2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness
The concentration camp was a proving ground of character. Some……..slithered into a moral swamp. Others…..chiseled themselves a character of finest crystal. We were cut with a sharp instrument. It’s blade bit painfully into our bodies, yet in our souls it found fields to till. We had all become just our bare essence. A man was seen and valued for what he really was (Auschwitz survivor Witold Pilecki, 1945)
God is looking for the bare essence of a man, the bare essence of a woman. God commands light to shine forth from darkness. We are the darkness. In our unbroken state we are covered with this veneers. And the multitude of these thin veneers makes for a formidable barrier that is in opposition to Christ’s work in us.
These veneers are legion and vary from person to person. Pride, arrogance, airs and graces, civility, morality, insecurity, security are but a few. All of it is flesh and when the veneers are burned away we are left with who we truly are. And for the saint who we truly are is so far removed from God that it horrifies us. The light of God shines into the darkness. It breaks us in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. It consumes the darkness in us and fills us with His light. It is this light that shines forth from darkness. It is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The glow from Moses face was the glow of condemnation. The light we find in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ is the transforming light of reconciliation.
It bursts forth from broken earthen vessels. These earthen vessels are the bare essence of men and women. Jesus is truly seen, we are truly witnesses of Him when we, in our broken state, shine forth the light of Christ from hearts that have been renewed and restored to fellowship with the Father. There was nowhere that this more illustrated than on Calvary. The darkest of darkness. As Jesus hung there, even the natural light fled away as the world was consumed by gross darkness. And out of that gross darkness God the Father commanded that light would shine forth. Leaving the empty dark tomb behind, Jesus stepped out into glory. Victory won the day. He arose. We too arise in the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The best of man is still filthy rags to God, but the righteousness of Christ triumphs in the hearts of men over the gross darkness. Men and woman of God are seen for who they truly are, vessels filled with the light of Christ which is the glory of God.
The farmer in the natural engages in what is known as animal husbandry. He is involved in every aspect of the animals under his care. No matter the weather, he takes care of them. Night or day, the coldest winter or the hottest summer, in his own sickness and in health, for better or for worse he is there. He protects them not only from the weather but from predators and wolves. The Lord’s shepherds do the same. If you are a shepherd of souls then it does not matter if you are sick or tired, the sheep still need to be fed. It does not matter how the shepherd “feels,” the sheep still need to be fed. Such is the calling upon the lives of the servants of God. And into the heart of the shepherd is gifted a supernatural love for those under his care, the shepherd will gladly lay down his life for the sheep.
Feed my sheep. This is what the Lord says to Peter. It’s interesting that for the most part you don’t feed sheep as such. You do lead them to green pastures where they then feed. The leading is the feeding. That is what it means to feed the sheep, you lead them to green pastures. The Lord Jesus Christ is green pastures. His work in our lives is green pastures. His Word is green pastures. His fellowship is green pastures. His Holy Spirit is green pastures. The place before His throne is green pastures. Forgiveness is green pastures. Loving your enemies is green pastures. All of these things and so much more are food to the heart and the mind and the spirit of the sheep. And they have to be reminded and led to these places that feeds their souls. First and foremost led to Jesus. Pointed to Jesus. Reminded that He is the way the truth and the life. That He is preeminent. The green pastures could be forgiveness, forgiveness from God reminded to forgive their enemies , forgive their loved ones, forgive themselves. Even though they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, still the shepherd leads them to and makes them lie down in green pastures. This is feeding the sheep.
Psa 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
I was around the age of twenty the first time I ever flew on a plane.. As a boy growing up in Scotland, overcast skies were normal. In Scotland you can often go a month without seeing a blue sky. Imagine my surprise when we broke through the clouds and I discovered that there was an eternal and perpetual blue sky. Growing up with almost endless cloud cover had conditioned me. I reveled in this blue sky. I would never look at the clouds the same way again, for I now knew what lay just beyond them. Imagine the tragedy for saints who labor under a perpetual cloud cover. To never know the intimacy of God. To never, in a sense, see His smiling face.
The barrier between God and us is more often than nought self made. We often forget the pleasure that God has in us. We forget that the whole purpose of our existence is for His will and for His good pleasure. Tozer suggests a few titles for the man made barriers that keep us from seeing the smiling face of God. He calls it a wall of obscurity. 1. Self will. 2. Ambition. 3. Fear. 4. Self love.. 5. Money. 6. Fear of people and what they think. There are more to be sure and each one mentioned would take a long time to expound, but you get the idea. Just one of them, or some combination of them, form a barrier between us and the smiling face of God. Almost all of our activity in our walk revolve around them and they are a major distraction to who we are and the God that loves us.
I want you to ponder on this for a moment and do not confuse this with cheap grace. God loves His children, God loves you. His face towards you is smiling. He loves you. He saved you. He took the ashes of your life and He is making something beautiful out of it. His thoughts towards you are more numerous than the sands of the sea shore. He knows you by name and your name has been on His lips. The walls that you have erected that obscure the light of His glory shining down on you must come down. The wind of the Spirit must blow again in your life and that wind shall blow away the clouds. If you reach out your hand to Him He will take it. If you seek Him with all of your heart then you will stand under a beautiful blue sky with your hands raised toward heaven as you bask in the warmth of His love. Today saints, today is the day and now is the time.
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
It’s sometimes hard to sleep when our thoughts have been taken captive by anything other than Jesus. Paul said that he was troubled on ever side but not distressed. Perplexed but not despairing. Persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. He had “learned,” to be content in every situation. No magic wand, but trust. He had walked through enough fires to have learned there was another in there he could see. He had been through enough waters to know the One who was holding back the sea. Taking our thoughts captive by lifting our eyes to Jesus. Anxiety is swept away and we are flooded with a peace that surpasses all understanding.
There can be no doubt that faith is forged in the fire and the tempering of our spirits happens when we are plunged into the waters. When the wind and the waves have done their work, and only that which was anchored remains, then we begin to see the saint come forth. Come forth from the fire, come forth from the storm, come forth from the grave clothes. Jesus stands and beckons us to “come forth.” When nothing should survive then we come forth and thrive by the power and the will and the good pleasure of the righteous hand of God. If you are in the fire today, do not cry out to God to quench the flames, rather pray that God Himself will sustain you in their midst. If the storm threatens to engulf you, do not pray to be rescued from it but rather to be sustained in its depths. If there is a mountain that stands in your way, do not pray for its removal but rather pray for the strength to scale its heights. In this way the mountain is removed and God is glorified and the saint lies down and sleeps in peace.
As I was walking and praying today, the Holy Spirit dropped this phrase into my spirit, “Debilitating Doldrums.” Now, that word “doldrums,” is an old sailors term for a geographical spot slightly north and slightly south of the equator in the Atlantic sea between Brazil and Africa. It is a corridor, if you like, that in days of old, if sailors found themselves there, they could be stranded for weeks because there is no wind there. The effects of the Doldrums are caused by solar radiation from the sun, as sunlight beams down directly on the area around the equator. This heating causes the air to warm and rise straight up rather than blow horizontally. The result is little or no wind, sometimes for weeks on end. Many sailors ran out of food and water and died there.
How does this relate to the saints? Oftentimes yesterdays failures causes in us a period of reflection and regret and remorse. None of that is wrong in and of itself and in fact is a vital part of who we are as God’s children. Yet, if we get stuck there, if this inner reflection goes beyond a point that is healthy, it takes the wind out of our sails. We shall find ourselves in the doldrums. The wind of the Spirit does not blow. Our spiritual resources begin to dry up. We become morose. The only solution for the sailors of old and for those of us who find ourselves there, is for the wind to blow. We must pray that the wind will blow again as we take our eyes of ourselves and look to skies.
If the wind begins to blow, no matter how small the breeze, remember this. You have to raise the sails to catch the wind. That is our part. An unhealthy inner refection with our eyes upon ourselves brought us into this place, and raising the sails once the wind blows will take us out. Remember the four Rs. 1.Reflection 2.Regret. 3.Remorse.4. Repentance. All of these make up the corridor of the doldrums. They all come because of the direct gaze of God upon our lives and our actions. And when they have found their proper place then the winds of forgiveness begin to blow. We have to accept that we are forgiven by God then we have to forgive ourselves. We must let His forgiveness carry us from that place so that we can continue the journey. Do not die in the doldrums, rather catch the wind and live.
2Sa 15:25 And the king said unto Zadok, carry back the ark of God back into the city: if I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his dwelling place.
What a tragic event that is unfolding in the life of David. He is no longer a younger man and yet faces civil war with none other than his own son. It must have been with the heaviest of hearts that David leaves the city. He had been through so much in his life and who could blame him if he thought “have I not had enough?” Yet we see none of that. David would not use the Ark, unlike Eli and his wicked sons, as some kind of magic talisman in times of desperation. David had learned well the lessons of what it means to take little thought for the honor of God.
No, David would simply rely upon God to restore him. And as the balanced man of God he was, he says “but if He says this: I have no delight in you, here I am. let Him do to me as seems good.” Oh how my heart longs for the saints to know and understand and trust the Lord in this manner. The will of God above all else. The voice of God that stills the seas. The commands of God that calls forth the dead. The heart of God that already promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. Peace be still. David may have been desperately sad, but he was not desperate. He was already mourning the loss of his son. The prophet knew in his heart. He knew he would come again to Jerusalem. He knew his son would die. He knew that this momentary departure would be just that. What faith we see from the man after Gods own heart.
Do you trust Him in this manner saints? Whether you live or whether you die will you praise the Living God for no other reason than He is worthy? If your sickness be unto death will you still praise Him still? If He kills you will you yet trust Him? The idea brothers and sisters is that He is so much bigger than we even know. He is high and lifted up and sees your circumstances in their totality and at the very same time He is in the midst of them with you. Can you see the vastness of God? For in the context of that vastness are not our problems made small? In the midst of your great turmoil can you see that you will return to His dwelling place? You will. He will show you. Lift up your eyes and see.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
This phrase “earnestly contend,” is a very rich and deep. The Greek word for it is “epagōnizomai.” Look within the word, can you see the word agonize? It is not about arguments and meaningless debates over theologies of men, its about agonizing within your very heart and soul over what is true and what is not. There is a diligence in searching the Word of God and letting the Holy Spirit speak to you in the profound simplicity of how it is presented to us. God forbid that we would change the Word or add to it or take away from it. Have you agonized over where you stand and why? Is there all diligence in you in these matters? Do you not believe you will be called to account on these matters?
Paul tells the Thessalonians that they know he was bold to speak to them about the faith, the gospel, in “much conflict.” (1 Thess 1:2) Here the word conflict in the Greek is “agōn.” There is an agony of heart and soul and spirit when one is involved with the faith and the Gospel. It is not simply some debate or a match up of wills and intellect. No, rather it is of life and death. The truth. That very substance that flows through the veins of every saint. It is our life-blood. Jesus Himself. Every single martyr down through the ages, whether they contended against the errors of a Roman church or a Protestant world, agonized in this contest between light and darkness. They could not relent, for upon the Word of Truth and the way of God was their very life. It was no longer they that lived but Christ that lived within them.
Jude tells us that certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old, ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. He likened them to the angels who did not keep their first estate, beings who wanted power and influence rather than live in the magnificent humble shadow of our glorious King. These men, Jude says were clouds without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Jude reminds them that they were foretold by the Apostles about such men, wolves and false prophets.
These are men who do not have the Spirit of God according to Jude. Recognize them saints. Build yourself up in the faith, with diligence praying in the Holy Spirit. Discern between who can be reached and who cannot in these matters. It requires the wisdom and the discernment of God. Stay within the safe harbor of love and mercy. Discern between the weak or the wilful, the Holy Spirit knows. He leads and He guides and He knows the hearts of men. If the Holy Spirit resides within you. If you have received the love of the truth, none of this will be optional. The agony is in direct proportion to the glory. People will advise you to stay quiet, keep your head down, stay of the radar. None of these things are possible on the battlefield that the Lord Himself has called you to. Stand strong saints and embrace the agony and the glory.
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees You. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.(Job 42:5-6)
How many people have only ever heard of God? They grow up hearing about God. They go to their churches and hear about God. The hearing of Him has affected their lives in certain ways and directed their paths in a certain manner. They have heard words like “majesty,” and “glory.” They know about God’s power in their heads and with their understanding but in the depths of their hearts it is nothing more than information. Information does not change the heart, revelation does. It is the revelation of God that causes a man to see himself as he truly is in the light of the majesty and the glory of God. That is why the goodness and the severity of God are one and the same thing.
O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.(Daniel) I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple…… Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isaiah) Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak:………Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth (Jeremiah) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.(The Apostle John)
Behold the goodness and the severity of God when we see Him, when we encounter Him, when we have a revelation of Him. When He is no longer simply words and information. We fall down as any man would in the presence of glory. It is He who raises us back up, it is He who touches us in the depths of our hearts. It is He who changes us forever and sets our path before us. It is an agony to see God because we immediately see ourselves for who we truly are without Him. Without His touch, without His glory, without the Blood of the Lamb. And now the goodness of God as we come away from that place changed forever. Closer to the heart of God. The light of this world reduced to but a flickering candle in comparison to the impenetrable light of God which penetrates every part of who we are. Now, and only now are we ready to “go.”
A number of years ago I came across the story of the Decian persecution of Christians while I was doing research for a book I was writing. I did not include this in the book but it is interesting to consider the facts. Decian was the Roman Emperor in 250 ad. He issued an edict that required everyone in the Roman empire to perform a sacrifice. The sacrifice was to be made to the Roman gods, and also included a loyalty oath towards his rule as Emperor. (See above image) The sacrifice had to be carried out before a Roman magistrate who would then sign a certificate which would allow them to carry on with whatever business they were involved with. This certificate would enable them to buy or sell.
The particular region I was studying was Carthage. It was expected that there would be great resistance to this from the Christian community and indeed this was part of the motivation for the decree in the first place. Imprisonment and death were the penalties for those who refused to participate in the sacrifice. The Carthaginian authorities settled on the days that the city was to participate. They were totally taken by surprise by the large numbers of “Christians,’ who rushed to “get their certificate.” They had to extend the time they had allotted for the sacrifices and certificate signing.
Out of the group that refused to be involved in sacrificing to gods, many were martyred, others were imprisoned and still others went into hiding. Interestingly, at the same time as this “empire wide,” persecution, a plague had broken out and was killing up to five thousand Romans per day. This only added to the hatred of Christians as they were deemed to be in some way responsible for this. And so, when this particular persecution ended, there was a great deal of tension between those who had stood their ground for Jesus and those who had capitulated in order to save themselves.
This was not the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last. The Diocletian persecution would be the most intense staring at around 300ad and last for around a decade. Again the spit would happen. A large majority would capitulate and deny the faith, the smaller minority would be killed, imprisoned or flee. When the smoke cleared from this latest persecution, the larger group that had capitulated to the state would be the group favored by Constantine. No surprise that the Emperor would choose the group who he could count on to bow the knee to him and the State. That group were the Catholics. The minority group, the group that had refused to hand over their scriptures to the State and to bow the knee, were known as “Donatists.’ They refused to acknowledge anyone who had capitulated to Rome as a Christian. For this they were hunted down and killed.
I would just like to say that some things never change. There is and always has been a large group, a majority group, within the world that identifies itself as Christian, that will not “stand in the evil day.” It is such an evil day that separates the sheep from the goats. It is the storm that tests the foundations of the house. It is not what a man or woman calls themselves that counts for anything, it is who they actually are. Those who have received the love of the truth, who are genuinely born again, will stand in that day. They will be martyred, they will be imprisoned or they will flee. What they will not do, what they could never do, what they have never done, is to deny their Lord. As it was, so it always shall be until that glorious day when Christ returns.
2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation not to be regretted : but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Whether we are talking about salvation itself or the repenting of a genuine saint from some fall from grace we see here the same principal in operation. Godly sorrow. It precedes the repentance. Whether that be for a day, a week, a month or a season, it is the direct operation of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts and minds of people. It must have its conclusion, and if Godly, will lead to life. Now there is a counterfeit, its the sorrow of the world and it leads to death. It is not genuine sorrow, it is more akin to regret. The genuinely convicted will know and understand at his core that he has sinned against God and Him alone, and it is He that he has the issue with. Not so with the worldly sorrow which is self absorbed. Introspective narcissism does not lead to genuine repentance.
Genuine Godly sorrow has its marks as it does its work in its season. Titus reports to Paul in chapter seven that the Corinthians had an earnest desire and they mourned. It produced a diligence in them. They were persistent in their in their efforts to make themselves right with God. They had come to the throne room of God and Paul uses the phrase “what clearing of yourself,” they experienced. They cried out to God and God forgave them and this brought great joy. It brought them vindication, not from Paul, but from God Himself the only one who can vindicate us of our sin. In all things they had proved themselves to be clear in this matter. This is life changing. This is David crying our to God in psalm 51 acknowledging that he had sinned against God alone. He wanted the joy of His salvation restored. Create in me a clean heart was the cry of the warrior poet who was King David.
This is the agony of the true Godly repentance, never to be regretted which leads to life. For those who know God or who are soon to know Him understand their true state, not because of introspection and a desire to clean up their act or turn over a new leaf, but a genuine desire to be right with God the Father. And this genuine desire, this knowing of their true state is the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the saved and the those who seek to be saved. The genuine saint goes deeper into the Lord and it produces life in him and that more abundantly. Those who display the sorrow of the world, even although they may fool some for a season, always die. One road leads to life, the other leads to death.
2Co 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, plead with you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Paul cries out to the Corinthians here in this portion of the letter. He starts the chapter by pleading with them not to receive the grace of God in vain. That is a very stern warning. You get the feeling Paul is about to really share with the Corinthians some very hard truths. He then describes the life of those who minister for the cause of Christ. Here is the list from verses 4-6. Tribulations, needs, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness and fastings. Here is how we arm ourselves against such things according to Paul…..purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, the word of truth, the power of God and by the armor of righteousness.
What a list brothers and sisters. What a description of what it means to follow the Lord and to suffer for His sake. And even although you will have honor in the Kingdom, you will be dis-honored here on earth. You will have a good report in the heavenlies, but in the world, an evil report. You will walk in truth but be known as deceivers. You will be unknown in this world yet well known in the Kingdom of God. It will appear as though you are dying due to your many tribulations, but you will be alive in Christ. Your situation may cause some to feel sorrow for you but you yourself will be rejoicing. It may appear that you are poor and have nothing but you enrich the saints in the Kingdom. It looks like you have nothing but you have gained eternal riches.
This is the path of the saints, few there are that find it. Paul urges us to have fellowship with like-minded people and not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion could light possibly have with darkness? The saints are the temple of the Living God and there can be no quarter given to idols. God has promised to “dwell in them and walk among them, I will be their God and they shall be my people.” In a world where the vast majority of those who attend assemblies are mere professors and identify themselves by their unrighteousness, we are told to “come out from among them and be separate and do not touch what is unclean says the Lord.” And to those who follow this command the promise of the Lord is that “I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters.” Stand strong saints, for His grace in you is not in vain.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life (Joh 5:39-40)
Imagine you had a map. A treasure map. It was very detailed and if followed, would lead you to the treasure which would change your whole life. You would be rich beyond imagination. Would it serve you well to study this map? Yes. Then study it more? Yes. How about you just studied the map all of your life but you never followed the map to the treasure? Would that not be madness? The whole point of the map is the treasure. The map in and of itself, the actual piece of paper on which it was written has no intrinsic value other than it leads you to the treasure. Jesus is the treasure and every part of the Word of God points towards Him.
A tragic breakdown in Evangelical circles is how we have used doctrine as a substitute for Spiritual experience. Spiritual experience should be the outgrowth of doctrine. But we make doctrine the end.(Tozer) Tozer is saying that doctrine is the means to the end, not the end itself. Jesus is the treasure and we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the power of God may be clearly seen in us. He breaks us down and through that very brokenness shines the light and the glory of God. It was God Himself who commanded that light would shine out of darkness. The light that He has shone upon our hearts in transformation gives the light of the knowledge and the glory of God through Jesus to a dark and broken world.
This light is the Word made flesh that dwells and sits upon the very core of who we are. It illuminates through us, through the cracks and the fissures that are created in us when we are hard presses on every side yet not crushed. It shines through us when we are perplexed but not in despair. It shines mightily in us when we are persecuted but not forsaken. It shines at it’s glorious best when we are struck down by every possible set of circumstances and we emerge from the fire not destroyed! The reality of Christ lives in us. We stand because of it, not because of some doctrine that resides only in the head. That can never bring glory to God. Yet the transformed heart that shines forth the glory of God in all its glorious reality triumphantly diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of king in a limited constitutional monarchy (think of Great Britain) The king, sometimes depersonalized by the term “the Crown,” is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a flag or a national anthem. He is lauded, feted and supported, but his real authority is small. Nominally he is head over all, but in every crisis someone else makes the decisions. On formal occasions he appears in his royal attire to deliver the tame, colorless speech put into his mouth by the real rulers of the country. The whole thing may be no more than good-natured make believe, but is rooted in antiquity, it is a lot of fun and no one wants to give it up (Tozer)
This is a quote from the last piece Tozer ever wrote. It is a confession to being part of a system that had relegated Christ to being no more than a figurehead and that same system had robbed Jesus of His authority within their gatherings. In Great Britain there is a Queen. She and her family survive within what is known as a constitutional monarchy. She has no real power. The power all resides within Parliament and the Prime Minister. These of course are elected positions, the people choose. The Queen’s main role is cutting ribbons, launching ships and drawing tourists. She also is a symbol of stability, but in the end, she could be rejected from even this limited role if the people so chose.
This is Tozer’s argument. The average church in America has relegated Jesus to a limited role. Rather than a Prime Minister, we have a senior pastor or minister. Jesus is acknowledged as Lord, of course, but it practice He has been relegated and man has taken the position. The Holy Spirit, for the most part, has no role within the average American church. The Word of God is readily dismissed in favor of tradition and customs. The Protestant world readily criticizes the Catholic mass (as well they should) as nothing more than the same thing repeated every week. (laying aside the obvious erroneous centerpiece of the Eucharist) And yet, for the most part, you also know exactly what to expect every week at your local church.
Tozer blames the following two reasons for this disaster…..1. The power of custom, precedent and tradition within older religious groups. These, like gravitation, affect every particle of religious practice withing the group, exerting a steady and constant pressure in one direction. Of course direction is toward conformity to the status quo. Not Christ but custom is Lord. And the same thing has passed over into the other groups such as the full gospel tabernacles, the holiness churches, the pentecostal and fundamental churches and the non-denominational churches found everywhere throughout the North American continent.
The second cause is the revival of intellectualism among the evangelicals. This, if I sense the situation correctly, is not so much a thirst for learning, rather a desire for a reputation of being learned. Our Evangelical faith ( which I believe to be the true faith of Christ and His Apostles) is being attacked these days from many different directions. IN the Western world the enemy has forsworn violence. He no longer comes against us with sword and fire, he now comes smiling, bearing gifts. He raises his eyes to heaven and swears that he too believes in the faith of our fathers , but his real purpose is to destroy that faith, or at least modify it to such an extent that it is no longer a supernatural thing it once was. (Tozer-The Waning Authority of Christ in the churches-pages 14-16)
Tozer lays this out almost 70 years ago, on his death bed so to speak. The old prophet saw in one last sweep of history, what had become of the professing churches. Can I say brothers and sisters, it has degraded so much more so in the last 70 years. If the authority of Jesus was waning 70 years ago in the churches, it is all but gone now. So the question becomes “what must we do.” Tozer asks that very question in the last paragraph and I will leave you with his suggestions……….
What, then, are we to do? Each one of us must decide and there are at least three possible choices. One is to rise up in shocked indignation and accuse me of irresponsible reporting. Another is to nod in general agreement with what is written here but take comfort in the fact that there are exceptions and we are among the exceptions. The other is to go down in meek humility and confess that we have grieved the Holy Spirit and dishonored our Lord in failing to give Him the place His Father has given Him as Head and Lord of the Church. Either the first or the second will but confirm the wrong. The third, if carried out to its conclusion, will remove the curse. The decision lies with us.
Phil 4:11 I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.
A dear older brother shared this story that he heard decades ago from a woman and it is one of these portions of wisdom that sticks with you. She told him that for over forty years she prayed for her circumstances to change until she finally realized that the circumstances were there to change her. This would horrify many people, especially those who are of the word of faith persuasion or the name it and claim it crowd. Yet it would be a challenge in general to all who profess Jesus as their Lord.
It is natural to want to run from difficult circumstances. It is supernatural to want to be changed by them. The fleshly man wants, above all else, deliverance from what ails him because he is at the center of his own universe. When the Lord Jesus occupies that place then the only desire is to become more like Him no matter what set of circumstances that it takes. There is a line from a worship song that says “There is another in the fire, watching over me, there is another in the water, holding back the sea.”
I suppose the question then becomes, would we rather be in the fire with God or out of the fire without Him? If we had to choose, how would we choose? Can we lie down and sleep in the boat in the midst of the storm knowing that Jesus is holding back the sea? Only the man or the woman whom God Himself has changed by the power of difficult circumstances can ever hope to be content in every situation. The key to overcoming and walking in the peace that surpasses all understanding is to give yourself fully to Jesus in the midst of the fires and the floods of life. The narrow path that leads us home is marked by fire and flood and only in Christ can we walk through them.
There is the presence of God to be found in glorious worship, the kind of worship that lifts your spirit. It can lift up the head and invigorate the heart and fill you full of joy and you leave strengthened. This is good worship. Yet there is another kind of presence of God in worship, the kind of presence that there seems to be a famine of throughout the land. The first kind of presence we spoke of lifts your heart, the second kind of presence invades every part of who you are. It falls from heaven like a heavy dew, heads are lowered and hands are raised. All becomes quiet. One barely breathes as the Spirit of God slowly descends down through our heads into our hearts and down to the very soles of our feet, and the ground upon which we stand becomes Holy ground.
The first kind of presence uplifts us, the second changes us fundamentally. As living waters pour into us then it rises up like a great river that is so full that it overflows its banks. The banks themselves begin to crumble and fall into this river of pure life as it swells up and floods every part of who we are. The landscape is being changed by this flood, the very topography of our lives is being flattened by its power and everything that is not securely rooted to its foundations is simply swept away. Changed forever. And when the flood recedes we are left with a glorious afterglow. As the deer pants for the waterbrooks, I wonder, do our hearts pant after this kind of encounter.
The Lord Himself does not need professional worship teams. He does not need people to encourage us to stand up, jump up and down and raise our hands. In the Welsh revival two young women singing either acapella or simply backed by a piano typically sang “Here is love, vast as the ocean.” And there was love, in the very midst of them, vast as the ocean, flooding the hearts and minds of all who attended. Brothers and sisters, in all our modernity, what have we lost? In the program of churches and the professional class of worship leaders and pastors we have lost the simplicity of it all. And in the losing of it we now have to entertain the people. Spirit led worship is exactly that, it is Spirit led.
In work we have a routine. In life we have a routine. Prisoners in prison have a routine. Oftentimes we are slaves to the routine, it is what gets us through life. Yet, there is nothing routine about the Holy Spirit of the Living God. He is dynamic and you can never know what way the wind will blow next. Have we sold our souls for a routine? Routine in the home, routine at work, routine at church. Routine people do not change the world. Routine people do not do wage war on the battle-fields of life. The Spirit of God is dynamic and those filled with His “dynamis,” change the environment around them because the environment inside them has been filled to capacity and is overflowing its banks. Lord fill us again to overflowing with the kind of presence that invades every part of who we are.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Oh saints, what damage has been done by men over this scripture. In eighteen short words, religious men the world over have stripped the gifts of God out of the hands of men based on a lie. The perfect is not the canon of Scripture. Jesus is perfect and when He comes again then all the gifts that edify the still imperfect Church shall cease. In that eternal state there shall be no more need for words of wisdom. In that eternal state there shall be but one heavenly language. In that eternal state we shall no longer need prophets or those who exhort the Body because the fulfillment of all things will have occurred. Love, the eternal state, shall go on for all eternity.
In this present life, in comparison to the glories of heaven, I speak as a child. I understand as a child, I think as a child. Yet in the fulfillment of all things, when the perfect has come, I will throw of this mortal childish state. I will know as I am known. For now I only see in part, but glory to God then I will see the eternal God face to face. Imagine knowing as you are known. Ponder that for a while. If the things that I know in part are glorious, what will it be like when I know the whole? The mere glimpses that I have seen of His glory has transformed my whole life, now what will be my state as I move and have my being in an eternal gaze upon Him.
Yet even now there are countless of millions of professors of the faith who would deny the reality of the glimpse. Of the supernatural experience of God. Can those who have never glimpsed and refuse to acknowledge the supernatural gifts of God ever move on to maturity? If one is not even a child then can that one become a man in God’s Kingdom? Only children of the Kingdom of God here on earth can become men and woman of God in our heavenly Father’s eternal. The children of this world will become men and women of their father in a very different eternal state. Whose child are you of? The children of light walk in the power and experience of their eternal God now, in part. Only by being a part can one become whole.
A Call To The Remnant 