Probably the most damaging feature of Calvin’s liturgy is that he led most of the service himself from the pulpit. Christianity has not yet recovered from this. Today the pastor is the MC, and CEO of the Sunday morning service-just as the priest is the MC and the CEO of the Catholic mass. This is in stark contrast to the church meeting envisioned in Scripture. According to the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is the leader, director and CEO of the church meeting. In 1 Cor 12, Paul tells us that Christ speaks through His entire Body, not just one member. In such a meeting, His Body freely functions under His headship (direct leadership) through the working of the Holy Spirit. First Cor 14 gives us a picture of such a gathering. This kind of meeting is vital for the spiritual growth of God’s people and the full expression of His Son in the earth. ( George Barna, Frank Viola-Pagan Christianity-pg 59)
The liturgy or order of service is almost exactly the same in the vast majority of churches throughout the land, whatever denomination it is. Over the last several decades, some have flirted with allowing the Holy Spirit to move among them, but have inevitably fallen back on the order of service. To follow the instructions laid down by Scripture, almost all of the so called clergy would render themselves surplus to requirements. So the clergy have always been the keepers of the status quo. A union of hirelings who have usurped the actual workings of the Holy Spirit among the Body of Christ. I would think that the vast majority of them down through the centuries have been somewhat ignorant of the fact that there is simply no clergy in the Body of Christ, and that the Priesthood of all believers cannot function and be led by the Holy Spirit where the bondage of this system exists. We can have the clergy/laity system or we can have the Holy Spirit operate among us, but we cannot have both.
George and Frank say that this kind of meeting is vital for Spiritual growth, I would agree. How can we say that we have no need of the manna that falls from heaven, but rather we have our own means of feeding ourselves? It is delusional. Spiritual growth only comes from edification. A group can grow religiously under our present system, but they cannot grow spiritually. Stagnation, with occasional bursts of energy from fires of our own making is the best that we can expect when man is in charge of the service. The numbers attending “church,” are now in free-fall all over the world. Is this the inevitable end of a system that is collapsing under the weight of its own works? I would say yes. The church system worked in a mostly religious world. We no longer live in such a world. The paradoxical difference is that while the weight of men’s works crush people spiritually, the weight of Gods presence, His Holy presence liberates them and elevates them to high and lofty places and changes them. It exhorts them, it edifies them, it humbles them.
The Lord, in His manifest presence, always speaks to the whole. If a saint needs to be encouraged, then he is encouraged. If another needs to be humbled then he is humbled. If another needs to be lifted up from the valley floor of depression and discouragement then he will find himself flying where the eagles fly and his joy shall be complete. The sinner shall find conviction that he will have to bend to, or he will have to run into the night screaming. All of this and so much more comes when the Body operates as it is instructed to operate and where the CEO is the Lord Jesus Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus must be preeminent. We must follow the dictates of the word of God or we shall simply be taken by the tide of this world and religion and be lost at sea. I would argue that for the most part, that which calls itself Christianity is lost as sea and the only way back is a strict adherence to the revealed word of God. It would not be a revival, nor would it be a reformation. It would be a revolution!!!, where the powers that be are upturned and the Lord Jesus takes His rightful place.
Can you imagine the weight of all the sorrows
From our yesterdays and all our tomorrows
All the stripes that belonged to all of us
Would be laid upon Jesus as He bore our curse
The wounds that tore His Body apart
Belonged to us, right from the start
His humiliation as He hung naked upon the tree
Was ours, it belonged to you and to me
And the nails that pierced His holy hands
Surely belonged to us, as justice would demand
A crown of thorns battered into His head
Pierced the glory and was taken in our stead
A spear in His side and nails in His feet
Brought victory in Jesus as opposed to defeat
The victory was His and He gave it to us
When glory came down from up above.
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you,
Are we modern day Christians really any different from our Galatians brothers and sisters of old? Paul says to the Galatians that they have fallen from Grace, those who desire to be under anything other than the Gospel that he himself had presented to them, but now he was an enemy to them for telling them the truth. This word “bewitched,” means to be “fascinated by a false presentation.” In the Galatians case it was the law they were fascinated with and men, who should have known better, who seem to be something in Christian circles from Jerusalem, had enticed them away from the truth, away from the Spirit and away from freedom. A fall from grace is a tragedy for it is by grace through faith that we are saved and not of works, including the works of the law, less we should boast and then the free gift is not free indeed but rather debt.
We have so many in our day who are “fascinated by a false presentation.” Consider the Charismatics and their prosperity gospel? How about men like Benny Hinn with a singular obsession with healings? MacArthur and his denial of the sign gifts of the Spirit? Catholics and every other denomination who are fascinated by their own dogmas and decrees which are quite apart from Scriptures. One man rodeo shows in the non denominational systems who promote themselves. What is the one thing they all have in common with each other and the Galatians? “They zealously court you, but not for good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.”(Gal 4:17) Think about the horror of that statement. Men and systems of men set up to promote themselves and in doing so, exclude those who follow them from entering into the freedom that Christ brought for them. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. It is for bondage that men would have you zealous for them and their systems that elevate them. Jesus has been usurped.
Who is hindering you from following the Word? This is not from God. Who elevates themselves rather than the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. In the third epistle of John he writes to “the church,” in Asia Minor. He runs headlong into a man called Diotrephes. A man who had zeaously courted the church in that region to elevate himself. A man who loved the preeminence and just like Paul, John had become their enemy because he spoke the truth. Yet there were still men like Gaius and Demetrius. Good men. Men who followed after Jesus and who “walked in the truth.” There are good men and women today who still walk in the truth. God has His remnant. They are few and far between. And there are is a scourge of men like Diotrephes who would hinder you from walking according to the truth because when we do that, Jesus, and only Jesus is elevated.
There is an inevitable clash between God’s people and men who promote themselves. John would clash with Diotrephes if he traveled there. Paul clashed with the Christian religious men of his day, and even with Paul and Barnabas over what was right and what would cause men to fall from grace. If one were in MacArthur’s church and criticized him openly, the same fate would befall them as those who criticized Diotrephes. They would be removed from the church, with violence if need be. To criticize the Catholic church over 1500 years would cause one to be excommunicated and most likely burned at the stake. To criticize the reformers would have resulted in certain banishment and oftentimes imprisonment and burnings too. It is the mark of insecure men who have set up their own systems in direct violation of God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
And then of course there is the genuine Body of Christ to be found everywhere. Oftentimes isolated perhaps. Lonely and without a church home to call their own, but always part of the Body of Christ and the family of God. Sons and daughters scattered to the four winds but not abandoned. Faithful to the Word of God and the leading of the Spirit. Illuminated by the light of Christ and the freedom that dwells within them. At liberty to speak the truth in love despite the consequences. Seeking no office and seeking no titles. Only willing to wash the feet of their brothers and sisters and feed them spiritually. Discipling everywhere they go whether to the one or the two or the two hundred. The number is not important. I encourage you this day my brothers and sisters. Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made you free and do not be entangled by the religious systems of men which causes you to become entangled by a yoke of bondage.
Walk in and according to the Spirit and men shall know you by the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, gentlesness, and self control. They shall also know you by your fierce loyalty to the Lord and to the Gospel of the Kingdom and to the Word of God. Live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit and you shall avoid jealousies pride and envy. Those who sow these things shall reap everlasting life. We shall run and not grow weary, we shall walk and not faint. We shall not lose heart when we pay due attention to the condition of our heart and walk in the aforementioned fruit of the Spirit. Love the Body of Christ with a lavish and reckless love. Let us boast in nothing other than the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and the cross upon our own backs. Let us rejoice in infirmities that God may be glorified by the excess grace He pours upon us. The world has been crucified to us, it no longer courts us. We have been crucified to the world and we no longer have any taste for its pleasures. Let the peace and the mercy and grace of God fall apon the genuine saints today and let all who read this be encouraged.
A dear sister in the Lord asked this question in a private message. My answer is below.How would you answer her question?………………..
Dear brother Frank. May I ask a question from your experience, please? (I need to sort it out with myself, by Him.) Is “JOY IN AFFLICTION” (affliction by heartache which seems to me to be with me at my old age to my end here) Is the joy an ‘outflow’ of our security and contentment in THE TRUE LOVE PEACE AND PRESENCE AND INHERITANCE IN HIM. Or is it something that comes ‘naturally’ by The Spirit …an anointing of His Spirit, amidst the affliction of broken-heartedness and loss, failure in close relationships? Or is joy an action of the will? Please could you share some Wisdom or advice with me. Thank you!
The short answer sister, its all three, or a combination of the three and any of them individually depending upon the circumstances. I believe first and foremost it is founded upon our freedom to respond. We will not automatically respond with joy in afflictions and loss and failures or when our hearts have been broken. It depends who and what we have run to in the past, who we run to in the here and now. Do we tend to run to the world? Run to our brothers and sisters? Run to the pastor or folks in the church? If we do, we will suffer longer. When the Lord Jesus has been our high tower in all things and we run to Him then we shall know joy in the midst of these situations. Joy because we know that despite all of our dire circumstances, the Lord is with us in the midst of it. The Hebrew children were sustained in the fire by the the Lord Himself who was in the fire with them.
We know that the Lord suffered and we shall suffer to. We know that we have been called to suffer and those who suffer with Christ for His sake shall rule and reign with Him eternally. We know, we who are of the Spirit, something of what the Lord suffered for us on Calvary and how much God the Father suffered to see such things. And because we “know,’ such things we know that we could never suffer as our Lord suffered. This brings us peace. What joy for the disciples, almost drowned at seas, to see the Lord come walking on the water towards them. What joy Paul and Silas found in the depths of a dungeon, beaten and broken for His sake because the one they were intimate with was with them. Out of His presence rang the praises of God and down came the power and shook the whole building. And even if they did not sense His presence initially, as they began to praise Him, despite their circumstances. the presence of God flooded the darkened chamber. Oftentimes the darkened chambers of our hearts, darkened by loss and persecution, are flooded with the light of Christ and joy comes.
There is also an element of endurance and overcoming involved in those who suffer for the Lord’s sake. If joy came forth immediately or if the presence of God came down powerfully every time we suffered then we would all want to suffer. Yet it is to those who endure and overcome are all the promises given. Weeping may endure for a night or a season but “joy comes in the morning.”Will we “endure the night?” The Hebrew children were willing to go into the flames because of their love of God and were sure God would save them “but,” if He would not save their lives in the fire they were still not going to bow down to the gods of this world. It was not about deliverance, it was about the fact that even in the presence of our enemies who hate us, God prepares a table before us. Jesus prepared a place for us and gave the Holy Spirit that we might run to that place in times of need.
Every good soldier must be willing to die or to be maimed in the battle. We know this, the the Lord Jesus will not leave us dying on the battle-field. He will ride though the fire and through the flood of the enemy to take us up upon His horse and deliver us. At the very heart of the matter lies this from a blameless man whom God loved. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. He is our joy. He is our peace. He is our everything and though though the whole world hates us and though we suffer the loss of all things we shall never suffer the loss of Jesus and the more we know that, the more joy that we have in every situation. We learn to be content.
Morning by morning He shall awaken you
And be the stillness of your soul throughout the day
He shall touch every part of your longing heart
And the shield of your faith shall quench every fiery dart
He is in every tear that falls
And in the billowing waves He hears your calls
Deep cries out to deep at the roar of Your waterfalls
And Your waves crash over me
I am consumed by the mercies of the Lord forever
It lifts me up and carries me away
Higher, deeper ever closer unto thee
This journey possible for thou has set me free
You are my quiet peace as the sun rises in the morning
You are my calm assurance at the end of every day
You are my one delight in a world that's ever changing
And at the center of my heart Your glory is ever blazing.
In everything You are my laughter in the rain
And in troubled times my endurance through the pain
Because of You I shall never be the same
My heart cries out thee.
In the silence and in the ever increasing noise
I shall steal away into the secret place of my heart
Where I can hear Your still and beautiful small voice
And in all of this You give me the strength to rejoice
You rise up in my heart like the sun above the mountains
And fill the valley of my life with waters from Your fountains
Let my heart longeth after thee in this dry and dusty land
For even in this gross dark world I can still see You hand.
A few Friday’s ago I had a dental appointment for a cleaning at 4pm. I have not had my teeth cleaned since last November due to the fact I had my hip replaced in December. My specialist told me that from now on, every time I get my teeth cleaned, I have to take antibiotics an hour before every dental visit. So, I had a Bible study in the morning with two dear brothers, then got groceries, then picked up Daniel from his day care service. Got home about 2.30, had a coffee, put my feet up and the next thing I know I was awakened by my cell phone ringing. I looked at the time, it was 3.57. The call was from the dentist “are you close?” I was so embarrassed to tell them that I had forgotten and that I could not even rush in because I had not taken my antibiotics the hour before. The secretary seemed a wee bit put out as she rearranged my appointment. We settled on the following Wednesday at noon. For those who know me, they will know I never miss appointments , and, I am always, always early. Its kinda a thing with me.
The morning of the following Wednesday I get two calls from the dentist. One early in the morning to remind me of the visit and then another an hour before to make sure I had taken my pills. I felt a wee bit miffed that I was being treated like a child but thought that I deserved it 🙂 I was seated in the big chair and the dental hygienist came in. She put her hand on my shoulder and said “when I saw your name on the schedule, I knew that God was sending me help.” Now, she knew my name, but I was embarrassed because I did not know hers. I get my teeth cleaned every six months and this lady had done them for the last couple of years. I always talked to her about the Lord. I think for those of us who are in the habit of sharing the Lord with others as often as we get the chance, we forget conversations and names sometimes. This woman knew the Lord, I knew that. I asked her what was going on. She blurted out three things. She was having a crisis of faith. She was very angry at God and she had murder in her heart. A fourth point would be added later.
I said to her “what’s going on?” She proceeds to tell me that five months ago her 21 year old grandson died of a fentanyl overdose. For 20 minutes she and his mother tried to revive him, to no avail, he died in their arms. She was angry at God she said. She felt that she had promises from God and that He had let her down. She knew who had sold her grandson the pill and the person who had encouraged him to take it even although he had attended rehab and was doing well. She wanted to kill the drug-dealer who sold her grandson the pill. She had counted the cost of doing such a thing and was willing to pay the price. One last thing, she needed to know where her grandson was, heaven or hell. If he was in hell then she wanted to forsake heaven and go to where he was. Obviously the cleaning had to stop. I had listened to most of this with my mouth opened. I asked her to put her instruments down and I spoke to her. I spoke to her with a wisdom that I myself do not possess. The Holy Spirit of the Living God spoke to her heart. Each point was addressed. I then asked her if I could pray with her right then and there. At the end of that prayer I knew her heart had been touched and she thanked me with tears.
Now brothers and sisters. This woman only works on Mondays and Wednesday. If I had not missed my appointment. If I had not fallen asleep. If I had not forgotten to take my antibiotics, I would never have seen this dear woman. As I pondered this on the way home, I thought about a chess board and how I was but one small piece. God has a free hand to do whatever He likes with His own servant for His own will and His own good pleasure. He sees it all, we see but a snapshot. I was overwhelmed, with tears, at the privilege of it all. He has the sovereign right to do with me as He pleases. I was bought with a price. A price so vast that our minds cannot comprehend it. Even although it went against everything I am in my flesh, this missed appointment was overturned for a divine appointment. He has come to set the captives free. He has come to heal the brokenhearted. He has set the steps of a righteous man. Glory be to God and may the Lord Jesus be glorified in all the earth.
Cry out you heavens and sing O mountains
For the Lord sustains you from inexhaustible fountains
He comforts His people and has mercy on the afflicted
He is never wrong and never contradicted
High above the trees in desolate heights
He warms us with His fire in the blackest of nights
And in the darkest depths of the valley below
He leads us and guides us in the ways we should go
In winters discontent when the days are dreary
He elevates His own and gives strength to the weary
Hope when no hope and joy everlasting
Clarity to confusion and deep understanding
We may well have troubles on every side
Yet are not cast down but we surely abide
In His glory, in His mercy in His very palm
The Lord our God the spotless Lamb.
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
These are words from the man who is “after Gods own heart.” A man that the Lord loves greatly. Does He not love you brothers and sisters? Could we not pray the same prayer as David many times in our lives? Cleanse me for thy sake oh Lord and I shall be clean. Wash Lord and I shall be whiter than snow. The bones that you have broken Lord, heal them within me that I may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart oh Lord and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence oh Lord and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation. Deliver me from my guilt oh Lord for I acknowledge my transgressions, for it is against You alone oh Lord that I have sinned.
This is the heart of a broken and a contrite man. This is what the Lord loves. A man who has glimpsed into the depths of his own soul and found himself so very wanting. Yet he does not go and hide behind a tree and a fig leaf, rather he stands there, naked before the Lord, nothing hidden. While he was hidden the joy of the Lord was hidden to him. While he deceived himself the wisdom of the Holy Spirit was removed from him. The presence of the Lord had fled away and only as he emerges from behind the tree and from behind the fig leaf is David restored. Are you hiding today brother or sister? Shall you not come out from behind the tree and stand naked before the Lord? God does not require your sacrifice. He already required that of the Lord Jesus. He simply requires a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These things God will not despise. He will surely usher you back into His presence and He will restore the joy of His salvation to You. Goodness and mercy shall follow the broken and the contrite heart all the days of their lives.
There is no other Rock I know, not one
Sing oh heavens until His is work on earth is done
Break forth in rapturous praise you mountains set on high
For your peaks cry out His splendor, and His glory fills the sky
The Lord is our Redeemer and He formed us from the womb
He died upon a bloody cross and walked out from the tomb
He stretches out the heavens then He'll roll them into scrolls
This Son of God, what Majesty, this Savior of our souls.
His blessing shall pour forth like a mighty waterfall
Hands shall stretch to heaven as they hear the Masters call
We shall spring up like willows among the watercourses
We shall mount up and go forth on heavens mighty horses
Our spirits shall fly like the summer larks in the hues of the setting sun
Our hearts shall soar like the eagles when the day of the Lord has begun
He shall pour water on the thirsty and floods upon dry ground
He shall pour forth His Spirit and in His Spirit we shall be found.
2Co 2:14 Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Can you say, with all honesty brothers and sisters, that through you, the fragrance of Jesus is made known every where you go? By His presence in you and your presence in, say, your marriage, you “diffuse the fragrance,” of Christ? That phrase means to make manifest. Is it manifestly evident that you carry the presence of Jesus? How about at work? When you are driving? Interacting with your family? Interacting with people who do not like you? Is there still a fragrance that emanates from you? Are you like a flower? Beautiful to behold, something that others want to draw near to them and just breath you in?
Atmosphere, it is something we can control. We can control it because God has given us everything we need for He always leads us in conquest. He leads. He goes before. Shall we step back or shall we get out in front of Him? When we are wronged do we rush forward with our carnal weapons of warfare and then pat ourselves on the back because it was “self defense.” The clue is right in the words. We are defending “self,” therefore we add to the blackness of the atmosphere rather than allow the light to shine forth from our innermost being which causes the darkness to flee. The flesh demands to be defended and when it is the atmosphere grows darker. We must infuse into the situation the rarified air of heaven.
In one year, the average mature tree will absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide and in exchange release oxygen. We saints are the spiritual “trees,” in this world. We are uniquely designed to triumph over the toxic nature of humanity and the world in which we live. The one vital difference is this, what the trees do by nature and design, we must do by choice. We can exhale out both spiritual oxygen or more hellish carbon dioxide. In every single occasion it is a choice. The power resides within us. Shall we follow God? If we do then He always leads us to victory. If we follow the dictates of our own flesh then we shall find ourselves wallowing in the toxic nature of defeat.
You shall rise up with the wings of an eagle
And meet Him in the air
You shall shout with a voice of triumph
A shout that is beyond compare.
Jericho shook and the seas fled away
When all of God's people assembled
As the Lord our God came down from on high
And the inhabitants of the earth all trembled
Fear not says the Lord our God Almighty
For I am surely at the door
Wait upon Me, be still do not faint
In my presence there is so much more
I give strength to the weak and to the humble
I lift up the hands that hang low
I light up the way lest you fall and stumble
I am the way you should go.
Walk through fires, you shall not be consumed
And the rivers shall not take you down
On islands of despair you shall not be marooned
And no man shall take your crown
Stand in the depths of Christ alone
Stand strong and do not falter
Come now and worship before His throne
Rejoice before His altar.
Psa 51:6 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden parts you shalt make me to know wisdom.
Part of wisdom is to know who you are. The outward appearance is of little value other than it is a reflection of the inner man. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but true beauty God sees clearly. In 1 Sam 16:7 it says ” the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” To truly be a witness for Jesus, the world must see Him when it sees us. In order for that to happen we must have truth in the inward parts. The hidden parts must become visible. The true essence of who we are, in Christ alone we make our stand, must be seen. This is why we must decrease and the Lord must come forth in every part of who we are.
This is our calling. The Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached as a witness. What does that mean? The world must “see,” the truth as well as hear it. Anyone can parrot the truth, but only the saints can live it out for all the world to see. Jesus says in Matt 24 that this Gospel must be preached as a witness to all nations and then the end shall come. Its not good enough for the gospel to be preached to all nations, it must be preached “as a witness.” A witness brings forth evidence. What is the evidence of your salvation? Is it but words? Or, is it the life that you lead that gives flesh and blood to those words? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be a witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
A man called Witold Pileski, a survivor of the Auschiwitz concentration camp wrote this ” some slithered into a moral swamp, others chiseled themselves a character of finest crystal. We were cut with a sharp instrument. Its 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.” When we are stripped down to our bare essence what shall be seen? Who are we really? Shall not the fire reveal the gold? Shall not suffering chisel away the worthless? Shall not our souls be tilled and there the fruit of the Holy Spirit spring up? Fruit that people can see. Fruit that brings glory to God. Fruit that feeds others. Shall we resist the sharp cut, the stripping down? Let us not brothers and sisters but rather let us yield our fallow ground to the till that is held by the hand of God Almighty and pulled by the Holy Spirit. And then, and only then, Jesus bursts forth!
All flesh is grass and its beauty
Is like the flowers of the field
We are here today and still we sow
Yet tomorrow what shall we yield?
The world and all who dwell therein
Shall surely fade away
Yet those who stand in Christ alone
Close to the cross they always stay
And though all things shall fade away
His Word shall remain forever
And we who remain and are yet alive
Are taken by the crimson river
This river that flows from Calvary
Is an inexhaustible fountain
It carries us across the sea
And summits every mountain
To the lofty heights of heavens glory
His people shall surely ascend
And there in the sky they shall meet their Lord
Their King, their Master, their friend
And there He dwells with the truly contrite
With the lowly, the humble, the broken
Who stood beneath that Bloody cross
And who stood upon every Word spoken
They shall run and run and not grow weary
They shall walk and shall not faint
They shall rise up with the wings of an eagle
And there shall worship without restraint.
Joh 21:9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
In the last chapter of John we see this very well known encounter. Peter and six others decide to go fishing, it is Peter who makes the suggestion and the others follow. This was the disciples falling back on what they knew. They were to be fishers of men but now they were going back to their old trade. They needed food on the table no doubt. They had followed Jesus for three years and now Jesus was not walking with them. All night long they fish and come up with nothing. From the shore Jesus shouts to them to put the net down on the other side. And of course, as we know, they landed an enormous catch. Yet it is important to note that the moral of this story is not how to catch fish.
When Peter realizes that it is Jesus on the shore he throws himself into the water. The others stayed with the catch. In life there will always be those who plunge into the waters at the call of Jesus. Those who drop everything, even the biggest catch of their lives. Peter was such a man. Now, the moral of the story begins to come into view as Peter makes his way towards Jesus. He sees that there is a fire of coals burning and fish already cooking and there was bread too. Jesus had shouted to them earlier “children have you any food?” He did not ask them if they had caught any fish, they were obviously out there looking for food for themselves as opposed to working for money. Yet here, on the beach, Jesus had already prepared a meal for them.
Jesus was calling the disciples to be shepherds, not fishermen. Fishers of men perhaps, but shepherds. “Feed my lambs…….Tend my sheep….. feed my sheep……follow Me.” Obedience to the call and trust in the Lord. Jesus knows our needs, He has fires of coal and fish there-on and bread to eat also. Come to Jesus. If you have to plunge into the ocean, come to Jesus. If you have to lay down burdens, lay them down. If you have to do any casting, cast your cares upon Jesus. The One with all the resources says “follow me.” Seeing Jesus, knowing Jesus, encountering Jesus, this is our calling………….and all these things shall be added unto you. Seek Him first though the ocean lie between you and Him. Come to Him though the mountains stand in your way. Watch them crumble before you. Rise up, cast caution to the wind along with Peters garments and run to Him. “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” The life that we live shall express our love for Jesus far beyond words.
There is a kind of heady rush when one faces a severe challenge. The greater the severity the greater the “rush.” The middle of the challenge can often be difficult. The first flushes and shock of it all settles down and the day to day reality of it settles in. The adrenaline winds down There is also a kind of post phase when the challenge is over and we have to return to “normal,’ life. For me, in the past, there is a great intensity of relationship with the Lord when I was squeezed and my back was against the wall so to speak. Perhaps not unlike a soldier from WW1 who goes home for r&r and finds it almost surreal and difficult to navigate due to the intensity of his experience on the battle-fields.
As saints we face this, and undoubtedly, given the nature of your circumstances, you too will deal with this. I suppose in the end the words of the Lord ring clear and true “therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles” I have had much difficulty in my life trying to live this out. I know the truth of it. I know the weakness of my own flesh in addition to my own particular dysfunctions. I know that in this flesh of mine I can do no thing. The older I get the more apparent this is to me. Only in the Lord Jesus can I even begin to stand. I can do nothing without Him. I don’t want to do anything without Him. I want to walk in His peace. It’s akin to walking upon the water, and of course, when I take my eyes off Jesus I begin to go under.
And when a particularly severe trial comes to an end then I must know that the grace that filled up the valley to meet me in the depths, recedes. His grace is sufficient for me. It lifts me from the valley floor to heavens heights. It holds me, it sustains me then it gently sets me back down again and the walk continues down that narrow path that leads me home. In every situation, in every trial, in every season we are called to trust in Jesus. When the storm rages and when there is not even a breeze. When the snow falls and when the summer sun shines. When the spring rains come and when the leaves begin to fall in the Autumn. The seasons belong to the Lord. We belong to the Lord. Our walk belongs to the Lord. Our circumstances belong to the Lord. Our very hearts are His and for His own good pleasure He will mold us and shape us and finish what He has begun in us.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Mat 6:33-34)
Hos 2:20 I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
My father died a few months ago. He was 83. My mum is 82. They were engaged for five years and married for 62 years. And just days after my father passed away, the Lord spoke to my mothers heart. He said “I will be your husband now.” It brought her so much peace. To know that every aspect of her earthly husband, protection, provision, companionship would be met by her Lord. It is not that she did not know the Lord in these ways before my father died, but in the absence of her husband here on earth, she would suffer no loss, quite the opposite. He is more than enough. He betroths us in His faithfulness and in that we become intimate with Him in the deepest recesses of our hearts. This is His vow to us. And if we know one thing about the Lord, He will do what He said He will do. And in that sure knowledge we rest, our troubled hearts lie down in His arms. Is there anywhere more secure than that?
Perhaps you have suffered such a loss? Perhaps your husband or wife is far from perfect and your hurting heart cries out to God? He knows. He sees. He cares and He listens to the heart cries of His own. The vows we make to our spouses last a lifetime. The promises we have from our Lord lasts for all eternity. In the following verse it says this “It shall come to pass in that day that I will answer says the Lord. I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth.” Is that not some of the most beautiful language you will ever hear? Though the heavens may have been silent, now they respond. The long lasting drought comes to and end and the heavens open wide and there falls a glorious soaking rain that quenches the dry and thirsty land. And oh how the land responds by bringing forth its fruit. God is the heavens and we are the earth. The rain, the deluge after the drought is His presence and His fruit in us is manifested in love and joy and peace and thanksgiving. Praise the Living God for He has betrothed us!
Hos 2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
In the first part of this chapter we see that Israel has ran after other lovers, just like the wife of Hosea. It would seem certain then that God would, and should be finished with them yet He says this “Therefore behold I will allure her, I will bring her into the wilderness.” His ways are certainly not our ways. He calls us back to Himself, so great is His mercy. He loves us still when we should not be loved, so great is His passion for His people. He draws us into a place where He has all of our attention, a wilderness place, a place of no hope perhaps that we might cry out to the Lord our God. And from that place He says he will give us vineyards. Grapes growing in the desert places. Fruit coming forth where there should be no fruit. And all of them watered in the valley of Achor, that is to say the valley of tears. These tears become a wellspring of hope and not despair. A door that opens where no door was. It suddenly appears to us and beckons us to pass through. It’s the door of His presence, its the joy of our youth, its our coming back to the our first and only true love. Jesus.
Even now, Jesus stretches out His hand and stands as an open door and invites us to come to Him. He should judge us, He should reject us, He should destroy us for running after other lovers. He calls Hosea to forgive his wife, to redeem His wife, to even look after her in the midst of her harlotry. Oh, what love is this that would redeem us from the marketplace and that would cover our nakedness? Is He calling today to a wayward people to come to Him before it is too late? Yes indeed. His faithfulness to a stubborn unfaithful people is beyond us. It is too high for us to understand. It is too deep for us to plummet its depths. Yet, there He stands, an open door with open arms. Who will come to, and through this door of hope that appears in the depths of the valley of tears?
Events in the history of the churches in the time of the apostles have been selected and recorded in the Book of the Acts in such a way as to provide a permanent pattern for the churches. Departures from the pattern has had disastrous consequences, and all revival and restoration have been due to some return to the pattern and principles of Scripture (The Pilgrim Church ,E.H.Broadbent)
A permanent pattern for the Church, set down in the Word of God, found in Acts and Corinthians in quite some detail, yet almost universally ignored down through the ages. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church ( Act 20:17) Now the word “elders,” and “presbyters,” and “overseers,” and “bishops,” all refer to the same men. It is Ignatius who starts the deviation. He as born around the year the Lord ascended into heaven. He died in 107ad. In less than 70 years we see the true birth of the clergy/laity divide, the great disaster as I call it. Now its roots had already begun to grow and around 85ad we see Diotrephes being described as “loving the preeminence.” It’s just like men to desperately want a hierarchical system and then climb the ladder to the top.
John, who excoriates Diotrephes In 3rd John, just a few years later writes Revelation. And of course the beginning chapters start out with grievious warnings from Jesus Himself to most of the churches in Asia. His first warning was that outside of repentance He would “remove your lamp-stand.” A lamp-stand holds the light. If it is removed then comes the darkness. Nothing grows in the darkness. There was various threats made against the churches by Jesus and God does not make idol threats. To the corrupted church at Thyatira Jesus says to her that if she did not repent of her sexual immorality that He would “cast her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill their children with death and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts.”
Lets face it brothers and sisters there are very few who can handle this Jesus. The Jesus who can strip away the lamp-stands of churches and leave nothing but the bare bones of religion. Without the light of Christ one is left only with a vain philosophy. Yet ambitious men can stand upon the bare bones of religion and elevate themselves above the others. While Jesus has no pleasure in institutions and denominations, men love them and men love numbers, they must have more. The more numbers, the more buildings, the more services the more one can boast in “their work.” In fact before the second century is out we come to another major deviation, infant baptism. What a great way to add to your numbers. No longer a believers baptism but an initiation ceremony that guarantees full and ever expanding buildings.
It all begins with men loving the preeminence. The desire to have authority over others. A self elevated position among the group. No longer would it be possible to invite men like John to “your,’ church, he would take the limelight away from the “clergy.” No longer would it be possible to worship in a 1 Cor 14 fashion where a plurality of peoples would be able to speak and share, this would take the limelight away from the ones who loved the preeminence. And so that old ancient curse that began with multiple churches refusing to repent even when Jesus Himself called them to it, still exists today and for the same reasons. How could these men repent of their un-biblical clery/laity divide? Admit they are wrong and always have been? They know it would end their “career,” their authority,” their standing in their community. They know they would just have to take their place with all the other brothers and sisters.
And so brothers and sisters, if there is to be a revolution among the Body of Christ the first thing to fall must be the clergy/laity divide. Only then could there truly be a return to the “old paths,’ to the Word of God and the pattern laid down. For clergy rely upon being clergy for their identity. It is who they are. They are keepers of the status quo and could never allow a 1 Cor 14 model to develop in their midst, because in a relatively short order, when order is reestablished and the Church leaders are but “elders,” and “presbyters,’ and “overseers,” then none are elevated above the other. If you have the courage, and it will take courage because of the negative reaction that will come against you, next Sunday, ask your “senior pastor,” ( a made up name) to justify to you from the Word, the clergy/laity divide. If he deems to answer your question, it should be very interesting. Please share any replies here for the saints to read.
1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.
The gospel did not come in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. The Thessalonians encountered God in power and it changed them from the inside out. We see this in “your work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope.” (1 Thess1:3) Faith, hope and love. In 1st Cor 13 we read that we see through a glass darkly. Yet what abides in us is our faith which is our trust in God. And our blessed hope, no matter what valley we are walking through. Finally and most importantly is our love. We abide in the love of God and when we do, we love as God loves. And we know that the blessed source of all of that flows from the heart of God, the inexhaustible fountains of living water.
And all of this the Thessalonians received in the midst of great affliction. Faith, hope and love. All supernatural, all flowing from God. And one final element. They had the “joy of the Holy Spirit,” despite those many afflictions. What was the source of such joy in their hearts? They “knew God.” They knew He was real, they knew He was watching, they knew He was pleased. They had assurance of salvation. They knew in the depths of their hearts that God loved them and had forgiven them and was watching over them. Oh what an inexhaustible fountain of joy it is to “know,” that you are not only known by God the Father but are loved and forgiven by Him. Its this river, the river of life, the river of knowing, the river of faith and hope and love, that will take us home and keep us as we go.
In every stage of our lives there are seasons
And almost always we never know the reasons
We live, we love, we cherish, we lose
And the sudden losses leaves us with very little clues
We look to the sky and we wonder why
One of our loved ones they had to die
Yet for the most part there is no rhyme nor reason
There is just the changing of the season
In the hand of the Lord there lies it all
The creation of man and then the fall
Sin and rebellion and death floods in
And Eden vanishes and loss begins
There is a time to laugh and then to cry
A time to live and then to die
A time to gain and a time of loss
A time to refine away the dross
We are called to walk through fire and flood
And sometimes called to shed our blood
We are also called to laugh and sing
And fall to our knees before our King
No matter the loss there is always a reason
For the fire , the flood and the painful season
For the joy, for the laughter for the passion and pain
Know this dear saint, nothing is in vain
A Call To The Remnant 