Christ, Lord. [3]

The Holy Spirit gives supernatural gifts of knowledge, wisdom, miracles, faith, prophecy, tongues, the interpretation of tongues, discernment of spirits, dreams and visions and brings them all together in His kairos moments of time. These supernatural gifts, when used in God’s love, enable us to discern God’s plans. You, who call Jesus, Lord, learn to use the tools He has given you to help you on your pilgrimage through life.

[1] “VISION, Physical,” Bits & Pieces, September 15, 1994, p. 7-8. As found on the internet on May 21, 2010 at http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/v/vision_physical.htm

[2] Jews had been forbidden to eat unclean animals for this would cause them to be unclean and unfit for their worship rituals. Today these animals have been shown to carry diseases for which the ancient cultures had no cure. Perhaps God was ensuring the health and endurance of the nation He selected through whom he would bring His only Son into the world.

[3] Charles C. Williamson, Acts, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), p. 45.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 7: Dreams and Visions and Things

Scripture: Acts 11:1-18

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 6: Discernment

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Mark 9:20; 5: 1-8; Luke 4:31-36

Sermon:

Have you every felt like you just bring out the worst in some people?  No matter how nice you try to be, they just seem to act out around you?  In fact the more Christ like you try to become the more this person gets angry around you and blames you for all sorts of things? 

A professional golfer was invited to play in a foursome that included Gerald Ford, then President of the United States, Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham.  After the round, a friend asked him how it was playing with such distinguished men.  This golfer stormed to the practice tee unleashing a string of curse words and said, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat.”  When he calmed down, his friend quietly asked, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?”  The pro sighed deeply and admitted, “No, he didn’t even mention religion.  I just had a bad round.”  “Astonishing.  Billy Graham had said not a word about God, Jesus, or religion, yet the pro had stormed away after the game accusing Billy of trying to ram religion down his throat.  How can we explain this?”[1]

There is a spiritual principle at work here that you should understand.  “Sinful men are not comfortable in the presence of the holy….Sinful misery does not love the company of purity.”[2]

We see this in the Old Testament prophets who were hated, beaten, imprisoned and killed for the message they proclaimed.  Yet in Jesus’ day, these same prophets were much-admired.  Jesus was rejected by the people of his day, spurred on by the anger of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Today, he is acclaimed as a wonderful model of the way we should live by nearly everyone, yet few dare to follow him, and if you try to persuade people to believe in him, they often become angry or at the least tell you to knock it off because they have the right to believe what they want.  This reaction is repeated time and again by people who consider themselves to be tolerant and “open minded.”  They prove the axiom that “people have an appreciation for moral excellence, as long as it is removed a safe distance from them.”[3]  These reactions range all the way from avoidance, to anger, to outright rejection leading to hostility.  The sources of this are spiritual, stemming from the human spirit in rebellion to God, to the demonic influence on people and their culture. 

We can see this reaction of the demonic present in people of Jesus’ day.  In Mark 9:20 we read, “So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.” (NLT)  In Mark 5:1-8 we read this:

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.

 ² And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.

 ³ He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,

 ⁴ for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.

 ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

 ⁶ And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.

 ⁷ And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."

 ⁸ For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" (ESV)

In Luke 4:31-36 Jesus encountered something similar in a man attending church, probably a regular member,

³¹ And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,

 ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

 ³³ And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

 ³⁴ "Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God."

 ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

 ³⁶ And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" (ESV)

In each of these cases the discernment of spirits was easily observable.  Today, most of the acting out is similar to the way the Pharisees and Sadducees reacted to Jesus – anger, jealousy, planning ways to trap him, finding fault and the like.  It is not always so easy to decide, so God has given people in His body the gift of discerning spirits, whether something is of God, of the human spirit or demonic in nature.  This is not a gift many want to talk about openly in our culture because we tend to think the person is crazy, on drugs or a lunatic to be avoided and not to be trusted.  For example, what if someone came to you and said he could see demons on the roof of a building? 

Our Western worldview tells us that everything can be explained scientifically.  Today, many read the story of the little boy who would be thrown down, foam at the mouth, grind his teeth and become rigid and decide that the boy had epilepsy.  It was not a demon.  Yet Jesus discerned a demon in him and commanded it to come out of him – and it did.  Jesus never used this kind of language when healing diseases.  Notice also that the spirit in each of our events reacted to the holy, God given authority present in Jesus.  The boy’s story was the same.  “When the spirit saw him (Jesus), immediately it convulsed the boy…” (Mark 9:20b, ESV)  Just a coincidence you say?  The man in the church could be there comfortably until holiness showed up powerfully in one who was completely surrendered to God.  Then it erupted and disrupted the service.  The demoniac came running and threw himself before Jesus.  The spirit in the little boy reacted also.  “Sinful men are not comfortable in the presence of the holy,” neither are the demons.

          When you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior, the Holy Spirit sets up residence inside you.  As you surrender control of your life to Him and He takes over, holiness becomes more apparent in you also because you are becoming more like Christ. 

The Holy Spirit, within the Christian, reacts to other spirits in a place, person, or teaching that is not in accord with Jesus Christ.  The result is an awareness of discord.  This is experienced in people differently.  It may come as a feeling of uneasiness, an inner check, creepy feelings, a visceral response like nausea, of the intellectual awareness that something is off.  This type of general discernment is closely akin to, or may even be the same as, the small warning voice of our conscience.[4]

I often refer to such reactions as a red flag waving that danger is here, go cautiously.  It is a call to examine what is happening whether it is truly of God or not.  It is a call to discern the spirits at work behind the person, place or teaching.  So how do we discern what is going on beyond the uneasiness we may feel?

There are five ways we can tell which spirit is at work.  First, does it give glory to Jesus?  To whom are people directed -- to the speaker or to Jesus?  Is the speaker so charismatic that people can only talk about how great he or she is?  Does he or she only tell you what you want to hear?  Does a “prophet” insist on his or her interpretation and bring disruption to the group?  Who gets the glory? 

Second, is it scriptural?  Does it conform to or contradict the whole of scripture?  People can take parts of scripture to support their views, but reject the parts that would call them into check.  This is happening in the world and in our churches today.  Most people today when asked if they are going to heaven will reply, “I hope so.  I hope the good I do outweighs the bad.”  This is a gospel of works, but Scripture clearly says that “⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)   Scholars, theologians, seminaries and leaders in the church have become very good at “proving” their point with scripture by picking out some and excluding others.  We must weigh what is said or done on the basis of all of Scripture.  It becomes imperative then that we know what the Bible says.

Third, what do other mature, spirit-filled Christians say about it?  Paul tells us that any may prophesy in the church and the other prophets should discern the source and meaning of the prophecy.  If something happens, what do those who know scripture well and are surrendered to the Holy Spirit have to say about it?   Returning to the person who saw the demon on the roof, it was a church that was fighting incessantly and could never move forward on any issue.  Leadership would agree that a certain program or teaching should happen, but enthusiasm would wane before anything could be accomplished.  They went from one good idea to the next without ever completing one task.  The pastor asked this person along with some of the leaders in a regularly scheduled prayer meeting to discern what this “thing” was.  The prayer was interrupted by two people off the street who were passing through and needed gas money and food.  This was the first time this prayer meeting had been interrupted in any way in the seven years of meeting at this time and location.  When they went on their way, the group resumed but was now divided on their purpose.  They had been asked by the pastor to discern this “thing” on the roof and how it was affecting the church.  Now one of the group was insisting that they had to focus on how the church could reach out to the poor and needy.  They nearly ended in a hurtful argument.  Who was right?  What was the right thing to do?  Jesus was not getting glory by their arguing.  Their spiritual authority had asked them to discern this “thing” seen on their roof.  While helping the poor and needy was important, this group had no authority to decide anything concerning how to go about it.  It was discerned that as they started to ask God about this “vision” and to seek His wisdom, this couple came to disrupt them and to prevent them from getting the knowledge they were seeking.  The evidence that this was not of God was the discord among the brethren after their arrival.  Even mature Christians are not beyond being fooled.  Individually we can be sucked into Satan’s schemes by what for all appearances is an otherwise good cause.  Satan used something “good” to keep them from God’s “best.”  Oswald Chambers said concerning things that tarnish our likeness to Christ, “It is almost always something good that will stain it – something good, but not what is best.”[5]  At another time he said, “The good is always the enemy of the best.[6]  That was the case in this situation.

Fourth, what are the fruits of it?  Corporately, does it bring peace or disruption as we just saw above?  Does it draw you, individually, and/or others, corporately, closer to God or drive you away from Him?  This is not as easy to discern as you may think.  In general, if it brings disruption to the group, it will not be the Holy Spirit – that is, if the Holy Spirit is in charge of the individuals and group as a whole.  Recall our spiritual principle we started with: “’Sinful men are not comfortable in the presence of the holy,’ neither are the demons,” but if the Holy Spirit is not controlling the group or person the word or act done in obedience to the Holy Spirit will also bring conflict. 

This corporate witness, to be valid, must be placed in a larger context.  One must discern the spirit that is directing over all of the group.  If the group is being led by the Holy Spirit, then His words will be met with sympathy and mutually approving witness. It will be in the flow and feel of the group.  But if the group is, as a whole, moving contrary to the Holy Spirit, words in accord with the controlling spirit of the group will be in harmony whereas the words or revelations of the Holy Spirit will be in discord.[7]

This can be true of individuals within a group, like the man in the synagogue who manifested when the word of God was powerfully given with authority by Jesus.  What are the fruits of the word or event?

Fifth, does it happen?  If a word of knowledge, wisdom or prophecy is given, does it come about?  If a man prophecies that a certain woman is to marry him, the woman has to bear witness to the truth of that word and has the right to say, “No,” if her spirit does not concur.  In my bout with cancer, God gave me Jeremiah 30:16-17 that says that He would restore me to health.  Over seventeen years later, I remain cancer free.  In a different situation, Lilly was in a car accident that killed her best friend and trapped her in the car beside the deceased friend.  She reported a tingling that started in the top of her head and worked its way down through her body and out her toes.  She knew God was with her and that she would be okay.  She never needed antidepressants or sedatives to get through her ordeal of having seen her friend die and of nearly dying herself.  She walks with a cane, but she had been told she would never walk again.  She praises God for healing her and sparing her life.  Was that God?  Jesus gets the glory; healing is scriptural; mature, spirit-filled Christians bear witness to it; it drew her closer to God than ever before, and she did live and was healed beyond any hope of the doctors.  I would say that the tingling she felt and her interpretation of it were of the Holy Spirit.  She not only survived, but exceeded all the doctor’s expectations for her recovery.  Then there was Jayne (not her real name) who was hospitalized for her heart and had to go through open heart surgery with all of the accompanying needles and tests.  She became discouraged and began to pray for God to take her to be with Him in heaven because of all the pain she was experiencing.  One night after praying like this, a woman appeared at the foot of her bead and told her she had to get better because they (her family) needed her.  The woman had the same hair as that of her husband’s deceased grandmother’s hair that was in the family Bible.  Was this of God?  I would have to say, “Yes, definitely.”  Depression and wanting to die do not give glory to Jesus.  Desiring life does.  It shows hope for a future and trust in Jesus to bring you through difficult circumstances.  All of these are scriptural.  Scripture often mentions God’s messengers that He sends to his people.  It is definitely not the typical way He communicates but well within scriptural practice.  Mature Christians would know this and weigh the experience.  The result was that Jayne stopped feeling sorry for herself and began to look forward to being healed, and God raised her up.  She recovered and is healthy today.

          So if a young man comes to you and says, “I see demons on the tops of buildings,” and he does not do mind bending drugs, I hope you will no longer just dismiss it out of hand, but take the time to prayerfully seek discernment from God as to what it is. 

Discernment in Scripture is the skill that enables us to differentiate. It is the ability to see issues clearly. We desperately need to cultivate this spiritual skill that will enable us to know right from wrong. We must be prepared to distinguish light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement, and principles from pragmatics.[8] 

The world is complex and not always so easy to interpret.  In this topsy-turvy age where good is called bad and bad is called good, things of the Holy Spirit may not be understood.  This is not limited to people outside of our churches, but like the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, may be self-righteous people sitting in the pews.  “Sinful men are not comfortable in the presence of the holy,” neither are the demons.  The reactions you see may not always be what you think.  God has given us the gift of discerning spirits and a process of discernment to help us find our way, but you must use them if they are to make a difference.

Five Steps in the Process of Discernment

1.    Does it give glory to Jesus (or to someone else)?

2.    Is it Scriptural?  Does it conform to the whole of Scripture and not just a favorite part or parts?

3.    What do mature, Spirit-filled Christians who know Scripture think?

4.    What are the fruits of it?  Does it bring the person or group closer to God or drive them away?  Does it create division?  Caution: which spirit is controlling the group or person.

5.    Does it happen?  If a prediction is made, does it come about in a tangible way?  Sometimes (as with #4) it takes time to tell.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 5: Gifts of Healing

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Mark 9:16-29

Sermon:

Happy Mother’s Day! I found some known, but not always acknowledged facts about mothers. The answer to the question often asked moms, “Do you work?” is:

• All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown
• A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. ~Peter De Vries
• (Here is one known by the children. The definition of ) Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. ~Ambrose Bierce

Mothers are highly esteemed by God and in many ways are like Him.

• Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries. ~T. DeWitt Talmage
• Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont [1]
• The love of a mother is never exhausted. It never changes--it never tires--it endures through all; in good repute, in bad repute, in the face of the world's condemnation, a mother's love still lives on. – Washington Irving [2]
• My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon [3]

I thought it was very appropriate that this message on the gifts of healing should fall on Mother’s Day. Mother is God’s first healer in your life. She kisses booboos and makes them better. She bandages your knee when you scrape it. She tells you how wonderful you are when the other kids hurt your feelings. She sees that you have good, nourishing food, clean clothes and a clean bed. In short, she is God’s first gift of healing to you after the creation of your own immune system. It is appropriate that we should talk about the Spirit’s gifts of healings on this special day.

The first thing you notice about this gift is that it is given in the plural – (literally) gifts of healings. In modern English we might say “healing gifts.” The most common speculation about the plural is that it refers to the many kinds of healing we humans need and that no one person is gifted to heal them all. Some may have the gift of healing arthritis, another cancer, another heart disease, and still another has the gift of healing backaches. One may have the gift of healing emotional diseases while another has the gift of deliverance. Just as there are many varieties of doctors who specialize in bones or eyes or hearts, so too are the gifts of healing God gives to His people specialized. This often does seem to be the case although there are some who seem to be gifted in all areas. I remember my dad liked to watch Oral Roberts on television. Kathryn Kuhlman was another healer. Today, Benny Hinn is one such person.

Regardless of what you think about these ministers, the fact is many people received healing through their ministry. I met a woman who was a cripple and near death from a disease similar to osteoporosis that began in her body while she was quite young. Her disease and condition are well documented. Modern medicine could not do anything more for her. Death was nearing. She was healed when she attended a service held by Kathryn Kuhlman. A few years ago I attended a Benny Hinn service in Baltimore with a friend who watches him on television all the time. We were selected by the ushers to have front row seats. I believe this was God’s doing because I could watch closely and see exactly what was going on. I was deeply impressed with the man’s genuineness. Several months later I watched a documentary on television (I believe it was 60 Minutes) that had investigated him. They examined his records, his people and his programs. They could not find any evidence of fraud. The only negative things they could say were that they did not like his showy manners and that he spent far too much of his money on himself. This last charge he will have to answer to God for, but the healings are genuine, and he does not “pad the audience” with plants who pretend to be healed thereby causing a psychosomatic reaction among people caught up in the passion of the moment. Today, as in the days that Jesus and the Apostles walked on the earth, people are experiencing supernatural healings for physical, mental, emotional and relational problems. I was healed of rheumatoid arthritis when I was twenty. Cancer is another such disease.

I was healed of breast cancer that had spread to twenty-four lymph nodes. Statistically, medicine could not help. I followed doctors orders and went through the standard chemotherapy, radiation and a trial bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Later I found out the program was discontinued because statistically it did not make any difference – but I survived. Not only did I survive, but I am healthy and with few side effects. Bone marrow transplant survivors often develop cataracts, but I have not. The surgeon removed thirty-nine lymph nodes on my left side but I do not have edema. This winter, I broke my left arm in two places, and the doctors were amazed that I did not suffer any swelling in my arm or hand. I wonder what they would have thought if they knew I was missing thirty-nine lymph nodes on that side. Throughout my recovery of the broken arm, doctors have been amazed that I am healing weeks faster than the average person. My therapist made the observation that my body seems to “want to heal.” I always give God the praise for my recovery then with the cancer and now with the broken arm. I know others who have received prayer and were healed.

Althea had to return for an ultrasound and other tests when a mammogram showed a pea sized lump in her breast. After receiving prayer, she went for the tests and after a couple of hours of turning her every which way, they could find no evidence of any growth. She left the office telling everyone that God had healed her. Clarence was in his early seventies when he first had heart problems. Although he ate properly and exercised, he continued to have episodes and repeatedly ended up in the hospital. These episodes stopped happening after he received prayer. Pam, a mother of two young boys, had a malignant brain tumor removed and had prayer for healing. More than eight years later she is still alive and healthy and raising her sons to be wonderful young men. Just recently, Joe, my husband, was in the emergency room with pneumonia and running a high fever. For several hours they had tried to bring it down but without success. He was burning up, and I simply reached out to touch his forehead to see how hot he was when I felt something “jump” from his forehead into my hand. About a minute later the nurse came and took his temperature. The fever had broken. Joe was shocked. What was amazing was that his arms and hands were still “burning up,” but his face and neck felt cool – normal to the touch. It was like the fever was draining out of him from the forehead where I had touched him down throughout the rest of his body. Some would say it was just a coincidence. I believe God touched him and removed the fever. Each person must decide for himself or herself. Healings today are not limited to physical illnesses.

Today prayer ministry is available in some churches by people who have been trained to listen to God, and as a direct result of these gifts of knowledge, wisdom, healings, faith, discernment of spirits and miracles, the prayer can help the person to get to the root of a problem. This technique is especially helpful in overcoming blocks to personal and spiritual growth. It can help get beyond specific wounds from childhood like physical, spiritual or sexual abuse that hinder their relationships with other people and can continue to cause great pain. I have seen a woman set free from the abuse by her first spouse so that now she can have a healthy relationship with her current husband, and she can experience the joy of the Lord in it fullness. It can help people overcome the guilt of things done in the past like aborting a child. It can help a person overcome the emotional scars of childhood. I know a woman who was set free from debilitating nightmares brought on by things done to her in her toddler years. God is still in the business of healing people today and setting them free. God is always ready, willing and able to bring reconciliation to our brokenness. The question then becomes one of our willingness to cooperate.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus sometimes asked people what they wanted done for them even when they were blind or lame. He did not assume they wanted healing for the obvious. I have heard about men and women filled with anger, bitterness and unforgiveness and dying of cancer. Story after story tells of how people who are being eaten up by anger, bitterness and unforgiveness have had miraculous healings when they forgave the people they were holding things against. Then there are those who wanted to be healed, but when the prayer minister asked them to repent of the anger and bitterness and forgive the other person, they responded, “I would rather die than forgive him/her,” and they did. Hear what I am saying and not saying. This can happen where people are filled with bitterness and unforgiveness. I am not saying all cancer is the result of these things. Another area where many get confused is the connection of faith with healing.

It is true that healing and faith are linked. In his home town of Nazareth, Jesus could not do many miracles because of their lack of faith. However Brad Long has made an interesting observation. He has identified thirty-seven instances of Jesus healing someone in the gospels. Of those thirty-seven, “the faith of the person being healed is mentioned seven times. The faith of other people is mentioned eight times.” [4] Less than half of the healings in the New Testament mention the faith of people. When it is mentioned it does not have to be “perfect” faith purged of any and all doubts as some would have us believe. This is evident in the Mark 9:16-29 passage. Jesus has just had a mountain top experience to top all such experiences. He was transfigured into his heavenly radiance that he gave up when coming to earth and for a time had deep communion with his Father, Moses and Elijah. Upon returning to the disciples he had left behind, he found them arguing with the scribes about why they could not cast out the demon that would throw the boy to the ground and make him foam at the mouth, grind his teeth and become rigid. Jesus’ immediate response was, “O faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” He had just been in heaven where the eternal reality is that everything is wonderful and perfect, and here he found his disciples, impotent and arguing about why they were. Jesus was jolted back into our reality. The father of the boy tells Jesus about the problem and closes with “From childhood…it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” (Italics are mine.) Jesus repeats the question back to him (I suspect in a rather incredulous way), “If you can?” “You are asking me if I can?” He continues, “All things are possible for one who believes.” The desperate father cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” He admitted his doubts, but the mere fact that he brought to boy to Jesus showed at least some faith. Is not this where most of us live? When I went through the recovery after the breast cancer, I would have times when doubts would attack me. One day a month I cried about anything and everything. At these times I would pray the scriptures God gave me and wait for the peace to return. God did not take away my healing because I had momentary lapses of faith.

What this passage shows is that in healings “the initiative of God in Christ is the main thrust” [5] of ministry. For Jesus, “compassion and responsiveness to human need and obedience to God seemed to be the primary motives for healing…” [6] It was more often the faith, compassion and obedience to God of the one doing the praying that made the difference. This is why non-believers like the demoniac in a pagan land could be healed. This is why so often it seems that non-believers are healed today. God is getting their attention and drawing them to Himself. Notice at the end of the passage Jesus tells the disciples that this kind (of demon) comes out only with prayer, like the closeness Jesus had with God on the mountain top a few minutes earlier. The problem with most of us is that we are not “prayed up” as the older generation used to say. We take God’s forgiveness and grace for granted and are lax with our confession and repentance of our sins. We are not seeking God’s plan in situations, but our own. That is what the teaching that the person being healed must have faith without any doubts, or they will lose their healing is really saying. If we are healed because our faith does not waiver, then we are taking away God’s sovereignty to do what He knows is best in a given situation. We put ourselves in the position of telling God what He must do for us because we are so righteous. Instead, we should be seeking God to tell us what He would have us do. Larry Selig has identified eleven reasons why people do not get healed. (See Appendix F) We would do well to keep this in mind when we pray for someone to be healed. To be sure, faith is involved, but let us not put the responsibility of a supernatural healing on the ability of an already sick person never to have a doubt about his or her health. That ultimately is in God’s hands. Leave it with Him, where it belongs. We are all called to the ministry of healing, of reconciling people to God in Christ Jesus. All of us have been given specific gifts; some are for healing. We, the Body of Christ, must learn how to use and to apply them for God’s glory.

Appendix F

Eleven Reasons Why People Are Not Healed

By Francis MacNutt

1. Lack of Faith – an active disbelief: this is more of a hindrance; do not put guilt on the person being prayed for, for not having enough faith.

2. Redemptive Suffering – Joni Erickson Tata: what will bring the most glory to God

3. A False Value Attached to Suffering – some people think suffering is inherently or redemptively good; not willing to let go of it.

4. Sin – unconfessed; must get to the root.

5. Not Praying Specifically – or the right thing (ex. Praying for healing when sin needs to be dealt with); beware of “global” prayers.

6. Faulty Diagnosis – praying in the wrong area (ex. For a physical need when an emotional, spiritual or mental problem is the real need).

7. Refusal to See Medicine as a way God heals – need confirmation with the doctor to go off medication; there might be a false dichotomy between God and science; pray for the body to accept the medicine and for it to work effectively.

8. Not Using the Natural Means of Pursuing Health – You go, go, go until you get sick. Need a balance between rest, work and play.

9. Now is not the time.

10. A Different Person is to be the instrument of healing—God’s sovereignty; keeps us humble

11. Social Environment Prevents Healing from taking place – need a community of healing; may need to change some patterns of living.

[1] “Quotations for Mother’s Day,” Welcome to the Garden, as found on the internet on May 7, 2010 at http://www.quotegarden.com/mom-day.html .

[2] “Mother’s Day,” Sermon Illustrations, as found on the internet on May 7, 2010, at http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/m/mother.htm .

[3] “Quotations for Mother’s Day,” Welcome to the Garden, as found on the internet on May 7, 2010 at http://www.quotegarden.com/mom-day.html .

[4] Long, In the Spirit’s Power, p. 94.

[5] Long, In the Spirit’s Power, p. 94.

[6] Long, In the Spirit’s Power, p. 95.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 4: Prophecy and Tongues

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14

You can find The World's Worst Predictions in a book by the same name. Here are just a few of history’s biggest prophetic blunders.

·         King George II said in 1773 that the American colonies had little stomach for revolution.

·         An official of the White Star Line, speaking of the firm's newly built flagship, the Titanic, launched in 1912, declared that the ship was unsinkable.

·         In 1939 The New York Times said the problem of TV was that people had to glue their eyes to a screen, and that the average American wouldn't have time for it.

·         An English astronomy professor said in the early 19th century that air travel at high speed would be impossible because passengers would suffocate.[1] 

These were made by government leaders, engineers, scientists and journalists – none of them were speaking out of their religious beliefs.  One of the worst Christian predictions is trying to put a date on the Second Coming of Christ.  Jesus said no one knows the hour.  You may scoff at predictions, but many people today are hungry for a word about their future.  They want something they can trust to guide them.  What few people recognize is that what they are seeking is really a word from God.  Only God’s prophecies are reliable.

            You may or may not know that in the Old Testament, a prophet had to be accurate 100% of the time or they were to be stoned to death.  They were speaking God’s Word and God is never wrong.  Everything God has prophesied through His prophets is accurate and trustworthy. 

Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy...Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord's return--one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event...For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ's second coming."[2] 

Prophecy may not be high on your list of important things of the Christian faith, but it would appear that it is of great importance to God.  God wants His people to know things.  He does not want them to be in the dark – His ways are light and truth, Satan works in the dark and tries to keep secrets.  God has a plan, and He wants to share it with His people.  Thankfully the New Testament prophet does not have to live up to the 100% accuracy test, because the church and especially mature, Spirit-filled Christians and other prophets have been given the responsibility to discern the message given whether it is of God and how it is to be interpreted (1 Corinthians 14:29).  It is easy for this gift to be misunderstood.  So, what does this gift look like, and what does it do?

            The best definition I have found comes from the NIV Application Commentary: 1 Corinthians.  “Christian prophets are ‘those who have grasped the meaning of Scripture, perceived its powerful relevance to the life of the individual, the church and society, and declare that message fearlessly.’”[3]  The importance of Scripture and the understanding of it are at the center of prophecy.  Application comes out of knowing which scripture applies in a given situation as revealed by God to His prophet.  Prophecy may take many forms.

            If may be in the form of inspired preaching bringing the Word of God to this generation showing them how it fits in their situation.  It is interesting to note that if those hearing it are not open to the Holy Spirit, they may actually think it is really bad preaching and reject it.  This does not mean that you blindly accept every message as from God, but it does mean you must apply it to scripture and discern if it is from the Holy Spirit.  Other forms of prophecy may be words of encouragement or comfort to someone who is down and out (v. 3).  Have you known people who seem to have just the right words to say to people who are grieving or who are sick?  This may be the gift of prophecy.  Prophecy helps the church to be built up spiritually, to grow people in their relationship with God.  It

“brings people to accountability; reveals inner heart motivations; brings inner conviction of sin; brings awesome awareness of God’s presence; makes people fall on their faces in humility and repentance; helps people learn obedience to the revealed will of God…. in such a way that that they are motivated to obey from the heart (vv. 24-25, 31).[4]

As we saw earlier, the New Testament is full of prophecies.

            Jesus prophesied his death and resurrection.  He prophesied the coming of the coming of the Holy Spirit and his second coming.  He talked extensively about the things going on in the world prior to this coming.  Paul also wrote about it.  Paul also prophesied when the ship in which he was travelling was caught in the storm that everyone would survive if they did certain things.  An “unknown” prophet warned Paul of his arrest if he went to Jerusalem.  Philip’s four daughters all prophesied, yet most mainline denominations want little if anything to do with prophecy.  The same can be said of the gift of tongues.

            Tongues and prophecy were both in evidence at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the one hundred twenty disciples in the upper room.  The disciples all spoke in languages they had never learned so that the people from all parts of the world who were in Jerusalem for the feast day could understand the gospel in their own language.  Peter, a fisherman, stood up and preached a history of the Jewish people and proclaimed salvation through Jesus so powerfully that 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and were baptized that day.  Thousands more followed in the next few days.  The gift of tongues Paul is talking about in Corinthians is different from what we read about in Acts 2.

            From the description Paul gives in verses 18-19, it is evident that he is talking about a “private prayer language.”  In 1 Corinthians 13:1 he mentions the “tongues of men and of angels.”  In chapter 14 he tells us that with this kind of “tongue” people are speaking to God and not to men for men cannot understand what is being said.  It is the “tongue of angels.”  This gift is intended to be used primarily in your prayer closet.  Some feel that this gift is given to help us pray when we do not know how to pray as he describes in Romans 8:26 where Paul writes that the Spirit prays “for us with groanings too deep for words.”  Have you ever prayed long and hard for something, and you did not know what more to pray?  Have you wanted to pray but did not know how?  This gift would help you.  The Spirit is praying through you exactly what is needed.  God knows; you need not know.  Tongues are often praises to God.  They flow fluently and effortlessly off the tongue.  Joe tells me that I have the gift of tongues, and that it is English because when I am in the Spirit praying, God’s praises flow out of my mouth in the same way I have heard others pray in tongues.  One time I went to a “prayer school” where the teacher kept asking people if they spoke in tongues or not.  I would always raise my hand to indicate “no.”  I began to avoid the opening ceremonies of the class and come in late so that I did not have to hear him tell me, “You will want it by the end of this class.”  I had asked God before for this gift, but it never came.  Now I begged God to give it to me so I would not have to “lie” to this man or avoid the class.  God gave me two words, “salome” and “baruch.”  He also “showed me in my mind’s eye the phonetical spelling of the words.  I thought they looked like something from Hebrew or Greek; so I got out my Strong’s concordance and was able to look them up in the Hebrew dictionary in the back.  “Salome” is a derivative of “shalom” which means abundant peace and wholeness; “baruch” means highest praises and honor to God.  Both are pretty good words to use when praying to God. 

In another vein, I have friends who tell me that at times when they are praying about dangerous situations where Satan could be at work, their prayer language becomes firm, strong and commanding, as if they were waging spiritual warfare.  Many report a sense of a “spiritual breakthrough” as they prayed in tongues.[5]  Those of us trapped in our rational way of processing things back away from such blessings because it sounds too weird and takes us out of our comfort zone. 

Many churches/Presbyterians pride themselves in doing things “decently and in order.”  We get that from 1 Corinthians 14:40, “But all things should be done decently and in order.”  We most often interpret this to mean the service must be formal, quiet and controlled down to the minute.  However, taking this verse in context, Paul clearly advocates the working of the gifts of prophecy and tongues when the interpretation of the tongue is given.  This is something controlled by the Holy Spirit and cannot be planned or controlled.  Verse 39 reads, “So, my brother, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”  Have you ever spoken in tongues?  Have you ever prophesied?  When was the last time you heard such things in your church?  They are scriptural, yet we usually forbid the practice of the gifts in favor of rational thought.

Rational thinking is good.  God gave us minds to process what we are seeing and hearing, and we should apply reason, but in a scriptural way.  Blomberg says, “Our God is a thinking, speaking God, and if we will know him, we must learn to think his thoughts after him.”[6]  I believe that God wants His people to know Him and to know those things that are coming their way so that they will not be caught off guard and blindsided.  He wants them to be like Jesus, and he used all the gifts.  If we are to learn to think God’s thought after Him, we must be trained to operate in the gifts.  It begins with the first step.  When you feel a “nudge” to bless someone take a chance; step out in faith and try it.  I know people who have paid for the meal of the person(s) behind you at the drive through.  Some have had the nudge to pick up a value meal and give it to the person God pointed out to them.  It may be a harried mother, a police officer or a homeless person.  God knows who needs to be shown they are loved.  Sometimes God asks you to stop and help someone who is broken down along the side of the road.  This past week, Joe suddenly felt he had to go home, and just as he was pulling onto the driveway, the mail lady was pulling out.  She had a package for him that needed a signature.  That can be frustrating trying to connect and catch up to your package; it is like playing tag.  He was not expecting a package that day, but God knew.  This week, I had it fixed in my mind to visit Paul on Thursday morning at 8:30.  I had written it wrong on my calendar and had to scratched it out and place it on Friday morning at the same time.  Paul and Donna were surprised when I showed up Thursday, but it worked out OK.  I just could not shake the sense that Thursday was the day I had to go and not Friday.  The next day at 9:00, Alan rang the doorbell to ask if I had the bulletin.  I was able to give it to him, and he was spared having to run over the mountain to get it from Heather who puts it together.  I had it Thursday, but got sidetracked with writing this sermon and forgot to place it in the church.  Had I kept the appointment scheduled by human reasoning, Alan would have had to drive an extra ten miles.  God loves us so much that He compensated for my distraction, and all received God’s ministry.[7]  Praise God!  Whenever something like this happens, be sure to give God the credit, the praise, the thanks and the glory.

One more thing, be careful not to get caught up in placing priorities on gifts.  Like the Corinthians, some try to elevate tongues to the level of “I have arrived” at perfection.  In these churches people without the gift are considered second class Christians.  Equally wrong is to reject the gift completely.  Paul tells us to desire the gift of tongues – it will help your prayer life, but rather to desire that you can prophesy.  I have often told people that God wants me to know things.  He reveals what many consider mysteries to me.  The time God gave me two words in another language that I did not know at the time (I went to seminary later), He also revealed the spelling so I could look them up and know what they meant.  I was saying, “Abundant peace and wholeness and highest praise and honor” to God.  Jesus desires for His people to know what He is doing.  The closer we move towards Him, and the more we become like Jesus, the more we will understand and know the goings on around us.  Words of knowledge, words of wisdom, faith, miracles, prophecy and tongues all work together to make that possible.  Jesus walked in the gifts of the Spirit.  We are to be like Jesus.  We must learn to participate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit if we are to fulfill God’s commandments and the Great Commission.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part 3: Faith and Miracles

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Acts 5 and 8, 1 Kings 18

Call to Worship: Hebrews 10:9-10, 19 & 22

Leader: Christ said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.

People: For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Leader: And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

People: Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.

Hymns: #529 “O, How I Love Jesus;” #371 “Have Thine Own Way Lord;” #330 “Only Trust Him”

Unison Prayer of Confession: Eternal God, in every age you have raised up men and women to live and die in faith. We confess that we are indifferent to your will. You call us to proclaim Your name, but we are silent. You call us to do what is just, but we remain idle. You call us to live faithfully, but we are afraid. In your mercy forgive us. Give us courage to follow in Your way, that joined with those from ages past, who have served you with faith, hope and love, we may inherit the kingdom You promised in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Time for Children

Sermon:

In 1893, engineer George Ferris built a machine that bears his name--the Ferris wheel. When it was finished, he invited a newspaper reporter to accompany him and his wife for the inaugural ride. It was a windy July day, so a stiff breeze struck the wheel with great force as it slowly began its rotation. Despite the wind, the wheel turned flawlessly. After one revolution, Ferris called for the machine to be stopped so that he, his wife, and the reporter could step out. In braving that one revolution on the windblown Ferris wheel, each occupant demonstrated genuine faith. Mr. Ferris began with the scientific knowledge that the machine would work and that it would be safe. Mrs. Ferris and the reporter believed the machine would work on the basis of what the inventor had said. But only after the ride could it be said of all three that they had personal, experiential faith.[1]

So it is with faith – there are different kinds.  There is the intellectual knowing that something is true.  Then there is the experiential knowing that it is true.  The first comes through study and “head” knowledge.  The second comes from trying it and experiencing it for yourself.  The first tends to be cold, aloof, doing good works out of duty or to be seen and held in high esteem by others.  The second involves the whole person and tends to make a person committed to the object of his or her faith and obedient to its laws.  It is this second kind of faith we are interested in this chapter. 

          Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Faith involves belief in things we do not see with our eyes, nor can prove with our science.  For the New Testament writers, faith always meant “faith in Jesus the Christ, God’s Anointed Son.  This faith always carried with it the idea of belief, trust, obedience, “hope and faithfulness.”[2]  This faith in God through Jesus His Son is required for salvation.[3]  Faith in Jesus calls us “to repent and believe….(and accept) the Christian message” which can never “be dispensed with” once it is known.  It (the Word of God – God’s message) is always the foundation of faith.”[4]  Faith does include “the assurance of things hoped for” so that heaven and eternal life are fact and not fiction or wishful thinking.  Faith makes us pilgrims passing through this world; we are on a journey to our eternal home in heaven. 

The writer of Hebrews makes a statement that may sound strange to our ears today.  “…whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and the He rewards those who seek him.”  Furthermore, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him…”  We must believe first; we learn about Him and please Him only after the initial “leap of faith.”  Only after faith in God do we come to realize “His rewards.”  Many today might balk at that, thinking that we all “deserve” God’s rewards indiscriminately.  Scripture makes it clear that God give rewards on His terms, not ours.  This coming to God happens through faith in Jesus Christ. 

The N.T. never says that a man is saved on account of his faith, but always that he is saved through his faith, or by means of his faith; faith is merely the means (way) which the Holy Spirit uses to apply to the individual soul the benefits of Christ's death."[5]

This is what we call saving faith, and it is connected to the Holy Spirit.  In 1 Corintians 12 Paul is talking about a extraordinary kind of faith.  In fact, it is classified here as a “gift” of the Holy Spirit.  This is “mountain moving faith” “whereby we have an inner certainty that God wills something and He is going to do it, even though the outward evidence seems to deny it….This kind of faith is sovereignly given by God; it is not a constant ordinary thing, but is given for special needs and circumstances chosen by God”[6] and for His purposes.  When I was faced with cancer after twenty years of deepening depression and God asked me if I wanted to live, He suddenly removed the depression and gave me a certainty that I would be OK.  It did not mean that I never had a doubt or a fear cross my mind after that.  I usually had one day out of every month when I became weepy and fearful, but I would remind myself of the assurance God gave me, and I would snap out of it.  I was able to choose to believe what God had told me about my healing (Jeremiah 30:16-17).  Closely associated with the gift of faith is the gift of miracles.

          Because of the position of “miracles” after “gifts of healing,” most scholars and theologians believe these miracles deal with those events outside of healings like exorcism and miracles of nature.  Jesus cast out the “legion” of demons from the young man who lived among the tombs.  Jesus walked on water and commanded the violent storm to be still, and it was.  On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” and Moses and Elijah showed up to hang out with him for a chat.  (Matthew 17:1-3)  Then there was that “little thing” he did of rising from the dead.  Too often we think of, confine to, or seek miracles of healing and miss many wonderful things God is doing in our midst, relegating them to luck or coincidence.  Many of us are afraid of the “supernatural” because we think of ghosts and poltergeists and the like thanks to our media.  It causes us to fear.  It also means that we are not in control.  If there is one thing our culture teaches us to be is “in control” of our lives and things around us – our wives, husbands, children, workplace, church, school, etc.  Supernatural events threaten our control in these areas; therefore we fear and/or reject the supernatural.  Often we hide behind our scientific worldview because it can be explained naturally.  We cannot accept the “supernatural” when we are trying to preserve our control over situations and people.  Miracles can threaten our security and move us out of our comfort zone, and fear of the supernatural may cause us to miss miracles or cause them to be shut down and not happen.

Dr. Long cautions us to “be careful…with the term supernatural” because our western worldview that science can explain everything tends to require that miracles can only happen when something contradicts, violates or suspends the laws of science.  He reminds us that in “the biblical worldview, God is sovereign and moves and works within His created order to accomplish His purposes.”[7]  This means that when you are late for an appointment, and it is pouring rain outside and there just happens to be a parking space at the door after you have prayed for one, it is not a mere coincidence or luck.  It is a miracle.  God used the ordinary movements of ordinary people to time things just right to give you what you needed, when you needed it.  Praise God for these things.  Lilly, a lady in my congregation who has trouble walking and moving as a result of a car accident, tells me she sometimes prays just to put on a sock.  After she prays it always slides on effortlessly.  Praise God!  These things may not seem like much but they show God’s faithfulness to you.  These things are meant to build your faith so that when He gives you the gift of faith to believe in something bigger, you are able to do it.  He uses small displays of His supernatural power to prepare you for bigger ones.  Remember the spiritual principle that “he who is faithful in a little will be given more.”  (Luke 19:11-26)

          The gifts often work together.  I suspect that Jesus would get a word of knowledge about someone to receive a healing, the word of wisdom would show him what to do.  For example, to heal the blind man he spit on dirt and made mud and put it over his eyes.  At other times he simply had to speak, and it happened.  He had the faith to believe that if his Heavenly Father said it, He would do it, and he stepped out in faith and obeyed/did what he was told.  Miracles followed.  The same thing can be said of the Apostles.

          Peter and John saw the crippled beggar (Acts 5) at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate.”  Peter said, “"Look at us."

 ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

 ⁶ But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

 ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

Peter was given the word of knowledge that the man would be healed, and the word of wisdom of what to say and to do.  He was given the gift of faith to believe that if he acted in obedience to what God was telling him, the man would be healed, and a miracle happened.  Phillip was an example of a non-healing miracle.

          He was ministering in the northeast part of the country, when God told him to go to the southwest desert region, specifically to the road to Gaza.  He saw, an Ethiopian eunuch returning from worship in Jerusalem, a man of much influence in the court of Candace, their queen.  Verse 29ff says,

²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot."  (He was given faith to be obedient to a word of knowledge.)

 ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

 ³¹ And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

 ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

The eunuch “just happened” to be reading Isaiah 53, the suffering servant who gave his life for our iniquities, which led to the miracle of salvation.  Philip explained how Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy, and the rest, as they say, is history.  The Eunuch believed in Jesus and was baptized that very day – it “just happened” at that very moment, at the very place in the desert, where there was a pool of water so that Philip could baptize him.  This event closes telling us that “the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more…But Philip found himself at Azotus,” a town a little more than seven miles away. 

In the Old Testament we see similar miracles happening.  Elijah had prayed, and there was a drought for three years.  After that time Elijah received a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom and called for an Old West type of showdown on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Ba’al.  He challenged them to a “cook off” to see whose God would respond to their sacrifice and light the wood to cook the burnt offering.  Ba’al’s prophets danced and prayed all day, but with no success.  When it came time for Elijah to call on the God of Israel, he began by pouring jars of water over the wood first and made the task impossible.  Then he called on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the fire fell.  Ba’al was shown to be impotent, and the God of Israel omnipotent/all powerful,  Then Elijah prayed again and told King Ahab to get in his chariot and return to Jezreel because the rain was coming and would pour down soaking everything.  First Kings 18:46 says, “⁴⁶ And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” (And shelter.) (ESV)  Have you ever experienced faith and miracles such as these?  Probably not, but many of us can experience miracles of nature on a less spectacular scale.

Have you ever commanded a bee away from your children, and it went?  Have you ever been caught outside with a storm bearing down on you; you commanded the rain to hold off until you could reach shelter, and it did?  I have witnessed these very things.  I have read about Christians whose towns were in the direct path of a hurricane pray for their homes, and when the storm passed theirs was the only home left standing.  People in the church today get angry about such claims saying, “What about those whose homes were demolished?”  They believe we should not give God the credit for such things because that implies that He did not answer the prayers of other people.  I cannot presume to know the infinite mind of God as to why He spares one and allows devastation in another’s life.  Perhaps we will never know for certain this side of eternity.  I did read a response to this argument that has stayed with me.  A pastor was asked this very question of why her home was not spared when the other person’s was.  After all, she had prayed too.  He asked her, “Are you a Christian?”  She answered, “No.”  The pastor told her, “Well, perhaps God was busy taking care of His regular customers.”[8]  Are you one of God’s regular customers?  Have you experienced faith like Mr. and Mrs. Ferris and the reporter who rode the first Ferris wheel?  The Christian life goes beyond that initial act of accepting Jesus.  Do you take time daily to talk with God, to meditate on His Word, and to spend time in worship of Him?  Does your faith influence your behavior?  The gifts of faith and miracles are not always limited to those who do these things, God healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks.  However when trouble comes, and it always does, there is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will.  That is where you will experience the gifts faith and miracles operating to their fullest.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Part2: Words, Miracles and Faith

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon

            Have you ever looked around you and wondered whatever happened to common sense?  C. E. Stowe, son of Harriet Beecher Stowe, describes it as, “Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.”[1]  “In the war for individual rights, common sense becomes the first and major casualty.”[2]  Wisdom is more than common sense, but the same things could be said for it.  There is a component of “seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done,” and “In the war for individual rights,…(wisdom also) becomes the first and major casualty.”  I look at the things happening in Washington and wonder what happened to logic; where is reason, and why are people only concerned with getting things for themselves when the health of the entire nation is at stake?  What are we to do?  How are we to recover wisdom in our age?  The Bible has an answer for that question.

James tells us, “⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”^[3]  God is the source of all wisdom, and He is in the business of sharing that wisdom with those who ask.  There are two kinds of wisdom: natural or general wisdom that is available to all people and specific wisdom that God gives to His own people when they ask.  Proverbs is an example of the first kind of wisdom.  It represents general guidelines as to how life works best.  This is the kind of wisdom Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School is talking about when he says, “Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done badly.”[4]  This would seem to be born up by NASA.  A scientist at NASA “was assigned to prepare a presentation on lessons learned from our bad experiences with the Hubble Space Telescope. On his chart at the briefing, lesson No.1 read: "In naming your mission, never us a word that rhymes with trouble."[5]  A modern day proverb says, “A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself.”[6]

The “learning from our mistakes” element of wisdom is why we usually associate it with the older generation – they have lived longer and have had more mistakes to learn from.  Today because of computers, the younger generation tends to dismiss the wisdom of their elders because they can get access to so much information so quickly through the Internet, and their grandparents generally do not have such skills.  Therefore, this generation tends to dismiss the wisdom of the older generation.  As I see it, they have set themselves up to become possibly the wisest generation in the end depending on whether they learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others or the deadliest if they do not.

Concerning wisdom in the Church, Christian pastor, teacher, scholar and author, J. I. Packer wrote, “Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”[7]  “The power to see” the wise way is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 12:8 when he mentions the gift of “the word of wisdom.”  This wisdom comes directly from God to deal with the situation at hand.  It is supernaturally given.  This is what happens when I am ministering to someone and suddenly I have insight into not only the problem, but the solution as well.  God gives me the words to say to a person that directly addresses their situation and brings them comfort, hope and maybe a course of action.  It may make me look good, but it comes from God.  Dr. Brad Long writes about this kind of wisdom:

The word of wisdom is really the use or application of knowledge in a fitting way whether the knowledge is ordinary fact knowledge or a deep knowing, wisdom is the inner light and sense that knows the truly appropriate thing to do with what is known.

Wisdom knows how to handle the difficult person, how to proceed in the midst of conflict, how to resolve the knotty problem, how to reach the alienated and bring them to reconciliation, and how to walk in favor with God and humans.

The Word of Wisdom is divine quick-wittedness; it is that marvelous insight that resolves the difficulty and shows the way through; it is unmistakably hitting the nail on the head.[8]

Jesus exhibited this kind of wisdom throughout his life. Scripture tells us that even at the age of 12 the best minds of his day were impressed with his wisdom and understanding. He always seemed to know how to answer those who were trying to trick him. When the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to him, Jesus didn't answer immediately but doodled in the sand. I believe he was praying to God the Father and buying time to hear from him how he should answer. His answer maintained his ministry of nonjudgmental love ("let he who is without sin cast the first stone") and the need for righteous holy living ("go and sin no more"). In the Old Testament Solomon is probably the best example of this kind of wisdom. When given the opportunity to have anything, he asked God for wisdom, and God was pleased to give it to him. Solomon was known for his wisdom throughout the ancient world. One of the best examples of this was when two mothers came to him, each claiming one child to be their own. His solution was to cut the child in half and give half to each woman. Not that he would have done that, but he knew that the real mother would rather have the child live with another woman than to see him destroyed. He of course gave the child to the correct mother. This is an example of the wisdom that comes from God at the time you need it and has nothing or little to do with past experiences. God just shows the way.

            The next gift Paul mentions is the word of knowledge.  Again there is a general  or natural  knowing or knowledge, and a special revelation of mysteries that only comes directly from God.

…the knowledge referred to in 12:8 would not be a knowledge possessed by all Christians …. It seems rather that this would be a special kind of knowledge given through the Spirit to individual Christians. …. knowledge in 14:6 … refers to a message of knowledge given through God’s Spirit only to certain Christians, who are then to share it with others in the assembly.[9]

Jesus exhibited this kind of "knowing" when he met the woman at the well and told her about all of her previous husbands and the current man she was living with but not married to. Jesus also knew which disciple would betray him, and he new that Peter would deny him. Jesus knew that he would have to go to the cross and suffer a horrible death. The disciples also had this gift. In Acts five Peter knew that Ananias and Sapphira were lying to him. A different Ananias in Damascus knew that Paul had been converted on his way there to persecute the Christians, and that he, Ananias, had to go to him and pray for Paul’s sight to be restored.  He staked his life on this word of knowledge. This gift was also evident in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel chapters 9 and 10 the gift of knowledge is given again and again.

                     This is the story of Samuel anointing Saul to be the first king of Israel. Saul's father had lost several donkeys, and Saul was sent to find them. After several days of searching they were out of food and water and had come up empty. They were told that a prophet lived in this town where they now were, so they went to see him. The prophet was Samuel who is on the mission of finding the first king of Israel. (1 Samuel 9:15-16) “Now a day before Saul’s coming, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel saying, ‘About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me.”^[10]  God told Samuel what would happen; this is the word of knowledge.  Two verses later Samuel tells Saul that the donkeys have been found and that he and his family are the focus of all of Israel's hopes. Saul has not yet even asked the question about the donkeys, but Samuel knew what was on his mind and that they had been found.  As further evidence that Samuel knew ahead of time that Saul would come and that they would have this conversation, Samuel invited him to dinner and the cook brought Saul the leg of lamb he had specially prepared and had ready for him when he arrived. 

            As he sends Saul away, Samuel pours oil over his head and anoints him as Israel’s first king then tells him that he will meet two men who will tell him that the donkeys have been found.  Next he will encounter three young men going up to God at Bethel – he even knew one would have three young goats, one would have three loaves of bread and another a jug of wine.  Saul was to accept two of the loaves of bread.  After that he will meet a group of prophets, and he will begin to prophesy with them.  Verse nine simply says, “Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.”  Samuel “knew” things that he could not have known through natural means.  They could only have been revealed by God.  We have all experienced this in some form.

            How often have you thought about someone you have not seen or talked with in a long time, and you run into them in a grocery store or hardware store, or they call you?  That could be a word of knowledge.  How often have you thought of someone only to find that they have been struggling with illness, death, loss of income or something else?  That is a word of knowledge.  When God puts someone on your heart, pray for them or call them if it is appropriate.  When my son was learning to drive, we were at a stop sign, and it was our turn to go.  I stopped Tim and told him to wait for the oncoming car.  I just “knew” this car was going run the stop sign.  If Tim had pulled out assuming the other car would stop, we would have been in an accident.  God gives warnings of danger and promptings for encouragement all the time to His people.  Joe often has a “knowing” that we should go home a different way.  Sometimes we never know why.  Other times we find there had been an accident, and the road was blocked causing delays.  We need to train our minds to work with God Spirit and to heed Him.  Too often we are inclined to take the credit for being so smart or credit it to intuition or luck.  We need to learn to hear God’s voice and to recognize what is from God and what are merely our own thoughts.  For example, if you “know” that Men in Black is a documentary, that is not a word of knowledge from God.  When we discern a word of knowledge from God, we must learn to listen to/obey what He is telling us.  Things would go so much better for us if we would do that.

            Word of knowledge and word of wisdom are gifts given by God to individuals who are then to share them with others in the body of Christ to help them, to bring them healing, to encourage them and to build them up to be more like Christ.  They are especially necessary when human knowledge and wisdom fail.  When someone has been to doctors or counselors for years and nothing has helped, the gift of knowledge will often get to the root of the problem and begin the healing process.  It enables us to support a friend whom we do not know has reached the end of her rope.  The gift of wisdom will show you how to use the knowledge God has given to help and not to hurt others.  These gifts deal with mysteries and deep hidden secrets, that is why is it imperative that they be used in love, or they could cause great harm.  Some would rather avoid them, but words of wisdom and knowledge are frequently the only way a person or group can move beyond a wound and reach the health and goals God has set for them.  God gives His people words of wisdom and knowledge to help make life on this planet easier.  Who are we to reject them because they do not fit into our neatly controlled lives?  What are we thinking?

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Part One -- the Necessity for the Gifts

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:11-18

Sermon:

1 Corinthians 12 addresses one of the most controversial topics in the Western Church today.  On the one side dispensationalists believe the gifts are no longer given today.  On the other end of the argument, Pentecostal Christians embrace them and go so far as to claim maturity/perfection for those given the gift of tongues.  Then there are the Charismatics, the Third Wave and the Fourth Wave (and maybe even a Fifth Wave by this time).  There is nothing that will polarize Christians quicker than the gifts of the Spirit.

          Paul opens his discussion on the gifts of the Spirit by telling the Corinthians he does not want them to be “uninformed (NRSV).”  The NIV uses “not…to be ignorant;” the NASB translates it “not…to be unaware,” and the NLT uses “don’t misunderstand this.”  Even the translators cannot agree on a precise meaning of the word that introduces this topic.  What is clear is that the Corinthians were having major problems concerning the gifts, and Paul’s purpose in writing chapters 12-14 was to clarify the working of the gifts.  The first problem he points to is the Corinthians’ pagan heritage and worship of idols.  This immediately lets us off the hook.  Right?  But what if instead of “when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols,” it was translated, “When you used to be practitioners of your culture that did not know the One true God, and through that influence you were led astray and swept up in the worship of worldly things?”  Would that bring it closer to home and make it more relevant for today?  Essentially, that is what Paul is telling them.  They have been so immersed in their world’s way of doing things that they have taken the things of God and acted with them in the same way they have been taught to behave by their culture.  They have not been conformed to God’s ways.

          Next Paul points out that no one who has the Holy Spirit living in them as the result of belief in Jesus can curse Jesus.  Similarly, only those who have the Holy Spirit abiding in them as the down payment of the resurrection and the seal of God’s approval, because Jesus is his or her Savior, can truly call him “Lord.”  The differentiating element is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because of faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul immediately connects the gifts with the entire Trinity.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NRSV):

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.^[1]

(NLT) ⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.^[2] 

There are many different kinds of gifts that manifest themselves very differently from person to person and from situation to situation, yet they are given by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  No two gifts look or act alike and gifts will vary according to personalities, circumstances and God’s purpose, yet they are all from Him given to us by the Holy Spirit.  Verses 7 and 11 are also key to Paul’s instruction.

1 Corinthians 12:7&11

(NIV) ⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. ^[3] 

(NLT) ⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other… ¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.^[4] 

God, through God the Holy Spirit, decides what gift each person should have and gives him or her what He feels is best for His purpose.  It does not matter if they look different; it is the same God who is operating in them.  Note also that the gifts are given to individuals, not for their glorification or fame so that they can be held up (and dare I say it) “worshipped?”  God gives gifts for the benefit of others so that “we can help each other.”  God is the author and giver of the gift; it has nothing to do with anyone’s worldly intelligence, position, power or worth.  God gives gifts to His people in order for us to carry out the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20 (NRSV).  “¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”^[5]   Recall that Jesus, just before his Ascension told the disciples to wait until they received the Holy Spirit before they tried to carry out the Great Commission.  Acts 1:4-5 & 8:

⁴ While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with^b the Holy Spirit not many days from now…. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”^[6]

God calls us to be like Jesus, to do the things Jesus did which would be impossible apart from the Holy Spirit and the gifts He gives.  If you struggle with witnessing for Jesus, you need to let the Holy Spirit have more control of you.  The church needs the gifts of the Spirit to fulfill God’s call.  This becomes very clear in another passage on spiritual gifts.

          Read Ephesians 4:11-18 (NLT): 

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. ¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.  (Italics are mine.)

^[7] 

The gifts of God will train the people of God to serve Him, to come to maturity and to help one another, that is, to build one another up.  We will no longer be children tossed back and forth by “every wind of new teaching.  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”  We hear documentaries on television that resurrect the old arguments rejected as heresies by the early church and supported by innuendoes and suppositions based solely on our culture’s way of thinking neglecting the biblical culture or the time when the Bible was written.  Each year more and more people buy into these “arguments” and turn away from God to worship a god of their own making.  One God given way to prevent that from happening is to use the gifts He provides.  As each person does his or her part, using his or her unique gift, the church will grow and develop and be healthy and “full of love.”  Note, Paul says “this (the working of the gifts) will continue until we all come to unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son” and measure up to the “complete standard of Christ.” 

Look around you.  Where do you see unity in the church?  Even within single churches of fewer than a hundred people you find division.  We who consider ourselves mature pick and grumble about things that are really unimportant in the grand scheme of things.  It is not surprising then that denominations are fractured and falling apart.  The gifts are needed as much today as they were in the first century.  Have you ever wondered why something that was intended to bring unity and maturity has brought so much division?

The answer lies in the next two verses of Ephesians 4.  

¹⁷ With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸ Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

There are two reasons.  The first is found in verse 17.  Paul tells the Ephesians, and us, to “live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God give….”  They and our own culture are “hopelessly confuse.”  Their minds are “full of darkness,” and yet we listen to their ways and adopt their priorities and principles, or we compare ourselves and think we are OK because we do not do all the things they do.  We do not stop to consider how much of what we do goes against God’s ways also.  Our human nature to want what we want regardless of what God wants slips in so easily that we barely notice our pride, our arrogance, our control and our zeal to be right and to be independent of all authority.  We have a tendency to think that when we are gifted with something it elevates us above other people. We see this all the time among actors, singers and musicians and even athletes. As people, Christians are not immune to these temptations. People with gifts of administration might look down on the daydreamers, but the daydreamers may be the ones to bring vision and life to the church. Musicians and singers sometimes think we could not have worship without them. Great teachers might come to think they have a corner on God's truth. On top of that most of us find it easier to squelch many of the gifts of the Spirit rather than to do the hard work of discerning what is from God.  The second reason is that Satan does not want the church to be unified and mature in the faith, because then the Gospel would go forth in great power and people would be saved from his grasp.  He would not be able to wreck havoc on people and destroy lives and make people as miserable as he is.  When he sees us toying with the dark things of this age because they intrigue us or look like fun, he jumps in to temp us, and although he cannot take away our salvation, he will take us as far from God and the truth as he possibly can.  What is the answer?

God says do not deny the gifts of the Spirit but rather use them in love, his holy righteous love. That is why we must be in a regular routine of examining ourselves to see if we were walking in love.  We must get beyond our self-pride or inferiority, stop being control freaks and let God be God and learn to exercise the gifts of God in love.

Gracious God, the comfort of all who sorrow, the strength of all who suffer, hear the cry of those in misery and need.  In their afflictions show them your mercy, and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them, for the sake of him who suffered for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Eternal God of unchanging power and light, look with mercy on your whole church.  Let your gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it.  Turn the hearts of those who resist it, and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray.  Bring to completion your saving work, so that the whole world may see the fallen lifted up, the old made new, and all things brought to perfection by him through whom all things were made, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

So This Is Love Part Seven: The Greatest of These Is Love

Scripture: John 3:16-18; Romans 5:5-11; 1 John 4:19; John 14:15-31; Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-34; Exodus 20:1-18; (Matthew 5:22-30; 19:16-26; 28:18-20); John 13:34-35; Colossians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:8, 16 & 18; Mark 8:34-35; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 4:1-3, 22-32; Romans 12:9-21; 1 Corinthians 13

Love is to Christianity as baking soda is to a cake. Without something to make it rise a cake is only a pancake or something else, but it is not a cake. Without love Christianity is flat and ceases to function as we will see in today's passages. We've been working our way through the Scriptures in order to develop a biblical definition of love. What we have found is that love is surrender to God and obedience to God's commands. It is action that comes from the will to choose to do what is right and good according to God’s commandments regardless of the personal cost, because God did the same for you. Love "does not insist on its rights for personal gain over relationships" but manifests itself in holiness and righteousness and in a whole list of qualities you need to acquire and actions to be overcome as found in appendix C.

This may seem like a lot to take in all at once. You may or may not be struggling to wrap your brain around all of these concepts that make up love. If you are feeling overwhelmed, it may once again be because of our conditioning due to our culture. We have been conditioned to get our information from sound bites that last only 10 or 15 seconds, or at the most 30. That is how we hear the news, how we are given advertisements and how we are getting nearly all of our information. We want it to be short and sweet and to the point. We want "the bottom line." We want to be able to process it with little effort on our own part, and so anything that requires complex thinking simply will not do. However, Scripture was not meant to be read that way. The passages we are going to look at next were written as letters to churches. They were read all at once, in one sitting. They were not chopped up or sliced and diced into small pieces and served that way. They were meant to be taken as a whole unit. In light of this, listen to what the word of God has to say to you. Let it wash over you as we go through these next three passages rather quickly to see how they connect with what we have learned and what they have to add. Be bathed in the word of God. The first one comes from Ephesians 4:

Ephesians 4:1-3, 22 -32 (ESV) I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, è here we see a repeat of humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another that we saw in Colossians 3.

³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. è Unity and peace are also found to be the results of love here as in Colossians.

²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, è we are commanded to take off the old self for the old self must be renewed. We are to put on a new self created in the likeness of God which is true righteousness and holiness.

²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, è also found in Colossians 3.

²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. è Again we see that we are not to lie but speak the truth. This takes us all the way back to the 10 Commandments.

²⁶ Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

²⁷ and give no opportunity to the devil. è Anger is something we must work on so that it does not turn into bitterness and rage or even murder.

²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. è We must not steal, another of the 10 Commandments.

²⁹ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. è Each believer in Christ receives the seal of the Holy Spirit who instructs us in righteousness and holiness and keeps us until we go to be with the Lord.

³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. è Here we see a repeat of the list of things to examine ourselves and change every day. It includes anger or bitterness, slander and malice; primarily sins of the tongue.

³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. è The chapter closes with the charge to us to be kind and forgiving because that is how God was to us in sending Jesus Christ to pay for our sins.

The next passage we want to look at is found in Romans 12:

Romans 12:9-21 (ESV) ⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. è This passage opens with the command to “let love be genuine” and to abhor evil and cling to what is good. Paul defines what this is in the remaining verses.

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. è Love shows honor to others.

¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. è It produces fervent and energetic service to God.

¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. è We can be patient when things go against us because we have hope in God. This hope is a sure and certain knowing that God's word is true and that heaven is our eternal home. Therefore we can rejoice in all things -- traffic jams, bills, sickness, broken arms or persecution for your faith; the list is endless. Paul introduces a new aspect to love, that is, prayer. Not only are we to pray, but we are to be "constant in prayer." Prayer should be ongoing throughout the day in the life of the believer. Get in the habit of talking to God about everything.

¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. è At the very least we are to help our Christian brothers and sisters and to give hospitality. Throughout Scripture God's people are commanded to help the poor, the orphans and widows and those who have genuine need such as the people of Haiti and Chile.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. è In keeping with Jesus’ teaching Paul command's us to bless our enemies. We are not to curse them; we are actually to do good to them.

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. è This verse is in keeping with showing the compassion in love. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. è Once again we see harmony as a result of love. We are commanded to be humble and not arrogant. "Never be wise in your own sight," may be thought of as not to think more highly of yourself than you should. This would correspond to honoring others and to putting others first.

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." è We are commanded never to seek vengeance but leave it to God to deal with the other person as he sees fit.

²⁰ To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. è This is Paul's summary statement for this passage.

Our final passage is the best-known passage on love. First Corinthians 13 is often used in weddings and rightly so. These 13 verses are a powerful summary of all that we have been learning. Rather than read straight through from beginning to end, let us look at the verses in the middle that so powerfully speak of God's love and our love for others. Listen to what the Apostle has to say on love in verses 4-7. The Apostle gives two positive traits of love, followed by eight negative ones, and closes with five positive qualities.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

⁵ or rude. è Once again we see that love is patient and kind connecting with Colossians 3. "Kindness can break cycles of passion, resentment, anger, violence and vengeful retaliation." [1] We also see the admonition not to envy which connects with the 10 Commandments.

Envy... reflects the zeal for one's self advancement rather than the community's growth....(and) is also associated with resentment toward others for what they are or have that we are not or have not attained or being given. Envy always involves the comparative -er, better, brighter, prettier, richer, stronger, wiser, or the adverb more;—more skilled, more competent, more successful, more disciplined, more mature, more cultured, more spiritual. [2]

Arrogance, boasting are on the other side of envy – those who are stronger, wealthier, more beautiful and more successful. None of these, arrogance, boasting or envy has any place in love.

^5. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; è This verse is packed. Like Jesus surrendered his will to the Father's will and gave up his rights in order to pay our penalty for sin so that we can be restored to God, so we also should be willing to forgo our rights so that others might be restored to God the Father. Not being irritable is the negative way of saying that we are to bear with one another (from Colossians 3). "Resentful" might connect with envy and jealousy. These three, envy, jealousy and resentfulness, often go hand-in-hand.

⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. è "Does not rejoice in wrongdoing" is something we need to be careful of in our culture. My son told me about an experience in college when he went to a movie with his friends and was appalled to find they all had been led to agree that it was okay to take the law into your own hands and seek revenge and justice apart from the law and due process of the law because of highly emotional content of the movie. If this can happen to highly intelligent young people at Carnegie Melon University, how much more can the average person be deceived by what he or she sees on television or in movies? We are increasingly becoming a nation that calls good evil and evil good. The Apostle calls us to "rejoice in the truth." This begins his final list of five positive things that love does.

⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. è We're already familiar with "love bears all things." We encountered this in Colossians 3 where we were commanded to suffer certain wrongs and minor irritations for the sake of the peace and unity of the Church. Next we are told that love "believes all things." The Apostle is not telling us to be gullible or naïve; "believe" is a synonym for faith or trust and connects back to "rejoices with the truth" of verse six. We are to believe the truth of all that God has told us in his Word, all the promises, all the commandments and all the warnings. "Hopes all things" also connects with truth and belief in God and his Word. This is a sure and certain hope that will never fail. It is not wishful thinking as in "I hope the sun shines tomorrow" or "I hope I don't come down with that cold." We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that what God has said is true and can be believed and can be trusted! Because of God's love for us, what he has done for us through Jesus Christ, we can endure irritations, wrongs done against us and persecutions for the sake of the gospel and the witness of God's love to others through us. We will look at the rest of this chapter next week.

So, we have come to the end of our study on love, and yet it is not the end it only the beginning for us. Now we must learn to live it out. We've learned many things; some have been anticipated, but others have not. Probably the most unanticipated quality of love is how it connects to Commandments, including those from the Old Testament. This leads us to the second most difficult concept about love which is its negatives. Biblical love has often been expressed by prohibitions, by things we were told not to do. 21st century Western culture does not want to hear this. We want what we want, and we do not want to be told that we cannot do something. However as Alan F. Johnson puts it:

Paul points to the limitless quality of authentic Christian love (v. 7). In North America today, the culture encourages us to push against and challenge the limits in all areas of life, physical, social, sexual, spiritual and economic. One advertisement begins with the claim “Today there are no limits!” and illustrates with bungee-jumping, parasailing and wake-boarding adventures. Perhaps we have missed the most important purpose for a higher education. With all our learning we should learn, contrary to the secular culture, that life has limits. But there is one activity in life that has no limits. It is Christian love. ^[3]

He can say that there is no limit to Christian love because Christian love already precludes those things that would be harmful to people. Love cannot be divorced from righteousness and holiness, and God forbids only those things that will ultimately prove harmful to us. It is my hope that you will take this information in appendix C and keep it in your Bible or on your bed stand and read it weekly or monthly using it to examine yourself to see if you are progressing in Christian love. These traits should become habitual actions, so that you will eventually do them naturally because they have become an integral part of yourself, like Jesus. This is what the Apostle had in mind when he wrote, " ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,

⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,

⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5 to 8, NRSV)

This says it all: love like Jesus loved in humility and obedience to God the Father.

[1] Alan F. Johnson, 1 Corinthians. The IVP New Testament Commentary, vol. 7, (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 249, as found in Libronix.

[2] Alan F. Johnson, 249, as found in Libronix.

^[3] Alan F. Johnson, 252, as found in Libronix.

A Biblical Definition of Love

Love is surrender to God and obedience to God's commands. It is action that comes from the will to choose to do what is right and good according to God’s commandments regardless of the personal cost, because God did the same for you. Love "does not insist on its rights for personal gain over relationships" but manifests itself in holiness and righteousness and in:

___compassion (COL 3:12)

___kindness (COL 3:12; 1 COR 13:4)

___humility (COL 3:12; EPH 4:2)

___meekness/gentleness (COL 3:12; EPH 4:2)

___patience (COL 3:12; EPH 4:2; 1 COR 13:4)

___forgiveness (COL 3:13)

___bears with one another. (COL 3:13; EPH 4:2; 1 COR 13:7)

___speaking the truth (EPH 4: 25)

___speaking for edification and grace (EPH 4: 29)

___being devoted to one another (ROM 4:10)

___giving preference to one another (ROM 4:10)

___rejoicing in hope (ROM 4:12; 1 COR 13:7)

___persevering in tribulation (ROM 4:12; 1 COR 13:7)

___devoted himself to prayer (ROM 4:12)

___attributing to the needs of the saints (ROM 4:13)

___blessing those who persecute you (ROM 4:14)

Love results in:

___peace (COL 3:15; EPH 4: 3)

___harmony(COL 3:13)

___unity (COL 3:14; EPH 4:3)

___fear must leave! (1 John 4: 18)

___abhor what is evil (ROM 12:9)

Love is not present in:

___fornication (COL 3: 5)

___impurity (COL 3: 5)

___passion (COL 3: 5)

___evil desire (COL 3: 5)

___greed which is idolatry (COL 3: 5)

___ stealing (EPH 4: 28)

Love works to overcome the peace in ourselves:

___anger /bitterness (COL 3: 8; EPH 4:31)

___rage/wrath (COL 3: 8; EPH 4:31)

___malice (COL 3: 8; EPH 4:29, 31)

___slander (COL 3: 8; EPH 4:31)

___abusive speech (COL 3: 8)

___jealousy (1 COR 13:4)

___bragging/boasting (1 COR 13:4)

___arrogance/pride (1 COR 13:4)

___seeking its own (1 COR 13:5)

___being easily provoked (1 COR 13:5)

___keeping accounts of wrongs suffered (1 COR 13:5)

___rejoicing in unrighteousness (1 COR 13:6)

The Short Definition of Love:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5 -8, ESV)

So This Is Love Part Six: Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Scripture: John 3:16-18; Romans 5:5-11; 1 John 4:19; John 14:15-31; Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-34; Exodus 20:1-18; (Matthew 5:22-30; 19:16-26; 28:18-20); John 13:34-35; Colossians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:8, 16 & 18; Mark 8:34-35; Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 13

Sermon:

"Fear," even the mention of that word can cause a person's heart to pound, blood pressure to go up and breathing to become rapid and restricted. Fear has become a part of life for many of us. Some of our fears are rational like being afraid of bears in the woods or snakes that are poisonous, but many of our fears are irrational. Science has given many of these a special name. We know them as phobias. There are phobias that I didn't even know existed such as: "Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people. Aerophobia: fear of drafts. Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple. Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people. Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body. Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body. Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights. Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings. Thalassophobia: fear of being seated. Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking. Odontophobia: fear of teeth. Graphophobia: fear of writing in public. Phobophobia: fear of being afraid."  Some people are afraid of large bodies of water. Some are afraid of heights, and some are afraid of storms. One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"

Regardless of how old or young you are, you struggle with fear at some time or other in your life. Fear brings with it torment and can destroy your quality of life. Fear robs us of God's peace or shalom, the fact of well-being in every area of life, mentally, physically (both health and material needs), emotionally and spiritually. The Scriptures we are dealing with today show us how to overcome fear. Read the 1John 4:7-11, 15-18:

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

 ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 ⁹ God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

 ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 ¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

¹⁵ God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.

 ¹⁶ So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

 ¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.

 ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. (NRSV)

Jesus commanded us that to love him is to obey his commandments. The first commandment was to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. The second commandment is to love one another. John is picking up on this commandment in this passage. His rationale to love God and others comes from the reality that God loves us. Therefore we have access to the love that comes from God, and this should be enough to get us beyond our personal hang-ups and enable us to love others. In fact, John goes so far as to say that if the person does not love his brother or sister, he or she does not even know God. We are pretty good at rationalizing and excusing ourselves to make exceptions for personal grudges we like to carry. However, John does not leave us much wiggle room.

So This Is Love Part Five: Do All as unto the Lord

Scripture: John 3:16-18; Romans 5:5-11; 1 John 4:19; John 14:15-31; Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 12:28-34; Exodus 20:1-18; (Matthew 5:22-30; 19:16-26; 28:18-20); John 13:34-35; Colossians 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:8, 16 & 18; Mark 8:34-35; Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 1 3:16

Sermon:

Jesus, Lover of My Soul (It’s All About You)

by Paul Oakley (1995)

It's all about you, Jesus

And all this is for you, for your glory and your fame

It's not about me, as if you should do things my way

You alone are God and I surrender to your ways

Jesus, lover of my soul

All consuming fire is in your gaze

Jesus, I want you to know

I will follow you all of my days

For no one else in history is like you

And history itself belongs to you

Alpha and Omega, you have loved me

And I will share eternity with you

I've often said that some of the best messages today do not come from our pulpits; they come from our Christian songwriters. This song written in 1995 by Paul Oakley beautifully communicates what we have been learning in Scripture. It is especially descriptive of Colossians 3. "It's all about you, Jesus;" all of this life is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our buildings, our worship, our work, our studies and how we relate to one another are all about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our human nature goes against the things of God. "We want what we want;" that is human nature. That is also sin because it causes us to rebel against God and his ways. Our culture encourages our human nature. Our desires become wants, and our wants become needs. We are told we deserve what we desire.

Culture is a very powerful force that permeates every area of our lives. On the positive side culture is designed to help us to know how to interact with one another. On the other hand it may direct us in ways that contradict God's word. Many times its influence is so subtle that we are not aware of it's effect on our attitudes and actions. Let us look at how culture has affected our understanding of love. Biblically, love is obedience to God's commands. It is action that comes from the will to choose to do what is right and good according to God’s commandments regardless of the personal cost, because God did the same for you. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Romans 5 tells us that while we were God's enemies because we sined and were ungodly and helpless to do anything about it He justified us and reconciled us to himself by Jesus’ blood. Those who rely on Jesus are now grafted into God’s family with all the privileges of that reconciliation. What should our response be?

John answers this when he` says, “ We love because he first loved us. Jesus told us that if we love him we will obey him just as he loves the Father and obey Him. He gave us the Great Commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and with all your strength. And he gave us the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus connected this with the 10 Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Jesus also expanded these 10 Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount. Paul picks up on these ideas in Colossians 3.

Paul opens this passage with several imperatives. "Keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" and "set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth." This does not mean that we are to walk around with our heads in the clouds oblivious to things around us. It does mean that we are to remember that heaven is our true home. We are only strangers passing through this world. We are on a journey that will last a limited number of years on earth and will result in eternity with God in heaven for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ. We are very much aware of the struggles we face and the struggles of those around us, but we know the God who created us and has answers for every need. While we are here our responsibility is to love God and to love others the way God loves us. This means we must obey God's commandments. With the Great Commandment to love God and the second commandment to love people, the 10 Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount in mind Paul gives another imperative, “ Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly…” (Col3:5 NRS)

This command to "put to death whatever in you is earthly" uses Greek terminology that corresponds to disease or atrophied body parts that must be cut away for the health of the patient, like a foot that has become gangrene because of poor circulation. This image matches Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus did not stop with adultery but expanded that to include lusting after her a woman in your mind. He also said that to be angry with someone and the harbor bitter feelings against them with Sam just the same as murder was sin. Jesus used hyperbole, exaggeration, of plucking out and eye or cutting off a hand if it is going to cause us to sin in order to drive home to us the seriousness of our rebellion against God.

Paul lists five things we are to put to death in us "fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry." This is a list of actions that a Christian who loves God must not do. Fornication comes from the Greek word pornea. It is the root of the English word pornography. Fornication refers to "every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse." [1] According to Scripture the only lawful sexual intercourse is found in the context of marriage between a man and a woman as in the creation of Adam and Eve. "Impurity… denotes (any) immoral sexual conduct." [2] Passion may be translated with the word lust and "has a primary connotation of uncontrolled sexual appetite." [3] "Evil desire... denotes desire for something forbidden, including sexual desire...” [4] It “controls him and it reveals... his separation from God..." [5] "Greediness... normally... refers to the sin of acquisitiveness, the insatiable desire to lay hands on material things," [6] this may also include people such as a man's desire to possess a woman. James Dunn, scholar and author, says greed is "the ruthless insatiableness …." [7] This insatiable, ruthless desire to possess things or people constitutes idolatry because it puts our wants ahead of God's ways.

Most scholars see a progression in this list from the overt acts back through the steps that lead to that act. In this light we might read this list as put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication (unlawful sexual intercourse) which comes as a result of impurity (any immoral sexual conduct) and impurity results from unbridled Passion (uncontrolled sexual appetite) and passion results from evil desires ( the desire for something forbidden) which results from greed (a person's insatiable desire to possess things) which is idolatry which is sin. See how actions do not " just happen ." They are a working out from the heart. We want what we want. This flies in the face of contemporary thinking in our culture that would tell us that people are made that way and cannot help themselves, but it is God's view of what we are doing. Our culture would argue that no one gets hurt when there are two consenting adults in such behavior. However, since the sexual revolution of the 1960s when there were approximately 6 to 8 STDs there are now over 80 including the deadly HIV virus. Also when you participate in sexual activity outside of the context of marriage you are causing yourself and the other person to sin against God regardless of whether you are both consenting or not. God considers the actions and attitudes so severe that He does not want them to be a part of his body in any way shape or form. We are to put on the new self. We are to be like Christ. Since God is holy, we are to be holy. To continue to do these things would be like painting an old rusty car. You would not paint over rust, but you would sand the rust away or remove the part that is too severely damaged by rust and replace it with an unblemished part. Otherwise the rust would eat through the finish and not just destroy the new coat of paint but the rest of the body as well. Likewise Paul commands us put to death the things that would destroy our faith. Cut off these things that will destroy the body of Christ like a gangrene foot will eventually poison the entire body. Paul stands with Jesus in the seriousness of sin. His next list is a little different.

Paul’s second list of vices deals with the tongue, what we say and how we say it. Perhaps God knows that we have a better chance of controlling our actions then we do over our speech. The tongue is a fire.... no one can tame the tongue -- (it is) a restless evil full of deadly poison." (James 3: 5 - 8, NRSV) Controlling our tongues is one of the most difficult things for us to do. All we need to do is become overly tired and the next thing we know we are saying something to hurt someone. Perhaps that is why Paul precedes this list with the command to remove these things from us like we would take off dirty clothes. It is something we must work at each day. You must examine yourself and look for ways that you have given in to anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech. Jesus showed us the dangers of anger in the Sermon on the Mount. "Wrath" can be translated rage, the action that results when we explode from pent up anger. "Malice" is to hurt someone intentionally either from your actions or more frequently for your words that would include slander, abusive language and lying. These things destroyed relationships because they "poison communication and breed suspicion instead of mutual trust." [8] Words spoken carelessly or with the intention to hurt someone have the power to destroy fellowship and to undermine unity in the church. They are "a restless evil full of deadly poison." We must work at removing such hurtful and hateful words from our daily lives. Just as we remove soiled clothing each day, bathe and put on clean clothes, so we must examine ourselves, repent of and ask forgiveness for the hurtful things we say, the anger we harbor against one another and the lies we tell, for gossip and slander that destroy unity and kill ministries. In the final list Paul tells us what we must do.

Just as we must remove dirty clothes each day and shower signifying the removal of the hurtful things we have done, so too, each day we must put on clean clothes. "As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved," we must work daily to make "compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" an increasingly greater part of our lives. Each of these qualities have been attributed to God in Scripture. "Compassion" was used exclusively of God by the Jews of Jesus' day. "Kindness" alludes to God's merciful kindness that he showed us that the death of his son Jesus to redeem us from sin. We must show that kindness to others. "Humility" is not self abasement; it is thinking of others’ needs over your own wants like Jesus did when he gave up his powers and rights and left heaven to come to earth to live as a man. He was thinking of our need for a Savior and not his own personal well-being. "Meekness" is often translated as gentleness, and means great power under equally great self-control. It does not mean to be soft or spineless. You do not have to let people walk all over you. It does require "a willingness to waive one's rights rather than to be concerned for personal gain in one's relations with others." [9] . "Patience" is the "ability not to become frustrated and enraged but to make allowances for others’ shortcomings…” [10] These are qualities that build relationships, enhance communication and promote feelings of acceptance and well-being.

Two additional qualities that Paul talks about are to "bear with one another" and to "forgive each other." In any organization or group of people there will be some people who irritate you. Someone at sometime will do something to hurt you. On your part from time to time you may irritate or hurt someone else. The church is no exception. What is different about God's people is their patience in bearing with people and forgiving people when these things happen so as not to destroy the bond of love that we have in Christ Jesus. Paul's next command is to put on love.

Love is what enables us to acquire these qualities that promote good relationships and heal broken bodies, minds and spirits. These qualities of bearing with people, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience are the working out of our love for God. Love as demonstrated by these qualities is what brings unity and maturity to God's people. This love must be demonstrated in our worship when we come together by the teaching and preaching and singing of the word of God. Our fast paced, entertainment based feel good culture works against this. Robert Wall, scholar, author and teacher, notes:

I have noticed a disturbing trend among my students, many of whom come from devout families and growing churches: they are biblically illiterate and therefore spiritually fragile. In many congregations worship has become a spectator sport, geared to a generation fashioned by the slick tricks of the media. The “feel good” experience has replaced the hard discipline of knowing God in spirit and truth. The church’s vocation in the world is to be of and for God, and this is a difficult and often costly calling. Christians today must have minds as tough as nails, able to cut through the vapid secularism and materialism of our world with the “word of truth.”

Every believer today is under siege; the church’s witness—even its faith in God—is threatened by the norms and values of a pervasively anti-God world . To support and direct God’s people for their daily battles, preaching must be informed by a rigorous study of biblical texts. The church’s teaching ministry must help its members understand all of life through a scriptural filter. If we are to know the truth and the demands of God’s reign and to better understand the deceits of our anti-God world, so that we are prepared to worship and bear witness to the Lord, our congregations need to gather closely around the Scriptures. ^[11]

What passes for preaching today makes a single point with many illustrations, makes people feel good about themselves, is entertaining and requires little of the people listening. This is how we want it, and we want what we want.

Our love and worship must carry over into every part of our lives throughout the week because "Christ is all, and in all." As our song says, "It's all about you, Jesus. And all this is for you, for your glory and your fame. " That is why Paul says, "and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father through him." When all of life is about Jesus and love and worship carry over into every part of our lives, peace will rule in your heart. This peace is the equivalent of the Old Testament shalom which encompassed total well-being of spirit, mind, emotions and things needed for a good life. When you're at peace within yourself it is easier to be at peace with others. Harmony and unity are the byproducts of love that brings peace, and love is shown in obedience to God's ways.

So this is love: love is obedience to God's commands. It is action that comes from the will to choose to do what is right and good according to God’s commandments regardless of the personal cost, because God did the same for you. Love manifests itself in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiveness. These lists of things not to do and not to say and of qualities we are to have are not to be made into list of do's and don'ts that we follow in order to make ourselves righteous in God's eyes. They must not become a set of legalistic rules. Adherence to these prohibitions and admonitions must be the result of an intimate relationship with God as reflected in our song:.

It's all about you, Jesus

And all this is for you, for your glory and your fame

It's not about me, as if you should do things my way

You alone are God and I surrender to your ways

As you go through life make this your motto, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

[1] BKG as quoted by Peter T. O' BRIEN, volume 44, Word Biblical commentary: Colossians -- Philemon, (Dallas, TX: Word, Inc., 2002), P. 178. As found in Libronix,.

[2] Peter T. O'Brien, P. 182.

[3] Andrew T. Lincoln, "The Letter to the Colossians," The New Interpreters Bible, volume 11, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000), page 642.

[4] James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: A Commentary on the Greek Text, (Grand Rapids Michigan: William B. Eerdmans publishing, 1996), 214. As found in Libronix.

[5] Peter T. O'Brian, P. 182.

[6] Peter T. O'Brian, P. 182.

[7] James DG Dunn, page 215. As found in Libronix.

[8] Lincoln, 643.

[9] Lincoln, 647.

[10] Lincoln, 647.

^[11] Robert W. Wall, Colossians & Philemon (, The IVP New Testament commentary seriesDowners Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Co